Virtual Organization Employment Law

Globalization and the development of the Internet technology have brought serious changes in our world today. It is as if the other side of the world is just a few seconds away. Countries which previously closed their borders to the international community were forced to open up. People who were previously isolated from the rest of the world are now being brought together by the necessity for survival in this competitive world. The desire for strong trading relations with other countries forced countries to build political alliances with other countries. Corporations need to continuously grow to meet the ever-changing needs of the consumers. Riordan Manufacturing Inc is no exception. Riordan Manufacturing, Inc is currently the leader in the field of plastic injection molding. Its mission is to provide innovative solutions, products and services at a reasonable cost and to develop long-term relationships with its customers. To meet the demands of its world-wide clientele it opened its facilities in San Jose, California, Albany, Georgia, Pontiac, Michigan and Hangzhou, China. These changes, however, which were brought about by globalization also created complexities on the part of the employers insofar as employee management is concerned. The differences in cultural identities and the unique practices of employees are bound to create employee-related problems for the company. With the congregation of different people, each having his own identity, in one single company, tension and conflicts were likewise created. (Diana Ayton-Shankar) Discrimination and sexual harassment issues are also bound to arise which the company is bound to anticipate. Research shows that in a study conducted by the National Organization for Woman, they found that 80% of women surveyed in a wide variety of industries had been sexually harassed. The EEOC now handles some 5,000 new sexual harassment cases annually, double the caseload of only a few years ago. (David J. Bowman) If these concerns will not be addressed by the company, then the company may expose itself to suits. There was a case in San Francisco wherein the jury awarded the amount of more than $7M to a legal secretary harassed by a male partner in a law firm for failing to act swiftly on a sexual harassment complaint. Gerald D. Bloch) Thus, creating a non hostile and friendly working environment should also be one of the top priorities of Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. Discrimination Issues in the Workplace Since the business organization is composed of personnel coming from different countries, there is a possibility that the company may have in its employ Americans and Asians. The possib ility, therefore, of racial discrimination and sexual harassment issues among the employees is not remote. In a multi-racial organization, racial discrimination is a pressing issue which must be properly be addressed by the management. Some Managers, consciously or unconsciously prefer white employees over the black employees or Asians, considering that Riordan has facilities in China. In some business organization, the white Americans are given better work opportunities than Black Americans or Asians. In some organizations, most black employees are being hired for rank-and-file positions or they are disqualified for promotion on the simple basis of their color or race. Another issue that the Riordan Manufacturing Inc may encounter is gender discrimination. Although the labor laws expressly prohibit gender discrimination in the workplace, it is still being practiced in several business organizations. For example if Riordan Manufacturing, Inc prefers to hire male applicants over a female applicant though they are similarly qualified for the position, it will be an outright discrimination on the ground of gender discrimination. As mentioned, there is always the possibility that sexual harassment may occur in Riordan Manufacturing Inc. Sexual Harassment is defined by the EEOC as any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: a) submission to the conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly as condition of an individual’s employment, or b) submission to or rejection of the conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or c) the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. â€Å"Preventing Sexual Harassment: A Fact Sheet For Employees†) State and Federal Statutes on the matter of discrimination are clear. Job treatment which includes the hiring of employees, firing of employees, and promotions of employees, must be based on qualifications and merit and not on race, gender, age, sexual preference, disability. (â€Å"Workplace Harassment and Employment Di scrimination†) In these cases, it is not only the legal duty of every Human Resource Manager but its ethical duty as well to incorporate in its policy manual the rules against discrimination. They must include in their policy manual that the management does not tolerate any form of discrimination in the business organization. It must define the acts that constitute discrimination. The policy manual must likewise include the procedure for filing of complaint against the person who utters discriminatory remarks or practices discrimination in the workplace and the penalty for those who will be found guilty after investigation is conducted. Indeed, communication is a key to avoiding discrimination in the workplace. There must be communication by the employer in the sense that they must inform their employees that discrimination will not be tolerated by the company and that any incident of discrimination will be seriously dealt with. There must also be communication between the offended party in the sense that both parties must be given by the management opportunity to meet so that the offending party may know that the act or remark given is offensive and discriminatory. It is possible that the other person does not have any knowledge or idea that the remark he has just uttered or the act he has just committed is offensive to the sensibilities of another. If despite the fact that he has confronted and communicated his feelings to the other person he still continues making discriminatory acts and remarks, the victim of discrimination must seek assistance from his supervisors. If there is no company policy against discriminatory acts, the victim of discrimination must report and notify immediately his immediate superior, the supervisor or the Human Resource Manager so that this could be acted upon. To strongly implement the policy against discrimination sanctions against those who have proven to commit such acts must be put in place. Among the sanctions that could be imposed are written warning, letter of reprimand, suspension, change of job or class assignment and termination or expulsion. Conclusion I have identified three major discrimination issues that is likely to happen in Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. and explained the manner by which the company may address these issues. Indeed, discrimination issues in the workplace should not be treated as something which ordinarily happens in the workplace. It can be avoided. A friendly, nondiscriminatory, and non-hostile environment is not a utopia. The task therefore of Managers is to anticipate these problems or if it already exists in the workplace the Managers must find solutions to these problems. Indeed, the failure to resolve these issues may lead to serious losses to the employer as it affects the performance of the employee involved.

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

Decline of the Ottoman Empire The history of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century is one of increasing internal weakness and deterioration. Once a super power, the Ottoman Empire fell because of a combination of internal degeneration and external pressures. Loss of economic vitality resulted as Europe went to Africa for trade and relied on the Americas rather than the Ottoman middleman. Industrialized Europe soon surpassed outdated Ottoman traditions. Poor leadership gave way to loss of centralized control, and ultimately, its collapse.Ottoman decline occurred due to economic difficulties, military issues, and demise of political structure (corruption in government). One of the main causes of the decline of the Ottoman Empire was the decline in losses due to trade, along with many stifling economic issues. At one point, the Ottoman Empire was the center of trade, due to its location. As technology advanced, and explorers discovered new parts of the world, the Ottoman Empire b ecame less of an influence in trade.This trend started as early as the 1580s, when Omer Talib, an Ottoman geographer, warned the Sultan of the threat. He said, â€Å"Now the Europeans have learnt to know the whole world; they send their ships everywhere and seize important ports. Formerly the goods†¦. used to come to Suez and were distributed by Muslims to the entire world. But now these goods are carried on Portuguese, Dutch, and English ships†¦the Ottomans must seize the shores of Yemen and the passing trade†¦otherwise Europeans will Rule† (Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, page 28).Exactly as predicted, the world trade, which used to flow through the Ottoman Empire, decreased sharply in the 17th Century. The Europeans traded directly with Asia leaving the Ottomans in the middle. The Dutch and British completely closed the old international trade routes through the Middle East. The lack of trade was not the only economic issue that brought the de cline of the Ottoman influence. Inflation played a huge role in the destabilization of central Ottoman powers, along causing unrest among the population.The Ottomans had a silver based monetary system and with the newfound metals from the Americas, it caused the sudden flow of cheap and plentiful silver, which had a catastrophic financial impact. The price of silver fell, bringing an imbalance of trade between the East and West. Eventually, guilds were unable to provide quality goods at prices low enough to compete with the cheap European manufactured goods that entered the empire without restriction due to trade agreements. This continued inflation caused prices to quadruple and the devaluation of the coin.Adding to that, much of the states’ revenue was stuck to the hands of the local elites which shows how decentralized the system had become. Although economic issues affected the Ottoman Empire greatly, they weren’t the only cause for the decline of the empire. The O ttoman Empire was known as one of the most powerful empires, but as technology advanced, their influence of power decreased. The Ottoman Empire witnessed substantial loss in their military power, as a result of the Janissaries diminishing loyalty, which was the essence of the military.These janissaries were a highly regarded military group. Although they represented and defended the Ottoman Empire, they were not of Ottoman decent, but Europeans who were trained to be loyal to the Empire. The janissaries were generally boys between the ages of 8 to 16 who came from European and Christian rural families, who had been taken to Istanbul, the capital of the empire, where they were converted to Islam. They were the glue which kept the military system together, and which made it so strong.However, starting in the mid 1600s, the Janissaries began to slowly divide amongst themselves, which caused the military system to slowly weaken. They began dividing old versus young, and reformers versus anti-reformers. The Sultans who were trying to implement reforms lost control over the Janissaries who resisted these changes because they would have meant a loss or decrease in many of their privileges. After numerous revolts, realizing that there was no chance in correcting the situation, the Sultans abolished Janissaries in 1826.This caused extreme military weakness within the Empire, and essentially caused the military system to fall in disarray and chaos. This weakening of their military made it an ideal environment for external military conflicts, allowing European powers to take over parts of the Ottoman Empire. Much of the Ottoman military demise can be blamed on the corrupt administration within the Empire. The Sultans had discovered a quick and easy way of making money by selling jobs such as tax collectors positions to the highest bidder.Government officials known as Viziers were appointed through manipulation and palace favors, as opposed to the honest being promoted up the administrative ladder through experience and ability. These viziers were responsible for the city and the affairs of the province they governed. They problem with giving someone a high position based on how much they paid is that they did not have the skills or experience to properly perform the Job. Learning from the Sultan, this trend of officials selling their position spread throughout the empire.These corrupt and unqualified officials would use their authority to squeeze more taxes from the populace. The taxes that were collected hardly went back to the state. In most cases, these viziers would just keep the revenue for themselves. The corruption started at the highest level, and worked its way down the administrative system, weakening and disrupting the Government, which caused the entire Empire to feel the consequences. The Ottoman Empire was at one point on of the vastest empires in history. Unable to keep up with the advancing global market, it became less of an influe ntial trading region.Along with an unstable economy and a high inflation on their currency, they suffered from collapse of their military. Even if the Janissaries had not revolted, and actually accepted moves toward advancing the Empires military, the industrial revolution and the shift in global trade would have starved the empire from the financial means to survive. Political corruption was a less direct cause of decline, as it took many years for the entire system to become flawed by it, however, the combination of all 3 factors brought the demise of the Ottoman EmpireWorks Cited â€Å"History of the Ottoman Empire – Decline and Fall. † History of the Ottoman Empire – Decline and Fall. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. . Lewis, Bernard. The Emergence of Modern Turkey. London: Issued under the Auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs [by] Oxford U. P. , 1968. Print. Inalc? k, Halil. The Ottoman Empire; the Classical Age, 1300-1600. New York: Pra eger, 1973. Print.

