Jason and demarco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jason and demarco - Essay Example Although unorthodox, this brief analysis will work to examine Jason and DeMarco’s ministry as a function of how it compares to the mores of mainline Christianity and how it might differ. In order to accomplish such a task, the author has pulled together resources from Jason and DeMarco’s own website, their biography as expounded upon in a July 2004 issue of The Advocate, as well as selected works from their own discography and select music videos in the hopes of better understanding how they relate to mainstream Christianity. The clear and obvious fact of the matter is that this duo is most differentiated by the fact that they are a homosexual couple; while at the same time they are a musical group that works to promote the love of Christ throughout the communities they serve. Although Jason and DeMarco describe their spiritual mission as concentric upon witnessing to and spreading the word of God within the LGBT community, the group appeals to Christians of all sexual orientations as well. From a standpoint of their ministry, the most positive factor is that the duo has not let their homosexuality serve as a reason for not pursuing their faith. In a way, Jason and DeMarco are pioneers in this regard due to the fact that discrimination and early trials would have been enough to discourage anyone for continuing to align themselves with such a group that provided such high levels of judgment and non-acceptance as did those Christian groups that Jason and DeMarco were originally associated with (Quittner 36). However, rather than letting this be a discouragement, the duo forged ahead and sought to find an outlet in which they could both share their love for one another while at the same time pursuing their mutual passion of spreading the love of God. Similarly, a secondary positive factor relates to the fact that the message of love and acceptance that Christianity portends to all mankind is equally encapsulated in the ministry of Jason and DeMarco. Although this may seem incongruous to many Christians, the fact of the matter is that these two are furthering the very same Christ-like virtues that are intended to be spread by the church on earth according to Christ’s own teachings. Although many Christians might not accept their lifestyle (CITE), the fact remains that the duo are promoting the same type of love and acceptance that Christ himself ministered to during His time on earth. With respect to a negative aspect of their spiritual mission, the author finds it somewhat troubling that their ministry is so focused and concentric around the relationship that the two share with one another. Although this is doubtless a defining characteristic of the duo, it may not necessarily be the best vehicle with which to approach the focus of their ministry. As Christ should necessarily be the central focus of their musical ministry, it is somewhat distracting that the types of performance, music videos, and copious articles that a re written on the duo are almost entirely focused upon the fact that they are a gay couple who happens to be contemporary Christian performers. Perhaps a better model would be for the group to market and bill themselves as contemporary Christian performers who just so happen to share a homosexual lifestyle together. Although most of this press attention is not

Life of Pi Animals Essay Example for Free

Life of Pi Animals Essay Acting and speaking before THINKING, this goes back to a humans’ primitive stage. We are all animals, in the sense that we are mammals. Manifested through our psyche or personality, each animal has a different representation. From personality traits, behavior or even symbolism, animals have the ability to portray these features in humans. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, four distinct animals are manifested in the main character’s (Pi Patel)spirit. These four animals a zebra, which symbolizes the struggle to survive and docility, the orangutan – a nurturing mother personality, the hyena for desperation and evil, then lastly the tiger, Richard Parker which represents perseverance and companionship. When one visits the zoo, the most submissive creature there to see is the zebra. Marked with bold black and white stripes to show endurance, the zebra is still indecisive and unassertive. Relating back to Pi Patel, even from the beginning of the novel he cannot make up his mind about which religion to follow. This shows when his indetermination leads him from being a Muslim, to Hinduism, to Christianity. Also, as the hyena attacks the zebra for food, the animal strives to defend himself by thrashing about the boat. Severely wounded and painfully struggling to fight the battle, zebras determination to stay alive and survive the attack from the hyena. This is also a small wake up call to Pi who is also growing weak day in and day out while a hungry Bengal tiger sleeps only a few feet away. However the need to survive and the life of force is a character trait that the zebra and Pi Patel have in common, not to mention uncertainty.

