Saturday, August 31, 2019

Management and Co-ordination

Coordination Definition of Coordination Co-ordination is the unification, integration, synchronization of the efforts of group members so as to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common goals. It is a hidden force which binds all the other functions of management. According to Mooney and Reelay, â€Å"Co-ordination is orderly arrangement of group efforts to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common goals†. According to Charles Worth, â€Å"Co-ordination is the integration of several parts into an orderly hole to achieve the purpose of understanding†. Management seeks to achieve co-ordination through its basic functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. That is why, co-ordination is not a separate function of management because achieving of harmony between individuals efforts towards achievement of group goals is a key to success of management. Co-ordination is the essence of management and is implicit and inherent in all functions of management. Ingredient of all the Managerial Functions A manager can be compared to an orchestra conductor since both of them have to create rhythm and unity in the activities of group members. Co-ordination is an integral element or ingredient of all the managerial functions as discussed below: – 1. Co-ordination through Planning – Planning facilitates co-ordination by integrating the various plans through mutual discussion, exchange of ideas. e. g. – co-ordination between finance budget and purchases budget. 2. Co-ordination through Organizing – Mooney considers co-ordination as the very essence of organizing. In fact when a manager groups and assigns various activities to subordinates, and when he creates department’s co-ordination uppermost in his mind. . Co-ordination through Staffing – A manager should bear in mind that the right no. of personnel in various positions with right type of education and skills are taken which will ensure right men on the right job. 4. Co-ordination through Directing – The purpose of giving orders, instructions & guidance to the subordinates is served only when there is a harmony between sup eriors & subordinates. 5. Co-ordination through Controlling – Manager ensures that there should be co-ordination between actual performance & standard performance to achieve organizational goals. Differences between Co-ordination and Co-operation |Basis |Co-ordination |Co-operation | |Meaning |It is an orderly arrangement of group efforts in |It means mutual help willingly. | | |pursuit of common goals. | | |Scope |It is broader than co-operation which includes as well|It is termed as a part of co-ordination. | |because it harmonizes the group efforts. | | |Process |The function of co-ordination is performed by top |The functions of co-operation are prepared by persons at | | |management. |any level. | |Requirements |Co-ordination is required by employees and departments|Co-operation is emotional in nature because it depends on | | |at work irrespective of their work. |the willingness of people working together. |Relationship |It establishes formal and informal relationships. |It establishes informal relationship. | |Freedom |It is planned and entrusted by the central authority &|It depends upon the sweet will of the individuals and | | |it is essential. |therefore it is not necessary. | |Support |It seeks wholehearted support from various people |Co-operation without co-ordination is fruitless & | | |working at various levels. therefore it may lead to unbalanced developments. | Therefore, existence of co-operation may prove to be effective condition or requisite for co-ordination. But it does not mean that co-ordination originates automatically from the voluntary efforts of the group of members. It has to be achieved through conscious & deliberate efforts of managers, therefore to conclude we can say that co-operation without co-ordination has no fruit and co-ordination without co-operation has no root.

Friday, August 30, 2019

A Critical Appreciation of Wallace Steven’s

The beaker of the poem, a man, is walking down a beach with a friend and hears a woman singing. He muses on how the sounds of the ocean contrast and inspire her voice. He imagines that she is as beautiful as both her song and the ocean. Though he doesn't actually see the woman's face, the speaker knows that she is lovely. As he walks behind her, the speaker notices how her bright, ethereal voice compares to the dark sounding sea. To him it is almost as if the ocean was a spirit whose voice they could not hear, but knew was there. For most of the poem Stevens paints a picture of n ocean that is both enchanting and mysterious at the same time.In turn, the woman's song is made mystical and alluring because of the setting. Though we, the readers, don't see the woman or hear her song, we experience the transformation that the sea, the city, and the speaker go through. In the fourth stanza the tone of the poem turns darker and the speaker begins to notice things other than the woman, her s ong, and the ocean. He claims that it was her voice that made the sky clearer and the ocean belonged to her and her song alone. He and his companion realize hat the only world for her was the â€Å"one she sang and, singing, made. In the seventh stanza we learn the name of the speaker's companion: Ramona Fernando. He (the speaker) asks Ramona why things looked different after the mystery woman finished her song; her song made the city lights brighter and more enchanting than they were before. At this point we realize that the speaker has had an epiphany. Some critics say that the speaker's epiphany was Stevens' way of showing the importance of art. Without it, and in this case without song, we would never be able to see the world Leary. The woman's song opened up the speakers eyes to the light of the world around him, and in turn the poem itself opened up our eyes.The poem focuses on the perception of imagination and reality. In this poem, reality pertains to the totality of all th ings possessing actuality, existence or essence; imagination, on the other hand, captures and interprets reality so an individual is able to create their own meaning of the given world, and escape the facts of existence through their own sense of creativity and ingenuity. At the beginning of the poem the speaker seeks an answer to whether the song exists through an external reality or within his ability to formulate this into something personal.Throughout his walk the speaker never truly determines whether the song is an external reality or within his own imagination, Stevens proposes that the song is neither, since one is not able to exist without the other. Near the end of the poem, the speaker muses upon the woman's song and determines that she is both of song and sea, thus his enjoyment is derived out of a fusion of his imagination interpreting the voice along with an external awareness of his surrounding reality.Above all, Stevens captures and portrays this theme through his un derstanding of the human condition which perceives the inhuman as human. Throughout â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West† the narrator seemingly attempts to distinguish whether the song he hears is the sea's waves singing to the woman's voice, or if the singer's tune is his imagination's perception of the ocean. To answer this question, Stevens suggest that the narrator must investigate and recognize the difference between imagination and reality.Since the sea is an external nature which causes a meaningless â€Å"constant cry' and cannot be â€Å"formed to mind or voice†, the orator must distinguish the ocean's image and counterpart through the singer. Likewise, her ability to utter the sound of the waves â€Å"word by word† helps to transform the inhuman song of the sea into the entirely human song of the woman. Moreover, as the singer measures and interprets her song; the ocean similarly analyzes and follows the laws of nature.As the speaker begins to perceiv e that the song is more than the sea merely singing through the woman's voice, he begins to feel a sense of ineffability which goes beyond the mere language of the tune and experience of his walk. Thus in stanza went eight he states: â€Å"But it was more than that, more even than her voice, and ours† The narrator begins to accept the mystery behind the songs blissfulness and acquires the tune as the driving spirit of all the external realities in his presence.This realization of the songs ineffability makes â€Å"the sky acutest at its vanishing† (35) and â€Å"measured to the hour at its solitude†. For Stevens, these acts of interpretation are essentially human acts which help people come in touch with themselves and the world around them in order to experience the Joys of being one with both themselves ND nature. Within the final lines of the poem, Stevens' links the title by connecting with and relating to our desire for ordered experiences and sympathizes a mong us since we always try to make the inhuman human.Thus at the ending, the woman's song guides the narrator and helps to clear the vision between the order which humans seek of the natural world: â€Å"O! Blessed rage for order†. Likewise this cognizance opens â€Å"fragrant portals†. The â€Å"fragrant portals† are important because they open a new door to an edifying new self-awareness. Moreover, as narrator begins to apprehend the usage of the woman's song, he realizes that the song allowed him to see order in the world.Additionally, the song produces from within him a desire to create his own song, in order to interact and correspond with the imagination of others Just like woman has done to his. Stevens' understanding of the human condition serves a great purpose in â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West†. Stevens portrays the narrator's experiences through the reflection of his thoughts. When the voice comes along he begins to change his way of thin king because she helps him understand and become conscious of the illusion of his imagination.Through the language of â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West† Wallace Stevens expresses his perception of the world. His thoughts and language become his instruments that craft the poem. Through the readers of the poem, Stevens captures and engages them: â€Å"It is the spectator and not life, which art really mirrors† (Oscar Willed) As the spectator mirrors this form of art and interprets meaning into the works allurement, they becoming cultivated and enlightened. As a poet, Wallace Stevens believed that poetry should be similar to a work of art. And like a work of art, Stevens' poetry helps his readers discover order in a chaotic world.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Finance: United States Dollar and Exchange Rate Risk Essay

