Country Lovers and Apartheid Essay Example

Country Lovers and Apartheid Paper The central message of Country Lovers is to criticize apartheid by describing a love story between two normal teenagers. This message is brought out in the following three ways. Firstly, Gordimer depicts the lifestyles of black and white in an objective way. Readers can see the differences between the lives of black and white. Hence, reader would understand the unfairness of apartheid. They can know how harsh and sad the lifestyles of black. When the black are small, they have fewer possibilities than the white. Whites can go to town, go to cinema†¦But blacks are left behind. Their year is dropping behind the white. From the schooling and opportunities the white and black received, the poor education that the black received is criticize by Gordimer. As black don’t get proper schooling, they always remain poor farmers. Moreover, Kraal, where black live and work is dirty. The huts’ floor is of mud and the workers are working in the sun and fly. Even though black are working house, white are the people who benefit as they are the owners and masters. White lives in farmhouse and black live in huts. White always have privilege under apartheid. Gordimer wants readers notice the inequality among black and white. We will write a custom essay sample on Country Lovers and Apartheid specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Country Lovers and Apartheid specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Country Lovers and Apartheid specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Despite the skin colours, black and white are the same. However, their treatment is completely different. Their lives is different. The status of white is always higher than black. Gordimer is voicing out for the black who are being compressed. Secondly, the contrast between the characters’ childhood and adult experience is like a review on â€Å"before† and â€Å" after† of adopting apartheid. When black and white are small, they don’t realize the differences of their skin colours. They are innocent and playing together before going to school. Black are not stupid at all. For instance, Thebedi is a brilliant girl who teaches Paulus to make an artwork. When Thebedi and Paulus are small, they play together. When they are teenagers, Paulus, the white, becomes proud and playful. He shows off his experience to Thebedi. From this, we know that Thebedi is ignorant to the outside world. Beside the gap between their experiences about the outside world, their friendship is also going to be more secretive. Thebedi has to lie to his father and their meeting venue is more secretive then before too. Sometimes, they meet in dark to ensure no one would discover their relation. They are attractive to one another but they are not suppose to have a relationship just because Thebedi is a black. They have to restrain their relationship. This fact suggests apartheid separates black and white. Also reflect how apartheid ruins human relation. Because of apartheid, Paulud murders his own son to cover the truth without considering her lovers, Thebedi’s feeling. A family is destroyed. Black and white drift apart and can’t be friend. Lastly, from the natural and unnatural setting suggest how apartheid destroy Thebedi and Paulus relationship. Thebedi and Paulus grow up from childhood sweethearts to having sexual relationship. This is a natural process. The places the two lovers meet are natural landscape, for example down the river bad and in the mesh of old, ant-eaten trees. The setting reveals Paulus and Thebedi should become lovers, and then finally get married. This is a logical development which contrasts with the unsettling setting of the locked storeroom where Paulus make love with a girl. This empty experience is compared to the sexual experience between Thebedi and Paulus. From these two different setting, again, we can see how these two natural lovers are being separated and forbidden to love one another. In addition, the setting of kraal contrasts with the midtown and farmhouse where white live in. White have tidy, large and beautiful house but black live in dirty and poor environment. This suggest one more the difference of black and white lives under apartheid. As a conclusion, Gordimer criticizes apartheid is unfair and may separate people. Country Lovers is a reflection of the bad consequence that apartheid may lead to.

10 Essay Topics on Economics and Political Structure of the Inca Empire

10 Essay Topics on Economics and Political Structure of the Inca Empire Economical systems are what make or break a state. They have the power to either keep people together with shared interests, or break them because of conflicts. The Incan Empire had a huge effect on the political and economic structure which is relevant even today. The Empire had risen to power in the 15th century and was an accumulation of the cultures followed in the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. Because it had covered a diverse topographical area, it was known to be one of the most diverse economic systems. If your professor has decided to assign this essay topic to you, you are in luck because you will face no difficulty in tracking information about it. However, if you are looking for an easy way out and want to narrow down the subject, here are 10 facts about the Incan Empire which can be used to write a creative and thought-provoking essay as well as our guide for this kind of assignment. The Inca Empire was founded by Pachacuti, who had envisioned to rule and conquer various regions of the world. Though the Inca Empire was vast in its area (five times larger than the modern day France), it lasted a short time and had fallen during the Spanish conquest in 1536. During the rule of the Incan Empire, the Andeans tried to take control of the areas which were governed by the Incan people. However, these efforts were unsuccessful because there was a lot of political fragmentation and unrest in the two centuries when the Empire came to power. The establishment of the Incan Empire ran through the entire western flank and covered descending mountains as well as plain and desert areas. It was due to these diversified lands that the Incan Empire was rich in resources. Though these resources mainly helped with the development and cultivation of the empire, it also gave people the opportunity to grow in social and recreational activities. Because the resources and development were being exploited by some, a dedicated political system came into power, which helped form a systematic authority. These political and monetary systems capitalized on the goods being transported and a proper political hierarchy and system was formed. The population of the Incan empire is estimated to be somewhere between 9 to 13 million during that time. Because these inhabitants were already established in the areas and were aware of the agricultural prowess the land had possessed, it was easier for them to control things. As a result, even though many historians believe that the Incas came into power because of their military power, the main reason is thought to be the acceptance of the local people. One of the reasons why it is believed that the locals accepted the Incan Empire and its rule was because of their organizational abilities. The Incas were smart in their transformation of the locals because instead of using force which would result in revolts and unrest, they used religion to convert the communities that they had conquered. Their prime objective was to appear as forgiving and understanding conquerors and so they made sure that the locals were offered peaceful incorporation. The Chieftains of the local agricultural establishments who didn’t display any signs of resistance were requested to join the hierarchy of the political establishment of the empire. Marriage between local Chieftains with royal family was a very common technique used by the Inca to gain over lands peacefully. However, forcefully removing communities and massacre also occurred when the locals resisted or rebelled. The driving factor behind the Inca expansion was building an empire that eliminates the savagery of war. Their motto was to save the people from themselves and bring stability in a land of chaos. Unification of religion was the ultimate driving force for Pachacuti’s conquest. The acceptance of the empire by the local groups came with the acceptance of the Incan Religion. Pachacuti exaggerated the supremacy of Viracocha over the other Gods. This was the defining factor for the establishment of Inca Empire and a pact was formed once the interests of Pachacuti and the locals began to match. The Inca stepped into the traditions of the Andean people by incorporating ancestor worship. The mummification of kings created a sense of familiarity for the local people as it was a link between the Incan people with their Gods. Maintenance of this tradition became important for the higher order of Inca Empire because it helped maintain a political order. However, the mummification, maintenance and grandeur display of the dead kings was only possible if there was a steady income and this directly depended on the conquests. Everything acquired during these conquests was put into the perseverance of tradition by the Sapa Inca. The government system of the Inca Empire was based on theocracy. Everything belonged to the Sapa Inca which included land, gold, silver, labor and people. Women were considered to be their property and therefore adultery was stated as a crime. The state was responsible for feeding the people and government officials were held accountable if someone was left hungry. When you start reading about the history, religion, economics and politics of the Incan Empire, you will realize that there is a world of information which cannot be put into one single essay. This is why it is crucial that you analyze these facts and decide on a topic which seems interesting and intriguing. Further you will find our guide on how to write an economics essay on the Inca Empire as well as our selected set of subtopics to choose from. References: Baquedano, E., ZabeÃŒ , M. (2011). Eyewitness Aztec. London: DK Pub. Bernand, C., Bahn, P. G. (1994). The Incas: People of the sun. New York: Harry N. Abrams. DAltroy, T. N. (n.d.). The Incas. Hemming, J. (1970). The conquest of the Incas. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. Jones, D. M. (2012). The complete illustrated history of the Inca Empire: A comprehensive encyclopedia of the Incas and other ancient peoples of South America with more than 1000 photographs. London: Lorenz. MacQuarrie, K. (2008). The last days of the Incas. New York: Simon Schuster Paperbacks. Newman, S. (2010). True Book: The Inca Empire. Scholastic Canada.

