Technology: Boon or Bane?

Day by day, technology advances only to deteriorate the health of those who use it. In the past years, scientists have spoon-fed people of all ages with attractive gadgets. However, the truth is technology has made humans less well-rounded individuals. Technology is a wonderful thing; there are cell phones with internet access and the capability to take pictures and videos. With computers, all the information you could ever want is available within a few keystrokes of a search engine. Contradicting those points is, just like everything else in life. Nothing is ever perfect and technology has its share of flaws. There are calculators, search engines, online forums and instant messengers that are making us socially and mentally handicapped. Video games are giving gamers a false sense of reality and teachings of violence. Finally, technology has in the past and is being used for the wrong reason of destroying the whole universe using weapons of mass destruction. People have questions every single day, and it is very normal and healthy to ask questions. This promotes the mental wellness of a human being; it also helps you learn more information which contributes to your general knowledge. With the invention of search engines and online forums, it has become easier to get your question answered. This is an asset to humans, however a human can become socially undeveloped and not have the confidence to talk with a person face to face and ask a question. Instant messengers have also contributed to the fact that people find it easier to talk over the internet, rather than face to face. The same rule applies to the mental strength of mankind. Math homework is less than a challenge for students of today. They pick up their calculators, type in a few numbers and write the answer down on the page claiming to their teachers that they have applied all their mental faculties to the questions. Though this method is extremely convenient, it is ruining our brain’s full capabilities. In order for something to run efficiently it must be utilized. The calculator does not permit the brain to be exercised before it can function properly. Video games provide unending fun, but it also gives the player unrealistic views about life. Computer and video games have come a long way since Space Invaders and Pac Man. â€Å"†¦numerous studies show that video games, especially ones with violent content, make teens more aggressive† (http://www. pamf. org/preteen/parents/videogames. html). Today's games are much more complex and interesting, and the technology has advanced to the point where a gamer can become immersed within the game. Video games provide the players with false ideas about saving the world and resulting to violence as a method of solving your problems with others. In other words it is making gamers become too unrealistic about the life they live and glorifying an unreal world. Technology has been used for the wrong reason of destroying the universe â€Å"[It] has dominated warfare since the early 1900s† (http://www. newscientist. com/topic/weapons). Majority of the population must agree with that comment. During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki† (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki). The bombings were one of the earliest signs of a technological breakthrough which destroyed the earth, there is no doubt that it is evident to happen again, due to the technology advancing every day. Another recent example which is still fresh in our minds is t he event of 9/11, in which terrorists trained themselves on a computer to destroy the Twin Towers. With technology reaching insurmountable feats rapidly, it is destroying the planet and its inhabitants. Technology is deteriorating the well-roundedness of humans by allowing them to rely on manmade machines and become lethargic. Technology is making us socially and mentally dumb, giving false sense of reality. Weapons are being created using technology for the wrong reason of destroying the universe. For all those reasons it is suggested people should become further aware of the Trojan horse of today, which is technology.

Comparison and Contrast of Hispanic Culture and Anglo-American Culture Essay

There is no universal culture amongst the world society as each community embraces a unique culture that guides and defines their behavior. The differences that are exhibited within any particular group of people in a country or a cultural group are usually greater than those differences that may be in a homogeneous group. The differences are usually noted in level of education, social standing, religious beliefs, personality definition, previous experiences, and affection that prevails in the home among other many factors that have an influence on human behavioral and cultural practices. Cultural differences are persistent even in the globalized world. It is therefore important to take note of the differences in order to have good knowledge of the customs, beliefs, values and norms of the divergent cultural groups. Cross cultural studies therefore are essential as they assist in coming up with a comparison of the various cultural differences that is observed in the various ethnic groups. When conducting cross-cultural studies, comparison becomes the main essence of the study thereby ensuring that generalized assumptions are inevitable as the researchers seek to categorize the cultural groups. We need however to be cautious that generalizations may lead to serious negative impacts especially when they are made from faulty observations. This paper shall aspire to give a comparison and contrast of the Hispanics and the Anglo-American cultures Hispanics: An analysis of the Hispanic community in the United States is not an easy task as there are several Hispanic groups in the country having different backgrounds especially in relation to their point of origin. The Hispanics are therefore not a single group with similar cultural characteristics as they exhibit differences in regard to political views, customs, religious beliefs, familial and other conventions that distinguish each group from the others. The focus on the Hispanics in this paper shall focus on four categories which include the Mexicans Americans, the Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and those from the Central American region. The Mexican Americans trace their place of origin from Mexico while the Puerto Ricans are considered the citizens of the United States given that Puerto Rico is a United States’ territory. The Cuban Americans on the other hand are those who fled Cuba due to the political and economical turmoil that has been experienced in their country for quite some time. Lastly, the Hispanics from the central part of the Americas are said to have originated from various countries in the region (Kanellos, 1994). The Anglo-Americans: The Anglo-American refers to the ethnic group of individuals of European origin. The term ‘Anglo’ has come to be used to refer to the English speaking Americans with little reference to their particular origin more like the term Hispanic has been used to refer to the various groups that make the Native American population. The Anglo-Americans comprise of English speaking Americans who are in most instances Protestants with minority of them adhering to the Roman Catholicism. The term Anglo-American has been used to refer to all those individuals who originated from countries that traditionally spoke English as their main language and also those whose families have adopted the English speaking culture in the United States and Canada to perfection (Diaz-Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). Comparison and Contrast of the Hispanic and the Anglo-American Cultures: As stated earlier, there are various groups in the United States which form the larger Hispanic category. Nevertheless, the different groupings within the Hispanic block have distinct features which come out especially when compared to the Anglo-American way of doing things. The Mexican Americans for instance, are known to speak Spanish and they are taught in bi-lingual classes which involves English as their second language. The Mexican Americans have various values which are unique of the Anglo-Americans. The familial values of the Mexican Americans for instance are uniquely different from that exhibited by the Anglo-Americans. The Mexico Americans for instance emphasizes on the social structure that is rooted in the family unit (Kanellos, 1994). Though the women are greatly respected in their culture, the Mexican Americans holds that the women are inferior to their husbands in the homes. The husband is seen as the figure of authority and the chief decision maker for the family. They usually cherish large families and extended family ties are maintained. This is in contrast to the typical Anglo-American culture where both the man and woman in the house enjoy equal or almost equal right in the decision making process for the family. The family is based on democratic principles and small nuclear families are cherished. The bond for extended family ties is usually loose in the setting of the Anglo-American culture. Most Mexican Americans are also observed as Catholics and they put emphasis on the holding of religious moral values than their Anglo-American counterparts. Politically, the Mexican Americans have not been quick to stamp their authority in the political landscape within the United States save for the appointment of Alberto Gonzales as America’s Attorney General (Kanellos, 1994). This is in contrast to their Anglo-Americans who have dominated the political scene with most being identified with the Republican Party. Economically, the Mexico-Americans have remained generally sidelined as their Anglo-Americans counterparts continue to dominate the economic landscape. From the study done in 1989 it was revealed that Mexicans Americans earned 21% wages lower than the Anglo-Americans. Though these statistics can no longer be relied upon die to the passage of time, there still remains a significant gap between economic gains by these two groups (Franklin, 2010). The Puerto Ricans are well known for their general proficiency in Spanish and English languages. This concept has made life for this group of Hispanics more bearable than any of the other Hispanic groups. Contrary to the Mexican Americans, most of the households amongst the Puerto Ricans are headed by females. The Puerto Ricans submit to various religious groups which include Baptism, Catholics, Methodist and any other of the world religion more like their Anglo-Americans counterparts. Politically, the Puerto Rican have limited access to the same rights and political privileges enjoyed by any other American citizen though Puerto Rico is considered a United States’ territory from the year 1917. They are for instance not allowed to take part in presidential election. They are however exempted from paying the federal income tax. Though they have limitation on the rights associated with citizenship, the Puerto Ricans continue to enjoy exceptional unrestricted US migration (Diaz -Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). The Cuban Americans have come from a difficult background that was characterized by unstable political environment in their backyard and difficult economic conditions. They however carried with them much of the Spanish culture given that the Spanish had great influence on the Caribbean Island. Most of the Cuban Americans are Catholics though some traces of Protestantism, Jewish, Santeria, and nonreligious beliefs can be traced. It has however been noted that most Cuban Americans have been assimilated in the mainstream culture meaning that they have taken most of the Anglo-American culture leaving their own though they have kept a small portion of their original culture (Diaz -Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). The other Spanish group from the Central American region comprise of the Venezuelan Americans most of whom are Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Though most of them came to stay in America after the completion of their college studies in the US, they still maintain their familial ties which are very strong. They imbue in their children the value of family as an important aspect of the society at an early age. The familial ties are so strong that they at tomes make it hard for them to get assimilated in the American mainstream culture. Most of the Venezuelan Americans are Catholics though most do not hold religion in high esteem as the other Hispanic groups (Franklin, 2010). Other general aspects of the Hispanic groups’ culture include privacy which is only handled by the family members. They value modestly as part of their culture and that the area between the waist and the knees is considered as private. This is not common with the Anglo-Americans who are often exposes their body parts that would otherwise be considered private in Hispanic culture. The old members of the family are greatly respected given their experience with life. In regard to health practice, the Hispanics are known to be emotionally expressive and individuals are expected to be pampered when they fall ill. To most Hispanics, birth control measures are not entertained a part from the natural ones given that most are Catholics. They also view thinness as a problem and plumpness is considered ideal. This is in contrast to the Anglo-Americans who are pragmatic on heath issues and readily accept the birth control methods and also despise plumpness of the body (Culturediversity. rg, 2008). In a study conducted by Pablo G. Cardona, Bonnie C. Nicholson, and Robert A. Fox, in the year 2000 entitled ‘Parenting Among Hispanic and Anglo-American Mothers With Young Children’ it was found that Hispanic mothers had higher frequency of discipline and a lower frequency of nurturing with their young children compared to their Anglo-American counterparts though no differences were recorded in the expectations of both the Hispanic and Anglo-America n mothers (Cardona, Nicholson, and Fox, 2000). Conclusion: The cultural comparisons between the two cultural categories can go on and on without any sign of stopping any soon. The cultural differences observed between the Hispanics and the Anglo-Americans are reflected most in the familial affiliation, language, and religion. Most of the Hispanic groups in the United States have very strong family bonds, they subscribe to the Catholic faith and that they speak Spanish. This contrasts with the Anglo-Americans who speak English as their first language, have loose familial bonds and Protestantism is their main religion. Nevertheless, among the Hispanic groups are some differences especially in regard to how they have been able to get assimilated to the American lifestyle. The Puerto Ricans and the Cuban Americans are the most assimilated followed by the Venezuela Americans who are in the middle of being assimilated whereas the Mexican Americans are the least assimilated.

