When I Grow Down Essays - Charlie And Lola, , Term Papers

When I grow Down When I grow down I want to stop being a lawyer. I want to walk out of the conference room and leave my client hanging. I want to go back to school and learn how to be a successful loser. I want to teach my kids that winning isn't everything and it really doesn't matter as long as you have fun. When I grow down I want to have fun. I want to be Free. I want to be ME.

Business Strategy Essays

Business Strategy Essays Business Strategy Essay Business Strategy Essay Liberalization and the context of business strategy 2. 1 What is liberalization? Liberalization refers to the relaxing of rules and regulations or policies of a government in a country. According to the scenario, in 1991, the Indian economy has been opened as a result of liberalization. 2. 1. 1 How did it affect the Indian automobile industry? The Indian government continued to have a closed economy until 1991. By then Maruti Suzuki was the market leader of the automobile industry acquiring a market share of nearly 83. %. But however the government decision of opening the economy in 1991 had significant affects on Indian automobile companies such as Maruti Suzuki. The main affect was the entrance of foreign competitors that made the industry very competitive and the situation made it difficult for domestic companies such as Maruti to retain its market share, which is clearly reflected by the drop of market share from 83. 1% to 60. 8%. This will lead to decline in the growth of India’s automobile industry. However there will be certain advantages on the Indian automobile industry such as the entering of resources from foreign countries which are cheaper than the resources in India. More access to technology will be another advantage to the Indian automobile companies from liberalization. 2. 2 Defining the context of business strategy The prime aim of a business strategy is to provide superior value, differentiation, and core competencies for an organization. (http://jobfunctions. bnet. com/abstract. aspx? docid=90501). Business strategy is a long term plan which adds value, differentiates and identifies key capabilities and capacities of an organization to make the best use of them. 2. 3 Importance of Business Strategy The strategy shows a direction to the organization to reach company’s vision. Gives an understanding about rapidly changing environment. Helps in overcoming problems. 3. 0 Significance of stakeholder analysis Any organization operating in the real world influences the environment or the people related and unrelated to it. Also certain individuals or groups of people also might have impacts on the organization. The individuals or groups of people who are interested or are influenced by an organization’s activities is called as stake holders. The stakeholders can be categorized as internal and external. According to the case study, Maruti Suzuki has started losing its market share after the liberalization. Therefore it is necessary for Maruti to carryout an analysis on different interests and impacts on interests of its stakeholders. An analysis of stakeholders, their stakes and impacts of liberalization on each of these stake holders are shown below: 3. The stakeholder analysis of Maruti Suzuki Government Interest: tax, sovereignty and prosperity The government decision to liberalizatio0n led competitors to enter the market and this will lead to a loss in sovereignty and prosperity of country. The government intention to collect tax would be affected as Maruti’s profits might now come down due to increase in competition. Competitors Interest: effective competition, gaining d ominant power The competitor organizations which were seeking for competing opportunities were effected favorably from the government action of liberalization. They made it an opportunity to enter the Indian automobile industry and compete effectively. This strategy of competitors was successful as they were able to capture Maruti’s market share by attracting most of its customers. Customers Interest: quality, variation, low prices, customer care The buyers, as they always look into new variations that are low priced and last for a long time have well preferred the foreign cars leading to a great fall in Maruti’s market share. (i. e. by 83. 1% to 60. 8%). Employees Interest: salary and other benefits The setting up of competing foreign automobile companies would have given job opportunities at better packages which might have led some employees to leave Maruti Suzuki and join its competitors. Japan based Suzuki Interest: company image, profits, growth This is the mother company of Maruti Suzuki. After the loss of Maruti’s market share and decline in profits, Suzuki’s image will be affected and in turn the profits will go down. Suppliers Interest: long lasting relationship, profits The suppliers of Maruti Suzuki will gain the advantage of higher customer base. They will also be able to sell the resources at a much higher price to foreign competitors than Maruti Suzuki. Therefore this will lead to a loss of some suppliers or Maruti’s competitors producing the same standard products. 2. 3 Internal environment 2. 3. 1 Corporate analysis Strengths Being the dominant market leader in Indian automobile industry acquiring a market share of 55%. Strong brand name of Maruti Suzuki. Increase in net sales to Rs. 90. 81bn. Increase in net profit from Rs. 3. 46bn to Rs. 5. 42bn. The capabilities of employees in Maruti Suzuki and their knowledge and ideas about new technology. The availability of new technology to manufacture and design cars. Established distribution and after-sales networks, and supplier base. Understanding of the Indian market and the agreement with the government. Contemporary technology of Japanese Management practices Early mover advantages Maruti Suzuki was the first company to have brought in the technology in Ind ia in 1983. Good promotional strategy is adopted by MUL to transform its thoughts to the people about its products E. g: Alto: â€Å"Lets Go† The fuel efficient and affordable car. The ability of Maruti Suzuki which helped in identifying its downfall and the application of restructuring strategy to overcome this situation. Weaknesses Difficulty in competing with other global car manufacturing companies due to the availability of insufficient resources and technology. Maruti Suzuki is a subsidiary of Japan based Suzuki Motor Corporation which means it is dependant and has less freedom of working as an individual body. For Maruti to perform better, it needs to convert the weaknesses within the organization to strengths. The weakness of insufficient resources and lack of advanced technology could be overcome by investing more on advanced technology. Further the existing workforce in Maruti can be outsourced in order to sharpen their tacit knowledge as they may now come up with new ideas. This factor might create core competencies in Maruti. However investing in new technology can only be done in the long run. Maruti Suzuki is a subsidiary of Japan based Suzuki Motor Corporation. Therefore it has certain disadvantages such as less freedom of decision making and etc†¦. ut however this might also have certain advantages such as being a part of a leading company Maruti Suzuki can maintain its market share, gain publicity, can get aware of and grow into new markets and etc†¦. the weakness of insufficient materials and less access to new technology could also be overcome by having a good relationship with Japan Suzuki Motor Corporation. Opportunities The increasing demand for cars in the global markets. Improvement in infrastructure will encourage consumers to purchase automobile. Indians’ preference to Indian products Reduced interest rates on automotive loans. Increase in purchasing power of Indian economy. The joint venture agreement between the Indian government and Maruti. Growing population in India provides Maruti with cheaper labour which help them to achieve the objective of producing low cost cars. Threats The improvement in concerns on environment protection will however create negative impacts on companies like Maruti Suzuki. The opening of economy to other countries caused foreign competition to enter Indian economy. Conversion of threats to opportunities would direct Maruti towards its success. The concern on environmental protection is a factor, which has a rapid increase globally. Car manufacturing companies are said to be creating major impacts on environment especially because of global warming which takes place due to air pollution and extraction of resources from the environment. To avoid this, Maruti Suzuki can carry out with effective CSR projects. This might increase its goodwill further. The opening of economy has helped new foreign competitors to enter the market. But however Maruti can make this an advantage as it is now easy for Maruti to aware about the strategies foreign companies are using. Also with the opening of economy, better imported resources might come to the Indian market with high quality and at a lower price. 2. 4 External environment 2. 4. 1 PESTEL analysis Political factors and legal factors Government policies on car industry. The introduction of ‘New industrial policy’ impacted Maruti Suzuki by increased foreign competition but however, it brought in new technology which was beneficial to Maruti Suzuki. Taxes which might be already existing and may be implemented in the future. The joint venture agreement between the government and Maruti has effected the company favorably in 1981. The improving economic stability in India would help Maruti Suzuki in improving its performance. Economical factors Liberalization The opening of economy to other countries caused foreign competition to enter Indian economy, which dropped down Maruti’s market share by 22. 3% (i. e. from 83. 1% to 60. 