Fate vs. Free Will: Re-examining the Belief through Sophocles’ Oedipus the King Essay

Fate has always been the central argument in almost every Greek drama known to human civilization. Mankind has always been convinced that we cannot go against the tide, as all things are bound to happen, waiting to happen, and will happen. We have always been a believer of oracles, the fanfare of fortune-tellers, we hold our breaths to what the cards will tell of our fortune and our future. But if this is to be believed, then we are unwittingly giving up our free will, our right and capability to make decisions, we are giving away our logic and our right to draw our own lives, but rather, giving it all up to a greater force, an invisible hand that commands us to do what we ought to do. In the interest of discussion and deep philosophical reckoning, may I ask, is life, as unpredictable as it is, drawn by fate or by free will? Oedipus the King, one of the three Theban plays written by Sophocles, has been the center of many discussions on this topic. The question of whether fate or free will contributed to the downfall of Oedipus poses a great many questions to scholars and common folks alike. The question is an unwitting examination of our own lives, are we the products of the choices we take, or victims and collateral damages to a greater, unfolding plan. Fate, has been defined as the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do (Webster 128). By essence, we as common folks cannot choose our own undertaking but rather, just follow whatever it is that is bound to happen. Oedipus life has been marred by the predictions and indications of the Delphian Oracle. He, together with Laius and Jocasta, gave tremendous weight to what fate has instructed them to portray. And in their efforts to change what has been written, they have fallen victims to their own destiny, entangled with the cobwebs of lies and deceit that they made to cover up what their own personal flaws and fears. It is interesting to know and to reckon, however, that the oracle says the son will kill his father and mate with his mother, what if the child that was delivered was a daughter and not a son? Or it would have been a quick and quiet solution if Jocasta or Laius himself killed the baby and not just delegate it to a servant, thus avoiding the case of insubordination, which proved deadly for all the characters involved. Or, they could have just raised Oedipus by themselves, in their own guidance, within their very reach, for no moral man shall kill his own father and have a relationship with his own mother. In shorter terms, there could have been many alternatives, many ways, many options, which could have been effective and could have prevented the tragedy that has befallen the House of Laius. Free will could have worked things out in this tangled story of murder and incest. Logic could have outwitted the fates that are conveniently believed to direct our destinies. But then, some may think, this is still a gamble on the things to come. Again, let me cite another story, this time in the form of a short story by Mark Twain, aptly entitled Luck. It has clearly illustrated how a man who lacks luster in any field, became an illustrious and decorated military officer. He has been pursued, day by day and year by year, by a most phenomenal and astonishing luckiness (Twain 64). This fictional character, Lieutenant General Lord Arthur Scoresby, seems to have all the luck in the world, transforming the worst of blunders into the most brilliant and astonishing of all the military tactics. To romantics, it seems that the universe has conspired to give him the best of fortunes and enjoy the best of life. But again, let me ask, for purposes of reckoning and discussion, what if poor Scoresby â€Å"choose† other field and not enter the world of military, where outwitting and counter outwitting the enemy is a practice? Or, what if the reverend, instead of helping him, just let him fail his subjects I the military school? A choice has been given to the reverend, but alas, he choose to undertake the road that led to the unthinkable and unlikely success of the stupid man. His own choice, then, it is safe to say, has catapulted the General to his place in history. Force, or the lack of it, is an underlying factor in this topic. Oedipus has always known he will one day kill a man that is father, therefore, he should have prevented himself to kill any man, be it a stranger or the man he has believed all along to be his father, King Polybus. Nobody forced him to kill anyone, or at least, no other hand guided the sword that killed Laius but his own. He has been warned that he will one day commit and incestuous relationship with his own mother, then, he should have prevented himself from marrying any woman, be it any woman or the woman he has believed all along to be his mother, Merope. He, therefore, has guided his own undoing. Oedipus, therefore, is the only one responsible for fulfilling the prophecy, for in no page of the play did I find that any other hand or force guided him to do as he did, but his own choice, his own free will. The knowledge of the murder and the incest should have warned him and equipped him with a list of what not to do in his life, but instead, he let his own flaws draw his destiny. The question of fate and free will is an age old problem, and the solution will not be found in the endless debates, lustrous academic and para-academic discussions, or literary discourses. Our lives, whether we believe it or not, are products of our choices, we are of our own doing, or undoing. If we allow ourselves to believe that, like the planets in the universe, lifeless and dull, we are drawn to follow a certain order, then, we practically give up our right to life, our freedom, our individuality, but instead, we accept that we are common, unspecial, and nothing more than a dry leaf mercilessly thrown around by the wind, we are nothing but a stone that will forever remain at the bottom of the sea, or up in the mountains, that we are at the mercy of someone we don’t see. Lastly, let me just share, not a quote or a passage, but a law that has been proven time and time again, authored by the great Sir Isaac Newton. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. I believe, no other external force is at play, but that, which we call â€Å"ourselves†. Works Cited Cohen, I. Bernard and George E. Smith. The Cambridge Companion to Newton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Dodds, E. R. â€Å"On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex. † Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. New York: Chelsea House, 1988: 35-47. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Thrift Editions, 1991. Twain, Mark and Justine Kaplan. The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain’s Short Stories. New York: Signet Classics, 1985.

Big Corporations, Big Lawsuits Essay

Introduction The lawsuit over the defective design of Firestone tires put on Ford Explorers was perhaps the most publicised event when a company was sued for defective produce. This defect also resulted in a large number of accidents causing over 200 deaths and 700 injuries in the US alone, in addition to accidents in Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, the Arab Gulf Coast, and East Asia. The massive tire recall by Ford and Firestone on August 9, 2000, sent ripples through the American public and added fuel to the legal fire, causing both manufacturers and the public to rethink many issues. Summary of the Lawsuit On August 9, 2000, â€Å"Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone/Firestone jointly announced a recall in the United States of approximately 6.5 million ATX, ATXII and Wilderness AT tires made in Decatur, Illinois because of tread separation problems† (Eto, 2006). This recall came after the increased incidence of driver deaths in accidents in which Ford Exlorers rolled over triggered widespread public concern. At the time, the company was already faced with multimillion lawsuits. For instance, the lawyers for Edelio and Norma Herrera who died in May 2000 overturning in their Ford Explorer on the way from Disneyland demanded $1 billion from Firestone (BBC). The lawsuits filed, for instance, by the law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, were based on the claim that Firestone and Ford were guilty because it had failed to address the concerns in the testing process. Thus, on June 15, 1989, the auto maker’s engineers prepared a report to the company management in which they â€Å"recommended eight design changes to address the rollover problem and improve the safety of the Explorer† (Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, 2006). However, the management refused to make the major improvements recommended by engineers, willing to complete the design by the previously announced deadline. Impact on the Corporate World The lawsuit triggered a nation-wide discussion about the liability of auto manufacturers, business ethics, the need to produce quality products, and the regulation of the industry. The fact that Ford’s management had accelerated production at the expense of safety concerns only to face billions of dollars in lawsuits and a major blow to their reputation later on was a lesson to many managers. The way Firestone and Ford were heaping blame on each other was also an important lesson of how companies should not handle a scandal. To demonstrate commitment to improvement, Ford, for instance, â€Å"ended its relationship with the tyre-maker† (BBC, 2001). The scandal affected one of the largest US auto manufacturers, causing the resignation of its Chief Executive Officers, Jacques Nasser. Impact on Regulations The lawsuits have also alerted the American public and regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that new, tougher laws on safety standards have to be adopted. In 2000, US Congress adopted new legislature that aimed to raise safety standards. However, it was clear that such laws should have been adopted long ago when the danger of rollover crashes in SUVs became apparent. The law required tire makers to submit to the regulators far more information about their produce than before. Impact on the Companies The lawsuits that have been partially successful and partially settled out of court cost both companies, especially Firestone a lot. Thus, the tyre manufacturer found itself spending over â€Å"$1.6 billion in 2001 due to the recall and litigation costs† (Online Lawyer Source, 2004). The company spent $149 million to settle 30 class-action suits all over the US. In 2001, Ford warned its shareholders that â€Å"it could face up to $10bn in lawsuits arising from the Ford Explorer deaths† (BBC, 2001). The result was disastrous publicity for both companies. Firestone in particular took a long time to recover. As of 2004, it was spending several times more on recovering publicity than in the year before (Online Lawyer Source, 2004). Conclusion Thus, the scandal resulted in massive financial losses for the two companies involved and blows to their corporate images. It also made the public pay closer attention to manufacturers’ ethical decision-making. On the government level, safety standards had been strengthened resulting in increased requirements for manufacturers. References Eto, G.C. (2006). Firestone Tire Recall. Retrieved April, 1, 2006, from http://www.garyeto.com/firestone-tire-recall.shtml BBC. (2001, June 17). Firestone faces $1bn lawsuit. Retrieved April, 1, 2006, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1393055.stm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. (2006). Ford Explorer Rollover Danger – 2006 Update. Retrieved April, 1, 2006, from http://www.vehicle-injuries.com/ford-explorer-lawsuits.htm Online Lawyer Source. (2004). Firestone Recall Information. Retrieved April, 1, 2006, from http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/firestone/information.html   

