How to Write a Lab Report - Steps and Template

Lab reports are an essential part of all laboratory courses and usually a significant part of your grade. If your instructor gives you an outline for how to write a lab report, use that. Some instructors require the lab report be included in a lab notebook, while others will request a separate report. Heres a format for a lab report you can use if you arent sure what to write or need an explanation of what to include in the different parts of the report. Lab Report A lab report is how you explain what you did in ​your  experiment, what you learned, and what the results meant. Lab Report Essentials Title Page Not all lab reports have title pages, but if your instructor wants one, it would be a single page that states:​ The title of the experiment.Your name and the names of any lab partners.Your instructors name.The date the lab was performed or the date the report was submitted. Title The title says what you did. It should be brief (aim for ten words or less) and describe the main point of the experiment or investigation. An example of a title would be: Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Borax Crystal Growth Rate. If you can, begin your title using a keyword rather than an article like The or A. Introduction / Purpose Usually, the introduction is one paragraph that explains the objectives or purpose of the lab. In one sentence, state the hypothesis. Sometimes an introduction may contain background information, briefly summarize how the experiment was performed, state the findings of the experiment, and list the conclusions of the investigation. Even if you dont write a whole introduction, you need to state the purpose of the experiment, or why you did it. This would be where you state your hypothesis. Materials List everything needed to complete your experiment. Methods Describe the steps you completed during your investigation. This is your procedure. Be sufficiently detailed that anyone could read this section and duplicate your experiment. Write it as if you were giving direction for someone else to do the lab. It may be helpful to provide a figure to diagram your experimental setup. Data Numerical data obtained from your procedure usually is presented as a table. Data encompasses what you recorded when you conducted the experiment. Its just the facts, not any interpretation of what they mean. Results Describe in words what the data means. Sometimes the Results section is combined with the Discussion (Results Discussion). Discussion or Analysis The Data section contains numbers. The Analysis section contains any calculations you made based on those numbers. This is where you interpret the data and determine whether or not a hypothesis was accepted. This is also where you would discuss any mistakes you might have made while conducting the investigation. You may wish to describe ways the study might have been improved. Conclusions Most of the time the conclusion is a single paragraph that sums up what happened in the experiment, whether your hypothesis was accepted or rejected, and what this means. Figures and Graphs Graphs and figures must both be labeled with a descriptive title. Label the axes on a graph, being sure to include units of measurement. The independent variable is on the X-axis. The dependent variable (the one you are measuring) is on the Y-axis. Be sure to refer to figures and graphs in the text of your report. The first figure is Figure 1, the second figure is Figure 2, etc. References If your research was based on someone elses work or if you cited facts that require documentation, then you should list these references.

Although Eichendorff’s story displays religious elements,...

Although Eichendorff’s story displays religious elements, the pious facets take on a different form than in Psyche. In â€Å"The Marble Statue†, Sunday remains a holy day where evil subsides. God and Satan manifest into the metaphysical through characters, settings, and motifs. Fortunato is a pure character directing Florio towards the path of the righteous man while Donati is a sinister man leading the boy into temptation. The seductress is the embodiment of evil while Bianca is the good. The aspect of religion is demonstrated in a more direct manner in Psyche. The artist abandons a life of art to become a brethren of the covenant where it is proclaimed the Goddess of Art is â€Å"a witch who carries towards vanity, towards earthly pleasure†. The†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, Florio’s lack of self-control leads him to the guilt of a sinful lust. With the thought of his seductress plaguing his mind, he is never satisfied with the real wo man in his life. Consumed by lust and desire, he constantly longs for more in his earthly life. The sins reveal the weakness of the protagonists and provokes their course to redemption. â€Å"The Marble Statue† and â€Å"The Psyche† are both narrated in 3rd person. However, the teller of Florio’s story is a homodiegetic narrator lending an outside perspective on the world being described, but does not play a part in it. The Psyche’s is a heterodiegetic narrator as the bright morning star living in the story, yet revealing the history of another. The morning star plays a role that can be seen as a biblical reference and even Jesus himself. Jesus identifies Himself as ‘the bright morning star’ in Revelation 22:16. The irony of the morning star as Jesus is the young artist abandoned his talent to directly seek and satisfy God in a holy life with the church. However, he did not need to seek Jesus for he was already watching over him the entire span of his life and even thereafter. An element present among both stories in the role of nature and the gates, gardens and fountains within them. Within mythology and symbolism, gardens are seen as a motif of an untouched, primal state where nothing is lacking including companionship, food, and drink. The garden

At the start, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are kind hostess, but by the end they are this dead butcher and his fiend

At the start, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are kind hostess, but by the end they are this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen Essay Malcolms description is justified only to an extent because Macbeth and Lady Macbeth followed the path the witches engineered for them to follow, and the witches ensured that the seeds of evil within them grew. However, it was Lady Macbeths insistence on Duncans death that started Macbeths corruption and led to him being a tyrant because alone Macbeth would not have acted as he harboured too many doubts. The influence of the witches is shown right at the beginning of the play, where the witches immediately plant the influence of evil and supernatural into the play. To meet with Macbeth adds the association of evil with Macbeths name as soon as possible, suggestion that the hero depicted in the next scene might not really be a hero. In the beginning, Macbeth is a good soldier, an ability that stays with him to the end. He is loyal to the king and respected by the captain, who refers to him as brave Macbeth and admires Macbeths courage and skill on the battlefield Macbeth has also reached the rank of captain, a high rank in the military, Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? This is highly praised at the time; military being considered a good career. Therefore, Macbeth would be a rich and influential man. Duncan, the king, also praises Macbeth valiant cousin, worthy gentleman. It is a great honour to be praised by Duncan and Macbeth would obviously deserve it. The king respects him and is proud of Macbeth being his relation. All that remains of this by the end is Macbeths military skill, the respect for him having been shattered by his actions. He is still brave at the end, yet I will try the last. When Macbeth meets the witches, their prophecies affect him deeply. He is first addressed as Thane of Glamis, a title he has, Thane of Cawdor, a title which Macbeth does not yet know he has and that shalt be king hereafter. Macbeth is affected so deeply that is visible to Banquo, why do you start. Macbeth is shocked, perhaps because he had contemplated being king before. The witches had seen the possibility for evil within Macbeth and have given him something sufficient to ensure that he sets his feet on the path of evil they had given him the idea, the ambition was already there. This is an influence that stays with him throughout the play, on which he becomes more and more dependent. Some time later, Macbeth is addressed as Thane of Cawdor by Ross, who bears the news of Macbeths new title from the king. Macbeth is very surprised as he did not expect the witches to be correct although he wanted to know more from them, Why do you dress me / In borrowed robes? It seems too good to be true, making him wonder if the third prophecy will come true, Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor, / The greatest is behind. Macbeth realises that the witches probably do not wish him well, but he thinks that they do not wish to harm him, cannot be ill, cannot be good. He is aware of the fact that the witches are supernatural, but ignores Banquos warning that the witches should not be trusted. He thinks that they are telling the future as it is going to happen, and ironically enough they are Macbeth is going usurp the throne. However, he considers the prophecies deeply, and this leads him to consider murdering Duncan for the first time. He is still a fundamentally good character, and is horrified at the very thoughts, calling them horrible imaginings. At the time, he concludes the line of thought with the decision chance / may crown me, as he realises that if he acted to ensure that he got the crown it would be dishonourable and he will condemn himself, it would be morally wrong. The witches have already influenced Macbeth he has already considered murder once. Macbeths inward evil had started to move to the surface once it had been contaminated by inherent evil, the witches. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth telling her of the witches prophecies. This does not have any important plot meaning as Macbeth could have easily told her about it when he arrived home. Rather, it shows the closeness of Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship. The gesture is important as it shows Macbeths urge to share the news with his wife, although the letter would probably only arrive a few hours before him. The closeness of their relationship is further shown by Macbeths entrance and their way of address, Macbeth addresses Lady Macbeth as my dearest love. They waste very little time on greetings, and Lady Macbeth dominates the conversation with her much longer speeches. She is very commanding towards Macbeth: you shall put / This nights great business into my dispatch, something that would have been very unlikely in Shakespearian times. This close relationship changes as Macbeth slides into evil. In Macbeths first major soliloquy he expresses the doubts he has about Duncans murder he realises that the only thing driving him is ambition. The Modern Caribbean - Literature EssayWhile having agonised over Duncans death, now he is so soon after the first murder he is ordering the murder of his best friend. He does not need Lady Macbeth anymore, and had acquired some finesse: now he is paying others to commit murders for him. Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship has suffered after Duncans murder and Lady Macbeth is very disconnected from what Macbeth is now doing she has to ask information from a servant, Is Banquo gone from court? , Macbeth has been avoiding her and does not share everything with her anymore, Why do you keep alone? , she needs to ask him, and then he does not give proper answers, keeping much to himself, including Banquos upcoming murder Be innocent of the knowledge. Macbeth takes very little notice of Lady Macbeth while talking about how he envies the dead Duncan and his speeches are full of omens of evil full of scorpions is my mind and black Hecates summons Macbeth is now fully connected with evil which has come to the fore-front of his character. Lady Macbeth has lost her status as a dominant speaker and Macbeths speeches lead the conversation, taking little or no notice of what his wife says. Also, Lady Macbeth is not the dearest partner in greatness anymore shown by Macbeth ordering her to come with him, prithee go with me. The next scene of importance is Macbeths seeing of Banquos ghost at the Banquet. This shows the immense sense of guilt, since the ghost is unseen to other guests and Macbeth has hallucinated. This is what finally drives Lady Macbeth over the edge her last waking and sane words are at the end of the scene. Macbeth is again influenced by the supernatural following a decision to see the witches again. He demands to know what will happen in the future and is unafraid of what may be revealed. He is willing to sacrifice everything for the knowledge, even natures order, castles topple on their warders heads, trees blown down. Macbeth takes each of the prophecies deeply to heart and considers each for a long time but yet Ill make assurance double sure. He interprets only the seeming literal sense of the prophecies, unaware that these are to trick him and are in fact saying how he will fall, not why he will survive. He takes confidence from the prophecies and they are what leads him to ordering the deaths of Macduffs family, a massacre he would have been unlikely to commit without something helping him to reach that conclusion. That murder is perhaps the most terrible since Macbeth is murdering not the person he wants removed, but people associated with Macduff. This deed I will do before purpose cool shows that this is spur of the moment action, highly likely to be influenced by what he had just seen. He wants it done immediately, since he seems afraid that if he thinks it through properly he will realise that this is not a good thing to do. Macbeth has abruptly become much more ruthless, but he is not a true tyrant because somewhere he knows that what he is doing is wrong. Lady Macbeth has gone insane from guilt, and is sleepwalking. All her desires have been inverted where she wanted darkness on the night of Duncans murder, she now has light by her constantly. Her sentences are very disconnected and she finally realises that she had sent herself to hell, Hell is murky. She feels guilty even for the murders Macbeth committed on his own because she set him on that path by convincing him to kill Duncan, Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now? She is entirely eaten up in guilt and reliving all her experiences on the night of the murder over and over again, A soldier, and afeard? . She also gives a suggestion that Macbeth is also feeling extremely guilty and that he cannot sleep either, I tell you yet again Banquos buried; he cannot come out ons grave. Malcolms description of Macbeth is justified Macbeth has indeed become a dead butcher, murdering ruthlessly, having steadily descended into evil, from first Duncans murder, then Banquos, massacre of Macduffs family being the worst. He does retain some humanity, as he feels guilty until the end. However, the description of Lady Macbeth as a fiend-like queen is only justified if her actions at the beginning are taken into account. Later, she has no influence over Macbeths actions and wants him to stop his way of bloodshed, going insane and committing suicide at the end. However, it is her actions at the beginning to convince Macbeth to start murdering are what led to his fall and reign of evil and death.