8%). The Economy of India is the eleventh largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity. The countrys per capita GDP is $3,176 (IMF, 127th) in 2009. (source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Economy_of_India). Further the GDP of India proves to be increasing from 1960 to 2009 which in turn means that Maruti Suzuki will have an increasing demand for cars, as cars are prestigious or luxury products. The State Bank of India reduced interest rates on automotive loans in February 2009 (source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Automotive_industry). This means that Maruti Suzuki will gain an advantage of borrowing further loans at a low cost of borrowing in turn leading to expansion of the organization. Socio cultural factors Indians’ preference to Indian products The Indians usually prefer truly Indian products rather than imports, therefore Maruti Suzuki being an Indian car manufacturing company will be preferred by most of the Indians. Taste and fashion The preference of markets for latest designs and long lasting variation and colors will increase demand for cars produced by Maruti Suzuki. The busy living styles of people in each part of the world would persuade them to have their own vehicle which is fuel efficient and easy to handle. This would be another great opportunity to Maruti Suzuki as it is specialized in producing fuel efficient and cost effective cars. Technological factors Use of upgraded technology to manufacture cars E. g. CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) To compete effectively Maruti redesigned its structure and the major changes took place was the upgrading of manufacturing using new manufacturing techniques and use of information technology which brought back the declined market share to 55%. Improved technology in designing E. g. CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAE ( Computer Aided Engineering) The technological advances in designing cars has helped Maruti Suzuki to come up with new designs to meet up with customer requirements. Environmental factors Improvement in infrastructure will persuade markets to purchase automobile. The improvement in concerns on environment protection will however create negative impacts on companies like Maruti Suzuki. 2. 4. 2 Porter’s five force analysis [pic] Threat of substitutes The major threats of substitutes to an automobile company like Maruti Suzuki can be identified as other types of vehicles such as vans, jeeps and bikes. E. g. : Motorcycles as a segment have grown at a CAGR of 17. % during the last 16 years, while other two-wheelers (scooters, mopeds) have been virtually stagnant, growing at a meager CAGR of 1. 8%. (source: indiaautomotive. net). Considering the above example it is much clear that there is a growing demand for substitutes of cars which will affect Maruti Suzuki. Threat of new entrants Threat of entry refers to the entry and exit barriers of an industry. Maruti Suzuki is an already established company which has been operating since 1971 and it is the market leader in the Indian automobile industry. This would be a threat for the new entrants. However to a great extent, Maruti will not be affected due to an entry of a new organization as entering to automobile industry requires high initial capital and include greater sunk costs. These factors might avoid new entrants but Maruti need to continue with its market research and use new strategies to retain its market share, in case if a new entrant comes to the market. Bargaining power of customers Customers can not directly control the price of a product. But however, according to changes in prices they can vary their demand. Cars are usually considered as luxury products in the economics context, therefore they have inelastic demand. So an increase in price would not lead to a huge fall in demand, but however it is necessary that Maruti Suzuki controls its prices as competitors might make advantage of unstable prices. The responsibility of making low cost fuel efficient cars may be an advantage at this point. Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers can be considered as a very powerful factor in this scenario. Maruti imports most of its components from other countries and the prices of these components are set up to global standards which might be quite expensive for Maruti. Further Maruti would be a small customer to its suppliers in comparison with other large automobile companies. Therefore, here, the suppliers are seem to be having greater control or bargaining power over prices and other conditions compared to Maruti Suzuki. Competitive rivalry within the industry This is the extent of competition between car manufacturing companies. The competition seems to be very high in the industry as Maruti Suzuki has loss a significant amount of its market share due to rivalry. [pic][pic] [pic] According to the above diagram, it is very much clear that Maruti Suzuki acquires the 11th place in the global automobile market. 10 large competitors have greater shares of market are operating effectively in the global market. Therefore, the rivalry in the market can be said as very high and it would be difficult to Maruti to compete with them. However, the rivalry within the Indian automobile industry can be considered as favorable to Maruti Suzuki as it is the market leader having more than 50% of market share. [pic] 5. 0 Growth strategies 5. 1 BCG matrix [pic] BCG matrix of’’ Maruti Suzuki’ According to the above BCG matrix, it could be seen that Maruti Suzuki operates in all the 4 grids which are namely stars, question mark, cash cow and dog. The new models of cars introduced by Maruti Suzuki ( Grand Vitara and etc†¦. ) are said to be positioned as stars since they have an increasing rate of growth and high market share due to increasing customer demand for new models of cars. Selling stocks or the cash cow grid indicates products with low growth and high market share. These would be cars, which are already being existing in the market for a long time and have reached their maturity to have high market share and low growth rate. E. g. Maruti Alto, Swift and etc†¦. ) The question mark, which shows the products with high growth rate and low market share, would be the extra stocks of cars. These products would not help in increasing market share but would increase the growth rate through increase in sales if the stocks were sold at a reduced price. The dog would classify cars, which are outdated or old models, which have a declining trend. For example, Maruti WagonR, an old model that was existing in the market for a long time is now slowly reaching its exit. These products have low market growth and low market share due to less profits and declining sales. . 0 Positioning techniques 6. 1 The position of Maruti Suzuki in the market Maruti Suzuki has its major resources such as cheap components, fuel efficient cars, strong relationship with customers and employees, use of developed technology and etc†¦. It further leads the Indian automobile market with a market share of 55%. Maruti Suzuki operates both in domestic and global market . Globally it acquires a market share of 0. 7% being a part of the 11th largest automobile company, Suzuki. Operating systems in the organization for the purchasing and selling process is highly monitored by its management. This will allow making more profits by reducing wastage and unnecessary costs. This is an added advantage to Maruti Suzuki when comparing with the other competitors in the market. Considering all the factors which were mentioned above it could be seen that Maruti Suzuki has built up its position in the market at a stable level and need to improve further with new strategies. 6. 2 strategic positioning 6. 3Ansoff’s Matrix [pic] Ansoff’s matrix on Maruti Suzuki The activities involved in market penetration are to improve the business performance with existing products while operating in the existing markets. The necessary steps Maruti can use to achieve this is to use effective advertising, promotional techniques, increase quality, minimizing costs and increasing output and sales volume. Maruti Suzuki already operates in a number of countries with its successful product ranges. However the organization could further expand by identifying the opportunities to enter both foreign and local markets with its existing products- Maruti Baleno, Maruti Esteem, Maruti Swift, Maruti Zen, Zen Estilo and etc†¦ Use of effective research and development would help Maruti Suzuki in achieving this growth strategy. The third criterion to be used is product development, which necessitate Maruti Suzuki to come up with new ranges of small cars with new designs and brands. Finally, the fourth grid, which is diversification, allows Maruti Suzuki to come up with new brands while targeting new markets such as substitute markets and, foreign and local markets. Maruti Suzuki has already used this strategy as it has come up with new substitutes- vans and jeeps. These can be considered as the positioning strategies of Maruti. 3. 0 significance of stakeholder analysis Any organization operating in the real world influences the environment or the people related unrelated to it. Also certain individuals or groups of people also might have impacts on the organization. The individuals or groups of people who are interested or are influenced by an organization’s activities is called as stake holders. The stakeholders can be categorized as internal and external. An analysis of stakeholders, their stakes and impacts on Maruti Suzuki are shown in the table below. 3. 1 the stakeholder analysis of Maruti Suzuki |Internal stakeholders |External stakeholders |Stake/ interest |The effect on Maruti | | |Government |Sovereignty and prosperity of |The government decision to pass | | | |country. down the responsibility of building| | | | |low cost, fuel efficient cars for | | | | |the Indian market was favorable to | | | | |Maruti. | | | |The government intention to collect| | | |Tax advantages. |tax from Maruti will increase the | | | | |cost of Maruti. | | | |Government decision of | | | | |liberalization too created negative| | | | |impact by making the market more | | | |Being more competitive among |competitive. | | |foreign countries. | | | |Competitors |Capturing the Indian automobile |The entrance of foreign automobile | | | |industry. companies from 1991 created an | | | |Compete effectively with Maruti |adverse effect on Maruti by | | | |(the market leader) |creating a downfall in Maruti’s | | | | |market share. | |Buyers |Modern designs. |The buyers, as they always look | | | |Low prices. |into new variations that are low | | | |Long lasting cars. priced and last for a long time | | | | |have well preferred the foreign | | | | |cars leading to a great fall in | | | | |Maruti’s market share. (i. e. by | | | | |83. % to 60. 