Marketing Plan Soft Drink Company 1st Half Essay

The following plan is intended to provide a basic marketing communications plan for a fictitious company. The company in question operates in China and produces soft drinks, particularly adult soft drinks. The information in the plan has been sourced from various textbooks and online research including the National Bureau of Statistics China. It has been found that the company should target the market aged 18 to 44, married, living in urban China, and purchasing for personal use. In order to address and leverage the current internal and external situation, the recommended marketing communications objectives have been set as follows: 1. Increase awareness of the brand name to 50% of the target market 2. Increase awareness of the portability and attractive design of the product to 25% of the target segment Introduction The following plan has been compiled in order to provide the basis for a comprehensive marketing communications plan for a fictitious. The company produces and sells soft drinks. It specializes in adult soft drinks. The company and brand are new to the market. In order to provide a useful plan, the target segment has been identified and defined, a SWOT analysis has been carried out for the brand and organization, and marketing communications objectives have been set. The plan identifies the target market through segmentation variables. Following this is an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the company must either address or leverage. Finally the marketing communications objectives are set in the final section. Segmenting the Market In order to develop a sufficient marketing communications plan, it is necessary to first know the target market that marketing messages will be directed toward. The market for this company’s offering can be defined according to the segmentation variables discussed by Schiffman et al(2005). The variables most relevant to this market are age, family life cycle, geography, awareness level, and user-situation(Schiffman et al, 2005). By using these variables it is possible to define the market as aged between 18 and 44, single or newly married, living in urban areas, unaware of the brand, and buying for personal use. Within this market it is possible to further segment the preferred target market for this company’s offering. Age can be used to further segment the market. Although older members of the family have a large influence on purchase decisions in China, Duncan(2005) implies that these older people are part of the ‘late majority’ group, which is not an attractive group for new products(Duncan, 2005 p229). Therefore the age of the target segment will be 18 to 44, as these individuals should be more likely to adopt new products or at least be influenced by ‘early adopters’(Duncan, 2005 p230). These individuals make up almost 35% of the total population(National Bureau of Statistics China, 2004), and so form a profitable target segment. The target segment can be further limited to those in the ‘young marrieds’ and ‘parenthood’ stages of the family life cycle(Schiffman et al, 2005). Geography is another useful variable. The target segment will live in the inner city or suburban areas of cities, and not on the outskirts of major urban areas or in rural areas. The income gap between urban and rural areas is substantial, with urban households averaging CNY9421. 6 per annum, and rural households CNY2936. 4, in 2004(National Bureau of Statistics China, 2004). By using the above segmentation variables we now have a target segment at which to direct the marketing communications strategy. SWOT Analysis In order to reach useful marketing objectives it is necessary to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can be leveraged or addressed by the communications effort. This is known as a SWOT analysis(Duncan, 2005). The external environment will be considered first. According to an analysis of the external environment, two major opportunities exist. These are an increase on sales of adult soft drinks over the past year, and a minimum of new adult soft drink products being marketed by competitors. According to an article in China Daily(2006), sales of adult soft drinks increased by 47% in 2006. This shows that there is an increasing market for ‘adult’ soft drinks. Internal factors are also evaluated in the SWOT analysis. Analysis of this company has revealed two major strengths and one major weakness. The strengths are a devotion to customer service, and the design and innovativeness of the products. Customer service is something that is still at a basic level in China in terms of building relationships with new customers. This company offers outstanding after sales service, with teams located in every major Chinese city who are available 7 days a week and after hours on weekdays. This level of after sales service is not common among drink manufacturers in China. The company also has a follow-up strategy that includes phone calls and emails to new customers giving them the chance to open dialogues with the firm. The other strength, the design and innovativeness of the products, is more tangible. This company produces only adult soft drinks and is therefore able to allocate more time and resources to improving only one line of product, unlike other soft drink manufacturers. The look of the adult soft drinks in this company’s range is modern, using metallic colours on slim bottles, rather than the traditional images of fruit. There is one major internal weakness that should be addressed by any marketing communication efforts: brand awareness. Being a new brand, there is 0% awareness of this company’s brand in the target segment. This will almost certainly present a weakness that will have to be addressed by the marketing communications effort. The above SWOTs can be prioritized to reveal which should be leveraged or addressed by the marketing communications effort. These are brand awareness, the appearance and functionality of the product, and the lack of attention to the adult soft drinks in the market. These factors will now be considered in relation to marketing communications objectives. Marketing Communications Objectives According to Duncan, marketing objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, and challenging(2005, p180). In order to address the major weakness of the brand, increasing brand awareness should be a high priority. According to the AIDA decision making hierarchy(Duncan, 2005), communications cause customers to begin a process which moves from awareness to interest to desire to action. Since there is 0% awareness of the brand, communications will begin by creating brand awareness, particularly awareness of the brand name. This will be the first of the company’s marketing communications objectives: Increase awareness of the brand name to 50% of the target market. The achievement of this objective will create awareness, which will be transformed into interest and desire through the second objective. The second objective will be: Increase awareness of the portability and attractive design of the product to 25% of the target segment. According to the AIDA hierarchy, ‘making people aware of a brand is much easier than persuading them to buy a brand or take some other action’(Duncan, 2005 p182). The figure of 25% is set due to this theory. Aiming to create awareness of the products tangible qualities will ideally create interest in the brand, which may result in action on behalf of the target segment. With these objectives set it will be possible to create marketing messages that are directed and can be evaluated in terms of their effectiveness and ability to achieve the company’s objectives. The objectives have been set in close attention to the SWOTs that were revealed earlier, in order to maximize the effect of the marketing communications effort. Conclusion In conclusion it can be seen that the first half of the marketing communications plan has been completed. The target market has been identified as aged between 18 and 44, married or married with children, residing in urban areas in major Chinese cities, and purchasing the product for personal use. The SWOT analysis revealed that the company’s major advantages are the lack of attention to the adult soft drink market in China, and the attractive design and functionality of the product. The company’s major disadvantages are the domination of the market by major manufacturers, and the lack of brand awareness. However, the marketing communications objectives set in the plan will ideally address and leverage each of the pros and cons that exist in the situation. References Schiffman, L.et al, 2005, Consumer Behaviour, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest. China Daily, 2006, Soft drink sales cooling down, www. chinadaily. com. cn, viewed 4th April 2008 http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/china/2006-10/06/content_702416. htm Duncan, T. 2005, Principles of Advertising & IMC (2nd ed. ), McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York. National Bureau of Statistics China, 2004, www. stats. gov. cn, viewed 4th April 2008 at http://www. stats. gov. cn/tjsj/ndsj/2005/indexeh. htm.