What is interior design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What is interior design - Essay Example The designer can embark on projects that comprise assembling the simple design of spaces within the house and projects that necessitate the understanding of practical concerns. They usually work in conjunction with architectural corporations. Interior design comprises two categories including residential interior design, which involves the interior of private homes, and commercial interior design that involves industrial facilities and retail (Asensio 1997, p. 6). Interior designer often assist with relevant information. They often offer the best settlement of appliances for the  maximum effective  utility of the kitchen.   They are supportive in adorning and fashioning a definite environment for living (Nielson 2005, p. 10).  They can work on projects ranging from an open-air sensation  of a beach household to a soft lodge in the woods environment (Gibbs 2005, p. 12). In contrast, architecture involves the design a building, the engineering background and process, setting out the outer and interior walls coupled with dimensions as well as the plans that the construction team can follow in the process of constructing the house (Gibbs 2005, p. 24). Interior designer often create the expression of the interior of the household or offices. They usually choose things that mirror the owner’s personality within a definite budget.   In interior design, awareness of the trending styles, product accessibility, and colour trends are significant yet they may not be of importance in architecture (Interior Design Educators Council 1993, p. 73). Architects draw the strategies and produce the plans for the building itself while overseeing its construction.  Architecture embroils further structural, physics mathematical knowledge, while interior design involves is focused on space planning and articulation but both are guided by the building codes, drawing, and documentation (Interior Design Educators Council 1993, p. 45). Architects

Management and leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management and leadership - Essay Example In case of leadership, organizations like American Express, Li & Fung Limited, FM Global performs leadership role and puts a high priority on people, brands and values helps employees to make good decisions (O’Brien, 2011). The management forms a formal relationship with the employees in an organization but leader’s forms an informal and comfortable relationship with the employees. The employees at American Express, Toyota, and Google are able to talk freely with its leaders and maintain a healthy relationship. General electric’s leader Jack Welch is an example of a leader with all the traits of personal quality of a leader. He is articulate and has been able to convey the complicated concepts in few phrases. Management such as HP tends to practice the management style of providing the answers and solving the issues and problems. Organization with leadership style has been able to bring about a change such as introducing new products and services. Companies like Toyota and Google has all adopted the leadership style and has achieved success. Third trait constitute of social characteristic as the operational leader follows characteristic such as of cooperativeness, interpersonal skills, are diplomatic and are able to handle pressure with ease. The three traits which are required for a leader in collaborative role includes personality, social characteristic and work related characteristic. The above traits are chosen because the collaborative leader is optimistic about his work self confident, they are admirable, have the desire to lead from the front and are independent. And finally the collaborative leader constitutes of work related characteristic to show his dedication and drive to excel. The collaborative leader do not avoid obstacles but face it and makes every possible way to resolve

Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computers - Essay Example computer which would respond to the specific needs. It becomes quite a task for someone who is not well versed with computers to actually choose what will be the best buy; every computer comes laden with a number of specifications, configurations as well as technical decisions that one must make in order to select the best possible investment; there are a number of issues including the space in the RAM, hard disk, type of processor, graphics card etc to pick that may end up confusing someone. In the market currently, there are a few best computers that will best suit the needs of an organization. The computers must work in tandem with one another and make it easy to share files and documents within the organization in order to get the work done faster. (Botella, A) One of the computers is the iMac, created by Apple Computers. Apple Computers is best renowned for its sophisticated taste in creating digital products that completely enhance the experience that a user has. These computers are thus favored by people because they are not only smooth in terms of operations but are also very classy to look at and work with. The iMac 21.5 inch computer has an excellent screen with wonderfully displayed graphics (HD 6750M) which enables people to play video games, watch movies and videos, as well as view photographs beautifully. The computer also comes with a built in camera of 720 pixels which enables the user to make use of Face Time software assisting people to video call each other within the office. If an office has a number of these computers, people can easily stay in connect with each other through video calls; furthermore, it also becomes easier to have video conferences with people living in different states and countries. On the downside howev er, what sets the iMac apart from other personal computers is merely its suaveness. Most people that use the iMac, do so when they have to deal with graphic work and the use of high resolution displays; apart from that, it is very expensive and thus if the firm does not have too much money to spend, then choosing the iMac as a computer for every desk would prove to be a very expensive task. (Mac vs PC - Pros & Cons Comparison Review) The Dell Inspiron One 2320 is one of the sought after computers at present as well. It is considered to be an all-in-one computer and has been taking over big firms and organizations as a favorite. The best part about this computer is the touch screen – it comes with a portable mouse as well as a screen that one can constantly poke and prod, giving it a very laptop like personal feel. It thus becomes easier to sift through documents and files, photos and websites by simply

