Do Large Business Have an Affect on Small Business Essay

Considering the normative statement that both large and small businesses should follow the same ethical and moral standards, this paper analyzes the perceptions of individuals based on the relative ethical behavior of small business as compared to large business. The study of ethics focuses on the differences between what is right and what is wrong in society which affects both small business and large business due to their obligation to the public and their stakeholders. Both entities are guided by the same standards and both are expected to meet all legal regulations and ethical standards. The analysis employs surveys to gauge the public’s perceptions of the ethical decision making by management in both small business and large business. The survey also analyzes the role of those ethical decisions within scenarios and their impact on the individuals’ patron behavior in small business as compared to large business. Statistical analysis has been utilized to test the authors’ overall hypothesis that the public is generally less concerned about ethical decision making of small business relative to large business. The implications of these findings for both large and small businesses are provided with the analysis and suggestions to correct the disparity between both entities. Introduction During the past decades it has been evident that ethics has become the hot topic in business. However, much of the talk is not comprised of all types of business it involves primarily the large corporations. Large corporations such as Enron have caused much grief to those around them and everyone that they employed. Due to this reason regulations such as the Sarbanes- Oxley Act have been enforced to hold large businesses accountable. While these regulations have focused solely on large corporations, efforts to regulate small businesses have been small. It is estimated that small businesses make up over 80% of all business in the United States of America. That is a huge sector which is unregulated due to its size. While the adverse actions of each entity do not do great harm to the economy; the cumulative damage of all components of the group could have devastating impacts on the general economy. Literature Review Businesses today are completely different than the businesses of years past. Today, business ethics has become an area of great concern in both corporate culture and academia. Companies such as WorldCom and Enron have caused people to reevaluate philosophy and business. Ethics can be defined by the morals that people and companies hold. Although internal and external forces influence businesses, there are three issues that affect issues in business. These three issues are systematic, corporate, and individual. To truly understand each factor one has to understand how each of these issues differs and how they influence the business itself. Systematic issues analyze ethical values in economic, political, legal, and other social systems in which the business operates (Velasquez, 2006). An example of this would be a question of morality about the current laws pertaining to accounting systems. Laws influence the actions of people because they stem through consequences with the local or federal government. People tend to be scared of a higher authority more than self punishment. 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 – Winter 2010 293 The second factor is corporate issues which are issues of morality of internal activities such as policies, practices, and organizational structure (Velasquez, 2006). Corporate issues are based on corporate cultures. If a company treasures capital gains more than human capital the company would then lay off employees to save money. On the other hand, a company that treasures its employees is more likely to take a cut and keep their employees. To say that one company is more ethical because of their decision lays in a company’s moral standards. The idea of moral standards stems from the third type of issue which is the individual issues. Individual issues are issues that are based on individuals within a company along with their behaviors and decisions (Velasquez, 2006). This includes the moral standards of individuals. Moral standards are standards that are set by the individuals themselves and by no other governing body. Hence, each individual has a right to stand for what they believe in. It may be simple to take these three factors and state that this is common sense information; however, it is just as complicated to say that there can be one rule that can apply to every situation that is similar. In cases where individual morals differ from those of corporate or systematic, it is easy to assume that one would no longer pay attention to their place of business or the entity that is different. However, humans are prone to being victims of society and need to supply for their family. Knowing that something unethical is occurring at a place of business does not mean that the person will just walk away whether they have worked in small or large firms. Decisions of a business affect all tiers of the organizational structure which in turn affect the lives of all stakeholders of the company. Therefore, ethical standards have risen due to the current corruption in many large businesses. News reports of Nike and Merck have grabbed the attention for case studies and have become the top selling stories. The news ran the stories that exposed the fragile nature of the corporate worked to their affect on the country’s economy. Due to the global impact of large corporations the public’s eye is primarily on large businesses; however, ethical issues arise in small businesses as well. Lisa Miller states that small businesses â€Å"were overlooked when Wall Street’s mega-scams and scandal came to light (Miller, 2003). For people that analyze and teach ethics â€Å"business ethics have almost invariably concerned the doing, indeed generally the misdoings, of large companies (Quinn, 1997).† Quinn noted that in the late 20th century there has been an increase in the economic activity of small businesses (Quinn, 1997). He states that not only do the managers have to be observed so do the employees. The employees have want approval of their peers which is also accepted by the manager/owner (Quinn, 1997). In large businesses it seems easier to separate you personal ethics from businesses ethics. In small businesses the relationship with one’s coworkers becomes a sub-family relationship making it that much harder to make â€Å"ethical† decision. The overall factors that influence business ethics derive from personal ethics and how those ethics affect others. Miller points out that it is an assumption that small businesses do not need a code of ethics however, they have a bigger temptation to b involved in â€Å"dubious business practices (Miller, 2003). 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 – Winter 2010 294 In Mark Schwartz essay A Code of Ethics for Corporate Code of Ethics, Schwartz finds that over ninety percent of large corporations have a code of ethics (Schwartz, 2002). He concluded that there a six universal moral standards in four different sources. The moral standards that he looked at included trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship (Schwartz, 2002). Due to these criteria Schwartz states that a code of ethics should be constructed on factors that could be audited. His study provides a normative foundation for evaluating a corporation’s code of ethics. In a 1981 an article by Brown and King analyzed the influences and perceptions of small business ethics. In their foundational work Brown and King realized the disparity in public awareness between small business ethics and large business ethics. Brown and King surveyed a small group of individuals consisting of â€Å"small business† respondents and â€Å"other† respondents who were mostly employed by large corporations. Brown and King’s research sought to answer three questions. First, the research asked â€Å"How high are the ethics of small business people perceived to be?† Second, â€Å"Compared to others, what causes the behavior of people in small business to be more or less ethical?† Finally, â€Å"What are the prevailing small business attitudes concerning ethical issues?† (Brown and King, 1981). Brown and King found that there was a surprisingly small difference in the responses between the two subgroups of respondents. The research conducted by Brown and King examined the perspectives of those in the various sized business. The research left a gap in the general public’s perceptions of the ethical actions between large and small business. The Center for Business Ethics surveyed Fortune 1000 industrial and service companies to see how they have instilled their ethical values to compare their results from the study they performed in the mid 1980s. Their survey showed some progress but, not enough (Center for Business Ethics, 1992). Ethical standards fall in line with legal regulations. Sandra Malach, et al. believe that incorporating legal planning into business planning to avoid legal issues and to protect the businesses most important assets (Malach, Sandra et al, 2006). While legal action is important it is important to focus on consequences in a workplace outside o f the any punishments. To further analyze ethical dilemmas it is important to observe the consequences at a workplace. One consequence that business can apply is a zero tolerance policy in a workplace. This ethical dilemma is especially interesting when applied in a small business setting, and contrasted with techniques applied in large corporations. The ethical compass of the theory for the zero tolerance policy is Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Kant’s Categorical Imperative is defined by the rule that people should â€Å"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end (Stanford, n.d.).† Kant’s Categorical Imperative is a very restrictive rule to live by and cannot practically be applied to everyday life. However, when discussing ethical dilemmas in the workplace, the Categorical Imperative should not be overlooked. The Zero Tolerance Policy embodies the Categorical Imperative in the sense that everyone must ask himself/herself whether they would be willing to have the same behavior applied to them if the roles were reversed. In the business setting the Categorical Imperative has a special value; it helps mitigate moral hazard. 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 – Winter 2010 295 Moral hazard was once described as â€Å"a situation in which a party is insulated from the consequences of its actions†¦Thus protected, it has no incentive to behave differently (Ahrens,2008).† In the business setting, moral hazard can be devastating to the culture of the company and can eat away at the profit margin. Consider an employee who is discovered to be â€Å"moonlighting† or working an untaxed second job during hours in which the employee should be giving full attention to their actual job. This behavior may seem harmless and may only warrant a verbal warning, but when the other employees discover how easy it is to get by with unethical behavior they are incentivized to act unethically. This slippery slope scenario results only in the necessary termination of the unethical employee. When an employer establishes that unethical behavior will not be tolerated the result is the strengthening of the corporate culture and the avoidance moral hazard. However, this scenario might work differently in a small business. In a small business the cost of a zero tolerance policy can be devastating. The costs associated with replacing an employee in a large corporation is easily spread across the entire entity as a fixed cost of doing business; this is not the case in the small business. The employer-employee relationship in the small business, by nature, is more flexible and more personal. This flexibility can allow for a more informal agreement, between management and employees, to be made. Finding a â€Å"win-win† solution allows for Kant’s Categorical Imperative to be upheld and moral hazard can be avoided. In a large publically traded company this kind of arrangement cannot be made because not all of those who are residual claimants (owners) can be spoken for. In the large publically owned company the zero tolerance policy should be followed, but in a small privately owned company a modified zero tolerance policy can be applied. Kant’s Categorical Imperative can be a useful tool when designing corporate policy in publically traded companies. The zero tolerance policy should be applied in publically traded companies. In addition, Kant’s Categorical Imperative should still be applied to design a modified zero tolerance policy in small private companies. To solve the issue of what the zero tolerance policy entails, the company needs to implement a code of ethics in their organization. Eberhard Schnebel and Margo A. Bienert state that a code of ethics strengthens an organizations success therefore improving the overall value of the company (Schnebel & Bienrt, 2004). The value that is added is the public’s perception that the business is there to benefit the community. L. Spence studied a similar phenomenon as this essay explores. In a 1999 study L. Spence found that there is a lack of information on any correlation between small businesses and their ethical standards. The reason for this is because small firms receive little attention by the media which makes them a quick oversight (Spence, 1999). Four years later L. Spence wrote an editorial with R. Rutherfoord to explore the sociological perspective in the field of ethics (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2003). Due to these two studies we have been motivated to explore the issue further and gain insight on why there is a lack of information on the issue. 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 – Winter 2010 296 Hypotheses As discussed earlier, the objective of this pilot study was to examine the differences in respondents’ perceptions of ethical dilemmas and ethical standards in small business as compared to large business. In order to facilitate the primary research objective the following working hypotheses were formed: H1: The size of the business will have no impact on consumers’ shopping decisions when ethical dilemmas are present. H2: The size of the business will have no impact on the actions of employees when ethical dilemmas are present. H3: The size of the business will have no impact on the respondents’ perception of the incentives associated with acting ethically. H4: In general, respondents believe that small businesses should be held to the same ethical standards as large corporations. These hypotheses are based on the supposition that individuals will be more lenient or forgiving of the shortcomings of small businesses relative to their large counterparts. Methodology The study was initiated with the creation of a preliminary (alpha) survey. The alpha survey resulted in fourteen respondents and was conducted by means of convenience sampling. The alpha survey was a paper based survey consisting of thirteen questions. The survey included demographic questions as well as analysis questions. There were mixed results on the alpha survey mostly due to the confusing survey design associated with strict time constraints. While the alpha survey did not provide sufficient data, it was useful as a tool in the creation of a secondary (beta) survey. The beta survey instrument consisted of two separate surveys. One survey was specific to small business while the other was specific to large business. The surveys were created and distributed electronically using Survey Monkey. The goal for the beta survey was a total of 100 respondents for each survey resulting in an overall total of 200 respondents. The small business survey yielded 105 useable returns, a 94.6 percent return rate. The large business survey yielded 107 useable returns, an 84.3 percent return rate. Each survey included five common demographic questions, two common questions pertaining to ethics, and eight questions relating specifically to either small business or large business. The survey was distributed broadly across various social networking sites and throughout the Christopher Newport University community. Due to time and budgetary constraints the beta survey consisted mostly of opportunity sampling and snowball sampling. The authors recognize the drawback of an opportunity sample; however, the research question in this pilot study can be adequately answered using this technique. The analysis questions on both the small business and large business surveys consisted entirely of binomial data. The respondents were limited to either â€Å"Yes or No† or â€Å"I agree or I disagree.† For the purpose of testing the hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) statistical analysis will be used to measure the difference between the proportions of the two samples. For the final hypothesis (H4) the analysis will simply state the overall proportion of respondents in both surveys who answered favorably and interpret the results. Hypotheses H1, H2, and H3 will be tested at ÃŽ ±=.10, ÃŽ ±=.05, and ÃŽ ±=.01 levels of significance.