Bob Jones Essays - Lacey, 9, Professional Wrestling, Music Industry

Bob Jones Miss Hanson English, Period 2 March 29, 1999 The White Flag It was a usual summer day, as I woke up and ran to the bathroom. Then I went downstairs and grabbed a bowl of cereal and the remote control. I ate my peaches n' cream oatmeal while watching my favorite television show, Rainbow Brite. Wow! She had to be the bravest girl ever, and she was my childhood hero. Ding-dong, the door bell rang. As I ran to get the door I suddenly felt myself falling down on my face. As I face planted it , I saw the cause. My older brother, Jason, had left his dumb shoes out again! Climbing up, regaining my balance the door rang again, and I yelled, "I'm coming!" I opened the door and saw my best friend, Lacey. " Hey Brooke, can you play?" "Yeah, I have to change my clothes first though." So we went upstairs and met Jason and his friend, Scott, Lacey's older brother, at the top of the stairs. We brushed past them and went into my bedroom. I was just opening up my underwear drawer, when the boys burst in. Jason grabbed some of my underwear, revealing to Scott that I wore Rainbow Brite and My Little Pony underwear. I was absolutely mortified at the sight of two boys seeing my underwear and laughing at them. I jumped up, snatched my underwear and shoved the boys out while yelling, " Get out, get out you jerks!," and slammed shut the door. "How could he do that!" raged Lacey. "Yeah, how dare they do such a thing!" I exclaimed back at Lacey. Mean while, while Lacey was rambling on about the boys I was thinking revenge! "I know, I said, what's better than getting mad is getting even, and I'm going to give him a taste of his own medicine!" "But how?" Lacey questioned. "Just follow me." I said excitingly. I lead the way to my plan. We marched into Jason's bedroom, and headed straight toward the underwear drawer. We got out every pair. "Holy Cow! He wears whitey-tighties?" questioned Lacey. "Yeah, that's not the worst of it! They are huge and even have a hole in all of them!" I said. (Now at this point you have to understand that at seven years old we didn't quite know about these sort of things.) "Start tying them together!" I ordered. We tied together every pair of those white pieces of cloth, and had a long strand. We dragged it over to his open window and lunged it out, just as the neighborhood babe, Kristen Redford, was walking by and saw the whole thing. She ran off laughing hysterically. Oh, Jason was so in-love with her, and this was working out too perfect. Yep, I knew it! A very out-raged, Jason, red-faced with both embarrassment and anger stormed in, grabbed and tackled me, and beat the living tar out of me. Oh but is sure was worth every bruise and cut!

The Absent People The Symbolic Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Absent People The Symbolic Republic - Essay Example By doing this, we will not only be able to understand about what the primary purpose was of Rosanvallon's writing this book, but as well how Rosanvallon himself thinks and what his major goals are. This is what will be dissertated in the following. One of the most major issues that is discussed in this book is that of the matter of repoliticizing democracy, and in the beginning of this discussion, Rosanvallon makes it very clear that he has an approach which "forces the stress to fall on the paradox that the growth of social power, in essentially negative modes, has come linked to forms of the hollowing of the political. The response to undertake, on the basis of the foregoing understanding, has two components: the institutionalization and rationalization of the forms of indirect democracy on the one hand and its politicization on the other" (Rosanvallon, 2006). These two components are incredibly important to take into consideration and in order to take them properly into consideration, we need to compare them with that of other work, such as for instance that of John J. Davenport, who too specializes in the same area as Rosanvallon, and in Davenport's opinion, he rather negatively criticizes that of the institutionalization and rationalization of the forms of indirect democracy, as he points out that there are many flaws that occur within this. As well, he makes statements that moralize around the opinion that the theory of socialization has a lot to do with this matter, and he argues that it is yet not included enough. While someone like Davenport believes that there would be much that would be needed to be done in order to even come to a remote form of civilization in regards to the matter of institutionalization and rationalization of the forms of indirect democracy, Rosanvallon on the other hand, believes that this component is actually the easiest to grasp out of the two, and that it would actually not take all that much to make some sort of a contribution or a change in regards to this matter. With the second component of democratic progress, which Rosanvallon - and many others - believe should be put into action, which is that of the politicization of indirect democracy, he believes that this co mponent is actually the most difficult out of the two given, and as well that it is the most important. Rosanvallon makes it very clear throughout this particular work of his that he believes that there is an incredibly large range of practical works of resymbolization, and as well of the production of generality. He states that "Against exceptionalist conceptions of the political, the return of the political would have to be understood as proceeding from an ensemble of actions and discourses for producing commonality and making the system of social interactions both more legible and more visible. Giving meaning back to politics, then, cannot take place in the first instance through the

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Microeconomics - Essay Example The theory of â€Å"invisible hand† proposed by the father of economics, Adam Smith, refers to this theory of price. According to Smith, prices are the sacrifice made by customers in order to make a utility gain through consumption of the good or service and the gain made by producers by selling the product that they have produced. Therefore, any rational consumer would be willing to make lesser sacrifice for a comparatively larger amount of gain. On the other hand, producers or sellers would desire to be willing to earn more by selling their product than the sacrifice they have made during producing the good. The market comes to equilibrium at the point at which both the decisions regarding buying and selling the good intersect with one another. This phenomenon is termed as the invisible hand, since the market operates without intervention by any third party (Mankiw 26). Figure: Free market equilibrium (Source: Author’s creation) Three important functions are played by price mechanism in a competitive market economy. These are signaling function, rationalling function and incentive function. Signaling function Prices of goods and services in a competitive market economy demonstrate the rate of availability or scarcity of resources in the market. It indicates whether resource is allocated adequately in different sectors in the economy (Adil 71). In the long run, high price level signals producers to enter the market, while customers are signaled to leave the market and look for cheaper substitutes. Therefore, supply rise and demand falls. Figure: Signaling effect (Source: Author’s creation) Rationalling function Prices can ration scarce resources when market demand is much higher than market supply. If market demand is higher, price would rise, thereby making the good available to those customers only that have the demand for the good backed by purchasing power. It helps to bring the market to equilibrium from a position of disequilibrium b y equaling demand with supply (Boyes and ?Michael 26). Incentive function Price mechanism plays an active and important role in the market economy. Price of a good is the incentive for both buyer and seller to buy or sell the product. For successful running of a competitive market, prices should be efficient enough to incentive the economic agents to involve into economic transactions. Figure: Rationing and incentive effect (Source: Author’s creation) If there is excess demand it raises price. Incentive effect allows suppliers to increase supply while rationalling effect makes buyers to reduce demand. This leads to a new equilibrium (from e to e2). Answer 2: Demand and supply are two basic forces that operate in a competitive market structure. Price plays an important role in determining the equilibrium quantity of demand and supply in this type of economy. Although economic theory simplistically states that there is negative relationship between price of a product and its de mand and positive relationship between price of the product and its supply; there is a difference between expansion and increase in demand or supply for a good or service and contraction or decrease in demand or supply for a good or service (Friedman 13). Expansion or contraction in demand or supply Demand (or supply) can change either due to change in price of the good (or service) or due to change in other variables affecting price.

Promotional techniques Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Promotional techniques - Coursework Example Section-A: Advertising and Design: 1. Target Market Profile: The products of MAC target a wide range of consumers that encompasses people of all age groups, cultural and economic backgrounds and gender. However, they accord significance to working with children and families. Therefore, their target market is quite wide and diversified and they will have to incorporate variety in their products and well as promotional techniques. On the other hand, due to their emphasis on children, youngsters and families, their strategies will also have to be devised to appeal to this segment of audience. Thus, while designing product promotion strategies and visual ad materials, they have to make sure that these things appeal to the whole range of their target market. 2. Product Differentiation: In the case of MAC, product differentiation is a key component for them to gain access to a wide variety of consumers whose spatial recognition, aesthetical perceptions and expectation of quality vary drast ically. Spatial recognition plays a major role in the case of art and evidence suggests that spatial differentiation leads to â€Å"greater product differentiation† (Datta & Sudhir 2012: 2). So far it relates to products such as arts and arts classes, the expectations of MAC’s audience vary drastically. ... Ads of this nature are highly effective not only in informing and educating the consumers but also to â€Å"manipulate and persuade† them (637). Taking into consideration the target audience of MAC, which encompasses people of all ages and backgrounds, above line ad can be an effective means to introduce and strengthen their brand as well as to create â€Å"favourite images† constantly in the minds of the consumers (637). As can be discerned from the Target Market Character Profile Assessment (CPA) sheet, a major portion of the consumers for MAC falls in category that views visual media at a higher rate. Thus, the most appropriate option for promoting their products is through television advertisement. This will enable them to access a large segment of the audience such as children and youngsters who are their main focus as well as adults including elders. The rate of consumption of TV of all categories of the target audience is quite high and hence TV ads will enable t he company to make their product to reach to almost hundred percent of the population. On the other hand, it is relevant that though it is primarily locality based, MAC belongs to the category of a tourist attraction and therefore their products have relevance to audience at national and international levels. Thus, ad campaigns through national television networks will enable the company to access an audience from the domestic market as well as those who come to England for business or tourism purposes. Another major above the line ad platform for this company could be the print media such as news papers and magazines. Ads in this media will enable them to access a major portion of the audience such as elder people, adults as well as