Your write-up should be eight to ten pages (double-spaced). If you provide information outside the case or the textbook, use a footnote to indicate the source. You can use pictures, but no more than four, and each figure should be no more than half a page in size. 1. Executive Summary. Briefly describe the history and business of Tiffany’s Co. What type of decision did the company have to make in 1993? Why was the decision important? 2. History of Japanese Yen. Describe the historical exchange rates between Japanese Yen and U.S. dollar over time. Focus on the big changes and what was the exchange rate in (and years before) July 1993. 3. To Hedge or Not? Do you think Tiffany should actively manage its yen-dollar exchange rate risk? Why or why not? Explain the benefits and costs of hedging. 4. What to Hedge? If Tiffany were to manage its exchange rate risk, then identify what exposures should be managed via such a hedging program (e.g., hedge sales, hedge gross profit, or hedge cash flows, etc.). Explain why. 5. Forward or Options? If Tiffany were to hedge the yen-dollar exchange rate risk, it can choose either forward contracts or options. Explain how Tiffany can hedge using forward contracts? How to hedge using options? The available forward contracts and options are described in Exhibit 8, assuming Tiffany can only use those derivatives to hedge. Based on what you have learned in this course, what are the pros and cons of using options to hedge compared to using forward contracts to hedge? 6. Your Decision. If you were CFO of Tiffany, what would you have done in July 1993? No hedging at all? Or hedging? If you decided to hedge, quantify how much of these exposures should be covered and for how long. You have to justify your answers. Note that there is no â€Å"correct answer.† The reasoning is more important. You should obtain information from Tiffany’s financial statements (e.g., Exhibit 3) and use information in the case (e.g., on page 3 it says that â€Å"Tiffany’s sales accounted for only 1% of the $20 billion Japanese jewelry market†) and then make an educated guess on what is the exposure and how much you want to hedge and how (i.e., using forward contracts or options or a combination.) Again, if two groups have similar write-ups, both write-ups will receive a grade of 0. Also, you should provide an answer to each specific question. Quantify questions 5 and 6. Otherwise you have to rewrite. Finally, I just want to clarify the option prices in Exhibit 8 in case 2. The left panel says Calls: it means these are call options on U.S. dollars, and these are from Japan’s point of view, not from U.S.’s point of view. So the left panel gives you the right (but not obligation) to buy U.S. dollar with Yen (i.e., sell Yen for dollar), and that is what you want to use. Do not use the right panel. You may ask, how come the case says that Tiffany should use Yen put options to hedge? Well, a Yen put option IS a dollar call option, why? A call option on US dollar, written at an exercise price in terms of Yen, is a put option on Yen, written at an exercise in terms of dollar. For example, in Exhibit 8, the three months call option on dollar with a strike price of 92Yen has a premium of 2.52 100ths of a cent per yen (i.e., premium is 0.000252$/yen). This call option gives you (mainly Japanese investors) the right to buy $ using Yen, that is to say, it gives you the right to sell Yen at (1/92)$, therefore, this is a put option for Yen from U.S. investors’ point of view. Bottom line, since Tiffany has Yen exposure, so you want to sell Yen as financial manager of Tiffany, so you should use the left panel, not the right panel.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Reading and Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading and Writing - Essay Example Intellectual abilities are essential in order to be an effective reader. Intellectual abilities like Clarifying purposes, formulating clear questions and distinguishing accurate and relevant information help in effective reading. Before beginning to read, a reader must clarify their purpose for reading a material or content. The content must be foretasted. During reading, a reader should check their understanding about the content and retreat in case if the understanding is poor. The pace at which the reader is reading content is also very important, according to the understanding and familiarity of their concept the speed should be adjusted. After completing the reading, a reader must be able to summarize the content to check if they have grasped the actual message of the author, all these will help the reader in understanding the matter exactly the way it was meant by the author. Questions also help us in better understanding. The more the questions are, the better the understanding is. Formulating good questions before you start reading will give a good depth and different dimensions of the content.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Islamic Banking case Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Islamic Banking case - Term Paper Example Moreover, the fact that the owner of the bank plays a huge role in managing the bank is strength, which makes it possible to analyze the bank’s current position in the market and make management decisions in a quick way. The biggest weakness in the bank regards the vulnerability posed by the lack of knowledge on other products in the market, and especially by competing products. In this regard, it is evident that Sultan does not know the principles and concepts of Islamic Banking, which is a major weakness since the bank is losing customers to other banks that offered products based on these concepts and principles. ABB’s major opportunity for development and growth lies within the bank’s niche market amongst the local community. With proper restructuring of the bank’s policy in banking, the bank can maintain this segment of clientele since locals have been the target market since the bank’s inception. In addition, the CEO, who is also the owner, has a â€Å"substantial inherited personal wealth† that he wishes to reinvest in the bank. In effect, this potential source of capital is essential as the bank seeks to position itself in the competitive banking industry due to the increasing role of Islamic Banking principles and concepts. Finally, the major threat that the bank faces is the increasing role of Islamic Banking, which has made some of ABBs customers switch to banks that offered services based on Islamic Banking principles and concepts. In line with this, the threat posed by Islamic Banking concepts and principles requires a rethinking since the bank is losing existing and potential customers due to its failure to establish Islamic Banking principles and concepts. Hence, this market trend is a threat to the long-term objectives of the bank and the bank can only restructure to accommodate this market trend. Sultan can restructure ABB’s banking structures and systems to accommodate

Monday, August 26, 2019

Environmental impacts of tourism on Los angles Research Paper

Environmental impacts of tourism on Los angles - Research Paper Example In addition, apart from the adverse effects of tourism development on the environment, it can also result in positive effects on the environment. This will mainly include the protection and conservation of the environment. Los Angeles located in the Southern California, is a populous city, whose coastal nature makes it a hub for various aesthetic human activities, including tourism. However, the highly urbanized coastal city faces many threats due to the increased human activities in the area, including plans to develop on all the remaining open space. This case continues to fuel heated debates between the government, environmentalists, and developers. Available coastal resources for tourism in the city include beaches, coastal marshes, boardwalks, and ecological attractions such as kelp forests, tide pools, and coastal marshes (â€Å"Travel Weekly†). In Los Angeles, the impact of tourism presents the area with a variety of effects. The high population of Los Angeles city puts pressure on the available natural resources, which are limited. Natural resources include soil, forests, fossil fuels, wildlife, and wetland. Both the residents of Los Angeles and tourists all struggle to experience the resources. On the other hand, humans put a direct pressure on the land’s renewable and non-renewable energy. The construction of multiple skyscrapers in Los Angeles area, for tourists’ accommodation facilities has put pressure on the land, leading to degradation (Schott, 2010). Tourism has led to different forms of pollution in Los Angeles city. The largest percentage of air pollution and noise pollution by tourism is generated by the transport sector (Lumsdon, 2000). Accommodation is the second largest polluter of the environment, followed by tourist activities. In tourism related transport, the maritime ship emissions contribute to the pollution in the area of Los Angeles. These mainly release Nitrogen Oxides in the atmosphere. This happens along the Los Angeles – Long Beach area of California, which is USA’s busiest port, and with high level of pollution. The original meaning of the name Los Angeles is â€Å"valley of smoke.† This is because of the smog that covers the area. The population relies heavily on automobiles for transport of both the tourists and local residents. According to Lumsdon (2000), the aircrafts flying in and out of Los Angeles have contributed to the smog in the city, and this has resulted in increased respiratory diseases in people living close to the airport. In addition, the Long Beach port issue has also contributed to the air pollution of the region. The cruiseships are also another source of air pollution due to the smoke they emit. Similarly, airplanes, buses, and cars cause noise pollution in Los Angeles. In addition, the modern recreational vehicles such as jet skis and snowmobiles too pollute the environment (Lumsdon, 2000). Tourism has also led to increased waste and litter ing in Los Angeles. Foreign and local tourists on trips use items such as water bottles and juice cans, which are disposable. This is because of the reluctance to engage in washing, which to them is a tiresome process. Most of them end up throwing these disposable items anyhow, thus littering the environment. These solid wastes are washed away by rainwater and end up in rivers or the ocean (Schott, 2010). This contributes to

Team Building for Conflict Resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Team Building for Conflict Resolution - Essay Example Conflicts are an ingrained and in-built part of the human psyche. In our everyday lives, whatever roles we play, wherever we live or work, conflicts are naturally occurring all the time. Even in such compact structures as families, which are supposed to be naturally caring and altruistic, conflicts arise all the time. The notion of conflict emerges from the notion of diverse mindsets. In any situation where two or more people come together on a common ground and think for a common problem or agenda, it leads to conflict. Since no two people are alike and no two minds work the same way, people naturally end up disagreeing or thinking differently from their other counterparts, which leads to the emergence of conflicts (Payne, 2001). One may ask, why solve conflicts? A better question may be, why is so much attention devoted to conflicts and if lack of attention on conflict resolution leads to any adverse outcomes? Well, there are multiple answers for that. First, the conflicts arise du e to the differences of opinions and the emphasis here is on differences. Differences usually hold a negative connotation to them; however, having a wide range of options to choose form makes the ultimate solution much more creative and better. Thus, solving conflicts is important because it is through the process that one attains a mutually agreed-upon, more compatible and enhanced solutions to the issues. Secondly, solving conflicts is also important because it is through them that the human resource of any organization stays cohesive and bonded. If conflicts are not resolved aptly and efficiently, it might lead to severe damages in relationships and inefficiency in working together and effective communication (Morris et al, 2008). Now one might ask, what can be done to resolve conflicts, if any arises? Well, the answers to these questions are many depending on different contexts in which conflicts arise. First, conflict should be perceived in a positive light rather than pessimis tically. Managers should encourage conflicts to take on in the positive direction and stimulate lateral thinking than arousing opposing parties to hold grudges against each other. Conflict resolution must also entail the element of listening out the other parties’ arguments. Many times people do not listen to others and make certain assumptions regarding their beliefs and attitudes only to regret later. An effective communication tool is to be able to listen to other people and more importantly, empathize with them. Imagine a case scenario in which Mr. Alex and Mr. Brown had an argument over the interface of the new layout of the website that was launched by their company few months back. Before their first meeting about the topic at hand, the manager sent out an email to both of them stating the agenda of the meeting and explaining that Mr. Alex has a tech-savvy background and he suggests that the interface should be of aqua theme. Mr. Brown who has been a loyal employee wan ted the theme to be more professional, something along the lines of white and black. When they met for the first time, Alex came with a pre-conceived assumption that he has an edge over Brown since he has more credentials in the field

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Art Deco style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Art Deco style - Essay Example The emergence of art deco as a dimension of art began in the early 1920’s; this period was characterized by a jovial mood following the incidences that were leading to the end of the First World War. The entire global populace was characterized by a feeling of bright future; different economies were rapidly developing, especially in Europe and the United States of America. People were filled with joy and high sense of liberty. During this period, Jazz Music was at its peak, while in some sections of the society, women and other minority groups had acquired their rights of voting, specifically during election periods. The society was also characterized by rapid emergence of tourism, which was popularly known as Leisure Travels’. The machine age and technology were also rapidly advancing; the quality of human life was improving at a rapid date. During this period, skyscrapers were built; radio was invented as well as the printing press. Historical evidence indicate that t he society was filled with tremendous joy and their there was high level of anticipation of brighter future. Consequently, the hustle associated with these developments was accompanied with the rapid emergence of the Art Deco Style. History indicates that a major arts’ exhibition was held in Paris during 1925; artists referred to this exhibition as ‘Exposition Internationale'. Major and popular artists, craftsmen, expert architects and designers from various parts of the World as well as in France attended this crucial event.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Finance Management in Multinational Organizations Essay

Finance Management in Multinational Organizations - Essay Example Thus the overall uncertainty related with multinational firms require that such organizations must develop and implement financial strategies which help them not only to successful manage the risk but also ensure that consistent profits are streamed into the firm from its operations. Due to increased risk, multinational organizations often use financial derivatives to hedge themselves against certain risks also so that the overall financial interest of the organization remain intact. There are different areas which multinational organizations look to manage in terms of managing the financial resources of the firm. For example, use of debt is one of the most critical aspects of availing and managing it besides ensuring that firm generates enough cash flows to repay the debt too. Similarly, setting up adequate dividend policies is another area of importance which needs to be taken care off as shareholders of multinational organizations often place a larger premium on the overseas operations of multinational organizations. One of the most important characteristics of financial management at multinational organizations is the dealing in foreign currency. Multinational organizations often deal in more than one currency and also have to translate their earnings and revenues into one base currency therefore besides running other risks; multinational organizations also have to deal with the risk arising due to movement in foreign exchange rates. (Stopford & Wells, 2007). Similarly management of debt is also an important aspect of financial management as it directly correlates with the tax management also. In a bid to manage taxes in more efficient manner, multinational organizations often shift the debt to high tax countries in order to free up some liquidity as well as avail overall reduction in cost of debt. This also supports multinational organizations to achieve optimum level of capital structure