Factors Affecting Purchase Of A Smart Phone

Factors Affecting Purchase Of A Smart Phone In this chapter, there are 4 independent variable and dependent variable. These variables are important to examine this research. These variables include brand name, features, price and quality. Besides, this chapter will be including the reading materials which are based on the topic of this research. The materials that included will be extracting from online journals, articles and magazines. The researcher gets the genuine journals from online databases, such as Emerald Intelligent, ScienceDirect , ProQuest Digital Dissertation Abstract and Google Scholar. The purpose of doing this research is to study the factors that affecting consumers to purchase Smartphone in Malaysia. Smartphone is getting attention from all segments of consumer today, but there must be some factor that will affect their behaviour before buying it rather than purchasing the normal basic cell-phone. According to Khasawneh and Hasouneh (2010), the products brand name will influence consumers evaluation and then perceive different products offering which as a result will affect on consumers behaviour when purchasing products and understanding consumers behaviour is a decisive factor in the companies success around the world. Therefore, this research is to determine whether or not brand name will affect the Malaysian consumers when they are making their purchasing on a Smartphone. Feature has the strong ability to induce consumers purchasing decision. This explains that when consumers are purchasing any products, consumers will tend to make us of the products feature as a basis for evaluating a product (Puth, Mostert and Ewing, 1999). Features for Smartphone is not only one two three, it will depends on the users preference on what are their needs. Build-in camera is getting more focus from the consumer nowadays, mobile phone manufacturer tend to improve the camera and speaker in order to fulfil customers needs. Therefore, this research will have the intentions to find out if feature is the major persuasive factor that affecting consumer behaviour towards purchasing a Smartphone. Almost every advertisement accentuates on price, 90 percent of retailers in this market screen the prices of their competitors on a regular basis (Kenning, Evanschitzky, Voegl and Ahlert (2007). Kunal and Yoo (2010) shows that price has a positive impact on behavioral intentions. In other words, consumer will tend to have more purchasing intentions if the price is consumers perception and vice-versa. For that reason, this research will find out whether or not price will influence consumer heavily when they come to buying a Smartphone. According to Khanna, Vat, Shankar, Sahay and Gautam (2003), stated that none of the writers disagree that quality is one of the most crucial critical success factors in order for organizations to achieve competitiveness among competitors. They further interpret that quality had make the Japaneses automobile industry overtook the USAs during 1980s and become the biggest in the world though Japans automobile industry started several decades behind the USAs. In other words, quality is an important factor that consumer will put into consideration before making any purchasing decision, therefore, this independent variables is to find out whether or not it will have the same effect towards consumers in Malaysia when purchasing a Smartphone. All these variables are important because they are main factors that have positive related to the dependent variable. In this research, independent variables that would be focused on are brand name, features, price and quality. In excess of 1.3 billion people are using cell phone worldwide today while the year of 2003, an estimated number of 1,340,667 cell phone subscribers were being perceive worldwide, an increment from approximately 91million in the year of 1995 and 1.158 billion in the year 2002 of 53.49% of total telephone subscribers (Goggin, 2005). Besides, it was also supported by Gart-ner and Ahonen (2010), stating that more than 1.3 billion mobile phone handsets are being sold each year, and in the year of 2010, Smartphones made up almost 20% of that total (Gart-ner and Ahonen, 2010). Sales of Smartphones are escalating almost 100% per year, and is expected in the year of 2012 the total global sales volume is expected to surpass the sales of PCs (Gartner, 2010). C:UsersUserDesktop01.jpg Figure 2.1: Worldwide Smartphone Sales for the year of 2008. Source: Andreas Jakl, 2009. In the year of 2008, the highest worldwide Smartphone sales belongs to Nokia, 43.7% from the worldwide Smartphone sales in 2008 belongs to Nokia. In order for Nokia to be the leader of the market, there must be some reason behind. Regardless what the brand is, consumer will look at various points before making any decision. ). According to Kupiec and Revell (2001) the intention to purchase a product will be more depending on the scale to which consumers expect the product to reach their satisfaction level when they consume it. According to Yu and Tan (2005), in July 2001, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) of the Peoples Republic of China publicize d that the figure of its mobile phone users has achieved 120.6 million, which makes China the major mobile communication market in the world. This was supported by Bell (2006), the worlds current largest cell phone market belongs to the Peoples Republic of China. In Asia, the usage ratio of mobile phones in Hong Kong is slightly higher as contrasted with other Asian countries (Chan, and Chan 2008). Mobile phone penetration rate is ranked as the second highest in Asia Pacific (International Telecommunication Union, 2004). The consumer desirous for Smartphone is increasing dramatically and will move forwards annual sales wide-reaching from 131 million units in 2008 to over 300 million by 2013, according to market research company Parks Associates (Cellular-News, 2009). http://img.cellular-news.com/story/38286/Global_sales_of_smartphones_to_reach_310_million_units_in_2013_1.png Figure 2.2: The global Smartphone sales units (2008 2009) and predicted sales units (2010 -2013) The occurrence of economic recession in recent years does not seriously infected the industry, a report by Berridge (2010) stated that the industry was not really suffered that critically during the recession seeing that the sales for 2009 were down a bit at 1.15 billion units but that was not that far down from the 1.2 billion handsets whipped in year 2008. The constructive impact of communication is experience by more Nigerians in the past four years than they what they came across in the first three decades of self-government (Adomi, 2005). According to Myers and Shocker (1981), factors can be pigeonholed in many ways which comprises extrinsic and intrinsic. The extrinsic aspects that include physical prompt such as features and brand name (Olson and Jacob, 1972). On the other hand the aspect that did not consider as part of the physical of product includes price and quality (Olson, 1977). The mobile phone has become an indispensable tool that is found in all doctors pockets with the advancement of technologies, the phones have become more stylish over time, especially with the introduction of third generation technology in 2001(Dala-Ali, Lloyd and Al-Abed, 2011). This has immensely increased both the storage and also the speed of mobile phones. There are many third generation phones obtainable from the market; among the most well accepted are the Blackberry and the iPhone, given that the iPhone is a smartphone produced by Apple Inc. and was launched in the USA in June 2007 and since then over 33 million phones have been sold worldwide and the number of European iPhone users rose by 161% in the year running up to April 2010 (Dala-Ali, Lloyd and Al-Abed, 2011). 2.1 History of telecommunication If histories of media have their difficulties, there are uncharacteristic trials and description in seeking to devise histories of the newer media (Flichy, 2002). Mobile telecommunication technologies have matured in consecutive generations (Dunnewijk and Hulten, 2007). According to Goggin (2005) the mobile phone has been in development for at least fifty years regardless of the mobile phone relatively recent commercial availability and consumer adoption from the early 1980s onwards. It also recursively adopts and reconstructs lifestyle, anticipations, and cultural forms from two other technologies central to modernity, to be exact the telegraph and telephone (Goggin, 2005). The history of mobile telephone goes back to experiments in the US in the 1920s with radio telephony (Kargman, 1978 and Agar, 2003). The first mobile phones were usually car-bound and ATT launched in 1947 a highway service between Boston and New York after the success of first mobile telephone network in St. Louis (Agar, 2003). Eventually radiotelephony became so crammed full, in New York particularly, that the network operators used waiting lists while candidate customers waited hoping to be so lucky to get a mobile phone connection (Agar, 2003). By the year of 1950 there were still only fifty million telephones in use in the world (Goodman, 2003). Goodman (2003) also further stated that Japan was the first to adopt fixed line phone which is in the 1970s, the number was go beyond by mobile phone somewhere in year 2002, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) predicts that the figure will almost one in three in the year of 2005. In the year of 1996, Nokia introduced the Communicator, a GSM mobile phone and handheld computer which had a QWERTY keyboard and built in word processing and calendar programs that allows besides sending and receiving faxes, the 9000 could check e-mail and access the internet in a limited way (Farley, 2005). Whereas the first generation (1G) appeared in the 1950s, while the second generation (2G) or GSM technology is used extremely wide, but challenged globally by the subsequently (third) generation (3G) technologies. This sequence of generations is characterised by increasing capacity (higher transmission speeds) and richer content of the message. Further penetration of 3G depends critically on the integration of telecommunication services and multimedia services, which turned out to be more complicated than most experts predicted (Dunnewijk and Hulten, 2007). The fruition of Chinas mobile telecom industry since its inauguration in the year of 1987 and appears to be a multistage industrial development process with policy intrusion and market competition. (Siau and Shen, 2003, Maitland, Bauer and Westerveld, 2002, Barnes and Corbitt, 2003). The number of mobile subscribers in China had twofold each year from year 1994 to 2001, by the Q4 of 2002; China had 206.3 million mobile telecommunications subscribers and had become one of the most attractive spots for the international and domestic telecom operators, equipment and phone manufacturers (Yu and Tan, 2005). In addition, Bell (2006), stated that the worlds current largest cell phone market belongs to the Peoples Republic of China. In the mobile telecommunications circles, systemic improvement examples are the successive generations of first generation (1G), second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) systems and this revolution will affect not only our daily lives and the way business is accomplished (Siau and Shen, 2003, Maitland, Bauer and Westerveld, 2002, Barnes and Corbitt, 2003). Table 1: List of best selling brand, year of founded and homepage. Brand of Phone Year of Founded Homepage Nokia 1865 http://www.nokia.com/ Motorola 1928 http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/XP-EN/Consumer-Products-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ Samsung Mobile 1938 http://my.samsungmobile.com/index.jsp LG mobile 1958 http://www.lg.com/my/mobile-phones/index.jsp Palm 1996 http://www.palm.com/us/ HTC 1997 http://www.htc.com/sea/ Blackberry 1999 http://worldwide.blackberry.com/landing.jsp?regionId=22 Sony Ericsson 2001 (Joint Venture of Sony Corporation and Ericsson) http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/cws/home?cc=mylc=en Apple iPhone 2007 http://www.apple.com/iphone/ 2.2 Variables 2.2.1 Consumer Behavior Consumer behaviour can be defined as the acquisition, consumption and disposition of products, services, time and ideas by decision making units. While consumer decision making can be defined as a mental orientation characterizing a consumers approach to making choices (Lysonski, Durvasula and Zotos 1996). Value is created when a consumer is offered useful information and gains understanding, reassurance and/or hedonic fulfilment in the process (Grant, Clarke and Kyriazis, 2007). The value creation relies on an analysis of online consumer behaviour to determine which information sources and formats are most likely to meet their needs at a given point in time (Grant, Clarke and Kyriazis, 2010). #To make the decision of purchasing, consumers take into account criteria such as reliability, quality, price and convenience of the product (Sanlier and Karakus, 2010). In contrast to simple or routine purchases, complex consumer behaviour may involve an extended process with a range of activities, each of which presents different challenges for a consumer (Assael, Pope, Brennan and Voges, 2007).Analysis of consumer purchasing decisions is not uncommon and a body of knowledge has developed (Watson, Howard and Patrick, 2002).There are several models and theories which describe consumer behaviour from a specific perspective (Estri, Hassangholipour, Yazdani, Nejad and Rayej 2010). Among all these models, the purchase decision model helps to understand the relation between consumer behaviour variables better than the other models. According to Kim, Forsythe, Gu and Moon (2002), is been an ongoing marketing challenges for retailing in competitive global markets towards marketers to meet the changes of customer needs by providing the right products and services. A consumers decision-making style