Exploring a Communication in Arabic Lingua Culture Essay

Conversation is the most basic form of communication and human beings rely on conversation to exchange information and maintain social relationships (Gardner 1994: 97). Human interactions rely on conversation for simple chatting as well as work related tasks, political discussions and educational decisions (Gardner 1994: 98). Conversation is at the heart of the human ability to interact with one another in everyday life. Communicative events typically involve definable boundaries and a joint effort at interaction (Orr 2008: 317). A communicative event that occurs within its social boundaries becomes an engagement between two people (Orr 2008: 317). In other words, a communicative event between two friends results in an engagement that has meaning to both parties involved. In contrast, a communicative event that is between two strangers, such as a shopper and salesperson, cannot be considered an engagement because when the encounter is over it holds no meaning to those involved (Orr 2008: 317). Further, a communicative event is only successful when both parties involved contribute to the process of understanding as the conversation takes place (Aune, Levine, Park, Asada, & Banas 2005: 358). In a communicative event between friends, each friend is responsible for contributing something to the conversation that will make the interaction meaningful for both people. When both friends are not contributing to the communicative event equally, then the encounter fails to have meaning and makes the person who is contributing view his or her friend negatively (Aune, et al 2005: 358). An analysis of a communicative event that occurred between two friends in Saudi Arabia is offered. This analysis includes a discussion of the eleven components that Saville-Troike identifies. The Communicative Event Cultural analysis is an important part of discussing linguistics and communication. However, linguistics is not typically associated with a cultural analysis even though the conversation styles and traditions of different cultures are an essential component to communicative events (Wierzbicka 1997: 1). In fact, there is a very close link between culture and the lexicon of the language spoken as part of that culture. This is why many cultures rely on special words for important aspects of their culture such as food (Wierzbicka 1997: 1). Additionally, many cultures, such as the Arabic culture, rely on special greetings and phrases as part of their communicative events. These special greetings and phrases add depth to the communicative events and allow them to have meaning to the people involved. The conversation analyzed for this paper occurred between two friends and included a special greeting as well as common phrases used in Saudi Arabian culture. These components of the communicative event allowed the interaction to mean something to the two friends and resulted in positive feelings from both. The definition of a communicative event and a consideration to cultural differences is particularly useful for language teachers because it gives them insight into the importance of specific aspects of communicative events that differ across cultural boundaries. Language teachers are most successful when they are able to incorporate aspects of native language into new language acquisition. Changing the way that language teachers instruct is a constant part of the job of language teachers (Jacobs & Farrell 2003: 5). At the same time, it is important that a language teacher give students the tools necessary for learner autonomy, understanding the social nature of learning, the ability for curricular integration, a focus on meaning, attention to diversity, thinking skills, assessment and utilizing the teacher as a co learner (Jacobs & Farrell 2003: 5). These eight skills are essential for language teachers to implement in order to allow students to rely on their native language while also learning a new language. Further, sensitivity to cultural differences in language style will allow the language teacher to provide students with authentic opportunities to engage in meaningful communicative events. At the same time, language teachers cannot choose to only implement one or two of these components. They are all necessary components to successful language instruction. Classroom language instruction is an important part of the job of a language teacher. However, the type of language instruction has an impact on how well students acquire language skills (Spada 1987: 137). A study of three separate language classrooms over a period of sixty observation hours shows that students are sensitive to the communicative orientation of new language acquisition (Spada 1987: 137). The reason behind this observation is the different communicative styles utilized by different cultures. For example, the special greeting and phrases used the in conversation to be analyzed here differ from the style of communication in other cultures. Therefore, sensitivity to different communicative styles may result in better instruction and higher levels of learning. The ability to improve in the speaking, listening and discourse areas of language learning seem to be related to classroom instruction style (Spada 1987: 137). When a language teacher begins to work with a specific location, the first step is to study the community that will make up the instructional population. This is important so the language teacher is able to gather important information about the social organization and important aspects of the culture in order to relate that information to the culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 107). At the same time, it is important for language teachers to discover the way that native speakers structure their communicative events in order to gain insight into the importance of different communication components important to that specific culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 107). Ultimately, the goal of a language teacher would be to make many careful and thorough observations of native speakers engaging in a variety of different communicative events so a complete understanding of communication can be gathered. Once this job is completed the language teacher should be able to model communicative events after the communicative events of native speakers (Saville-Troike 1989: 107). To this end, Saville-Troike introduces eleven components that will each be commented on as they relate to the communicative example used in this paper: type of event, topic, purpose or function, setting, key, participants, message form, message content, act sequence, rules for interaction and norms for interaction (1989: 138). Type of Event, Topic, Purpose and Setting The type of event, topic, purpose and setting make up the scene of the communicative event (Saville-Troike 1989: 139). The type of event analyzed is an informal conversation between two university friends who have not seen or spoken to one another for a week. The topic of the conversation is the time that has gone by without speaking or seeing one another and includes a discussion about why so much time has passed as well as plans to spend time together in the near future. The purpose of the communicative event is time for the friends to catch up with one another and make plans to engage in further conversation. Finally, the setting for the communicative event is Abha City in the Southern Province of Saudi Arabia. These four components of this specific communicative event make up the whole scene. While only the setting can be directly observed, the type of event, the topic and the purpose of this communicative event are equally as important for gathering information about the cultural aspects of Arabic linguistics and conversation style (Saville-Troike 1989: 139). Further cultural information can be obtained by observing the traditions and customs of a specific culture with regards to communication. This communicative event occurred between two friends and included the special greeting, â€Å"Peace be upon you† and â€Å"peace be upon you too. † This greeting is an essential aspect of Arabic communicative events and means that there is goodwill among the two friends. If this greeting would have been omitted from the conversation it would indicate that the friends were angry with one another. When analyzing components of a communicative event that are not directly visible it is important to be watching for important information regarding the sacred nature of communication and what that looks like for different cultures (Saville-Troike 1989: 141). For example, in this communicative event between two friends, an observer cannot see what the type of event or what the purpose of the event is. However, listening to the conversation and watching for customs and traditions provides valuable insight into the nature of cultural differences and what is important (Saville-Troike 1989: 141). These observations will allow an observer to discover what is sacred to a culture with regards to communication as well as what types of beliefs are important to them. Further, an observer can learn what behaviors are unacceptable, what the purpose of particular behaviors are and see external signs of participation in ritual parts of a communicative event (Saville-Troike 1989: 141). Key The key of a communicative event is introduced in order to provide the tone, manner or spirit of the encounter (Saville-Troike 1989: 141). This can take the form of teasing versus seriously discussing something, being sincere versus sarcastic, being friendly versus hostile or being sympathetic versus threatening (Saville-Troike 1989: 141). The type of key that is present in a communicate event relies on the type of relationship the people involved in conversation have. In this case, the communicative event was informal, but respectful and was a sincere and friendly exchange between two friends. However, if the conversation took a sarcastic key, the sarcasm would have overridden the sincerity of the interaction thus making the conversation far less meaningful than it was (Saville-Troike 1989: 142). In this way, the strongest key takes center stage and is determined by who the participants of the communicate event are, what their relationship as well as the nature of the conversation. Further, the key of the communicative event may be determined through the use of nonverbal cues in addition to the dialogue. For example, if one person winks at the other this may suggest some teasing during the conversation while a stiff posture may indicate that a serious conversation is occurring (Saville-Troike 1989: 142). Observing the communicative event that is analyzed here, the nonverbal cues may have included changes in facial expression when the friends began to discuss why one friend had been to busy to spend time with friends. Watching these facial expressions would lend insight into how serious or friendly the communicative event really was. Participants The participants are the most important component of a communicative event. Without participants, conversation would never happen. The participants in this communicative event were two young male university friends. The absence of females indicates the nature of gender roles in the Saudi Arabian culture. In the Arabic culture, males are not permitted to meet with females and are only allowed to converse with other males. This information provides important information regarding the role relationship of conversation in Saudi Arabia as well as information about sex and social status (Saville-Troike 1989: 143). The absence of females provides a great deal of information about the Arabic culture. It shows what the rights of each member of society are as well as the attitudes, expectations and behaviors toward others. It also shows who has authority over whom (Saville-Troike 1989: 143). This communicative event shows that males are the dominant gender in Saudi Arabian culture and this prevents them from openly conversing with females. Further, it gives insight into the attitudes, expectations and behaviors expected from males versus females. Finally, the culture dictates the formality or informality of a communicative event (Saville-Troike 1989: 144). This exchange between two young male friends was informal as compared to a conversation that may take place between a young Arab male and an older Arab male. In other words, the participants engaging in conversation have a direct influence over the nature of the communicate event and dictate what type of interaction will take place. Message Form Message form, message content and act sequence are determined by various social, cultural and situational constraints on communicative behavior. Each of these components can be presented vocally or non vocally (Saville-Troike 1989: 144). Many cultures rely on non vocal sounds to represent meaning in conversation and these make up the message form. These vocal and non vocal sounds make up the verbal and non verbal components of conversation style. For example, the verbal vocal relationship includes spoken language while the non verbal vocal relationship includes such things as laughter. Similarly, the non vocal verbal relationship is comprised of such things as written language or sign language while the non vocal non verbal relationship includes such things as silence and eye behavior (Saville-Troike 1989: 145). Although these different aspects of language vary across cultures, they are important aspects of any communication style. This communicative event example used here relies on these different relationships in order to allow the participants to engage in a conversation that has meaning to both parties. The two friends engaged in the verbal vocal relationship simply by exchanging spoken dialogue. At the same time, they engaged in the non verbal vocal relationship by relying on laughter to become part of their conversation. They also relied on the non vocal verbal relationship through the use of hand gestures and facial expressions that lent support to the nature of the conversation and also injected meaning into the exchange. Finally, the two friends showed the non vocal non verbal relationship through their use of appropriate silences and eye contact while speaking to one another. Message Content The message content is closely related to message form and cannot be separated for appropriate analysis to occur (Saville-Troike 1989: 150). Message content refers to what communicative acts are about and what meaning they hold. The dialogue and silences of a communicate event make up the message form while the meaning and implications derived from the communicative event make up the message content (Saville-Troike 1989: 150). The overall meaning of a communicate event rely on the verbal and non verbal messages being exchanged. However, meaning is also derived from extra linguistic context as well as information and expectations participants bring to the conversation (Saville-Troike 1989: 150). The physical content of a communicative event is important because it lends additional information to the exchange that allows for enhanced meaning. In this way, people who do not even speak the same language are often able to find meaning in their exchange simply be relying on physical objects or other outside influences that inject meaning without words (Saville-Troike 1989: 151). Whatever type of physical objects, outside influences or even hand gestures that are used during a communicative event it is important that they convey meaning and allow for a successful conversation. The example of a conversation used here was successful because the two friends understood the location they were in as well as the gestures each person used during the course of the communicative event. Act Sequence The act sequence component of a communicative event includes information about the ordering of the conversation. This is evident through the appropriate initiation of conversation by one person and the following of that initiation by the other person (Saville-Troike 1989: 152 – 153). The example provided here is a good example of appropriate initiation. One of the young men starts the conversation by saying, â€Å"peace be upon you† and the other man responded with, â€Å"peace be upon you too. † In Saudi Arabian culture this is an important greeting and indicates friendship and goodwill at the start of a conversation. Eliminating this greeting would suggest anger and would upset the natural ordering of conversations in Arabic culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 153). Regular patterns and recurring events are important cultural component of communicative events. When participants follow these patterns and recurring events it suggests that the nature of conversations is important and sacred within a culture. Further, the types of patterns that emerge from these patterns and recurring events allow for comparison across cultures (Saville-Troike 1989: 153 – 154). The conversation between the two young Arabic students followed a natural progression and provided important insight into the nature of communicative events in Arabic culture. Rules for Interaction The rules of interaction dictate an explanation for the rules of speech which are applicable to communicative event in a specific culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 154). These rules refer to the way that the participants in the conversation are expected to behave based on the values of their culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 154). Again, the special greeting at the start of this conversation is one example of an expectation for behavior. In Arabic culture, this is the standard greeting that comes at the beginning of a communicative event and Arabic males are expected to make use of it. These rules may not necessarily be dictated by law but are used based on values that are important within a specific culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 154). Arabic law does not require this greeting at the start of a conversation, but the values and beliefs of the Arabic culture make the greeting an expectation. Further, the use of this greeting indicates the role of turn taking in conversation within the Arabic culture. The initial greeting is followed by a follow up greeting which allows the participants to take turns greeting one another and starting a conversation. At the same time, turn taking is important in this example of a communicative event because it allows each young man to have a turn speaking while the other young man listens. This injects meaning into the conversation because the interaction relies on listening skills as well as speaking skills to get the point across (Saville-Troike 1989: 155). Norms of Interpretation Norms of interpretation are important because they provide all of the other information about the culture. These are essential for the overall understanding of the communicative event (Saville-Troike 1989: 155). For example, the different types of speech must be analyzed in order to fully understand cultural differences within a conversation. This example of the communicative event used here includes the use of the phrase, â€Å"old man. † In some cultures this may a derogatory phrase but is included in this example to show respect. In Arabic culture using the term â€Å"old man† shows respect for one’s elders and the young men use it in reference to one of their fathers. The understanding that this phrase shows respect is well known within the Arabic culture so it becomes a norm of conversation that is acceptable (Saville-Troike 1989: 155). Conclusion The development of communicative competence cannot take place without a relationship among these eleven components (Lock 1983: 253). Contexts rely on cultural information in order to provide an interplay of conversation as well as the self concepts of the participants and social structure acceptable within a society (Lock 1983: 253). A relationship among these eleven components can lead to successful communicative competence based on the cultural implications of language and how this relates to self concept and social structure (Lock 1983: 253). This can be directly applied to the language teacher because communicative competence is a cornerstone of successful language acquisition (Lee 2006: 349). Further, successful communicative events are only possible if a language teacher is able to blend the cultural components of the native language with the cultural components of the new language (Holliday 1997: 212). Therefore, an understanding of communicative competence is an essential part of successful language instruction (Lee 2006: 349). Communicative competence is the part of language knowledge that dictates which communicative system to use (Stalker 1989: 182). When the communicative system chosen is spoken language or conversation it is important to connect the goals and context of the situation in order to have a meaningful communicative event (Stalker 1989: 182). A basic understanding of what communication abilities are necessary for successful conversation within a specific culture is necessary to function adequately in society (Wiemann & Backlund 1980: 185). Therefore, the eleven components applied to a specific conversation example provide evidence and insight into the importance of language teachers enabling students to gain the knowledge the learning necessary in order to successfully participate in communicative encounters (Wiemann & Backlund 1980: 185; Gardner 1994: 104). To this end, it is important to provide students with knowledge pertaining to the use of key words within a particular culture (Wierzbicka 1997: 6) as well as analyze the importance of the relationship between the eleven components of language (Saville-Troike 1989: 156). Finally, the overall outcome of communication is to discover the unique events and recurring patterns within a specific culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 177). This can only be done through careful observation and analysis of communicative events within a particular culture (Saville-Troike 1989: 177). Aune, R. K. ; Levine, T. R. ; Park, H. ; Asada, K. K. ; & Banas, J. A. 2005. Tests of a theory of communicative responsibility. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 24 (4): 358 – 381. Gardner, R. 1994. Conversation analysis: some thoughts on it applicability to applied linguistics. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, Series S (11): 97 – 118. Holliday, A. 1997. Six lessons: cultural continuity in communicative language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 1 (3): 212 – 238. Jacobs, G. M. & Farrell, T. S. C. 2003. Understanding and implementing the CLT paradigm. RELC Journal, 34 (1): 5 – 30. Lee, Y. 2006. Towards respectification of communicative competence: condition of L2 instruction or its objective? Applied Linguistics, 27 (3): 349 – 376. Lock, A. 1983. Communicative contexts and communicative competence. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2 (2-3-4): 253 – 266. Orr, W. W. R. 2008. ‘Prospecting an encounter’ as a communicative event. Discourse Studies, 10 (3): 317 – 339. Saville-Troike, M. 1989, ‘The analysis of communicative events’, in The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction, 2nd edn, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 107-180. Spada, N. M.1987. Relationships between instructional differences and learning outcomes: a process-product study of communicative language teaching. Applied Linguistics, 8 (2): 137 – 161. Stalker, J. C. 1989. Communicative competence, pragmatic functions, and accommodation. Applied Linguistics, 10 (2): 182 – 193. Wiemann, J. M. & Backlund, P. 1980. Current theory and research in communicative competence. Review of Educational Research, 50 (1): 185 – 199. Wierzbicka, A. 1997, ‘Introduction’, in Understanding Cultures Through Their Key Words, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 1-31.