Chinese culture Essay

1. Executive Summary Business today is becoming more universal and it is common to travel around the world for business dealings. In order to clinch a business deal with parties of other countries, it is essential to do some research about the country first. This will provide critical information about their business tradition, etiquette issues and other factors that will allow easier acceptance of Singaporean business persons. China being the largest populated country of 1. 3 billion, with an area of 9,600,000 square kilometers, has a long history, unique culture and a wide variety of distinctive customs and traditions. She has been attracting foreigners to invest as there are plentiful resources and labour market, which are crucial in business dealings. Besides the factors that are mentioned above, other factors play essential roles as well. Guanxi and Mianzi are the foremost factors that Chinese businessmen take into account. Other factors include preparation for Chinese business meetings, knowledge of the Chinese Lijie, such as non-verbal communication and social relationships. Also, the Chinese banquet consisting table etiquette together with drinking and toasting. There will also be gift-giving, such as what should be considered to give and what should be avoided. Last but not least, different ways to negotiate with the Chinese for the best solution should be taken into consideration. In conclusion, having the knowledge of the Chinese etiquette will better help one to succeed in clinching more business dealings. At the same time, it also helps one to understand the culture and customs of Chinese. Therefore, this will not only do one good for business purposes, but also encourages common understanding amongst countries. 2. Introduction The People’s Republic of China, has a largest population of 1. 3 billion and a GDP of US$2393 billion. Thus, it has been eyed by many business executives due to its big market share and a large pool of labour which provides many business opportunities. In order to carry out business transactions efficiently with the Chinese, it is important for us to know what the prohibitions, customs and taboos are in China. By understanding these, we will be more prepared to conduct business with the Chinese. 2. 1 Meeting the Chinese. To begin with, the Chinese are very particular about first impressions. They prefer to be introduced formally to people as they are reluctant to strike up conversations with people they are unfamiliar with. A proper handshake will be most appropriate upon introduction. If one is being introduced to a group, remember to shake everyone’s hands. Also, stand up throughout, when being introduced or when presenting self. Begin introductions with his/her name, followed by the company’s name and specify the country that he/she is from. 2. 2 Business Cards. It is polite to use two hands to hold both corners when presenting business card and to position it so that it is legible to the recipient. Try to have one side of the card being translated and print the Chinese letters using gold ink as this is an auspicious colour. It will be respectful to spend a few seconds reading the card upon receiving it and helps in remembering one’s name. It is demeaning to put it directly into your pocket without glancing. If it is a sit-down meeting, place the card on the table so that one can look at it. 2. 3Conversations. Most Chinese like to engage in conversations concerning topics which they have knowledge on, such as weather, geography, Chinese cuisine, Chinese scenery and landmarks. Topics related to politics should be avoided. Dismiss personal questions with a little humour if uncomfortable. The Chinese would often compliment the country of origin. However, accepting praise outright is not considered as good etiquette for them. Instead, one is expected to deflect compliments and pretend it is unworthy of receiving them. 2. 4 Greetings Surnames come first when addressing a Chinese. In business situations, one will seldom concern themselves with a Chinese person’s given name. It is advisable to get straight how one should address someone at the first meeting. For business purposes, it is traditionally acceptable to call a Chinese by the surname, together with a title such as Managing Director Toh. 2. 5On the telephone Although Chinese may make arrangements through the phone, most Chinese prefers face-to-face meetings. On the telephone, the standard greeting is the word â€Å"wei†, which means â€Å"hello† or â€Å"are you still there† in Mandarin. Chinese often do not furnish any identifying information upon answering the phone; hence it is good to verify that one has reached the organization he/she intended to dial. 3. GuanXi – Relationships Personal relationships play a vital part in the business world of Chinese. Chinese businessmen do not rush into discussions and negotiations, as they want to get familiar with their business partners before doing business. This is known as Guanxi, which means â€Å"relationships†. It is the network of relationships among various parties that cooperate together and support one another. Before doing business, Chinese will extend hospitality to demonstrate their respect for others and appreciation of the finer things in life so as to soften their visitors. There will be small talk during the first full day, where Chinese learns about his visitor and goals. The evening during the welcome banquet, they would learn more as foreign visitors will open up during casual talks. Also, the visitors may visit the residence of their acquaintances from other organizations and bring some gifts as it is important for building and creating Guanxi. Gifts like foreign cigarettes and quality wines are acceptable, which will be discussed more at the later part of the report. Trust is built during such situations and Chinese would then be more comfortable to work with them. Relationships are not only between companies but also personal levels. Establishing a sincere, supportive relationship based on mutual respect is a fundamental aspect of Chinese culture. In the world of business, possessing the right Guanxi is crucial for ensuring the minimization of difficulties and frustrations that are often encountered and it is also important to any successful business strategy in China. 4. Mian Zi – Face Face, also known as Mianzi, is a mark of personal pride and forms the basis of an individual’s reputation and social status. Having face means having a high status in the eyes of one’s peers, and is a mark of personal dignity. It is a prized commodity, which can be given, lost, taken away or earned. Face to a Chinese, holds more importance and encompasses a greater part of life. In order to establish all important interpersonal relationships, face must always be created and maintained at all times. Losing face may be caused by, for example, public insult, chastisement or contradicting someone in front of another, and also, by ourselves, such as losing temper or losing your own control in public. Furthermore, rescinding an order can also be constructed as losing face. This is why Chinese leaders would rather follow the policies even if there are events that prove them that it is irrelevant. Causing someone to lose face through public humiliation or inappropriate allocation of respect to individuals within the organization can seriously damage business discussions. On the other hand, praising someone in moderation before their colleagues is a form of ‘giving face’ and can earn respect, loyalty and aid negotiations. Nevertheless, face is so important that it is justification for spending money even if the Chinese is not very rich. Money that may be set aside for emergency use may be used for buying gifts or accessories instead because of face. 5. Lijie- Art of Politeness Being polite is a type of basic courtesy one should possess. In China, personal feelings and hint of criticism should not be dealt with publicly as it might cause public embarrassment and unpleasantness. A glass of tea that is automatically set out in front of arriving guests is how the Chinese allows the guest to feel comfortable and appear gracious. 5. 1 Surface harmony Surface harmony is an essential skill because the world of Chinese etiquette is very insensitive to unpleasant genuine feelings as it concerns matter of â€Å"face†. To the Chinese, things are done more for show than for substance; for example, manners are tools which they use to maintain pleasantness at all times, even when it is not entirely felt. Surface harmony is disturbed when one expresses his/her disagreement. Therefore, it is advised to remain quiet and â€Å"give face† as it might result in sabotage, subversion or revenge as the Chinese are well capable of such actions. 5. 2Intermediaries Intermediaries can be useful in communicating something unpleasant to the Chinese, and they help to ask questions, as preservation of face and surface harmony is considered highly important to Chinese. Intermediaries are highly useful in negotiations as they provide back channels for information that might prove too sensitive or risky. However, anger may be expressed directly for strategic purposes. 5. 3 Social relationships Chinese manage their social relationships by an imaginary circle that surrounds them. Relatives, friends, neighbours, classmates and co-workers are within the circle. These people have relationships with one another and hence, bear some sort of obligation. Chinese tend to go all out for them, be it putting themselves at great inconvenience or even ethically questionable circumstances. The rest of the world, whom a Chinese treats like a stranger, remains outside of the circle to whom with no particular obligation. 5. 4 Non-verbal communication. Chinese have various non-verbal communications. Firstly, Chinese tends to have a shorter social distance compared to many western cultures, for example, a Chinese friend might stand a little close to you for comfort or breathing directly into your face when talking to you. Furthermore, if one steps backwards, his/her Chinese counterpart may advance accordingly. When dealing with a Chinese, particularly the older ones, one should not touch a member of the opposite sex you do not know extremely well as other types of physical contact can be misinterpreted. However, it is said to be perfectly acceptable for Chinese to be physical with members of the same sex. Traditionally, Chinese are seldom demonstrative with the opposite sex in public. Therefore, foreigners should keep in mind that they are well advised to avoid more passionate forms of contact besides holding hands with a companion. During a conversation, one should not slink down in chairs as they are deemed disrespectful. Furthermore, some Chinese will avoid meeting one’s eyes or smile. This is a sign of shyness or keeping feelings to themselves. Thus should not be confused with insincerity, unfriendliness or anger. Silence is a virtue for it represents reflection or a sign of politeness. Gestures such as â€Å"come here† by curling index finger upward, â€Å"okay† sign with thumb and forefinger forming a circle, and shrugging of shoulders showing â€Å"I don’t know† may not be understood by the Chinese. Nodding or shaking of head, thumbs-up and clapping of hands for applauding are universally accepted gestures. 5. 5 Ways to reject a Chinese Rejecting people or saying ‘no’ can result in losing face, therefore the Chinese devised a number of methods of refusing without saying ‘no’. Ways to reject are, saying to grant the wish would be â€Å"inconvenient† as it means there are political problems associated with fulfilling a request, or it is â€Å"under consideration† or â€Å"being discussed†. This generally means that something is unlikely to happen. Another way is to blame someone else for the roadblock by finding a scapegoat. Lastly, a Chinese may tell a lie such as inventing a story to get out of the uncomfortable position in which a person feels placed. 11. References and Acknowledgements 1. De Mente Boye. (2004). Chinese etiquette & ethics in business. Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2. Scott D. Seligman. (1999). Chinese Business Etiquette: a guide to protocol, manners, and culture in the People’s Republic of China. United States of America: A Time Warner Company 3. About. com: China Online (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 13, 2007. http://chineseculture. about. com/od/businessculture/Chinese_Business_Culture. htm 4. Communicaid global communication: doing business in China. (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 13, 2007. http://www. communicaid. com/chinese-business-culture. asp 5. Chinese Culture. (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 13, 2007. http://www. chinese-culture. net/html/chinese_business_culture. html 6. Kwintessential- Language and culture specialists (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 13, 2007. http://www. kwintessential. co. uk/cultural-services/articles/china-business-culture. html 7. China’s GDP grows 10. 7% in 2006. (January 25, 2007). ChinaDaily. com. cn. Retrieved on June 25, 2007. from http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/china/2007-01/25/content_792311_2. htm 8. Economy – Economic Structure & Trends. (2006). Retrieved on June 20, 2007. http://china-europe-usa. com/level_4_data/eco/042_3. htm 9. China – Business etiquette, manners and cross cultural communication. (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 15, 2007. http://www. cyborlink. com/besite/china. htm 10. China – Business & Travel Etiquette. (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 15, 2007. http://www. crazycolour. com/os/china_02. shtml 11. Business Card Etiquette by Neil Payne. (n. d. ). Retrieved on June 15, 2007. http://www. sideroad. com/Business_Etiquette/business-card-etiquette. html.

Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics Essay

Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics - Essay Example It allows the allocation of different tasks to each individual, and a creation of a discussion forum to evaluate the progress of each of the development team members (Cockburn, 2007). The stand-up meetings in the Agile Project Management are essential in the provision of information on the individually allocated responsibilities, as well as provision of a proper communication platform for discussion on the software development information. In agile software development, stand-up meetings have significant value in delivering crucial information to the individuals involved within the project. The concept of agile software development revolves around providing solutions through assessment of operational problems, through constantly and continuously reviewing the essential requirements (Schuh, 2005). In Agile project management, the projects are normally broken down into pieces for faster completion and the individuals divided into numerous teams working on different sections of the proj ect (Cockburn, 2007). The projects cycle normally remains the same and is repeated on the various sections identified by the project managers, and team leaders. Agile project management in software development ensures that the software development cycle is unaltered, and hence the project is completed on time and within the allocated resources (Cockburn, 2007). ... gile project management facilitates and encourages continued communication, which remains a fundamental component for any agile software development methods (Cockburn, 2007). In the General Dynamics, the use of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) proved suitable to the Defence Equipment and Support, in addition provide for a study ground for testing the effectiveness and possible future use of DSDM in other software development projects. The Dynamic Systems Development Method proved effective in the General Dynamics due to ensuring the delivery of the Combat Identification Server (CIdS) Technology Demonstrator Project (TDP) within the stipulated time, allocated resources, and high quality (General Dynamics, 2010). Dynamic Systems Development Method helped in the swapping of requirements, and hence the provision of flexibility that ensured delivery within the stipulated time and within the allocated budget and other resources. This is contrary to the traditional project mana gement that mainly focused on meeting the technical requirements of the project and ended up compromising on the project cost and duration (General Dynamics, 2010). The Dynamic Systems Development Method is a fixed process that strictly adheres to the allocated time, budget and quality assurance, regardless of the economic and technology trends. The only dynamic factor in Dynamic Systems Development Method is the features. However, the traditional project management methods tend to have the features as the fixed factor in the project, with uncertainty on quality and suitability of the resultant software and the need for additional time and resources for the project completion (General Dynamics, 2010). In other words, the traditional project management is inconsistent in the terms of

Strategic management analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Strategic management analysis - Essay Example The company is the largest coffee chain store in the world and has its operations in 61 countries with more than 20000 stores. The product portfolio of Starbucks includes hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, coffee beans, snacks, pastries, etc. The company has its foundation in Seattle long time back in 1971 as a roaster and retailer of local coffee bean and has expanded to a large extent since then. The company is the market leader in its coffee segment and its basic strategies are competence based strategy and the focus strategy based on which it adds value to its products and establishes the image of luxury and elegance (About Us 2012). The report presents the strategic management analysis of Starbucks considering its international segment out of the three segments. The country chosen in its international segment is UK. Starbucks entered the UK market in 1998 with the investment of $83 million and launch of more than 60 stores (Lussier 2008). The present coffee shop market environment of UK is very competitive with presence of multiple players in the market including branded coffee shops, independent retail stores and small coffee stores presenting a tough competition to Starbucks (Weston 2009). The report analyses the external environment of Starbucks with respect to UK coffee market, strategic capability of the company and the strategic fit with the help of suitable models such as Porter’s five forces, value chain analysis and PESTEL analysis. Task A (1): Analysis of Starbucks external environment Macro-environment: PESTEL Analysis Political: Impact 3 of 5- Coffee beans is grown in the developing countries. The major aspects about which the discussions keep going on in the UK political environment are work conditions and child labor. The political influence is also high through tariffs and taxes (Press Release – Project Cafe11 UK 2011). Economic: Impact 4 of 5-The major business challenge for the industry as a whole is related to the economic rec ession of 2008. Owing to the recession period, consumers have become much more cautious with their discretionary expenditures due to the presence of high unemployment and debts on individuals (Weston 2009). Socio-cultural: Impact 5 of 5- People in UK spends more and more on coffee. It is included in their trend to go out and have a cup of coffee. The expenditure on tea by UK people is 623 million pounds, while on coffee it is 738 million pounds. Customers visit the coffee shops not only for having a coffee drink but also for sitting down and have a relaxed time out of their daily hectic routine (The Future of the Coffee Market 2012). Technological: Impact 4 of 5- Technology has become advanced as better as well as cheaper coffee machines are available to make a good coffee at home, for instance Senseo. Environmental: Impact 3 of 5- There is a considerable increase in the environmental awareness due to which coffee companies in UK have to remain concerned about the way their coffee b eans are produced and roasted, the way of the designing of the supply chain and the manner in which they prepare and finally sell their coffee products (Weston 2009). Legal: Impact 3 of 5-

Goldman Sachs (see the description) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Goldman Sachs (see the description) - Essay Example Financial indicators of the company and industry are used to determine financial trend and performance of the company. Economic environment of the business was recorded mixed in the early period of 2014 globally. Market of the company was improved in the second quarter of 2014. The first quarter of 2014 was proved to be the declining period for emerging market assets. The assets were affected by the declining position of GDP in China (Mandis, 2013). Another perspective was the political tension going on in Ukraine and Russia. The two problems were significantly controlled in the second quarter of 2014. Real GDP of Japan was accelerated in the first quarter and shown in the report of second quarter. In all the cases the effort was shown in the second quarter of 2014 when there was a consumption tax hike on consumer spending (McEvoy, 2014). In the first quarter, it was noticed that global equity price was improved, interest rate fell down and the credit spreading was contracted. The levels of Volatility were noticed declining further. Equity and debt was strong in the first quarter of 2014. Industry-wide announced that the acquisitions and mergers had increased in the first three months but the situation was somehow opposite to that. The mergers and equity were decreased as compared to the period of first quarter of 2013 (The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 2014). In the case of European countries, real GDP of the country was increasing to some extent in the first six months of 2014. The European Central Bank noticed inflation in the economy and reduces the rate of interest. Central bank of Europe also announced to increase lending to private sectors and includes targeted long term refinancing operations. The currency of Europe was depreciated by 1 percent because there was an increased in unemployment. The domestic demand in United States was low in the first quarter. The Bank

Evidenced Ba sed Practice and Research in Nursing Essay

Evidenced Ba sed Practice and Research in Nursing - Essay Example Mermel et al. (2009) recommends peripheral IV’s to be changed after every 72 hours at least to minimize the infection rate (p. 1-45). It has been established that thrombophlebitics and bacterial colonization of catheters are at high risk when catheters are in place for more than 72 hours. Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) is used instead of short peripheral catheter, when IV therapy will take more than six days (Mermel et al., 2009). If a bio-patch is present, seven days can pass before they are changed unless catheter-related infection occurs. The use of a central line insertion bundle reduces the risk of infection (Guerin et al., 2010). The Central line dressing should be changed every five to seven days if it has a bio-patch or as instructed or if the dressing becomes wet, loose or dirty; to minimize the probability of infection. Most patients in the ICU suffer from catheter-related bloodstream infections. These infections result in huge hospital bills, and patients stay longer in hospitals for treatment and some of the patients give in to infections and die. I would take advantage of evidenced based practice and research within my graduate role by demonstrating competency for central line dressing changes. Moreover, I would use this information as a guideline to help the patient get well without incurring extra costs on infection treatment that could be prevented by good handling of catheters. I would ensure this by reviewing the evidence and recommendations for central line maintenance. Being an educated graduate, I would educate all necessary staff on the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections. K. (2009). Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of intravascular catheter-related infection: 2009 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical infectious diseases, 49(1),