HIPAA Security Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HIPAA Security Policy - Essay Example I would also ensure that the physician is aware of all the measures of ensuring security and that these measures are well observed. The security measures will need to be observed by all the covered entities and these will include those providing treatment, payments, and other healthcare operations. I will also ensure that the business associates as well get to understand these measures and these will include individuals such as those having access to the information of patients and those who offer support during treatment and in other operations and will also include the subcontractors. I would then follow the relevant steps in implementing an efficient privacy rule (Online Tech, 2015). The security policies associated with HIPAA include technical policies and these include the integrity measures and controls that ensure that the electronic protected health information is in good working condition and is not altered nor destroyed. There are offsite backups and disaster recovery of IT that ensure that any failures or errors concerning electronic media are rectified to ensure that information concerning the health of patients is recovered while still intact. There is also the technical safeguard that ensures that the access to the electronic protected health data is controlled and only the authorized users have access. Record of activities on the hardware or the software is made possible by tracking logs or audit reports. Transmission or network is another safeguard practice that ensures that ensures there is protection against unauthorized access to electronic patient health information. There are also physical safeguards that ensure that limits the access to securi ty, and to ensure that all the entities that are covered have policies and use regarding electronic media and workstations (Hasib, 2013). One of the most important security policy requirements of HIPAA is the privacy rule. This rule requires that all the

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

Balanced Reading Program - Essay Example Such issues have been addressed and overcome by the introduction of a balanced literacy program. The balanced reading approach offers effective techniques for enhancing reading, writing, listening, viewing and speaking skills of the students through its literacy program. According to Cohen and Cowen (2007): â€Å""The primary goal of a balanced literacy program is to teach reading, not as a skill broken into isolated steps, but as a lifelong learning process that promotes higher order thinking, problem solving and reasoning† (Pp. 37). The basic components of a Balanced Literacy Program include: Reading Alouds, Shared Reading, Guided reading, Independent Reading, Modeled/ Shared writing, Interactive Writing, and Independent Writing. The essential components of a Balanced Reading Program, on the other hand include: explicit instruction and practice in essential academic learning requirements which includes phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and thinking skills and strategies etc; Response to reading through writing, discussion and drama; Classroom environment i.e. conducting activities individually or in small groups, focusing on thinking and learning and problem-solving, as well as student interaction; High expectations, clear standards and continuous evaluation; Use of variety of materials such as fiction, non-fiction, and other popular genres; and Daily Reading which includes shared reading, reading to students by teachers, guided reading, and independent reading practice (Holcomb, 2004). This article on â€Å"IQ, Phonological Awareness and Continuous-naming Speed Related to Dutch Poor Decoding Childrens Performance on Two Word Identification Tests" by Kees van den Bos deals with the word identification variables and reading-related variables of intelligence, phonological awareness and continuous naming speed. For the purpose of this study, a series of experiments were conducted on children aged between 10 and 12 years who had poor

Hegemony and Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hegemony and Education - Assignment Example Male norms stress values such as autonomy, certain forms of aggression, adventure, courage, toughness of both mind and body etc. Hegemony involves persuasion of the greater part of the population the organization of social institutions and the media in ways that appear â€Å"natural†. Hegemonic masculinity in education involves the application of certain strategies for the subordination of women (Gibbs, 2008). Most universities promote an ideology that fosters the outlook of white middle class males. Through the media, sports in universities have helped uphold a masculine hegemonic order in society (Kian, 2007). In comparison to women’s sports, men’s sports and male athletes are given more coverage. This gives a clear depiction of how masculinity is cherished more than femininity. The education system has therefore institutionalized gender with the aim of constituting people as two significantly different categories, male and female so as to organize social relat ions of inequality on the basis of this difference (Gibb, 2008). The gender system in universities just like race becomes constructed as a distinct organizing principle of social relations to determine how resources are distributed. Thus, cultural beliefs about gender are nothing more than stereotypes. However, the significance of such stereotypes is more significant than we may want to think. For instance, the sex composition of a student-teacher interaction is certain to bring to mind gender beliefs that will determine how students evaluate each others performance and how to enact their individual roles. Biological factors such as high levels of testosterone in men and different genetic make up are thought to affect cognitive abilities of men and women differently. Such biological factors are held to be the cause of difference in educational performance between male and females. Cultural beliefs that male students are supposed to exhibit an interest in traditional masculine subjec ts i.e. physics and past times such as rugby, football, athletics etc. constitute strategies for the construction of hegemonic masculinity in education. Studies have revealed that women outperform men in schools that adopt learning and assessment procedures that are better suited for females than to males. This is based on the difference in behaviors, learning styles and attitudes of male and females thereby requiring implementation of different school and teaching practices in order to succeed. Feminized schools lack adequate number of male teachers to guide boys. Such schools exhibit prejudice towards feminism in curriculum materials, reject competition and luck toughness in discipline. However, hegemonic masculinity may foster highly disruptive, inattentive, and aggressive behavior among males inside and outside the classroom leading to poor educational achievement (Gibb, 2008). Ethical issues arise from hegemonic power processes which occur as subroutines that eventually regulat e daily interactions and work flows in organizations, without any open opposition. The implicit nature of hegemonic processes leads to gradual acceptance of organizational practices some of which may be against the general good of the society. The concealed nature of hegemonic processes condition employees to act according to the rules and social values of everyday life. The employees act upon

An analysis of uk economic perfomance in third quarter 2012 Essay

An analysis of uk economic perfomance in third quarter 2012 - Essay Example The recent riots in the streets of the capital, London and other major cities are an example of that. Several economic strategies have been employed to arrest the slide with little success. In the midst of all these despair, the government led by Prime Minister David Cameron has even sought to convince the people that economic growth is not the only indicator of prosperity. He has sought to use the ‘happiness index’ as a marker that the economic situation is improving. However, preaching this new gospel to a generation that has been obsessed with growth has been akin to preaching to the converted. This paper shall seek to analyze the economic woes facing the U.K, look at the remedies the government has put in place, suggest more effective policies and even explore the likely positive or negative reactions of the economy to these measures. The fourth quarter of the year 2012 ran from October to December; and during this period the UK economy contracted by 0.3 %. This is a ccording to a report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Anon 2013b). The same report went on to blame such slide on the unrealistic expectations raised by the economy in the third quarter. This is when the Olympics took place, and there was an economic revival caused by large numbers of incoming foreigners. This in essence means that the UK did not witness any period of growth over the last four quarters. However, amidst all this economic gloom, the service sector, the biggest in the country, actually grew although at a marginal rate of 0.1% in the month of October (Elliott 2012). This slide in the last quarter also intensified fears that the economy was on track for its third recession in almost as many years. There was also increased fear that the UK was headed for a triple-dip recession. Amidst all these angst the government was, as expected, defensive at the suggestion that its policies were not working. The Chancellor cited the crisis in the Eurozone as a contributory factor and even suggested that huge public debt built under the previous administration was to blame (Anon 2013a). As all this happened, the credit rating agencies were watching waiting to pounce. Any downgrade in the status of the UK’s credit rating would be the final blow. The government has over the last few years tried different measures which have had varied amounts of impact in the course of the recession. Among the most prominent have been the Treasury’s Deficit Reduction Program, raising taxes, cutting spending on welfare and ‘raising the axe to capital spending programs (Kirby 2012). All these shall be discussed below. Their initial objectives shall be analyzed, their current successes or failures shall be looked at, and finally I shall suggest alternative means to push for these policies or suggest new alternative policies altogether. Deficit reduction is indeed the most prominent among all the policies that have been instituted by the go vernment. The government put this program in place soon after taking over. and in 2010 it held some promise, even drawing praise from the IMF. Under this program, the government sought to reduce the public debt that had ballooned under the previous Labor administration. By August 2012, the deficit stood at 14 billion pounds (Anon 2013a). The deficit is already rising and so the Chancellor shall have to abandon the program

