Coloplast Case Essay

Executive Summary Coloplast has been in operations in Denmark for nearly 60 years. The company specializes in producing medical devices such as disposable ostomy bags, antifungal cremes cleansers and moisturizers. For 42 years, all Coloplast operations were contained within Denmark, however 97% of its revenue was generated by exporting its products beyond its national borders. In 1999 the company changed its philosophy and began to investigate off shoring its production facilities. In 2001 the first Coloplast production facility opened its doors outside of Denmark. The expansion took place in Tatabanya Hungary. This location was chosen because of cheaper labour and land rates, as well as a more favourable tax rate. The city is located in the Western region of the country which provided better infrastructure. Coloplast had no blueprint to navigate through the expansion process, and had to learn and develop best practises by trial and error. By 2004 the management team in Tatabanya had advanced the production system to the point where it was outperforming the longer established Danish facilities. In 2005 Coloplast revealed an aggressive plan of Strategy 2008. In this plan the company states it will strive to achieve a profit margin of 18% while maintaining 10% organic growth. A key pillar of this plan is the continued relocation of volume production to Hungary and further expansion to China. Coloplast is at crossroads, it needs to decide if it has learned enough from its first international expansion that it can duplicate and improve its success in new locations, or if it should delay new locations and focus on fine tuning its operations in Denmark and Hungary. Issues Coloplast’s expansion into Hungary was executed with no prior international expansion experience to draw from. Eventually over time, it proved to be a successful operation which surpassed quality levels of its Danish facilities . The company believes it can successfully take the lessons learned in Hungary and apply them to other international locations. Coloplast also believes that the Tatabanya operation could still be fine tuned and improved to improve its results even further. Some of the problems that need to be improved upon are. Knowledge sharing / Communication styles The production expansion in Hungary has revealed to Coloplast that decentralized approach to knowledge sharing may not work in all situations or locations. The old configuration in Denmark had most facilities and staff within a 30 min drive from each other. This allowed for more direct contact between facilities sharing processes, best practises, policies and ideas. This approach was not as successful in Hungary, Tatabanya is far from Danish headquarters and needed to have a much more direct approach. The decentralized system actually put the Hungarian operation at a disadvantage as there was a lack of manuals and instructions for them to work with in any language, not just Hungarian. Accounting procedure – Danish Kronner currency 93% of all products created by Coloplast was exported outside of Danish borders, this allowed the company to reach much larger markets then just its small domestic population. When an order is invoiced it is done so in the Kroner, the local Danish currency. This forces the company to exchange currency on the majority of all its transactions, exposing a currency risk if not managed carefully. It was estimated that currency exchange contributed up to 2% of overall loses in 2004. Outsourcing jobs negative impact on Danish workforce Coloplast has a large knowledge pool of its existing workforce in Denmark. With its volume production facilities shifting to new markets it is finding it challenging to maintain its Danish workforce in their existing roles. The company would like to be loyal to its Danish workforce and keep them employed, maintaining high morale. Coloplast would like to avoid expensive severance payments and negative public relations of reducing staff in Denmark while expanding operations internationally. Analysis Coloplost needs to continue to expand and grow it business. Internal estimates indicate that by 2010 the company will require double its current product volumes. At the same time they have set aggressive profit margin and growth goals. The international production expansion strategy is an important part of its goals. Coloplost hopes to meet the growing demand of its customers and achieving revenue goals by expanding production facilities in countries with lower operating costs One of the lessons learned by  Coloplost after the expansion in Hungary is the importance of the transfer of knowledge and communication between all segments of the business. This area needs to be improved prior to further expansion to China. During the last expansion management was so busy dealing with communication issues that they failed to fully take advantage of local sourcing opportunities, instead importing more expensive options. Management in Denmark must also decide how to properly utilize their dom estic workforce, when many of their current production positions are shifting to new countries. This will be a very important decision as these employees hold a high level of tacit knowledge of the company that it does not want to lose. The reporting of sales/conversion back to Danish currency represented a 2% loss. Continued expansion into new markets in both production and sales will make this issue even larger then it currently is. It is in the companies best interest to retain its Danish workforce when possible. These employees have the best understanding of the operations and can contribute to the companies success in training and perfecting best practises instead of focusing on production. Coloplost is still in a growth phase and redeployment/training of these people will save on severance costs and maintain a positive image for the company. Recommendations By improving the Hungarian operation and exploring further expansion opportunities such as China the company is demonstrating how essential expanding into low cost markets is to its overall long term strategy. A presence in the Asian marketplace will expose Coloplost to a massive consumer base to build its sales. This international market diversification will reduce the company’s dependence on its traditional European customers who’s health care systems are under reform and potentially not as profitable as before. A new strategy must be formed for the changing European markets, by expanding revenue streams, it provides the company time to assess reality of the new market conditions. Another benefit of having operations in Asia is increasing logistics options for the Coloplast. A Chinese distribution point could also be created providing better coverage in Asia and potentially shipping to North America as well. The Danish location will continue to ship to Hamburg and exp ort to North Europe while the Hungarian facilities will by pass by-pass Hamburg and ship directly to Southern  Europe. This plan will streamline the shipping process cutting costs for the company. The decentralized approach employed by the company while it was only operating in Denmark does not work on a global scale. Communication between all locations the company must be improved and two changes should be made immediately. First all processes and procedures needs to be documented in written form in all of the languages of the countries that the company will operate in. Coloplast has a large workforce in Denmark that will be shrinking in size due to the off shoring process. The company should select their most experienced and specialized staff to work on this project, providing new employment opportunities while reducing costs of retraining and severance fees. Second, the company should invest in a knowledge management system that will allow for file and idea sharing between all locations world wide. Coloplost should adjust its accounting procedures and no longer invoice in Danish kroners, instead they should invoice all sales in Euro’s. This will reduce the need to perform a foreign exchange transaction on all sales. If the company must later convert the currency to Kroners, they can do so when the exchange rate is in their favor. To further protect themselves from foreign exchange risk, they should hedge their transaction and purchase an option contract of swapping Euros for Kroner. Further shifting of volume away from Denmark is forecasted to reduce the Danish workforce by approximately 600 jobs over the next 5 years. It is best to get ahead of it and continue to offer early retirement and retraining packages to its employees. By utilizing its most knowledgeable employees to assist in training and manual creation, Coloplast hopes to retain the assets in its workforce that have the highest amount of the knowledge of its processes and production. This will help keep staff reduction to a minimal. Alternatives Delay further expansion – focus on improving Hungarian operations This option will make it difficult for the company to reach its long term goals. Make it possible to rotate management staff in different international facilities to help spread knowledge and share best practises among all operations Create a strong emphasis in using top Danish production workers as trainers to help develop new operations. write training manuals, proven to work well with Danish employees in the past. Development of a team from experienced staff  to assist in trying to source products locally may be a win win scenario. Keep Danish staff employed while reducing costs for the company. These employees would know systems best. Creation of secondary distribution points to better serve new markets. China could handle Asian and North American markets, Hamburg (Danish port) could handle traditional Northern European markets and a new distribution point could be created to funnel Hungarian supplied prod ucts to Southern Europe and beyond

Critical Analysis: Life of Pi

By examining the novel Life of Pi, the three part novel by Yann Martel, one can observe the psyche of a man who has gone through a horrendous tragedy that has affected his life dramatically.   Martel chose the differing setting of India, Canada, the Pacific Ocean, and briefly in Mexico during the nineteen seventies.   From the conflicting cultures of the setting, the protagonist, Pi must deal with many adversities, yet he has survived all of them.   The novel is narrated in first person with Pi taking on the role of narrator. This gives an insight into the working of Pi’s mind.   A privileged glimpse of how an individual responds to the task of survival makes one wonder how he/she would respond in a similar situation.   It also shows what an individual will do to deal with the events that are just too horrible to accept. The plot is told in flashback and as a framed story.   The exposition is established early in the novel.   We learn that Pi is a man from India who now resides in Canada.   It is obvious that there has been some tragedy in his life, but it is not revealed until later.   Pi is married with a son and daughter.   The author discovers that he has a passion for cooking with lots of spices. This could be a way for him to connect with his past in India.   He uses so many layers of spices that it is just too intense for the author.   His overly spicy food is symbolic of his past.   Pi has tolerated his circumstances, but it is just too tragic for others to be able to identify.   As part one unfolds, Pi relates the history of his childhood in India.   His father had run the Pondicherry Zoo, and that is where he learns about the nature of animals as well as how human nature can parallel animals.   Pi is convinced that the animals are better off in the zoo that in the wild because some one must take care of them.   He also learns the way a human can achieve dominance over them. The conflict of the novel is established in the trip to his new home and the completely different culture he will encounter.   Pi’s family is killed in a shipwreck and he is the lone survivor.   He must now fight the forces of nature to stay alive.   Then he must learn how to deal the events that he has endured.   Another conflict in the story deals with religion. Pi was born into a Hindu family and throughout the novel he states that he considers himself primarily a Hindu.   Along the way, he discovered Christianity and a priest convinced him that he needed to become a Christian and Pi agrees.   His parents attend his baptism even though they do not accept the religion.   Finally Pi meets a Muslim and is persuaded to convert to Islam.   Again he embraces another religion.   Pi decides that he can be all of the religions. The rising action of the novel quickly becomes evident when Pi begins to relate his voyage to Canada.   His father decides that the family must move because of political unrest in their homeland.   Most of the animals are sold and the ones that couldn’t be sold are taken of the boat with the family.   After an accident, the boat sinks.   Pi, however, is the only one from his family to survive the shipwreck.   He and a zebra escape on a lifeboat, but the zebra is injured in the fall. Shortly after the life boat falls into the water, Pi spots his father’s tiger, Richard Parker.   The human name of the tiger is symbolic of the animalistic instinct of man.   The three survivors are soon joined by a hyena and an Orangutan.   At first all of the animals coexist with each other.   It is not long before the hyena chews the leg of zebra for a meal.   He then basically eats the animal alive.   The symbolism of the savagery of survival is evident in this incident. The hyena soon turns on the Orangutan and kills her as she is looking for her two sons.   Pi is amazed how human like she behaves.   Pi and Richard Parker become weary and dehydrated.   Pi learns how to fish and make drinking water out of sea water.   He uses his basic instincts for his survival.   The tiger finally kills the hyena, and even though Pi is glad that the hyena is gone, he becomes fearful of the tiger.   He realizes that he must gain dominance of the animal. He resorts back to the knowledge he gained at his father’s zoo.   Pi and Richard Parker are joined by another man and while Pi is suffering temporary blindness due to dehydration.   After battling hunger, lack of water, and the elements of nature, Pi’s lifeboat comes ashore in Mexico.   Richard Parker escapes into a wooded area and Pi is taken to the hospital. Two Japanese officials come to the hospital to interview Pi to gain information about the sinking of their ship.   He recounts the whole story of the sinking and his survival on the lifeboat.   After they listen to the story they leave to discuss the information they have just received.   They return after a short while and inform Pi that they do not believe his story. He then relates the story of his survival only substitutes humans for the animals.   They are horrified and he then asked them which story they prefer.   The men admit that the one with the animals was easier to accept.   It is then that the climax becomes evident.   The whole story of the animals was made up by Pi so that he could deal with the events that had happened to him.   The zebra had been a sailor, the hyena was an insane cook, and the orangutan was Pi’s mother.   Richard Parker is symbolic of   Pi’s animal instincts.   He finally gains dominance over them and it is his animal instincts that can alone help him survive. The falling action comes about when the two Japanese officials write their report.   They realize that Pi has no knowledge that can actually help them understand the wreck of their vessel.   They resolve that Pi’s survival with a ferocious tiger was unique story.   They, along with Pi, did what they had to do in their mind to be able to accept what had actually happened. Pi is a character that embodies the whole idea of survival.   All people go through adversity, and all have to learn to survive.   Many times it is painful.   An individual must come to grips in his/her own mind with what they must accept to continue on with daily life.   Martel takes this into consideration when writing this story.   Not only does he engage the reader by using suspense and the element of surprise, but he teaches mankind that we do what we have to do to cope. He also makes the point that even though humans have come so far with their scientific knowledge and technology yet they still have animalistic instincts when it comes to survival.   He could have set the story in the distant past, but instead he set it in the recent past.   There was an immense amount of technological and scientific knowledge in the nineteen seventies.   If our society were to lose our modern conveniences in a natural disaster, people would still revert to their instincts for continued existence. Works Cited Martel, Yann.   Life of Pi.   Canada: Random House of Canada, 2001.