Ascorbic Acid Determination

Determination of Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) concentration in some of Commercial Products, by Redox Titration Mouhannad AL. -Hachamii Sadiq J. Baqir Saadon A. Aowda Fatima A. Hussein, Dep. of chemistry, college of science, Babylon University Muhammed K. Alasedi Ministry of Health Hilla city, Babylon Abstract The goal of this search is to determine the concentration of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid ) in some of a Commercial Products, Vegetables and Fruit Juices by Redox Titration.A redox titration, involving an Iodometric method, has been used to do the analysis.L-Ascorbic acid was first isolated as a pure substance by Albert Azent-Gyorgi and Charles Kingin 1928 [Paulling ,1970] , an anti-oxidant and free radical scavenger, is found ubiquitously in fruit and vegetables such as citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines etc. ), melons, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, potatoes and turnips, its quantitative determination is especially important in the production of wine, beer, milk, soft drinks and fruit juices, where it can be a quality indicator [Gerrior & Zizza,1994] .Given the essential role played in the human diet and necessary to growth and repair of tissues in all parts of human body . It is necessary to form collagen an important skin proteins ,scar tissue ,tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. vitamin C is essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones and teeth [Mcevoy ,1993] . Since vitamin C is easily oxidized, storage and cooking in air leads to the eventual oxidation of vitamin C by oxygen in the atmosphere.In addition, ascorbic acid is water-solubility vitamin means that a significant amount of vitamin C present in a food can be lost by boiling and then discarding the cooking water [Mcevoy ,1993]. The formula for ascorbic acid is C6H8O6 , It occurs as a white or slightly yellow crystal or powder with a slight acidic test , Ascorbic Acid is freely soluble in water; spa ringly soluble in alcohol; insoluble in chloroform, ether, and benzene [Moffat,1986]. The structures for the reduced (ascorbic acid) form and for the oxidized form (dehydroascorbic acid) are shown below: [pic]The amount of ascorbic acid can be determined by a redox titration with a standardized solution of iodine. The iodine is reduced by the ascorbic acid to form iodide. As shown in the other half of this redox equation. [pic] The titration end point is reached when a slight excess of iodine is added to the ascorbic acid solution [Bailey ,1974;Brody,1994;Pauling ,1976;Kalluer,1986]. Vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy, a disease characterized by weakness, small hemorrhages throughout the body that cause gums and skin to bleed, and loosening of the teeth. Vitamin C can not synthesized through body cells, nor does it store it.It is therefore important to include plenty of vitamin C-containing foods in daily diet. vitamin C toxicity is very rare, because the body can not store the vi tamin however ,amounts greater than 2000 mg/day are not recommended because such high doses can lead to stomach up set and diarrhea. The minimum daily requirement is 30 mg. Well-balanced diets provide adequate amounts of the vitamin as measured by the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of about 75 mg per day for adults (aged 15 or older), less for children, and more for pregnant and lactating women.The National Academy of Sciences recommends the consumption of 60 mg of ascorbic acid per day. . the Federal Food and Drug Administration has adopted the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 60 mg/day A very small daily intake of vitamin C (10-15 mg/day for an adult) is required to avoid deficiency and stave off scurvy. However, there has been, and continues to be, vigorous debate on what the optimum daily intake of vitamin C is. Some have argued that 200 mg/day is an optimal daily intake for adult humans.Others have suggested 1-2 g/day is best, this despite studies that show that the bl ood is saturated with vitamin C at 100 mg/day, and any excess is excreted in the urine [RDA,1995; RDA,1987; Browne. ,1993; FAO/WHO,2002; Levine et al. ,1999; Levine et al. ,1995;Teoh ,1975]. |Recommended daily dietary intake of vitamin C: | | |AUSTRALIA milligrams |U. S. A. illigrams | |Infants: |30 |35 | |Children: |30-50 |45 | |Adult men: |30 |60 | |Adult women: |30 |60 | |Pregnancy (2nd and 3rd |60 |80 | |trimesters) | | | |Lactation: |60 |100 | I2 is not standard solution ,so it may be standardized with thiosulphate solution . Experimental Procedure for determination of [Bailey ,1974; Brody, 1994; Pauling,1976; Kalluer,1986]. 1. Preparation of 0. 005 mol L? iodine solution: Accurately weight two gm of KI and 1. 3g of I2 , dissolved to aless amount of water , shake until dissolving .Transfer iodine solution to a 1L volumetric flask , making sure to rinse all traces of solution in to the volumetric flask using distilled water , completed the volume up to the mark. 2. Preparation o f 0. 5% starch indicator solution: Soluble starch (0. 25gm) to a 100 mL conical flask or beaker and 50 mL of distilled water was added . Solution heated with stirring at 79 0C for 5 minutes , careful must be taken not to exceed the stated temperature. Allow solution to cool to room temperature. 3. Preparation of food/drink sample: Industrial Packaged fruit juices {Orange , Pineapple, Lemon ,Tmrhend and Apple (Miso), Pepsi (khaleek kadha), Red grapes(Niktar), Seven up (Kufa), Pomegranate (Linda) , Tmrhend (Toti), Orange (Dalia), and Granules peach (Rani) } may also need to be strained through cheese cloth if it contains a lot of pulp or seeds. †¢For analysis of vitamin C powders ( Tanc lemon , Tanc orange and livans powders ) dissolved 1 gm in 100mL of distilled water (in a volumetric flask). †¢ For analysis of vitamin C tablets ( Kruger and joiure tablets), dissolved a single tablet in 200 mL of distilled water (in a volumetric flask). †¢ Juice squeezed from fresh fru it (Diala orange , Hilla orange, Egypt orange ,allalinki ,pomegranate and apple Juices ) should be strained through cheese cloth in order to remove seeds and pulp which may block pipettes. Juice squeezed from fresh vegetables ( Tomato ,Onion ,Celery ,Option ,Potato and Lettuce juices ) should be strained through cheese cloth in order to remove seeds and pulp which may block pipettes. †¢Sample of fruit or vegetable (100gm) blended in a food processor together with 50 mL of distilled water. After blending, strain the pulp through cheese cloth, washing it 0mL in a volumetric flask. 4. Aliquot of the sample (20 ml) solution prepared above transfrred into a 250 mL conical flask , about 150 mL of distilled water and 1 mL of starch indicator solution. 5. Sample were titrated with 0. 005 mol L? 1 iodine solution. The endpoint of the titration is identified as the first distinct trace of a dark blue-black colour due to the starch-iodine complex. 6.Titration were repeated with further al iquots of sample solution until concordant results (titres agreeing within 0. 1 mL) were obtained. Results and discussion:- In this research estimating vitamin C in industrial juices (Orange , Pineapple, Lemon, Tmrhend and Apple (Miso), Pepsi (khaleek kadha), Red grapes (Niktar), Seven up (Kufa), Pomegranate (Linda) , Tmrhend (Toti), Orange (Dalia), fruits (Dalia) and Granules peach (Rani)), Kruger and joiure tablets, and Tanc lemon , Tanc orange and livans powders, and natural juices for fresh fruits (Diala orange , Hilla orange, Egypt orange ,mandarin ,pomegranate and apple Juices ) and fresh vegetables ( Tomato , Onion Celery ,cucumber ,Potato and Lettuce juices). It was calibrated using redox way by iodine calibration using starch as indicator , iodine was an adequate oxidizer used for this purpose.Table (1) show the in industrial juices estimated concentration and the proportion of vitamin C. Table (1):The results were obtained below, represent the vitamin C content in some ind ustrial juice in quantity mg / 100 ml and percentage %. |Amount calculated |Industrial product name |Chain | |mg / 100 ml | | | |11. 9 |Orange (Miso) |1 | |49. 4 |pineapple(Miso) |2 | |15. 4 |lemon (Miso) |3 | |14. 2 |Tmrhend (Miso) |4 | |13 |Apple (Miso) |5 | |19 |Pepsi (khaleek kadha) |6 | |35. |Red grapes(Niktar) |7 | |25. 88 |Seven up (Kufa) |8 | |28 |Pomegranate (Linda) |9 | |25. 77 |Tmrhend (Toti) |10 | |19.. 995 |Orange (Dalia) |11 | |13. 33 |fruits (Dalia) |12 | |53. 2 |Granules peach (Rani) |13 | |13. 33 |lemon (Tanc) |14 | |6. 665 |orange (Tanc) |15 | |13.. 33 |orange (livas) |16 | |69.. 95 |vitamin C (Kruger tablets) |17 | |19.. 995 |Vitamins (joiure tablets) |18 | Scheme (1) . Vitamin C content in some industrial juice (mg/100ml) .The result in table (1) and scheme (1) showed the highest concentration of vitamin C in industrial juices found in granules peach juice where concentration is (53. 32) mg / 100 ml and lowest in orange juice (Miso),hitting (11. 49) mg /100 ml ,e ither powder Limon Tanc, the presence of vitamin C according to bulletin declared on the product is 100 %,but the results show that we have reached 89. 9 % and its concentration was (3. 33) mg/100 ml, where results appeared supposed to be the weight of vitamin C (667) mg of origin (45) mg ,results show that this weight (599. 85) mg of origin (45) mg . While orange Tanc powder result of vitamin C amount to 44. 6 % with the amount according to bulletin declared as the products of 100 %,where it should the weight of vitamin C (667) mg of origin (45) mg ,results show that this weight (299. 9) mg of origin (45) mg .Vitamin C tablets – type Krueger according to bulletin declared only that all (1) gm contains (45) mg of vitamin C, but the results we obtained the concentration is (69. 95) mg in (1) gm ,an increase of about (25) mg. Either vitamins fruits tablets – type junior according to bulletin declared only that all (1) gm contains (8. 8) mg of vitamin C but we have receiv ed is (19. 995) mg in (1) gm, an increase of more than double. Where the study showed that the Tmrhend juice (Miso) was vitamin C focus as the results we obtained (25. 7) mg/100 ml ,but according to the bulletin attached descent rate and quality (1. 68) mg/100) ml ,either alimonadah juice (Miso) was its focus as the results we obtained (15. 4)mg/100 ml, but according to the bulletin attached descent rate and quality (0. 1) mg/100 ml. comparing these results with a focus located on the packaging these juices, showing clearly that there was a difference in the percentage concentrated of company to company, And also because of industrial juices and wrong storage methods. The handling and preparation of food products adversely affect the quality of vitamin C in food. since it vulnerable to heat ,oxygen and acid, temperate and alkalinity mediums.With regards to the manufacture of juices, the keepers airtight containers made of sheet metal or glass do not cause the lose of what remains of vitamin C as a result of manufacturing processes only about 10 % while keeping cardboard containers, whether with paraffin layer or polyethylene, they lead to the loss of around 75 % of the past three weeks, even if keeping it in the fridge because these containers do not prevent the access of oxygen to juice and oxidize it, in addition to the work of the upper-packaged juice or occupied by air to oxidize the proportion of juice again, while the addition of carbon alkalinity of the damage vitamin juice damage entirely. Table (2) shows the estimated in natural juice concentration and the proportion of vitamin C .Table (2) :The results were obtained below, represent the vitamin C content in some natural juice in quantity mg / 100 ml . |Quantity Standard |Amount calculated |Natural juices name |Chain | |According to |mg / 100 ml | | | |international | | | | |standards | | | | |mg / 100 mg | | | | |42-50 |98. 64 |Diala orange |1 | |42-50 |107. 1 |Hilla orange |2 | |42-50 |73. 315 |Egyp t orange |3 | |37. |71. 4 |Mandarin |4 | |52. 8 – 72 |63 |pomegranate |5 | |6 |51. 5 |Apple |6 | |13. 6 – 17 |20. 6 |Tomato |7 | |50 |47. 6 |Onion |8 | |14 |22. 1 |Celery |9 | |27 |35. 7 |Cucumber |10 | |11 – 20 |47. 6 |Potato |11 | |75 |83. |Lettuce |12 | | | | | | Scheme (2) : Vitamin C content in some natural juices . In table (2) and scheme (2) the results showed the highest concentration of vitamin C found in orange juice, hitting (107. 1) mg /100ml of juice ,the lowest level was found in tomato juice, when it reached (20. 6)mg /100 ml of juice. Results showed also the presence of vitamin C concentration (107. 1) mg /100ml in naturally orange juice (Hilla),98. 64 mg / 100 ml (Diala) and 73. 315 mg / 100 ml (Egyptian) ,while the concentration of vitamin C in Hilla orange highest from Diala orange which highest more than the Egyptian orange.—– [pic] [pic]

