Economics Essay

1. What did Keynes think some of the chief benefits and defects of capitalism were? Keynesian theory which was developed by Keynes advocates for a mixed economy where the government and private sector are important. In Keynesian model economy is assumed to be below full employment.   Keynesian argues that the aggregate demand for good which seek to increase employment of resources in the country is the driving force of an economy.   According to Keynes, the government’s role is to reduced unemployment rate and deflation level to enhance increased output in an economy (Baqliano and Bertola, 2003). Capitalism developed by Max argues that the poor in capitalistic society are so because of exploitation by the merchants who own the means of production and distribution.   The merchants are said to exploit the poor through low wages.   Marx argued that the value of any economic good should be determined by the labor used to manufacture.   Any cost that is higher than the cost of labor represents the surplus which is the profits the capitalists realize from exploitation of their laborers.   Marx believes that all means of production should be owned by the government or should control by the government.   Marx advocated for socialist government that owns the means of production or democratic administration that control them. Economists who include Keynes deny the claims of Marx that labor is the only measure for surplus.   According to Keynes who support capitalism, employers and employees are guided by the prevailing market wages hence employers offer employment to willing workers. John Keynes believes in capitalistic economy and called on the government to stimulate it but not eliminate it.   However, Keynes site defect in capitalism where he argues that capitalism does not promote full employment, wealth and incomes which the model seeks to achieve in the long run. Keynesian ideologies have been employed by politician but both abuse of the model, inflation has resulted.   This is evident with government manipulating policies to make economic conditions favorable during election which has led to high inflation in most state.   Action by government leads to reduce real wages and real incomes which do comply with Keynes model.   Capitalism has led to segregation of the society into strata according to income and wealth owned.   Most politician use Keynes ideologies by making promises that will earn them votes.   Implementations of the promises require higher taxation which reduces income of individuals (Baqliano and Bertola, 2003). Keynesian advocate for full employment which should be accompanied buy steady controlled inflation level as an effective means of guiding the economy in he interests of capital.   Keynes argue that real wages can be allowed to fall, government expenditure on schools, hospitals and infrastructure can be reduced as anti-inflationary measures and this inflationary measure should be continued until employment level desired is achieved. According to Keynes denied that unemployment is contributed by capitalism. However Keynes argued that unemployment in capitalism is brought by inadequate demand of personal articles of consumption and productive articles of consumption.   Keynes argue that inadequate demand is as a result of the workers tending to accumulate part of their incomes through savings and the inadequate demand   for productive consumption is brought by failure of people to invest their capital profitability which would lead to increase in output and hence reduced unemployment. Keynes advocates that employment can be increased by lowering real wages through inflation introduction and decreasing rate of interest.   Increased rate of interest will encourage investment of capital which will increase aggregate demand.   The government should then expand its budget to allow mass investment. Consumptive demand can be increased through increased extravagance of the ruling class; investing in war prone areas and increased non-productive expenses by the state.   The increased non-productive expenses to attain full employment of the population will actually lead to diminished living standards of laborers. Keynes in his support for capitalism argued that the workers should not be assisted to rise above the capitalists because capitalists who consist of intellectuals are the quality of life and they carry seed of achievement.   Keynes argued against socialism where the government owns the production. Keynes in support of capitalism advocates the governments to support monopoly.   The wage freezing policy by the federal government in Middle East helped increase the profits of the monopolies while lowering the living standards of the workers. Keynes argue that inflation bring about equilibrium position I n capitalism.   In Capitalism â€Å"Boomâ€Å" lead to increased profits and hence increased prices.   Production expands up to overproduction point where equilibrium is achieved through â€Å"boom bursting. 2. What is the `identification problem` in using econometric analysis? Identification problem in ecometrics involves solving unique values of the parameters of the structural model from the values of the parameters of the reduced form of the model.   Reduced form of a model presents a model where endogenous variables are expressed functions of exogenous variables. For example prices in a marker are determined by supply and demand, hence must establish the demand and supply functions.   However, the equation obtained by regressing quantity on market price cannot be identified specifically as either supply or demand function.   In special cases, we use regression to get demand function.   While holding supply function constant or vice versa, but cannot obtain regression while accommodating fluctuation changes in both (Baqliano and Bertola, 2003). Economics Essay The three areas of economics affect an individual both positively and negatively. First, in making decisions, a person often has to decide on tradeoffs because he/she just cannot afford to buy everything that he/she needs. In other words, sacrifices must be made. Economics, after all, is about allocating the resources available to a person – which happens to be scarce most of the time. This would mean, for instance, that if one has set aside $10 dollars for chocolates and he/she wants to buy some oranges, the decision would often entail buying less chocolates to enable him/her to buy some oranges. This effect is often interpreted as a negative one because a person has to let go of one want in order to satisfy another desire. This illustration clearly shows that budget constraint plays a major role in decision-making. (Mankiw, 2004) The second area of economics, interaction with others, affects members of society positively because in a free market economy, prices could not just be dictated by producers and sellers without the involvement or say of the consumers. In other words, if the price of a certain commodity proves too expensive, consumers would usually look for cheaper alternatives, thereby causing the demand for the more expensive version to fall. If the 21† colored television set produced by Sony Corporation, for instance, has been priced much higher than the 21† colored television of Philips, chances are that consumers would opt for the television set being sold by Philips because of the lower price. In this case, preference for Sony, which might prove to have a higher quality, could only be expressed by those who have the money, therefore feeling no budgetary constraints. Finally, the workings of the economy could affect an individual both positively and negatively. One instant is when government decides to print and circulate an abnormally high volume of money. This situation forces money to depreciate in value, thereby resulting to inflation. A high level of inflation causes prices to increase because of the additional costs being shouldered by manufacturers owing to the lower value of money. An upside of this situation, however, could be a temporary increase in employment. Because of the availability of money, employers can afford to hire additional workers. (Mankiw, 2004)

Ngc march

Explain the purpose of the ‘statement of intent' section of a health and safety policy. (3) the purpose of the ‘statement of intent' section of the policy should set health and safety goals and objectives for the organization; demonstrate management's commitment to health and safety; explain the allocation of resources to attain the stated goals and objectives and give an indication of the cultural health and safety framework for the organization. B) Outline the circumstances that would require a health and safety policy to be reviewed. 5) circumstances such as significant changes in the structure of the organization; after the introduction of new or changed processes or work methods; following changes in key personnel or a change of premises; following changes in legislation; where audits, risk assessments, monitoring exercises or investigations into accidents and cases of ill-health show that the policy is no longer effective or relevant; following enforcement action by or the receipt of advice from the enforcement authority; as a result of consultation with the workforce; and after a sufficient period of time has elapsed since the previous review to suggest that another is due. Question 4 (a) Identify TWO types of health and safety inspection. (2) types of health and safety inspection such as pre-use checks for example of portable appliances or ladders; general periodic workplace inspections; statutory inspections and those associated with planned preventative maintenance; safety tours and safety sampling and inspections carried out by members of the enforcement authority. B) Outline the skills and knowledge that are required of an employee who conducts health and safety inspections. 6) qualities expected of an employee who carries out health and safety inspections, candidates were expected to refer firstly to the knowledge he/she should possess such as a general knowledge of health and safety together with the legal requirements and any publishe d guidance; knowledge of the workplace and the work activities carried out with the procedures that have been introduced such as safe systems of work and the use of permits to work; and knowledge as to whom he/she should report the results of the inspections. Relevant skills would include the ability to identify hazards and risks and to detect deficiencies in the control measures provided; observational skills together with the ability to record and report observations; interpersonal skills including the ability to interview and question fellow employees and finally and importantly the ability to recognize his/her own limitations.Question 5 Outline ways to help ensure the effectiveness of a health and safety committee. (8) One of the prime requirements in setting up an effective safety committee is to ensure that it has the full backing of senior management, is provided with terms of reference and objectives and that its membership constitutes an even balance between management and employee representatives under the chairmanship of a fair, strong but diplomatic individual with one member of sufficient seniority to authorize any agreed action. It would be essential that time and resources are set aside for committee meetings which should be at a convenient time and notified in advance to all members with a copy of the agenda.Items for discussion should be topical and relevant to the organization and the safety adviser should always be present to provide professional health and safety advice. Formal minutes should be prepared after each meeting including actions that have been agreed and a copy of these should be displayed where it is accessible to all employees, such as on the employee notice board, so that they might be aware of the decisions that have been taken. Question 6 (a) Give the meaning of the term ‘risk. (2) the probability or likelihood that an unwanted event will occur and the possible severity in terms of injury or damage, would it occur. (b ) Give reasons why hazards may not be obvious to an employee exposed to them. 6) reasons such as over-familiarity following frequent contact with the hazard without recognizing any potential harm; lack of experience particularly in the case of young persons; sensory impairment; lack of attention arising from the routine or repetitive nature of the task being undertaken; warning alarms being masked by noise or the wearing of personal protective equipment; and inadequate provision of training, information and instruction. Other reasons which might have been given included the invisible nature of the hazard, such as that arising from exposure to biological agents, gases and radiation and those hazards where there is no obvious short term effect with little indication of what harm might be caused in the longer term. Question 7 (a) Outline the functions of a permit-to-work form. (2) functions of a permit to work system are to control high risk activities by ensuring set procedures are fo llowed; to formally record control measures and to give signed authority for the activity to be carried out. B) Outline the elements that should be included in a typical permit-to- work form. 6) Elements which should be included in the permit include firstly a description and assessment of the task to be performed including the plant involved, its location and the foreseeable hazards associated with the task. This will determine the need for, and nature of the necessary controls such as, the isolation of sources of energy and other services, the provision and use of personal protective equipment, emergency arrangements and facilities, communication arrangements and the duration of the permit. An essential element of a permit to work system is the operation of the remit itself.By means of signatures, the permit should be issued by an authorized person, and accepted by the competent person responsible for the work. On completion of the work, the competent person would need to indicate on the permit that the area had been made safe in order for the permit to be cancelled by the authorized person, after which isolations could be removed. Question 8 An organization can monitor its health and safety performance using a variety of means. (a) Identify FOUR active monitoring methods. (4) inspections, surveys, tours, audits, environmental monitoring, health surveillance, behavioral observation and benchmarking against the performance of other like organizations. (b) Identify FOUR reactive monitoring methods. 4) reactive monitoring methods which might be used include accident and ill health reports and statistics, incidents of reported near misses and dangerous occurrences, property damage, actions taken by enforcement authorities, the number of civil actions and insurance claims and the costs involved in all of these. Question 9 Explain reasons why the following employees may be at greater risk in the oracle: (a) young persons; (4) the individual's stage of physical dev elopment and maturity; lack of knowledge, experience, training and practical skills; lack of perception or awareness of risk; poorly developed communication skills; over enthusiasm and the tendency of young persons to take risks and to respond more readily to peer group pressure.