The Tibetan Book of the Dead Essay Example for Free

The Tibetan Book of the Dead Essay Introduction All the teaching of Buddha, known all over the world as Buddhism, is based on the ideas of karma and reincarnation. Buddhists believe that after death the person is reborn and gets another incarnations in order to pay his karmic debts and get a chance to become enlightened of liberated. That is the reason they regard death as nothing but a pass to another physical incarnation and try to use this chance to get better conditions of life. The Bardo Thodol, also known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead belongs to the secrete texts of Buddhism and describes the experience of the death and gives guidelines how to pass from one incarnation to another. The name Bardo means the period between the death and next birth. The Tibetan Book of the Dead contains practical guidelines on the way to the next incarnation. In addition to ancient rituals and rites, it also contains main philosophical doctrines of Buddhism. The study of this book can give a better understanding of fundamental ideas of Buddhism and key concepts of this religion. General features of Tibetan Buddhism Buddhism is one of three major world religions. It was founded about 2.500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. Its main idea is a salvation from the world sufferings with the help of meditation. There are more than 350 million of followers of Buddhism in the modern world. Most followers of Buddhism live in India, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Tibet. Buddhism came to Tibet and 12 centuries later it appeared in India. It became widespread in Tibet beginning from the 7th century. It came in conflict with local religion called Bon, despite their main concepts agreed on many points. Tibetian Buddism assimilated a lot from Bon and The Tibetan book of The Dead is a perfect example of synthesis of these two religions. Buddhist term for awakening is nirvana. Nirvana means liberation from samsara – cycle of rebirth and entering another mode of existence. Buddhism states that all human beings are born in life full of sufferings and pain. Desires make people unhappy, as our mind can’t be satisfied with anything it gets and always asks for more. Making true one wish people start longing for something else and this vicious circle never ends. Existence full of sufferings and pain doesn’t stop after death as Buddhists believe in rebirth – the repeated process of life and death conditioned by the karma law. The only way out of this misery and pain is nirvana, which can be achieved through meditation and following the principles of Buddhism and to achieve the enlightenment or awakening of selfhood. Reaching enlightenment means reunion with one’s true Self. The state of nirvana is hard to define, as it lies beyond words and notions, but the most appropriate categories used to define it are emptiness, space and openness. In other words, reaching the state of nirvana means realization the emptiness of the true Self. Buddha is a Sanskrit term that means â€Å"awakened one† and it describes Buddha’s nature. Buddha was the first person who achieved liberation or awakening and could pass his experience to other people. He teaches people that all of them have the potential to become Buddha, reaching the state of nirvana. Tibetan Perspectives on Death and Dying The concept of death accepted in Buddhism is fundamentally different from the one, which exists on the West. Eastern people believe in reincarnation and that is why the death for them is not an end of existence but just an interesting journey and great opportunity. Buddhist teaching pays special attention to the death experience as a transitional state from one incarnation to another. Death rituals, described in the Book of the Dead derive from Bonism, traditional Tibetan religions, which preceded Buddhism. Ideas from Bonism naturally supplement new Buddhism concepts and together they combine an organic combination of religion, philosophy and practical rituals. The concept of death in Buddhism has two meanings and The Book of the Death speaks about two of them. In the first interpretation the death is regarded as a physical death, the cease of earthy existence. The first part of the Book of the Dead, The First Bardo deals with this death. Another meaning of death is a death of ego. It’s an esoteric meaning of death and it stands for inner transformation. This inner transformation is the ultimate goal of Buddhism and The Book of Dead deals with this kind of death too. As Tibetan Lama Govinda states in his introduction to this book, It is a book for the living as well as for the dying. (The Tibetan Book of the Dead: or, The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdups English Rendering) The book contains a lot of layers of meaning and can have several levels of interpretation. For centuries this book was kept in secret and only separate religious authorities could access it. Bardo Thodol – the Guidance for the Death and Life The Bardo Thodol was used by lamas. Literary translation of the name of the book means â€Å"liberation while hearing being in the intermediate state†. Lamas use this intermediate state as a mean to appeal to the true self of the person, when his physical body is passing away and thus give him an opportunity to stop the endless chain of births and deaths and get final liberation, or nirvana. There are three intermediate states described in the Book of the Dead. They are: the chikhai bardo, or bardo of the moment of death; the Chonyid bardo, or bardo of experiencing of reality; and the sidpa bardo, or bardo of rebirth. (The Book of the Dead) The Chikhai bardo makes the person ready to meet the very moment of the death. This moment is very important because the moment when vital force leaves the body and last directions if heard in time can help the person to pass the intermediate state correctly. As the Book of the Dead states, â€Å"When the expiration hath ceased, the vital-force will have sunk into the nerve-center of Wisdom and the Knower will be experiencing the Clear Light of the natural condition . Then the vital force, being thrown backwards and flying downwards through the right and left nerves the Intermediate State (Bardo) momentarily dawns.â€Å" (The Book of The Dead) In his commentaries, to The Tibetan Book of the Dead Evans-Wentz explains that â€Å"never centers† mentioned in the book mean psychic centers or cakras and the Center of Wisdom mentioned in the book is located in anahata cakra in the center of the chest. (Evans-Wentz) The Knower mentioned in the same passage stands for the mind in the state of impartial observer. The Chikhai bardo explains the changes in the energetic structure of the body with the coming of death. It doesn’t only describe physical changes, which occur in the body and the way energy leaves the body, but also stresses on the necessity to remain in the state of observer, in order to get the liberation. As Detlef Ingo Lauf states in his commentaries to the Secret Doctrines of the Tibetan Book of Dead â€Å"This is the very content and substance of the state of liberation, if only the soul can recognize it and act in a way to remain in that state.† (Lauf, 254) Special words, repeated several times, must help the dying person to fulfil the main purpose of his pass and help him find the right way in Bardo, where â€Å"wherein all things are like the void and cloudless sky, and the naked, spotless intellect is like unto a transparent vacuum without circumference or centre.† (The Book of the Dead) During the reading lama must change the body position of the dying person in order to create the right flow of energy in the body. The main purpose of all rites and ceremonies, described in The Book of the Dead, is to make the person stay conscious during the very moment of the death. This will enable him to remain conscious in the Bardo, and this way â€Å"From the union of the two states of mind, or consciousness, is born the state of Perfect Enlightenment, Buddhahood. The Dharma-Kaya (Body of Truth) symbolizes the purest and the highest state of being, a state of supramundane consciousness (The Book of the Dead). The person should overcome fear and his own egoistic desires and meet the moment of death pure and full of compassion to all living beings. The Book of Dead states that most of the people fail to remain consciousness at the very moment of the death. This can be explained by the weight of their past karma, fear and selfishness. â€Å"According to the wisdom of Buddha, we can actually use our lives to prepare for death† and that is why this moment is so important ( Ringpoche, 45) In this case they fail to see â€Å"Clear Light of Ultimate Reality† and should pass to the next stage. The Bardo Thodol gradually describes next steps of the process of passing away and stresses on the different opportunities to get liberation on the different stages. Conclusion The main message of The Bardo Thodol is to be conscious at the moment of death. The book describes different techniques used by lama in order to â€Å"awake† the person at the very moment of death or afterwards. At the same time, if we think about our life carefully, we will understand that we approach death with every second of our life; and being conscious in everyday life can be also the way to get liberation. As Sogyal Rinpoche states in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: â€Å"In the Buddhist approach, life and death are seen as one whole, where death is the beginning of another chapter of life. Death is a mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected.† (Rinpoche, 45) This holistic approach peculiar to Orinatal religions and philosophical systems illustrates their attitude to the death as a natural continuation of life and vice versa. Sources Rinpoche, Sogyal. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1992. Sogyal Rinpoche is a Tibetan Teacher. He did a perfect job adapting ancient texts, which compose â€Å"The Book of the Dead† for the modern reader. Original book even with commentaries and comments was very hard to comprehend for the unprepared reader. Sogyal Rinpoche made this text easy to read. At the same time he managed to write his book in such a way that the text did not lose its original meaning and those, who are interested in studying sacred Buddhist text, can read â€Å"The Book of the Dead†, which is one of central texts of Tibetan Buddhism in easy and comprehensive interpretation. The book investigates the topics of death and dying, which are central notions of Buddhism. The author introduces Buddhist concepts of karma, mediation, reincarnation and bardo in interesting and understandable manner. The book also contains practical guideline of dealing with the death. Reading this book transforms one’s attitude to the question of death and to life. Overcoming the fear of death can become that turning point, which changes the whole life, and Rinpoche’s book helps to deal with this fear. The author gives practical advice, which can help both – experienced seekers and people, who only start their acquaintance with Buddhism. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: or, The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdups English Rendering. Ed. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Oxford University Press, 1949 This book gives Buddhist vision of the process of death and dying. This book teaches not only the process of dying, it also centers on the process of living and uncovers new levels of meaning of our earthy existence. The text produced in this addition is Lama Kazi Dawa Sammdup’s interpretation of the Bardo Thodol edited by the famous specialist in this field and first translator of this book to English Evans-Wentz. Their creative tandem gave birth to new interpretation of classical text. Commentaries of C.G. Jung, the representative of the New School† psychology helps Western people to get prepared for dealing with such complicated issues as death and dying, which is a very difficult topic for Westerners. Introduction written by Lama Anagarika Govinda, a modern religious authority, helps to understand the ancient texts. All those, who contributed to this book, made a great job by making an ancient Orintal wisdom understandable for western audience. General information about Buddhism, which makes the third part, can be useful for those, who want to penetrate deeper into this religious teaching. Comments and commentaries presented in the book make it not only ancient classics, but also a comprehensive book about self-improvement and coming in terms with your life. Detlef Ingo Lauf. Secret Doctrines of the Tibetan Books of the Dead. (Trans. by Graham Parkes) Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1989. Detlef Lauf is a famous German religious scholar and Tibetologist. In his â€Å"Secret Doctrines of the Tibetan Books of the Dead† he provides his own commentaries about the famous text. He introduces different variants of The Book of the Dead and uncovers their deep symbolism. Religious concepts are supplemented by historical information, which makes their comprehension easier. The book written by Detlef Ingo Lauf is a necessary addition to the information, presented in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The book is a deep survey of Buddhist and pre-Buddhist relations’ teachings, which attributed to the Buddhist concepts of death and dying. The author makes a research of the different deities, Buddhist doctrines and principles created a necessary basis for the right understanding of the classical texts of the Bardo Thodol or the Book of the Dead. The author goes even further and compares the concepts of death discovered in the Book of the Dead with views on death applied in different religious doctrines of Rome, Greece, Eqypt, India and Persia. Information about the death and dying received by modern Western scholars help to understand the basic ideas of the book. References 1. Evans-Wentz, W.Y. (ed.) The Tibetan Book of the Dead. London/Oxford/New York; Oxford University 1960. (Trans. by Graham Parkes) Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1989. 2. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: or, The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdups English Rendering. Ed. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Oxford University Press, 1949 3. Rinpoche, Sogyal. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1992. 4. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo. By Guru Rinpoche according to Karma-Lingpa. (Translated Francesca Fremantle, Chogyam Trungpa). Boston and London: Shambhala Pocket Classics, 1992. 4. Detlef Ingo Lauf. Secret Doctrines of the Tibetan Books of the Dead.