Carl Jung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Carl Jung - Essay Example When these processes are considered irrelevant, that is when mental sickness is believe to happen. Carl is the pioneer of modern psychology, along with Alfred Adler and Freud. He is a master of several disciplines from art to theology to modern physics. Jung’s work on Collective Unconsciousness forms the basis of word association tests as well as Meyers-Briggs personality tests. He was an inexhaustible writer; his famous works include The Psychology of the Unconscious (1912) and Psychological Types (1921). (NNDB, 2012) As Jung approached his adolescence, he focused his attention on zoology, religion, paleontology, medicine and psychology. On getting into the Basel University, in 1895, his primary focus became medicine. Throughout his university life, he also became thrilled by the growing science of psychiatry. He became an assistant physician at the Mental Hospital of Burgholzli in Zurich in 1990. He worked under the course of renowned Eugen Bleuler, whose leading work in the meadow of schizophrenia predicted that psychological imbalances arose not only from the occurrence of conflicting desires and beliefs inside the psyche, along with the physical weakening of the brain. Pierre Janet was a source of influence for Carl as he studied under Janet’s supervision in a seminar in Paris. The detailed report that Janet produced with the assistance from Carl gave the idea that distressing incidents produce influential emotionally charged beliefs which, even though pushed out of conscious evoke or totally forgotten, often persistent to apply a commanding pressure on the individual’s behaviors and emotions for quite a few years. (Cherry) Combining the work of Janet and Bleuler, Jung started to derive a novel theory of the unconscious mind processes that were the reason for establishing significantly parallel to that being concurrently equal to work of Sigmund Freud. Jung’s theories were exclusively his own and were a part of a novel psycholog y, in which this psyche was seen as a lively growth-oriented body balanced between two complementary and powerful drives: the uniformly significant drive towards making a harmonious, coherent incorporation of all the inside aspects of self (integration), and the desire to learn and implement new viewpoints (differentiation). The basic concept that became the basis of Jung’s later work and theory was the conversion of mandala-type view of body and soul. But, on a temporary basis the persona in the outside world is self predicted complicated, complex and opponent. (Boeree, 2006) Edifying on Janet and Blueler, and later comprise Freud, Jung had the premise that good expression and amalgamation of the complicated, co-dependent constituents within the bigger self was frequently short-circuited by familial or social conditioning and distressing events, suppressing the natural drives of an individual. The outcome was different degrees of mental illness in the outline of deep patholo gical psychosis or immobilizing neurosis. When Jung discovered the complicated cases as internal schism during his time at Burgholzli , he was better able to develop his theory in this time period. Subsequently, as a chief physician, he broadened his horizon and developed partnerships with word association researchers to better comprehend and revive the experience of

Is the world more or less stable after the end the cold war Essay - 1

Is the world more or less stable after the end the cold war - Essay Example Particularly, both Russia and United States broke underlying war tensions that they suffered for over four decades. Shortly after World War II, the Cold War became inevitable as both Eastern and Western blocs expressed their bid to become superpowers. Massive investments in this respect crippled social, economic, and political developments around the world. As a result, rival countries focused on their enemies at the expense of the local population. After the Cold War, concerns and interests for local populations heightened. An economically crippled Russia had to strategize on social and economic growth as financial crisis loomed in the country. On the other hand, United States and her NATO allies mobilized resources for both domestic and international progress. These domestic interests and subsequent bids for global economic and political transformation changed international relations in diverse and dynamic ways. An end to the Cold War came with the dissolution of the Soviet Union (Hogan, 1992). This marked the start of a long process of diplomatic relationships among global countries. For the United States, it was time to influence global political developments as the only standing superpower. To do this, United States installed military alliances and posted troops in different countries around the world. In so doing, United States pushed for a more stable world in the post-Cold War era. The presence of U.S military in foreign states carried no war-like threats or intimidation. Rather, foreign nations welcomed the move because it favoured global peace and coherence. Critical to note, however, is that such a move was not expected to be plausible to every state that hosted U.S military personnel. The successful installation of military alliances and posting of military personnel in foreign countries was not without challenges. Amid critical underlying challenges, the presence of U.S troops around the

Health of the Family Business "Consultant Report" Research Paper

Health of the Family Business "Consultant Report" - Research Paper Example Furthermore, these challenges may also come from the key stakeholders like the employees. If these challenges are not properly handled, they can contribute to the collapse of the business. These challenges can only be solved through communication. The owner of the business may initiate communication by the members of the family and the stakeholders to solve the issue at hand. The family business has no legal definition, and most people or commentators provide a variety of different ways of defining it (Danes, Haberman, & McTavish, 2005). Some people have given a broader definition like any business that regards its self as a business of a family. This so even if the family members are no longer part of the management of the business or are not anymore involved in the ownership of the business. In short the culture of the family business is enough for a business to qualify to be called a family business. In many economies around the world, family businesses are becoming very important. Their global economic growth sustainability as the business family of today carries the economic creating of wealth in most of the countries around the global. In the United Kingdom, a great number of businesses are categorized as a family business (Morck, & Yeung, 2003). In many places, a family business is same as most of the business organizations as a means of utilizing the available wealth creation opportunities to provide for the financial well-being of the family. Most of the organizations that are successful such as Ford, BMW, Wal-Mart, and Carrefour were mostly started by people who went on to build the Empire of their families (Allio, & Allio, 2005). It can be concluded that family business plays a vital role ion the development of the economy. This is not only through the contribution of their business but also creating an environment for investment that is transparent, safe, open and secure. Lit is important to consider different factors when talking of

Brief Review of Literature Discussing Theories Essay

Brief Review of Literature Discussing Theories - Essay Example Equally, Bronfenbrenner, Pavlov, Skinner, Watson, Vygotsky in the midst of others, are among the distinguished theorists who have addressed the issue. This paper will review literature discussing theories and theorists concerned with the cause and response to problematic behaviour in children. Causes of problematic behaviour in children The development of children behaviours, whether good or problematic, starts at an early age. These behaviours may persist, if no intervention measures are put in place. In addition, the magnitude of the problem develops with age, as children who demonstrate problematic behaviours during their earlier years are likely to show more problems later in life (Papatheodorou, 2005 pp. 4). These behaviours start at birth, when they are controlled by external factors. Bowlby’s attachment theory asserts that infants begin to develop psychological attachment to the first people they relate with, and use the knowledge they acquire to shape their behaviours. The infant-parent relationship is thus very useful in influencing the environment that shapes the behaviour of the children (Wallach & Caulfield, 1998 pp. 125). According to Dowling (2009 pp. 11), developing the confidence of children at a tender age plays a major role in shaping their behaviours. She affirms that, confidence is a driver in supporting the growth at a tender age. It is apparent that children gain confidence from the relationship they develop with their parents. Such activities as allowing children to play may increase their self-confidence, which plays a role in shaping their behaviours (Dowling, 2009 pp. 11). John Bowlby (Arnold, 2010 pp. 21) in his study of the attachment theory affirmed that the earliest bond between children and their caregivers has a lasting effect in their lives. These affects are demonstrated in their behaviours, which may be problematic or calm. Children who do not have strong attachments with their parents or caregivers usually develop oppo sitional-defiant, conduct disorder and in extreme cases post-traumatic depression. This makes the children aggressive, upset most of the time and having a feeling of insecurity (Arnold, 2010 pp. 23). Piaget’s theory about children development cements the attachment theory. According to Piaget, children have the ability to construct their own knowledge based on the experiences they go through. In addition, he affirms that accommodation and assimilation play a role in shaping the behaviours of children. As a result, children who are rejected at a tender age may learn bad traits, which are reflected in their behaviours (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 pp. 10). Domestic violence in the families also plays a major role in shaping the behaviours of children. This incidence entails any form of threatening behaviour or violence, physical, psychological, financial or sexual between two adults who have been living together. Such incidences are devastating to the lives of a child who may not be aw are of what is going on. What children see, hear or experience during the violence makes them change their perception as well as behaviours. Children who for example hear their parent scream in anger or plead in fear, will develop aggression and hatred towards a certain group of people. As a result, the hatred is reflected in their behaviours (Sterne, Poole, Chadwick, & Lawler, 2010 pp. 4). On a larger perspective, the society in which children are brought up