A Raisin In The Sun and Sonny’s Blues

A Raisin In The Sun and Sonnys Blues A Raisin in the Sun, authored by Lorraine Hansberry and Sonny’s Blues, authored by James Baldwin are two masterpieces that have an array of comparisons and contrasts. Lorraine Hansberry’s play is a depiction of an African American family, the Youngers living in a racially segregated neighborhood. Although the family lives together, conflicts arise on what to do with the $10000 insurance policy money paid after the death of the Mama’s husband. Each member has different aspirations and the story focuses on how the family uses the money and integrates their individual dreams to fit the family. On the other hand, Sonny’s Blues is a depiction of the struggles two brothers face in segregated Harlem. It is about Sonny and his brother the narrator, both who are living separate lives after the death of their parents. After the narrator loses his daughter to Polio, he remembers the promise he made to his mother of taking care of Sonny and he decides to try to fulfi ll this promise and try to get Sonny back to normal life after drugs nearly destroy him. Each story depicts the lives of African American families in a time of racial injustice. Both families encounter obstacles during their quest to move forward to find happiness. In her journal, Lipari points out that the setting of A Raisin in the Sun, was at a time when the â€Å"fundamental structures of political, social and economic oppression of African Amewricans were in the foreground of public life† (Lipari, 97). This journal points out that during this period African American families’ encountered obstacle in economic, social and political in trying to make it in life and finding happiness. Likewise, Martinez comment regarding racism in Sonny’s Blues is a phenomenon having â€Å"festered and thrived in American unconscious psyche while it has been and continues to be acted out in myriad forms of injustice in the society† (Martinez, 1). This clearly illustrates that families in Harlem faced numerous challenges especially with the issue of racial segregation and injustice. He points out that Baldwin â€Å"claims that the narrator’s and Sonny’s lives are representative of the collective suffering of racism experienced by young black males growing up in the Harlem of mid-twentieth-century America† (Martinez, 2). In both stories, a common theme that stands out is that of racial segregation and injustices. In Hansberry’s story, racial segregation reveals its ugly head when Mr. Linder attempts to persuade the Younger family from moving to their new home, mostly inhabited by whites. He even attempts to pay them off to keep them from moving in the mostly white neighborhood. This action is nearly successful since Walter is willing to accept the bribe but Mama stands her ground and at last thy move to their new home. Likewise, in Sonny’s blues, racial issues and injustices are prevalent in the community and the au thor effectively uses recurring images of darkness to bring to light these themes. Sonny and his brother lived in a predominantly black neighborhood and even their father gave up trying to move them away from Harlem, â€Å"Safe! My father grunted, whenever Mama suggested trying to move to a neighborhood which might be safer for children† (Feinstein and Rife, 26). The narrator who is a teacher also illustrates how racial issues and segregation were part of Harlem by describing the students he taught, â€Å"All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them and the darkness of movies which had blinded them to that other darkness† (Feinstein and Rife, 26). Both stories highlight the hopelessness that existed in these racially segregated neighborhoods in both stories where whites had opportunities in contrast to blacks who had to endure difficult situations.

The impact of scraping of the retirement age on the management of HR Essay - 1

The impact of scraping of the retirement age on the management of HR in Organisations - Essay Example (Age UK, 2010). The decision on this ground shows growing need of service from the Britons to carry on working, only if they are fit and healthy and continue their work. This move of the government was welcomed by personnel groups but the business leaders notified in a form of warning that this measure might leave the employers blank with regards to their planning for future. This is because they would not know about the exact timing of retirement of their employees so that they can prepare the succession plan (Beckford & Peacock, 2010). The following literature review has been prepared to provide empirical evidence of the impact of such policy of the government to scrap the age of retirement. The evidence of this literature review has been collected from different articles and journals basically through secondary sources. According to Cadler (2010), scrapping or removal of the DRA will be one among the biggest alterations to employment law when it would come into being in the year of 2011. The author says that this reform will leave a number of unresolved problems for the employers. This is because the rules regarding this policy will be very unclear to all the employees along with the employers. At the same time, it will be unclear to all the stakeholders of the organisation (Cadler, 2010). Skirbekk (2004) stated that recognizing the profiles of age-productivity, is a significant factor of the economic world at present. The government recognised this factor and thus the issue gained importance. Government focuses on the demographic and economic factors of the country that are changing. Life expectancy is an important demographic indicator of the affect on economic growth of a country. This indicator influences the age structure of an economy. The government took the decision to scrap the retirement age because it is believed that individual productivity rises to its peak level at later stages of working life.

How do you live the good life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How do you live the good life - Essay Example These cases identify the problem in definition of a good life because people often confuse temporary happiness and material things with the meaning of a good life. I hereby offer a perception of how to live a good life. The term good refers to anything that is desirable or can be qualified under specific standards, or a moral occurrence, definitions that are general and relative. I however define the term from a psychological perspective that takes care of the relativism and diversity. An act that yields more benefits that harm offers a net good while one with less benefit as compared to adverse effects would not be a good act. Living a good life therefore means engaging in activities that generate net good to a person’s life. This type of life however emanates from social ties that not only minimizes a person’s bad experiences, but also overlooks such experiences and supports the person towards a positive state. Such ties are found from a person’s family, loved ones, and are more valuable than money (Takingcharge 1). Having social ties that are based on love such as special moments with family members or a lover is the best way to live a good life. The ties may be manifested through social trips, shared meals, joint discussions, or even quiet moments but they still form a person’s unforgettable experiences in life. While the ties have no adverse effects on a person’s life, they offer a number of benefits that defines a good life (Takingcharge 1). Social ties lead to a person’s longer lifespan because of their effects that ensures an individual’s high quality of life. Reduced level of stress and ability to manage stress due to social support can be a factor. People with strong social ties also have lower chances of contracting cardio vascular diseases such as heart failure and high blood pressure. Similarly, strong social relationships boosts functionality of a

Human Development in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Development in Brazil - Essay Example Conditions are slowly improving for all Brazilians, as the Human Development Indicators(HDI) imply, though translating the figures into real progress is more difficult. The HDI is developed by the United Nations Development Programme to aid in determination of how well â€Å"countries turn income into health and educational opportunities†(UNDP). The 2006 report indicates that Brazil falls into the fifty-eighth place among one hundred seventy seven nations. The HDI is calculated by combining three sets of data: lifespan, knowledge and standard of living. The UNDP provides other indices such as the Human Poverty Index(HP1 and HP) and the Gender Related Development Index(RDI). HDI is the most inclusive and allows for a better understanding of overall data. Brazil is by no means a poor country, with abundant natural resources and $30 billion in foreign capital invested by 2002. However, â€Å"forty million live on less than $2 per day, while twenty million live on less than $1 pe r day.†(UNDP). Inequality of income is linked to gender, race and geographical region. The Northeast, where the greatest disparities exist, is comparable economically to nations such as Kenya. The UNDP has set a goal of lowering poverty to below ten percent by the year 2015. This goal seems fully attainable as the poverty rates fall from twenty percent in 1991 to roughly fourteen 2 percent by 2000. Obstacles such as slowing economic growth are identified as barriers to attaining that goal.

A critical reading of Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Term Paper

A critical reading of Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Term Paper Example Opponents fail to realize that given any medium or structure black writers follow, they would still be criticized. The pleas of black womens suppression have time and again been negated because of its non-appealing ideology - freedom for women of a colored race and letting them be at par with white society intellectually. Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl should be considered a monumental work in black women’s emancipation because it juxtaposed literacy as the key to freedom during an age of slavery and degradation of basic human rights. Social discourse often begins with people concerned with an issue, and wants it to be understood by the society. If it is of interests to the society, it would be forwarded and reformed. Such transformations pervade hierarchical power relations, race, gender, economic status and social construct because the society desires it. Jacobs narrative Incident has been one such discourse which demonstrated that her society was one in which "white men" compelled slaves to live base dishonorable lives under the guise of the Fugitive Slave Law and indulged in the vilest act to exploit slaves as would bloodhounds (Jacobs 69). Basic social norms of today were unheard of during Jacobs time. A slaves child was born a slave (Jacobs 11). She was the property (and not a human being) of her master regardless of the relations she had with her family. A slave did not have the right to bond with her family. This was evidenced in Jacobs words about her father who was a carpenter: "His strongest wish was t o purchase his children; but, though he several times offered his hard earnings for that purpose, he never succeeded." (Jacobs 11). There was nothing novel in Jacobs experience if compared to other slaves in the country during the Revolutionary War time. But her experience did make a difference because Jacobs was fortunate to be raised, educated

Strengths and Weaknesses of Porters Five Forces Analysis Essay - 1

Strengths and Weaknesses of Porters Five Forces Analysis - Essay Example From this study, it is clear that the model was framed way back in the 1980s when the business trend was much more different than it is today. It provides a general overview of the external environment. Any new business can use it to analyze the market they are entering before starting their venture and customize their plan according to the results obtained from it. Though there are certain limitations, it covers more or less all the aspects a businessman should consider before starting a new venture. As the study outlines Porters five forces model is by far the most simple and easiest tool to understand the industry structure. Understanding the industry structure is vital to plan effective strategies to gain a competitive edge. Industry structure is nothing but a set of characteristics which is shaped by the economic and technological factors prevalent there. Understanding the causes which determine the success or profit of one particular brand will help others plan their strategy accordingly. Porters five forces analysis helps them do the same. For example, consider a person wants to start an online shopping website. There are already thousands of shopping websites on the internet. They have to give something new and attractive to the customers and manage the heavy competition from others. Porter’s five forces model acts as a checklist of the new businessman enlisting all the important entities to be checked. They prompt them to check the core competitors in the industry first like eBay. The website owner might decide to cater the needs of certain kind of people interested in high-class antique products, as there are so many websites selling apparels and related accessories. Second, Porters model prompt them to check the threat of new entrants and substitutes.