Friday, August 23, 2019

The closing reading of Diving into Wreck Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The closing reading of Diving into Wreck - Essay Example During this time, the women’s movement was increasing in momentum, as it influences American literature and other fields, as well as society in general (Milne 1). Rich showed interest in feminism in the 1970s, and saw it as a â€Å"heroic quest,† similar to plunging into the wreck of an old sunken ship (Milne 1). She wanted to oppose and question traditional beliefs and values about gender and sexuality through an inner exploration (Milne 1). Since the publication â€Å"Diving into the Wreck, † Rich showed her search for the truth about gender and the widespread activities of second-wave feminism (Milne 1). The poem is an example of free verse writing that has no evident rhymes, which is significant in narrating the journey through a firsthand account and helping readers focus more on the subtle structure of the poem and its meaning. The poem follows a conversation style. Rich does want to alienate anyone, so she talks as if she would in real life: â€Å"I put o n/ the body-armor of black rubber/ the absurd flippers† (4-6). Her words portray the process of what is happening, so that readers will feel like the poem is an ordinary conversation. In addition, the poem’s free verse enables readers to emphasize the subtle structure of the poem. ... Stanzas are also broken to indicate changes in the perspective of the speaker. An example is the shift of perspective from stanza 7 to stanza 8. The speaker ends stanza 7 with: â€Å"among the tentative haunters† (70). She is only one of the many who dive into the wreck. Stanza 8, however, merges the speaker and the mermaid: â€Å"We circle silently/ about the wreck/ we dive into the hold† (74-76). The merging of two identities signifies the unity of the writer with her inner self. Furthermore, the free verse writing helps stress enjambment in the poem. The pauses in these lines say something about the actions of the speaker: â€Å"Rung after rung and still / the oxygen immerses me† (23-24). The speaker seems to be nervous as she slowly goes down the boat, where the enjambment creates a sense of both preparation for the next stage of exploration and the need to reflect on every stage. Thus, the free verse has significance to emphasizing the meaning of the structu re of the poem and its narrative style. The poem has numerous enjambments that aim for structural purposes of helping readers visualize the poem. The speaker says: â€Å"I put on/ the body-armor of black rubber/ the absurd flippers† (4-6). The speaker uses enjambment to put emphasis on her actions. The readers can better understand what is happening if the sentence is broken down to images and action words. In addition, the speaker uses enjambment to introduce changes in experiences and to sharpen their visual images. She says: â€Å"Rung after rung and still/ the oxygen immerses me/ the blue light/ the clear atoms/ of our human air† (23-27). The enjambment is a way of putting the reader into these experiences slowly, as if they are going down the ladder

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Authenticity Indigenous Media Essay Example for Free

Authenticity Indigenous Media Essay â€Å"Authentic† is a double-edged sword. Discuss this statement using at least 2 indigenous media examples. How can something be a double-edged sword? How can something be harmful and at the same time helpful? We are currently living in the 21st century; there have been many lives that lived on this earth before us. These lives have done a lot of work that have got us to where we are today. This being said it is so hard to think of something new to come up with when it has probably been done before in the past in one way or another. According to dictionary. com authentic means â€Å"not copied, false, original. † To the dominant culture being authentic means coming up with something new to show the world but because, often words have more than one definition, being authentic does not always mean inventing something new to show the world. In fact, to indigenous groups it means keeping their beliefs, everyday activities, culture, etc intact. It is keeping everything they know their ancestors did and what their parents taught them to do without improvements or change. In this essay I will be comparing different indigenous groups and how the meaning of† Authentic† can be a double-edged sword to these indigenous groups. For indigenous groups being authentic is critical. Not only because it is important for them to keep their culture intact but also because it is an effective political tool. This political tool can help them negotiate land, which is one of the most important things for them because it is the main tool of survival. Many critics argue that even though these tribes are isolated they are not untouched by outsiders therefore they are not indigenous, they are just isolated groups. Video in the village’s project has been working with many tribes such as the Nambiquara, Caviao, Tikuna, Kijani Iakaha and Kaiapo. Their goal is to introduce them to the art of film so they can preserve their culture and find their identity within themselves. They have done this by giving cameras to various indigenous people themselves teaching them the basics of how to record. These people have been given the chance to record what they want to see about themselves and what they think is important to communicate to the world. Although it was a long process that took a lot of work and patience, many villages have had success. For example the Kijani Iakaha group recorded a regular day in the village where in the beginning of the film the women are lined up so they could get pat in their backs and their stomachs with a wooden stick. This, to them, represents protection; it helps their women throughout their pregnancy. They also show some of the habits they have such as picking each other’s ticks out. They also follow the regular activities of other indigenous villages. They send the kids to fish, the women stay in cleaning, cooking and watching the smaller children and the men go out to hunt. They make use of their land by planning and hunting so they can provide goods for themselves and their family. Even though these people are wearing items that belong to the dominant culture they still do what indigenous groups do. The only difference that can be taken out of the villagers is what they wear and some of their traditions; women are wearing skirts and men are wearing shorts. When indigenous groups decides to make a change to their culture it becomes harmful because it gives the government proof that these people have had contact with the dominant culture. In the article by Beth A. Conklin, Body paint, feathers, and VCRs: aesthetics and authenticity in Amazonian activism, he states, â€Å"The first, obvious idea is that outsiders (anthropologists included) tend to see complex western technology as a corrupting force that undermines traditional cultures. Real natives dont use VCRs. † Many people argue that if indigenous people work with the camera their focus is no longer in trying to keep their culture and origin instead it is to try to look good for the camera that would potentially lead to a change in their culture. The reason why it is a big deal if these tribes are up to date with the dominant world is because being indigenous gives them special rights, such as land right and political rights. When exposed to technology which essentially means they have been exposed to society they are no longer innocent and â€Å"original† they are now exposed and experienced. This, once again, creates doubts about their originality. To the eyes of the government if they are up to date with the dominant culture they are just taking up land that real indigenous people could use. According to the government and the dominant society an authentic indigenous group is that which does what the typical stereotype of an indigenous group does. They use paint to paint their bodies in a way which they can express themselves; a lot of the groups do it for special occasions such as ceremonies and different rituals. They have different rituals that represent who they are becoming. This is not always true. In the film Signs don’t speak the people in the group are wearing regular clothes yet they still behave like other indigenous groups. They still dislike white man because according to them these only bring harm. One of the villagers quotes â€Å"My father told me white man would come to take over our land. † In this film the villagers talk about an encounter they had with the white man. They thought that they would only stay and work for a short time but they end it up staying longer, working hard and destroying their land. They are well aware of the stereotypes people have about them, they prefer to stay away from one of their biggest threat, white man. In the other hand in the film video cannibalism the villagers are walking around naked, fulfilling the stereotypes, making vulgar jokes that to them have no vulgar intention and with paint all over their bodies. This group has no complications with the government because to the government these are the true indigenous people. At best, indigenous groups begin to understand how they are different from not only the dominant culture or other indigenous groups but themselves as well. It can also confirm the stereotypes many people believe making it almost impossible for these to be changed for future generation. Being authentic can be harmful because it can limit indigenous groups from self-determination and development. Authenticity can be helpful because maybe in some cultures having a primitive way of life restores some of the good interactions between people. There is not as much drama and people’s views can be heard more easily. Stereotyping brings about hardship for certain cultures, however, a culture may learn to embrace stereotyping and not be hurt as much due to the fact that they are primitive and do not have to understand what media says about them. Their portrayal is to people that they probably will never see. Technology could be what is saving these cultures from many hardships that are in modern society today. An authentic indigenous culture does not have to bear the economic difficulties that modern societies do. In the end, many cultures are indigenous, but according to what the modern society defines as authentic, modern society can have the power to say that a group is not original and therefore just aboriginal, meaning they still have the technologically advanced capabilities, but choose not to use them. Work cited Dictionary. com. Dictionary. reference. com. LLC. 2012. Web. 14 March 2012 Video in the Villages. Dir. Vincent Carelli. Documentary Educational Resources. 1989. Film. Conklin, B. A. Body paint, feathers, and VCRs: aesthetics and authenticity in Amazonian activism. JSTOR. org. JSTOR. 1997. Web. 14 March 2012. Signs Don’t Speak. Dir. Vicent Carelli, Dominique Gallois. Documentary Education Resources. 1996. Film. Video Cannibalism. Dir. Vicent Carelli. Documentary Educational Resources. 1995. Film.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

US Foreign Policy in Africa Essay Example for Free

US Foreign Policy in Africa Essay The question is that: what type of foreign policy should the US have with South Africa and the larger Africa? The answer of this question goes back to the foreign policy formulation and implementation of the United States government. According to the United States Department of State, the foreign policy approach for South Africa and the larger Africa is Transformational Diplomacy (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). The principle being expounded in this kind of foreign policy approach is partnership. During the past years, what is being applied to South African people is the principle of paternalism, but this has been a failure (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). The philosophy of transformational diplomacy is to do work with the people and not for them (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). In other words, the United States government must work hand in hand with the South African people as their partners for economic, social and political progress. The idea behind this foreign policy is to facilitate in helping the Africans to improve their lives by means of building their own nations and transforming their own futures (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). As such, the utilization of diplomatic power of the United States to reach this goal is instrumental for that matter. It is true that there are various conflicts in South Africa and the larger Africa. It could be remembered that Somalia gain benefits from the transformational diplomacy approach headed by the government of the United States. Somalia collapsed as a state for about 15 years due to war involving Ethiopian military, but with the foreign policy implementation of the United States in its benefit there was improvement (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). At present time, Somalia was guided to the path of recovery and stability by the United States government owing to its partnership ideals with the country. The people were being taught on how to get out from poverty and at the same time working with them for economic and political stability. There are methods that are followed by the United States in resolving conflicts involving the African race. These methods are considered part of the transformational diplomacy and proved to be useful and proper. First, there was a call for resolution of the conflicts in South African nations including the larger Africa. Second, the United States government have backed African conflict mediation processes and improved the capacity of the Africans to bring out peace support operations and combat terrorism within the continent (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). And lastly, there were also efforts to work with leading African mediators and with representatives of the United Nations, as well as the African Union and other African organizations. The transformational diplomacy approach is useful to retain peace in the African continent. Within the year 2001 and 2007, there were 6 wars that erupted in Africa and many people suffered to death (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). The partnership of the United States government and African s together with the United Nations resulted to ongoing recovery of the war-torn areas in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Burundi, Angola as well as the North and South conflicts in Sudan (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). Since the concept of democracy is an effective tool for peace and economic progress, the United States government tried to work with Africans in order to reject oppression and terror. Hence, it is always true that governments that mirror the popular will of the people are more likely to revere boundaries and human rights compared to those who failed to do so (â€Å"US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007†). Majority of the African nations are now working towards democratic governance with the help of the United States foreign policy formulation and implementation under the auspices of transformational democracy. References U. S. Department of State. (2007, February 15). US Foreign Policy in Africa for 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from http://www. state. gov/p/af/rls/rm/ 80210. htm.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

