Aldous Huxley s Brave New World - 1329 Words

In Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, life is peaceful without any rebellion from its citizens. The society is called ‘The World State’, where scientist can finally produce eggs, without women getting pregnant. As a result, there is no such thing as a â€Å"family†, and the word ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ are consider as obscene. â€Å". . . the loathsomeness and moral obliquity of childbearing –– merely gross, a scatological rather than a pornographic impropriety† (Huxley 159). They use the Bokanovsky Process, in which they fertilize human eggs in a vitro and make the eggs split into identical copies. They condition the embryo in favor of what class the embryo will develop into. The castes are just the same as the Upper class, the Middle class, and the†¦show more content†¦Helicopters are now essential and a main part of travel in the World State society. They become an enjoyment to travel and see different things. There are no more cars, and even the Epsilon use a high-speed monorail as a mean to travel. Another form of entertainment are ‘feelies’. Feelies are theaters, where you can feel, physically, anything that the on-screen actors feel. â€Å"That sensation on his lips! He lifted a hand to his mouth; the titillation ceased; let his hand fall back on the metal knob; it began again†(Huxley 174). Feeling is a vital part in the World State society. When everyone feels good, there is no chaos but order within society. Because of this, the government can easily control the citizens and be in control. Indeed, no one will change the government when all the government is doing is keeping its citizens happy. They give their citizens freedom, but they limit every aspect of freedom by withholding the truth. The soma that the citizens take make everything impossible to think straight. They suppress the truth and only give what the citizens need . . . happiness. Promiscuity is accepted as a societal norm, and it is not regarded as obscene in society. As a matter of fact, it is natural to be promiscuous and it is encouraged at a young age to play sexual games. â€Å"A little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing . . . a rudimentary sexual game† (Huxley 44). Even

My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing - 947 Words

Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Application of Nursing Theory My personal philosophy of nursing encompasses three major tenets; compassion, empathy and, patient education. Each of these ideals are integral in my nursing practice, after learning about the nursing theory I have identified several nurse theorists that resonate most closely to my personal nursing philosophy. These include Dorothea Orem’s Self Care Model, Jean Watson’s Theory of Human/Transpersonal Caring and, Imogene King-Conceptual System and Theory of Goal Attainment. Compassion is intrinsic to nursing, it is something that patients will always expect form their health care providers. When I see suffering it is my desire to try and alleviate it which is the definition of compassion. Empathy, closely relates to compassion but differs in the aspect that to empathize means to share and experience ones feelings and to achieve understanding with our patients who are suffering. Which is something that believe to be a strong nurse you must possess. I have met a handful of nurses that are clinically strong in regards to their technical nursing skills but, they lack the essence of compassion and empathy and are unable to connect on a personal level with their patients. To provide patient education is also integral to my nursing philosophy in that, to impart information to patients that will alter their health status thru health promotion services and improving better provider and patient communication.Show MoreRelatedPersonal Nursing Philosophy : My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1475 Words   |  6 PagesPersonal Philosophy of Nursing When one thinks of a nurse they often think of a caring, compassionate, knowledgeable individual. They don’t often think that every nurse comes from different situation, past experiences, and life changing events that make nurses who he or she is. Everyone on this earth is unique and has something to contribute. The same goes for patients. Each patient has a different background and have different interests which make them who they are. In order to give the optimalRead MorePersonal Nursing Philosophy : My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1190 Words   |  5 PagesPersonal Philosophy of Nursing Megan A. Farrell Moberly Area Community College Introduction I, Megan Farrell, am currently a Licensed Practical Nurse at a treatment center that works with prisoners. I accepted a clinical positon here as a graduate, but plan to work in a hospital setting once I have become a Registered Nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit. I quickly worked my way up the latter from the clinic nurse to the Chronic Care nurse and I am quite passionate about furtherRead MoreNursing Philosophy : My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing932 Words   |  4 PagesMy Philosophy of Nursing My personal philosophy of nursing began at an early age watching my mother volunteer for 25 years on the local rescue squad, following in the footsteps of her mother. I learned that helping others in a time of need should always be a priority. Respect and dignity should always be shown to people, no matter the who they are or where they are from. I have and will continue to show compassion for others while administering professional holistic care, guided by the AmericanRead MoreMy Nursing Philosophy : My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1093 Words   |  5 PagesPhilosophy is a distinct disciple on its own right, and all disciplines can claim their own philosophical bases that form guidelines for their goal† (Meleis, 2012, p. 28). In simpler terms, philosophy is your worldview and thought process of life. Our philosophy transcends into our beliefs and values’, examining our philosophy allows us to discover what is important to us and helps define priorities and goals ( Meleis, 2012, p.28). Being aware of our philosophy creates individuality in each personRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1304 Words   |  6 PagesMy Personal Nursing Philosophy A nursing philosophy is concepts or values that a nurse embraces within his/her practice and allows these concepts and values to shape the way he/she practices nursing and drives the purpose of their nursing care. It is important for each nurse to develop his/her philosophy of nursing to be a purpose driven nurse. Each nurse will have his/her own nurse philosophy because each believes differently. Nursing philosophies might come from different understandings butRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1053 Words   |  5 PagesThis aforementioned are the podium upon which the value and philosophies of the success of each profession is based. These philosophies and values do not operate in a vacuum. They influence the way which professionals carry out their day to day activities for maximum success. Consequently, Nursing and Nurses are not immune to the great influence of values and philosophies, be it at personal or corporate levels. This is because, nursing as a profession d eals with the constant interaction with patients;Read MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing949 Words   |  4 PagesMy Personal Philosophy of Nursing My inspiration to pursue a career in Nursing began at a young age, after reading the biography of Florence Nightingale. I was in middle school, and intrigued at her courage, and dedication to care for the sick. As I entered college, and into a formal nursing education program, I still viewed nursing as, the care provided to another in need. Without my knowing, I was developing a philosophy of nursing for myself. As the years passed, I began to realize that nursingRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1676 Words   |  7 Pagesfamous philosophies and a personal nursing philosophy is presented, including the personal definitions of the four phenomena of nursing namely person, environment, health, and nursing. The said philosophy will then be compared to other professionally-acclaimed philosophies. Included in the discussion is the importance of a nurse’s role in providing health care to persons, family, and the society and how it is able to address problems in the face of cultural and spiritual differences. Personal PhilosophyRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1081 Words   |  5 PagesRunning head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1 PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 6 Personal Philosophy of Nursing Caroline Thiongo BSN V Millers College of Nursing Abstract This paper explores my personal nursing philosophy that I will convey in my career of nursing. It is my belief that nursing is a commitment to public service and a desire to help those in need. Nursing is a discipline of knowledge acquired both through formal education and through life experiences. The sum of these parts continuesRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nursing1330 Words   |  6 PagesMy Personal Philosophy of Nursing The purpose of this essay is to depict the personal philosophy of nursing and any future aspirations I have acquired in my first semester of nursing school. Before I can create my own philosophy of nursing, I must first understand and define what philosophy is and how it relates to nursing. According to  the Oxford Dictionary, philosophy is â€Å"the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline†