Creating Positive Environment for Learning Assignment

Creating Positive Environment for Learning - Assignment Example In order to achieve this, the kind of learning environment where the child is exposed to is of primary importance. Making a student learn with so many distractions from the environment poses a problem to many teachers and institutions today. Because of much advancement in technology, parents and schools compete with media and a host of other information providers that catch the learner's attention. How to create a positive environment for learning is a challenge that institutions and education providers greatly face, and is the main focus of this literature review. Indeed, mounting evidence indicates that a strong relationship exists between Student academic performance and classroom conduct (e.g., Cantwell & Baker, 1987; Delaney & Kaiser, 2001; Kaiser & Hester, 1997). Research also demonstrates that students who do not perform well in class often have an increased incidence of discipline problems (Nelson, Scott, & Polsgrove, 1999). Other classroom factors, such as improper curricular placement, negative management styles, and ineffective instruction, can exacerbate an already difficult situation (Kauffman, 2001). Given these circumstances, it follows that school personnel need to reconsider young adolescents' needs and create a learning environment that contributes to positive behavior as well as academic achievement. Media headlines appear to suggest that schools today are hotbeds of aggressive and violent behavior. In fact, statistics show that these incidents, fortunately, occur very infrequently, and that schools remain the safest place for middle school students. Nevertheless, school personnel have a responsibility to recognize the effects of lesser yet more predictable misbehaviors on learning, and to take deliberate action to create a positive school environment. There is a growing consensus that a positive and safe learning environment is one that emphasizes cooperation, collaboration, and peaceful existence, and is one that is free from threats of psychological or physical harm--that is, an environment that reflects caring and concern for all students (Manning, 2000).Drawing upon the accumulated literature, we found evidence that effective learning environments usually:* Recognize and accept the differences among young adolescents'physical, psychosocial, and cognitive development, and pro videdevelopmentally appropriate instruction ; * Place value on gender, sexual orientation, cultural, and linguisticdifferences, and provide classroom organization and instructionalapproaches that account for these differences ; * Provide curriculum that enhances young adolescents' acceptance of self and others, and that enables them to accept differences andsimilarities among people ; * Provide instruction that ensures a high degree of academicengagement and success for all young adolescents;* Utilize management procedures that emphasize the idea that studentsconstitute a community of learners, all of whom should accept (or betaught to accept) responsibility for their behavior ; * Pro

Four Stages of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Four Stages of Leadership - Essay Example Teamwork is also essential for any success of a leader (Stagish, 2006). This is because when a leader does not work with the employees, but instead issues orders, the employees can fail to work effectively. Through teamwork, the satisfaction of the employees will increase. There will be the creation of good ideas that will come out of the association between the leaders and employees (Kramer, 2002). For people to trust the leaders in a company, the leader has to portray some behaviors deemed ethical by the society. The leader should be honest in all the work that he does in the organization (Porter-O’Grady, 2010). He should be sincere when dealing with all employees and not exhibit double standard while issuing orders. The leaders should also have integrity. This means that, in all the decisions that he has to make, he should have the same stand. He should be able to show competence in his dealings. This means that the basis of his decisions should not rely on his emotions or his desires. The leader should also depict intelligence to their juniors. The employees will thus trust the leader’s opinion, since his intellect can be trusted. Vital behaviors are necessary for a leader to adapt and ensure that he achieves teamwork in all his dealings. The leader has to ensure he understands the benefits of teamwork. He should know that, through teamwork, creative ideas could crop up (Shockley-Zalabak, 2010). The leader should thus aim to encourage all employees to participate actively in meetings and jobs that they do. This will lead to the employees helping each other the moment they get a problem. The result will be a better time management as less time is wasted. Second level The organization should adapt the synergic approach. I believe that leaders of an organization can work well with the employees to make certain that they realize the objectives of the organization as well as benefit the society. This can be a milestone in increasing the growth of t he company (Holmes, 2005). The company needs to ensure the employees understand the need to please the society and achieve the goals of the company. The leader of the company should share and find ways of achieving the goals of the company through teamwork. The employees will then learn to help each other in the company, especially when they are in the same field in the organization. This is because when the employees work together, they learn to come up with an idea that works very well in a situation. The leader can analyze the effect of the change in the active participation of employees in the team (Salas, 2001). This way, they will appreciate teamwork, internalize it and use it in all the activities they do in the company. The leaders should also build their trust in the employees. They can do this by sharing with them and showing them that they can be trusted. Leaders should understand the imperativeness of earning the trust of the employees. Their consistency and competence a re what the employees will use to judge and trust them. A leader can openly tell the employees that he can be trusted, and act in ways that make the employees believe him. Third Level The purpose of the company should be to offer the best services for the clients of the organization. They should be very kind and respectful to them regardless of the attitude of the clients. This means that they should be very tolerant will all the clients. The employees should also be able to make

Exploring current government policy on improving the nations health Essay

Exploring current government policy on improving the nations health through the change for life campaign - Essay Example There are six healthy behaviors that people are encouraged to adopt through this particular public health crusade. The first one is the 5 A day call, which gives suggestions on how to eat the recommended five portions of healthy vegetables and fruits every day (Change4Life, 2015). The second component is advice on reducing the amount of salt intake per day. The campaign also encourages sugar swaps by giving vital information on the sugar content of various foods as well as the available alternatives. The other aspects are cutting down on alcohol consumption, cutting back on fats and leading an active life. The message is spread through different avenues with the TV and online advertising being the major channels (Change4Life TV commercials, 2009). The integrated approach adapted in the campaign also allows for the use of radios, social media and the direct marketing channels. Dealing with obesity requires behavior change in terms of the kind of food one takes and the lifestyle that an individual leads (Department of Health, 2004). Britt, Hudson & Blampied (2004) point out that behavior is a product of both individual and collective action and plays a central role in the health of the public. This is the reason why lifestyle risks have for a long time been considered to be the leading cause of morbidity and deaths in various nations (Sweney, 2008). In order to deal with obesity, which is a lifestyle health condition, the policy was created based on the transtheoretical model. Kemm (2015) states that this model takes change of behavior to be an ongoing cycle rather than the final state. During the process of change, individuals may relapse in the initial stages though this does not mean that they have to start all over again. The model, therefore, describes the individuals in terms of the progress they make in series of behavior states and in relation to o ther dimensions (Michie & Johnston, 2012). Its use in the drive has been effective in

Right to Education in Malaysia and the United States Thesis Proposal

Right to Education in Malaysia and the United States - Thesis Proposal Example As the report highlights various studies have been carried out on the right to education   Some of these will be discussed and presented below.   In the study by Kamarrudin, Ahman, and Sulaiman, the authors set out to discuss the right to education in Malaysia in relation to the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.   It mostly considered the rights to education in Islam in Malaysia where majority of their population belong to the Islamic faith.   The study established that the right to education is recognized in both the international and in Malaysia policies and the latter has done its utmost to secure compulsory primary education for its citizens regardless of their religious affiliation.   It is recommended however that Malaysia take more strides towards securing compulsory education for the children until they reach the age of 17.   The country also recognizes the fact that through education, the moral, economic, and social development of the children can be secured.   In the end, these are values which are also supported by Islam.  From the essay it is clear that in the United States, the right to education is less legally clear-cut.   Their constitution does not specifically mandate the right to education for its people and the country is not a signatory to some of the international conventions which specify the allocation of the right to education.  

Latin American transitions Essay Example for Free

Latin American transitions Essay Besides, scholars regard existence of effective multi-party political system in the country as a necessary element for ensuring efficient control of the society over authorities (Randall Svasand, 2001, p. 77). For example, party development is regarded among scholars as an essential element of democratization in Eastern Europe, the development of political parties was an omnipresent topic especially with regard to the new democracies in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Penna, 1998, p. 108). While definitions of democracy abound and there is little agreement on which factors contribute to bringing democracy about or to its consolidation, a recurrent refrain is the vital role that is played by parties. Surveying prospects for consolidation in sub-Saharan Africa, scholars suggests the key indicator is â€Å"the capacity to develop a political party system which is both integrative between different communities, and competitive between different parties† (cited in Randall Svasand, 2001, p.75). Similar conclusions about the importance of parties are being expressed by many experts in the field. Moreover, the role of parties has received especial attention in the literature on Latin American transitions. Scholars argue that in assessing prospects for democratic survival and consolidation in this region much may depend on political parties (Armijo, 2005, p. 2024). Scholars noted one more important aspect of political activities – that the extent to which political democracy and equality can be achieved in any society is a function of the distribution of access to political resources. They describe political resources as anything that can be used to influence government decisions: money, wealth, social standing, honor, reputation, legal status, knowledge, cognitive abilities, information, coercive capacity, organiza ¬tions, etc. (Penna, 1998, p. 105). It seems, then, that to democratize, access to these political resources must be distributed to a wider and wider circle of the population. This allows more and more people not only to participate in the political process, but to have influence over decisions. In this situation not only high art of political authorities is in demand, but in fact democratic structure of the parties and their ability to carry out effective dialogue with other parties functioning in the developing country to achieve consensus.