How did Transportation Change During the Industrial Revolution

How did Transportation Change During the Industrial Revolution? The universe had gone through two industrial revolutions. The first revolution began in the 1700s. And the 2nd revolution happened in the 1860s. Both of the revolutions were the most of import periods in the history of human society because they influenced about every facet of life and particularly brought the universe wholly new sorts of transits. Steam engine, waterway, route, and railway experienced chiefly betterment during the first revolution, and the 2nd revolution brought the innovations of car and aeroplane ; both they played an indispensable function in the development of transit in history. The steam engine was one of the most critical constituents that had been invented during the first industrial revolution. It contributed a batch to the betterment of transit. Thomas Newcomen was the first individual who invented the steam engine. However, the usage of the steam engine was expensive and non efficient. ( World History text edition ) Until 1765, James Watt, one of the greatest subscribers to transit, reformed the steam engine to be more efficient and consume less fuel by adding a separate capacitor to Newcomen’s engine. Watt’s betterment had saved about 75 per centum of the fuel that had antecedently been used by the engine. ( Kendra Bolon ) After the betterment, the steam engine had been used loosely on the other transits, such as steam ship and steam engine. The steam engine non merely improved the manner of transporting, but besides the quality of life. For illustration, people could go by taking locomotor and steam ship. Furthermore, they could bask th e life by watching the landscape during the trip. Therefore, the steam engine was the most unbelievable transit in the universe. Roadss, canals, and railroads were three major constituents of transit improved during the first industrial revolution. Peoples used the roads as the basic manner to transport the goods from one topographic point to another. Roadss were in really bad fix before the first revolution, and it were non efficient for people to transport goods. ( World History text edition ) John MacAdam, Thomas Telford, and John Metcalfe all developed the new roads building techniques. Thomas Telford made new foundations in roads with big level rocks. John MacAdam equipped roadbeds with a bed of big rocks ; hence, people could transport goods on a showery twenty-four hours. Canal was another critical portion of transits, which allowed goods to be transported through a series of semisynthetic waterways. Transporting goods by canal lowered the hazards of besotted merchandises during path. Furthermore, a canal flatboat could transport more merchandises than the other signifiers of transit during that clip. C anal besides cost less money for transporting ware. For the ground of transporting heavy goods from topographic point to topographic point, the betterment of railroad began in 1800, which made a great spring in transporting engineering in human history. The improved steam engine led the running locomotor with decently powered technique of turn overing. The betterment of railroads allowed the towns and metropoliss to turn quickly. In the mid-18Thursday, Abraham Darby made a plate manner of dramatis personae Fe on top of tracks that allowed the furnaces working and able to raise the Fe home base. In 1789, William Jessop developed an â€Å"L† shaped rail which held the waggon on the path. Goods could be transferred within a short sum of clip, which helped to further the agricultural and fishing industries. The engine was capable of transporting ternary sum of goods compared to the horse-pulled waggons. ( Mrs. Abiah Darby ) The betterment of route, canal, and railway changed the manner of transporting, the sum and distance of transporting goods increased significantly and affected how people lived consequently. The car and aeroplane were the two most unbelievable signifiers of transits that were been invented during the 2nd industrial revolution in the 1860s. Car was important signifier of transit since it affected the whole universe. The car was foremost invented by Karl Benz in 1886. Later on, in 1908, Henry Ford made the car low-cost for people by presenting the assembly line. ( World History text edition ) Automobile enabled people to travel anyplace they wanted to at any clip. It’s the most convenient tool for people to travel. As for the other of import innovation, aeroplane, was built in 1903 by Wilbur and Orville Wright. ( World History text edition ) Around 400 BC, Archytas was reputed as the first individual designed and built the first automotive winging device. While the Wright brothers made the first successful attempt to transport a adult male rose by aeroplane. The first aeroplane flew of course at even velocity, and descended without harm. Although the flight lasted merely 59 seconds, it marked an of import start of the aircraft industry. The visual aspect of car changed the whole universe wholly in that it provided a convenient and low-cost manner to transport and travel for people. The creative activity of aeroplane broadens the range and distance of the transit, which may transports riders and goods across continents and land. These two innovations both brought important influence to people. In decision, during the first and 2nd industrial revolutions, transit had gone through dramatic alteration and betterment. It non merely brought effectual and efficient manner of transporting, but besides influenced and shaped people’s life, about every facet in people’s day-to-day life. With the progress of engineering, transit progressed. The steam engine led to the application of locomotor and steamboat, which increased transporting capacity and therefore facilitated more production machines for fabrication in other industries. Trade enlargement was fostered by the debut of canals, improved roads and railroads. The innovation of car grounded the basic manner of transit for people while the aeroplane provided a faster manner from topographic point to topographic point. The first and 2nd industrial revolution marked a turning point in human history, and transit played a critical function impacting people’s life socially and economically. Bibliography: Bolon, Kendra.The Steam Engine. N.p. : Kendra Bolon, 2001. N. pag. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.history.rochester.edu/steam/thurston/1878/ . Web. Bustamante, Crystal. Transportation during the Industrial Revolution. N.p. : Crystal Bustamante, 2009. N. pag. Web. 26 Jan. 2009. Bulter, Scott, Keats, Thedawnbringer, Hedleygb, and Peter. How has conveyance changed since the Industrial Revolution? N.p. : n.p. , n.d. N. pag. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Industrial revolution research. N.p. : HTML5 UP, n.d. N. pag. Web.v Mack, Pamela E. Transportation. N.p. : n.p. , 2002. N. pag. Web. 27 Sept. 2002. Roadss, Canals and Railways – the Transport revolution. N.p. : n.p. , UK. N. pag. Web. 2013. The Industrial Revolution: 1750-1900. N.p. : n.p. , n.d. N. pag.KCCIS. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Transportation. N.p. : n.p. , n.d. N. pag. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

Mobile phone Essay

Mobile phone is a good technology which is not lacking from our lives. This report will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using mobile phones. Today, mobile phone has become popular to everybody since it is very convenient. The most advantage of having a mobile phone is you can communicate to your family and your friends no matter what where you are. For instance, you can contact easily to your friends by calling or sending messages everywhere without electricity. It is maybe the main reason why almost all people today choose to own a mobile phone. From the customer’s point of view, it is obvious that mobile phones assist you in business a lot, such as, make schedule of working, surf the internet, and keep in touch with their companies. Moreover, you can relax with mobile phone’s applications, for example, play games, listen to music, or chat with your friends. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages. Using a lot mobile phone can harm your brain, particularly teenager and children who are under 16 years old. If you use mobile phones too much, you will get bad effects like dizzy, blood-brain barrier, or ears problems. In addition, when you use mobile phones while you are driving, you will get an accident. It is essential not good for you and others. Moreover, â€Å"radiations emitted from the phone are dead harmful for the eardrum†, has proved by many scientist. Owning a mobile phone in your hand is you can solve many issues and hold most of information around the world. Even though is not good for your health and you have to protect yourself from bad effects of mobile phones if you choose to have one. P/s: Plz help me to correct this essay since next week i’m going to do final exam. How can i reduce this essay because i should write from 150 to 180 words and this essay has about 291 words. Thank you for helping me. It used to be that to cheat on a test, you had to either wait for the teacher to leave and then ask your neighbor, to chance passing a note, or to take the time the night or morning before to write the answers on an inconspicuous part of your body. Now, with the advent of text messaging, students can text each other the answers. This is made easier with the new â€Å"Mosquito† ring tone-an annoying, extremely high-pitched tone most adults over 30 can not hear (and those who are over 30 and can hear it wish they couldn’t). Cell phones have also made bullying easier as well. Before phones were equipped with cameras, it was kind of hard to take a picture of someone changing in the locker room after gym class. Now, with a few pushes of a button, everyone can see you as you would rather they not. Another, less obvious, form of bullying comes in the guise of â€Å"Cell Phone Clubs.† In a local middle school here in Idaho, every girl in the sixth grade class with a cell phone is invited into the â€Å"Cell Phone Club.† Those who do not have a cell phone, whether right or not, whether conscious or not, are excluded from the club and cannot be included in the calls and texts until their parents buy them a phone.