Purchasing Operations and Management †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Purchasing Operations and Management. Answer: Introduction The retail market is very competitive and dynamic and requires quite a lot of business muscle to stay afloat. Many retail giants are on the brink of collapse; case in point is the Nakumatt supermarkets that were once a household name in the Kenyan and East African market at large. Empty shelves are now a typical picture associated with this once giant retailer in the region. This essay will focus on the aspects to increase efficiency of doing retail business. The three main issues to be discussed will include supplier selection criteria, ICT for purchasing operations and purchasing cost analysis. Recommendations will be made on the best practices surrounding these three issues. This essay will focus on another giant retailer; Walmart supermarkets that are a household name in America and a global brand in some respect. Walmart stores deal in a variety of products including household goods for example utensils, furniture, electrical appliances and fresh food and fruits. Almost all kind of goods will be available in these stores. Walmart is a global brand and hence its business implications are felt in the global economy (Gereffi, 2009). The market is distributed from the Americas to Asia (South Korea and Japan) and across Europe (Germany). Competitors in the market include KMart Super Centre, Supervalu Inc, Croger among many more. Many of the competitors are also targeting the global market. Most of the goals and strategies of Walmart are focused on sustainable profitability. These strategies are aimed at maximizing profitability but at the same time factor in social and environmental responsibilities (Cohen, 2017). Supplier Selection Criteria Supplier selection and monitoring of their performance is key to efficient business operation. Devising the best supplier selection method and evaluating the performance of the supplier goes a long way to ensure benefits of the goods purchased are felt later in the chain as cost effectiveness, quality, dynamicity and creativity (Nair, 2015). Being a retail entity, Walmart seeks to maximize profit on their varied products while maintaining a low cost on their products compared to its peers in the market. Maintaining competitive prices for its products will help it have an edge on the customer base and hence boosting the sales. There has to be an understanding between the supplier and the client to purchase products at the cheapest and most favorable prices ever. This will enable the client to develop a competitive price structure in the market. In his study, Sen postulates that decisions to be made on coming up with the ideal supplier are very challenging and include inadequate information, imperfect choices and more qualitative methods applied (Sen, 2008). Over the last 30 years, a lot of academic research has been undertaken to devise a consistent approach in choosing an ideal supplier. Data mining methods, problem establishment methods, multi-criteria decision aid and mathematical programming are some of the methods to be applied in supplier selection discussed by Sen. The following phases are consistent with most supplier selection strategy (Sen, 2008): Defining the problem Establishing a method Assessing suitability of qualified suppliers Choosing the most preferred supplier Measuring endurance of a supplier in most cases is dependent on quality of the products, price, service and delivery. From an analysis of the literature by academicians in this field, qualitative and quantitative supplier selection framework will be preferred here. In this method, two algorithms are applied to select the supplier. As discussed in detail by Sen, the following pointers are key according to Sen (2008); Establishment of a cross-functional group. This is because the supplier selection affects many other activities and decision makers in the team. It includes production strategy teams, cash flow controllers, and inventory managers, among others. Therefore a consensus should be sought. Data mining to come up with varied supplier selection methods. This will help to come up with new and more efficient strategies. Arrange the selection methods into a preferred flow Calculation of percentage and relative importance degrees for the main and subclasses Importance is then sought for buyer-supplier integration steps The first algorithm is applied to establish total rating of transformation to higher integration level The buyer-supplier integration is then calculated using the second algorithm These listed steps can be practically applied to search for an ideal supplier among competing supplier candidates. The level of integration is key in this method to establish both qualitative and quantitative selection of ideal suppliers. Qualitative and quantitative attributes to be selected on include reliability, technology, cost effectiveness, high quality, and quality service among others. This method has been shown to work in the retail market and recommendation is hereby made to apply it in the Walmart case to gauge its feasibility and tolerance (Sen, 2008). ICT for Purchasing Operations With the dramatic shift of the global patterns towards embracing ICT over the past few decades, discussing ICT integration in purchasing operations becomes vital. ICT has become an important function of our lives and many people world over are computer literate. Emergence of online shopping platforms adds concrete to this course (Grillitsch, 2013). People can now access preferred goods and services of debatably the same best quality from the comfort of their homes and from the click of a button. These developments are worth marveling to and their implications to the market are strongly felt. The competitive bar has been raised much higher and the earlier retailers incorporate ICT in their services, the better for their competitive muscle. For a retail giant like Walmart, it is arguably almost compulsory to embrace ICT in its purchasing operations and even retail operations. Looking at the immensely large number of suppliers handled by this retailer necessitates ICT incorporation (Grillitsch, 2013). For better record keeping and inventory management, paper work is not even an option. However, incorporation of ICT in purchasing operations is a diametric factor. This is because it cuts across the supplier and the buyer. Therefore the operations have to be on both sides. This would not easily prove a challenge also because most of the Walmart suppliers are big brands that you expect have integrated ICT in their operations. This section will however discuss selected factors in implementing ICT in purchasing operations. Some of these factors include cost of ICT infrastructure and ICT implementation, retailer vision and goals and staff ICT skills (Francis, 2017). The cost of ICT infrastructure is a hindering factor towards full incorporation of ICT in purchasing. Incorporation of ICT has been shown to cut costs on manpower as one individual can operate the computer and do a number of transactions at the same time. The same way the suppliers can be found on the internet much easily compared to the past where websites were not available. However the entire cost of acquisition of the tools to ensure full operationalization are quite expensive (Francis, 2017). These costs include hardware appliances, software, upgrades and maintenance and development costs. Investing in ICT can also be viewed as not a primary objective of a retailer thus making the decision makers hesitant in going full out on this venture. I t is imperative that a balance be struck between the business goals of a retailer and the economic realities. Retailer vision and goals are also vital to the implementation of ICT in purchasing. Studies have shown that many institutions had actually purchased the necessary equipment and facilities to enable ICT operations but have not yet implemented them effectively because of a lack of a proper plan and vision (Francis 2017). This scenario can be avoided by striking a balance between the business goals and economic realities as stated above. To also realize the actuality of integrating ICT in purchase will also need the decision makers to own the policy individually. A foundation has to be lain first to ensure smooth transition into the purchasing operations using ICT. Such will include ensuring that the staffs have the necessary training and qualifications to enable successful operations. Adopting ICT for purchasing operations will also enable employment of persons with disability that is not usually a norm in this sector (Giannoumis, 2015). This is because automation of the sector operations makes it easier for people with such limitations. This will contribute to trying to achieve striking a balance between the social and business responsibilities of Walmart. The implications towards achieving an all equal society will go a long way in building the reputation of the Walmart brand. As a result, its competitiveness in the market will be enhanced. To be on the right side of history also calls for Walmart to fully appreciate the 21st century developments which include the robust ICT sector. History will judge the retailer on the basis of such actions as this (Grillitsch, 2013). A lot of innovations currently also emanate from the ICT sector and to be placed in a better position to enjoy such benefits, Walmart has to embrace ICT in its purchasing. Innovative minds could also rise through the ranks within the employees that can be able to provide breakthroughs in the difficulties of implementing this venture. The most important thing is for the decision makers to embrace this initiative. Rice suggests that reputable retailers such as Walmart in the European market needs to keep its goals in tandem with the goals of the European commission that seek to improve the level of accessibility in mainstream ICT services using the public procurement laws and performance standards ( Rice, 2015). Such legislation will require a full operational shift in the use of ICT for purchasing. This will also go a long way in enabling access to procurement ICT services to people with disabilities. In a nutshell, it has been shown in this section that the hurdles faced in achieving full operationalization of purchasing using ICT are not supposed to derail implementation of the same. This is because the benefits of this achievement outweigh the costs. Efficiency that comes with implementing ICT for purchasing is so real and cost effective (Mukhopadhyay, 2016). ICT for purchasing operations is thus fully recommended. Purchasing Cost Analysis Purchasing costs for any business entity keen on making profit like Walmart need to be optimized. The optimization aims at enabling purchases to be made at the most affordable or lowest prices. When goods are purchased from the suppliers at the lowest possible prices, they will be retailed at competitive prices in the retail shelves (Anderson, 2016). This will go a long way in ensuring that Walmart is competitive enough to outmuscle its peers in the market. Such an arrangement is in tandem with the goal of Walmart of achieving an all-day low price for its products. However this task is not easy to accomplish due to its multifactorial nature. To achieve the above goals, the purchasers and suppliers need to develop and understanding that is honest and would allow both parties to make profit from the business without aggrieving either of the parties. Another important aspect of this discussion would be create a competition between the suppliers of a purchaser such that the suppliers strive to offer the best deal to the purchaser (Anderson, 2016). The best deal would be in terms of the lowest prices from the same goods offered by the different suppliers. When this is achieved, the purchaser would go with the best deal and establish a partnership with the supplier. The supplier also needs to be assured of their job security (Gupta, 2011). Assuring the suppliers long term contracts based on performance is a motivation to them and will go a long way in creating a rapport between the parties. This can be accomplished through structured and consistent discussions between the parties to achieve the best business goals while keeping a close eye on the market trends. Also an evaluation needs to be consistently done of the suppliers of the purchaser to ensure that the trends in the market are catered for. It is important that the business incorporates creativity and dynamism in this current competitive market. Consistent consultations with the supplier on these issues will anyhow be key in achieving this goal. PCM Inc that is a marketer of technological products in its report emphasizes the need for retailers not to allow themselves to be left behind in the market trends (PCM, 2015). Having robust data mining departments can also help keep tabs on the market needs and trends. Evaluation of the supplier also need to be done to establish if the supplier will be able to meet the needs of the retailer effectively and especially in the high seasons. A balance must also be struck in the high and low seasons. Once the above discussed factors are implemented, it becomes easy to achieve the ultimate goal of lowering the purchasing costs (Mehlawat, 2013). T his will of course increase competitiveness of the retailers products. Its competitive muscle will also be enhanced in the market. Conclusion Decision makers in such reputable retailers as Walmart are faced with multiple hard decisions to make on a daily basis. Most of these decisions are strategic and very key to the business objectives of these entities. In a nutshell supplier selection has been discussed and recommended basing on the qualitative and quantitative model details to which have been availed. ICT for purchasing operations has also been strongly recommended to increase efficiency and cost effectiveness. Finally the purchasing cost analysis factors have been discussed with the aim of achieving the lowest prices for purchased good. This will go a long way in establishing lowest all day prices for Walmart products in the market. References Anderson, I., Groce, F., McMullan, D., Wallshein, C. (2016). DoD ESI Historical Purchase Prices Database: An Unprecedented Tool for Software Buyers and Cost Analysts. Armed Forces Comptroller, 61(1), 22-27. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewedSeptember 23, 2017 Cohen, B., Muoz, P. (2017). Entering Conscious Consumer Markets: Toward A New Generation Of Sustainability Strategies. California Management Review, 59(4), 23-48. doi:10.1177/0008125617722792.Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewedSeptember 23, 2017 Francis, N. N., Ngugi, M., Kinzi, J. (2017). Influence of selected factors on the implementation of information and communication technology policy in public secondary schools in Naivasha Sub-county, Kenya. International Journal Of Education Development Using Information Communication Technology, 13(2), 70-86. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost ,viewed September 23, 2017 Gary Gerefi and Michelle Christian. (2009). Annual Review of Sociology, vol 35: 573-591Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhostviewedSeptember 23, 2017 Giannoumis, G. A. (2015). Transnational convergence of public procurement policy: a bottom-up analysis of policy networks and the international harmonisation of accessibility standards for information and communication technology. International Review Of Law, Computers Technology, 29(2/3), 183-206. doi:10.1080/13600869.2015.1055662.Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewed, September 23, 2017 Grillitsch, M., Tdtling, F., Hglinger, C. (2015). Variety in knowledge sourcing, geography and innovation: Evidence from the ICT sector in Austria. Papers In Regional Science, 94(1), 25-43. doi:10.1111/pirs.12050. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewed, September 23, 2017 Gupta, P., Verma, S., Mehlawat, M. K. (2011). A Membership Function Approach For Cost-Reliability Trade-Off Of Cots Selection In Fuzzy Environment. International Journal Of Reliability, Quality Safety Engineering, 18(6), 573-595, Business Source Premier, Source, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 September 2017. Mehlawat, M. K. (2013). A Multi-Choice Goal Programming Approach For Cots Products Selection Of Modular Software Systems. International Journal Of Reliability, Quality Safety Engineering, 20(6), 1-18. doi:10.1142/S0218539313500265. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewedSeptember 23, 2017 Mukhopadhyay, D., Verma, R., Mahajan, T. (2016). A Study of Revolution Marked by Ict in Purchasing Behavior of Consumers for Non-Life Insurance Products in Delhi Ncr. Journal Of The Insurance Institute Of India, 4(1), 75-81. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost,viewed September 23, 2017 Nair, A., Jayaram, J., Das, A. (2015). Strategic purchasing participation, supplier selection, supplier evaluation and purchasing performance. International Journal Of Production Research, 53(20), 6263-6278. doi:10.1080/00207543.2015.1047983.Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost,viewed, September 23, 2017 PCM, Inc. SWOT Analysis. (2017). PCM, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 1-29.Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewedSeptember 23, 2017 Rice, D. (2015). Public procurement as a means to achieving social gains progress and challenges in European legislation and standards for accessible information and communication technology. International Review Of Law, Computers Technology, 29(2/3), 162-182. doi:10.1080/13600869.2015.1055661.Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost, viewed September 23, 2017 Sen, S., Basligil, H., Sen, C. G., Barali, H. (2008). A framework for defining both qualitative and quantitative supplier selection criteria considering the buyer-supplier integration strategies. International Journal Of Production Research, 46(7), 1825-1845. doi:10.1080/00207540600988055. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost,viewed September 23, 2017