8%). | |Employees | |Job security. |Well-trained employees who could | | | |Considerable pay and other |easily adapt to new technology | | | |benefits. |would have directed Maruti towards | | | | |the recovery of market share. The | | | | |effect of their interests would be | | | | |increasing costs to Maruti. | 4. 0 Environmental audit These can be considered as factors leading to environmental stability. They are as follows: Technical change The improvement in technology and discovery of new technology based principals (CIM, CAD, CAE) have helped Maruti in improving its product quality and design. Competitive products and prices The competitive automobile companies such as Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan and etc would affect Maruti by introducing price and non price competition. Price competition techniques could be analyzed as new products with various designs, improved after sale services and price competition can take place through cutting down prices, tax allowances and etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Therefore Maruti can keep low margins and less their cars at a very low price while designing cars which attracts customers. Inflation [pic] Source: ( property-investing. org/images/India) The inflation rate of India is expected to fall in the next few years. Therefore, this would show a positive signal to Maruti Suzuki as certain resources, which would be bought from the Indian market, would be available at a low price than before and the organization would now be able to cut down some of its costs. Therefore, the final product produced would be cheaper allowing Maruti to compete effectively. Also the purchasing power of Indian citizens would then increase leading to higher demand for cars. Demand variability There will not be much change in demand, as cars are not seasonal products. However, due to other factors such as increase in inflation rates, increase in GDP, changes in living styles and changes in taste and preference, there will be a slight change in demand for cars. However, Maruti Suzuki can overcome these problems with the continuous production of low priced cars with various designs. Elasticity of demand El asticity of demand for cars is said to be price inelastic as they are luxury products. Therefore, an increase in price would not create a major impact on demand for Maruti. However, the unsold cars could be sold at reduced prices in markets where economy is under development. E. g. , the car prices dropped down in Sri Lanka during the financial year 2010 Barriers to entry Economic forces that slow down or prevent entry into an industry or market are known as barriers to entry. Capital requirements, product differentiation, switching cost, brand identity, access to distribution channels are some of the common barriers, which slow down organizations from entering into new markets. Capital requirements, switching costs and access to distribution channels are some of the main barriers for Maruti Suzuki. However the company is already established in the Indian market therefore technology, plants and assembly lines which are already owned by the company can be used to grow into new markets. Access to distribution channel would be easy, since Maruti Suzuki is a subsidiary of Japan based Suzuki Motor Corporation. Substitute products The substitute products of Suzuki can be classified as other types of vehicles. This factor has been overcome by Suzuki through the production of a van which has already being introduced to the markets. 7. 0 Process of strategic planning The strategic planning process of a company includes its mission, objectives, internal environment, external environment, corporate analysis or strategic formulation, strategic implementation and analysis of results while reviewing and controlling. [pic] (Source: google. lk/images20planningtbs) 7. 1 Vision â€Å"The leader in the Indian auto mobile industry, creating customer delight and shareholder’s wealth, a price of India† . 2 Mission and objectives The modernization of the Indian automobile industry. Developing cars faster and selling them for less. Production of fuel-efficient vehicles Market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. Partner relationship management, value chain, value delivery net work. 7. 3 Internal environment i. What are Maruti’s resources? Mate rials Use of imported resources to manufacture cars. Reduce wastage due to application of techniques such as TQM and use of advance technology. Human resource Skilled and experienced employees in the industry. Special training is provided to improve the capacities and abilities of human resource. Management An effective and well specialized management. Easily adaptable to market changes. Risk takers. Brief knowledge about customer preference and their buying patterns. Fixed assets Maruti Suzuki own many fixed assets such as plants, machinery, buildings, factories equipment and technical assets. Working capital According to the statistics,75% of company’s components are outsourced. Manufacturing is undertaken on JIT inventory principals. Finance Obtaining loans from banks at a low interest rate as the interest rates on automotive loans has fallen. Increasing profits and sales revenue. Intangible assets Maruti Suzuki’s highly performing staff and the strong b ond with customers are form of intangible assets. Company goodwill. Organization and culture Employees from different cultures, religions and races with different attitudes are employed in Maruti. Maruti Suzuki takes over many CSR projects to meet up with the ethical requirements. The organization has a 360degree view which means it considers customer views, employees and other involved parties when making decisions. Knowledge The knowledge of the employees are improved through outsourcing them and giving them special training. This benefits the organization by gathering a pool of new ideas and creating core competencies. ii. Current positioning in the market ( please refer to page 7. 4 External environment (please refer the PEST analysis and porter’s 5 forces on page 7. 5 Strategic formulations ( please refer the SWOT analysis on page 7. 6 Strategic implementation Strategic implementation is a process by which strategies and policies are put into action through the development of programs, budgets and procedures. The main corporate resources of Maruti Suzuki can be classified as materials, human Resources, management, fixed assets, technology, working capital, finance, intangible assets, organization and knowledge. Maruti Suzuki is involved in both manufacturing and selling its cars. Components, human resources, fixed assets, working capital (inventory) and technology are certain factors, which need to be allocated effectively in the production process. Components should be purchased after the selection of low priced, quality component suppliers in order to keep up with Maruti’s objective of low cost cars. The other factors such as management, intangible assets, and knowledge could be used in areas where planning is involved. Management needs to prepare strategic plans such as restructuring whenever needed. Intangible assets such as customer loyalty and company goodwill are factors, which will be considered by the customer when purchasing the product. The knowledge of employees about the company and other operation should be broad, especially when it comes to customer handling. Therefore proper training should be given to employees. 7. 7 Strategic choice Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. (Source: Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2008). Maruti Suzuki outsource more than 75% of its components. This will involve reducing the scope, defining quality levels, re-pricing, re-negotiation, and cost of re-structuring. The designs of the products should be improved and augmented regularly to make advantage of effective competition. The application of this strategy could be supported with effective marketing research. 7. 8 Review and control Review and control is important to strengthen the strategies that are being implemented. Assessing actual performance to budgeted performance can be described as review and control. The expected work level of strategic level can be considered as much higher than tactical level normal employees. This is due to management’s engagement in planning, coordination and risk taking. Maruti Suzuki will have to bear a large cost on giving training to employees which might drop down its profits by a certain amount. But the improvement in employee performance after the training would bring back the investment cost. The positive effects on restructuring were shown by increased sales and profits. However if the restructuring was not successful Maruti needs to have a backup plan for its safety. This would be the carrying out of effective advertising campaigns and promotional activities or investing more on advanced technology. 8. 0 evaluation of alternative strategies . 1 substantive growth 8. 2 limited growth 8. 3 retrenchment 9. 0 selecting an appropriate future strategy Cars with new models E. g. new version of Grand Vitara Outdated stocks E. g. Maruti 800 Selling stocks E. g. Maruti Alto, Maruti splash, Maruti Swift Excess Stocks of cars Developing new brands of cars Moving into new foreign markets with existing cars Vans and jeeps E. g. Maruti Omni micro van, new range of Grand Vitara, Maruti Versa, Maruti Gypsy. Cars E. g. Maruti Baleno, Maruti Esteem, Maruti Swift, Maruti Zen, Zen Estilo.