Assignment 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Assignment 1 - Essay Example The falling oil prices have forced oil producers to adopt survival measures that include layoffs of many employees. Other companies related to the oil industry are also feeling the effects of the continued reduction of oil prices. Indeed, the mining and logging industry fired 3,000 employees last month (Zumbrun 1). Moreover, Schlumberger seeks to lay off about 9,000 employees since the plunging oil prices are jeopardizing production (Strauss 1). Hercules Offshore Inc is also planning to fire about 324 employees since oil producers are not willing to renew contracts for their offshore drilling rigs (Sparshott 1). Most notable U.S. economists assert that suppliers of U.S oil and gas companies will fire about 40,000 employees while equipment manufacturers could lay off 5,500 employees by December this year (Zumbrun 1). I support the need to address the issue of plunging oil prices since they threaten employment rates in U.S. In addressing the issue, U.S will safeguard the jobs at oil companies, supplying, and manufacturing companies associated with the oil industry. I am grateful of your time and continued coverage of this

Case Study in Applied Sport Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case Study in Applied Sport Psychology - Essay Example Somatic symptoms like muscular tension and butterflies in stomach have also been reported by Lucy during the interview. Lucy is an International netball player and plays goal attack. Though she performs well in club matches and training sessions, her performances in all the international matches remain bleak. Lucy is worried of the fact that if she continues to perform in the same way, she would probably have to lose her team’s confidence in her. This condition is leading Lucy to a deeper psychological syndrome. She is gradually losing self-belief and thinks that the coming international tournament due in just 8 months will be her last ever opportunity in the arena of international sports. Lucy finds it difficult to cope up with the pressure of performing well in International matches. She experiences weakness prior to the competition. For the treatment of Lucy, it is important to have a thorough understanding of all her symptoms. Anxiety manifests in many different ways. These symptoms can be broadly classified into Somatic, Behavioral, Emotional, Cognitive and Defensive mechanisms. The physical symptoms of anxiety include chest and muscular pain as reported by Lucy. Behavioral symptoms of anxiety experienced by Lucy include restlessness and pacing. Cognitive behavioral mechanisms like fear inducing thoughts; inability to concentrate and obsessive thinking of failures is leading Lucy to a confusing state of mind. The word ‘anxiety’ stems from the Latin word anxius. Anxiety is a response for a perception of threat, clearly distinguishable from fear, which is understood as a physiological response to a stimulus. The unpleasant sensations result from a stim ulus. John Raglin and Yuri Hanin points out that ‘similar’ stimulus may be ‘perceived as a beneficial challenge to one individual, threatening to another, and neutral to the third’. The cognitive state anxiety has usually a negative effect on the athletic

The Holocaust Essay Example for Free

The Holocaust Essay The Pianist is a historically based film that captivates the audience with its intense, riveting scenes. The movie outlines Hitler’s policies against the Jewish race during the holocaust in the late 1930’s. It focuses on the lives of one particular Jewish family during the period in which Hitler invades and occupies the Polish community of Warsaw. The title was inspired by the career of the main character before and after the Holocaust. The film chronicles the experiences of a Jewish pianist and his survival through the Holocaust with determination and the help of others, while millions of other Jews perish. The theme is portrayed effectively throughout the movie. The merciless treatment of the Jewish people convinces the audience to empathize with the characters in the movie. The movie begins with the pianist, Szpilman, in the studio playing the piano while the community of Warsaw is being bombed. A woman who will help him later in the movie approaches The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further emphasis on this theme. ‘The Pianist’ is an honest depiction of the events that occurred during the Holocaust, through the eyes of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish concert pianist living in Warsaw, Poland. As the movie starts we see him in a radio studio beautifully playing the piano. But then the tanks start shooting, the bombs start falling, and the studio is damaged. He can no longer avoid the rapidly escalating situation. Germany is invading his homeland. His time as a concert pianist and radio performer has come to a sudden end. The first half of the movie focuses on the impact of the war on him and his family’s lives and the suffering of others, whilst the second half purely revolves around Szpilman’s struggle for survival and the hope in which he draws from music. Polanski heavily emphasises this idea, getting across the message that Szpilman would not be alive if were not for the hope in which he holds to – even if at times if at times it is by a tiny thread. The most obvious feature used to enhance the idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is that of music. After being forced to desert his family and having to live in isolation with his survival being questioned almost every day, it is perhaps only the

England and the Colonies Essay Example for Free

England and the Colonies Essay The origins of the United States of America can be traced to the colonization of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. Thirteen of the states that are now part of the nation were initially English colonies. However, the relations between England and the colonies were severed when British policies proved to be too oppressive for the colonists. Eventually, the conflict led to the American Revolution, in which the colonies gained their independence from British rule. From the beginning, England and its colonies have differed in terms of social and political climate. These differences contributed in heightening the tension between the two. The colonies were established between the years 1607 and 1733 (Perry, 1989). The first colony was set up in Virginia in 1607. During that time, monarchy still existed in England, but the power of the Parliament in constricting royal authority had increased. This is the reason why the political climate in England was filled with tension. There was always a clash between the monarch and Parliament. When the first colony was founded, James I was the ruling monarch. He had constant disagreement with the Parliament, a disagreement which would eventually worsen with his successor and son Charles I. The tension between the monarch and the Parliament had become worse, prompting a civil war to occur in August 1642. The outcome of the war led to the execution of Charles I and the establishment of a republic. Royal rule was only restored in 1660, with Charles II as monarch (Perry, 1989). The social climate in England was also filled with tension. This was the result of the religious conflict which began during the reign of James I (Perry, 1989). When his predecessor Elizabeth I was the monarch, the Church of England dominated but many people embraced Protestantism. A group of Protestants known as Puritans wanted to remove what they thought was Roman Catholic influence on the Church of England. James I refused to acknowledge the Puritans’ clamor for religious change. During the rule of Charles I, the situation with the Puritans became more intense. William Laud was the archbishop of Canterbury and he promoted unjust treatment of Puritans. Because of his encouragement, many Puritans were fined and put in jail (Perry, 1989). The political climate in the colonies was significantly different from that of England. The colonists did not have a single, central government. They were not ruled by monarchy or Parliament. Those colonies located in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire had their own government and set of laws (Perry, 1989). In the Pennsylvania colony, William Penn even supported political freedom (Perry, 1989). This situation left no room for political conflict, as the colonies were left on their own to govern themselves. Hence, the political climate in the colonies was more calm and stable than that in England. It was not until the conflict with England that the colonies were forced to unite and fight the British in war. On the contrary, the social climate is somewhat similar to that in England. Most of the colonists were persecuted in England for their religious beliefs (Perry, 1989). The reason why some of them decided to move to America was because they sought to establish a community where they could freely practice their religion. Unfortunately, some colonists repressed religious preference the same way British leaders did. In the Massachusetts Bay colony, they refused to welcome people who did not embrace the Puritan religion. However, other colonies were more tolerant than others. For instance, the colony established by Roger Williams in Rhode Island permitted people to practice whatever religion they wanted. The same religious tolerance was extended by Penn (Perry, 1989). England and the colonies differed in terms of political and social climate. In England, there was tension due to political conflict and religious intolerance. In the colonies, individual governments avoided political unrest. Just like in England, religious freedom is also repressed in the colonies; nonetheless, this repression is not absolute. Some colonies tolerated differences in religion. These are the differences between England and the colonies. Reference Perry, M. (1989). A History of the World. Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behaviour