Privatization Of Airports Essays - Airport, Public Transport

Privatization Of Airports For 51 years Bergstrom Air Force Base was home to fighter pilots, bombers, troop carriers and reconnaissance jets. It was the first port of call for President Lyndon B. Johnson on his trips home to LBJ Country aboard Air Force One, it was where Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, once brought a disabled jet to rest in an emergency landing. In September 1993, in the path of military cutbacks Bergstrom Air Force Base was closed. But the timing was fortuitous, because the closure came as the city of Austin, Texas was considering where to build a new airport. In 1993, the expected economic loss to Austin from the Bergstrom closure was estimated at $406 million a year and a loss of some 1000 jobs. But with the possibility of utilizing the prior Bergstrom Air Force Base as an airport the Austin economy was expected to have an opportunity to rebound and even improve these results from the base closure by privatizing the airport. The trend worldwide toward airport privatization presents an exciting and dynamic opportunity for the flying public, governments, operators and investors. The overall success of privatization of airports has been seen by the sale of long-term leases for three of the largest airports in Australia for $2.6 billion. Following this success, the Government of Australia announced their plans to privatize fifteen more airports. Several Latin American airports already are in private hands. Major airports in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela are already concessioned or scheduled for privatization over the next two years. Smaller airports in Central America and the Caribbean also are to be privatized. In Europe, a significant number airports have been privatized and opportunities are imminent in Germany, Portugal and elsewhere. Governments in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the world over also are developing airport privatization plans. Why has this marked trend emerged and why did the city of Austin choose to act in this capacity? Governments in many cases do not have the financial capacity to invest in airport expansion as well as meet other needs of their citizens. They are recognizing that on one hand there are limits to their own knowledge of, and expertise, in managing airports; and, on the other, that such expertise can be provided by others with the effect of reducing costs, increasing revenues and improving services. An important objective in many instances is to increase competitiveness and enhance ability to attract economic development by improving airport facilities and obtaining additional air service. The private sector increasingly has come to view airports as an attractive investment; airports serve a dynamic growth industry--commercial aviation--and represent essential infrastructure with a near monopoly. Qualified private airport operating companies have materialized and others will evolve, while successful public airport operators are seeking to expand to provide airport management services--generally as part of broader investor groups. As a result, substantial numbers of airports will come to be operated by a worldwide network of airport operators. These worldwide operators will engage in healthy competition with each other to be efficient and offer superior services, and thus support the objectives of the investor groups in which they participate. The city of Austin expectations by privatizing were: ?h Accountability. Private contractors are paid for results. This gives them an unwavering focus on performance that can rarely be sustained in a public agency. Moreover, private contractors operate under the very real possibility that if their performance is found lacking, the contract may end. This accountability is transferred directly to employees who must deliver top-notch performance to preserve their position in a private organization. ?h Performance-based Compensation. Just as private contractors are paid based on results, they can base employee compensation on performance. Contractors can pay bonuses for exceptional performance and give merit increases alone rather than longevity-based pay increments. This elicits greater productivity and effectiveness from staff. ?h Management Expertise. Contractors develop expertise to compete effectively. They hire well-known experts and develop management structures geared toward continuous improvements in performance. ?h Flexibility. Private contractors have the flexibility to respond quickly to changing program requirements or evolving needs of organizations. They can acquire new technology, obtain new equipment, reorganize offices, and/or adjust staffing