Annie Dillard. Bio Essay

HEATHER PERPENTE (352)-438-8151 10060 SE 149TH LANE SUMMERFIELD FL, 34491 HEATHER. [email  protected] EDU APRIL 3, 2013 NATALIE PEETERSE SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY Annie Dillard started out her writing career misunderstood but admirable. Dillard became well known after her first published book, ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek’ won the 1974 ‘Pulitzer Prize for General nonfiction at age 29. She received many complaints on her first novel such as, â€Å"not one genuine ecological concern is voiced in the entire book,† critics state. (Begiebing) Dillard’s eputation has exceeded what was once known as boring and unsatisfactory to one of admiration. In a review of ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ Hayden Carruth states, â€Å"In many respects to Annie Dillard’s book, ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ is so ingratiating that even readers who find themselves in fundamental disagreement with it may take pleasure from it, a good deal of pl easure. † (Carruth) Indeed Carruth is correct. Dillard’s creativity with and in nature puts us in awe. Her writing is abhorrent and yet so beautiful. In 1971 Dillard stumbled upon an old writer’s nature book and thought, â€Å"I can do better than this. (Dillard) In 1968, Dillard spent a few years, following her graduation, by oil painting, writing, and keeping a journal. This journal is how many of her first poems and short stories were published In this journal, ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek’ slowly started it’s well known novel. Dillard began her writing career as a young adult attending Hollins College (now Hollins University). Dillard studied literature and creative writing which motivated her to read classic novels as well as many books that humanity has promised themselves to read in the future, but never got around to it. After spending some time n college, Dillard married her writing teacher, the poet R. H. W. Dillard. In college, I learn ed how to learn from other people. As far as I was concerned, writing in college didn’t consist of what little Annie had to say, but what Wallace Stevens had to say. I didn’t come to college to think my own thoughts; I came to college to learn what had been thought. † (Dillard) Like many other creations in life, her writing began with a simple thought†¦ At the end of the island I noticed a small green frog. He was exactly half in and half out of the water, looking like a schematic diagram of an amphibian, and he didn’t jump.He didn’t jump; I crept closer. At last I knelt on the island’s winter killed grass, lost, dumbstruck, staring at the frog in the creek just four feet away. He was a very small frog with wide, dull eyes. And just as I looked at him, he slowly crumpled and began to sag. The spirit vanished from his eyes as if snuffed. His skin emptied and drooped; his very skull seemed to collapse and settle like a kicked tent. He was shrinking before my eyes like a deflating football. I watched the taut, glistening skin on his shoulders ruck, and rumple, and fall. Soon, part of his skin, formless s a pricked balloon, lay in floating folds like bright scum on top of the water; it was a monstrous and terrifying thing. I gaped bewildered, appalled. An oval shadow hung in the water behind the drained frog; then the shadow glided away. The frog skin bag started to sink. I had read about the giant water bug, but never seen one. â€Å"Giant water bug† is really the name of the creature, which is an enormous, heavy-bodied brown bug. It eats insects, tadpoles, fish, and frogs. Its grasping forelegs are mighty and hooked inward. It seizes a victim with these legs, hugs it tight, and paralyzes it with nzymes injected during a vicious bite. That one bite is the only bite it ever takes. Through the puncture shoot the poisons that dissolve the victim’s muscles and bones and organs – all but the skin †“ and through it the giant water bug sucks out the victim’s body, reduced to a juice. (Dillard) In the above quoted passage from ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ Dillard describes an event of nature that is both horrible and beautiful. Through each stage of a life, being human, animal, or insect, life has its beauty and value. We live and evolve and learn with every stage of our life. Does beauty lie in the eye of the observer? † (Krishnamurti) What an excellent question. Every individual has their own eye for beauty, but nature is the one beauty of the world that will never die. Dillard’s eye of beauty is unique. She discovers two ways in which to view nature: one of passionate and fixed attention to all things around her, and her second state is focused on an unaware state, where she connects, lives, and is the nature around her without regards to time in the present state. Dillard’s two states of ‘stalking’ and unawareness differ i n various ways, but llow her to connect with nature and her surroundings on a whole different level of understanding and appreciation. In ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ Dillard relives multiple events in the past using both states (aware and unaware) to evaluate lessons she has learned and the closeness she experienced with nature. Dillard appears to be in confusion to which state of mind is most precious in the world, awareness or unaware. Dillard feels that the state of awareness is to be valued for it is a state of mind that does distinguish humanity from both, our creator (god) and our fellow animal friends.Without our ability to distinguish ourselves from other ‘creations,’ humanity would not easily learn and acquire information regarding the many creatures before us and nature itself, while being partially blind to our current surroundings as they stand before us. While at Tinker Creek, Dillard’s appreciation for plants and animals come by no surpr ise, but while she greatly admires the state of awareness, she has multiple interpretations of the state. Dillard implies that by being aware all the time may slow down, or deprive us from our experiences and living conditions in the here-and-now time frame.The state of awareness, or â€Å"innocence†, Dillard believes to be the ultimate state to view nature and the world in. By being in her â€Å"innocence† state, she becomes, (experiences first hand) all things surrounding her. She is able to â€Å"Live them as purely as we can, in the present. † BY the spirits â€Å"Unself-conscious state at any moment of pure devotion to any object. † (Dillard) When learning, experiencing, and connecting with nature, both states, â€Å"innocence† and â€Å"stalking† are necessary to Dillard. Dillard’s section including the frog that slowly has its insides liquefied then devoured, allows er to witness such creatures in their natural state while â₠¬Å"stalking† them. Dillard examines a Giant Water bug inject, liquefy, and devour its dinner; she watched the frogs spirit drift away from its eyes, and its skin sag, to be swept away by the ocean. Dillard evaluates the feelings of horror but beauty by this event which in return, helps her observe and learn from the events of nature while at Tinker Creek. From experiencing her â€Å"innocence† and â€Å"stalking† state, Dillard states, â€Å"I am prying into secrets again, and taking my chances. I might not see anything happen; I ight see nothing but light on the water. I walk home exhilarated or becalmed, but always changed, alive. † (Dillard) I believe that while Dillard visits Tinker Creek, she gives us a gift; the tool to observe nature, seeing and experiencing every event; a new view for appreciating nature in its beauty and horror. Through Dillard, and many other authors, we must find our own way to experience and learn from nature, whether that is t hrough reading such books as ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek’, or a nature hike of our own, if we choose to learn from nature. We can learn a great deal from nature writers ll over the world. Dillard views beauty in nature through horrible events by learning and experiencing thousands of things nature has to show and teach us. Dillard learns that while a picture of a darkened sky with remnants of clouds is a wonderful experience, nature, just like everything else beautiful in the world, has a horrible side that is seen when watching. â€Å"It’s the most beautiful day of the year. At four O’clock the eastern sky is a dead stratus black flecked with low white clouds. The sun in the west illuminates the ground, the mountains, nd especially the bare branches of trees, so that everywhere silver trees cut into the black sky like a photographers negative of a landscape. † (Dillard) WORK CITED: 1. Elliott, Sandra S. â€Å"Annie Dillard Biography. †Ã‚  Annie Dillard Biography. Rob Anderson, n. d. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. http://hubcap. clemson. edu/~sparks/dillard/bio. htm 2. Krishnamurti, J. â€Å"The Beauty of Death as Part of Life. †Ã‚  J. Krishnamurti Online. Krishnamurti Foundation, Sept. 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. http://www. jkrishnamurti. org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text. php? tid=1515&chid=1212