Relationship Marketing in the UK Retail Sector

Relationship Marketing in the UK Retail Sector Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Overview Relationship marketing plays a significant role in the present market scenarios as it mainly illustrates the relationship among the customers and organizations. Relationship marketing is a form of marketing that evolved during 1970 and 1980s (Regis McKenna, 1991, p. 4). It mainly highlights the consumer satisfaction instead of focusing on sales transactions because these relationships will help the organizations in sustaining and supporting the technological edge of the company. According to Lisa A. Guion and Heather Kent (2005, p.1), Relationship marketing is the process of attracting, maintaining and enhancing relationships with key individuals over time. The marketer should act like an integrator where they must synthesize technological capability with the market needs and the marketer must be supposed to bring the customer into organizations. Customers mingle with the companies as participants for the adaptation and development of services and goods. So, the relationships are con sidered as the key point for the basis of customer choice and company adaption. Relationship marketing involves in using the one-on-one communication in earning the loyalty of customers (GUION, L. A., 2005). These relationships can be easily improved in the organizations if the marketing is part of everyones job description that is from receptionist to board of directors. This method integrates the customers in designing the products which in turn creates a substance in the relationship. Relationship marketing is the key point to be considered in the retail sector. Many of the countries have increased its growth due to retailing. Retailers interact with the final customer in a supply network, but they are both buyers and sellers of goods and services (Malcolm Sullivan and Dennis Adcock, 2002, p.3). Presently, there is a vast change in the retail industry and offers employment to more number of people. In these sector, retailer acts as a trader or dealer who sells the goods in small quantities. Retail sector will include various organizations related to different markets. Marketing in the retail sector can be improved only when there is a constant relationship between the customer and the organizations. Hence, it can be said that relationship marketing plays a vital role in marketing the goods in retail sectors. This marketing increase the growth of the retail sectors and further raises the market level of the country over the worldwide. In this thesis, the further sections include Literature review, Research methodology, Findings and Analysis, and Conclusions. In the Literature Review section it briefly describes about the retail marketing in UK, relationship marketing, approaches used for maintaining the relationship, types of markets and challenges that are faced by organizations. Research methodology section illustrates the approach that is selected for analyzing the relationship marketing in UK retail sector with the help of various case studies. Findings and analysis section discusses and analyzes the performance of maintaining the relationship marketing in various organizations. The last section draws the conclusions and recommendations. 1.2. Aims and Objectives Aim: To study relationship marketing in the UK Retail sector Objectives: To focus on retail and relationship marketing To identify the various approaches those are used by various sectors for maintaining the relationships between customers and organizations. Discuss the challenges that are faced in the retail sectors. To examine the experimental results of relationship marketing in different retail sectors. 1.3. Purpose of Study The main purpose of this research is to study the relationship marketing among the various retail sectors in UK. This report helps many of the organizations in analyzing the relationship marketing as it provides a clear idea on the retail sector and relationship marketing. Relationship marketing mainly focuses on the relationship among customers and organizations, rather concentrating on sales of goods. It will highlight the organization performance with respect to the relationship between industry and consumers. 1.4. Research Context The present research is done in relationship marketing as it consists of the customer service and improving the quality according to customers taste such that both the customers and organizations are profited in real drive. Relationship marketing is the secret of the successful business marketing (Jane F.Eastham, Liz Sharples and Stephen D.Ball, 2001). The research mainly focuses on the relationship of internal marketing, suppliers, requirements of the markets and there influences how they are co-related with each other (Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999). Maintaining good relationship between quality and the services provided by retailers has influenced new customers which have increased the growth of sales such that most of the organizations earn more and more profits (Martin Christopher, Adrian Payne and David Ballantyne, 2002. The present research work will be beneficial for business people who will gain a better understanding regarding retail market and helpf ul for the organizations that implement relationship management in gaining profits (Bob Stone and Ron Jacobs, 2007). It may be useful for the organizations as it may directly affect people who are involved in generating new ideas. So, the relationships are considered as the key point for the basis of customer choice and company adaption. Relationship marketing involves in using the one-on-one communication in earning the loyalty of customers (GUION, L. A., 2005). These relationships can be easily improved in the organizations if the marketing is part of everyones job description that is from receptionist to board of directors. This research integrates the customers in designing the products which in turn creates a substance in the relationship. Relationship marketing is the key point to be considered in the retail sector. With the use of retailing most of the companies have improved their growth vigorously. 1.5. Research Method According to Grinnell (1993), the word research is a combination of two syllables namely, re and search. Therefore, the meaning of research work can be taken as examining a particular thing again and again for achieving a systematic and faultless investigation in some kind of field that has been undertaken. The methodology of research work will focus on identifying the hidden problems of some field, determining solution for them and positioning the resulted data for reaching the conclusions of the research work (Ranjit Kumar, 2005). Case studies are selected as a suitable research methodology for the present research and researcher has to work hard in collecting the required data from different resources along with its evidences. In this type of research method, the gathered data is huge and many technologies have to be used for analyzing and organizing the data so as to reach the goals of the research work (Bill Gillham, 2000). Research Area: Here the research area considered is UK retail marketing where it illustrates retail and relationship marketing, challenges that are faced in the retail sectors and gives experimental results of relationship marketing in different retail sectors. Selecting Cases: Selecting cases is the critical step for any organization. UK market is very large and it became difficult here to select suitable cases studies for this research. At last this research considered two UK market leading organizations for the case studies including McDonald and Debenhams. Identifications: This is the next step in research approach where the researchers need to identify the state of relationship marketing in considered organizations. Those identifications are given in the research methodology chapter of this research document. Analyzing and monitoring results: An analysis must be taken after making research on any organization. And analysis must be monitor to understand the identification in the considered organizations. This research illustrates the analysis results with different types of graphs that can be understood by any person. Recommendations: There are some recommendations given in the fifth chapter of this research documentation based on the research experience. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1. Overview Relationship Marketing is a marketing strategy that is developed from the direct response marketing campaigns that emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction rather than the major focus on point of sales transaction. It is a form of marketing the will recognize the long term values for the firm and focuses on acquisition of new clients by targeting the majority demographics based upon the prospective client lists. The main idea behind relationship marketing theory is the identification of key drivers which influences important outcomes for the firm and a better understanding of the fundamental relations between service providers and customers (Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999). In the further sections of this chapter the retail marketing sector in UK is clearly discussed along with the relationship marketing in organizations with respect to six market frameworks. Creating and implementing the relationship marketing strategies and description of Relationship m arketing along with the applications is clearly explained followed by the discussion on types of markets by comparing and contrasting the various approaches followed in the organizations. 2.2 Retail Marketing Retailer is a dealer or trader who sells goods in small quantities or more. Retailing includes activities such as selling of products or goods and providing services to customers from a fixed location, which may be a departmental store or a boutique or by a mail in small or individual loads. Apart from these functionalities, retailing may also include services such as, delivery of products and goods. Retail Marketing is a process of buying and selling products or goods in the market. According to Philip J. Kitchen and Tony Proctor (2001) Retail marketing is mainly concerned with retail organization and it focuses on the application of marketing tools within its operating context. The retail marketing task is to deflect the customer in to the retail store and help to decide an appropriate compromise with regards store design, provision of services and customer desires (Malcolm Sullivan and Dennis Adcock, 2002). Retail marketing encompasses the activities involved in facilitating mutua lly beneficial exchange relationship between business organizations supplying goods and services and customers (Philip J. Kitchen and Tony Proctor, 2001, 264). Retailing marketing is a distribution channel function where one organization buys products from supplying firms or manufactures the product themselves, and then sells these directly to consumers (Retailing, 2009, p. 1). Retail marketing has its influence on the daily life of consumers and shopkeepers. Retailing is supported to provide utility to the customer and this comes from four different perspectives. These prospective can be explained as follows: Product utility This type of utility is about the form of a product that is acceptable to the customer. That is the retailer provides final end products, but not raw materials and products which are usable to customers. Place utility Retailing outlets will be available at places where the customers feel to be comfortable for their convenience (Malcolm Sullivan and Dennis Adcock, 2002). Time utility Retail outlets or shops are available at a time suitable to the customer. Ownership utility Retailers facilitate the transfer of ownership to customer depending upon the market situations (Malcolm Sullivan and Dennis Adcock, 2002). 2.2.1 Retail Marketing in UK Since the Second World War, UK has become a service company: that is, in terms of output and in terms of employment. Many of the existing features of UK retailing are well known to the general public who has observed substantial changes in shops. Retail marketing is a highly dynamic industry in UK and it reflects the changes in rest of the society. With customer require patterns are affected by changing demographics and changes in incomes, customer credit and growth in part-time labor. Customers are comparatively affluent, sophisticated and time-pressured and therefore demanding a service (Philip J. Kitchen and Tony Proctor, 2001). In 1970s, most of advertisers are the manufacturing companies, such as Currys and comet in electrical sector, supermarkets and high street banks. Now, the situation has changed and the retailers are maintaining close relationships with their customers. The change of influence has developed in 3 different ways and they can be given as follows: Firstly, most of the retail groups in UK have grown to equivalent or gone beyond the manufacturing organization in both capacity and size. Secondly, with the severe changes in retail marketing, the stores of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"own-label merchandise have increased. Most of the stores are offering high quality and excellent value products. Third one is the development the market information. With the new technology like scanning restocking issues, the retailer can plan ranges, layouts and promotional details very precisely (Malcolm Sullivan and Dennis Adcock, 2002). There is revival of price competition in 1990s, accompanied by a string service significance. And there has also been an increase in retailer diversification (e.g., high street fashion retailers moving into catalogue selling and grocers into non-food products). In spite of the increasing globalization of retailing, this is still usually the national environment, with its institutions, culture, and dictatorial framework. The UK retail market has experienced a dramatic re-shape in the year of 2004. This re-shape has been led by the achievement of Safeway supermarket chain by Morrisons, which has created the countrys fourth biggest retailer. The UK biggest retailers are Tesco and asda and next are the Sainsburys. With the achievement of the Safeway supermarket chain, Morrisons is in the fight for the third place with Sainsburys (Graduate Prospects, 2009). Over the next five years, the UK retail Market is in a position to increase its size by 15%, taking its value to just over  £312bn (Datamonitor, 2009). But this represents a slowing down of annual growth and with increase in cost of credit and operating costs; the UK retail sector faces challenging times. The companies will suffer who cannot compete against shrinking margins. Among the UK retail market sector, electrical sector is the best performer with a growth of 24 % (Datamonitor, 2009). Hence, from the above discussion it can be understood that the retail marketing is crucial to effectively communicate a business to its customers in order to sell the products, launch new products to the marketplace, and to capitalize on revenues and profits. 2.3 Relationship Marketing Relationship marketing is a process of attracting, enhancing and maintaining the relationships between the customers and managers in an organization. It mainly concentrates on increasing the life time value of customers and the strategies of relationship marketing mainly focus on the enhancement and development of relationships with a number of key marketings. Relationship marketing will maintain the internal marketing relationships as well as external marketing relationships with suppliers, customers, referral sources, employees and recruitment markets (Adrian Payne, Martin Christopher, Helen Peck and Moira Clark, 1998). According to GRONROOS, C. (1994, p.421), relationship marketing is defined as Marketing is to establish, maintain and enhance relationships with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met. This is achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfillment of promises. These relationships are of two types in the marketing fie ld. First one is for attracting the customers and another one is to develop the relationships with customers for achieving maximum profits in the organizations (GRONROOS, C., 1994). But, According to ZEITHAML, V. A. and BITNER, M. J. (2000, p.30), Relationship Marketing (RM) is defined as Relationship Marketing is a philosophy of doing business, a strategic orientation that focuses on keeping and improving current customers, rather than acquiring new customers. Hence, from the above discussion it can be understood that relationship marketing plays a vital role to develop the organization by maintaining the relationships between consumers, suppliers and managers. RM is communicated closely with customers in order to improve a beneficial, mutually, continuous and long-term relationship. RM is a philosophy where it assumes that customers are maintaining the relationships within a single organization rather than selecting the different organizations. It is a consistent application up-to -Date Knowledge of consumers to service and product design. Six markets framework in Relationship Marketing Relationship Marketing contains six marketing models for improving the relationships between customers and company. These markets maintain the relationship between many organizations as well as within the organization. The six marketing models are considered as the central point of Relationship Marketing and the importance of these models is discussed as follows: (Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999). Internal Markets Internal marketing maintains the relationships between employees in the organization. It mainly concentrates on the issues like why and how the employees are working in the organization to improve the effectiveness of an organization. In internal marketing, business to business marketing information can be examined. Thus, observing the employee behavior in the organizations is necessary to estimate their performance and the examined information is useful for managers to take decisions. Customer Markets In this marketing, it maintains the relationship with customers. It supplies products and services to two types of customers. They are consumers like end purchasers and trade customers like retailers and their relative power is to determine which sort of relationships are cultivated more continuously (Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999). Referral Marketing It develops a plan for referral motivation and can be characterized based on the type of relationship. If Referral market has high credibility factor, then it can be considered as a decisive element and it is considered as customers, if the consumers enter into this markets with formal and informal referral agreements between themselves and suppliers of corresponding services and products. Thus, the relationships in this market need to be fair, open and well defined in the areas (Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999). Thus, from the above discussion it can be understood that planning is necessary to take the further actions within the organizations. Referral Marketing can prepare perfect plans in the organization. Recruitment Markets This is also called as Employee Markets. Employment is becoming a part of an organization. It is a market related task so that it maintains the relationship with educational institutions, labor unions and recruitment partners. From the above discussion it can be stated that Recruitment Marketing plays an important role in developing the organization. The performance of the company can be improved by recruiting the best employees. Influence Marketing It is closely linked with the decision-making department within the organization because it influences the relationships in the organizations internally as well as externally. This market consists of different types of sub markets like stockholders, government agencies and consumer associations (Soren Hougaard and Mogens Bjerre, 2003). Thus, it also considered as an important marketing model in the organization because well defined decisions are useful for the company to get more profits. Supplier Markets In recent years, improving the relationships with the suppliers is considered as a great deal in the organizations. Every organization need to maintain contain the relationship with suppliers because marketing system approach contains downstream as well as upstream activities. This approach matched with the developments within the Supply Chain Management (SCM). Supplier Markets deals with the supplier issues in the organization (Soren Hougaard and Mogens Bjerre, 2003). Hence, it is necessary to maintain the relationship with the customers to get the mutual benefits in the organization and every marketing business needs long term relationships to improve the performance of the markets. 2.4 Creating and implementing the relationship marketing strategies According to NORMANN, R. and RAMIREZ, R. Marketing strategies provide the intellectual frame work, conceptual models and governing ideas that allow company mangers to identify the opportunities for bringing value to the customers and for delivering that value at a profit (cited in Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999, pp. 407). These strategies are helpful for a company to define its business and links together. Relationship marketing implies relationship between the customer and buyer. Traditional marketing approach is based on management of the so-called marketing mix and relationship marketing rather than management of the stakeholder domains. Marketing strategies and planning approaches are influenced in the retail business environment. The relationship marketing values emerge from customers and consumer values. These customer and consumer values are an impact of various elements like people, process and proactive (personalized) services. People are the essential part of a company and consumers are motivating and training the employees to attract the customers for selling their retail business shares. Customer satisfaction is very important in this interaction process. Processes are the way for creating values for the customer. The core processes of retail business include new product development processes, customer management process, supplier management process and order fulfillment process (Helen Peck, Martin Christopher and Adrian Payne, 1999). Now-a-days, most of the retail markets are developed based on the customer supported services. Customer services include relationships between the suppliers and customers. Thes e services affected on the development of the retail firms and their customers to face market competitors. Customer services are helpful for the retail organizations and thereby increasing the share value in market. The relationship marketing strategies are defined by the implementation methods. These implementation methods are based on the sub system to improve the organization processes and relationships (Alain Ferrand and Scott McCarthy, 2008). Hence these three elements of the marketing can affect the marketing success and these elements are helpful while building up the relationship strategies. Implementation of relationship strategies is based on delivering and creating a value in retail business. This implementation involves many strategies. The first one is relationships in multiple stockholders this issue illustrates two models in the retail business and the models are relationship value management frame work and service profit chain. These models are helpful in market domains for understanding the relationships between the consumer and customer. The second one is selecting an appropriate relationship marketing strategies for different customers. Third strategy is detail planning within the six market models. Finally organizations make use of this relationship management (Martin Christopher, Adrian Payne and David Ballantyne, 2002). Achieving more profits for a retailing company is not an easy task and needs good customer relationship management. Customer relationship is the most important aspect in every market strategy. Marketing relationships are the living things in all types of businesses. If the company maintains good market relationships with their customers then automatically profits are obtained. These profits are obtained in the following ways (William M. Pride and O. C. Ferrell, 2004). By attracting new customers. By enhancing the profits of the existed customer. By increasing the customer relationship. Implementing the market relationship means exchange of relationships between the consumer and customer. Maintaining good relationship with customers is the main goal of many retail marketers. To maintain these relationships for a long time retail marketers are turned into the market research and information technology (William M. Pride and O. C. Ferrell, 2004). To create marketing strategies Customer Relationship Management (CRM) focuses on the customer information. Managing these relationships need to identify the buying behavior and consumer behavior with the customer. CRM is mainly focused on developing the company relationship capabilities. To improve these capabilities customer management leader must contain good relationship qualities with the customers (Bryan Foss and Merlin Stone, 2001). Hence from the above discussion it can be stated that implementation of marketing strategies depends upon customer interactions because profits for an organizations can be obtained by maintai ning good customer relationships. 2.5 Description of Relationship marketing and its applications In relationship marketing organizations mainly concentrates on customer satisfaction. Relationship marketing has lot of applications towards organization and customers. Organizations can maintain a long relationship with the customers through relationship marketing. Maintaining long relationship with the customers will be a benefit for both customers and organizations (Rajeev Batra and David Shepard, 1999). For any organization, though profit is the main motive they should also concentrate on customer needs. If organizations concentrate on quality and needs of customer then they can get the profits easily (Jakki J. Mohr, Sanjit Senguptha and Stanley F. Slater, 2004). Some of the applications towards the organizations for maintaining good customer relationships: Increased purchase If organization maintains a good relationship with the customer then they tend to buy more products. Organizations must ensure that the customers should remain interested and engaged in purchasing the product (Christian, 2008). Lower costs Sometimes organizations may decrease the cost of the product for attracting the new user and to maintain the existing customers. This decrease of costs will be a great benefit to both the customers and organizations. Customers can buy their products for low costs as well as the organizations can attract more customers. Life time value Good and loyal customers can generate life time value of a product or organization. If loyal customers buy the products in same organization throughout his life time then organization will get profits continuously (Shajahan, S., 2004). Sustainability Maintaining long relationships with customers is a great benefit to the organization. Customer may stick to one particular organization for a long time if organizations have good relationships with their customers. Through these long relationships with the customers an organization can give a good competition to other organizations. Organizations can sustain in the competitive market with good customer relationship. Word of mouth promotion To promote any product organizations needs lot of promotions and advertisements, for this it requires lot of money. But if organizations maintain good will in the market then the product will automatically promoted through customer referrals and mouth promotions. Employees job satisfaction Satisfaction of customers will bring satisfaction to the employees in the organization. If customer satisfied then the turnover of the organization will increase (Levitt, 2009). From the above discussion it can be understood that, all the applications towards the organization will lead to the profits of the organization. For any organization Profit is the ultimate goal. So ultimate goal of the organization can be achieved by maintain good relationships with the customers. Relationship marketing has been implementing in many organizations. For example, Meridien group of hotels used relationship marketing very effectively for satisfying the customers. Meridien hotels are established all over the world. This hotel is open to all the travelers all over the world. Meridian group of hotels recently launched a program called moments.com. By this program they are attracting the customers and they are finding the loyal customers. Before using relational marketing they used to implement the seasonal packages. But implementing relationship marketing is more advantageous than other methods. Now Merridian hotels are implementing the packages based on the customer needs but not on the seasons. They provided all the requirements for the customers within the hotel only. This made the customers to choose Merridian hotel as one of the best hotel in the world (SHAINESH, G. and Atul Parvatiyar, 2001). 2.6 Approaches for maintaining relationships among the customers and retailers Customer plays an important role in any type of business. The relationship between customer and retailer is maintained when customer is loyalty and satisfied. Further, developing the relationship retailers must and should have the total information about the customers (Margaret Bruce, Christopher Moore and Grete Birtwistle, 2004). But according to Robert H. Lowson, The relationship between customer service level and inventory of finished goods for low, medium and high vendor process time (2002, p.207), if the retail markets provide better services for the customer in supply of good in time that maintains a good relationship between them. But as some aspects the retails are unable to meet the requirements of the customer satisfaction. Some of the approaches for maintain relationship among the customers and retailers were as follows: Identify the customer Try to find out relevant customer that what the products and services they need they might be either internal or external customers and by maintain the data base of the customers (Greg Balanko-Dickson, 2006). Gaining customer attention-Try to attract the more and more customer by advertizing the product. Understanding customer needs-Try to understand the needs of the customer in detail regarding what they are, actually what is the need and what they do. Customer expectations-Try to clarity the customer exactly what the products are been delivered. Feedback of customers-Taking the feedback from the customer also helps a lot for the retailers, regarding the comments they mentioned and opine of the customer about the performance of the product and how useful to them (Kimball Fisher, R.Rayner and William Belgard, 1995). According to Gavriel Salvendy (2001, p.775), Relationship among manufacturers, suppliers, vendors, retailers and customers work together to provide a product that the customer wants at a price that the customer is willing to pay. By maintaining the quality of service in the production of goods at best price the market standards and retailers are trying t

