Analysis on Ordinary People by Judith Guest

Ordinary People by Judith Guest is the story of a dysfunctional family who relate to one another through a series of extensive defense mechanisms, i. e. an unconscious process whereby reality is distorted to reduce or prevent anxiety. The book opens with seventeen year old Conrad, son of upper middle-class Beth and Calvin Jarrett, home after eight months in a psychiatric hospital, there because he had attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. His mother is a meticulously orderly person who, Jared, through projection, feels despises him. She does all the right things; attending to Jared's physical needs, keeping a spotless home, plays olf and bridge with other women in her social circle, but, in her own words â€Å"is an emotional cripple†. Jared's father, raised in an orphanage, seems anxious to please everyone, a commonplace reaction of individuals who, as children, experienced parental indifference or inconsistency. Though a successful tax attorney, he is jumpy around Conrad, and, according to his wife, drinks too many Conrad seems consumed with despair. A return to normalcy, school and home-life, appear to be more than Conrad can handle. Chalk-faced, hair-hacked Conrad seems bent on perpetuating the family myth that all is well in the world. His family, after all, â€Å"are people of good taste. They do not discuss a problem in the face of the problem. And, besides, there is no problem. † Yet, there is not one problem in this family but two – Conrad's suicide and the death by drowning of Conrad's older brother, Buck. Conrad eventually contacts a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger, because he feels the â€Å"air is full of flying glass† and wants to feel in control. Their initial sessions together frustrate the psychiatrist because of Conrad's inability to express his feelings. Berger cajoles him into expressing his emotions by saying, â€Å"That's what appens when you bury this junk, kiddo. It keeps resurfacing. Won't leave you alone. † Conrad's slow but steady journey towards healing seems partially the result of cathartic revelations which purge guilt feelings regarding his brother's death and his family's denial of that death, plus the â€Å"love of a good woman. Jeannine, who sings soprano to Conrad's tenor†¦ There is no doubt that Conrad is consumed with guilt, â€Å"the feeling one has when one acts contrary to a role he has assumed while interacting with a significant person in his life,† This guilt engenders in Conrad feelings of low self esteem. Survivors of horrible tragedies, such as the Holocaust, frequently express similar feelings of worthlessness. In his book, â€Å"Against All Odds†, William Helmreich relates how one survivor articulates a feeling of abandonment. â€Å"Did I abandon them, or did they abandon me? † Conrad expresses a similar thought in remembering the sequence of events when the sailboat they were on turned over. Buck soothes Conrad saying, â€Å"Okay, okay. They'll be looking now, for sure, just hang on, don't get tired, promise? In an imagined conversation with his dead brother, Conrad asks, â€Å"‘Man, why'd you let go? ‘ ‘Because I got tired. ‘The hell! You never get tired, not before me, you don't! You tell me not to get tired, you tell me to hang on, and then you let go! ‘ ‘I couldn't help it. Well, screw you, then! ‘† Conrad feels terrible anger with his brother, but cannot comfortably express that anger. His psychiatrist, after needling Conrad, asks, â€Å"Are you mad? When Conrad responds that he is not mad, the psychiatrist says, â€Å"Now that is a lie. You are mad as hell. † Conrad asserts that, â€Å"When you let yourself feel, all you feel is lousy. † When his psychiatrist questions him about his relationship with his mother, Calvin says, â€Å"My mother and I do not connect. Why should it bother me? My mother is a very private person. † This sort of response is called, in psychological literature, â€Å"rationalization†. We see Conrad's anger and aggression is displaced, i. e. vented on another, as when he physically attacked a schoolmate. Yet, he also turns his anger on himself and expresses in extreme and dangerous depression and guilt. â€Å"Guilt is a normal emotion felt by most people, but among survivors it takes on special meaning. Most feel guilty about the death of loved ones whom they feel they could have, or should have, saved. Some feel guilty about situations in which they behaved selfishly (Conrad held on to the boat even after his brother let go), even if there was no other way to survive. In answer to a query from his psychiatrist on when he last got really mad, Conrad responds, â€Å"When it comes, there's always too much of it. I don't know how to handle it. † When Conrad is finally able to express his anger, Berger, the psychiatrist says to Calvin, â€Å"Razoring is anger; self-mutilation is anger. So this is a good sign; turning his anger outward at Because his family, and especially his mother, frowns upon ublic displays of emotion, Conrad keeps his feelings bottled up, which further contributes to depression. Encyclopedia Britannica, in explicating the dynamics of depression states, â€Å"Upon close study, the attacks on the self are revealed to be unconscious expressions of disappointment and anger toward another person, or even a circumstance†¦ deflected from their real direction onto the self. The aggression, therefore, directed toward the outside world is turned against the self. † The article further asserts that, â€Å"There are three cardinal psychodynamic considerations in epression: (1) a deep sense of loss of what is loved or valued, which may be a person, a thing or even liberty; (2) a conflict of mixed feelings of love and hatred toward what is loved or highly valued; (3) a heightened overcritical concern with the self. † Conrad's parents are also busily engaged in the business of denial. Calvin, Conrad's father, says, â€Å"Don't worry. Everything is all right. By his own admission, he drinks too much, â€Å"because drinking helps†¦ , deadening the pain†. Calvin cannot tolerate conflict. Things must go smoothly. â€Å"Everything is jello and pudding with you, Dad. Calvin, the orphan says, â€Å"Grief is ugly. It is something to be afraid of, to get rid of†. â€Å"Safety and order. Definitely the priorities of his life. He constantly questions himself as to whether or not he is a good father. â€Å"What Beth, Conrad's mother, is very self-possessed. She appears to have a highly developed super-ego, that part of an individual's personality which is â€Å"moralistic†¦ , meeting the demands of social convention, which can be irrational in requiring certain behaviors in spite of reason, convenience and common sense†. She is furthermore, a perfectionist. â€Å"Everything had to be perfect, never ind the impossible hardship it worked on her, on them all. † Conrad is not unlike his mother. He is an overachiever, an â€Å"A† student, on the swim team and a list-maker. His father tells the psychiatrist, â€Å"I see her not being able to forgive him. For surviving, maybe. No, that's not it, for being too much like her. † A psychoanalyst might call her anal retentive. Someone who is â€Å"fixated symbolically in orderliness and a tendency toward perfectionism†. â€Å"Excessive self-control, not expressing feelings, guards against anxiety by controlling any expression of emotion and denying emotional investment in a thing or person. She had not cried at the funeral†¦. She and Conrad had been The message of the book is contained in Berger's glib saying that, â€Å"People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile†. We see Conrad moving toward recovery and the successful management of his stage of development, as articulated by Erikson, â€Å"intimacy vs. isolation†. At story end, his father is more open with Conrad, moving closer to him, while his mother goes off on her own to work out her issues. Both trying to realize congruence in their development stage (Erikson), â€Å"ego integrity vs. despair†.

Contact Information Essay

Charlotte, NC (January 1, 2013) – Johnson C. Smith University is having a Whitney Houston tribute on February 20, 2013. The school choir along with President Carter is organizing a beautiful tribute on campus. The tribute will be held in Biddle auditorium on that Wednesday. President Carter emailed students to find out who wanted to volunteer for the event and receive community service hours. Johnson C. Smith University will be selling tickets as well. The prices are 2$ for JCSU students, and 5$ for everyone else. Special guests will be Mariah Carey, Brand, and Chris Brown. The event has been posted in local charlotte area newspapers and it will also be discussed on the local news. President Carter said â€Å"This event is a must see, I think myself and everyone who helped did an awesome job. I suggest everyone come out and see this tribute†. After the event Johnson C. Smith University will have food sponsored by FDY food services. The food is free after admission and drinks are free as well. There will also be an autograph signing from the special guests after the event. Special guest Mariah Carey says â€Å"It’s always a pleasure doing events like this. Anytime I can help, and give back, I’m always willing to†.