Gregor and Othello: Disillusionment Essay

An illusion is something that we think is real but is actually not. We produce illusions when our minds play tricks on us. When we discover the truth, we feel a terrible sense of disillusionment. This is when we discover that what have known all along has been false. Disillusionment thugs at our innermost core and lead us to deep misery. The characters of Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s â€Å"The Metamorphosis† and Othello in Shakespeare’s play of the same title both experience this sense disillusionment. They both think that the thing that they believe in is real but towards the end of their lives, they discover that what they have believed in are just illusions. When Gregor Samsa turns into a giant insect, he notices the transformation but he still believes that he is still the human Gregor. Even if he notices that he turns into an insect, he is not worried. What he is worried about is that he is late for work and that his boss might get angry at him (1085). He forces himself to get up and thinks that what he has to do even if he sees that he has turned into an insect is to get dressed, have breakfast and catch the next train to work. Gregor’s illusion is that the world will treat him as Gregor the human even if his appearance has turned into an insect. It is an illusion because everybody who sees Gregor sees only the monstrous insect and not Gregor. He tries to make everyone understand that he is still Gregor but being turned into an insect, he talks like an insect and the insect noises that he makes are not understood by his family. The family sees a giant insect and hears insect noises. So even if inside that insect shell, there’s still Gregor who thinks human thoughts and feel human warmth and affection, outside, he is not Gregor anymore. His illusion is that others will see him as human and not as insect. There’s even a point in the when Gregor’s insect body grows on him that he starts to enjoy moving and using his new kind of feet. He learns to crawl around his room, on the wall and on the ceiling. When Gregor’s sister, Grete, notices Gregor’s behavior, Grete thinks that they should get rid of the furniture inside Gregor’s room to allow Gregor to crawl more freely (1098). Gregor initially welcomes the suggestion but is startled because he notices that with that suggestion, he is actually allowing his family to think that he has really turned into a crawling insect (1099). So he scared Grete and his mother while they are carrying the furniture out. Gregor holds on to his illusion that his family will eventually see that he is still Gregor. He always makes it a point to be courteous to his family. Since his family cannot take his hideous appearance especially his sister Grete who comes to his room for food, Gregor hides his body whenever he senses Grete getting inside his room. There is even one time when he labors for four hours just to cover his whole body for his sister Grete (1097). But as days pass, it becomes evident that Gregor’s family members will not look or relate to him as a human. Gregor’s disillusionment happens when he gets out of his room to get closer to Grete who is playing violin for the lodgers. When the lodgers and Grete see him, Grete tells everyone with Gregor in front of her: You just have to try to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor. Believing it for so long that is our real misfortune. But how can it be Gregor? (1107) When Gregor hears his sister he becomes sad, returns to his room and dies in misery that he really cannot be Gregor anymore to his family. Othello’s illusion is that his wife is cheating on him. This is not real but Othello is tricked and made to believe of his wife’s infidelity. It is Iago, one of Othello’s men who cunningly produces the illusion in Othello’s mind. In Act 1 Scene III of the play, Iago makes a speech about his intention for tricking Othello. He hates Othello, â€Å"I hate the Moor†, because Othello does not make him Lieutenant. Instead, Othello chooses Cassio whom Iago believes to be less experienced and qualified (Shakespeare Act I Scene III Lines 383-404). Iago uses Cassio and even his own wife, Emilia to achieve his plot of ruining Othello by making him believe that his wife is having an affair with Cassio. Iago asks Emilio who works for Desdemona to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief given to her by Othello. Emilia does not initially suspect of Iago’s evil plot; she gets the handkerchief and gives it to Iago. Iago then puts the handkerchief in Cassio’s room (Act III Scene IV). This is what Iago uses to make Othello believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio and Othello believes him. Othello’s disillusionment happens after he has killed Desdemona for believing that Desdemona is cheating on him. In Act V Scene II, Emily tells Othello that Desdemona loves him and that Desdemona does not give Cassio the handkerchief as token of her love (Lines 226-229). Othello confirms this with Iago’s behavior. As Emily is divulging the Iago’s evil plot, Iago kills Emily and runs away (Act V Scene II Line 239). Othello recognizes his foolishness, â€Å"O fool! O fool! O Fool! (Act V Scene II Line 322) The disillusionment leads Othello to misery and takes his own life. The characters of Gregor and Othello both hang on to illusions and feel a terrible sense of disillusionment upon learning of the truth. Disillusionment is a universal human emotion. As in the case of Gregor and Othello, disillusionment always result in pain for us humans because pain is the result of the destruction of that part of us that keeps us ignorant. The pain that comes with disillusionment signals that something in us is destroyed: our illusion and ignorance. Works Cited Kafka, Franz. â€Å"The Metamorphosis. † Literature World Masterpieces. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996, 1084-1110. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"Othello the Moor of Venice. † The Compact Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 5th Ed. New York: Bedford’s/St. Martin, 2005, 246-288.

MGMGT 4440 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MGMGT 4440 - Essay Example To achieve such cultural change, leadership of the organization therefore has to play important role in identifying and exploring the gaps which need to be filled in order to comprehensively revamp the culture of the organization and achieve the desired level of performance. HR is another important organizational arm which can help develop such an environment and achieve the required level of cultural change so that the organizations can become more responsive and conducive for the tapping the untapped potential of the organization. (Daniels and Daniels) This paper will therefore aim to explore and discuss some of the key aspects of performance management including role of culture in achieving high level performance, whether organizations can actually change their culture to achieve such objectives, the role of leader and the HRM function within the organization. Impact of culture on performance Before discussing the impact of culture on performance, it is important to understand the overall concept of performance management and how it fits together with organizational culture. Performance management is often considered as a process of achieving the organizational goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. Performance management therefore not only includes the management of the results but also the behaviors of the employees as behavior can have significant impact on the performance. It is argued that culture can significantly impact the organizational performance however, it is important to explore as to which elements of the culture exactly can influence the performance of the organization. (Lee and Yu). It is further argued that organizational performance is linked with good cultures and good cultures in return are focused on achieving excellence, profitability, strong team orientation as well as honesty and will to succeed. These characteristics form the part of the good culture which invariably fosters creativity and innovation within the employees and the organizations to make them more productive and performance oriented. Since culture of an organization outlines its overall values and belief systems therefore the underlying performance of the firms are also directed at ensuring that such values and belief systems are complied with. Organizations having performance oriented values tend to perform better than the organizations which are not focused on achieving excellence in performance. Further, through careful cultural engineering, organizations can actually achieve the significant improvement in their overall performance because cultural shift provides new means of achieving the required excellence. Can the culture of an organization be changed to increase performance? The process of cultural engineering is considered as one of the methods through which organizations basically attempt to change the culture and redirect it towards the achievement of excellence performance. For example, a shift towards more open culture may allow employees to become more creative and express their opinions more frequently. This openness of the culture therefore can offer a unique and diverse perspective on its core strengths and how a change in the organizational culture can effectively ensure performance. Apple Inc was

Music and Bible in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues Research Paper