Ways to Write Research Paper Cover Page

Title page for your research paper is not very difficult to make. There are 3 different formats by using them you can easily make your title page depending on the demand of your professor. These three formats are American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Language Association (MLA) and Chicago style. These three formats are used depending on your requirements. Following are some tips by for writing research paper cover page; Making a title page with APA: The spacing of your title- Use return key to move your title down the page about 1/3 of your page. If the title is long or has colons in it, then write it in two lines. In this style, you have to be as accurate as possible. Capitalize the important words in the title such as noun, verbs, and adjectives but there is no need to capitalize unimportant words or words with less than 3 letters. Write your name- After writing the title of your research paper, write your name but dont write a title such as Dr., prof. If there are two or more than two authors of the paper than write them by separating with commas and ‘and. Write the name of your institutions- Now write the name of your university or the organization you are linked with to tell the readers where you have done most of your research. If there is only one author or more than one author belonging to the same organizations, then write the name of the organization after listing down the names of author/s. But if there are different authors affiliated with different universities than write the name of each author with the name of the organization he/she is affiliated with. Double spacing title-page- Highlight your text by selecting the spacing button from the HOME tab of a word document. Then form space drop-down menu, select ‘2 and your text is double-spaced now. Placing the title in center horizontally- Highlight your text on the page then select the button under paragraph to center the text. Add running header- A running header is used at the top of the page and goes throughout the page. Here all capital letters are used for a title. Formatting the page- 12-point Times New Roman font is used here and also make sure to have 1 inch of margin on all sides. Making a title page with MLA: Skip the title page unless it is required- In this style, the title page is not required unless asked by your teacher. In this format, you just simply write your title in the center of your page and start writing your text from the next line. If you are doing your title page this way then just simply write your name, your teacher name, course name, and the date by double spacing it on the upper-left hand side. A header on the right side includes your name and page number on the page. Skip your page down- In this format too; you have to start writing 1/3 down of the page. Write your title in one line even if it has semi-colon but if it is too long to adjust in one line than write it in two line by separating them from the semi-colon. Also, capitalize important words. Write your name under the title- Leave a blank line and write ‘By to place your name after it. if there are two authors than separate their names with ‘and’ and if there are more than two authors than write their name by separating them with commas. Move to the bottom- There you will have only three lines at the bottom where you have to write your class name and section in one line, then professor name in the second line and date in the last and third line. Center the text horizontally- Highlight the text, use paragraph grouping and click the center button to center the text. Format your page- Title page like rest of the paper should have 1-inch of format and with a readable font such as TIMES NEW ROMAN, in 12-point size. Making title page with Chicago style: Type your tile- Reach 1/3 down of your page and start writing your title in capital words in one line unless it has a subtitle. If it has a subtitle, write it in the next line. But try to adjust it in the first line. Skip some page- Leave four or five lines after writing down the title and then start writing the next part of your title page from there. Write name, class information, and date- Now write your name, then hit the return key and write class information and at the end again press return key and write the date. The date should be in the format of; first the name of the month, the date and then the year. Center the text- Highlight the text, use paragraph grouping and click the center button to center the text. Format your page- In this format 1 or  ½ inch of margins is used, which is also applied to the rest of the page. Chicago recommends TIMES NEW ROMAN and Palatino with 12-point font.

The most important aim of education is to prepare Essays

The most important aim of education is to prepare Essays The most important aim of education is to prepare Essay The most important aim of education is to prepare Essay The Ministry of Education publishes the results of the key employment indicators of the survey to provide prospective students with timely and comparable data to assist them in making informed course decisions. 4,067 graduates from the here publicly-funded universities were surveyed and the overall response rate obtained was 73%. Since majority of the students were able to find jobs within 6 months of their graduation, this means that they have the skills required for the Job, which means that schools have equipped their students well for the Job. I personally believe that the most Important aim of education is to prepare one for a career. For Singapore, a large part of education Is devoted to ensuring that students have a general foundation of content knowledge and education also provides one with pacific and social skills. Firstly, a large part of education Is devoted to ensuring that students have a general foundation of content knowledge. An average student In Singapore spends 6 years in Primary School, where she has to grasp a foundation of English, Mother Tongue, Science and Mathematics. She then spends four or five years in Secondary School building upon this foundation of knowledge by branching out into more specific areas of study such as Science and Mathematics. Why? The answer can be found by looking at the industries needed for the country to function. In Singapore, we have industries such as Medicine, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Sales, Engineering so on so forth. As many industries require workers skilled in Mathematics and or Science, it is necessary to focus on these subjects in the education system In order to produce workers who are capable of filling In these industries. Furthermore, education provides one with specific skills and social skills. When a student enters the tertiary stage of education. She Is then made to choose an area of telephone to major In. E can pursue dullnesss such as Dentistry, Medicine, Electrical Engineering, Medical Engineering, Accounting, Psychology, Economics and many others. The disciplines offered in polytechnics and universities are very strongly connected with specific jobs available in the market. For example, if a student wishes to become a doctor, a degree in Medicine is a pre-requisite. A student cannot study Accounting and use that degree to become a doctor. Social skills are the ski lls we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non- urbanely, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. The types of social skills imparted to students are co-operation, communication, empathy, adaptability, conflict-resolution skills, building and maintaining friendships, listening, and many more. In this labor-tight economy, employers can be choosy about who they want to work with. Conversely, outstanding social skills can help an average performer climb the corporate ladder with great speed. In conclusion, the most the content knowledge and provides one specific skills and social skills.

Chinese Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinese Politics - Essay Example These students were against the failure of the state to mourn Hu Yaobang who was the CPC General Secretary and a symbol of liberal reform and a clean government to them. They were joined by allegiances that were against the communist and in need of economic reform and liberalization. The response of the PRC to the peaceful protests was repressive in nature and an absolute violation of human rights.2 The government had warned the protesters of drastic actions to control the ‘social chaos’. True to their words, army action was taken against the protesters and they were shot dead.3 Given that the troops sent by the PRC were unable to enforce martial law in the face of 100,000 protesters who had protested for seven weeks, they resorted to open fire indiscriminately on the protesters and this saw thousands of protesters killed thus making it the major turning point of the history of China. Apart from the killings, many other protesters together with their supporters were arrested and foreign press banned from the country thus leaving the coverage of events to be controlled strictly by the PRC press. The government used every possible measure to crush the uprising thus enabling it to remain in power. Russia and Eastern Europe faced an economic crisis as their economy performed poorly hence attracting public intervention. This led to protests against the government which was successful as it resulted in the displacement of the communist government. China, on the other hand, did not fall even though it faced similar challenges like the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe since it successfully suppressed every uprising. In addition, the economic performance of China was not declining given that years later under the same party the country has made tremendous progress economically.