Brazil as a Part of the International Society

Brazil as a Part of the International Society Since the beginning of the century, the supposed European decline and the ascend of emergent countries, such as Brazil, have been widely discussed. However, it appears as if the country has found itself stagnated in the status of â€Å"emergent† for most of the past fifteen years, not progressing or being able to achieve a â€Å"higher† status in the international sphere. But this has been (to a certain extend) an everlasting historical struggle. It was during the 19th century, when Brazil first started to negotiated its access and recognition as a member of an international society of European and global expansion. It sought to establish itself as an independent country in a system deeply marked by asymmetry of power, status, and ranking, developing in the process, instruments to access the world of diplomacy[1]. This essay aims at briefly analyzing how Brazil came to be part of the European –and later global international society. For the authors of the English School, such as Hedley Bull and Adam Watson, the transformation from system to international society was a historical process. According to them, the ancient world had several systems of states but these have eventually evolved into a European international society and, finally, into our universal international society of the present[2]. The most diverse regions of the planet were incorporated into the mold of European society, extending this configuration to the whole world following the Second World War and decolonization[3]. For the classical authors of the English School, Brazil adhered, as part of the process of independence of European colonies, as a kind of Neo-Europe -an admission free of greater obstacles[4]. There were confrontations not only in political, economic, or military terms, but above all in terms of civilizations and cultural patterns. The core of this clashes was the standard of civilization by which different civilizations identif ied and regulated their international relations. The practices that became accepted as civilized were those coming from European countries and soon became demanded by the international system centered in Europe, being used to distinguish those who belong to a particular society from those who do not. Membership was conditioned to a degree of homogenization, requiring non-European states to make social and political reforms and to accept the rules and principles of international society[5]. In the mid 19th century, Brazil and other non-European entities began to demand or be required to join a European core international society. This was an important period of the British imperial turn, in which the planet had been scrutinized, occupied and Europes relations with the world had been redefined based on European interests[6]. At the time, it was not easy to classify Brazil as barbarian or savage, but the domestic government and political elites worked hard to gain recognition of civilization and thus belong to the â€Å"civilized† group. Eventually, this was only to a certain extent successful, since even if a state was to be recognized as independent and legitimate, celebrating treaties and establishing diplomatic relations did not mean, however, necessarily to be seen as a full member of international society[7]. Brazil was a former member of the Portuguese Overseas Empire officially independent in 1822 in the form of a constitutional monarchy. To â€Å"allowâ⠂¬ , even if recognized as legitimate and sovereign state, extraterritorial rights to Western powers, was seen as an important indicator of inferiority and subordination status and that the sovereignty of the country was only partial [8] [9]. Brazil officially only maintained it for a certain period, until 1844, as an inheritance of the Portuguese Overseas Empire. Thus, although it was formally recognized as independent and sovereign, it was not a full member of European core international society, because it lacked the so-called standard of civilization. It is interesting to notice that the option for the title empire[10] can be perceived as a statement of affiliation greater to the Old than to the New World[11]. In 1889, when the Republic was introduced, Brazil underwent a new phase of â€Å"renovation†, distancing itself to a certain degree from Europe and turning to the Americas[12]. In short, during the 19th century, Brazil was a newly independent political community in search of recognition. Another huge impediment to Brazil’s annexation to the international society was the fact that it continued and even came to increase during mid 19th century its dealing with slavery, an institution which played an important domestic role at a time when it no longer had a place in the international society. In other words, it did not meet the â€Å"standards of civilization† required. In relation to that, a historical event worth mentioning is The Paraguayan War (1864-1870). The war helped the Brazilian Empire to reach its peak of political and military influence, becoming the Great Power of South America, besides also helping to bring about the end of slavery in Brazil[13]. However, it also caused a ruinous increase of public debt, which took decades to pay off, severely limiting the countrys growth. The war debt, alongside a long-lasting social crisis after the conflict, are regarded as crucial factors for the fall of Empire and proclamation of the First Brazilian Republic[14].Th de facto suppression of slave trade, came with the Eusà ©bio de Queiroz Law (July 12, 1850)[15]. For the British, Brazil finally fulfilled its previously signed treaties and followed the common principles of humanity and the fundamental precepts of the Christian religion[16]. The process of Brazilian independence dragged on in successive stages between the arrival of the Portuguese crown in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, the formal British and Portuguese recognition between 1825 and 1827, until Dom Pedro Is return to Europe in 1831[17]. The period coincided with the process whereby the Congress of Vienna came to accept new members, nominally the new states of settlement of the American continent. European recognition was formalized through treaties and the establishment of diplomatic relations[18]. It is interesting to consider that due to the fact that Brazil inherited great experience in diplomatic matters from the Portuguese, this expertise made all the difference in the formation of borders, in the management of rivalry with Spanish American neighbors and in obtaining European recognition[19]. The recognition of Brazilian independence, was first made by the African kingdoms of Benin and Lagos and the United States, then by Portugal and Great Britain and othe r European states, with the recognition of the old metropolis, Portugal, and the main power of then, Britain, certainly being most important cases[20]. During the second half of the 19th century, despite the economic and political weaknesses that it still had, Brazil began to a certain point to participate in the international economic order that was established, being present at conferences, adhering to multilateral agreements and to the first technical and economic treaties that established cooperation among States[21]. The Brazilian participation in the Second Hague Convention (1907), which was responsible for dealing with formal issues of war and the creation of a permanent arbitration court, was important for bringing the public a discourse that called for equality between States in relation to international society[22]. It is significant, therefore, the understanding of Brazil as an average power of then. Its participation in World War I, on the British side, more symbolic than effective, finally granted the country a pass which enabled it to participate in the negotiations of the Paris Conference, and, finally, a ticket as a representative in the congress of the League of Nations. This can be considered to have been the definitive internationalization of Brazilian politics then[23]. The Brazilian participation in the universal exhibitions of the second half of the 19th century can also be seen as an effort to be perceived as an equal partner of the international society of that time[24]. Another interesting contemplation, is how the other nations considered the nation’s sovereign and how this was a strong indicative of the international positioning of Brazil then. D. Pedro II was the monarch of the young sister nation, a Christian, and though he was a native of Brazil, he descended from the most important European lineages. The fact that he did not look like a king, wearing ordinary clothes, wearing a straw hat and preferring to give up benefits from his position, rather than disappoint, attracted the American public interested in this monarch of the New world[25]. Brazil, which in the beginning of the 20th century started to take part in international events, increased its participation to the point of hosting the III Pan American Conference in 1906, in the then capital city of Rio de Janeiro[26]. With the destruction of the European international society after WWI and with the restructuration of the system in the interwar period, Brazil was finally able to found itself a place of (more) equality among the members of the new and global international society formed after WWII, with diplomacy and international law proving to be fundamental instruments for a militarily weak state. It is questionable however, to what degree the country is (even nowadays) fully equal to its European and American counterparts in the global international society. To conclude, it its necessary to remark that even though there was a continuous pursuit of adherence to European diplomatic rituals, practices and symbols since its independence, this process parallel lead to the creation of asymmetrical relations with the center of European international society which still exist. For example, Brazilians still commonly refer to Europe and the U.S. as the â€Å"first world†, praising and considering superior everything that comes from the Old Continent and the American leader. The embedded feeling of inferiority, rooted in the past experiences and relations with the European international society have not yet completely disappeared. But the question is, will they ever disappear in the current international order or is the birth of a new one needed? References: [1] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, Fundaà §Ãƒ £o Getulio Vargas, Centro de Pesquisa e Documentaà §Ãƒ £o de Histà ³ria Contemporà ¢nea do Brasil (CPDOC), August 2012, Rio de Janeiro, p. 20. [2] BULL, H.; A Sociedade AnaÃŒ rquica†, Imprensa Oficial do Estado, Editora UnB; SaÃŒÆ'o Paulo, BrasiÃŒ lia, 2002, p. 15. WATSON, A.; â€Å"A evolucÃŒ §aÃŒÆ'o da sociedade internacional†, Editora UnB, BrasiÃŒ lia, 2004, p. 37. [3] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 34. [4] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 38. [5] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, pp. 39 and 40. [6] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 40. [7] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 43 [8] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 47 [9] DORATIOTO, F.; â€Å"Maldita Guerra: Nova Histà ³ria da Guerra do Paraguai†, Companhia das Letras, 2nd edition revised by the author, 2002, pp. 47-52. [10] DORATIOTO, F.; â€Å"Maldita Guerra: Nova Histà ³ria da Guerra do Paraguai†, pp. 47-52. [11] BETHELL, L.; â€Å"The Abolition of the Brazilian Slave Trade: Britain, Brazil and the slave trade question, 1807-1869†, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970, p. 341. [12] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 54. [13] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, pp. 55 and 56. [14] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, pp. 74 and 75. [15] CARDIM, C. H.; â€Å"A Raiz das Coisas. Rui Barbosa: O Brasil no Mundo†, CivilizacÃŒ §aÃŒÆ'o Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, 2007, p. 52. [16] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 78. [17] GOLDFELD SOCHACZEWSKI, M.; â€Å"O Brasil, o Impà ©rio Otomano e a Sociedade International: Contrastes e Conexà µes (1850-1919)†, p. 85.

Business Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Ethics - Case Study Example ased on the argument that Snowden had not followed the right mechanisms for whistle-blowing and that he was working with foreign states which makes his action treasonous. In countering the view that Snowden did not follow the right channel in his complaints, the example of Drake who tried to complain through these channels but failed is given to indicate that taking that route would have ended the same way as it did for other whistle-blowers. The justification of Snowden’s actions should commence with an understanding of what whistle-blowing means. According to Alavudeen, Rahman, and Jayakumaran the act of whistle-blowing aims to expose â€Å"negligence, abuses, or dangers† (220) within an organization especially when these actions pose a threat to public interest. A key characteristic of a whistle-blower is the possession of expertise or inside knowledge from within the organization. Some authors have identified a whistle-blower as an employee who feels the activities performed by their employer can potentially harm a third party, violate human rights or is against the law which established such institutions and who therefore proceeds to inform the public of this fact (Duska 147). What arises from the above characteristics and motivations behind whistle-blowing is that the actions are deliberate, done by insiders with knowledge and expertise to assess the information, the information concerns actions that threatens citizens’ rights. The information is such that the public wants to know and that such information is given out as petition to for the wrongs to be corrected through public pressure. Based on the definition, Snowden fits the characteristics of a whistle blower given that he had gained insider knowledge about US and European telephone data and Internet surveillance programs by the National Security Agency (NSA) while working as a contractor. Further, the information provided concerned the privacy of the people, which means they would want to know

Research proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Research Proposal Example By implication, Saudi Arabia can be said to be faced with an alarming healthcare workers to patient ratio. There are several factors that have been attributed to the current trend in literature. One such factor that the researcher found to be particularly striking was high employee turnover in the healthcare sector (Bunton & Macdonald, 2002). This means that the rate at which healthcare facilities in the country lose employees, particularly to other professions is high. Even in situations where change of work is within the same profession, Tones & Tilford (2001) posits that this could have its associated problems of inconsistency with professional practice. Sadly, the Madinah Cardiac Centre is no exception in the problem of high employee turnover. Having identified the problem of high employee turnover at the Madinah Cardiac Centre, the researcher aims to use the proposed study to find the best management approaches and interventions that can be used in solving the problem. The aim of the study will be pursued through some specific objectives which have been listed below. The achievement of the individual specific objectives will lead to the overall achievement of the research aim. The objectives set help to build both theoretical and practical significance for the study. By achieving the first two objectives, the researcher will use the research as a conceptual and theoretical basis on the concepts and phenomena of cultural metaphor and social system approach. As noted by Bunton & Macdonald (2002), the modern healthcare organization is one that is multicultural from the perspective of both service providers and service users. In the light of this, it is very important that theories and conceptual frameworks on culture such as cultural metaphor and social system approach will be well understood by healthcare managers in the context of their individual organizations. The third and four objectives also offer