Music and Bible in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues - Research Paper Example Music also provides the context for which the narrator finally sees his brother for who he is at the end of the story while playing jazz music. The unnamed narrator of ‘Sonny’s Blues’ engages an estranged and strained relationship with his brother throughout the story. While each is not trying to out-do the other in terms of impressing other people or gaining acclaim of any kind as is the case in most conventional sibling rivalries, it is their opposing lifestyles and attitudes which are fighting against each other as the narrator cannot accept his brothers actions and constantly attempts to coax him into a more traditional and ‘normal’ lifestyle like his own as he does not understand Sonny’s self-destructive behaviours, â€Å""Tell me," I said at last, "why does he want to die? He must want to die, he's killing himself, why does he want to die?" (38). Though the narrator has largely ignored his troubled younger brother for many years, when he does reach out to him while in jail, their lack of communication is evident as the narrator realises that he does not really know his brother at all. His mother asks him to watch out for his brother, "You got to hold on to your brother," she said, "and don't let him fall, no matter what it looks like is happening and no matter how evil you gets with him" (104), but has not done so for years. At the beginning of the story, the narrator sees news of his brother’s trouble in the newspaper and it is only because of this report that â€Å"Sonny became real to [him] again† (Baldwin 3). The narrator enjoys a conventional and respectable lifestyle – he is married with a family, maintains a full-time teaching job and is a respected member of the community in which he grew up. In stark contrast with this, the younger brother Sonny, has engaged in drug use since a very young age and has been in trouble with the law consistently. Feeling extremely trapped in his life by fa cing obstacles typical of that of a black man in Harlem during the 1960s, Sonny represents the problems faced by that community at that particular time (Reilly 56). The dynamics of this relationship is greatly reflective of the biblical story of Cain and Abel from the book of Genesis (Tackach). In the story, Cain is portrayed as being extremely sinful and kills his brother Abel. Though an extreme comparison, the fundamental differences between Cain and Abel and the tensions this causes, reflect the difference between the narrator and his brother as Sonny appears to be corrupted with temptation and sin while the narrator enjoys a highly moral, acceptable and conventional lifestyle. From the very beginning of the story right through to the end, music plays an extremely fundamental and important role in this narrative. It is through music that the narrator finally understands his brother, feels his passion and sees his unique and positive qualities. When he first sees Sonny after his s tint in jail, he initially does not recognise him â€Å"Yet, when he smiled, when we shook hands, the baby brother I’d never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light† (Baldwin 35). It is not until the very end of the story, when he and Sonny go to a jazz club

Evaluating the Use of E-Commerce in a 'Brick and Click' Organisation Essay

Evaluating the Use of E-Commerce in a 'Brick and Click' Organisation That Balances E-Commerce with a Continued High Street Rrese - Essay Example The business model of the Argos Company is built around three foundations. These include Argos strong information technology and communication systems, the company’s multi channel approach and finally the organization’s efficient supply chain management systems and alliance with UPS. The company has designed an integrated multi channel systems for consistent communication and distribution across traditional street stores, website, television, telephone, mobile devices etc. For this purpose, Argos has created click and collect online service, text and take home SMS service, ring and reserve telesales service, and Argos Direct home delivery service to ease consumer shopping experience. The E-business strategy of Argos is both businesses oriented and consumers focused. Both suppliers and consumers use the same web platform for transaction and trade. This is because Argos’ e-business supports and promotes the secure transaction through 128 bit SSL. This feature of Ar gos entails modifications for supply chain in e-commerce and it has surfaced as a channel of distribution for inbound and outbound logistics. This role has emerged in addition to the communication role of e-commerce between the company and customers; however, this also has further extended to interaction between suppliers. Moreover, the e-commerce is now deemed as a channel which contributions are surpassed from generating online sales to generating traffic to the street stores. Evaluating the Use of E-Commerce in a ‘Brick and Click’ Organization That Balances E-Commerce with a Continued High Street Presence Introduction This paper is an evaluation of e-commerce practice by a click and mortar company. The organization which is chosen for analysis is Argos, which is a UK based company. The paper studies and analyzes the business model and electronic business strategy of Argos, and determines how the company plans and executes its online business strategy to sustain balan ce between its online sales channel and offline counterparts. It also identifies how the organization, Argos, has designed and aligned its strategic business objectives in leveraging the broad commerce activity, i.e. assessing its business activity online and across the offline stores. Background of the company Argos is a UK based retail division of Home Retail Group, established in 1973. The group owns two separate divisions of Home Retail and Argos. Argos is a preeminent catalogue based retail chain which has both online and offline store presence of over 700 stores across UK and Ireland. The Argos catalogue comprises general merchandise products across a diverse assortment of categories such as furniture, sound & vision, photography, baby products, Do It Yourself goods (DIY), PC & games, personal care, garden & pets, household appliances, home wares, sports & leisure, toys & games, office, and jewelry & watches. The contemporary business orientation of the retail organization of Argo had historical foundations in traditional catalogue business which operates through telesales; however, today the customers’ base at Argo has provided a wide multi channel commerce facility for order placement through telephone, physical stores, electronic online stores, mobile phones, and social media. The organization Argo is a team of around thirty thousand people

Conversion&Commitment to New Religious Movements & Cults Research Paper

Conversion&Commitment to New Religious Movements & Cults - Research Paper Example .all religions involve ceremonials practiced collectively by believers which normally occur in special places - churches, temples or ceremonial grounds. The existence of collective ceremonial is usually regarded by sociologists as one of the main factors distinguishing religion from magic..." "...resembles a sect, but has different emphases. It is the most loosely knit of all religious organizations, being composed of individuals who reject what they see as the values of outside society. Their focus is on individual experience, bringing like-minded individuals together. People do not formally join a cult, but rather follow particular theories or prescribed ways...Like sects, cults quite often form around an inspirational leader.". The cult form of religious organization is significantly different from other forms in that religious experience tends to be highly individualistic and varies considerably with the individuals personal experiences and interpretations. A cult tends to be a very loose knit social group (and probably hardly qualifies as an organization in the accepted sense of the word) that collects around a set of common themes, beliefs or interests. Cults, for the above reasons, tend to be highly individualistic and lacking in formal organizational structures (clerical hierarchies, meeting places and so forth). The followers of a cult tend to resemble consumers rather than members, since there is rarely any formal joining mechanism; people who are interested in a particular cult theme (spiritualism, transcendental meditation and so forth) are encouraged to buy into the cult to varying degrees (TM, for example, sells a number of stages to spiritual enlightenment that the consumer can buy as and when they want to). Cults are tolerant of dissenting views. Since they rarely possess anything akin to a priesthood whose role is to interpret the word of God for their followers, discussion, argument and

Dominican Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dominican Republic - Essay Example Such news includes stories portraying the negativity of Haitians and their poor way of life. This negative depiction of Haitians plays a major role in instilling antihaitinismo among the Dominican people. Haiti’s politics is portrayed as bad and viewed as a political failure by the Dominican press. All the media wants is negative news about Haiti so as to make great headlines and, as a result, make money by attracting many readers. Political cartoons are very common in print media and are used to give news that are hard to spread in words. Such news is greatly exaggerated to come up with cartoons that will be attractive enough for news consumers among the Dominican People. The negative news portraying antihaitinismo in the Dominican Republic is mostly false, but due to the media restriction within the Dominican Republic, the Dominican people tend to believe it to be true. In fact, very few Dominican reporters know the truth about Haiti. The rest only give news based on seconda ry sources, rather than firsthand experience or sources. None of them has been to Haiti to experience their way of life and to give a true account of it (Sagas, 2003). During the Trujillo error, antihaitinismo was an ideology, fitting the totalitarian model. The dictatorship required and ideology to dwell on, and on which to misguide the people and into hating the Haitians. The Trujillo error molded antihaitinismo into a system that was to be loathed. It was depicted as having a very great difference with Dominican ways. This propaganda against Haiti was instilled into Dominicans for decades, around thirty-one years.It means that, some people were born among the Dominican people when the propaganda was still on and lived a great part of their lives under a dictatorship that instilled it into them.It created a nation that had fully embraced antihaitinismo. Such a generation becomes hard to modify their mindset or view towards

EU Reform Treaty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EU Reform Treaty - Essay Example Basically, the union of the said countries is formalized on the basis of different aspects. Even through a flag and a currency the member nations are considered as one. The flag being a circle of 12 gold stars set on a blue background and euro being the official currency.2 The European Union is continuously being guided by the agreements and consensus of the different member nations. Due to the type of operation of the organization it is often referred to as a 'negotiated order' or a permanent negotiation institute' which is based in one decision making process that is undertaken to resolve different issues being faced by the organization. It is basically a common notion that one of the agenda of the said organization is the determination of the guidelines regarding decision making and consensus along with the application.3 In a consolidated view, it can be perceived that a constitution can be of advantageous effect if development can be undertaken. The said notion has both advantages and disadvantages, thus, there are opposing ideas that have proponents and critics. The view and conviction of the different groups and parties are based on the different effect that can be observed in the member nations.4 The EU is composed of different key institutions such as the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the European Parliament. These are composed of different duties and jobs. When an issue is needed to be resolved the different institutions have different contributing duty. One of the issues that had recently been the issue being faced by the EU is the Reform Treaty. The said treaty is related to the issues on the establishment of the constitution for the whole EU. Basically, due to the fact that the EU is voting on the issues, the results of the vote were incorporated to the EU Reform Treaty. Aside form the said issue, there are other issues that are incorporated.5 The Reform Treaty then, which is aimed to be the guidelines and the guiding principles of the EU. Due to the specification of the policies the contradictions are inevitable. The importance then of the role being placed by the leaders of the said organization is the welfare of not only a nation but the whole region that had entrusted leadership to the EU. The highlights of the Reform Treaty include a no far reaching European constitution. Basically, this can be attributed to the fact that there are different criticisms that are faced. The majority voted against the notion, suggesting the Reform Treaty which was considered as a more practical solution since the changes compared to the policies that are being used is more utilizable. The Reform Treaty of 2007 had been a controversial event since the outlook of the people is the optimization of the organization through a constitution which was initiated and in even applied in 2004, although it had been expressed as a Constitutional Treaty. Basically, the policies needed ratification but through the Reform Treaty of 2007, changes had been undertaken.6 Basically the issues related to the Reform Treaty can be considered encompassing on the different aspects of the needs in governance of the region. These include then terms in