Education at a Year-Round School Essay -- essays papers

Education at a Year-Round School Consider the following situation: A car is driving past the local elementary school on a hot and sunny July afternoon. As the car approached the school the driver notices some unusual things. Students are outside with the teachers for recess, and it looks as if school is in session. The school is on a year-round schedule. The driver is intrigued and decides to do some research. From the research, this person found that students are achieving more academically and the teachers are well rested. Year-round schooling is beneficial to school systems because: it alleviates overcrowding, offers remedial opportunities, decreases teacher burnout, increases retention rates, assists English as a Second Language (ESL) and low-poverty students, and improves the entire school community. Wildavsky (1999) says, â€Å"[The National Association for Year-Round Education] defines a year-round school as an institution with fewer than eight weeks of summer vacation† (para. 7). According to another article (1997), â€Å"In 1986, there were about 400 year-round schools in 16 states. By 1997, the number increased to 2400 in 41 states† (National Association for Year-Round Education, para. 4). Additionally, Hunter (1998) adds, â€Å"†¦the U.S. National Association for Year-Round Schools stated that year-round schooling has grown by 500 percent in the past decade† (para. 4). These schools are capable of meeting the needs of our students, teachers, and administrators. Overcrowding Schools that follow a year-round schedule can help alleviate overcrowded schools. The number of students is growing, as studied by Hellerman, Schriffen, D., Colenso-Semple, Spiner, and Schriffen, J. (1997), at 30,000 to 40,000 per year and distric... ...Summer in class. Macleans, 111 (32), 47. Retrieved March 3, 2005 from Academic Search Premier/EBSCO database. Learning that lasts year-round (1997). NEA Today, 15 (7), 19. Retrieved March 3, 2005 from Academic Search Premier/EBSCO database. Rivera, E. (2003). It’s August, but for some, vacation’s over; Arlington Elementary pupils begin test of year-round school. The Washington Post, B.01. Retrieved March 3, 2005, from Proquest database. Shields, C. M., & Oberg, S. L. (2000). Year-round schooling: Promises and pitfalls. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Wildavsky, B. (1999). Scholars of summer. U.S. News & World Report, 127 (5), 52-55. Retrieved March 3,2005 from Academic Search Premier/EBSCO database. Year-round schools can stimulate learning. (2000).USA Today Magazine, 129 (2663), 7. Retrieved March 3, 2005 from Academic Search Premier/EBSCO database.