The New Deal and Social Welfare Policy

Introduction The New Deal is a term that was popularized by Franklin Roosevelt. It had programs and measures that he came up with to cope with the problems experienced. These problems arose because of the great depression, which occurred in the United States in 1930.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The New Deal and Social Welfare Policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The New Deal involved a number of reforms that were focused to deal with problems affecting the social, economic and government arenas. It was adopted by each state. It went a long way in helping the US as a country especially in pulling it out of this hard time. This is why it was considered as a major breakthrough in American history (Shlaes, 2007). The social welfare system in America changed greatly during the 1930s. Before the changes, the local governments for each region distributed relief. Consequently, this led to the rise of vari ous problems, as there were some scandals that arose. In 1933, the method was changed and the system was made much larger. The parties that were involved in this were the federal, state and local government. Bureaucracy dominated the scene because of these actions. The permanent social welfare system that was developed by the social security act contributed significantly to this process (Jansson, 2012). Social and economic conditions that led to the enactment of the New Deal programs The great depression This is one of the major problems that led to the need to adopt the New Deal. Various factors led to this. A key factor, which was a major cause of the great depression, was the stock market crash, which took place in the year 1929. There was a major loss of about 40 billion dollars within a period of only two years (Shlaes, 2007) Stockholders had lost too much money; despite attempts to recover some of the losses, the gap could still not be filled. By 1930, the great depression bec ame inevitable. After the stock market crash, banks started failing. Over nine thousand banks closed, due to the difficulties they were experiencing. The remaining banks were not insured, and people lost their savings when the banks crashed. The remaining banks in order to remain afloat restricted the issuing of loans hence making it hard for most businesses to sustain themselves (Shlaes, 2007).Advertising Looking for research paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A major outcome of the great depression was unemployment. Due to the crash of the stock market and banks, many people lost their jobs. This was due to the rampant layoffs to maintain the businesses. Some businesses went bankrupt hence the workers from the failed businesses lost their jobs. The decline of the buying of goods also led to unemployment. People became unsure of the situation after the stock market crash and bank failures. They decided to keep their money. This, in turn, led to less production hence bringing down the need of a big workforce, which eventually led to a reduction in labor. Another blow to the economy was the policy to reduce the number of imports from Europe from entering the country. Though this policy served to protect American companies, it led to a decline in trade between the countries, and eventually resulted to economic restrictions as the countries also held back in supplying resources that were needed by the US (Jansson, 2012). Unemployment led to rural to urban migration as many people who were unemployed decided to move to urban centers to try their luck in getting jobs. Most people in the rural areas who are farmers experienced severe poverty. They had over exploited the soils and did not have the funds to invest in agriculture. This led to a large influx of people moving to the urban centers, and this, in turn, led to an increase in population in the areas. The situation was further worsened by the fact that foreigners were also entering the country in large numbers to get jobs. These migrations led to the overpopulation of the urban centers. Overpopulation led to overcrowding which resulted in a strain on the social amenities, as the services were not enough for the large population. This also resulted in an increase in the crime rate as certain people opted for unacceptable methods of getting income.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The New Deal and Social Welfare Policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Some companies took advantage of this situation and employed underage children at a very low wage to save money. Housing also became a problem, as the houses available could not hold the large population. This led to homelessness as many citizens could not afford homes and the rent was unaffordable to them. There was a big problem when it came to social welfare services. Non-profit organizatio ns that volunteered and the local government did the provision of social welfare services. This minimized welfare, and in most cases, it was discriminatory. African Americans were given almost no welfare assistance benefits (Barrow, 2007). The system at this time was also corrupt as most welfare money was misused and unaccounted for (Jansson, 2012). New Deal Programs There was the Emergency Banking Act. This was established immediately after President Roosevelt took over presidency. FDR issued an order for the closure of all the banks in the country. Congress had passed the emergency Banking Act that authorized the government to assess all the banks in terms of their sustainability. This policy was meant to ensure that all the banks that were operating were legit and well managed. During the great depression, many banks had closed due to poor management and this greatly affected the economy and citizens (Jansson, 2012). The implementation of this program was to ensure that such a sc enario would not happen again. The formation of the FDIC – the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – was implemented to insure bank credits worth 5000 US dollars. This greatly boosted the banking sector. It reassured the citizens that banks were safe and in case of any complications, compensation was guaranteed. Good banks were then re-allowed to reopen and in a very limited time span, the citizens re-deposited their money in the banks (Venn, 1998).Advertising Looking for research paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Social Security Act was another program in the New Deal package. It aimed to give welfare services and benefits to those who needed assistance. It was established after a careful scrutiny of the problems the citizens were experiencing and how the government would chip in to support them. It included the provision of pensions after a citizen was no longer employed. This was to ensure that the retiree could still be getting some money to help them through their problems. It also included benefits for survivors of industrial accidents; there was unemployment insurance, aid for mothers who were dependant and their siblings. It also catered for the physically challenged (Jansson, 2012). This Act assured the citizens of peace of mind in case these unexpected and unavoidable circumstances happened. This policy was very effective as it responded to the problems of the disadvantaged groups in the society and in turn offered millions of citizens’ security. This Act has had a huge i mpact on the current welfare policy as the current policy has adopted most of this principles and ideologies into its system. Most if not all of these policies may be currently adopted into the current welfare policy. The only difference is that they have been re-modified to fit the current conditions. A number of organizations were also set up to help in the implementation of the New Deal. An example of one of the organizations is the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC). HOLC was set up to deal with the issue of home ownership. Many people were experiencing this common problem because of unemployment. This made many people appear unable to afford homes and eventually led them to lose their jobs. This organization was formed to prevent specifically people from losing their jobs. It did this by refinancing mortgages of average paid citizens who owned homes. This was helpful in the regulation of home repossessions (Jansson, 2012). Another organization that was set up was the Federal E mergency Relief Administration (FERA). Harry Hopkins managed this. The agency funded depleting relief agencies. It gave out five million dollars in two hours. This program also funded public work programs. The main reason this program was set up was so that it could help in sustaining the other relief programs that were experiencing financial difficulties. Getting finances was a major problem during this time as not many groups were willing to fund these agencies. Relief agencies aided a lot as they helped the people significantly, especially the needy. These organizations have had a huge impact on the current social welfare policy. From their establishment the government still gives home financial aid to the citizens who are not in a position to finance their home mortgages, it also funds banks and in turn influences the low cost of mortgages. The government also makes an initiative to fund relief agencies when they experience problems. Conclusion The New Deal marked a significant turning point in American history. Its adaptation resulted in the pull of America from a hard financial time. Before the implementation and enactment of the New Deal, the country was going through a number of social and economic conditions that were not favorable to the citizens. These conditions were the great depression, unemployment, rural to urban migration, overcrowding, crime etc. The main reason that led to the need for reforms through the New Deal was the great depression. This caused many problems in the country (Venn, 1998). Its implementation was dependent on a number of programs. These programs were focused on key aspects that were affecting the people. Three important programs that were incorporated in this plan was the Emergency Banking Act, which was aided by the formation of the Federal deposit insurance corporation (FDIC). The second program was the Social Security Act. Some organizations were also set up as programs this included the Home Owners Loan Corporation an d Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). These programs have also influenced and affected the current social welfare policy. The current social welfare policy has been created based on the ideologies and aspects dwelt on at that time. The basic ideas remain the same, but the only difference is in the addition of more policies and the restructure of the old ones, to fit the current social and economic conditions. References Barrow, F.H. (2007). Forrester Blanchard Washington and his advocacy for African Americans in the new deal. Social Work, 25(4), 201-208 Jansson, B. S. (2012). The reluctant welfare state. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Shlaes, A. (2007). The forgotten man: A new history of the great depression. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Venn, F. (1998)The new deal, Edinburgh, England: Edinburgh University Press. This research paper on The New Deal and Social Welfare Policy was written and submitted by user D0m1n0 to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 Essay Example

Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 Essay The current economic crisis has spread havoc across local and global markets. There can be no place for doubt that certain automobile manufacturers and retailers would also suffer to some extent from the catastrophe. The car industry is a huge entity that has several different subdivisions, and it is quite intriguing to see how consumer behaviour shifts across these sublevels of the automobile market and how different brands engage in dealing with the arising instability. Aston Martin is one of the most famous UK brands and one of the top marquees for top-end sports cars in the entire world. Established in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin, has gone through a lot and many changes have occurred in its history including the change of ownership several times most recently in 2007, which also happens to be the company’s most successful year of sales when it brought 7300 cars to the roads. Today the UK car manufacturer proudly occupies one of the leading positions in the market for luxury vehicles and seems like it is planning to expand further from that. When it comes to assessing socio-cultural factors that determine the external environment of Aston Martin one has to understand this is a company that exists on an international level. It has over 100 dealerships in about thirty countries around the globe including the US, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, China (Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd). We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Swot and Pest Analysis on Aston Martin 2008 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Apart from the fact that it would be extremely difficult to collect and process socio-cultural information about possible clients in these countries, a company that deals with top-end car manufacturing is certainly not targeting the average household, or any group of people that can be denoted by a common feature other than wealth. The percentage of people that possess the spending power to buy an Aston Martin is rather low anywhere around the world. Buyers of such cars occupy the higher levels of society in most countries but of course for Aston Martin it would be most profitable to establish a dealership in areas with high concentration of people with the ability and willingness to spend; example of areas of such potential are Monaco, Kuwait, and Dubai. It is a fact that the Middle East has GDP rates rising higher than anywhere else on the planet, and chief executive Ulrich Bez has taken that into account when developing the company’s future growth plan (Bowker 2008, para. ). Taking technology into consideration one can see that Aston Martin is a bit old-fashioned in terms of manufacturing, nevertheless that does not hinder their ability to combine discipline in crafting with innovative approach and creativity. Nowadays car engineering is split between mechanical and electronic engineering. Aston Martin emphasizes on the use of manual labour to get the job done, whereas their counterparts from Porsche rely on the precisi on of computers in the assembly of their cars. Unquestionably Aston Martin strives to utilize every unit of input in order to create perfection as a final product. Their cars represent a splendid blend of heritage and innovation in terms of design and vision, and also excel when it comes to performance on the road. Undeniably Aston Martin’s headquarters at Gaydon in the UK is one of the finest car production facilities in the world. At Gaydon Aston Martins are being assembled manually bit by bit to create a masterpiece (Aston Martin Lagonda Limited). The â€Å"heart† of every car is its engine, and engines for Aston Martins are primarily V8 and V12, which are all products of the specialised Niehl Engine Plant that was build during the Ford regime in Cologne, Germany. Presently Aston Martin engines are still being produced at the factory in Cologne; however, recent news of a deal between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin (Kacher 2008) has caused speculations about the use of Mercedes-built engines in the new Astons, which would definitely be an upgrade for the British car manufacturer. Among the major victims of the economic catastrophe at the moment is the car market. The crisis worsens is evident; figures for the UK in October 2008, historically one of the two busiest months on the calendar for car purchases, are down by 21% in comparison to the previous year (Pollard 2008). However, it seems that some car companies have gained advantage of the current economic situation. Present market conditions are beneficial for companies that offer lightweight cars with small, fuel-efficient engines such as Smart, which has more than doubled its sales with a rise of 105% in 2008 compared to last year’s (Pollard 2008). Aston Martin on the other hand has suffered a 26% fall in its sales, year-to year figures dropping from a total of 1978 sales up until last year’s November to 1479 units up until the same month this year (Moody 2008 p. 44). As gloomy as the situation might seems for Aston Martin it is the same for their direct competitor Bentley, which is experiencing the same decline in sales. The UK Car market is in its worst condition since 1966 (Pollard 2008). The existing situation presents an unprecedented slowdown compared to the major rise of car sales in the past several years. The credit crunch has effectively crippled the entire European car market excluding only a few countries. â€Å"Warwickshire car maker Aston Martin is suffering from the economic downturn but is hoping to offset weakness in the UK and United States with bigger sales in emerging markets – with the Middle East a key target. † (Bowker 2008, para. 1). The stagnation that has seized Europe presently regarding automobile market may be the reason why Aston Martin’s chief-executive Ulrich Bez has decided to shift the focus of the company’s future growth plans towards the Middle East market where the situation looks a lot better. However, that is not the only option for Aston Martin. Going further east China and India’s economies are undergoing such rapid development that is unparalleled by nothing before it. There are definitely many more markets for Aston Martin to explore and possibly exploit. Some of the difficulties that Aston Martin will have to face in the years to come are the regulations that the EU is imposing on CO2 emissions for cars. Currently several EU bodies are struggling to reach a consensus regarding this issue. The scheme that is presently proposed states that by 2012 all car-making companies need to begin efficient reduction in the emission of CO2 from their products in order for all newly manufactured cars to reach a mark of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre by the year of 2015 and supposedly a maximum of 95g/km of CO2 is the goal for 2020 (ClimateBiz 2008). These figures are quite upsetting for companies such as Aston Martin. Their cars are top-end luxury sports cars that exceed on average the 2015 maximum by approximately three times. The DBS for example has CO2 emission of approximately 388g/km (Pepper 2008). Even though there are fierce debates taking place in the European Parliament regarding the reduction of CO2 emissions, it is certain that car manufacturers will have to lower the carbon dioxide exhausts from their engines. Turning to the internal marketing environment that Aston Martin operates in one must acknowledge that the target customer for the company is not by any means an average person. Price is a vital factor when it comes to defining consumer behaviour, and Aston Martin is aware of that fact, that is why they offer basic models of their cars at prices a lot lower than the ones of the premium models. People buying an Aston Martin are able to choose from a wide range of accessories and specifications to go in their cars, which means that the price spectrum also fluctuates. The lowest price for a new volume-produced Aston Martin in the current market is ? 83 194 for the Aston Martin Vantage model (Pepper 2008), which is still a tremendous amount of money. Nevertheless, an exquisite product such as Aston Martin classifies as a luxury good that is designed to suit a sophisticated taste. A buyer of an Aston Martin would choose such a car to match his lifestyle, to satisfy his personal desires, not needs. If we could apply the Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid to the case with a person buying an Aston Martin we would expect this person to satisfy one of the higher levels of the pyramid with such a purchase, whereas a Toyota Corolla or a Volkswagen Golf for example would be a necessity for one of the lower stages. If we could create a profile for the average Aston Martin buyer we would get a male, probably single with affinity for luxury and sense of style, and of course having the capital to afford an Aston Martin. Nevertheless, changes in consumer demand do affect Aston Martin as well, so the UK automobile brand will be making changes in its production line. Among the company’s new projects for 2009 is the Rapide, which is going to be an entirely new member of the Aston Martin car family not the usual two-door, two-seats drive, but instead it will be a saloon car. The new Rapide will offer more space, which was the major aspect that all previous Aston Martin models were lacking. This is clearly an attempt by Aston Martin to make its entry into another section of the car industry by offering its client more utility. There is a high chance that market might witness the appearance of an Aston Martin hybrid quite soon, which would be a ‘child’ of a rumoured Aston Martin – Mercedes Benz alliance (Kacher 2008). A jewel that Aston Martin is going to add to its crown is also a new car that is due to come out in 2009 – the Aston Martin ‘one-77’, the price of which will orbit around ? 1. 2million(BBC Magazines Limited). Servicing customer’s concerns is crucial for every company that is why the Warwickshire company provides one of the best Service Works for their vehicles. Their facility based in Newport Pagnell offers premium services that vary from fixing small flaws, renovation of heritage cars to repairing severely damaged vehicles. (Cooke and de Burton 2007, p. 62). Aston Martin evidently is striving to portray a strong brand image that is also concerned with the satisfaction of its customers, and that seems to be paying off as the car manufacturer was selected to be the coolest brand in the UK for the year 2007 (CNN 2007). The industry in which Aston Martin competes primarily is the top-end car market, and that is a market which most of the biggest car companies strive to dominate. Direct competitors for Aston Martin’s products are Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes, and many other brands although the once mentioned are the fiercest rivals. The British car company seemed as strong as ever last year recording top sales for its 95 year history but with the already occurring market stagnation will it continue to do so well. Following the example of many other industries in the same situation, Aston Martin has launched a cooperative programme with one of its competitors, namely Mercedes-Benz (Kacher 2008). The advantages to be seized for Aston Martin’s specialists from the deal are tremendous as the UK engineers would be gaining access to the research and development department of the German automobile titan. Another vital aspect of the deal is the future cooperation in the creation of hybrid-powered Aston Martins, which would tackle very successfully issues with fuel inefficiency and CO2 emissions. Another important decision was made by Ulrich Bez regarding his company’s future; one of the newest volume models to commence production will be built outside the UK, which is a precedent in the history of the company. The task for the assembly and production of the Aston Martin Rapide is assigned to the Austrian Magna Steyr company. Aston Martin has undergone a turbulent transformation in the past, most of that is due to the change of ownership. The UK brand was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1987 but twenty years later Ford parted with Aston Martin and sold the British car company to a consortium headed by David Richards’s Prodrive and part of which are two Kuwaiti investment houses – Investment Dar and Adeem Investment (Aston Martin Lagonda Limited). The shift seems to have taken Aston Martin to new heights taking into account the company’s last year achievements, the announcement of the stunning new projects like Aston Maritn Rapide and the ‘177’, and even the possible future cooperation with Mercedes-Benz. Nevertheless, the economic status quo raises issues which are tough to be dealt with even by a company like Aston Martin. In an attempt to tackle the problem with the financial upheaval the UK car company has decided to ‘decimate’ its personnel. In all three hundred permanent posts nd exactly the same amount of temporary jobs will be liquidated within the company from a total of 1850 people currently employed (Pollard 2008). Despite the drawbacks of this loss Aston Martin’s chief executive Ulrich Bez states that Aston Martin will not be shutting down or reducing production and the new projects will be making their market debut according to the company’s initial schemes. Aston Mar tin has a strong brand name existing for 95 years, during which it has acquired and developed expertise in the manufacturing of luxury sports cars. This puts company in a leading position as a world top-end car manufacturer with a major influence on the highest levels of the car market. Recent change in ownership also proves to be beneficial for Aston Martin so far. Probable joint operations with Mercedes-Benz are likely to boost the UK automobile maker even higher in the overall car market ranking. Expansion into new markets in the Middle East has become also a top priority of the company at the moment. These factors, combined with the adequate management that has proven itself over the past, compose the strength of the company. Currently Aston Martin only holds a tiny share of the world car market. The company has entrusted the production of a new car series to a foreign manufacturer which is clearly shows the lack of production power. The UK manufacturer is also attempting to enter new markets in terms of car diversification, but that might prove catastrophic because of the swiftness with which the plans are being executed and the current economic climate. Especially when a company like Aston Martin is forced to cut down on its operating personnel it means that production will fall and no matter what the company will suffer. The potential mutual programme between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin could prove very beneficial for Aston Martin. For a small company specialised in a single branch of the car industry a partnership with Mercedes could mean access to the research and development, using Mercedes patents and technology along with Mercedes-built engines and other components. Considering the market instability at the moment Aston Martin could possibly widen their range of automobiles to the levels below the premium. Using hybrid-engine technology implements in Aston Martin engineering is a viable option. Further territorial growth is definitely a chance for Aston Martin to win market share. Major threat to Aston Martin’s future is the EU regulations that are to be enforced in 2012 regarding CO2 emissions. Fluctuating fuel prices and possible fuel shortage also pose danger to the position of the brand on the market. Customers’ increasing tendency to buy fuel-efficient, environment-friendly cars will definitely put the UK manufacturer at stake. Not last comes the threat from the potential alliance with Mercedes. A large foreign company with much interest in a small manufacturer like Aston Martin could prove to be devastating for the image of the UK brand and might threaten its future. Making the correct choices is crucial for Aston Martin in the current marketing environment. For a brand with such expertise in luxury cars it would be wise to keep the production coming, making sure the new products are upgrades of the previous ones. Another improvement for Aston Martin would be to take their products to markets where other industries are flourishing and cash is flowing in – the Middle East and Asia. Trying to tune up with the growing concern for fuel efficiency and environment conservation Aston Martin should look more seriously into hybrid-fuelled cars like many other car manufacturers have. Advertising is an area where measures need to be taken, not only when it comes to entering new markets, but also promoting in already established ones with emphasizing the distinguishing characteristics of the brand. References BBC Magazines Limited. 2008. One-77: its out [Online]. Available at: http://www. topgear. com/uk/car-news/aston-martin-one-77-hot-image. [Accessed 03 Dec 2008]. Bowker, J. 2008. Aston Martin targets Middle East market [Online]. Available at: http://www. birminghampost. net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/emerging-markets/2008/09/09/aston-martin-targets-middle-east-market-65233-21714080/. [Accessed 02 Dec 2008]. Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. 2006. Consumer Behaviour. In: Principles of Marketing. 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, pp. 115-121. ClimateBizStaff. 2008. EU Car Emissions Agreement Stalls [Online]. Available at: http://www. climatebiz. com/news/2008/11/26/eu-car-emissions-agreement-stalls.