Is the purpose of prisons to punish criminals, or to help them Essay

Is the purpose of prisons to punish criminals, or to help them - Essay Example However, there are some cases when punishment is applied as the most effective strategy in addressing criminals. This paper will explore factors that should prompt prisons to exhibit efforts towards rehabilitating prisoners. The paper will also analyze why the punitive approach proves more efficient in some situations. There are many theories developed to explain why prisons should focus on rehabilitating criminals rather than punishing them. Most of these theories surround a close analysis of the factors that prompted an individual to indulge in crime (Binder 2013, p. 296). A psychological analysis of the factors that prompt an individual to indulge in crime reveals that he or she may undergo effective therapy through rehabilitative programs, hence increasing the chances of transforming the individual. Without doubt, there is an existing complexity of the factors that motivate people towards crime. These complexities only seem to trigger controversy when considering the effectiveness of rehabilitation of criminals (Bierschbach & Bibas 2013, p. 407). If prisons are to help criminals, they must adopt a certain attitude and have the faith that it is possible to get the criminals back to the right track. One reason why criminals are locked in prisons is to protect the public from further criminal activities. Therefore, helping criminals in prison targets to help them transform and stay away from crime. Efforts of rehabilitation seek to convert criminals to better citizens who have the potential to contribute positively to the success of the society. After the effective transformation, then prisons can release the transformed criminals back to the society (Bierschbach & Bibas 2013, p. 411). After release into the society, there is the need for positive reintegration by the other members of the society. Governments that focus on

Fortune 500 Companies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fortune 500 Companies - Research Paper Example Approximately two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies are currently involved in offering partnership benefits. In order to understand this aspect better, it is important that concern is drawn as to what entails domestic partnership benefits (Rosenbaum, 1967). Ideally, domestic partnership benefits are those that an employer decides to give to an employee’s unmarried partner, regardless of the gender. Despite the numerous companies that are currently involved in offering domestic partnership benefits, this paper will only analyze Wal-Mart stores and Mayo Clinic. Offering of partner benefits, follows the passing of ordinance in 1996, with an essential requirement that companies involved in business with the city are mandated to offer equal benefits to their employees’ partners without any attribute towards gender orientation. The benefits offered by these companies are mainly in healthcare. For an employee’s partner to access the partner benefits, there are certain requirements that such an employee partner must acquire. Different companies have different requirements on who is eligible to access the benefits. For Wal-Mart stores, partners are only covered when they are legally married and never when legally separated (US News, 2013). Regardless of the gender of the partner, such an individual is only eligible for the benefits if the two are in a relationship in an equivalent of marriage for 12 months, and with an intention of sharing the particular household forever. It is also important that the partner to benefit from the offer must be 18 years old and above. Mayo Clinic currently has not set a particular deadline for which the partners in a relationship can start accessing the benefits (Berry and Seltman, 2008). However, in the case of same-sex partners, then the two have to marry in the case of Mayo Clinic, considering that same-sex marriages have been

Epidemiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Epidemiology - Essay Example It is possible to have increased labour force participation by older workers. A slow growth in the labour force shall see health administration retain older workers by offering higher wages; flexible working schedules, increased training toward the older workers. This transition shall increase the dependence of technology in the health care field. Health administration shall invest heavily in research to come up with ways to deal with the economic implication presented by the post-industrial transition. Gaziano observes that the United States shall experience a new epidemiological transition. This new phase is because of a decline in physical activity among the population whereas their total caloric intake increases (Gaziano, 2008). The result is an epidemic of obesity that is already affecting the United States. This stage explains the expected rise in cases of type 2 diabetes, lipid abnormalities, and hypertension associated with obesity. The health administration faces this new challenge when their efforts are focused in reducing cases of degenerative and man-made diseases affecting the present society. Health administration shall invest in programs aimed at raising awareness on the importance of maintain healthy diet and being physically active. Health administration shall rely on school programs to ensure children understand the importance of physical activities. The federal government presently supports the health administration field by ensuring that the school diet promotes healthy living

Probability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Probability - Essay Example However, based on this ranking Judge Hellen comes in last followed by Paul, who comes in second last and finally Dianne was third last based on the probability of appeal. However, based on probability of cases being reversed Judge John comes in as the best judge followed by Angela and then David Friedman. Based on this ranking Paul Feinman comes in last and the second last position is taken by Sallie Manzanet-Daniels. Based on the probability of reversal given an appeal, then Karia Moskowitz is the best performing judge followed by Judith J. Gische. However, judge Darcel D. Clark is the least performing judge based on this system. Finally, the overall ranking of these judges is as shown in figure 4 above, it is, therefore, evident that Judge Sallie Manza is the best performing judge followed by Judith and then Peter Tom who completes the three best performing judges. From the figure above it can be seen that Judge David has the least probability of appeal therefore making him the best performing judge followed by Darcell and the least performing judge under this category is Rosalyn and then John comes in second last Judge on this category. In conclusion, this investigation has revealed that in the Court of Common Appeal Judge Sallie is the best performing Judge followed Judge Judith. However, Judge Angela comes in last in the overall ranking. On the other hand on the municipal category Judge Leslie is the best performing judge while Judge Edward is the least performing Judge overall. Finally, in the Municipal Courts Judge Angela is seen to be the one carrying out her duties diligently making her the best performing judge overall while Leslie is the last judge under this

Exploring Design and Experience in the Urban Environment-Derek Jeter Research Paper

Exploring Design and Experience in the Urban Environment-Derek Jeter Gym - Research Paper Example In order to eliminate health hazards and to maintaining better health, various gymnasiums or fitness centers are operating within the country. The revolutionary ‘Derek Jeter 24 hour fitness club’ is located in New York. Derek Jeter was the most prestigious shortstop in the Major League Baseball (MLB), for the entire career, he played for New York Yankees. The characteristic of Derek Jeter contains a dominant and prominent player. Furthermore, his achievements throughout his career are as follows (Signature clubs): â€Å"Sixth overall player selected in the 1992 baseball draft 1996 AL Rookie of the Year Four Gold Gloves (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009) Five World Series championships Eleven All-Star appearances 2009 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Lifetime batting average of .314 (through Sept 2010)† The collaboration of Derek Jeter with the 24 hour fitness club added new value. In fact, the club enjoys the company of 3.5 million club members along with 20,000 tea m members globally with a 27 years history. It is the largest privately owned club in the country. The most notable aspect of this club involves 24 hours availability. This means that members can join anytime they want, round the clock. In general, people with tight schedules and work time have the freedom to customize their workout schedules whenever they are available. The Derek Jeter 24 hour fitness club welcomes all age type males and females members. More than a thousand male and female members visit the 24 hour fitness club during the weekdays. Members of almost all ages are encouraged and wear a comfortable outfit for easy expansion of body parts and perform cardio, yoga and strength gaining classes. The trainers at the club are smart, supportive and encourage members a lot. Moreover, they are all well dressed having fresh faces and communicate effectively with members. Furthermore, a member operates on cardio exercises, yoga, and strength training etc. on cardio equipment  consisting of treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers and stair steppers. The club is the first to provide Nike + iPod experience where members can track and monitor workouts. History The ’24 hour fitness club’ was founded in 1983 and operated as a single club operation located in San Laendro, Calif. Moreover, in the past 27 years, ’24 hour fitness club’ has unwrapped the most clubs in the United States that any other exclusive operator and is at present, the largest private fitness club chain. Accordingly, the introduction of innovative variety including the 24 hours fitness club and online memberships, the company is broadly recognized with the modifying industry landscape. In addition, the 24 hours fitness club has introduced a new concept of creating fitness opportunities easily accessible, affordable and flexible. In 2003, the ‘24 hour business club’ turn out to be the first official fitness center sponsor of the United States Olympic team and has rehabilitated support via London 2012 Olympic Games. The sponsorship was a granted memberships to U.S Olympic optimistic and consist of equipping the three U.S Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colo., Lake Placid, N.Y. and Chula Vista, Calif. Furthermore, in 2010, the ‘24 hour fitness center’ sponsored five Olympians, Hopefuls and a Paralympian. The team of ‘24 hour fitness center’ consists of Athletes including Rockne Brubaker, Gretchen Bleiler, J.R. Celski, Tucker Fredericks, Chris

Cameras in Court Rooms Distort the Trial Process Essay

Cameras in Court Rooms Distort the Trial Process - Essay Example In UK, citizens do not only watch parliament proceedings but also court proceedings without having to attend in person. On the other hand, they also watch debates in the House of Lords and House of Commons on terrestrial television. In UK, trials of well-published are often televised as either news reports or separate documentaries (Brill, 1996, p.51). A channel that only airs criminal justice system’s footage, Court TV, is normally made available in the court rooms to inform the citizens of proceedings of a certain case. O.J. Simpson’s murder trial was fully filmed and watched by millions of audience. This made the lawyers and judges that were involved in this case become international celebrities. Another famous case trial that was filmed and watched by all citizens was that of Louise Woodward – a case of murder committed in the United States (Mason, 2000, p. 26). Pictures of her appearance in the courtroom were transmitted in Britain. That resulted into immens e public reaction. A campaign by the national media raised enough money to pay for her sub sequential appeal and defense costs. The televised emotive pictures made the public to sympathize with her, hence the assistance. Interesting issues concerning discrimination, individual liberties and constitutional rights are raised in this topic. Other international trials have also embraced the significance of audio visual technology (Mason, 2000, p. 26). International criminal tribunals that were concerned with former Yugoslavian dissolution and Rwandan atrocities were also televised, thus gaining mixed reactions from the public. Arguments Supporting Camera Use in the Court Television as Educator; Learning the Law A democratic society allows its citizen’s to access court proceedings. Anyone has a right to sit in the public gallery, watch the whole or part of the trial, or appeal. In UK, citizens are often free to attend even then House of Lords, similar to the way citizens are free to watch the proceedings of the Supreme Court in the United States. Therefore, there is no constitutional barrier that bars court trials from being televised. However, it is difficult for non-lawyers to understand court events. Television coverage normally include commentaries that make it easier for citizens to understand thus making the watching of a trial an educational experience that is even more profitable. In the OJ Simpsons case, camera men were frequently cautioned against taking shots of the messenger. This case has since created a knee-jerk sort of reaction. However, watching all court proceedings is limited during the week as people are busy in their work places. Attending court proceedings in person is every expensive while public gallery is limited in space. People have to arrive very early in courts to attend well-publicized trials in order to secure a seat. Citizens should not enjoy their democratic rights by making such sacrifices of money and time. On the other han d, court proceedings should be televised just like parliament proceedings. This is because laws are usually made in parliament and the role of court is only developing them. Precedent doctrine is normally applied in countries that use common law. Therefore, outcome of subsequent cases can be determined by earlier reasoning. Consequently, court decisions could equally impact on people’s lives just like just like parliament decisions. It is the right of all citizens to know these decisions. Moreover, even though all cases do

