MSU Application Essay

High school times were tough years I have surpassed as I am about to enter a new level of my education, College. I always dream to be in a high standard University where I know, can polish much my knowledge, not only give me knowledge in my chosen field but also to inculcate in my being the attitudes and ideals every person needs to succeed in every endeavor they undertake. I am from Indonesia; I want to study in Michigan State University for I know it can meet my educational needs and help me to achieve more in my life. Not all of the students are given such great opportunity to be part of this University. Being a student of MSU is just like one step away from the green pastures, a place where success are easily within my reach if I will just strive hard to achieve it. As an international applicant as I am from Indonesia, I believe I could greatly contribute much to the cultural life of Michigan State University, in the manner that I can share to other students the values, beliefs, traditions of my country. Even if I am already in a foreign land, I could still preserve my culture and not just totally forget about it. I will be very proud to share, to cultivate more the values my home land has implanted in my being. I will show to them how an Indonesian respects other people, the elders, the beliefs and traditions of other denominations, religious groups and how to treat those who other people thought does not deserve any respect at all. As an Indonesian, I was brought up to be an educated individual. Way back in Indonesia, I always see to it that I never hurt or break our families’ rules, even our schools’ rules and policies. For me, breaking a law that you know is bound to any punishment is negligence and is not showing any responsible attitude reflected by the upbringing of one’s family. I also have been to many trials as a student but this does not stopped me from dreaming more. I dream to be a successful individual, and a better person whom people sees as an epitome of diligence, courage, love, justice and integrity. Diligence in what I am doing, I see to it that I give my all and not just mediocrity, letting the people know that even I am from a foreign country I can still manage to excel; Courage, having the courage and strength to persevere amidst all trials and difficulties that an ordinary and weak spirit will almost surrender; love, having the passion in doing things related to my chosen endeavor, like in my studies and other school projects and not thinking of the hindrances; Justice and Integrity are those essential ingredients of becoming a great student, not just an ordinary student applicant from Indonesia, but an Outstanding and Exemplary student from Indonesia, who dreams and is working in that dream to become into reality. Not minding the boundaries, thousands of kilometers, miles, several oceans to cross; but the dream of having a great and successful future in Michigan State University. I know that I can be of great influence to other students, to individuals in the community that sometimes thought that one can never do great big things. I will show to them that I may not be perfect in terms of physical attributes, intellectually but I know that I am real and I will strive hard, be willing and be always determined to persevere. Just fight, fight, fight. For I know I am going to reap my reward if I will just stay strong and not frail and not lose hope. I firmly believed that on my way to my success in the future are my family, friends and colleagues support towards me. Their undying love, support and faith in me keeps me going on.

“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” Rhetorical Analysis Essay Essay

â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† is an essay by Mary Wollstonecraft, written to urge women to ascend above their traditional gender roles in society through the utilization of education. Education is a right, not a privilege because it allows people to contribute to society and that is why Wollstonecraft stresses the importance of its existence in a woman’s life as a tool for higher purpose and societal progression. Her ideologies – combined with rising support behind the emerging feminist movement – were relevant and consequently impacted the lives of whoever encountered her writings. Through this passage, Wollstonecraft utilizes antithesis, rhetorical questions, and analogies to redefine â€Å"attractiveness† by emphasizing the importance of higher intellect rather than physical beauty. Through antithesis, Wollstonecraft is able to highlight the strong contrast between a woman’s role in society with and without education. While women â€Å"have been stripped of the virtues that should clothe humanity, they have been decked with artificial graces that enable them to exercise a short-lived tyranny† (lines 205-207). The artificial graces are symbolic of the traditional â€Å"education† society has forced upon women. Educating women solely on home making skills and how to be a good wife essentially deprives them of their natural rights to an academic based education and instead fills them with skills that only serve to strengthen gender roles. Wollstonecraft emphasizes the â€Å"art of pleasing †¦ [to only be] useful to a mistress; the chaste wife and serious mother should only consider her power to please as the polish of her virtues and the affection of her husband as one of the comforts that render her talk less difficult and her life happi er† (line 133-136). Education at that point in time only served to prevent women from fulfilling their full potential and weakened their worth in society. The general public associated learning with masculinity and consequently refused to recognize the role a rudimentary academic education would play in helping a woman excel as a wife and a mother. Through the lack of education offered to women in society, their promise was hindered and they were forced to follow the straight and narrow paths set forth by society. Wollstonecraft utilizes analogies to illustrate the temporal existence and futility of physical beauty. Women â€Å"just like the flowers †¦planted in too rich a soil †¦after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk† (line 15-17). Although society places immense value on beauty, it does not last forever, and as a result, once female appeal fades, so does their functionality in civilization. This lack of long lasting purpose and sense of usefulness comes from an inadequate system of education for women which only focuses on superficial aspects that will only keep them feeling fulfilled for a short period of time. A woman whose sole purpose is â€Å"to please will soon find that her charms are oblique sunbeams and that they cannot have much effect on her husband’s heart when they are seen every day† (line 113-115). Through this analogy, Wollstonecraft denotes the momentary existence of physical beauty and its diminishing effect on a man who is witness to it on a daily basis. Constant objectification of feminine existence forced women themselves to denigrate their self worth down to their physical appearance and once again, conforming to demands set forth by their misogynistic environment. Since a woman’s physical appearance is temporary, their worth in a traditional and patriarchal society is also just as temporary. Rhetorical questions were employed throughout the work to emphasize the frustration and disbelief Wollstonecraft had towards that lack of importance placed on educating women. Women were encouraged to hold their tongues and swallow their emotions, forcing most of them to question â€Å"why should not one woman acknowledge that she can take more exercise than another† (line 146-148)? Even after many years of progression and liberation in different aspects of life, the emancipation of women from the control of men was not an issue in anyone’s mind. Men literally controlled every aspect of a woman’s life during that time period and consequently forced them to turn their backs on common sense and truth in order to avoid making immodest gestures by saying what they felt. â€Å"To gain the affections of a virtuous man† affectation was seen as a necessity (line 162). Women accepted these kinds of degrading societal expectations because they were dependent on the men in their lives. In Wollstonecraft’s eyes it was outrageous that women did not understand that their lack of education kept them vulnerable and  that society itself did not understand that educating women would only lead to improvement rather than hindrance. Wollstonecraft’s outrage towards the matter was obviously justified because even after all the progress she made in the name of feminism, women around the world are still being denied an education on a daily basis. Through the use of antithesis, analogies, and rhetorical questions, Wollstonecraft was able to encourage women to question societal constraints that limited their contribution to the communities they were a part of. â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† was written to highlight the prominence of gender roles and the negative impact it was having on society. Her work urged people to recognize that restricting a woman’s role in society by claiming that academic ventures were too â€Å"masculine† would ultimately be detrimental and counterproductive.

An Outpost of Progress Infobox

Notes for the Teachers One Language – Many Voices Joseph Conrad: An Outpost of Progress INfO-BOx Cultural and historical background The colonization of Central Africa did not set in until the very end of the 19th century, when ‘the scramble for Africa’ – the race of European powers to divide the continent among themselves – got under way: In 1870 European countries owned only 10% of Africa, by 1900 it was 90%. For a long time access to the huge territories in the Congo River basin was considered impossible due to the impenetrable forests and the impassable rapids of the river itself, which served as a barrier to European exploitation.The adventurer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley gained the interest and support of the Belgian King Leopold II for his expeditions into the Congo basin ‘to prove that the Congo natives were susceptible of civilization and that the Congo basin was rich enough to repay exploitation’. In the name of Leopold II he appropriated land and labour for the king’s newly founded ‘Association Internationale du Congo’. Leopold’s claim to the Congo was recognized at the International Africa Conference in Berlin in 1884–1885, presided over by Bismarck. The Congo Free State, as it was ironically called, was confirmed as the private property of King Leopold II in return for guarantees of neutrality, free trade and opposition to slavery. The Congo Free State, 1900 next to nothing, apart from small amounts of cloth, beads or brass rods. The rubber boom started in the mid-1890s due to the increasing industrial demand from Europe. While the rubber trade made a fortune for Leopold II, it led to the extreme brutalization of the local population. Under Leopold’s ownership approximately 10 million Congolese died as a consequence of exploitation and disease.To enforce the rubber quotas, the Force Publique (FP) was called in. The FP was an army, but its aim was not to defend the country, but to terrorize the population, which it did by cutting off the limbs of the natives; this practice was disturbingly widespread. When news of these atrocities reached Europe, there was a public outcry; the British parliament asked Roger Casement to make an inquiry into the situation in the country. The result of his enquiry was the famous Congo Report (1904). Casement had been a British diplomat in the Congo, where he met Conrad and whose Heart of Darkness (1899) had deeply influenced him.In 1903 Conrad wrote to Casement saying, ‘there exists in Africa a Congo State, created by the act of European powers, where ruthless, systematic cruelty towards the blacks is the basis of the administration’. Conrad’s novel also contributed to a widespread knowledge of the colonial abuses and crimes taking place in Africa. In 1908 Leopold II was forced to sell the Congo Free State to the Belgian government, which annexed it as a Belgian colony until its independence in 1960, when it was named Zaire. Its history since then has not been much happier. Following the secessionist Katanga CivilWar, the country was brutalized under the dictatorship of President Mobutu. In 1997, when Mobutu was overthrown by the rebel leader Laurent Kabila, the country was renamed The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Torn between ethnic strife and civil wars, involving refugees from Rwanda and Burundi and displacements from Sudan, the country is still unstable. Biographical aspects Ivory and rubber were the main sources of income for King Leopold’s company and its agents: they and their African auxiliaries seized all the ivory that could be found, buying tusks from villages for a pittance, or simply confiscating them.They were working on a lucrative commission structure imposed by the King in 1890, of which the African elephant hunters received 26 As captain of a steamship, Joseph Conrad travelled up the Congo River to Central Africa and the heart of the Congo in 1890, and then went on an overland track to Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). As we kn ow from his diaries and letters, which he wrote in English, he was deeply concerned with the greed of Belgian (and other European) merchants, the abuses of colonial powers and atrocities committed by white managers and their black auxiliaries, always in the name of a missionary and rogressive spirit to ‘enlighten the dark continent’. But he also met with what he thought to be cannibalism, and was confused Notes for the Teachers by the natives’ drums and ‘wild savagery’. His decision to resign from his post as captain was as much caused by his ill health as by his desire to become a writer. It has been said that ‘Africa killed Conrad the sailor and strengthened Conrad the writer’1 In his extensive writings (over 40 works of fiction of various length) the themes of travel and the pursuit of material and idealistic goals as well as isolation, ambition and failure can be said to be drawn from his own experiences.Conrad: An Outpost of Progress His deep-rooted scepticism of imperialism can be linked to his Polish background: born into a nation which had vanished from the map after being annexed by Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1795, and into a family which had opposed Russian oppression and been exiled to Ukraine, Conrad had good reason to question the right of stronger powers to impose their wills on smaller nations. 1 Jean-Aubry, Georges. Joseph Conrad in the Congo. New York: Haskell, 1973. Interpretation Summary Kayerts and Carlier are p ut in charge of a remote and unpromising trading station on a river.