A Comparison of the Perspectives of the Lost Boys of Sudan with the Term Paper

A Comparison of the Perspectives of the Lost Boys of Sudan with the Typical American Perspectives on Certain Political Concept - Term Paper Example As we understand, there is a very big difference between typical Americans and the Lost Boys of Sudan, which make them to perceive things differently. The typical Americans understand that it is the purpose of their government to ensure security. Due to this perception, they direct blames to the government whenever their security is threatened. In most cases, the president, who is the head of government, is required to take responsibility. The Lost Boys of Sudan, being in a foreign country, do not perceive this as the purpose of the government. Back in their country, their government assisted their neighboring communities, the Baqqara, in attacking and destroying their village (Hecht 20). Due to such things that their government back in Sudan used to do, they cannot perceive as the purpose of a government to provide security to its citizens. Back in Sudan, they were ruled by the Sharia Laws, which were not made by government (Hecht 19). These makes the Sudanese not to perceive that i t is the purpose of government to make laws and ensure that good policies are put in place to ensure proper governing of its citizens. Americans on the other hand understands this very well. They understand their rights and thus require that the government does not infringe on any of them while making policies and laws (Lasser 70). They perceive that it is the purpose of the government to ensure that the laws it makes are not cruel to a certain group of the community. Several injustices have been done to these Lost Boys of Sudan by the Sudanese government. Their government was encouraging their neighbors to do injustice to them. As a result, these Sudanese do not perceive as the purpose of government to ensure Justice for all. According to Hecht (20) back in their early time in Sudan, their neighboring community took their possessions and their government did nothing about that. Americans through understanding of their legal system and how their judicially works are very vigilant ab out their rights. They perceive that it is the purpose of the judicial arm of their government to ensure that any injustice done to them is punished. The Lost Boys of Sudan perceive that they do not have power to control their political nature. Back in Sudan, they did not have the power to decide who they wanted to lead them. This was due to the northern dominance and political threats (Hecht 17). The Americans on the other hand perceive as their democratic right to decide who to have as their president thus their perception is that they have control over this matter. The Sudanese also perceive that human nature is full of suffering and problems. As Dengs and Ajak (1) shows us before he got to the refugee camp, he was in a desperate situation and he was feeling as if he was going to die next minute. He also shows that his family members back in Sudan are suffering and thus needs to be liberated. In America, there is little suffering thus, Americans do not perceive human nature from this perspective. They view life as enjoyable thus not having room for suffering. To them only greedy individuals induce human nature with suffering. Both perceive that it is human nature to assist one another in times of trouble. Back in their land in Sudan before the beginning of the civil war, it was their culture to assist. They used to assist their neighboring community with water and pasture (Hecht 20). Americans also are very kind and majorities are willing to contribute through humanitarian organizations in order to assist those who are troubled by war or hunger. They willingly assisted these Sudanese to settle in their country (Bixler 146). There is also a perception among the typical Americans that a person to be in liberty to do

Preparation for a Performance Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Preparation for a Performance Review - Essay Example I was able to achieve what I planned to do in the next six months regarding growth and stability for achieving a reputable position in the organization as well as developing the skills to work in a team. As a CIPD professional, it is one of the requirements for being an associate member of CIPD that the candidate should have good interpersonal and technical skills. In the past few months, I have been successful in improving my interpersonal and technical skills. Important Points for Future Now I need to make another plan of how to go about next six months and then make sure that my new plans are accomplished. My invitation for having a meeting was not accepted by two executives that I emailed, and now I need to send the initiation to more people or maybe I can use references to have an interview with an executive. I planned to conduct an interview to know about how employees work and behave in a professional working environment as well. From this interview, I wanted to do a gap analy sis and identify the areas for improvements in my personality. I have been successful in improving my communication skills as well as ability to work in teams and lead the team. Therefore the past few months have been exceptional in terms of improving my ability. However, it is critical for me to identify important points that I need to learn in future. For this, I will conduct a SWOT analysis of my personality and then will prepare another PDP for the development of next 12 months. Using SWOT analysis, I will be able to identify my weaknesses and strengths as well as the opportunities that I have along with the threats. SWOT Analysis Strengths To gel with other team members Effective team player Can... The module has helped me to know about the importance of CIPD and associated members of CIPD. This module has been useful in making me learn about the personal development. I have learned that it is a continuous process and the person has to continuously learn about developing the skills to become a successful professional. I learned that it is important to first identify, plan, take actions and then review these actions in order to consciously improve and become a successful professional. Therefore a person has to keep on improving and evaluating his skills and actions so that he can become a qualified person. Moreover, I prepared some SMART objectives in the module so that at the end of the module, I would be able to learn and develop my skills. The first part of the module also helped me in analyzing my personality, my strengths, and my weaknesses. By analyzing my own strengths and weaknesses, I was able to analyze what I need to learn in the next few months.

An Evaluation of Enterprise Risk management value to banking sector of Assignment

An Evaluation of Enterprise Risk management value to banking sector of Zimbabwe - Assignment Example Population and Sample 20 7.3. Data collection instruments, sources and procedures 21 7.4. Data analysis and procedure 23 8. Time Frame and Budgetary Consideration 24 References 26 Bibliography 29 1. Introduction and Background to the Research The Zimbabwean economy has faced tremendous challenges in the banking sector after the liquidity crisis of 2003. The consequences of liquidity crisis declined the purchasing power of Zimbabwean currency at the level of 1953. As a consequence, the people who were extremely poor had to pay with their lives due to inability to cope with persistence economic shock. The Government of Zimbabwe has often been found to make the drought or the macro-economic factors responsible for the liquidity crisis. According to the Reserve Bank the main causes that triggered solvency and liquidity crisis were poor corporate governance, inadequate risk management, rapid expansion, overstatement of capital, creative accounting, speculative trades, high level of non-pe rforming assets, and unsustainable earnings. At the beginning of the year 2009, the multi currency system was adopted by the Government of Zimbabwe that preferred Pound, US$, and Rand as means of transaction by business entities and public. This was mainly because the local currencies had become almost useless since the year 2008. The gradual shift from local currencies to convertible currencies brought more stability in business with the financial statements and budgeting. But these changes have also been found to create severe implications in the field of accounting. The most important business implication is conversion of Zimbabwean Dollar in US$. These challenges of opening of economy for trading in convertible currencies would require adoption of global accounting standards such as need of consulting IFRS or IAS. Other issue including revenue recognition and measurement, financial instruments, and impairment of assets makes the business enterprises vulnerable to significant ris k. The concept of Enterprise Risk Management and its value addition will help the researcher to reveal as to why and how much important is evaluation Enterprise Risk Management value to banking sector of Zimbabwe in today’s competitive and globalised markets. The purpose of the study will be evaluation of Enterprise Risk Management value to banking sector of Zimbabwe which can be achieved by conducting online based questionnaire and interviews through video calls in case the face to face interview is not possible. The researcher may choose appropriate representatives of sample companies and hence conduct the interviews. The most desirable target interviewee is probably the senior management of the sample companies representing banking sector of Zimbabwe. This is because all strategic decisions are implemented at the top level of management. The three basic reasons for which the study topic can be considered as important are as follows: The concept of traditional risk manageme nt has evolved during the years and it is necessary for every academician and professional to be acquainted with the current changes that are applicable The multi-currency system of Zimbabwe and implications in the banking sector after adapting convertible currency for business transactions The impact of gradual shift from local currency to globally convertible currencies in the banking sector of Zimbabwe The study will help the researcher to address all the motivating factors listed above that created an interest for the research. It will further help the

Chinese Consumer's Perseption of B2C and C2C for E-Commerce Abstract Dissertation

Chinese Consumer's Perseption of B2C and C2C for E-Commerce Abstract - Dissertation Example The research uses both literature review and quantitative empirical research to arrive at the findings. A convenience sample of 55 customers is chosen from among the friends and acquaintances of the researcher and an online survey is employed. The results are tabulated and analysed using the literature review. It is found that customers prefer to use the C2C models over B2C models, even though they are ready to trust the B2C models more in terms of product quality, after sales service and customer care. The reason for conducting shopping using C2C sites is their low costs and larger variety of products availability. It is however expected that in the near future, due to the greater trustworthiness of the B2C sites, there may be a change in customer behaviour and shift in preference from C2C to B2C model. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research Background and Overview 1.2 Research Questions 1.3 Research Aims and Objectives 1.4 Research Methods 1.5 Research Significance 1.6 Outline of Dissertation Chapters 1.7 Summary Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 B2C and C2C Models – An Overview 2.3 Overview of B2B and B2C online markets in China 2.4 Factors that impact online shopping consumer behavior 2.5 Factors that can impact on the effectiveness of an online shopping company 2.6 Comparison between Taobao and Amazon in China 2.7 Summary Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research Approach 3.3 Research Methods 3.4 Research Design 3.4.1 Sample Sample Unit Sample Size Sample Selection Method 3.4.2 Data Collection Instrument: Survey Questionnaire (Appendix A) 3.4.3 Data Analysis Method 3.5 Research Validity and Reliability 3.6 Ethical Considerations 3.7 Summary Chapter 4: Research Findings and Discussions 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Descriptive Statistics 4.3 Summary Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Summary of Research Findings 5.3 Research Implications 5.4 Research Limitations and Scope for Future Research List of Tables Table 1: Gender of the Participants Table 2: Age of the Participants Table 3: Personal Online Shopping Behaviour Table 4: Reasons for Not Shopping Online Table 5: Customers’ Preference of Online Shopping Model Table 6: Customer’s past usage of online shopping sites Table 7: Customers’ Perception of Trust of Different Models of Shopping Websites Table 8: Factors Impacting Perception of Customers Regarding Online Shopping Sites Table 8a: Important Factors that Impact Customer Perceptions Regarding Online Shopping Websites Table 9: Factors that Negatively Impact Customers’ Perceptions Table 9a: Factors that Create Customer Dissatisfaction with Online Shopping Sites Table 10: Comparison of B2C and C2C Sites on Factors that Impact Customers’ Perceptions Table 11: Customers’ Intentions to Recommend Online Shopping Sites List of Appendices Appendix A: Research Questionnaire Appendix B: Research Responses References Chinese Consumer’s perception of B2C and C2C for E-Commerce Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research Background and Overview With the opening up of the Chinese economy and the liberalization reforms, there has also been an exponential growth in penetration of the mass media and communications technology across China (Eisingerich and Kretschmer, 2008). The modernization of the economy and the development of the Chinese cities in the recent past also brought about a change in the lifestyles of the people (Shi and Zhang, 2009). There is found to be a rapid growth in the