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behaviour In the early history consumer behaviour has led to theories, research methods and background knowledge of the consumer economy and self-service concepts. Consumer behaviour in the 1950s is based on the concept of marketing through various alternative approaches. Widespread adoption of the marketing concept was the impetus for the study of consumer behaviour (Consumer Behaviour, Leon G. Schiff man, Leslie lazar Kanuk and Havard Hansen). To identify the unmet needs of consumers, companies have participated in extensive market research. So, they discovered that consumers are very complex, subject to various psychological and social needs. Thus, the concept of marketing has emphasized the importance of consumer research and laid the groundwork for the implementation of the principles of consumer behaviour in marketing strategy. It is interesting to note that even before the evaluation of the marketing concept, an intuitive understanding of consumer behaviour has been the key to the growt h of businesses. INTRODUCTION Now-a-days the organisations in any industry are concentrating on the gratification of the consumer needs and desires to run their business operations and eventually develop their business. Organisations are introducing number of activities to make the end user satisfied outside their business operations. (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). Consumer Behaviour is the process individuals or groups go through to select, purchase, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and desires. -By Solomon, Marketing Real People, Real decisions, Page-148 Sprott (1958) believes that the group of people around the consumer has become important factor to consider in the consumer buying decision in any industry. He also made known clearly that the group is number of people who act together, that may be a family, may be friends, and may be neighbours. The group that affects the buying behaviour of the consumer is also called Reference group. 2. FACTORS AFFECTS TO CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR The aim of marketing is to satisfy their customer needs and wants (Kotler, 2003; 182). The field of consumer behaviour is to identify that how a customer buys, uses any product and services and dispose it. Schiff man (2002) states that it is never simple to identify and understand consumer needs. However, the behaviour of consumer depends on some factors. There are number of factors in the study of consumer behaviour which plays important role in buying of any new product or services from the selling firm such as customer income, culture, technology, various types of personal factors. 1. Cultural factors: In the field of consumer behaviour, the cultural affects most to the consumer behaviour and within different types of societies. Managers of any firms must have to consider about psychological and behavioural effects (Cleveland and change, 2008). However, the subculture, social class are the also important factors of consumer behaviour. The firms can capture the picture of consumers needs and to identify their wants by indentifying the cultural of their societies. In addition, the cultural is the norms, rituals and traditional among the society (Solomon, 1999; 16). Rosenthal (1992) who identify that within culturally heterogeneous societies like the United States, and the countries of Western Europe, the psychological and behavioural consequences of ethnic group membership are of considerable importance. It is one type of lens through which people can view product and services. The consumer choices cannot be identified without taking culture context in which they are made. On the oth er side, there are some social activities and cultural activities which are considered to obtain the consumer behaviour (Foxall, 1993). Generally, the culture can be divided into the three parts namely cultural, sub-cultural and social class. The role of sub-cultural is to identify the nationalities, religions and geographic regional. In addition, it is quite important to understand about sub-cultural because it helps to the firms to provide the best services and product in the market size (Schiff man Kanuk, 2007). In addition, the all human societies exhibit social stratification and some time, it takes the form of a caste system. However the social class not only includes the income of person but it shows the level of education and occupation (Kotler, 2004; 185).The social class is not same in dressing style or speech patterns but it is different. So in the current situation, it is important to identify the dimensions of cultural before they are going to sell product and services (Solomon, 2007). In addition, the following is the theoretical model of the culture which identifies that how the cultural is affect to the consumer behaviour. Above diagram which presents that the consumer behaviour which is based on culture, values and social norms factors. and in addition, it shows that not only national culture is influence to the behaviour but also there are some religion, value, ethnic level which important when any customer is going to buy any product and services, However, Karanhanna and Evaristo (2005) who argued that the levels of the different cultural is based on the nature of consumer behaviour, thus behaviour which is include strong value and sub cultural. 2. Social factors: Human beings are social animals and our desire is to fit it and or to identify by individuals or groups which are the primary motivation for buying product and services in the services industry. After the cultural factors in the study of consumer behaviour, the Social factors also affect the consumer behaviour. From the early year, Peterson (1987) found that socialization which is determined the way of patterns of behaviour or the process by which the person can adopt social roles. Where the family is more powerful social factors, it affects the consumer behaviour rather than social norms. Furthermore, the social factors include self concept and personality. This social factors is affects by reference groups and family and social roles and statuses (Kotler, 2003; 184). A reference groups of person which include different types of groups like friendships groups, work and shopping groups that impact on consumer behaviour. 3. Personal Factors: The consumer behaviour also depends on the personal characteristics. The way of the consumer behaviour is determined by buyers age and stage in the life cycle, personal occupation, economic circumstances and lifestyle of person and also behaviour is affects by personality and self concept (Kotler, 2003). In addition, in the lifetime, people are not buying the same product and services, their need of product and services are changed by time to time. For the example, in the early year, the person used pager for the communication but nowadays, they are different, they prefer to buy mobile for the purpose of communication. Solomon (1999) argued that in the traditional societies, the lifestyle which is affecting a pattern of selecting product and services and also reflecting a person choice of how he/she spends time and money. In addition, today consumer is buying product and services over others because they are connected with other person lifestyles. However, the research found that the lifestyle of the person is changing by time to time. Nowadays, advertising is become most affecting factor to the consumer behaviour, because advertising is become essential to get information about new product and it result in better products for the public. Furthermore, the personality, product quality, self concept and self power, the way of product display methods are the major factors which impact on consumer behaviour in the services industry (Schiff man and Kanuk, 2007). 4. Psychological factors: Psychological factors play important role to determine the consumer behaviour. These factors are affected by four major factors like motivation, perception, and learning. This psychological factor decides the personality and lifestyle. The demonstration influence is also dependent upon psychology of an individual. Nowadays, learning is the major factors in the study of consumer behaviour because when people act, at that time, they learn something (Kotler, 2003). Furthermore, Learning can change the consumer behaviour from experience. Most of behaviour is learning from the current environment. Personality, lifestyles and attitudes are the major characteristics of consumers which provide understanding about consumer behaviour into the services industry (Schiff man, 2007). Consumers have a wide range of attitudes towards the product, services, advertisements, and internet and towards retail store. Whenever, any customers ask him/her self about product and services, at that time, we are being asked to express our attitudes. If any marketer wants to understand about attitudes of consumer, they need to understand about consumer beliefs towards product or services brand (Kotler, 2003). These beliefs and preference is attributing to define consumers attitudes towards a brand. In the study of consumer attitudes, the lifestyle is the most important concepts to understanding consumer behaviour (Simon, 1999). Most of researchers agree that there are three components like affect, behaviour and cognition. These all components are connected to each other. Where the affect which refers t o the attitudes object and in Behaviour, customer involves intentions to do something towards their attitudes object. The cognition refers the belief on attitudes object. This model of attitudes is called ABC model (Simon, 1999; p.207). To define the market, it is important for marketer to know about what customer is like or dislikes. However, from the early years, the researcher was estimated that family decision is one of important factors that affect on consumer purchase decision (Simon, 1999). In addition, Bonnet who identify that attitudes towards food product or high risk involving product is comes from family .However, the peer group, personality are the also major affecting factor which applicable to change customer buying behaviour. 3. CONSUMER BUYING DECISION MODEL From the early year, the research suggest that following is the way where customers go through five stages for their decision making process to buy product and services. This model is implies that customer pass this all stages in every single purchase process but some time, customer is not going to pass, they often skip or reverse some of the following stages. Need Recognition Information Search Evaluation of Alternatives Product Decision Post-Purchase Decision Table 3.2 (Stages in consumer decision making model) (Source: Marketing: Real People, Real Decisions by Solomon p.150 and Kotler, 2003, p.204). 1. Need Recognition: The process of the consumer buying decision process starts with problem recognition. This steps occurs when customers sees a significant difference between her/him current state or desired state (Bruner, 1987,) .At this phase, the consumer is faced with problem which may be large and small or complex (Solomon, 1999).The problem of the consumer at this steps depends on the nature of her/him needs, it also depends on environment where customers is living. This need which can be drive by either an internal (hunger) or external (passing through burger king stimulates hunger) stimuli. Some of demographic factors like Age, sex, income, education and marital status which are also inferred influence which affects need recognition. In addition, the Psychological factors like motivation are also basic of all consumers (Solomon and Michael, 2007). Moreover, Kotler (2006,) who argues that the perception factors reflect helps how the customers see her/him self as well as their surroundings. This perception is not only important for need recognition phase but also affect to other relevant phase. 2. Information search: In the consumer decision making process, once the problem has been recognized, they need to search some relevant information to solve it. In this phase, where the customer uses different types of way to gather information to fulfil their needs discussed above. Generally, the customer is going to search information by internal or external method. Internal sources applicable, when customer has a some memory about product or some have degree of knowledge. (solomon,1999;274-275).In contrast, where there is need more information about their needs, at this situation ,Generally , customer is prefer to use internal sources like to use advertising, friends, family, point-of-sale displays, radio, magazines. Nowadays, Internet is become necessary tools to adopt information. In addition, the use of an internet has rapidly grown from its early years (Comegys and Hannula, Vaisanen, 2006,). Moreever, in the services industry, customers prefers internet to choose product from information. 3. Evaluation of alternatives: After facing information about their needs, The third phase is evaluation of alternatives where generally, customer is focus to set up rules for choice of product and services, In addition, this phase is evaluate the way of choice of product and services like how does the customer process competitive brand information and make final judgments towards product ( Kotler, 2003; p.205-206). Kotler also identify the several concepts which contribute to understanding into this phase, where first of all, customer is mostly trying to get satisfaction towards needs. Second, the customer is looking certain benefit for their problem. Third, customer is sees product with different types of brands with their attributes, here attributes of customer is vary by product. However, the customer is try to find the alternatives for their product by set of brand beliefs where the each brands stands on each attributes. 4. Product decision: After evaluation stages, once the relevant category is established from the above phase , the choice must be made among them (putsis and srinivasan,1994 ).Here is the process which needs more attention on desired choice .The choice can be influence by internal factors like experience on product and services . First is an attitude of the others, where the attitudes of friend, family, social community which affect to the change the decision on desired choice. secondly, there might be some unexpected situational factors like price of choice product is suddenly gone up (Dubois, 2000).Furthermore, Dubois (2000) submits that when the customer is going to make purchase decision, at this time, still there is need to make some sub purchase decision like way of payment method, time of purchasing where the payment method and price is more major factors affects into mobile services industry. However, some times, the purchase decision phase fails because of perceived risk (Taylor, 1974,).Lack of confidence, the amount of attribute uncertainty are the major influence factors in the purchase decision stage. 5. Post Purchase Behaviour: After the Purchase decision, the post purchase phase occurs. Generally, if any sales representatives want customer come back again towards store, they should be able to understand the behaviour of customers. The post purchase phase is a complex process where satisfaction of customer is utilization. One of Researchers Henard, (1988) submits that the customer satisfaction evaluations can be influenced by consumer expectations and perceptions. Moreover, The Atmospherics is also plays important role in this phase (Hoffman and Turley, 2002). This phase can be divided into two way: post purchase satisfaction and post purchase actions (Kotler, 2006; 198-199) where generally research suggest that if the customers come back to the store, it means they are dissatisfied but Oliver (1999; 33-44,) argued that it does not mean that when customer come back because of being satisfied, they might be other reason when they come back. In addition to satisfaction in this phase include brand preference and repurchase intentions and how it is affect. Here brand is one of major factors in the services industry which is affect on satisfaction about product and services. 4. CONCLUSION Consumer buying process is an understanding of the appropriate fundamentals that impact upon individual buying decision making and the general process through which individual behave and make the decision is an imperative first stage in the development of any marketing communication plan (Fill, 2002), upon the basis of that understanding, marketer device the plan and try to implement well with the sales figure. But, despite all their efforts to pre-sell consumers through advertising, marketers increasingly are recognizing the significant degree to which many purchases are influenced by the store environment. It has been estimated that about two out of every three supermarket purchases are decided in the aisles. The proportion of unplanned purchases is even higher for some product categories (Solomon, 2002).The essay mainly deals with the theoretical approach to the consumer buying behaviour and provided the background about consumer buying behaviour in terms of organisation. However, in the first part of this essay is presented that it is important to understand consumer buying behaviour for firms that why consumers make the purchases that they have done and what type of factors affect to the buying behaviour. This essay also investigated the types of factors affect more to the consumer buying behaviour which is main objectives of the conducting research. Moreover, the essay also contains the theory about consumer buying decision model.

The Catiline Conspiracy Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sallust, Cicero and the Catiline Conspiracy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both the histories of Sallust and the orations of Cicero can be considered literary works, to a degree. The War With Catiline, by Sallust and The First Speech Against Lucius Sergius Catilina, by Cicero, both contain excellent examples of writings from the age of the great Roman Empire. Although both are fantastic pieces depicting a time of tragedy, the Catiline Conspiracy against Rome, and they both think Catiline as evil, the two are also different.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sallust was an obscure historical writer from the first century BCE. In The War With Catiline, he tells of the conspiracy of Catiline and his plan to bring about civil war in Rome and over power the Senate. Sallust depicts this historical event very fairly and with a seemingly unbiased attitude, although he was not involved in any way with or against the conspirators. It was said that in this period of time things had been going very well, â€Å"†¦Our country had grown great through toil and the practice of justice, when great kings had been vanquished in war, savage tribes and mighty peoples subdued by force of arms, when Carthage, the rival of Rome’s sway, had perished root and branch, and all seas and lands were open†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This time of absolute supremacy gave way to a generation of Romans who were greedy and power hungry. Sallust viewed this...