If You Can’t Bless It, Change It.

If You Can’t Bless It, Change It. This season of the Jewish New Year brings much reflection on the past year and how we want to live our lives in the future. Most of us know that gratitude is key to living a satisfied life, and this holiday season my rabbi in Madison, Laurie Zimmerman, focused on this subject in her sermon. She related a story by Mitchell Chefitz in which a newly graduated â€Å"Officer of the Law† encountered a man in rags.  He commanded the man three times to Come forward! to no effect.  Finally the man in rags said, â€Å"I dont know what Im going to do with you. Do with me? the Officer of the Law mocked.  Do with me?  You dont do with me! I do with you!  I am an Officer of the Law, and I command you to come forward. Now I know what to do with you, the man in rags said, and as he spoke, he drew his sword.  A swordfight followed in which, after putting up a good fight, the man in rags lowered his guard, and the Officer of the Law’s sword mistakenly ran through him.  As the man died, he said, I put upon you the Curse of Blessings. Every day you must say a new blessing, one you have never said before. And on the day you do not say a new blessing, you will die. The man in rags closed his eyes and then disappeared, and the Officer of the Law wondered whether his experience were real. But as the sun set, he felt life leaving him and in a panic uttered a blessing over the sunset. Life flowed back into him.  From that day on, he said a new blessing every day, blessing abilities, then concrete things, relationships, and more. Word spread throughout the land that this previously pompous Officer of the Law was a source of blessing. He kept blessing the miracles of the world and found more and more things to bless. Finally, he was about to turn 120 years old and decided on his birthday not to make a new blessing but to recount some of the blessings he had made before. As the sun set, he felt a chill coming into his body and did not utter a blessing. Then appeared the man in rags. You! the Officer of the Law exclaimed. I have thought about you every day for a hundred years!  I never meant to harm you.  Please, forgive me. You dont understand, said the man in rags.  You dont know who I am, do you? I am the angel who was sent a hundred years ago to harvest your soul, but when I looked at you, so pompous and proud, there was nothing there to harvest.  An empty uniform was all I saw.  So I put upon you the Curse of Blessings, and now look what youve become! The Officer of the Law could not help but say, I feel blessed, dear God, that You have kept me alive and sustained me so I could attain this moment of insight. Now look what youve done! the man in rags said in frustration. A new blessing! Life flowed back into the Officer of the Law, and he and the man in rags looked to each other, neither of them knowing quite what to do. (Paraphrased from â€Å"The Curse of Blessings† in The Curse of Blessings: Sometimes, the Right Story Can Change Your Life by Mitchell Chefitz, 2006.) The rabbi also recounted a tale of the crossing of the Red Sea. In the midst of this great miracle, two people, Reuven and Shimon, did not celebrate, but rather cursed the mud, saying it was just like Egypt. â€Å"Their eyes turned downwards, while the greatest of miracles was happening all around them.† So often, like the pre-swordfight Officer of the Law, and like Reuven and Shimon, we don’t notice the blessings in our lives. We focus on what’s missing, on the negative. We become self-absorbed. This way of life drains the life from us, making us heartless and cold. In contrast, waking up and saying a new blessing, showing gratitude consistently, brings us warmth and life, carries us into the present so we’re not living in the past or the future, and draws people closer to us. We become someone people appreciate and want to be around. Marge Piercy’s poem, â€Å"The Art of Blessing the Day,† encourages us to create a life full of blessings: â€Å"Bless whatever you can / with eyes and hands and tongue. If you / cant bless it, get ready to make it new.† At this time of reflection, I encourage you to find and express the blessings in your life, and to live as much as possible in the present. And, if you can’t bless it, change it. For me, that’s the way to create a life I want to live. A life that inspires me to jump out of bed in the morning excited to bless something new.