A Look At Socialization Religion Essay

A Look At Socialization Religion Essay Some of a persons behaviour is natural while most of the behaviour is learnt. When a child comes in the world, he/she is gradually moulded in society into a social being and learns social ways of acting and feeling. His/her existence in the society becomes impossible without this process. This process of moulding and shaping the personality of the human infant is called socialization. In general Socialization is a social training by which every society prescribes its own ways and means of giving social training to its new born members so that they may develop their own personality. Socialization is often referred to as the transmission of culture, the process by which people learn the rules and practices of social groups. Just as we learn a game by playing it, so we learn life by engaging in it. Socialization is definitely a matter of learning and not of biological inheritance. People become what they are by socialization. Through the process of socialization the individual becomes a social person and attains personality. Socialization is the process whereby the individual acquires the conventional patterns of human behaviour. Every person tries to adjust himself/herself to the condition and environment predominantly determined by the society of which he/she is a member. If he/she fails to do so, he/she becomes a social deviant and is brought back into the line by the efforts of the group of which he/she is a member. This process is knows as socialization. It is the opposite of individualization. Some definitions of socialization by different sociologists are g iven below: Bogardus: Socialization is the process of working together, of developing group responsibility, or being guided by the welfare needs of others. W.F. Ogburn: Socialization is the process by which the individual learns to conform to the norms of the group. Peter Worsley explains socialization as the process of transmission of culture, the process whereby men learn the rules and practices of social groups. Harry M. Johnson understands socialization as learning that enables the learner to perform social roles. He further says that it is a process by which individuals acquire the already existing culture of groups they come into. Lundberg says that socialization consists of the complex processes of interaction through which the individual learns the habits, beliefs, skills and standards of judgement that are necessary for his effective participation in social groups and communities. Some terms in sociology relating to socialization: Sociality: It is the capacity to mix with others, to enter into relations with them easily and comfortably. Socialism: It is a theory of future structure of society. Maturation: Maturation refers to the physical and chemical processes of development over which people have comparatively little control. 2. THE PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION Socialization is a process of transforming the human animal into a human being, of converting the biological being into a social being. It is said that the working of the process of socialization starts long before the child is born. The direct socialization begins only after birth. Factors of the Process of Socialization There are four factors of this process of learning. These are imitation, suggestion, identification and language. Imitation: Imitation is copying of the actions of another by an individual. In imitation the person imitating performs exactly the same activity as the one being performed before him. It is the main factor in the process of socialization of the child. Through imitation a child learns many social behaviour patterns. Language and pronunciation are acquired by the child only through imitation. Suggestion: McDougall defines suggestion as the process of communication resulting in the acceptance with conviction of the communicated proposition in the absence of logically adequate grounds for its acceptance. Suggestion is the process of communicating information which has no logical or self-evident basis. It may be conveyed through language, pictures or some other similar medium. Suggestion influences not only behaviour with others but also ones own private and individual behaviour. Identification: A child cannot make any distinction between his/her organism and environment in his/her early age. At that time most of his/her actions are random of which he/she is not conscious. As the child grows in age, he/she comes to know of the nature of things which satisfy his/her needs and such things become the object of his/her identification. The speed and area of identification increase with the growth in age and through identification the child becomes sociable. Language: As we all know, language is the medium of social intercourse and the means of cultural transmission. At first a child utters syllables having no meaning but gradually the child comes to learn his/her mother-tongue. The language moulds the personality of the individual from infancy. Theories of Socialization The heart of socialization is the development of the self. Gardner Murphy has defined self as the individual as known to the individual. The self of a person is what he/she consciously or unconsciously conceives himself/herself to be. There are mainly three important theories to explain the development of self. (a) C.H. Cooleys Theory of Looking-Glass Self According to him, one develops the concept of self with the help of others. One does not come to form opinions about himself/herself unless and until he/she comes into contact with other people and knows their opinions about him/her. Just as the picture in the mirror gives an image of the physical self, so the perception of others gives an image of social self. There are three principal elements of the looking-glass concept, they are: The imagination of our appearance to the other person The imagination of his judgement of that (imagined) appearance. Some kind of self-feeling such as pride or mortification. The individual develops the idea of self through contact with the primary group, particularly with the members of the family. Thus, the childs view of himself/herself may be affected by the kind of name given by his family or friends. For example, a child called angel by his mother gets a notion of himself which differs from that of a child called rascal. Cooley concludes that the self is social and that self-consciousness would not exist in the absence of society. (b) George Herbert Meads Theory of Self Mead has stated, the individual, largely through interaction, becomes aware of himself/herself. He has said that the individual in order to get a picture of himself/herself plays the roles of others. In seeing himself/herself as others see him/her, the individual is actually putting himself/herself in the place of others, and imagining what their response might be. A new-born infant depends upon his/her mother for his/her needs and identifies himself/herself with her emotionally. Eventually the child differentiates himself/herself from the mother and comes to know the role of the father. The child then differentiates his/her father from his/her mother and then integrates him into the social system. The child learns at an early age that one of the most important ways of controlling his destiny is to influence the feelings of others towards him/her. (c) Freud and His Concept of the Human Mind Sigmund Freud, the father of psycho-analysis has explained the process of socialization in terms of his concepts of Id, Ego and Super ego which constitute the three systems of mind. The id is concerned only with satisfying the animal impulses of a person. The ego serves as the mediator between desire and action. It represses the urges of the id when necessary. The super ego always holds up the behaviour norms of society. It provides the ego the idea of moral and immoral and this in turn intervenes with the id. According to Freud, the individuals super ego is a reflection of his parents standards of right and wrong. Thus, logically the child, in its socialization process adopts the norms of conduct of the society through the super ego. 3. AGENCIES OF SOCIALIZATION The process of socialization is operative throughout life. What a child is going to be is more important than what he is. It is socialization which turns the child into a useful member of the society and gives him/her social maturity. The chief agencies of socialization are the following: The Family: The process of socialization begins for every one of us in the family. They are not only closely related to the child but physically also they are nearer to the child than others. The child learns respect for persons in authority. The environment of a family influences the growth of a child. Of the parents it is the mother who first begins the process of socialization. The School: The school is the second agency of socialization. The education the child gets in the school moulds hi/her ideas and attitudes. Education is of great importance in socialization. The communication they receive from their teachers help to socialize them and to make them finally mature members of their societies. The Playmates or Friends: The relation between a child and his/her playmates is one of equality. It is based on cooperation and mutual understanding. The child acquires something from his/her friends and playmates which he cannot acquire from parents. From the friends the child acquires cooperative morality and some of the informal aspects of culture like fashions, fads, crazes, modes of gratification and forbidden knowledge. The knowledge of such things is necessary from the social point of view. The Church: Though in modern society the importance of religion has diminished, yet it continues to mould our beliefs and ways of life. When a child sees his/her parents going to the temple and performing religious ceremonies, he/she listens to the religious sermons which may determine his course of life and shape his ideas. The State: The state makes laws for the people and lays down the modes of conduct expected of them. If people fail to adjust their behaviour in accordance with the laws of the state, they may be punished for such failure. Hence the state also moulds our behaviour. 4. ELEMENTS OF SOCIALIZATION There are there elements which play their part in the socialization process of the individual, they are: The physical and psychological heritage of the individual. The environment in which he is born, and Culture in which he is because of the action and interaction between these elements. 5. ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION Socialization is the most important factor in personality development. Some importances of socialization are listed below: Socialization converts a person, the biological being into a person, the social being. Socialization contributes to the development of personality. It helps to become disciplined. It helps to enact different roles. It provides the knowledge of skills. It helps to develop right aspiration in life. It contributes of the stability of the social order. Socialization helps to reduce social distance. It provides scope for building the bright future. It helps the transmission of culture. 6. SOCIALIZATION OF ADULTS Socialization is a life-long process. At no point in the life of a person it comes to an end. The socialization of adults is easier than the socialization of children. The socialization of adults can be a prolonged and a tough process. This is particularly so when the skills to be learnt are complex and the responsibilities of the role are heavy. Generally adult socialization is designed to help the person gain specific skills. 7. INDIVIDUALIZATION Generally speaking, individualization is the opposite of socialization. It is that social process which tends to make the individuals more or less independent of their own. Individualization is the process in which people come to know themselves and acquire the sense of inner responsibility. Socialization brings people into relation with others; individualization makes him autonomous or self-determining. It is the process carried through by the individual and the society, and is primarily a mental process which is being spread through the prevailing ideas. Aspects of Individualization Mannheim has distinguished four main aspects of individualization. These aspects are: Individualization as a process of learning different from other people: The external differentiation of individuals leads to the formation of new groups. The people isolated from other people develop different types of personality. Individualization on the level of new forms of self regarding attitudes: The individualization comes to feels himself/herself as superior and separate from others and evaluates himself/herself in high terms. The person begins to regard his/her life and character as unique. Individualization through objects: Some people have a fixed feeling towards certain people and objects. Many factors influence the individual choice such as wealth or the process of modern production and distribution. Family conditions also shape the wishes of the individual. Individualization as a kind of deepening into ourselves: The feeling of solitary can develop a feeling of privacy and partial isolation in an individual. It leads to introspection which is again another from of individualization. 8. CONCLUSION The importance of socialized attitudes cannot be minimized in a society. A person with socialized attitudes would no do any work which is socially harmful. A socialized citizen would place human welfare above his individual gain. He would put human values above all else. Modern society has still to solve some basic problems of socialization at all stages of childhood and youth. The improvement of socialization offers one of the greatest possibilities for the future alteration of human nature and human society.