The reason why roman republic collapsed

The reason why roman republic collapsed Roman republic began with the over throw of the roman monarchy and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elect annually by the citizens and advised by senate. During the first two centuries of its existence the Roman republic expanded rapidly through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. Then republic continues to conquest new land such as North Africa, Greece, Southern France and Spain. For about 500 years, the Roman republic exists and has many significant achievements in many fields.However, the republic finally collapsed and reformed as participate. Octavian becomes the first Augustus which was the first Roman emperor. There are some reasons why republic collapsed and reformed to empire. In this project, I'm going to discuss what reason leads to the collapse of republic from the internal view and external point of view. The problem within the government system is one int ernal weakness of roman republic. The government od Roman republic had three major supports, which offset and balanced on another. (textbook 91) The supreme civil and ilitary offices were two men called consuls.In later the Romans appointed a man as dictator, whose authority surpassed that of the consuls, but dictator cannot hold their office more six months. The second part was an advisory body of elder stateman, the senate. The last part of government system were assemblies that included all adult male citizens. In their government system, province is one of causes that Roman republic collapsed. Roman republic is a history of conquest. As Roman republic expanding, they conquer and captured a lot of new land. Now they need to manage hose lands.Province is the method they manage the lands. Province means to denote the various regions that they acquired through conquest in Latin word. The senate choose the governors for the various provinces and often give then the title proconsul(in place of consul). These governors had absolute power to rule their provinces. The only thing they can't do is violate Roman law or act illegally against Roman citizen. (textbook 102) This is a good way to manage the lands that they conquered. From roman view, the advantage of the system was its efficiency:Rebellions were not common, and troops stationed in the provinces could maintain control without resorting massacres. However, as Roman republic conquered more land, they have so many provinces that need to govern. Some provincial governors ruled fairly, but others were notorious for their corruption. In addition, Roman republic combined Macedonia and Greece in to a province. But the domination came at a price. Without the need for unity against outside enemies, roman society began to lose its cohesiveness. (Textbook 100)This in turn led to the decline of the republic.Another weakness that led Roman republic collapses also come from conquest. There is the social change that happen ed in Italy. The cause is the war that call Hannibal's legacy. For the ravages of years of fighting up and down, Italy had brought many farmers to the point of ruin. There had been a great increase in the slave population on Italian soil from prisoners of war, and these slaves depressed the wages paid to private works. (Textbook 102) Wealthy citizens had enriched themselves with booty land or willing to sell it to these newly wealthy men.They have no choice to Join the ranks of permanently unemployed. Those people who still have some money to buy their armor could be drafted into the army. For those who could no longer find work lost the spirit of cohesion and loyalty to their society. They become prey to demagogues and many become supporters of that warlord. This cause a unstable in Roman republic society. The gap between upper classes and lower class has significant increased. One other weakness is the power of warlords. In Roman republic, generals have strong power. They have arm y and these army more like a rivate army.These army usually fght enemies far away from Rome. They all support their general. Some powerful generals can even use army to seize political power. (Textbook 104) The one first general to do so was Gaius Marius. Marius gained much reputation by winning a war and defeated an invasion by some Germanic tribes. Marius abolished the old requirement that a soldier had to own at least a modest amount of property, and he also accepted volunteers instead of Just drafting men for service Finally he converted the army in to an instrument for ambitious commanders uring the remaining years of the republic.For Sulla the dictator, he is and later general. He invaded the city of Rome with his supports. Sulla did have some political program to re shape the Roman republic. He enforce the dictator ship and reduce the power of senate. He forced a law that blocked tribune from holding any other office, they also had to wait ten years to be reelected. These dis courage those ambitious politicians from seeking this office. (Textbook 104)And even for the later Caesar, he did a series of rapid reforms in many areas of Roman life.He reduce the power of Senate by raising the membership of the Senate to about nine hundred, picking it with many of his veteran offices. He even make dictator for his whole life. However, he showed too little respect for the Senate and republican from once he become dictator, and for this he paid with his life. Many people think about the death of Caesar ends Roman republic. However, the collapse of Roman Republic is the accumulation the weakness. Whether Caesar dead or not, what he done rose to the absolute summit of roman politics and destroy Roman republic.

Bill Proposal

This bill will require all police stations to make sure all of thee r officers take a est. every year over information learned at police academy, including civil right TTS, state and local laws, incident reporting, crime investigation, constitutional law, and criminal p psychology. This bill will also require that if an officer makes below a 75% on the test, they will have to take classes in order to pass the test before they can resume work. This bill will be implemented by the chief police officers of each station in the state.Also, there will be test ad ministration who create the test with the appropriate information listed above from the police academy. Police chiefs will require and make sure that all of their officers take the test and pas s, if they do not test the officers, the station will be fined $5,000 dollars. This bill will need funding for the test administrators. The funds will come from the money made from certain traffic c violations. It will be enforced by the hea d of each police station, they will require for their office errs to take the test and be rectified.The agencies involved in this bill include all of the police SST actions, police academies of the state, and the test administrators. The police stations will be responsible for giving the tests for recertification, and the test administrators will have to word k with the police academies in order to create the yearly tests. The reasoning behind this bill is to reinforce the important information police officers learn during training, so that they are ABA el to perform their job in an accurate manner. This bill will make the actions of police officers MO re trustworthy and reliable due to the fact that their knowledge is up to date and enforced.

Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root essays

Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root essays John Wellborn Root was born in Lumpkin, Georgia on January 10, 1850. After a brief life as both a successful architect and writer, he died in Chicago Illinois on January 15, 1891. Root first went to school in Atlanta, Georgia, then near Liverpool in England at Clare Mount School. He graduated in 1869 from New York University where he was educated as a civil engineer. At Renwick Root 137). Following the disastrous fire of 1871, Root moved to Chicago in January 1872 to become a potential partner and head draughtsman with Peter Bonnett Wight who had formed a partnership with William H. Drake and Asher Carter. Soon after, Daniel Burnham entered Wights office. It was in Mr. Wights office, records Mr. Burnham, that I first became acquainted with John Wellborn Root, with whom I at once formed an acquaintance which lasted until the end of his life (Moore, 17). Burnham and Root set up Burnham and Root in 1873, with Root as the designer and Burnham the businessman and organizer (Zant en, Root 137). Although Root was nearly four years younger than Burnham, he was better trained in his profession (Moore, 17). Starting as a widespread financial crisis, the economic depression of 1873 made it a tricky time to begin a practice, but advantageous connections, including Burnhams 1876 marriage to Margaret Sherman, the daughter of John B. Sherman, lead to a series of important domestic commissions for the firm, starting with a house for Sherman (Zanten, Root 137). The alliance of Root & Burnham represented one of the first important confrontations of the older, more traditional, more fully rounded architectural craftsman w...

Why Women Are Receiving Less Education Than Men In Developing Countries †Sociology Essay