Human resources management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human resources management - Assignment Example It mainly encompasses the domain of tasks which seeks to ensure the welfare of workers and taking care of their concerns. However, the modern HRM functions has emerged out of the concept of regarding employees and workers as resources in their organizations required for meeting organizational goals and objectives. HRM considers people as their first priority and tries to secure management objectives by maximization of the return of investment of those resources (Brumfitt, Barnes, Norris & Jones, p.4). 1.2 Contribution of HRM function to Virgin Atlantic There have been major changes in Virgin Atlantic since its ownership by the Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines. This necessarily implies a complete restructuring of its existing policies and strategies. The focus has been towards retaining a customer centric approach and deliver new and innovative services towards its customers. The main idea is to retain its market position by setting new standards of services towards customers. It i s imperative that this would require recreating HR strategies for meeting the new organizational needs. In this case particularly, restructuring would call for resistances and opposition from the workforce of the organization which needs to be handled. New HRM functions would mainly cater towards helping the organization towards meeting its purpose, motivating employees through the change process and handling change management issues at large. 1.3 Roles and Responsibilities of line Managers in Virgin Atlantic Line Managers are said to remain in close contact with the employees and as such they remain most aware of the present issues and concerns of the employees. This called for the involvement of line managers in managing the human resources in the organization. They are responsible for understanding the present and the future conditions of the organizations and the external environment in which it operates. They are also responsible for knowing the future requirements from the lea ders in the organization. That means they focus on the potential performance of the organization. This means developing the human resource in the organization so as to develop the potential performance. Line managers are also involved in various developmental activities which include group session, one to one activities, conducting company projects, conducting a feedback and system and a coaching system too. Line managers are associated with personal development programs catering to the needs of the organization too (Martindale, â€Å"Guide to leadership development in 11 steps†). 1.4 Legal and Regulatory framework on HRM in Virgin Atlantic Since the profitability of any airline links closely with the economic growth of the region, it remains subjected to various rules and regulations. Recently the UK Government has become particularly cautious about security checks at UK airports. The UK CAA is especially responsible for monitoring risk based performance of the airline. Apar t from that the SRG employs a team of specialists to monitor the activities of the airline in different areas (Civil Aviation Authority-a, â€Å"The Specialist Teams†). This includes testing pilot capacities, aircraft maintenance, flying, training and recreational activities etc. The airline industry is

Reputation Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reputation Managment - Essay Example Reputation increases the actual worth of the company and increases its market value , but most organization does not understand the real value of reputation. Companies need to measure, monitor and manage their reputation to be successful on a long term basis. Most organization does not take initiative to manage reputation because they consider it as an intangible asset. Like any other asset of the company, reputation has its liability side. So the reputation management implemented by a company has to evaluate both the reputation assets and the liabilities. According to Doorley (2007,pg.11)â€Å"The very act of having to list their reputational assets and liabilities helps the various units focus on reputation management†. It is extremely important for an organization to have a plan regarding the reputation management. A comprehensive reputation management plan is to be applied to all areas of an organization like finance, human resources, manufacturing, marketing, investor relations and public affairs. Definition of Reputation Reputation is the main identity of an organization on international business platform and to maintain it, a company need to have an ideal reputation management system. A reputation can be defined as the opinion or view of other’s about something. According to Changâ€Å"Abdul Rahman and Hailes defined reputation as an expectation about an agent’s behavior based on information about or its past behavior†.... Reputation has a profound value in business world as it enables business partners and consumers to trust the company without concerns. Reputation allows the business partners and customers to carry on business with a company on moral and ethical grounds. Trust and reputation go hand in hand and a company with a good reputation in the business world is deemed to be honest, transparent and reliable in their business dealings. Reputation of a company shows to the outside world the credibility it has in the market and between customers and clients. A company’s reputation depends upon its past performance and the opinion its customer’s and customer’s has based on it. Reputation gives an idea to the outside world about the future behavior of an organization. Reputation is of contagious in nature and word of mouth can enhance or destroy goodwill of the firm. Reputation spread in the market like fire and hence a company should be cautious and calculative in maintaining i ts prestige and reputation. Development Stages of Corporate Reputation The corporate reputation has evolved through different stages which involves corporate image corporate identity and corporate reputation. The corporate image is the stage where consumer perceives the company through its brand, logo and uniform and theme of office building. Corporate image is not only in the hand of the company but is contributed by media and other external agents. Corporate image can be established by creating graphical theme to the products and also by providing apt products according to the customer needs. Corporate image is the initial stage of reputation development as the quality of product enhances the image of an organization. The second stage is