Effectiveness of various mediums of advertisement in the automobile Research Paper

Effectiveness of various mediums of advertisement in the automobile industry in North American consumer market - Research Paper Example This essay "Effectiveness of various mediums of advertisement in the automobile industry in North American consumer market" outlines different tools of advertisement that the BMW and Audi use and their effectiveness.Television has been used a medium of advertisement since its inception. This has been due to the fact that it can reach mass audience quickly. It also offers numerous advantages by offering very powerful impact of the message it carries to numerous audience. This convenience and flexibility is due to the widespread popularity and ease with which it reaches millions of viewers internationally and nationally. With the audio and visual effects television provides and creates a lasting impact of the product being marketed (Philip, 90). With the interaction of color, drama, sight, sound, and motion it ensures that the message conveyed is persuasive and strong. Addition of some tactics and props could also enhance its impact. The Audi and BMW automobiles utilized this form of m arketing due to its impact. In its marketing through television BMW was able to introduce its very own youtube page known as the BMW TV. This site is used to display numerous BMW television ads and driving and racing videos of all the models created by the company. The Audi automobile in contrast focused in film sponsorship so that it could reach out to the television audience focusing around numerous movies (Jean, 24). The movie â€Å"Iron Man 2† had several product placements of the numerous Audi models which included the Audi A8 and R8 Spyder. iii. Complain Generally, both Audi and BMW could have had innovative and different marketing strategies in promoting their brand, through the use of film and youtube pages as forms of television advertising and product placement (Simon, 63). Both strategies seem to have been effective for both companies in reaching out to their greater customer bases and potentially increased their company sales. iv. Results The BMW TV marketing strategy for BMW has been very effective as youtube is one of the most popular social networking website and has allowed the company to reach out to numerous consumers. Through the creation of the unique youtube page it has helped the company have a very strong brand identity in the customer’s perspective. Audi choice of using movies to reach to their television audience was a good strategy. Through the marketing of the cars on film, consumer choices could be affected as the consumers could be persuaded to buy the car brands since the celebrities in t he movies could be seen to own one of their own. This is an effective and efficient

UK LAW problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UK LAW problem question - Essay Example where a charging authority serve notice under regulation 13(6) that they do not accept that a ground on which representations were made under that regulation has been established, the person making those representations may appeal to an adjudicator against the charging authoritys decision before  -   Held: that regulation 16(2) permitted an adjudicator to direct the cancellation of a penalty charge notice where the recipient had failed to establish one of the grounds specified in regulation 13(3)(a) to (f) but there were other reasons for mitigating the penalty or totally relieving the recipient of the penalty. 1. Under the Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001,while applying the relevant grounds under reg. 13 Mr. Vere may be able to plead that due to his extenuating circumstances (daughter’s ill health etc) no penalty charge should be payable by him (reg.13(c)) or that the amount that he has been charged exceeds the amount applicable in the circumstances of the case( reg. 13 (e).However it seems that he has a better chance of making this a case of mitigating circumstances under reg.13(c). Nevertheless as the facts of the case indicate he has infact done this without any success and the TFL has already rejected his representations as to his mitigating circumstances. 2. In such a case Regulation 16 will preside and allow his appeal to be heard by an adjudicator. This provision provides a flexible way out from the stringent TFL Regulations and case law suggests that the office of the adjudicator has used his authority in the past to direct the cancellation of a penalty charge notice even where the appellant failed to establish any of the grounds under 13(3).The position for Mr. Vere is not quite clear here though as he has been refused the mandate to represent his daughter’s ill health as a ground

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAMS (Module 1 SLP) Essay

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAMS (Module 1 SLP) - Essay Example The manager of our interest was appointed as head of a health service and research institute in 1993, that time it was on the verge of closure due to mismanagement and inefficiency. The head excelled in planning, organizing, communicating, leading, controlling and monitoring. As showed by Koontz and O'Donnel (1959) the head had proficiency in all the major functions of a manager (Koontz & O'Donnel 1959). No doubt the head was an active leader. As showed by Bateman and Zeithaml (1993) the head used vision and judgement to create opportunities and did the right things (Bateman& Zeithaml, 1993). The head gave opportunity for high performance. Incentive was given for excellent performers. The head always ensured success and used to project ones own success as institutes success. Finally the head made everybody to believe that head is the personification of institute. The institute started progressing and at the end of a decade it became one of the internationally renowned institutes. Lot of laurels and praise came to the head of the institute. People started praising the head as one of the successful managers. the head got retired, the employees of the institute were divided in to two groups, one the so called high performers patronised by the head and two, the worthless low performers! Institute fell into internal squabbles and was in great trouble. Nobody had direction as everybody was accustomed to orders. Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses In spite of being an active leader and visionary the head failed to develop positive work environment because the head gave orders rather than directions. Though the head gave opportunity and incentive for high performance in the process the head formed a group of henchmen. As depicted by Agars and Wilson (2005) the head applied the principles of classical conditioning in its crude form (Agars & Wilson, 2005). Person and group of persons took precedence over activity. Bateman and Zeithaml (1993) outlined effective manager as an active leader who creates a positive work environment in which the organization and its employees have the opportunity and the incentive to achieve high performance (Bateman & Zeithaml, 1993). Though successful the head failed to become an effective manager. References Agars, W.S., & Wilson, G.T. (2005). Learning theory. In B.J. Sadock & V.A.Sadock