Capstone Case Study †Arthur Andersen LLP Essay

1. Discuss the environmental, strategic and organizational changes that occurred over the life of Andersen in the context of figure 11.1. While Andersen started off as a stable environment, once changes started being made to the main focus of the company many changes were expedited. While still successful in it’s auditing business, other opportunities arose that allowed for quicker and more dynamic revenue growth. This strategic shift from auditing only to offering a number of other services (automated bookkeeping, information technologies, consulting, corporate staffing) eventually led to a rift within the company, the separation of operations into two companies under one umbrella, and the eventually severance of those two companies into two wholly separate corporate entities. Once the two companies (Andersen Consulting and Arthur Anderson) split, Arthur Andersen, which was originally the auditing only arm, but had dipped back into the consulting business even though it should not have per it’s agreement with AC, went full force into offering the full range of services. In the quest for the biggest sale and to drive non-audit revenue, managers were compensated based on sales targets instead of performance or quality of work. This lack of quality control and change in the focus of the business was the beginning of the downward projection of AA. The fact that there were changes in all three areas, environmental, strategic and organizational, made it difficult for there to be tight control at AA and almost made it acceptable to make questionable decisions as long as the clients got what they wanted and revenues continued to come in. 2. Evaluate Andersen’s claim that their problems on the Enron audit were due to a few â€Å"bad partners† in the organization. If you agree with this claim, discuss what you think were the root causes of the problem. It was AA’s decision to hire 40 auditors from Enron, then augmented by 150 of  their own staff, and place them within Enron as it’s in house accounting staff. Since the staff was on site at Enron, attended Enron meetings, and made decisions in the best interest of Enron and not with the idea of doing quality work, it is hard to put stock in AA’s claim that it was only a few â€Å"bad partners†. Also, AA made the decision to break up it’s own Professional Standards Group and re-locate members of that group to local offices. Once that happen though, their power was usurped and held no water. If they questioned decisions, they were removed. It is up to the company to make decisions that not only help generate business, but protect the company and it’s employees from any questionable situations or circumstances where unethical scenarios might play out. 3. Suppose you were Andersen’s managing partner in the early 1990’s. Would you have done anything differently than the actual management (assuming you knew only what they did at the time)? There are a couple of things that I could have done had I been the managing partner for Andersen in the 1990’s. I think the separation of the consulting business and the accounting business into two companies was actually a good move. The fact that AA eventually started to offer and go after non-auditing services business with clients was where a mistake was made in my opinion. If I were a partner at AA I would have strictly enforced the agreement that we would be sticking with auditing business only. While offering a lower margin than the consulting business, it was a solid foundation and allowed more oversight, tight controls and decreased the likelihood that questionable decisions would be made. I also would have kept the Professional Standards Group in tact to oversee and review all aspects of the operation. Splitting up the group and assigning individual members to local offices basically neutered their power and allowed for those looking to manipulate the system to do so. 4. Discuss the relation between what happened at Andersen and multitask principal agent theory. With the Multi-Task Agent Theory, certain tasks are rewarded and other tasks  are not, and because of this the non-rewarded tasks suffer from neglect of a decrease in quality. The first time this was an issue is was before the split into two companies, where those driving the consulting and IT business were unhappy with the fact that the auditing side had so much power over the company even though it was not the segment driving the revenue. After the eventual split into AC and AA under one umbrella, and then the total split into two separate corporations, with Andersen bringing in business other than auditing was rewarded more than auditing business, to the point that it was expect that managing partners brought in twice as much consulting and other business as it did auditing business, otherwise face penalties or even termination. In all three stages of the company’s history the inequality between the consulting business and the auditing business led to there being a de-emphasis on the auditing segment of the business (both in quality and as a driver of revenue). 5. Discuss the relation between the â€Å"hard† and â€Å"soft† elements of a firm’s corporate culture in the context of this case. In the case of Andersen, it almost seems as if the changes in the â€Å"soft† elements of corporate culture were either directly related to or a side effect of change in the â€Å"hard† aspects of the corporate culture. As stated in the case study, during the majority of the company’s existence, â€Å"tradition was everywhere†. From â€Å"soft† elements like the physical design of offices and the way partners dressed and looked to hard elements like the quality control exerted over all aspects of the business, there were standard all across the board. As changes started to happen in the â€Å"hard† culture, like the focus being on driving revenue as opposed to putting out quality work, changes were also seen in the soft aspects of the culture. Managing partners did not dress as sharp, the giants wooden doors of the offices (that seemed to be a metaphor for the strong, sturdy operation of the company) were removed, and a new corporate logo was introduced. 6. Do you think that the problems at Andersen were unique to them or did they exist at the other big accounting firms? Suppose you were the top partner at one of the other major accounting firms at that time of Andersen’s demise. What action, if any, would you take in response? Explain. As shown when Andersen themselves called into question the practices of one of it’s competitors (calling for an investigation), these issues at Andersen are not unique to their company (though it may not happen on as grand of a scale). If I was the top partner at one of the other major accounting firms at the time of Andersen’s demise, I would have immediately either called for an internal investigation of my firm’s practices or volunteered to have my company’s practices reviewed by the SEC or another appropriate authority. I would be open with what was found, make any necessary changes to organizational structure or practices, and move forward. I think this would be important because at the time of Andersen’s demise, it is likely the credibility of ALL accounting firms was hurt, and I would want there is to be proof that our company was doing things the right way. 7. In 2000, the SEC proposed new regulations that would limit consulting work by accounting firms. This proposal was not passed by congress. Do you think the legislators were trying to act in the public interest when they failed to pass this proposal? Explain. Legislators were not acting in the public’s best interests; they were bowing to pressure from the auditing industry lobbyists. Steve Samek, who spearheaded operations that already lead lawsuits, payouts, bankruptcies and fines, led the charge to oppose the proposal. At that point it should have been obvious that the right call was passing the proposal. The fact that different legislation related to the oversight of accounting firms was eventually passed later on in 2002 (the SOA) shows that oversight was necessary, but just needed a spectacular failure like Andersen/Enron to allow legislators to feel comfortable in taking a stand. 8. The American Institute of CPAs is the primary professional association for CPAs. It has developed a Code of Professional Conduct that sets the  standards of conduct for CPAs. People can file complaints about the ethical conduct of a CPA with the AICPA, which can levy sanctions and other penalties against its members. Do you think that the unethical conduct at Andersen (and possibly other accounting firms) was the fault of the AICPA for not setting and enforcing higher ethical standard among its members? Explain. While I think the AICPA has a place in setting standards and ethics in the industry, and has the right to levy sanctions and penalties against it’s members (based on complaints that are filed), they are not a regulatory agency and their reach only extends so far. In reality, being a member organization, if a corporation does not want to deal with or answer to the AICPA, they and choose not to be a member. It may hurt their reputation, but in the long run the work they do and the clients they have will have a much greater effect of their business than whether or not they are a member of the AICPA. While it is nice to have organizations like the AICPA and the SEC overlooking the practices of corporations in the industry, it is hard to transfer fault for the unethical behavior of a company away from the company that behaved that was to some member organization or regulatory agency. It is the organization or agency’s place to set guidelines and respond when corporations do not follow them. 9. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 established a new five-person board to oversee financial accounting in publicly traded corporations. The board is appointed by the SEC. Prior to the creation of this board the industry relied primarily on self-regulation through the AICPA. Do you think the establishment of the new oversight board was a good idea or should he profession have continued to be self-regulated? I think in practice, a combination of both works. The industry need to show that it is interested itself in keeping it’s practices on the level and being transparent. But at the end of the day, you will always find someone who likes to work outside the system. In these cases having the SEC oversight board is a critical tool to keep companies in line that may think they can work the system. Also, having SEC oversight can result in much  stiffer penalties for the organization, so it carries and extra layer of deterrent for companies who may think about making questionable decisions. Andersen themselves, in the form of managing partner Leonard Spacek, saw the power of SEC intervention early on (1947).

Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Essay

The two creation myths selected to compare and contrast centers on the Norse culture of Iceland Vikings and the Genesis creation of the Hebrew origin of Christian culture. Both creation myths originate with a hollow abyss where anarchy or war cultivates. The Norse myth relates a struggle in the middle of the blistering realm of Muspell and the murky, icy realm of Niflheim inside the hollowness named ginnungagap and where nothing could cultivate. The Genesis struggle was involving God and nothing, seclusion, and the craving to generate something wonderful. There are exactly nine categorizations of creation myths and numerous utilize more than one notion. Genesis cosmogonies utilizes both the deus faber and ex nihilo ideas. The account frequently deemed the ex nihilo myth, implying â€Å"out of nothing† is the story in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, of God’s creation in six days by communicating into existence light and blackness, moon and sun, animals and plants, birds and fish, stars and earth, God then creates Adam in His image from the dust and inhales life into him and Eve was molded from one of Adam’s ribs, consequently joining deus faber (the â€Å"maker-God†) with ex nihilo motifs. The Nordic creation myths incline to merge accretion/conjunction, exudation, and sacrifice ideas. It introduces the combining of fire and ice in an arbitrary linking of components. When the tepid breath of Muspell encounters the chill of glacial Nieflheim, ice dissolves and the subsequent water droplets come to life, generating the wicked gigantic Ymir. As the titan slumbers, perspiration from his armpits produces the first man and woman. These added titans mature to loathe Ymir and the creation story goes on with the slaughter and disfigurement of the dreadful giant. The Norse culture consist what we call Vikings. They had a pantheon of 14 main gods and conceived the cosmos as separated into three levels: Asgard, Aesir, is the higher level and land of the main gods, fertility gods, and where light elves also existed. Midgard is the middle  level where men, giants, dwarves, and dark elves lived. Niflheim is the lower level, better known as the underworld, where the evil dead died a second time in the fortress city of Hel. Running through and ultimately reaching above heaven is Yggdrasil, the enormous ash tree that apparently existed before the beginning. The Genesis creation myth is comparable in that the world was shapeless also emptiness, and obscurity laid in the deep. God soul was touching above the top of the seawaters when, he generated the skies and the planet. The scriptural writers considered the universe as a horizontal round formed planet in the axis, an illicit world for the lifeless underneath, and paradise overhead. Underneath the planet stood the â€Å"waters of chaos†, the intergalactic ocean, and nest to mythological ogres conquered and killed by means of God. In Genesis, â€Å"the earth was formless, empty, and dark, and God’s Spirit moved over the waters preparing to perform God’s creative Word† (Fairchild, 2013). God initiated speaking his creation into existence. The first day, he generated luminosity and parted it from the blackness, calling sunlit â€Å"day† and obscurity â€Å"night.† The second day, God made the â€Å"sky† to detached the seawaters. The third day, he formed the waterless earth, called â€Å"land†, and congregated the seawaters, naming them â€Å"seas†. The Divinity as well formed flowers and plants on this day. â€Å"God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night† on the fourth diurnal (Fairchild, 2013). These elements would also serve to establish days, seasons, and years. On the fifth day, he formed each existing organism of the oceans and of the skies, sanctifying them to flourish. Also formed the creatures to saturate the world on the sixth diurnal. Adam and Eve, believed to be the first man and woman, were also created in his reflection on this day to communicate. â€Å"He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate† (Fairchild, 2013). Finally, on the seventh diurnal, he completed his labor of conception and relaxed, consecration it and formulating it consecrated. The Norse story did not have one maker of good, but multiple elements and events that emerged from one evil giant in this creation myth. The cattle stroked off whole Alps of rime, gradually licking rime of other two additional existences, the god Buri and his spouse. â€Å"They had a son named Bor, and his son was named Odin, who became the king of all  the gods† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). Ymir was malicious and wicked and when Odin along with the divinities may well no more endure Ymir’s wicked deeds, they united to kill the giant. â€Å"Ymir’s huge body formed the earth, his blood became the sea, his flesh became the land, his bones the mountains and his hair the trees† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). He and the additional deities shaped the heavens with his cranium, sustained up by four immense columns. He created the sun and moon from flashes from the blistering pits of Muspell and placed them in the sky. The ice began to melt in the new world of Ginnungagap from the illumination of the sun and moon and vegetation began to grow. The largest tree, called Yggdrasil, grew from the center of the world and became known as â€Å"The Tree of Life†. â€Å"Its roots penetrated into the bottom of creation and its leaves reached the very top of the sky† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). To his satisfaction of the newborn earth, Odin baptized it Midgard, meaning ‘The Middle Land’. However, Midgard needed tending to while the gods ascend to Asgard. Odin discovered two collapsed trees, an elm and an ash, which Odin removed from the dirt and shaped the incipient male and female. â€Å"Odin breathed life into the beings, gave them reason and feelings, hearing and sight† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). Similar to the Genesis story of Adam and Eve, Odin called the male Ask and the female Embla and from them, launched the whole humankind. In summary, the Genesis creation story identifies God as the writer of conception. â€Å"In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly?† (Fairchild, 2013). It is impossible to definitively answer these questions, but these inscrutabilities are not the emphasis of the conception account. The point, is for ethical and religious epiphany. Verse 26, God states, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The story goes that a serpent tricked Eve into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree and she offered it to Adam and he also ate from it. As a result, Eve and Adam were expelled from the Garden of Eden, men will labor over the earth, women will experience excruciating pain bearing children, and all humans will die. Readers from Western cultures tend to rank â€Å"metaphysical or spiritual† cosmogonies like the account of Elohim-God speaking the world into existence in Genesis higher than â€Å"physical, natural, or elemental accounts of creation by  accretion, excretion, copulation, division, dismemberment, or parturition† (Leonard & McClure, 2004). If, however, we are self-conscious about our culture’s assumptions about what is â€Å"normal,† we see that at least as many cosmogonic myths have presented creation as part of a natural process as have conceived it as an exercise of divine and creative will. Ranking one kind of myth as lower or more primitive and our own myths as higher or more cultured derives from a cultural bias. To study myth effectively, we need to free ourselves as much as possible from the prejudices we inherit from our cultural surroundings. References Distant Train, Inc. (2011). Norse Creation. Retrieved from http://bigmyth.com/download/NORSE_CREATION.pdf Fairchild, M. (2013, January 4). The Creation Story – Bible Story Summary. About.com Christianity. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/ creationstory.htm Gill, N. S. (2012, April 13). Creation of the World – Norse Mythology on the Creation of the World. About.com Ancient / Classical History. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/creationmyths/a/11083199Norse.htm Ginzberg, L. (2012, April 13). Legends of the Jews, By Louis Ginzberg. Legends of the Jews. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_jewslegends1a.htm Leonard, S., & McClure, M. (2004). Myth & Knowing: An introduction to world mythology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Shmoop Editorial Team. (November 11, 2008).The Myth of Norse Creation Myth. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://www.shmoop.com/norse-creation-myth/

Pleasure †Morality Essay

Mill is an heir of an intellectual movement in England known as Utilitarianism; utilitarianism is concerned with the acquisition of pleasure and elimination of pain. John Stuart Mill follows the guidelines of utilitarianism in order to decide if certain actions are moral. Utilitarianism states that a person should perform the action that produces the most pleasurable outcome for every person involved. In order to accurately judge if one pleasure is greater than another, the person must be unprejudiced and have experienced both; such judges will prefer the higher pleasures over the lower ones. However, Mill recognizes that people aren’t always driven to follow moral social standards, because the reasons behind their actions can be not only external but internal as well. What Mill means is that expectations of us from our peers and from a higher being, such as God, do not obligate us to follow these rules set out by society; it is our own feeling within that holds us accountable to these standards. Lastly, Mill believes that in order to be a moral creature, we must obey the three conditions of utility: 1) Goodness is understood as production of happiness, elimination of pain, 2) for all of those concerned with the action, and 3) each counts for one and â€Å"no more than one. † Utilitarian’s believe that a person’s actions are right if they produce happiness; â€Å"the greatest happiness of greatest number,†(Denise, Peterfreund, and White, p. 158). Michael, Peter and Samir are employees at Initech and are planning scamming the company by installing a computer virus that skims money out of the company’s bank account. Mill would look at this action by looking at the conditions of utilitarianism. Although they meet the first criteria of producing happiness through the elimination of pain by acquiring large amounts of money, they do not meet part two or three. In regards to part two, it does produce happiness for the ones directly performing the scam but it indirectly affects the other members working for Initech as well as stakeholders and therefore causes pain for those indirectly affected. Lastly, the third condition to count for one and only one is not met because a lot of people are involved. Mill also considers that in order for an action to be moral, it must come from within. Peter, being the leader of this scam, has no internal morals or considerations for those around him. Michael and Samir are only involved in this scam because they are the brains in this operation and it wouldn’t be possible to perform this action otherwise. Mill believes that although people are motivated by their own desires and they shouldn’t act on them. However, Peter, Michael, and Samir do just that. Mill thinks that when people are excessively fortunate that they are incapable of enjoying it because it only benefits themselves. This goes to show that their scam is immoral because it only directly increases their happiness due to their own self-interests. Also, Mill argues that a person with high capacities will need more to make him happy and therefore is capable of experiencing larger quantities of pain; however, they still shouldn’t allow this to lower their expectations and faculties. Although Peter has experienced a prolonged period of pain while working at Initech through tedious tasks and constant pressure from his eight bosses, this should not be a good enough reason for him to affect others’ faculties and reduce their worth as human beings. Mill says,† it is greater to be a man dissatisfied than a pig satisfied,† (p. 162). In other words, Peter is not capable of experiencing the highest form of pleasure, and therefore chooses to increase the lower pleasures, lowering his existence in the world. Many people who start off wanting everything which is moral sometimes turn to selfish measures. The reason why so many people end up becoming selfish is due to being in occupations that lower their aspirations of something greater; which may be a reason why Michael, Peter, and Samir choose to go through with this scam. They are not unprejudiced judges because they do not know what higher pleasures consist of; due to lack of opportunity. Considering all of these utilitarian schemes, Mill would argue that although on the surface Michael, Samir, and Peter seem to be acting immorally, they could possibly be unable to accurately judge both the higher and lower pleasures because they were not capable of enjoying the higher pleasures.