Japanese watch market overview

Japanese watch market overview Results for the fiscal year ended March 31 show that watch sales at Japans Big Three watch firms slumped for the second consecutive year as the Great Recession continued to suppress demand for mid-priced watches. Nevertheless, the watch divisions at Citizen, Seiko and Casio remained profitable. For the companies as a whole, only the Citizen Group reported a profit for year; Seiko and Casio both reported losses. Seiko In the watch divisions, the hardest hit was Seiko, maker of Seiko, Pulsar, Alba and licensed brand watches; watch sales fell 31 percent to 64.5 billion yen ($693 million) for the fiscal year. Two years ago, Seikos watch sales totaled  ¥117.2 billion. Since then, they have fallen a staggering 45%. Seiko now ranks third among the Big Three in terms of watch revenue. Seiko Holdings Corp. said operating income at its Seiko Watch Corp. subsidiary increased 38 percent to  ¥2.2 billion ($23.6 million). Unlike Citizen and Casio, Seiko Holdings issued no statement discussing the financial results. Citizen Watch and clock sales at Citizen Watch Co. fell 6.7 percent in the fiscal year to  ¥123.6 billion ($1.33 billion). Regarding the Japanese market, Citizen said in a statement that the slow recovery in consumption and other factors under prevailing economic conditions made for an exceedingly difficult sales environment especially for premium-priced products for the first three quarters of the year. Overseas, sales in Asia, particularly China, were robust and far ahead of the previous year, Citizen said. In the North American market, the largest for this business, difficult conditions continued through the first half, but gave way to a faster-than-expected market recovery in the second half and sales growth for Eco-Drive and other high value added products, Citizen said. Citizen said sales at its Bulova Corp. subsidiary in the United States dropped for the year, although Bulova posted stronger second half sales due to increased sales of mechanical watches and other differentiated prod ucts. Operating profit in Citizens watch and clock segment rose 7.1 percent to  ¥9.7 billion ($104.2 million). Casio Sales of Casio Computer Companys timepiece division fell just 2.8 percent to  ¥78.1 billion yen ($839 million). Sales of non-radio-controlled watches were affected by the harsh market environment in the first half, Casio said in a statement, but sales of radio-controlled watches were strong, particularly Casios high-value-added brands such as G-Shock, Oceanus, and Edifice. Casio does not disclose the operating income of its timepiece division. Its overall electronics segment, which includes timepieces, reported a  ¥19.9 billion loss ($213.8 million). However, Casio noted that timepieces remained highly profitable. Watches represent only a portion of the sales of all three firms. At Citizen and Casio, watches outperformed other divisions. Net sales for Citizen Holding Co. Ltd. dropped 14.9 percent to  ¥252.5 billion ($2.71 billion). Net income for the Citizen Group remained stable at  ¥3.5 billion ($37.6 million). Net sales for Casio as a whole dropped 17.4 percent to  ¥427.9 ($4.60 billion). For the year, Casio reported a loss of  ¥21.0 billion ($226.0 million). Casio said the primary cause of the loss was a sharp decline in sales of cellular phones. Net sales at Seiko Holdings Corp. increased 33% to  ¥230.7 billion ($2.48 billion). The increase, however, is due entirely to a reorganization of the Seiko Group in October that made Seiko Instruments Inc., one of the groups two major manufacturing units, a subsidiary of Seiko Holdings. SII added  ¥85.0 billion ($913.6 million) to Seiko Holdings sales. Without SII, Seiko Holding sales would have declined by 16 percent for the year. Seiko Holdings reported a net loss for the year of  ¥3.6 billion ($39 million). Big Three Watch Sales 2006-2010 (billion yen) Citizen Sales Casio Sales Seiko Sales Purpose of Marketing Plan The purpose of writing a marketing plan is to give a detailed report of our new product in the market. Starting from product attributes, finding our suitable target markets, the benefits that our target customers will get, selecting appropriate distribution channels to make our product easily accessible, studying the current situation analysis of our target markets, analysis of our competitors, and the ratio of market which they have captured.Designing a marketing mix, pricing strategies, Marketing objectives and accordingly making marketing strategies. Mission statement With in this short span of time we have gained a good word of mouth by giving better quality durable products. Innovative, modern, stylish are all descriptive traits that exemplify Integrals design. Dreams and ideals cannot be realized by means of conventional ideas and technologies. Thats why our approach to development is to set a challenging goal and tackle it from every possible perspective-until what simply cant be done gets done. We Updates you with time Company profile à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Company name Bingo Watches. Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 3 MR. Uzair Zaheer is CEO of the company. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ MR. Aamir Latif is Managing Director of the company. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ MR. Majid Ali is GM of the company. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ MR. Arslan Khurshid is Marketing Director. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Company product name is Power Disk Watch. Status of the company Bingo started their business in 2001 from the major cities Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi and for the past five years our company has been of producing following products à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ wrist watches (Digital and Analog) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fancy wall clocks (Digital and Analog) With in this short span of time we have gained a good word of mouth for our quality products which we have been producing according to the market likings. Now we are about to launch a new innovative, ground breaking, new unique product in the market which is currently not available so we are having no competitors for our new product called Power Disk Watch. Market status of the company Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 4 Our company mainly focusing in Pakistans market, our products are being used in Pakistan. The goodwill of our products is high in the market. As a result of market survey we have a large quantity of loyal customer as well as potential costumers. There is continuous communication with the customer (promotion) to increase the quality and performance of existing products. On the basis of past experience there are good expectations with the new product Power Disk Watch. Product Attributes Leather and chain straps: This product will be available for customers in genuine leather and chain (titanium) straps depending on watch model. Mp3 player: It has a build-in MP3 music player which will be an exciting step for fun lovers of different ages. Voice recorder: Watch also has the ability to record voice messages, theres a small, very sensitive microphone at the bottom of the watch. It can be used as a spy recorder. Built-in equalizer: There is a built-in equalizer in this product which will enable the users to switch to different modes of built in equalizer for e.g. rock, soft, pop, dance, classic, flat Memory space Battery: Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 5 Build-in 170mAH, 3.7V Hi Li-ion rechargeable battery. Depending on the model its memory space varies i.e. 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB Night mode: When it turns dark the watch arms and buttons automatically starts glowing so one can easily operate. Weight Speed: Weight of the device is 50-80g (Varies with design and shape) and the speed is USB 1.1 (Max 5Mbps). Support bit rate: Support bit rate is 32kbps-256kbps. Light indicators: It has different indication lights to indicate charging, Mp3 player on/off. Play time: Using this watch users can play continuously for 10~12 hours. System support: Windows 98 or above. Different formats: Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch The watch handles different formats like MP3, WMA, and WAV files for playback. Plug and play: For windows above 98 there is no need to install driver just plug and play. Steps of Marketing plan 1) Situational Analysis 1) Micro Environment 2) Macro environment Micro Environment Micro factors are the factors that directly influence our company. The main micro factors are: 1Intermediaries (Suppliers / Distributors) 2Customers 3Competitors (direct / indirect) P o te n tia l E n tra n ts S u p p lie rs B u y e rs S u b s titu te s In d u s try Macro Environment Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 7 1)-Demograhic Environment Demography is the study of human population in terms of age, gender, household size, family life cycle, education and population age mix. Pakistan is one of the 3rd world countries with a population of 15.50 billion out of which 48% are males and 52% are females. 55% of the population involves in agriculture. The literacy rate in very low i.e. 39% and population rate is 2.3% annually. Most of the population lives in rural areas but migration rate is high. The per capital income is $480 per person annually. Lahore is one of the largest cities of Pakistan. The target of our watch is young generation aging from 20-35 but still watch is being used by guys as well. 2)-Economic Environment In third world countries, a large part of the income of people is spent on the basic needs, so its the most sensitive environment where the income level is low, middle class is shrinking, wealth distribution is unequal and saving rate is low. The people are either very rich or very poor. And their consumption behavior varies accordingly. 3)-Technological environment In Pakistan, there are less opportunities of innovation are available due to the lack of research. However it also depends on the companies that how much they prefer the research and customer feedback. Keeping in view the target market, our company has to look for opportunities rather then wait for them. 4)-Geographical Environment The population level is high crossing 160 million. The growth rate of the customer is expected to have an increasing trend. 5)-Social cultural Environment Traditionally youngsters have more interest in music. This means more consumption of watches then from older ones. Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 8 6)-Legal and Political Environment There are no restrictions for the new entrants. Govt. is supporting us by providing exemption of sales tax for 2 years to show their commitment towards welcoming new investment. Factors influencing consumer buying behavior There are many factors that influence the consumer buying behavior directly. These factors are: 1. Cultural factors 2. Social factors 3. Personal factors 4. Psychological factors Cultural factors As far as we are concerned we will target Lahore market at first. The people living in Lahore are good looking and they spent major part of their income in shopping. When we talk about watch many customers are not really satisfied with their existing watches. Thats where we are focusing at: Social Factors Some people get inspiration from reference groups and they use the same products as their reference groups are using. Personal Factors Age factor affects the consumer buying behavior. Mostly young generation use watches to improve their outlook. Economic conditions have also a bit effect on consumer buying behavior. People with high income never hesitate to spend the money on taking care of their out look. Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 9 Competitive Factor There are basically three types of competition 1. Brand competition 2. Form competition 3. Generic competition Brand competitors By brand competition we mean competition between different manufacturers who satisfy or tend to satisfy similar need by providing Similar product. In our case our direct brand competitors are 1. Rolex 2. Casio 3. Swatch 4. Raymonds well Form competitors By form competitors we mean the competition between manufacturers which will satisfy the same need but the products that they offer are different. Our form competitors are 1. Rado 2. Titan Generic competition Competition among products that are different, but solve the same problem or provide the same benefit or utility. 