Understanding Customers and Competitors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Understanding Customers and Competitors - Essay Example Understanding Customers and Competitors At the same time every company has its customers with limited budgets. They are free to choose to purchase from a company or other then that company who offer the same goods and services and at the same time competitor of the first company. Customers also free purchase totally different substitute goods and services by means of their limited funds. Companies those offer similar goods and services are the direct competitors of each other. Thus it is most important to understanding the Customers and Competitors A company's marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing management's ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target customers. The marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats. Successful companies know the vital importance of constantly watching and adapting to the changing environment. Treacy, M. & Wiersema, F. (1993) mentioned that marketers take the major responsibility for identifying significant changes in the environment. More than any other group in the company, marketers must be the trend trackers and opportunity seekers. Although every manager in an organisation needs to observe the outside environment marketing it, marketers have two special aptitudes. They have disciplined methods-marketing intelligence and marketing research- for collecting information about the marketing environment. They also spend time in the customer and competitor environment. By conducting systematic environmental scanning, marketers are able to revise and adapt marketing strategies to meet new challenges and opportunities in the marketplace. Evans, J. R., & Berman, B. (1990) has stated the marketing environment is made up of a microenvironment and a microenvironments. The microenvironment consists of the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers- the company, suppliers, marketing channel firms, customer markets, competitors, and publics. The macroenvironvent consists of the larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment- demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. (2006) argued that marketing environment is made up of five microenvironmental and six macroenvironmental components. The microenvironment consists of other actors close to the company that combine to form the company's value delivery system or which affect its ability to serve its customers. The first microenmental component is the company's internal environment- its several departments and management levels- as it influences marketing decision making. The second component

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 16

Case Study Example 4. Competitors focus on low-price broadband and phone services has been the main competitive advantage of BT’s competitors such as TalkTalk. Low cost broadband and phone service providers such as TalkTalk is a potent threat to BT’s market position that in March of 2010, TalkTalk announced a  £115 million profit before tax while BT suffered a loss for months. Being a first mover does not ensure an edge in the local market because subscribers will readily switch to low cost providers. 5. Price and technology is always a challenge for BT in international market. Low cost broadband providers and technologically advanced broadband providers put pressure on BT in local and international markets that makes it less competitive and/or erodes its market share. Being a first mover nor its size does not ensure its dominance in international market because there are also numerous players who could provide the same service (and even better) at a price that is lower than

Project paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Project - Research Paper Example External requirements for funding persist to cause susceptibility of the financial system. Self-confidence in the financial system amongst overseas stakeholders remains huge, which implies a BOP deficit is improbable. Payment threats among the banking industry are anticipated to become unimportant, while financial support problems as well as exchange exposure is preventing Turkish companies’ creditworthiness (Duman, 2011). This paper is going to do a risk assessment of Turkey, carry out a budget analysis and finally draw a proposal that will be submitted to the  state executives of the host nation. The political climates of Turkey have in history been a cause of fiscal and social nervousness in the state. Armed forces coups with feeble coalition regimes have added to reckless financial guiding principles which have resulted in great inflation along with sharp rise and falls between recoveries and recessions in the financial structure (Duman, 2011). The voting during 2002 was a defining moment with the success of the fair Islamic people and publicly conventional AK lobby group. Electoral achievement offered the State an authorization to execute numerous essential political as well as financial restructurings that have brought the nation near to the European Union. Temporarily, Turkish nation plays a gradually more distinct political function in the Asia continent as well as N. Africa (Duman, 2011). There has been tension involving the AK group as well as secular in addition to armed forces divisions since the ballot vote of 2002. Numerous contentious trials in opposition to the armed forces, company executives, reporters and inhabitants signify divisions inside Turkish culture and have resulted in the sovereignty of the lawful structure into question. In the side of Turkeys history, better resident control against the forces is intensifying the state’s political

Assignment 3 Buyers Behavior Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

3 Buyers Behavior - Assignment Example Marketing, understanding the customers would help an organization to develop and distribute its products at the right places and appropriate prices (2014). Therefore, understanding of the organization’s customers, regardless of if it is small or large, is an essential factor towards the financial success of the company. Both the consumers and businesses have specific patterns that can enable an individual to determine the buying behaviors. There are various steps, both for the business and customers, which determine how well their buying behaviors are. Adopting an appropriate buying behavior for the business will ensure that the customer will the product that they need at the right place and at the right time. There are various steps that a typical business or organization will go through when purchasing its products. In summary, the business should first identify the existing need or problem among the available customers. This would help it to determine how they will be able to meet those needs. Secondly, the business should develop product specification to determine what specific products will meet their needs. The search for products and the supply points is the third step in the purchasing process. This can be achieved through ways such as exhibitions, the company’s sales force, and other advertising ways that can provide relevant valuable information. Fourth, the business can now be ready to place an order, after which the management would evaluate the performance of the product and supplier. After all these steps, the business should follow on the purchase made, since the first purchase should not be viewed as merely a one of a time purchase, but as the beginning of a long te rm business relationship. Likewise, Shah points out that there are several processes that are involved in the determination of the consumer behavior (2015). Primarily consumers would tend to look at the commodities that they would like to consume after which they will tend to select

The 'American Splendor' Film By Pucini and Berman as Being Essay

The 'American Splendor' Film By Pucini and Berman as Being Successfully Adapted from Harvey Pekar's Comic Book - Essay Example Harvey points out for instance, relating to photography versus hand-drawn images, that the difference is fundamental between the two. The latter are manual creations, while the latter are machine creations, being photographs. Now Harvey says that in essence machines have limitations in terms of not being able to render what hands can image wise. Machines are constrained to render nature, and not the creations of hands (Harvey, 1996, p. 175). Lefevre on the other hand says the same thing, and adds that the photography in film implies movement, whereas in drawn images the default is that of static frames. This presents fundamental problems in rendering drawn images as photographed moving images (Lefevre, 2007). Hight essentially deflects those objections via a discussion on genres and treatment. classifies 'American Splendor' as a drama-documentary, and the work itself has its focus both the art of Harvey Pekar, as reflected in the comic which has an eponymous title, or has the same name as the author, as well as the comic itself. Drama-documentary implies realism and the use of the personal subjective perspective of the key character and of Pekar himself to render the comic series on film. In essence, with the use of the genre, the film is able to effectively render the static hand-drawn image unto film overcoming the objections of Lefevre and Harvey.... Drama-documentary implies realism and the use of the personal subjective perspective of the key character and of Pekar himself to render the comic series on film. In essence, with the use of the genre, the film is able to effectively render the static hand-drawn image unto film overcoming the objections of Lefevre and Harvey. The answer to the objections raised by Lefevre and Harvey, in other words, is the choice of the drama documentary and all that the genre implies in terms of filming technique and overall approach to film making, and Pekar's own vision of his art work as the rendering of images the same way that photographers take pictures realistically (Hight, 2007; Lefevre, 2007; Harvey, 1996). With regard to page layout for the comic and the image on one screen, Lefevre says that this is a problem because in comic books the reader dictates the pace and the images are at closer proximity to them. In film, the watcher has to move along in the pace dictated by the movie. The watc her is unable to leaf through pages like in comic books, linger on a page. The experience is not the same (Lefevre, 2007). Harvey says the same thing, that one page on a comic does not equate to several sequences in a film, or that there are difficulties in rendering unto the movie image, moving, a single comic page that can capture a series of movements or a meaningful snapshot of events (Harvey, 1996, p. 176). To this objection Hight basically says that the unique rendering of the film essentially means that the film is able to bridge the gap between the page layout of the film and the single image of the screen. To this he presents the case for the way the film makes use of a hybrid