Turkey military and islamists Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Turkey military and islamists - Research Paper Example retained the leadership for three consecutive terms without being overthrown by the military or being removed through the intervention of a constitutional court since multipartism in 1946. The conflict between political parties and the military have destabilized Turkey’s leadership over a long period. The fight between the constitution and Muslim religion has characterized the politics of Turkey. Turkey is officially a secular state as per the provisions of the constitution and their traditions. The constitution governs the activities of the political parties; it provides that any anti-secular political party can be banned by the constitutional court. An Islamic movement started finding its way in the country’s politics in the 1980s in an effort to fight for the economic inequality in the country. The movement has stood in favour of Islamic democracy based on the Islamic Sharia law and has attempted to bring these aspects in the Turkish politics. The military has intervened severally to bring down the extremism by some of these parties. The current leadership by the Justice and Development party has veered off from the stands that were upheld by the previous regimes. The party has Islamic roots but its ideologies have helped it in retaining leadership in the country that h as seen intensive military confrontation with the Islamic parties. Erdogan has been pro-west and has distanced his party from any religious inclination, an aspect that has helped the party remain in harmony with the constitutional provisions. The history of the rise of Islamic politics and the military engagements dates way back in the early 20th Century. Kemalism is an ideology that has been developed from the founder of the country, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk . In the process of its development, the country made a number of changes including an education system that focussed on the pre-Islamic civilizations of the Turkish people. The reforms that were made did not deter the people from

Political Transitions in East and South East Asia Essay - 1

Political Transitions in East and South East Asia - Essay Example It is considered undemocratic in the event that people are respected and dignified selectively and with discriminatory perspectives. This concept of democracy illustrates that on some occasions the welfare of one or just a couple of people can be subordinated by the interests of the majority in order to achieve a common good. It is important to note that democracy does not it whatever circumstances promote equality of condition like in communism. Equality of condition comes with favoritism and categorization into groups of similar characteristics. On the other hand, democracy promotes equality of opportunity. According to equality of opportunity, everyone has then freedom to develop his or her talent to totality or as much as he or she cares to. Democracy is founded on the principle that the majority is more often right that wrong. When it comes to politics, democracy dictates that the majority is better positioned to make sane political decisions as compared to the minority or a single individual. One ought to note that sometimes democracy is seen as a trial and error process in which some decisions may not be absolute best but eventually become satisfactory because of its support from then majority faction. Despite the fact that democracy seems to dwell so much on the majority, it is noteworthy that it does not overlook the minority entirely. On the other hand, democracy gives some respect to the minority. This is done by giving then minority a chance to join the majority faction through legal means. Additionally, democracy also ensures that then minority in a society is given equal chance as the majority to voice its views. Compromising can be defined as the process of adjusting, reconciling and blending competing views with the aim of finding common ground that is most acceptable to the largest number of stakeholders involved. Democracy demands for the

Marketing Mix of Fuze Drinks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Mix of Fuze Drinks - Essay Example Fuze Drinks sets to establish itself as a flavored beverage. The brand also aims to establish itself as a nutritional ingredient in the market. In Brazil the product should feature with lot more variety and it should try to introduce new flavor so that it may try to satisfy the wide taste and preference of the Brazilians. Generally the product is available in seven base color varieties and it is also available in five slenderize flavor varieties. (DBR staff writer) The product should aim to grab the attention of people of all generation. Generally in Brazil the demand for drinks and beverage is high and the product is expected to do a good amount of business if marketed properly. Place: The next element of the marketing mix is place. In order to make the product popular, the availability of the product should be made abundant. The product should feature in popular areas and in places where there is much more probability of the product to get sold. Efforts should be made so that abund ant quantity of the drink is available near schools, colleges, offices, shopping malls, entertainment parks, community halls. The product also needs to be available in local retail stores. Initially the product should be targeted to sell in the urban and the popular areas of Brazil and with increase in popularity, the product should be aimed to be introduced in the rural areas as well. ... Though the presence of intermediaries also demands a share of the profit but the mass sale of soft drinks does not harm the cause of overall profitability. Promotion: As Fuze Drink is a new product in the Brazilian market, effective and strong promotion is required to create awareness among the people regarding the launch of  the new drinks. The popular mode of promotion needs to be utilized to their full extent. Fuze Drinks have already established a good market in USA. The brand popularity in USA needs to be used in the Brazilian market to prove its stand among the other competitors. The mass promotion by a Brand ambassador is a common way to reach out to people. Extensive advertisement in the media needs to be done. As the product is new, banners and cutouts describing about the product should be made visible in important parts of the city. To provide a taste of the product, distribution of some free samples can also be a lucrative idea. Introductory offers and discounts should also be made to create interest among the general public. Promotion over the web space is also a must as it is the most popular source of media in the present generation.   Price: Setting up a comparative price range is crucial for the success of a product in is initial days. Often people have the perception that price determines the quality of a product. But as a new entrant in the market Fuze Drink should mark the price of its product in reach of average customers and also in parity with the price of other drinks available in the market. In The United States, Fuze Drink in 18 oz bottle is priced around $ 2 to $ 2.50.( Patrice)In Brazil the cost of .33 liter of coke and Pepsi ranges around

Have power and ideology been used to achieve consensus India Essay

Have power and ideology been used to achieve consensus India - Essay Example Yet, the U.S. could not claim the same degree of representation and plurality that India can. In this respect Indian democracy can be said to be more functional than the more publicized democracies of the western world. But this is not to say that real-politic does not exist in India, or that political campaigns and policy-making are fair and just. In independent India, there were numerous instances of misuse and abuse of power. Even the once-revered Congress Party (which was once led by the great Mahatma Gandhi) has now reduced to yet another power broker, having lost its aura and initial sanctity. (Cohen, 2000, p.32) The latest sign of its deviation from founding principles is its close alliance with the United States of America, whose imperialist agenda is well documented and blatantly expressed. And recent Indian governments have projected America-led neoliberal capitalist ideology as something benign and progressive in garnering electoral consensus. â€Å"Numerous American offi cials already used the term "irreversible" to describe the course of Indo-U.S. relations. No U.S. president visited India  between January 1978 and March 2000, when President Clinton made a historic trip to the Subcontinent. Cabinet-level exchanges have since become routine, and President Bush's planned visit in early spring 2006 will reflect an agenda that has come to encompass shared global interests and concerns ranging from Iran and China to nuclear cooperation and biotechnology. Some have begun to see Bush's visit to India  as similar, in both intent and consequence, to that of Richard Nixon to China in 1972--which transformed Sino-U.S. relations and the global balance of power  for the next three decades. (Khanna & Mohan, 2006, p.43) The Congress Party, which has a history going back 115 years, is not only the oldest but also the most successful political organization in the country. In the six decades of post-Independent democracy, the party has nearly monopolized power through consistent electoral victories. But the Congress Party of today (run under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the widow of Rajiv Gandhi) doesn’t follow the same ideology as that under Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru, having studied law at Harrods and much inspired by Bertrand Russell and other progressive thinkers of the time, belonged to a different era and espoused a different set of political values. Since his time, the condition of the party has undergone steady decline and it has now become power-hungry and devoid of content and ideals. In its early days, the party stood for such noble principles as secularism, egalitarianism and moderation. But today, this ethos is completely lacking. (Charlton, 1997, p.265) A reflection of the Congress Party’s lost stature is its electoral performance in the last two decades. Ever since the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi (the grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru) in 1991, the party could not manage to win a majority of parliamentary seats. As a result, it is dependent on coalition partners in holding onto power. In the 2004 general elections, for example, the Leftist parties such as Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) gave outside support to the Congress-led coalition government. Interestingly, it was the pressure exerted by Leftist parties that led to constructive social measures and policies during this tenure. The NREGA

