The Investment Detective - Finance Case 17 Study

The Investment Detective - Finance 17 - Case Study Example The project’s Payback period, Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) are some of the key criteria that can be used. However, NPV provides the best ranking criteria, since IRR is only applicable when there are series of cash flows that indicate results in an initial outlay followed by future inlay (Baker, 2011). A series of cash flows that do not satisfy this requirement, will not give appropriate results with the IRR method. IRR method also gives percentages which do not include the magnitude of cash flows (Baker, 2011). Payback method normally overlooks the time value of money. This is one of its main drawbacks in ranking projects. The drawbacks of Payback period and IRR method make NPV the best method for capital budgeting (Baker, 2011). Project 2 and 6 relate to actual venture capital project in which, bulks of cash inflows are realized at the end of maturity period, but some cash inflows can also occur at the beginning of the period (Baker, 2011). Project 4, 7 and 8 relate to an investment in machinery where positive cash is generated at a certain period of time. After some times, they can be sold so as to generate more cash. Additional cash flows are incurred at the beginning of the period to keep the machinery going (Baker,

The Composer Benjamin Britten Essay Example for Free

The Composer Benjamin Britten Essay On November 22, 1913, the feast day of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of Music, was born a child who showed a great interest and talent in music. Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft in Suffolk. Though his father was a dentist, he had great interest in music, and his mother also was an amateur singer, and so it could be said that Britten inherited his interest in music from his parents. Even as a child, he could compose creatively. Benjamin Britten was educated at Gresham’s School. In 1927, Britten started his private training with Frank Bridge, an eminent English composer. He also studied under John Ireland at the Royal College of Music and under Ralph Vaughan Williams. After his graduation, Britten was very clear about his future. He was determined to be a composer and composed music for a number of plays. His first notable compositions were the Sinfonietta and A Boy was Born, and from there his fame grew, and he was Benjamin Britten 2 popular. In 1936, Benjamin met tenor Peter Pears, which set off a great relationship. Peter Pears was his inspiration, and they eventually became partners. Peter Pears had a great influence on his life and his music, and to him, Britten had composed a number of songs. Peter had a great influence on Britten, both in his personal life as well as his professional life. He was among the greatest English composers of the 20th century. Though some critics found Benjamin’s social and sexual relationships not appropriate of a young English musician, his perfect technique and his knack of treating the traditional musical forms with originality and freshness compensated the charges. He was excused from army service and was allowed to practice his composition work provided he performed as a pianist at concerts at wartime sponsored by the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts. Over the years, he had also started writing for operas. As an opera composer, Benjamin Britten gained worldwide reputation. It is indeed interesting to note that he was the first musician to be honored with the title of â€Å"Lord† by the Queen. He also was approached for writing for special occasions. Benjamin went to America for some time but later returned to England. In 1945, with his opera Peter Grimes, Benjamin became a celebrity. It was a great success. His successive operas like the Church Parables were also greatly appreciated. Benjamin’s best known orchestral music, popularly known as The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a tribute to the great composer Henry Purcell, is very informative. His Reflections on a Theme of Dowland is also a tribute, this time to the lutenist John Dowland, which is indeed a moving Benjamin Britten 3 performance. Benjamin Britten was an outstanding English composer popular throughout the world. In 1948, he successfully planned the first Aldeburgh Music Festival which later became an annual event. Benjamin also excelled in chamber music, his notable ones being Cello Sonata and three Cello Suites. Benjamin often worked with the renowned poet W. H. Auden who offered the texts for which Britten provided music. Britten was awarded the Order of Merit in March 1965. This was his most treasured honor. Since its inception in 1902, only two people had got it prior to Britten. He also won the Robert O. Anderson Aspen Award in the Humanities. He was the first musician to be honored with the title of Baron. During the latter years of his life, Benjamin often complained of ill health. In May 1973, he had an open heart surgery which made him an invalid for life. He still attended the London premiere of Death in Venice in October 1973. He then traveled to Germany and Italy. According to Pears, Britten was not scared of death. On December 4, 1976, in his hometown in Suffolk, he died of a heart attack. He is buried in the resting place of the Aldeburgh Parish Church with his colleague Peter Pears resting in peace adjacent to his grave. Benjamin Britten 4 Works Cited 2007 Naxos Digital Services, Britten Benjamin, biography [Electronic Version] Retrieved on June 6, 2007, from www. naxos. com

The Marketing Mix And The Success Of Innocent Marketing Essay

The Marketing Mix And The Success Of Innocent Marketing Essay The marketing mix has been the core of marketing theory and practice since the 1960s (Lehtinen, 2011). The marketing mix represents the controllable elements of marketing which collectively form the ground of an organization in the perception of customers(Judd, 2003). In the 1960s, McCarthy diminished Bordens twelve controllable marketing elements to a four-element framework: product, price, place and promotion(Constantnides, 2006). Since the marketing mix and 4Ps entered the marketing textbooks, they have been treated as the unchallenged basic model of marketing and been universally accepted(Lehtinen, 2011). With the development of marketing management and the business environment, great changes have taken place in mainstream marketing(Grà ¶nroos, 1994). Are the marketing mix and its 4Ps still in power? Does the marketing mix contribute to the success of an organization and how does it perform in the long-term development of the organization? The purpose of this essay is to analyze how the marketing mix contributes to the organization by taking innocent as an example, and to identify the limitations of the marketing mix as a marketing management tool in the long-term development of a company. The debate over the marketing mix as a marketing management tool has been primarily argued theoretically rather than on an empirical level (Constantnides, 2006). While the marketing mix still has its stage, for long-term success, relationship management is the key to stable development in the dynamic business environment(Wahab and Ali, 2010). When involved with modern business trends, customer-oriented economics needs a relationship-oriented approach to marketing(Grà ¶nroos, 1994). The marketing mix and the success of innocent Innocent was set up by three young Cambridge students in 1998 as the UKs only range of natural smoothies(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.3). In just four years, the turnover rose from  £0 to  £10.6 million(Anonymous, 2004, p.6). Sales boosted to  £80 million in 2006 and roared over  £100 million in 2007(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.3). The rapid increase in profit made innocent a huge success within the first five years (1999-2003). In the next five years (2004-2008), the expansion was a huge success in the middle of Europe(Innocentdrinks, 2012). How does the marketing mix contribute to the development of the organization in the following four aspects: product, price, place and promotion? Products Keeping introducing new products successfully or services into the market is important to the long-term growth of a company (Tzokas et al., 2004). The first pallet of smoothies (250ml), labeled innocent, was introduced to the public in 1999, when the market for pre-packaged smoothies was still new(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.5). In the first stage, little effort was made in introducing new products, but the company has constantly launched new flavors and formats to enhance brand awareness(Anonymous, 2004). In the year 2003, the company launched four new recipes for the existing ranges, a range of two super smoothies and three more flavors of a brand new range called Juicy Waters(Anonymous, 2004, p.7). New categories of products were introduced to the market in the second stage, especially the veg pots in 2008 and fruit tubs in 2009(Innocentdrinks, 2012). From 1999 to 2003, innocent focused on extending its existing smoothie product range rather than develop completely new categories s uch as cream or yogurt. Innocents sales benefited from new product development(Baxter, 2010). To some extent, profits can be increased by filling the existed product line(Kotler et al., 2005). Price The 250ml bottle of smoothies was priced  £1.89 when first introduced to the market(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.4). Their main competitor PJs, UKs biggest smoothies company then, was doing well in the high priced product section and growing very rapidly (Brown and Grayson, 2008). Innocent focusd on being an ethical company, producing green products(Salisbury, 2011), which contributes to its financial performance because potential consumers are willing to pay more for an ethical product, especially manufactured by a company with strong sense of sustainability and social conscience(Anonymous, 2004). On one hand, a company can charge its customers for the value-added factor in the prices (Lancioni, 2005). On the other hand, consumers may consider high price as a guarantee of quality (Huang and Sarigà ¶llà ¼, 2012). Sharma and Lyer(2012) demonstrated that there exists of a segment of consumers who would pay a premium for an ethical product. Place Distribution network plays an important role between the marketing and supply chain interface(Chan et al., 2012). The industry pays more attention to coordination between retailers and suppliers, and a demand chain is preferred to a supply chain(Burt and Sparks, 2003). Research into distribution costs led to the decision that the sales effort should focus on London-based independents channels for the introduction stage, with a movement to multiples later(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.4). The comparatively higher price of innocent tallied with the high living expense in London, and the place in marketing interacted with the brand image(Dhamija et al., 2011). The distribution infrustration, including the selling network and transportation system, has a close connection with the economic performance(Wilkie and Moore, 1999). Innocents London center set a good starting point for further economic development, as well as for its global expansion. Besides, due to the short shelf life feature, i nnocent innovated new ways of distribution to overcome this challenge: let the retailers dominant the order amount(Anonymous, 2004). Changing power relationships in the channels, from the organizations to the retailers, is a growing trend in the distribution perspective(Burt and Davies, 2010). By transferring the power to retailers, innocent reduced the wastage of products, which solved the thorny problem in fruit drinks and smoothies. Promotion Promotional activity is an essential tool for tempting British consumers to purchase fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies(Price, 2012). Like many small businesses in their early stage, many of Innocents most successful promotional activities started as one-off, opportunistic events (Brown and Grayson, 2008). These included putting woolen hats on the bottle in winter, the famous campaign called The Big Knit. 2012 takes the tenth year turn for Innocent to run this promotion(Innocentdrinks, 2012). Unlike many brands, relying on traditional advertisements, such as TV commercials, posters, POP, innocent mainly focused on low-cost activities and event promotion to increase the brand awareness, the Fruitstock, its famous annual summer jazz festival held in London, replaced in 2007 with the Innocent Village Fete, is an example(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.7). These promotion activities link to innocents brand equity: sustainable. The brand equity helped to define the brand value in the beginning stage, and then shaped the sustainability strategy the company adopted (Brown and Grayson, 2008). Besides, the consistency and coherence in brand image, product descriptions and promotion availability played a vital role in the whole process(Edelman, 2010). The limitations of the marketing mix in the long-term development of an organization From a marketing management point of view, the 4Ps may have been helpful at one time, at least for the packaged goods(Grà ¶nroos, 1994). However, the marketing mix and its 4Ps cannot satisfy a market-oriented or customer-oriented definition of marketing(Grà ¶nroos, 1989). Kotler (1992, cited in Lehtinen, 2011) stated that companies must move from a short-term transaction-oriented goal to a long-term relationship-building goal. For innocent, the marketing mix did have its advantage in the introductory marketing, but people-power and the relationship marketing approach also play an active role in its marketing strategy, especially for the development in the secondary stage and long-term success.(Gordon, 2012). People-power It is widely accepted that people is an essential element of the mix ingredients(Baker, 2008). People as the fifth p formalizes the idea that the power of customer-oriented employees does make a difference in the market (Judd, 1987). Staff can help the organization differentiate itself in significant ways in order to gain a competitive advantage and deliver value to customers(Judd, 2003). Innocent created the innocent view of marketing along with the learning and personal development for its employees, compensation packages and incentives were set up to encourage employees to become personally involved in sustainability(Brown and Grayson, 2008). The reflection of these behaviors became a way of advertisement and promotion, and the influence was closely linked to its brand equity. As Judd(2003, pp.8-9) stated, the ability of an organization to meet its external customers needs is a function of how clearly all the people are focused as they perform their respective jobs. Grà ¶nroos(1994) proposed that marketing is to establish, maintain, and enhance relationships with customers and other stakeholders at a profit, in order to achieve the common goal of the parties involved. Almost all the stakeholders are involved in people-power. Apart from the internal staff, media, retailers and distributors are all external people-power. Innocent was once ranked as the UKs best smoothie by BBC(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.7). The companys blog and the monthly column in the Guardian served as advertisements. Innocents high rate of sale with a premium price also reflected its strong relationship with the distribution outlets. Since its creation, Innocent has invited its retailers to a birthday party every year to keep a close partnership(Anonymous, 2004). Such relationship building contributed to the boost in the quantity of distribution outlets by 265% in 2003, and secured major distribution partnerships with flagship retail brands such as Sainsburys, Starbucks and Boots(Anonymous, 2004, p.9). NGOs and charity organizations welcome the cooperation with Innocent; media advertise this brand even for free(Brown and Grayson, 2008, p.8). Cross-stakeholder integration incorporates the interests of all the stakeholders in the organizations way of communication(Mulhern, 2009). Good people-power management thus guarantees their success not only for the first two stages, but also for long-term operation due to the consistency. The integration of relationship marketing and the marketing mix While there are voices for a shift from the marketing mix to the relationship marketing(Gummesson,1995; Gronroos,1994), the co-exist of different marketing approaches are still acceptable(Lehtinen, 2011). The significance of the marketing mix would not fade out but might be reinforced through an interactive approach(Berry, 1983, cited in Lehtinen, 2011). Researchers have found that three basic types of relationship marketing (database, interaction and network) can co-exist with transaction marketing(Gould, 1998). For innocent, starting building relationship with customers and other stakeholders at beginning contributes to their continuous increase in sales and market expansion. Marketers pay heed to relationship marketing mainly because of customer retention, which values in the competitive environment(Doaei et al., 2011). For the long run, relationship marketing focuses on customer involvement and brand loyalty by setting up a long-lasting bond with the customers(Copulsky and Wolf, 1990). The combination of the marketing mix and relationship marketing should be efficient and effective in the current business environment (Lehtinen, 2011). According to Copulsky and Wolf(1990), relationship marketing integrates elements of advertising, sales promotion, public relationships, and direct marketing to create more effective and efficient ways of reaching consumers. The most basic definition for relationship marketing is to attract and keep customers in the long-term(Leahy, 2011). Organizations intended to encourage continuous repeat purchase through this long-term relationship(Fournier, 1998). Relationship marketing increases repeat purchase and enhance customer loyalty(Wahab and Ali, 2010). Innocent performs well in its corporate business achievement, which is the key benefit from the implementation of relationship marketing. Conclusion It is demonstrated in innocents case that the marketing mix still has its advantage in the early developing period of an organization. For a long-term sustainable success, the combination of the marketing mix and the relationship marketing result in better performance. Innocents consistence and persistence in maintaining relatively good relationship with customers and other stakeholders implies the shift from one-way delivery to interaction. The application of marketing strategies differs from one organization to another. Parallel combination of the best options or systematic utilization of these approaches according to the organizations developing stage, the characteristic of the products or service and the brand equity will make contribution to the long-term success of the organization. Further researches can be done in more specific areas. For example: how to choose the most suitable marketing approach for each company and discovery of new key elements in marketing activities and related measurement. Besides, innocent insists in ethical operation. With the increasing awareness of sustainability, more attention can be paid to the interplay of the ethical issues and the marketing strategies. Word Count: 1996