Fashion Children Family

Fashion Children Family Fashion victims? Children and consumption: when looking at families and family life today, sociologists often ignore some key family memberschildren. An important new study has begun to look at the way children shape their identities through their role as consumers: a case, perhaps, of we are what we buy?.  Sharon Boden,  Christopher Pole,  Jane Pilcher  and  Tim Edwards. Sociology Review  15.1  (Sept 2005):  p28(4). Full Text :COPYRIGHT 2005 Philip Allan Updates Sociologists have long been interested in consumption, that is, how we shop, where our purchasing needs come from, how we treat the products we buy and how consuming shapes out lives. Running alongside the study of the behaviour of consumers is a concern to understand what factors shape the marketplace and what the cultural intermediaries (television, print media, advertising campaigns) are that promote its value to us. The rise of the tweenager Consumption studies have largely focused on adults and have neglected children as independent, active consumers worthy of study. Children, however, have increasing purchasing power and status as new consumers in what has come to be known as the rise of the tweenager. Taking childrens clothes as a case in point, large-scale surveys, such as those undertaken by Mintel Market Intelligence (2003), confirm that this market is growing strongly (by 5% in 2002 compared with 2001). Retail competition is intense, with both designer labels (e.g. John Rocha, DKNY and Burberry) and everyday low-price retailers (e.g. Matalan, Asda and Tesco) proving to be huge growth sectors. Another useful source, www.juststyle.com, reports that in 2003 the UK childrens clothing market was worth 6.02bn [pounds sterling], accounting for 18.9% of the UKs total clothing expenditure, with fashion wear rather than traditional childrens wear being the growing sector. This translates on the high street into a shift away from traditional chains such as Adams and Marks Spencer to shops offering trendier, more covetable items (often celebrity copy-cat clothes) such as New Look and George at Asda. Lifestyle brands, such as Quicksilver and Billabong, which produce suif- and skateboard-related clothing, are making their mark as fashionable alternatives to bland, casual clothing lines. These figures show that, far from being absent from fashion consumption, children are very much present and active in driving forward the childrens wear industry. This leads to a situation in which the status of childrenand, indeed, the nature of childhood itselfis unable to be considered apart from the highly commercialised and media-saturated society that typifies the industrialised world. Sociological questions therefore need to be raised to understand the nature of consumption for children and how their corresponding new status in the marketplace may alter how they behave and how they are treated as social actors. Key concept A number of sociological issues are raised and can be analysed through the lens of childrens fashion consumption. These include: * social inclusion and exclusion within peer relations * changing power dynamics of the family and household * identity construction and performance in childhood * the commercialisation of the lifecourse and lifestyles Researching childrens consumption Having highlighted the growing significance of childrens consumption not simply in economic terms but more broadly in relation to key sociological concepts, we now offer a brief overview of our research project, which aims to provide insight into the link between children and consumption. Funded through the ESRC/AHRB Cultures of Consumption research programme, the study examines the practices and experiences of children in relation to buying clothes. In doing so, we are advancing understanding of the ways in which the home is penetrated by consumption, especially in relation to the ways in which children and parents act and connect as consumers. We are also adding to the existing knowledge of the political and cultural importance of children as consuming agents. The key questions guiding this research are: * What are the roles of children in choosing and buying their own clothes? How are these roles expressed and how have they changed over time? * In what ways do children engage with the concept of fashion and to what extent does it drive their wants and purchases? * How does fashion consumption alter the parent-child relationship and structure patterns of household consumption? Research methods Our data collection methods were selected to make the child the focus of the study (see also Box 1). We employed a range of participatory, qualitative methods designed to capture how children experience consumption in the context of their families. Box 1 Ethics and research with children When researching with children, certain ethical issues must be taken into account. * Avoid seeing the child as an object rather than a subject or social person acting in the world in their own right, * Protect the childs interests during the research. * Be attentive to the different experiences and competencies of the child and the adult researcher. * Establish a safe and effective rapport between researchers and children/families, based on trust, with the assurance that data will be treated sensitively. * Ensure that the aims and objectives of the research are transparent and beyond question, not only at the time of seeking access to children but throughout the research process. Source: adapted from E Christensen and A. Prout (2002) Working with ethical symmetry in social research with children, Childhood, Vol. 9, No. 4 The research focused on the consumer behaviour of 15 children, aged between 6 and 15, who were located in eight families spread across England. They were visited five times by a member of the research team. Specifically, activities undertaken with these children during such visits included: * unstructured discussions covering a wide range of topics, including shopping for clothes, trying to negotiate purchases with parents, imitating the images of pop stars and sports stars, and keeping up with the latest fashion trends * write and draw project-based work in which children were given the opportunity to express creatively their clothing likes and dislikes * a wardrobe audit, in which children actively presented their clothes to the researcher and explained to them both the processes leading up to the purchase and how/if the garment was being worn * photographychildren were given disposable cameras to record any new clothing purchases and to depict any aspect of fashion that was important to them Besides these child-centred research methods, the researchers observed relevant family activities, such as shopping trips and browsing through clothing catalogues. We conducted interviews with mothers based on the diaries they had been completing during the study, and spoke to a number of people who work in the childrens wear industry and are responsible for producing and promoting the clothes. Clothes, gender and parents concerns The approach outlined above provided us with a large amount of relevant and richly detailed data which will contribute to sociological debate in the areas of consumption, childhood and fashion. Some issues arising from our study include the ways in which children and their parents use clothing in the construction and embodied expression of gendered identities. Here, using our varying sources of data, we have been looking at childrens displays of femininity or masculinity, how children relate to their age and the process of growing up, and how these things can be viewed in either a positive or a negative light. Perhaps the most substantive issue to arise in this respect is how parents label some girls clothes as too provocative, Items such as bras, thongs, low-cut tops, miniskirts, skimpy things, cropped tops, really short clothes have all been identified by parents as inappropriate clothing for children. Parents consider them inappropriate because they encourage children to be looked at and thought of in a sexualised way. In the focus groups we held with parents (which formed part of the process of family selection for the year-long study) mention was made by them of paedophiles, weirdos and the wrong sort of people giving the wrong sort of attention to children who dress in the sorts of items listed above. Items such as high heels, which are thought to accentuate the female figure, were frowned upon. A related problem identified by parents is that the styling of girls clothes has been changing over recent years to mimic that of adultsmini-mums outfits was the phrase used by one mother. Children clothes and identify construction The issue of clothes in relation to modesty and respectability was significant for the girls themselves. They expressed worries about wearing clothes that exposed too much bare skin or that appeared too old for themformulating clothing-personality associations: the wearing of an inappropriate garment might reflect a side of their personality they wanted to disguise or were net yet at ease with. More broadly, this demonstrates how material culture can be a narrative resource in childrens expressions: children speak about clothes in ways that (they feel) illuminate their identities. Childrens accounts of their preferences and their use of clothing have, in turn, shed light upon issues such as taste and style, and the importance of fashion to image, lifestyle and belonging to either gender. Unlike girls fashions, boys fashions seem consistent, unthreatening and net so overtly gendered as their female counterparts. Other gender-based issues to emerge from our study include: * the differences in clothing design, including fabric, colour and styling, which culturally demarcate girls and boys in modern consumer cultures * the faster physical development of girls and the related problems of sizing * the adoption of same-sex role models and fashion icons * the significance attached to label culture and branded sportswear Both boys and girls, it seems, have the capacity to discriminate in relation to clothing quality and style from an early age and, in the course of the study, they offered independent appraisals and critiques of the fashion marketplace and of particular labels. They drew attention to the potential social dangers of purchasing poor-quality, unfashionable or inappropriate clothing. In the interview in Box 2, the Nike brand is used to influence the teenager Josephs perceived popularity and to wrap a protective veil over his physical body that deflects attention to the commodity of the sign (in this case, the well-known Nike swoosh). Box 2 Constructing style Joseph (aged 15) used Nike style to encourage others to gaze upon, envy and copy his look, encouraging in his peers a type of conspicuous consumption of himself. His comments reveal a self-reflexive sense of pride and achievement in constructing a stylish appearance. Researcher: What do you mean by looking flashy? Joseph: Youve got good style clothes and, you know, shiny like this looks cool. Ive got an outfit upstairs which is I call it flasher, Ill show you that if you want. Researcher: Yeah? Joseph: Yeah, like that. Peoplewhen youre walking about the streettheyd look at you and go, Oh, look at that! Researcher: You would like that? You like that sort of thing? Joseph: Yeah. When I was wearing that coat yesterday, everyone was doing that. So that was a good vibe. Early analysis suggests a link between the perceived social significance of labels and clothing type and the processes of growing up. Some children come to reject former signifiers of their childhood in an attempt to age up into a more teenage style. For boys, a greater symbolic value seems to attach to constructing a cool image through wearing sports and surf/skate clothes. For girls, this has taken the form of turning against Barbie and other labels perceived as childish (see Box 3). Box 3 Turning against Barbie The following interview from the Leicester research is an example of a 7-year-old female from a rural village turning against Barbie (a brand of clothing and accessories which is an offshoot from the Barbie doll) as proof of no longer being a little girl. Megan is pushing away and rejecting a former signifier of her childhood in an attempt to age up into a more teenage style. Researcher: [Have you got] Anything with Disney on or Barbie? Megan: No, no no! Definitely net Barbie! Researcher: You dont like Barbie? Megans mother: No. She used to. Researcher: Why dont you like Barbie? Megans brother William, aged 9: She used to have this top with Barbie on. Megan: Shes too little for me. Researcher: But you used to like her. Maybe shes okay for little girls? Megans mother: Yeah, I think I would say a year ago she stopped. Se everything that has Barbie on Megan doesnt like. Researcher: Weve got a few sporty tops here, like these fleeces. Megans mother: Yeah, that one has got Boston on. Thats had some wear. Megan: Well, I think thats quite sporty and this one I like. Conclusion The relationship of children to fashion consumption throws up a fascinating range of sociological issues, from the changing power relations between children, their peers, their parents and the marketplace, to the use-value (to keep warm and dry) and sign-value (to look good) of clothes for childrens identity construction. The ever expanding opportunities and invitations of consumer culture are negotiated by children as part and parcel of everyday life. There are, to be sure, many paths open to social researchers wanting to develop an understanding of how contemporary consumer culture operates. In this article, we have presented an overview of out own study, which prioritises childrens experiences of consuming clothes. The study has already given many interesting insights into the nature, processes and consequences of consumption for children and childhood. Signposts There is relatively little material available to students on the sociology of childhood, so this will be a welcome addition. The authors look at a particular and relatively new aspect of childhoodchildren as consumers. The material provides useful information for discussions on the role of children in the family, the power of the mass media and marketing organisations, the development of gender roles and ideas of self, as well as highlighting issues about the considerable gap between the better-off and the poor and marginalised groups of society. There are political issues as well, not least concerns over the trend to make ever younger children, particularly girls, adopt semi-adult styles of dress and become conscious of body image. If, as the postmodernists suggest, society is increasingly concerned with style and outward appearances, this article shows that even some of the youngest members of society are affected. Some of the research methods outlined in the article could be adopted as the basis for interesting coursework, although students taking this route should be aware of the ethical issues of using young children as subjects and should discuss their ideas with their teachers before embarking on their research. Reference and further reading Boden, S., Pole, C., Pilcher, J. and Edwards, T. (2004) New consumers? The social and cultural significance of childrens fashion consumption, ESRC Cultures of Consumption Working Paper Series, www.consume.bbk.ac.uk Featherstone, M. (1991) Consumer Culture and Postmodernism, Sage. Gunter, B. and Furnham, A. (1998) Children as Consumers, Routledge. Martens, L., Southerton, D. and Scott, S. (2004) Bringing children (and parents) into the sociology of consumption, Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 155-182. Russell, R. and Tyler, M. (2002) Thank heaven for little girls, Sociology, Vol. 36, pp. 619-637. The authors involved in this research project are all based in the Sociology Department at the University of Leicester.