Procrastination and Action Essay Example for Free

Procrastination and Action Essay Procrastination, like all of your behaviors carries consequences. Whether your behavior is conscious or unconscious, you will eventually have to deal with the effects. Its only natural to procrastinate at times but, the way you deal with your procrastination patterns will determine what effects procrastination has on your life. One of the most obvious effects of procrastination is the failure to reap the rewards that would come from taking action. If a student chooses to procrastinate rather than complete school work on time, there can be many terrible effects. Of course, his or her grades could suffer if that particular school or teacher penalizes for late work. Severe procrastination can end in failure if the work is not accepted because of lateness. Even in the best-case scenario, work completed under the stress of procrastination tends to be poorly done. Procrastination can also negatively affect a person’s home life. Imagine you procrastinated and left the dirty dishes in the sink after dinner tonight. That would not be such a big deal, right? Now imagine you did it for a week. Imagine the putrid stench, the mold, and the hours of scrubbing it would take to get rid of the dried food. Procrastination is bad, but procrastination over a long stretch of time is horrific. You might even give yourself food poisoning! Overindulging in procrastination at work will inevitably get you fired. If your boss asks you to do something now and you do not complete it until next week, do you think you will keep your job? Even if you do not lose your job, you will likely receive a bad evaluation and perhaps face a pay cut if you are not completing tasks in a timely manner. If you are fired and you have a history of bad evaluations, you will not likely receive a letter of recommendation from your old job. Without a good work history, it will be difficult or impossible to get another job. When you procrastinate you simple fail to take action on the very things you know will bring you the rewards that you desire. Although you know what you want and even what you need to do to get it, you still have to take action and its usually at this point where procrastination sets in. Because the results that you desire are often something bigger and better than what you currently have, you must step outside your comfort zone to get it. You might have to take actions that you are not comfortable with to which your unconscious mind reacts by protecting you against that which is uncomfortable. Although the short term effects of procrastination might seem as positive the long term effects are almost always negative. Failing to reap the rewards of taking action can have many knock on effects. Taking action on your ideas and desires is one of your most empowering gifts. It is the process by which you can make the intangible tangible. Through your actions and your behavior you create or manage your life. Its not only the direct results of your actions that create the outcomes, but often the very fact that you are actually consciously affecting the conditions of your life. It not just your actions, but rather your failure to take action that will have a greater effect on the rewards you reap from life. From this point of view the effects of procrastination is not just a direct but also an indirect loss of rewards. Every action is a cause set in motion that affects and builds on past and future events to the point, where we can never really determine the actual effect of one specific action. More than anything else, action opens you up to opportunity. Opportunity is rarely the result of you waiting for it. When you put yourself in line with what you want most through your conscious action you expose yourself to opportunity. Its never a case of whether you have opportunities but rather are you noticing the opportunities? But even more importantly, are you using the opportunities or are you procrastinating? One thing is for certain and that is when procrastination becomes a habit you wont even notice all the opportunities on your doorstep. You will live your life in distraction, constantly looking for short term pleasures to avoid the real challenges that will cause you to reap the real results. You will always turn a blind eye to the real opportunities. Those who succeed are rarely the people with the most or the most splendid opportunities. They are the people who saw and realized it. Out of all the negative effects of procrastination and indecision the failure to spot and act on opportunity is probably the saddest. So many people with so much talent fail to live up to their true potential because of procrastination. The rewards you reap from life will be either a direct or an indirect result of your actions or your inactions. Not only will procrastination prevent you from reaping the rewards but your inaction will prevent you from even being exposed to opportunity. Opportunity is knocking but you have to take action and at least open the door. There might be many reasons why a person chooses to procrastinate when he or she knows it is time to complete a task. Whatever the causes, the effects of procrastination can be catastrophic. Procrastination can be harmful at school, home, and work. If a student chooses to procrastinate rather than complete school work on time, there can be many terrible effects. Of course, his or her grades could suffer if the teacher penalizes, work that is sent in late. Even in the best-case scenario, work completed under the stress of procrastination tends to be poorly done. Procrastination can also negatively affect a person’s home life. Imagine you procrastinated and left the dirty dishes in the sink after dinner tonight. That would not be such a big deal, right? Now imagine you did it for a week. Imagine the putrid stench, the mold, and the hours of scrubbing it would take to get rid of the dried food. Procrastination is bad, but procrastination over a long stretch of time is horrific. You might even give yourself food poisoning! Not only will procrastination prevent you from reaping the rewards but your inaction will prevent you from even being exposed to opportunities. Procrastination, like all of your behaviors carries consequences. Whether your behavior is conscious or unconscious, you will eventually have to deal with the effects. The effects of procrastination are something that we all have to confront and deal with from time to time. Procrastination is what derives people from their work, study, and even determination. Focus is what is needed in our every-day lives, and though it is tempting to delay what is needed to be done, no excuse is worth it.

A Study About TK Maxxs Commerce Essay

A Study About TK Maxxs Commerce Essay The first T.K. Maxx opened in Bristol in 1994.[2] T.K. Maxxs United States parent company, T.J. Maxx, adopted the name T.K. Maxx to avoid confusion with the existing but separate discount chain T J Hughes[citation needed]. TK Maxx is part of TJX Europe headed by Paul Sweetenham as SEVP Group President. TJX Europe is split into four divisions: TK Maxx UK Ireland headed by Susanne Given, TK Maxx Germany headed by Gino Barrera, and HomeSense UK headed by Dave Alves. The fourth division is Shared Services which as the title suggests consists of shared services between the three trading divisions such as distribution, logistics, buying and finance. Each trading division has their own Human Resource, Marketing Loss Prevention departments to meet the individual needs of each division. In 2007, TK Maxx began a slowing down of new store openings within the UK. Focus was given to revamping older inner city stores or relocating them. Some of the chains first stores such as Bristol and Reading have been expanded and extensively refurbished while others such as Southampton, Cardiff and Hull have been relocated to bigger sites. As part of the businesses slow down of new stores, TK Maxx confirmed that they were only interested in opening stores averaging 30,000 sq ft. This decision saw the creation of the Maxx Maxx concept, a new department store format that saw TK Maxx get away from its pack it high, sell it cheap reputation into a large store format that sees a much larger product offer. Examples of Maxx Maxx store are Leeds The Headrow, Cardiff, Birmingham Bull Ring, Hammersmith, Manchester Market Street, Dundee Cork. We make daily deliveries to our stores and its essential that our fleet of trucks is as efficient and environmentally responsible as possible. Were working hard on innovative solutions to make our delivery process as green as it can be and here are just some of the ways were doing this already. For the first time ever, we have joined forces with Sainsburys to sell the exclusive Sport Relief T-shirt designed by the whole Beckham family and yes, that includes Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. So far, over our 5 year partnership weve raised  £6.3 million for Comic Relief through Red Nose Day. Supporting Sport Relief through selling the T-shirt gives us both another opportunity to contribute financially to this fantastic cause and to grow an even stronger partnership. Half of the money from each T-shirt goes towards helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world so please visit us instore or online to buy your very own fantastic Sport Relief T-shirt. Welfare to work is a scheme designed to get people who have been out of work for a long time back into the workforce. Weve had an initial Education to Employment trial with Action for Children and we are now in the early stages of rolling out a specific programme to further develop this. Weve also extended our five year relationship with Remploy and continue to remain committed to making our own workplace more accessible for people with disabilities. P4 The fundamental economic problem in any society is to provide a set of rules for allocating resources and/or consumption among individuals who cant satisfy their wants, given limited resources. The rules that each economic system provides function within a framework of formal institutions (e.g., laws) and informal institutions (e.g., customs). What and how much will be produced? Literally, billions of different outputs could be produced with societys scarce resources. Some mechanism must exist that differentiates between products to be produced and others that remain as either unexploited inventions or as individuals unfulfilled desires. How will it be produced? There are many ways to produce a desired item. It may be possible to use more labor and less capital, or vice versa. For whom will it be produced? Once a commodity is produced, some mechanism must exist that distributes finished products to the ultimate consumers of the product. The mechanism of distribution for these commodities differs by economic system. P5 Until ten years ago the term Welfare Work was a phrase without meaning in the industrial world. Today it stands for a definite policy on the part of employers which may bring about the solution of many of the vexed problems of labor and capital. The leaven of this policy already has begun to work. A branch of welfare work through which the company has had a great influence on the people and the surroundings of the neighborhood is that of landscape gardening. At the time when welfare work was started the surroundings of the factory were like those of most industrial plants—anything but attractive. After the company has made its own property beautiful with lawns, shrubbery and vines, it taught the people of the neighborhood, by lectures and demonstrations, the principles of landscape gardening. As a result of this campaign of education the factory neighborhood has been change from a region of tumble-down houses, ash heaps and tin cans to a neighborhood of beautiful homes and well kept yards. P6 The impact of Macro-economic (Monetary and Fisca)l Policy on the economy There are some differences in the economic effects of monetary and fiscal policy, on the composition of output, the effectiveness of the two kinds of policy in meeting the governments macroeconomic objectives, and also the time lags involved for fiscal and monetary policy changes to take effect. We will consider each of these in turn: Effects of Policy on the Composition of National Output Monetary policy is often seen as something of a blunt policy instrument affecting all sectors of the economy although in different ways and with a variable impact. In contrast, fiscal policy can be targeted to affect certain groups (e.g. increases in means-tested benefits for low income households, reductions in the rate of corporation tax for small-medium sized enterprises, investment allowances for businesses in certain regions) Consider as an example the effects of using either monetary or fiscal policy to achieve a given increase in national income because actual GDP lies below potential GDP (i.e. there is a negative output gap) Monetary policy expansion: Lower interest rates will lead to an increase in consumer and business capital spending both of which increases national income. Since investment spending results in a larger capital stock, then incomes in the future will also be higher through the impact on LRAS. Fiscal policy expansion: An expansion in fiscal policy (i.e. an increase in government spending) adds directly to AD but if financed by higher government borrowing, this may result in higher interest rates and lower investment. The net result (by adjusting the increase in G) is the same increase in current income. However, since investment spending is lower, the capital stock is lower than it would have been, so that future incomes are lower. In UK lots of multinational organization are operating, Many people from different part of the world also visited in UK for different purposes, if the global economy fall the business of UK based company also fall down. As a result they faces difficulties to earn profit and ultimately the shareholders suffer. P7 Perfect Competition: A market is said to be perfectly competitive when firms perceive that they individually have no noticeable influence on market price. The outcome in such an industry is efficient in the sense that the cost of the last unit of output (marginal cost) would just equal what consumers would be willing to pay for that unit. Perfect competition is a regarded as a benchmark market structure for evaluating other market structures. Market Structure and Competition: The market structures tells us about the environment within which an enterprise functions and the nature of external pressure on the enterprise. The elements of market structure that we look at are concentration ratio, stability of market shares, conditions of entry and exit of firms. FDI Policy Stability of Markets Shares A limitation of the above summary measures of concentration is that they ignore the dynamic changes in the market shares of individual firms. Market shares of dominant firms may increase or decline over time. Greater churning of market shares in given market suggests greater intensity of competition. P8 Market forces and organizational Response: Organizations always responses positively toward market forces. P9 Company Summary: This section presents the key facts figures, business description, and products services offered by the company. Major Competitors: This section first selects the competitors based on assets, sales, focus of business, or geographic reach. Then all the competitors are profiled. Key Business Strategies of Each Competitor: It talks about the current and future strategies of each company. All business, marketing, financial and organizational strategies are discussed here. Comparative SWOT Analysis: Our comparative SWOT analysis is a valuable step in assessing your companys and you competitors strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It offers powerful insight into the critical issues affecting a business. Comparative Financial Analysis: This section compares the recent financials of the company and its competitors. The financial performance of each segment of all the companies is also discussed here. The objective is to evaluate the financial health of the company vis-à  -vis its competitors. The stock price comparison helps us in evaluating the performance of the company position versus its competitors from an investors viewpoint. There is an important role for tobacco control advocates in the policy development process in regulatory agencies. P10 The buying and selling of goods and services across national borders is known as international trade. International trade is the backbone of our modern, commercial world, as producers in various nations try to profit from an expanded market, rather than be limited to selling within their own borders. There are many reasons that trade across national borders occurs, including lower production costs in one region versus another, specialized industries, lack or surplus of natural resources and consumer tastes. One of the most controversial components of international trade today is the lower production costs of â€Å"developing† nations. Both the United States and the European Union have imposed severe restrictions on imports from Asian nations to try to stem this tide. Clearly, a company that can pay its workers the equivalent of dollars a day, as compared to dollars an hour, has a distinct selling advantage. P11 Consultation with UK SME representative bodies on domestic and European matters consistently shows that the main issue for their members is regulation. The 2007 EU Observatory Survey found that 36% of SMEs within Europe reported that regulations acted as a constraint or had presented difficulties in the previous two years. Whilst progress has been at the EU level, for example on the promotion of the â€Å"Think Small First† principle and the European Commissions commitment to reduce administrative burdens by 25%, we believe a much more ambitious set of measures should be introduced Another important issue is access to finance, where we believe action should be focused on improving the demand side, in particular investment readiness, and the supply of modest amounts of finance for entrepreneurs who, for various reasons, are deemed to be a higher risk. In order to grow, SME must also have access to new markets. Generally, exporting firms have been found to benefit from greater productivity growth than non-exporters. P12 The UK has to make a decision on membership of EMU in the next two years. The monetary and fiscal regimes in the Euro Area and in the UK do not differ greatly. However, we argue that membership of EMU will increase the stability of the economy and the credibility of the policy framework, and hence will enhance the prospects for growth and higher incomes and employment.