Discussion Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Discussion Question - Assignment Example public health is the prevention, cure, and control of infectious diseases, improved sanitation, and reduced incidences of cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases (Novick, Morrow, & Mays, 2008). All these public health components are accounted for by the fifth great public health achievement in the textbook. This achievement has gone a long way in transforming the face of the contemporary society. Preventative and curative measures are in place to manage, control, and oversee public health development. On the same note, improved sanitation translates to a better quality of life. When the society leads a healthy life, there is less likelihood of public health crisis. This achievement, therefore, averts public health crisis by empowering the society to take control of its welfare. In conclusion, the above achievement is great because it accounts for the most basic components of a healthy society. Food, water, and shelter are influential as far as public health is concerned. With improved sanitation and reduced disease incidences in the society, people’s overall lifestyles exhibit high quality practices. This is undoubtedly a great achievement in the public health

'Systematic' approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

'Systematic' approach - Essay Example An organizations success depends on qualities of the employees working in that organization. For achieving the goals of the organization, the organization required right quantity and quality of employees. By understanding the learning need the organization can improve the capabilities of the employees. By providing learning opportunities to the employees helps to achieve personnel and carrier goal and able to increase the employees engagement. This helps to improve the productivity of the organization. Learning â€Å"is acquiring new knowledge behaviors, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning may occur as part of education, personal development, or training. It may be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation. The study of how learning occurs is part of neuropsychology, educational psychology, learning theory, and pedagogy.† (Learning, 2010). An organization’s ability to learn and translate that learning into action is the ultimate competitive advantage. In each and every organization using learning process learning is mainly using for the purpose train the employees it is a continuous process and it is a step by step process it is a systematic approach. Learning is the process by which people select organize or interpret attach meaning to the event happening the environment. Learning and developments involves the continual improvement of companies in the organization. The learning source may including workers ideas, consumers input, research and development (R&D) and best practice sharing and benchmarking. The learning result give more satisfaction and versatile of employees. In each and every organization have there on approaches they must realize that by continuously developing and training their employees

How Various Cultural Differences May Affect the Success of Essay

How Various Cultural Differences May Affect the Success of International Business Negotiations - Essay Example In order to understand this aspect more closely, the meaning of the term negotiation has to be understood in an appropriate manner as applicable in international business. The origin of the word negotiation goes back to the Roman word ‘negotiari’, which implies continuing business (Hendon and Herbig, 1996, p.1). As a matter of fact, the word negotiation has a multi-layered structure wherein the common interests and conflicts of business organizations are to be managed for obtaining a favorable situation. How Does Culture affect Business Deals? Thus, an effective business can be compared with a fruit bearing tree and lack of communication suddenly leads to a situation in which this tree stops bearing fruits any longer. In short, communication is a significant part of successful business negotiations. The question that can be raised here is whether culture can be a possible impediment in the way of a successful business? A majority of people are sensitive about their belie fs, values, experiences and knowledge all of which constitute their culture. Therefore, there is a distinct flavor about the culture of different nations.(Silkenat, Aresty and Klosek, 2009, p.48) Arousal of Conflicts during Business Negotiations In fact, the following points establish clearly how conflicts may arise in business negotiations owing to cultural differences (Hendon and Herbig, 1996, p.2): The core of a disagreement primarily erupts due to differences in requirements. Thus, a business might fail to proceed as one of the negotiators may not prefer the opinion of the other side. The misfortune here is that there are no laws or rules for arriving at a consensus in business negotiations until one of the parties agree to change their opinion and break the barriers for better business prospects. Regardless of differences, both parties in a business avoid engaging in a direct business duel and instead prefer to keep quiet for future references. Broadly speaking, the world of bu siness is filled with ironies and the worst of enemies often unite for common benefits. The crux of the matter is that in a successful business negotiation, it is important for both parties to propel each other towards a conclusion. Since, the process involves skilful communications; cultural barriers emerge as an evil particularly when one party tries to establish supremacy over the other. Such challenges inhibit the business process to a great extent, raising its ugly head in the form of traditions and beliefs (Gannon, 2009, p.xiv ) Although, cultural hindrances seem tricky initially, they are nothing more than idiosyncrasies that are to be eliminated through proper and careful planning. In other words, a successful business must have the power to mow down the unconventional aspects of a nation that is more popularly referred to as the culture of the people residing in a country (Hendon and Herbig, 1996, p.4) Communication: The Fundamentals of Business Deals Communication is essen tially cultural whether expressions are verbal or non-verbal in nature. China is one of the most forwarding countries conducting extensive business internationally, which is largely due to the reforms and policies. China has vehemently proved that poor communication leads to diminishing efforts for converting a business into a successful deal and eventually weakens the status of a company in the market. It is no wonder that cross-cultural negotiation training enable a company to score over its competitor and