Gender and the Internet Essays -- Technology Computers Web Essays

Gender and the Internet The internet can be a very good source of information, but it can also altar information enough to make it unreal. Feminist sites are no exception to this. Many sites in fact use virtual rendering to altar images in addition to text. There are various topics dealing with feminism and issues involving females, some are well approached and others are not. Women do not tend to have the same type of relationship with their automobiles as men do. In Virginia Scharff’s article, â€Å"Femininity and the Electric car†, this relationship between women and cars is explained in depth. Two websites that show how women look at automobiles are, www.womanmotorist.com and www.cybergrrl.com/fun/womenandcars/. www.womanmotorist.com differs in many ways from Scharff’s article, but is a very good website. This site does not directly say that women drive only certain types of cars. Instead it talks about things such as women and professional racing and even has a section on performance cars. In Scharff’s article it mentions that â€Å"It can be roundly stated without fear of contradiction that the times a woman wants to run an electric 30 miles an hour, are few and far between†¦.It is an unnecessarily fast speed for pleasure driving†¦.If the car you select has a maximum speed of 25 miles on the level, it goes quite fast enough.†(Scharff pg 81) On the website the views are different and show how much things have changed from the article. When addressing the female market, automakers are beginning to admit that "women" are not a single, homogeneous market. Until just a few years ago, all women were categorized as "mothers." Now they are seen as generation X-ers, college students, sports car intenders, 8-5ers, baby boom... ....plasticsurgery4u.com/ http://www.ienhance.com/gallery/default.asp http://www.malepregnancy.com http://www.ivf.com Bad Websites: www.cybergrrl.com/fun/womenandcars www.plastic-surgery.net http://www.advancedfertility.com/ivf.htm http://www.ivf.org http://www.ifi.uio.no/~thomas/po/cryobortion.html Morgan, Kathy Pauly. â€Å"Women and the Knife† Sex/Machine. Indiana University Press, 1998 Overall, Christine. â€Å"New Reproductive Technology: Some Implications for the Abortion Issue.† Sex/Machine. Indiana University Press, 1998 Scharff, Virginia. â€Å"Femininity and the Electric Car† Sex/Machine. Indiana University Press, 1998 Stone, Allucquere Rosanne. â€Å"In Novel Conditions† Sex/Machine. Indiana University Press, 1998 Terisi, Dick and McAuliffe, Kathleen. â€Å"Male Pregnancy† Sex/Machine. Indiana University Press, 1998

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay -- Social Responsibility Essays

Contemporary business is one of the most important factors to promote social development and six elements have significant influence on it. They are corporate social responsibility, technological paradigm shifts, financial market, legislation, environment issues and business ethics. Corporate social responsibility is called CSR for short. The definition of CSR is companies should be responsible for suppliers, costumers, environment and community besides earn profit and responsible for their shareholders. The core of CSR is protecting their employees, including not discrimination, respect different culture. Technological paradigm shifts reflect social development. There are three industrial revolutions in history. Each of them bring science and technology progress rapidly and that has given a powerful propel to the productive force of the world and business, economic and social development of humanity. Comprehensive financial market systems consist of securities market, discount marke t; insurance market a foreign exchange market, finance and business are independent and mutually primitive. Government makes legislation in order to ensure the interests of citizens are protected. Legislation related many filed such as business, environment, and public services. Environment issues are big problems for modern society. Environment involves many fields, for instance business. Most companies pay much attention on business ethics. Because good business ethics is the basis of cooperation .If companies lost business ethics that means they lost company loyalty. As people all know if companies cannot manage their business with integrity or treat their clients and vendors without respect, they won’t earn partners trust and establish unbreakable ... ...distillation, desalination and ultraviolet disinfection [10]. And Reengineering solutions to global warming are receiving ever more attention, and for good reason. Science reported that top U.S. climate scientists gathered at Harvard this month to explore ways reengineering might lower the global temperature. Mimicking the natural cooling effects of volcanic eruptions by releasing massive amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere is one idea. Another is to increase the planet's reflectivity by spraying seawater on ocean clouds or floating shiny Mylar balloons into low-Earth orbit [11]. At present environmental issues are regarded by all the countries and it is a subject very worthy to be studied. People try their best to find the best way to solve these issues. That is not only benefit for nature, but also good for sustained development of human society. ..