Report of Desert Safary in dubai Research Paper

Report of Desert Safary in dubai - Research Paper Example 26% of the respondents visited Dubai because of its deserts; 34% respondents visited for enjoying the beaches; 25% of the respondents wanted to experience the nightlife; and the rest were curious about Dubai’s culture. 22% of the respondents rated the trip as very good; 34% of the respondents rated it to be good; 21% of the respondents took a neutral standpoint; 15% of the respondents rated the trip as bad; 8% rated the safari as very bad. 42% of the respondents booked their trip with Arabian Adventures; 22% of the respondents booked their trip with Fun Tours, 18% of the respondents booked their trip with Arabian Safari Trips; 12% chose Dubai Adventure Safari and the rest chose other tour service operators that were not mentioned in the options. Majority of the respondents (38%) liked overnight stay in the desert as the most beautiful part of the trip; 21% liked BBQ dinner arrangement; 8% liked camel rides; 12% of the respondents liked sand skiing; 10% of the respondents enjoyed weather in the desert the most; 4% of the respondents liked the wildlife and the rest enjoyed overall environment. 24% of the respondents enjoy parties organized by their friends and relatives the most; 39% respondents enjoy the nightclubs, 24% of the respondents liked the fact that they could drink without any restrictions; 9% respondents liked the sex tourism aspect in Dubai; whereas the rest provided other answers, which were not adequately relevant. Respondent 1: According to respondent 1, the choice to go for the desert safari was driven by the fact that the respondent had visited several places that had beaches. This time, the respondent wanted to experience something new, which has not been done as per respondent’s to do list. Respondent 2: As far as respondent 2 was concerned, the individual wanted to experience the overnight stay during the trip. The respondent was fascinated after hearing about BBQ dinner arrangements and belly dancing program, following the

Concept of Strategy in Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Concept of Strategy in Public Relations - Essay Example According to ( Rembrandt 2011) â€Å"A sustainable public relations strategy is a long-term endeavor. It can take months to capture the attention of targeted media venues†. Public relation strategy is an active part of the marketing strategy of an organization. A strategy is a process or means by which an organization achieves its goals or objectives. Public relation strategy is directly connected to the concept of integrated communication. A public relation strategy has to integrate the communication throughout the organization by keeping in base the audience and stake holders of an organization. A good strategy must balance internal and external factors of an organization to achieve the corporate mission. As per (Caywood 1997 ,87)â€Å"When a strategy has been developed and the public relation plan is implemented, research plays an important role in monitoring its effectiveness and making adjustments†. Strategy formulating is an important aspect of public relation and its rest with the corporate heads of a firm. Public relation strategy is about the action that an organization can take to accomplish its goals and objectives. On the strategic side, four public relation dimensions reflect organizational approaches to problem solving or organizational world views about the management of relationships with stakeholders. These dimensions may be considered strategic in the sense that they lay foundation for the manners in which an organization might try to achieve a public relation objective. The strategy in public relation enables the corporate heads to judge the effectiveness of their media relation ahead of the implementation of marketing strategy. Strategy is essentially a longer term planning while bottom line sales tactics demand short term results. In her book(Olive 2010, 14) writes that â€Å"Strategic public relation is concerned with managing the relationships between an organization and much

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Business - Essay Example It becomes necessary to be stated in this regard that the rapid pace of globalization with regard to the worldwide economies observed in the current years has been assessed to be greatly dependent on the facet of fast progress in the field of technologies as well as science. The reason behind this rapid progress has been ascertained to be an outcome of the related environment where the market economic structure was observed to have been expanding across the world. The stated factor of progress or development has been observed to be triggered owing to the soaring splitting up of labor across the borders which has further been infiltrating into the production chains with respect to the ventures in relation to various countries (Tisdell & Sen, 2004). The processes related to the escalating degree of globalization, otherwise as well as economic are known to give rise to the facet of fresh economic modifications along with few political challenges with respect to every individual. The com petency possessed by the national governments in terms of acting autonomously with regard to the relevant economic as well as social policies tends to trim down as a result of the escalating international economic inter-reliance. The lesser degree of proficiency of the nationalized governments with regard to controlling the social, cultural, economic and environmental alteration implies the likelihood of a rising requirement for globally synchronized political activities (Tisdell & Sen, 2004). These particular activities are considered to be imperative in order to cope up with any kind of unwanted alterations in the mentioned variables for the reason of soaring extent of globalization followed by global interdependence. Therefore, the aspect of economic globalization can be stated to be the procedure related to international industrial re-modification and restructuring (Shangquan, 2000). The Legal and Political Environment Western Australia is believed to present such a business atm osphere or setting which is considered to support development and opulence. The degree related to sovereign-risk and government policies related to pro-growth has been measured to be quite less along with an increasingly proficient as well as innovative personnel or labor force makes the aspect of conducting business in the country to be quite worthwhile and uncomplicated. The structure of the government in Australia is found to be reliant and pursuant of a tradition that is known to be liberal democratic entailing freedom in relation to speech as well as association along with religious tolerance. The structure of government in the country follows a system of three-tier that is Federal or Commonwealth, Local and State. The Parliament of Australia along with the Government holds accountability regarding the matters relevant to National Interest for instance immigration, post as well as telecommunications, social security, banks, foreign affairs, defense, pensions, census along with statistics and coinage (Government of Western Australia, 2009). The legal structure in Australia has been found to have been developed in context with the British law. Major portion in relation to the law has been

Nokia HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nokia HR - Essay Example They have good communication skills. They are not the owner on employees but they provide such environment to workers in which they can work easily, encouragely and inspirely. They bring out the best in them. They are not perfect but own these abilities of accepting new ideas, taking risks and challenges, motivates their employees and provides them with the best environment. They are always energetic and action oriented. They do not have their own benefits but they work for the organization and of course for the people. They are result oriented. Additionally, they are always ready to accept changes and responds rapidly to varying challenges. In fact, the leader is a mentor (Kets de Vries 19). Leadership is very crucial for the organization’s success. Everything in this universe has its principles so as leadership. Firstly, leaders should start with realities. They must be able to recognize their responsibilities in creating the problems. Then they should call their work teams together and take them into his confidence that if they work as a team then they can sort out things and can fix problems. They cannot solve their problems until they get realize their role. Secondly, they have the courage to face bad things and have this confidence that these are not so bad one that cannot be overcome. Hence, they will be in this position to encourage their employees that things can be made better in order to get rid of the problem. Thirdly, the rise and fall is a part of the business so they must be able to make good in rising time of the organization which helps them to fight out in crisis situations. The fourth important thing is that they must be able to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders like Atlas, in crisis situations (Kets de Vries 8-9). This means to become isolated from the world and think upon the ways to solve this crisis in short time. The next vital thing is that they must be the first in making

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Discussion - Assignment Example A good leader to be followed has to possess profound human traits even that are above conventional concept of authority. The qualities of a good leader require skills and knowledge applied in a reliable manner. Leadership is a profound concept, which has more increased complex implications; these are driven by the fast changing world. The leadership role is inevitable reflection of a person’s requires analysis of life’s challenges. In business he have faced numerous challenges one of them being government regulations which include vehicle registration, renewal fees which are sometimes restrictive to new car owners, this may be prohibitive to our business growth. Place licenses are not easy to come by since there are many requirements to be fulfilled before acquiring them. Car inspections have to be done regularly and these may be a problem since it requires a lot of money to achieve it (Ellis 56). Discussion 1b Science and Technology Even, though, technology is on the r ise, it gives them extra work of developing software’s in languages understood by people from certain languages. If not attained, then it is only normal that people will not be able to communicate hence reducing global contact. Science differences range from organization culture to culture of a given community. The given organization is likely to have cultures that do not support the use of internet for communication purposes. Many employees spend many hours in social networking sites that just make them unproductive in terms of their work. On the other side some cultures in communities do not embrace technology use and still embrace the modes of communication that were used in the olden days. It is through such problems that social media does not go to lengths that it would probably reach. The level of education of the user of these technologies off communication also matters in that various gadgets may be produce to ease communication, but not all the people will understand the technology. The individual linguistic activity comes in as, they use difficult terms that may not be conversant with people from older generations are likely to slow down communication process. Misinterpretation may also come in; most people are like to try to interpret the wrong thing to the new trends, people do not like to look outdated. The fact that technology is dynamic everyone will not be able to grasp the new technologies (Ellis 72). Discussion 2a Ethics Business ethics has been defines many researchers differently one being the ability of a business to run without breaking the given laws. This definition shows the link between ethics and legal aspects and how they come in handy. Others have described it as the ability to avoid habits that may tarnish the image of the company to its consumers. On looking at this, it is important for any person planning to venture into a foreign country especially those that are undeveloped to have in mind that the definitions above can act as an important point to note because this could easily result into big losses of money in terms of lawsuits or customer withdrawal. So as the new investor plans to venture into the new country it is important that he trains his employees so that when they go to the new market they are able to work with the new rules that govern business there. The link between business ethics and law is

History and politics of primary education Essay

History and politics of primary education - Essay Example The Butler Act, also known as the 1944 Education Act, aimed at providing education for all school going children between the ages of 5 and 14. The Act stipulated that secondary education start at 11-years-old. In addition, it created a framework by which a ministry managed school affairs but the schools themselves were managed by Local Education Authorities (LEAs). However, the duration of school days, term dates, and the syllabus stayed under local management (Freedman, Lipson & Hargreaves, 2008:29). The Butler Act also included requirements for Church Schools. The schools were to be incorporated into the state system using various arrangements, and the operating expenses of the Church Schools were to be borne by LEAs but remaining responsible for religious education in the syllabus. Although not stipulated by the Act, the consensus was that grammar schools were to be retained by the creation of a Tripartite framework in which students were to be enrolled in three variants of school s. Besides the grammar schools, there were to be secondary contemporary schools and technical schools. Grammar schools were to admit the most capable 20 percent of the students (determined using the 11-plus tests) and were better financed compared to other schools. In addition, most of the teachers held degrees (Gorard, 2009:105). Various LEAs employed different admission criteria, but majority implemented types of intelligence assessments – supposing that intelligence was uniform and estimable to the extent where an individual’s ability was known by the age of 11. However, numerous injustices soon became common. Grammar school slots were mainly fixed, implying that the challenges of admission to a grammar school deviated based on how many students were in a specific category. Comprehensive schools intended to offer education opportunities to children from all