The Used Car Industry :: essays research papers

The Used Car Industry In the past 30 years, the United States auto industry has gone through many changes. In order to stay competitive with a foreign market, constantly threatening to eat away at profits, the American auto industry has had to respond by being flexible and adapt itself to this new situation. Although, in the past, they were slow to get the message sent out by the consumers, the domestic auto industry now seems to be more than willing to analyze, and answer, the demands of a smarter, savior consumer. The growth of the used car field has been a result of these demands. Rising, higher prices for new cars have caused the typical American consumer to examine alternate solutions for their transpiration needs. As the average car on the road is 8 years old, compared to 5.8 years in 1970, the signal to the auto industry has been that cars are being built better and consumers are not afraid to buy them. Of course, this choice does not come without an opportunity cost for the consumer. A used car will generally be bought on the condition "as is" or, at best, with a very limited warranty. If a buyer of a used car drives off the lot and finds they have purchased a vehicle that needs lots of money spent on it for repairs, they may possibly find themselves out of luck. Another downside may come as more people continue to saturate the market, looking for used cars to buy, the resources available will become scarce. An increase in used car prices may gradually start to rise. As the figures indicate, for now consumers seem to be content with taking this risk. Sales for used cars and trucks last year totaled at 15.1 million(going on your article's figures). The auto industry has been busy changing and evolving to answer consumer demands. One of these signs has been the growth of large auction houses that are appearing all over the country. Big investors are attracted by the potential profits, which are an average of 1.5% of the wholesale price. The auctioneers make their money by auctioning off used cars and trucks mainly to dealers only, and are supplied with vehicles that come from trade-ins, repossessions, leased vehicles, and smaller used car lots. With this reallocation of resources many of the smaller mom and pop used car lots have been bought out, or forced out of business. Competition is heating up with the rise in the number of auction houses. This has forced the auctions to be more selective in the kinds of vehicles they offer.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Human Cloning is Playing God :: Clone Clones

Human cloning is it ethical? I think that human cloning should be banned. The president's stand on human cloning is the same, he believes that all forms of cloning should be banned. Sure cloning has its benefits, but it is not our job to "play God." Human cloning is unethical there are also health risks, emotional risks, risks of abuse of the technology, and over population which leads to global warming. Human cloning is immoral, we know little about it which makes it dangerous with lots of risks. First of all there are health risks, which is the biggest disadvantage with human cloning. People who agree with human cloning agree with it because of the benefits that could do on people?s health, but they should consider the health risks. There are miscarriage deaths, deaths seen after birth, tissue rejection and abnormalities. 10 out of 12 cloned mice born apparently healthy at birth lived less than 800 days. Source: Scotsman ?To subject human beings to cloning is not taking an unknown risk, it's knowingly harming people,? Kilner said. Large percentage of cloning efforts end in failure, it took hundreds of attempts to clone Dolly. ?No human life should be exploded or extinguish for the benefit for another? President Bush. Due to large percentages of animal cloning ending in failure and the lack of understanding about human cloning, many scientists and physicians strongly believe that it would be unethical to attempt to clone humans. Emotional pressures on a teenager trying to establish his or her identity is also a concern. How will a child be able to distinguish between her mother, and her sister? For example baby Eve was born by caesarian section in Miami on Thursday, weighs 3.1kg and is the exact genetic duplicate of her 31-year-old US mother, according to Clonaid head Brigitte Boisselier. If a father sees his wife's clone grow up into the exact replica of the individual he fell in love with, would a sexual relationship with his wife's twin be wrong? How would they feel if they knew they were a replacement for another? Cloning denies an individual to their own identity. Cloning simply re-creates the genes of the person, not their memories or personality. It is not easy to lose one loved one, but the thought of losing several would be unethical. Third there are the risks of abuse of the technology. If cloning is not ban and becomes legal people are going to want to clone celebrities, inventors, and athletes from the past.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Russias Fight for Identity Essay -- Geopolitics, History

In 1829, Petr Chaadeav began to write his Philosophical letters. He initiated Russia’s search for national identity. He was a major figure in the development of Russian intellectual history. The impact of the letter shook and changed the thinking of Russia. It argued that Russia was worthless and socially behind. Chaadeav was very harsh in his letter and appears to be bias. He made valid points but they are not entirely true. The evidence shows that Russia was indeed a bit imitative but they were not the only country in search for national identity. Though Chaadeav’s letter was very harsh, it gave Russia a sense of originality. Russia established their identity and is distinguished by their culture. Russia’s literature and art was big contribution to the world’s progress though they were seen to be unoriginal. Petr Chaadeav summarized his nation’s history as â€Å"a brutal barbarism to begin with, followed by an age of gross superstition, then by a ferocious and humiliating foreign domination. † He continued by sayong â€Å"we are alone in the world, we have given nothing to the world, we have taught it nothing. We have not added a single idea to the sum total of human ideas; we have not contributed to the progress of the human spirit. † The Letter electrified Russian creativity: Many called Chaadeav insane, but he was very intellectual. Chaadeav’s statement about law codes â€Å"No one has a fixed sphere of existence; there are no proper habits, no rules that govern anything † insisted that Russia’s law codes were non-existent. This is not entirely true. As stated in the previous paragraphs, the Table of Ranks is a prime example implemented by Peter the Great. Laws made by Catherine and the â€Å"Russkaia Pravda † are also great examples of law... ... country in history is truly original. Every country has taken ideas from another. Whether its religion, law codes, slaves, etc.no idea truly belongs to on country. Works Cited Kaiser, Daniel H., and Gary Marker. Reinterpreting Russian history: readings, 860-1860's. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Print. (tags: none | edit tags) Kaiser, Daniel H., and Gary Marker. "Society: The Lowere and Middling Estates." Reinterpreting Russian history: readings, 860-1860's. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. 295. Print. (tags: none | edit tags) "Polnoe sobranie sochinenii i izbrannye pis'ma,." Russian Intellectual History: An Anthology.. Moscow: Nathaniel Knight , 1991. 90, 92-93. Print. (tags: none | edit tags) Turgenev, Ivan Sergeevich. Sketches from a hunter's album. Complete ed. London, England: Penguin Books, 1990. Print. (tags: none | edit tags)

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Being Labeled Autistic

Being â€Å"Labeled† Autistic. First it is important to understand the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this article you will identify the needs and interest of children with High Functioning Autism and Low Functioning Autism, the social and communication skills, behavioral abnormalities, learning disabilities, and functioning as an adult with Autism. I. Detecting Autism in a child. A. The signs, diagnosis and treatment. 1. Screening evaluations: All children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate deficits in, social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communications and repetitive behaviors or interest.Also have poor eye contact, doesn’t smile, excessively lines up toys or other objects. Does not respond to name, or does not speak one word by the age of 16 months. The first signs of ASD can also appear in children who have seemed to be developing normally. 2. Interventions and treatments: It is important to remember that every person impacted by Autism is diff erent and may benefit from different treatments or interventions. These are a variety of interventions.Applied behavior analysis is effective when used to teach complex communication, social, play and self help skills. Discrete trial training is when a teacher presents an instruction and provides consequences for a correct or incorrect response. Speech Therapy provides professional help and guidance in communication skills. Gluten-free, Casein-free diets, are effective diets to improve communication, social interactions, and sleep patterns while reducing digestive problems and autistic behaviors. B. Autism Spectrum Disorders, interest and behaviors. . Social and communication skills: Autistic individuals usually display a very limited of interest and activities, repetitive behavior (example: repeating the same sentence over and over), obsessively following routines, or having methodical and specific ways of arranging things. For instance, a child may have little trouble learning to read, but exhibit poor social interaction. Often times between 12 and 36 months old, the differences in the way they react to people and other unusual behaviors become apparent.Each child will display communication, and social skills that are individual but fit into the overall diagnosis of ASD. 2. Behavioral and learning disabilities: Autism affects the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize. They have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they can’t understand social cues, such as tone of voice or facial expressions, and don’t watch other people’s faces for clues about appropriate behavior, they lack empathy.Children whose language skills regress early in life, before the age of 3, appear to have a higher than normal risk of developing epilepsy or seizure like brain activity. II. The difference between High Functioning Autism and Low Functioning Autism. A. The life of a High Functioning Autistic Child. 1. The functions of a High Functioning Child: High functioning means having an IQ of higher than 80. These individuals do not exhibit certain behaviors, such as self injury or aggression. They often have more normal functions and behaviors, such as speaking and carrying out day to day activities with no problems.Often they may have difficulty initiating love and friendship relationships, often being rejected because potential partners perceive them as being too nerdy or too intelligent. This can lead to low self esteem or loneliness. They do not lack empathy, although they may have trouble expressing it. In a well resourced educational institution they often do well academically if they can be simulated by good teachers. They are usually intelligent, gifted, honest and hard workers. Some are thought to become scientists and engineers. 2.The challenges of a High Functioning Autistic Child: Coping with this condition is a daily challenge, especially in the lacking of skills in interacting with others. These individuals have such social delays and difficulties that interaction with a normal social setting can be severely hampered. Some may have minor to moderate difficulty with motor skills and coordination. Also they may nurture a complex habitual movement at which they become adept, for example, rocking back and forth or bumping. B. The life of a Low Functioning Autistic Child. 1.The Functions of a Low Functioning Autistic Child: Low Functioning means having an IQ below 70. Also meaning severely autistic. These children do not speak, often do not understand receptive language, do not care nor do they wish to engage in conversation unless it is absolutely necessary and it is extremely limited due to the lack of speech, do not respond well to behavioral therapy, and do not show a great deal of improvement. Retardation is common, epilepsy is common, and other disorders may be present as well. They do not express emotions well, except anger.These emotions ar e unknown due to their inability to communicate. They can be violent and for no reason at all, attack someone and then be fine and passive again a few minutes later. 2. The challenges of a Low Functioning Autistic Child: Limited grammar and an impulsive sensitivity to stimulus are often thought to be typical of low functioning autism, as is a strong visual processing preference. These children with mental challenges are more likely to exhibit behavior and emotional problems. Academically, they lag behind in achievement for their age expectations.Typically they lag behind their piers three to four years. Children with severe Autism can acquire basic communication skills, both oral and written. III. Functioning as an Adult with Autism. A. Working and living as an Autistic adult. 1. Independent living vs. supervised living: Independent living involves persons living with Autism in their own apartment or house with little, if any support services. Support services may be limited to such areas as complex problem-solving, money management, or budgeting. In supervised group living, group homes are facilities that serve several individuals with disabilities.Adult foster care, individuals live in a home with a family, and is intended to be as permanent as possible. 2. Preparing the Autistic adult for employment: Many Autistic adults are capable of employment, especially those with high functioning autism, in sheltered workshops, under the supervision of working with persons with disabilities. Some of the teachings start from academics to more functional life skills and prevocational skills. Therefore, their educational goals need to focus on preparing them for employment and adult life. B.Relationships, marriage, and living life to the fullest. 1. Having social relationships: There are a significant number of Autistics who have done very well in relationships. Once an autistic crosses the threshold of dating, they will improve their knowledge and ability in handling re lationships. Adults on the Autism spectrum should watch as much adult television as they can enjoy. Cinematic depiction of emotions is particularly good as an educational tool.Some Autistics are gullible, but they also have the advantage of being able to look at things logically. 2. Happily married and raising a family: Many Autistics are happily married and parents. With knowledge of Autisim comes a much greater tendency to engage people who enjoy the company of someone with Autistic characteristics. There are a large number of anecdotal reports of good relationships involving Autistics.In concluding that Autism is not a disease, it is a way of life! Autism doesn’t need to be cured, it needs to be accepted and Autistics allowed to be themselves without fear. Most are average at a variety of things, just like the rest of society. They may work to develop their talents and become impressive teachers or mathematicians, but the majority aren’t prodigies. They are just peo ple who are good at some things and not others. Above all, treat Autistics as you would anyone else and allow for the differences that are sure to make themselves known.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Explain the Role of the First World War in the Decline and Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