Persuasive paper Essay Example for Free

Persuasive paper Essay Is it right to die? I would state the question in another format, is there a right to die? It is the most difficult question to receive an answer as we focus on people suffering from different conditions, be it psychological, physical or emotional, that beyond doubt, have led to terminal illness. I cannot give a straight yes or a straight no. The debate has been so hot in several nations. Several stakeholders are considering going the Oregon way. The whole debate focuses on suicide. By way of philosophy and other disciplines of ethics, it is very difficult to judge whether suicide is wrong or right. It has hitherto paused hard questions that get diverse responds from different persons. These persons can be philosophers from different eras, different geographical regions, and customs. It is further mesmerizing that those of the same times, similar traditions, and even same places arrive at different answers as pertains this very subject. If euthanasia was to be made legal, there are no criteria that can be used to determine the very genuine cases. Those people who proposes this action, as they define the rights of a person focuses narrowly on the normal cases only; an adult person, who is in his or her right mind, acting in their own volition, putting in consideration his or her own possessions or those entrusted to this person. I would therefore question the basis for determining the abnormal circumstances, and the limits that are sensible in today’s cultural situation. In this, we think of the slippery slope concern, soon many cases will transit to explicit murder. We will not have guarantee for people who instigate murder and claim that the people they killed were more than willing to die. The people that will fall as victims of this murder are the disable, disadvantaged, or those considered to be â€Å"undesirable† in the society – those who are a burden to their caregivers or even the state, which should be obliged to giving indiscriminate care to all groups of people. Goldberg (n. d), states that, â€Å"Thus, many U. S. ommentators fear that, if assisted suicide and euthanasia were legalized, death would be inflicted unwillingly on disabled, disadvantaged, or otherwise undesirable individuals who might be considered a burden by their caregivers or the state† (Goldberg, n. d). He continues to say that â€Å"Biased physicians, family members, or managed care organizations might consciously or subconsciously influence difficult or expensive patients to take advantage of assisted suicide† (Goldberg, n. d). It is also clear that no human endeavour is immune of abuse. This will make the Oregon requirement difficult to trust. Even ‘acting on one’s own volition’ is still not good because many patients may act quickly without enough information of existing medical care, thinking that their fate is just death. So why wont we restrict the ‘person’s autonomy’ till the person is fully informed? Thinking this way will definitely call for not legalising euthanasia. John Stuart Mill gives an example of person who wants to cross a broken bridge, as he concludes he says that this person would not really continue to do that if he is fully informed about the dangers of going that way (Mill, 2005). The other concern that we have is that this practice will be in total contradiction with the present physicians’ role as healer. It is a stipulation that physicians should always do their best to save lives and not destroy them at all. The physicians’ role should be limited to saving lives as it has been over time. Legalizing euthanasia means that the physicians’ role is broadened to the point of the patients’ advocate in the maters concerning their own health and ways they want it to be handled. This will arouse the craving of patients to commit suicide and allow many cases that would otherwise be alleviated, to run to the worst. Still on the issue of rights, every one has a right that is inherent in nature and anyone should not interfere with the individual’s rights. People should therefore exercise their own rights without interfering with others’ and no one should interfere with the autonomy of this individual. As we say that rights are inherent in an individual, we are saying that these person posses this rights because of the life that he has. Without this life, the rights he claims to have are null and void. This takes us to the point that no one should interfere with the life because it is the carrier of this same rights. Mill states that, â€Å"But by selling himself for a slave, he abdicates his liberty; he forgoes any future use of it, beyond that single act† (Mill, 2005, pp 67). He continues to say, â€Å"He therefore defeats, in his own case, the very purpose which is the justification of allowing him to dispose of himself† (Mill, 2005, pp 67). In our case the person who decides to die no longer has the autonomy that we advocate to give in allowing them to die. The person defeats his own reason for wanting to die. Mill continues to say, â€Å"He is no longer free; but is thenceforth in a position which has no longer the presumption in its favor, that would be afforded by his voluntarily remaining in it† (Mill, 2005, pp 67). He concludes on this matter that, â€Å"The principle of freedom cannot require that he should be free not to be free, it is not freedom, to be allowed to alienate his freedom† (Mill, p 67). If we have to protect the autonomy of individuals then we should protect their lives too. We can still work without euthanasia because many of our physicians have worked hard and are still working hard to come up will the best palliative care for the terminally ill people. Under good circumstances of proper palliative care, this practice will be unnecessary. This care can conserve the dignity of terminally ill people till they die. It is therefore our responsibility to give them this care rather than to help them kill themselves, which is not dignified at all (Chochinov, 2002). Though, the numbers of people supporting euthanasia is growing with time, everyone should think about the above-discussed concerns. This will help each one of us know that we are capable of giving good care to terminally ill patients without letting them die suicidal deaths. We can think it right that allowing them to die is actually denying them their autonomy, and hence the inherent rights. We should always strive to give perfect care than to kill.