Women in boardroom Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women in boardroom - Assignment Example Some of the perceptual distortions include stereotyping, self fulfilled prophecies, halo-effect, projection and the perceptual defense. Most of these problems arise due to selectivity that exists within the perceptual process. Stereotyping and self fulfilled prophecies are the biggest challenges that decay the majority of the societies (Mullins, 2008).   Stereotyping is the hypothetical judgment of people whether negatively or positively based on generalization from some perceived similarities. This perception arises based on an expected characteristic from that person rather than the actual recognition of the person. Stereotyping occasionally simplifies the perception process by judging people and the general outlook of the world by ignoring the complexity of the stimuli. A person is judged according to the group which he or she belongs to. Prejudgments are usually done while ignoring the accuracy or deviation of the actual subject (Mullins, 2008).   Self fulfilled prophecy also termed as Pygmalion effect; in essence means trying to valid a perception. Many people are often struggling to confirm a theory that they have invented. The people’s beliefs and expectations often influence their attitudes and behavior in a move to prove that their beliefs are actually true. Managers’ expectations organizations have a strong impact on the employees. Therefore, an organizational culture can influence or hinder the development of its employees (Mullins, 2008).   The organization plays a big role in fostering personal development of employees especially women. The organization’s beliefs and structure can highly determine the outcome of the employees. One of the factors that can change the employee’s personal development is the organizational culture. A negative organizational climate will hinder the development of women. If an organization frequently encourages their

Daimler-Benz Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7250 words

Daimler-Benz Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example Indian automobile market and industry are presented, which will be helpful in building up a scenario, where Daimler can actually present facts and figures to the management in assisting them to launch a new model of car in India. For this reason, a detailed market research has been conducted which entails market summary, demographics of the target market, market requirements, trends and market growth. Additionally a SWOT analysis is also presented in order to enable the management to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that Daimler will be facing in India. The market analysis section also includes competition in the automobile industry, products offered by the competitors, critical success factors and issues that will be arising on the Indian automobile market’s horizon for Daimler. The market analysis conducted in section 2 of the report will help in developing a marketing plan which entails the marketing and financial objectives, identifying the tar get market, positioning of the product and the strategies to promote the product efficiently. Marketing strategy section will be followed by a detailed financial analysis to estimate the investments and returns. In the end, controls and revenue management report will be provided to overcome the risks involved for Daimler-Benz while entering into the Indian market with its new product. 2. Situation Analysis Daimler-Benz is present in Indian automobile market for over 50 years. The company is engaged in offering its prestigious vehicles to the rich Indian market where it is well preferred over other prestigious car manufacturing brands. Now the company has decided to offer its Hybrid cars to the potential Indian market. Daimler, just like other markets, believes that the quality, durability,... The paper includes competition in the automobile industry, products offered by the competitors, critical success factors and issues that will be arising on the Indian automobile market’s horizon for Daimler. The market analysis conducted in the report will help in developing a marketing plan which entails the marketing and financial objectives, identifying the target market, positioning of the product and the strategies to promote the product efficiently. Marketing strategy section will be followed by a detailed financial analysis to estimate the investments and returns. In the end, controls and revenue management report will be provided to overcome the risks involved for Daimler-Benz while entering into the Indian market with its new product. Daimler-Benz is present in Indian automobile market for over 50 years. The company is engaged in offering its prestigious vehicles to the rich Indian market where it is well preferred over other prestigious car manufacturing brands. Now the company has decided to offer its Hybrid cars to the potential Indian market. Daimler, just like other markets, believes that the quality, durability, energy efficiency and eco-friendly features of the Hybrid cars will be the key to success in India. For this reason, besides paying special attention towards the above mentioned four features, Daimler also believes that handling over the market research and strategy formulation to a local firm who knows Indian culture and has sufficient knowledge of how to make the launch of Hybrid cars, a success story.

Business - Final Simulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business - Final Simulation - Essay Example Business Environmental Factors and Business Theory The political factors comprise of the regulations made by the government as well as that of the legal issues. It also states both the formal as well as informal rules and regulations under which the firms need to work. It is the economic factors that have an impact upon the purchasing power of the customers along with the cost of capital of the firm. Social factors tend to impact the needs and the wants of the customers and the size of the potential markets as well. It is the technological factors that minimize barriers to entry and helps to improve the quality of the product. Environmental factors comprise of the weather as well as climate change. Legal factors are associated to the legal environment in which a firm functions (Oxford University Press, 2007). Political turbulence in Libya and Egypt along with unstable environment in the Middle East, have an impact on the price of the oil. Along with this, the President of the USA has developed National Commission on the areas of oil spill in Gulf of Mexico which depicts the intervention of politicians in the business. Tax rates also have an impact on the successful operations of the firm. ... Due to the environmental damages done by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the brand image of BP has been cracked which may lead to consumers’ reluctance to purchase the product of BP. The consuming patterns of the people in the energy sector are completely changing which is a matter of concern for the long-term sustainability of the company. BP makes use of advanced technologies in order to sustain innovation and to maintain the competitive position in the marketplace. The company is striving to invest and to ensure in low carbon emission from their activities and in the manufacturing of efficient energies. The legal factors also have an impact on BP. When oil spills took place in the Gulf of Mexico, it was noted that new legislations were introduced forcing the company to be more responsible for health along with safety rules. One of the environmental factors impacting the successful operations of BP has been the oil spill disaster that led to negative environmental conse quences such as high carbon emissions. The company is targeting use of low-carbon energy as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities (Pour, 2011). Dependence and Limitation of One Environment on the Other From the above analysis, it is evident that the impact of one business environmental factor tends to have an impact on the other. For instance, in order to avoid any legal and political barriers taking place due to adverse effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company conducted clean-up activities of the oil that came ashore. By doing so, it could prevent the sea from getting polluted (BP Plc, 2011). One environment tends to hinder the other and tends to affect the company’s

Net neutrality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Net neutrality - Research Paper Example In 2010, the FCC imposed network neutrality regulations on both wireless and wired broadband-access providers (Hazlett 1). The agency claims that the design of the internet was such that there would be no â€Å"gatekeepers†. Despite there being disputes, the FCC has moved ahead to vote in new rules that will affect the regulation of broadband internet in the U.S. (Kovach). The FCC’s proposal is bad because exercising of unfettered control over people’s use of the internet creates risks to economic and technological growth, and it poses a real threat to freedom of speech and the future of the United States’ democracy (Hazlett 1). Kovach argues that we have two sides in dispute concerning net neutrality. Providers aim at regulating their broad band so that they can utilize it to pursue their own interests to favor their own internet service provision. On the other side, there are the proponents of â€Å"internet neutrality† who believe that in order to foster economic growth and innovation; the government should regulate the internet. The FCC chair’s proposal says that companies which stream content, if they wish, they should be able to pay internet providers for direct access to customers. This will result in increased streaming speeds. The proposal goes ahead to protect companies that cannot or do not want to pay for the direct access to customers. This means that internet service providers (ISPs) will be prohibited from slowing down the streaming speed for those who eat up more bandwidth and treat those services like any other data. This is not the right solution because it gives huge compani es with a lot of money an advantage over the start up companies, which cannot be able to afford paying for direct access to internet users. According to Gustin, the young firms must rely on the certainty of rules that do not discriminate for them to grow, build new technologies and create jobs. In addition, the consumer will also suffer

Is it possible to distinguish between science and pseudo-science Is Essay

Is it possible to distinguish between science and pseudo-science Is there a satisfactory criterion of demarcation which can be employed to make such a distinction - Essay Example Pseudoscience is any body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that claims to be scientific or is made to appear scientific, but does not adhere to the basic requirements of the scientific method (Wikipedia). The word ‘pseudo’ implies that the science is fake or false just because there are problems with the testability criterion (Thompson, 1980). Pseudoscience is supposed to lack supporting evidence and plausibility (Goldstein, 2000). According to Muralidharan (n.d.) one is an experimented science and the other is an experienced science. Simanek (2005) emphasizes that the practitioners of all that is termed as ‘pseudoscience’ do not recognize the validity of this term. The boundaries of science and pseudoscience continue to be debated. With the help of a therapy in alternative medicine, namely Reiki, this paper will demonstrate that it is not possible to distinguish between science and pseudoscience. According to Lakatos (1970), the demarcation between science and pseudoscience is through inductivism. According to this theory only those propositions can be accepted into the body of science that describe hard facts or are inductive generalizations from them. An inductivist accepts a proposition only if it is proven true, otherwise he rejects it. If a proposition remains unproven, it is called pseudoscientific. He firmly states that science is based on hard factual propositions and inductive generalizations. The experiments of physics and chemistry are associated with this concept. The draw back here is that inductivism does not explain why certain facts rather than others were selected in the first place. How do the scientists get the inspiration to select a hypothesis? When a drop of water falls on our hand, the realization of hot or cold is an experience. Science merely explains the phenomenon of hot or cold but the heat and cold have existed even before the scientist made an a ttempt to study

New Venture Creation and Business Planning Essay

New Venture Creation and Business Planning - Essay Example Particularly, cash flow forecast indicates Tea Infusions will sustain cash reserves of  £0.18 million at the end of Year 1 of operations. This is achieved by keeping labour costs low, procuring cost-effective raw product from China, and the high mark-up rate on finished product compared to raw materials costs. The business anticipates long-term profitability and will have substantial retained earnings throughout the first year of operations to pay salaries to executives and employees working in the organisation. Payback of all start-up capital will occur within Year 2 of operations. The business is proactive in identifying potential risks, including information technology failures, equipment failures and issues with supplier competency in delivering timely and fresh products. The company, to explore all potential risks, will be creating a steering committee that reports directly to the Board of Directors as a means of establishing a competent and well-developed risk management system. Tea Infusions recognises that there is a gap in the market for distributing Chinese teas with limited suppliers selling foreign teas. In Brighton, on the Southern coast of England, there are 480,000 citizens that are not being serviced with different Chinese tea products. In the UK as a whole, there is a substantial increase in the population of Asians and the Asian tea culture has gained popularity in the country in recent years. Hence, this illustrates an opportunity to bring top quality Chinese teas to a market with demand for these products and where many rare Chinese teas are unfamiliar to consumer demographics. In Brighton area, rare teas include Dragon Well Tea (Long Jing Tea), Bi Luo Chun Tea, Keemun Black Tea and Ba Bao Tea. Common infusions which accompany a well-bodied cup of tea include the foreign goji berry, lyceum berry, and the red jujube, each with a sense of mystical intrigue and physical