The Role of Genes in the Development of Behavior Essay -- human behavi

The Role of Genes in the Development of Behavior The debate concerning the influence of genes on human behavior has been on-going for centuries. The nature vs. nurture (or heredity Vs. environment) debates are one of the longest running, and most controversial, both inside and outside psychology. It is concerned with some of the most fundamental questions a human being could ask, such as 'Why are we they way we are?' and 'why do we develop as we do?' Historically this debate has been fought from extreme perspectives, arguing that it is either nature (an individuals heredity genetic make up), or nurture (the environmental influences upon an individual) that determine a person's behavior. However in modern psychology is has generally been accepted that these are impossible positions to take. It is neither true to say that development is caused either by genetic factors or by environmental ones, but instead a constant interaction between the two. This topic is generally researched by examining individual's intelligence, for example, by comparing the results of tests on both monozygotic (MZ) and Dizygotic twins, brought up in shared and non-shared environments. Most researchers now agree that both heredity and environment contribute to intelligence, heredity and environment interact in various ways and that extremely poor, as well as enriched environment can interfere with the realization of a person's intelligence, regardless of his or her heredity. Although there are many problems in investigating this topic, these basic assumptions suggest that genes infact do play a very significant role in the development of behavior. The questio... ... --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Source 1: Hardy, M., and Heyes, S. (1996) pg232 [2] Source 2: Dobson, C, B., Hardy, M., etc (1981) pg 217 [3] Source 3: Gross,r., McIlveen,R., Coolican, H., Clamp, A., and Russell, J., (2000) pg 640 [4] Source 2: Dobson, C., Hardy, M., etc (1981) pg 219 [5] Source 2: Dobson, C., Hardy, M., etc (1981) pg 219 [6] Source 1: Hardy, M., Heyes, S., (1996) pg 237 [7] Source 1: Hardy, M., Heyes, S., (1996) pg 237 [8] Source 2: Dobson, C, B., Hardy, M., etc (1981) pg 220 [9] Source 4: Gross, R., (2003) pgs 600 - 601 [10] Source 4: Gross, R., (2003) pg 603 [11] Source 4: Gross, R., (2003) pg 603 [12] Source 4: Gross, R., (2003) pg 603 [13] Source 4: Gross R., (2003) pg 603 [14] Source 5: Heyes, N., (2000) pg 18

A Wrinkle in Time Chapters 1-2 Questions and Answers

Chapter 1 (Q)List all of Meg’s problems. Which one do you think is the most important? Why? (A) Meg has many problems such as she is too effusive. Another one of her problems is that she has much trouble at school. A few examples of this would be that her teachers threaten to hold her back for her poor academic grades, she is teased very often of acting like a baby at lunch, and she fights when she or a family member of hers is insulted all this lowering her position in school. Meg’s family is also gossiped about. She has a â€Å"dumb baby brother† who is actually very intelligent but considered insane. Her father is also talked about. Using context clues I can infer that Meg’s father is not home. Meg is also unpresentable, she has unattractive mouse brown hair and revolting braces stuck on her teeth. Another problem is the setting, Meg is in the attic at night-while everyone is sleeping and there have been several hurricane warnings. What makes the situation even worse is that there is a tramp (sometimes called hobos) out on the loose. Personally, I think that Meg’s most important problem is that she is too hard on herself. I feel this way because not only is she a poor student, with terrible facial looks, and overemotional she makes herself believe that she is all these things. She even tells her cat that she is a monster. The worse she feels the worse she acts around people and the more people talk bad about her. (Q) How is Charles Wallace different from most 5 year olds? (A) Charles Wallace is different from most five year olds in many ways. For starters, he is terribly shy and doesn’t talk around unfamiliar people-giving him the reputation as a â€Å"dumb baby brother†. His shyness is not the only reason he is considered unintelligent but his lack of language until he was 4. Charles is also different because he is very fluent in English and talks like an adult. He also has a gifted sixth sense to be able to read his sister’s and mother’s minds. For example, when Meg was getting up to have some cocoa he already knew and was warming some up for her. Chapter 2 (Q) What do you think happened to Meg’s father? What clues from the book support your opinion? (A) I think Meg’s father was working on an experiment or trying to create a medicine while something went wrong and he never came home. Using clues from the book I can also infer that he is alive and that some people are thinking that he has left the Murray family. My evidence from the book is that Mr. Jenkins is asking if they had head from his father. So that assures me that Mr. Murray is alive. Mr. Jenkins also makes it clear that Mr. Murray was a scientist rising my thoughts that he may have been working on something when

Free Essays on The Cost Of Educating The Next Generation

We live in a society where a college degree has become the single most important determinant of a young person’s chances of success. Yet with rising college tuition costs showing no signs of slowing down, it is increasingly difficult for low income students to achieve their higher education goals. A college education is viewed as the ticket to prosperity, a way to rise up out of poverty and live a wealthy life. â€Å"After all, education is the great equalizer in our nation. It can bridge social, economic, racial, and geographic divides like no other force. It can mean the difference between an open door and a dead end. And nowhere is this truer than in higher education† (Boehner). However, the rising cost of college tuition hinders lower income families from sending their children to college. With success being more directly linked than ever to knowledge, a college degree is of immeasurable importance. By these poorer students not being able to attend college, a cap is being put on the intergenerational progress of low income families. Cost factors prevent forty eight percent of college-qualified high school graduates from attending a four-year institution, and twenty two percent from attending any college at all. At this rate, by the end of the decade, more than two million college-qualified students will be completely denied the opportunity for a postsecondary education (Boehner). We are facing a crisis in the higher education system. As America grows even more into a knowledge economy, many students are facing fees that they and their families are unable to pay. Students are having to either give up their dream of a college degree, or â€Å"trade down† to a more affordable means of postsecondary education. Even more, now a basic education has expanded to include six additional years. This means that the public portion of a basic education has shrunk from covering one hundred percent of k-12 in the early 1970’s to t... Free Essays on The Cost Of Educating The Next Generation Free Essays on The Cost Of Educating The Next Generation We live in a society where a college degree has become the single most important determinant of a young person’s chances of success. Yet with rising college tuition costs showing no signs of slowing down, it is increasingly difficult for low income students to achieve their higher education goals. A college education is viewed as the ticket to prosperity, a way to rise up out of poverty and live a wealthy life. â€Å"After all, education is the great equalizer in our nation. It can bridge social, economic, racial, and geographic divides like no other force. It can mean the difference between an open door and a dead end. And nowhere is this truer than in higher education† (Boehner). However, the rising cost of college tuition hinders lower income families from sending their children to college. With success being more directly linked than ever to knowledge, a college degree is of immeasurable importance. By these poorer students not being able to attend college, a cap is being put on the intergenerational progress of low income families. Cost factors prevent forty eight percent of college-qualified high school graduates from attending a four-year institution, and twenty two percent from attending any college at all. At this rate, by the end of the decade, more than two million college-qualified students will be completely denied the opportunity for a postsecondary education (Boehner). We are facing a crisis in the higher education system. As America grows even more into a knowledge economy, many students are facing fees that they and their families are unable to pay. Students are having to either give up their dream of a college degree, or â€Å"trade down† to a more affordable means of postsecondary education. Even more, now a basic education has expanded to include six additional years. This means that the public portion of a basic education has shrunk from covering one hundred percent of k-12 in the early 1970’s to t...