Why Women Are Receiving Less Education Than Men In Developing Countries – Sociology Essay Free Online Research Papers Why Women Are Receiving Less Education Than Men In Developing Countries Sociology Essay As a Chinese saying goes, â€Å"Women support half of the sky.† Female, as one of the only two sexes in nature plays a crucial role in balancing the structure of family and society as well as keeping human beings in path of its evolution. However, women suffer much from discrimination in almost all countries and regions throughout the world, especially in developing countries where traditional thoughts put women in a much inferior position to men, and it is one of the most important reasons to many social problems such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, wage inequality and gender gap in education. Among them, the gender gap in education has a profound meaning to economics growth of a developing country, and it is the problem that two of the eight Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nation (â€Å"Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education† and â€Å"Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women†) are trying to tackle. In the following essay, I would like to firstly introduce the current situation of girl education and the degree of disparity between the two sexes before looking for plausible reasons to the existence for such discrimination. After briefly explaining the importance of girl education I will then focus on a special case study on China in order to give an instinct understanding of the phenomenon. In general, the educational gender gap is the greatest in the poorest countries. The following table provides data on two of the key aspects to which the educational gender gap is determined. The Education Gender Gap: Female rates and percentage of male rates Country Adult Literacy Primary Enrollment Secondary Enrollment Tertiary Enrollment China 91 84 Chad 31 68 31 17 Indonesia 90 98 99 80 Kenya 90 100 98 53 Papua New Guinea 80 90 79 54 Tajikistan 100 95 84 34 Turkey 85 94 76 Yemen 41 71 46 28 Developing countries 84 Least developed countries 70 Source: United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2005, index of gender inequality in education (table 27) Note: all figures are expressed in relation to the male average which is indexed to equal 100. Figure 1 The female literacy rate was recorded as 12% lower than male literacy in the 2002 (recorded in the 2004 report) while it was enlarged to 16% in 2003 (reported in 2005). The data for the least developed countries were fixed at the level of 70%. Although we can say nothing about the overall trend of the recent development of the gender gap in education, it is sure that the task to totally eliminate the gap is tough and requires significant amount of investment and effort. The developing countries in the table are selected from the Human development Index to represent different groups of economies in different stages of development. Obviously, countries where female literacy rate is much lower than male rate are the countries with lower levels in all categories of comparison. Besides, the ratio drops as the level of education increases in almost all countries in the table. Tajikistan, notably, has the most significant drop (-50%) in the ratio after secondary school education. The discrimination on women is firstly influenced by the traditional ideology. Our society has developed in such a way that it is men that carry their surname to their offspring; it is men that make major decisions in a family; it is men that perform important religious rites. Surname as one of the most important personal identity does not remain the same for women even in the most developed countries in the world. Although this might not correlate with the trend of the female-male enrolment ratio, it certainly implies the unconscious norm that men are the dominant power over women. In addition, in China, for instance, only male’s name is allowed to note in the family pedigree. A daughter or a wife is not qualified to be recorded in such a â€Å"holy document† in whatever cases. In terms of the one who makes major family decisions, women are found to be less involved in family decision making at all levels, and this is especially the case in developing countries. Many women in developing countries still hold the view that women are born to serve and support their husband at home and provide better environment for him to develop his career as well as raising the children. This will undoubtedly lead to unfair decisions made by the husband to benefit men more than women. During religious ceremonies, men always play the main role. As there has not been a female Pope, and the Buddha is also, again, although no religion openly discriminates women, female is unconsciously regarded as a less strong power. The second reason why girls are given less opportunities to receive formal education is women’s inferior economic status in society. Given an income constraint a family has to balance the amount invests to the children to receive education and generate extra income in the future and the amount left for the family members to survive for now. It is difficult when there is more than one child that is above the schooling age and the family income does not allow it to afford every child to school especially when income is extremely low, in which case, most families simply does not offer any education opportunities for the children. However, if there is some money left and can be invested in education for children, many families will choose to invest in boys first. Furthermore, Oakley (1972) pointed out that â€Å"on the whole, males command the majority of the jobs carrying high prestige, high skill and high income, and this is true throughout the industrial world.† She then listed the following figures: â€Å"Of all professional scientific and technical qualifications gained by full-time students in Great Britain in 1969, men took 77% and women 7%. †¦Of all managers of large establishments tabulated for Britain in 1966, 87% were men and 13% women: of all foremen and supervisors 82% were men and 18% women.† Income disparity exists because of the different participation rate of males and females in different levels of jobs, but it requires more thorough analysis to find the reasons behind the difference between a girl and a boy’s financial value to a family. In a developing country where industrialization is still in its early stage and agriculture sector is clearly the predominant sector, with technology lagged behind advanced economies, when the women in the family are pregnant, everyone wants a boy because apparently men are physically stronger than women. This is especially common in rural areas because a young boy can often do more job than a girl in the cultivation of crops. In addition, girls usually leave the family to the husband’s family which in some rural areas of some developing countries could be in a separate village after marriage. They will then be exclusively responsible for the husband, their future children and possibly the in-law’s family members . In other words, a girl will stop contribute financially (including the value generated by any mean of operation, agriculture or private business) to her family after she is married while having a boy will often guarantee a nearly life-long contribution. Even if we do not consider the problem of marriage, women still remains in disadvantageous position for the fact that when a woman does not work outside the home, much of her work performed, including housework and any contribution towards family business or agriculture is often unremunerated, while men, if working for the family usually as the owner of the family business collect all the income. Todaro (2006) hence concluded that â€Å"where women’s share of income within the home is relatively high, there is less discrimination against girls, and women are better able to meet their own needs†, including health care and education. Categories (2003) Index (1990 = 100) Female economic activity as % of male rate (aged 15 and above) Developing countries 102 67 OECD 107 72 High Income 107 74 Middle Income 102 73 Low Income 103 61 World 103 69 Source: United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2005, index of gender inequality in economic activity (table 28) Female economic participation is relatively lower in less developed and lower income countries. In general, the less developed a country, the stronger the tendency that its female citizens follow a traditional career path. Figure 2 Last but not least, the environment in which children live unconsciously influences their mind on sexual division, which makes them temporize their behaviour and opinions for survival. The treatment towards boys and girls are obviously different. Boys in their early age are taught to be brave and strong. They are recommended ship models, water pistols, football as toys by the parents while girls are offered dolls. I even remember when I was in kindergarten the worst word I could imagine to describe a boy was â€Å"sissy†. Therefore, receiving information about the society, children will be accustomed to the environment and take it for granted when they grow up. This thus worsens the situation if discrimination on women is observed because the unconscious norm that women should be discriminated will pass on generations by generation and it can be in theory very difficult to erase the belief once it has been inherited for a very long period of time. As a result of such discrimination, the female-male ratio in developing countries with such traditional ideology will turn out to be very weird (the â€Å"missing women systery†). If everything else equal due to the higher mortality rate for male babies, although the natural birth rate female to male is around 100 to 105, the actual ratio after the first year of life will approximately equal to one. As life expectancy for women are longer, given the same health service, there will be about 105 to 106 women for every 100 men in an industrialized country. In Susan Hill Gross’s book â€Å"Wasted Resources, Diminished Lives†, she points out that in countries where sons are valued more than daughters, the female ratio is much lower, and daughters are subjected either to infanticide or are neglected to death by depriving them of food and medical care. She quoted a study in Bombay which found that â€Å"out of 8,000 abortions performed after amniocentesis, 7,999 were o f female fetuses†. As another example, the table below illustrates the change in the ratio of female number and male number in India in the past century. As the health condition and technology available to different groups in the same country is similar, the most important factor to such trend has to be people’s attitude to women in general. Trend of female/male ratio in India in 20th century 1901 1951 1991 97 94 93 Figures for every 100 male. Figure 3 Promoting girl education will certainly benefit society as well as economic development. It will lead to higher earning and labour force participation rate which is an important indicator of the level a country’s aggregate production; it will lead to later marriage and lower fertility rate because women with higher education are more likely to follow advanced reliable method of family planning; it will decrease the infant mortality rate since women will be better able to control their own nutrition level and obtain better health care, which will surly provide women a better health condition for pregnancy; it will create intergenerational multiplier effects on the quality of a country’s human resources because couples with formal education obtain extra knowledge from communication, which contributes to a life long learning, and a better educated mother understands the importance of formal education and will thus try her best to send her children to school and receive ade quate training, which will create a circulation of quality education for many generations to come; it will equip women with important knowledge to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS infection and hence prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. In order to understand the current gender gap in education and its influence on economic development better, a special case study on China perhaps can offer a more direct approach and unveil some more specified features. The reason why China is chosen is not only because the country is the one that the writer is most familiar with, but also because it represents a developing country on the one hand with outstanding economic performance in the past two decades and on the other hand still heavily influenced by its unique tradition which can be traced back thousands of years. Just after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the female enrollment ratio was only about 15%, and it increased to 93.6% in 1986 when â€Å"the Law of Compulsory Education of People’s Republic of China† was promulgated. By 2004, although the female-male enrollment rate for primary education had been narrowed to approximately 0.04%, the situation for secondary and post-secondary education still remained problematic. Take Pingchang County in Sichuan Province as an example, the enrollment rate for first year secondary school is 94% overall and 82% for girls. The drop-out rate for the second year is 23% overall and 29% for girls, and the figures increased to 27% and 32.1% respectively in the third year. The Chinese government finds it very difficult to promote girl education after a certain level is reached because the tradition which typically discriminates girls in some rural areas are too strong that it requires the local government to invest significantly more in education than the estimated social return. In addition, as secondary education in China is free according to â€Å"the Law of Compulsory Education†, the drop-out rate basically represents the group of people who are reluctant to receive formal education. This is very special because the reasons behind the phenomenon are sometimes not purely financial matters. Many girls are required by the traditional family to get married early (some in rural areas are even reserved for marriage in their childhood.) so that they can make early contribution to the husband’s family. Others leave school because the Chinese education system which is often regarded as â€Å"exam-oriented† deviates far from the actual need of local economic development. However, more girls are found to stop schooling to work. Due to the inequality in economic development and rapid urbanization in China, in order to catch opportunities to earn some money (as even the jobs of the lowest level in urban areas often bring higher income compared wit h rural areas) many people, including girls who are discriminated in their home migrate out of the country side into cities. Moreover, even if the opinion that formal education for girls is beneficial is held by the public, it is still extremely difficult to eliminate the minority group. Putting into such a big country with huge population, even a very small fraction of minority seems to be significant. In conclusion, the current observed gender gap in education is generally caused by a combined effect of traditional ideology that men are the dominant power of the world and women’s inferior economic status. The inequality is consolidated generations by generations by children’s natural imitative learning habit. On the one hand, economic development is stimulated by promoting gender equality in education since population growth will be controlled and average national human capital will be increased improve. On the other hand, extra social welfare is created owing to women’s better overall understanding in maternal healthcare and child education. It is not only government’s responsibility to take measure on gender equality on education, but society should also start campaigns to promote the importance of girls education to every family. UNICEF (The United Nations Childrens Fund )(2004) suggested seven critical steps, as follow, to achieve the goal.’ Include girls’ education as an essential component of development efforts. Create a national ethos for girls’ education. Allow no school fees of any kind. Think outside and inside the ‘education box’. Establish schools as centres of community development. Integrate strategies. Increase international funding for education.’ References: Meier G M. and Rauch J E.(editors), Leading issues in economic development 8th ed.. New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2005. xvii, 650 p. : ill. ; 26 cm Todaro, M P.: Economic development /Michael P. Todaro, Stephen C. Smith. 9th ed.. Harlow : Pearson Addison Wesley, 2006. xxvii, 851 p. : maps ; 24 cm. Oakley, Ann.: Sex, gender and society /Ann Oakley. London : Temple Smith, in association wth New Society, 1972. 220 p. ( Towards a new society). Bradley, H.: Mens work, womens work :a sociological history of the sexual division of labour in employment /Harriet Bradley. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, c1989. 263 p. ( Feminist perspectives). Extracts from Susan Hill Gross, Wasted Resources, Diminished Lives loyno.edu/~wessing/docs/100mil.html Mesl M., Rural Women’s participation in Decision-making in Slovenia, ninth session of the working party on women and the family in rural development, European Commission on Agriculture (ECA) fao.org/UNFAO/Bodies/ECA/WPW/9WPWSVN.htm United Nation Development Programme, Human Development Report 2004 United Nation Development Programme, Human Development Report 2005 United Nation Development Programme Annual Report 2005 Girls’ Education: A World Bank Priority http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION /0,,contentMDK:20298916~menuPK:617572~pagePK: 148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:282386,00.html Primary Education – UNESCO (the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php- URL_ID=30870URL_DO=DO_TOPICURL_SECTION=201.html National Bureau of Statistics of China stats.gov.cn/ Focusing on the situation of Girl Education in China People’s Daily http://edu.people.com.cn/GB/1055/3834654.html Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China moe.edu.cn/edoas/website18/index.htm China Family Planning Association chinafpa.org.cn Research Papers on Why Women Are Receiving Less Education Than Men In Developing Countries - Sociology EssayInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part OneDefinition of Export Quotas19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyPETSTEL analysis of IndiaStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseBringing Democracy to Africa