The Vigilance Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Vigilance Project - Essay Example Being in a group, an individual feels as integral part of a team which enhances his or her self-worth. 4. Realistic is conflict â€Å"based on scarce resources†; symbolic conflict is conflict â€Å"based on values and beliefs†. Realist conflicts take place between groups over scarce resources in a competitive environment. Symbolic conflicts occur due to different perspectives regarding values and ideas which give rise to conflicts in goal persuasion. 5. The leadership paradox is best stated as â€Å"The fact that teams usually need leaders, but the very presence of a leader threatens the autonomy of a team†. Instead of making a team more productive, a leader may end up being a hindrance if he overuses his power (Thomson, 2004, p.309). 6. The three types of team coaching include â€Å"ability, coordination, motivation†. Motivation enhances team commitment, coordination helps people to work together, and educational coaching increases skills and abilities of team members (Levi, 2010, p.178). 7. Teams that are underbounded â€Å"Have many external ties, but cannot bring its members together†; in contrast, teams that are overbounded â€Å"have high loyalty but an inability to integrate with others†. Overbounded teams are highly cohesive and so members can work in more coordinated manner than underbounded teams (Hackman, 2011, p.79). 11. According to the empirical research on convergent and divergent thinking, â€Å"Groups are better than individuals at divergent thinking; individuals are better than groups at convergent thinking†. This is because in the former effort is to find single solution to a problem while in the latter effort is to find multiple solutions to a problems which can be more effective in a group (Salkind, 2005, p.309). 12. The key threats to creativity include all of the following, except â€Å"social striving†. Social striving means individuals can exhibit maximum performance when working as part of a group, and this can enhance

Creating My Own School Essay Example for Free

Creating My Own School Essay The benefits of education on the individual person no doubt extend beyond economic effects. Jeremy Behrman and Nevzer Stacey cited that the effects of education â€Å"spread beyond direct economic effects (1). † As such is the case Behrman and Nevser adds, benefits â€Å"include a better way of taking care of ourselves and consequently creating a better society in which to live† (1). Based on this notion, it is important to make education available for everyone regardless of race, color, social status and gender or even physical condition. Education should be a right of everyone and no one should be denied of this right. However, the quality of education has been the focal point in the educational arguments. The report of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) cited that although teachers play an essential role in improving the students’ performance, the quality of education especially in areas where poverty is high, remains bad due to teachers’ lack of competency in the subject they teach (1). Thus it remains a burden of the government and of the society to establish schools that will cater to the increasing demand of a quality education. The No Child Left Behind Act was a response to this demand, yet it is clear that there is still a great demand for schools that would cater to the growing need of the society of a quality education for children. It is for this reason that I should like to introduce the Early College Communications (ECC) school which is designed to serve especially working class student and those with special cases. With highly competent teachers duly licensed by the states licensing board, the ECC provides quality education for grades 9-12 that would prepare students to college with a high level of competitiveness and a strong sense of achieving success in life. The school is deeply anchored on the government’s policy under No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) which emphasized on the qualification requirements for teachers. Under this act, the GAO report stated that states, districts, and schools are â€Å"responsible for ensuring that teacher meets these requirements† (1). The GAO also stated that the NCLBA â€Å"requires teachers of core academic subjects such as math and science be highly qualified†¦. † (1) The ECC proudly announces that it meets these requirements. The ECC’s philosophy of education is based on the principle that education is for everyone and that everyone deserves quality education. The ECC adopts a method of teaching based on Ramden’s (1992) distinctive ways of understanding teaching that is applicable to high school education wherein the teacher is seen as the organizer of student activity. Kate Ashcroft and Lorraine Foreman-Peck explained that in this method of teaching, the focus of the teaching and learning situation is on â€Å"what the student does† (69) and the role of the teacher is supervisory. In this case, as Ashcroft and Foreman-Peck pointed out, â€Å"the interest of teaching methods is now focused on ensuring that students learn† (69) and the teacher’s main concern is to motivate students â€Å"to be actively engaged† (69). With this method of teaching, the ECC management ensures that all students get quality education as we are implementing strict compliance for teachers to facilitate the student’s learning through motivating them to active and lively participation in the learning activities. As the school is committed to providing quality education, we have also implemented strict guidelines on the selection of teachers. Teachers were thoroughly screened if they have genuine interests in helping students learn regardless of their color, race, social status or physical condition. Thus, we are assuring everyone that the ECC is student friendly and we are very much concern all our student get quality education as they finished their term with us. For students with disabilities, that is, those belong to section two of the definition given by the Individuals with Disabilities Education act of 2004 (IDEA) cited by Roger Pierangelo and George Giuliani which held, (ii) Disorders not included. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (1) Students with disabilities that do not include learning problems because of the reasons mentioned in the definition, we encourage them to enroll at ECC as we have highly competent teachers to handle this special class. However, we require students with disabilities to seek certification from the local educational agency whether they responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures. With teachers’ genuine concerns on students with disabilities, their primary aim is to ensure that students with disabilities learn equally with other students. Furthermore, the school facilities are designed for the convenience of these special students. These teachers are licensed by the state to handle special classes and they are skilled in communicating with students with disabilities. Overall, the school is committed on preparing our students to become successful individual regardless of their color, race, social status, and physical condition. The student who could finish their term at ECC will have an early college credit because the school offers subjects that will provide them advantage when they go to college. Thus, with our commitment towards the future success in life of our students, and with efficient and highly qualified teachers we are confident we can lead our students to become competitive, success oriented and determined to achieve their dreams in life. For everyone out there, enroll now at Early Communication College and be assured of a quality education and of an exciting learning situation in the classroom. Work Cited Ashcroft, Kate Foreman-Peck, Lorraine Managing Teaching and Learning in Further and Higher Education Great Britain: Routledge, 1994 Behrman, Jere R. Stacey, Nevser The Social Benefits of Education USA: University of Michigan, 1997 â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act Improved Accessibility to Education’s Information† USA: The United States GAO, 2005 Pierangelo, Roger Guiliani, George A. Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities USA: Corwin Press, 2008

Violence enforcement of City Urban Management officers Essay Example for Free

Violence enforcement of City Urban Management officers Essay City Urban Management Enforcement Bureau is a local government agency in mainland China that is in charge of maintaining the order of daily business activities of markets and streets in cities. This Bureau was established to deal with the increasing problems when China is in the process of rapid urbanization in these years. However, it’s notorious for abusing power and violent enforcement. Reported by Feng(2008), â€Å"on January 7, a man was beaten to death by a group of city administrators for filming their violent enforcement of an expired contract in Wanba Village in central Chinas Tianmen City, Hubei Province†( ¶ 1). This kind of conflict occasionally happens everywhere in mainland china in these years for more and more rural people come to cities to find more jobs and opportunities. The City Urban Management Enforcement Bureau which is set up to handle cases with vendors and the environment of cities now becomes a violator of human right. As mentioned in â€Å"Killing sparks protests in China†(2008) â€Å"This para-police force, equipped with steel helmets and stab-proof vests, is often used by local officials as trouble-shooters†( ¶ 13). How can law enforcement professionals become lawbreakers? The investigation combining with the living experience in mainland China shows that the three common causes for this problem are are poor communication, profit driven and lack of regulations. These have led to the bad behavior of those officers. The first cause of violence enforcement is the poor communication because of low education level. The officers are responsible for cracking done on no-license vendors and tackle with some low-level criminals so that they mainly deal with the low-income group of people who are mainly formed by the rural migrant workers or villagers in a city. Those people usually don’t have a very high education level. According to the 2009 migrant workers monitoring survey report (2009), over 75% migrant workers only have junior high school education or below(n.p.). While the communication skills and education level of the officers are also low. From the report of Ramzy  (2009), â€Å"officers were often drawn from the ranks of laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises and given little training in law enforcement†( ¶ 10). So the only way they can complete their mission is to treat the vendors violently to warn them not to break the rules again. Both sides in this conflict have difficulties to understand each other and when either of them is irritable and impulsive, violent confrontations may happen. The second cause of abusing of power and violence enforcement is the officers can earn profit from punish those poor guys, which drive them beat defenseless people on the street and take all they have without any mercy or sympathy. Li (2006) observed that â€Å"those peddlers who are a little slow often suffer, as the law enforcers snatch away their merchandise, tools and handcarts. The peddlers are made to pay fines, which the law enforcers have the right to levy for a series of misdemeanors† ( ¶ 8). For the people who are too poor to afford the fines, the officer some time ruin the handcarts and tools of the vendors and divide misdemeanors with their colleagues. It is more or less similar to the triad threatening for protection fees on the street. This profit drives the officer in chasing the vendors and use violence to force them to surrender without any respect to human right. The senior level of the government is also responsible for such violate events because they indulge their staff and do not come up with any strict regulations to restrict their behaviors. Though those two causes mentioned above truly have effect on the behavior of the Urban Management Officers, the third one is the most obvious and serious cause of abusing of power and violence enforcement. Some indirect evidences show that some of the violate enforcement events even happens with the acquiescence of the senior government. A common situation is that the leaders of the Bureau only want their officers to clean out all the vendors on the street no matter what they do to achieve it. Just like Ramzy said (2009), â€Å"Its precisely because the Chinese bureaucracys idea of an ideal city doesnt include peddlers and street vendors that the [urban management officers] developed into such a powerful institution† ( ¶ 8). And when the violence enforcement event is exposed, they are always shifting the responsibility to their staff or some one else and do not consider their responsibility of regulation. The events  of abusing of power and violence enforcement will continue happening unless the local government set up strict regulations and punish the officers who break the law. The abusing of power and violent enforcement of urban management officers is a tough problem with several causes and complex background, but it is not impossible to solve as long as the government takes effective actions such as providing necessary training to the officers and restricting their behavior. Though the vendors or villagers break the law first, it can not be the reason to abuse someone and violate his human right. Every one participating in dealing with such troubles should remember that consideration and respect are the best solutions but not violation and conflict. Reference: Killing sparks protests in China. (2008 January 9). BBC News. Retrieved 29 September 29, 2011 from World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7178382.stm Feng Yiran. (January 12, 2008). Man Beaten to Death for Filming City Administrators Brutality. The Epoch Times. Retrieved 29 September 29, 2011 from World Wide Web: http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-1-12/63964.html Austin Ramzy. (May 21, 2009). Above the Law? Chinas Bully Law-Enforcement Officers. Time magazine. Retrieved 29 September 29, 2011 from World Wide Web: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1899773,00.html Li Xing. (17 August 2006). Services must be improved for better law enforcement. China Daily. Retrieved 29 September 29, 2011 from World Wide Web: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2006-08/17/content_666765.htm Guo Shipeng and Benjamin Kang Lim. (April 10, 2007). Chinese sausage seller spared execution. Sign on San Diego. Retrieved 29 September 29, 2011 from World Wide Web: http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070410-0229-china-crime-.html