Explain the role of the First World War in the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty The role of the first world in the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty has been contended debated. Russia’s lack of resources and preparation can be seen to attribute to the fall of the dynasty as lack of items such as bread and coal ked to contention amongst Russia’s people. Also contributing was Tsar Nicholas II’s lack of military experience and ability to use military force to crush the civilian protests that were occurring in Petrograd, Russia’s capital city. The generals of the military along with the Duma used the protests to their advantage to force the abdication of the Tsar and strengthen Russia’s’ war effort. However, Russia’s turbulent past of political and social turmoil also contributed to the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty. The lack of preparation on Russia’s behalf before the First World War began was an integral factor leading to the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty. For a war on a large scale, that being the First World War Russia’s lack of preparation severely crippled its efforts in the war with as many of 1 million of its soldiers departing for the eastern front without necessities such as Rifles or boots. In the circumstances when soldiers were equipped with weapons they were often stuck without the necessary ammunition to fire them, this would foreshadow the humiliating losses Russia would suffer in the months to come with battles such as Tannenburg costing the Russian army as many as 230,000 dead soldiers and many more captured by the forces of the Kaiser. Russia’s second army under the command of General Rennenkampf executed a retreat after the demise of the other half of Russian forces and whilst this was skilful 1. million men met death on the eastern front, if not from the enemy then the crippling lack of food and starvation that faced most soldiers of the Russian army. The news of these defeats did not fall on deaf ears back in the cities of Russia causing great discontent amongst the proletariat and intelligentsia alike, Russia already had a poor war records with a humiliation during the Crimean war at the hands of the Turkish and the recent Russo-Japanese war in 1905 b oth disgraceful defeats on Russia’s behalf. With news now that these losses were being bettered on the eastern front it caused a questioning of Russia’s autocracy, the Dynasty of the Romanov family. The liberal school of thought on the fall of the Romanovs greatly highlights the significance of the First World War on the fall of the autocracy and believe if the war was averted so to would be the fall of the Romanovs. Therefore it can be safely asserted that the liberal school of thought elucidates that the lack of preparation by Russia in response to the First World War contributed greatly to the eclectic nature of the Romanov Dynasty and its eventual decline and fall. The lack of military experience by Tsar Nicholas II as well as the disobedience of the Russian military is more or less of significant importance to the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty. From an early age Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov was not groomed to be a traditional Tsar, his father Alexander III saw his son as a weak link to the Dynasty and unfit to rule because of his weak personality and mind, those of the liberal school of thought agree entirely with this stating â€Å"the weakness in the character of Nicholas†¦ ontributing to the fall of the Romanov Dynasty. † With little to no training in being the supreme autocrat of Russia it is a wonder that Tsar Nicholas thought it wise to personally take the role of the commader in chief with no military experience as well, for the Russian people this was a risky move seeing as how the last war Nicholas had spear-headed led to a loss of hundreds of kilometres of trans-siberian railway and the colony of Korea in the R usso-Japanese war. Thus upon the start of the First World War despite a surge of patriotism from the Russian people when the Russian Army performed consistently badly Tsar Nicholas was seen to be the cause. Already being investigated as a potential spy due to his marriage to the tsarina who hailed from Germany , the poor performance of Russia during the World War which was under Tsar Nicholas’ command is seen by the Liberal School as crippling to the intergrity and upkeep of Russias’ Autocracy and the Dynasty of the Romanov Family. Worse still was Nicholas’ leadership of Russia during the time of the war, being unable to disband civilian riots in the capital of Petrograd and by refusing offers from the Duma at first during the February/March revolution secured his abdication which was forced upon him by the military and the Duma cementing the lack of loyalty Nicholas’ cabinet had to him as a result of his poor leadership and military inexperience, which can be attributed to the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty. Furthermore the civilian protests in Russia as a reaction to the catalyst of the First World War were yet another reason as to the fall of the Romanov Family and their dynasty. Russias history of disgruntled peasants and proletariat provides a bleak foreshadow to the reaction the general public had towards the poor performance Russia turned in during the First World War and the lack of necessities such as food and coal that they had to fore-go due to poor preparation. It cannot be denied the crucial role that civilian riots had in the fall of the Romanov Dynasty, these riots can be traced to the 23rd of February 1917 as an English woman named Sybil Grey described the riots start as â€Å"a poor woman entered a bread shop†¦ and asked for bread. She was told there was none. On leaving the shop, seeing bread in the window she broke the window and took it. This simple act of taking bread was the turning point in civilian protests and the birth itself of the Russian Revolution, soon the streets of Petrograd were littered with protestors and the Duma refused the Tsar’s orders to disband the protests via the military, many of whom defected to the protestors to avoid being sent to the Eastern front. The food supplies in most cities were dire and the Russian economy was inflated to the point that most farmers refused to sell their wares in exchange for money. Prominent Russian industry such as the Pulitov Steelworks also closed due to a lack of finance and raw materials meaning 90,000 proletariat now had no jobs and no direction in society, which inevitably leads to protesting. Therefore it can be easily drawn that the protests that occurred with the civilians in Russia played an integral role in the decline and fall of teh Romanov Dynasty. Moreover Russia’s parliament, the Duma in conjunction with the Russian military officials many of whom were related to Tsar Nicholas himself used the First World War as a medium to force the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and attempt to govern Russia as a democracy. After the events of bloody Sunday in 1905 Tsar Nicholas II faced a dilemma, millions of Russians crying for change and challenging his power and the power of the autocracy. It was in these circumstances the ‘October Manifesto’ was issued to the people in hopes of tying down threats of insurrection amongst the people, the manifesto granted Russia a parliament that was so closely linked with the Tsar it had no purpose essentially. However, during the failures that followed Nicholas in the First World War the Duma was essentially in power in the capital city of Petrograd with the Tsar stranded at a military base in Tsarkoe Selo, finally reaching the peak of insurrection the Duma with the support of the Tsar’s trusted generals established a provisional government that attempted to repair the damage the war and Nicholas had caused. To the tsar this was an ct of insubordination and military force was demanded to shut the Duma down, this was not the case. The military had lost faith in Nicholas, fearing he was disadvantaging Russia in their efforts against germany, it was then clear what must be done; under desperation from the war and the people the Duma and the military requested Tsar Nicholas abdicate his power from the throne, in its stead would be a government running on elections in replica of England. Another role the Duma played was their facilitation in the civilian riots occurring with some Cossacks, guards supposedly loyal to the tsar assuring protestors â€Å"don’t worry we won’t shoot you† and the guard of the royal family abandoning their posts. The quintessential role then of the Duma and Military as a result of the first world war in the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty cannot be denied. However, when studying the decline and fall of the Romanov dynasty other schools of thought have differing opinions as to the significance of the War in the fall of the Romanovs. The revisionist school argues that the pre-existing and unresolved issues of Russia’s past greatly contributed to the decline and fall of the Romanov dynasty. Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick believes that even prior to the war Russia was in an unstable place, both socially and politically as she states â€Å"The autocracy’s situation was precarious on the eve of the First World War. Issues such as the massacre of bloody Sunday were still contemporary issues for the Tsar and the autocracy, with labels such as ‘Bloody Nicholas’ becoming household names, the activities of various revolutionary groups such as Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik party and the opposing Mensheviks of Leon Trotsky whilst fore-runners for change in Russian society both set a precarious scene during 20th century Russia, often trying to ignite crowds or events into protests or revolutions. These often took the form of Assassinations with targets including Prime Minister Petr Stolypin often upsetting the established order and descending society into complete chaos. It can be seen then that the revisionists make a strong argument as to why the Romanovs would have fallen even in the absence of the First World War. The contention does not rest there though, the living conditions of a vast majority of Russian society was also believed to be a contributing factor as to the decline and fall of the Romanovs, during the industrial revolution the conditions faced by the new class; ‘the proletariat’ or workers were seen to be inhumane, they were cramped into mall living areas, malnourished, exposed to dangerous work, shot at and payed incredibly poor amounts of money to ensure this cycle continued, they also made up over 90% of Russia’s population. It is easy to see then that a large amount of society exposed to these conditions for the betterment of others would eventually lead to a revolution en mass which is what revisionists, amongst other things believe would have been equally if not more significant than the First World War in the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty. All in all despite contention the role of the First World War in the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty can be seen as pivotal to some as Russia’s lack of preparation, poor leadership, riots and leaders were all influenced by the great war but is debated amongst others due to other factors such as; conditions faced by the working class, the autcracys weakened position and revolutionary groups.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Airtel Marketing Strategy