has been defined as a patterned, mental, cognitive orientation towards shopping and purchasing, which constantly dominates the consumers choices (Safirk Mokhlis and Hayatul Safrah Salleh, 2009). It is common knowledge that price influences a customers buying decision (Monroe, 1973). Intention to purchase depends on the degree to which consumers expect the product to satisfy them when they consume it (Kupiec and Revell ,2001). When a consumer wanted to make the purchase decision, they will pass through the process through recognition, search information, evaluation, purchase, feedback (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 1995). Therefore, the consumer will choose a product or brand to consume from various choice can get in the market. According to Bettman, Johnson and Payne (2000), different situation will be affect by different factors. Information overload also increase the complexity of the consumer behaviour towards purchasing a product (Bettman, Johnson and Payne, 2000). The information can be obtained by advertisement, display, brochures and etc. A study by Lynch and Srull (1982) suggested that decision-making can be categorized in 3 categories which are stimulus-based, memory-based and mixed. When consumer affect by the external information or factor can be category in stimulus-based. When consumer makes decision based on their memory or internal perception can be category in memory-based. The combination of this two is mixed. Consumer has different tastes, needs, motivation and lifestyle when they want to purchase a product (Chisnall, 1985). Some of them preferred high quality and willing to pay high price, some of them are not (Monroe, 2003). Furthermore, the consumer behaviour towards purchasing a product can be investigating through the consumer characteristics. It include Brand conscious, price conscious, quality conscious, recreation conscious, innovation conscious, confused by over choice, impulsive and brand (Leo, Bennett, and Hartel, 2005). Therefore, it is important to find out the relationship between those characteristics and the consumer purxhasing behaviour. 2.2.2 Brand Name In todays changing global environment, many businesses are facing increasing competition that forces them to seek for competitive advantage, efficiency and profitable ways to differentiate among them (Mei, Dean and White, 1999). Brand names are valuable assets that help correspond quality and suggest precise knowledge structures which related to the brand (Srinivasan and Till, 2002). Researchers have distinguished that brand name as an important tool in improving a products value (Dodds, Monroe and Grewal, 1991). According to Rotfled (2009), brand name is an exclusive and is to indicate product itself to the market. Besides according to the American Marketing Association, defined the brand as name, term, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition (Khasawneh and Hasouneh, 2010). Haigh (2007) has proposed three definitions: trademark is a logo with associat ed visual elements, brand is a trademark with associated intellectual property rights, and branded business covers the whole organization. According to Rao and Ruekert (1994), stated that one of the major objectives of a brand name is to provide information on the quality of a product. The value of a brand name adds to the product is named as brand equity (Farquhar, 1989). Developing brand equity is thought to be an important component of brand building (Keller, 1998). Brand equity is assumed to convey several benefits to a firm (Pappu, Quester and Cooksey, 2005). Brands might develop sustainable competitive advantage for firms (Aaker, 1989). As a result, if consumers perceive a particular brand favourably, then the firm may have a competitive advantage (Pappu, et. al, 2005). Brand name is lack of possibilities to establish in short term, in other words, is needed to develop in long term. More and more companies realized that one of their most priceless assets is the brand names that related with their products or services (Cornelis, 2010). In recent aggressive competitive market place, the most critical success element for companies is the brand name that were being used by a product, and further stated that the brand names are consider as the last source of differentiation for the companies products and services (Lim and OCass, 2001). According to Khasawneh and Hasouneh (2010), the products brand name will influence consumers evaluation and then perceive different products offering which as a result will affect on consumers behaviour when purchasing products and understanding consumers behaviour is a decisive factor in the companies success around the world. Brand managers face a complex and multifaceted task in managing the meaning of brands on a global scale (Andrews and Kim, 2007). Why do companies develop their own brands? According to Thanasuta, Patoomsuwan, Chaimahawong and Chiaravutthi (2009), the presence of brands were to identify and differentiate the products or services between the companies or organizations. It was further stated that brand name can lend a hand to the brand itself to pass on the information and communicate to the market (Hoyer and Brown, 1990). Also pointed by researchers, consumer have an unlikely similar perception towards different brand and also have a diverse perception of the products attribute and quality (Srinivasan and till, 2002). Indeed technology is no longer a matter of haves and have-nots but of basic services versus advanced ones but as technologies mature and product features become more similar, consumers are often unable or unwilling to differentiate between brands on rational attributes alone (Temporal and Lee, 2001). According to Forsythe (1995), brand name will be the vital indications or an extrinsic cue (Olson a nd Jacob, 1972) that will lead consumer to make their purchasing decision when they are trapped in a dilemma whereby they need to choose between two products. When the intrinsic indicator recognition of the product such as price is missing, consumers will tend to recognize it based on the brand name of the products or services (Ahmed and dAstous, 1996). Since consumers will have the knowledge on the brand which will cause consumers to create a perception on the brand, therefore they are able to measure the level of preferences whether or not the brand is pleasing their requirement (Urbany, Dickson, and Wilkie, 1989). To endeavour with this situation, some precise and adequate knowledge on the brand itself is a pre-requisite for consumers (Ratneshwar, Shocker and stewart, 1987). According to Baltas and Saridakis (2009), usually those who are more particular on the products quality will be more expose to the affection of brand name. Brand extension is a strategy that many companies follow with the aim of benefiting from the brand knowledge achieved in the current markets (Aaker and Keller, 1990).When a new product is marketed under a well-known brand name, failure rates and marketing costs are reduced (Martinez and Pina, 2010). Benefits of a great brand include a short-term gain on recognition to long-term competitive advantage on loyalty, which are ultimately translated into revenues and profits. 2.2.3 Price Price has been observed as an important element affecting the diffusion of new products and services, but pricing of a new product or service is particularly difficult (Munnukka, 2005). Nagle and Holden (2002) stated that price can play a role as a monetary value whereby the consumers to trade it with the services or products that were being sold by the sellers. Price will always be the key concern of consumers before making any purchasing decision (Smith and Carsky, 1996). Price equality is a psychological aspect which is persuasive towards consumers reactions to price (Campbell, 1999). Prices are perceived to be inequitable; consumers respond unenthusiastically by stay away from transactions, contacts with the provider or even engage in penalizing actions such as boycotts (Homburg, Hoyers and koschate, 2005). If a transaction or a price is perceive as unfair by consumers, they will engage in disciplinary actions (Antje and Mark, 2010). They will avoid the transaction and do not buy at all. Besides, there is a positive relationship between individuals perception of fairness and their level of expenditures, and that consumers tend to spend more money with specific providers if transactions are considered fair (Daskalopoulou and Petrou, 2006).Oh (2003) found that buyers comparison of actual price against their internally held reference price seems to affect their subsequent judgments about price, quality, and value. Kunal and Yoo (2010) shows that price has a positive impact on behavioral intentions. Price is one tangible cue from which consumers form expectations. As a result, the elements of marketing play a more important role in services since consumers are more sensitive to cues such as price (Bitner, 1990). Voss, Parasuraman and Grewal (1998) suggested that the link between price and satisfaction. When the consumers are satisfied with the price, they will purchase the product. Furthermore, should be noted that consumers buy high priced brands (typically luxury goods), driven by either social adjunctive attitudes that seek design, image, or social status or value-expression attitudes that seek product durability or quality (Wilcox, Kim and Sankar, 2009). Conspicuousness (willingness to spend a great amount of money to demonstrate their social status) also plays an important role on brand purchases (Kunal et al., 2010). Wilcox et al. (2009) find that high-priced brands are highly related to consumer conspicuousness. Consumers looking for quality, status, self expression, and image will gravitate toward high-priced brands to fulfill their goals, the achievement of which can be signaled through promotional messages of conspicuousness and exclusivity (Kunal et al., 2010). The level of price is found to positively affect behavioral intentions mainly because price establishes image of the brand in the eyes of the consumers (Aaker, 1991). In a consumers heuristics, a high (low) price connotes a high (low) quality and image. For a conceptual convenience, there are two types of products by price: high-priced brands and low priced brands (Kunal et al., 2010). High-priced brands are brands on the market whose image is seen as the key factor. Consumers of these brands often purchase them mainly for image and are willing to pay a premium price for their perceived high quality and status, which make them price-inelastic (Bolton, 1989). Low-priced brands tend to be purchased for utilitarian value, with the consumer relying on the perceived value for price. Consumers would typically look for low prices of these brands or substitutes to get the best value (Kunal et al., 2010). Consumers tend to interpret higher prices with higher quality, and low prices are percei ved as an indication of inferior quality (Rao and Monroe, 1988) According to Thaler (1985), there is more than couple of brand of mobile phone that consumer will find in todays market, this will most likely influence the consumers indicator on the pricing that being sold. Price is no longer an element that can be ignore for investigation whether or not it is an crucial factor that affects consumers behaviour in products and services. Given an example, a customer is choosing either a offline and a online book store for books, the distance of the store will be the first consideration and then followed by the time needed for delivery and lastly the price of it (Karlsson, Kuttainen, Pitt and Spyropoulou, 2005). As seen, price is a vital issue that the consumers need count into consideration. Recently, most of the consumers are pursuing a high quality services, though service is an important factor, yet the unwillingness of consumers to pay for obtaining a higher level of service by sacrificing an extra amount can still be seen (Tse, 2001). On the oth er hand, price might not be part of their considerations especially when dealing with web shopping, which the major concern falls on convenience, security and store offer (So, Wong and Sculli, 2005). In addition, there is a positive relationship between price and quality (Etgar and Malhotra, 1981). It explains that most of the consumers will regard high price goods and services equals to high quality. Thus, if the price level is at a peak but the quality or features are comply with the consumers expectation; they might perceive as fair and are more willing to pay a at a higher price to owns a better quality goods or services (Monroe, 2003). Due to the price of a product has a key authority on the consumers buying decision (Evanschitzky, Kenning and Vogel, 2004), it is normal to concentrate on it. As a precondition to valuing a price as low, the consumer must have at least a vague idea of the normal price. Only if that idea of normal price is present consumers can assess whether or not the offer is a bargain. The marketing-mix instrument of price is currently used excessively to attract consumers to a particular product or store. According to Kenning, Evanschitzky, Voegl and Ahlert (2007) nearly, every advertisement emphasizes price that over 90 percent of retailers in this market screen the prices of their competitors on a regular basis. Price knowledge is a psychological construct that relevant to retailer success, since it influences both a consumers buying decision and the sales margin. At the same time, it can help the retailer to exploit consumer willingness to pay. The price of a product is one of the most important marketing-mix tools which are currently used excessively to attract consumers to a certain product or store (Evanschitzky, Kenning and Vogel, 2004). Price knowledge is a psychological construct that is relevant to the success of the retailer, since it influences a consumers buying decision. At the same time, it can help the retailer to exploit the consumers willingness to pay by using information about price knowledge for the pricing of products.