The Historical Portrayal in Forrest Gump

The Historical Portrayal in Forrest Gump Forrest Gump is a famous 1994 American comedy-drama film based on the novel written by Winston Groom; directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story depicts the life of a simple Alabama man Forest Gump who travels around the world, meets historical figures and influences and participates in important historical events of the second half of the 20th century. The film Forrest Gump is about a simple mans journey through complicated times. Exciting, deep and kind film narrates from the behalf of the protagonist Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a harmless imbecile man (his level of IQ is 75) with a noble and an open heart, the story of his extraordinary life. The plot begins with the childhood of the hero and ends up as he sends his own son to school. During the life, Forrest overcomes many difficulties, and always sees only positive side of events. During the film he takes part in major events of American history of the second half of 20th century, and unconsciously influences on popular culture of the United States. From an ordinary man he turns into a well-known tennis player, war hero, a successful businessman. He becomes a billionaire, but remains as unsophisticated, weak-minded and kind. Forrest reaches success in everything, and he loves the girl, who was his friend in childhood, but reciprocity comes too late. The main character, a native of the southern state (and as it is understood a patriarchal and conservative) of Alabama, actually travels across America in the 50s and 80s, turning out one way or another, becomes a witness of historic events in the life of the nation, almost climbing into the frames of newsreels that depict well-known political figures from the era of John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan and popular singers from Elvis Presley to John Lennon. The film Forrest Gump is not historical film, its more drama and melodrama, but it shows the close connection of Forrest with real historical characters and his participation in historical events. The film shows all the significant events of the period between the 1950s and the 1980s and introduces them to the main character. The film does not distort the real events, but contributes to the public understanding of the issues it presents. This feature film helps viewers learn more about the historical events of the second half of the 20th century, so it is difficult to overestimate its value. Forrest Gump is a look at the past approximately thirty years of U.S. history. The fact that the problems of America 1960 1980, including, for example, drug abuse and the war in Vietnam, are shown through the eyes of simple-minded Forrest, exculpates American society for this it is said by the magazine columnist of Time, Richard Corliss, Julie Grace and Marta Smildzhis in their joint review of the film (Corliss 1994). Nevertheless, Forrest stands out as a character in a highly sentimental Hollywood cinema, where the most important historical and social problems are often presented as elements of fairy tales with a happy end (Corliss 1994). According to Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, in the image of Forrest there are gathered the best national character features of Americans honesty, courage and fidelity (Travers 2000). The Russian critic Andrei Shemyakin considers film to be a parable about the American national character on the fracture of his fate (Gordinier 1995), and Rita Kempley from Washington Post believes that in Forrest Gump there is shown a destruction of the national character (Kempley 1994). It is easy to notice that Forrests life is very conservative, while his girlfriend Jenny embodies the counterculture she is involved in anti-war marches, uses drugs, and is sexually promiscuous. Jenny is a shadow of Forrest (Guthmann 1995). According to Roger Ebert, her reunion with Forrest Gump at the end of the film represents the dream of American society uniting (Ebert 1994). At the same time Gumps coproducer Steven Tisch mentioned: I dont think the film was a catalyst for a trend of any kind. I dont think this film is about conservative or liberal values, or even American values. The film is about human values (Gordinier 1995). Forrest Gump is a wonderful person, honest and brave, but with one peculiarity he is moronic. And the combination of an outstanding personality with a limited imagination allows him to enjoy life, not to justify himself. This opened an enormous sense for many of his followers. Being completely devoid of egoism, Forrest receives of a lot of luck in return from the life. His girlfriend Jenny, by contrast, lives in constant issueless search. The main stereotype that was changed in the film is that it is possible to live the whole life full of difficulties, reach success and remain open and kind. Forrest Gump simply goes his own way. He saves his fellow soldiers, and becomes a hero of Vietnam; he is the best player and national champion in a game of table tennis in Japan. He changes the lives of several people and creates a multi-million dollar business; he keeps his word given to the deceased friend. He even teaches Elvis Presley to dance. And thus, he remains a simple and open person. His phrase: My momma always said, Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what youre gonna get became very famous (Forest Gump 1994). The film addresses different social issues of American life. It mostly represents the middle class and life of ordinary people; it depicts the race problems, showing how black people fought for their rights. It also touches gender issues, showing that Jenny lived in the hostel for girls and Forest couldnt visit her. Politics is also one of the topics that were briefly covered in the film while showing real episodes of lives of such people as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard Milhous Nixon. There are shown such popular singers as Elvis Presley and John Lennon. The issues of nationality, cultural norms, people on the margins of society and other are also mentioned in the film. Forrest Gump is considered to be one of the kindest and touching films of world cinema, even though it is drama. The director Robert Zemeckis demonstrated in this film the entirely new approach to presenting the material, driving the narrative on behalf of a mentally retarded man, and showing life through his eyes. Surprisingly, but life through the eyes of Forrest Gump is not terrible and hopeless, as we used to think it is. The life of Forrest Gump suddenly becomes very simple, understandable, but at the same time, deep in meaning and rich with interesting events. It is the simplicity of Forrest Gumps vital principles and his immediate perception of complex life events that causes the effect of stunning ease the perception of this film. The film is not historical, but it shows the connection of the protagonist with real historical characters and his participation in historical events. The film contributes to the public understanding of the issues it presents, and makes a great impa ct on its intended audience. Film realistically, without distorting shows the problems of America 1960 1980, and therefore it is very valuable and is still considered one of the best films of American cinema.