Compare and contrast the Just So Stories with The Bloody Chambers and other stories Essays

Compare and contrast the Just So Stories with The Bloody Chambers and other stories Essays Compare and contrast the Just So Stories with The Bloody Chambers and other stories Essay Compare and contrast the Just So Stories with The Bloody Chambers and other stories Essay Essay Topic: There Will Be Blood Rudyard Kiplings short stories are very much like fable stories whereas Angela Carters short stories are more like fairy stories. There are many reasons for what I have just said.Rudyard Kiplings stories are like fables because all the stories have a lot of involvement with animals. In most of his stories the titles are associated with animals and a way they have evolved. For example: How the leopard got its spots. In this case, the leopard is the animal and How it got its spots is the way the animal has evolved.Also, fables tend to have a moral and the majority of Kiplings stories have one. His stories are also short, silly, witty and clever. For Example: In The Elephants Child, it is quite silly how the crocodile pulls the elephants trunk and it stretches and then the elephant sits there for three days with his trunk tied up. I think this is very unrealistic. This is another comparison to a fable.Rudyard Kiplings stories are so similar to those of Angela Car ters because they both use the idea of anthropomorphism but the two authors use the method very differently indeed. In Rudyard Kiplings stories he creates the animals to inherit human qualities such as speech. For example: In The Elephants child the elephant uses human speech but the language has been slightly adjusted, i.e.- I dont think you peoples know otherwise spoken as I dont think you people know. Formally spoken English would not have an s on the end of peopleAngela Carter uses the idea of anthropomorphism in a very different way. She uses the idea of animals turning into young handsome princes. This is much more appealing to young women taking control of their situation. This differs to kiplings stories in the way that his stories are essential lessons in obedience and good behaviour to young children before they are particularly aware of gender as an important feature in their lives.The two authors differ in the way that they are writing for two different types of gender. Kiplings stories could be either for young boys and young girls but Angela Carter writes out of the feminist movement in the 1970s and 1980s.Angela Carter also makes her stories a lot like fairy stories, which is different to Rudyard Kiplings fables. Her short stories are like fary stories for many reasons. Fairy stories tend to be pointed at young girls rather than just children. In fables there is always one obvious quality with is associated with a certain type of animal. For example: A monkey is associated with intelligence.Fairy stories use the idea of an innocent young women being imprisoned by some form of a beast or a bad guy and then being set free. For example: In the courtship of Mr.Lyon, by Angela Carter, the innocent young girl gets imprisoned when she has to be with a beast and then gets set free when the beast turns into a handsome young Prince. Also the majority of fairy stories tend to be set in a modern scene and some of Angela Carters stories are set in a modern s cene.Angela Carters stories are similar to those of Rudyard Kiplings in the way that they are both written for children and are written from a Childs perspective. Also both the writers use language imaginatively and creatively. There is a strong authors voice that speaks directly to the reader, again emphasising the idea of a strong character speaking to a weaker, like an adult to a child.There is a difference between the two authors in the way of how descriptive the story and the characters are. Kiplings stories are much shorter with much less description because his main characters are the animals or the exotic humans who trick them. He is more interested in the humour and the moral than in creating complicated people we can believe in. Angela Carter needs to create heroines we care about for her point to be established and consequently her stories are longer and more detailed and her characters are much more complicated. They have a real inner life.In Kiplings stories there is li ttle attempt to create an atmosphere of place or time, for example: In The Elephants Child, when the elephant is down by the river there is no sense of place and mostly of all no sense of time.Fairy stories always finish with a happy ending, and in The Company of Wolves, by Angela Carter, the girl does not get savagely killed by the wolves but becomes friendly with them and is very content. Happy endings of stories always satisfy young children, especially young girls.

An Overview of Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

An Overview of Operation Allied Force in Kosovo In 1998, the long-simmering conflict between the Slobodan MiloÃ… ¡evics Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army erupted into full-scale fighting. Battling to end Serbian oppression, the KLA also sought independence for Kosovo. On January 15, 1999, Yugoslav forces massacred 45 Kosovar Albanians in the village of Racak. News of the incident sparked global outrage and led NATO to issue an ultimatum to MiloÃ… ¡evics government calling for an end to the fighting and Yugoslavian compliance with the demands of the international community. Operation Allied Force To settle the issue, a peace conference opened at Rambouillet, France with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana serving as a mediator. After weeks of talks, the Rambouillet Accords were signed by the Albanians, United States, and Great Britain. These called for NATO administration of Kosovo as an autonomous province, a force of 30,000 peacekeepers, and free right of passage through Yugoslav territory. These terms were refused by MiloÃ… ¡evic, and the talks quickly broke down. With the failure at Rambouillet, NATO prepared to launch air strikes to force the Yugoslavian government back to the table. Dubbed Operation Allied Force, NATO stated that their military operations were undertaken to achieve: A stop to all military action and repression in KosovoThe withdrawal of all Serbian forces from KosovoAgreement to the presence of an international peacekeeping force in KosovoThe unconditional and safe return of all refugees and unhindered access to them by humanitarian organizationsA credible assurance from MiloÃ… ¡evics government that it was willing to work on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords in creating an acceptable political framework for the future of Kosovo Once it was demonstrated that Yugoslavia was adhering to these terms, NATO stated that their air strikes would cease. Flying from bases in Italy and carriers in the Adriatic Sea, NATO aircraft and cruise missiles began attacking targets on the evening on March 24, 1999. The first strikes were conducted against targets in Belgrade and were flown by aircraft from the Spanish Air Force. Oversight for the operation was delegated to the Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe, Admiral James O. Ellis, USN. Over the next ten weeks, NATO aircraft flew over 38,000 sorties against Yugoslav forces. While Allied Force began with surgical attacks against high-level and strategic military targets, it was soon expanded to include Yugoslavian forces on the ground in Kosovo. As air strikes continued into April, it became clear that both sides had misjudged their oppositions will to resist. With MiloÃ… ¡evic refusing to comply with NATO demands, planning began for a ground campaign to expel Yugoslav forces from Kosovo. Targeting was also expanded to include dual-use facilities such as bridges, power plants, and telecommunications infrastructure. Early May saw several errors by NATO aircraft including the accidental bombing of a Kosovar Albanian refugee convoy and a strike again the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Sources have subsequently indicated that the latter may have been intentional with the goal of eliminating radio equipment being used by the Yugoslav army. As NATO aircraft continued their attacks, MiloÃ… ¡evics forces worsened the refugee crisis in the region by forcing Kosovar Albanians from the province. Ultimately, over 1 million people were displaced from their homes, increasing NATOs resolve and support for its involvement. As the bombs fell, Finnish and Russian negotiators continuously worked to end the conflict. In early June, with NATO preparing for a ground campaign, they were able to convince MiloÃ… ¡evic to give in to the alliances demands. On June 10, 1999, he agreed to NATOs terms, including the presence of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Two days later, Kosovo Force (KFOR), led by Lieutenant General Mike Jackson (British Army), which had been staging for an invasion, crossed the border to return to peace and stability to Kosovo. Aftermath Operation Allied Force cost NATO two soldiers killed (outside of combat) and two aircraft. Yugoslavian forces lost between 130-170 killed in Kosovo, as well as five aircraft and 52 tanks/artillery/vehicles. Following the conflict, NATO agreed to allow the United Nations to supervise the administration of Kosovo and that no independence referendum would be permitted for three years. As a result of his actions during the conflict, Slobodan MiloÃ… ¡evic was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. He was overthrown the following year. On February 17, 2008, after several years of negotiations at the UN, Kosovo controversially declared independence. Operation Allied Force is also notable as the first conflict in which the German Luftwaffe took part since World War II. Selected Sources NATO: Operation Allied ForceGlobal Security: Operation Allied Force

Performance of Senior Executives in a Firm Essay

Performance of Senior Executives in a Firm - Essay Example Interestingly though, the changing times have never seen difference of opinion in one particular area; how the masses criticize their bosses at large! One major factor which generates such opinion is the considerable difference in remuneration and perks for the higher ups, which are always in sharp contrast with their subordinates. Hereunder shall be a discourse of how examples from a very different arena of sports, can be successfully extrapolated to reconstruct the work infrastructure of the top-level management. In psychology, the core theories of behavior modification revolve around the concept of reward and punishment. And this being the primary science that studies human behavior, much can be applied from it unto the realm of economics. Organizational psychology and workplace economics in any setting, therefore, is incumbent upon the fact that people work because of their motivation and incentives. Regardless of passion and loyalty, the primary needs of a person have to be fulfilled in order for him to perform beyond the ordinary. Incentives, here, play the role of that little 'extra' spice that is added to life; something more that the employee and the organization are looking forward too and yearn to achieve. At this point in time, it is important to consider the Directorial level of the organization both as human beings, and as employees of the organization! For a small child, a toy or a candy can play the role of a potent incentive. Obviously, the adult human demands for much more than that. Nonetheless, the primary role that is played by any incentive-providing-stimulus is the same - it generates more interest in a person, and the overall productivity of work increases. But here, an interesting fact must be considered. The same child, if knows, that no matter how much he cries or yells he will get the toy, the incentive factor diminishes to a negligible level. However, when the same toy is presented to him on accord of providing a disciplined stance, or taking his supper on time, than it acts as a positive incentive and concrete behavior modification can be seen. Exactly on the same principle, if any employee of an organization, regardless of seniority level, knows that come what may, the actual increment in pay and perks will be there, than it is much too obvious that the productivity shall not be the same. However, when a realization is set into the individual that increments shall be performance-based, than we see a positive vector definition for work by the individual, which provides a symbiotic benefit to the organization. Now here, focus is required upon the top-level management. The aforementioned theory is generally applied on subordinates in all organizations at large - do good work and get good pay. Yet, contrary to the theoretical norms of economic and organizational management, the Mangers are kept out of this 'struggle for work'. Once a person is in the higher ranks, it seems predestined that the ladder will only go up, much in the manner of an escalator! This not only creates a bias and division in understanding of human workplace ethics, but also creates unrest in the minds of lower-levels in the firm. (a) Analogy from Payment Systems for Jockeys Though some top managers may find it bizarre to be compared to race jockeys, yet the