Foreign Policy in the US Essay Example for Free

Foreign Policy in the US Essay

Entrepreneurship And Innovation At The Mcdonalds Commerce Essay

Entrepreneurship And Innovation At The Mcdonalds Commerce Essay Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are three essential tools of success for companies in the increasingly challenging business environment. Where, creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities, Innovation is the key to economic development of any country. Inventions and innovations are the building blocks of the future and Entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort assuming the accompanying financial psychic, social risks and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary value and personal satisfaction and independence. All three call for new ideas and there is an element of risk involved in the implementation and the acceptability of the new idea. Where creativity is the ability to generate an idea, innovation is the process of the idea creation and entrepreneur is the person who performs both to become who he is, takes the risk, implements the i dea in the form of a venture. In this fiercely competitive, fast faced global economy creativity is not only an important source of building a competitive advantage but is also a necessity for survival. When developing creative solutions to modern problems, entrepreneurs must go beyond merely using whatever has been used in the past. McDonalds is one such company which has earned its brand image over the years with effective use of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation all put in right place in the organization allowing the company to achieve massive competitive advantages and an edge at building new ideas and defining new and better means of customer satisfaction. The company serves around 50 million customers in 30,000 destinations worldwide on a daily basis and pulling that off whilst successfully obtaining high revenues is a job that requires continuous innovation and out of the box thinking. McDonalds focus over the years has been nothing less than the customer itself. McDonalds took its strong roots in building a name in innovation during the 1990s and the early 2000ss when the competition first started to grow. McDonalds at that time did not take its brand equity for granted and infused its creative teams minds into the thought process that have and continue to generate innovative products and campaigns like Big Mac and Egg McMuffin (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). McDonalds offers an extensive case study of the application of a well thought of and thorough innovation strategy, a product planning and developmental process that effectively reflects the changing industry, its opportunity recognition and analysis to stay on top, and the Mcdonalization culture and leadership embedded with innovation that it follows to successfully practice innovation in all aspects and obtain customer satisfaction that defines industry standards. But even for a company like McDonalds room still exists for improvement. The paper analyses the company on these aspects. The paper after analysis of the corporate entrepreneurship and innovation strategy being following in the company will attempt to establish recommendation for the enhancement of the competitive advantages of the company. Innovation Strategy Think big, start small, scale fast. This is the innovation strategy being followed by McDonalds. This idea was brought together by the managing director of McDonalds Ventures, Mats Lederhausen (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). The key players are all of the employees of the company who are well ingrained with the 5PS that form the paradox of the company. These 5 PS are: People, Product, Promotion, Place and Price. The innovation that takes place in the company is all customer-oriented and started with people and ends with people making effective use of company resources, offers and tools. The innovation strategy is built on one concept: Customer is king. The insights and demands of the customers are the main triggers of the entire innovation process. The franchisees are known as owner-operators who are a big part of the innovation chain. Keeping such diversified franchises and their thought processes altogether merged with the company objectives and essence is a big challenge which can not be controlled or centralized. The innovation process is decentralized making the owner-operators feel as much important in the company as those who are part of the core headquarters as well as encouraging them to create competitive advantages for the company. McDonalds seizes every opportunity it can to bring innovation and lead the industry. McDonalds success is also based upon its suppliers that are part of the three-legged stool. For McDonalds, the quality of its products is of absolute importance. It specifies highest standards for suppliers in the food industry. McDonalds focuses on developing close relationships with suppliers. At McDonalds, everything is done on an open accounting, handshake trust basis  (Times100, 2009). McDonalds works closely with the suppliers to develop and improve products and production techniques. This dependency is described as a three-legged stool principle, and involves McDonalds, the franchisees and the suppliers. The growth and success of t he McDonalds, in this way, is shared by the suppliers of the restaurant who are able to meet the quality standards (Times100, 2009). For McDonalds, the relationships between franchisor, franchisee and supplier are of paramount importance to the success of the innovation led business. The Process of Innovation and Creativity The owner operators are small business owners who have the entrepreneurial zeal in them and offer various ideas and creative insights that form success drivers for the company. Thus, they are involved in each of the innovation steps and processes. Each of the franchise of McDonalds is in itself a mini laboratory that has millions of potential ideas stored just waiting to be explored and the owner operators are the main source of their retrieval and practice. Sources of Ideas For McDonalds, following are the main sources of ideas. Consumers are the foremost innovation triggers. These include potential as well as existing ones. They are given great importance and attention to point to new directions. This attention takes the form of informally monitoring potential ideas and needs and formally arranging for consumers to have an opportunity to express their opinions (Bygrave, 2008). Existing products and services in the market are also continuously monitored or evaluated to uncover ways to improve the services. This results in innovative products and services that have more market appeal with better sales and profit potential. Owner-Operators, like mentioned above, are the biggest and most effective source of ideas for McDonalds as they offer insights of local appeals surrounding the franchises, which are then incorporated into new products and services. McDonalds introduction of Apple and Walnut salads is one such example of its catering to the local demands, which were communicated effectively by the owner operators. But there are also many demands, such as Shrimp salads that McDonalds cannot currently cater to, because of lack of resources. Federal Government is also a source of new product ideas in two ways. First, the files of the Patent Office contain numerous new product possibilities. Although the patents themselves may not be feasible, they can frequently suggest other more marketable product ideas. Second, new product ideas can come in response to government regulations (Drucker, 2008) Research and Development is yet another but large source of innovative ideas for McDonalds. McDonalds has its mini-laboratories in each of its franchises as well as large laboratories in its head-quarters in US which are continuously engaged in bringing in new product ideas and ingredients and recipes to win customer satisfaction. The Creative Process Although, creative ideas may appear to strike McDonalds as suddenly as a bolt of lightning but they are actually the result of the creative process, which involves the following steps: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Verification Implementation Preparation involves getting the mind ready for creative thinking. Preparation includes a formal education, on the job training, work experience and taking advantage of other learning opportunities. This training provides a foundation on which to build creativity and innovation. Investigation is where a solid understanding of the problem, situation or the decision at hand is developed. Transformation involves viewing similarities and differences in the information collected. This phase requires two types of thinking: convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is the ability to see the similarities and the connections among various data and events. Divergent thinking is the ability to see the differences among various data and events. The subconscious needs time to reflect on to the information collected, this is done during the incubation phase. Next comes the illumination phase, where a spontaneous breakthrough causes the light bulb to go on. McDonalds Innovation Council then verifies the ideas where it conducts experimentation to test the success potential in the idea generated. Implementation then follows where the idea is transformed to reality (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). Opportunity Recognition and Analysis A business opportunity represents a possibility for the entrepreneur to successfully fill a large enough unsatisfied need that enough sales and profits result. Recognition of an opportunity results from the knowledge and experience of the company and its employees. McDonalds makes effective use of its knowledge base and maintains proper records of its previous industry analysis to point to new directions and market niches to exploit profits out of. Each and every innovative opportunity is carefully assessed through an opportunity analysis plan. This opportunity analysis plan comprises of four sections: A description of the idea and its competition; An assessment of the domestic and international market of the idea; As assessment of the entrepreneur and the team; and A discussion of the steps needed to make the idea the basis for a viable business venture. Product Planning and Development Process Once ideas emerge from idea sources or creative problem solving, they need further development and evaluation. The product planning and development process at McDonalds is divided into five stages: The idea stage The concept stage Product development stage Test marketing stage commercialization Organizational Culture McDonalds has succeeded because it offers consumers, workers, and managers efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. This constitutes the McDonalds model of work practice and work design, known as McDonalization. McDonalds is a global capitalist organization that transforming the production, consumption and distribution of food more importantly everyday life. McDonalds employs Taylors and Fords methods in its assembly line production. Ritzer discerns four elements of Mcdonalization: Efficiency Calculability Predictability and Control (Haworth, n.d.) McDonalds offers efficiency, which is the optimum method for getting from one point to another. This means that McDonalds offers the best available way to get from being hungry to being full. For working people, quick and easy access to food is a blessing and McDonald offers just that through its efficient work practices. This fast-food model offers people an efficient method for satisfying many needs. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) To achieve this efficiency, workers in McDonaldized systems function efficiently. They are provided with training to work this way by managers, who supervise over them closely to make sure they come up to standards. This is ensured by organizational rules and regulations regarding production of highly efficient work. On the other hand, McDonalds also offers calculability, which is an emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products sold (portion size, cost) and service offered. Quantity has become equivalent to quality; that is something that must be good. The common customers perception of bigger is better, is very successfully satisfied with McDonalds Quarter Pounder, the Big Mac, and the large fries. People quantify these things and realize that they are getting a lot of food for quite less money. For consumers this is the best deal but for the food-food outlets this is the extraordinary profitability. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) Consumers also calculate the time it takes to drive to McDonalds, be served the food, eat it, and return home; and then, they compare that duration to the time required to prepare food at home. They believe that it takes them less time to get it from McDonalds than prepare the whole meal at home. This calculation obviously supports home-delivery franchises such as Mcdonalds, which emphasis on time saving. The McDonaldized institutions combine the emphases on time and money. Workers at McDonaldized systems emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their work. This causes the workers to focus more on the amount of work they do rather than how well they do it, at times. This is how McDonalds employs Frederick Taylors Scientific management work practices, that related the work directly with pay. (Daft, 1997) The third element of the McDonalization is that McDonalds offers predictability, the assurance that the products and services will be the same every time and in all outlets. For example, the Egg McMuffin in New York is identical to those in Chicago and Los Angeles. To be more precise, those eaten next week or next year will be identical to those eaten today. This provides a great comfort in knowing that McDonalds offers no surprises, its service is predictable. People know that the next Egg McMuffin they eat will taste about the same as the others they have eaten; it will be what is expected and in mind of the consumer. The success of the McDonalds model explains that many people have come to prefer a world in which there are few surprises, because unpredictability can be dangerous too (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) . Relating this to the work practices at McDonalds, the workers in McDonaldized systems also behave in predictable ways. They are confined by the corporate rules as well as the dictates of their managers. McDonalds offers extensive training to its employees, which is so standardized that whatever the employees say at customer touch points is scripted by the managers themselves. McDonalds has pioneered in the routinization of interactive service work (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). Fourthly, McDonalds practices control, especially through the substitution of nonhuman for human technology. A human technology is controlled by people; a nonhuman technology (controls people. The people who eat in fast-food restaurants are controlled through lines, limited menus, few options, and uncomfortable seats. All of these enable the customers to eat quickly and leave (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). The employees in McDonalds working under the McDonaldized organizations are also controlled to a high degree. They are provided trained to do a limited number of tasks in precisely the way they are ordered to do them. The technologies and the way the organization is set up reinforce this control. Managers and supervisors make sure that workers follow the line. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). How does McDonalds makes sure employees follow up to this control? It threatens them to replace them with technology. But employees cannot be controlled from fouling up the systems operation. The manager cannot control a slow worker, who can still make the preparation and delivery of a Big Mac inefficient and worker who refuses to follow the rules might leave the pickles or special sauce off a hamburger, thereby making for unpredictability. And then a distracted worker can put too few fries in the box, making an order of large fries seem skimpy. It is for these reasons, McDonalds has been obliged to steadily replace human beings with non-human technologies, such as the soft-drink dispenser that shuts itself off when the glass is full, the french-fry machine that rings and lifts itself out of the oil when the fries are crisp, the preprogrammed cash register that eliminates the need for the cashier to calculate prices and amounts, and, perhaps at some future time, the robot capable of making hamburgers. Such technologies increase the companys control over workers. And in this way McDonalds can assure customers that their employees and service will be consistent (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). Increasing Competitive Advantages Being an innovation leader in the food service industry, McDonalds does not let its creative heads fall asleep. It is always looking for new directions to improve its customer services to pave way for profitable business. Following are the ways in which McDonalds can sustain and increase its competitive advantage in the face of aggressive rivalry in the food service industry. Enhancing Organizational Creativity McDonalds can enhance its organizational creativity by: Embracing diversity one of the best ways to cultivate a culture of creativity is to hire a diverse workforce. When people solve problems or come up with ideas, they do so in the same framework of their experience. Hiring people from different backgrounds, cultural experiences, hobbies, and interests provides the company with crucial raw material needed for creativity. Expecting Creativity employees rend to rise- or fall- to the level of expectations of entrepreneurs have of them. One of the best ways to communicate the expectation of creativity is to give employees permission to be creative (Morris, 2009) Expecting and tolerating failure creative ideas will produce failures as wells as successes. People who never fail are not being creative. Creativity requires taking chances and managers must remove employees fear of failure. The surest way to quash creativity throughout an organization is to punish employees who try something new and fail. Encouraging curiosity McDonalds may keep its managers and employees asking the question what if and take a maybe we could attitude to break out of assumptions that limit creativity. Viewing Problems as Challenges every problem offers an opportunity for innovation. Entrepreneurs who allow employees to dump all of their problems to desk to be fixed do nothing to develop the creativity within those employees. Providing Creative Training almost everyone has the capacity to be creative, but developing creativity requires training. Training accomplished through books, seminars, workshops and professional meeting can help everyone learn to tap their creative capacity. Providing Support the higher level management of McDonalds should give employees the tools and resources they need to be creative. One of the most valuable resources is time. Rewarding creativity they can also encourage creativity by rewarding it when it occurs. Financial rewards can be effective motivation but non-monetary rewards such as praise, recognition, and celebration can be more powerful incentives. Modeling Creative Behavior creativity is caught as much as it is taught. Companies that excel at innovation find that the passion for creativity starts at the top. Entrepreneurs set examples of creative behavior, take chance and challenge the status quo will soon find their employees doing the same (Morris, 2009). Improving the Creative Process Teams of people working together usually can generate more and more creative idea. Three techniques McDonalds can use to improve the quality of creative ideas that follow from its Innovation Council: brainstorming, mind-mapping and rapid prototyping. Brainstorming is a process in which a small group of people interact with very little structure with the goal of producing a large quantity of novel and imaginative ideas. Another useful tool for jump-starting creativity is mind mapping, an extension of brainstorming. The strength of mind mapping is that it reflects the way the brain actually works. Rather than browsing out ideas in a linear fashion, the brain jumps from one idea to another. Generating creative ideas is a critical step in the process of taking an idea for a product or a service successfully to the market. However, entrepreneurs find that most of their ideas wont work and thats where rapid prototyping plays an important part in the creative process. The promise behind rapid prototyping is that transforming an idea into an actual model will point out flaws in the original idea and will lead to improvements in its design (Hisrich, 2009). Conclusion Dick and Mac were the ones who opened the first McDonalds restaurant in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, and at that time they could not have imagined the worldwide phenomial success that McDonalds now enjoys. What got them famous was their winning formula of selling a high quality product cheaply and quickly. The business really began to grow immensely once Ray Kroc, a Chicago based salesman, who was a marketing expert, joined the team (Watson, 2002). He decided to spread McDonalds formula throughout the United States and beyond. McDonalds now has more than 30,000 restaurants all over the world. Its serves 46 million customers everyday, that is equal to a lunch and dinner for every man, woman, and child in the world! McDonalds enjoys sales over $38bn from the entire world, which make it the biggest food service company internationally. McDonalds paradox of success lies with innovation and giving customer satisfaction the priority for its service offerings and operations. It keeps track of industry changes, anticipates consumer preferences and incorporates them into the product. Also, insights and communication with owner operators provides new product ideas and a highly effective and successful innovation process that is dealt by the McDonalds innovation council and together with the organizational culture of McDonalisation, it is practicing innovation in all aspects and providing innovation embedded services all around the world. But even a company like McDonalds has room for improvement, whereby it can enhance the creativity of its organization by infusing the culture of innovation more predominantly than before into each organizational level and improving the overall creative idea generating process. In the face of globalization, innovation offers a highly effective opportunity which companies like McDonald are making effective use of but it is more of a continuous process rather than a one-time thing.