Achaeans of Homer as a society with a certain set of values

Achaeans of Homer as a society with a certain set of values â€Å"Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles rage, / Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks / Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls / Of heroes into Hades dark, / And left their bodies to rot as feasts / For dogs and birds† (1.1-6) This opening line of The Iliad vividly recounts the atrocities that Achilles, supposedly â€Å"the best Greek of all,† brings upon his own people through his childish rage and selfish indifference (1.259). As a representative of his people, a hero is supposed to embody the values most important to his civilization. This characterization is not initially true of Achilles. An analysis of the most influential Achaean ideals reveals that Achilles does not consistently and flawlessly model the values esteemed by his peers, but his ability to mature emotionally and morally secures for him the title of best of Achaeans. Summarizing the value system of a complex civilization into a few basic ideas presents immediate problems, especially when the ideology of the civilization is presented through a literary medium such as The Iliad. Despite this complexity, the search for kleos—honor, fame, glory—serves as the inherent basis for the Achaean value system of the army at Troy. Specifically defining kleos and the actions that warrant it is difficult because of the frequency with which the ideal is evoked. However, the aspiration to embody the ideal of kleos is often sought on the battlefield through agathos actions. To many Achaeans, exhibiting bravery, even to the point of death, is the greatest way to earn kleos. â€Å"When a young man is killed in war, / Even though his body is slashed with bronze, / He lies there beautiful in death, noble† (22.80-82). While the plot of the epic centers around, to modern readers, brutally graphic battle sequences, this sense of noble bravery undeni ably colors the warriors actions. Warriors commonly choose to evaluate how their actions will be viewed by later generations. Hector, while obviously not a member of the Greek army, shares this value and summarizes it thusly: [S]omeone in the generations yet to come Will say as he sails by on the darkening sea, That is the tomb of a man long dead, Killed in his prime by glorious Hector. Some will say that, and my fame will not die. (7.90-94) In the original Greek text, Hector’s thought is expressed using the word kleos. Hector believes that the noble bravery he exhibits through challenging the best of the Achaean army will make his kleos everlasting among men. In the minds of the Achaean warriors, bravery on the battlefield is indistinguishable from moral uprightness; Both qualities contribute to kleos . Therefore, the necessity to be sophos—wise and clever—is conveniently intertwined within the greater idea of kleos on the battlefield. While the ability to triumph at battles requiring only brute strength is highly prized, so too is the ability to succeed through cunning when the situation is unfavorable. Nestor, while speaking with his son about the upcoming chariot race, proclaims plainly that â€Å"[s]trategy makes a better woodcutter than strength† (23.339). Beyond the idea of being merely wise in counsel and clever in races or on the battlefield, the sophos ideal extends partially into the realm of relationships. Briseis, a Trojan women taken captive after the sacking of her city, refers to her â€Å"poor Patroclus† as someone who was quite â€Å"dear† to her (19.335). This aspect of the sophos idea l places marked importance on winning over the hearts and minds of captured women through wise advice and pleasurable companionship, not simply holding them by force. Most interpersonal interactions, however, are governed by the powerful philos ideal. It is expected that true warrior heroes maintain loyalty to their family and friends, be that by making their fathers proud, avenging the death of a close companion, or showing family devotion. Various relationships are governed under this principle, but the most important one is undeniably that between father and son. Great heroes are commonly introduced, not simply by their own name, but also by that of their father. Even the great Achilles is remembered as the â€Å"son of Peleus,† despite his own personal achievements (1.335). Other relationships, specifically that between husband and wife, are significant but of secondary importance. This philos ideal is inextricably intertwined within the concept of bravery and noble behavior that is already expected of any hero. While these highly ingrained values clearly govern the actions of heroic Achaeans, respect for the gods and fate plays an important role in Greek society. Finding it unnecessary to offer sacrifices to the gods on Olympus, or even simply forgetting, often leads to the negative interference of certain deities at crucial moments. During an archery contest against Teucer, Meriones fails because of Apollos displeasure. â€Å"He let fly an arrow, a strong shot, / But he failed to vow to the Archer / A sacrifice of a hundred firstling lambs. So he missed the bird—Apollo grudged him that† (23.88-91). Teucer, more cognizant of the respect demanded by the gods, promises the sacrifice and hits the target that Meriones missed. An unrelated but equally important concept is that of xenia—the sacred relationship between guest and host—that serves as the true cause of the Trojan War. This sacred trust, the Achaeans believe, is protected by Zeus. Paris utter disregard for Menelaus hospitality, as evidenced by his affair and subsequent flight with Helen, his hosts wife, sparks the epic ten year war between the Achaeans and the Trojans. The power of this ideal is demonstrated by Diomedes declaration during his confrontation on the battlefield with Glaucus. We have old ties of hospitality! My grandfather Oeneus long ago Entertained Bellerophon in his halls For twenty days, and they gave each other Gifts of friendship So we cant cross spears with each other Even in the thick of battle. (6.221-225, 234-235) From this exchange, it is evident that the relationship between host and guest is enough to prevent a skirmish between two opposing men, even when the tie is several generations in the past. To expect one character to embody and emulate the entire value system of the Achaeans is unrealistic, especially if the character is required to do so consistently and without fail. Achilles begins the epic feuding with Agamemnon over his war prize Briseis, a confrontation that leads to Achilles disastrous withdrawal from battle. This ultimate act of selfishness, as well as smaller examples of moral transgression, portrays Achilles to be little better than an uncivilized warrior. However, the death of his good friend and foster brother, Patroclus, sparks a radical transformation within Achilles. When he is first informed of the death, his reaction is uncontrollable; â€Å"the sound of Achilles grief stung the air† (18.38). This emotional demonstration of the philos ideal sets into motion many other changes that allow Achilles to transform into a true representation of Greek culture. â€Å"My friend is dead, / Patroclus, my dearest friend of all. I loved him, / And I killed h im† (18.84-86). Accepting responsibility for the death allows Achilles to overcome his petty argument with Agamemnon and return to the battlefield to seek kleos, not only for himself, but also to memorialize Patroclus. Achilles seeks out battle knowing that his own death is imminent, proof of his newly formed, or at least revived, agathos tendencies. That he fights valiantly, even against the great Hector, is to be expected of a warrior like Achilles. However, the wisdom shown by Achilles during the funeral games held in honor of Patroclus is unexpected. During the chariot race, Achilles initially proclaims his desire to award the skilled but unlucky last place finisher with the prize for second place. Antilochus, the true second place finisher, begrudges the prize that Achilles is â€Å"going to rob† from him (23.560). Instead of demanding that his decision is enforced, Achilles has the wisdom to revise his previous decree and choose a different prize for the last plac e finisher. Achilles final maturation occurs when he releases Hectors body to his father, Priam, after being prompted by the gods and persuaded by Priams emotional rhetoric. â€Å"My Hector. It is for him I have come to the Greek shipsRespect the gods, Achilles. / Think of your own father, and pity me† (24. 537, 539-540). This appeal to Achilles philos tendencies as well as his respect for the gods easily persuades him to relinquish the body of Hector. The ability of Achilles to empathize with Priam, so similar to his father, is a drastic reversal of his original attitude when, thinking only of himself, he chose not to join the other Achaean troops fighting against the Trojans. Compounding this outpouring of compassion is the fact that Achilles, unasked, offers to â€Å"hold back the army† until Priam and the other Trojans have had enough time to mourn their Hector (24.708). This noble concern for the man who killed his closest friend, although not immediately forthcoming, reflect s, symbolically, the greater catechism of Achaean values. While the intent of The Iliad is not to extol the unerring virtue of Achilles, his demonstrated ability to mature and develop morally distinguishes him from other prominent, static characters. Initially Achilles is far from embodying the lofty sophos, philos, and agathos ideals that govern the model Achaean warriors quest for kleos. Though his early decisions do not reflect the values lauded by his Achaean peers, time and reflection align his actions with those of a great hero.