Informal housing in Caracas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Informal housing in Caracas - Essay Example 552). The processes of globalization have generated a distinct pattern of spatial urban organization that is typified by people’s segregation in the extension informal settlements. Urban restructuring has led to rising metropolitan fragmentation and increased socio-territorial inequality (Peters, 2008, p. 1). This paper explains the way globalization has changed the production of housing in Caracas. In spite of being located in the most urbanized and the wealthiest country of Latin America, Caracas accommodates numerous rancho settlements that are distributed all across the city. These settlements are characterized by invasions of squatter land. Disinvolvement of the government has perpetuated self-help housing techniques in Caracas. The aspects of informal housing in Caracas discussed in this paper include regulation of informal housing, housing production, exchange and consumption in the barrios of Caracas, the influence of globalization on housing, and the role of different actors in the developmental process. Informal housing in Caracas is quite politicized, with the demand exceeding the supply. Commodity forms dominate the production, exchange, and consumption of the informal settlements in Caracas. Globalization caused political and economic restructuring thus altering the metropolis’s fabric. Slum upgrading and microcredit are some of the factors that have played a role in the development of housing in Caracas. The mobilized and generated type of squatting is the most common in Latin America. Development of the informal housing in Latin America engages the political organizations. The state is somehow involved in the process. Informal housing in Latin America is quite politicized. The squatter communities are collectively involved in the process of settlement development and shelter acquisition. Such

International Business To Business Marketing Essay

International Business To Business Marketing - Essay Example This may be summarised by the observation that the behaviour of a complex system cannot be understood completely by the segregated analysis of its constituent parts. However, Beverland (2002) suggested the use of this idea in regard to supply chains is neither consistent nor straightforward. New also argued that the supply chain metaphor is used in many ways, but three meanings dominate discussion: "supply chain" from the perspective of an individual firm; "supply chain" related to a particular product or item (such as the supply chain for beef, or cocaine, or oil); and "supply chain" used as a handy synonym for purchasing, distribution, and materials management (Larson, 1998). Supply chain management can mean any one of these things, but one aspect is certain: Purchasing and/or outsourcing activity is being undertaken (Barkema, 1997). Beverland (2002) suggested that supply chain management is an integrative philosophy used to manage the total flow through a distribution channel from the supplier to the ultimate user. Another definition is the management of a chain or of operations and centres through which supplies move from the source of supply to the final customer or point of use (Chng, 2000). In essence, the supply chain starts with the extraction of raw material (or origination of raw concepts for services), and each link in the chain processes the material or the concept in some way or supports this processing. The supply chain thus extends from the raw material extraction or raw concept origination through many processes to the ultimate sale of the final product, whether goods or services, to the consumer. Internet and Supply Chain Management Many organizations, often too late, are now realizing that they should have paid as much attention to their internal business processes, their orderfulfilment resources and systems, and the integration of those processes and systems with those of their suppliers of goods and order-fulfilment services, as they did to their customer-facing Web site. The need is for a seamless end-toend 'order to cash' process incorporating the Web site, the business' accounting systems and the delivery mechanism. The accounting needs should embrace, as a minimum, accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory, purchase orders, invoicing and credit control. (Johnson, 2002) The delivery mechanisms in many organizations cannot cope, when Internet trading is added to the traditional market offering, with the requirement for a large number of small orders requiring, to all intents and purposes, instant shipping. They may have historically been shipping relatively large orders to a few intermediate supply chain points on a two to three day lead time basis. (Chopra, 2003)The

Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay Example for Free

Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay Letter From Birmingham City Jail: An Appeal of Logic, Emotions, and Personal Conviction In persuasive essays, authors attempt to help their readers consider a point by using a variety of techniques to present their arguments. To captivate a reader’s attention in an appealing way, they offer logical reasoning, emotional testimonies, and their own personal convictions to present different arguments in favor of their platform. These three phenomena, known as logos, pathos, and ethos, are valuable tools in any writer’s work. In â€Å"Letter from Birmingham City Jail,† Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writes to the clergymen as an argument supporting civil disobedience, asserting his mission to end segregation through a series of peaceful protests. In order to inspire his captive audience, Martin Luther King effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos throughout the letter to reinforce his persuasive appeals. One way authors present their arguments is through a series of logical appeals and reasoning, which is partly what â€Å"Letter From Birmingham City Jail† aims to do. This concept, called logos, is the presentation of different key ideas. From the opening of his letter, King clearly states his objective, â€Å"To try and answer [the clergy’s] statements† regarding his â€Å"unwise and untimely† protests (King 205). However, to merely state his arguments is not enough. Reading the World explains, â€Å"while evidence provides the basis for an argument’s support, how we apply logic to that evidence is part of how we make that argument effective† (Austin 597). To justify reasons by explaining their motives is key to persuasion. What exactly is King’s objective in organizing silent protests? He explains: â€Å"I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace†¦we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with† (King 209). King justifies protests against segregation by arguing that white city officials do not recognize the connection between social justice and law and order. He wants them to make the association and realize segregation in the south is the true source of racial tension. Once segregation laws become lifted, such rigidity would be relieved. In sum, ethos, pathos, and logos are all necessary and equally important criteria in composing a persuasive letter or document. In utilizing the three, Martin Luther King is able to present a logical argument in favor of desegregation backed with emotional support in a professional format. â€Å"Letter to Birmingham City Jail† was a significantly influential piece of writing during the Civil Rights Movement and drew a substantial amount of awareness towards advancement in racial equality. Had King not made use of all three, his letter may not have been as effective, or might have never contributed to the end of segregation as we know it.