Kevin Mitnick :: Hacker Hackers Hacking Computers Essays

Kevin Mitnick Hacking has been around since the birth of computers. When the term hacking was first used, its meaning was not that of how we think of it today. At the origins of computing, a hacker was considered to be just a "creative programmer (Baase, 2003)." Early forms of computer games as well as the beginnings of operating systems were discovered and created by these original hackers. These hackers plunged into systems as a way of an intellectual challenge and to aspire to gain knowledge (Baase, 2003). Kevin Mitnick believes he falls into this realm of hackers. Hackers in today's era are now looked upon as criminals who invade the privacy rights of individuals and have the ability to deliver worms/viruses. The differences are that hackers today have full intentions of delivering terrible viruses and worms. Mitnick was one of the most infamous hackers during the 1980's. He molded his hacking style around the stupidity of humans and his quest for intellectual knowledge. The ways in which he w iggled his way into computer systems extenuates many of the issues surrounding computer security and privacy. Kevin Mitnick, "the worlds most notorious hacker" hacked into his first computer at the age of 16 when he hacked into Digital Equipment Corp. ( DEC) by phoning the company and claiming to be the lead developer of a new product (Weintraub, 2003). DEC then proceed to give him the passwords needed to hack into their system. Many of the jobs that Mitnick pulled exploited the ignorance of humans rather than the security software of the companies. Based on what he accomplished, he showed that a path can be made into a system without a computer or modem. This "social engineering", was Mitnick's forte. Mitnick tries to warn corporations now that "There is no patch for stupidity." (Mitnick, 2003) We are getting to an era in life were humans are not smart enough to run the machines they created. Someday computers may be run and created by other computers completely making humans obsolete in the realm of computer operation. This is a very scary thing to think about. When computers start having the ability to run themselves without human interference who knows what will happen. This is a fear that is embedded into the minds of many luddites. Where will this new technology end up? How far will it go before it destroys the integrity of life as it is now?