Impact of Sensory Marketing

Impact of Sensory Marketing Existing research studies on sensory marketing efforts focus on the broad influence of sensory stimuli on consumer reactions to different brands. This research study narrows down the focus of sensory elements to olfactory and auditory stimuli and tries to analyze the effect of these stimuli on consumer emotions. Further the relationship between emotions generated out of these sensory stimuli and consumer purchase decision is being established. INTRODUCTION With ever increasing clutter in the advertising space as multiple brands vie for consumers attention simultaneously, capturing the consumers attention has become more challenging than ever for marketers today. Marketers realize the need for an alternative mechanism to capture consumer mind share in order to enhance brand awareness. Research shows that 99% of all marketing communication is based on what consumers see and hear. Scientific studies have proved that as human beings, 75% of our emotions are connected to what we smell rather than what we see and hear. Marketing in general seems to have neglected this very important sense, given the fact that branding is all about building emotional relationships between a product and the consumer. AN OVERVIEW OF THE SENSORY MARKETING APPROACH Marketers are finding new ways to build stronger connections to their customers and drive preference for their brands by employing scent, sound and material textures in immersive customer experiences. Sensory marketing is an emerging business discipline that applies analytical techniques to amalgamate the use of sensory stimuli such as scent, sound and texture in order to develop strong brands that are more memorable for customers than conventional visual branding techniques alone. Brands develop strong memories in consumers through content and communication cleverly packaged to appeal to our five senses. This results in stronger bonds between consumers and brands. The table below (a result of a survey by Brand sense) shows the importance of consumer emotions with respect to each of the five senses and the percentage marketing spend of Fortune 500 companies with respect to each of these senses. Figure 1: Perceived importance of senses versus marketing spend by Fortune 500 companies Sense % identifying each sense as very or somewhat important % spend against the senses by Fortune 500 companies Sight 58% 84% Sound 41% 12% Smell 45% 2% Touch 25% 1% Taste 31% 1% Source: Brand sense Sensory marketing applications Marketers from varied industries from automobile to food and leisure to entertainment have leveraged sensory branding in the last few years. One of the first movers to employ sensory branding is the Singapore Airlines, with its patented fragrance Stefan Floridian Waters, becoming its trademark and a standard company scent. The hot towels served to the customers perfume worn by flight attendants is standardized to this aroma to create an enthralling memorable in-flight experience. Cinemas have traditionally uses the aroma of popcorn to arouse the unique feeling of being in a movie hall. The breakfast cereal company, Kelloggs has patented a crunchy sound and feel of eating cornflakes that is unique in its own way. Mercedes-Benz had set up a division to work on the sound of its car doors to increase the perception of high quality among its consumers. Similarly many companies have tried to subtly exploit the impact of sensory perceptions in building their brands and ensuring better consumer loyalty. Purpose and scope of the study The purpose of this study would be to analyze at a basic level what impact sensory branding has on the purchase behaviour of consumers. Hulten, Bertin (2012) aims to depict shoppers touching behaviour in relation to the introduction of visual and olfactory sensory cues at point-of-purchase in a retail setting. The findings demonstrate that sensory cues exert a positive impact on consumers desire to touch.ÂÂ  Sensory cues frame consumers affective responses and decision making through involving the sense of touch. This study will aim to see to what extent and how multi-sensory marketing efforts have a positive impact on the consumer during his purchase decision making process. It would also look at cases of how marketers have leveraged sensory branding to positively influence consumer behaviour and present what are the key takeaways that marketers in particular can act on in order to increase brand awareness and induce trials. IMPACT OF SENSORY MARKETING ON PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR: EXISTING RESEARCH Academic research has shown that different sensory impressions impact consumer behaviour and perceptions of goods and services. The sense of sight is the most powerful one for discovering changes and differences in the environment and is the most common sense in perceiving goods or services. Impressions of sound have been analyzed empirically by Garlin and Owen (2006), Sweeney and Wyber (2002). The sense of sound is linked to emotions and feelings and the sense impacts brand experiences and interpretations. The sense of smell is related to pleasure and well-being and is closely connected to emotions and memories. The sense of taste is the most distinct emotional sense and often interacts with other senses. The sense of touch is the tactile one, related to information and feelings about a product through physical and psychological interactions. A multi-sensory brand-experience takes place when more than one of the five senses contributes to the perception of sensory experiences (Hulten, 2009). The author defines multi-sensory brand experience as follows: a multi-sensory brand-experience supports individual value creation and refers to how individuals react when a firm interacts, and supports their purchase and consumption processes through the involvement of the five human senses in generating customer value, experiences, and brand as image. Sensory marketing model Sensorial strategies In relation to the five human senses Sensors Scent sensors Sound sensors Sight sensors Taste sensors Touch sensors Sensations Atmos-pheric Auditory Visual Gastro-nomic Tactile Sensory expressions The multi-sensory brand experience Customer equity Figure 2: A model for sensory marketing Source: Hulten, Bertin (2009) A sensory marketing model takes its point of departure in the human mind and senses, where mental flows, processes and psychological reactions take place and result in a multi-sensory brand-experience. An individuals personal and subjective interpretation and understanding of a multi-sensory brand-experience is referred to here as experiential logic. This means that, for each individual, the logic contributes to forming behavioural, emotional, cognitive, sensory, or symbolic values. According to Hulten, Bertin (2009), this consumer experience becomes an image, forming the mental conceptions and perceptions of interactions and inputs in the service process, which constitutes the final outcome of the multi-sensory experience within a brand perspective. This perspective is defined here as an individuals beliefs, feelings, thoughts, and opinions about a brand, based on the overall experience. Sensors aim at communicating sensations and sensory expressions that reinforce the multi-sensory brand experience for the customer. Sensations aim at expressing a brands identity and values as something distinctive and sensorial, in facilitating the multi-sensory brand experience. Influence of olfactory stimulation Hyojung Ho et al (2010) show that consumers understand the relation between specific product and smell by experiencing and learning. By this biological responses and the principle of classical conditioning that build through repetition, olfactory stimulation influences peoples attitude directly. And also, information from organ of smell can have an influence on peoples behaviour unconsciously by hypothalamus which controls an autonomic nerve and the endocrine system. The author shows that fragrance can create various kinds of positive emotion but the positive emotion cannot directly influence on willingness to buy in other product types. However, fragrance can be used for motivating to purchase. In addition, fragrance results in a wide variety of positive emotion on fashion goods. Fragrance can be used on marketing strategy as each products concept. Moreover, in the case of high technology product, satisfaction was the highest. And also, Consumers feel pleased and impressed from products with fragrance regardless of its product type. Auditory stimuli and consumer behaviour Park and Young (1986) examined the effect of music (present, absent) and three types of involvement (low involvement, cognitive involvement, affective involvement) on the formation of attitudes toward a brand in the context of TV commercials. Music increased the brand attitude for subjects in the low involvement condition but had a distracting effect for those in the cognitive involvement condition. Its effect for those in the affective involvement condition was not clear. They argue that music acted as a peripheral persuasion cue. The relationship between the fit of the mood induced music (happy or sad) and the purchase occasion (happy or sad) and its effect on purchase was studied by Alpert, Alpert, and Maltz (2005). While mood induced by music did not exhibit a main effect on purchase intentions, its interaction with fit was significant. The authors conclude that when music is used to evoke emotions congruent with the symbolic meaning of the product, the likelihood of purchase is increased. Haptics as a sensory marketing tool Terry and Childers (2003) show how haptic information influences emotions and consumer purchase behaviour. Haptic information, or information attained through touch by the hands, is important for the evaluation of products that vary in terms of material properties related to texture, hardness, temperature, and weight. The authors develop and propose a conceptual framework to illustrate that salience of haptic information differs significantly across products, consumers, and situations. The authors use two experiments to assess how these factors interact to impair or enhance the acquisition and use of haptic information. Barriers to touch, such as a retail display case, can inhibit the use of haptic information and consequently decrease confidence in product evaluations and increase the frustration level of consumers who are more motivated to touch products. In addition, written descriptions and visual depictions of products can partially enhance acquisition of certain types of touch information. The authors synthesize the results of these studies and discuss implications for the effect of haptic information for Internet and other non-store retailing as well as for traditional retailers. Analysis of literature with respect to impact on consumer behaviour The research studies analyze show that consumers are heavily using their senses in order to perceive the quality of the product and associate it with positive emotions. The perception of different marketing stimuli consists of emotional and cognitive processes, which take place within the consumer. According to the findings of these studies, sensory stimuli deriving mainly from the product and the packaging such as colors, modern style, pleasant smell, velvety texture and closure packaging sound, influence brand perception positively leading to a stronger (rational and emotional) bond between the brand and the consumer. Marketers need to pay attention, apart from the traditional means of the marketing mix (advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion), to other very important sensory means, such as product scent and texture, store atmosphere (including store music), sounds deriving by their products. Sensory marketing is a relative new concept, which involves the creative synergy between marketing, psychology, neuroscience and neuropsychology. If marketers clearly understand this new concept and try to utilize the knowledge of similar to this study researches, then they can offer a unique buying experience to their consumers, significantly increasing the probability of selling their products. IMPACT OF SENSORY MARKETING ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INVOLVED Sensory marketing framework Sensory marketing is an application of the understanding of sensation and perception to the field of marketing -to consumer perception, cognition, emotion, learning, preference, choice, or evaluation. (Aradhna Krishna, 2011). A framework can be constructed which conceptually explains the process of sensory marketing: Figure 3: A conceptual framework of sensory marketing Sensory Perception Product Stimulus Emotion Behavior Attitude Learning Cognition Source: Krishna, Aradhana (2011) It is to be noted that sensation and perception are stages of processing involved in sensory marketing. Sensation happens when the stimulus has an impact on the receptor cells of a sensory organ-this part is neurological in nature. Perception is the awareness or understanding of sensory information. Analysis of