Four Seasons Competitive Advantage

Four Seasons Competitive Advantage The firm creates value by performing a series of activities that Porter identified as the value chain. To achieve a competitive advantage, Four Seasons must perform more value creating activities in a way that creates more overall value than do competitors. Identify Four Seasons core competence Isadore Sharp was graduated architecture degree. This subject was including buildings, design modules and so on. It assisted Sharp in building and designing hotel more uniqueness, sharp and feature design etc. In technology development activities support the inbound logistics, Four Seasons was innovation constantly, such as Sharp build luxury hotel with then-modern amenities andprovide air conditioning service, Four Seasons also combination of a motel and a down town hotel result in success immediately. Four Seasons hotels design in such can meet with ergonomic to make more comfortable. These valuable activities enable Four Seasons to implement strategies that improve more efficiency. Four Seasons possess these unique capabilities in building and design the hotels. The talented person (Sharp) was not easy to imitated and no equivalent strategic capabilities. For that reason Four Seasons hotel has superior innovation capabilities for developing and exploiting innovation ideas. In its operations, Four Seasons hotel offered accommodation. Also, it satisfies different customers different demand such as offer workout options, spa etc. The support activities of firm infrastructure are support the Four Seasons sustainability develop and create valuable resources. Nevertheless these operations can be copied by other rivalry. Four Seasons in order to continue to refine exceptional quality. In its outbound logistics, the first one provided 24-hour room service. E.g. when the guest arrive the hotel and check in at night, receptionist will allocate the room to guest immediately as if serves to guest in a day. As this result, Four Seasons had been transferred their service to their customers. For human resource management, Four Seasons was strong focus on hiring superior employees their attitude in particular and trained them extensively in order to treat others to provide friendly services which enable the hotel on the island became number one. In its firm infrastructure, Four Seasons had a clear strategic direction, planning, market needs and understand the market position currently. E.g. focus on build small to medium sized hotels of exceptional quality. Four Seasons in order to offer excellent service, it hired employees of different working time group i.e. night shift employees, it make Four Seasons can support to open 24-hour room service. These support activities support the outbound logistics. By this means, it created a significant value contribution to success. Four Seasons offer exceptional service to provide 24-hour room service. The first hotel chain open 24-hour room service in North America enable outbound activities was very rarely. However it is not easy to sustain its competitive advantage. In its marketing and sales practice, Four Seasons sustained build luxury hotel until current possess operate 72 hotels in 31 countries and became a leading player in luxury hotel. The brand name spread over luxury hotel business worldwide, because Four Seasons acquired very much hotel quality recognition awards. As the result Four Seasons was a very well-known brand. In the eyes of the customers, Four Seasons just like luxury feelings. Moreover, Four Seasons specializing in hotel management. Four Seasons had laid down performance standard enable the staff provided comprehensive service to customer so that the hotel even more famous. In firm infrastructure support the Four Seasons to international expansion, F. S. George V gave an easy way to enter the Paris market help Four Season can signed a management agreement with HRH Prince, it enable Four Seasons own unique capabilities to international expansion. Four Seasons create a famous reputation throughout worldwide; it provided a real distinctiveness that rivals cannot match. Four Seasons hotel provided more convenience services to customers, such as overnight service, room service breakfast and so on. In its firm infrastructure and human resource management to support that can provide good customer service capabilities and better quality service relative to rivals. Four Seasons to enforce the corporate culture down to the front-line employees, encourage self-discipline and setting performance standard so as to provide excellent service. Four Seasons service able give the guests feel at home. These valuable and rare capabilities that are difficult to imitate or substitute can contribute to sustained competitive advantage. Weaknesses Four Seasons hotel had not focus on an independent procurement department; it may lead to cannot purchase the lowest price and highest quality for the activities of the company. Thereby, it may affect go down attractiveness and reputation. Also, Four Seasons suffer recession in the early 1990s, result in plummeting stock prices and big losses drove Sharp sold almost all the ownership. These reflect that Four Seasons weak finances, poor cash flow and only dependent on luxury hotel revenue. Clear Identification of Core Competencies Four Seasons has a superior innovation, famous reputation and unparalleled service of core capabilities. These core potencies can provide a particular benefit to customers. Core competencies cover an integration of skills, knowledge and technology. This combination can then leads to Four Seasons possess competitive advantage. 1b) Identification Of Generic Competitive Strategy Based On CCs Four Seasons sustain to pursuing differentiation strategy and increasing the value of a service offering in the eyes of customers. Four Seasons clearly differentiated by its core capabilities to charge a premium price. Four Seasons provides its guests with a wealth of amenities in prime downtown locations, richly designed rooms, elegant restaurants, room service and unparalleled service. Its guests pay a premium for this clearly differentiated product. Also, Four Seasons possess unique capabilities to expand international market and owned a very famous brand. These unique capabilities were superior to that available from most competitors. Four Seasons current marketing strategy is to target the luxury traveler and to target the growing affluent people in the markets and provide them of luxury travel and accommodation. Four Seasons initiating the transformation of the traditional hotel into a sort of dream home for guests. Although Four Seasons were possess core capabilities to charge a premium price. However, no competitive advantage is sustainable; everything can be duplicated, so Four Seasons pursuing differentiation persistently. A differentiation strategy will give the Four Seasons a competitive advantage so it can capture more consumer demand. 2 a) The challenges of entering French market The global marketplace provides many opportunities for a company to increase their profitability. However not all countries are attractive equally. In addition, one of the major concerns of companies competing in foreign markets is whether to customize their offerings in each different country market to match the tastes and preferences of local buyers. Pankaj Ghemawat introduces a CAGE framework which help the company to find out the issue of different dimensions of distance. Mason A. Carpenter (2009) states that Any international expansion strategy would still need to be backed up by the specific capabilities possessed by the Four Seasons hotel, regardless of how rosy the CAGE analysis paints the picture. Culture Distance Different countries have different local cultures and customs. Frenchs vogue taste sensitivity different culture from North American domestic market. For instance French expect world-class restaurant with floral arrangement, but North American Four Seasons restaurant normally understated and providing delicious food. In addition, Different languages also affect management communication problems. Gregory G. Dess (2007) states that different languages may have the same roots but different meanings or connotations.  [1]  These differences may influence the success of a strategic initiative. Administrative Distance Four Seasons against administrative distance of incompatible. i.e. Four Seasons lay down 800 rules, but some of the rules are incompatible in France, such as waiters leave the coffee pot so that they can refill their cups, this approach viewed as poor service. Besides, French laws are more demanding: more taxes, more protection for the employees and more legal constraints1. The provision of Four Seasons must retain former employees unless they wanted to leave in France, owing to the some former employees do not reach the Four Seasons hiring standard required that might impede the competitive position of Four Seasons. Besides, the French government is constantly making changes in polices affecting your business.  [2]   Four Seasons need hiring policies and service performance standards homogeneously between French and North American domestic market. Also, Four Seasons specialize in medium-sized hotels with French. Geographic Distance The challenges face to Four Seasons differs from Frenchs geographic distance. It includes the size of country, differences in climates, information networks, nature of transportation and time differences. Economic Distance Four Seasons need to face differs France economic conditions which affect luxury hotel significantly. France provides expand opportunities obviously, due to bulk demand luxury hotels, but enter into France market also need to aware of the stability of a country i.e. currency risks. Currency fluctuations can pose substantial risks. Four Seasons must constantly monitor the exchange rate between own and French currency, even a small change in the exchange rate can result in a significant different in the cost of hotel operation or net profit. Moreover, France economic condition also affect luxury hotel significantly. Fast-growth economies obviously provide opportunities, but also was aware of the stability of a country 2b) The culture gap of French and North American was totally different i.e. French against luxury restaurant taste. French expect that world-class restaurant should provide elegance amenities with floral arrangement, but North American Four Seasons restaurant normally understated and only providing delicious food. Also, French leave the coffee pot on the table for guests, so that they can refill their cups themselves, but this approach was viewed as poor service in France. As a result of different culture context, therefore Four Seasons must go to meet them in order to provide exceptional quality to reduce the cultural differences. Four Seasons also had to upgrade some of the more tangible amenities to meet the French standards of luxury. Understanding the basis of some culture differences may help people not to react personally to behavior they dont understand. This is shown that Four Seasons persistently pursuing exceptional quality of luxury hotel. It enabled Four Seasons still able t o keep its competitive advantages in French market. In addition, Different languages distance also affect management communication and service quality management. Four Seasons should adopt common language to avoid unnecessary mistake. Owing to Four Seasons expand to France where should adopt French language, it can avoid unnecessary wrong in language aspect. Also, the frontline staff must spoke fluency local language, it enable the guest feeling a tenderness service. Four Seasons should adapt the above of distance when it entered into the French market enable Four Seasons keep the competitive advantage of exceptional of service. Four Seasons against administrative distance of incompatible in France. A lot of law and regulation were protecting local. Besides, the French government is constantly making changes in polices affecting your business.  [3]  Also, France government provision protect its local employee, thus Four Seasons must retain of George former employees. However some foreign employers find French employees difficult to deal with and lacking in initiative. They tend not to relate well to others: the French are too individualistic. They dont always identify strongly with the company. One Austrian executive said, On occasion the French can be brutal and rude.  [4]  Result in Four Seasons need recruit mass employees provide train simultaneously to keep exceptional service and reputation. The challenges face to Four Seasons differs from Frenchs geographic distance, the Frances competition environment, market and the labor force problems, Four Seasons must clear understand 2c) Four Seasons was pursuing a multidomestic strategy. However, Finance and North American culture not the same, therefore culture differences may also require Four Seasons to adapt its local culture when it expands internationally such as service performance standard.. In North American, the guest valued time particularly and productivity. Thus phone calls will be answered before the fourth ring and no guest will wait longer than 60 seconds at the reception desk. Whereas French pursuing living standard such as required staff spent more time take care them. So Four Seasons need customize its services to meet the specific needs and preferences of local customers. Also, Four Seasons so as to meet local adapt French guest needs to enlarge rooms, from origin 300 to 245 rooms. It was able to detect potential opportunities for attractive niches in a given market, enhancing revenue. France governments regulated that required Four Seasons retaining a large number of former employees for new recruiting unless they wanted to leave result in Four Seasons need screen more than 10,000 applicants to recruit 400 position. Thus Four Seasons must localization to meet local specific needs. In order to make Four Seasons more localization, Four Seasons choose Didier Le Calvez as a Frances general manager. In doing so Four Seasons can decentralized strategic business units in France with considerable strategic autonomy and focuses on the specific competitive forces with France.