Entertainment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Entertainment - Essay Example Disney Company distributes the entertainment into five segments such as media segment, parks and resorts, the company studios, consumer products, and Disney interactive. All the sections are sources of income maximizing the economic value of the company’s products promoting its growth internationally. Disney is company major sources of revenue are from its various segments increasing the economic value of its products. Its managers also expand the company’s international presence to gather more fame marketing the company to boost it sales expanding the revenue. For example in the year 2010, most of the company’s revenue came from abroad with America and Canada producing 25.7%. The Disney film company incurs significant and advertising cost before and thought theatrical film release. The cost is spent the advertisement to generate publicity and the customer’s interest in the subsequent home entertainment market. The company spend also in the paying tax and other production and maintenance services like electricity bill. Universal pictures create and distribute theatrical and non-theatrical film entertainment. Theoretical slate includes film developed internationally along with co-productions, acquisition and film development by outside partners and distributed by the studio. The company internationally produces, acquire and distribute direct-to-DVD titles, classic titles from the library, and the consumer products. The company exhaust most of its finances to expand its subsidiaries internationally to increase its global prominence as the film industry of the generation. The universal company influences the advertisement industry to transform the network transition of the company conglomerates. It enhances the production techniques of the company by using sophisticated information technology methods to produce the films (Chris 45). The company get its revenue from the distribution of

Culture, Service and Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Culture, Service and Product - Essay Example These barriers have to be addressed so that entering a new market would be successful. This paper comes in two parts. First part discusses glocalization issues, and the second part talks about case of Disneyland as it entered glocalization in HongKong and the soon to be opened Shanghai Disney. Conceptual framework of the study analyzes importance of glocalization, gives its meaning, and how it is applied by Disney in its business practice in setting up its resorts to an environment totally different from its origin. These comes as are positive challenges to the this icon of entertainment. In this study, I borrowed the concept of Luigi and Vineran (n.d.) that proposed: â€Å"in order to be successful globally, managers must act locally in the different markets they chose to enter.† Glocalization is coined word from globalization and glocalization which is used describe a product or service that is developed and distributed globally, but is also fashioned to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market†. (Investopedia. n.d.) Glocalization meant differently as to each region because of differences cultures, language, religion, traditions and laws. Luigi, D. and S. Vineran (n.d.) in their study put forward a definition that states: â€Å"providing a global offer (brand, idea, product, idea, or service, etc.) while taking local issues into account†. A global product / service that can face competition from both local and international brands in a better way because it meets certain local needs or preferences at lower costs due the global edge of the company. What key areas does a company need to consider when moving a product/service developed in one country to a different country? How should a company assess how a product or service is being received in a different country? Global marketing has introduced may changes on business approaches, such as the way how a company transacts business to

Counseling in Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Counseling in Faith - Essay Example Pastoral service entails self actualization as it is a profession that gives a person the responsibility to act as a moral object to the society (Niklas 29). This aspect portrays one of the major roles of pastoral care apart from providing service to other people. Pastoral care also entails instilling a moral responsibility to through acting as a role model to the society. Many pastors, catechists and priest take up the role of the mirror in the society. For many students the essence of identity is professionalism. However vocation is a concrete factor influencing self identity as it is inspired by the desire to offer services to the community during the pastoral service. Pastoral care can therefore be referred to as a social service as well as a calling that pictures the pastoral minister as a role model as well as a servant to the society. Ethics in Pastoral Ministry Pastoral ministry has a broad application in the church than the council. Initially, the term minister was only refl ected to preachers in the protestant churches. Pastoral role had not been internalized and understood by many people in the society hence the term was used to focus on the ordinary meaning thus ignoring the deeper aspect of ministries. Currently, pastoral ministry has reflected on the bigger picture of pastoral identity which is service not only to the church but the entire community. The church acts as a symbol of pastoral service as being ordained only ushers people into the pastoral service but does not play the exact role in pastoral care. Catholic churches have strived to portray this notion through the roles that priests, clergymen and nuns play in the church. In the catholic community, the church is a symbol of the society. In this case, priests, clergymen and nuns act as servants of the societies in which they administer in church. Pastoral ethics are inspired by the moral character of a person. Priests, catechists and pastors have a moral obligation in a society as they are seen as model s of ethical values since their work entails the practice and teaching of good deeds in the society. However, ethical conduct does not come from the moral obligation but the virtues of a person. Virtues underscore the visions, roles and objectives of a pastoral minister. Pastoral minister are given the moral obligation of leading by example thus the moral values of a society are immensely contributed by the moral practices of a pastoral minister. There are many cases around the world relating to the morals and ethical conducts of church leaders. Many priests, catechists and pastors engage themselves in immoral behaviuors thus leading to the big question which is where or not to moral and ethical laws of conduct to religious leaders. The basic solution to this situation is to instill and enforce professional ethics to the religious leaders in order to limit them to the service of the society through the spreading of moral values. Professional ethics entails the use of professional duties to identify moral ethics. Priests, pastors and catechists have the duty of spreading the word of God to the people thus is expected to practice the content they preach to the society. This aspect makes religious leaders to be the reflection of moral character in a given society. When a person is ordained, he or she is given the

URBAN GEOGRAPHY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

URBAN GEOGRAPHY - Essay Example This study takes a look at the concept of segregation and its implication in the city of Detroit. By taking a look at the history of segregation in Detroit, the study also tries to understand the segregation patterns and the current day scenario of segregation in the city. As mentioned earlier, geographic segregation or more appropriately, residential segregation is the level or extend to which particular groups reside separately from one another, in a particular geographic area such as a city or state (Low, 2004). Segregation, in itself, is a complex phenomenon, where the groups are segregated in a number of ways. For example, people from a minority community reside in such a way that they are often overrepresented in some particular areas and underrepresented in some others (Yinger, 2001). In addition, the same community may be residing in such a manner that their exposure to the other groups is minimized (Yinger, 2001). Similarly, particular groups may be either concentrated or centralized in a certain limited space or clustered in one particular section (Yinger, 2001). There are also particular reasons because of which segregation takes place. For example, South Africa saw legal separation because of Apartheid. Similarly, in many other countries, segregation happens because of the social status in the society or the ethnicity of the people (Johnston and Poulson, 2005). Voluntary segregation is where immigrants prefer to live in a segregated set up so that they could mutually benefit from one another (Johnston and Poulson, 2005). Segregation is measured using Index of Dissimilarity (calculates the way in which particular groups are distributed across particular locations) based on that data that emerges through census. It is often called the index of inequality also (Reardon and O Sullivan, 2004). In the United States, periodic

Chemistry Practice - Bonding energy kinetics Lab Report

Chemistry Practice - Bonding energy kinetics - Lab Report Example The bond is covalent in nature. There is a sharing of electrons between these two atoms, giving rise to a covalent bond. The electronegativity value of H is 2.1 while that of O is 3.5 (Brown, LeMay and Bursten, 1991). There will hence be a distortion of the electron cloud, thus causing the molecule to be polar. The bonding between oxygen and hydrogen is polar covalent in nature. Polar molecules are attracted to a charged rod. In these molecules, the centres of positive and negative charges do not cancel each other out, giving rise to permanent dipoles. When a positive rod is used, the negative end of the dipoles are attracted towards the rod while the positive end of the dipoles are attracted to a negative rod. 3. Using the 'electron pair repulsion theory', state and explain the shape of the following compounds and in each case sketcha diagram to show the arrangemant of the atoms in space, labelling the bond angles. In AlCl3, the three outer electrons of the aluminium atom are bonded to the outer electrons of three chlorine atoms. Since there are no lone pair of electrons, the structure will not be distorted. According to the electron pair replusion theory, the three bonded pairs repel each other as far apart as possible. AlCl3 will hence be trigonal planar in shape with a bond angle of 120 (Brown, LeMay and Bursten, 1991). (b) SiH4 In SiH4, the four outer electrons of the silicon atom are bonded to the outer electrons of four hydrogen atoms. There are no lone pair of electrons. According to the electron pair replusion theory, the four bonded pairs repel each other as far apart as possible. SiH4 will hence be tetrahedral in shape with a bond angle of 109.5. (c) PCl5 In PCl5, the five outer electrons of the phosphorus atom are bonded to the outer electrons of five chlorine atoms. There are no lone pair of electrons. According to the electron pair replusion theory, the five bonded pairs repel each other as far apart as possible. The shape of PCl5 will be trigonal bipyramid, with bond angles of 120 and 90. 12 marks 4. Enthalpy changes for the reactions of carbon and aluminium with oxygen are given in the following equations, where all substances are in their standard states. C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g) H = -394 kJ mol -1 4Al(s) + 3O2(g) 2Al2O3(g) H = -3352 kJ mol -1 (a) What is the value for the standard enthalpy of combustion of carbon The standard

Counseling in Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Counseling in Faith - Essay Example Pastoral service entails self actualization as it is a profession that gives a person the responsibility to act as a moral object to the society (Niklas 29). This aspect portrays one of the major roles of pastoral care apart from providing service to other people. Pastoral care also entails instilling a moral responsibility to through acting as a role model to the society. Many pastors, catechists and priest take up the role of the mirror in the society. For many students the essence of identity is professionalism. However vocation is a concrete factor influencing self identity as it is inspired by the desire to offer services to the community during the pastoral service. Pastoral care can therefore be referred to as a social service as well as a calling that pictures the pastoral minister as a role model as well as a servant to the society. Ethics in Pastoral Ministry Pastoral ministry has a broad application in the church than the council. Initially, the term minister was only refl ected to preachers in the protestant churches. Pastoral role had not been internalized and understood by many people in the society hence the term was used to focus on the ordinary meaning thus ignoring the deeper aspect of ministries. Currently, pastoral ministry has reflected on the bigger picture of pastoral identity which is service not only to the church but the entire community. The church acts as a symbol of pastoral service as being ordained only ushers people into the pastoral service but does not play the exact role in pastoral care. Catholic churches have strived to portray this notion through the roles that priests, clergymen and nuns play in the church. In the catholic community, the church is a symbol of the society. In this case, priests, clergymen and nuns act as servants of the societies in which they administer in church. Pastoral ethics are inspired by the moral character of a person. Priests, catechists and pastors have a moral obligation in a society as they are seen as model s of ethical values since their work entails the practice and teaching of good deeds in the society. However, ethical conduct does not come from the moral obligation but the virtues of a person. Virtues underscore the visions, roles and objectives of a pastoral minister. Pastoral minister are given the moral obligation of leading by example thus the moral values of a society are immensely contributed by the moral practices of a pastoral minister. There are many cases around the world relating to the morals and ethical conducts of church leaders. Many priests, catechists and pastors engage themselves in immoral behaviuors thus leading to the big question which is where or not to moral and ethical laws of conduct to religious leaders. The basic solution to this situation is to instill and enforce professional ethics to the religious leaders in order to limit them to the service of the society through the spreading of moral values. Professional ethics entails the use of professional duties to identify moral ethics. Priests, pastors and catechists have the duty of spreading the word of God to the people thus is expected to practice the content they preach to the society. This aspect makes religious leaders to be the reflection of moral character in a given society. When a person is ordained, he or she is given the