Religion a Standard in Public Education Research Paper

Religion a Standard in Public Education - Research Paper Example Since almost every individual of society contains direct or indirect linkage with the religion, basic knowledge about this social phenomenon is extremely necessary for all members of a social establishment; the same is applied on the multicultural and multi-religious US society, where the people belonging to divergent beliefs reside and adopt the teachings of their spiritual system both openly and secretly. Since sociology is the scientific study of different human institutions, the information about the cult and system of different religions is a matter of grave concern for the student of sociology. However, it is really startling to note that an overwhelming majority of the US population keeps very little knowledge about the faith prevailing in their culture. Not only this that they do not know about the religious belief of the fellow humans, but also it is a great tragedy to learn that the US citizens have given up taking interest in the religious values they follow. It has not on ly invited the concern of the philosophers and thinkers, but also alienation with the spiritual activities have alarmed them that aloofness and disinterest from religious fabrics may pave the way towards the serious decline of moral values from the very face of the US society. Consequently, the intellectuals and theorists have urged the authorities to include the subject of religion in different social sciences disciplines in order to get the students introduced with this primary institution of society. The present study aims to explore the need and significance of religion and importance of its study in the contemporary life. The study has also been supported with the theory of religion articulated by Max Weber. Essay By critically analyzing the history of the world at large, it becomes crystal clear that humans have always been the followers of one or more religions since their very arrival on the earth. The belief in supernatural powers is actually the outcome of their helplessne ss and inability to get their wishes and dreams fulfilled on the one hand, and the absence of their power to overcome certain problems and difficulties on the other. Although, humans have made tremendous developments in every field of life; yet such moments come in life when they undergo sentimental and emotional collapse and feel entirely helpless in the face of hardships; they are bound to seek the support of someone supernatural for their rescue as well as for the solution of their difficulties. Thus, religion provides spiritual guidance and emotional relief to the humans. In other words, humans have discovered the very reality that their survival in this world in a respectable and comfortable manner is directly dependent of seeking help from the unseen regulatory authorities of the universe. â€Å"Humans have formed their own beliefs (called probability belief in mathematics and science) about the set of unknowable elements of the universe.   They have branded their beliefs a bout the unknowable as religion.† (Acharya, 2006) Hence, they have found the very truth that there is present some metaphysical powers which are regulating the system of the universe. Consequently, having affiliations with these supernatural powers and begging before them for the elimination of hardships as well as removal of misfortunes is inevitable for their survival. The universality of religion is not based upon the forms of belief and practice, but upon the social functions which religion universally fulfills. Sociologically defined, a religion is a system of beliefs and symbolic practices and objects, governed by faith rather than

Affirmative Action v. Quotas, disparate treatment and disparate Coursework

Affirmative Action v. Quotas, disparate treatment and disparate impact, employment at will - Coursework Example Quotas, on the other hand, refer to a set number or percentage for the representation of people of a given group. The main difference between affirmative action and quotas is that while affirmative action has no set minimum percentages for the representation of a protected group, quotas provide this. This makes quotas easier to monitor considered that the criteria for determining whether or not an institution has complied is predetermined. Disparate impact is easier to prove compared to disparate treatment. While disparate impact involves focuses on discriminatory consequences, disparate treatment looks at discriminatory intent. One would, therefore, suppose that it is easier to establish the consequences of discrimination than to establish the intention of discrimination. Proof of discriminatory motive does not, therefore, is not part of the disparate-impact theory. This implies that establishing the consequences of discrimination within an institution does not involve the contributions of an institution’s management as it is the case with establishing the motive behind discrimination. The employment-at-will doctrine refers to the common rule that an employment contract with no defined duration can be terminated by either the employer or the employee at any time without the party terminating the contract having to provide good reasons for doing so. This doctrine goes against the â€Å"good will† requirement advocated by employee unions. Unlike the at-will doctrine, the good will requirement supposes that employers need to demonstrate that it is for a good cause that they intend to terminate an employee’s

The makeup of a good research question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The makeup of a good research question - Essay Example 3). Examples of these questions would involve the why’s and how’s of the object being studied. The data format of the answers derived from these questions is textual in nature. Quantitative research questions, on the other hand, aim to â€Å"quantify variation, predict causal relationships, or describe the characteristics of a population† (Mack et al., 2011). Questions that explore the differences, relationships, and characteristics of the object being studied, therefore, are quantitative in nature. The answers generated from these questions are usually numerical in nature. These questions sometimes aim to quantify otherwise unquantifiable objects by transforming them into measurable variables and relationships. Another defining characteristic of a quantitative question is its reliance on experiments and surveys as research methods. While quantitative and qualitative research questions differ in the way they attack a research problem, combining them can lead to a more insightful and comprehensive research study. Some studies, for instance, begin with a quantitative question to uncover manifest characteristics of an object being studied and then proceed to a qualitative one to delve deeper into the meanings and relationships within that object. References Brikci, M., & Green, J. (2007). A guide to using qualitative research methodology.

How nutrition relates to bone health Research Paper

How nutrition relates to bone health - Research Paper Example The following analysis will help the reader to understand the key building blocks that are required by the body in order to perform and maintain a healthy skeletal system. Firstly, and most obviously, calcium as well as vitamin K and vitamin D are the most basic and important building blocks of proper bone strength and nutrition. Although calcium is what is primarily focused upon with regards to maintaining proper bone density and health, both vitamin K and vitamin D help to regulate the levels of calcium in the blood stream as well as to encourage and discourage the way that this calcium is synthesized within the bone marrow itself (Marian 440). Although this vitamin and nutrient are often mentioned in the same breath with bone health and nutrition, few individuals understand the processes that each of these play in proper bone health. Firstly, vitamin D is converted to what is known as calcidiol in the liver. Once this conversion has taken place, the calcidiol is then pumped through the blood stream with the sole intent of seeking to regulate the levels of calcium and phosphate that exist in the blood stream. Calcidiol acts in this way as a hormone to regulate levels of compounds that exist throughout the body (Price 143). By acting in this regulatory fashion, the body is able to make appropriate use of the calcium and phosphate levels that are in the blood stream in order to properly build strong bones. In the same way, vitamin K helps to control the level of calcium binding that takes place within the bone structure. Likewise, in addition to calcium and vitamin K, D, the body needs to maintain adequate levels of magnesium; the second most plentiful mineral, after calcium, in the skeleton. Magnesium has a host of applications with respect to bone health; however, for the purposes of this brief analysis it can understood to have a direct and profoundly important effect on the boney matrix that helps to give bones their density and

Finace (IGR, SGR, EFN) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finace (IGR, SGR, EFN) - Case Study Example The remaining income was added back as the retained earnings for the company. This type of retained earnings generally helps companies like S&S Air to provide for internal financing required for further investments in the company. However, in the past S&S Air did not have proper planning regarding the investment opportunities of the company. As a result of this, the company lost sales in the past and had to go through crunch situations as regards to the liquidity position of the company. Hence the company is requiring the need for proper planning for its future investments. Ratio analysis has been done to analyze the current financial condition of the company. Next utilizing the financial ratios calculated, the owners of the company is willing to have a proper financial planning of S&S Air in future. The company needs this type of planning to decide upon the forecasted sales next year which the company can expect to generate. Moreover it would also help the company to know whether an y external financing is required to have the desired growth of the company next year. The company management also needs to have a proper idea about its current efficiency in utilizing its capacity so that improvements can be made if the capacity utilization of the company is less. Hence, calculating the internal growth rate and sustainable growth rate of the company along with the EFN, can help the company plan efficiently for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2012. Question 1: Calculate the internal growth rate and sustainable growth rate for S&S Air. What do these numbers mean? Answer: Internal Growth Rate (IGR) The internal growth rate of a company is given by the following formula (Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan 108): Internal Growth Rate = (ROA*b)/(1-ROA*b) Where, ROA = Return on Assets = Net Income/Total Assets b = Retention Ratio = (Addition to Retained Earnings/Net Income) Thus for S&S Air, ROA = 1,845,242/17,379,480 = 10.62% = 0.1062 b = (1,285,242/1,845,242) = 69.65% = 0.6965 (appro x) Hence, the Internal Growth Rate for S&S Air is given by: Internal Growth Rate = (0.1062*0.6965)/(1-0.1062*0.6965) = 7.99 % This implies that S&S Air would be able to expand its business and grow at a rate of 7.99% per year without the need of any external financing. Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) This growth rate gives a measure about the growth of a company utilizing its internal financial sources (Jones 383). It is given by the formula: Sustainable Growth Rate = (ROE * b)/(1-ROE*b) Where, ROE = Return on Equity = Net Income/Total Equity b = Retention Ratio Thus for S&S Air, ROE = 1845242/9556430 = 19.31% = 0.1931 b = 69.65% = 0.6965 Hence, the Sustainable Growth Rate for S & S Air is given by: Sustainable Growth Rate = (0.1931*0.6965) * (1 - (0.1931*0.6965)) = 15.54% This implies that S&S Air would be able to expand and grow at a rate of 15.54% per year without the need of any equity financing externally. Question 2: S&S Air is planning for a growth rate of 12 percent next year. Calculate the EFN for the company assuming the company is operating at full capacity. Can the company's sales increase at this growth rate? Answer: External Financing Needed (EFN) A company requires financing from external sources if it is unable to generate adequate cash flows required to fulfill its present financial obligations (Moles, Parrino, and Kidwell 756). The EFN for S&S Air is calculated using the pro forma statements which utilizes the approach related to percentage of

Risk in the business world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Risk in the business world - Essay Example There are four basic ways in which a CFO can handle risk; avoid, reduce, assume, or transfer the risk (Silverman, n.d.). A CFO’s attempts should be directed at managing risk in the very order as mentioned here. Personally, a CFO handles risks by collaborating with and influencing the CEO, and also by maintaining independence (Egon Zehnder International, 2008). The challenge for a CFO is to focus on controls, and at the same time, on business partnering. Being able to balance the two conflicting claims enables a CFO to deliver business results. Professionally, a CFO handles risk by trying to assess it in advance and informing the concerned authorities so that it can be managed in time and effectively, if encountered. The best source of risk assessment is historical records and past experiences coupled with expert opinion. In addition, various software like Primavera Risk Analysis can be used to assess and manage risks involved in a