Air asia case study Essay Example for Free

Air asia case study Essay Awarding large government contracts to Bumiputra companies. 2. Requiring new listings on the Malaysia stock exchange to have an initial 30 per cent Bumiputra equity ownership. 3. The allocation of at least 30 per cent of government contracts for public and private works to Bumiputra contractors. 4. Requiring all private companies to offer employment opportunities to Bumiputras. 5. Ensuring that a minimum of 60 per cent of government procurements, contract work and other related projects be awarded to Bumiputra entrepreneurs. 6. Making government finance available for the exclusive use of Bumiputra business people. The Malaysian government claimed that the NEP fulfilled its goals since the nation was acknowledged as one of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world from 1970 to 1990, a period that coincided with the NEP’s implementation. This conclusion was in agreement with the research on Malaysian economic development3 conducted by the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) and Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur (ISIS Malaysia) (Snodgrass, 1996, p. 1). Despite this and the new policies that superseded the NEP since 1990, the affirmative action programme remains controversial. Indeed, many people believe that the NEP continues to define current government development policies in Malaysia. Critics of the NEP believe that the policy was only partially successful in, for example, reducing socio-economic disparity and encouraging the arrogance of Bumiputras (Anshar, 2008). Research by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affair4 (2005, p. xiii) was also critical about the alleged business restrictions that the NEP encouraged – it criticised that these were counterproductive and may even have thwarted the development of a vibrant and resilient business community. 3 The research looks into the Malaysian economic development from 1970 to 1990. Malaysia: An Economy Transformed (2005). This report on the Malaysian business environment prepared by The Economic Analytical Unit (formerly the East Asia Analytical Unit) is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is responsible for publishing reports analysing major trade and economic issues of relevance to Australia. The Entrepreneurial Tony Fernandes If the NEP was restrictive of non-Malay entrepreneurship, how was it possible that Fernandes, a non Bumiputra could emerge as the most celebrated entrepreneur in Malaysia? My research suggests that the NEP did not stifle entrepreneurship and that Fernandes is not the only successful non Bumiputra business person in Malaysia. This is a complex debate, and my doctoral thesis seeks to address it in greater detail. But in this paper I will outline some of the considerations that need to be taken into account in explaining how and why Fernandes rose to become one of Malaysia’s millionaires. Fernandes was born on 30th April 1964 into a family that had no prior knowledge or experience of business; his father was a physician from Goa (India) and his mother was a music teacher of Malaccan-Portuguese descent. In other words, Fernandes came from an Indian-Malaysian family of professionals; the new middle class that emerged in Malaysia from the 1960s. Like many other middle class families, the Fernandes had sufficient wealth to send Fernandes to study in England. Fernandes, at the age of 12, went to London in 1976 to study at Epsom College and attended the London School of Economics in which he graduated in 1987 with a degree in accounting (BusinessWeek, 2009). In total, he spent some 11 years in London, a painful separation from his parents who could not afford to pay for his flights back to Malaysia. It was this experience, according to Brown5 (2010) that gave him an insight into the benefits of perhaps developing cheap international carriers. However, at this stage his career path did not take him into the airline business. Upon graduation from the London School of Economics Fernandes took the normal route of working in accounting jobs. Fernandes worked briefly at Virgin Communications, a television division of the Virgin Group of companies. What did Fernandes learn from Virgin? 5 Kevin Brown is a journalist for the Financial Times. He was appointed Asia regional correspondent for the Financial Times in September 2009, based in Singapore. Prior to this role, he was Asia news editor. Previously, he was the personal finance editor of the Financial Times. The main benefit was the experience of working in a global company, acquiring insights into the running of an international business, and developing an impressive resume which worked in his favour in being appointed to the position of Senior Financial Analyst at Warner Music International6 in London. At Warner, Fernandes showed strong business acumen. He started in 1989 as Senior Financial Analyst, and by 2001, when he resigned from Warner, he was the Vice President, ASEAN region. Within 12 years at Warner he was promoted four times; that is on average he was promoted every three years. Fernandes’ time at Warner Music was significant because it was during this period that Fernandes matured and transformed himself from being a mere accountant into a strategist with an analytical mind. Commentators such as Ionides7 (2004) believed that Fernandes’ ability to think strategically, and understand his environment from a macro perspective, was the reason why Fernandes felt compelled not to be part of Warner’s ill-fated merger with America Online Inc in 2001. This incident was said to be the catalyst for Fernandes’ decision to switch careers after 12 years with Warner. A word of caution is needed: the early history of Fernandes’ emergence as an entrepreneur is based on the business press and journals. As part of my doctoral work I will be examining these issues in greater detail, and therefore reserve the right to correct the narrative as it currently stands. 6 Warner Music International is part of the Warner Music Group which is the third-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. Warner Music Group also has a music publishing arm called Warner/Chappell Music, which is currently one of the worlds largest music-publishing companies.