2) Marketing Objectives Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 10 There are two types of marketing objectives which are given below 1. Short term objectives 2. Long term objectives Short term objectives: The fundamental objective of BINGO WATCHES to increase the sales volume of power disk watches. Create a good image of our product in the mind of customers. Our main concern is profitability. Long term Objectives: BINGOS long term objectives are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Retention of our loyal customer à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Capturing high market share à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Delivering quality products to our customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Capturing the potential target market of Pakistan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Launching innovative changes for our product à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Creating brand awareness and brand loyalty 3) Market Segmentation Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 11 Geographical region: Our target market geographical region profile is as follows. o World region: o Asia o Country: o Pakistan o City: o Lahore o Areas: o Defence o Cantonment o Cavalry Ground o Gulberg o Modeltown Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 12 Demographic factors: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Age: o 20+ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Gender: o Male à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Family life-cycle: o Young or aged can be single or married à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Income: o Rs 30,000+ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Occupation: o Student o Doctors o Engineers o Computer Eng o Business Man o Accountants à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Education: o Bachelors o Masters o PHD Psychographic: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Social Class: o Upper Lower o Upper Middle o Upper Upper à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Life Style: o Achievers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Personality: Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 13 o Expressive o Stylish o Authoritarian o Gregarious Behavioral: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Occasion: o Regular occasion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Benefits: o Quality o Uniqueness o Technical o Portability à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ User status: o Medium and heavy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Readiness stage: o Un-aware 4) Target Market This watch is designed for students, executives, professionals with different occupation, degrees and education levels. We have designed and customized according to different user needs. Students: For students we have designed a model called G-SHOCK as mentioned earlier our watches are for expressive people who want to express them selves, so G-SHOCK has Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 14 been designed according to latest styles , fashion make it an unique and an expressive watch apart from its features. Memory space: (128MB~512Mb) This feature is really beneficial one because students can carry their assignments, presentation, work, software, related stuff on it and can access it form any where no need to open your mail account and download your required stuff . Instead of wasting so much time just copy it in your watch and carry it any where you want. Portability: This is a portable device which is always on your hand in the form of watch; its easy to carry because it weighs almost equal to watch. So at one space one carry four additional accessories. Entertainment: Mp3 Player: Students mostly have walk mans, CD man with them which they often use while traveling mostly. Now you dont need to have any walk man because you can store almost about 500 songs in your watch and can listen them when ever you want. You are traveling, sitting alone and feeling bore, or want to listen song at night time but can not put your deck on, our watch has solution for every problem Voice recorder: It is very help full during the lecture because you can record your lecture any time and can listen to it after wards and even can store it in your Pc. Privacy: Our product will be providing privacy by keeping the personal private things with you in your watch and can carry them with you all the time. Executives/Professionals: The watch which we have designed for professionals isEst eem.it varies in design according to varying age groups .we have given some new designs to this product which is a bit different from others. The benefits we will be giving to our customers are as follows. Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 15 Memory Space: (512 MB~1 GB) Now days every professional has a need of flash drive. We have made this job easier for them to carry it in their watch and can access it from any where we are providing sample of space i.e. 512 MB ~ 1GB software engineers, programmers ,Doctors ,Accountants especially can bring some extra out put from this product because they can carry many of the big software with them. Portable: Our product makes it easier for you to carry your data in a portable device requiring no new space Stylish designs: Our watches along with technical aspects have stylish features according to current fashion. The power disk watch for executives has, attracting, exclusive, designs our targeted customers which give them an expressive look. Voice recorder: Power disk has introduced this feature for the first time in current market; this feature is of great use we have made a small product which carries multiple functions in it this feature enables you to: Record all conversation while in meeting. While interviewing some one can record the interview instead of writing it down and saving time. Privacy: It keeps your privacy with you .one can carry some of its important files, documents save in his/her watch. 5) Marketing mix 1. Product 2. Price 3. Place 4. Promotion Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 16 PRODUCTS:- As we have already discussed about the product, its features and its attributes above. So now we will be looking at the other three Ps. PRICE:- PRICING STRATEGY:- The pricing strategy portion of the marketing plan involves determining how we will price our product or service; the price we charge has to be competitive but still allow us to make a reasonable profit. The keyword here is reasonable; we can charge any price we want to, but for every product or service theres a limit to how much the consumer is willing to pay. Our pricing strategy needs to take this consumer threshold into account. We set our prices by examining how much it costs us to produce the product or service and adding a fair price for the benefits that the customer will enjoy. We may find it useful to conduct a Breakeven Analysis. In break even analysis the price is set to break even on the costs of making and marketing a product or in other words setting a price to make a target profit. These are some pricing strategies 1. Cost based pricing 2. Value based pricing 3. Competition based pricing Cost based pricing: Cost based pricing involves adding a markup to the cost of the product. But Power disk is not dealing in price sensitive market . So we move on to the next pricing method. VALUE BASED PRICING: In value based pricing price is based on the buyers perception of value rather than on the sellers cost. An increasing number of companies are basing their prices on the products perceived value. And we can use it here as well as the consumers already dont have an image of this new product in mind so there is a need to base its new price on its value. All the Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 17 company needs to do is to change the view point of the customers by powerful and attractive advertising. COMPETITION BASED PRICING Setting prices based on the prices the competitors charge for similar products is called competition based pricing. Consumers will base their judgments of a products value on the prices that competitors charge for similar products. One form of competition based pricing is going rate pricing in which a firm bases its prices largely on competitors prices, with less attention paid to its own costs or to demand. The firm might charge the same as, more than or less than its major competitors. But as we know that Power disk is not facing any competition so this strategy is not be used by the company. We are launching a new unique product for a special class of people our target market is not price sensitive so we will be using Value Based Pricing because we processes a good word of mouth and this type we are launching an innovative product which already does not exist in market The final user end prices are as follows for its 2 models: o G-Force (for Students) G-Force Models Quantity Per unit cost Profit Retail price Gf-910 01 4125 1375(25%) 5500 Gf-610 01 4875 1625(25%) 6500 o Esteem: (for executives and professionals) Esteem Models Quantity Per unit cost Profit Retail price Em-121001 6800 1700(20%) 8500 Em-345001 13600 3400(20%) 17000 Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 18 Incentives: The incentives which will be given to and retailers are as follows: Retailers: To retailers the incentive given for the per unit sale of G-force and Esteem is as follows: Model Quantity Commission G-force 1 500 Esteem 1 900 PLACE:- It includes marketing channels and channel levels as described below:- MARKETING CHANNELS Few producers sell their goods directly to final users. Instead most use intermediaries to bring their products to market. They try to forget a marketing channel or distribution channel, a set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user. There are basically two marketing channels:- Direct marketing channel:- A marketing channel that has no intermediary levels. Indirect marketing channel: Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 19 Channel containing one or more intermediary levels. We Implement Direct channels: Company Owned Shop: The products will be available on our company outlet at MM ALAM ROAD and Defence Y-Block. In- Direct channels: It would be difficult to cover our target market by just using direct channel so in order to make it easily available we will use the maximum no of efficient indirect channels, which are as follows: 1. H karim bukhsh outlets 2. pot puri outlets 3. Al Fetah outlets 4. sketchers outlets 5. Nike outlets 6. Pace shopping mall 7. Fortress market PROMOTION Promotion means customer communication that how we can reach to our customer to read and capture his mind. PROMOTION MIX STRETAGES:- Marketers can choose from two basic promotion mix strategies:- 1). Push strategy 2). Pull strategy PUSH STRATEGY:- Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 20 A promotion strategy that calls for using the sales force and trade promotion to push the product through channels is called push strategy. The producer promotes the product to wholesalers the wholesalers promotes to retailers, and the retailer promotes to consumers. A push strategy involves pushing the product through distribution channels to final consumers. The producer directs its marketing activities (primarily personal selling and trade promotion) toward channel members to induce them to carry the product and to promote it to final consumer. PULL STRATEGY:- A promotion strategy that calls for spending a lot on advertising and consumer promotion to build up consumer demand is called pull strategy. If the strategy is successful, consumers will ask their retailers for the product, the retailers will ask the wholesalers, and the wholesalers will ask the producers. Using a pull strategy, the producer directs its marketing activities (primarily advertising and consumer promotion) toward final consumers to induce them to buy the product. If the pull strategy is effective, consumers will then demand the product from channel members, who will in turn demand from producers. Thus, under a pull strategy, consumer demand pulls the product through the channels. OUR APPROACH As we are launching our product (watches) so we will use the mix strategies to improve the customer demand to have more sales and better supply in all kinds of markets and stores. And for this we have to analyze trends or behaviors of the consumers so that the companys ability to do business can be improved. So in this section well also give the tools we will be using for this launch. We will also discuss the promotion strategy that we will be using in this launch. Promotion tools Advertisement Advertisement is the tool to make the product known to the customer, the advertisement should be in such a manner so that it can attract the customer at first glance then their should be image retention in the mind of customer. Continuous advertisement stimulates the customer for the purchasing of the product. Advertisement tools used are Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 21 Magazines 1. Libas Magazine 2. MAG 3. Times Magazine 4. Visag Magzine 5. Fashion Magzine Sign boards Advertisement through signboards in posh areas of Lahore. For the evaluation of the product performance following methods will be used so that if the customer is facing any problems in respect of quality, availability and other matters can be removed. Feed back form Forms having different question about the product performance, its weaknesses (if any), Need for quality improvement and other questions regarding service approachability, affordability etc will be available. Forms will be given to the customers at time of purchase. Sales Promotion and retention of loyal customers For sales promotion at different occasions like EID, Independence day, greeting cards will be sent in order to stay in contact with our loyally and potential customers. 6) Implementation Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 22 It is the most important step of the marketing plan. In this step we actually implement what we have consider In above steps. Because there is a saying that it is useless to write a story if you are not going to make a movie. 7) Evaluation In this we evaluate what we have implemented if our strategies are going accordingly then we carry on other wise we are going for modification. Marketing Plan for Power Disk Watch N$B 23