Kettle Foods Marketing Plan

Kettle Foods Marketing Plan Potato chips as a product has been a major snack being consumed around the world but most predominantly in is consumed English speaking countries and some West African countries as well. Potato crisps were first developed in New York, Saratoga Springs in the year 1853 to be precise. It gradually became popular as time went on. The industry has faced several challenges over the years especially in the UK due to the economic difficulties (recession) faced by the country and consumers are also now aware of the health issues that arise due to excess consumption of such snacks which decreased the level sales level of such products. However, the industry still stands and is still leading among snack industries. There are various reasons and factors in industry still remained important and one of such is the health aspect. Many manufacturers and companies over the years have been trying to come up with a solution to the response of consumers to potato crisps as a snack product that contains a high level of fat and sodium which can lead to a high blood pressure or blood sugar and tooth erosion if consumed excessively. As mentioned above, one of the companies which have decided to come up with a solution to the problem that affects potato chips health-wise is Kettle. Kettle has been in the business of manufacturing potato chips naturally without the use of GMO ingredients. Our analysis as will be discussed will focus on the potato chips industry using Kettle Chips as a case study. Kettle was originally founded in 1978 in Salem by Cameron Healy. In 1987 accompanied by his son, Cameron went on a 6 week motorcycle adventure which led them to discover how much the British really liked chips. A branch was later established in the UK, Norwich (1988). Kettle foods today are one of the biggest potato chips manufacturers and have maintained their originality in taste and natural ingredients till date. The Kettle Brand potato chips was perfected in 1982 and have been improving and even expanded their line of production to include Baked Potato Chips, Kettle Brand, Tortilla Chips and Kettle Brand in order to meet varying tastes of their costumers (Kettle Foods Inc., 2009). 2.0 UK MARKET DATA British Population is the biggest snack eaters in Europe amid growing health concerns about savory treats. As a country it consumes an estimated 6 billion packets per year, that equivalent of almost 100 packets of crisps per person. Its a national obsession with crisps and nuts, which means that they spent  £55 per person on them last year, more than double the  £22.50 of nearest rival, Germany. This is projected to climb to more than  £80 in 2014. Overall, they munched through 300 tons of the snacks in 2010, worth  £2.47billion and a quarter of all sales in Europe. Report author James Manley, of leading market analyst Mintel, said: The UK is king in the European crisps and salty snacks market. Eating occasions are unlimited and snacking is rife throughout the day. Though the health credentials of crisps are questioned, it still holds 48 per cent of sales in UK. Other snacks, including tortilla chips, popcorn and pork scratching make up the remaining 52 per cent. UK Potato Crisps Snacks Market to hit  £2.61bn by 2014 Says New Report. As per past records and analysis, in 2006 the UK market value of crisps, salty snacks and nuts was around 2500 million pounds. It has been noticed that the consumption of the chips is continuously increasing that too at a constant pace. As per current data i.e. 2011, the market value is 3176 million pounds. In Fig1.1 diagram, there is a forecast given for four years that is from 2012 to 2016. As per Mintel forecast it is estimated that UK market share for 2012 will be around 3300 million pounds and further increasing to 3500 million pounds in 2013 and so on. The end of 2016 estimates the total UK market value for this to be 4183 million pounds. By taking all the provisions it can be concluded that in the best case scenario maximum UK market value can go up to 4627 and in the worst case scenario it can go down to 3853 in 2016, keeping in mind all the different confidence level. Thus, analyzing all the past data and future forecast of UK retail sale of crisps, salty snacks and nuts it can be concluded that UK market has got huge potential for the consumption of the crisps and all and this can be taken as an opportunity for the existing market players of crisps and they can all increase their own market share by adopting several strategies. Most of the market share is captured by walkers so this can be an opportunity for kettle chips to snatch walkers customers by putting all the marketing efforts or kettle can put such strategy to attract new different groups of customers. 3.0 INTERNAL ANALYSIS THE MARKETING MIX Marketing can quickly and simply be defined as the process of making a product or service available to the consumer at the right place, price, and time (James and Carlson, 1996-2012). This usually involves the careful analysis of the product or service in four different aspects known as the 4Ps (McCarthy, 1960) before proceeding. You as a marketer has to consider what the consumer wants or what their needs are, the environment or location of your business, if the price of the product or service youll be offering will be too high or too low and finally but not the least, how to promote the product or service. Now we will be taking a look at Kettle Chips and how they market their products putting the 4Ps, which are Product (Service), Place, Price and Promotion into consideration. Before we go into the full analysis, it is good to have in mind the aim and objective of the companys (Kettle Chips) product which is to provide for the consumer the best healthy, nutritious and tasty potato chips for them to enjoy and now we will see how they have managed to achieve this so far. Marketing Mix An effective marketing mix has to match consumer need, corporate resources and to create a competitive advantage. A market-oriented firm always keeps an eye on its environment. The environment is divided into the microenvironment and macro environment. In microenvironment, the key actors are suppliers, management of the company i.e. the company itself, customers and competitors. Micro environment are internal to the organization and the organization has sufficient controls over it. Macro environment consists of economic, social, legal, physical and technology forces. Macro-environments are usually out of the companys control. (Jobber and Fahy, 2003) Four Ps of marketing mix: 3.1 Product This part of marketing mix mainly focuses on what exactly consumer wants. Under product, we have to consider what the consumer needs are and what exactly consumers wants. For developing marketing mix of Kettle Chips we need to consider the part of the market being targeted by Kettle. Kettle Brand targets health conscious customers, which imply that their product has to be health inclined in order to appeal to the consumers and also to satisfy its customers. Secondly, Kettle, since 1978 produce their chips using only natural ingredients (Non-GMO products) in order to give their consumers extra reassurance of steps they take to ensure ingredients with integrity (Kettle Foods Inc., 2009). Findings from research, (Mintel, 2009) provides us with information showing an improvement in the sale of crisps due to the fact that they are more healthy in terms of calories and fat than they were before. The Non-GMO project stated Kettle Brand Chips as the first potato chips being produced without the use of GMOs in 2009. Their chips are gluten free and they use expeller pressed oil for their products in order to give their consumers a safe product to enjoy. Kettle Chips arent just bent on the health aspect of their products and ignoring how tasty their chips should be. They offer different seasonings of potato chips such as Sweet Onion, Tortilla Chips, Lightly Salted Sea Salt and Vinegar, Spicy Thai, Unsalted, Jalapeno, Red Chili etc. All of these are produced naturally to meet different tastes of consumers. Product Life Cycle This is simply a principle that suggests that every product has different stages that it must pass through before it is eventually pushed from the market. Introduction: This is when the product is first introduced into the market and as a result of that, a large number of the consumer market are unaware of the product so its profits are low at this stage. Normally in this stage the company or manufacturer will try to cover its high cost of production, which will result in the product becoming less affordable for the average consumer.(Vernon, 1966) According to product life cycle theory, the Kettle Chips products in this section are Jalapeno chili, Mexican Potato Bake, New Kettle Ridge Chips, Sour Cream, Corn, Tomato, Avocado and lime dip, Peach and Coriander Salsa. (Kettle Foods Ltd., 2012) Growth: This is the stage that usually determines if the product will survive or not. The producers at this stage will try to bring down the cost of the product as to make it more affordable for the average consumer by coming up with ways to cut down the costs of production and present better offers. In addition to this, the company will have to make use of a strong approach in advertisement and promotion strategies in order to catch the attention and interests of their customers.(Vernon, 1966) Under this section, Kettle Chips have products such as Mature Cheddar Multipacks, Ridge Chips, Tortilla Chip. (Kettle foods Ltd., 2012) Maturity: The third stage is only attained assuming the product has survived the previous stage (Growth Stage). At this stage, the price must have fallen to a more affordable level for more customers to purchase due to standardized production. Here, production and technology may also be exported to underdeveloped and developing countries where production costs will be lower and developed countries can focus on innovation to make the product better.(Vernon, 1966) Examples of kettle chips products that are currently in this stage are Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar and Lightly Salted. These are among the most demanded Kettle Chips seasonings.(Kettle Foods Ltd.,2012) Decline: This is the last stage. The product begins to fade out of the market, demand, and production and of course, profits begin to crash as well due to new technologies and new products coming up. It usually still survives for a while in the underdeveloped and developing countries but is eventually completely pushed out over time. (Vernon, 1966) The Boston Consulting Group Theory (BCG) Bruce Henderson founded this in the early 1970s. Initially, it was designed as tool to be used for financial management but was then put to better use in marketing. Boston Matrix considers products in two dimensions: relative market share and market growth rate. (Cranfield School of Management, 2000) Boston Matrix categorizes products in four boxes, which are Star, Cash Cow, Problem Child/ Question Mark, and Dog. Star: Building market shares as sales improve. Products here are cash neutral. They generate cash as volume and revenue builds rapidly, but they usually require special attention in funding because they are new products. Usually, aggressive marketing is required for such products. Cash Cow: The products in this box have high a high market share but low market growth, which implies that they are mature products. These generate cash that is needed to support other aspects of the business. Problem Child/ Question Mark: These are products that do not hold a dominant market share but are high in market growth. These are often newly introduced products that have a high tendency of failing in the market. They usually require large amounts of cash to fund their development. Dog: These are products that were once on top but have declined and now generating low cash flow and in some cases, even become liabilities to the business. Henderson advises that such products should be discarded. (Cranfield School of Management, 2000) In the following diagram some of the Kettle Chips products are categorized according to the Boston Consulting Group Theory. BCG MATRIX Fig. 1.2 3.2 Place When considering place, one have to consider the location of the business, how accessible it will be to the customers and probably the distribution channel or channels that will be used. Kettle Chips products are found almost everywhere around the world but predominantly in European and West African countries. The Kettle Foods office in UK supports a network of independent distributors which make their products available in the Middle East and European countries outside UK such as Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Austria, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Ice land, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Italy, Malaysia, Malta and Luxembourg (Kettle Foods LTD, 2012). Distribution Channel Kettle chips are found in various supermarkets and retail shops around the world making it easy for their consumers to access their products. There are various distribution channels that can be used by any business that produces consumer goods such as: ProducerÆ’Â  Consumer ProducerÆ’Â  RetailerÆ’Â  Consumer ProducerÆ’Â  WholesalerÆ’Â  RetailerÆ’Â  Consumer ProducerÆ’Â  AgentÆ’Â  WholesalerÆ’Â  RetailerÆ’Â  Consumer Source: Figure 9.8. Introduction to marketing theory and practice (Palmer 2004:357) Kettle Chips use wholesalers as well as retailers but do not use agents in their distribution channel. They sell directly to their wholesalers. Their distribution channel would appear like this for example: Kettle ChipsÆ’Â  TescoÆ’Â  Off-license shopsÆ’Â  Consumers (Kettle Foods Ltd., 2012) 3.3 Price Under price, there must be consideration of if the price of your product or service will be too high for your consumers or too low for the company to turn in profits. Kettle as a company usually build their facilities upon locations with good vegetation and natural resources that supports their business such as the Green building mentioned above under place and their facility in Salem, Oregon which is located adjacent to a nearly 2-acre wetland (Kettle Foods LTD, 2012) . These in turn enables them to avoid extra expenses that would have been spent on purchasing some raw materials and gives them the ability to keep a low cost on their products while making sufficient profit to grow the business. Kettle Chips products are not the cheapest and can still put up more effort in bringing their prices to a lower level. A minimum level of price should be maintained with a good quality in production because the lower the price, the higher the demand. This will give an organization an edge over its competitors that offer a higher price for the same quality or even lesser quality. (Kettle Foods LTD, 2012) Kettle Chips Pricing Strategy Kettle Chips came into the market in 1978 to be specific and at this period, they were not many companies manufacturing chips, especially in the UK and so, they decided to penetrate the market with their naturally made potato chips and were selling them at a high price. Kettle Chips had very little competition at this period so they were able to sell their products to high income earning consumers at high prices while having a low promotion. In other words, they used the Slow Penetration strategy to penetrate the market. This was possible for them because their kettle style cooking was unique at this period. Presently, Kettle Chips have a strong brand, so they maintain a Slow Skimming strategy because they have a strong brand. Being already established, they are relaxed about promotion and that is one of the reasons why more recent companies such as Walkers have a higher market share. Consumers are more aware of companies that spend a lot on promotion. 3.4 Promotion Kettle advertises their products through the use of e advertising (internet), Television and radio broadcasts, and public relations such as their community giving. Kettle makes donations of money, product and time to local organizations. They donate chips for fundraising events at local schools and give more than 175,000 pounds of potatoes to local hunger relief agencies every year. They also give out their brand products to organizations and schools. Kettle Chips successfully created a significant uplift in sales from existing, lapsed and new purchasers through a brand campaign in newspapers. They are now looking more confident than ever, their market share has increased as a result of this (Kettle Chips: The Story, 2012). The result of the campaign is as follows: Newspapers immediately boost sales by over 20% During the newspaper campaign, Kettle Chips sales of featured products were 20.5% higher among people in the public who saw the adverts, compared with a matched unexposed sample and maintained sales impact In the 12 weeks post campaign, newspaper advertising continued to increase the sales by 19.5% (Kettle Chips: The Story, 2012). Newspapers engage all types of buyers KETTLE Chips advertising successfully increased penetration and frequency of purchase as well as reengaging lapsed users. (Kettle Chips: The Story, 2012) Newspapers are brilliant for making big bold brand statements Kettle Chips simple but confident campaign captured readers attention and increased their emotional brand involvement. This was very beneficial in the sense that it gave their customers a sense of affiliation with the product and of cause; this encourages loyalty to the brand as well. (Kettle Chips: The Story, 2012) 4.0 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS Fig 1.3 The Marketing Environment. Source: Jobber, D and Fahy, J. (2003), New York: Mc Graw Hill Education UK LTD Micro Economics Introduction: Creating customer value and satisfaction is the main key to build relationships with customers. It is not a one man task.so there are many actors playing role to build micro environment. Marketing success requires building relationships with other company departments such as competitors, suppliers, customers, various publics and marketing intermediaries .All these are combined to process effective delivery network. Components of micro environment 4.1 Competitors Marketing concept is based on believing better customer value and satisfaction than its competitors. Thus the company should adopt itself to the needs of consumers.one of the important aspects of gaining strategic advantage is by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors offering in the minds of customers. All companies have their different marketing strategy based on their size and industry positioning. In the context of kettle chips, the three most powerful competitors for kettle chips are Walkers (PepsiCo), Pringles (PG), and McCoys (UB). The following table describes the leading brands value shares in crisps and salty snacks from 2009 to 2011. From the table it is clearly visible that Kettle Chips stands in the 5th position in the market of crisps and salty snacks. Fig 1.4 4.2 Customers Customers are the most important element in the companys microenvironment. The main aim of the entire delivery system is to serve customers and build strong relationship. There are five type of customer market and the company may target any or all of them. To start with the customer market, first type is consumer market, which consists of individual and households that buys product for personal consumption. Business market consists of buying the goods for further processing or in the production process whereas reseller market buys goods for the purpose to sell them at profit. Government markets consist of government agencies that buy goods for public service or to transfer them to others who need them. International market is made up of buyers in other countries who may be consumers, producers, resellers or government. Kettle chips has established itself as a premium brand for chips and thus these chips are mainly for a specific targeted customers whose income level are little high than others because as compared to walkers kettle chips are slightly costlier and kettle chips believes in delivering good quality crisps and consumers who are really health conscious go for kettle chips. Consumption of crisps, salty snacks and nuts in the last six months, by type, by demographics, November 2011 Fig 1.5* small sub-sample (75-100) SOURCE: Toluna/Mintel 4.3 Suppliers Suppliers are important link in the companys overall delivery system. They are the source of resources needed by the company to produce its goods and services. Supply shortage can cost sales in the short run but it can hamper customer satisfaction in the long run. Most marketers today treat suppliers as their partners for generating customer value. The people who make Kettle Chips have always believed that the simple approach to good food is best. So the highest quality potatoes are sourced locally, and no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives or MSG are added to the process. Only the best potatoes are used to give the distinctive golden colour, crunch and flavour of a Kettle chip. Kettle Chips source 75% of the brands potatoes from its home county of Norfolk, and 90% from East Anglia. Kettle Chips are made in the Kettle Foods Ltd factory in Norwich, where the company has been ever since it was first launched in the UK. Nelson County Potatoes is a bespoke growers group to Kettle Foods Ltd- makers of the famous hand-cooked KETTLE ® Chips, a premium quality product made using the finest potatoes. Its Norfolk-based growers produces more than 65000 tonnes of potatoes each year, a large proportion of which go in to kettle chips at the kettle foods limited base in Norwich. From this part about 100 million bags of kettle chips are produced each year and distributed across the country to all the major supermarkets and other food store. 4.4 The company For designing the marketing plans, the company has to interrelate and coordinate with all the departments within the company like top management, finance, research and development purchase, operations and accounting. The duty of the top management is to set the companys mission, objective, strategies and plans. Marketing managers work closely with other departments. Kettle chips takes pride of being a well-known and growing business with its roots based in the local community.it has got wide diversity of people from all backgrounds, working hand by hand to one common goal of making better chips. The company provides great working conditions and friendly management and this helps company retain the employees. Currently the managing director of kettle Foods at Diamond Foods, Inc. is Dominic Lowe, the Cadbury man who became Green Blacks managing director last year, moving from a  £1bn-a-year business to a  £40m-a-year one, believes the public is more concerned about the deeds of an ethical company than its ownership Macro-Environment: Introduction The macro environment comprises of forces that do not immediately affect the business but it may have effect in the long run, as time goes on. As these environmental changes take place, macro-environment affects the micro relationships of the business as well. The micro environment is complex and interdependent. (Palmer, 2004) Components of macro environment 4.5 Political/Legal factors In UK, food products including the Snacks are heavily influenced and controlled by legislation relating to composition and labeling requirements, such that consumers can be confident of the wholesomeness and value for money that they represent (Van Horn, 2002). On a world perspective, the availability of safe food is an increasing problem in fast-growing urban populations. Meeting this need by the provision of new food product is a major opportunity for UK as these markets develop. These refer to government polices such as the degree of intervention in the economy. What goods and services does a government provides, To what extent does it subsidized firms, What are its priorities in terms of health of the people, Political decisions can impact on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the road and rail system. In developed economies, government intervention is inevitable in order to uphold the consumers trust and faith in the governments systems. Over the years, consumers lifestyles have become eclectic and the culture of ready meals and snacks has become popular. This has lead to several lifestyle diseases. Children studying in primary and secondary schools are the largest buyers of sweet and savory snacks. It has been observed that such snacks formed an integral part of their lunch boxes. Due to the adverse affects of snack food on childrens health, the government, through its Better Regulation Commission, has proposed certain standards for school food. The standards restrict the sale of confectionery, savory snacks except nuts and seeds, and deep fried snacks like crisps and burgers. (Better Regulation Commission, 2007). The government in the United Kingdom has become proactive in promoting healthy eating and balanced diet patterns to the citizens. The government, along with various other organizations like the NHS, initiated several awareness campaigns to tackle the growing problem of obesity. The campaigns promote the reduction of fat, salt and sugar the consumers daily diet. This move by the government can lead to a projected decline of 4.1% in the sweet snacks market and 3.4% in the savory snacks market over a period of five years (Just Food, 2009). 4.6 Economic factors These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. Change in these factors can lead to a major impact on a firms behavior. Like Higher interest rates because it costs more to borrow. A strong currency may make exporting more difficult because it may raise the price in foreign currency. Inflation may provoke higher wage demands from employees and raise costs. Higher GDP growth may boost demand for a firms products. The market value of Snacks companies in the UK represents a further contribution to wealth, both in the holdings by private shareholders and in those held by institutions. The balance of trade arising from Kettle products is positive because the major materials are already found and created in UK plants. Also, the nature of the product cost structures is not ruling out significant inter-country shipment of such low price-dense, high bulk packs. The United Kingdom was faced with two unfortunate economic crises in the second half of 2007. The tumult in the financial markets along with steep increase in the fuel and food prices severely affected the business and commerce, as well as consumer confidence. The consumers have become relatively conservative in their approach to spending on consumer goods. The sweet and savory market has however shown a steady growth in sales. This reason could be attributed to the nature of these products. Snacks are particularly seen as indulgent and impulsive products with a low unit price. Snacks are also low involvement products unlike other consumer goods. In the United Kingdom, the market for crisps and snacks grew by 5% since 2007. This is mainly because the snacks companies have responded well to the consumers needs in this fragile economic environment. (Mintel, 2009) In spite of positive growth signs, the manufacturers still have to struggle due to the existing credit crunch, coupled with the rising costs of wheat, flour, maize and potatoes, and instability in crude oil prices. All these factors put a strain on the manufacturers profit margins. (Research and Markets, 2008) 4.7 Social factors / Cultural Changes in social trends can impact on the demand for a firms products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. In the UK, for example, the population has been ageing. This has increased the costs for firms who are committed to pension payments for their employees because their staff is living longer. It also means some firms such as Asda have started to recruit older employees to tap into this growing labor pool. The ageing population also has impact on demand: for example, demand for sheltered accommodation and medicines have increased whereas demand for toys is falling. There is now a wealth of evidence to show that consuming a high salt diet brings with it increasing health problems. High salt intake is linked to increasing blood pressure, which causes strokes and heart disease, with other less well-known effects including stomach cancer and osteoporosis. Basically, these issues are advantage for Walkers since majority of their products are potatoes. Potatoes are low calorie and excellent for people that are health conscious. The sale of sweet and savory snacks thrives on consumption patterns of younger consumers aged between 15-34 years. Due to persistent efforts by the government to encourage consumers to adopt healthier lifestyles and eating habits, the demographics of main consumers of snacks has changed. Fewer children are attracted to crisps and snack. The Government regulations as mentioned above have also been a cause in making crisps and other sweet and savory snacks unpopular among children. 4.8 Technological factors Technology can reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organizations providing the products. Online shopping, bar coding and computer aided design are all improvements to the way we do business as a result of better technology. In the process of building this successful brand Kettle Chips, the business found that it had developed a reporting problem in lower management. The company system consisted of 70 to 80 spreadsheets, which were constantly being updated and sent back and forth between departments. The reporting process took at least eight weeks, and if any modifications needed to be made, it took a minimum of two days. Employees also had difficulty creating their own reports, and would have to rely on an IT software developer to do the job for them. This ended up taking most of the developers time, which would otherwise have been spent on other pressing IT needs. After a long search for a solution, Kettle Foods Ltd chose IBM Cognos Express, along with Logicalis UK as their IBM Business Partner. Kettle chips selected IBM Cognos Express because it combines the planning and modeling strengths of IBM Cognos TM1 and the reporting strengths of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence in a value-for-money offering; providing a complete planning, reporting and scenario-modeling toolset. 4.9 Environmental factors Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Changes in temperature can impact on many industries including farming, production cost and Product life. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. The gener