Internationalization

Internationalization 1. Preface This paper has been written for the course Societal Developments Institutions. The topic of this paper, knowledge sharing in virtual teams, is primarily focused on the Internationalization aspect of this course. But also aspects from other courses of the Master of Organizational Sciences (Msc OS), like Complexity within Organizations and Organizational Dynamics, are represented in this paper. Virtual teams and especially the knowledge sharing within such a team seemed very interesting to me. The broad link of this topic with the different courses of Msc OS was attractive to me, but also the growth in popularity of using this kind of the teams in nowadays business motivated me into doing this research. I hope this inquiry about knowledge sharing in virtual teams can facilitate virtual teams in knowing the challenges ahead, and help virtual team managers and -designers in benefit better from the advantages of virtual teams. Furthermore, after reading this paper I hope you, as reader, are (even more) inspired about the possibilities of working with virtual teams in ‘the collaboration economy. Key concepts: Internationalization, globalization, virtual teams, knowledge sharing. 2. Introduction In todays society people have adopted media technologies, such as e-mail, chat, and videoconferencing, that enable them to ‘go virtual and communicate with other individuals from all over the world. Currently, there are 1,733,993,741 internet users around the world (Internet world Stats, 2009). Because of those technological innovations it is possible to collaborate with other people regardless there geographical position. The last couple of years, next to those technological developments, two other mechanisms developed in a historical way globalization and demography. Tapscott and Williams argued in their book Wikinomics (2006): The three mechanisms: technology, globalization and demography are influencing the world towards a new economy, the collaboration economy. Emerging globalization demands and facilitates new forms of economic collaboration and provides all businesses who are seeking for unique talents to fix their problems with talented employees from over the whole world. And demographically there is also a shift. A new generation, bigger than the babyboom generation, the internet generation will dominate the 21ste century because of her demographical presence. This generation has grown up with internet and will utilize this technology in an efficient way and will change the status-quo in a radical way. Doing business and the way of collaborating in business will also change. Old monolithic multinationals which creates added value in a closed hieratically structure is quickly outdated. Successful businesses nowadays need open and porous bo rders and should compete using knowledge, resources and capacities outside the organization. Even heavy, capital intensive production industries will not be an exception. Also Ilinitch, DAveni Lewin (1996) addressed those changes; by opening their special issue on new organizational forms and hyper-competitive environments by nothing that, organizations are facing strong forces of change: globalization, demographic shifts, advances in technology, and the demassification of society. In response to those changes and shifts organizational forms are proliferating. One such new organizational form is found in virtual teams, sometimes called distributed teams (Saunders Ahuja, 2006). Virtual teams are, in summary, technology mediated groups of people in various places around the world that work together on common tasks (Hardin, Fuller, and Davidson, 2007). Currently those virtual teams are widely embraced by modern businesses. A motive of this popularity is that they can help organizations adapt better. They may provide firms with advantages such as increased utilization of employee-time, round-the-clock workforce availability, and the opportunity to leverage knowledge and expertise around the world (Paul, Seetharaman, Samarah Mykytyn, 2004). Virtual teams bring organizations also some other advantage: reduced travel expenses, Co2 emissions, and less working time wasted on traveling (Lu, Watson-Manheim, House, Matzkevich, 2005). This increasing use of virtual teams is also noted by the Wall Street Journal. It reports that more than half of companies with more than 5000 employees use virtual teams (de Lisser, 1999) Also, a survey by the Gartner group found that more than 60% of professional employees work in virtual teams (Kanawattanachai Yoo, 2002). The growth in popularity of virtual teams inquires a summary of how to manage such a team in an efficient an effective way. Questions about what are important factors in managing successful global virtual teams needed to be answered. In this inquiry I will address those success factors in case of knowledge sharing in global virtual teams by answering the question: â€Å"What are success factors of knowledge sharing in virtual teams, with team members across the whole globe?†. This enquiry is focused on knowledge sharing in virtual teams because those dispersed teams in particular need to share knowledge, experience and insights in order to function successfully (Rosen, Furst, Blackburn, 2007). The aim of this paper is to facilitate virtual team managers and -designers with a summary of virtual team success factors in knowledge sharing by which they can benefit better from the advantages of virtual teams. Firstly I will address the theoretical background of virtual teams. In this theoretical background I will explain the organizational need for virtual teams, give a definition of virtual teams, deal with the key feature of virtual teams; the absence of face-to-face contact and I will give an insight in the knowledge sharing mechanism. In the second part of this paper I will focus on answering the research question based on earlier researches and literature references. This will be followed by a brief conclusion and recommendations of those success factors in knowledge sharing to facilitate virtual team managers and -designers with a practical summary. 3. Literature References Allen, T., (1977). Managing the flow of technology. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press. Armstrong,D.L., Cole, P. (1995). Managing distances and differences in geographically distributed work groups. In Jackson, S. Runderman, M. (Eds) Diversity in Work Teams: Research Paradigms for a Changing Workplace, p. 497-529. Bailey, D.E., Kurland, N.B., (2002). A review of telework research: findings, new directions an lessons for the study of modern work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 23, p. 383-400. Bell, B.S., Kozlowski, S.W.J., (2002). A typology of virtual teams: Implications for effective leadership. Group Organization Management, 27, p. 14-49. Boutellier, R., Gassmann, O., Macho, H., Roux, M., (1998). Management of dispersed product development teams: the role of information technologies. RD Management, 28(1), p. 13-25. Conrath, D., (1973). Communication environment and its relationship to organizational structure. Manage Science ,20, p. 586-603. Cummings, L.L., Bromiley, P., (1996). The organizational trust inventory (OTI): Development and validation. Trust in organizations: frontiers of theory and research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. de Lisser, E. (1999). Update on small business: Firms with virtual environments appeal to workers. Wall Street Journal, B2 Devine, D.J., clayton, L.D., Philips, J.L., Dunford, B.B., Melner,S.B. (1999). Team in organizations: Prevalence, charecteristics, and effectiveness. Small Group Research, 30, p. 678-711. Duarte, D.L. Snyder, N.T. (2006). Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools and Techniques That Succeed. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Fiol, C.M., OConner, E.J. (2005). Identification in Face-to-Face, Hybrid, and Pure Virtual Teams: Untangling the Contradictions. Organizational Science, vol. 16, p. 19-32. Gibson C.B., Cohen, S.G. (2003). Virtual teams that work: Creating conditions for virtual team effectiveness. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Griffith, T.L., Neale, M.A. (2001). Information processing in traditional, hybrid, and virtual teams: from nascent knowledge to transactive memory. Research in organizational behaviour, vol. 23, p. 379-421. Griffith, T.L., Sawyer, J.E., Neale, M.A. (2003). Virtualness and knowledge in teams: managing the love triangle of organizations, individuals, and information technology. MIS Quarterly, vol. 27, p. 265-287. Gudykunst, W.B., (1997). Cultural variability in communication. Communication Research, 24, p. 327-348. Gullahorn, J., (1952). Distance and friendship as factors in the gross interaction matrix. Sociometry, 15, p. 123- 34. Hardin, A.M., Fuller, M.A., Davidson, R.M. (2007). I know I can, but can we?: Culture and efficacy beliefs in global virtual teams. Small Group Research, 38, 130-155. Hertel, G., Geiser, S., Konradt, U. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of current emperical research. Human Resource Management Review, 15, 69-95. Hertel, G., Konradt, U., Lehman, K., (2004). Staffing virtual teams: Development and validation of a web-based tool for selection and placement of virtual team members. Manuscript in preparation. Hollingshead, A.B., (1998). Retrieval processes in transactive memory systems. Journal of personality and social psychology, 74, p. 659-671. Ilinitch, A.Y., DAveni, R.A., Lewin A.y. (1996). New Organizational Forms and Strategies for managing in Hypercompetitive Environments. Organization Science, vol.7, p. 211-220. Internet World Stats (2009). Top 20 countries with highest number of internet users. Retrieved November 25th, 2009 from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/ Jarvenpaa, S., Leidner, D., (1999). Communication and trust in global virtual teams. Organization Science, 10, p. 791-15. Jehn, K.A., (1995). A multimethode examination of the benefits and determents of intragroup conflict. Administrative science quarterly, 40, p. 256-282. Kristof, A.L., Brown, K.G., Sims, H.P.Jr., Smith, K.A. (1995). The virtual team: A case study and inductive model. Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams, 2, 229-253. Lu, M., Watson-Manheim, M.,B., House, C.H., Matzkevich, T. (2005). Does distance matter? Bridging the discontinuities in distributed organizations. HICSS 2005. Levitt, B., March, J., (1988). Organizational Learning. Annual review of sociology, 14, p. 319-340 Kanawattanachai P., Yoo, Y. (2002). Dynamic nature of trust in virtual teams. Journal of strategic Infromation Systems, 11, 187-213. Kaywoth, T., Leidner, D., (2000). The global virtual manager: a prescription for success. European management journal, 18, p. 183-194. Kiesler, S., Sproull, L. (1992). Group decision making and communication technology. Organizational Behavior Human Decision Processes, 52, 96-123. Konradt, U., Schmook, R., Mà ¤lecke, M., (2000). Impacts of telework on individuals, organizations and families: a critical review. In C.L. Cooper and I.T. Robertson (Ed), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, vol. 15, p. 63-99, Wiley, Chichester. Kozlowski, S.W.J., Ilgen, D.R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work group and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7(3), 77-124 Lipnack, J., Stamps, J., (1997). Virtual teams. Reaching across space, time and organizations with technology. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Majchrzak, a., Rice, R., King, n., Malhotra, A., Ba, S., (2000). Computer-mediated inter-organizational knowledge-sharing: insights from a virtual team innovating using a collaborative tool. Information Resource Management Journal, 13, p. 44-53. Martins, L.L., Gilson, L.L. Maynard M.T., (2004). Virtual Teams: What do we know and where do we go from here? Journal of Management, vol. 30, p. 805-835. Maznevski, M., Chudoba, K., (2001). Bridging space over time: global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. Organizational Science, 13, p. 473-492. McDonough E., Kahn, K., Barczak, G. (2001). An investigation of the use of global virtual, and collocated new product development teams. The journal of product innovation management, 18, p. 110-120. Monge, P., Kirste, K., (1980). Measuring proximity in human organization. Social psychology quarterly, 43, p. 110- 5. Meyerson, D., Weick, K.E., Kramer, R.M., (1996). Swift trust and temporary groups. Trust in organizations: frontiers of theory and research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, p. 166-195. Owens, D., Mannix, E.A., Neale, M.A., (1998). Strategic formation of groups: Issues in task performance and team member selection. Research on managing groups and teams: composition, 1, p. 1419-165. Powell, A., Piccoli, G., Ives, B., (2004). Virtual teams: a review of current literature and directions for future research. The data base for advances in information systems, 35, p.6-36. Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A., (2007). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall. Rosen, B., Furst, S., Blackburn, R., (2007). Overcoming barriers to knowledge sharing in virtual teams. Organizational Dynamics, 36, p. 259-273. Sanders, C.S., Ahuja, M.K., (2006). Are all distributed teams the same? Differentiating Between Temporary And Ongoing Distributed Teams. Small Group Research, vol. 37, p.662-700. Sarker, S., Lau, F., and Sahay, S., (2001). Using an adapted grounded theory approach for inductive theory building about virtual team development. Database for advances in information systems, 32, 38-56. Scott, W.R. (1981). Organizations: Rational, natural and open systems, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Sproull, L., Kiesler, S., (1986). Reducing social context cues: electronic mail in organizational communication. Manage Science, 32, p.1492- 512. Stasser, G., Titus, W., (1985). Pooling of unshared information in group decision making: biased information sampling during discussion. Journal of personality and social psychology, 48, p. 1467-1478. Suchan, J., Hayzak, G., (2001). The communication characteristics of virtual teams: a case study. IEEE transactions on professional communication, 44, p. 174-186. Townsend, A.M., DeMarie, S.M. Hendrickson, A.R. (1998). Virtual teams: Technology and the workplace of the future. Academy of Management Executive, vol. 12, p. 17-29 Tapscott, D. Williams, A.D. (2006). Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Penguin Group, New York. Thompson, L.L. (2004). Making the team: A Guide for managers. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Warkentin, M.E., Beranek, P.M., (1999). Training to improve virtual team communication. Information system journal, vol. 9. Wegner, D.M., (1987). Transactive Memory: A contemporary analysis of the group mind. Theories of group behavior, New York: Springer-Verlag.