Has The Traditional Marketing Eloped By Internet Marketing Marketing Essay

Has The Traditional Marketing Eloped By Internet Marketing Marketing Essay This research project compares traditional marketing and internet marketing to show the difference characteristics between them. Also this project is done to find out what marketing tools are effective for some chosen companies in the food industry. The main difference between internet marketing and traditional marketing is also studied in this project. Different textbooks, websites, articles and interviews are taken for the information required in this study. Both the quantitative and qualitative approaches are used in this research. Quantitative data are gathered form the website of the UK National Statistics. The author conducted interviews with three companies operation in the food industry in UK to collect information needed for the analysis in this study. After analyzing different aspects of theory, comparison and interview answers conclusion was drawn. Both the internet marketing and traditional marketing has their own advantages. Therefore, the most effective way of marketing is using the advantages of both internet marketing and traditional marketing according to the goals of the company. 1. Introduction Profit maximisation is the main objective of most business organisations for which they use marketing as their marketing strategy. Thus they use different strategies to sell their products and services. They always want to satisfy their target customers by creating, promoting and selling their product and services. One of the strategies they use is marketing, which can make a business grow and thereby become more powerful. To find out what sort of marketing to use in different area to achieve high share of market and high sales rate is very essential (Karp, 1974). According to Dayal et al. 1996, marketing can be defined as the activity of satisfying the needs and wants of buyers through the exchange process in a manner which enables the firm to achieve its objectives. On the other hand, Saxena (2006), marketing means understanding and responding to customers needs. Marketing is an organisational function and a set of process for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in way that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders (Parsons, et al. 2009). Marketing is considered to be a process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs and wants of a target market at a profit (Kotler, 2003). The Term Marketing Mix (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) was introduced for the first time by Professor Neil Borden in approximately 1953. Markets were offered opportunities to exploit each aspect of the 4 Ps of the marketing mix and satisfy their customers needs and wants, as soon as the concept was introduced by him (Karp, 1974). Technology has changed marketing, after staying same for several years marketing has now affected by internet and out lives has become easy. It brings new opportunities for marketing as a new communication channel and has been replacing the traditional medium of communication and selling goods and services. Problem discussion In traditional marketing, channels of communications such as magazines, catalogues, face to face communication etc are used. And nowadays in the internet marketing, internet is used as a communication channel as a part of direct marketing. New opportunities have been provided by this new communication channel which has affected marketing process. All the channels of communications have their own importance but internet is a channel that has developed and is continuously developing which has got a lot of attention from everyone. Right decision when choosing right marketing strategy for a marketer is very essential. For that the marketer should know the differences between internet and traditional marketing and their advantages and disadvantages also. Some obvious questions might arise in our mind that: which marketing approach is beneficial comparing traditional and internet marketing? In the real life companies, which tool is the most used ones? Is traditional marketing left back wit h the use of internet marketing? Is the traditional marketing and internet marketing independent to each other? Author find these issues interesting and companies entering the market will find this report helpful in prioritise their marketing tools and also have clear picture of all the elements of marketing mix and the comparison of internet and traditional marketing. Objective The main objective of this research is to identify different characteristics of traditional marketing and internet marketing. Comparing Internet marketing and traditional marketing used by different organisations in food industry. Also, what marketing tools are effective for the chosen companies in the food industries are to be discussed? The managers of the companies who need to make a decision about selecting the marketing tools and strategies will find this research helpful. They also will find the studies done on marketing theories and comparison between them, point of view of managers that were interviewed and the analysis made based in these things. Limitations The marketing managers of chosen companies are working in UK and their answers are related to UK food and takeaway market. This research might not be suitable for business to business companies as it is only focused on business to consumers. 2. Literature Review Different theories on the marketing mix and also traditional and internet marketing is presented in depth. 2.1 Traditional marketing According to Kotler 2003, Marketing is considered to be a collective process where individuals or groups can exchange goods or services based on their needs and wants. Neil Borden for the first time approx in 1953 presented the content of marketing process as marketing mix, representing the mixture of useful elements for marketing. Kotler considers the marketing mix as a mixture of different instruments or tools for pursuing a marketing plan (Walter, 1992). Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchange that satisfy individual and organisational objectives. In traditional marketing, channels of communications such as magazines, catalogues, face to face communication etc are used. The aim is to create products and services which sell themselves by being what customers need and want (Kotler, 2003). The marketing mix is probably the most famous phrase in marketing. The elements are the marketing tactics. Also known as the Four Ps, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product, and promotion. Price According to Belohlavek 2008, Price is a Conditioning element to the purchase. In general, except for commodities, price only conditions but does not determine. The price, by conditioning, determines if the product chosen, as first choice, is the one desired. The pricing of services is one of the major factors in competing with other business open to most organisations. By fixing prices below those of competitors, a company will hope to get a greater share of the market, all other aspects of competition being equal (Gubbins, 2003) On the other hand, Kotler presents, it is an important part of the marketing strategy and it sends out a message about the product, company and image. Pricing is decided upon the interest and goal of the company that they want to achieve. Whether, they want bigger market share, maximum profit or possibly a specific position in the market. It is very important job to set the price as it affect demand as the demand and price are dependent to each other. Product Product, or service, is the element which satisfies the clients needs. The product or services generates two types of relationships with the prospect: a functional and a linking one. The functional relationship refers to the products use value and the link with the product is mainly defined by the complementarity between itself and the client (Belohlavek, 2008). Product is the solution to customers wants or/and needs. There are different aspects of product that needs to be considered. Quality, design and function of the product are some examples of different aspects of the product. The size, colour and general design should be considered by the marketer for the product appearance. The demand should be also kept in mind so that what is required in the market should be known and for that research and market study is essential. Service is also included in the product or is a part of this P. The company can provide warranty as a good customer service which is attached with the product and thus is a part of this P. Place Products and services have to reach their customers to be consumed. In traditional market, it was possible for producers and their customers to meet face- to face to exchange goods and services. The product and services should reach the customer in the right manner at right place. The process of moving product and service through different intermediaries to reach the end user is considered under this part of P (Stone et al., 2007). According to Kotler 2003, place in marketing can be about location in the means of store, factory and storage. Also the decision on distribution channels and transport are part of it. Place is the crucial thing to determine for the business. The company who need wide space can chose location outside city which is cost effective. The company who need crowds and is opening new store need to be located in city centre, which is a bit costly but attracts customers attention and possible customers would drop in when passing by. A number of factors affect the nature of the supply chain that evolves to suit the needs of the producer and to meet customer demand (Stone et al., 2007). Promotion According to Kotler 2003, Promotion is that part of communication that consists of company message designed to stimulate awareness of, interest in, and purchase of its various products and services. Company use sales promotion, advertising, salesperson, and public relation to disseminate message designed to attract customers attention and interest. Sales promotion is any form of promoting sales where there is a call to action that results in a demonstrable benefit, whether tangible or not (Mullin, et al. 2008) Advertising includes any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. In contrast, public relations focus on building good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favourable unpaid publicity. Personal selling is any form of personal presentation by the organisations sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships. Organisation use sales promotion to provide short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. Direct marketing can be done face to face meeting, mailing, telephone, catalogue, etc. This is one way of building long term relationship with customers. Finally, companies seeking immediate response from targeted individual customers use non-personal direct-marketing tools to communicate with customers. Sales force is the face of company towards customers when providing or offering customers solution in either services or products. Their wo rking process has become from just selling to more complicated task. The sales representatives are the one that bring the needs of customers and the company together and create the mutual satisfaction. (Kotler et al., 2010). 2.2 Internet Marketing Internet marketing has become an important issue for many businesses around the world which have any form of commercial presence on the net. In the early days of direct marketing, efforts at reaching prospective customers could be best described as using a shotgun approach. By packing an envelope full of advertisements and coupons and mailing them out to a large amount of households, it was discovered that customers would actually respond by buoying some of the promoted products. Today, with the creation of large scale databases and internet that systematically collect information on households and individuals, direct marketing has become faster. Incentive-based marketing is a technique where the customer is rewarded or compensated for completed purchase transactions. Similar to the concept of rebates in the physical marketplace, online marketing incentives are driving the explosive growth in advertising and marketing revenues. The key difference, however, is that marketer can extrac t information from online consumers by providing them additional incentives? This information can then be used in conjunction with other direct marketing plans to design and deliver targeted messages (Lee, 2001). Most of the households use internet nowadays via laptop, mobile, palmtop, PC, Etc. The 2010 internet access survey of households and individuals measure home access to the internet and individuals use of the internet across the UK shows that 30.1 million adults used the internet everyday or nearly every day. 73 percent of households had internet access and 31 million people bought or ordered goods or services online in the last 12 months. As we can see on the chart of adults using the internet almost every day in appendix B shows that the number of internet users has almost doubled from 2006 till date. (Internet Access, 2010) According to Hoffman et al. 1995, Internet is a new marketing tool that can be used by companies in order to reach their customers. Internet marketing is defined as the application of the internet and related digital technologies to achieve marketing objectives and support the modern marketing concept. Internet marketing is often presented as a new theory of marketing however some argue that basic concepts form the traditional marketing are still valid. Internet offers new opportunities to adapt the basics of marketing mix. (Chaffey, 2000). Price Price transparency on the internet as it is much quicker and easier to compare prices by visiting companys websites or by using prices comparison sites has made the business more competitive than was on the traditional marketing. Also the main reason of being competitive is the ability to reduce costs of store spaces and staff costs. As already mentioned above this is the reason of internet marketing being cost effective tool of marketing (Hagel, 1997). Online payment is new methods of payment that internet offers. Credit cards are seen as an efficient, convenient and flexible payment method for both customers and companies. However, customers are less confident about the service because of the security and privacy issues. Product Internet marketing is the most cost-effective way to market the products to the UK and the world. The internet leads to faster discovery of customer needs, greater customisation of the products to the customer needs, faster product testing, and shorter product life cycles (Eid et al., 2002). Internet provides the opportunity of offering a core product that satisfies the customers fundamental needs. On internet, a picture or description will replace the physical product offered in the traditional marketplace or in stores. Services offered on internet by a company should reflect the following factors in order to satisfy customers: reliability, responsiveness, competence, ease of use, security, and product portfolio. (Yang et al., 2004) Place New way of distributing product is done in internet marketing i.e. online selling. People can make decisions and purchase any product from anywhere in the world. Allen and Fjermestad 2009, argue that the internet has the greatest implications for place in the marketing mix because it has a large market place. Companies can gain the advantage of the low cost of advertising internationally without the necessity of a supporting sales infrastructure in different countries as they can expand their business form local market to both national and international markets. Internet also helps take advantage of new markets (Chaffey, 2000). Promotion Internet marketing as a promotional tool can give business a presence all over the world. Advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, etc are the elements of communication mix which can be done with the use of new way of marketing that is internet marketing. For example, websites and email are the effective tools to review the new ways of communicating to the customers (Chaffey, 2000). Companies can encourage their customers to visit their websites and increase sales by sending emails remainders and different offers frequently. Internet helps to inform customers of the benefits of the product and assist in different stages of buying process. Companies can use internet to deliver their messages to their customers and attract them with the help of online advertising. Customers are always encouraged to buy when they see offers or the cheaper product compared to other competitor brand. Thus, sales promotion on the internet and emails is very used nowadays by the companies. This also helps company to keep long term relationship with its customers. Internet offers companies the opportunity to publish the news directly which is a part of public relations. Customers are sent emails to remind about the product and services that the company offers which also encourages the customers to send feedbacks and helps keep in touch. This is the part of direct marketing done by the companies as internet marketing tool (Chaffey, 2000). 