Benefits of Integrating Fossil and Molecular Data Essay - 6

Benefits of Integrating Fossil and Molecular Data - Essay Example As explained by Neil Shubin, the occurrence of hiccups is as a result of the brain generating some electrical signals. Amphibian brains generate similar hiccups because they helped them to maintain a steady opening of their gills. Since we are products of evolution, our brains still generate similar hiccups. Recent research indicates that the level of obesity incidences is on the rise. This is as a result of the change in lifestyles and eating habits among individuals. On a closer look, Neil Shubin claims that the genes of our bodies were made to adapt to the rather active life of hunting and gathering as opposed to the relaxed modern living. Moreover, Shubin states that the evolution of the voice box has left many people vulnerable to breathing and swallowing problems. This is an indication that cells of living organisms are not fully adapted to their environment hence they are still evolving. In the analysis of the molecular structures, Shubin found out that somebody parts resemble d those of the early life forms. For example, the fins of early amphibians showed the clear resemblance to those of the human hands. Also, a fossil of a fish’s back-born indicated a resemblance to that of a human being. Neil Shubin further explained that our body cells function like bacteria and also our heads are organized in a similar manner to those of the jawless fish. This is a clear indication that human beings actually evolved from fish. Using the integration of fossil and molecular data, Shubin has been able to criticize the religious beliefs of the existence of a supreme being. Due to evolution, about 300 genes designed for the smell in human beings has been rendered useless. This prompted him to question the idea of the perfection of a Supreme Being claiming that if God is in existence, why would he create about 300 useless genes? Therefore, in the book ‘Your inner fish’,

Unit 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Unit 8 - Essay Example The author therefore lays out number of important elements of project management making up the best practices culture that must be observed by all project managers. training is particularly important considering the fast changing times and environments and as such companies have no options other than investing in continuous education for their project management teams and employees to keep up to date with industry standards. The first success point is for the project managers to get everything straight from the onset. It is important for managers of projects to understand the main goals of the particular project the needs of their clients in order to give the best. Secondly it is particularly important to carefully study and understand contracts before entering into any commitments. Assessing major clauses such as those on liabilities, indemnification warranties are worded right so as to avoid unnecessary legal suits and court cases. This eases the project implementation process and helps eliminate unnecessary delays. Another very important success factor in project management is the kick off meeting with a client. It is a very crucial meeting and therefore both the project managers and key project team members should be present in the meeting alongside key persons from the client end. This is because expectations are set in this meeting and as such it helps project teams figure out how to better manage the expectations of their client. The project managers should also never overlook stored materials; they should understand the way to bill for materials that are stored and also know the hidden costs that may come with early ordering of materials. To this end, timing is important especially when it comes to warranties. The warranty time begins counting immediately equipment are purchased and hence the earlier the installation the longer the period covered by the warranty. The final and ultimate success point in project

Financial management Essay Example for Free

Financial management Essay Q1. What are the goals of financial management? Ans. Financial management means maximization of economic welfare of its shareholders. Maximization of economic welfare means maximization of wealth of its shareholders. Shareholder’s wealth maximization is reflected in the market value of the firm’s shares. Experts believe that, the goal of financial management is attained when it maximizes the market value of shares. There are two versions of the goals of financial management of the firm- Profit Maximization and Wealth Maximization. Profit maximization Profit maximization is based on the cardinal rule of efficiency. Its goal is to maximize the returns with the best output and price levels. A firm’s performance is evaluated in terms of profitability. Profit maximization is the traditional and narrow approach, which aims at maximizing the profit of the concern. Allocation of resources and investor’s perception of the company’s performance can be traced to the goal of profit maximization. Wealth maximization The term wealth means shareholder’s wealth or the wealth of the persons those who are involved in the business concern. Wealth maximization is those who are involved in the business concern. Wealth maximization is also known as value maximization or net present worth maximization. This objective is an universally accepted concept in the field of business. Wealth maximization is possible only when the company pursues policies that would increase the market value of shares of the company. It has been accepted by the finance managers as it overcomes the limitations of profit maximization. The following arguments are in support of the superiority of wealth maximization over profit maximization: * Wealth maximization is based on the concept of cash flows. Cash flows are a reality and not based on any subjective interpretation. On the other hand, profit maximization is based on any subjective interpretation. On the other hand, profit maximization is based on accounting profit and it also contains many subjective elements. * Wealth maximization considers time value of money. Time value of money translates cash flow occurring at different periods into a comparable value at zero period. In this process, the quality of cash flow is considered critical in all decisions as it incorporates the risk associated with the cash flow stream. It finally crystallizes into the rate of return that will motivate investors to part with their hard earned savings. Maximizing the wealth of the shareholders means net present value of the decisions implemented. Q2. Explain the factors affecting Financial Plan. Ans. To help your organization succeed, you should develop a plan that needs to be followed. This applies to starting the company, developing new product, creating a new department or any undertaking that affects the company’s future. There are several factors that affect planning in an organization. To create an efficient plan, you need to understand the factors involved in the planning process. Organizational planning is affected by many factors: Priorities In most companies, the priority is generating revenue, and this priority can sometimes interfere with the planning process of any project. When you start the planning process for any project, you need to assign each of the issues facing the company a priority rating. That priority rating will determine what issues will sidetrack you from the planning of your project, and which issues can wait until the process is complete. Company Resources Having an idea and developing a plan for your company can help your company to grow and succeed, but if the company does not have the resources to make the plan come together, it can stall progress. One of the first steps to any planning process should be an evaluation of the resources necessary to complete the project, compared to the resources the company has available. Some of the resources to consider are finances, personnel, space requirements, access to materials and vendor relationships. Forecasting A company constantly should be forecasting to help prepare for changes in the marketplace. Forecasting sales revenues, materials costs, personnel costs and overhead costs can help a company plan for upcoming projects. Without accurate forecasting, it can be difficult to tell if the plan has any chance of success, if the company has the capabilities to pull off the plan and if the plan will help to strengthen the company’s standing within the industry. For example, if your forecasting for the cost of goods has changed due to a sudden increase in material costs, then that can affect elements of your product roll-out plan, including projected profit and the long-term commitment you might need to make to a supplier to try to get the lowest price possible. Contingency Planning To successfully plan, an organization needs to have a contingency plan in place. If the company has decided to pursue a new product line, there needs to be a part of the plan that addresses the possibility that the product line will fail. Q3. Explain the time value of money. Ans. Money has time value. A rupee today is more valuable than a year hence. It is on this concept â€Å"the time value of money† is based. The recognition of the time value of money and risk is extremely vital in financial decision making. Most financial decisions such as the purchase of assets or procurement of funds, affect the firm’s cash flows in different time periods. For example, if a fixed asset is purchased, it will require an immediate cash outlay and will generate cash flows during many future periods. Similarly if the firm borrows funds from a bank or from any other source, it receives cash and commits an obligation to pay interest and repay principal in future periods. The firm may also raise funds by issuing equity shares. The firm’s cash balance will increase at the time shares are issued, but as the firm pays dividends in future, the outflow of cash will occur. Sound decision-making requires that the cash flows which a firm is expected to give up over period should be logically comparable. In fact, the absolute cash flows which differ in timing and risk are not directly comparable. Cash flows become logically comparable when they are appropriately adjusted for their differences in timing and risk. The recognition of the time value of money and risk is extremely vital in financial decision-making. If the timing and risk of cash flows is not considered, the firm may make decisions which may allow it to miss its objective of maximizing the owner’s welfare. The welfare of owners would be maximized when Net Present Value is created from making a financial decision. It is thus, time value concept which is important for financial decisions. Thus, we conclude that time value of money is central to the concept of finance. It recognizes that the value of money is different at different points a of time. Since money can be put to productive use, its value is different depending upon when it is received or paid. In simpler terms, the value of a certain amount of money today is more valuable than its value tomorrow. It is not because of the uncertainty involved with time but purely on account of timing. The difference in the value of money today and tomorrow is referred as time value of money. Q6. What are the assumptions of MM approach? Ans. Modigliani Millar approach, popularly known as the MM approach is similar to the Net operating income approach. The MM approach favors the Net operating income approach and agrees with the fact that the cost of capital is independent of the degree of leverage and at any mix of debt-equity proportions. The significance of this MM approach is that it provides operational or behavioral justification for constant cost of capital at any degree of leverage. Whereas, the net operating income approach does not provide operational justification for independence of the companys cost of capital. Basic Propositions of MM approach: 1. At any degree of leverage, the companys overall cost of capital (ko) and the Value of the firm (V) remains constant. This means that it is independent of the capital structure. The total value can be obtained by capitalizing the operating earnings stream that is expected in future, discounted at an appropriate discount rate suitable for the risk undertaken. 2. The cost of capital (ke) equals the capitalization rate of a pure equity stream and a premium for financial risk. This is equal to the difference between the pure equity capitalization rate and ki times the debt-equity ratio. 3. The minimum cut-off rate for the purpose of capital investments is fully independent of the way in which a project is financed. Assumptions of MM approach: 1. Capital markets are perfect. 2. All investors have the same expectation of the companys net operating income for the purpose of evaluating the value of the firm. 3. Within similar operating environments, the business risk is equal among all firms. 4. 100% dividend payout ratio. 5. An assumption of no taxes was there earlier, which has been removed. Limitations of MM hypothesis: 1. Investors would find the personal leverage inconvenient. 2. The risk perception of corporate and personal leverage may be different. 3. Arbitrage process cannot be smooth due the institutional restrictions. 4. Arbitrage process would also be affected by the transaction costs. 5. The corporate leverage and personal leverage are not perfect substitutes. 6. Corporate taxes do exist. However, the assumption of no taxes has been removed later.