Future of Automobiles :: Transportation Car Cars Vehicle

The basic tenets of geometry dictate that the shortest distance between two points on a plane is a straight line. Unfortunately, Euclid and the other theorists of mathematics do not explain exactly how one is to traverse that distance. Ten thousand years ago, the best way for a person to get anywhere was to walk, and the peak of transportation was a bit of hide or plant matter strapped to one's feet. Later, animals were domesticated and used to take us farther in less time. By the time of the Romans, we had already found ways to build vehicles to move more people and cargo than just the back of an animal could. Basic wheeled vehicles pulled by beasts of burden remained the standard mode of transportation for hundreds of years (except for distances across water for which boats were used). During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a technological revolution began that changed not just transportation, but every aspect of life. We learned to harness the raw power of chemicals in our own environment to produce locomotion, and distances that had seemed legendary were now only a few days' journey. One could rightly say that automobiles are the feet that move the body of America. This is true, but it may be time for a visit to the podiatrist. In this day and age, conventional automobiles are not effective as means of mass transportation. The things that we call cars seem to come in almost as many shapes and sizes as the people who drive them. There are traditional sedans, which may be sport, luxury, or compact, as well as trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), station wagons, and vans in great quantity. There are also other similar vehicles such as golf carts, fork lifts, and tanks, but the word 'car' generally refers to the vehicles which average folk drive every day. One basic component ties cars together into a single group: the internal combustion engine. It is a device that takes gasoline and causes it to combust, utilizing the mechanical force produced in a chemical reaction. Through a system of mechanical parts, including gears, cams, and pistons, this energy turns wheels and makes our cars go. Although the internal combustion engine (ICE) was a technological marvel nearly a hundred years ago, it has since become outdated. Because of international relations and the basic limitations of the environment, the oil which produces gasoline is becoming increasingly scarce.

Reading Father and I

Reading Father and I by Par Lagerkvist with Narrative and Culture Repetition One of the claims that J. Hillis Miller make in his essay Narrative, has to do with repetition and its relationship with enjoyment. Miller points out â€Å"We enjoy imitation. For one thing imitations are rhythmic, orderly and it is natural for us to take pleasure in rhythmic forms. † In answering the question, why we need the ‘same’ story over and over again, Miller adds â€Å"The repetition of a rhythmic pattern is intrinsically pleasurable, whatever the pattern is. The repetitions within the pattern are pleasurable themselves. From his claim, I can deduce that repetition is something that readers look for in a story. Come to think of it, it might be one of the driving forces that allow the reader to take interest. It is one primary consideration that writers need to take in making a story.In the fiction story, Father and I, by Par Lagerkvist, I find that the author not only uses repet ition not only for enjoyment but also for the development of the story. Repetition is found in the rhetorical devices that he uses to develop his sentences. For one, he utilizes parallelism in his statements. There was noise and movement everywhere; bumblebees came out of their holes, midges swarmed wherever it was marshy, and birds darted out of the bushes to catch them and back again as quickly. † Another, he uses repetitive words in order to gain more impact in a sentence. â€Å"Nothing was right, nothing was real; it was all so weird. † The genius of Lagerkvist comes out in the repetition of events and elements in the plot and making them contradictory. The story repeats events and elements and creates a contrast of imagery depending on the time.The summary of events follow: the father and child go out, enter the woods, see animals and telegraph poles, encounter a train, and arrive at their destination. At day time, the woods are full of life and movement. Animals a nd telegraph poles sing. The train is a friendly passerby that greets the father and child. Their destination brings remembrance of the childhood of the father. But at night time, the woods change. Animals stare. Poles rumble like talking deep down from the earth. A train passes unexpectedly. They proceed to their destination with the child traumatized by the experience.In doing this, the author accomplishes his goal of creating crisis in the main character (child), bringing him from a situation of certainty and control to a situation of anguish and vulnerability. The skilful repetition of events allows me to read the story and follow the movement easily. The contradiction in the presentation of the events gives a two-sides-of-a-coin effect on the symbols employed by the story. The train, for example, isn’t just a symbol of the father’s ability to control but it also a symbol of his inability to foresee future danger. Performative Function Miller extensively discusses the functions of fiction in his essay.One of these functions that he writes about is the function that speech-act theorists call ‘performative function’. He writes, â€Å"A story has a way of doing things with words. It makes something happen in the real world: for example, it can propose modes of selfhood or ways of behaving that are then imitated in the real world. † Taking his statement and applying it to the story, I sense that Father and I proposes to the real world a stage of common experience and defines this experience. It pays close attention to the coming of age of a child; when the child grows from childhood to adulthood.This story describes how this coming-of-age can be like. The child begins to realize that he feels differently from his father. â€Å"It was so strange that only I was afraid, not Father, that we didn’t think the same. † The divide develops further when the child sees that the father (a railroad worker) didn’t reco gnize the train driver, â€Å"Father didn’t recognize him, didn’t know who he was. † He realizes that his father was powerless. â€Å"†¦The unknown, all that Father knew nothing about, that he wouldn’t be able to protect me against. † The story ‘performs’ by describing the processes that the child underwent.It defines how the child underwent the process of individuation. The child realizes that he is different from his father; his father no longer understands what he is going through. The child now is on his own; he begins understands what it is to be an individual. Further, the child becomes aware that there are things his father could not protect him from. He has to proceed on his own. He has to stand face the world that has its own darkness. In a rather stark manner, the author allows us to gain insight into the coming-of-age. This experience is an experience of cutting-off; this can be rather painful and lonely.He shows that t his is an experience of independence; it will be a life for the person and not for anyone else. It is an experience of uncertainty; not everything will be in control. The world no longer revolves for the convenience of the person. â€Å"It just hurtled, blazing, into the darkness that had no end. † Culture Builders Greenblatt and Miller agree that stories are reflectors and builders of culture. Miller writes â€Å"Fiction [†¦] accurate reflectors of a culture and [†¦] are the makers of that culture and as the unostentatious, but therefore all the more effective policemen of that culture. Greenblatt adds to this by looking at culture as a movement of constraint and mobility. It has the movement of constraint: has a set of limits within which individuals must be contained. It has the movement of mobility: the regulator and guarantor of movement. We find these dynamics in the story as well. We can that the story reflects (moves as constraint) the culture of that time. We need to contextualize this first by looking at the background of the author. Par Lagerkvist lived from 1891 to 1974. He is a son of station master Anders Johan Lagerkvist and Johanna Blad, was born in the south of Sweden.Seeing this, I surmise that the story might come from a personal experience and reflects the culture of his time. In the story, we sense the qualities expected of the males in their culture. They were â€Å"sound and sensible people†. They â€Å"didn’t make much fuss about things. † They stay calm and not think of anything even in difficult situations. The story reflects the image of males as composed; even stoic and unfeeling. The story not only reflects these qualities but also challenges them. It tries to build culture brings about the movement of mobility.The child asks if the Father really does not feel fear. â€Å"I couldn’t understand how he could be so calm when it was so murky†. The story questions this breezy calm and asks for greater transparency. The story also brings to attention how the father is unconnected to feeling and how he could no longer relate to the experience of the child. The story questions that sense of security and certainty that are expected or found of in men of their culture. It challenges this culture to face the world even with one’s insecurity and vulnerability.