Theories for Employee Motivation

Theories for Employee Motivation At the dawn of this millennium, Milner (2003) concluded that motivation continues to hold a significant position in eyes of scholars. It is a known fact that various organizations have resorted to different strategies to boost staff motivation, create a comfortable work environment and consequently, increase output. Motivation can be analyzed from various perspectives but for the purpose of this essay, it would be examined from a work related point of view. Work motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individuals being, to initiate work-related behaviour and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration (Pinder, 2005). We can therefore rightfully infer that motivation is a psychological process developing from contact between an individual and his environment. To understand motivation, one must understand the aspirations of a living being. Several motivation theories have been proposed to explain these human aspirations at different times and by diverse people. Motivation theories are broadly divided into two but for this essay, two theories, one from each broad group has selected for analysis. They are; Maslows hierarchy of needs theory (content theory) and Expectancy theory (process theory) They will be reviewed, evaluated and compared, highlighting individual strengths and limitations. They also would be used to determine the extent to which they influence individual motivation of people in the work place. Furthermore information collated from completed questionnaires by employees on what motivates them will be summarized and compared with the theory propositions to ascertain practical relevance. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW An appropriate starting note would be answering the question, what is motivation? A suitable definition would be the cognitive decision-making process, through which goal-directed behaviour is initiated, energized, directed and maintained (Buchanan Huczynski 2010, p. 267). The need to study motivation, its stimulators and extinguishers remain very vital. Its importance to managers cannot be over emphasized. Understanding the concept of motivation would equip managers with the right skills to encourage subordinates, accomplish organizational goals, increase output and also improve their quality of life. Motivation is a combination of choice and intention. It has come to a conclusion that individuals dissent to their motivational state and the elements that influence it. 2.1 MOTIVATION THEORIES Motivation theories are generally categorized under two broad groups content theory and process theory. Although there is no universally accepted theory that applies to everyone, each can help in different work scenarios. An attempt has been made to explain the variability noticed in the decisions people make about what they do at work, their commitment and the strength they utilize in achieving goals using motivational theories. Content theories of motivation question the perspective that views motivation in terms of individuals goals. Examples of content theories include Herzbergs Two-factor theory and Maslows hierarchy of needs theory. While process theories view motivation in terms of the decision making process influencing an individuals choice of goals. Examples are Equity Theory, Expectancy Theory and Goal Setting Theory. Different content and process theories have been formulated having specific application to motivation with reference to work context. 2.1.1 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory (Content theory) According to R. Dailey (2008), Maslow proposed that people are motivated by the longing to gratify particular needs. He went on to arrange this needs in a given order starting with the most basic needs which he called lower level needs and rising to the higher level needs. He maintained that the lower level needs must be majorly satisfied before higher level needs and that a satisfied need seizes to be a motivator. Below are briefly described the different needs starting with the lower level needs. Physiological Needs these refer to basic needs required for survival and they include food, water, shelter, air. Some researchers have added money to this group arguing that it has the capacity to provide some of the needs. Security Needs these reefers to the general concern of an individual to feel safe, stable and the absence of pain in his environment both physically and psychologically. Social Belongingness Needs these refer to the desire for affiliation, friendship, love and being accepted by others as a result of interaction and association. Theoretically, people who reach this level have primarily satisfied physiological and safety needs and are now concerned with establishing satisfying relationships. (Hitt, Miller, and Colella, 2009). Esteem Needs these refer to perceptions of personal value as a result of admiration from fellow individuals. When employees have attained a certain level in the organizational hierarchy, they yearn for recognition, fame and power owing to previous achievements. Self-actualization Needs the need for self-actualization sits at the top of Maslows hierarchy and few people are deemed to have attained this level. They are generally driven by the desire to utilize their skill and maximize their potential. They always seek new ground breaking opportunities to bring into play their skills which greatly motivate them. Some other factors were originally included in Maslows needs but have been omitted by subsequent researchers. They are To know and to understand Aesthetics Transcendence Freedom of enquiry and expression They come in this order respectively between esteem needs and self-actualization needs. According to Maslow, the most potent way of motivating individuals is by provision of their primary needs which is the lowest unsatisfied need (Gordon, 1996). 2.2 Expectancy Theory (Process theory) People are motivated to work or involve in a process only when they are assured of or perceive personal benefit. The process through which outcomes become desirable is explained by the expectancy theory (Buchanan Huczynski, 2010). This theory thus goes along to prove that we act in manners that facilitate the accomplishment of appreciated goals. It helps in explaining employee behaviours relating to issues such as career choice, performance, joining a new organization, absenteeism, turnover and leadership effectiveness (Dailey, 2008). Expectancy theory was stated as a function of three concepts: valence, instrumentality and expectancy. Mathematically, it can be expressed as Motivation = V x I x E ( Valence x Instrumentality x Expectancy) If any of the values has zero value, then consequently, motivation is zero. Valence can be said to be personal value placed on a reward or the perceived value of an outcome. Since it is subjective, that means valence comes across to various people in different ways. Employees ascribe valences to specific outcomes and they can be either negative or positive. A negative valence can be linked to undesirable outcomes and consequently makes employee exhibit avoidance behaviours. Instrumentality is the personal belief that good performance would produce valued rewards. It can also be positive or negative. While positive instrumentality refers to the employee belief that good performance would lead to desired rewards, negative instrumentality means the opposite. Expectancy is the personal belief that effort would lead to good performance. When employees decide to dedicate time and energy to a job, they expect positive outcomes. Contrastingly, there would be no perceived effort if the employee believes that it would not bring about positive performance. It is also noteworthy that performance feedback would boost effort. Diagrammatically, expectancy theory can be summarized by the figure below. Motivational Force = Effort Performance Outcome 1 V1 Outcome 2 V2 Outcome 3 V3 E = Expectancy I = Instrumentality V = Valence 1 = Not valued at all 2 = Not strongly valued 3 = Strongly valued Fig 1.0: Expectancy Theory Model 2.3 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES The strengths and weaknesses of Maslows hierarchy of needs theory and the Expectancy theory have been summarized in the tables below. STRENGTHS MASLOWS THEORY EXPECTANCY THEORY Shows the essence of consulting with employees and giving them a sense of belonging within the company. Strong empirical support. Shows a simple, reasonable description of human behaviour. Reflects importance of consistent rewards. It still remains very influential Recognizes individual differences. Encourages employee career development. Provides explicit ways to increase employee motivation. WEAKNESSES MASLOWS THEORY EXPECTANCY THEORY Lacks empirical validity. Using the components individually cannot strongly predict motivation. Focused only on positive growth without reflecting the possibility of a relapse in individuals. Assumes behaviour is rational. Does not hold universally Predictive power low for uncertain environments. Does not take individual differences into consideration. Questionable view of humans. 3.0 DATA ANALYSIS Those selected for the survey cut across multicultural backgrounds, different kinds of jobs ranging from white collar jobs to ordinary jobs and different organizational levels managers and subordinates. The questions were carefully selected to prove or disprove the validity of the theories. (See attached questionnaire in Appendix 1). Beginning with Maslows theory, the effect of physiological needs was undoubtedly reflected in the survey. 80% strongly agreed that the absence of physiological needs would adversely affect their motivation. Another issue is the contention over social needs. While 40% strongly accept the need to be socially accepted, a close 30% argue that the need to be accepted would not have any adverse on their output not because they lack emotions but owing to the nature of their work e.g. scientific research. Some others strongly underplayed the effect of social needs claiming that they boosted their self confidence by themselves and did not need to be accepted to be motivated which contradicts Maslows theory. The result also shows a very strong point that cut across the entire respondents which is the effect of pay. The survey results are summarized in the figure below. Fig 3.0 MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY ANALYSIS For the expectancy theory, the components instrumentality, valence and expectancy were generally accepted though the percentage for those that strongly agreed was not overwhelming. 30% strongly agreed to the influence of instrumentality, 30% for valence and 40% for expectancy. Worthy of note is the feedback factor whose importance is overwhelmingly obvious from the figure below (80%). But most interestingly is the fact that even though 80% strongly subscribed to motivation from a good pay check, a stunning 60% agreed that they would accept a more interesting job for a pay cut (question 1). A general summary of the survey relating to the expectancy theory is shown in the figure below. Fig 3.1 EXPECTANCY THEORY RESULT ANALYSIS 3.1 EVALUATION OF THEORIES The answers to the questionnaire would seem to indicate that workers were not remarkably convinced that good performance would lead to valuable rewards which raise a strong concern about the motivation of workers in todays organizations. The argument is that if the employees do not see a clear pathway from excellent performance to valued rewards, motivation would be on the decline with the effects clearly obvious. Moreover, 60% of the respondents opted for a more interesting work with less pay. This shows a path to self-actualization and that more value placed on it. When the job is more interesting, that provides the employee with an atmosphere to exploit his potentials hoping for a valued reward. This further explains the concept of instrumentality because respondents placed more value on job satisfaction. The last two questions were intended to get firsthand the kind of rewards that truly appeal to individuals and to give them an opportunity to say what really motivates them. 70% of the respondents had financial rewards as their first choice and it was followed by recognition with a close score of 60%. This reflects Maslows social and belongings need and also his esteem needs on one hand and the valence component of the expectancy theory. This shows a relationship in both theories when compared. Also very prominent was the feedback factor equally portrayed by the two theories. Equally significant was the choice of promotion and self-actualization as valuable rewards. Promotion as an example of instrumentality can also boost esteem needs. The survey results highlighted show very close similarities between Maslows hierarchy of needs and the Expectancy theory. Even though they were proposed by various people and ages ago, they have stood the test of time and are still very valuable today. The results also prove that motivation is dependent on the individual and the environment. 3.2 PRACTICAL RELEVANCE Most work places meet the first two basic needs going by Maslows hierarchy needs theory. Employers meet physiological needs by paying wages and salaries which can provide food and shelter. In most countries, they are also obligated by law to meet the next level of needs by providing safe and secure work places. To meet the next level of needs, managers need to encourage team work. The work environment is a social place and at that team spirit should be developed. Managers should go a long way to foster socialization and a sense of belonging through effective internal communication, social gatherings, etc. If this is done, a better working environment would be created, social needs provided and motivation heading north. An appropriate reward system is very essential and would go a long way to meet esteem needs. Clear links should be made between efforts and goals and an appraisal system which recognizes achievement using valued rewards like pay rises, executive official cars and promotions should be put in place. These things also attach a status symbol to their office which promotes esteem. Evidently, the esteem of people in diverse jobs is boosted in different ways. If managers possess the ability to assess and channel instrumentality rightly, motivation would be surely achieved. All management policies that crack, resist, alter or bend instrumentalities should be looked into to avoid lowering employee effort and performance. Self-actualization, sitting on the top of Maslows hierarchy can be likened to valued reward instrumentality in the expectancy theory and this would not immediately come to everybody as achievable through work but it actually is. Managers should ensure quality training and support so as to achieve clear performance goals and provide an avenue to inspire innovation. When employees are faced with challenging goals and can see a clear path to positive instrumentality through expectancy then this objective is feasible and personal growth achieved. On the contrary, self-actualization has been found to play a marginal role in some cultures. Japanese cultures offer jobs for life which seem to meet only physiological needs and promotions based on seniority which diminishes the longing for self-actualization in the work place. Also in some highly collectivist cultures, attempts to be personally innovative may be deemed as aberrant (Hofstede, 1991). 4.0 CONCLUSION The present study attempts to crystallize certain factors which influence motivation by analyzing the relationship between employees, employers and the work environment. Both Maslows theory and Expectancy theory can explain motivation only to a certain magnitude from various view points. Maslows theory proposes that individuals are motivated based on drives and needs while expectancy theory postulates that choices are made based on how we make choices with respect to goals. The response from the questionnaires corroborated aspects of both theories but highlighted the great importance of pay and feedback in influencing motivation. It is recommended that managers and employers pay great attention to these factors amongst the rest. As hinted previously, no theory can conclusively explain the concept of motivation. The relevance of these theories cannot be over emphasized or neglected. They have had a substantial impact on managers directly and employers as a whole in helping to find out how and what to do to boost employee motivation. In addition, they have generated further interests in the area of specialization. The most significant limitation to this survey was the restriction to the number of people surveyed and the difficulty in convincing unskilled workers to partake in the survey.