Chemistry Practice - Bonding energy kinetics Lab Report

Chemistry Practice - Bonding energy kinetics - Lab Report Example The bond is covalent in nature. There is a sharing of electrons between these two atoms, giving rise to a covalent bond. The electronegativity value of H is 2.1 while that of O is 3.5 (Brown, LeMay and Bursten, 1991). There will hence be a distortion of the electron cloud, thus causing the molecule to be polar. The bonding between oxygen and hydrogen is polar covalent in nature. Polar molecules are attracted to a charged rod. In these molecules, the centres of positive and negative charges do not cancel each other out, giving rise to permanent dipoles. When a positive rod is used, the negative end of the dipoles are attracted towards the rod while the positive end of the dipoles are attracted to a negative rod. 3. Using the 'electron pair repulsion theory', state and explain the shape of the following compounds and in each case sketcha diagram to show the arrangemant of the atoms in space, labelling the bond angles. In AlCl3, the three outer electrons of the aluminium atom are bonded to the outer electrons of three chlorine atoms. Since there are no lone pair of electrons, the structure will not be distorted. According to the electron pair replusion theory, the three bonded pairs repel each other as far apart as possible. AlCl3 will hence be trigonal planar in shape with a bond angle of 120 (Brown, LeMay and Bursten, 1991). (b) SiH4 In SiH4, the four outer electrons of the silicon atom are bonded to the outer electrons of four hydrogen atoms. There are no lone pair of electrons. According to the electron pair replusion theory, the four bonded pairs repel each other as far apart as possible. SiH4 will hence be tetrahedral in shape with a bond angle of 109.5. (c) PCl5 In PCl5, the five outer electrons of the phosphorus atom are bonded to the outer electrons of five chlorine atoms. There are no lone pair of electrons. According to the electron pair replusion theory, the five bonded pairs repel each other as far apart as possible. The shape of PCl5 will be trigonal bipyramid, with bond angles of 120 and 90. 12 marks 4. Enthalpy changes for the reactions of carbon and aluminium with oxygen are given in the following equations, where all substances are in their standard states. C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g) H = -394 kJ mol -1 4Al(s) + 3O2(g) 2Al2O3(g) H = -3352 kJ mol -1 (a) What is the value for the standard enthalpy of combustion of carbon The standard

Private Funds Essay Example for Free

Private Funds Essay The human service agency in reference is the Family Service Working Connections. Basically, the agency in involved in giving resolutions for some social concerns through assisting families and individuals to stabilize their lives and become a part of structuring an ideal community. The organization does not merely resolve actual problems but on an active procedure of strengthening the capability of each individuals to become worthy citizens of the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The basic programs that FSW implements are geared towards the promotion of family values which they believe is the core foundation of social work. Some of the major programs of the agency are family financial budget counseling, rescuing women from abusive family members and assisting the elderly to get a home refuge where they can become contributing individuals. The special functions of the agency directly correspond to the total welfare of community members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since FSW is privately funded, it would be important to identify where its budget allowances come from. A huge amount of its fund allocation comes from government grants comprising at least 46% of its 2004-2005 revenue (Family Service Working). This is followed by Program Fees while private fund raising and investments also contribute to the yearly budget of the agency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order for the organization to continue to fund its social programs, what the administrators can do is to stabilize its relationship with government agencies. This can strengthen an approach of receiving further allocation funds in long term services. Moreover, other privately run social departments will be able to identify FSW’s objective in promoting social help. The agency can also consider higher investment allocation in order to secure at least a continuous residual income for the parties they serve. References Family Service Working. N.D. About FSW. FSW Connections. Retrieved January 28, 2008 from http://www.fswinc.org/FSW2005Financials.pdf.

Theories and Stages of Memory

Theories and Stages of Memory BATHSHEBA SHEMA BAGGAI 1.0  Introduction Our memory is part of being human. It is also an indicator that we experienced and lived to this day. Theoretically, according to Mastin (n.d.), memory is our ability to encode, store, retain and consequently recall information and past experiences in the human brain. In other words, past experiences influenced our present and future behavior. When the outcome is negative we tend not to repeat what caused it, but if the outcome is positive we do the opposite. For example, as you go to work, you use a certain road every time. However, that route is always experiencing traffic jams that cause you to be late for work. By chance, one day you used another smaller road and you found that it is less congested and thus you arrive earlier to work than usual. From that day onwards since the smaller road benefits you more you will use it more frequently. This means, you used your previous experience and act accordingly the next time you go through the same situation again. In this paper, we will discuss and delve into more about memory as a whole. We will first discuss on the stages of the Multi-store model of memory which was founded by two researchers, Richard Atkinson and Richard Shriffin. The next section consists of what Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory are and their differences. This second section is a direct continuity of Memory Stage which is in the first section. The last section of the contents is in a different direction altogether. It consists of my own conceptualization the functions of memory system in human interaction model The references for this paper are mainly research journals and also website articles. Since there are a number of them, they are put in the References section. 2.0  Stages of Multi-Store Model and Memory One of the most used memory models by psychologists and non-psychologists alike is the Multi-Store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). They describe memory in terms of information flowing through a system. There are three stages of learning and memory of the Multi-Store model. The three stages which are processes are called Encoding, Storage and Recall or Retrieval (McLeod, 2007). The first stage, which is also the most important stage in creating new memory is called Encoding. It is the process which allows the information collected to be transformed or converted into a form that can be stored within our brains to be recalled later on. The process of Encoding is done in four different ways which are: Acoustic, Visual, Semantic and Tactile Encoding (Mastin, n.d.). Acoustic Encoding is the encoding (remembering and understanding) of the sounds that you hear: especially the sounds of words. When you repeat information rhythmically it is considered as Acoustic Encoding. For instance, learning the â€Å"ABC†. The alphabets of the â€Å"ABC† are put into a song similar to the nursery rhyme song â€Å"Baa Baa Black Sheep†. Other than making the learning of ‘ABC’ more enjoyable, children will remember them faster. It is the same case for the learning of the multiplication timetable. When reciting multiplication timetable, many can recite â€Å"six times six equals to thirty-six† rhythmically. This is due to the fact that the sound of the number â€Å"six† was highlighted three times. When Acoustic Encoding is the encoding of sound, Visual Encoding is the encoding of image. Visual Encoding relates to visual sensory information which is stored within the iconic memory (temporarily) first and later transferred into the long-term storage (permanent). One of the vital elements in visual encoding is the amygdala, which is a complex structure of neurons. Visual input as well as other systems’ input are accepted in the amygdala where the conditioned stimuli are then encoded into positive or negative values. As an example, if you are shown a list of words for one second. You would find that you will be able to remember if there was a word which is written in different color, or if there was a word written in bold or underlined. Visually encoded information is very fleeting and we forget them easily. We remember better when the information is encoded acoustically. The next type of Encoding is Semantic Encoding. Semantic Encoding is the processing of meaning, especially of words, though not exclusively. Most of the time it works hand in hand with Visual Encoding. For instance, when someone says â€Å"animal, grey and large† you will build a mental image on what he/she are referring to which is most probably an elephant. The last of the them is Tactile Encoding. It is based on the encoding of feeling especially touch. In a nutshell, each of the types of Encoding(s) starts with stimulus which gives out impulses/signals (nerve) which later will be processed and encoded. Paying attention is important when our memory is to be properly encoded. Thus, not all stimuli will pass through our conscious awareness, instead some will be filtered out. After the Encoding Stage comes the Memory Stage. According to Atkinson and Shriffin’s (1968) â€Å"Memory Stage Model†, there are three distinct stages in the Memory Stage itself. They are Sensory Memory/Store, Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory. All three differ in terms of capacity, function and duration. Sensory Memory which is at times called Iconic Memory holds information only for a few seconds (brief storage information). For instance, while flipping through a magazine we see eye-catching wordings of an advertisement, but after flipping to next the page we cannot remember what was actually written. This stage implies that something perceptual takes place. A stimulus might already be gone but we may still perceive it after even for just a brief moment. The next two stages of the Memory Stage will be discussed it Section 2.0. .The information people received which is stored in sensory memory is just long enough to be transferred to short-term memory The last stage of the stages of learning and memory of the multi-store model is the Retrieval Stage/Memory Retrieval. It is a process of getting or recalling information from your Storage Memory. For instance, if you can remember what you bought yesterday, information is successfully recalled from your memory into your conscious mind. The process of Retrieval is stimulated by the Retrieval Cues that includes mood and associations. If one cannot retrieve an information the cause may simply be because they did not pay attention enough, thus only some were encoded in the memory or it might be something as serious as having an amnesia. Ultimately, the role of short-term memory is to file information for temporary usage. If it is not consolidated, it is discarded. This process of discarding is important to make room for learning and new memories. But once a memory is stored in the long-term memory bank, it is stored there forever. It may not feel like it is stored there forever. Sometimes, you may not be able to recall something that is stored in the long-term memory bank—nevertheless, it is there. Because once memory is stored, it is permanent. 3.0  Short Term Memory Versus Long Term Memory In Section 2.0, we have discussed about the Memory Stage with one of its memory store which is Sensory Motor. In this section, we will further delve into the Memory Stage by dicussing about the other two stores which are Short Term and Long term Memory and its differences in terms of their storage capacities and forgetting mechanisms. Short Term Memory (STM) has a limited storage capacity. Only about seven (plus or minus two) unrelated chunks of items can be held with a time duration of 20-30 seconds at once (Mohs, 2007). For example, remembering a phone number until it is keyed into a mobile phone. After a few seconds you might not remember the set of phone numbers anymore if no effort is made to retain them. However, by using memory strategies, we can somewhat increase our memory capacity. Take for instance a ten-digit number such as 9006783456 may be too long for the use of Short Term Memory. For the set of number to stay in your STM and long enough for you to key in your mobile phone is to break it into chunks like 900-678-3456. On the other hand, Long Term Memory (LTM) has an unlimited storage capacity for information. In Short Term Memory, information remains as long as we think about it and will be discarded once we stop. In LTM, information is permanently stored in human memory. To retain information in LTM, a relation should be made between the new information to the ones we already know. This process is known as coding as information. Short Term Memory lacks this coding process, thus information is fleeting. If an information is important enough in the STM, it will be transferred to LTM. If there is an effort in retaining information like repetitively going through the information again and again (reviewing) we can remember it permanently. The more repetition and reviewing of information is made, the brain makes more neuronal connections (stronger neural pathways). At the same time, between the two neurons, the synapses become stronger because of more frequent signals passed between them. It is also im portant to realize that for memory to be consolidated there should be no interference present. In addition, when it comes to consolidation of memory and learning, sleeping plays an important role for both of them. This is proven by the founding that during sleep, the genes of rats are more expressive. In the hippocampus, the displayed activities during spatial learning is replayed. The next aspect that would be highlighted is their forgetting mechanism. In both STM and LTM a loss of information can be experienced. However, their forgetting mechanism differs from one another (Walton, 2010). In STM, loss of information can happen when there is interference. Interference happens when old information interferes with the learning of the new information. This thus makes the stored information irretrievable. Besides the Intereference Theory, there is also the Decay Theory. Decay happens when information is gradually forgotten as time goes by. It is important to note that it is not because of the effects of replacement as the Interference Theory. In contrast, Long Term Memory, loss of information is due to retrieval failure and not loss of the information. When information is not encoded correctly, our Long Term Memory will discard it out of the system. However, our memory can retrieve information if the cue matches the cue present during encoding time on the condition that loss of information is not because of brain trauma from accidents or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. 4.0  Concept Model of the Functions of Memory System in Human Interactions Diagram 1 Concept Model of the Functions of Memory System in Human Interactions There are many ways to conceptualize the functions of memory system in terms of human interactions. However, in the following is my own conceptualization of the mentioned topic. In my concept, the functions of memory (in human interactions) is divided into two: Social Function and also Experiential Learning (which are shown in Diagram 1). The first one that will discussed is Social Function. Good social environment is vital for strong social bonds which is necessary for our well-being; mentally as well as physically. According to Perry et al (2011), our memories are projected onto other people understand them better and to empathize their experiences. Our memory is constructive in nature where past experiences emerge together. In a certain way, this lets us to be in other people’s shoes; imagining what their experiences are like (Hassabis et al., 2013). Furthermore, this too promotes understanding and being more social. When we are experiencing the social world we must often recall, maintain, exploit and lastly update on the knowledge we have about others. People tend to react to certain social situations based on their prior experiences. According to Ciaramelli et al. (2013), we humans tend to empathize on people who are in the a similar situation that experienced in the past. However, these are in exception of amnesiacs. They do not maintain social bonds like other normal people. They too tend to have a smaller social circle. According to Beadle et al. (2013), Adult-onset hippocampal patients who suffers from amnesia are reported to have lower levels of understanding and no increase in prosocial behaviours. Besides Social Function, there is Experiential Learning. Both of these do overlap with each other, but they differ in settings. Experiential learning is more to workplace human interaction while Social is more to less professional relationships. Experiential Learning, in general is the process of learning through experience that we store in our memory. Since the dawn of time, humankind has gone through various trials and tribulations. We are what we are today because from our ancestors up to us in the present time learn to not repeat our mistakes, but vice versa when it comes to something positive. However, how can Experiential Learning relate to human interactions? Learning through experience is often used in workplaces. Let us take soccer players as an example. During practice sessions the team members will learn and practice the strategies of blocking, getting, passing the ball and catching it. However, the most important aspect they will practice on is teamwork because soccer is not a one man show. Coaches will see their individual talents and blend all them together to create a powerful team. One player’s talent may complement another player’s so they need to function together collectively. These practice sessions act as a simulator of the real game. By the time the players are joining in a real game, they would already have enough experience to ‘read’ their teammates present and next move which is crucial to score a point. This is similar in the corporate world. Members of a team need to develop a composite image of itself through discussions that develops the capacity to reflect their experiences. These discussions will pin-point the differences of experiences in team members that will then be blended together (Adams Kayes, 2010). According to Baker, Jensen Kolb (2002), â€Å"Members need to respect and be receptive to differing points of view; to take time to reflect on consequences of action and the big picture; and to desire growth and development.†As time goes on, even negative factors associated with teamwork can be overcome when teams become able to learn from experience. 5.0  Conclusion In summary, we have gone through the three stages of learning and memory of the multi-store model. These processes are called Encoding, Storage and Recall or Retrieval. Encoding which is an information procession into our memory is further broken down to different types of ways to encode which are Acoustic, Visual, Semantic and Tactile Encoding. In addition to those, Storage stage is where we store information in our memory and Retrieval is process of recalling them back to conscious mind. Besides Sensory Memory in our Storage, the other two which are Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory is explained in the next section. We have discussed how different they are in terms of storage capacities and forgetting mechanisms Short Term Memory has limited amount of storage capacity as compared to Long Term Learning which is unlimited. Their forgetting mechanisms, in other words loss of information also differ with STM due to loss of information and LTM due to retrieval failure. My conceptualization model of functions of memory system in terms of human interactions is divided into two which are Social Function and also Experiential Learning. They differ only in social settings and they overlap greatly with one another. In conclusion, in my opinion, we barely scratched the surface of our knowledge on human memory. I believe there is more to learn and discover than Atkinson’s and Shriffin’s Multi-Store model. With that being said, I hope researchers continue the journey in knowing how our memory truly works. Knowing how memory works is one step closer to knowing how the human mind works and consequently how humans work are as a whole. REFERENCES Adams, A., Kayes, D. (2010). Experiential Learning In Teams. Simulation Gaming, 330-354. Retrieved from http://learningfromexperience.com/media/2010/08/experiential-learning-in-teams.pdf Atkinson, R.C.; Shiffrin, R.M. (1968). Chapter: Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In Spence, K.W.; Spence, J.T. The psychology of learning and motivation (Volume 2). New York: Academic Press. pp. 89–195 Beadle J. N., Tranel D., Cohen N. J., Duff M. C. (2013). Empathy in hippocampal amnesia. Front. Psychol. 4:69 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00069 Ciaramelli E., Bernardi F., Moscovitch M. (2013). Individualized Theory of Mind (iToM): when memory modulates empathy. Front. Psychol. 4:4 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00004 Hassabis D., Spreng R. N., Rusu A. A., Robbins C. A., Mar R. A., Schacter D. L. (2013). Imagine all the people: how the brain creates and uses personality models to predict behavior. Cereb. Cortex. [Epub ahead of print]. 10.1093/cercor/bht042 Mastin, L. (n.d.). What Is Memory? The Human Memory. Retrieved from http://www.human-memory.net/intro_what.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Multi Store Model of Memory Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/multi-store.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Stages of Memory Encoding Storage and Retrieval. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html Mohs, R. (2007, May 8). How Human Memory Works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/human-memory.htm Perry D., Hendler T., Shamay-Tsoory S. G. (2011). Projecting memories: the role of the hippocampus in emotional mentalizing. Neuroimage 54, 1669–1676 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.08.057 Walton, J. E. (2010, June 15). Long-term vs. Short-term Memory How to Maximize Both. Retrieved from http://thelatherapist.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-term-vs-short-term-memory-how-to.html