Library System Essay Example for Free

Library System Essay Technology has already become one of the essentials of a person’s daily living. Without it, life would be much more complicated for people will still always have to do things manually. It has already helped billions of people here on the planet. It simply makes life much easier. It makes tasks easier and faster to accomplish. Furthermore, technology has already been a part of our daily lives. It is everywhere; from the simplest things like mobile phones to the biggest machineries. It is already given to people and it’s up to you to maximize its use to the fullest. Technology is needed everywhere; grocery stores, malls, offices and especially in schools. Not only should the students learn how to use technology, computers to be exact. It also has to be learned by the instructors to keep up with this fast-growing computer age. In line with this, they also need it to ease their tasks from calculating grades to simple library systems. Handling a library could be a very complicated task as you need to keep an updated list of the books being used, borrowed and returned. Also, a librarian’s task is to organize these books so that it would be easier to find. Most libraries still stick to the manual system from long ago. This makes their job more complicated and more time consuming. A library system is important to a library to make the job for looking, arranging, borrowing and returning of books simpler with just a couple of clicks. Books would be much easier to find and borrowing and returning of books would be updated easily. With everything systemized and automatic, it will lessen the job of the librarian. 1. 1Background of the Study San Roque Catholic School is parochial catholic school located beside San Roque de Alabang Parish, Mendiola, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. It was established in 1981 by parish priest, Monsignor Tomas T. Gonzales. Its first batch was made up of one hundred forty one students which were divided into three sections. It was in 1982 when its three-storey building was begun to be built, due to the increase of the population of the students in the following year. Their first principal was Miss Lydia Santos. For 31 years, San Roque Catholic School has been providing affordable, high quality education to its students aiming to cultivate spirituality, evangelize and spread Christianity. In the present, San Roque Catholic School has a population of about nine hundred to one thousand two hundred students and approximately 20-25 faculty members. It already has two campuses: The main which is the original building and the annex that serves as the building for the elementary students which is in Ilaya, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The school library is located at the 3rd floor of St. Roch building. It was built by joining two rooms together. Half of the library contains the librarian’s desk, books, and tables. The other side is where magazines, newspapers, computer units, and the latest books are. The number of books hasn’t grown that much for the past years. It has approximately 1000-1500 books. An average of 10-20 classes visits the library every day. Almost half of the class borrows books. Although they already have an existing library system, the librarian still finds it inefficient to manage the books for the students. On our system, we have our current features; Login system with History log, for security on the administrators and assistants. The system has simple processes like add, edit archive a book to database, and Filtered book search results. Has a book preview pane, gives the librarian the image of the front page of the book. Have Corporate GUI design that is neat and user friendly. Everyday alert, gives the librarian each updates on everyday processes and transactions. Daily, Weekly Monthly Reports and has an penalty which is very convenient. 1. 2 Statement of the Problem After gathering information, the proponents found the following problems: General Problem The school manual library system is time consuming and is sometimes inaccurate. This doubles the job at hand. The proponents also found out that the penalty of the due books is sometimes miscalculated by the manual system, which can hinder the library’s implementation of rules against overdue books. It usually takes long for the librarian to accommodate many borrowers at a time because of the system’s process. Specific Problem 1. The system cannot view the content of each book when borrowing. 2. The system process is not easy. 3. The system lacks of security. 4. The system cannot confirm the identity of the book that is being borrowed. 5. The system’s process of updating information is time-consuming. 6. The system’s catalogue process is manually maintained. 1. 3 Objectives of the Study This study was made in order to achieve the following points: 1. 3. 1 General Objectives To develop an efficient and user-friendly library system for San Roque Catholic School that will ease the process of the system. 1. 3. 2 Specific Objectives 1. To create a system that will preview the content of each book; 2. To build a system that has an easy to use-all in-one interface; 3. To make a multiple user-account system. 4. A system that will preview the cover of each book. 5. System that will be able to update the information on each book. 6. To develop a system that is cataloguing ready. 1. 4 Significance of the Study The system is being fulfilled in order to benefit the following: †¢ School Administrator The system will ease the inventory of the library system. Determining the number of available copies and the number of copies needed for each book won’t take much time. †¢ School Librarian The system will avoid long lines when students borrow books at the same time thus, it will make the job much easier and more time constraint. It won’t be a hassle tracking down penalty fees anymore. †¢ Students The system will make it easier to browse books without checking every shelf for its availability. †¢ Future Proponents The system will serve as guide for future use and also a practice for aspiring programmers. 1. 5 Scope and Limitations The scope of this study: The Study is conducted at San Roque Catholic School. Therefore, we’ve managed to produce a few scopes on the system. †¢ The User Interface We will be focusing more on making the system more user-friendly. †¢ Borrowing System. The system allows viewing of borrowers and books for the librarian. The system is able to retrieve the books borrowed date and return date. †¢ Catalogues The catalogues are printable whether it is single or multiple. †¢ Preview of Book Cover The book cover is able to be previewed using the library system without needing to search for the book in the shelves of the library. †¢ Overdue penalties The system is able to track down the number of days the book is overdue and as well as the total penalty to be paid by the borrower. The limitations of this study: The system that we’ve created has few limitations, issues like lack of time, Error Fixings and Maintenance. †¢ Weekly Reports This feature has been implemented but it is not yet accurate. †¢ Library Cards This feature cannot be implemented in our system due to technical difficulties. Methodology The researchers decided to use the prototyping paradigm. Prototype systems development methodology in which a prototype is built, tested, and then reworked as necessary until an acceptable prototype is finally achieved from which the complete system or product can now be developed. This paradigm is very helpful to the group because the system can be adjusted frequently even the small details to make the system effective to the library. System Development Life Cycle Planning Phase In this Phase, is to plan and achieve the client’s perspective on their said features, think all possible problems that may appear while building the system and how to create that system in efficient way and not time consuming. Analysis Phase Phase that focus on all errors or problems can be acquired, how to resolve it and meet all the expectations of the clients. Design Phase In this Phase, To create a system that is very easy to use, have a well organized codes, have a user friendly GUI and meets all requirements needed to impress the clients. Implementation Phase Where the system is finished, all data are converted, resolve all possible errors during on designing and until its ready to install on their computer. Its smooth and efficiency makes the system great on quick processes. Maintenance Phase This phase checks and maintains the system for unspecified or unexpected errors that have been occurred after using it. The system can also be updated, giving it a better performance on each task.

Pink Flamingo Essay Example for Free

Pink Flamingo Essay In Jennifer Price’s essay entitled â€Å"The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History†, she uses rhetoric devices to convey her opinions of the emptiness of American culture. Price interprets the pink flamingos as a symbol of affluent American culture during the 1950’s. Price’s comparison of pink flamingos to American culture is demonstrated through the use of tone, satire, irony, comparison, and diction. Price varies her writing style as she varies the usage of rhetorical devices in this essay. She blatantly uses irony when she mentions that it is â€Å"a little ironic, since Americans had hunted flamingos to extinction†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lines 13-14)Price mentions this historical fact to criticize that Americans are using the image of a bird that they had themselves once killed with no serious thought behind it. She belittles Americans because Americans would only use the image of the bird without any interest in the actual bird itself. She compares pink flamingos to American culture in order to illustrate the flamboyant and affluent society that America now experiences like the color of the flaming after the gray days of The Great Depression. The author wants the readers to understand: Flamingos now serve as an icon, a symbol of the wealthy, affluent, and thriving American culture. Price sets the positive away from the noun that presents with dashes to accentuate the importance and the meaning of the word that it conveys. â€Å"Las Vegas: the flamboyant oasis of instant riches† gives more emphasis on the extravagance and the richness of the atmosphere of Las Vegas through the use of a positive saying. Price often uses periodic sentences in order to give more explanations on what she is trying to say. They are often used when she gives the historical information of the pink flamingos: â€Å"When the pink flamingo splashed into the fifties market, it staked two major claims to boldness. † But not only does it add the explanation, but also highlights the â€Å"claim† of the pink flamingos. What had once been only an option available for the wealthy high-class of America, vacations had started to open up to even people of the middle-class. The flamingo not only showed that there was a need for change in American lifestyle, but that a time for change in the way Americans behave is now. The flamingo was a motivator of behavior and cultural change in the U. S. , and even today it is still the symbol of the essential 1950’s lifestyle. Now is this Author really talking about â€Å"pink flamingos† or is she really saying something more? Almost like a hidden message, Price is telling just how we as Americans consume anything and everything we have access to. Price says â€Å"Americans had hunted flamingos to extinction,† can this bird be representing the power of Americans to us thing up as way to live? Jennifer Price is telling us something in her passage, and that is us consuming and diving out something to extinction. Americans as well as the rest of the world have been doing it for years and we will keeps doing it until the world is dried up. Therefore, until we find the next big break through everyone wonders what is going to be its future on us.