Fashion: A Cultural Context

‘Fashion' is multi-faceted- a multiple choice- depending on your budget and attitude you can dress ‘in fashion' and yet be totally individual thanks to the available choice, and the liberal dress codes that exists. Only 40 years ago things were very different- discuss the social and cultural changes that have taken place since the 60's that has allowed this phenomenal change to happen, using quotes from authors and academics to underpin your ideas. Introduction As we approach the year 2003, we find a vastly different fashion industry from that which existed only 40 years ago. Although the fashion sector is known for its apid change, we see an industry today that has been dramatically transformed by such new things as new technology, globalisation, and changing consumer values. Every segment of the industry has been required to change to meet new competitive challenges. As a result, we find a fashion industry that has restructured its self to respond to global competition. The industry is faster, is geographically more wide spread and can focus on understanding and serving the consumer more effectively than ever before. Though transportation and communication advances, the industry has become a orldwide production and distribution network. At the same time, new technologies allow close examination of consumer needs and have reduced the time it takes to respond to those needs. One of the most enduring images of the 1960's is undoubtedly the mini skirt. Not merely a new fashion trend but a true icon of the sixties, the mini skirt epitomised the attitudes of the era. The name synonymous with the fame of the mini skirt is of course Mary Quant. Not only was she responsible for creating the infamous mini, but she also led the way for the radical changes in the fashion industry hat made London such a celebrated centre through out the decade. Like most new fashion trends, the mini skirt was an innovative idea sparked off by a series of unique social and cultural changes. Hemlines had been dramatically shortened at other times before the sixties, also in times of great social change, after and during World War 1and World War 2. This fashion revolution happened at the same time as another big cultural change of the century- pop music. Music has and always will be a major influence on fashion and sub-culture. Another huge cultural change of the decade was ‘the pill'. The younger generation was becoming less inhibited, and more sexually promiscuous because of the invention of the contraceptive pill, and clothes became more overtly sexual and revealing. Along the street of Haight Ashbury, hippies could be seen wandering along, wearing their multi-coloured kaftans or afghan coats over fringed tasseled dresses, flat leather sandals, a headband copied straight from the American Indians or a pair of scruffy flared jeans. What had started off for many as an ethical movement by a few die-hard individuals in America soon became a world ide phenomenon influencing lifestyles and creating the main stream fashion of the late sixties. This was a form of anti-fashion as revolt. It was untidy and spontaneous and radically different from the chirpy neatness of the earlier years of the decade and the futuristic fashions of the previous few years. Boutiques such As ‘I was Lord Kitchener's Valet' or ‘Granny Takes a Trip' in London, both reflected the sartorial anarchy of the times with their bright riotous designs. Hippie women reacted against the dolly bird image of the early sixties that with he arrival of the mini skirt had been designed to free the young woman from sexual stereotyping. With its thigh revealing length it confined her in a look, which aimed directly at the male's libido. Although the late sixties have been criticised for its naive belief that free love and marijuana would solve the worlds problems, there was a lot of creative activity which led to permanent social change. People felt free to break down taboos. The woman's, civil and gay rights movements all started in this decade. Sexual stereotypes were being broken down and ‘free love' was on the agenda. Men and woman began to look alike with unisex jeans and long hair, the older generation felt increasingly alienated from the young. Experimenting with gender was part of the revolution. As woman took up the banner for sexual equality, men began to reject the fifties ideal of muscular machismo. The old mores of what constituted male dress were broken down and men experimented with less obviously masculine looks. Much of the late sixties was, for many spent in a haze of drug induced euphoria. The use of LSD was a powerful influence on ideas and dress. People xperimented with their lifestyles in the belief that they were somehow on the road to a greater awareness and under standing, fuelled by the sensory experience of acid and its ability to distort the senses, creates hallucinations and vivid colours. Fashion has always had it's social conscience and can be the perfect vehicle for powerful political messages, from the iconisation of Che Guevara's portrait to the anti- war slogans of Katherine Hamnett's T-shirts. But the truly unexpected that flies in the face of fashion its self can carry as powerful a signal as the blatantly written message. Anti-fashion by definition is the opposite of fashion, so if it exists, it should be different every time fashion changes. But its rules stay the same because what it all represents is all negative- anarchy, destruction of order and instigation of chaos. By the mid 1970's woman had discovered that that trousers gave them a sexual neutrality that allowed them to compete in the work place. The 1980's career girl was now an executive who had business lunches and held boardroom meetings. She was confident, independent and more liberated than ever. Designers created outfits especially for these woman. Denim jeans were re-designed to fit woman, and the designer's name on a visible label became all-important. This period launched ‘power dressing'. Women's trousers have always reflected social change and women's growing confidence in their place in society. This was especially true during the seventies. Now every woman has a pair of trousers of some kind in her wardrobe, whether part of a suit or a pair of faded denim jeans. This continues to illustrate women's increasing sense of equality and freedom of choice in society, of which women's trousers have been a constant measure. Alongside this licence to choose from a range of styles regardless of the context a more serious fashion aesthetic existed. The androgynous clothes many women choose to wear expressed the growing women's movement and their desire to be taken more seriously they entered the work force on a more equal footing. The seventies represented the twilight of an era of sexual liberation, over indulgence and decadence. The sexual revolution may have been discussed at length in the sixties, but it could be argued that it actually happened and exploded in the seventies, especially in increasingly jaded ways. The chic new sexual conventions of the day denied that a person's sexuality could be neatly classified. During the 1980's, fashion became integral to the newly emerging concept of the lifestyle. The new wealth and prosperity hyped in the media were ever more evident throughout the decade. In this decade there was a deregulation of the stock market and an explosion in property prices. This helped establish the culture of the yuppie. There was enormous wealth around, but it was spent with a corporate mentality, so that even the most exotic trophy wife appeared to be dressing not only for her an, but for boardroom approval. Power dressing- dressing to show your importance and bank balance, dressing for success, was in. Even if you were a supermarket shelf stacker, you would still wear your impressive power suit in Your spare time. In the 1990's Princess Diana of Wales, was a major influence. She had the rare gift of combining aristocrat grace with the stature of a catwalk model. She championed the interests of British fashion at home and abroad and had her own unique international stage. Her style emerged over the years into a more sophisticated and confidently intuitive one. Having Diana wear your outfit was a priceless piece of publicity, but even for those who copied, she was a strong influence and a tonic to the industry. She gave hope to a whole new generation of couturiers and mainstream designers, and a new out look to many girls who could now wear such clothes without having to be debutante. To understand the constant changes in fashion, it is important to understand that fashions are always in harmony with their era. As a famous designer expressed it â€Å"Fashion is a social phenomenon which reflects the same continuing change that rides through any given age. Changes in fashion, he emphasised â€Å"Correspond with the subtle and often hidden networks of forces that operate on society†¦ In this sense, fashion is a symbol†. Different views exist on how fashion changes are started. Sprole & Burns categorised these views into two groups as follows- * Because the fashion industry thrives on change, this idea suggests that different segments of the industry force change on the consumer by dictating new trends. Traditionally, European fashion houses exerted a powerful influence; the trade media such as women's wear daily, shaped the industries choices. Therefore, consumer's choices and retailers dictated what would be worn by what they carried. Although all these forces are important, Sproles noted â€Å"Changing fashion is a far more complex phenomenon that those with the industry- centred views may wish to believe†. In recent years, many consumers have become increasingly resistant to having new fashions forced on them. Often consumers now exert a spirit of independence in their dress by wearing what they feel is right for them, regardless of what the industry promotes. * Others who study fashion change, believe consumers are responsible for hat becomes fashionable. Given an array of products from which to chose certain trends develop because a group of consumers establish that these fashions are right. Four major theories suggest how consumers determine the course of new trends; some trends may begin with the upper socioeconomic consumers. Others may occur within all socioeconomic groups. Sometimes fashions rise from subculture groups such as urban African- Americans, youth, blue collar workers and ethnic minorities such as Native American. Nearly any creative or initiative individual can launch fashion trends if they are consistent ith the social climate and lifestyles of the times (Sproles 1981). Men and women are complex creatures whose actions are seldom governed by reason alone. Change comes about for psychological reasons. People grow bored of what they have, the eye wearies of the same colours, lines, and textures after a time. What is new and different appears refreshing, and what has been on the scene for a while appears dull and unattractive. Changes for such psychological reasons occur also in the fashions for products other than clothing. Auto manufacturers introduce new colours and shapes because potential buyers ire of the same colours an shape. Changes in fashion are also caused by rational reasons, such as environmental factors that create knew needs. A classic example of social change that brought about drastic change in fashions occurred in the early decades of the twentieth century, when women sort, gained and enjoyed new political and economic freedom. Their altered activities and concepts of them selves encouraged them to discard the constricting garments that had been in fashion for centuries and to adopt shorter skirts like those of Mary Quants, relaxed waistlines, bobbed hair nd other fashions more appropriate to their more active lives. Generations later, as women moved into top executive positions in the business world, the tailored suit, soft blouses and attachi bags became the ‘dressing for success' fashion of young career women in the late seventies and eighties. The physical fitness movement in the 1970's and 1980's brought about the need for exercise clothing, and as the interest in jogging, hiking, tennis and aerobics grew, also did the need for new and different fashions appropriate to each of these active sports. Casual Fridays and a shift towards working at home have hanged the way many people dressed for work in the 1990's. Even environmental concerns influenced fashion by avoiding the use of certain dyes and finishes harmful to nature. Conclusion Although fashions change constantly and new ones appear almost every season, a full-scale change over is never completed at any one time. In studying the pattern in change in fashions, scholars have observed that changes in fashion are evolutionary in natu re, rather than revolutionary. It is only in retrospect that fashion changes seem marked or sudden. Actually they come about as a result f a series of gradual shifts from one season to the next. For example, when women's skirts became inching up from the mid calf in the 1960's this gradual shortening was not particularly noticeable at first. It was only when skirts moved thigh high, in the form of minis and micro minis, that people took notice of the approaching extreme. Even today, when the rate of fashion change has execrated sharply, the pace of change is really slower than it appears to the unskilled observer who has failed to notice the early evolutionary movements in a new direction. The evolutionary ature of fashion change is a fundamental principle that is recognised by fashion practitioners, it provides them with a solid, factual foundation for forecasting and identifying in-coming fashions. When planning and developing new styling ideas, they always keep the current fashions and evolving directions in mind. Therefore the expectance of a particular coat or dress fashion during a current season becomes a straw in the wind for experts to search for clues to next seasons trends. The degree of it's acceptance provides needed clues as to what will or will not be welcomed by the consumer in the next season. Knowing that people do not respond well to sudden changes, the fashion experts build gradually, not abruptly, towards new ideas. Even the slowest most gradual of evolutionary changes in fashion, do change eventually. Examples of this can be found in history and recent times. For example when the mini skirts of the 1960's moved up to the micro mini skirts of the1970's, hems began inching downward. Whether it be skirt lengths, suit lapels, silhouettes or general fashion looks, all fashions tend to move steadily towards an extreme, at which point a new direction develops.