2.3 Comparing Traditional and Internet Marketing Mix Traditional marketing and internet marketing is compared on the basis of its marketing mix or 4 Ps. This gives clear idea of different issues that either internet or traditional marketing carry in their tools. Price The cost of supply chain or the cost of distribution channel determines the price of the product. The bigger amount of cost is saved through internet marketing which can result lowering the product price. The cost of product may reach the paramount because of the management of distribution channel in the traditional marketing (Kotler, 2003). Tough competition in the internet marketing exist as the competitors can scan our potential pricing strategy and also our potential customers can reach to the competitors on one click. There is always security problem in the internet marketing, where customers may not feel safe paying online through their cards rather paying in the physical store where they can have more control over the payment process (Kotler, 2003). Product Product that the company offer in websites in internet marketing is just a virtual image where customers cant touch or feel. Whereas, in traditional marketing the product is tangible and customers can experience the quality by feeling it. Customer can sometimes change purchase decision because of lack of physically reaching and feeling the product (Lee, 2002). Company can offer wide range of products via internet marketing but it is not possible or it costly to offer wide range of products in the physical store. There will be more problem of storing and staffs handling inventory in traditional marketing than in internet marketing (Kotler, 2003). Place Customers can be attracted by decorating the store, like some stores does in the Christmas and New Year to create a specific atmosphere. This is only possible in traditional marketing but is not possible in the internet marketing as it is just a virtual image. Even though many of the websites try to create an atmosphere, but it is not as real experience as can be created in the physical store. In the traditional marketing customers have to wait and plan for the opening hours of the store and reach the store but in the internet marketing they dont have to bother about opening hours and the location. They can shop anytime and form anywhere from the world (Kotler, 2003). Promotion Time is money, what people say nowadays. The internet marketing helps save time of the customers and the company by the speed of reaching message to the customers about the product and services and also the purchasing process is done speedy. In traditional marketing it is not possible. Reaching the targeted customers is made easy with the help of internet marketing and can continue the relationship with them (Kotler, 2003). Face to face communication with customers creates bond between business and the customers. The company can get lots of advantages like they can get straight feedback and can measure result quickly. Communication is both sided in traditional marketing whereas it is not practical in internet marketing (Kotler, 2003) A website helps company to present itself in many ways where the customer can study different aspects of the company and get to know it well where as this is not possible in the same way through traditional tools for promotion (Kotler, 2003). A good website is very important for succeeding in online marketing. According to Sunday Times, some important guidelines for a good website for a company are: Keep sites simple and easy to use. Think user journey rather than individual pages. Provide clear information on contacts, delivery and refund policies Let shoppers browse without having to register. Build trust. Comparison of internet and traditional marketing On the basis of theories presented above, the main advantages of both internet marketing and traditional marketing is shown in the table as a bullet points. Marketer can adopt the positive aspects of either approach pointed out in this table. Internet Marketing Traditional Marketing Cost effective Personal Service Variety of products Physical access to product Reach targeted customers easily Quick feedback face-to-face Faster speed and communication Less tough competition Opens 24/7 Atmosphere of physical store Easy payment Secure payment Figure 2.3 Comparison on Internet and traditional marketing 3. Research Methodology There are different methods of data collection that we need in order to answer the research problem of this thesis. The two approaches are qualitative research and quantitative research which helps us explain the phenomenon. Qualitative research is typically used to answer questions about the complex nature of phenomena, often with the purpose of describing and understanding the phenomena from the participants point of view. Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon. Qualitative research focuses on understanding the research subject by investigating the results based on direct observations, in depth interviews and analysis of documents and materials (Leedy et al., 2005). On the other hand, Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quality or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity (Kumar, 2008). The aim of this research is to make a comparison between traditional marketing and internet marketing and find the effective tools in these two approaches used by a chosen group of companies in food industry. Therefore qualitative research method is mainly used in this research. This enables the author to explore all areas of the topic at hand and also give a thorough understanding and analysis. 3.1 Data Collection Approaches There are mainly two approaches of data collection. Primary and secondary data collection is the two approaches of data collection and the author in this research will be using both the approaches for the data collection. Primary data First hand information gathered directly from the source, through experiments, observations, and interviews through mails, telephones, emails or personal interviews which are close to the truth are called primary data (Leedy et al., 2005). The primary data used in this study research was collected through interviews. The interviews were done with the managers of three companies in food industry they are: Popadoms, Zaffron Restaurant Bar and Sultan Balti Palace. Interviews with the marketing managers of Popadoms, Zaffron Restaurant Bar and Sultan Balti Palace were done through phone call. Based on some specific qualities they have and all three could give us different point of views on the subject, these companies were chosen. The main qualities that these companies share are that they are successful, growing and use both internet and traditional marketing tools. Popadoms offer mainly takeaways with the finest and freshest Indian food locally (Popadoms, 2010); Zaffron Restaurant Bar offers both service and foods for dining in customers with affordable price (Zaffron, 2010); again Sultan Balti Palace offers tourists with different new Indian foods with takeaway and dining in facilities (Sultanpalace, 2004). The author in this research has formulated a number of questions based on the data required to be able to come a conclusion regarding the research problem. To be certain of acquiring the necessary information as effectively as possible, the interview questions were structured according to the limited time for this research and keeping in mind difficult accessibility to the specific individuals that were interviewed and their busy schedules. Secondary data Secondary data is information that has been gathered by someone other than the researcher and/or for some other purpose than the project at hand. Secondary data could be in form of books, journal articles, online data sources, etc. (Leedy, 2005). The secondary data that the author will collect is through internet and books that are trustable. The statistics can be referred to as quantitative data will be gathered from the website of the UK National Statistics. Validity is establishing correct operational measures for the concepts being studied (Yin, 1994). In order to ensure the validity and reliability of this research, the methods and theories used to conduct this study were chosen from literatures written by authors known to be experts in this field and scientific articles form data bases recommended by Universities. Criticism The empirical data was collected through interviews done with the managers of three companies operating in food industry in UK; therefore the author cannot conclude that the result can be applicable for the whole food industry in UK. With the choice of qualitative research and the mentioned limitations, the author of this research cannot give a general conclusion applicable for other industries in the UK. 4. Empirical Data The author of this thesis will present the companies chosen as examples form food industry in UK. The companies were all chosen from the same industry to rule out the industry differences. The author contacted the companies to obtain information about the marketing conducted in respective companies. The marketing managers of these companies were just able to answer quickly by telephone due to lack of time. However, all these companies invited the authors to find more information on their websites; therefore some of the information presented in this part is from the companies websites. The questions asked with the managers in the interviews of all three companies are as follows: Interview questions: 1. What marketing tools does your company mainly use? 2. Which marketing tool does your company consider most effective? Why? 3. What are your point of view on Internet marketing and its importance for your company? 4.1 Popadoms Company Profile Popadoms is an Indian restaurant based in residential area Farnborough, Hampshire, UK. It opened 11 years ago and offers great Indian cuisine 7 nights a week. The restaurant is well established and has lots of regular customers. The restaurant also has a free local home delivery service and offers a great takeaway service (Popadoms, 2010). Interview Answers The marketing manager was asked to give the marketing tools used as their marketing strategy in the company, which tool is considered most effective and how internet marketing was perceived in the restaurant. The manager answered that the company uses mostly printed and online advertising. For example, the company use leafleting and posts for the promotion and advertisement. They use websites and send emails as online marketing tools. About the marketing tool perceived as the most effective, the answer was that the company uses a combination of traditional marketing channels because these allow the company to capture local customers and reminds them their local restaurant. Internet marketing is an important marketing tool for Popadoms because it gives the company the possibility to spread information faster. Also from the statistics we know that internet users are increasing and ordering online. The manager doesnt think that the success of the company only depends on internet marketing, and there is no such specific tool to success. 4.2 Zaffron Restaurant Bar Company Profile Zaffron Restaurant Bar is located in town centre of Farnborough, UK. It was established in 2001 and serves Indian food and drinks 7 days and nights a week. They have separate bar for their takeaway customers where they can have some drinks while waiting. They have more than 70 seating capacity and serves tourists as well as local customers. They are near Premier Inn, Aviator hotel and Farnborough airport which helps them to attract tourist customers (Zaffron, 2010). Interview Answers The marketing manager was asked about the marketing tools they use for their marketing and the effectiveness of these marketing approaches in their business strategy. The main marketing tools used by this company are according to the marketing manager Internet, homepage and traditional advertisement. As response to what the most effective tools would be, there was no general answer given. It was stated that in different types of marketing they use different marketing tools. It depends on what they want to achieve. The point of view of the respondent about Internet marketing was positive. The manager considers Internet to be very important for their company. It helps them reach the right customer quickly and use different channels. It was stated that the company couldnt succeed as well without Internet nowadays. It helps them to get their message out fast and reach a wider market. He believes Internet marketing helps their business and revenues grow. 4.3 Sultan Balti Palace Company profile Sultan Balti Palace is now in its 10th year and is busiest Indian restaurant in Wokingham. It is in the heart of the Wokingham town and serves an average of 650 customers a week. An article in a local newspaper referred to the restaurant as having Poppadoms in the Premier League. It is two storey restaurants and is in listed Tudor building. Sultan Palace holds 25 seats on the ground floor and 55 seats upstairs in the main restaurant. The restaurant serves a range of tempting and delicious light meals and snacks at lunchtime. In the evening the restaurant is well known for its traditional Balti style cuisine. There is a private room that holds 30 covers that can be hired for parties and functions (Sultanpalace, 2