Water Irrigation Systems In India Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Irrigation Systems In India Environmental Sciences Essay Water is the most distributed substance on our planet. It is available in different amounts everywhere and plays an important role in the surrounding environment and human life. By recent estimates the earths hydrosphere contains a huge amount of water of about 1,386 million cubic kilometers. However, 97.5 per cent of this amount is saline water and only 2.5 per cent is fresh water. The greater portion of the fresh water (68.70%) is in the shape of ice and permanent snow cover in the Antarctic, the Artic, and Mountains regions. Only 0.26 per cent of the total amount of fresh water on the earth is concentrated in lakes, reservoirs, and river systems. They are most accessible for economic needs and very important for water ecosystems. Agriculture sector requires more irrigation water compared to industry and domestic sectors. Especially in developing countries the consumption of irrigation water was more than 90 per cent. Irrigation in India Indias irrigation development in this century and particularly after independence has seen number of large storage based system all by the government effort and money. However, in pre-British period in India, there were practically no large reservoir projects. Even in British period, a few storage structures were built only in the beginning of this century. Post independent India however has seen more than 60 per cent of irrigation budgets going for major and minor projects. Indian states have taken over total responsibility of planning, decision making, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of existing and future irrigation projects of all sizes. Indias irrigated agriculture has been fundamental to its economic development and poverty alleviation. About 18.00 per cent of Indias gross domestic product and 67.00 per cent of employment is based on agriculture. Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood in rural area, which accounts for 75.00 per cent of Indias population and 80.00 per cent of its poor. And, in turn, irrigation is the base for about 56.00 per cent. Considering these aspects of agriculture, Government of India has undertaken construction of major and minor irrigation projects in India. But, these projects have failed in equitable distribution of water resources throughout the country. Irrigation in Karnataka The Karnataka state is the eighth largest state in the country and it is located in the Deccan plateau. The geographical area of state is 1,90,498 sq km accounting for 5.8 per cent of the total area of the country. The climate of state varies from very humid rainy monsoonal climate in the west coast, the ghats and malnad areas to semi-arid warm dry climate on the east. There is a large variation in the rainfall with higher amounts in the Western Ghats and reducing towards the eastern plains. Along the coastal Dakshina Kannada district, the normal rainfall is about 4000 mm while in the drought prone districts of Bijapur, Raichur, Bellary etc., the rainfall is of the order of 500 mm to 600 mm. The average annual yield of the rivers of the Karnataka has been roughly estimated as 98,406 M.CUM (3,475 TMC). Agriculture being the main occupation of the state, irrigation plays utmost significant role in obtaining increased yields from the land. The development of irrigation in the state was slow and unsystematic during the pre-independence era. However, there was some notable irrigation works undertaken and completed during the pre-independence, such as Krishna Raja Sagar, Vijayanagar canals, Cauvery anicut channels, Gokak canal, Vanivilas Sagar, Markonahalli and Anjanapur. Though major projects like Tungabhadra, Bhadra, and Ghataprabha stage-I were commenced prior to the plan period, their progress was low and got impetus only after their inclusion in the first five year plan. River systems of Karnataka and water resources Karnataka has seven river systems, namely Krishna, Cauvery, Godavary, West flowing rivers, North Pennar, South Pennar, and Palar. It is estimated that the economically utilized water for irrigation is about 1695 TMC, excluding ground water. The total net sown area in the state is 107 lakh ha including rainfed irrigated area of 46 lakh ha. It is reported that the balance irrigation potential from all sources excluding rainfed irrigation has been estimated as about 61 lakh ha comprising 35 lakh ha under major and medium irrigations, 10 lakh ha from minor irrigation using surface water and 16 lakh ha from ground water. The Tungabhadhra Project The Tungabhadhra Dam is built across Tungabhadra river near Mallapura village about 5 kms from Hospet town. The name Tungabhadra is derived from twin rivers Tunga and Bhadra, which originate in Varaha Parvata in Western Ghats and join at Kudali village in Shimoga district. The Tungabhadra Project was started during the year 1945 as a joint venture by the Governments of Madras and Hyderabad. At the time of States reorganization, the project came over to Karnataka state. In Karnataka, it is intended to irrigate an area of 3.63 lakh hectares in Bellary, Raichur and Koppal districts under this project. The ultimate irrigation potential of Tungabhadra project is 3.63 lakh hectares. About 3.52 lakh hectares have been developed up to end of March 2006. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) PIM is not a new concept in India and locally managed irrigation systems are centuries old. They existed long before but they have been forgotten as the years rolled by and with the advent of the British regime and contraction of major irrigation projects. In ancient and medieval India, small irrigation schemes were entirely managed by farmers. As early as third century B.C. the Kautilya Arthashastrta enunciated the principles of participatory irrigation management. In second century A.D. in Tamilnadu, the Chola king built the Grand Anicut across the Cauvery river in the delta area and it was locally managed system till it was taken over by the British in 1799. Similarly, the Vijayanagar canals built by the Vijayanagar empire (13th to 16th century) as river diversion across the Tungabhadra river were entirely and ideally farmer managed. During the British period, many canal irrigation systems were built to ward off the havocs and distresses of famines in India. All these irrigation systems were entirely Government managed through the State Irrigation Department from top to bottom. Thus, the irrigation management became the exclusive responsibility of the State Irrigation Department. The concept of irrigation management is as much an organizational and social responsibility of the irrigators has been ignored with the need to increase agriculture productivity. Governments (Centre and State) embarked upon ambitious and major irrigation projects and they are all Governments managed. In this process, the past success of farmers in managing their own irrigation system was forgotten. The administration of such projects has not been able to enforce water control efficiently. Even if they are enforced, the legal mechanisms against the violators are also very weak. The failure of large scale irrigation projects has led to increased support for systems which could be run and maintained by the users themselves. In view of this, participatory irrigation management took birth. Realizing the great role of irrigation in economic progress, many countries in the world invested huge amounts of money for development of irrigation. Most of these state owned projects suffered from certain lacunae. These irrigation systems are not self sustaining because, the water charges have been kept low and also have not been collected efficiently over the years. The allocation of funds for the Operation and Maintenance (O and M) have created problem of unreliability of distribution of water. It has been recognized widely that unless the farmers are involved in an orgainized way in the operation, management and maintencance, the objectives of the irriagation projects cannot be realized to a full extent. Therefore, there is a trend all over the world to switch over to management of irrigation by farmers and thereby improve the efficiency. In the United States of America, the efforts began as early as in 1939 in this direction and completed thirty years later in 1969. France and Taiwan implemented the process in 1960s and 1970s. Since 1980s there have been experiments of this kind in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Arabia and Europe. Similarly Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines and other countries. This program is called by different names in different countries. It is called as Turn over in Indonesia and Philippines. Management transfer in Mexico and Turkey, take over in Colombia, Post-responsibility system or Responsibility contracting system in China and Par ticipatory Management in Sri Lanka. The process of change is also described differently as Farmers Organization and Turn over (FOT), Transfer and Self-Management (TESM), Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT), Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), etc. Participation is a process in which people express themselves, share, contribute and act with mutual responsibility to promote a common goals. Participation is crucial for agriculture and rural development and is one of the critical components for success of natural resource management. Farmers participation in decision making is more likely to lead to a sustainable increase in food production as well as in eco-preservation, restoration and development. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) refers to the involvement such as planning, designing, construction and supervision, policy and decision making, operation and maintenance (O and M) and evaluation of irrigation system. The program is implemented in India with the label of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM). The objectives vary from place to place within the country, but generally directed at improving the operation and maintenance of the irrigation system, increasing efficiency in the use of water, reducing the Government expenditure on irrigation, increase the collection of revenue. The man behind the present day Participatory Irrigation Management and irrigation co-operation is Sir. M. Vishveshvaraya, who as early as 1902-03 had advocated for establishment of such co-operation in respect of Khadakwasla canals while he was working as an Assistant Engineer in the Bombay state. Two water users co-operative societies were established namely Saswad Mali Society (1932) in Pune district and Samvastra Vibhag Water Supply Co-Operative Society (1936) in Ahamadnagar district. PIM in Karnataka The associations were named as Water Users Co-operative Societies (WUCSs) and the task of organizing them was entrusted to the Command Area Development Authority (CADA). The jurisdictional area of society was indicated in the range of 300 to 500 ha depending upon the position of the command area, hydrologic base and consideration of socio-economic aspects. The first society was registered in May 1990 at Shettikera in Shahapur taluka of Upper Krishna Project comprising an area of 328 ha in Shahapur Branch Canal. Since 2000, the Government of Karnataka has initiated a number of fresh measures for the implementation of the Participatory Irrigation Management. It had promulgated amendments to the Karnataka Irrigation Act 1965 and Irrigation (Levy of Betterment Contribution and Water Rate) Act 1957, to provide the legal frame work for formation of the societies and their duties and responsibilities have been framed. Water users associations at different level: It was proposed to organize the Water Users Associations (WUAs) at four levels as follows, Lateral level Water Users Co-operative Societies Distributory level Water Users Distibutory Level Federation Project level Water Users Project Level Federation State level Water Users Apex Level Federation Objectives of PIM model in Karnataka To initiate participation of the farmers in water management, irrigation scheduling, distribution and maintenance of system at micro level. To improve irrigation as well as water use efficiency or optimal production per unit volume of water. To make best use of natural precipitation and ground water in conjunctive with the canal water. To develop a sense of economy in water use amongst the users. To facilitate the users to have a choice in selecting crops, cropping sequence, timing of water supply depending upon the soil and availability of water, climate and other infrastructure facilities available in the command such as road, markets, cold storage etc., so as to maximize the income and profit. To delineate responsibilities of water distribution and maintenance of system between the users both relating to allocation and actual supply of water. To facilitate resolution of conflicts among farmers. To entrust collective and community responsibilities on the farmers to collect water charges and payments to government. To improve and sophisticate deliveries precisely as per crop need by the department at the supply point of the minors and thus reduce operation losses. To create healthy atmosphere between the managers and users in the entire operation. Enough research has been conducted to develop appropriate technology for irrigation commands, but it has not been adopted properly due to various reasons. In this context, Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) is conceived as panacea for the ills of irrigated farming. It is expected to solve the problems such as poor drainage, poor crop productivity, environmental degradation etc. PIM also deals with the maintenance of the irrigation system, equitable distribution of water, scientific crop management, planning and designing, construction and supervision, policy and decision making, operation and maintenance and evaluation of irrigation system etc. The logic is that water users have higher stake and they have total control over management of the irrigation system. PIM in Tungabhadra Project area Tungabhadra project (TBP) is one of the oldest projects to help the drought hit districts of North Karnataka. It serves three districts namely, Koppal, Raichur and Bellary. The ultimate irrigation potential of Tungabhadra project is 3.63 lakh hectares. An area of 3.52 lakhs hectares has been developed up to the end of March 2006. Sufficient time has elapsed without adequate returns in terms of agriculture output, income or revenue from the investment. To overcome these hurdles, the state adopted Participatory Irrigation Management and formation of Water Users Co-operative Societies (WUCSs) in early 1990s. As per the directions of the Government of India, the farmers are required to adopt micro level systems of water management. In this respect, from the year 1990 to 1999, sixteen water users co-operative societies were organized under CADA of which 13 societies were assisted with an amount of Rs.12.97 lakhs for first three years to meet the expenses of establishment charges like office rent, furniture and maintenance charge etc. But these societies have become defunct due to stoppage of financial assistance from the Government. Action is being taken to revitalize these societies and to adopt the new bye-laws and start functioning as per the amendment brought to irrigation act which was enforced from 2000 and onwards. In Tungabhadra project command area, 432 water users co-operative societies (out of 835 societies covering 3.63 lakh hectares) were registered up to end of November 2007 at Bellary, Koppal and Raichur districts. These water users co-operative societies covered an area of 1.77 lakh hectares of land. Among 432 water users co-operative societies, 168 water users co-operative societies have executed MOU and also two distributory level federations are registered one at RBLLC Bhagewady distributory and the other at RBHLC D.P.13 distributary. The formation of three more distributory federations are under progress. The registration of WUCSs in large number was mainly due to the pressure and target fixed by the government to the CADA officials. However, the progress of entering into memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Water Resources Department (WRD), actual hand over to farmers, etc was practically very slow. The expectations of organization of WUCSs were not achieved. There are many hurd les in the implementation of PIM at the grass root level. Therefore, in the study an attempt is made to understand the nature and progress of PIM and to identify the various factors / constraints limiting the successful implementation. This would throw light on ways and means for operatationalization of existing WUCSs in TBP area. Specific Objectives To analyze the growth in participatory irrigation management (PIM) in Tungabhadra project area. To asses the physical and financial progress of participatory irrigation management in the command area. To assess the impact of participatory irrigation management on farm economy. To identity the constraints in the operationalisation of participatory irrigation management (PIM). Hypotheses Growth of participatory irrigation management is increasing over the years. The physical and financial progress of the water users association is not satisfactory. The impact of functional water users co-operative societies on farm economy is not satisfactory over existing co-operative societies. Working of water users co-operative societies is beset with constraints. Presentation of the study The study has been presented in seven chapters. In chapter I, the nature and importance of the research problem, specific objectives of the study have been depicted. Chapter II deals with the review of the relevant past studies related to the study. Chapter III gives an over view of the study area, the nature and sources of data, the analytical tools employed for evaluating the objectives and interpreting the results and various concepts used in the study. The results of the study have been presented through a variety of tables in the chapter IV. A critical discussion of the results obtained has been presented / depicted in the chapter-V. A brief summary of the overall results and the main findings of the study have been presented in the chapter-VI along with the policy implications that emerged from the findings of the study. Chapter -VII includes the list of the refered books and journals in the study.