Contemporary Brand Management Report for EasyJet

Contemporary Brand Management Report for EasyJet Background Overall, the travel market has performed well since 2001, with revenue growth accelerating from 3% in 2002 to 11% in 2004, with total sales for that year being estimated at US$ 549.4 billion. However, some sectors performed better than others, and the share of air transport fell gradually between 1999 and 2003, partly as a result of falling fares due to industry liberalisation and the growth of low-cost airlines. However, sales rose strongly in 2004 as the travel industry recovered and economic conditions were stronger. Indeed, over the period from 1999 to 2004, online sales grew by a spectacular 403%, to reach US$85.2 billion, and the online share of total travel retail sales increased from just 4% in 1999 to almost 16% in 2004. Air transport is by far the largest transportation sector in terms of overall sales, due to its high prices and convenience, with a value share of 58% in 2004. (Global Market Information Database, 2005). As of 2004, no-frills airlines were continuing to expand, although there were signs of a shake-out in the industry as several smaller businesses went bankrupt in 2004, and intense competition has also brought some major US carriers to the brink of bankruptcy. In 2004, Air France Group became the leading airline in the world in terms of value market share, after the merger of Air France with Dutch national carrier KLM. The combined airline now operates a fleet of 550 aircraft, serving 189 destinations in 84 countries, through more than 1,800 flights per day. Air France Group had an estimated market share of 6% in 2004, overtaking the previous market leader, Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL), and is thus one of the strongest brands in the market, due to its new European identity, and high level of coverage. (Global Market Information Database, 2005). JAL Group itself was also the result of a merger in 2002 between Japan Airlines and Japan Air System, and its share fell in 2004 to 5%, due to the group’s poor financial performance in that year. Although domestic routes were reported to have performed well in 2004, the slump in the international segment gave rise to a  ¥72.1 billion (US$687 million) operating loss, due to the adverse effects of very low travel confidence in Japan, which prevailed in the first half of fiscal 2004. Nevertheless, JAL continued to increase its leading share in the domestic Japanese market to 43%, well ahead of the number two company, All Nippon Airways, with 34%, due to its strong connections with its country of origin. (Global Market Information Database, 2005). The largest US carrier, AMR, was virtually on a par with JAL in both 2003 and 2004 in terms of value market share, and also saw its share fall slightly, to 5% in 2004. The American airlines all suffered from the events of 11 September 2001 and from the economic downturn, and have continued to perform badly. UAL Corp saw its global share fall from almost 6% in 2001 to just over 4% in 2004, while the share of Delta Airlines fell to 4% over the same period. United Air Lines was the most severely hit of the â€Å"big three† US airlines after 11 September 2001, and was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of 2002. However, after undergoing a drastic restructuring programme, the airline had received the necessary financing to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of 2003. All the US airlines are currently experiencing brand identity crises, as the US continues to associate air travel with the spread of international terrorism. The European airlines British Airways (BA) and Deutsche Lufthansa have also experienced mixed fortunes. While the share of BA fell steadily over the review period, to 4% in 2004, that of Lufthansa rose, placing it almost equal with BA, and Lufthansa recorded increased sales and achieved profits in the first quarter of 2004, compared to a loss in the same period of the previous year. (Global Market Information Database, 2005)Both these firms are struggling to compete with the strongly growing no frills airlines, potentially indicating that the national brand reinforcement is no longer enough to build a strong brand in the airline industry, and that something more is needed. Brand Essence Govers and Schoormans (2005) provide one of the best pieces on the concept of brand management, claiming that, beyond their functional utility and purpose, products and series have a symbolic meaning, and parts of this symbolic meaning are accounted for by concepts like brand personality and product-user image, which describe the symbolic meaning associated with the brand or product class. Plummer (1984) also focused strongly on the personality of brands, claiming that there are, in reality, two different faces of brand personality, and it is necessary to understand both faces in order to better grasp the totality and power of this useful strategic concept. A brand presents itself to the world in many ways, through the product itself, through its packaging, its name and where it is sold. A brand sold in a supermarket or via the internet, is attempting to communicate something, but the world, on the other hand, interprets the brand through many different filters; through experience, t hrough perceptions, misconceptions, the value systems of the individuals out there in the world, and, of course, all the noise in the system. The two faces of brand personality therefore are input, that is, what advertisers want consumers to think and feel, and out-take, what consumers actually do think and feel, and these two perspectives on brand personality can be expressed in two forms. The first can be seen as the brand personality statement; and the other as the brand personality profiles, which are consumer perceptions of the brand. (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2003) In terms of a brand personality for an airline, this can be vitally important, as few markets are as brutally competitive as the airline market. However, just because the competition is tough, thats no reason to be tough on customers, like many airlines do, as they are convinced that travellers care mainly about price. As a result, many airlines most notably the major U.S. carriers and budget airlines seem to have made cutting costs the top priority at the expense of their service quality, and have built brand personalities around looking to pinch every penny. However, Prokesch, S. E. (1995) claims that it doesnt have to be that way, even in a cutthroat, mass-market business such as air travel. He argues that there are plenty of people who will pay a premium for good service, even among those who travel economy, and points at British Airways’ profits as a key indicator because, while the world airline industry has racked up billions of dollars in losses in the last five years, British Airways has remained solidly profitable on the back of outstanding customer service. EasyJet has taken this lesson to heart, recruiting senior marketers in each of its major European markets in 2004, in order to coincide with its major full-scale brand relaunch that year. The airline, whose previous marketing communications were accused by some of lacking the lustre of its early years, hired dedicated country managers for the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the rest of Europe, who were responsible for putting in place tailored strategies that relate to their markets perceptions of easyJet. (Rogers, Oct 2004) As a result, the airline managed to develop a fresh corporate identity and brand personality, along with its first sonic logo. It also relaunched its website, substantially increased its European advertising budget to back its first UK TV campaign, and changed typography, by removing the .com from most marketing communication and the cartoon style plane from its ads. The 11m euro ( £7.6m) campaign, which ran across Europe, featured the strapline Come on, lets fl y, and was created by Sledge, easyJets first UK ad agency, with media through OMD. This campaign was driven by the belief that although the â€Å"original marketing created lots of noise† it failed to â€Å"define the airlines distinctive attributes.† (Rogers, Oct 2004) As a result, the new campaign was aimed at creating more emotion around the brand, meaning that, although easyJet remained price-driven, it also focused on the all important customer service. This re launch appears to have pushed easyJet away from its previous position, near the foot of the airline industry brand pyramid. Previously viewed as a last resort for travellers who cared only for costs, with no thought to service or comfort, the company performed well, despite previously being one of the UKs most hated brands. However, with fuel prices rising, and cost cutting initiatives only being able to produce a certain amount of return, the firm has repositioned and re branded itself in order to move of the foot of the brand pyramid, leaving this space to Ryanair, and similar budget carriers, and moved itself into the middle market, with the likes of BMI. Although the carrier is still perceived as a long way below BA and the other premium service carriers, its brand re launch has now enabled it to move into the top five in the list of the UK’s preferred airline brands (Curtis, 2004) Positioning Most people have an opinion about easyJet, which is one of its core strengths, built on the back of the budget airline’s initial positioning as a liberator, enabling people to travel more frequently around Europe, with prices more akin to domestic train travel than the traditionally high prices charged by European flag carriers. Also, under the guidance of Stelios Haji-Ioannou it developed as one of the UKs most distinctive brands, with a trademark anti-establishment attitude. However, the sector has seen growing competition from domestic entrants such as Thomsonfly and Continental start-ups such as Wizz, from Eastern Europe, with higher fuel prices are also hitting profits. As a result, in positioning terms, some feel easyJet has been squeezed between airlines such as British Airways and the ultra low-cost Ryanair. (Rogers, Jul 2004) It is as a result of this that EasyJet hired Sledge as its first ad agency to develop the Lets fly positioning, and has recently launched a mult imillion-pound drive aimed at business travellers. (Marketing (UK), 2005) The airline had previously focused its positioning and marketing efforts on holidaymakers, but is now looking to increase its share of the business market, with print, poster and radio advertisements carrying the strapline ‘Youre a business. You work it out.’ (Marketing (UK), 2005). In contrast, it is a different story for one of easyJet’s key competitors: British Airways, for whom it would appear that, no matter how badly the firm performs, the UK public will always remain loyal. BA has a clear lead as Britains favourite airline, and is seventh place in the overall best-loved brands table; however this doesn’t tally with the reality of its declining fortunes, mainly at the hands of the budget airlines, which, with easyJet’s recent rise excluded, fail to make it into the top five airlines. This can be seen as a testament to easyJet’s strength, and successful positioning switch, that it has managed to make it into such list, especially when you compare the years of heritage and investment behind the BA brand, with the new re launch of easyJet. Comparing the easyJet brand, and relative success, to that of Ryanair, anlysts have claimed that: â€Å"both easyJet and Ryanair spotted a gap in the market, but there is a difference between a good-value proposition and being cheap. (Curtis, 2004), and this has been cited as the reason Ryanair failed to make the top five.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Celebrity endorsement The use of celebrities as part of marketing communications strategy is a fairly common practice for major firms in supporting corporate or brand imagery. Firms invest significant monies in juxtaposing brands and organisations with endorser qualities such as attractiveness, likeability, and trustworthiness. They trust that these qualities operate in a transferable way, and, will generate desirable campaign outcomes. But, at times, celebrity qualities may be inappropriate, irrelevant, and undesirable. Several studies have examined consumers response to celebrity endorsements in advertising. Findings show that celebrities make advertisements believable (Kamins et al. 1989) and enhance message recall (Friedman and Friedman 1979). Furthermore, celebrities aid in the recognition of brand names (Petty, Cacioppo, and Schumann 1983), create a positive attitude towards the brand (Kamins et al. 1989), and create a distinct personality for the endorsed brand (McCracken 1989). Ultimately, celebri ty endorsements are believed to generate a greater likelihood of customers choosing the endorsed brand (Heath, McCarthy, and Mothersbaugh 1994) Thus, the use of celebrity endorsements is an advertising strategy that should enhance the marginal value of advertisement expenditures and create brand equity by means of the secondary association of a celebrity with a brand (Keller 1993). However, celebrity endorsements are expensive for the firm, and depending on the status of the celebrity, remuneration could run into millions for several years. A contract may also include a profit sharing plan, with firms often building special and costly advertising campaigns around celebrities. For example, Coca Cola Co. reportedly spent $25 million in an advertising campaign with Bill Cosby as its spokesperson for Coke (Advertising Age 1986), and IBM spent $40 million in an advertising campaign involving MASH actors (Reuters 1987). Overall, the use of celebrities as spokespersons in advertisements constitutes a significant investment in intangible assets by the sponsoring firm, an investment that management hopes to offset with greater future sales revenues and profits. A possible choice of celebrity to endorse easyJet would be Michael Moore, the American author and film maker, renowned for his antiestablishment attitude. Although the signing of Moore would undoubtedly be controversial, and possibly difficult to achieve, easyJet’s image has been founded on being controversial and willing to offend people, especially those in positions of authority, in the pursuit of its ultimate goals, and thus Moore’s backing would help support these ideals, and ensure that they remained at the forefront of easyJet’s branding. However, Moore’s anti-Bush and anti-America rhetoric has often caused him to be at odds with a large portion of the population of the United States, and although easyJet doesn’t operate in the US, this is something to consider, as the firm may wish to expand to the US in the future, and may also have a large number of potential passengers amongst Americans living in Europe. Special Interest: Online Presence EasyJet is often cited as the firm which pioneered many of the innovations that shaped the market for low-cost air travel, and information technology and an online presence has been at the heart of those developments. For example, EasyJet was the first Great Britain carrier to sell tickets online, in April 1998; however launching that first site was relatively straightforward compared to the headaches that the company faces today when managing and updating a live site that handles millions of customers each year. As such, easyJet’s online presence is of vital importance to the company for its future brand management strategies. (Warren, 2003) Indeed, Campaign (UK) (2003) recently reported that EasyJet has appointed OMD Europe to handle its  £3 million online business across European markets including Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. One excellent example of how easyJet is attempting to widen its brand visibility and appeal through the internet is the recent agreement that easyJet entered into with First Choice Inc., seen as being the final nail in the coffin in both companies tenuous relationship with agents. First Choice Inc.’s vertically integrated online accommodation subsidiary, ‘Hotelopia’, will provide rooms in 10,000 hotels across the world through the easyJet web site, with easyJet getting the commission for the booking, although the commercial details of the agreement have not been released. In addition to the financial benefits, this agreement will also enable easyJet to spread its brand image and appeal to a much wider audience, thus increasing the impact of its brand management strategies. (Davern, 2004) References Advertising Age (1986) E. F. Huttons Spokesman Idea a Cos Celebre. p. 1. Campaign (UK) (2003) EasyJet picks OMD Europe for online media business. Issue 43, p. 7. Curtis, J. (2004) Brands we love, brands we hate. Marketing (UK); 9/29/2004, p34. de Chernatony, L. and McDonald, M. (2003) Creating Powerful Brands in Consumer Service and Industrial Markets, 3rd Edition. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Davern, F. (2004) First Choice hops into bed with easyJet. Travel Trade Gazette UK Ireland; Issue 2465, p. 3. Friedman, H. H. and Friedman, L. (1979) Endorser Effectiveness by Product Type. Journal of Advertising Research, p. 63. Global Market Information Database (2005) The World Market for Travel and Tourism. Euromonitor International. Govers, R. C. M. and Schoormans, J. P. L. (2005) Product personality and its influence on consumer preference. Journal of Consumer Marketing; 2005, Vol. 22 Issue 4, p189. Heath, T. B., McCarthy, M. S. and Mothersbaugh D. L. (1994) Spokesperson Fame and Vividness Effects in the Context of Issue-Relevant Thinking: The Moderating Role of Competitive Setting. Journal of Consumer Research; p. 520. Kamins, M. A., Brand, M. J., Hoeke, S. A., and Moe, J. C. (1989) Two-Sided Versus One-Sided Celebrity Endorsements: The Impact on Advertising Effectiveness and Credibility Journal of Advertising; Vol. 18, Issue 2, p. 4. Keller, K. L. (1993) Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing; p. 1. Marketing (UK) (2005) EasyJet targets business traffic. 4/27/2005, p. 5. McCracken, G. (1989) Who is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process. Journal of Consumer Research; p. 310. Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T. and Schumann, D. (1983) Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement. Journal of Consumer Research; p. 135. Plummer, J. T. (1984) How Personality Makes a Difference. Journal of Advertising Research; Vol. 24, Issue 6, p. 27. Prokesch, S. E. (1995) Competing on Customer Service: An Interview with British Airways Sir Colin Marshall. Harvard Business Review; Vol. 73, Issue 6, p. 100. Reuters (1987) April 3. Rogers, D. (Oct 2004) EasyJet relaunches with top-level rejig. Marketing (UK); 10/13/2004, p. 5. Rogers, D. (Jul 2004) EasyJet. Marketing (UK), 7/21/2004, p. 22. Warren, L. (2003) Blazing the easyJet trail. Computer Weekly; 9/30/2003, p. 28.