Custom Made Apparel and Individualized Service at Lands End

Custom Made Apparel and Individualized Service at Lands End Many company uses the website as well as outlets and catalogs as ways of selling their products directly to the customers. At the beginnings since it has founded in 1963 in Chicago, Lands Ends website offered only limited products, however by the time the site offers every Lands End products such as clothes whether they are sports or uniforms for women, men and children, luggage, overstocks, shoes and home furnishings. As of recent, the company has had success with its Custom Clothing line. The ordering process is not sophisticated through the companys web site; a customer would answer a variety of simple questions regarding his or her body type and style preferences in order to create the perfect shirt or pants. The order is processed through a sophisticated technology system, which sends the appropriate information to the respective destinations. Lands End operates on the way that tries to achieve the best services and products for the customer. As a result, customers have learned to expect a high level of service at all times; from the beginning of the order, to receiving help and advice, to speedy shipping, and further follow-up when necessary. It is increasingly becoming larger every year as well as making itself known a lot more on the internet as well. However, catalogs do and probably will for the rest of their lives continue to be the first in their marketing strategies; although it costs less when they bring customers to its file through e-commerce. Also the company is now also selling its products at Sears stores; most of their sales come from within their products being sold at Sears stores because by the fall of 2003, the company lines were to be available in all Sears full line stores. Sears Roebuck acquired Lands End in 2002 then they were bought by Kmart Holdings which is currently Sears Holdings. Key issues: It faces some challenges in increasing its marketplace; Lands End felt a growing need for enhancing and developing its marketing strategies, multi-channel marketing campaigns, and a shifting management focus from product-centric ( customization ) to customer-centric strategies. Their end goal was to increase customer loyalty with the intent of increasing revenue. So, the have some issues or challenges in maintain their competitive advantage in its industry regarding its product category and price. For example, the existing and new competitors like Amazon and Sears could threaten its brand name and position in marketplace and the appropriate use of IT to sustain its competitive of advantage in the light of up coming new technologies and trends. Analysis and Interpretation: Who are the stakeholders that should particularly involve in this case? and that have the major influence to measure the companys strengths and weakness. There are two main stakeholder groups that deal with Lands End. The customers and the investors. The customers are the people who drive all the sales through buying the apparel. They also have the greatest affect through having their feedback about the store as well as the web site. So, without the internet, the customers satisfaction would not be existing and could not be measured or investigated by the investors to manage operational aspects of marketing campaigns through achieving the alignment between business strategy and IT strategy. So, the internet acts as a major advertisement because it contains all their financial information and since the company is so successful. The criteria that categorized Lands End as a leader in marketing are quality of products, commitment to services and customization through its effective website. This can be defined as its strengths or its powerful guarantee to develop customer relationships and business communication to increase sales and market share. Website (customization-website-customer service) The web site itself is particularly easy and makes the shopping unique, interesting , easy and attractive. The web site design is organized regarding ordering online process, its exciting products because it presents variations and manufacturing a variety of similar but individualized. This is an example of a good companys position and strategic methods because it supports and maintain customer loyalty as Lands Ends senior vice president for e-commerce said customer loyalty to our custom tailored clothing has surprised me. The level of feeling that customers have is amazing. This is particularly true for women. Once they get a pair of jeans to fit some will order every color in every fabric ( Piccoli, 2007 ). Some of the advantages of customization are building and maintaining customer loyalty, pricing and avoiding physical scanning and body measurement if they go to the shop. (My Virtual Model) is one of the company innovative shopping tool. According to it, customers can create a 3 -D model of themselves by providing critical measurements, which are then applied to the individuals personal Virtual Model. Once a virtual model is created the customer can use it to try on items to see how they will look on his or her body. Outfits can be stored and recalled for later reference. Moreover, the model created, a persons model can also be used at other apparel web sites in the My Virtual Model network, and can be e-mailed to family and friends. Also, from the customers perspective, the web site allows you to be aware of everything about Lands End from the beginnings to the end. Lands End knows how to attract customers as well as keep them on the site through an easy way which to buy. Its divisions are very organized starting with gender of sex starts off with gender of sex.; then it will divide it up in pieces of clothing whether its pants, shirts, skirts, shoes and so on. Moreover, it has section to measure the customers willingness to pay through identifying the amo unt they like to pay to present all the products that have the certain price range. This way saves a lot of time and probably money; so it gives the customer a quick inside online store of what a normal outlet store would look like in person. . If the web site is unorganized or running slow, that is going to turn customers away from the web site. But Lands End website guarantees its customers security policies and provides them with a highly standard of customer service if they order using phone. Through the website they can get the required information about their customers whether they are old, current, new or future. It is very useful to collect the information the organization needs about the customer to actually increase the level of knowledge for the company about the customers and it allows them to know a lot more about each individual customer especially because they have profile of their customers. Strategic Alignment One of any organisation factor of success strategically and technologically is bringing both It and IS strategies within the organisation strategy. This is called strategic alignment which means the effective correlation between internal and external domains. Internal domain comes out the integration between business strategy and IT strategy while the external domain is involved in the integration between organizational infrastructure and process and IS infrastructure and process. In this case, Lands End achieves a high degree of strategic alignment; through using archetype solutions for custom-tailored clothes, a process engineering approach that included developing a corporate metric model and mind map that anticipated the specific ways that inventory managers would use them to improve and develop business strategy. Inventory management system is used to help ensure customer satisfaction by avoiding unexpected backorders. Orders are electronically sent to the warehouse, where the g oods are packaged, shipping labels are printed, and the package is sent out to a delivery service. Alternatively, orders that include customized items are sent to a mainframe which computes estimated measurements based on user data, which is used to develop a pattern to be used in the manufacturing of the item. It supports fast shipping and embroidering. As it mentioned before the high performance of customer service is quite a good evidence of the systems ability to retrieve orders quickly and accurately. Moreover, lower prices comes out the efficiency and effectively resulting from sending the orders to the warehouse in electronic form. That is why the web site adds the competitive advantage to Lands End. The organisations business strategy is presented to achieve its scope, marinating competitive advantage and reaching business governance. It shows in the case through providing each customer with a personal experience that builds a good standard relationship to last for long time . Also, its successful business strategy shows through dependable quality, fair prices, efficient service, call back program and positive employee experience. To achieve its scope, it depends on archetype solutions that fits mass customization and custom-clothing service and web based services in clothing industry. As a result of AS, the company has made big investment in people and technology to achieve the competitive advantage and get the expected profits. After looking at Exhibit 1 and 2, the financial situation in Lands End shows its progress which indicates its position. The first table shows their revenue in millions from 1999 to 2002. There is a big jump of about 197 millions dollars from 1999 to 2002 in the company. Each year they will continue to make a little more money mainly from increasing cliental and offering a wider span of products. Challenges: (competitive advantage)/ Recommendations Lands Ends mass customization and web-based customer service initiatives provide a great opportunity to discuss the sustainability of competitive advantage derived from IT-driven strategic initiatives. Although AS, Inc allows the company to maintain its competitive advantage, Ends Ends mainly has competencies in apparel manufacturing and retail efficiency. Therefore it should consider those areas in its operational integration to have the link between the organisational infrastructure and IS, It should pay its particular attention to its use of IT. The most important opportunity that Lands End should take advantage of is to place Internet terminals along with the clothing displays in the Sears stores. This would allow customers to try-on clothes, feel fabrics, and test sizes inside the Sears store, yet still place an order for a specific item that is not offered in the store. This would increase sales by eliminating the loss of sales from stock-outs, as well as increase brand awarene ss. With the invention and innovation of new textiles, Lands End can expand its current ordering system to include new fabric choices on many different products. This would allow customers to both customizing their own clothing and electing a colour, which would increase customer satisfaction and as a result customer loyalty. Lands End should also market towards young customers aging from ( 10 20) in order to increase sales both presently and maintain them in the future (by retaining customers). It can do this by designing new styles and advertising through its web site. Lands End should stay a competitive advantage in its industry regarding its operations to keep going in custom-tailored clothes; and the required enhancement of its industry is necessary and essential to product category and price. It also should have the ability to use It in the light of up coming technologies and trends. Lands End might lose its competitive advantage due to fallen barriers, technology replication cycle.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- Charlotte Perkins

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Charlotte Perkins Gilman's, "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a partial autobiography. It was written shortly after the author suffered a nervous breakdown. This story was written to help save people from being driven crazy. Appropriately, this short story is about a mentally disturbed woman and her husband's attempts to help her get well. He does so by convincing her that solitude and constant bed rest is the best way to cure her problem. She is not allowed to write or do anything that would require thinking. The woman is restricted to a room where she slowly begins to go insane. Atrocious yellow wallpaper covers this room and it aids in her insanity. The woman is writing the story to express her insane thoughts against her husband's will. "The Yellow Wallpaper" begins with the narrator talking about her illness. She informs the reader that her husband, John, is a physician and he believes she is not even sick. This may lead the reader to believe that she really is not sick also. She even says herself "I am glad my case is not serious!" It is revealed soon that she is writing this story to us, the readers, in secret. She feels comfortable writing on the paper and it relieves her. In the story she says, "I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind." This gives the reader and the narrator a very strong connection. For the reader is the only one to know her deepest thoughts. Throughout the entire story, John controls his wife in a loving but dominant way. According to him, he knows what is best for her. There is even a time where ... ...pressing herself and her story of insanity. "The Yellow Wallpaper" presents readers with story of a woman's insanity. It tells how women were disregarded at times and treated like frail children at others. Ultimately, Jane realized that she held control over her own life. It was her responsibility to relieve her stress and tell her story. This is a story of seclusion and escape. "The Yellow Wallpaper," being highly autobiographical for Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was written shortly after her own nervous breakdown. The story is part reality for her and part fiction focusing on the treatment that Dr. S. Weir Mitchell enforced upon her which was rest, seclusion, and absolutely no writing, which is what she loved the most. Her story is a stepping-stone in helping to understand depression, liberating women, and expression.