Indentured Servitude in Virginia essays

Indentured Servitude in Virginia essays Colonial America began as people from Europe chose to journey to the New World. These immigrants were searching for the tales of opportunity as well as escape the grasp of the king and the Church of England. As the population increased in the New World, so did the need of a larger and more broad labor force. The southern colonies in America typically needed more manual labor to farm rice, indigo, tobacco, and needed people to work the robust plantations. As a result of the increase in the demand for more manpower several different methods were used to acquire people from Europe to America. The head right system, indentured servitude, and eventually slavery were used successfully to jump start the southern colonies economy along with forming a social structure. During the 17th and 18th centuries, countless numbers of immigrants, mostly from Europe, sold themselves into bondage in exchange for passage to America. Drifters, drunks, and orphans were kidnapped or deceived by English recruiting agents who worked for merchants and ship captains. But most indentured servants willingly sold themselves into bondage for a term of five to seven years. Their hope was that, once free, in land-rich America, they would rise in the world. About four of every five immigrants to the Chesapeake region in the 17th century came as indentured servants. Unfortunately because of disease and brutally harsh treatment, 40% of the servants would not survive their term of service. Most women servants worked in the masters' household, where many of them were sexually abused and harshly mistreated. If a woman servant had an unexpected child, she had to serve an extra year or so for time lost for pregnancy and childbirth. There was little sense of community or stability in Virginia. Even the family was a precarious thing in a place where there were three times as many men as women, where most husbands and wives died within seven years of their marriage, and wher...

Understanding Cities and Regions

Understanding Cities and Regions Understanding cities and regions is a significantly complicate and confusing task. This process enables individuals and government agencies to effectively plan for resource distribution and management of regions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding Cities and Regions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A city refers to an entity that occupies space or an element in a network of urban centres. On the other hand, a region entails an intermediary entity that occupies a position in the continuum of a country and a city (Frey 2007, p. 112). In this regard, the distinction of the two entities involves the analysis of spatial and temporal comparisons, structural change, design and the implementation of policies. Sometimes, disagreements arise regarding when the categorising of a city as a region and vice versa. Similarly, cities and regions share multiple traits. These include their representation of an open system w ith respect to trade, factor mobility, and government transfers (Short 1996, p. 424). Nevertheless, a detail analysis of the two economic entities will depict the fundamental difference that supersedes the mere analysis concerning the dimensions of the area or population. From the inception of the concept of urbanisation, several elements of an urban area have been considered in evaluating the components of a city. Classically, cities were considered urban areas that exhibited economical, social, and political influences on people. In this regard, various theories attempt to explain the origin and development of urban areas.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The theories that have clearly elicited how urban areas originated in the past include hydraulic, economic, military, and religious theories (Parr 2008, p. 3012). All these theories identify the need of populationsâ €™ confederation. The theories have similar primary characteristics concerning size, specialisation of labour, class-structured society and state organisation. Notably, the population, environment, technology, and social organisation influenced the emergence of urban areas. Overtime, the rating of the urban areas with the focus on industrial production underwent considerable transformations. At the same time, industrial capitalism input a crucial element in the industrial cities’ definition. During this transition period, the urban areas were segregated to accommodate the needs of all individuals as per their classes. Quartering such as luxury areas, gentrified city, suburban, tenement, and abandon cities existed. All these quarters catered for the needs of the mighty and the poor in the society. After the industrial period, the urban areas transformed to the postmodern cities. In this regard, the adoption of restructuring in the economic, social, and political segments w as necessary. The restructuring of the economic base in the urban areas involved a fundamental change in the organisation and technology of the industrial production.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding Cities and Regions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, it led to the formation of a global system of world cities through the spatial division of labour and specialisation (Clapp 1971, p. 128). Similarly, a change in social structure was witness because of the social fragmentation created by the wide gap between the rich and the poor. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the radical restructuring of the urban forms like megacity, metroplex, technoburb, technopolis, and exopolis to accommodate the change in the urban imagery. Historically, the imagery of the cities influenced the urban areas’ rating. In this regard, myths and ideologies were developed to describe the exact nature of urban areas (Hufschmidt 1969, p.88). The common anti-urban myths included unnatural, anonymous, sin, or treat cities. The pro-urban views included the civilized, soft, free, or radical cities. Progressively, urban ideologies emerged which help to characterise the nature of a city as a wannabee world, clean and green or ‘look! No more factories’ city. At that time, cities were categorised with regard to the cost of living, employment and crime rates, arts and climate. Evidently, multiple means of evaluating cities have been formulated. Additionally, presently, competition is no longer regional or national, but globally. Therefore, In this regard, it is crucial for any city to identify its market niche and create a favourable image. Apparently, the region definition has been the main area of interest in distinguishing between regions and cities. Analytically, regions cut across the various approaches of interest like economics, geography, planning, politics, and sociology. Thu s, regions focus on the economic, social, political, cultural, and ecological changes (Pike 2007, p. 1145). Evidently, regions exhibit contemporary controversies about space, place, and scale.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, researchers have embarked on studies to establish the standards of analysis and evidence of regions. Notably, most researchers agree that regions should be categorised depending on the data specification, collection, and analysis in more open, unbound, and discontinuous spatial units other than the space, place, and scale. The role of governance, policy, and politics in the regional level is essential in the definition of a region. The emergent forms of governance regarding participatory and democratic leadership with new geographies of devolution and multi-layering clearly depicts the definition of a region. Similarly, the use of regions to shape, develop, and deliver policies determine their definition (Stiftel 2005, p. 220). Additionally, power relations are critical in evaluating regions’ interests and development. This implies that the initiative of contesting demands the collective provision and interpretation of governance of regional firm networks. Theref ore, it is crucial to realise that regions have more importance to contesters as they promote the emergence of spatial imaginaries at the city-region and local levels. Consequently, the main requirement of regional studies is to reflect on the need to articulate the normative content and intent of people’s work towards sustainable development at the local and regional levels. In defining regions, it is critical to adopt the Meyer’s classification of economies approach. This approach defines regions with respect to spatial differentiation. In this regard, there are the homogeneous, nodal, and programming regions (Salet 2003, p. 125). The homogeneous approach reflects on the regions that exhibit differentiating factors, but similar uniform terms of a certain criteria. This approach’s use has been significant with the analysis of economic activities. The nodal regions adopt the fact that there are nodes or market areas within the surrounding of the suburban areas t hat supply the nodes. Additionally, the government’s implementations of policies that create differentiating factors influence the programming regions. All these forms the influencing factors of a region explain the exact nature of a region. The process of contrasting regions and cities demands the analysis of regions space, scale, and social factors. Initially, the first contrast entails the definition of cities or regions with regard to the spatial-sectored factors, interaction between zones, external interaction or scale and change. The spatial-sectored structures refer the combination of the urban area (C zone) and the hinterland or surrounding regions (S zone). The interaction between zones entails how the C zone and S zone symbiotically relate with respect to their economic interdependence (Pacione 2005, p. 44). The external interactions depict how two different zones interact without losing their sight to the external economic relations. Similarly, scale and change por tray the extensiveness of an area and the frequency of changes in such regions. In this regard, adequate attention on the spatial structure and the change emerging due to evolution is vital. Another contrasting element of the types of regions is the polycentric urban region (PUR). This component entails the spatial structure, patterns of interaction and economic prospects of PUR. The spatial structure entails the grouping of urban areas that meet certain conditions such as the clustered distribution of urban areas, maximum and minimum spacing, lack of direct relationship between centres and any dominance, and the average level of interaction between centres. The patterns of interaction entail the labour-market interaction between centres. The economic prospects refer to the formation of a metropolitan area without its accompanying disadvantages. This fosters the efficient delivery of services and the adoption of appropriate system of governance. There are other ways of identifying P UR. These include the alternative interpretation of regions and polycentric megacity region (Stilwell 1992, p. 128). This enables the identification and distinction of cities and regions. References Clapp, J. A. (1971). New towns and urban policy; planning metropolitan growth. Dunellen: New York. Frey, H., Yaneske, P. (2007). Visions of sustainability: cities and regions. Taylor Francis: London. Hufschmidt, M. M. (1969). Regional planning; challenge and prospects. Praeger: New York. Pacione, M. (2005). 3. Urban geography : global perspective (pp. 22-57). Routledge: New York, NY. Parr, J. B. (2008). Cities and regions: problems and potentials. Environment and Planning, 40, 3009-3026. Pike, A. (2007). Editorial: Whither Regional Studies?. Centre for Urban and RegionalDevelopment Studies (CURDS), 41(9), 1143-1148. Salet, W. G. (2003). Metropolitan governance and spatial planning: comparative case studies of European city-regions. Spon Press: London. Short, J. R. (1996). 18. The urban order : an introduction to cities, culture, and power (pp. 414-438). Blackwell Publishers: Cambridge, Mass., USA. Stiftel, B., Watson, V. (2005). Dialogues in urban and regional planning. Routledge: London. Stilwell, F. J. (1992). Understanding cities regions: spatial political economy. Pluto Press Australia: Leichhardt, NSW.