Alexander the Great Essay -- essays research papers

Alexander the Great was born in June, 356 BCE in the ancient capital of Macedonia called Pella. He was the son of Philip II, King of Macedon and Olympia, Princess of Epirus. Alexander inherited his father’s excellent organization skills and his mother’s hot temper. When Alexander was a young boy his mother had taught him that Achilles was his ancestor and that his father is a descendant from Hercules. This inspired Alexander to learn the Iliad by heart and always carry with him. Alexander showed signs of fearlessness and strength at a very early age. He tames the horse Bucephalus, which was a horse that nobody touched or rode. Later in his life Alexander rode Bucephalus to India, where it died. He then built the city of Bucephalus on the Hyphasis River in memory of his horse. Alexander’s parents saw the potential in their son to be a great leader, so they hired Aristotle as his personal tutor. Aristotle and Alexander studied together at Mieza, a temple 20 miles from his palace in Pella. Alexander learned philosophy, politics, ethics and medicine, as well as played sports and exercised daily to develop a strong body. Aristotle also sparked Alexander’s interest in other countries and races of people. When he was eighteen, Alexander commanded part of his father’s cavalry at the battle of Chaeronea.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 335 BCE, Philip II was assassinated, and at the age of twenty Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne. When Alexander took the throne many peopl...

Coming Home Essay -- Homosexuality

Marriage: n. The uniting of a man and woman as husband and wife (Webster’s Standard Dictionary 178). Up until the 1970‘s, homosexuals were highly looked down upon and could not come out about their sexual feelings for fear of undergoing abuse socially. Presently, same-sex marriage has caused the unity of two people to become a far more complicated, constitutionally and politically questioned issue than once imagined. Same-Sex Marriage: A Brief Background If marriage is defined as the union of a man and a woman, then it becomes severely difficult for a man and another man to marry, or two women. The first state to allow same-sex marriage, Massachusetts, had a large impact on homosexuals in America. Since 2003, a multifold of gay couples have taken the opportunity to legally wed in this unique state (Friedman). Currently, many states are being fought over between supporters and opposers of same-sex marriage; the key states are New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania (Gallagher). The support and opposal of same-sex marriage has drastically changed in the past decade. Seven or eight years ago American opinion polls display that the people opposed gay marriage by a 2-1 margin (Klarman). Furthermore, another poll taken in April 2005 told differently; according to a CNN/USA Today, Gallup poll, 68% of Americans felt that same-sex marriage should not be recognized as valid; 28% felt they should be valid, and 4% had no opinion. However, current opinion polls have presented that a slender majority of Americans support gay marriage (Klarman). Beside the fact that not everyone supports same-sex marriage, more homosexuals have come out to the people in their lives. â€Å"The number of Americans ... ...Gay Marriage, Empathy Is A Two- Way Street.† Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX). 10 Nov 2009: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Friedman, Laurie S.. Gay Marriage: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Gallagher, Maggie. â€Å"Gay Marriage: New York’s GOP Let’s Down the Base.† Wall Street Journal. 30 Jun 2011: A. 15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Jacobs, Deborah. "It's time to stop fighting about same-sex marriage." Forbes.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 27 Apr 2012. . Klarman, Michael. â€Å"Why Gay Marriage Is Inevitable.† Los Angeles Times. 12 Feb 2012: A. 27. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 12 Apr 2012. Olson, Walter. â€Å"Gay Marriage: An Amen for Albany.† Wall Street Journal. 30 Jun 2011: A. 15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Coming Home Essay -- Homosexuality Marriage: n. The uniting of a man and woman as husband and wife (Webster’s Standard Dictionary 178). Up until the 1970‘s, homosexuals were highly looked down upon and could not come out about their sexual feelings for fear of undergoing abuse socially. Presently, same-sex marriage has caused the unity of two people to become a far more complicated, constitutionally and politically questioned issue than once imagined. Same-Sex Marriage: A Brief Background If marriage is defined as the union of a man and a woman, then it becomes severely difficult for a man and another man to marry, or two women. The first state to allow same-sex marriage, Massachusetts, had a large impact on homosexuals in America. Since 2003, a multifold of gay couples have taken the opportunity to legally wed in this unique state (Friedman). Currently, many states are being fought over between supporters and opposers of same-sex marriage; the key states are New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania (Gallagher). The support and opposal of same-sex marriage has drastically changed in the past decade. Seven or eight years ago American opinion polls display that the people opposed gay marriage by a 2-1 margin (Klarman). Furthermore, another poll taken in April 2005 told differently; according to a CNN/USA Today, Gallup poll, 68% of Americans felt that same-sex marriage should not be recognized as valid; 28% felt they should be valid, and 4% had no opinion. However, current opinion polls have presented that a slender majority of Americans support gay marriage (Klarman). Beside the fact that not everyone supports same-sex marriage, more homosexuals have come out to the people in their lives. â€Å"The number of Americans ... ...Gay Marriage, Empathy Is A Two- Way Street.† Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX). 10 Nov 2009: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Friedman, Laurie S.. Gay Marriage: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Gallagher, Maggie. â€Å"Gay Marriage: New York’s GOP Let’s Down the Base.† Wall Street Journal. 30 Jun 2011: A. 15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Jacobs, Deborah. "It's time to stop fighting about same-sex marriage." Forbes.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 27 Apr 2012. . Klarman, Michael. â€Å"Why Gay Marriage Is Inevitable.† Los Angeles Times. 12 Feb 2012: A. 27. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 12 Apr 2012. Olson, Walter. â€Å"Gay Marriage: An Amen for Albany.† Wall Street Journal. 30 Jun 2011: A. 15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Apr 2012.

Old Age in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry

Leaving cert study notes  © Paula O’Sullivan Plath and old age. Plath has a fear of growing old, and deals with the passage of time and old age in many of her poems. Morning Song, written after the birth of her first child, deals with Plath’s preoccupation with growing old. The poet has birthed a child, and therefore fulfilled her requirement as a human being to procreate. Human’s get to an optimum age for bearing children, and after that, it is a slow decline into old age and inevitable death. Plath speaks of â€Å"Effacement at the wind’s hand†, which basically means she will be rubbed out and forgotten with the passage of time. Related reading: How to be Old PoemThe poet uses a complex image of rainwater reflecting it’s mother cloud to tell us that she sees herself in her daughter, and now all that’s left is to disappear into nothing. The condensed water of a cloud falls to the ground, and the cloud is no more. Mirror follows the theme of growing old very closely. Time moves on and on in this poem. The first stanza contains phrases like ‘so long’ and ‘over and over’ to tell us that time keeps moving. The second stanza continues to chart the march of time. She comes and goes’ and ‘each morning’ reflect the poet’s unrest and constant awareness that time is still ticking away. The poet sees her youth as wasted, the ‘young girl’ has been ‘drowned’. She has a premonition of the future, in which an old woman has failed to break the cycle, and describes her condition as a ‘terrible fish’. The poet sees herself as elderly and is afraid. The metaphor of the fish is as if the poet is stuck, netted and helpless. Plath shows she is dreading old age in the final lines of the poem. The passage of time throughout the text points to the inevitability of growing old.