Hawthorne Essay -- essays research papers

I think that Hawthorne’s description of Dr. Heidegger’s study describes the four friends. â€Å"It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs and besprinkled with antique dust†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In this quote, it represents the physical characteristics of the four friends, old and wrinkled. The dark and dank atmosphere of the study reflects their depressed personalities. I think that one of the themes found in â€Å"Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is that if a person is given a second chance at life, it is impossible for a person to change their behavior. Each of the characters all had chosen a lifestyle in their youths which each led a life of prosperity, but to loose their success and respect because of their behavior. The four friends had a life without pleasant memories to recall. They had gotten a second chance to relive life, they returned to their original faults. â€Å"Inflamed to madness by the coquetry of the girl-widow, who neither granted nor quite withheld her favors, the three rivals began to interchange threatening glances.† Once back to their youthful selves, the good doctor sees that their morals are still the same as before. Mr. Medbourne is still greedy. Colonel Killigrew still wants to seek the sinful pleasures he once had. Mr. Gascoigne is still lying about politics. The Widow Wycherly is still very vain and conceited. All of them laugh at the doctor since he is still old. They mock the sick, elderly, and disabled of which they had just been so themselves. There are many ind... Hawthorne Essay -- essays research papers I think that Hawthorne’s description of Dr. Heidegger’s study describes the four friends. â€Å"It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs and besprinkled with antique dust†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In this quote, it represents the physical characteristics of the four friends, old and wrinkled. The dark and dank atmosphere of the study reflects their depressed personalities. I think that one of the themes found in â€Å"Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is that if a person is given a second chance at life, it is impossible for a person to change their behavior. Each of the characters all had chosen a lifestyle in their youths which each led a life of prosperity, but to loose their success and respect because of their behavior. The four friends had a life without pleasant memories to recall. They had gotten a second chance to relive life, they returned to their original faults. â€Å"Inflamed to madness by the coquetry of the girl-widow, who neither granted nor quite withheld her favors, the three rivals began to interchange threatening glances.† Once back to their youthful selves, the good doctor sees that their morals are still the same as before. Mr. Medbourne is still greedy. Colonel Killigrew still wants to seek the sinful pleasures he once had. Mr. Gascoigne is still lying about politics. The Widow Wycherly is still very vain and conceited. All of them laugh at the doctor since he is still old. They mock the sick, elderly, and disabled of which they had just been so themselves. There are many ind...

Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein :: Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were both the sons of farmers. Although Einstein lived in Germany and was Jewish while Newton was Catholic or Christian and lived in England. Albert taught himself geometry while Newton’s family couldn’t even read or write yet. As Newton was growing up one of his closest friend was a young man named Edmund Glaley. Isaac and Albert where both living in the 1600 are in this time period. King George was the king at this time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Einstein hated his school and all of the German studies. In 1894 Albert family left him alone in the Army and to finished his studies. At the age of only 15 he had all of his independence. The he found out that his family had moved to Paliva. His dad worked with his dad in a factory. In 1898 Einstein met Molava and it was love at first sight. While Newton was discovering hypothesis and experimenting, so was Albert but he didn’t start until later. In collage Albert was considered lazy and stupid. Newton and Albert practically studied the same thing, but just at different times. Such as light and its colors, motion, science in general, space and the universe, gravity was a really big one. They also studied orbit and calculus. Einstein studied about being a teacher, electricity and how things worked. Newton studied telescopes, light and that the word of god is more important then chemistry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newton was excepted into the “society'; and then he became the head of the “society'; and that was a really big deal back then. He also publishes a book. For Einstein’s future plans he planed on marrying Molava and having children although Einstein traveled all around the world although, he was still able to keep in touch with Molava and her kids. Their names were Liza and the other kids name must have just slipped my mind. He would not have communicated with them and as much he would have liked. He soon got divorced. Then in 1919 he married his cousin named Elssa. He went to see his father one day to tell him the good news his father practically told him that he was a screw up and to go home with his family. He then died that day alone. Newton dressed very sloppily and he rarely went to bed between two and three in the morning, Newton also never married and he got little laughs about that one.

Antenatal Leaflet Plan

I have been asked as my resource task to make an antenatal leaflet for a young mother to help her with her pregnancy. Antenatal care is important for a pregnant mother because it makes sure that both the baby and the mother are well and that the pregnancy is all going well and if the mother has any questions or problems, she can ask her GP. The information I will include in the leaflet will be made suitable for a young pregnant mother by making to leaflet look attractive and interesting. I will use colour and pictures to also make it look eye-catching and stand out so that if there are lots of other leaflets to choose from, the mother will choose mine. I will make sure that the writing is not too small and I will also make the font simple and easy to read. I will also try not to put in too much writing which may even put the mother off reading the leaflet. The type of information which I will put inside the leaflet will be about and give advice on: o Smoking o Clothing and footwear o Diet o Medicines and drugs o Hygiene o Rest and exercise o Benefits I will try to make the leaflet look eye-catching by using pictures and animation. On the front of the leaflet I will put a photo of a young mother with a baby and throughout the leaflet I will include pictures of pregnant mothers so that the young mother feels as comfortable as possible with how she looks and so she knows she looks normal for someone who is pregnant. The information and pictures which I will put into my leaflet will be from: o Internet as there is a large variety of information and it is easy to access. o Text books as I know it's all accurate o From other antenatal leaflets as I know there is a large variety o Parents who have has children as they have had experience o And lastly magazines as they have a lot if information inside them. When I have finished I will design 5 questionnaires and give them to different people who have had children and who haven't and the leaflets will help me evaluate my leaflet. My plan of action is: o Collect information from different sources o Select relevant information which is needed for leaflet o Make leaflet using information I have selected o Evaluate leaflet using questionnaires o Hand in my finished leaflet by the deadline.