Human resource training and development Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Employees play a vital role in organization performance. Effective training and development are very important because it can help an organization to improve on its performance as well as on its productivity. Gilmore and Williams (2009) pointed out that only the trained workforce can effectively respond to the new challenges as well as to the existing ones in their jobs .Basically, skills are capacities and expertise in particular occupation. Gilmore and Williams (2009) continue saying that higher productivity is increasingly driven by skills. Besides, the degree of competitive advantage of a firm depends increasingly on its skilled labor 1.1 Definition of Training Training is the modification of behavior through learning (Kisire, 2010). The main aim of training progress is to help employees to do things differently for better performance and to increase their level of job satisfaction. Basically, training touches on knowledge, skills and abilities. Thus training should be done strategically in order to meet the long term development of the people and achieve organizational goals. In fact, it is only when employees understand very well the right way to do their jobs that the employer can hope for excellent results. 1.2 Justification for Training by (Armstrong 2011) †¢The knowledge or skills cannot be acquired satisfactorily in the workplace or by self directed learning. †¢Different skills are required by a number of people which have to be developed quickly to meet new demands and cannot be gained by relying on experience. †¢The tasks to be carried out are so specialized or complex that people are unlikely to master them on their own initiative at a reasonable speed. †¢When a learning need to be common to a number of people, has to meet that which can readily be dealt with in a training event or programme e.g. induction, essential IT skills, and communication skills. †¢Training helps the organization to gain competitive advantage. That is, the training practices have to help the business to grow and improve customer service by providing employees with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. †¢Training prepares employees to use new  technologies, function in new work systems such as virtual teams, and communicate and cooperate with peers or customers who may be from different cultural backgrounds. †¢Training helps organizations provide high quality service for example through quick responds to clients needs. 1.3 Development Bernardin (2010) describes development as learning opportunities designed to help employees grow. Developing people in organizational context is to help them to progress within their careers. One key factor in employee motivation and retention is the opportunity employees want to continue to grow and develop job and career by enhancing their skills level of performance and productivity .Gary Dessler (2011) describes training as a process with 4 steps that an employer uses to give new or present employees the skills required for effective performance. Training and development process emphasize on what employees want in training and development opportunities. Providing training to employees benefits both organization and employees themselves. 2.0 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT †¢Training raises knowledge and skills required for efficient performance of a particular job, while development is a continuous general and dynamic expansion of skills and knowledge, and is aimed at long term career growth rather than immediate performance. †¢Training focuses on short term (basing on the current job) while development focuses on the long term (the future careers) e.g. finding a mentor within your organization to introduce you to the structure and culture at senior levels in your organization and give you more exposure to senior management. 3.0 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRAINING AND EDUCATION †¢Purpose of learning: In training the employee acquire new skills and knowledge while in education the purpose is to acquire or deepen mindset or profession. Thus education is general and wider in general purpose than training. †¢Length of the learning process: in education it takes one to four years while in training it takes one to five days or several weeks. †¢Place of delivery: Training is generally imparted at the work place while education is imparted in schools or colleges. †¢Training effect: Training  has immediate effect as compared to education. †¢Change: In education, change program requires one to be skillful at thinking, transformational, deeper and more radical while in training needs to be skillful at doing shallower and more superficial programs 4.0 NEED FOR TRAINING †¢Increases organizational commitment †¢Develops the cognitive, physical and spiritual dimensions of the employee †¢Improves job performance †¢Contributes to flexibility to adapt to changing internal and external factors †¢Develops interpersonal skills †¢Creates an interesting and challenging environment †¢Fosters greater organizational stability less employee turnover and conflicts †¢Helps reduce costs in the secretariat †¢Heightens employee morale †¢Increases knowledge and awareness of the total environment †¢Helps achieve overall organizational objectives †¢Helps retain a competent and efficient workforce †¢Develops creativity and problem solving skills †¢Helps improve and acquire technical skills. 4.1 Aligning Strategy and Training. To be effective, training must play a strategic role in supporting business. Employers today want to make sure their training programs are supporting their firms’ strategic goals. 4.2 Planning and delivering learning events and programs †¢Training Needs Analysis It involves the determination of the types and specific training necessary to improve current knowledge, abilities and skills of the workforce. This can be done through personal, task and organizational level of analysis. The data can come from target participant supervisor’s management, and even from customers, using multiple data gathering methods like survey, interview, observation at work, and performance appraisal results. Other possible sources of training needs are the long-range human resource plans of the company, practices of other organizations, requests for training of affiliate/subsidiary companies, and legislation requirements. The Training Needs Analysis (TNA) results serve as important inputs in designing the  training program. TNA should be done regularly to ensure that training would respond to the needs of trainees. †¢Training Design This pertains to the planning of the entire training program. It starts with the identification of the goals and objectives that should be achieved. The topics or contents to be covered and the appropriate training methodologies for adult learning are then determined. The corresponding visual aids and learning materials are also specified. The training design and the TNA are usually done by the training staff of the organization and sometimes by outside consultants. The services of training consultants are usually availed of the large companies for this purpose. A typical training design will contain these parts: Training Title Venue Date Goal Specific Objectives Sequences of Topics Time Allocation Per Topic Methodology Resources Needed Evaluation The training objectives of the training design are a critical element that should be written properly to be able to decide on the contents, methodology, and the duration of tackling the topics. The preset objectives also become the basis for evaluating the success of the program. The standard criteria for objective formulation is SMART. Whether the training will facilitate the learning of cognitive, affective, or psychomotor skills, it is important that the objectives are specific, measurable/observable, attainable, relevant to training goals, and time-bound. On the other hand, the choices of any or a combination of the following training methodologies will largely depend on the objectives, type of participants, and the duration of the training. †¢Training Implementation Implementation covers the logistical aspects like venue, food, budget,  equipment, resource persons, transportation, and participants. These should be properly attended to during the actual conduct of the training. Therefore, training programs are done within the company or outside depending on the nature of the program and the financial capability of the organization. In cases where the organization has earmarked a sufficient budget for major training program especially for managers, these are done outside of the company with external consultants as trainers. Companies like Fortune Medicare Inc. and Nestle Philippines have this kind of practice. Based on the above-mentioned importance of training, specific training conducted by the organizations may be classified as technical or behavioral training. The skills/technical type focuses on facilitating the learning of competencies related to the employees’ knowledge and skills. The behavioral type, on the other hand, pertains to ensuring the learning of competencies related to the workforce attitudes and habits. †¢Training Evaluation This last phase of the training process requires the assessment of the conduct of the training activity. The evaluation is concerned with the measurement of the training success or effectiveness to establish whether an investment in a particular training has paid off. The training effectiveness is usually determined based on the achievement of the previously set objectives and results, considering the needs, methods, and other areas of training administration. According to Kirkpatrick (1998), there are four levels of evaluating training programs. These are the (1) reaction; (2) learning; (3) behavioral change; and (4) impact to organization. The reaction level measures the participants’ feedback right after the conduct of the training. Feedback are taken related to attainment of objectives, processes, methodologies, time, reading materials, resource persons/facilitators, and other logistics of the training. On the other hand, participants’ learning level determines what specific skills, knowledge or even what they learned is commonly asked at the end of the training period. There are many ways by which the training evaluation can be done. The use of the questionnaire form administered at the end of the training is very often done to measure the reaction level. However, it should be noted that using a questionnaire form is only one of the methods to evaluate training. Other ways to assess training according to Hargraues  and Jarius (2000) are: (1) formal or informal interviews; (2) feedback from line managers; (3) feedback from the Training Unit; (4) meet a cross-section of suppliers or customers; (5) discuss with staff who attended; (6) wander into offices and talk to people; (7) number of requests to attend other events; (8) academic or practical standards reached; (9) formal certification; and (10) a cost- benefit analysis. While the paper & pencil or practical test is used to assess knowledge learning of the participants. A good example of this is the pre-test and post-test method using different designs. The learning is usually also undertaken simultaneously within the reaction level. The behavioural change level assesses the changes on the attitude and/or habits of the trainees after the training that is usually observable at the workplace. This will involve a follow up of the trainees in coordination with the immediate supervisor. Examples of behavioural indicators are attendance, promptness, courtesy, cooperation, and level of participation. The impact to organization level measures the effect of the training on the unit where the trainees belong and on the entire organization. This level can focus on productivity sales profits, and customer satisfaction. 4.3 Identification of Training Needs †¢Appraisal Systems Many organizations see performance appraisal schemes as an integral part of their employee development strategy. Schemes vary considerably from one organization to another, and nowadays may have a variety of names, but almost all of them include the identification of training needs as a key component. Most also consider the longer-term career options available to employees, and allow them to express their preferences. It follows that anyone with responsibility for training and development should influence the design of the scheme and ensure that notice is taken of the information generated by it. This is not always readily achieved. Sometimes the scheme will focus on short-term performance issues, and line managers may not regard the consideration of developmental issues as important. The appraisal may also be considered to be confidential within the department concerned. Sometimes the section covering training and development needs is detachable, so that the training function only gets to see the appropriate information. This approach has its merits, but excludes the underlying performance issues  which contribute towards identifying the training and development needs. There are many issues to be addressed when designing and implementing an appraisal scheme, and some of the aims of the process may conflict with each other. For example, a scheme linked to the determination of pay increases may inhibit the appraisee from being honest about aspects of the job that he or she finds difficult, whereas it is precisely these aspects that must be discussed to identify training needs. Care is required to minimize these conflicts . †¢Survey Methods Surveys can be very useful in the gathering of data, including information on attitudes. People usually participate willingly if the completion of a survey form is not too complex or lengthy and if they think some good will come out of the exercise. When designing a survey you must decide on: 1) the size and nature of the sample 2) the format of the questions 3) exactly how the survey is to be conducted. †¢Interviews Interviewing is a technique that can appear to be very simple when used by an experienced practitioner. Although some people are naturally better at interviewing, the key skills of a good investigative interviewer are all capable of being learned. The first two skills are common to all types of interview – questioning and listening. These two investigative skills are inseparable; one supports and reinforces the other. For trainers these skills are crucial not only at the stage of identifying training needs but also during instruction and evaluation. Many trainers who recognise that the ability to talk well is vital often underestimate the importance of questioning and listening. Hearing, which is an ability that may be difficult to improve, is not the same as listening which is a skill that can be significantly enhanced by training. Questioning is something that everyone can do, but which some people learn to do much more effectively than others. In an interview to determine training needs, the interviewer may be delving into very emotive and sensitive areas. To ensure that the interviewee feels comfortable in talking about these issues, the interviewer must appear to be listening. To ensure that full understanding is attained, the interviewer must not only appear to listen, but must actually do so with real concentration. †¢Job and Task Analysis There are many reasons for analyzing jobs and tasks. One common reason is to provide a basis for job evaluation; another is to be precise about requirements in a selection situation. There are also many different systems of analysis. Some seem to generate a multitude of documents; others use highly involved and sophisticated methodology. Different types of analysis are: Job analysis; Task analysis; Skills analysis and Fault analysis. 5.0 TRANSFER OF TRAINING Be relevant, avoid difficult material. Transfer is more likely if systematic training and just in time training approaches are used. 5.1 Systematic Training We have to ensure that training is specifically designed, planned and implemented to meet defined needs. It is provided by people who know to train and the impact of training is evaluated. Systematic training follows five steps ADDIE) model. Effective training uses the systematic approach with an emphasis on skills analysis. The focus of training should be to develop transferable skills. The training should be evaluated on the basis of the extent to which it has achieved its purpose. 5.2 Just in Time Training It is delivered as close as possible to the time when the activity is taking place. The training will be based on an identification of the latest requirements, priorities and plans of the participants. 5.3 Types of Training Armstrong (2012), indicates that training programs or events can be concerned with any of the following: †¢Manual skills including apprenticeship †¢Information Technology(IT) skills †¢Team leader or supervisory training †¢Management training †¢Interpersonal skills such as leadership, teambuilding and group dynamics †¢Personal skills for example assertiveness, coaching, communicating and time management. †¢Training in organizational procedures or practices such as induction, health and safety, performance management, equal opportunity  or managing diversity policy and practice. 