The Primary Obstacle To Success Marketing Essay

The Primary Obstacle To Success Marketing Essay The primary obstacle to success in international marketing is a persons self reference criterion (SRC) in making decision, that is, an unconscious reference to ones own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge as a basis for decisions. The SRC impedes the ability to assess a foreign market in its true light. if we talk about in basic terms then SRC means to forget about self like if a company is going to some another country then the going company will have to take care about the culture etc of the host country and will have to forget about our culture like McDonalds when entered India they sold product aloo tikki burger in spite of their beef burger. In international marketing scenarios, we are talking about working in different cultural environments and hence a self referenced behaviour may not be the correct behaviour from the perspective target culture. Hence, realization of this difference of culture and the possibility of self reference criterion is important in internationa l marketing. This is not such a big issue in domestic marketing since the cultural difference is not major. Animals provide a good illustration of the impact of the SRC on the thinking process. Americans and Europeans commonly treat dogs as family members, addressing the animals affectionately and even letting dogs sleep on family members beds. However in Arab, view dogs as filthy animals. Some in the Far East go so far as to cook and eat dogs. A consumption habit viewed as revolting and compared to cannibalism by Americans. Hindus, in contrast, revere cows and do not understand how Americans can eat beef, especially in large quantity. In order to investigate a phenomenon in another country, a researcher or marketing manager must attempt to eliminate the SRC effect. The marketing challenge is to create a product that fits the needs of a particular culture. The presence of the SRC, if not controlled, can invalidate the result of a research study. Lee suggests a multi step approach to remove the undue influence of the SRC. First the problem should be defined in terms of the culture of the researchers home country. Second, the same problem is defined again, except that it is defined in terms of the cultural norms of the host country. Third, a comparison is made of the two cultural composites. Any difference noted between the composites indicates an existence of the SRC, necessitating another look at the problem with SRC removed. To illustrate the impact of the SRC, consider misunderstanding that can occur about personal space between people of different cultures. In the west, unrelated individuals keep a certain physical distance between themselves and other when talking to each other or in groups. We do not consciously think about that distance; we just know what feels right without thinking. When someone is too close or too far away, we feel uncomfortable and either move further away or get closer to correct the distance, we are relying on our SRC. In some cultures, the acceptable distance between individuals is substantially less than that comfortable to westerners. When they, unaware of another cultures acceptable distance, are approached too closely by someone from another culture, the unconsciously confusion results for the parties. Westerners assume foreigners are pushy, while foreigners assume westerners are unfriendly and stand-offish. Both react to the values of their own SRCs, making them all vict ims of a cultural misunderstanding. http://www.citeman.com/7414-the-self-reference-criterion-and-ethnocentrism-major-obstacles/ Ethnocentrism and the SRC can influence an evaluation of the appropriateness of a domestically designed marketing mix for a foreign market. If US marketers are not aware, they might evaluate a marketing mix based on US experiences (i.e. their SRC) without fully appreciating the cultural differences that require adaptation. Esso, the brand name of a gasoline, was a successful name in the United States and would seem harmless enough for foreign countries; however in Japan the name phonetically means stalled car an undesirable image for gasoline. Another example is Pet in pet Milk. The name has been used for decades, yet in France the word pet means, among other things, flatulence again, not the desired image for canned milk. Both of these examples were real mistakes made by major companies stemming from reliance on their SRC in making a decision. In US culture, a persons SRC would not reveal a problem with either Esso or pet, but in international marketing, relying on ones SRC could pr oduce an inadequately adapted marketing program that ends in failure. Question B To enter a foreign market, a manufacturer has a number of strategic options. Many companies employ multiple strategies. Polycentricity is a strong orientation to the host country. The attitude places emphasis on differences between markets that are caused by variations within, such as in income, culture, laws and politics. The assumption is that each market is unique and consequently difficult for outsiders to understand. Thus, managers from the host country should be employed and allowed to have a great deal of discretion in market decisions. A significant degree of decentralization is thus common across the overseas divisions. On the other hand egocentricity is a compromise between the two extremes of ethonocentricity and policentricity. It could be argued that this attitude is the most important of the three. Egocentricity is an orientation that considers the whole world rather than any particular country as the target market. A geocentric company might be thought of as denational ized or supranational. As such international or foreign departments or markets do not exist because the company does not designate anything international or foreign about market. There is a high likelihood that a geocentric company does not identify itself with a particular country. Therefore, it is often difficult to determine the firms home country except through the location of its headquarters and its corporate registration. A subculture is a distinct and identifiable cultural group that has values in common with the overall society but also has certain characteristics that are unique to itself. Subcultures are groups of people within a larger society. Although the various subcultures share some basic traits of the wider culture, they also preserve their own customs and lifestyles, making them significantly different from other groups within the larger culture of which they are a part. Indonesia, for example, has more than 300 ethnic groups, with lifestyles and cultures that seem thousands of years apart. There are many different ways to classify subcultures. Although race or ethnic origin is one obvious way, it is not the only one. Other demographic and social variables can be just as suitable for establishing subcultures within a nation. The degree of intra country homogeneity varies from one country to another. In the case of Japan, the society as a whole is remarkably homogeneous. Although some regional and racial diversities as well as differences among income classes are to be found, the differentials are not pronounced. There are several reasons why Japan is a relatively homogeneous country. It is a small country in terms of area, making its population geographically concentrated. National pride and management philosophy also help to forge a high degree of unity. As a result, people work together harmoniously to achieve the some common goals. One study of the relationship between ethnicity and lifestyles found significant differences among English, French, Italian, and Greek Canadians even when socio demographic variables were controlled. Greek Canadians, for example, are more brands loyal but dislike credit. Each ethnic group, due to size, may require a differentiated marketing strategy. Ethnically speaking, two prominent subcultures emerge: English speaking and French speaking. Studies have repeatedly shown that the French speaking and English speaking households differ from each other significantly in term of demographics, subculture, and consumption habits. French Canadians consumer behaviour is a cross between that of North Americans and that of the continental French, being both similar to and different from those of these two groups. Compare to the French, Quebecers are more direct, less dramatic and less formal. Compare to other English Canadians, Quebecers move far less often and thus have far less need to make long distance phone calls to relatives and friends. Subculture may provide an effective basis for market segmentation. In the case of the United States, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans spend around $750 billion annually and deserve marketing attention. American firms attempt to attract various sub cultural groups in many different ways. Carnival Cruise Lines has an entire cruise ship (Fiesta Marina) just for the Hispanic market. McDonalds has created a Mac Report series of Spanish infomercials. J C Penney has outfitted 170 stores to carry merchandise for Hispanic and African American consumers. ATT, MCI, and Sprint have advertised their long distance phone services in a variety of Asian dialects. One marketer offered native language coupons giving $24 discounts with each purchase to Chinese Americans. Unfortunately, 2 and 4 in some Chinese communities are close to the words easy and death respectively. Naturally, many customers do not want easy death. In another case, green baseball caps were offered as premi ums during a Chinese New Year celebration. Among older generations, a man wearing a green cap wants to bring public scorn on his wife by telling the public that his is cheating on him. Culture prescribes acceptable beliefs, traditions, customs and values that are then socially shared. Culture is subjective, enduring yet dynamic and cumulative. It affects peoples behaviour in diverse ways through logic, communication and consumptions. Although some cultural traits are universal, many others are unique and vary from country to country. And in spite of national norm, cultural differences as a rule even exist within each country. While there may be a tendency to misunderstand different cultures and subcultures, this temptation should be resisted. Being the force that it is, the culture of one country should not be judged as superior to the culture of another country. Each culture has its own particular values and social practices, and the international marketer will be much further ahead if he or she tries to walk in the other persons shoes in order to understand more clearly that persons concerns and ideas. It is also more important to know what a person thinks than w hat that persons language is. Because of the great differences in language and culture around the world, any firms need to adjust their approach to solving marketing problems in different countries. In a foreign cultural environment, the marketing plan that has worked well at home may no longer be effective. As a result, the firms marketing mix may have to undergo significant adaption and adjustment. However, effective marketing in this environment will thus mandate that the company be culturally responsive. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. International marketing, Analysis and Strategy, Third edition by Sak Onkvisit John J Shaw chapter 1, 6, 9 2. International marketing, European edition by Cateora and Ghauri chapter 1, 6 3. Marketing across cultures, 4th edition by J C Usunier and J A Less Part 1 (1,23), Part 2 (4, 7)