7 Eleven Target Market

7 Eleven Target Market This investigation of the small business, 7-Eleven chain store, was conducted over two month period from July, with many sources of information, such as the actual stores and the information from internet. The 7-Eleven chain store was established as an ice house in Dallas, Texas in 1927, and it is one of the worlds largest operator, franchisor and licensor of convenience stores. This article seeks to explore a comprehensive description and understanding about 7-Eleven and try to find out the secret of success, as well as giving some suggestions. The 7-eleven chain store was started out in 1927 and was introduced to Australia in 1977. An ice dock employee in the Southland Ice Company began to offer milk, bread and eggs on Sundays and evenings when grocery stores were closed. This new business idea produced satisfied customers and then the chain store was established. In November 2005, 7-Eleven, Inc. became an indirect subsidiary of Seven I Holdings Company, a Japan-based organization. Their prime function is to consistently serve the changing needs of customers for their convenience. The store can always adapt quickly to meet the customers changing needs. It is the most obvious feature that makes it different from other convenience stores. With the newest products and services applying in the store, and the newest ways of business operation, the store can be operated more efficiently than others. For short, the perpetual improvement made the store keeping ahead in so many brands of chain stores. As a convenience store, 7-Eleven mainly faces three types of competitors. The first on is supermarkets, such as Wal-Mart. Second, small shops (probably not has a brand). Third, other brands of convenience stores, such as Lawson (founded in 1975 in Japan). The targeted customer is young single working people, usually un-married, as a result, the location of 7-Eleven always near office buildings, shopping malls, parking lots, subway station, et al. Besides the traveler is also its main customer. In Australia, stores in suburban areas often operate as petrol stations (wikipedia.org, 2010). 7-eleven, Inc. is the words largest convenience retail chain. The company operates franchises and licenses more than 7,100 stores in the U.S. and 7-Eleven licensees and affiliates operate approximately 31,400 7-Eleven and other convenience stores in countries including Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, China, Australia, et al (7-eleven.com, 2010). The main distribution of 7-eleven around the word can be seem in the table bellow fig.1 Fig.1 the main distribution of 7-Eleven around the word Territory First Store Opened Number of Locations United States 1968 584 Canada + 1969 457 Mexico 1971 1,180 Japan 1971 12,753 Australia 1977 397 Sweden 1978 191 Taiwan 1980 4,735 China (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou Macau) 1981, 1992, 1996, and 2005, respectively 1,680 Singapore 1983 493 Philippines 1984 469 Malaysia 1984 1,115 Norway 1986 177 South Korea 1989 2,282 Thailand 1989 5,409 Denmark 1993 126 Beijing, PRC 2004 93 Shanghai, PRC 2009 20 Indonesia 2009 5 Rsource: http://corp.7-eleven.com/AboutUs/InternationalLicensing/tabid/115/Default.aspx (4) Suppliers It can be seen from the table bellow that the most commodity of 7-Eleven is food, in which the processed food account most. As a result, the main supplier of 7-Eleven is food maker, especially who produce the processed food. The non-food products suppliers is various, such the provider of a variety of prepaid card. Fig.2 the commodity composition of 7-Eleven Product Type Percent% food 75 processed food 31.5à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ fast food 30 selling foodà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ such as milk, cheeseà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° 13 non-food products 25 Data resource: http://www.7-11bj.com.cn/com_1.html 4. Personnel Details To achieve their business goals, the store has many different departments that people or the technical equipment can help the store improve and perform better. Business Consultants A Business Consultant is a 7-Eleven employee assigned to the store and who visits the store twice a week. The business consultants can help the store in the following ways: Assist in the development of budgets and business plans for the store Provide advice, coaching and assistance on how to improve the business Assist with the analysis of the stores sales  data Provide continual training and guidance on the ever-improving system of the store Promote efficiency to help maximize the stores profitability Daily Deliveries Combined Distribution Centers pull products from multiple suppliers matched to the stores order and deliver daily to the store-everything from the proprietary Fresh Foods and Fresh Bakery items to dairy, eggs and snack foods. The delivery time is scheduled, so the employer know when to expect it The employer receive fewer deliveries during the day, when customer traffic is heaviest The delivery reduce the chance of running out of stock because it can replenish  items daily The employer are able to consolidate work, so he/she can spend more time satisfying his/her customers and growing the business The Advertising Support The advertising support can be seen in the following ways: TV and radio spots Billboards Websites Public relations Point-of-purchase materials 5. Technology (1) An efficient information network According to the needs and development of business, 7-Eleven has established a highly efficient comprehensive integrated information network. The overall systematic chain management can be realized through it. The main functions of the integrated information network are follows: Collecting the sales information of commodity, forecasting the orders, and releasing the orders data regularly Analyzing the ordering information of multiple store by POS System, and sent the result to manufacturers and wholesalers automatically; analyzing the selling data of different stores and sent the result to all stores automatically; analyzing the whole operation management information of the enterprise. The goods manufacturer begins to prepare the orders after receiving the data, and the wholesalers begin to prepare the ordered merchandise. The distribution centers begin to distribute the merchandise to all chain stores after receiving the merchandise specific details of headquarters through POS system. The information network is fully used in sales, ordering, purchasing, commodity inspection, accounting, etc. The network takes a mean of automatic processing in receiving order, data processing and transmitting, summons issuing, credit managing, et al., achieving business automation processing. The whole efficiency of the operation is improved greatly. à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ 2à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °Advanced logistics and distribution system Aggregate distribution is the unique distribution system of 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven has establish a common distribution center which gather the merchandize of the manufacturers that delivered by other wholesalers. The transport efficiency is improved greatly as the increased of delivery amount of goods to every stores and the reducing of delivery times. The delivery distant and time is reduced greatly as the shrinking of the distribution area. 6. Government regulations (1) Merchandise The products they provided are classified in different criteria. Besides the basic classification, the products are classified as products that are needed in the morning, afternoon, late afternoon, evening and late night, which is extraordinary and convenient for customers to choose the goods they need. (2) Worker The 7-Eleven Way principles are illustrated in the acronym as the follows: (See Fig.3) I CARE about People Teamwork. Fig. 3 The 7-Eleven Way principles about People Teamwork ICARE(the acronym) I- Integrity C-Customer Focus A-Accountability R-Recognition E-Excellent Execution (3) Marketing Principles The following four marketing principles have been stressed and must be followed by workers. Complete merchandizeput the merchandize that customer need most; Fresh management keep the merchandise fresh in 24 hours; Clean storekeep the shop clean in 24 hours; Smile service play the charming of smile service. 7. Global business environment On one hand, convenience store has a broad prospect with the urbanization and economic development. Convenience store is a very promising new type. As matter of fact, convenience stores has become one of the lifestyle is modern fast-paced life. On the other hand, convenience stores will also become one of the most competitive retail industries for its nature. For 7-Eleven, both opportunities and challenges exist. In over all, it has a good global business environment, the market demand is greater and greater, but the competition between convenience store has become more and more drastic. 8. The Business Strategies The key for the success of a chain store is convenience, which is also the primary factor for its survive. The main function of the chain store is 24 hours business everyday. In Adelaide, open 24/7 is the key to success for 7-Eleven. The opening hours of is area is 9am 5pm, so it is very difficult for people to find shop at night. Besides, only small part convenience stores open in 24-hour. 7-Eleven introduced convenience for customers to more deeply realize that the convenience meaning the full benefit of the customer to do everything. For example, the toilets free of charge to the customer open, free use of parking lots. As long as there is demand, do not buy goods, and the staff does not have to say hello, you can use the convenience store facilities. In fact, free use of only a handful, or bread, Fan Tuanzi, or a bottle of water, consumers will buy something from the store back. Convenience stores are open already from the time of SEVEN-ELVEN (from 7 am to 11 pm), to 24 small businesses development, according to different store locations, the golden hours each shop is different (Fei Ming-shengà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2002). A large number of consumers go to the convenience store to buy lunch and drinks. In addition, 7-Eleven store often operating at night prime time, due to the phenomenon that work overtime is widespread, many people snack on his way home almost all the convenience stores, convenience that fully reflects the store characteristics. Importantly, the efficiency of the center in order to provide services, the services they give full play to the wide differences in the role of the individual into the retail market. Best to chase Japanese 7-Eleven differentiated services, in order to complete every 7- Eleven convenience store customers into the life situations and let the container on the goods naturally waving to customers. Although the pavement area of 7-Eleven convenience store is only 30-40 square meters, it operates more than 3,000 kinds of commodities, daily average sales of 4 million per unit area of 2.35 million yen sales, capital turnover rate  up to 43 times a year (Fu tie-shan, 2004). 7-Eleven convenience store business model is the most lively and diverse, such as convenience stores not only sell food and beverages, newspapers, magazines, tobacco, health care products, such as three meals a day, but also pre-order disc CD, seasonal merchandise, and a variety of payment services and ATM (ATM) services and other financial ticket.  Receive e-mail service launched recently, the formation of a truly integrated approach to facilitate the center of home life.24-hour convenience stores and can thus meet the needs of consumers at different levels (Zhou Jia-gao, 2002). The SWOT mode of 7-Eleven can draw as follows from the analysis above. Fig.4 SWOT mode of 7-Eleven Strengthà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¡ (1) Wide marketing channels There are many stores (2) Related services is many The product exploitation capabilities is excellent (3) A large number of original products which has great attraction to customers (4) Good brand image (5) Regularly updated the product information Opportunity: (1) The demand is large and the market has a great potential (2) Has a good cooperation and relationship with many companies which will create many business opportunities. (3) The consumption habits of people will be changed. Weakness: (1) The price is a little higher than other stores (2) Larger number purchase is not available Threat: (1) the market of convenience store will be saturation (2) Facing the threat of sales promotion launched by supermarkets (3) Peer competition (4) Can not meet consumer brand with special preference 9. Recommendations (1) Customer focus Why can 7-Eleven always attract different customer groups of different cities and regions? How 7-Eleven master the demand of customers. The word of Toshifumi Suzuki, the owner of 7-Eleven can always unveil the hidden meaning that the key of retail business in nowadays psychology rather than not economics (Pilieci, 2009.). Indeed, the competition between convenience stores is not the pace of expansion or the price. The main consumer group is of convenience store is white-collar workers and single people, etc. They rarely seek cheaper. Therefore, the competition between stores will ultimately fall to the service. The beliefthe satisfaction of customer needs is the key to the success of retail industryis the consistent idea of 7-Eleven. As a result, 7-Eleven establishes has established the operation tenet of follow the need of various customer needs. 7-Eleven constantly study and explore the products customers really want and how to meet customer needs from the view, thinking and action of customers. This is why 7-Eleven can take the good business strategies I mentioned above. (2) Brand strategy Brand management is an inevitable process if an enterprise wants to be success. 7-Eleven now not is only stand for convenient, but also the representation of safe and secure. Sometimes, even though the price in 7-Eleven is slightly higher than other stores, customer will still buy things in 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven has become a close friend of our people. We like it and trust it. The founder has realized that most of the goods in convenience store are necessities which are so comment that anyone can open a convenience store; only those who win the favorite of customer can win the business. At the early days, 7-Eleven has designed its logos and operated it continually and seriously. (3) Characteristic operation Although the 7-Eleven is a convenience store, it has carried out the characteristic operation in service and products which make it different from other store. For example, the targeted customers of 7-Eleven is young single working people; 24 hours operation, etc. Convenience store is a very promising new type industry. Convenience stores and shopping has become one of the lifestyles in modern fast-paced life. For the convenience store, the customer needs need to be focused with great effort. It also should try to development its characteristic convenience services and products. Meanwhile, for the development of a company, a good brand is essential. The successful experience of 7-11 convenience stores not only worthy leaning of convenience store industry, but also left much consideration and revelation to the development of other industries. 10. Reference wikipedia.org, 2010.7-Eleven, Fu Tie-shan, 2004. The successful experience of 7-11 convenience stores in Japan and its enlightenment, Jiangsu Business Discussion,07(3),p,24. Zhou Jia-gao, 2002. The success of 7-11 convenience stores in Japan, Management Science Digest. 44(06), P. 34. Fei Ming-shengà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2002.Franchise in China: Inspiration of the Success of Japanese 7-11 Self-service Storesà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Business Research,11(05),p.124. Pilieci, V., 2009. 7-Eleven unplugs phone deal, moves Hundreds of cellphone owners left on hold by sale to Quickie. Ottawa Citizen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-ElevenRetrieved September 5, 2010. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa/Eleven+unplugs+phone+deal+moves/2161149/story.html. Retrieved September 1, 2010.