Racism and Prejudice

Racism and Prejudice It is undeniable that in deed race matters. The four selections in this chapter and the Linda Lin article, talk about different kinds of racism and prejudice, all of them true and all of them equally detrimental. I think this country is far from being perfect and from not having racism or prejudice problems. Nevertheless, is undeniable that it has come a long way (President Obama) since the time of slavery and more recently Jim Crowe laws and the harassment that was brought against blacks.Later, recognized as the solution needed to afford minorities’ equal opportunities both in work and in school, Affirmative Action, was hailed as the leveler of the field. There certainly is no doubt that in the 1960's at the epicenter of the civil rights movement, that the government had an obligation to pass legislation aimed at equalizing the races on at least a social level. The question now has become whether or not Affirmative Action has passed its time. Does this on ce very necessary legislation now in today's society do more harm than good?There is all kind of racism if you include prejudice too. It has been going on since beginning of time. Maybe it is sometimes a person's own insecurity that makes them think everything is attributed to race. The truth is that each group tends to be prejudiced against the other. Some are angry because some people lay around and collect government money and some are angry because they blame another class for what they cannot achieve, or for past mistakes made some hundreds of years ago.I think far too many of us speak of equality and hope, yet secretly rationalize hate, based on little more than stereotypes and stories of atrocities that happened generations ago. Sadly, this is still a racist culture. The question is not â€Å"Am I a racist? † The question is â€Å"To what degree am I a racist? † â€Å"To what degree am I aware of my racism? † The selection from Jana Noel made me think abo ut those questions.At first I thought I am not a prejudice person and I am not racist, then I thought of little things I have done and indeed I do engage in racist behaviors like I find myself at a higher level of alertness when I am outdoors at night in the vicinity of a man of African descent. Behaviors like that are considered â€Å"micro insults. † I am more mindful of them now. However, unfortunately I acknowledge that I still engage in these barely conscious behaviors. Reading Noel I can associate the way my prejudice was form with the social control theory.There is no other explanation why I would react like that. That is certainly not something that my parents taught me. Most White Americans will tell you, that they are not racist individuals. Nevertheless, if you could delve deeper into their minds, you would discover that many of them have reasons that they believe justifies racism. Among those reasons or excuses, we found the reverse discrimination of Affirmative A ction, ignorance of other races and cultures, and the belief in the need for retribution for past injustices.Whites in America should start by admit the reality and begin to work under the assumption that this is a racist society. As we read in McIntosh and Sleeter articles, the white people in the United States have benefited from the structure of racism, whether or not they have ever committed a racist act, uttered a racist word, or had a racist thought. The same way minorities suffer in a white society because they are Black, Hispanics, Asian, Jewish, etc, Whites benefit because they are White. These minorities have grown up with racism and prejudice.One of the most difficult tasks in life to accomplish is to overcome the core fundamental principles that you are taught as a child. A child who grows up witnessing racism, as a way of life, is likely to become a racist adult. The world, in which we all live, is the same society in which our children and our children's children will one day be. It is our duty as parents and teachers to see that future generations have the best opportunity at thriving in an equal world. Only through tolerance and understanding can we ensure equality for all in this country.

Appendix

Looking at the Graph, we are able to project a potential incremental growth of demand versus supply. Incremental is based on the following criteria. 1. Total local market population of the business location 2. Minimum Minimal projected average sales of 35-50 units per day for SIX days to cater a potential market population of 1,000 people. 3. A six month projection with a Incremental boost In sales for the first quarter to the 4th month and a plateau projection at the 5th month onwards subject to business performance review.In order for us to come up with a price point data, we decided to follow the price point signaled by the Stir Fry Noodle kiosks in Greater Metro Manila. This is to eradicate any possible price adjustments in the future should we wish to grow the business further by offering franchising opportunities to other entrepreneurs who wish to franchise our start up business. We also believe that the Stir Fry noodle kiosks have already undergone an extensive survey on an af fordable price point for the Stir Fry Noodles considering this will be the first of Its kind In Dave Doctors College canteen.We will be offering a variety of promotions identified on specific occasions as well as seasons to ensure a steady flow of client interest and repeat purchases. Timeliness will also be created with regard to marketing activities to further ensure the implementation as well as the executing and viability of success for each and every marketing activity done. Initial activities and strategies would be below the line marketing strategies considering that we have a very minimal budget and funds for marketing activities.Some of these would be the following: Price promotion On the opening day we will create a single day promotion or opening salvo promotion f 50% off for the first 100 customers. This Is to ensure we will create a stir during opening day and ensuring that we will be able to reach a maximum number of clientele who would be satisfied with our product an d spread by word of mouth our business. Vouchers and coupons We would be selling out discounted vouchers or coupons at 50% lesser price than the standard price point. The objective of doing this is to maximize the number of people who redeem them.Gifts with purchase (Pick a prize event) We would give customers something extra or get the chance to win something extra . E. An additional simoom or a free drink when they buy one or more stir fry noodles. And finally in this day and age of technology and social media, we will ensure that our social media presence is engaging as well as intriguing enough to gain a number of followers thereby ensuring us a potential captured market who would not only be our potential customers but a potential business partner In the near future.At the onset of the business we will initially focus on serving and delivering the quality and standards we wish to impart on our immediate clientele. Of course we ill not discount the power of clients who wish to t aste our product thus once we have established a proper process flow and operational system, we will expand our branches to other areas such as the following: Overland transport terminals Bazaar Areas Exhibit and Booth Activities Schools and or Universities Malls Business Hubs And wherever we deem there is enough flow of consumer traffic as well as including delivery and packed meals to our service.In ensuring that this will increase our sales and profitability we will therefore have to add more machinery such as our own emissary / kitchen to cater to these expansions and services. For deliveries, we will initially be accepting deliveries in the 1 kilometer radius and increase our capacity as well as delivery fleet detrimental on the demand generated. A dedicated mobile number for the three networks will be provided and sooner or later a SMS auto capturing and relaying system similarly used by R. A.Ha Taxi services will be used to ensure that no orders will be forgotten and that eff iciency as well as timeliness of the deliveries will be ensured. Product Identification HO-MAIM GOAD Stir Fry Noodles is a food cart that offers stir fried noodles mixed with a variety of condiments, sauces and mixtures that the customer can freely choose based on their very own palate complimented with their own choice of dim sum (sis- mat). The customer simply has to mix in their preferred sauces and may choose to experiment mix matching these sauces and condiments to suit their taste topped by their selected choice of dumdums.Dumdums choices will either be pork, chicken, beef, shrimp and crab. Beverages such as mineral water and the local stag's Goldman mix ill also be available for consumption as these will complement the taste of the Stir- fry noodles. Should the customer wish to have a pre-concocted sauce then a menu of the specific pre concocted sauce will be provided of which they will mix in with Strength No existing competitors in the immediate vicinity to up to approximat ely meters from business location.Multiple condiments and sauces complement ones creative imagination in coming up with their own personal flavor and taste A full and affordable meal complete with the basics such as carbohydrates and protein acquirement of the human body. Affordable pricing for a sumptuous meal complete with sanitary and quality set standards. Weakness Start up business without any existing process and operational flows. Needs resources for the accumulation and procurement of raw materials and main ingredients.No procedural flow chart on product preparation and standardization. Lack of training for potential manpower employment. Lack of initial capitalization and funding resource. Opportunities Big room for expansion considering there is no other competitor with the same concept in the local region. Marginal room for error considering the startup location of the business will be established in a lesser populated area thereby increasing chances of improving process f lows and preparation standardization.

Imperial Administration in Han China and Imperial Rome

Analyze similarities and differences in techniques of imperial administration in TWO of the following empires: Han China (206 B. C. E. -220 C. E. ) Mauryan/Gupta India (320 B. C. E-550 C. E) Imperial Rome (31 B. CE-476 C. E. ) While imperial administration in Han China from 206 B. C. E to 220 C. E. and Imperial Rome from 31 B. C. E. to 476 C. E. had their similarities like the family roles that the government encourages, living under one ruler who gives the people some control, and the general idea of equalization, they also had their differences.One of these differences being in how each ruler gave their empire control and where they put themselves according to the rest of their empire. Both Han China and Imperial Rome are controlled under one central leader. Both of these leaders give the citizens some form of control and contribution to their empire. The difference is how they give the citizens power. In Imperial Rome, Augustus keeps the reliable forms of the Republic such as the offices, honors, and privileges of the senatorial class as a base for his new restored Republic now called the Principate.In keeping the form of the Republic he still gives power to the Senate. In China, Gaozu kept the Qin Empire as his influence to keep choosing district officials to hold some of his power. In addition, Augustus includes himself as an ordinary citizen. What he altered from the Republic to the Principate is the reality of power. He never called himself the emperor or dictator but called himself â€Å"princeps† meaning first among equals. Gaozu was called the emperor and didn’t disagree in having ultimate power.Instead, he equalized the rest of the people and just put himself on top. Both empires believed in generalization of the people, Augustus just took it a step farther by including himself. A major similarity in both Imperial Rome and Han China is the idea of having the leading role of the family the eldest male and the women having no place in pol itical issues. In Later Han, families believed heavily in respect, obedience, and loyalty to the elder male of the family.In both empires, women stayed home to raise the children and do household chores while the men were soldiers, doing business, and discussing politics. Although women had no role in legal proceedings, they still had a great influence on the male’s decisions. Women gained greater personal protection and economic freedom over a course of years and many influenced and helped shape history. In conclusion, I think the reason that Chinese emperors believed they were of ultimate power was because of the previous dynasties who thought the same thing.The Han Empire had previous influence from all the Chinese dynasties before it. On the other hand, The Roman Empire was younger and might have seen that other empires weren’t happy with the emperor being the central control. Augustus might have taken this as influence to do something different and decided to incl ude himself in the people. Overall, Imperial Rome and Han China are two very similar empires that have the same general idea of how they wanted their empires to be.