Present Proposals for Improvements to customer service Essay

Introduction: In this assignment I will research a business through either the Internet or visiting the actual location and describe what type of customer service does that business have. I will pass judgement by listing all the facilities that the business has installed to facilitate and benefit their customers. I will base my research on the Legoland theme park in Windsor as it has a lot of factors to talk about in my assignment and will prove quite interesting in my understanding in what good customer service is. For task 2 I will describe the Acts of Parliament that protects customers and relate each Act according to how it will affect an customer at Legoland. I will then take another business and I will observe all the factors that has been asked of me to do, such as make notes like the â€Å"friendliness that the business makes to its customers† to questions like â€Å"What are the conditions of hygiene to the customers†, all of which will be taken in to account into an overall conclusion to how that business gives satisfaction to customer service. I will visit Mc Donald’s in Hounslow, being as its a very busy environment it will test their behaviour to all the elements that could effect their service and observe how they deal in those predicaments. I will then interpretative my opinion on how Mc Donald’s could improve there business through an oral presentation. Read more:  Advantages of Off The Job Training For task 5 I will obtain information on how an organisation monitor customer service and explain on how Legoland would take out to improve and increase sales for the long term future. Task 1 and Introduction to Legoland I have chosen to visit Legoland Windsor as my organisation, Legoland has 150 acres of wooded landscape. It is set on a beautiful site, nine million families within our target age range. The lego group was founded in 1932 by â€Å"Ole Kirk Chitarisen who started life as a carpenter. today Lego is consistently the only European toy manufacturer in the worlds top ten best sellers list. The Lego group is always being innovative. Manufacturing new designs and different techniques of satisfying children’s fundamental needs. The lego group is still a family owned business. Around 1.2 – 1.4 million people visits Legoland per year. It has all a child aged 2-12 needs. It is near to main motorways and there are several means of access to Legoland. There are many advantages, for example the effect on the local economy. I am visiting Legoland in order to investigate how the business treats its internal and external customers and what methods they have to solve customer complaints. External customers are people that buy or visits. They are private individuals and businesses Legolands main external customers are families, grandparents with children, children from school trips and foreigners. There are 12 – 14 million visitors every year. It is a great idea for parents to take their children to Legoland as it meets their needs. Legoland has five themed activity areas with forty interactive notes and is full of fun for children aged 2 -12. The services that Legoland offer to its customers. * Toilet facilities: Children always need to go to the toilet nearly each hour of the day therefore , there should be a sufficient amount of toilets around the site. * Baby care Centres: This area is a private area for mothers to changed their baby or to breastfeed. It is ideal for mothers as it is convenient and they can rely on them in case of a emergency. * Lockers: Legoland offers lockers to the public as it saves them carrying their luggage around and they know that it is safe. They are non-refundable coin operated lockers . There are a high amount of lockers provided. * Pushchairs and wheelchairs hire: Both pushchairs & wheelchairs can be hired from Legoland. They have a charge but is fair. To make pushchairs & wheelchairs give more access Legoland have provided slopes instead of steps and wide gaps for access in the attractions. For example freestyle workshop. * Public telephone: There are public telephone located on the mini map. This is very pleasing as not everyone has mobile phones. This may be ideal for parents making calls to a taxi firm or friend to pick them up. * First Aid: There is only are first aid centre on the map. This is unpleasant as first aid centres are vital as children may cause injury to themselves and need assistance promptly. * Lost Parents: There are two lost parents sites located. This is a vital need as children need to know where they are and how far they are. A child may get lost and will not know what to do. Normally if a child appears at a lost parents centre, they announce it on speakers around the site giving a full description of a lost child. * Automatic cash machines; There is one cash machine on site. This is useful as parents do not have to visit banks to withdraw cash. Parents would not have to worry if they run out of money. * Restaurants and cafes: There are eight restaurants & cafes in Legoland. This is pleasing as parents and children will have the benefit of eating when they are ready. They would not have to walk far to find a restaurant. The internal customers of Legoland are the employees, support staff and those who work within the organisation. Their needs would be: * A pleasant environment to work in: The employees would require an environment in which it is clean, safe and suitable. * An average salary: All employee want to earn a sufficient amount of money, so they can purchase more goods/services, or of a higher quality of goods or services. Their salary must be able to cover for their own running costs, food and needs. * Uniform: Some jobs require the employees to wear a uniform. The employees would have to wear the uniform as it is presentable and is a form of advertising. It pleases customers & alerts them that the employees are available. * Changing area: Employees need an area in which they can change their clothes into their uniform. Their has to be a male/female changing room. This is convenient for the employees, as they will not have to wear their to and from work. * Lockers: Employees need locker to store their valuables and to reduce the risk of theft. The employees feel a little safer as they know their goods are store somewhere safe. * Toilets: Staff need toilet facilities as this is a basic need. * Car park: Staff who drive need to know where they can park their vechiles without worrying. In some staff car – parks, only the staff have an entrance to it. Business communication Oral. An event when I spoke to an member of staff at Legoland was: 1) At the main entrance, I went to guest services to ask on some more information on Legoland and perhaps that they might have a student information pack, they replied and gladly and gave me a booklet on all the information on the Legoland Corporation. My opinion of the customer service of Legoland. During my visit to Mc Donald I discovered that many of staff were exhausted, unhelpful and bored. There were not many members of the public as the weather was unpleasant. Due to the poor weather, most of the attractions and shops were closed I went on a few attractions to test the staff’s reaction. For example, we went on a ride called â€Å"the ferrous wheel†. The woman working there was being very sarcastic as the ride was for all ages but aimed at younger children but still didn’t give her the right to tell me and the people I’m with â€Å"I hope you not come back†. We went on another ride called â€Å"casserole†. The man who was supervising the ride who was opposite us and phoned the person on the other side of the path and they both started laughing and making jokes, which quite rude and uncomfortable The procedures Legoland adapt to handling customer complaints are. * Listening to the customers complaints. * Try to assess the situation. * Let the customer fill in a customer complaint form * Reassure the customer saying sorry and it will not happen again An situation where a complaint was proceeded. A man came into a restaurant to purchase a cup of coffee for 85p. He begins to drink and realises that the coffee has gone cold. He goes to the server and tells him that his coffee that he just purchased has been cold when he bought it. The server Written communication I got this leaflet from a library. It has all the information the public need to know about Legoland. It has six different languages for everyone’s needs, it gives the statistic information, opening times, advance booking, season passes and where how to get there. It is a very vibrant and bold leaflet. This leaflet is all you need to know about Legoland. It has a big and colourful writing for children to read and uses words like â€Å"excitement†, â€Å"hours of fun† â€Å"nothing better†. These words are emphasised many times to make Legoland sound fun and interesting. Legoland manufactures many leaflets in order to persuade little children and parents to visit. LEAFET * Here in a leaflet, I got from the front desk It tells the public when the opening times are for certain attractions. The second Leaflet is a addition feature that Legoland have added as their last and closing days to their seasonal year. It is shown in a very bright and vibrant layout with space Legoland character shooting a space war over the miniature site attraction. It would attract people into to going to this event but the thing that would put people off is the times that the fireworks will be displayed which is the late evening so some people might need to leave, so they have to miss that event, if it was some other special event that can proceed in the day then the turn out could be large. N/A N/A These are the four acts which protect customers 1)Consumer protection Act 1987 This act states that all goods brought should be safe to use, and prices should not be displayed in a misleading way. Legoland would have to abide by these rules. For example, the price of goods should not be displayed in a confusing way. The price should be bold so customers can clearly see and understand them. 2) Sales of goods act 1979 This law declares that goods should be: * Merchantable quality (Fit to sell, have no faults or damages) * Fit for their purpose (suitable for the purpose for which they are sold) * As describe (must match description given) For example, at Legoland the goods sold should have no faults or damages. If a women purchases a key ring and discovers that there is a crack in the glass that contains a picture of Legoland, she can take it back either to received a refund or exchange, Legoland may lose customer loyalty through damaged goods so they must maintain high quality products. 3) Trades Description Act 1963. The code conveys that traders must give an accurate description of their goods & services. Legoland must show clearly their goods & services they sell. For example, In the leaflets it describes the goods it sells. 4) Health and safety at work Act 1974 This act states that External customers can sue if they: * get injured because he/she sold a faulty product * suffer financial lost/distress, because of poor workmanship, professional negligence * Injure themselves because lack of care by an employee due to unsafe fittings. For Example, a customer walks into Burger king and slips over and breaks his arm. There were no signs of safety to alert the customer. The customer can sue the business for this. Task 4 Intro: In this part of the assignment I am going to observes the customer service at McDonald. This requires me to purchase something from the fast food chain and take in all the details which will help me explain what are my thought on the overall service of that particular restaurant. ________________________________________________________________ During my visit to a well known restaurant I discovered that many of staff treated their customers very well. I went into a restaurant called â€Å"McDonald†. The service was satisfactory as they treated me in a good manner. There were limited amounts of food to choose from. They had a chicken burger, chicken nuggets, beefburgers & chips, all in total of 6 meals to choose from. I thought there would be more of a variety to choose from. I paid 79p for a medium portion of chips. its was not filling at all, whereas if I went to a general fish and chip shop the portions that they give for 79p is quite handsome and leaves you quite full. The time it took to order an potion of chips was very quick as it was almost instant. It took almost for the cashier at Mc Donald’s to despense the money I gave her in order to give me my order about 40secs, which was very impressive. I was in a long queue to test the amount of time it took to place my order. It took 3 mins to place my order in a queue with 7 people ahead of me. The hygiene of the restaurant was only satisfactory as the place was over crowded and I think due to the poor weather conditions most staff were ill and tired to meet the standards of cleanliness required by the Health and Safety Act to their customers. Despite the hygienic of the restaurant the ergonomics of the seats and tables and all other design features to the chain restaurant is in general quite good. For a family of four could easily seat together in a booth that is to assist a number of people at once to sit. The tables is on average in the right height to eat, and the seats just complement the table with the right height. The only disadvantage to the comfort to the seats is that its 100% plastic and that can be quite uncomfortable if sat down for a long time, but due to the constant redesigning to the restaurants it may just be a costing objective. In overall comfort to the restaurant is very welcoming and due to the winter they have set the climate to a comfortable temperature. The hygiene of the lavatories was at a high standard. No matter how busy it is, Mc Donald’s always maintained the lavatories clean and the all the way into the mensroom neat. The floors are always mopeds and the cubicles are always smelling fresh. The access for the disabled people is just satisfactory. As I walked in I noticed instant that the space between the tray and bin stand and the parallel table was quite close together, and if I just squeezed through a person going the other direction then someone in a wheelchair is going to have a frustrating time getting to order and finally having a place to eat in McDonalds. There is a disabled toilet which is at a very good standard, so Mc Donald’s are to facilitate disabled people but there ideas would need to have concerns on how they are meant to get in their restaurant. Mc Donald’s have always been concern for the environment. From when a customer opens there boxed burger to reading the sheet that covers the tray, Mc Donald’s always mentions and expresses that all there packaging and wrapping is produced from recycled paper and other materials. The majority of the disposable rubbish is always mention to be recycled too. The surrounding environment to Mc Donald’s is clean and members of staff take shifts into picking up any other rubbish that surrounds Mc Donald’s. The bins around the restaurant are always being replaced with an empty black bag, and on the outside of the restaurant which is the front, is a bin which is always being monitored by the staff. The safety of the restaurant was excellent as they had taken all precautions to prevent accidents from occurring. For example a sign symbolising that theirs a wet floor was put up, this was to reduce the risk of injury. The improvements that Mc Donald’s need to take in to action are: The three improvements to customer service that I have chosen are: a) Friendliness b) Availabilty of Goods and services a) Friendliness When I went into Mc’Donalds the staff did greeted me nice but in self forcefully way. As I ordered my fries the cashier almost shouted and said â€Å"Is that all† I quietly replied â€Å"no that would be fine†. Then when I received my order She said â€Å"Thank you enjoy your meal† even when I ordered a portion of fries and in the way she said it was in a insincere way. The way that the staff at Mc Donald’s could improve its courtesy to their customer would be to hire more cashiers and give them a longer break as on the day I went to the restaurant it was a very busy day and the amount of customers and stress combined can did lead to satisfactory behaviour. b) Availability of goods. From time to time McDonalds do have a wider variety of extra value meals but only for limited time period such as the new Chinese themed meals. As in a any other working day you would go into have lunch at their restaurants you would find yourself limited amounts of foods to choose and soon enough you would become fed up of eaten the same thing time and time again. Mc Donald’s could improve this by introducing more different extra value meals and fixing them into the ordering system in the restaurant so they become a regular fixture. How businesses monitor customer satisfaction Legoland monitor the number of customers by looking at their level of sales. If their sales are low, this means that the numbers of customer’s visits are low. This may be due to high price unhelpful or rude staff or validity of goods/services. Legoland monitors the level of sales by seeing if the sales have increased. This means that more customers are buying more. If the sales are rising this may indicate that customers that customers are happy with the service or find the goods at a reasonable price. Legoland monitor feedback by asking their customers to fill a form on their service. If a customer went into a shop to purchase a magazine and was unable to find it, he/she says thank you. This is a method of feedback as the customers was happy with their good/service. Some businesses issue surveys to their customers because then they can detect if people are happy with their good/service. Legoland monitor repeats business by checking the name and address of a person and how many times his names appears. For example a man buys a jumper on credit card. It shows the name and address. Another day, the same man returns and purchases a jacket, his name will appear again. Therefore the company can conclude that this is a frequent customer.