History of black education in the british north american colonies Research Paper

History of black education in the british north american colonies - Research Paper Example Thus with the formation of the colonies in the North America, diversified people came under the same government and its respective policies. Given the state of the colonies soon after its formation and the entire political scenario of the North America, it was very important to construct a uniting force and direct the future of the citizens into a better direction ensuring equality, human rights, and better quality of living. Moreover, Todorov (1999) states that it was necessary to make an effort to erase the memories of the darker days and instill hope in the citizens. Education was the available means to fight the approaching problems and destroy the seeds of discrimination. Since the North American colony had a good number of black populations against a considerable number of white people so, it was very important to bring them at par with them and not let them feel being discriminated. Hence, this paper â€Å"Black Education in British North America† came into being which will refer to several data and information to study the formation of the British North American colonies, the prevalent education system, the history of educating the ‘black population’. It would focus on the structural differences that the black children face in their education, the measures taken to diminish the differences, the extent of its success and the factors which brought about the change. Formation of the British North American Colonies The colonization of North America by the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland was a culminated result of a lengthy series of attempts and colonization drives by claimants more than one. According to Taylor (2001) the colonization drive in North America began in the year 1607 in the place called Jamestown, in Virginia and gradually colonies were established throughout the entire stretch of America. In America, British were considered as one of the most important colonizers since they established colonies over the largest area and posed a rivalry situation with the Spanish American Colonies in respect to economic and military power. As a result colonization of the America spread over a larger area, with a formidable reach, the British colony in North America gave room for the existence of three types of colonies, namely, charter colonies, proprietary colonies and the royal colonies. The diversity in the types of people, social, economical, and background provided the reasons for chaos and conflict among them on minor or major scale. The colonization drive by the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland, before the Acts of Union in 1707, led to the formation of the British North America colonies that was comprised of the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and New York. The formation of the thirteen colonies, with brought together people from not only different states but al so people with varied backgrounds – social, economica

Cometition law in international context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cometition law in international context - Essay Example Statement of purpose The Minister of Trade and Industry should prevent nationalization of electronic mail service and reinforcing the monopoly of Greek Post office. These plans are anti-competitive and will lead to prices paid by consumers. Greek is a Member State of the European Union and several provisions, Regulations and legislations of EU aim at ensuring market competition. Background of the problem The new Minister of Trade and Industry in Greece is planning to nationalise the electronic mail service, reinforcing the monopoly of Greek post office in the delivery of traditional mail. The objective is to ensure that Greek post office maintains important market share of customers. However, most customers have already switched from the traditional postal services to modern electronic mail, which is offered by efficient private companies. After nationalization, the Greek post office aims at increasing the prices of both services since the costs of delivering the ordinary post has be en increasing over the recent years. The Greek post office will decline access to its facilities including fibre optic infrastructure, to private companies who would like to offer competition to Greek post office by providing internet service and electronic mail services. International competition law According to the European Union treaty on competition, member states are not supposed to enact policies that create rigidity in trade and hinder competition or distort the market economy. Article 101 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU prohibits agreements that distort market competition or encourage cartels. This article aims at prevention undertakings that restrict and distort market economies of the member states within the internal market. Some of the prohibited practices include limitations on production, technical development and investments in the market. Direct or indirect price fixation or the selling and buying prices and trading conditions are prohibited by the Articl e. Member states are prohibited from applying different trading conditions on similar transactions with other trading partners in the economy1. The EC Treaty provisions regarding competition are contained in Article 3 (g) and Articles 81-89 of the Treaty that established the European Community along with several regulations and subsidiary legislations. Articles 81 to Article 86 mainly apply to the trade undertakings while Articles 87 to Article 89 apply to the Member States. The primary objective of the EU competition law is to prohibit internal markets distortion. Article 81 (1) prohibits all trade agreements between undertakings and association decisions that may hinder trade between member states2. However, the Article makes exception s for the trade agreements that aim at improving the welfare of the EU citizens by promoting the distribution of goods or technical promotion, while allowing customers a fair share of the benefits of the trade agreement. The excepted trade agreement s should not impose conditions and restrictions on the customers in the access of the goods or eliminate free competition in the market in regard to the goods being produced. Article 1 (1) of the Regulations 1/2003, the agreements that are outlined in Article 81 (1) and that contravene conditions of Article 81 (3) are unlawful. Article 1 (2) of the

Security and Privacy in the Network Context Essay

Security and Privacy in the Network Context - Essay Example This Virtual Private Database feature controls access to individual row in the database. It works by dividing the database for use by diverse type of users and keep it secure from illicit access. The other technique is to recognize potential vulnerabilities and suggest remedial actions to secure a database system. ISS Database Scanner Software, a product available with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server and Sysbase databases automatically scrutinize the system for insubstantial passwords and viruses. A more intricate database security device is presented by Guardent through its Security Management Appliance. It works behind a firewall and remotely detects vulnerabilities. It covers operating systems, applications and network infrastructures, and remote online databases. Experiences and experts analysis dictates that more a responsive social and organizational actions should be taken. Accounting for the losses in businesses and the effects in economy, protecting databases from hackers is now a serious business. Our society and organization should be vigilant in protecting our vital and key information against criminal elements using the technology to spy, steal and destroy our investments. We must first ensure that our network security is reliable and constantly updated. Let us remember that nowadays, spending a little more in security software even for personal use is fundamental. Invest on reliable and tested database application; buy only those programs with robust security design. For companies, ensure those personnel in the system administration are strictly following security guidelines. Apply more restrictions to database access especially on internet-based databases that are more vulnerable to attacks. Configure your server to allow only those trusted IP addresses and employ Table Access Control security on your databases. Long-Term Network and Data Security, and Privacy Rights There are many ways to secure access of vital information's in a Network, Database and Individual Private files. At present, Operating Systems and Database Systems come with security features that can considerably prevent unauthorized access. Long-term methods are available from various reputable computer security companies such as Servers employing Trusted IP Address methods. This is done by configuring the server access to a list of "trusted" users only. Next is Server Account Disabling that suspends the server ID after three unsuccessful attempts. This is done to prevent attackers from generating random passwords to get the right combination. Monitor the system; get a product that would send alert when someone wants to break-in into the system. Secure the system with authentication methods such Kerberos Security, a "ticket" based authentication systems from Oracle (Weidman, n,d.). Restrict access to selected rows of databases by employing VPD (Virtual Private Database) Technology (Wiedman,

HIST 1400 essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HIST 1400 1 - Essay Example This diverts from the key purpose of the French revolution. Moreover, French Revolution is more radical, cruel, and violent. The French Revolution has disputes involving Europe, Kings, and the Church. Many promises and targeted achievements during the old regime and this period have not been achieved. Church disputes are clear when Martin Luther criticizes the Catholic Church saying that he is enlightening the people. In his 95th thesis of the year 1517, he suggested that his main aim is not to suppress the church (The Protestant Reformation 1). Martin Luther argues that he hopes to see it reformed. He identifies that churches were driving their believers away from the Creator. However, he is rude while addressing the situation. He openly talks of the Catholic leaders in a negative manner. These enlightening ideas suggested by Luther cause much suffering to the citizens. The revolution betrays the people. It destroys and divides the people pretending to enlighten them. The Roman Empire extends up to France. Consequently, most of the people in France are Catholics. According to Martin Luther, he explains that the Romans have three walls that protect them such that not anyone who tries to reform them is able (The Protestant Reformation 4). He does not put into consideration whether the Christians are satisfied about their religion. First, it is agreeable that Martin Luther believes that the temporal power is always below the spiritual power (The Protestant Reformation 2). He does not support most of the pope’s ideas. Only a pope would call for a council at any time. He argues that many people’s rights are violated because they are not able to overcome the rules strategized by the Catholic rulers. The French Revolution is against the Catholic Church. Consequently, it longs to see the end of this religion in France. There is a great intention to weaken the people through the French Revolution. However, this is only achievable through