Comparing the Heroes in The Dream of the Rood and Beowulf Essay

The  Heroes in The Dream of the Rood and Beowulf  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Dream of the Rood, the poet has added elements of the idealized heroic death (as exemplified in Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon) to the crucifixion. He has also eliminated details of the story that tend to render Christ as a figure of pathos, in order to further Christ's identification with the other glorious warriors Anglo-Saxon poems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When a hero meets his death, for example, he is usually surrounded by faithful retainers (as is Byrhtnoth) or at least one steadfast companion, such as Beowulf's Wiglaf. The gospel clearly states that Jesus died ignobly, in the most humiliating fashion possible, and that his disciples kept themselves from Golgotha in order not to be implicated alongside him. The crowd mocked Christ with fake veneration. The poet must realize, however, that his audience will not accept a Lord who did not die a radiant death, and was not universally lamented. He says instead that "all creation wept, bewailed the king's death -- Christ was on the cross." After Jesus is taken down, the poet asserts that a grave was carved for him "of bright stone", and that the soldiers sung a dirge for him in the eventide. Men came "from afar, hastening to the prince." [165] The rood extols upon Christ's shining beauty as he died. Very noble, but there's little biblical suppo rt for this account. Also rooted in the heroic tradition is the subsequent gold-plating and raising of the cross. Just as Beowulf asked that a "bright mound" be erected in his honor, and the gold in the dragon's cave becomes as a monument to him, so do the disciples unearth and gild the rood. The idea of God himself lacking a proper gold-drenched headstone was unthin... ...e most such works, it tries to convince heathens to convert by co-opting the extant value system. Christ emerges as a powerful king who will stoically suffer for us, and reward us, for the price of our piety. Sources Cited and Consulted Heaney, Seamus, trans. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Mitchell, Bruce and Fred C. Robinson (eds.). "The Dream of the Rood: or A Vision of the Cross." A Guide to Old English, 6E. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. 256-263. O'Keeffe, Katherine O'Brien. "Heroic values and Christian ethics." The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. Ed. Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 107-125. Wheelock, Jeremy I. "The Word Made Flesh: 'Engel Dryhtnes' in The Dream of the Rood." English Language Notes. March 2000, Vol. 37 Issue 3: 1.

needs :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Southerland 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CPR  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There may come a time in your life when a person you know and love will have some type of medical emergency during which they will need help to survive. Whether something gets stuck in the airway or the heart stops beating, lost minutes can be fatal. The best way to be prepared for something like this is to know how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you have a baby under a year old that seems to be struggling for air and might even have started to turn blue, what would you do? If you knew CPR, you could very possibly save a life. First, you will need to assess the situation. Look, listen, and feel for breathing. If the baby is not breathing but is moving its arms and legs, lay the baby face down in your lap toward your feet. Be sure to support the baby’s head, and make sure the head is lower than its body. Perform five back blows between the baby’s shoulder blades. This should dislodge anything that is stuck in its airway. Now, turn the baby over and preform five chest thrusts, by placing your third and fourth fingers a half inch below the nipples in the center of the chest and making compressions a half-inch deep. Next, look into the baby’s mouth for any foreign object. If you see anything in the baby’s mouth, stick your finger into the baby’s mouth to remove the foreign object. If you don’t see an object, then repeat the process. If the baby becomes unconscious, then call 911. Try to stay calm because if you lose control, you won’t be able to help. Now, if the baby is not breathing or moving, you will need to gently tap him/her on the shoulder and shout. If there is no response, you will need to begin infant CPR. To do this, you will need to place the baby on its back. Tilt the head back slightly to open the airway. Make sure you don’t tilt the head too far, or you could hurt the neck. If the baby is still not breathing, cover his/her mouth and nose with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Southerland 2 your mouth and give two small puffs of breath. Each breath should be one and a half to two seconds long. You should see the baby’s chest rise with each breath. Next, position your third and fourth fingers in the center of the baby’s chest half an inch below the nipples, and give five gentle chest compressions at the rate of 100 compressions per minute.

Nutritional Health Essay

Explaining the terms: food, diet, meals and snacks, nutrients Food: Food is a nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink in order to carry on life and growth. Food has been categorised as carbohydrates, including fibre, protein, fat and vitamins and minerals. Food allows us to keep on living. For example bread contains carbohydrate, meat contains protein, milk contains fat but it depends what milk you take, fruit and vegetables both contain vitamin and minerals. Examples of non food are tea, it has no nutritional value. Diet: Diet means the different food types that have been eaten regularly by a person. It doesn’t always mean losing weight. A diet means everything a person has eaten throughout the day. In the UK people might eat 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can also have special diets such as losing weight which means you are reducing your fat on your body. Being more careful with sugar because you are diabetic or because you are anaemic you will need to eat food with iron such as red meat and green vegetables. Meals and snacks: A snack is a portion of food which is smaller than a meal. Snacks are eaten between meals. Snacks designed to be small, quick and enjoyable. For example you have snack and jacks it doesn’t contain fat or fruits such as bananas or apples. You eat a meal 3 times a day which are breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is reasonable amount of food in a day. Nutrients: The process by which people take in food and use it for growth and repair. Examples of nutrients are: protein which you can find in fish, fat which you can find in milk, carbohydrate which you can find in bread or pasta and minerals which you can find in spinach. Malnourished and undernourished: Malnutrition is a serious condition that comes when a person’s diet does not have enough nutrients to meet the expectations of their body. This can affect the growth, your physical health, mood and behaviour. Being malnourished does not always mean that you’re thin or underweight. It is possible to eat a diet which contains high calories but a few vitamins and minerals. This means that you can become malnourished when you are obese or overweight. Symptoms of being malnourished are: Lack of strengths or energy to do activities Lack of energy and breathlessness because of anaemia Changes of your skin and nails Mood changes An increase of illnesses or infections Undernourished is a lack of calories or nutrients from eating not enough food or unable to break down nutrients from the diet because of medical condition such as Marasmus and Kwashiorkor. Marasmus means having problems with: Growing A huge amount of weight loss Muscle wasting Diarrhoea Irritability Kwashiorkor means having problems with: Bad growing Muscle wasting A long time of diarrhoea and infections Deterioration of hair, skin and nails A swollen liver and abdomen Swelling of the face, hands and feet The most common symptoms of being malnourished is unplanned weight loss. If your BMI is lower than 18.5 or you experience the symptoms you will need to contact your GP. To calculate your BMI you can use a chart or you can calculate it like this BMI = weight (kg) height (cm) BMI CHART Young children are taken to the health care centre at least once a week to look at their weight and height. They are looking if the baby is gaining weight in a healthy way or gaining weight too fast and also to check if the baby is growing. The babies are going to be compared to other babies of their age to see if their weight and height is normal. They mostly use growth charts too at the weight and height. GROWTH CHART They also look at someone’s gender and height to see what their weight has to be. For female the weight looking is different than that of a male because a male is builder than a female and also a man needs to take 2500 calories as to which a female has to take 2000 calories a day. Male Female To prevent yourself from getting malnourished and undernourished you will need to have a good diet which has enough vitamins, minerals, fat and carbohydrate. To make sure you take enough and healthy food you can use the eat well plate which shows varieties of food we need to eat and what proportion we should eat it, to have a good and balanced diet. You can also use the five-a-day which means eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. This makes sure you get all the right things your body needs. You can eat sweet things because your body needs fat but you will need to take a small amount. Here are some easy and healthy recipes to give some ideas. A recipe for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks: Breakfast an avocado on toast: INGREDIENTS 2 avocados 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Juice of 1 lime A little splash of Worcestershire sauce 4 slices of sour dough/rye bread Salt and pepper Small bunch of basil, roughly chopped 2 sweet tomatoes, roughly chopped METHOD How to make simple avocado on toast breakfast 1. Mash the avocado with a fork to a rough puree, adding the olive oil, lime juice, and Worcestershire sauce as you go. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 2. Toast the bread, drizzle a little olive oil over each piece then spread over the avocados. Sprinkle with basil and the diced tomatoes. Lunch Italian turkey club sandwich: INGREDIENTS 2 tbsp olive oil 4 turkey breast steaks 3 tbsp fresh red or green pesto 200g carton half-fat crà ¨me fraà ®che 1 baguette, cut into 4 pieces 4 ripe, plum tomatoes, sliced Small bag baby leaf salad METHOD How to make Italian turkey club sandwich 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a griddle pan. Season the turkey and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, turning, until lightly charred and cooked through. Set aside. 2. Meanwhile, lightly mix the pesto into the crà ¨me fraà ®che and season to taste. Split each baguette piece in half lengthways, to give 8 halves. Brush the cut-side with the remaining oil, then griddle or toast under a hot grill in batches until golden. 3. Assemble the sandwiches. Spread a little pesto and crà ¨me fraà ®che sauce on 4 baguette halves, then top with sliced tomatoes. Top with a turkey breast, add a handful of salad leaves and another spoonful of the pesto and crà ¨me fraà ®che sauce. Top each sandwich and serve. Dinner chicken pasta soup: INGREDIENTS 5–6 chicken thighs 1 large white onion, sliced 1 tbsp olive oil 4 medium carrots, chopped into small dice 6–8 closed cup mushrooms, quartered  ½ red pepper, seeds removed and chopped into small dice 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes 600ml chicken stock 175ml white wine 100g frozen sweet corn (use tinned if you cannot find any frozen) Salt and freshly ground black pepper 150g pasta shells Handful of fresh coriander, chopped Method 1. Preheat the oven at 190ÚC/gas mark 5. Place the chicken thighs on a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 30–40 minutes, until cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cooled, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones before cutting the meat into pieces. 2. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions and fry for a minute or two before adding the carrots. Cook until the carrots and onions start to soften, about 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and red pepper. Mix thoroughly and continue to cook until the mushrooms have shrunk in size and begin to brown. 3. Next, add the can of tomatoes, chicken stock, wine, sweet corn and chicken pieces and season well with salt and pepper. Leave to simmer on a low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes. 4. Add the pasta to the soup and leave to simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked, stirring occasionally to avoid the pasta sticking to the pan. Once ready, remove from the heat and set aside for half an hour, covered, to allow the flavours to infuse. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the soup, pour into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh coriander. Snacks: You can have snacks such as: Banana Apple Cookie Snack and jack Overweight and obese: Overweight means that you’re BMI is 25 or over 25. If you are overweight you will have a great risk of getting: Arthritis Type 2 diabetes High blood pressure. When people talk about being overweight they mean that the person is not eating enough healthy or they could eat healthy food but they will eat a big portion. It will not only affect somebody health but their self esteem as well. They won’t be able to do activities when people of their same age can do all the things they won’t and wear the clothes they want to wear. Obesity means that your BMI is 30 or over 30. Being obese increases your risk of getting serious and life-threatening diseases such as: Type 2 diabetes Heart disease Some types of cancer, such as breast cancer and colon cancer stroke Obesity can affect your life in a serious way than being overweight it could damage the way life and it often leads to depression. There are simple ways for you can see if you are obese or overweight, for example you could go to the GP or to a dietician, they are able to give you advice at how you could live a healthier life. You could also use a BMI chart or you could look at the weight for height and gender. Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) is something that also could be use to see what you are recommended to take in. The DRVs shows you what your daily intakes should be, they have made charts to show you what you should take in. The charts are: Chart made for age and gender Chart made for ageïÆ'   Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNTs) is part of the DRVs which shows the amount of nutrients each individual is recommended to take in to maintain good health. If you look at the backside of the product it shows you how much nutrients you take in per portion and per 100 g of food. It can help you see if you eat too much. You could also look at your actual food intake which means that you are looking what you eat everyday and compare it to you should have been eating every day. What I would recommended for people who are overweight or obese is to look at the portion of what you eat. Go to your GP or dietist they are able to help you make a diary of you should eat every day. Also eat things of the food groups which are: If you eat at least one of the things in each food group you will be able to stay healthy. Examples of using the different types of the food group are: In the morning drinking milk with bread and peanut butter For lunch eating a fruit salad For dinner eating vegetables with pasta and fish. Also using the right food preparations and processing methods will also make a huge difference in your diet. Example of good preparations and processing methods is using fresh food. If you buy fresh it means that the vitamins and minerals are still in the food but if you buy old food it could be that the vitamins and minerals already left the food. Good ways of cooking your food is grilling and steaming it makes sure that every vitamin and mineral stays in the food. Make sure that there are varieties of colours on your plate which will make it more interesting for you to eat. Eat small portions which will make sure that you ate enough. Use small plates which will make it look like you are eating a lot. Not only eating healthy food is a good thing for you to stay healthy but also doing exercise every day for at least 30 minutes. 30 minutes a day exercise is enough. A few examples of exercises you can do at home are: You can also go to the gym and get a personal trainer who will help you do the right exercise every day. Eating healthy food and doing exercise will make your body stay fit.