Assessment of initial launch into China Essay

Please watch the video case of Michel’s patisserie and answer the following question in written format (also prepare the answers to other questions listed on the tutorial agenda for tutorial discussion): What is your assessment of Michel’s initial launch into China? What would you have done differently? China has a tea-drinking culture, and tea has dominated for centuries. The coffee consumption in China is relatively low and although the coffee consumption is growing in some particular cities in China e.g. Shanghai and Beijing. The coffee market giant such as Starbucks has already had 500 shops in China and Chinese people are more attracted by the Starbucks image and experience than to the coffee itself. Michel’s may face the difficulties when operating in Chin in China. First, the key source of competitive advantage of Michel’s is about its successful franchising system, which prepared in a central bakery and then delivered to the franchisee’s stores and hence franchisees need only minimal preparations to start their business. However, this competitive advantage may blur because of the issues of logistic and bakery set up (localized central bakery). If Michel’s could not deal with those issues, which comprised with their competitive advantage, results i n less attractive and profitable of the brand. Therefore, it is hard to Michel’s to maintain its competitive advantages to compete with other coffee giants in this case- Starbucks, which has invested heavily in the brand development as one of the key competitive advantage in China. In addition, the franchise system in China is not mature; the local managers don’t have much managerial skill to understand the franchise concept, and often they might do what they want to regardless the franchise agreement, which may cause the inconsistent brand image and operations between home and host country. Before Michel’s initial launch into China they should had a more depth understanding of the Chinese coffee market. In the current case, the Chinese franchisee mentioned that the taste of Australian cakes is too sweet for Shanghai people and the English menu is difficult for local customer. All this kind of question can be solved by pre market research. Marketing plans are better to be consistent; Michel’s changed t heir franchise system and some marketing plans.

A Genetics Definition of Homologous Chromosomes

A Genetics Definition of Homologous Chromosomes Homologous chromosomes are chromosome pairs (one from each parent) that are similar in length, gene position, and centromere location. The position of the genes on each homologous chromosome is the same. However, the genes may contain different alleles. Chromosomes are important molecules, as they contain DNA and the genetic instructions for the direction of all cell activity. They also carry genes that determine individual traits. Homologous Chromosomes Example A human karyotype shows the complete set of human chromosomes. Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Each chromosome pair represents a set of homologous chromosomes. One chromosome in each pair is donated from the mother and the other from the father during sexual reproduction. In a karyotype, there are 22 pairs of autosomes (non-sex chromosomes) and one pair of sex chromosomes. In males, the X and Y sex chromosomes are homologs. In females, both X chromosomes are homologs. Mitosis The purpose of mitosis (nuclear division) and cell division is to replicate cells for repair and growth. Before mitosis begins, chromosomes must be replicated to ensure that each cell retains the correct number of chromosomes after cell division. Homologous chromosomes replicate forming sister chromatids (identical copies of a replicated chromosome that are attached). After replication, the single-stranded DNA becomes double-stranded and has the familiar X shape. As the cell progresses through the stages of mitosis, sister chromatids are eventually separated by spindle fibers and divided between two daughter cells. Each separated chromatid is considered a full single-stranded chromosome. Interphase: Homologous chromosomes replicate forming sister chromatidsProphase: Sister chromatids move toward the center of the cellMetaphase: Sister chromatids align along the metaphase plate at the cells centerAnaphase: Sister chromatids are separated and pulled toward opposite cell polesTelophase: Chromosomes are separated into distinct nuclei After the cytoplasm is divided during cytokinesis, two new daughter cells are formed with the same number of chromosomes in each cell. Mitosis preserves the homologous chromosome number. Meiosis Meiosis is the mechanism for gamete formation and involves a two-stage division process. Prior to meiosis, homologous chromosomes replicate forming sister chromatids. In prophase I, sister chromatids pair up forming what is called a tetrad. While in close proximity, homologous chromosomes sometimes exchange sections of DNA. This is known as genetic recombination. Homologous chromosomes separate during the first meiotic division and sister chromatids separate during the second division. At the end of meiosis, four daughter cells are produced. Each cell is haploid and contains half the number of chromosomes as the original cell. Each chromosome has the appropriate number of genes, however, the alleles for the genes are different. The swapping of genes during homologous chromosome recombination produces genetic variation in organisms that reproduce sexually. Upon fertilization, haploid gametes become a diploid organism. Nondisjunction and Mutations Occasionally, problems arise in cell division that cause cells to divide improperly. Failure of chromosomes to separate correctly in mitosis or meiosis is called nondisjunction. Should nondisjunction occur in the first meiotic division, homologous chromosomes remain paired. This results in two daughter cells with an extra set of chromosomes and two daughter cells with no chromosomes. Nondisjunction may also occur in meiosis II when sister chromatids fail to separate prior to cell division. Fertilization of these gametes produces individuals with either too many or not enough chromosomes. Nondisjunction is often fatal or may produce chromosomal anomalies resulting in birth defects. In trisomy nondisjunction, cells contain an extra chromosome. In humans, this means that there are 47 total chromosomes instead of 46. Trisomy is seen in Down syndrome where chromosome 21 has an additional or partial chromosome. Nondisjunction may also produce abnormalities in sex chromosomes. Monosomy is a type of nondisjunction in which only one chromosome is present. Females with Turner syndrome have only one X sex chromosome. Males with XYY syndrome have an extra Y sex chromosome. Nondisjunction in sex chromosomes typically has less severe consequences than nondisjunction in autosomal chromosomes (non-sex chromosomes). Chromosome mutations can impact both homologous chromosomes and non-homologous chromosomes. A translocation mutation is a type of mutation in which a piece of one chromosome breaks off and is joined to another chromosome. This type of mutation occurs more often between non-homologous chromosomes and can be reciprocal (gene exchange between two chromosomes) or non-reciprocal (only one chromosome receives a new gene segment).

Effects of Plastic and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Essay Example

Effects of Plastic and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Essay Example Effects of Plastic and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Essay Effects of Plastic and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Essay Got trash? Trash is a worldwide problem we do not think about; it impacts our lives continuously by compromising people’s health, wildlife, and the environment. Every individual has the responsibility to get involved, take simple steps conducive to minimize the amount of trash created and work with the community to educate younger generations, and with organizations to develop a long-term plan to prevent further damage to health, wildlife and environment. Based on the 2008 Environmental Protection Agency report Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Generation, Recycling, and Disposal, every American produces 4. 5 pounds of waste a day; however, only 1. 5 pounds are recycled. This translates in 250 million tons and 83 million tons recycled and composted (EPA, 2008, p. 1). Most of the garbage humans produce ends up in landfills and although they have mechanisms in place to avoid contamination, it is quite possible that it will still happen because trash creates different gases and liquids such as methane, which can contaminate the underground water, soil, and air. These landfills are around the community you and your family live in and one of the short-term detriments is that it depreciates homes’ value. Furthermore, there are five â€Å"islands of trash† around the globe and in the ocean, they consist mostly of plastic and it affects the marine life and other animals because they confuse plastic with prey. The Pacific Trash Vortex is situated between San Francisco and Hawaii and it is said to weigh 3. 5 million tons. Through a process called biological magnification, the toxins we add to the ecosystem such as the ocean, become more concentrated through the food web and it affects top carnivores (humans) most significantly (Campbell, Reece Simon, 2007). It is possible that the fish you eat had eaten plastic, ergo; you may be consuming trash or toxins. Presently, there are different ways to address the waste problem; the most effective method is source reduction, which means, â€Å"altering the design, manufacture, or use of products and materials to reduce the amount and toxicity of what gets thrown away (EPA, n/d. ). Other methods include recycling, composting, and combustion; however, these are in place because businesses sell their goods or products without considering the waste their processes and practices create. Recycling consist of collecting and processing products, manufacturing new products from recycled goods, and the last step in the recycling process is purchasing recycled products . Composting is a biological process that individuals can use to decompose materials naturally. Last combustion employs heat and it is used to reduce MSW volume and weight and depending on the combustor used, it can generate electricity. In addition, there is a novel approach to waste disposal; it is called plasma-arc technology, which burns waste at 16,000 C and converts it into energy without combustion occurring and the consequent benefit of not releasing pollutants to the atmosphere. There are still environmental concerns on the use of plasma to rid off waste; however, it could potentially be the solution to eliminate landfills, decrease the effect on the environment and be economically sound producing electricity. Consequently, the common factor in this dilemma is US, the individuals who are part of a community, a government, or a country. Individuals, communities, and government should work together, to make waste management a priority and an opportunity to learn and educate, to make source reduction possible, to provide the necessary resources to homeowners to help recycle and compost, to enable regulations that will make this process mandatory and easy. As an example, in Las Vegas, a homeowner who wants to recycle has to request three bins, which hardly contain two weeks of recyclable, then, he or she has to sort the products among plastics, newspapers, and glass before disposing them, and once put on the curbside, the garbage workers will toss the plastic, paper, and glass together in the truck. In contrast, the same process in San Diego, California, is handled differently whereas the homeowner receives a 42 gallons garbage bin, which is picked up once a week, and it does not need to be sorted out. The latter process encourages people to recycle while the former process causes the opposite effect. There is one answer to this problem, be conscientious on the products and food purchased and think about how to minimize waste, then, educate the youth to do the same, share with them the importance of recycling and composting and especially, the beauty of nature and wild life.