Marx and Nietzsches Theories Essay -- Friedrich Nietzsche Karl Marx P

Marx and Nietzsche's Theories Society is flawed. There are critical imbalances in it that cause much of humanity to suffer. In, the most interesting work from this past half-semester, The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx is reacting to this fact by describing his vision of a perfectly balanced society, a communist society. Simply put, a communist society is one where all property is held in common. No one person has more than the other, but rather everyone shares in the fruits of their labors. Marx is writing of this society because, he believes it to be the best form of society possible. He states that communism creates the correct balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of society. And furthermore thinks that sometimes violence is necessary to reach the state of communism. This paper will reflect upon these two topics: the relationship of the individual and society, and the issue of violence, as each is portrayed in the manifesto.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before expounding upon these ideas, it is necessary to establish a baseline from which to view these topics. It is important to realize that we as humans view everything from our own cultural perspective. Marx speaks of this saying, "Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class made into a law for all, a will, whose essential character and direction are determined by the economical conditions of existence of your class."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With this in mind, some perspective on the society of that time is vital. During this time the industrial revolution is taking place, a massive movement away from small farms, businesses operated out of homes, small shops on the corner, and so on. Instead, machines are mass-producing products in giant factories, with underpaid workers. No longer do people need to have individual skills. Now, it is only necessary that they can keep the machines going, and do small, repetitive work. The lower working class can no longer live a normal life following their own pursuits, but are lowered to working inhumane hours in these factories. This widens the gap between the upper and lower class-called bourgeois and proletariat-until they are essentially two different worlds. The bourgeois, a tiny portion of the population, has the majority of the wealth while the proletariat, t... ...che's theories seem firmly embedded in history. The concepts that he proposed allowed a number of great movements to follow. His theories on the Dionysian and Apollonian instincts opened up the deep psycho-analysis field to Freud, in addition to inspiring the existentialist movement. Unfortunately, his work was adopted and used to support the Third Reich when it was attempting to take over the world, and for a while no one would give his work any credit. Justly his work has recently been given the credit it is due, as well as all of his theories becoming again highly discussed, debated, and lamented over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The theory behind The Will to Power is incredibly well supported despite the fact that it is simply a collection of notes from Nietzsche's later years. It is a wonderful compilation of the premise behind all of his other works and the summary of their individual points. The most amazing aspect of the book and the philosophy is the incredible validity of it even now, over a hundred years after it was written. The social order of his new world needed to be addressed more, but the principles proposed stand sturdily on their own two feet confident in their own will to power.