Business Ethics and Their Role in Organizational Development

Business Ethics and their role in Organizational Development Brett Ballesteros National University In business today there are many different forms of operation and ways of achieving a successful firm. Organizational behaviors are key to insuring a business withstands the test of time and does so through the individual employees that are the foundation to firms around the world. These individuals must live and work by a set of ethics that the company and their everyday lives have instilled in them. Ethics can either make or break a company through employees application of this concept in the workplace.Ethics can be defined as a â€Å"moral philosophy involving systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior† (Fieser, 2003). In business, these ethics need to reflect the ideology and morals a company is built upon through the individuals and groups that represent a firm. The code of ethics for any business is put in place to ensure that their posi tion on integrity and conduct are not compromised. A business must maintain a certain level of integrity in order to be trusted not only by consumers, but its employees as well, as this is the cornerstone for corporate relationships.This code of ethics is typically based on the basic principles of right and wrong, whereas the individual must be able to differentiate between the two when formulating decisions that will directly affect the companies integrity. These decisions may not be entirely clear due to the nature and uniqueness to the different possible situations that may arise. Business ethics are there to make sure the business itself is governing good behavior. That’s why there are certain laws to prevent companies from over-working employees, or making sure children are not working for them as well.When companies use business ethics, it gives them a chance to show their morals. Every company should have a set of morals that they conduct their business by. Having thes e moral beliefs in a company gives the business something to set the rules by. It makes it much easier for managers employees to make their decisions based on their set of business ethics because that way they have a set of morals they can abide by when handling business decision-making. â€Å"Consequential theories of ethics emphasize the consequences or results of behavior.John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism, a well-known consequential theory, suggests that right and wrong are determined by the consequences of the action. â€Å"Good† is the ultimate moral value, and we should maximize the most good for the greatest number of people† (Nelson & Quick, 2012). It’s only obvious that good business ethics include having good moral as is. No one person wants to work for a company that they fell has bad morals. According to the company, Levi Strauss & Co. they set their business ethics up to: honesty, promise-keeping, fairness, respect for others, compassion, and integrity.They state, â€Å"As we seek to achieve responsible commercial success, we will be challenged to balance these principles against each other, always mindful of our promise to shareholders, that we will achieve responsible commercial success† (Stillman). A smart business knows that it must set ethics, character, and personal integrity inside each of its employees. This way each employee knows what is expected of them and that they are comfortable in their workplace. Not every job that I have attained has had good business ethics, but the ones that do are the ones that have stuck with me.If the employer treats their employee right it can only reap great reward. If an employee loves working for their company they are going to want that business to succeed, so they will promote the place and receive more sales that way. When it comes down to it, every person wants to work for a company who has great morals. Whether people actually abide by these â€Å"good† mora ls in life, they always tend to want to find a company who will keep these business ethics in mind. Good business ethics plainly mean that the people working there are going to have good morals.Having good business ethics means the company is going to receive trust of their employees which is going to build business partners and clients alike. In order for companies to attract and retain valuable employees, good ethic treatment is necessary. Every company has a code that they set their ethics to, and as long as they abide by those codes they are going to have people who are willing to work hard for them, also when these employees work hard it makes sense that the company should provide ethic praise.