DPP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

DPP - Assignment Example I will need to be more diligent in consulting with various sources of literature on marketing and consumer-related phenomenon which will require more focus on independent study. The curriculum will also require understanding of statistical data that is highly valuable in a marketing career which will require gaining more practical knowledge of software systems that assist in data analysis. In virtually every job today, there is a requirement for the employee to be able to organise and evaluate data utilising various technologies (Cordes 2009). In order to become an effective marketing manager, I will require experiential learning on such applications as SPSS to familiarise myself with research data analyses as this will be a crucial skill in the marketing industry to gain important knowledge of consumer characteristics. Current skills gap include presentation skills, something that can be more effectively developed through experiential learning. Via practice, utilising Microsoft Powe rpoint, peer network resources and tutors, I will be able to develop better public speaking skills. I also require sharpening of my business English skills, something crucial for relationship development in business-to-business marketing. Through registration with online language courses and reading of business theory literature, I will develop the appropriate professionalism required in businesses. I also require improvement of my marketing management skills, which can be developed through attentive attendance of course lectures and through consultation with primary research studies on a plethora of phenomenon in marketing theory. Career moves Key Skill Relevance to Marketing Management Quality communications skills Face-to-face meetings and relationship development (Simply Hired 2013). Ability to analyse financial data Budget analyses and strategy development (Simply Hired 2013). Creative thinking skills Advertising development and promotion (Brassring 2013). Problem solving skill s Brand redevelopment and repositioning Providing evidence that communications skills are well-developed will require expressing competency in providing explanations, during the self-description process, and ensuring that the interviewer understands that I am detail-oriented when working with others, paying close attention to the sender before providing responses. Carr (1992) offers that in team environments where group consultations occur regularly, a leader must be like a coach, one who inspires others, builds their confidence, and opens effective lines of mutual discussion. It will be possible to illustrate to the potential employer that I have quality communications skills by focusing on my understanding and values related to team development and being able to provide personal experiences about participative leadership. This will clearly show that I am focused on opening dialogue between organisational members and strongly value consensus-based team operation. The ability to ana lyse financial data would not be exceedingly difficult. I can express to the potential employer that I am well-versed in understanding balance sheets, cash flow forecasts, and income statements to show the diversity of knowledge I hold about reading and assessing financial information. Mentioning the relationship between profit and loss and the administrative costs of marketing strategies and special marketing projects will show that I am competent in understanding the linkages

Tax competition V Tax Harmonization in an enlarged European Union Research Proposal

Tax competition V Tax Harmonization in an enlarged European Union - Research Proposal Example Some people believe tax harmonization creates unity and a level playing field, some believe its stifles competition and creates a socialist economic bloc. In this thesis I will examine both sides of the argument by looking at how the debate and policy has evolved over the years with a specific focus on how tax harmonization affects multinational corporations—whether it encourages them to invest in the EU or to pull out. Part of the basis of the European arrangement was the centralization of monetary policy. This was a huge amount of sovereignty for individual countries to give up. The assumption underlying this ceding of power by national governments really is that all economies within the European Union are created equally and the same measures for each economy are the appropriate way forward. This itself was controversial enough, but at the time left the national governments to at least set their own tax rates and compete for business by having differing corporate tax rates. This idea too soon bit the dust. Countries like France and Italy with high corporate tax rates were jealous that a country such as Ireland with a low tax rate was able to drum up so much business. They began to push for a single minimum rate across the whole of the EU. For high tax countries this levelled the playing field, but forcing more competitive countries to become less so—for low tax countries—often with much smaller economies to begin with—they had to punish companies that had come to them in the first place seeking a safe haven for investment. The simple knee-jerk logic is this: As factor mobility increases within the EU, pressure will be placed on member states to lower their tax rates on mobile factors in order to attract business. This unchecked competition will lead to a race to the bottom in which tax rates will dip so low as to threaten countries abilities to supply public goods. In response, one might argue for the necessity of strict