Successful brand extensions in the FMCG industry

Successful brand extensions in the FMCG industry INTRODUCTION Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this strategy to increase and leverage brand equity (definition: the net worth and long-term sustainability just from the renowned name). An example of a brand extension is Jello-gelatin creating Jello pudding pops. It increases awareness of the brand name and increases profitability from offerings in more than one product category. A brands extendibility depends on how strong consumers associations are to the brands values and goals. While there can be significant benefits in brand extension strategies, there can also be significant risks, resulting in a diluted or severely damaged brand image. Poor choices for brand extension may dilute and deteriorate the core brand and damage the brand equity. Most of the literature focuses on the consumer evaluation and positive impact on parent brand. In practical cases, the failures of brand extension are at higher rate than the successes. Some studies show that negative impact may dilute brand image and equity. In spite of the positive impact of brand extension, negative association and wrong communication strategy do harm to the parent brand even brand family. Organizations frequently follow brand extension strategies. This paper investigates the impact of category similarity, brand reputation, perceived risk, and consumer innovativeness on the success of brand extensions in FMCG, durable goods, and services sectors. A set of hypotheses were developed and tested in a study amongst 153 consumers. The findings show that extensions into categories more similar to the original brand tend to be more readily accepted. Likewise, the reputation of the original brand is an important factor influencing the success of the extension. These findings are consistent across FMCG, durable goods, and services brands. However, perceived risk about the extension category was only found to enhance acceptability of extensions for durable goods and services brands. Innovative consumers are more positively disposed towards service brand extensions than FMCG and durable goods brand extensions. REVIEW OF LITERATURE In his paper, Hem Leif E a set of hypotheses were developed and tested in a study amongst 701 consumers. The findings show that extensions into categories more similar to the original brand tend to be more readily accepted. Likewise, the reputation of the original brand is an important factor influencing the success of the extension. These findings are consistent across FMCG, durable goods and services brands. However, perceived risk about the extension category was only found to enhance acceptability of extensions for durable goods and services brands. Innovative consumers are more positively disposed towards service brand extensions than FMCG and durable goods brand extensions. (Factors Influencing Successful Brand Extensions By: Hem, Leif E.; de Chernatony, Leslie; Iversen, Nina M.. Journal of Marketing Management, Sep2003, Vol. 19 Issue 7/8) In his paper, Thamaraiselvan, Raja, projects the intense competitive environment where companies launch new products to satisfy constantly changing consumers preferences. The new products are prone to failures due to many factors. Companies take efforts to reduce new product failure rates to maximize their returns for their stakeholders. A brand extension, leveraging existing brand names to new product categories is one such strategy to reduce the risk of new product failures. This study primarily focuses on how consumers evaluate brand extensions for FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and service product categories in Indian market conditions. It explores how exactly the consumers evaluate different product categories based on factors like, similarity fit, perceived quality, brand reputation and perceived risk. It brings out the impact of brand reputation of the core brand and perceived service quality on the brand extensions evaluations. It highlights the role of perceived risk invo lved in the extended product category in brand extensions evaluations. Most importantly, this study establishes the relationships among similarity fit, brand reputation, perceived service quality and perceived risk in extended product categories through appropriate multivariate analysis. (How do Consumers Evaluate Brand Extensions- Research findings from India. By: Thamaraiselvan, N.; Raja, J.. Journal of Services Research, Apr2008, Vol. 8 Issue 1 ) In his article, Park, examines two factors that differentiate between successful and unsuccessful brand extensions: product feature similarity and brand concept consistency. The results reveal that, in identifying brand extensions, consumers take into account not only information about the product-level feature similarity between the new product and the products already associated with the brand, but also the concept consistency between the brand concept and the extension. For both function-oriented and prestige-oriented brand names, the most favorable reactions occur when brand extensions are made with high brand concept consistency and high product feature similarity. In addition, the relative impact of these two factors differs to some extent, depending on the nature of the brand-name concept. When a brands concept is consistent with those of its extension products, the prestige brand seems to have greater extendibility to products with low feature similarity than the functional b rand does. (Evaluation of Brand Extensions: The Role of Product Feature Similarity and Brand Concept Consistency. By: Park, C. Whan; Milberg, Sandra; Lawson, Robert. Journal of Consumer Research, Sep91, Vol. 18 Issue 2 ) In his research paper, Hem Leif, projects that the most successful brand extensions are considered to be those having high perceived similarity between the parent brand and the extensions, and being well known in the marketplace. However, previous research has mainly examined the effects of overall measures of perceived similarity between a parent brand and an extension. Correspondingly, little is known about the effects of different areas of consumer knowledge. This study investigates the effects of three types of perceived similarity (usage, associations, competence) and three areas of consumer knowledge (original brand, original category, extension category) on evaluations of brand extensions. The results indicate that some types of perceived similarity and knowledge are more important than others. These findings imply that brand managers need to identify and measure the relevant types of perceived similarity and knowledge that will affect evaluations of brand extensions in order to design effective communication strategies for extensions. (Effects of different types of perceived similarity and subjective knowledge in evaluations of brand extensions. By: Hem, Leif E.; Iversen, Nina M.. International Journal of Market Research, 2009, Vol. 51 Issue 6 ) In his article, Swaminathan, focuses on the impact of a new brand extension introduction on choice in a behavioral context using national household scanner data involving multiple brand extensions. Particularly, the authors investigate the reciprocal impact of trial of successful and unsuccessful brand extensions on parent brand choice. In addition, the authors examine the effects of experience with the parent brand on consumers trial and repeat of a brand extension using household scanner data on six brand extensions from a national panel. In the case of successful brand extensions, the results show positive reciprocal effects of extension trial on parent brand choice, particularly among prior non-users of the parent brand, and consequently on market share. The authors find evidence for potential negative reciprocal effects of unsuccessful extensions. In addition, the study shows that experience with the parent brand has a significant impact on extension trial, but not on extension repeat. (The Impact of Brand Extension Introduction on Choice. By: Swaminathan, Vanitha; Fox, Richard J.; Reddy, Srinivas K.. Journal of Marketing, Oct2001, Vol. 65 Issue 4 ) INDIAN FMCG INDUSTRY The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market size in excess of $13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is characterized by a well established distribution network, intense competition between the organised and unorganised segments and low operational cost. Availability of key raw materials, cheaper labour costs and presence across the entire value chain gives India a competitive advantage. The FMCG market is set to treble from $11.6 billion in 2003 to $33.4 billion in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the untapped market potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class and the rural segments, presents an opportunity to makers of branded products to convert consumers to branded products. Growth is also likely to come from consumer upgrading in the matured product categories. With 200 millio n people expected to shift to processed and packaged food by 2010, India needs around $28 billion of investment in the food-processing industry. The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy and creates employment for three million people in downstream activities. Within the FMCG sector, the Indian food processing industry represented 6.3 per cent of GDP and accounted for 13 percent of the countrys exports in 2003-04. A distinct feature of the FMCG industry is the presence of most global players through their subsidiaries (HLL, PG, Nestle), which ensures new product launches in the Indian market from the parents portfolio. Demand for FMCG products is set to boom by almost 60 per cent by 2007 and more than 100 per cent by 2015. This will be driven by the rise in share of middle class from 67 per cent in 2003 to 88 per cent in 2015. The boom in various consumer categories, further, indicates a latent demand for various product segments. For example, the upper end of very rich and a part of the consuming class indicate a small but rapidly growing segment for branded products. The middle segment, on the other hand, indicates a large market for the mass end products.The BRICs report indicates that Indias per capita disposable income, currently at $556 per annum, will rise to $1150 by 2015 another FMCG demand driver. Spurt in the industrial and services sector growth is also likely to boost the urban consumption demand. HOUSEHOLD CARE The size of the fabric wash market is estimated to be $1 billion, household cleaners to be $239 million and the production of synthetic detergents at 2.6 million tonnes. The demand for detergents has been growing at an annual growth rate of 10 to 11 per cent during the past five years. The urban market prefers washing powder and detergents to bars. The regional and small un-organised players account for a major share of the total volume of the detergent market. PERSONAL CARE The size of the personal wash products is estimated at $989 million; hair care products at $831 million and oral care products at $537 million. While the overall personal wash market is growing at one per cent, the premium and middle-end soaps are growing at 10 per cent. The leading players in this market are HUL, Nirma, Godrej Soaps and Reckitt Colman. The oral care market, especially toothpastes, remains under penetrated in India (with penetration level below 45 per cent). The industry is very competitive both for organised and smaller regional players. The Indian skin care and cosmetics market is valued at $274 million and dominated by HUL, Colgate Palmolive, Gillette India and Godrej Soaps. The coconut oil market accounts for 72 per cent share in the hair oil market. In the branded coconut hair oil market, Marico (with Parachute) and Dabur are the leading players. The market for branded coconut oil is valued at approximately $174 million. FOOD AND BEVERAGES The size of the Indian food processing industry is around $ 65.6 billion, including $20.6 billion of value added products. Of this, the health beverage industry is valued at $230 million; bread and biscuits at $1.7 billion; chocolates at $73 million and ice creams at $188 million. The size of the semi-processed/ready-to-eat food segment is over $1.1 billion. Large biscuits confectionery units, soya processing units and starch/glucose/sorbitol producing units have also come up, catering to domestic and international markets. The three largest consumed categories of packaged foods are packed tea, biscuits and soft drinks. The Indian beverage industry faces over supply in segments like coffee and tea. However, more than half of this is available in unpacked or loose form. Indian hot beverage market is a tea dominant market. Consumers in different parts of the country have heterogeneous tastes. Dust tea is popular in southern India, while loose tea in preferred in western India. The urb an-rural split of the tea market was 51:49 in 2000. Coffee is consumed largely in the southern states. The size of the total packaged coffee market is 19,600 tonnes or $87 million. The total soft drink (carbonated beverages and juices) market is estimated at 284 million crates a year or $1 billion. The market is highly seasonal in nature with consumption varying from 25 million crates per month during peak season to 15 million during offseason. The market is predominantly urban with 25 per cent contribution from rural areas. Coca cola and Pepsi dominate the Indian soft drinks market. Mineral water market in India is a 65 million crates ($50 million) industry. On an average, the monthly consumption is estimated at 4.9 million crates, which increases to 5.2 million during peak season. With the presence of 12.2% of the world population in the villages of India, the Indian rural FMCG market is something no one can overlook. Increased focus on farm sector will boost rural incomes, hence providing better growth prospects to the FMCG companies. Better infrastructure facilities will improve their supply chain. FMCG sector is also likely to benefit from growing demand in the market. Because of the low per capita consumption for almost all the products in the country, FMCG companies have immense possibilities for growth. And if the companies are able to change the mindset of the consumers, i.e. if they are able to take the consumers to branded products and offer new generation products, they would be able to generate higher growth in the near future. It is expected that the rural income will rise in 2007, boosting purchasing power in the countryside. However, the demand in urban areas would be the key growth driver over the long term. Also, increase in the urban populatio n, along with increase in income levels and the availability of new categories, would help the urban areas maintain their position in terms of consumption. At present, urban India accounts for 66% of total FMCG consumption, with rural India accounting for the remaining 34%. However, rural India accounts for more than 40% consumption in major FMCG categories such as personal care, fabric care, and hot beverages. In urban areas, home and personal care category, including skin care, household care and feminine hygiene, will keep growing at relatively attractive rates. Within the foods segment, it is estimated that processed foods, bakery, and dairy are long-term growth categories in both rural and urban areas.