sensory marketing variables Based on the framework above, its possible to identify the variables that can be used to study sensory marketing. Stimuli created through any one or any combination of the five senses (touch, auditory, olfactory, vision, taste) can be identified as the antecedent variables. Sensory stimuli Touch If the hedonic aspects of touch can increase persuasion, the use of touch in marketing may be more broadly applicable than previously believed (Joann Peck Jennifer Wiggins, 2006). It is widely believed that the role of touch is limited to providing information to the customer about the physical attributes of the product; however this kind of touch can be used effectively only in contexts in which customers are able to physically evaluate the product. But the use of touch as a hedonic tool has the potential to be applied to a broad set of products and even services and in a wide variety of contexts which include but are not limited to package design, print advertising, direct mail advertising, and point-of-purchase displays. Sensory stimuli Olfactory There have been studies which have dealt with the relationship between ambient scent and memory. Morrin and Ratneshwar (2003) showed that ambient scent increased recall and recognition of brands seen. Earlier studies on this topic also suggested that ambient odors result in memories and affect elaboration on product information and choice. According to Bosmans (2006), ambient scent can lead to emotion-based semantic connections with memories (e.g., roses and babies) and result in improving product evaluation. Stimuli auditory There have been various studies on the effect of auditory stimuli on marketing programs. A lot of marketing communication is auditory in nature for e.g. radio and television advertising messages, jingles and songs. There is also prevalence of ambient music in retail spaces, hotels, restaurants and airplanes. Also marketers create and deploy signature sounds for products for unique identification for their brand such as the sound for the Windows OS that one hears each time we boot a PC. Ismail M. El Sayed, Dalia A. Farrag, Russell W. Belk (2006) concluded that the type of background music played in malls had a distinct effect on the shopping behaviour of the visitors. They used the Stimulus-Organism-Response paradigm to ascertain the impact of auditory stimuli on purchase behaviour. Stimuli through vision and taste AydinoÄÅ ¸lu and Krishna (2011) demonstrate that size labels adopted by food vendors can have a major impact on consumers size judgments and consumption (actual and perceived), since consumers integrate the actual size information from the stimuli, with the semantic cue from the size label. The consequent variables identified are enhanced customer awareness about the brand, increase in brand recall, better brand recognition and customer purchase behavior whether the stimuli actually leads to the customer purchasing the product. Customer awareness As a result of stimuli through any of the senses, the awareness of a product/brand can be enhanced in the customers minds. Brand recognition (learning) Sensory stimuli is more often deployed by marketers in their products in order to ease the process of recognizing a brand for a customer. Auditory and visual stimuli in the form of packaging are more often used to enable a customer to recognize a brand with a higher level of ease and convenience. Brand recall (memory) Marketers also use sensory stimuli as a tool to facilitate a high level of brand recall among the customers. A typical example is that of the Intel Pentium processor sound or even the Britannias jingle in the Indian market. Purchase behavior Though sensory stimuli can help in awareness and recall, it is ultimately the conversion into a purchase that is the ultimate goal of marketers of any product. Barry J. Davies, Dion Kooijman and Philippa Ward (2003) show a model of how environmental stimuli in the form of ambient scent can affect the shopping behaviour of consumers in a retail set up. Figure 4: Model of the Influence of Ambient Scent on Consumer Responses Moderators Approach avoidance reactions Affective response Perceived ambient scent Objective ambient scent Source: Barry J. Davies, Dion Kooijman and Philippa Ward (2003) Variables for study The variables chosen for this study would be auditory and olfactory stimuli on the antecedent side and customer purchase behavior on the consequent side. Antecedents Consequences Kind of stimuli Vision Brand awareness Taste Brand recognition Purchase behavior Auditory Brand recall Olfactory The scope of research would be to identify how marketers have deployed the use of auditory and olfactory stimuli in products, services or environments (shopping malls, etc) to influence the customer purchase behavior. The study will also analyze the two major intermediate variables involved in the process perception of the stimuli and emotions and cognition happening at the customers mind. ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF AUDITORY AND OLFACTORY STIMULI ON PURCHASE DECISION Research proposition This paper proposes that olfactory or auditory stimuli deployed by marketers in products or retail environments actually lead to positive emotions and cognitive reactions about the brand for the consumer. Further these cognitive and affective beliefs lead the consumer to the actual purchase decision. To analyze the validity of the above proposition, we examine the case in two different stages: Influence of olfactory and auditory stimuli in creating positive emotions/affective beliefs in consumers Influence of positive emotions on actual decision to purchase Relationship between olfactory stimuli and affective reactions in the consumer The sense of smell is considered to be the most closely related to emotional reactions. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the limbic system in the brain, which is the system related to immediate emotion in humans (Wilkie 1995). 75% of emotions are generated by smell (Bell and Bell 2007). Consequently, smell represents a direct line to feelings of happiness and hunger and is a sensory bandwidth that cannot be turned off (Wilkie 1995; Vlahos 2007). Thus, from a marketers perspective, smell has an instantaneous good or bad effect on our emotional state which, as some research has shown, ultimately affects our shopping and spending behavior. Figure 5: How Objective Ambient Scents Interact with the Perceptual Process Organizing Assimilation Covert objective Objective Conscious level of awareness scent Sensing Attention Reacting Response Reacting Response Sensing Attention Ambient scent Organizing Assimilation Source: Bradford and Desrochers (2009) The neurological substrates of olfaction are especially geared for associative learning and emotional processing. Marketers can link a scent with an unconditioned stimulus eliciting the desired response and eventually prompting a conditioned response from consumers (Herz 2002). Further, since the olfactory bulbs are part of the limbic system and directly connect to the structures that process emotion (the amygdala) they also strongly related to associative learning (the hippocampus) (Herz 2002). No other sensory system has this type of intimate link between emotion and associative learning (Herz 2002). Relationship between auditory stimuli and affective reactions in the consumer Ambient sound, such as music heard in hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and supermarkets, can influence consumer mood, actual time spent in a location, perception of time spent, and actual spending. For instance, stereotypically French versus German music has been shown to affect the choice of wine-shoppers bought more French (German) wine when French (German) music was played (North, Hargreaves, McKendrick, 1999); classical music has been shown to enhance pleasure, whereas pop-style music to increase arousal (Kellaris Kent, 1993). Music in a store also influences shopping pace-slower music produces slower shopping and results in more purchases since customers progress at a slower pace as they move through the store (Milliman, 1982). When consumers enjoy the background music, they feel they have spent less time shopping relative to the actual amount of time they have spent in the store; if they dislike it, despite the short amount of time they have actually spent in the store, they claim to have been there for much longer (Yalch Spangenberg, 2000; but, see also Kellaris Kent, 1992). Influence of positive emotions on consumer purchase decision The relationship between pleasant emotions and purchasing behaviors is relatively well supported in the retail literature (Donovan and Rossiter, 1994). In particular, the Mehrabian-Russell model (1974), which explains the relationship between environments, intervening variables, and behaviors relevant to retail setting using a Stimulus-Organism-Response paradigm, has received the widest usage to explain shopping emotions in consumer research. According to the Mehrabian-Russell model, three emotional responses of pleasure-displeasure, arousal-non arousal, and dominance-submissiveness mediate peoples approach or avoidance reactions to environments. (Lee and Yi, 2008). APPLICATIONS OF OLFACTORY MARKETING TO STIMULATE PURCHASE Sensory analysis is a scientific discipline which is now employed by all the leading brands and also companies who are trying to enhance their brand identity. Because, Consumers perception is as good as reality (Lindstrom, Martin (2010):p106), added (non-edible) aromas prove to the scientists that buyer behaviour is absolutely influenced. Nestle, coca-cola, Carlsberg add aroma to the packaging on their products. Exposed, unwrapped foods are how leading supermarkets and shops entice their consumers, an example of this would be the in store environment at Wholefoods. More specific examples include; the Florida hospital which has a seaside centre in which they use scent machines to circulate the smell of sea, coconut and vanilla, with the notion that patients will be soothed and not cancel their appointments. (Hulten, Bertil, Niklas Broweus Marcus van Dijk, 2009) The Hyatt hotel chain in Paris used their French history of great perfumers and combined that with detailed sensory brand analysis to create their own signature scent. Their scent brand was developed by French perfumer Blaise Mautin for the Park Hyatt Vendome hotel in 2002 and it incorporated eighteen ingredients. It was ultimately described as fresh cement poured over raw oak plank, plus fresh, ever-so-slightly cinnamony pastry dough with the olfactory texture of thick, rich tan silk (Hulten, Bertil, Niklas Broweus Marcus van Dijk (2009):p64). Such detailed descriptions are there to serve our need for developed language around olfaction, due to the fact that our confidence and communication around scent is still developing. That said, olfactory memory is not semantic but episodic and customers only come into contact with the experience not the description. APPLICATIONS OF AUDITORY MARKETING TO STIMULATE PURCHASE Much of marketing communication is auditory in nature-one hears radio and television advertising messages, jingles and songs; one also hears ambient music in retail spaces, hotels, restaurants and airplanes; then, there are signature sounds from products such as the sound for the Intel Pentium chip that one hears each time one starts a computer or the sounds for Motorola or Verizon cellphones. Importantly, even when one reads a word, one hears the word as well-if the language is phonetic in nature, then the words that one reads enter a phontactic loop before being encoded in the mind, similar to spoken words. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH Conclusion The findings from the research point to the fact that there is a positive relationship between olfactory and auditory stimuli deployed by marketers in products or retail environments and the emotions that the customers go through in the purchase situation. Also the different studies analyzed show that positive emotions generated by sensory experiences lead to a higher probability of actual purchase decision by the customer. Thus, it can be concluded that sensory marketing efforts do have a direct impact on the purchase decision of the customers. Limitations and future research This research is only limited to analyzing the effect of sensory marketing efforts on consumer purchase behaviour. However there are other variables on which sensory stimuli could have different positive or negative effects on brand recognition (especially in the case of auditory stimuli used for sonic branding), brand recall (mostly achieved through rich visual stimuli) or just consumer perception of the brand. Future research can focus on the effect of each of the individual sensory stimuli independently on these different consequent variables. Also this research has largely focused on conscious sensory approaches to marketing. However this study can be extended to the increasingly prevalent subliminal approaches taken by marketers to reinforce the brands subconsciously in the minds of consumers.