The Enviromnetal Degradation As A Result Of Overpopulation Essays

The Enviromnetal Degradation As A Result Of Overpopulation Essays The Enviromnetal Degradation as a Result of Overpopulation 1 Introduction There are simply too many people on our planet, and the population is not showing any signs of slowing down(see Figure 1). It is having disastrous effects on our environment. There are too many implications and interrelationships to discuss in this paper, but the three substances that our earth consists of: land, water and air, are being destroyed. Our forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, bearing enormous impacts on the health of earth. Our oceans and seas are being polluted and overfished. Our atmosphere is injected with increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, which hurts the entire planet. All of these problems can be traced to our vast, rapidly expanding population, which has stressed our world far too greatly. Our Population In 1994, the world population was 5 602 800 000. This population had a doubling time of only forty-one years (De Blij and Muller, 1994, p.527). The massive amount of people has had highly destructive impacts on the earth?s environment. These impacts occur on two levels: global and local. On the global level, there is the accumulation of green house gases that deplete the ozone layer, the extinction of species, and a global food shortage. On the local level, there is erosion of soils (and the loss of vegetation), the depletion of water supply, and toxification of the air and water. The earth is dynamic though, all of these aspects are interrelated, and no one impact is completely isolated. All of these destructive elements can be traced to our enormous population. As the population increases, so do all of the economic, social, and technological impacts. The concept of momentum of population growth is one that must be considered. It states that areas with traditionally high fertility rates will have a very young structure age. Thus, a decrease in the fertility rate will still result in a greater absolute number of births, 2 as there are more potential mothers. Populations are very slow in adjusting to decreases in fertility rates. This is especially frightening when considering that South Asia has a population of 1 204 600 000 (and a doubling time of thirty two years), Subsaharan Africa has 528 000 000 (doubling time: thirty one years), and North Africa/Southwest Asia has 448 100 000 (doubling time: twenty seven years) (De Blij and Muller, 1994, p. 529-531)and all of these areas have traditionally high fertility rates. Although third world countries do have a far larger population than industrialized nations, and the trend is constantly increasing, their populations should not bear the responsibility for our population-enduced degrading environment. The impact we make on the biosphere is sometimes expressed mathematically by ecological economists as I = PAT. I being impact, P population, A affluence (consumption) , and T technology (environmentally bad technology)(Ehrlich and Ehrlich, 1990, p.24). Concern regarding population increases often focuses on the third world, since it is there that growth is exponential. Yet, it is necessary to recognize that people are by no means equal or identical in their consumption, and thus their impact on the environment (see Map 2). 3 Our Forests ?The sky is held up by the trees. If the forest disappears the sky, which is the roof of the world collapses. Nature and man perish together.? - Amerindian legend Forests are a precious link in the life systems of our planet. They are a part of these vital ecosystem services without which earth would not have been habitable by the human species in the first place and would certainly have become inhabitable again. Forests have crucial roles in the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles that nourish and sustain life on earth. They protect the watersheds that support farming and influence climate and rainfall(Lindahl-Kiessling, 1994, p.167). They save the soil from erosion and are home to thousands of species, and forest peoples whose lives depend on them. They are also a source for industrial and medical purposes. In developing countries, much deforestation is for both local purposes and for export. The UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities) said in it?s 1990 report that population growth may have been responsible for as much as eighty percent of the forest land cleared between 1971 and 1986 to make room for agriculture, cattle ranching, houses, roads and industries(Ramphal, 1992, p.55). It is estimated that in that period nearly sixty million hectares of forest were converted to farmland and a similar amount of forest was put to non-agricultural uses. This is equivalent

Global Supply Chain Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Supply Chain Managment - Essay Example However, Vivek argued that the degree of diversification is the measure for the size of benefits likely to be achieved by the shareholders. Susan believes that small benefit is achieved by the shareholder involved in the diversified project; therefore such investors are poorly inclined towards IPO of such diversified firms. Ronald is firm that the reduction in the likelihood of an IPO is linked with the increase in the degree of diversification, therefore IPO is mainly preferred by such investors who are strange to diversified companies, and as such investors have the potential to make profit from diversification of their portfolios. Atul is his article has claimed that the firm is likely to go public if the stakeholders are diversified, and possess equal shares. The deposit-insurance hypothesis is based on the assumption that the 'acquirers would be willing to pay more for riskier, more profitable organizations whose returns are highly correlated with the acquirer's returns'. As per Vivek, the managerial-interest hypothesis is constant and consistent, and has no relationship with purchase price and exposed risk; therefore the risk management is avoidable from supply chain perspective. Both the articles have agreed that upon the fact that the supply chain management shall be protective of share holder's stake, and the wealth of the shareholder can be increased through alliances that diversify earnings. The earnings diversification hypothesis is based on the fact that higher levels of cash flow for the same level of total risk can be achieved through acquiring banks i.e. seek earnings diversification, 'the reductions in business risk are offset by increases in financial risk'. Catherine is of the opinion that acquisition of firms can offset the reduction in equity value, which can be achieved through issuance of additional debt; such measures diminish the probability level of bankruptcy to the previous level, there have been strong evidence that leverage i s increased as a result of alliances and acquisitions between the non-financial firms. It has been observed that banks acquired by bank holding companies have reduced their capital ratios after acquisitions, and reduction has been incorporated at significant level, 'the increased leverage increases the tax shield due to debt and, hence, after-tax net cash flow'. Ronald informed that the acquired banks reduce their holdings of low-risk securities to a greater level, and also improve their holdings of loans, this correspondingly increase the earnings. Analysis of the common grounds and variances between the two articles Atul has referred to the Research and Development success story for the technological companies, 'R&D Credit supports technological innovations through which the creation and the perseverance of the qualitative standards of living has been possible. It has been realized that 'many positive economic benefits are driven and motivated by performance of research and development, including increased revenue streams to U.S. companies', which is further responsible for the enhancement of the company's ability to 'recruit employees, purchase capital goods, pay dividends to shareholders and contribute to a strong country tax base'. Vivek has supported the argument and has further validated that the loans which appear in the balance

Crossing Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crossing Cultures - Essay Example However, as the world begins to shrink, in relation to the expansion of international relationships, the question arises as to whether various cultural beliefs should be imposed on others in global society. There is the old adage suggesting to live and let live, emphasizing that what is deemed right for one individual may actually be perceived as totally wrong for another. This creates a debate as to whether a nation, such as the United States, who touts its own views regarding morality and culture on a global scale with strong conviction, should be allowed to dictate the nature of global human rights. Especially pertaining to women, many foreign nations believe that women must conform to a lesser position in society, thus they refuse women the equal rights of their male counterparts. Should the United States (or any other Westernized nation) be allowed to dictate global rights for women and use their authority to change foreign beliefs? This paper will answer this question. Traditional Muslim beliefs in the African nation of Sudan dictate that female genital mutilation is not only an acceptable practice, but is mandated by religious doctrine (Hosken, 2005). In many instances, Muslim men in Sudan will refuse to marry a girl who has not had her clitoris removed and her genitalia sewn closed (Hosken). In most Westernized countries, this would be a criminal offense punishable by years of imprisonment for sexual assault and mutilation of a juvenile, and would likely create an explosion of social outrage over the activity. Despite efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations to prevent this genital mutilation as a method to promote global human rights, the practice continues to victimize innocent Sudanese women. It is relatively common knowledge that efforts of agencies such as the WHO and United