Cyrano De Bergerac Essay -- Cyrano De Bergerac Essays

Cyrano de Bergerac, the Play vs. Roxane, the Movie In an effort to attract the audience of today, the producers of the movie Roxane retold the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rustond in a way that is appropriate and at the same time appealing. In order to give the audience of today a story that they can understand and relate to, the producers have adjusted and manipulated the play itself. As a result, several similarities and differences exist between the play Cyrano de Bergerac and its movie reproduction. The characteristics of a romantic hero in Rustond’s time is not equivalent to the characteristics of a romantic hero today. In the play for example, Cyrano, a very ugly, old, yet intellectual man who loved Roxane, his cousin, with all his heart and soul was unable to profess his love for fear that she will have rejected him because of his looks. Enter Christian in the story, a young, average, yet handsome individual who also loved Roxane. The two made a pact with each othe r to create Roxane’s image of a perfect romantic hero—one that was breath-takingly handsome and at the same token, smart in a fun and interesting way. Together they charmed Roxane and she ultimately fell in love with Cyrano’s enchanting personality and Christian’s captivating appearance. Cyrano is portrayed as a great romantic hero because he died in silence to honor his friendship with Christian. When all the while he could have accumulated enough courage to pronounce his love for Roxane. During his life of silence, Cyrano looked after Roxane when Christian died in the war. Everyday for fifteen years he would go to the convent, where she stayed because of her vow to Christian, and recite to her the local news. In this manner, he has proven himself worthy to the title of a romantic hero during Rustond’s time. On the other hand, someone in Cyrano’s position in the present would not have neccessarily kept his secret for that long. Eventually, that someone would probably approach the person that they were in love with and declared their love. Just as Charlie in the movie, the equivalent of Cyrano in the play, was about to tell Roxane that it was him who wrote the letters illustrating his love for her with his alluring and sincere words, before she had found out for herself. For this reason, the majority of people today would appeal to the movie more than the play. Aside from the obvious ... ...rlie to help him in order to transfer the words of love from their hearts to Roxane. In the play, Christian served as a permanent barrier for Cyrano’s and Roxane’s happiness because Cyrano refused to say that he loved Roxane up until his death to honor his friendship with Christian. Although Christian served as an obstacle in the movie, the block for Cyrano’s and Roxane’s happiness was only temporary. At the end of the movie, Christian decided to go to Reno with one of Roxane’s friend. Therefore, Cyrano and Roxane were finally able to come together when Cyrano had finally told Roxane the truth. All in all, Christian was a barrier to the coming together of Roxane and Cyrano immediately or at all. Overall, Cyrano de Bergerac interested the people of Rustond’s time because Cyrano reflected their views of a true romantic hero—someone who was willing to sacrifice the profession of his love to honor his friendship with Christian. The end ing of the story was very dramatic and much respected as well as expected. On the other hand, Roxane got people of today’s attention because its plot was more light-hearted as a whole and ended with the hero living "happily ever after".

Cognitivism Essay -- Psychology Essays

Cognitivism Cognitivism is considered the dominant approach in psychology today. The dramatic shift from behaviorism to cognitivism occurred in the early part of this century. After years of almost exclusively behaviorist research, psychologists and educators became discontent with the limitations of behaviorism. Although behaviorism encouraged observable and measurable research in the field of psychology, it did not incorporate mental events. This paper will present a general overview of the origin of cognitivism and a discussion of three widely accepted cognitive theories—the Atkinson-Shriffin stage model, Craik and Lockhart’s levels of processing theory, and the parallel distributed processing approach. Finally, this paper will briefly summarize some ways that cognitivism has influenced instructional design theories. Origin of Cognitivism The origin of cognitivism can be traced back to the early part of this century when the Gestalt psychologists of Germany, Edward Chase Tolman of the United States, and Jean Piaget (1896-1980) of Switzerland had a tremendous influence on psychology and the shift from behaviorist theories. Behaviorists argued that mental events were impossible to observe and measure and could not therefore be studied objectively. Consequently behaviorists could not explain the ways learners attempt to make sense of what they learn. Cognitivists proposed that through empirical research and observation inferences could, indeed, be drawn about the internal, cognitive processes that produce responses. According to Matlin, Cognitive psychologists generally agree that the birth of cognitive psychology should be listed as 1956†¦During this prolific year, a large number of researchers published influ... .... (1990). The child’s conception of the world. New York: Littlefield Adams. Piaget, J., Gruber, H. (Ed.), & Voneche, J.J. (Ed.). The essential Piaget (100th Annicersay Ed.). New York: Jason Aronson. Renner and others. (1976). Schumaker, R. (1996). Anniversary: Jean Piaget—A foundational thinker. UNESCO Courier, n11, 48-49. Scott, B. D. (1997). Constructivism: Teaching for understanding of the Internet. Communications of the ACM, v 40n10, 112-117. Striebel, M. (1995). Instructional plans and situationed learning. In G.J. Anglin (Ed.), Instructional technology: Past, present, future (2nd ed). (ppl. 145-166). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Vygotsky, L. & Vygotsky, S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Boston: MIT Press.

abuse :: essays research papers

Its natural for children to be raised in a warm and loving home and growing up in a nice environment ,but in todays society that is not what our children get to experience. On Feb. 14th,Albany police removed three unattended children from a home on Sheridan Ave.. Conditions in the apartment included rats and mice running around. Feces clogged the bathtub and squalor throughout the apartment and endangered the safety of the children. The children were taken and removed quickly from the apartment and placed in a caring household. Police told reporters that they had been at the house for three months earlier on November 4th, however, caseworkers found conditions better than what they were on the 14th. The apartment was warm and clean and also had food. The mother told caseworkers she was to get foodstamps the next day but caseworkers insisted on getting some more food . On Dec. 6th, the mother visited the office of child protection services with her children. She was offered assistance and told them she needed some help. At no time, however, the caseworkers note the condition in the house that justified the removal of the children. The county is required to do everything possible to keep a family together . This story is still being looked into, but as of now the children are staying in a warm home. This is strictly child abuse, not much as hitting but neglect. These children were left for days without food, water, baths, or a place to use the restroom. It is said each day in the United States, more than three children die as a result of child neglect and/or abuse. Most of the children who die are younger than the age of five. These children are innocent and have done nothing wrong, but the mother seemed not to be able to take care of them. Child abuse is reported on average every ten seconds, and these types of abuse are as follow, Neglect- 53.5percent, Physical Abuse- 22.7percent, Sexual Abuse-11.5percent, Emotional Abuse-6percent,and Medical Abuse 6percent. The statistics say that neglect is the number one abuse that children experience. Parents are not understanding when a child is abused, it effects their whole life, and it will stay with them forever. Men and women who today are serving time in jail and prison have incidence of

The Rise of the Aztec Empire

The Rise of the Aztec Empire Aztec empire was one the most successful empire during the 14th and 15th centuries it is said to be the most lucrative and powerful Mesoamerican kingdoms at that time. The Aztec community began in the middle of a lake but later became the capital of an empire. Aztec was consisting of a diversity ethic group that lived in the area which stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf coast. The Rise of the Aztec Empire and its aptitude to be so successful and powerful dominance and their quest was founded on their religious beliefs that were embedded within everyone.These teaching drove them to conquest, to develop regions and building into temples. The Aztecs also called themselves, the Mexicans, but rose to power in a very short time as they searched for their promise land. The cities trade, agriculture, religion and societies were one of the major factors in the ability to survive and build a strong foundation for their leadership and livelihood. During th e fall of the Teotihuacan and the Mayan civilization was full of grate expectation in every aspect. This is said to be one of the most advanced group of ancient American as they proved the system of the calendar and the system writing.History reiterated that the Aztec came from the north which is called Aztian. The Aztecs built their city of Tenochtitlan on the site, which is now located in the center of Mexico. The Aztecs Empire comprised of two social classes. The lower classes were called Macehalli and the upper classes were called Pilli. These social classes were not defined by birth because a person could rise of the Pilli if they had great skills. All male children in the Aztec Empire were called Telpachalli. The women regard as subordinate to their man.Above everything else, they were required to behave with sexual abstinence and high moral. The religion of the Aztecs was very in distance downwards which was partially due to the fact that they had inherited many religious bel iefs from people they previously conquered. The Aztecs believed that the sun and the earth had been destroyed in a cataclysm and recreated four times. The Aztec laws were simple be harsh. They were very few times that result of a crime resulting from adultery to stealing was not punished by death. Other major offences were handling by the courts.In 1426, the old ruler Tezozomoc died and was replaced by his son Maxlatzin. He was fretful that the Aztecs had been growing too strong under the Tepanec’s protection. He therefore sought to reduce the Aztec’s power in 1427. At this time, the Aztec’s third king died and was replaced by Itzcoatl, who chose Tlacaelel, a brilliant military strategist, as his chief adviser. The two of them decided to resist and fight rather than submit to Maxlatzin’s threats and pressure. Within a year, the Aztecs had crushed the Tepanec and destroyed their imperial city. So now the Aztec had become the greatest state in Mexico.