The Role of Women in Giants in the Earth Essay -- Giants in the Earth

The Role of Women in Giants in the Earth   Ã‚   Peter Mangus Hagen, a large Swedish immigrant carpenter, pushed back his chair, rose from the end of the long dining table in their kitchen, and announced, "And now for my dessert--."   He walked the length of the table past his thirteen children to the other end, bent his large frame down, and tenderly kissed his wife Maggie, who was fifteen years his junior and mother of those thirteen.  Ã‚   As he pulled himself to his naturally erect stance, he proceeded to thank her for her labor in preparing an excellent meal and in caring for their home and their thirteen children.  Ã‚   This conclusion to the meal was as much a ritual as was the blessing asked in Swedish before it began.  Ã‚   And if the "thank you" was customary, so was the bill of fare, i.e., a large bowl of navy beans, freshly-baked bread and freshly-churned butter, a bowl of home-canned tomatoes and a bowl of home-canned fruit, a very large bowl of mashed potatoes, two pitchers of milk, and c offee for the adults.   In that household a seven-course banquet was not mandatory in order to extract a word of appreciation.       This Scandinavian never pretended that his building of refrigerator boxcars for the Santa Fe Railroad in 1919 was more important or worthwhile than Maggie's homemaking, home management, clothes-making, food preparation and preservation, or care of their family.  Ã‚   In fact, it may have been Peter's respect and high regard for Maggie's "woman's work" that helped hold together and make easier a loving marriage that encompassed not only their thirteen children, but also his five children by an earlier marriage.       Of course, if looked at realistically, the couple's division ... ...probably all women are alike--they have no sense" (194).  Ã‚         The one important function Beret fulfills is having children.  Ã‚   Giving birth to Peder that Christmas on the prairie is her only noteworthy accomplishment.  Ã‚   But even then, Per Hansa takes over and names him with a name that poor Beret dislikes and regards as near sacrilege (279).       By looking at Beret in Giants in the Earth and certainly by looking at Peter and Maggie Hagen, it could be concluded that childbearing is the chief item of value in "woman's work."   By comparing those lives further, it might also be concluded that it is too bad that Beret was not told more often that she was Per Hansa's "dessert" and that her "woman's work" was appreciated.       Works Cited    Rolvaag, Ole Edvart.  Ã‚   Giants in the Earth.  Ã‚   New York: Harper and Row, 1955.

Literature and Experience :: Free Essays Online

Literature and Experience When I wrote my first work, The Naked Tree, I was an ordinary housewife. I had been a passionate literature lover, but I had never practiced writing or studied literature. The Naked Tree began as non-fiction. One day I saw a posthumous show of artist Pak Su-gun, and I found myself swept by an incomprehensible confusion. He suffered from poverty all his life, but after his death, he became the artist whose works commanded the highest prices in the ROK. During the Korean war, he eked out a living by painting cheap portraits in the PX of US Forces, and I worked there trying to talk US soldiers into having their portraits made. In order to maintain a hand-to-mouth existence, both he and I led a life of the bottom, in which the least level of self-esteem could not be maintained. After the war, he was never free of poverty; he struggled to make a living and died at the young age of 51. When I saw that he was evaluated as the best artist in Korea and treated as such, I was swept by complicated emotions, a mixture of fury, sadness, and joy. Such feelings gradually developed into a passion that I wanted to bear witness to how he had lived. I wanted to write a good biography, which would help understand everything about him, and I wanted to shock art dealers, who were intent on making profits by trading his works at high prices without knowing anything about how he had lived. That was how I began to write a biography, hoping to apply for an annual open competition for nonfiction works held by Sindong-a, a monthly magazine. The deadline approached, but my writing did not progress. There were spurts of good writing, though, and in those moments I was elated. However, next day I would read the parts that had gone particularly well, and discover that they were the lies I had made up, not real episodes. I was not supposed to make up stories in the name of writing a biography. I had no choice but to throw them away, and I would be back to the slow- progressing stage. In writing his biography, there was another difficulty, aside from the battle with lies. I wanted to talk about my own stories. Literature and Experience :: Free Essays Online Literature and Experience When I wrote my first work, The Naked Tree, I was an ordinary housewife. I had been a passionate literature lover, but I had never practiced writing or studied literature. The Naked Tree began as non-fiction. One day I saw a posthumous show of artist Pak Su-gun, and I found myself swept by an incomprehensible confusion. He suffered from poverty all his life, but after his death, he became the artist whose works commanded the highest prices in the ROK. During the Korean war, he eked out a living by painting cheap portraits in the PX of US Forces, and I worked there trying to talk US soldiers into having their portraits made. In order to maintain a hand-to-mouth existence, both he and I led a life of the bottom, in which the least level of self-esteem could not be maintained. After the war, he was never free of poverty; he struggled to make a living and died at the young age of 51. When I saw that he was evaluated as the best artist in Korea and treated as such, I was swept by complicated emotions, a mixture of fury, sadness, and joy. Such feelings gradually developed into a passion that I wanted to bear witness to how he had lived. I wanted to write a good biography, which would help understand everything about him, and I wanted to shock art dealers, who were intent on making profits by trading his works at high prices without knowing anything about how he had lived. That was how I began to write a biography, hoping to apply for an annual open competition for nonfiction works held by Sindong-a, a monthly magazine. The deadline approached, but my writing did not progress. There were spurts of good writing, though, and in those moments I was elated. However, next day I would read the parts that had gone particularly well, and discover that they were the lies I had made up, not real episodes. I was not supposed to make up stories in the name of writing a biography. I had no choice but to throw them away, and I would be back to the slow- progressing stage. In writing his biography, there was another difficulty, aside from the battle with lies. I wanted to talk about my own stories.