Marketing Audits and Its Importance to an Organisation

Marketing Audits and its importance to an organisation As of I am starting to write this essay, an historic and astonishing incident happened in US—Standard & Poors first time downgraded American Federal Bonds form AAA to AA+. Look at the messed up world economic picture–US is suffering from recession without any better signs, Europe is struggling with debt crisis, only growth engine China is also slowing down. We are facing the greatest uncertainty ever experienced before, as for economic society, walking away from this desperate situation needs to review history and find appropriate tools, from an organisation’s point of view, one of the effective tools is to seek for effective and regular marketing audits to cope with rapidly changing economic environment. Definition and Purposes of Marketing Audit The concept of marketing audit dated back to 1950s and evolved through application phase of 1960s, turbulent 1970s, growing period of 1980s and 1990s until now. The followings are several definitions of marketing audits: A comprehensive examination of an organisation’s marketing structure, programs and performance†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Peter Rix, Marketing-a practical approach â€Å"Systematic, critical, rigorous and unbiased study of efficiency of all marketing activities within an organisation extending to evaluation of each and every functional objective and their effective coordina tion†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Brian Monger, Marketing in black white â€Å"A periodic, comprehensive, systematic, and independent examination of the organisation’s marketing environment, internal marketing system and specific marketing activities†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Philip Kotler The purposes of marketing audit are to find marketing opportunities, locate marketing issues, seek right short term and long term solution, which ensure the implementation of marketing plans or the revision of unreasonable plans to improve an organisation’s overall marketing performance. Components of the Marketing Audit An effective and rounded marketing audit covers six components: 1/ Marketing Environment Audit Through auditing marketing environment in which it operates, an organisation could find if its marketing strategy is adapt to the marketing environment, and if any changes needed. The marketing environment consists of two subclasses, one is the macro environment which includes political/legal, economic, social/cultural and technological, and another one is industry and competitive environment. In short, PEST+C. 2/ Marketing Strategy Audit It mainly examine whether or not an organisation’s goals and objectives reflect market orientation, if the organisation takes right competition position, seizes market opportunities and allocates appropriate resources. 3/ Marketing Organisation Audit The marketing auditor needs to consider the decision-making ability of marketing organisation, as well as its ability of analysis, planning and execution. Other factors include its strain capacity to market, and its interaction with other function departments. 4/ Marketing Systems Audit It focuses on whether or not an organisation has well-established and effective systems for information gathering, planning and control. All these systems can be classified as internal systems, external systems, vertical and horizontal marketing systems. A vertical marketing system (VMS) is one in which the main members of a distribution channel—producer, wholesaler, and retailer—work together as a unified group in order to meet consumer needs. A horizontal marketing systems(HMS) means in which members at the same level in a channel of distribution band together in strategic alliances or joint ventures to exploit a new marketing opportunity. 5/ Marketing Productivity Audit A marketing organisation needs analyses on profits, cost-benefit, the audit covers performance examinations on sale-profit rates, costs of marketing, collection and inventory, etc. It also examines if there exists excessive cost expenditure and corresponding solutions on cost reduction. 6/ Marketing Function Audit Marketing function audit targets on marketing elements such as products, prices, places and promotions, as well as performance evaluation on marketing organisation, it consists of overall audit, sales audit, market investigation audit, and advertising audit. The auditors, through marketing function audit, may spot issues within marketing management and make relevant recommendations. Main Characteristics of the Marketing Audit Marketing Audit is a process of comprehensive, systematic and independent analysis and assessment of company's marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities to identify problem areas and operational strengths and weaknesses and recommends the courses of action to be taken to improve company's overall marketing performance and make marketing strategies and plan more effective and result oriented. The main characteristics can be summarised as the followings, 1/ It should be comprehensive and broad in focus covering the entire marketing environment of the company. / It should be an objective exercise and independent of the managers directly involved in making the marketing decisions. 3/ It should be a systematic and orderly sequence of diagnostic steps as compared to an unstructured and random investigation. 4/ It should be carried out periodically. The marketing audit should be undertaken on a regular basis and not only when major problems arise. Main elements to be incl uded in a marketing audit The key elements of a marketing audit are: 1/ Marketing Mix For products it includes Product, Price, Place-distribution and Promotion For services it includes Product, Price, Place-distribution, Promotion, People, Processes and Physical Environment 2/ Product Life Cycle [pic] 3/ Competitive Advantage A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices. 4/ Internal and external assessment – SWOT – PEST The Marketing Audit Process and Participants likely to be involved The marketing audit process proceeds with the following steps, Firstly, setting up the audit objectives and scope, preparing relevant documentation, deciding time period for the audit. Secondly, gathering the data, conducting interviews and inquiries. Finally, preparing the audit report, presenting conclusions and providing relevant solutions. Bearing in mind, ‘the most valuable part if the marketing audit often lies not so much in the auditor’s specific recommendations but in the process that managers begin to go through to assimilate, debate, and develop their own concept of the needed marketing action. —The Marketing Audit Comes of Age by Philip Kotler, William T. Gregor and William H. Rodgers III The participants likely to be involved cover all stakeholders including management levels, ordinary staff, suppliers, dealers, customers even shareholders and communities the organisation located in. Who of these stakeholders and to what extent get involved in the aud it depend on the organisation’s specific requirements. Times when a marketing audit should be undertaken The marketing audits could be undertaken on conventional and unconventional bases, which means on one hand an organisation needs to conduct regular and periodic audit and examine whether or not it and its each function unit achieve setting goals and objectives, if any changes needed to its strategy, on the other hand, if an organisation’s internal departments or independent units are performing poorly, it should carry a thorough marketing audit to help them find reasons and improvement methods. Various forms of a marketing audit The marketing audit must be carried independently by an inside audit, onducted by a person or group inside the company but outside the operation being evaluated, or an outside audit conducted by a management consulting firm or practitioner. Why they are considered to be one of the most practical and profitable tools available to a marketer. The marketing audits cover all major marketing areas of a business, not just a few trouble spots. It assesses the marketing environment, marketing strategy, the marketing organisation, marketing systems, the marketing mix and marketing productivity and profitability. The audit is normally conducted by an objective and experienced outside party who is independent of the marketing department. The finding can come as a surprise, and sometimes as a shock, to management. Management then decides which actions make sense and how and when to implement them. The marketing audits prompt to make marketing strategy and plan properly, are beneficial for matching a business’ internal resources with external resources, realise better and profitable operating results.