Philosophys Study Of Value Axiology Essay

Philosophys Study Of Value Axiology Essay It follows from questions Q-Q of the interview that the price defines the current value of the object auctioned. The process of accepting or amending the price seems to be, at least to an extent, both irrational and random. How much irrational or how much rational is that process? To answer this question, we have to elucidate the nature of value. In philosophy, the study of value is called axiology, derived from the Greek (worth), and (the knowledge of). Axiology was developed a century ago, mainly by Paul Lapin (1902) and E. von Hartmann (1908). It focuses on two kinds of values: aesthetics and ethics. The former studies what beauty and harmony are, while the latter puts emphasis on what is wrong and what is right in the social conduct of individuals. A mathematical approach to this topic, resulting in formal axiology, is the brainchild of Robert S. Hartman (1967). Hartmans contribution is unique in the sense that his Formal Axiology is the only social science in which a one-to-one relationship exists between the dimensions of axiology and mathematics. If axiology is viewed as a collective name for aesthetics and ethics, it is similar to value theory. The latter teaches about the value of things. A thing in this context may be anything: an object, a person, or an idea. The study encompasses what people value, how they value it and why they value it. The results may be slightly different in the fields of philosophy, psychology, economics, or sociology. In the realm of psychology, value theory is applied to the study of how people are affected by their values. The object of study is how people develop a set of values, and how they subsequently profess and believe in these values. Even more important is how people act or fail to act on their values. The answer to the question how human behaviour may be guided, fail to be guided or be misguided by a set of values, or why people choose or prefer some things to others, or why and how certain values emerge at different stages of human physical and intellectual development, has not been found yet. Human beings are social animals and as such animals, they congregate in groups and communities. Each group or community may have its own values, usually different from the values and priorities of another community. The community values interact with personal values. The nature of the interaction and its impact on personal values or their change is the subject of sociological studies. Among prominent scientists who studied these topics, viewing value as an independent variable, we find Max Weber, Jà ¼rgen Habermas, or Émile Durkheim. Returning to the axiology view, the value can be viewed as relations between subjects and objects. Through these relations, the social, group, or individual evaluations of certain material, human or natural qualities are expressed in hierarchical and polarised forms. These forms fill ideals, needs, or desires adapted to the time and space in which they occur. Three levels can be distinguished in the determination of their essential type. They can be studied on the pragmatic level (Why?), on the syntactic level (How?), and on the semantic level (What?). Value is multidimensional: (more BS, p.1) For this purpose, Nadine (2003) defines an axiological system S = (M, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å", I), where M is the class of representative structures, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å" is the class of interdependent objects or other entities I is the class of interpretations (assignments) given to the structures. The system S can function in a number of ways, and subsystems can be associated to it. A complex axiological system may thus be generated. Nadin (2003) has derived the following operations and relations can be established between any two axiological systems S1 and S2: S1 is the subsystem of S2 S1 is complementary to S1 S1 and S2 are equal Union of S1 and S2 exists Intersection of S1 and S2 exists An empty system exists S1 and S2 are independent Similar relationships can be defined for the predicates. Nadine has also shown the categories and morphisms of the systems mentioned. ** ** ** ** ** The term creating value has an aura of mystery about itself. How do we create value? And, indeed, what is value? And how does it relate to luxury? These are the important questions that will be addressed in this chapter. A product attains the status of luxury good because of its unique intrinsic properties, such as design, performance, durability, quality and reliability. At least some of these properties must be perceived as considerably superior to comparable common substitutes. Quality The term value has been treated extensively in philosophy, as well as in economy. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, there is no unified definition of value. There are definitions appropriate for the respective perspectives of value. Therefore, creating value may seem a sheer contradiction. The first approximation to understanding value is the realization that in many instances value is time, space and person dependent. For instance, Arabian horses were very valuable as recently as a century ago. But they were appreciated mainly by the male population, and only in those social circles that could afford owning an Arabian horse. Nowadays, with the car being the king of the road, owning a horse, even the most extraordinary one, is not a matter of prestige. This simple example illustrates that value is a perceived property. Its model necessarily must comprise at least some of the value categories: emotional, economic, and social. Among the components of the emotional category, most outstanding are beauty, durability, exclusiveness, and perhaps also a sense of belonging caused by the high cost of luxury. Each of these dimensions is complex enough to be scrutinized separately. Some people believe that beauty, whether in humans or in nature, obeys a mathematical law. Based on countless observations, it can be stated that living organisms, plants, animals, or human beings, grow according to a precise mathematical law given by the geometrical ratio of 1:1,618. It is called the Golden Ratio, or the Divine proportion, obtained by a precise mathematical procedure. Two quantities are in the Golden Ratio if their sum divided by the larger quantity is equal to 1,1618 (its reciprocal is 0,618). It is based on the Fibonacci Sequence, in which each member is a number obtained as the sum of the previous two number. By and by, any successive pair of the Fibonacci series will result in the ratio mentioned, called ÃŽÂ ¦. The interesting observation is that this ratio, ÃŽÂ ¦ = 1:1,1618, appears consistently in beautiful things in nature, architecture, the arts, or living beings. Many beautiful pictures illustrating the Phi, as well as explaining the secrets of the G olden Ratio, can be found at the Golden Ratio website. The logos of Atari, Nissan and Toyota, obeying the Golden Ratio law, the metric dimensions of paper formats, shells, credit cards, architectonic drawings, too, can be found at the Golden Ratio website. Some time ago, the press reported that Dr Marquardt, a facial surgeon from California, had constructed a mask of the human face based on ÃŽÂ ¦. This beautiful face displays the proportion everywhere: in the skull, the positioning of the eyes, the length of the nose, or the size of the teeth. The mask conforms to todays standards of beautiful faces, regardless of race. Moreover, it also agrees with pre-modern paintings, antique statues, or old-time movie stars. This might lead us to believe that facial beauty is invariant over time and across cultures. Is it then not tempting to conclude that beauty, quantified by a mathematical ratio, is not remarkable at all, that beauty is the property of the visible surface, and that philosophizing on what beauty means is a waste of time? Perhaps not quite yet. Beauty, indeed, is in the eyes of the beholder, but it goes beyond physical attractiveness, so intensely blared by the media and popular culture. Beauty in the context of luxury includes also authenticity, kindness, wisdom, happiness, love, dignity, and self-realization. The possibilities for the beautiful to be known have thus been extended infinitely. Because luxury may very well depend on this kind of beauty derived not only from physical objects, but also from human interaction perceived as valuable to a specific individual. Again, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Durability, too, may have a great many meanings to different individuals. A general dictionary definition (Merriam-Webster, website) states that something that is durable is able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration. These terms are technical because, indeed, durability is most often of interest to engineers and businessmen. It refers to unchanged properties or performance of a product with reference to some environmental or application-related conditions. Most often, durability of industrial products is achieved or enhanced by a proper choice of materials, clever design, and surface treatment. Durability may be a preferred property of objects including luxury objects. For instance, gems or precious metals are durable. The durability is given by their resistance to environmental influences, which is an inherent property of these materials. Durability is further corroborated by their aesthetic features. Non-objects, for instance luxury holidays, or sumptuous meals, can hardly be durable longer than what is acceptable, which is a relatively short time. Exclusiveness is a perceived property per se, but it may also be viewed as a component of durability. Exclusiveness is predominantly a product of craftsmanship applied to luxury items. This is what gives a luxury item a life. A mass-produced item, no matter how beautiful, lacks the touch of the spirit of its creator, and never makes the same impression as a hand-made object. Personalized production, combined with exquisite design, makes luxury objects invariant in time, and resistant to fashion fluctuations. Because luxury items are not available to everyone, the narrow segment of the population that can afford them makes up a virtual club. The sheer belonging to the club tickles many peoples imagination about the social status or importance they acquire if the public associates them with the exclusive club. It may or may not be so. The economic aspects of luxury seem to be simple to grasp. Luxury costs a lot of money. That is the simple conclusion most people would be tempted to draw. The actual relationships holding between luxury objects and their users are, however, vastly more complex. In the realm of economics, human beings are viewed as consumers. Their revealed preferences for various goods are considered indicators of the fact that those goods are of value. Self-evident as this statement may sound, it generates a contradiction between various political or religious influences, and a struggle over what goods should be available on the market. Market goods must be owned, if the market system is to provide information on the consensus on certain essential questions concerning individual and society, and the ecosystems affected by the market transactions. The term market goods is too constrained, as the taxonomy of goods is much more complex. First, a distinction has to be made between moral and material goods. Moral goods is anything a person is expected to be morally obligated to strive for. The study of this kind of goods belongs to the realm of ethics. People and their conduct may thus deserve praise or blame in a given system. Natural goods is any kind of goods that is palpable. The discipline that deals with natural goods is economics. Luxury goods, too, are natural goods. A complement to this is the distinction between moral and non-moral goods. A non-moral good is something that one or more individuals desire. A non-moral good may include moral goods, but includes predominantly material goods. There is a mental distinction between these two views of goods. If one says: Fred is a good pianist, and This meal was very good, the meaning of the qualifier good is not interchangeable. It has a different sense: accomplished in the former case, and delicious in the latter. Another important distinction is that between economic goods and moral goods. The former is anything that stimulates economic growth. So, for instance, alcohol has an exchange value in that it stimulates economic growth. Thus, alcohol is economically good. Since there are circumstances when it may be harmful to a persons body, and even have a negative social effect, alcohol can hardly ever be regarded as a moral goods. Several other taxonomies exist. To value, in the realm of goods, means to determine an essential type of goods, decide that things are in some relation to each other, and that one thing is better than another. Thus, to value is to prioritize. Valuations in the sense of assigning higher value to some things and lower value to other things, is a consistent pattern of deciding what is good. Being a persons manner of thinking, it is strictly individual. The manner in which a person reaches conclusions about things, and the unique pattern of thinking and assigning value is called the Value Structure. Its principal components comprise thinking about objects, discerning their different aspects, making judgment and choosing, in other words, it involves the processes of filtering, storing, and analyzing data. *** However, as the real luxury market moves into the stratosphere, its leaving open a vast universe in which mass marketers can fulfill the neo-luxury desires of mass consumers. And these consuming masses have shown strong evidence they are ready, willing and able to pay premium prices for products and services that were once considered commodities. From ice cream to bottled water, beer to potato chips, coffee to coffee pots, washing machines to power saws, there isnt a mass-market category that hasnt jumped onto the up-branding bandwagon-and a very wise jump it is. Adding a premium product to an already strong brand name is a great way to drive brand growth and drive up margins. In fact, it can cast a positive halo over the entire brand family of products, making them all seem worth more. While this incredible market opportunity was recognized most presciently by brands such as Target and Trader Joes, its no longer a trend. Thanks to the internet and other media channels, consumers have changed too: People are more informed and more worldly-wise than ever before. Theres greater awareness of whats sophisticated, whats hot and, more important, whats cool. Having long satisfied their need for the basics, midlevel American consumers are no longer content with midlevel products and services. With basic water needs satisfied, for example, American consumers want Evian, Deja Blue, Glaceau or any bottled-water brand carried in Patagonia water pouches by athletes, movie stars and politicians. Consumers may get hungry, but no basic burger will do: Nieman Ranch beef cooked on one of Frontgates sleekest grills followed by a Tassimo espresso is the only way upbranders will go. Some even think theyll be loved far better if they use Olay Regenerist and Crest Vivid White and launder their Victoria Secrets in Whirlpool Duets. On another level, given all the stresses of the world, there seems to be an increasing desire to take care of me. People want a bit of luxury however they can get it. Starbucks, early on, recognized that while not everyone can afford to go to Tiffanys, they can enjoy the small indulgence of a grande nonfat latte. The coffee costs $5-a small price to pay to treat oneself well.

Laudans Theory of Scientific Aims Essay -- Laudan Science Utopia Argu

Laudan's Theory of Scientific Aims I criticize Laudan's constraints on cognitive aims as presented in Science and Values. These constraints are axiological consistency and non-utopianism. I argue that (i) Laudan's prescription for non utopian aims is too restrictive because it excludes ideals and characterizes as irrational or non-rational numerous human contingencies. (ii) We aim to ideals because there is no cogent way to specify in advance what degree of deviation from an ideal is acceptable. Thus, one cannot dispense with ideals. (iii) Laudan does not distinguish difficult from impossible goals, making his injunction against utopianism imprecise. It is "semantically utopian" and, furthermore, a prescription for conservatism and mediocrity. (iv) Goals often contradict each other or are at least partially incompatible. Since Laudan does not say how to prioritize incompatible aims, axiological consistency is an utopian desideratum. Thus, his constraints on cognitive aims contradict one another. Finally, (v), Laudan's axiological constraints are too weak and in order to strengthen them, he must invoke without justification some implicit pre-philosophical cognitive aims. This opens the logical possibility of axiological relativism, which Laudan attempted from the beginning to avoid. Laudan's Theory of Aims In Science and Values, Laudan has developed the view that our scientific aims can sometimes be rationally selected by imposing two constraints (1) on them: 1. they should be jointly consistent, 2. a pragmatic constraint of empirical realizability, or non-utopianism. This last requisite follows from Laudan`s means-ends conception of rationality, To adopt a goal with the feature that we can conceive of no actions... ...victory, one obtained by just means, i.e., the means employed should not constitute a greater evil than the evil the war was intended to remedy. (13) Since some axiological inconsistencies can be only pragmatic, it is not always clear whether some collection of ideals is mutually inconsistent. (14) Cf., N. Rescher, The Strife of Systems, chapters 7 & 8. (15) When this happens, our passionate nature will decide what our intellect cannot adequately settle. (16) Laudancs meta-aim of axiological consistency is a goal suspect of being 'demonstrably utopian', because it is not likely that we will ever have a theory of rational value priorizations. So it is not reasonable by Laudan's meta-methodology own standards. If so, Laudan's theory would be suspect of being self-referentially inconsistent. (17) Cf., Laudan, 1996, Beyond Positivism and Relativism, p. 16

Parents and Educators as a Powerful Influence Essay -- Graduate Colleg

Parents and Educators as a Powerful Influence Every individual has an impact on the world, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. For the most part, the greatest impact an individual will have is limited to those with whom he interacts and the small community in which he lives. To a certain extent, each person has control over his own actions and decisions, and the choices he makes will ultimately determine how much power he will have over his own life. In as much as any human being can control his surroundings, he can also control the contributions he makes to the community and the quality of his own life. Although one might not ever be able to create an ideal world, through life experiences, relationships with those around him, imagination, and above all, education, he can reach his own human potential and achieve his own ideal individual existence. As no one can avoid interacting on some level with other human beings, no one lives in complete isolation. Literature, film, and music provide many examples of the consequences and implications of alienation and isolation. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s constant attempts to alienate himself ultimately fail due to his love and desire to care for his sister, whose love and concern for him does not allow him to disengage totally from the world. It is through a person’s relationships with other people that he finds his place in the world and develops his own sense of importance. The caring and love of other human beings reaffirm a person’s sense of self-worth and give him the confidence to explore his world and form other attachments that will allow him to continue to grow and to develop as a person. ... ...ces in life. Educators introduce the child to a broad spectrum of knowledge, but more importantly, they fuel his imagination and present all the possibilities. Through art, literature, music, and history, in particular, a child can share the thoughts and feelings of those who came before him, and he can begin to explore his own imagination and creativity. It is this unique ability educators and parents have to connect children with the world around them that empowers the children to find their own places in society. This knowledge allows a child to discover and to revel in his own sense of individuality and to make choices and decisions that are true to his character. Perhaps Polonius said it best in Hamlet when he advised his son Laertes, â€Å"This above all: to thine own self be true,/And it must follow, as the night the day,/ Thou canst not then be false to any man.†