A Project Report On Marketing Fundamentals Tesla

Market research is one of the vital components adopted by companies to understand the needs, beliefs and desires of the customers. Primary and secondary are the major types of research that includes market information, market segmentation, market trends, SWOT analysis and other tools that help to gain an insight of the market conditions (Elliott, Thiele and Waller, 2014). Tesla is an American based automobile company that has very well positioned itself through its planned and extensive market research (Tesla, 2017). The company performed a strategic market research by using different tools such as PESTEL analysis, surveys and questionnaires and other methods to gather information from the market. Tesla used PESTEL analysis to assess the political, economic, social, legal, environmental and technological factors of the market to construe that the governments are promoting the production of environmental cars because of rising prices of fuel. The customers, on the other hand, have also begun to prefer the cars that protect the environment and do not pollute it due to which there was a demand for electric cars in the market (Forbes, 2016). Further, Tesla also conducted interviews with groups of moms and women of different ages to take their opinion about electric cars (Forbes, 2016). Thus, from the research, the company developed its marketing strategies and launched the product Model X especially for women (Forbes, 2016). The model was designed by considering the core selling points including safety, large space for kids and a third row. The engineers of the company incorporated all of this into the car design and manufacturing process. Another feature that was inferred from the research was that the female generally prefer to have a beautiful car along with ease for their children (Forbes, 2016). Thus, the company strategically used market research data to develop an effective product for the female.    Competition in a market arises when there are several players offering similar product or services to a large number of consumers. The players compete with each other in order to acquire a larger market share of the market and increase their sales revenue (Economics Online, 2017). The players could compete on the basis of prices, marketing, strategies and attributes of products to attract a greater share of target audience (Lin, 2016). Coca Cola is one of the largest producers of cold drinks with its huge network of sales and distribution around the world. The company has established its unique brand identity through its quality products and strong global recognition. Coca cola has its huge fan following that is a result of its customer loyalty (Lin, 2016). The main competitor of Coca Cola is Pepsi that is a thorn in the flesh for the company. Coca cola would have become the leading soft drink company around the world without Pepsi. The presence of Pepsi has brought significant changes in the marketing strategies of Coca Cola company. When Pepsi reduced its prices in the market of Australia, Coca cola also reduced the prices in order to maintain its position in the supermarket’s shelf. Coca cola has to incur a huge loss in order to carry out this campaign and retain its market position (Lin, 2016). The advertisements launched by Pepsi also influence the marketing strategies of Coca cola (Lin, 2016). Coca cola responds with complete maturity to the ads of the Pepsi in order to retain its position in the minds of the consumers. Thus, Coca Cola has to invest a huge amount of money to compete with Pepsi through huge advertising and marketing strategies. Coca cola has increased its advertising budget amount in order to stay in competition with the Pepsi (Lin, 2016). PESTEL analysis helps to determine the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects of a country that would facilitate the growth of the product and the company. Samsung introduced its latest product Galaxy S8 after an extensive PESTEL analysis of the market in order to acquire maximum returns from the market. The political factors include stable political conditions, country relations and the support of government. Overall Samsung has received favorable response from the market of US, Australia, Europe and developing nations of Asia (Walters, 2017). The company faced some issues due to volatility of Latin American countries that affect the operations of the company. Samsung Galaxy S8 has captured the market in a short span of time in the developing nations but faced some issues in developed nations due to low purchasing power of the customers. Korea’s strong currency also affected the revenue of the product. The market has witnessed rising popularity of electronic and mobile devices among the consumers because of changing and emerging technology. The main challenge that the company faces is the frequent changes in the demands of the consumers. Samsung has very well tailored its product to suit the needs of almost every consumer around the world (Walters, 2017). Samsung is one of the most innovative companies that stays ahead of its competitors and makes optimum use of technology to offer the latest products to the customers. Samsung has produced amazing software and applications by effectively blending the market demand and technology in a single product Galaxy S8 (Walters, 2017). Samsung has to face numerous issues regarding Copyrights and patents. The company also faced challenges regarding wireless communication regulations and had to adhere to the laws and regulations pertaining to electronic device safety around the globe. Samsung has always considered the laws and regulations of the environment and has deployed processes that do not pollute the environment. SWOT analysis is used by the companies to determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to develop a marketing plan (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2008). Woolworths is one of the Australian retail based firm that consistently enhance its strategies in order to retain its market position. Woolworths occupies the largest market share of Australia and is the pioneer firm to introduce the concept of retail chain (Greenblat, 2017). The retail chain has established its brand name and unique identity through its quality products and services. Woolworths is one of the oldest retail companies but does not have a global presence when compared to its competitors. The retail chain also has not been successfully able to develop a sustainable unique selling proposition that questions its credibility and market positioning (Berry, 2016). The company delayed to enter online market due to which it has to face tough competition. Woolworths could expand its business by exploring new markets and establish its global presence. It could deploy franchise model and joint venture strategy in the beginning in order to penetrate deeper in the market. The cost of food material and other products has witnessed an increase that could affect the profitability of the firm. The ongoing recession has also influenced the activities of the organization. There is an intense pressure in the market from Aldi and Coles that is again affecting the market share of the company (Berry, 2016).    From the SWOT analysis, the company has explored its opportunities by entering the international market of UK through marketing mix element. Product: Woolworths introduced its quality services that ensure freshness of food and high product quality (The Conversation, 2017). Price: Woolworths has deployed economical pricing strategy in order to capture the market (The Conversation, 2017). Promotion: Woolworths offered discount offers to attract large number of audience. Place: Woolworths opened its stores in the main market area in order to attract the audience. Segmentation is the process of dividing the entire market into smaller segments to determine segment for the company (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2008). Segmentation could be done on the basis of demographics, geography, lifestyle and psychology of the customers.   The different segments could include youngsters, executives, professionals, adults, female, housewives, unemployed and college students (Elliott, Thiele and Waller, 2014). After segmenting, a particular group of people called target market is targeted by the industry through strategic marketing and advertising. Positioning is influencing the minds of consumers through effective marketing strategies (Elliott, Thiele and Waller, 2014). Retail industry is one of the largest industries of Australia that targets a large group of segment. Around 70%-90% of the consumers prefer to shop their groceries and other household material from the retail chains because of the availability of a wide range of products (Greenblat, 2017). The target customers of retail industry include housewives, females, adults and middle aged people. The customers are attracted towards the retail chains because of low priced products and quality services (Greenblat, 2017). Thus, the retail industry has very well identified its target group from which it can increase its sales revenue and profitability. Further, the strategic positioning involves offering low priced product along with quality services, discounts and special offers during festive season also excite the customers to shop from retail stores. The customers are also promised fresh food products and customized services such as home delivery, app based shopping and other unique services (Greenblat, 2017). The consumers feel elated and experience a unique shopping experience with the retail stores that compels them to shop for next time and become a loyal customer. Thus, the industry has strategically positioned itself as a low cost brand that offers quality services along with a unique experience to its consumers. Brand management is one of the most crucial elements of marketing that has occupied the top most concern for the leaders of the companies. A brand has to consistently evolve itself in order maintain its sustainability by meeting the customer demands. Apple is one of the examples of successful brand management around the world. The brand has very well utilized and internalized the concept of perceived value due to which the consumers always assess the benefits of its products of much higher value as compared to their prices. The brand has built itself by connecting with the consumers through their emotions that they experience while using the Apple’s products (Bajarin, 2016). The customers never forget a brand with which they have had a great experience and Apple has very well internalize this process through its highly innovative and technologically advanced products. Another major reason for Apple’s success is its risk taking ability and targeting the emerging market through which it became a pioneer and leader in the electronics market (Scheidies, 2017). Nokia is a Finnish multinational corporation that demonstrates the example of failed brand. Nokia might have evolved as successful brand but failed miserably because of its ineffective marketing strategies. The major reason for Nokia’a failure was Nokia did not deploy appropriate marketing strategies and projected itself more like an engineering company in the market (Huy, 2016). The company could not touch the chord of the consumers through its products and services. The company was rather more focused to build hardware devices instead of satisfying the needs of the consumers. Nokia always underestimated the significance of software in a mobile set due to which it was unable to adapt itself with the transitioning business environment (Surowiecki, 2016). Nokia never adapted the latest operating system and insisted on its hardware design. Another blunder of Nokia was its inability to analyze its competition that it faced from Apple and Samsung. Elliott, G., Thiele, S.R., and Waller, D. (2014). Marketing. Australia: John Wiley & Sons. Forbes. (2016). Tesla's Unique Position In The Car Market Is One Of Its Biggest Strengths. Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/07/02/teslas-unique-position-in-the-car-market-is-one-of-its-biggest-strengths/#427a537e3ad7 [Accessed Online 4 May 2017]. Huy, Q. (2016). Who Killed Nokia? Nokia Did. Insead Knowledge. Available at: https://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/who-killed-nokia-nokia-did-4268 [Accessed Online 4 May 2017]. Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F., and McDaniel, C. (2008). Essential of Marketing. Cengage Learning. Surowiecki, J. (2016). Where Nokia Went Wrong. New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/where-nokia-went-wrong [Accessed Online 4 May 2017].