Guess, Inc.

Guess? , Inc. What started as a small family owned jeans boutique has flourished into a global lifestyle brand. Guess? , Inc. currently designs, markets, distributes, and licenses a leading lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel and accessories for men, women, and children that mirror the American lifestyle, while grasping European fashion sensibilities. While the foundation of Guess, Inc. ’s history and massive success can be attributed to their roots in the sale of jeans, Guess, Inc. has now expanded globally, granting licenses for the manufacture and distribution of a full line of product categories. Guess, Inc. perates in 87 countries, with the majority of the stores in the U. S. and Canada. As of 2010, Guess has 1292 stores, 504 in North America, 441 in Europe, and 347 in South East Asia (Breif History of the Company and the Marciano Brothers). The company has agreements with 17 licensees. Throughout the past 30 years, Guess, Inc. has made every effort to maintain t heir status as a global phenomenon. History CEO and Chairman, Maurice Marciano, and Co-Chairman,  Paul Marciano The epitome of a successful family business, Guess, Inc was founded in 1981 by the four Marciano brothers, Georges, Armand, Paul, and Maurice (Guess? Inc. ). They came equipped with experience in the fashion industry, having previously owned and operated a chain of twelve retail stores in France (Guess, Inc. ). The brothers moved to California from Marseilles, France in 1977, where Guess was born, starting as a small jeans company. Georges Marciano was the designer of the jeans, and the brothers gave them the name â€Å"Guess† as they believed that word to be easy to pronounce due to their limited English (Guess, Inc. ). The company’s original jeans were innovative for its time, stone-washed, made to fit tightly, and featured zippers at the ankles. They called this the â€Å"Marilyn Jean† (Guess, Inc. ), and the style lived up to its name, with a sexy, unique style and attitude. They had a softer feel and lighter colors than typical denim jeans. They also featured the classic Guess triangle on the back pocket, which would soon become the distinctive Guess trademark. Believing strongly in his family’s jean business, Georges flew to New York, and convinced Bloomingdale’s to display 30 pairs of his European-style jeans on consignment in the Bloomingdale’s flagship New York store (Guess, Inc. ). Within three hours, Bloomingdale’s sold out every pair. Demand for the jeans soon skyrocketed, and the brothers would find themselves overwhelmed. Though he possessed no previous advertising experience, the brothers appointed Paul Marciano as their advertising director, in hope of expanding their capital. This proved to be wildly successful, as Paul would design an ad campaign that would revolutionize the way jeans and other clothing were sold. Seeking to take a different direction from the typical studio design, Paul brought the models and the jeans outdoors, using grainy black-and-white photography. He had the models show off the jeans using provocative poses, which would later be described by Forbes Magazine as â€Å"catering to teenage cravings for sex, power, attention, and self-love†¦electric not only with sexuality, but with an implicit brutality and exhibitionism as well. † (GUESS INC (NYSE: GES) | Balance Sheet). These controversial ads would quickly create a household name for Guess. By the end of 1982, their jeans produced about $12 million in revenue (Guess, Inc. ). Over the next 15 years, Guess would grow from a company of 30 pairs of jeans, to a globally diversified billion-dollar empire. Legal Battles Overwhelmed by their increasing costs to produce, the Marciano brothers sought a solution to expand their capital and access cheaper foreign labor. In July 1983, they signed an agreement with the Nakash brothers of the company Jordache which would entitle the Nakash brothers to 50% ownership of Guess, Inc. in exchange for $4. 8 million, as well as the use of Jordache’s Hong Kong manufacturing plants (Guess, Inc. ). This deal also licensed Jordache to produce a new line of jeans, entitled Gasoline, using parts of Guess designs in a lower-priced line. However, Guess made a mistake in putting their trust in the Nakash brothers, and neglecting to provide written assurances in the agreement to protect each company against creating knock-off’s of each other’s designs. This mistake would soon come back to haunt them, in their biggest legal battle to date. The Marcianos sued the Nakash brothers on charges of unfair competition, accusing them of using their position on the Guess board of directors and their access to Guess designs in the Hong King plant to produce clothing in their Jordache line that were clear knockoffs of Guess designs. In the suit, the Marcianos sought to null the 1983 agreement that had given Nakashes ownership of half of Guess (Guess, Inc. ). This battle would continue for the next five years, eventually ending with the two sets of brothers settling out of court, and the Marcianos regaining full control of the business. Estimated attorney fees were as high as $10 million per year for each side (Guess, Inc. ). This was an ugly legal battle that cost Guess Inc. an unnecessary amount of funds. 1982 also bought a smaller legal battle with Jeff Hamilton, Inc. Guess sought to enter the menswear market by obtaining a licensing agreement with this company. Under this agreement, Jeff Hamilton, Inc would market a line of clothing under the Guess name in exchange for a 7% royalty fee (Guess, Inc. ). However, Guess soon decided that Hamilton was targeting the young men’s market too strongly, and did not approve of Hamilton’s â€Å"dumping† of Guess merchandise in large discount stores, which was hurting the label’s high-end image. Guess sought to terminate the license agreement, which they eventually succeeded in doing in 1986. This extensive legal battle resulted in a slow growth for Guess menswear. Marketing & Promotional Strategies Guess is backed by their corporate mission statement; â€Å"At Guess, we are committed to being a worldwide leader in the fashion industry. We will deliver products and services of uncompromising quality and integrity consistent with our brand and our image. We are committed to listening and responding to the needs of our customers, associates and business partners, and honor their individual value. We are dedicated to personal and professional enrichment through an environment of open communication, creativity, teamwork, trust, and respect. We continue to give back to the community, support humanity, and protect the environment as part of our responsibility. We remain committed to an entrepreneurial spirit that fuels the growth of our Company and increased shareholder value. Through principled leadership we will embrace diversity, cultivate strength, pride and passion to align our personal life and our professional life. (The Guess Mission Statement). The target customer for Guess is a young, affluent adult, between the ages of 18 and 32. Guess makes every effort to live by this mission statement every day, and uses a variety of creative marketing and promotional strategies to further entice the target customer to purchase Guess products. The mission statement is executed everyday in Guess, Inc’s corporate strategy, which focuses on the long term. Guess is a global compa ny known for their quality, trend-setting styles, and marketing creativity. In realizing the importance of diversity, and consumers’ needs to constantly have something new, Guess never fails to bring forward new products and images to keep their name alive. While originally gaining momentum with their jeans, Guess now manufacturers and distributes a wide range of product lines. Once realizing their success, in the 80’s, the Marciano brothers decided to increase their potential, and expand beyond men’s and women’s jeans. Baby GUESS? , GUESS? watches, GUESS? footwear, GUESS? eyewear, and GUESS? fragrances were introduced. Wishing to continue their expansion, Guess introduced even more products in the late 90’s, including an entire collection of GUESS handbags, active wear, jewelry, swimwear, innerwear, leather, belts, neckwear, and men’s classics (CITE- annual report). Around the millennium, Guess introduced their website, opening the company to a whole other world of potential. Guess operates in 6 different store concepts in an attempt to appeal to a variety of different markets. The original GUESS? retail stores carry a full assortment of full-priced Guess products, including men’s and women’s merchandise, and licensed products. GUESS? factory outlet stores are primarily located in outlet malls, and sell a select assortment of men’s and women’s apparel and licensed products at lower price points. GUESS by MARCIANO stores were introduced in the summer of 2004 (GUESS INC (NYSE: GES) | Balance Sheet), in an attempt to recapture the company’s glamorous image. The Marciano chain offers apparel and accessories that are sexy, yet sophisticated. The target market for these stores is slightly older customers interested in higher-end clothing and accessories such as ritzy evening dresses and fancy jeans. G by GUESS stores offers Guess products at a lower price point than Guess retail stores, in order to target a wider demographic. These stores carry apparel for men and women, as well as a full line of accessories and footwear. Products in this line provide a more fun, youthful image; fashion-forward, yet not cutting edge fashion. GUESS? accessories stores sell GUESS? and GUESS by Marciano labeled accessory products. Finally, GUESS also operates in an e-commerce segment, with websites in 6 different languages (Maurice Marciano and Marciano). Guess is known for their iconic black-and-white print advertisements and logos that have maintained a level of consistency throughout the company’s history. The aim of Guess advertisements is to place more of an emphasis on the brand image than on the actual products (Maurice Marciano and Marciano). All Guess advertisements use similar themes and images, primarily using outdoor images. Guess images have been showcased in international print campaigns in virtually all major magazines, on television, billboards, bus shelters, and advertisements throughout the world. The image of the Guess model has become a pop culture icon in the history of fashion advertising. Guess model, Anna Nicole Smith, in the early 1990’s Drew Barrymore Adriana Lima Paris HIlton Guess brought forth the faces of many future supermodels in their sexy promotional campaigns, including names such as Anna Nicole Smith, Claudia, Schiffer, , Drew Barrymore, Jessica Miller, Cindy Taylor, Minki Van Der Westhuizen, and Shana Zadrick (Guess? Inc. News- Company Information). Iconic models, actresses and all-round sex-bombs have all pouted and posed for these successful Guess ad campaigns. It goes without saying that Guess has been such an influential brand in the fashion world. Sales Trends & Financial Data For the first quarter of 2012, Guess, Inc reported net earnings of $42. 7 million. This was a 15. 2% decrease from the first quarter of the fiscal year 2011, in which Guess, Inc. reported net earnings of $50. 3 million (Guess? , Inc. Reports First Quarter Results). Balance Sheet from www. FORBES. com For the entire year, ending January 29 ,2011, net earnings for Guess, Inc were reported at $289. 5 million, an increase of 19. %, with gross profit increasing to $1090. 2 million, an increase of 15. 8%. Total net revenue increased to $2,487. 3 million, and gross margin decreased from the previous year to 43. 8% of total revenues (Maurice Marciano and Marciano). The decrease in gross margin was attributed to the negative impact of the stronger U. S. dollar on product purchases, increased occupancy costs due to retail expansion in Europe, lower initial mark-ups in Europe , and higher markdowns in the North American retail segment (Maurice Marciano and Marciano). Earnings from operations were reported at $404. million, a 12. 8% increase from the prior year, and other income, including interest income and expense, totaled $16. 7 million (Maurice Marciano and Marciano). As of January 29, 2011, Guess, Inc. had $442. 1 million in cash and cash equivalents, down $60. 0 million from 2010. In breaking down all of their marketing segments, Guess, Inc found that once again, the largest increase in gross profit came from their European segment. In Europe, revenues increased 23. 2% to $920. 3 million. Revenues produced by other segments were reported as follows: North American Retail- Net Revenue: $1069. 9 million * Earnings from Operations: $122. 6 million * Operation Margin: 11. 5% Asia- * Net Revenue: $53. 6 million * Earnings from Operation: $28. 6million * Operating Margin: 14. 3% North American Wholesale- * Net Revenue: $181. 0 million * Earnings from Ope rations: $46. 