A summary of Amazon’s business Essay

I’ve used Amazon in my books for over 10 years now since many companies, from startups and small businesses to large international businesses, can learn from their focus on the customer and the approach of using technology and analysis to improve results. It consistently outperforms other companies in its ACSI customer satisfaction rating too. I aim to keep the case study up-to-date for readers of the books and Smart Insights readers who may be interested. In it we look at Amazon’s background, revenue model and sources for the latest business results. I recommend anyone studying Amazon checks the latest Amazon revenue and business strategies from their SEC filings / Investor relations. The annual filings to give a great summary of eBay business and revenue models. A good summary of the latest business model initiatives is available in this Amazon annual report summary for 2011. For Q4, 2010: North America segment sales, representing the Company’s U.S. and Canadian sites, were $7.21 billion, up 45% from fourth quarter 2009. International segment sales, representing the Company’s U.K., German, Japanese, French, Chinese and new Italian sites, were $5.74 billion, up 26% from fourth quarter 2009. Excluding the unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, sales grew 29%. Amazon has come a long way since it launched in 1995: From: and it’s offices†¦ to it’s current Seattle headquarters: Amazon performs exceptionally efficiently measured against revenue per visitor, which is one of the key measures for any commercial website, whether it’s a media site, search engine, social network or a transactional retailer or offers travel or financial services. Of course profit per user would be quite different due to the significantly lower costs of other .coms like Facebook and Google. Note: SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which is a government agency for which companies have to submit an open evaluation of their business models and marketplace conditions. Further Amazon case information This case study created by FaberNovel â€Å"Amazon.com: The Hidden Empire† one of five â€Å"Most Favorited† slideshows and one of the five â€Å"Most Popular Technology Presentations† of 2011. Recommended: Amazon Case Study Context Why a case study on Amazon? Surely everyone knows about who Amazon are and what they do? Yes, well that’s maybe true, but this case goes beyond the surface toreview some of the ‘insider secrets’ of Amazon’s success. Like eBay, Amazon.com was born in 1995. The name reflected the vision of Jeff Bezos, to produce a large scale phenomenon like the Amazon river. This ambition has proved justified since just 8 years later, Amazon passed the $5 billion sales mark – it took Wal-Mart 20 years to achieve this. By 2008 Amazon was a global brand with other 76 million active customers accounts and order fulfillment to more than 200 countries. Despite this volume of sales, at December 31, 2007 Amazon employed approximately 17,000 full-time and part-time employees. In September 2007, it launched Amazon MP3, a la carte DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes over 3.1 million songs from more than 270,000 artists. Amazon Vision & strategy In their 2008 SEC filing, Amazon describe the vision of their business as to: â€Å"Relentlessly focus on customer experience by offering our customers low prices, convenience, and a wide selection of merchandise.† The vision is still to offer â€Å"Earth’s biggest selection and to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. Consider how these core marketing messages summarising the Amazon online value proposition are communicated both on-site and through offline communications. Of course, achieving customer loyalty and repeat purchases has been key to Amazon’s success. Many dot-coms failed because they succeeded in achieving awareness, but not loyalty. Amazon achieved both. In their SEC filing they stress how they seek to achieve this. They say: â€Å"We work to earn repeat purchases by providing easy-to-use functionality, fast and reliable fulfillment, timely customer service, feature rich content, and a trusted transaction environment. Key features of our websites include editorial and customer reviews;  manufacturer product information; Web pages tailored to individual preferences, such as recommendations and notifications; 1-Click ® technology; secure payment systems; image uploads; searching on our websites as well as the Internet; browsing; and the ability to view selected interior pages and citations, and search the entire contents of many of the books we offer with our â€Å"Look Inside the Book† and â€Å"Search Inside the Book† features. Our community of online customers also creates feature-rich content, including product reviews, online recommendation lists, wish lists, buying guides, and wedding and baby registries.† In practice, as is the practice for many online retailers, the lowest prices are for the most popular products, with less popular products commanding higher prices and a greater margin for Amazon. Free shipping offers are used to encourage increase in basket size since customers have to spend over a certain amount to receive free shipping. The level at which free-shipping is set is critical to profitability and Amazon has changed it as competition has changed and for promotional reasons. Amazon communicate the fulfillment promise in several ways including presentation of latest inventory availability information, delivery date estimates, and options for expedited delivery, as well as delivery shipment notifications and update facilities. This focus on customer has translated to excellence in service with the 2004 American Customer Satisfaction Index giving Amazon.com a score of 88 which was at the time, the highest customer satisfaction score ever recorded in any service industry, online or offline. Round (2004) notes that Amazon focuses on customer satisfaction metrics. Each site is closely monitored with standard service availability monitoring (for example, using Keynote or Mercury Interactive) site availability and download speed. Interestingly it also monitors per minute site revenue upper/lower bounds – Round describes an alarm system rather like a power plant where if revenue on a site falls below $10,000 per minute, alarms go off! There are also internal performance service-level-agreements for web services where T% of the time, different pages must return in X seconds. 2011 update on vision and importance of technology According to founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, technology is very important to supporting this focus on the customer. In their 2010 Annual Report (Amazon,  2011) he said: â€Å"Look inside a current textbook on software architecture, and you’ll find few patterns that we don’t apply at Amazon. We use high-performance transactions systems, complex rendering and object caching, workflow and queuing systems, business intelligence and data analytics, machine learning and pattern recognition, neural networks and probabilistic decision making, and a wide variety of other techniques.And while many of our systems are based on the latest in computer science research, this often hasn’t been sufficient: our architects and engineers have had to advance research in directions that no academic had yet taken. Many of the problems we face have no textbook solutions, and so we — happily — invent new approaches†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ All the effort we put into technology might not matter that much if we kept technology off to the side in some sort of R&D department, but we don’t take that approach. Technology infuses all of our teams, all of our processes, our decision-making, and our approach to innovation in each of our businesses. It is deeply integrated into everything we do†. The quote shows how applying new technologies is used to give Amazon a competitive edge. A good recent example of this is providing the infrastructure to deliver the Kindle â€Å"Whispersync† update to ebook readers. Amazon reported in 2011 that Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than paperback books. For every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the Company sold 115 Kindle books. Kindle apps are now available on Apple iOS, Android devices and on PCs as part of a â€Å"Buy Once, Read Anywhere† proposition which Amazon has developed. Amazon Customers Amazon defines what it refers to as three consumer sets customers, seller customers and developer customers. There are over 76 million customer accounts, but just 1.3 million active seller customers in it’s marketplaces and Amazon is seeking to increase this. Amazon is unusual for a retailer in that it identifies â€Å"developer customers† who use its Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure such as hosting that developers can use to develop their own web services. Members are also encouraged to join a loyalty programme, Amazon Prime, a fee-based membership program in which members receive free or discounted express shipping, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. Competition In its SEC (2005) filing Amazon describes the environment for our products and services as ‘intensely competitive’. It views its main current and potential competitors as: 1) physical-world retailers, catalog retailers, publishers, vendors, distributors and manufacturers of our products, many of which possess significant brand awareness, sales volume, and customer bases, and some of which currently sell, or may sell, products or services through the Internet, mail order, or direct marketing; (2) Other online E-commerce sites; (3) A number of indirect competitors, including media companies, Web portals, comparison shopping websites, and Web search engines, either directly or in collaboration with other retailers; and (4) Companies that provide e-commerce services, including website development; third-party fulfillment and customer-service. It believes the main competitive factors in its market segments include â€Å"selection, price, availability, convenience, information, discovery, brand recognition, personalized services, accessibility, customer service, reliability, speed of fulfillment, ease of use, and ability to adapt to changing conditions, as well as our customers’ overall experience and trust in transactions with us and facilitated by us on behalf of third-party sellers†. For services offered to business and individual sellers, additional competitive factors include the quality of our services and tools, their ability to generate sales for third parties we serve, and the speed of pe rformance for our services. From Auctions to marketplaces Amazon auctions (known as zShops) were launched in March 1999, in large part as a response to the success of eBay. They were promoted heavily from the home page, category pages and individual product pages. Despite this, a year after its launch it had only achieved a 3.2% share of the online auction compared to 58% for eBay and it only declined from this point. Today, competitive prices of products are available through third-party sellers in the ‘Amazon Marketplace’ which are integrated within the standard product listings. The strategy to offer such an auction facility was initially driven by the need to compete with eBay, but now the strategy has been adjusted such that Amazon describe it as part of the approach of low-pricing. Although it might be thought that Amazon would lose out on  enabling its merchants to sell products at lower prices, in fact Amazon makes greater margin on these sales since merchants are charged a commission on each sale and it is the merchant who bears the cost of storing inventory and fulfilling the product to customers. As with eBay, Amazon is just facilitating the exchange of bits and bytes between buyers and sellers without the need to distribute physical products. Amazon Media sales You may have noticed that unlike some retailers, Amazon displays relevant Google text ads and banner ads from brands. This seems in conflict with the strategy of focus on experience since it leads to a more cluttered store. However in 2011 Amazon revealed that worldwide media sales accounted for approximately 17% of revenue! Amazon marketing Amazon does not reveal much about its marketing approach in its annual reports, but there seems to be a focus on online marketing channels. Amazon (2011) states â€Å"we direct customers to our websites primarily through a number of targeted online marketing channels, such as our Associates program, sponsored search, portal advertising, email marketing campaigns, and other initiatives†. These other initiatives may include outdoor and TV advertising, but they are not mentioned specifically. In this statement they also highlight the importance of customer loyalty tools. They say: â€Å"while costs associated with free shipping are not included in marketing expense, we view free shipping offers and Amazon Prime as effective worldwide marketing tools, and intend to continue offering them indefinitely†. How ‘The Culture of Metrics’ started A common theme in Amazon’s development is the drive to use a measured approach to all aspects of the business, beyond the finance. Marcus (2004) describes an occasion at a corporate ‘boot-camp’ in January 1997 when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ‘saw the light’. ‘At Amazon, we will have a Culture of Metrics’, he said while addressing his senior staff. He went on to explain how web-based business gave Amazon an ‘amazing window into human behaviour’. Marcus says: ‘Gone were the fuzzy approximations of focus groups, the anecdotal fudging and smoke blowing from the marketing department. A company  like Amazon could (and did) record every move a visitor made, every last click and twitch of the mouse. As the data piled up into virtual heaps, hummocks and mountain ranges, you could draw all sorts of conclusions about their chimerical nature, the consumer. In this sense, Amazon was not merely a store, but an immense repository of fact s. All we needed were the right equations to plug into them’. James Marcus then goes on to give a fascinating insight into a breakout group discussion of how Amazon could better use measures to improve its performance. Marcus was in the Bezos group, brainstorming customer-centric metrics. Marcus (2004) summarises the dialogue, led by Bezos: â€Å"First, we figure out which things we’d like to measure on the site†, he said. â€Å"For example, let’s say we want a metric for customer enjoyment. How could we calculate that?† â€Å"There was silence. Then somebody ventured: â€Å"How much time each customer spends on the site?† â€Å"Not specific enough†, Jeff said. â€Å"How about the average number of minutes each customer spends on the site per session† someone else suggested. â€Å"If that goes up, they’re having a blast†. â€Å"But how do we factor in purchase?† I [Marcus] said feeling proud of myself. â€Å"Is that a measure of enjoyment†? â€Å"I think we need to consider frequency of visits, too†, said a dark-haired woman I didn’t recognise. â€Å"Lot of folks are still accessing the web with those creepy-crawly modems. Four short visits from them might be just as good as one visit from a guy with a T-1. Maybe better’. â€Å"Good point†, Jeff said. â€Å"And anyway, enjoyment is just the start. In the end, we should be measuring customer ecstasy† It is interesting that Amazon was having this debate in about the elements of RFM analysis (described in Chapter 6 of Internet Marketing), 1997, after already having achieved $16 million of revenue in the previous year. Of course, this is a miniscule amount compared with today’s billions of dollar turnover. The important point was that this was the start of a focus on metrics which can be seen through the description of Matt Pounds work later in this case study. From human to software-based recommendations Amazon has developed internal tools to support this ‘Culture of Metrics’.  