Rent: The Musical Essay -- Rent Musicals Descriptive narrative Essays

Rent. To most people it is associated with an apartment, house, or another object. This word rarely conjures pleasant memories, but more often annoyance and stress. However, when someone mentions rent to me, my mind races to some of the most memorable experiences in my life. When I hear the word Rent, I immediately see an eclectic Broadway production, overflowing with talent, adventure, and magic. I picture scantly clad actresses, strutting across the stage. I envision stunning duets and thought-provoking lyrics. That single word transports me to a different time and place. In order to adequately depict my feelings, I must start at the beginning. In the fall of 1996, I embarked on my maiden NYC voyage. Armed with a camera, city guide, and my little sister, I headed for New York to discover myself. As I began this adventure, I had no idea how it would end. When I landed at JFK I was a little girl, trying to have some fun, but by the time I boarded the plane to head home my world had changed. We began with the typical touristy attractions; the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Soho, Central Park, and shopping. We had been planning this trip for months and had poured over every detail. From the time the plane landed, we were living by a minute-to-minute schedule. This was a well organized trip and The Great White Way was not on the agenda. Or so we thought. Our second to last day in New York started like all the others. Breakfast. Shopping. Sites. Back to the hotel. However, upon returning to our rooms, my stepmother (who was escorting us on this journey) handed me three tickets. Across the top of them, it read: The Nederlander Theatre presents Jonathan Larson’s RENT. I was completely stunned and my ey... ... my sister and I returned to New York. Once again we made the trek to the Nederlander. We took our seats and relished the memories. While the cast was different, the affect was similar. It opened our eyes and renewed our appreciation for those that are different than us. I feel in love with it all over again. Even though I had seen the show in Indianapolis and Chicago, there was something about sitting in that theater that made it special. RENT is only a musical. It was written by a man that was passionate for life. Jonathan Larson took his dream and made it a reality for everyone that sits in the audience. That passion is the reason it remains one of the most influential productions in Broadway history. If it weren’t for his dream and devotion, it would not be what it is today. That passion is what changed my life and the lives of thousands of others.

Christmas Gifts You Love (to Hate) :: essays research papers

Christmas Gifts You Love (to Hate) Zack Imus Christmas. The most exciting and anticipated holiday of the year. A time when visions of sugar plums--or stereos, new cars, the latest computer, and various other desirable and expensive gifts--dance through our heads. Unfortunately the reality of Christmas gift-giving is often a far cry from our visions. When we're children, it seems as the holidays approach that anything is possible. But as we mature and gain experience with this annual observance it eventually begins to dawn on us that it might not always be all it's cracked up to be. By the time we've reached our late teens--when, coincidentally, the potential for receiving truly outstanding gifts is optimized--we realize that Christmas gifts are seldom what we hope for. In fact, from year to year it becomes possible to actually predict the kinds of gifts you'll unwrap on Christmas morning. Let's look at a few examples. The Necessity Gift The necessity gift is one that always seems like a really great idea to your mother or grandmother, but which is invariably a big yawn to unwrap. Let's be realistic, how excited is anybody likely to get over a dozen pairs of matching socks, a hairbrush, winter gloves or underwear? Slipper Sox, new sheet sets and toothbrushes also qualify. After unwrapping such a gift, a person is likely to exclaim: "Gosh, you shouldn't have!" And mean it. The Token Gift The Token Gift might be received from almost anyone. Though it seems like an intimate friend or close relative wouldn't stoop so low, experience proves that token gifts take up where imagination and/or money leaves off. So it's possible to receive these kinds of gifts from the most unexpected sources. One present in this category is the ever popular "soap-on-a-rope." I've never seen these marketed in June. But come early November the soap factories undoubtedly pay double-double overtime to their workers in order to meet the vast holiday demand for nameless, pungent-smelling brown soap manufactured over the top of what appears to be a six-foot-long shoe-string. A note of caution: Soap-on-a-rope should never be given to boys under the age of 12. They invariably turn them into near-lethal weapons. If disappointed enough, they might even turn them on you. Other token gifts include cheap aftershave lotion/cologne, stationery, and the ever-popular electric shaver. Though this latter might occasionally fit into the Necessity Gift category, I've never met anyone who actually uses an electric shaver. For this reason, this gift might also fit into our next category. The Closet Stuffer Gift Closet Stuffers are exactly what they sound like: gifts that are stuffed

Case Study Papa John’s International, Inc. Twenty-First Century Growth Challenges Essay