Integrated Marketing Communications Group-8, Sec-C Ajit, Anuj, Prateek, Rohit, Vaibhav AIRTEL: Evolution ? ? ? ? Founded: 7th July 1995 First mobile phone company in the world to outsource everything except marketing and sales and finance operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands The largest cellular service provider in India 4P+2P+3P for AIRTEL ? 4P’s ? Product: Airtel is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world with about 230. 8 million subscribers across 19 countries ? It provides mobile, fixed telephony as well as broadband and subscription television services Airtel won 3G licenses in 13 telecom circles of India ? Product differentiation is limited so main USP is uninterrupted services and troubleshooting support ? ? Price: Price in the telecomm industry are close to similar, hence main focus is on customized payment plans ? User is free to choose between plans which favor cheaper SMS? s or calls ? Pay-per-second of usage v/s Pay-pe r-minute of usage is the latest attraction ? 4P+2P+3P for AIRTEL ? 4P’s ? Promotion: ? Promotions are usually in multiple formats as discussed further in slides Main focus is connectivity, customized plans as well as dependable network ? Place: ? Airtel has separate plans for each of the regions ? Rural customers get more support and focus is on basic services ? Urban customers are main targets for value added services and accordingly Airtel designs its product offerings and communication plans 4P+2P+3P for AIRTEL ? 2P’s ? People: ? Involvement of people with Airtel has increased with campaigns like â€Å"har ek dost zaroori hota hai† ? Final offerings are also highly customized to friend group discounts and so on ? Pack Design: Pack design is kept red to re-inforce Airtel Brand ? Description of Plans is also evident 4P+2P+3P for AIRTEL ? 3P’s ? Peer -to-peer: ? High rate of communication to increase peer-to-peer interaction and reviews especially in rece nt stages ? Personalization: ? Personalization is constantly on rise especially with value- added-services ? Participation: ? Airtel has tried to conduct contest every now and then to maximize customer participation but due to high brand clutter it is difficult Media Vehicles ? ? ? ? ? ? Above the line Advertising ? Television ? Radio Print Media ? Out-of-home ? Cinema Below the line Advertising ? Trade Scheme ? Consumer offer ? In-shop and shop-front activities Direct Marketing Events Buzz Digital Communication Ad Agencies ? Creative Agency- JWT India ? ? ? ? Airtel ended its 15-year-long relationship with creative agency, Rediffusion – Y&R on Aug, 2010. Rediffusion has handled the brand since its inception in 1995 The Airtel account is worth Rs 400 crore in terms of ad spends This also led to change in their logo Madison Media handles ? ? The media duties for Airtel for more than five years nowIt also handles out-of-home and digital for the brand too Airtel TV Commercials T V Ad Campaigns by Airtel ? â€Å"Har ek friend zaroori hota hai† ? Purpose: ? The commercial for Airtel aims to make the brand trendier for the youth, while attempting not to alienate its older target audience set ? To position Airtel as a brand that embodies friendship, and helps all sorts of friends connect with one another ? TV Advertisement analysis: ? The commercial depicts different kinds of friends one has, and how the presence of each one is necessary in some way or the other ?A jingle penned by film lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya, makes use of ‘Hinglish' and popular youth lingo, and has the story of different categories of friends, such as the one who wakes one up during the wee hours for help, or another who may give you company during your financial crunch days ? The jingle ends with ‘Har ek friend zaroori hota hai', and with the message that Airtel keeps one connected to their friends TV Ad campaigns by Airtel ? ? ? ? ? ? ? â€Å"Dil jo chaahe paas laa ye† â€Å"Baat karne se hi baat banti hai† â€Å"Do airtel bajenge to tarakki main char chand lag jaenge† â€Å"Dil jo chahe pass laye† Kuch bandhan atoot hote hain, jaise Airtel ka network† â€Å"Airtel internet 3G par† â€Å"Express yourself † †Har ek friend zaroori hota hai† Ad â€Å"Do airtel bajenge to tarakki main char chand lag jaengeâ€Å" Ad â€Å"Dil jo chahe pass laye† Ad ATL-TV ? ? ? It creates Pervasiveness, allows Airtel to be in the eyes of the audience all the time Even though the audience is not obligated to pay heed to the advertisements, the high creativity quotient of the Airtel Ads makes it virtually impossible for the audience to turn a blind eye to them The Ads are very high on the use of imagery and music ATL-TV ? ? ? The genius of the Oscar winning music director A.R. Rahman is the man behind the catchy tune Airtel advertises more on its brand and its values than its products and services Mo st ads just establish the value and beliefs of Airtel than establishing its services like mobile, telephone, or broadband ATL-TV ? ? The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vidya Balan, A R Rahman have all been brand ambassadors of Airtel at some point or the other One of the key reasons for the lasting impact of the Airtel ads is the reinvention of the content displayed TV (Sponsorship) ? ? Leading sponsor of Kaun Banega Crorepati Airtel subscribers were given a special chance to directly enter KBC ? Participation to the show was only restricted to the Airtel subscribers and BSNL/MTNL landline users for the first couple of seasons. Sponsor of Indian Idol ? Airtel subscribers got an exclusive chance to enter the show TV (Sponsorship) ? ? BCCI has awarded the series sponsorship rights of all international cricket matches played in India to Bharti Airtel for the period 2010-2013 On 9 May 2009, Airtel signed a major deal with Manchester United Foot ball Club TV (Sponsorship) ? ? In 2009, Airtel had signed a three-year deal orth Rs 150 crore with official tournament broadcaster ESPN Star Sports for the title sponsorship of the T20 league. Airtel signed a deal to be title sponsor the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix during the 2011 season Print Media Radio ? Bharti Airtel is among the top two advertiser on radio in India (1% share) ? Promotional ads released by Airtel on radio: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Mobile recharge Score kya hua? Aaj ka kya plan hai? EMI Airtel World Cup Pack Airtel happy Recharge Airtel Minimum Recharge Marathon Airtel – radio ad jingle Consumer Sales Promotions ? ? ? ? ? â€Å"Friendz† pre-paid plan for youth Ladies Special† plan â€Å"Seniors plan† for discounts to senior citizens Executive Corporate Plans â€Å"Family Celebrations offer† – Special discounts in Call rates & SMS services Promotional Campaigns ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Airtel Jai Hind AD Campaign Leadership campaig n Quality Time Campaign Magic Dalo Say Hello Launch campaign Magic Hai to Mumkin Hai campaign Call Karo Sona Jeeto campaign Promotions: Health Campaigns ? ? ? ? Airtel and Wockhardt hospitals together launched a â€Å"Good Health† campaign to mark World Health Day on April 7 Comprised two health check-ups at discount of 75% Post-paid subscribers of Airtel could avail theWockhardt master health check up at Rs 799 against a original cost of Rs 3200 Also available as part of the campaign was the Wockhardt Heart Check at Rs 499, aginst Rs 2400 Grameen Mobile Puratchi: Rural Markets ? ? ? This scheme was for more than 45 lakh society members of IKSCL (IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Coopreative ltd) Farmers had five free Value Added Services under this scheme. The farmers had five free voice messages on mandi prices, farming techniques, weather forecasts, dairy farming, animal husbandry, rural health initiatives on a daily basis The pack for farmers ranged between Rs 1299 andRs 4000 along wit h the mobile phone. Direct Marketing ? Direct marketing techniques used: ? Email Marketing ? Display Ads, Social Media sites ? Location based marketing tools, QR Codes ? Telemarketing to customers Events (1/2) ? To reach their target audiences, Airtel has sponsored various TV programmes like ? Big Boss ? Indian Idol ? Super Singer ? Indian Sangeet awards ? Bol Baby Bol Events (2/2) ? Airtel has sponsored various events like ? Indian Grand Prix 2011 ? Champions League T20 ? Delhi Half Marathon ? Border-Gavaskar Trophy, other cricket tours ? Indian Fantasy League ? Indian Golf festival Buzz ? ? ?Launch of Blackberry, tie up with RIM Indian Grand Prix 2011 Social Networking sites ? Facebook, ? Twitter Airtel Simulator Challenge Airtel Out of Home Advertising – Hoardings ? ? ? ? Launching 360 degree campaign, spread over 43 days, rolled out in metros, mini metros in association with Madison media plus group Want to make the brand the part of every day life of costumer. Depict Air tel as youthful, vibrant &dynamic brand Gantries, bus shelters pole, neon's, traffic timers, unipoles, dropdowns, public utility branding, station branding etc are the form of advertisements involved Airtel Out of Home Advertising – Transit Medium,Street Furniture ? ? ? ? To communicate from door to door Seek more attention of the customer Key nodal points of market and high traffic points, TG dwelling and the concentration area Sky ballon branding, boat branding, Cycle branding, Airtel Product Placement Months before the announcement of the August 22nd iPhone launch, fanatics in India were screaming for their shot at iPhone 3G mania. You would think from the crowds in the photo that the Airtel iPhone launch in Mumbai, India was a raging success. Think again! One cult of iPhone follower present at Airtel's testical festival knows otherwise.Airtel Branded Entertainment ? ? ? Way to create buzz The ads can be flashed in between the various highly watched TV serials or can be sp onsors of some big movies Cricket matches, Super star awards, Dance, singing competitions Airtel Sensory Branding ? Through its signature tune ? Its unique color and logo ? Having celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar and A. R. Rahman Digital Communication: Web 2. 0 Digital Communication: Web 2. 0 Digital Communication: Web 2. 0 Digital Communication: Web 2. 0 CSR Initiatives ? ? ? Initiative of opening â€Å"Airtel Ashiana† for underprivileged children at the Mohali office of AirtelTied up with an NGO to distribute daily surplus food to needy children â€Å"Airtel Experience Centre by Access MO† for the benefit of visually impaired people as well as people from deprived section of society CSR Initiatives ? ? Bharti foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises was established in 2000 with a vision to help underprivileged children and young people of our country realise their potential In the process of setting up a 1000 â€Å"Satya Bharti Schools† to deli ver high quality education to underprivileged children in the deepest rural pockets The First Mover Advantage 1.Electronic recharge 2. Hello Tunes 3. Airtel Live! 4. Portfolio Manager 5. Song Catcher 6. Easy Music 7. Black berry handsets 8. M-cheques Airtel- Retail Media ? ? ? ? Presence of recharging options through an extensive network of small stores/big retail stores/small or big retail shops/pan shops etc Easy way to recharge option by keeping a specific number digit for a particular type of recharge option Availability of new sim cards free of cost to increase the customer base at various outlets Airtel owned stores and Airtel galleries present in every district to address customer queries more responsiblySocial, Ethical & Legal Issues ? ? VAS Fraud ? There has been lot of criticism about Airtel for its unauthorized VAS activation ? Many of its services were activated automatically according to a complaint ? Several thousands of users were falsely billed ? In return Airtel lau nched STOP/START 121 services for such issues ? Alternatively, one can sign up on the â€Å"Do Not Disturb† list to avoid all telemarketing calls and SMS Controversy ? Bharti Airtel(India) was issued notices by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) for violation of Mobile number portability(MNP) Regulations. According to TRAI, it had received complains from customers regarding wrong rejection of porting requests by telecom operators Social, Ethical & Legal Issues ? ? Silcon Concept has dragged Airtel to the Federal High Court over allegedly making a publication to the claimant? s customers and subscriber by means of voice call, text messages or SMS informing them that the claimant is a band of fraudster (Oct, 2010) The CCC of ASCI has concluded that Airtel? s advertisement (campaign ‘Dil Titli„) is misleading, as the viewer of the TV commercial is led to believe that Airtel Digital TV has superior picture uality because of MPEG4 or DVBS2 technology (Jan, 201 0) ‘Dil Titli‘campaign Social, Ethical & Legal Issues ? ? ? The AIRTEL Digital TV advertisement offering ‘Free Regional Pack for life„ was accused of being misleading as the DTH licence was valid only up to May 2018 (Feb, 2010) The CCC of ASCI found the claim made in the SMS ad that Airtel Digital TV Recorder is High Definition capable as misleading BSNL has accused Airtel of unfair trade practices over the private operator's claim that it is the only mobile telecom service provider in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) (Dec, 2004) Thank You