Marcus (2004) describes how the ‘Creator Metrics’ tool shows content creators how well their product listings and product copy are working. For each content editor such as Marcus, it retrieves all recently posted documents including articles, interviews, booklists and features. For each one it then gives a conversion rate to sale plus the number of page views, adds (added to basket) and repels (content requested, but the back button then used). In time, the work of editorial reviewers such as Marcus was marginalised since Amazon found that the majority of visitors used the search tools rather than read editorial and they responded to the personalised recommendations as the matching technology improved (Marcus likens early recommendations techniques to ‘going shopping with the village idiot’). Experimentation and testing at Amazon The ‘Culture of Metrics’ also led to a test-driven approach to improving results at Amazon. Matt Round, speaking at E-metrics 2004 when he was director of personalisation at Amazon describes the philosophy as ‘Data Trumps Intuitions’. He explained how Amazon used to have a lot of arguments about which content and promotion should go on the all important home page or category pages. He described how every category VP wanted top-center and how the Friday meetings about placements for next week were getting ‘too long, too loud, and lacked performance data’. But today ‘automation replaces intuitions’ and real-time experimentation tests are always run to answer these questions since actual consumer behaviour is the best way to decide upon tactics. Marcus (2004) also notes that Amazon has a culture of experiments of which A/B tests are key components. Examples where A/B tests are used include new home page design, moving features around the page, different algorithms for recommendations, changing search relevance rankings. These involve testing a new treatment against a previous control for a limited time of a few days or a week. The system will randomly show one or more treatments to visitors and measure a range of parameters such as units sold and revenue by category (and total), session time, session length, etc. The new features will usually be launched if the desired metrics are statistically significantly better. Statistical tests are a challenge though as distributions are not normal (they have a large mass at zero for example of no purchase) There are other challenges since multiple  A/B tests are running every day and A/B tests may overlap and so conflict. There are also longer-term effects where some features are ‘cool’ for the first two weeks and the opposite effect where changing navigation may degrade performance temporarily. Amazon also finds that as its users evolve in their online experience the way they act online has changed. This means that Amazon has to constantly test and evolve its features. Amazon.com Technology It follows that the Amazon technology infrastructure must readily support this culture of experimentation and this can be difficult to achieved with standardised content management. Amazon has achieved its competitive advantage through developing its technology internally and with a significant investment in this which may not be available to other organisations without the right focus on the online channels. As Amazon explains in SEC (2005) ‘using primarily our own proprietary technologies, as well as technology licensed from third parties, we have implemented numerous features and functionality that simplify and improve the customer shopping experience, enable third parties to sell on our platform, and facilitate our fulfillment and customer service operations. Our current strategy is to focus our development efforts on continuous innovation by creating and enhancing the specialized, proprietary software that is unique to our business, and to license or acquire commercially-developed technology for other applications where available and appropriate. We continually invest in several areas of technology, including our seller platform; A9.com, our wholly-owned subsidiary focused on search technology on www.A9.com and other Amazon sites; web services; and digital initiatives.’ Round (2004) describes the technology approach as ‘distributed development and deployment’. Pages such as the home page have a number of content ‘pods’ or ‘slots’ which call web services for features. This makes it relatively easy to change the content in these pods and even change the location of the pods on-screen. Amazon uses a flowable or fluid page design unlike many sites which enables it to make the most of real-estate on-screen. Technology also supports more standard e-retail facilities. SEC (2005) states: ‘We use a set of applications for accepting and validating customer orders, placing and tracking orders with suppliers, managing and assigning inventory to customer  orders, and ensuring proper shipment of products to customers. Our transaction-processing systems handle millions of items, a number of different status inquiries, multiple shipping addresses, gift-wrapping requests, and multiple shipment methods. These systems allow the customer to choose whether to receive single or several shipments based on availability and to track the progress of each order. These applications also manage the process of accepting, authorizing, and charging customer credit cards.’ Data Driven Automation Round (2004) said that ‘Data is king at Amazon’. He gave many examples of data driven automation including customer channel preferences; managing the way content is displayed to different user types such as new releases and top-sellers, merchandising and recommendation (showing related products and promotions) and also advertising through paid search (automatic ad generation and bidding). The automated search advertising and bidding system for paid search has had a big impact at Amazon. Sponsored links initially done by humans, but this was unsustainable due to range of products at Amazon. The automated programme generates keywords, writes ad creative, determines best landing page, manages bids, measure conversion rates, profit per converted visitor and updates bids. Again the problem of volume is there, Matt Round described how the book ‘How to Make Love Like a Porn Star’ by Jenna Jameson received tens of thousands of clicks from pornography-related searches, but few actually purchased the book. So the update cycle must be quick to avoid large losses. There is also an automated email measurement and optimization system. The campaign calendar used to be manually managed with relatively weak measurement and it was costly to schedule and use. A new system: Automatically optimizes content to improve customer experience Avoids sending an e-mail campaign that has low clickthrough or high unsubscribe rate Includes inbox management (avoid sending multiple emails/week) Has growing library of automated email programs covering new releases and recommendations But there are challenges if promotions are too successful if inventory isn’t available. Your Recommendations Customers Who Bought X†¦, also bought Y is Amazon’s signature feature. Round  (2004) describes how Amazon relies on acquiring and then crunching a massive amount of data. Every purchase, every page viewed and every search is recorded. So there are now to new version, customers who shopped for X also shopped for†¦ and Customers who searched for X also bought†¦ They also have a system codenamed ‘Goldbox’ which is a cross-sell and awareness raising tool. Items are discounted to encourage purchases in new categories! I have a more detailed article on Amazon personalisation / recommendation system He also describes the challenge of techniques for sifting patterns from noise (sensitivity filtering) and clothing and toy catalogues change frequently so recommendations become out of date. The main challenges though are the massive data size arising from millions of customers, millions of items and recommendations made in real time. Amazon Partnership strategy As Amazon grew, its share price growth enabled partnership or acquisition with a range of companies in different sectors. Marcus (2004) describes how Amazon partnered with Drugstore.com (pharmacy), Living.com (furniture), Pets.com (pet supplies), Wineshopper.com (wines), HomeGrocer.com (groceries), Sothebys.com (auctions) and Kozmo.com (urban home delivery). In most cases, Amazon purchased an equity stake in these partners, so that it would share in their prosperity. It also charged them fees for placements on the Amazon site to promote and drive traffic to their sites. Similarly, Amazon charged publishers for prime-position to promote books on its site which caused an initial hue-and-cry, but this abated when it was realised that paying for prominent placements was widespread in traditional booksellers and supermarkets. Many of these new online companies failed in 1999 and 2000, but Amazon had covered the potential for growth and was not pulled down by these partners, even though for some such as Pets.com it had an investment of 50%. Analysts sometimes refer to ‘Amazoning a sector’ meaning that one company becomes dominant in an online sector such as book retail such that it becomes very difficult for others to achieve market share. In addition to developing, communicating and delivering a very strong proposition, Amazon has been able to consolidate its strength in different sectors through its partnership arrangements and through using technology to facilitate product promotion and distribution via these partnerships. The Amazon retail platform enables other retailers to sell products online using  the Amazon user interface and infrastructure through their ‘Syndicated Stores’ programme. For example, in the UK, Waterstones (www.waterstones.co.uk) is one of the largest traditional bookstores. It found competition with online so expensive and challenging, that eventually it entered a partnership arrangement where Amazon markets and distributes its books online in return for a commission online. Similarly, in the US, Borders a large book retailer uses the Amazon merchant platform for distributing its products. Toy retailer Toys R’ Us have a similar arrangement. Such partnerships help Amazon extends its reach into the customer-base of other suppliers, and of course, customers who buy in one category such as books can be encouraged to purchase into other areas such as clothing or electronics. Another form of partnership referred to above is the Amazon Marketplace which enables Amazon customers and other retailers to sell their new and used books and other goods alongside the regular retail listings. A similar partnership approach is the Amazon ‘Merchants@’ program which enables third party merchants (typically larger than those who sell via the Amazon Marketplace) to sell their products via Amazon. Amazon earn fees either through fixed fees or sales commissions per-unit. This arrangement can help customers who get a wider choice of products from a range of suppliers with the convenience of purchasing them through a single checkout process. Finally, Amazon has also facilitated formation of partnerships with smaller companies through its affiliates programme. Internet legend records that Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon was chatting to someone at a cocktail party who wanted to sell books about divorce via her web site. Subsequently, Amazon.com launched its Associates Program in July 1996 and it is still going strong. Googling http://www.google.com/search?q=www.amazon.com+-site%3Awww.amazon.com for sites that link to the US site, shows over 4 million pages, many of which will be affiliates. Amazon does not use an affiliate network which would take commissions from sale, but thanks to the strength of its brand has developed its own affiliate programme. Amazon has created a tiered performance-based incentives to encourage affiliates to sell more Amazon products. Amazon Marketing communications In their SEC filings Amazon state that the aims of their communications  strategy are (unsurprisingly) to: Increase customer traffic to our websites Create awareness of our products and services Promote repeat purchases Develop incremental product and service revenue opportunities Strengthen and broaden the Amazon.com brand name. Amazon also believe that their most effective marketing communications are a consequence of their focus on continuously improving the customer experience. This then creates word-of-mouth promotion which is effective in acquiring new customers and may also encourage repeat customer visits. As well as this Marcus (2004) describes how Amazon used the personalisation enabled through technology to reach out to a difficult to reach market which Bezos originally called ‘the hard middle’. Bezos’s view was that it was easy to reach 10 people (you called them on the phone) or the ten million people who bought the most popular products (you placed a superbowl ad), but more difficult to reach those in between. The search facilities in the search engine and on the Amazon site, together with its product recommendation features meant that Amazon could connect its products with the interests of these people. Online advertising techniques include paid search marketing, interactive ads on portals, e-mail campaigns and search engine optimisation. These are automated as far as possible as described earlier in the case study. As previously mentioned, the affiliate programme is also important in driving visitors to Amazon and Amazon offers a wide range of methods of linking to its site to help improve conversion. For example, affiliates can use straight text links leading direct to a product page and they also offer a range of dynamic banners which feature different content such as books about Internet marketing or a search box.Amazon also use cooperative advertising arrangements, better known as ‘contra-deals’ with some vendors and other third parties. For example, a print advertisement in 2005 for a particular product such as a wireless router with a free wireless laptop card promotion will feature a specific Amazon URL in the ad. In product fulfilment packs, Amazon may include a leaflet for a non-competing online company such as Figleaves.com (lingerie) or Expedia (travel). In return, Amazon leaflets may be included in customer communications from the partner brands. Our Associates program directs customers to our websites by enabling independent websites to make millions of products available to their  audiences with fulfillment performed by us or third parties. We pay commissions to hundreds of thousands of participants in our Associates program when their customer referrals result in product sales. In addition, we offer everyday free shipping options worldwide and recently announced Amazon.com Prime in the U.S., our first membership program in which members receive free two-day shipping and discounted overnight shipping. Although marketing expenses do not include the costs of our free shipping or promotional offers, we view such offers as effective marketing tools. Marcus, J. (2004) Amazonia. Five years at the epicentre of the dot-com juggernaut, The New Press, New York, NY. Round, M. (2004) Presentation to E-metrics, London, May 2005. www.emetrics.org.