athletic director :: essays research papers

PEOPLE come first, are treated with dignity and respect, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential; RELATIONSHIPS are built on honesty, integrity and trust; DIVERSITY of people and thought is respected; EXCELLENCE is achieved through teamwork, leadership, creativity, and a strong work ethic; EFFICIENCY is achieved through wise use of human and financial resources; and COMMITMENT to intellectual achievement is embraced. Function of Position Responsible to the University President for the overall administration and management of the university intercollegiate athletics program; and performing other related duties as assigned. Essential Functions Submits recommendations and supporting documentation to the President, Athletic Advisory Committee, and Tennessee Board of Regents as necessary to make decisions regarding goals, academics, capital expansion, staffing, budget appropriations, and other aspects of intercollegiate athletics; implements and communicates directives, including maintenance and control. Establishes policies and procedures to ensure compliance with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), conference, and university rules and regulations. Represents the university as its primary spokesperson for the intercollegiate athletics program; oversees public relations with faculty, staff, students, alumni, sports media, and the general public; works with the Assistant Athletic Director for External Relations and the Director for Media Relations to develop and implement public relations policies and objectives. Accepts public speaking engagements to promulgate department philosophies and objectives. Coordinates and supervises men=s basketball, golf, baseball, men=s and women=s tennis programs working directly with the Head Coach; supervises the administration of all other varsity programs through the Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations. Oversees all internal financial and administrative operations through the Manager of Athletic Business and Ticket Operations; promulgates budget guidelines and approves final submission for each area; monitors conformance to established budget. Develops long term plans to determine need for and feasibility of constructing or upgrading athletic facilities. Coordinates scheduling for sports events involving conference participation of revenue contracts. Negotiates and administers contracts concerning radio and television (network and cable) coverage of athletic events; serves as the university=s primary public relations liaison for intercollegiate sports. Represents the department on a conference and national level; serves as an ex officio member of the Athletics Advisory Committee; ensures that coaching and administrative staff actively support the department and university=s joint commitment to academic achievement, which entails helping each student athlete make normal progress in completing his/her degree and to graduate within a five year period; serves on university and other committees that involve intercollegiate athletics. Supervises fund development through the Executive Director for Athletic Advancement; may personally secure gifts or establish endowment funds by cultivating the interest of corporations, individuals, foundations, or associations.

Case Study on Motivating Partners at Starbucks

TABLE OF CONTENT CASE STUDY ON MOTIVATING PARTNERS AT STARBUCKS2 Question 1: Given Starbuck’s training approach, benefits, package, work/life program, and partner relations mechanisms, what insights have you gained about its approach to employee motivation? Explain your answer. 2 Introduction2 Motivation2 Expectancy- Probability (E to P)4 Instrumentality- Probability (P to O)4 Valence- V(R)5 Conclusions6 Question 2 : What needs does Starbucks appeal to through its training approach, benefits package, work/life program and partner relations mechanisms? 7 Employees’ inner satisfaction. 7 Equal treatment8 Listen to employees8 Question 3: What is important to you in terms of your personal work motivation? How does that which motivates you fit with Starbuck’s approach to motivating partners? 10 CASE STUDY ON MOTIVATING PARTNERS AT STARBUCKS Question 1: Given Starbuck’s training approach, benefits, package, work/life program, and partner relations mechanisms, what insights have you gained about its approach to employee motivation? Explain your answer. Introduction Starbucks Corporation, the most famous chain of retail coffee shops in the world, mainly benefits from roasting, selling special coffee beans and various kinds of coffee or tea drinks. It owns about 4000 branches in the whole world. The reasons of why Starbucks is worldwide popular are not only the quality of coffee, but also its customer service and cosy environment. Besides, it is also famous for its satisfaction of employees. The turnover rate of employees at Starbucks was 65% and the rate of managers was 25% a year However, the rates of other national chain retailers are 150% to 400% and 50% respectively. Compared with them, the turnover rate of Starbucks is much lower than other industries on averagely. As a result, Starbucks would be one of the optimal business models for the strategies of employee motivation, customer satisfaction and cooperation of teamwork. Motivation Motivation refers to forces within an individual that account for the level, direction and persistence of effort expended at work[1]. People have basic needs such as food, secure or achievement, that translate into an internal tension that motivates specific behaviours with which to fulfil the need. If the behavior leads to ones success, the person will fall in the state of satisfaction or we can call it reward[2]. Rewards are two types; intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic rewards refer to satisfaction occurs in the process of performing an action. Such as a salesperson that sold encyclopaedias for intrinsic reward of helping children read well. Extrinsic refers to a reward given by another person such as promotion and bonuses. The understand that I had on Starbuck’s approach to its employee motivation is best by explaining the case based on the Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation; is based on an idea that work effort is directed toward behaviors that people believe will lead to desired outcomes. The Expectancy Theory of Motivation explains the behavioral process of why individuals choose one behavioral option over another. It also explains how they make decisions to achieve the end they value. Vroom introduces three variables within the expectancy theory which are valence (V), expectancy (E) and instrumentality (I). The three elements are important behind choosing one element over another because they are clearly defined: effort-performance expectancy (E to P expectancy), performance-outcome expectancy (P to O expectancy). Three components of Expectancy theory: Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence. 1. Expectancy: Effort > Performance (E>P); 2. Instrumentality: Performance > Outcome (P>O); 3. Valence – V(R) Expectancy- Probability (E to P) Expectancy is the belief that one's effort (E) will result in attainment of desired performance (P) goals. Factors associated with the individual's Expectancy perception are self efficacy, goal difficulty, and control. Self efficacy is the person’s belief about their ability to successfully perform a particular behavior. Goal difficulty happens when goals are set too high or performance expectations that are made too difficult are most likely to lead to low expectancy  perceptions. Control is one's perceived control over performance. In order for expectancy to be high, individuals must believe that they have some degree of control over the expected outcome. Starbucks had matched employees to the jobs based on their abilities and clear communicating the tasks requires for the job is an important part of this process. This process took place within the 25 hours of classroom training. Instrumentality- Probability (P to O) Instrumentality is the belief that a person will receive a reward if the performance expectation is met. This reward may come in the form of a pay increase, promotion, recognition or sense of accomplishment. In Starbucks, they offer various types of benefits package includes full medical and dental insurance coverage, disability and life insurance, vacation days, a retirement saving plan with match company contributions, discounted stock purchase plans and stock options as part of Starbuck’s BEAN STOCK Program. Instrumentality is low when the reward is given for all performances given. Factors associated with the individual's valence for outcomes are trust, control and policies. If individuals trust their superiors, they are more likely to believe their leaders promises. When there is a lack of trust on leadership, people often attempt to control the reward system. When individuals believe they have some kind of control over how, when, and why rewards are distributed, Instrumentality tends to increase. Formalized written policies impact the individuals' instrumentality perceptions. Instrumentality is increased when formalized policies associates rewards to performance. Valence- V(R) Valence: the value the individual places on the rewards based on their needs, goals, values and Sources of Motivation. Factors associated with the individual's valence for outcomes are values, needs, goals, preferences and Sources of Motivation Strength of an individual’s preference for a particular outcome. Motivation = expectancy x instrumentality x valence Managers should make each factor positive in order to ensure high levels of motivation. Conclusions Referring to this case study, the new Baristas carefully selected and will receive 25 hours classroom training before they start their job. During this training, Baristas will be trained, coached exposed to the company’s goals, diversity awareness, customers, succession planning and career development plan. This would be the E to P Expectancy Concept. The Baristas then exposed to the company’s benefits and rewards; where the P to O Expectancy Concept occurs. The last one is the Valences outcomes. Starbucks distribute rewards that employees’ value. This action can increase the expected value of outcomes resulting from desire performance. Expectancy Theory of Motivation remains ones of the better theories for predicting work effort and motivation, and with one limitation that is, the theory had ignore the role of emotion in employee effort and behavior. Question 2 : What needs does Starbucks appeal to through its training approach, benefits package, work/life program and partner relations mechanisms? From my analysis earlier, Starbucks training approach, benefits package, work/life program and partner mechanism had fall into needs theory of Expectancy Theory. As I have stated earlier that this theory had ignore the emotional factor. As this theory seems using some kind of mathematical method on measuring the level of motivation, the emotional entity was so abstract and difficult to measure. What most important is the positive impact or the outcome occurs. I wanted to conclude that there were several soft impacts happened in Starbucks as the consequences of the implementation of Expectancy Theory. Employees’ inner satisfaction. A pervious researcher, Pugh & Hickson cited Elton Mayo made an investigation called ‘Hawthorne Experiment’. According to the results, if managers provided a suitable working environment considering each personal requirement and their sense of satisfaction rather than a higher salary or bonus, workers were encouraged to be more hard-working and efficient. He also verified that if managers of an organization do not consider about individual works’ needs and wants, then treat them as equal units would â€Å"maximize payment and minimize effort†. As a result, how to use non-financial incentives would be an important issue for nowadays business. The chief executive officer of Starbucks Corporation, Howard Schultz, considers that the tip of success in Starbucks is not coffee but employees. Constantly accumulating the working experience of employees and providing chances of promotion in a company for working partners is the way to operate sustainability. He firmly believes that the spirit of Starbucks is employees and feels honoured about the value of Starbucks employees. For this reason, it is necessary to have a perfect education and training policy for better performance in a company. Starbucks offers an interactive structure that makes personnel instil themselves into their job; hence they can motivate partners to satisfy themselves then achieving a new level of performance. Equal treatment The managers in Starbucks treat each workpeople equally and all of the staffs are called ‘partners’, even the supervisors of each branch are called it as well. In order to narrow the gap between managers and employees, they also co-work with the basic level staffs in the front line. Due to this, they can maintain a well management system and create a much closer and more familiar atmosphere than other place, which makes not only employees can enjoy their job but also customers are affected by their enthusiasm. Listen to employees Starbucks has a well-organized communication channel for employees. It places a great importance on labours. For example, managers plan the working hours per workers and arrange the schedule of time off, according to their wants to meet their requirements. There are interviews weekly to see what employees’ need is. A special survey called ‘Partner View Survey’ is taken off approximate every two years. The managers can receive feedbacks through the event to which part should be improved or what issue should be paid more attention to. The partners have the right to figure out what is the best policy for them, and the directors show a respect for each suggestion. Starbucks even wants every employee to join in making and developing plans, then achieving their goals all together. As a result, the policies and principles are communicated between all staffs, and there is no limitation in employees’ personal opinions. For this reason, business could improve their strategies even innovate by different ideas. Question 3: What is important to you in terms of your personal work motivation? How does that which motivates you fit with Starbuck’s approach to motivating partners? My important personal work motivation would be the physiological, safety and social motivation. If one organizational can provide this, I would say that I will be there for a period of time. There would be important  leadership implications to  enhance workplace motivation. There are  staff motivation opportunities  by motivating each employee through their style of management, compensation plans, role definition, and company activities. Physiological motivation can be imposed by company by provide ample breaks for lunch and  recuperation and pay  salaries that allow workers to  buy life's essentials. In government sector (where I work for), offers physiological needs, safety needs and also social motivation. Based on my individual view, managers within this sector may become varies in style of leaderships. This happened due to different background of race, culture and political views. If the managers fail to be fair or fail to perform, dissatisfaction among workers may occur. In government sector, most of the organizations within tend to be people orientation than result orientated. This similar to the environment in Starbucks, its employees, including informal personnel, are offered a great deal of welfare policies, for instance, commodities discounts for employees, medical insurance (including health, vision and dental) and vacations. Moreover, the partners who work over 20 hours a week are entitled for benefits. This related to safety needs. Social needs can be generate a feeling of acceptance, belonging, and community by reinforcing team dynamics. Howard Schultz and other Starbucks senior executives worked to instill some key values and guiding principles into the Starbucks culture. The keystone value in the effort â€Å"to build a company with soul† was that the company would never stop pursuing the perfect cup of coffee. Because of this, they have the same goal; in other words, they are motivated to increase the sales to earn more profits. Starbucks just handles personnel with its core value, which is the employees are the most important asset of Starbucks. Showing a respect to employees and well-developed environment have lead Starbucks to produce the best working quality for customers and an increase in profits. Starbucks establishes a well-developed system to keep good relationship between managers and employees. At first, the leaders of a retail shops use the same title â€Å"partner† as a basic level worker to narrow the gap of bureaucracy. Furthermore, they co-work in the first line to eliminate the distance between different statuses. Secondly, the numbers of employees are usually from three to six. Such a small size of a retail shop makes staffs acquaint with each other easily and deeply. In the co-working period, this helps a team to match different personalities and majors quickly to achieve well performance. Next, the suggestions and complaints provided by employees are treated of equal importance. In the same way, they have a right to participate in the process of revising company policies as well as a manager. In that case, each staff thinks that they also play an important role in company operating, and they can join to work out a direction of Starbucks. These give employees not only a respect, but a sense of participation. Yet, this Starbuck’s approach was hardly to be found in government sector. In public sector, they tend to uphold the hierarchy line. There were obvious gap between managers and subordinates. Furthermore, the organizations normally contain numbers of staffs. ———————– [1] Schermerhorn,Hunt,Osborn and Uhl-Bien â€Å"Organizational Behavior 11th edition† John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd. 2011 [2] Richard L. Daft â€Å"Management† The Dryden Press 1997