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Smartphone Industry

Executive summary Smartphones have ushered in a new generation of modern communication. The report investigates the computing capabilities of smartphones, and their ability to support several multimedia applications. The report discusses that fact the smartphone industry has rapidly grown over the last two decades. Currently, rapid transformation is taking place and competition to control the lucrative market has increased. The report considers whether the market segment is controlled by a few major players . The reports investigates patent issues amongst the major players The PESTLE framework is used to analyse the business environment in the smartphone market. Porter’s Five Forces is also used to evaluate the rivalry and power of the individual players within the smartphone industry. Introduction According to Ahson and Ilayas (2006), a smartphone is a form of mobile device that integrates the characteristics of a phone and a PDA. A smartphone offers more advanced connectivity and computing capabilities. Smartphones have the ability to access the Internet and support several multimedia applications. Smartphones achieve the capabilities of a Personal Computer technology and a traditional phone (Ahson and Ilayas, 2006). They enable users to add, install, and delete hundreds of applications. Users can also personalize the interface. They have ushered the present society into an era of ubiquitous information. The report examines the global-local aspects of the smartphone industry, specifically the patent wars. It also provides an analysis of the smartphone industry using the PESTLE framework. The report further provides an evaluation of the rivalry and power among the smartphone players. It discusses the competitive advantage within the smartphone industry. Global-local aspects of the smartphone industry.Smartphones; Markets and growth trendsPark, et al (2011) hypothesize that the mobile phone industry has witnessed a significant change in the last 15 years. In the last decade, Nokia was the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile phones. Since then, Nokia has been dislodged from the leading position by the new smartphone companies such as Apple, Samsung, and LG. The success of these companies is due to the introduction of new modern and innovative approaches to the ease of use of hardware and an improved user interface design (Park et al 2011). Himmelsbach (2013) argues that, in the recent years, the smartphone industry has witnessed radical transformation and altered competitive situation. The major players in the market segment include Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Sony, LG, HTC, Nokia, Research in Motion, Microsoft, and Google (Park et al 2011). . There are also other indirect players such as Qualcomm and Cirrus Logic. The intense c ompetition among the market players has led to large volumes of complex and mostly multi-jurisdiction patent litigation (Himmelsbach, 2013). The economic downturn caused the traditional global phone market to enter recession (Ahson and Ilayas, 2006). However, the smartphone market has been growing rapidly (Himmelsbach 2013). Major players have expanded their total sales due to the growing number of smartphone users and the reduced prices. Smartphone industry PESTLE analysis (Henry, 2008). Factor AnalysisPolitical analysisPolitical environment in some countries enable smartphone markers to flourish Political challenge in some countries, for instance, China, and India raised security concerns over some features provided by RIM’s BlackBerry. Roaming fees is relatively high in several countries Economic analysis The current prices of smartphones devices are fair although devices from some major manufacturers such as Apple are still considered to be expensive Slow economic growth and recession can affect the sale of smartphone devices Social analysis Some major smartphones brands symbolize high status.Innovation is increasing getting hard.Technological analysis The main rivalry is between Apple’s iOS and Android operating systems. Innovation is rapidly growing and each day, a new technology is invented. Environmental analysis Manufacturers are required to comply with various environmental standards. Legal analysis Patent lawsuits is increasing among the smart phone industry players.Patents in the smartphone industry.According to Hill et al (2014), the smartphone industry has experienced patent litigation for several years. In the past, voice telephony services such as speech compression technologies, network management and radio transmission were the main focus of patent litigation. More recently, patent litigation has broadened across a wider range of cellphone and mobile computing technologies. The major market players are continuously suing each other over a variety of smartphone patents. The role of patents in the smartphone industry is to protect a company’s investment in research and development (Hill et al 2014). After an examination of a patent, the owner is granted a monopoly license for the patented invention which is usually 20 years. Patents provide incentive to the owner company for its effort of bringing the innovative technology out of the research lab and into the market after an expensive and risky business. The N etwork Patent Analysis method indicates that large portion of the patent portfolio is held by Apple (Ferell and Fraedrich, 2014). Apple is slightly ahead of IBM and Microsoft. According to NPA, 16 out of the 20 patent are owned by Apple. NPA reveals several of the smartphone patent lawsuits are within the 16 unique clusters of inventions that are related. Hill, Jones and Schilling (2014) note that the majority of smartphones patent wars are related to mobile data access, touch screens and transmission of mobile data. Among the three clusters, each has different company or manufacturer dominating the patent portfolio. According to Hill, Jones and Schilling (2014), the mobile data access cluster is dominated by Research in Motion, while the touch screen cluster is dominated by Apple. Evaluation of the competitiveness (rivalry) and power of the individual players within the smartphone industry using Porter’s five forces. Smartphone devices have become part of many people’ s lives. The market has been largely fractionalized. The transformation of the smartphone market has led to increased competition and rivalry. Different players are producing devices tailored for different market segments. Porter’s Five Forces can be used to understand the forces affecting the smartphones market from the manufacturers and users perspectives. The five components of Porter’s framework in relation to the smartphone industry is as follows. The threat of new entrants is low because the investment on the required technology needed to compete in this industry is high. Consumers purchase phones from incumbent companies with good reputation. This explains why Apple, and Samsung smartphones are the most popular in the market. The threat of substitutes is low because smartphones contain added functionalities from other digital electronic devices such as watches, digital cameras, cell phones, pager, and organizers, and laptops. The service provided by smartphones are sufficient as expected from a mobile device. The bargaining power of buyers is rated to be medium because the present smartphones market contains a variety of products from major brands for consumers to choose. The prices of smartphones have become relatively low. The bargaining power of suppliers is medium because of the reliance of mobile phone manufacturers on their suppliers. The manufactures acquire quality components from suppliers at competitive prices. Som e smartphone operating systems such Android is open source. The smartphone industry is competitive with a few strong competitors (Boyes and Melvin, 2012). New entrants find it challenging to compete and gain in the market share which is dominated by major brands. However, some new smartphones manufacturers such as Sony and ZTE are rapidly gaining popularity and market share. Competitive advantage within the smartphone industry. The smartphone market is highly competitive, and it has experienced dramatic changes in the recent past. In 2007, Apple defeated BlackBerry from the leading position as the dominant smartphone maker Laffey (2011). Smartphone market competition has also been based on the two main operating systems, Google’s Android and Apples’ IOS (Park et al 2011). Apple has managed to take the leading position in the market because of its high specification products, integrated operating system and quality hardware (Laffey, 2011). Apple’s success is also attributed to its luxury brand image established during the reign of Steve Jobs Apple provides the eco-system of apps available online on Apple’s app-store platform (Park et al 2011). The Kindle Fire, an Amazon product is expected to challenge Apple by offering readerse new opportunities to access to Amazon’s online e-books store (Laffey, 2011). Amazon’s relationship with content providers will enable it secure the delivery of its apps and video content providing a new competition across the market segment (Laffey, 2011). The difference in pricing between Android and IOS phones has impacts on competition (Laffey, 2011). Most Android smartphones are affordable while some devices from Apple are less affordable. Apple benefits from a higher income from this (Laffey, 2011). Conclusion In summary, the current smartphone is no longer exclusive for early adopters. Streamlining of new innovations has led to increased competition and patent litigation. It is evident that the smartphone market is controlled by a few major smartphones makers. Smartphones have heralded a new era in the communication industry and changed several aspects of human lifestyle. New software makers need to develop an operating system to make a unique distinction in the current market. References Ahson, S. and Ilayas. (2006) Smartphones [online]. Intl. Engineering Consortium. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 4 April 2014] Boyes, W., and Melvin, M. (2012) Macroeconomics. Cengage Learning. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] BBC (2010) ‘Leading mobile phone lose market share’, 10 November. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11725411 [Accessed 4 April 2014] Egham (2012) ‘Gartner says worldwide smartphone sales soared in Fourth quarter of 2011 with 47 percent growth’. Garner [online]. 15 February. Available from: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/1924314 [Accessed 4 April 2014] Ferell, O., C., and Fraedrich, J. (2014) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases [online]. Cengage Learning. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] Henry, A. (2008) Understanding Strategic Management [online]. Oxford University Press. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 3 April 2014]. Himmelsbach, T. (2013) A Survey on Today’s Smartphone Usage [online]. GRIN Verlag. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] Hill, C., Jones, G., and Schilling, M. (2014) Strategic Management: Theory & Cases: An Integrated Approach [online]. Cengage Learning. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] Laffey, D. (2011) Strategic issues in Tablets and Smartphones: An Agenda (Non-referred research note). Journal of Strategic Management Education 7(4): 287-290 Park, J., Yang, L., and Lee, C. (2011) Future Information Technology: 6th International Conference on Future Information Technology, FutureTech 2011, Crete, Greece, June 28-30, 2011. Proceedings [online]. Springer. Available at: http://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 4 April 2014]