2 million * Operating Margin: 25. 5% (Maurice Marciano and Marciano) Despite setbacks from their legal battles (The Marciano brothers believed they would have exceeded $1 billion in sales by their 10th anniversary, had it not been for the court cases) (Guess? Inc. ), Guess sales flourished from the very beginning. 1984 brought sales of $150 million, and in 1987, the company reached profits of $100 million, with sales reaching $350 million (Guess, Inc. ). At that time, Guess retail stores grew to 19 locations, and sales reached $575 million in 1990 (Guess, Inc. ). In 1991, Guess strategically increased their advertising budget to $22 million. This worked in their favor, as the company earned enough profits to add 33 more stores by the end of the year, including the European flagship store in Florence, Italy. Sales slowed during the recession in the early 1990’s (Guess, Inc. ). However, the men’s collection took an opposite approach, and sales skyrocketed, with a 41% sales growth in 1991 alone (Guess, Inc. ). By the end of the year, menswear sales would account for 40 of total company sales. During this time, Guess also began to see the extensive opportunities available with international sales, as licensing arrangements introduced Guess to over a dozen countries, causing a significant increase in revenues. By 1993, Guess had reached an estimated $700 million in sales (Guess, Inc. . During this time, Georges Marciano decided to step down from his position as CEO, and sell his 40% of the company to his brothers for around $200 million. Maurice was then named CEO, and took over direction of design. Guess then stepped up their promotional campaign, looking to fuel its future growth. Licensing became a vital part of total revenues, with products now including home furnishings, i nfant wear, and junior knit wear (Guess, Inc. ). Meanwhile, sales continued to grow, now focusing on more accessories as well. In 1994, sales of Guess watches exceeded $100 million and footwear more than $60 million. Guess became a publicly traded company in 1996 (Guess, Inc. ). Hoping to continue their uninterrupted success, Guess was disappointed when 1997 sales began to drop. To compensate, Guess created a new line of high-end jeans called Premium Denim for men and women. However, this proved to be another disappointment, and the market share was lost due to competitive pressures and a terrible retail environment. In 1999, Guess decided to start their first e-commerce store (www. guess. om), which gave their sales a much-needed boost. Even in critical times, Guess was able to open 56 new stores in 2000. Annual sales would increase by 32% with the introduction of G Brand, a new complete line of high quality unisexual jeans wear that used Italian denim and European designs. At the end of 2000, Guess had 212 stores in the U. S. and Canada. In 2001, Guess implemented a new marketing strategy in order to keep their profits rising. With these new strong marketing methods, Guess was able to increase their sales, and open 24 new stores in the U. S. and Canada, a total of 249 stores. Guess continues their success over the next several years. As of 2010, Guess has 1292 stores, 504 in North America, 441 in Europe, and 347 in South East Asia (Breif History of the Company and the Marciano Brothers). Looking towards the year ending January 28, 2012, Guess, Inc. expects new revenues to range from $2. 74 billion to $2. 80 billion (Guess? , Inc. Reports First Quarter Results). Operating margins are expected to be between $16. 5%, while diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $3. 30 to $3. 50 (Guess? , Inc. Reports First Quarter Results). SWOT Analysis Like any business, Guess must analyze each of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and implement a strategy of using each of these aspects to their advantage. Strengths A quick overview of the strengths of Guess, Inc. include maintaining a strong and diversified brand portfolio, a global full lifestyle brand, an effective management team, and solid capital structure. Guess produces a brand that portrays a fun, fashionable, and sexy image, which is developed and maintained worldwide. Guess maintain a massive level of global success, with stores in 85 countries besides the U. S. and Canada. Because of this global diversification, the company is still able to grow, even in tough economic times. International growth remains one of Guess, Inc’s top strengths. Another major advantage Guess has is their use of multiple distribution channels. Not a company to focus solely on one channel, Guess Inc uses retail, wholesale, e-commerce, as well as licensing distribution to sell their products. This proves as a preventative benefit, as their operating results are not relying solely on the performance on one single channel. This also allows Guess, Inc to quickly adapt to ay changes in the distribution or retail environment of any one particular region. Adding to their diversity, Guess also relies on multiple store concepts, including flagship GUESS? full-priced retail stores, GUESS? factory outlet stores, GUESS by MARCIANO stores, G by GUESS stores, GUESS? Accessories stores, and GUESS? kids stores (Maurice Marciano and Marciano). This allows Guess to target multiple demographics in different regions. Weaknesses Like any company, Guess, Inc must also identify their weaknesses. A quick overview of the weaknesses of Guess, Inc. include maintaining a business in a highly promotional environment, the highly competitive nature of the apparel industry, discretionary spending being dictated by the situation in the global economy, and the narrow focus on women’s apparel. While Guess has very diversified products, and targets women, men, as well as children, their heavy focus on women’s apparel could be seen as a big weakness. Only 10% of Guess consumers are men, boys, or babies (Maurice Marciano and Marciano), which may indicate a lack of balance of promotional activities. Guess should assign more of their promotional budget to focusing on these areas, rather than attempting to portray an image of solely a women’s retailer. This also creates an opportunity for competitors to gain control over these sectors. While Guess stores may be growing rapidly in other countries, they must continue to be careful not to saturate the market. Opportunities A quick overview of the opportunities for Guess, Inc. include growing demand in foreign countries, such as China, under-penetrated markets in Europe, growth in the U. S. , and alliances by leasing. The Guess e-commerce environment improves customer relations, and creates an alternative shopping environment. In realizing this, Guess has the opportunity to increase their profits significantly by continuing to offer a wide range of products and keep up with an ever-changing economy. Technology proves to be a great opportunity for Guess, as they can benefit from consumer’s need for convenience. Guess men’s clothing category also has the biggest potential and room for growth. If Guess takes advantage of that, they will allow themselves the potential for a tremendous increase in profits. Guess should also take advantage of the new business casual trend, whereas smart casual clothing is becoming more and more acceptable in professional offices, and more people are looking for an acceptable replacement for their suits, ties, and other â€Å"formal† business attire. Threats A quick overview of the threats against Guess, Inc. include continued weakness in global consumer spending, low entry cost for competitors in the apparel market, changes to import tariffs, quotas, and taxes, and increases in energy and raw materials prices. Competitors are always considered one of a business’s greatest threats. The apparel industry is highly competitive, which may cause difficulties for Guess in the future. During a recession or uncertain economic conditions, consumers may be faced with reduced confidence and spending habits, resulting in a slow-down in sales and profits. While relationships with international markets and suppliers prove to be a steady strength for Guess, there are also threats involved. Since Guess does not own or operate any production facilities of their own (CITE- annual report), they depend heavily on foreign suppliers and manufacturers to produce products of top quality, and exactly to their specifications. Since Guess is a global business, there revenues could inadvertently be affected by factors beyond their control, such as recessions in foreign countries, political instability which may interrupt trade with foreign vendors, reduced global demand, significant fluxations in the value of the dollar against foreign currencies, or local business practices that do not conform to legal or ethical guidelines. Furthermore, Maurice and Paul Marciano currently hold 33% ownership of Guess shares, which is a very significant percentage. Their interests may differ from those of other stockholders, which could present a potential threat to the nature of the business. Competition One of Guess, Inc’s top competitors is Abercrombie and Fitch. Similar to Guess, Abercrombie's positioning strategy involves the use of sexually overt advertising positioned to appeal to young adult markets. Unlike Guess, Abercrombie and Fitch advertisements often depict nudity, alcohol consumption and assorted sexual behaviors. Guess chooses to take a less scandalous approach, and maintain a softer, more classical image. Abercrombie ; Fitch does not have a mass market approach to its advertising. It places print ads in 4 magazines: Vanity Fair, Interview, Out, and Rolling Stone. Abercrombie ; Fitch is well positioned for the future, however it is necessary for them to continue to move forward in their efforts to maintain a new, trendy image. In the face of a falling economy, Abercrombie's advertising stands out to an audience that has been exposed to a lot of noisy ads. In comparison to Guess, Abercrombie has the advantage of selling products under four different concepts, Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie, Hollister, and RUEHL. This provides the added benefit of appealing to different markets and demographics under completely different names, whereas Guess will only sell products with the Guess name , allowing Guess limited access to the market. GUESS? In the Future Immediate strategies to make Guess bigger and better would be to focus more of their advertising and promotional capabilities to their menswear collection. In the near future, I would recommend opening individual Guess for Men stores, which would open the door to an entire new demographic, increasing the potential for an immeasurable amount of profits. Focusing on new markets in Europe should also prove to be beneficial for the company. Currently, this market is under-penetrated, but has great potential for expansion in the future. As for a long term growth strategy, Guess needs to continue increasing their retail presence and expanding internationally. Guess has an excellent retail strategy which needs to be executed in each region of the world. Looking towards the long term, Guess should consider forming an alliance with a major competitor in the market, such as BEBE or Levi’s. Both of these companies have showed evidence of trying to come up with new styles in an attempt to keep up with Guess (Guess? , Inc. ), and are equally dominating the market for jeans and/or casual wear. Merging with either of these companies would prove to be tremendously profitable for Guess, as it would eliminate much of the competition, as well as allow them to dominate more of the market. Celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, Guess, Inc. is now bigger and better than ever, and growth shows no signs of slowing down. As long as they continue to leverage their presence globally and execute their mission statement and creative promotional strategies, Guess will continue to stay on top of the fashion world. Works Cited â€Å"Breif History of the Company and the Marciano Brothers. 25 June 2009. Guess, Inc. 1 May 2011 . â€Å"Guess, Inc. † Funding Universe. 27 May 2011 . â€Å"Guess? Inc. News- Company Information. † New York Times 2011. â€Å"Guess? , Inc. † 2011. Hoover's Company Information. May 2011 ;http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. library. berkeley. org/pqdweb? index=4;did=168188551;SrchMode=1;sid=1;Fmt=3;VInst=PROD;VType=PQD;RQT=309;VName=PQD;TS= 1307571605;clientId=11195;. Guess? , Inc. Reports First Quarter Results. Fiscal Results for the First Quarter Ended April 30, 2011. Los Angeles, CA: PR Newswire, 2011. â€Å"Marcianos Go Full Time Now at Guess. † Women's Wear Daily 16 6 1990: 1. Maurice Marciano, Chairman of the Board, Guess, Inc. and Paul, CEO & Vice Chairman of the Board, Guess, Inc Marciano. â€Å"Guess? , Inc Annual Report 2010. † Annual Report. 2010. â€Å"The Guess Mission Statement. † Guess, Inc. 2011 . ——————————————–