Essay --

Climate change which is attributed to global warming caused by fossil fuels is, perhaps, one of the most important concerns in the world. Owing to the tremendous increase in polluting gaseous which are sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) and greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) developing countries, such as UK, are working on new technologies to meet the limits that have been established under Kyoto protocol (Roskilly, A.P., Nanda, S.K., Wang, Y.D., Chirkowski, J., 2007; Center for Electromechanics, 2014; Fernandez Soto, J.L., Garay Seijo, R., Fraguela Formoso, J.A., Gregorio Iglesias, G., Carral Zouce, L., 2010; Jayaram, V., Agrawal, H., Welch, W.A., Miller, J.W. & Cocker, D.R., 2011) . Although land transportation, such as cars, trains and trucks, contributes to emitted gaseous, marine vessels play a significant role in air pollution. According to Fernandez Soto et al., 2010, approximately 42% of the European Union’s (EU) domestic transportation and 90 % of trade with non-European countries are done by sea. The EU is trying to encourage the use of marine vessels for transportation of goods to reduce the polluting gaseous and greenhouse gas emissions over land transportation. Even though the regulations of emitted gaseous by the legislation of Annex VI of the MARPOL, Fernandez Soto et al., 2010 claimed that emissions from marine vessels, SOx, NOx and PM, would increase by 40%, 50% and 55%, respectively, by 2020. Apart from the destructive effects of fossil fuels on environment, high costs and limited reserves of them force ship owners and transportation companies to seek for alternative sources (Roskilly et al., 2007). Fernandez Soto et. al., 2010 assessed the types of alternative en... ...al., 2007). Both a heating line preventing condensation and a conditioning unit keeping the temperature of the gas below 40 0C and the saturation level is correct are essential. The whole exhaust computation system is shown in Fig. 5 (Roskilly et al., 2007).The analysis of trial fuel Lloyds Register FOBAS fuel analysis service examined the biodiesel from recycled cooking fat and vegetable oil and fossil diesel for elemental constitution and other properties and prepared a robust report shown in Table 3 (Roskilly et al., 2007). Table 3. The analysis results of fuels The experimental procedures for the trails Roskilly et al., 2007 followed the ISO 8178 test procedure and the test cycle E5 used for marine crafts less than 24 m in length to receive a standardized set of data. Besides, to calculate specific exhaust emissions the weighting factor is used (Table 4).

Black Reparation: Social Justice through the visibility of the Black na

In American history, the people of color narrative have historically been invisible; the dominant discourse of American society has been predominantly white with Eurocentric emphasis. Thus, we see the silencing of the narrative of minority groups in American history. In his literature The Price of Reconciliation, Ronald Walters argues for a Black political agenda that includes reparations; he believes that the legacy of slavery has produced a domino effect that produces the oppression of Blacks till this day. Conservatives on the other hand disagree with Walter’s argument; they believe that reparation is unnecessary because America is now fair to Blacks. Furthermore, conservatives believe that Blacks should move on since slavery happened a long time ago. In order to understand Walter’s argument we must understand his claim that Blacks still suffer from the legacy of slavery. In addition, we must analyze his argument for Black reparation. To comprehend the impact of rep aration we must assess the effects of it in the Black community; thus we must analyze how reparation can both aid and hurt the Black community. By taking these steps, we look at the arguments about reparation with a critical eye. To understand Walter’s claim for reparation we must first understand his view on the effects of the legacy of slavery and its cascading effect on current Black oppression. According to Walters, slavery was a means of legitimizing Black subordination. He states that, â€Å"whites had to pretend that they [Blacks] were subhuman species unworthy to enjoy the privileges and responsibilities of free citizens in a free society (Walters, 84).† By the legitimization of slavery, whites are able to label Blacks as inferior creates undeserving of similar... ...ack reparation. Walter provides a viable justification for Black reparation. He believe that through the passage of Black reparation, the Black voice will finally be visible in American society. However, white conservative contest the idea of Black reparation as â€Å"opening up old wounds†; thus they advocate for the idea of â€Å"moving on.† In order to fully help the Black community, a viable alternative form of Black reparation must be achieved. Aiding Blacks with educational opportunities seems the most viable not because blacks are intellectually inferior but rather the education system in America is systematically racists; thus, it obstruct the success of many Blacks. As Walter suggest, reparation to Black should occur because it is the social responsibility of America to rectify its wrongdoing; thus with this argument, reparation becomes a form of social justice.