1) What is your assessment of Papa John’s differentiation strategy? On what bases does the company differentiate? There are a number of bases on which Papa John’s differentiates itself, many of which are interrelated. First and foremost is Papa John’s offering of a higher-quality pizza, which not only allows them to differentiate on the basis of a product feature (i.e. the high quality ingredients used in the pizza), but, even more importantly, on the basis of reputation. While most other pizza chains have their sights set on more of a cost-leader/low-price strategy, and make an less genuine statement of quality, Papa John’s entire organizational culture is focused squarely upon the pursuit of â€Å"better ingredients, better pizza†. This commitment has in turn endeared it to customer base, and has resulted in a long string of high customer satisfaction ratings. Papa John’s early adoption of online and mobile ordering technologies allowed it to differentiate itself on the bases of both timing of introduction and distribution channels. Papa John’s was in fact the very first pizza chain to offer both internet- and text-based ordering, and it was able to generate tremendous revenues as a first-mover in these then-untapped channels. Being that Papa John’s is a part of the larger fast food industry, and consumers seek out fast food in large part on the basis of its convenience, the value of such a distribution system obviously lies in how easily accessible it made Papa John’s products. 2) Is Papa John’s strategy sustainable? What is your assessment based on a VRIO analysis? Obviously the most sustainable base of Papa John’s differentiation strategy is its reputation as a producer of high-quality pizzas. Such has been earned through years of commitment to the goal of producing a â€Å"perfect pizza†, which is an outgrowth of a strong organizational culture and well-communicated vision. The relationship between Papa John’s and its dedicated customer base is socially complex, and these customers could not be taken away overnight by a rival who suddenly began using better ingredients. However, the underpinning of this reputation – the product feature of high quality ingredients – is not nearly as sustainable, as it is not too costly for Papa John’s rivals of comparable size to ultimately imitate. In fact, Domino’s and Pizza Hut have demonstrated a shift towards  higher-quality ingredients in recent years, and so this point of differentiation is no longer as rare as it once was. However, it will take many mo re years of making pizzas of similarly high quality for either to actually cement the same reputation as Papa John’s, and reputation does remain a very sustainable base of differentiation. However, it is worth considering at which price point the value of this reputation begins to diminish, given the nature of the product category itself. Papa John’s is, after all, a fast food pizza chain, and price does play a significant role in the fast food market. Obviously, part of the value of having a differentiated product is the ability to command premium prices for it, and to easily pass increased costs on to a customer base which is relatively price-insensitive. However, the question here is what price ceiling exists on fast food pizza, regardless of its quality. Papa John’s may have a reputation for the highest-quality fast food pizza, and loyal customers may be willing to pay more for this high-quality fast food pizza than a lower-quality fast food pizza, but the price disparity between the two is unlikely to be anywhere near as great as that between, say, a car made by Rolls Royce and one made by Hyundai. Papa John’s may be able to charge a premium, but it must still exist within what is an essentially narrow price range acceptable for fast food. Should Papa John’s prices exceed this reasonable range – perhaps in the event that they cannot continue staving off ingredient cost volatility as well as they have to this point – then even their most loyal customers will turn to other brands or substitute foods of higher quality which warrant a higher price. The essential point is that price still does play a significant role in Papa John’s reputation – sure they make high-quality pizza, and sure it costs a little more than Domino’s, but that price premium is commensurate with its greater quality, and it strikes the right balance between affordability and quality. However, the value this reputation provides in allowing for higher prices – while it does exist, and thus leads one to conclude that reputation is a source of sustained competitive advantage – does indeed have its constraints. It creates value, but only until reaching a price ceiling which is lower for this product category than for premium products in most other product categories. Regarding Papa John’s other, interrelated bases of  differentiation – timing of introduction and distribution channels – it is evident that these were merely temporary sources of competitive advantage along a base which has given way to compe titive parity. Every other pizza chain (and pretty much every restaurant, chain or independent) now offers online and/or mobile ordering, and thus Papa John’s offering of increased convenience is no longer rare. Furthermore, Papa John’s has not been the first to market with any further similar innovations in the years to follow, and its base of differentiation as a pioneer of clever innovations is in many ways currently dormant. This is perhaps owed to a shift in organizational focus away being the first-to-market with novel propositions as Papa John’s looks increasingly to extending the business they have already perfected to foreign markets. 3) What do you recommend Papa John’s do to achieve its growth goals? Papa John’s has encountered challenges in its attempt to balance its focus on producing a higher-quality pizza with expanding its product mix enough to keep up with competitors who offer broader product mixes. Papa John’s does not want to stretch its focus and resources too thin, and consequently dilute the quality of its pizza by shifting attention away from it. However, many of Papa John’s competitors, namely market leaders Domino’s and Pizza Hut, have broadened their product mixes to include items such as pasta dishes, and Papa John’s has in turn been pressured into adopting similar additions to their menu. Because all of these pizza chains have begun matching each other with regard to product mixes, adding menu items is acting more as a base of competitive parity than competitive advantage. However, in expanding its product mix through co-branding strategies, Papa John’s can forge a far more sustainable base of differentiation. Papa John’s has already partnered with Nestle in adding additional dessert items, and such is a strategy they should continue to pursue aggressively, not merely with Nestle but with many other companies. Obviously Papa John’s can free up its resources and attention in partnering with another company to develop and produce menu items for it, and it can focus more on maintaining its high level of pizza quality. More importantly, if Papa John’s could enter into exclusive deals with these other brands and companies, and in turn be the  only one in the industry to offer products by a given brand of high repute (and even possibly a product made exclusively by that brand for Papa John’s), then its competitors will have much more trouble attempting to match the combined brand equity of Papa John’s and its partn ers. In terms of more of a corporate-level strategy, Papa John’s should consider integrating backward into the production of its high quality ingredients. Obviously it has already done this to some extent with BIBP Commodities, Inc. in combatting cheese price volatility, but they should consider going a step further in actually producing cheese and other ingredients themselves. They would be much better poised to insure a steady stream of consistently-priced ingredients in handling production themselves to some extent, and they would also be able to directly maintain the quality of its ingredients. It has already been stated that the product feature of high-quality ingredients is not very sustainable, and that other pizza chains are already moving to match the quality of Papa John’s ingredients. However, should Papa John’s lock in a supply of high quality ingredients at affordable prices whilst others are still encountering significant price volatility, then it will be more costly for Papa John’s competitors to imitate its pizza quality. Additionally, Papa John’s could act as supplier of ingredients to other restaurants (excepting of course its competitors), just as it originally expanded into the printing industry to produce its own print advertisements, but now also provides printing services to other companies. Expanding into the production of ingredients it already uses so heavily and, by nature of its expertise in producing high-quality pizzas, of which it already as a strong understanding makes greater sense than creating a Hispanic restaurant as is suggested in the text, being this such is a specific category of food with which Papa John’s has no prior experience. In entering a restaurant category so dissimilar, Papa John’s will have to spread its attention thin – far thinner than in expanding its product mix – and, in turn, will likely be distracted from its heretofore steadfast pursuit of â€Å"better pizza†, setting in motion an eventual loss of its hardfought reputation. As stated, Papa John’s reputation is its strongest point of differentiation, and, regardless of whatever move it makes next, it must maintain its high level of brand equity.

Is Media A Boon Or A Curse Essay

Is media a boon or a curse? Everything in this modern age is powered by media from the moment we wake up until we sleep at night. Have we ever asked ourselves how all of this affects our reasoning, our power to choose and our lifestyle? Since mass media is used to communicate and interact with people from various walks of life, it can often result in a conflict of opinions. The media, specifically in India, represents a convergence of paradoxes: tradition and modernity; anarchy and order; diversity and unity; conflict and cooperation; news and views; feudalism and democracy; the free market and monopoly. Mass media enjoys a very prominent role in our lives. Therefore, there are various effects of mass media on society at large. Mass media a boon? The wide reach offered by mass media is phenomenal. It can target both local and global audience. Over the years, mass media has played an important role in making people understand the meaning of democracy. We also come to know about the strengths and weaknesses of the economy of our country, the various problems faced by the nation, achievements of the nation in different sectors, through the prompt and precise reporting of different forms of media. In a country like ours, where there are many castes, religions and languages spoken, media has even more tough responsibility of conveying the true news to the citizens. Media plays a very important role in shaping the personality of people. It has been observed that citizens become more sensible and capable to shoulder their responsibility towards the nation and society because of the media. Media has done much good to society by exposing various scams, scandals, frauds, embezzlements and many other cases of corruption, leading to init iation of inquiries and other processes of prosecution against the perpetrators of these crimes. Some of the recent cases are witness that the Press has been instrumental in putting an end to atrocities. It has also brought to light some of the rustic practices like child marriage, dowry, etc., to light and has empowered women especially to come to the forefront and express their grievance. Media has not just become a form of disseminating information and entertainment but also the most trusted form of advertising. Millions of consumers and advertisers today receive a flood of information through commercial advertising. Recently, online media has become an improved modern method of  interaction. Its quick and easy access at the touch of a button has not only made media powerful but also helps in keeping us updated even on the move. Mass media can be used for educational purposes in an effective manner, and media is a boon for all age groups and people from different walks of life in many ways. They get news, views, and constructive information related to the subject of their c hoice. Mass media a curse? However, media suffers from some pitfalls; growing consumerism and materialism have adversely impacted our media. At times, the information reported may not be authentic from every angle. Hence, there may be a misinterpretation of a situation. News can be manipulated to influence the minds of the audiences. For example, a particular political party may manipulate reports in their favour, which would indicate the political control in the media. Media bias can occur due to various issues. A journalist or an editor may give personal preference to an issue. A particular event or a celebrity may receive undue importance and set wrong ideals before the youth. It may present an ostentatious lifestyle, which may inculcate wrong ideals amongst youngsters. Unnecessary sensationalism of an issue may project incorrect information to the public. There is the danger that comes when making money is more important than quality of information flow. It clearly hampers the honest and unbiased functioning of the organisation. Due to the rise in social media, we have become a population that is afraid to be ‘left out’ – we need to know things that really has no value, and, to a certain extent, we are at risk of filling our lives and brains with worthless information at the expense of meaningful dialog and interactions. Misleading messages may divert young minds towards a wrong path. Wrong interpretation of news may even blow things out of proportion. This would create further unrest in any place or even violence in case of extreme situations. At times, a particular event or news item may receive too much attention simply because of the lack of important news or snippets. It presents a wrong notion before the public and clogs their minds with unnecessary information. Media strongly influences the minds of the people who read or view what has been published, so it is important for the publishers and publications to be careful and cautious in handling the inputs they get from their reporters. Media is a boon if it is socially  responsible, unbiased, non-political, informative and educative to the masses but not to a class alone. But, it is a curse if it carries information or coverage to sensationalise, create curiosity among the public, misrepresentation of facts at the cost of someone’s reputation. For long-term solutions, we will have to bank on the educational institutions to educate, train, groom and prepare the youth to be more discerning viewers rather than passive spectators or participants in order to avoid any irresponsible influence or working of the media.

Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots In Sixteenth Century France