Plagiarism Essay -- Education Cheating School Essays

Plagiarism For many, many years schools have been trying to stop students from plagiarizing materials. Detecting this plagiarism used to be easy because students only had access to books in the library, magazines, and encyclopedias. However, as the popularity of the Internet increased, so did the number of essays and papers being plagiarized. Students can easily go onto the internet and in no time at all find and essay on their topic of choice. For a certain fee they can buy the essay and have it delivered right to their doorstep, just in time to hand it into their teacher. Some essays you don’t even have to pay for. You can simply print them off of the computer. This rise in the internet information highway makes it harder for teachers to detect plagiarism, and easier for students to get a not well deserved A on their paper; if they don’t get caught. Bellow I will discuss what plagiarism is, ways teachers can prevent plagiarism, ways teachers can detect plagiarism and ho w students can avoid plagiarism. First of all, what exactly is plagiarism? The Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language says it is, â€Å"to steal or purloin the thoughts or words of another in literary composition.† [1] When we were in elementary school if we had to do research on a certain topic, we would just copy information that was found word for word. We would hand this in and get a great mark. However, times have changed. We’re in College and it is totally unacceptable to copy materials from other people and say that they are yours. It is extremely important that if we do get information from a book, magazine, internet, etc., that it is given credit for that author(s). These are not your thoughts or words so you shouldn’t be... ...e more than happy to help their students. If students are sure and they don’t want to ask their teachers they can find loads of books on proper citation, what plagiarism is and isn’t and how to paraphrase things. In conclusion, people today may not think that plagiarism is that big of a deal. Those people do not understand the consequences of their actions. They could get a failing mark in a class they have worked hard in, or even worse they could be expelled from the college or university. Why would anyone want to take the chances of being expelled? Nobody wants this, which is why it is so important to have knowledge about plagiarism. By discussing what plagiarism is, ways teachers can prevent plagiarism, ways teachers can detect plagiarism and how students can avoid plagiarism I hope people have a better understanding of what plagiarism is.

Brittney Spears Is a Dumb Media Loving Whore :: essays research papers

â€Å"Holy Shit I was so drunk that I did not even know I was married† Those exact words were uttered by Mrs. Spears just hours after she was joined in matrimony to her child hood friend. What the fuck, who in gods name gets married, especially when there drunk. At what point would the normal person say Wha, Wha, What the god-damn shit loving hell, what am I doing? No you ass hole priest I don’t, you hear me? I fucking don’t. Her spokes woman came out and said they were two kids who were having a fun time in Las Vegas. That’s NOT a reasonable reason, that’s not even close to reasonable! Nobody and I mean NOBODY gets married for fun; I don’t care how drunk you are. The truth is that there are two possibilities as to why this would happen. The first is that Miss. Spears may not fucking normal. Don’t even dare ask me who normal is. Anyway this would be a stretch for anyone other than her and Madonna, so it’s obviously not the reas on that she was wed. The other and more probable reason is that she was looking for a quick pick-me-up for her career. Ok she was hot in seventh grade, before she was rammed by Justin. Once we learned she lost her virginity her career was over. Every guy in this country said â€Å"son of a bitch† when they learned she had her cherry popped. With her latest release of â€Å"toxic† she has effectively stuck the stake in to the coffin of her career. You know the backlash that would have occurred if she and Janet Jackson had switched places during the Super Bowl. It would have been great for her media whorie-ness she could have grabbed everyone’s attention for at least 5 minuets which is longer than anyone in there right mind would listen to one of her albums.

Odysseus Cannot Return Home in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essays

Odysseus Cannot Return Home in Homer's Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚   Webster's College Dictionary defines home as: An environment offering security and happiness" and "a valued place regarded as refuge or place of origin." Anyone can build a house but the emotional security a home provides is created by the people who live there. In Homer's Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus leaves his home in Ithica to fight in the Trojan war. The Odyssey tells the story of his treacherous journey back to Ithica, and the turmoil he experiences. Due to his strong desire to return to the place he remembered as home, Odysseus endurs the hardships of his journey. He hopes his homecoming will return him to the same home, and same life he built twenty years ago. Odysseus will never truly return home because he is not the same king, husband, or man he once was; He is not capable of recreating the home he once had. Ulysses' quote," I am part of all that I have met," is the epitome of why Odysseus can never again truly return home. Throughout his journeys he has experienced multiple life changing events. As the quotation states, he has become a part of everything he has experienced. Victimized by kleos, arrogance, and emotional weakness, Odysseus is forever changed from the Trojan war, and his journey home. Fighting on the battle grounds of the Trojan war, left Odysseus narcissistic, and controlled by his desire for kleos. Odysseus desire for recognition is demonstrated often before he reaches Ithica. It eventually leads to the death of all of his men. An earlier example is the manner in which he dealt with the Cyclops. When Odysseys and his men were sailing back to sea, after escaping the beast, he called out to the already furious Cyclops,... ...the suitors and the women who were in some way connected to them. Odysseus will never be the same husband, because he broke the trust between himself and Penelope, and the security of marriage. Emotionally damaged and belligerent, Odysseus is not the same man and will never be able to play the role of the person he was. The home he once had, the security, attachment, and people that are associated with it, will all be effected by him. The home Odysseus, the all mighty Trojan hero once built, will never again be more than a memory. Works Consulted: Bloom, Harold.   Homer's Odyssey: Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Crane, Gregory.   Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey,   Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: 1996 Tracy, Stephen V. The Story of the Odyssey Princeton UP 1990