Research the German Car Industry †BMW Essay

Within this dossier I am going to research the German Car Industry, firstly I am going to give a little background history to Germany, then Berlin where the person will be based to work for BMW. Then finally I will tell the person about BMW, their history and his/hers role within the company. I have decided to use a 50/50 approach to this dossier by this I mean 50% will be on the country i.e. Germany and Berlin and 50% will be on the company. I have chosen this because I feel, and will explain throughout this piece of work that it is very important to know the ways and the customs of a country as well as the industry in which you are going to work. I will try through this piece of work to help the person ‘settle’ in quicker and be comfortable of his/her surroundings. If someone feels happy in his/her surroundings then this should spread into his/hers work life and by focusing more on the country I feel this could happen quicker than usual. About Germany Population: 82,057,000 Size: 357,021 kmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Adjacent countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland Highest point: Zugspitze (2,962 m) – 31% of the country is covered with forests Coastal line: 2,389 km Life expectancy: 77 years (Men – 73 years; Women – 80 years) System of government: The Federal Republic of Germany is a democracy with a liberal free-market economy, freedom of religion and freedom of the press. Germany is a member of the European Union (EU). Capital: Berlin (3.47 million inhabitants) 16 States in the Federal Republic: Baden-Wà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½rttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia Railway system: 43,966 km Freeways and roads: 633,000 km Bicycle tracks: 40,000 km Federal and national waterways: 10,000 km Sea water routes: 23,000 kmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Time zone: In Germany, clocks are set to Central European time. From the end of March to the end of October (summertime) they are put forward one hour. (Source: German tourist office) Economy Overview: After the fall of the Berlin Wall, progress towards economic integration between eastern and western Germany is clearly visible, yet the eastern region almost certainly will remain dependent on subsidies funded by western Germany until many years to come. The staggering $390 billion in western German assistance that the eastern states have received since 1990 – 40 times the amount in real terms of US Marshall Fund aid sent to West Germany after World War II – is just beginning to have an impact on the eastern German standard of living, which plummeted after unification. Assistance to the east continues to run at roughly $100 billion annually. Although the growth rate in the east was much greater than in the west, it will take 10-15 years for the eastern states to match western Germany’s living standards. The economic recovery in the east is led by the construction industries which account for one-third of industrial output, with growth increasingly supported by the service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Eastern Germany’s economy is changing from one anchored on manufacturing to a more service-oriented economy. Western Germany, with three times the per capita output of the eastern states, has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. The strong recovery in 1994 from recession began in the export sector and spread to the investment and consumption sectors in response to falling interest rates. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. It is relatively poor in natural resources, coal being the most important mineral. Western Germany’s world-class companies manufacture technologically advanced goods. The region’s economy is mature: services and manufacturing account for the dominant share of economic activities, and raw materials and semi manufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports. Read more: Swot Analysis of BMW Current Issues in Germany Currently, Germany is facing post reunification economic problems caused by a number of factors including the flow of refugees into Germany, the flow of East Germans leaving to West Germany, and the poor economic conditions left in East Germany by the Communists. In the East, the unemployment rate remains at about 18%, despite efforts to lower it. Within the political arena Germany remain to be one of the fieriest opponents to the war on Iraq and diplomatic relations between themselves and the USA and Britain and have hit a low point, but given time and talking these issues will be resolved. Germany has changed a lot since the end of the Second World War. This is a country that lay in ruins, the majority of its infrastructure was destroyed, millions of its citizens were killed and its economy was in tatters. However nowadays nearly 60 years after the war Germany brought itself back into world economics. Germany remains to be one of the main players in global economics, its many industries i.e. the car industry have lifted it from the depths of recession to become a strong economy. About Berlin Located in the north-east of Germany and with a population of 3.5million, one third is covered by woodland, parks and waterways. Despite efforts to become a city of the future, Berlin has also made every effort to preserve its history. Berlin is home to the largest construction project Europe has seen since World War II, the city is redefining itself. The construction of the Berlin Wall on Aug 13, 1961 set the seal on the city’s division and separated its people. The city celebrated on Nov 9, 1989 when the Berlin Wall was torn down. After the reunification in 1990 Berlin became residence of the Federal Government, which held its first plenary session in the redesigned Reichstag on Apr 19, 1999. The Reichstag with its new glass dome became an attraction for both Berliners and tourists from all over the world. The new millennium was celebrated with a magnificent party at the Brandenburg Tor. A lot has changed in Berlin since then. And Berlin will keep changing. Museums Berlin’s museums present art works of international appreciation. More than 170 museums invite to see collections of the world culture such as the Pergamonaltar or the bust of Nofretete, painting works from Giotto and Breughel over Caspar David Friedrich and Picasso to contemporary artists. Spectacular new buildings like the Filmmuseum or the Jewish Museum and the reopening of great museums like the Old National Gallery enhance the fascinating range of Berlin’s museums. Nightlife Night owls with stamina can also give their undivided attention to the interesting range of pubs around Savignyplatz in Charlottenburg. The area consists of a great number of restaurants and bars where everyone can meet the stars of television or Berlin’s culture and political scene. Here is the melting pot that combines symbolically the former west and the new centre to a harmonic construction. Especially the younger crowd is attracted to the Pariser Straà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e. At this location you will find taverns, bars, American diners, Mexican restaurants and very modern and stylish discos. During the summer life concentrates on the street in form of many chairs and tables that invite us to rest. In the middle of this street the well-maintained Ludwigkirchplatz with its rich areas of green providing a relaxing shadow is located. For someone who is going to live in a strange country it is important if they make themselves aware of certain customs within that country or a certain part of the country i.e. Tipping in a restaurant the bill you receive at a hotel, restaurant, cafe or bar often includes a service charge already. A tip is an indication of your satisfaction – 5% is average, whereas 10% indicates exceptional service. Tip taxi drivers about 5%, and porters and others who assist you with baggage one Euro per item. Berlin is one of the liveliest capitals in the world; it has huge volumes of history attached to it German Car Industry Germany is the birthplace of the automobile – in 1887 Karl Benz designed a couch fitted with an internal combustion engine, and the modern car was born. In 1901 Germany was already producing 900 cars a year; today the total is as high as 10 million. The industry employs about 1.26 million people, and over half of all the cars produced in Germany are exported. Today Daimler-Chrysler, the result of the merger between Daimler-Benz, Germany’s largest manufacturers of cars, and the American Chrysler Corporation, is the third largest car manufacturer in the world. The names of the car companies tell interesting, often personal stories. For example, when August Horch designed his first car, another car manufacturer operated under Horch’s name, so he was forced to find a new name for his company. He selected the Latinised version of the German word Horch, listen, and came up with Audi. Mercedes was originally the name of an early Daimler sports car – it was named after a client’s daughter. The car industry has remained one of the pillars of the German economy. Currently about 1.26 million people are employed in the car industry. In 1998 5.73 million cars were produced and 3.27 million of these were exported. Daimler-Benz is the largest of the three major players, Volkswagen being the second and BMW the third. The car industry is, however, facing the biggest changes since the introduction of mass production. With ever changing markets and fluctuating economies mass production in the old sense may be on its way out. Cars that are not sold quickly turn into huge losses for their company. This may be avoided by introducing more flexible production systems. The idea is to produce cars according to customer’s wishes and, more importantly, when they want to buy them. This idea is based on BTO (built-to-order) systems. In Germany about 60% of cars are built according to orders placed directly or indirectly with the factory. The next step, mass customisation, would suit both customer and manufacturer. The problem is to develop a production system that can adapt quickly to a changing demand and supply at a lower cost. Together with American and Japanese car makers Volkswagen is involved in the so-called â€Å"3DayCar† project which tries to apply the mass customisation model initiated by the computer manufacturer DELL to the car industry. Considering the size of German car manufacturers like Volkswagen and Daimler-Benz, these new production methods may mean major changes on a huge scale. Another change is the increasing size of car manufacturers. The five leading corporations worldwide are General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota and Volkswagen. The worldwide overproduction of cars and fluctuating markets has meant that all five have been involved in a number of acquisitions and mergers in order to consolidate their position as global players. DaimlerChrysler is now said to be interested in Mitsubishi Motors and Volkswagen in BMW. German Car Exports to Ireland In the year 2000 about 25% of all new cars bought in Ireland were of a German brand. (55.160 vehicles). The largest number of imports, 37 700 cars, were by Volkswagen. BMW BMW, which stands for Bayerische Motoren-Werke, started off as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. After the First World War the production of these engines was forbidden by the Peace Treaty of Versailles. BMW therefore began to manufacture motor cycles. Later on BMW bought a company which was licensed to produce a car called Dixi. The cars sold very well despite the economic downturn of the late 1920s and when the licence expired BMW started designing their own models. The company began building six cylinder cars and sporting models. With every new model BMW introduced went a sporting model since taking part and winning races was the best publicity a car manufacturer could get. During the war the company received large orders to build aircraft engines. Because of its contribution to the arms industry of the 1930s and 40s the BMW plants were banned from production for three years after the Second World War. Two of the company’s plants, in Berlin and Eisenach, were in the Russian sector and later were nationalised by the East German government. The factory in Munich remained, but since it had only produced motor cycles car production did not start until 1951. For a while the company tried to both mass-produce as well as develop prestigious models which put it under considerable financial strain. In 1959 BMW nearly went bankrupt but managed to keep going. Between 1955 and 1962 the company produced Isetta cars under licence. This led BMW to work with Italian designers which proved to be very successful for the company. A major reorganisation of the company took place in the early Sixties under the auspices of major shareholder Herbert Quandt. The success of these changes allowed BMW to built bigger cars and offer a more comprehensive range in the following years. In today’s competitive markets the quality of the marketing and advertising of a product is just as important as the quality of the product itself. An example of this is the latest advertising campaign by BMW in the US. Instead of TV and cinema ads BMW financed five short films which can be viewed on the internet. The films are made by internationally renowned directors and are part of a series called The Hire. All films feature a chauffeur and his car, a BMW. Guy Ritchie’s film, the first of the series, stars Madonna and was an immediate success. Since the start of the US campaign three months ago (May 2001) six million people have viewed the films and BMW is now considering a similar project in Germany. Surveys showed that most potential customers are far more likely to surf the internet than to look at TV or magazine ads. The campaign, which is typical for so-called Image-Advertising, indicates that the perception of a car is nowadays as important as the actual product, if not more so. (www.goethe.de) BMW Group worldwide mission statement is: â€Å"To be the most successful premium manufacturer in the industry.† What is BMW (GB) Ltd’s turnover? 1996 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,239,000 1997 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,400,000 1998 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,478,000 1999 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,580,000 2000 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,511,000 2001 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,966,000 2002 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2,350,000 (Source: www.bmw.com) BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) began life as a manufacturer of aircraft engines during World War I when it built a reputation of reliability and excellence. In 1923, BMW built its first motorcycle and in 1928, its first motorcar – a version of the Austin Seven built under licence. Production Range. With a workforce of approximately 2,700 employees, the Berlin Plant builds up to 400 motorcycles of the R, K and F Series a day. Also manufacturing camshafts, brake discs and track control arms for BMW’s various car models, the Berlin Plant is an important supplier for other locations within the BMW production network. Human resource policy The human factor is the No. 1 criterion in determining a company’s relative success. Accordingly, we see our associates not as a cost factor, but instead as an essential performance factor. This is especially true because any human resources policy that is not oriented towards the associate will always lead to negative cost effects in the long run, thus proving uneconomical. As a future-oriented company, we seek to pursue an exemplary, creative and associate-oriented human resources policy, making significant contributions to business success through our human resources activities. The human resources policy of the BMW Group is an integral feature of our overall corporate policy in both strategic and operative decisions. What are the BMW Group brands? BMW The BMW brand stands for one thing: sheer driving pleasure. Sporting and dynamic performance combined with superb design and exclusive quality MINI The MINI brand wins hearts and turns heads. MINI is part of a lifestyle that is cosmopolitan and confident, ready for everything. Rolls-Royce Uncompromising concentration on quality is a matter of course. The Rolls-Royce fascinates through unique solutions in detail BMW Ltd applies selection processes for both internal and external applicants which ensure the appointment of the highest quality staff. Special selection events are designed to give applicants every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities in a variety of relevant activities and to learn as much as they can about the organisation and the role they are applying for. BMW Ltd actively encourages its employees in the development of their careers Generally, vacancies will be advertised internally and wherever possible a current member of staff will be recruited into a position. Only if an internal appointment is not possible will BMW consider external recruitment. BMW Ltd operates an equal opportunity policy BMW Ltd offers all employees (Head Office and Dealer Network) the practical support, advice and training opportunities to encourage personal development, aligned to the achievement of corporate objectives. The BMW Centre for Development team helps employees to select and undergo the most appropriate training programme for their needs. Requirement is assessed annually during the appraisal process Managers are expected to interact regularly with their team and this process is formalised through â€Å"Portfolio† where managers and employees review performance together every November covering the following areas: * Review of performance against agreed objectives * Establishing objectives for the forthcoming 12 months * Identification of individual training and development needs Planning actions to build on strengths address weaknesses and plan career development. BMW offer an extensive induction programme which includes one or two days where the person is allowed to talk to fellow workmates on an informal basis. New workers are put into groups and set a task i.e. finding certain places within the factory. They are also assigned a mentor for 12 months this is so if they have any problems they can go to this person and hopefully they can sort it out, usually the new worker doesn’t use the mentor for 12 months it’s normally for the first month or so. BMW Ltd applies selection processes for both internal and external applicants which ensure the appointment of the highest quality staff. Special selection events are designed to give applicants every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities in a variety of relevant activities and to learn as much as they can about the organisation and the role they are applying for. BMW Ltd actively encourages its employees in the development of their careers BMW Ltd offers all employees (Head Office and Dealer Network) the practical support, advice and training opportunities to encourage personal development, aligned to the achievement of corporate objectives. The BMW Centre for Development team helps employees to select and undergo the most appropriate training programme for their needs. Requirement is assessed annually during the appraisal process. Courses available to staff include: Management Sales After sales Technical Dealer Service Managers are expected to interact regularly with their team and this process is formalised through â€Å"Portfolio† where managers and employees review performance together every November covering the following areas: Today BMW has various production plants in Germany, Austria, South Africa and the USA as well as sales offices in Asia and Mexico. Apart from cars and motor cycles the group is involved in the production of aircraft engines. Cars, however, account for nearly 75% of the company’s sales. Company’s operations also include software (softlab GmbH). Due to recent changes in the car industry there has been speculation about a possible merger between BMW and another car manufacturer, but the Quandt family who owns about half of the BMW shares has downplayed such speculation. In the beginning of 1994 BMW bought 80% of the shares in the Rover Group. The company later on sold Land Rover to Ford and Rover Cars to Phoenix Consortium. BMW is known for its production of passenger and Formula 1 cars as well as motor cycles. In the year 2000, BMW sold 830 000 cars, 74 000 motor cycles and employed 93 000 people. BMW are and will continue to be one of the largest car manufactures in the world, producing top of the range vehicles for years to come and being a credit to Germany is what BMW is all about. Bibliography www.goethe.de excellent site provides very good history on the car industry within germany and also that of bmw www.btm.de Another very good website, very helpful, will post out brochures to you about germany and getting around Berlin. Would be very good to a person who has never visited germany www.germanytouristoffice.de A good site offering details on accomdation within Germany, although does lack in the fact that it could be more helpful with regards to providing maps etc of germany www.guardian.co.uk Provides good history articles on various car manufacteurs in germany www.geographic.org Provides excellent maps first of Germany then of Berlin, its different regions etc. www.aboutgermany.org Good website providing information on different festivals that happen in Berlin, also features tips on how to live to in Germany Dossier German Car Industry