Barbara B. Diefendorf, a distinguished historian, narrates the events prior to the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in France. The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre was a way for the ruling French monarchy to dispose or eliminate all Huguenots in France. After the Protestant Reformation in Germany, there was a diversification of the Protestant faith all over Europe. In Switzerland, Zwingli established a sect that mixed Orthodox Catholicism and Lutheranism. In England, Henry VIII declared himself as the supreme head of the Church of England, without changing traditional elements of Catholic faith.In Geneva, a zealous preacher, John Calvin, taught the doctrine of predestination. According to this doctrine, before a man is born, his soul was ordained by God to be in either heaven or hell. Man, even by his own freewill, cannot change his destination. Thus, in order to assail his own salvation, he must show to the world that he is destined to heaven. The trajectory of life, accor ding to Calvin, is cloaked with uncertainty of the afterlife. This doctrine shocked the even Calvin’s Protestant contemporaries, notably Luther and Zwingli.The Pope even agreed with other Protestant leaders that such faith could not be Christian or borne out of Christ-centered faith. Thus, the first seed of persecution was released. Among all Protestant faiths, Calvinism suffered the longest and most brutal persecution. Other factors also contributed to the Calvinist persecution in Europe (especially in France). Among were as follows: 1) The Huguenots were able to acquire political and economic power (thus assuming significance in European affairs; 2) The new faith rejected the absolute power of the monarchy.It proposed a new social system that relies heavily on communalism and brotherhood; 3) And, pressure from the Papacy forced Catholic countries to realign their policies toward traditional faith and social system (this was a reactionary move to the ideals of Calvinism). Ma in Theme of the Book In the book, the main theme can be summed up as: the gradual toleration of Huguenots in France generally resulted to increasing persecution of the adherents of Calvinism (although Huguenots comprised only 5% of the French population).The resulting struggle between Catholics and Huguenots was known as â€Å"The Wars of Religion. † For more than two centuries, France was the scene of legal and military struggle between the two factions, until Cardinal Richelieu (the regent of Louis XIII) and King Louis XIV destroyed the last bastions of Huguenots in France. The main theme is subdivided into three sub themes. Here are as follows: 1) The first stage of the conflict (from 1557 to 1563) was characterized by breakdown of order in the city of Paris.The Huguenots were initially granted toleration in the Edict of Amboise; 2) The second stage (from 1563 to 1577) was seen as the initial criss-cross theological battle of Catholic and Huguenot theologians in some of Eu rope’s prestigious universities. Catholic theologians were led by the Jesuits. Huguenot professors were headed by the first students of Calvin; 3) The third stage (from 1567 to 1572) was provoked by religious discontent of both Catholics and Huguenots.Catholics (especially the nobility and the French monarchy) wanted the deterioration of the economic and political power of the Huguenots. The Huguenots demanded more toleration (the opening of more districts for Huguenot worship and the removal of Huguenot books from the list of forbidden books). This was the period prior to the St. Bartholomew’s Massacre. Results Many Catholics in France felt that the degree of toleration granted to the Huguenots (the followers of Calvin) was more than enough to destroy the authority of the Church and the Catholic monarchy.There was an increasing call among traditionalists to destroy the very foundation of Calvinism: their worship districts. Admiral Coligny, the leader of the Huguenots, was severely wounded after an assassination. Several clashes between Catholic and Huguenots were notably in most of France’s major cities. On the night of august 23, a decision was taken at the Louvre to kill Coligny and the entire Huguenot hierarchy. Catherine de Medici, the mother queen, forced his son Charles IX to sign the order. Thus the infamous massacre in history finally came.Generally, the result of â€Å"The Wars of Religion† was the destruction of Huguenot power and the restoration of Catholicism as the official state religion of France. Methods The use of â€Å"historical documents† was highly noted in the book. Several documents dating back to the sixteenth century were presented to compound the main thoughts of the author. There was also a heavy reliance on the use of autobiographies, especially that of the Huguenot leaders who survived the massacre. In general, the methods used by the author were complex in structure and analytical in form.Genera l Critique The author was able to historically â€Å"slice† the events prior to the Huguenot massacre. This is unlike other history books where events were seen as linear progression of cause and effect. Here, events were treated as a web of related forms, leading to a major event. It failed though to explain the â€Å"conditions† which gave Huguenots tremendous power in France despite their minute number. BIBLIOGRAPHY Diefendorf, Barbara B. Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris. (New York: Oxford UP, 1991).

Scirr

On top of the colorful clouds, lays a peaceful palace – a wonderland. A mysterious man glances down at the magic mud; as he moves his huge hand on top of the mud, a fragile figure slowly appears. In a few seconds, as he claps his hands, snaps his fingers, stomps his feet, a-bunch of innocent immaculate lives were created. â€Å" You,† he pointed at the clumsy cow, â€Å" you have to work every day and night and you may only eat green grass. I announce, you will own 50 years of life. † He said in a gentle voice as he hands the cow a red rose with 50 plump petals.The clumsy cow slowly lifted up â€Å"Dear mighty God, if I can only work and not enjoy life, I would rather live for 20 years. † and the clumsy cow pick 30 plump petals from the rose and throws them in the air. The man nods his head, and the cow moss as she leaves. â€Å" You, sir,† he pointed at the mocking monkey â€Å" you have to perform for people and be a clown. I announce, you will h ave 40 years life. † He said in a sympathetic voice, and he handed the mocking monkey a red rose with 40 plump petals. The mocking monkey shouts â€Å" I only want 10 years of life and bye. † The monkey picks 30 plump petals as he jump and leaves the room.The man smiles helplessly and turns to the last creation. â€Å" you, my lovely baby boy, you only need to sleep, to play, to have fun; you will have 10 years to enjoy your life. † The man smiles with love in his eyes and he hands the boy a red rose with 10 plumps petals. The baby boy cheers and dances. A thought creeps into his unspoiled mind. â€Å" My Lord 10 years is not enough to enjoy life, I heard the clumsy cow gave you 30 years back and so did the mocking monkey,† he said innocently with his blinking eyes. â€Å" If you love me, give me those 60 years so I may completely enjoy my life. The man shakes his head and says, â€Å" Whatever you like my child, however, don’t regret. † God summons the fallen flowers and reunites the plump petals to the sweet stem. As time goes by , the baby boy has fun for his first 10 years of his life, works to death for the following 30 years and ends his life with entreating other for 30 more years. The bot views of the world changes as he goes through different stages of his life. He earns his epiphany as he slowly passes away and finally realizes the goodness around him. The boy closed his tired eyes with a angel-like smile on his face as the last petals on the rose slowly fall to the ground.

Conclusion Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Conclusion - Dissertation Example In the context of the political dimension and its correlation with the Saudi media, we infer that it is impossible to segregate the function of the information media from the general policy of the Saudi government, which is a written press policy. The SPA - Saudi Press Agency contributed as an intermediary between the agenda of the Saudi Arabian government and the work of the Saudi information media. The Saudi Ministry of Information appoints Editor-in-Chief who decides that what should be published and should not be published in the Saudi press and he is also completely accountable in front of the legal prosecutor of the state. The purpose of adopting this measure is to ensure that the newspapers in Saudi Arabia follow the path that has been designed for them so as to preserve the Saudi Arabian society as a conservative Islamic society, in its nature. The research findings through the content analysis shed light on why the Saudi press paid emphasis to the Bahraini conflict from the perspective of the military regime in Saudi Arabia. Firstly, the Saudi Arabian journalists were obligated by the Saudi Ministry of Information to provide state perspective or agenda to the Saudi people and Saudi society as a whole. Greater attention is given to the news belonging to the industrialized countries of the world such as the UK and the US. On the reasons for the dominance of Western and American news content could be the 'chess game' of politics as the Saudi Arabia supports these states and their governments. The 'geographic proximity', political and trade factors had influenced the amount of coverage given by the Saudi Arabian print media to the conflict in Bahrain. The Saudi media is viewed as an instrument of the state policy since it is governed indirectly by the Saudi government. It is can be expected that the policy of the Saudi government would be carried out from the media itself without showing any resistance. More particularly, the coverage of the activities of the Saudi government by the Saudi press would be positive in tone. Research Categories When creating categories for the content analysis, the newspaper content was classified with respect to the expanded and reformulated version of categories employed by Stevenson, et al. (Stevenson et al., 1990: 197-199). A brief description of these categories is provided below: Category A is classified as the main news topics, that include political, economic, military/defence, social service, education, religion, sport, crime/law/justice, natural disasters/accident, ecology/environment, multiple issues and many others. Category B is classified as the type of news. The selected types of news can be further divided into three categories: local or domestic news, international news that involves KSA and some other country irrespective of its geographical location and foreign news that has no association with KSA. Category C is classified as the tone of the main news topic, which can be further class ified as either positive or negative. This judgment was based on whether the news and its tone were favourable to the interests of KSA and the US. Therefore, the news items that emphasised only the causes or issues (such as discrimination, injustice, etc.) behind the situation in Bahrain were classified as having a negative

War on Drugs Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

War on Drugs - Coursework Example The major unintended consequences of the war on drugs include the criminalization of drug users, death penalty; punitive sentencing practices such as mandatory sentencing; excessive levels of imprisonment and the enforced drug detention centers. The drug policy directly affected the poor, vulnerable and the socially excluded groups, particularly the women and ethnic minorities. Generally, a larger percentage of the small scale drug offenders exhibit no history of criminal acts such as high level drug selling activities or violence. However, illegal drug perpetrators make up a large percentage of arrests; in the US, marijuana made up 40% of total drug arrest in 2005 (Penal Reform International, 2010). The US has been largely criticized for racially molding the War on Drugs. Even though the rate of marijuana use is evenly spread across the population, the Native American users seem to be favored by the law with Blacks and Latinos disfavored in the process. For instance, among the inmates incarcerated in prisons for drug related offences, 37% were Blacks, 31% Hispanics and only 28% were Whites in 2007 (Pew Research Center, 2009). In conclusion, the War on Drug initiative has proven ineffective in controlling the production, trafficking and consumption of the illegal drugs. It is also associated with numerous other impacts such as criminal justice system overload, overwhelmed courts, and overcrowded prisons exacerbated health problems. This, therefore, would suggest the need for trial of alternative measures such as legalization of drug use. Penal Reform International.(2010). The unintended negative consequences of the ‘war on drugs’: mass criminalization and punitive sentencing. Retrieved