Relevance of Core Competency for the Attainment of Competitive Essay

Relevance of Core Competency for the Attainment of Competitive Advantage - Essay Example The exponential increase in competition compels the organizations to implement effective strategies with the aid of strategic analysis to survive in the market. Olson and Bolton (2002) stated that the attainment of competitive advantage and development of core competencies have become two of the main goals of business owners in the prevailing times. 2. Overview of Competitive Advantage and Core Competency The domain of competitive advantage has been studied by numerous researchers over the years. Michael Porter is one of the prominent researchers in the study of strategic management and strategic analysis; he stated that competitive advantage is defined as the strategies implemented by an organization to compete in the market while combating the external forces in the environment. The possession of competitive advantage enables the company to have an edge over the prevailing services and products in the market. One of the most vital contributions of Porter (1998) has been the accumul ation of strategies to attain competitive advantage in the form of â€Å"Wheel of Competitive Advantage†: Figure 1: Wheel of Competitive Strategy (Porter, 1998) It can be seen from the above figure that the attainment of competitive advantage is spread across all the departments and functions of an organization while being influenced by the goals and objectives of the organization. Dividend Tree (2009) stated that core competencies bear great relevance for any organization since they facilitate survival in competitive markets. Brown (2002) defined core competencies in a simple manner and stated that core competencies are those tangible and intangible resources of a company that enable a company to compete in the market in the presence of competitors. Core competencies become sources of great revenues and value for the customers. Gardelliano (2002) stated that core competencies may be an outcome of the following factors: Related Knowledge: Knowledge is an important intangible asset for any organization, for example, customer buying behaviors, sales forecasting on the basis of past and current sales records etc. Set of Skills: Set of skills includes the abilities to perform business operations, for example implementation of business plans, level of expertise possessed by the employees etc. Attributes: Attributes are related to the qualitative aspects of the business operations that might include the quality of the service, customer relations etc. The amalgamation of these aspects results in the production of core competencies for organizations and makes their service and products unique as compared to the competitors in the market. 3. Process of Development of Core Competency Organizational identity is a relevant asset since it has an effect on the competitive advantage of any organization. Glowa (2001) explained that the identity of an organization is an accumulation of the unique aspects, organizational performance and core values that it can introduce in its services and products. Jeyavelu (2006) stated that if organizational identity is directed towards the achievement of unique business goals and operations of the company then it can contribute towards the attainment of competitive advantage. However, Voss, Cable and Voss (2006) pointed out that these factors cannot bear much relevance if organizational identity is not supported by the top management of the organizati

Security and Privacy in the Network Context Essay

Security and Privacy in the Network Context - Essay Example This Virtual Private Database feature controls access to individual row in the database. It works by dividing the database for use by diverse type of users and keep it secure from illicit access. The other technique is to recognize potential vulnerabilities and suggest remedial actions to secure a database system. ISS Database Scanner Software, a product available with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server and Sysbase databases automatically scrutinize the system for insubstantial passwords and viruses. A more intricate database security device is presented by Guardent through its Security Management Appliance. It works behind a firewall and remotely detects vulnerabilities. It covers operating systems, applications and network infrastructures, and remote online databases. Experiences and experts analysis dictates that more a responsive social and organizational actions should be taken. Accounting for the losses in businesses and the effects in economy, protecting databases from hackers is now a serious business. Our society and organization should be vigilant in protecting our vital and key information against criminal elements using the technology to spy, steal and destroy our investments. We must first ensure that our network security is reliable and constantly updated. Let us remember that nowadays, spending a little more in security software even for personal use is fundamental. Invest on reliable and tested database application; buy only those programs with robust security design. For companies, ensure those personnel in the system administration are strictly following security guidelines. Apply more restrictions to database access especially on internet-based databases that are more vulnerable to attacks. Configure your server to allow only those trusted IP addresses and employ Table Access Control security on your databases. Long-Term Network and Data Security, and Privacy Rights There are many ways to secure access of vital information's in a Network, Database and Individual Private files. At present, Operating Systems and Database Systems come with security features that can considerably prevent unauthorized access. Long-term methods are available from various reputable computer security companies such as Servers employing Trusted IP Address methods. This is done by configuring the server access to a list of "trusted" users only. Next is Server Account Disabling that suspends the server ID after three unsuccessful attempts. This is done to prevent attackers from generating random passwords to get the right combination. Monitor the system; get a product that would send alert when someone wants to break-in into the system. Secure the system with authentication methods such Kerberos Security, a "ticket" based authentication systems from Oracle (Weidman, n,d.). Restrict access to selected rows of databases by employing VPD (Virtual Private Database) Technology (Wiedman,

Relevance of Core Competency for the Attainment of Competitive Essay

Relevance of Core Competency for the Attainment of Competitive Advantage - Essay Example The exponential increase in competition compels the organizations to implement effective strategies with the aid of strategic analysis to survive in the market. Olson and Bolton (2002) stated that the attainment of competitive advantage and development of core competencies have become two of the main goals of business owners in the prevailing times. 2. Overview of Competitive Advantage and Core Competency The domain of competitive advantage has been studied by numerous researchers over the years. Michael Porter is one of the prominent researchers in the study of strategic management and strategic analysis; he stated that competitive advantage is defined as the strategies implemented by an organization to compete in the market while combating the external forces in the environment. The possession of competitive advantage enables the company to have an edge over the prevailing services and products in the market. One of the most vital contributions of Porter (1998) has been the accumul ation of strategies to attain competitive advantage in the form of â€Å"Wheel of Competitive Advantage†: Figure 1: Wheel of Competitive Strategy (Porter, 1998) It can be seen from the above figure that the attainment of competitive advantage is spread across all the departments and functions of an organization while being influenced by the goals and objectives of the organization. Dividend Tree (2009) stated that core competencies bear great relevance for any organization since they facilitate survival in competitive markets. Brown (2002) defined core competencies in a simple manner and stated that core competencies are those tangible and intangible resources of a company that enable a company to compete in the market in the presence of competitors. Core competencies become sources of great revenues and value for the customers. Gardelliano (2002) stated that core competencies may be an outcome of the following factors: Related Knowledge: Knowledge is an important intangible asset for any organization, for example, customer buying behaviors, sales forecasting on the basis of past and current sales records etc. Set of Skills: Set of skills includes the abilities to perform business operations, for example implementation of business plans, level of expertise possessed by the employees etc. Attributes: Attributes are related to the qualitative aspects of the business operations that might include the quality of the service, customer relations etc. The amalgamation of these aspects results in the production of core competencies for organizations and makes their service and products unique as compared to the competitors in the market. 3. Process of Development of Core Competency Organizational identity is a relevant asset since it has an effect on the competitive advantage of any organization. Glowa (2001) explained that the identity of an organization is an accumulation of the unique aspects, organizational performance and core values that it can introduce in its services and products. Jeyavelu (2006) stated that if organizational identity is directed towards the achievement of unique business goals and operations of the company then it can contribute towards the attainment of competitive advantage. However, Voss, Cable and Voss (2006) pointed out that these factors cannot bear much relevance if organizational identity is not supported by the top management of the organizati

Project Shakti Essay Example for Free

Project Shakti Essay The project was started to explore the business opportunity of the rural market, where the competition will be less than the urban market. The first challenge faced by the Shakti was the low margin to its entrepreneurs and lack of owner ship. Its initial plan was, federations purchase products from HLL and then sell them to SHGs and then to outlets in village. In this model no one took responsibility. This challenge was overcome by changing the business model as follows: A member of the SHG appointed as entrepreneur, who borrow money from respective SHG and buy products directly from HLL. By this model responsibility is only for entrepreneur and no need to share profit as well. HLLs pilot model was with women because they are the bulk consumer for the HLL products and they have access to home of potential consumers. Easy part of the project was the selection of the entrepreneurs. Problem starts once the stock started piling up, which was almost equal to their annual income. To add on to this, loan repayment schedule was also started which was threaten the feasibility of the project. These entrepreneurs did not have any previous experience in undertaking independent economic activity added up failure of this task. HLL had overcome this with following initiatives: 1. They had introduced RSP, to control stock. To reduce the cost they hired the trainers to train entrepreneurs and outsourced the administration to third party 2. Offered incentive for visiting specific number of homes and offered additional incentive for selling specific brands 3. Negotiated with bank to get more time to start initial payment. To scale up the project, implementation team has to undergo following tasks: 1. Arrange government permissions and secure the support of the district administration 2. Identify and seal partnerships with NGOs well established in the region 3. Interact with mainstream HLL sales to identify market for PS 4. Locate SHG and convince them that the project shakti was a reliable, sustainable source of income for their members 5. Appoint a right women as entrepreneurs 6. Ensure a steady supply of products In many placed HLL was not able get support from government, presuming that these attempts are an explosive attempt of a large multinational. This was overcome by the appointing MART and helped them to expand to 50405 villages across 310 districts in 12 states. To scale up they have addressed the requirement of the small income group by introducing low price packs Introduced Vani programme to educate personals and communities on their health and hygiene. Next challenge faced was to change the focus of the buyers from local retailers to Shakti entrepreneur. It has been overcome by doing the following: 1. Personalized service 2. Door step delivery 3. Assurance of quality 4. Credit to regular patrons 5. Creating a network for sale and passing a percentage of the profit to them as well