6.0 IMPLEMENTING TRAINING PROGRAMS (TRAINING METHODS) 6.1 On the Job Training On-the-job training is training that takes place while employees are actually working. It means that skills can be gained while trainees are carrying out their jobs. This benefits both employees and the business. Employees learn in the real work environment and gain experience dealing with the tasks and challenges that they will meet during a normal working day. The business benefits by ensuring that the training is specific to the job. It also does not have to meet the additional costs of providing off-the-job training or losing working time. Requirements for effective On the Job Training (OJT) programs by (CIDP 2008a) †¢A policy statement that describes the purpose of OJT and emphasizes the company’s support for it. †¢A clear specification of who is accountable for conducting OJT. If managers conduct OJT, this is mentioned in their job descriptions and is part of their performance evaluation †¢A thorough review of OJT practices (program content, types of jobs, length of program, cost savings) at other companies in similar industries. †¢Training of managers and peers in the principles of structured OJT †¢Availability of lesson plans, checklists, procedure manuals, training manuals, learning contracts and progress report forms for use by employees who conduct OJT †¢Evaluation of employees levels of basic skills (reading, computation, and writing) before OJT. The virtual classroom: This is another training technique as presented by Dessler (2011). It uses special collaboration software to enable multiple remote learners, using their PCs or laptops to participate in live audio and visual discussions, communicate via written text and learn via content such as PowerPoint slides. Informal learning: Informal learning occurs e.g. through capitalizing on work related discussions, for example, to place tools in strategic areas like cafeteria to take advantage of the work-related discussions taking place. Apprenticeship Training: An apprenticeship program combines on-the-job training with academic instruction for those entering the workforce. Also called dual-training programs because of the combined occupational and in-class components, apprenticeships help individuals put their academic skills to practical use in various careers. Whereas internships are often  short-term, rarely lasting more than a year, apprenticeships can last as many as four or five years. Apprenticeships also differ from internships in that most apprentices are paid, with salary increasing as the apprentice completes parts of the program.. Job Instruction Training: (JIT) is a step-by-step, relatively simple technique used to train employees on the job. It is especially suitable for teaching manual skills or procedures; the trainer is usually an employee’s supervisor but can be a co-worker. Lectures: Don’t start out on the wrong foot. For instance, don’t open with an irrelevant joke or by saying something like â€Å"I really don’t know why I was asked to speak here today.† Give your listeners signals if for example you have a list of items, start by saying something like, â€Å"There are four reasons why the sales reports are necessary†¦.the first†¦. Again be alert to your audience, maintain eye contact with your audience during your presentation, and break a long talk into a series of 5 minutes talks Programmed learning: It is a learning methodology or technique first proposed by the behaviorist B. F. Skinner in 1958. According to Skinner, the purpose of programmed learning is to â€Å"manage human learning under controlled conditions†. The medium can be a textbook, Personal Computer (PC), or internet. Programmed learning is a step by step, self learning method that consists of three parts: presenting questions and facts to the learner, allowing the person to respond, and providing the learner feedback on the accuracy of answers. The advantage is that it reduces training time Computer based training (CBT): A type of education in whic h the student learns by executing special training programs on a computer. CBT is especially effective for training people to use computer applications because the CBT program can be integrated with the applications so that students can practice using the application as they learn. Training via the internet and learning portals. The training may include posting videos, written lectures or power point slides or sophisticated simulations. This method may be applied in colleges where the employer use internet based learning to training. Company’s also convey their employee training through their internal internet portals for example by contracting with service providers such as skill soft (www.skillsoft.com) or for health and safety training, pure safety (www.puresafety.com) to deliver online training courses to the firms employees. Mobile learning: This refers to delivering  of learning content on demand via devices like cell phones and i-phones whenever the learner wants to access it. Audiovisual and traditional distance learning techniques: Audiovisual tools including DVDs, films and closed circuit TV e.g. firms’ use various distance learning methods for training which may include traditional correspondence courses as well as video conferencing and internet based classes. Behavior modeling: It involves showing trainees the right (or Model) way of doing something, letting each person practice the right way to do it and providing feedback regarding performance. The basic behavior modeling procedure is: †¢Modeling: first trainee watch DVDs, showing model persons behaving effectively in a problem situation. †¢Role playing: the trainees are given roles to play in a stimulated situation. †¢Social reinforcement: the trainer provides praises and constructive feedback based on the trainee performs in the role play. †¢Transfer of training: finally trainees are encouraged to apply their new skills when they are back on their jobs In summary: Training and development applies both On-the-job and Off-the-Job training methods On the Job Training Methods: On the job training takes various forms including apprenticeships, job rotation, creation of assistant to positions, orientation, delegation, vestibule training, promotion and transfers and self directed training programs Off the Job Training Methods include training by management institutions, lectures, seminars and conference, case study, brainstorming, management games and role playing 6.1 Advantages of Off-the-job Training method †¢Non production error: the employees are trained outside the work environment therefore they are not involved in production process as in on the job training method. †¢Economy: A large group of trainees are trained simultaneously at a time. †¢Free on production: when the trainees are not involved in production process, the production activities can be carried without any interruption hence, it runs freely, moreover, costly errors and injurious can be avoided †¢Less time of training: training will take less time because the trainees are not involved in production. †¢It is free from pressures of working environment †¢Risk free of damaging organization’s valuable equipment. This is because  they are not trained using organization’s facilities. †¢Off- the- job development techniques remove individuals from the stresses and ongoing demands of the work place, enabling them focus fully on the learning experience. In addition they provide opportunities for meeting people from other departments or organizations. Thus individuals are exposed to useful new ideas and experiences while they make potentially useful contacts. 6.2 Disadvantages of Off-the-job training method †¢Lack of feedback: there is lack of feedback to employees because they are trained away from the organization work environment. †¢Expensive: organization has to prepare extra place for training outside the actual environment. †¢No production: employees are kept away from the actual work place, thus the organization bears cost without output. †¢Outside the work station: employees are unknown with actual machines and equipment thus transfer of training is sometimes difficult. †¢Not effective: as employees are trained in an artificial classroom they are unfamiliar with actual environment as result of which it requires long time for them to learn. 6.3 Advantages of On-the-Job Training Method †¢Organization doesn’t have to pay a training company or college therefore it is less costly. †¢Senior highly skilled and experienced staff can teach new staff the exact skills needed for a particular job †¢The business can acquire an experience in house training team hence no need for trainees to adjust to real work situations and trainers †¢It builds relationships/bonds between learner/teacher in the work place. 6.4 Disadvantages of On-the-Job Training Method †¢Productivity can be interrupted †¢Senior highly skilled and experienced staff has to leave their job to teach/train. †¢Skills learned are job specific leaving staff less flexible to changing roles. †¢Working environment can be busy, noisy and not conducive for learning. †¢It may lead to high rate of spoilage of material and damage of valuable equipment 7.0 IMPLEMENTING MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Management Development and training is any attempt to improve managerial performance by imparting knowledge, changing attitudes or increasing skills. It thus includes in-house programs such as courses, coaching and rotational assignments, professional programs such as management seminars and university programs such as executive MBA programs. The ultimate aim of such development programs is to enhance the future performance of the organization itself. For this reason the overall management development process ideally consists of assessing the company’s needs for example to fill the future executive openings, appraising the managers’ performance and then developing managers themselves (CIDP 2008a). The program should make sense in terms of the company’s strategy and goals. This means involving top management in formulating the program’s aims and in specifying competencies and knowledge outcomes. The most popular development methods include classroom based learning, executive coaching, 360-degree feedback, action learning, mentoring and job rotation. 7.1 The Management Development Process It includes assessing the company’s strategic needs for example to fill future executive openings or to boost competitiveness, appraising managers’ current performance and developing the managers and future managers. Development programs aim to fill specific positions, such as CEO, for example, GE Caterpillar Company spent years developing, testing, and watching potential replacements for CEO before finally choosing Jeffrey Immelt (Dessler 2011). In any case, assessment is usually part of development programs. 8.0 METHODS OF MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMS 8.1 On-the-Job Methods On the job methods are usually preferred in management development programs. Often such training is informal. The supervisor trains the worker as he performs the work. David (2009), says there are four major on-the-job development methods: †¢Coaching/understudy Approach: here the trainee works directly with senior manager or with a person he or she is to replace. The training of mangers by his or her immediate supervisors- is by far the most effective management development technique; unfortunately, many managers are either unable or unwilling to coach those they supervise. On- the job  coaching must be tempered with considerable restraint- managers who cannot develop unless they are allowed to work out problems in their own way. †¢Job rotation: It involves shifting mangers from position to position so they can broaden their experience and familiarize themselves with various aspects of the firms operations.The trainee can be a recent college graduate, and spend several months in each department, learning the department’s business by actually doing it. Or can be a senior manager being groomed for CEO by being exposed to a range of domestic and foreign challenges.   †¢Training positions: Trainees are given staff posts immediately under an experienced manager, often with the title of assistant. Such assignments give trainees a chance to work with and model themselves after outstanding managers who might otherwise have little contact with them. †¢Planned work activities: This involves, giving trainees important work assignments to develop their experience and ability. Trainees may be asked to head a task force or participate in an important committee meeting. Such experiences help them gain insight into how organizations operate and also improve their human relations. 8.2 Off-the-Job Methods The most common off the job development methods are in-house classroom instruction and management development programs sponsored by universities and organizations such as American Management association. Almost every management development program includes some form of classroom instruction in which specialists from inside or outside the organization teach trainees a particular subject. Classroom instruction is often supplemented, with case studies, role playing and business games or simulations. For example managers may be asked to play roles on both sides in simulated labor- management dispute. Some organizations send selected employees to university-sponsored management programs. Many major universities have such programs, which range in length from one week to three or more. Off-the-Job Management Training and Development Techniques †¢The case study Method: The case study method presents a trainee with a written description of an organizational problem. The trainee then analyses the case, diagnoses the problem and presents his or her findings and solutions in a discussion with other trainees. E.g. crime investigation, u  can write a script showing all the procedures. The scenario aim is to develop specific training skills, such as interviewing witnesses. †¢Management games: Management games are effective; people learn best by being involved. With computerized management games trainees divide into five or six person groups each of which competes with the others in simulated marketplace. Each group must decide for example how much to spend on advertising, how much to produce, how much inventory and how many of which product to produce. Thus they make computerized decisions. †¢Outside seminars: Many universities and companies offer web-based and traditional classroom management development seminars and conferences. E.g. specialized associations such as Society of Human Resource Management, provide specialized seminars for their professional members. †¢University related programs: Many universities provide executive education and continuing education programs in leadership, supervision etc. these can range 1 to 4 day programs to execute development programs lasting 1 to 4 months. The advanced Management Program of Harvard’s graduate school of Business administration is a well known example according to (Dessler 2011). Students are experienced managers from around the world. The school uses cases and lectures to provide them with the latest management skills. †¢Role playing: The aim of role playing is to create a realistic situation and then have the trainees assume the parts or roles of specific persons in that situation. The role play can trigger the discussions among the role players/trainees. The aim is to develop trainees’ skills in areas like leadership and delegating. †¢Corporate Universities: Many universities particularly the larger ones establish in-house development centers; IBM is one of the examples. In-house development centers typically offer a catalogue of courses and programs aimed at supporting the employers, management training and development program providers and web-based education portals to create packages of programs and materials. For example Brain and Company, a management consulting firm, has such a web based virtual university for its employees. It provides a means not only for coordinating all the company’s training efforts but also for delivering web based modules and cover topics from strategic management to mentoring. †¢Executive Coaches: Firms retain executive coaches to develop their top managers’ effectiveness. An executive coach is an outside consultant who questions the executive boss, peers,  subordinates and sometimes family in order to identify the executive’s strengths and weaknesses and counsel the executive so he or she can capitalize on those strengths and overcome the weaknesses. †¢The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Learning System: SHRM, encourages HR professionals to qualify for certification by taking examinations. The society offers several preparatory training programs. The self-study option includes text and DVD. The college/university option provides classroom interaction with instructors and other students. 8.3 Other Methods †¢Panel Discussion †¢Skill Practice †¢Problem-Solving Activity †¢Questionnaire †¢Role Play †¢Physical Continuum †¢Presentation †¢Synergy Activity †¢Lecturette †¢Observation †¢Project †¢Fishbowl †¢Full-Group Discussion †¢Experiential Activity †¢Feedback Activity †¢Story †¢Inter-group Discussion or Exchange †¢Interviewing †¢Index Card Match †¢Information Sear †¢Anonymous card †¢Demonstration †¢Dyadic Discussion or Exchange †¢Games †¢Group Inquiry †¢Contracting †¢Creative Activity †¢Checklist †¢Closing Circle †¢Brainstorming †¢Case Study †¢Reference †¢Trio Discussion or Exchange †¢Writing Task †¢Self-Assessment and Self-Evaluation †¢Small Group Discussion †¢Whip †¢Peer Consultation †¢Peer Teaching †¢Simulation †¢Read and Discuss †¢Read and Teach Group †¢Mental Imagery 9.0 CONCLUSION Organizations make arrangement for development of its executives so as to improve efficiency of management. Managers need generalized knowledge in lieu of technical skills on particular job. Therefore, training of executives is often known as development. It is good to focus both on Training and development to ensure that our team members are able to perform to the best of their ability, not only in short term (their current job) but also in the long term (their future careers). REFERENCES Bernardin, H. J. (2010). Human Resource Management: An Experiential Approach.5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Dale Carnegie and Associates (2006), Managing Through People, New York, USA David M.(2009), Human Resource Development. UK. Oxford University Press. Dessler G. (2011), Human resource Management. 12Th Ed, USA, Florida International University Prentice Hall. Dessler, G. (2011). A Framework for Human resource Management. 6th Ed. Delhi: Dorling Kndersley. Kisire, S. J. (2009). Simple Revision Guide Human Resource Management. Nairobi: Bernard Bongo DPW. Noe A.R. 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