IPT Marketing Analysis

According to the Inter bailiwick dairy Deli Bakery Associations Whats in Store report, 93% of Americans morsel, with 50% of them doing so two or three multiplication a daytime 40% at least iv times a day and 13% five or more(prenominal) times a day (Industry news program Snacks and Sweets Statistics, 1998). Everybody snacks. In a culture bore by potato chips and peanuts, there is a golden opportunity for IPT to infiltrate the national snack market, both(prenominal) sweet and salty, by offering something rum, which volition appeal to completely ages and ethnic groups.Initially, objective lens markets lead harp of three categories found on harm structure and volume corporate accounts, sell clients, and wholesalers. In point to reach these target markets, a number of means entrust be used. For corporate accounts, including incentive companies, gross sales managers leave alone participate in a sales blitz of local companies and both print and online e-zine advertisi ng impart be placed with trade publications. To reach wholesale accounts, sales managers pull up stakes participate in trade shows and banner advertising will be placed on mercantile distributors websites.Retail customers, IPTs strongest market, will be tapped finished the development of a catalog, a website with position of sale softwargon, and radio advertising on a local and national level. Currently, a strong market exists for retail consumers who ar health conscious but wear upont want to give up snack foods, or what is labeled compromisers (Kuhn, 1996) and this will be a key portion for IPT.In the future, expansion of target markets will let in foreign consumers, bulk buyers, and ethnic groups (with offerings of shade destinations reflective of culture). After expansion regionally and nationally, the next market to logically to catch is a global one. As IPT expands its operations, it is intrinsic to fine-tune production in show to appeal customer who will order in bulk, such as Wal-Mart. With IPTs secure endings process, it will be halcyon to offer additional exotic flavorings to attract heterogeneous ethnic groups.Market segments are carve up geographically, psychographically and by monetary value point. Geographic areas will be segmented according to local, country-wide and Canada and sales managers assigned to each markets. The psychographic segments are reason according to those who are health-conscious, families, and baby boomers as well as senior citizens who accommodate fond memories of popcorn and pretzels as treats succession growing up. In addition, segmenting by price points will give IPT the categories of retail, wholesale, and corporate accounts.Pricing to the various segments will reflect high-end cost with retail consumers paying full mark-up, wholesalers receiving a 40% discount off retail determine and corporate accounts capable of realizing a 25% to 35% discount based on annual sales volume. Retail customers w ill bring in the most get per sale, however, sales from the retail sector will certainly be lower than that of those at the wholesale and corporate levels.Positioning of IPT in the market place will be first and maiden focused on its products quality, uniqueness and revolution (snack foods, floral arrangements and gift baskets). The products, m any(prenominal) with their entry in Pennsylvania Dutch country, and the patented popcorn coating process are unique and consumers will see them as exotic. Stressing the variety of products offered will capture bring forward shares in the market. Brand precaution based on this positioning strategy will occupy the use of memorable scintilla lines geared at the various segments such as Dutch treat and level-headed indulgence. To coincide with this brand management philosophy, marketing materials will be reconciled in packaging and liberally employ the use of IPTs newly created, distinctive logo.IPT is differentiated by new(prenomina l), larger, snack food suppliers by offering a more personal touch in customer service. Customers will have several ship canal of ordering products (phone, catalog, website, retail store) as well as the availability of a consecrated customer service line for any problems that might arise, day or night. IPTs snack foods are different than other manufacturers, such as Frito Lay, because of their Pennsylvania Dutch origins. This, along with IPTs unique coating process, allows the company to offer very unique products unavailable at the local mart store. The modern trends in snack foods are to be organic and healthy musical composition a heavy Asian and Latino influence demand that spicier flavors be added to snack foods (Snack Food Trends in the united States, 2006).With the company strengths of local recognition, the patented coating process, the long-term contracts and the addition of other products to its offering, IPT is poised to become a major faker in the snack food and re tail product market. Only through strong marketing, however, will this be achieved.ReferencesIndustry give-and-take Snacks and Sweets Statistics. Retrieved February 4, 2008 from Fiery Food Website http//www.fieryfoodscentral.com/zine-industry/sweetstats.html.Kuhn, Mary Ellen (February, 1996). The hurry of the light brigade. Food Processing. Retrieved February 4, 2008 from the any Business Website http//www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/food-manufacturing/544503-1.html.Snack Food Trends in the United States (2006). American Taste Magazine. summertime edition. Retrieved February 4, 2008 from the American Taste Website http//www.american-taste.com/AP%20Sm06%20Snack.htm.