Country Analysis- India Essay

India functions on a democratic system, which heavily influences the political situation of the country. However, this democracy stems from a caste system. A caste system is a social grouping that combines a group of particular members based on specific professions and usually leads to the isolation of each individual caste. The Indian people adopted the caste system to create an easy differentiation of communities and neighborhoods. Recently in India there has been a relaxing of the caste system depending on the part of India in which you are looking. In the cities you will see more of an intermingling and mix of the higher caste systems but as you explore the rural areas, you find a traditional form of the caste system. In recent years India has become the largest democracy in the world. The economy is highly affected by the political situation in India. The country suffers from high unemployment and poverty as two of its main issues that currently influence the economic standing of the country. With two opposing parties with vastly different views for the vision of the economy the country is found being pulled for a free market economy and an economy that strongly opposes globalization and favors a â€Å"land-for-all† attitude. (â€Å"Politics of India†) In India the legal situation highly resembles a common law model that is found in England today but is clout with Indian culture. In the courts India has a judge that acts as a neutral party that enforces the law fairly amongst each party. The government too has three branches: the executive, the judiciary and the legislative. The courts hold a common theme of carrying out justice to the people. (Srikrishna) One article says, â€Å"According to Gallup’s annual public opinion polls, India is perceived by Americans as their 7th favorite nation in the world† (â€Å"India-United State Relations†) Based off this observation, the relationship between the United States of American and India seems to be quite close and cordial. However, this does not mean the countries have always agreed on every matter. Back in the late 1990’s when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister he began to authorize testing of nuclear weapons and the United Sates chose to form against them and eventually was mandated to cut off economic ties. In 2001 the United States under the Clinton administration began to have economic discussion, opening the door for the Bush administration to partake in close monitoring of India’s nuclear weapons and began strengthening the economic ties. The two countries have really come together in times of need such as  the attacks on September 11,2001 and the December 2004 tsunamis. The most recent development in the relationship is under the pressing of the Obama administration. Right out of the gate of the first term of his presidency, President Obama addressed the issue of the Indian-American relationship and said that he was going to take the steps necessary â€Å"further strengthen the excellent bilateral relationship† (â€Å"India-United State Relations†) This goal was communicated vastly amongst the administration, assuring the citizens of both countries that it was a beneficial relationship. The main person taking care of this relationship is Hilary Clinton. As time passed the country of India became concerned that the relationship was not being as cared for like they were assured would be done. Rather they believed the United States was more focused on their relationship with China and eventually the country of Pakistan. The issues of the bilateral relationship continued to struggle for some time, even after a visit to the White House from Prime Minister Singhin November 2010, which was to hopefully fix or strengthen the relationship. In May 2010 President Obama communicated that shared values, interests and the two larges democracies established the partnership between the United States and India. (â€Å"India-United State Relations†) The economic relation between the United States and India has been continuing to be strengthened since the Clinton administration where the bilateral economic dialogue was established. This is a system where the accountability for consultations amongst multiple high powers. (See exhibit A) (â€Å"Embassy of India†) Since this original discussion; there have been multiple dialogue mechanisms to strengthen the bilateral relationship on the economy and trade issues. This includes different forums and financial partnerships. In the first seven or so months of the year 2013 the United States of America increased the percent they did trade with India 7.4%. (â€Å"Embassy of India†) The relationship of the United States and India is perfectly summed up by the words of the National Security adviser Shivshankar Menon, â€Å"From a time when we dealt with each other formally, sometimes warily, we today have a full spectrum relationship, between our governments, our peoples and our institutions.† (Menon) In the year 2011 the Gross National Product increased over 8 billion INR, an increase of 11,846.1 INR since 2010. It has a forecast of following a trend and reaching almost 9 billion INR for the next year. This is also a steady view of how the inflation levels have  effected the GNP of India and will continue do so in the future. (See exhibit B) (No current data was found) (â€Å"India Gross National Product†) The most current GNP per capita was calculated using the PPP to the US dollar using the atlas method divided by a midyear population. In 2011 in India, the GNP resulted to be $1,420.00 at a ranking of 142/191. In consideration of the past is a very steady increase, however, in comparison the U.S it is hardly an increase at all. (â€Å"India-GNI per capita) As of 2006 India spends 3.11% of their gross national product on their education system. Looking to increase this percentage over the years and have lowered the illiteracy rate by 2015. (â€Å"Infochange India†) Today when discussing the opportunity for a company, of any kind, but especially a U.S company, to manufacture in India the support to do so is quite present. One major benefit of manufacturing in India is that the government has been putting into place a plan of action to create a substantial steady flow of economic progress and one of the crucial aspects is through manufacturing. It began in 2010 with the implementation of a Manufacturing Policy, that industry and the government fully supports. The plan began with the rubber industry in India and where they were choosing to invest, it has continued into medical supplies, a chocolate factory and a huge factory by the direct marketing company, Amway. The Prime Minister has stated that the commitment of expanding the manufacturing in India is of highest priority for the economic growth of the country. (â€Å"Manufacturing Sector in India†) Another great aspect of pursuing manufacturing in India versus a country like China is the possibility of lower wages in India, China continues to raise the minimum wage. There is also the language barrier that disappears when you choose to manufacture in India versus another foreign country with a different native tongue. There is also a younger work force in India than in China and with a similar government as that of the United States it is easier to do business. (Shilling) With all the rage to rush off and pursue manufacturing in India there are those who have doubts, like the unknown author of the article in The Economist, the author says, â€Å"If India is to become ‘the next China’—a manufacturing powerhouse—it is taking its time about it.† (â€Å"Manufacturing in India†) When it comes to a company from the United States and whether or not to compete in India, there is good support that says to go for it. Now a days we have so many jobs outsourced to India it seems foolish to not take it a step further. Particularly in the software industry, there is a large convention that is held there annually and the United States is greatly underrepresented and most likely missing out on big opportunities, because the reality is that the show will go on with out the U.S present. India has been focusing on the service industry over the last years but are now moving towards an industrial form of business. Also present is a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which can be wonderful for a new company coming in because the people will be willing to get in on the ground floor of an international operation, as well as bring new ideas and twists to the table. (â€Å"Americans Should Jump on the India Wave†) Another aspect in general to approach entering any country competitively is the exchange rate and currency. Look into how the country performs monetarily and see how the exchange rate and inflation will affect your business on the day-to-day operations but also over time. (Aimes) When going back and looking at the idea of manufacturing and competing in India based off the Economic Freedom Index, the index can mean multiple things for both. In general India is a 55.2 out of 100 in Economic Freedom. This is 119th out of 177, (not including Lybia) while the United States is scores a 76.0 sitting at the top as number 10 of 177. When assessing the index with the idea of a company from the Unite States manufacturing in India I look the factors that influence the index such as the labor freedom, this looks into the aspect of the legality of the labor market of the country, or in our case, India. This means that as a company we have to be cautious not to abuse or practice the immoral practice of extremely low wages or poor work conditions. As far as competing the issue that stands out to me pertaining to the EFI is the corrupt factor, with a low score like India, as a company one would need to watch closely at the practices taking place overseas. (â€Å"Index of Economic Freedom†) The Human Development Index in India is found in the medium HDI. Since 2011 India’s HDI decreased by 2 but is forecasted to increase .07 over the next year. The HDI refers to how the country’s population is take care of, such as life expectancy, education,  etc. This covers the wellbeing of the citizens of the country; I think this affects the manufacture and competitive aspect equally. If the people are not taken care of who is going to manage and operate the company, as an organization it would just be something that must be kept in mind. (â€Å"Human Development Index†) Pertaining to the Global Competitiveness Report it is hard to know how they would affect us because as a country India is not present in the top 30 for the last four years. So the assumption is made the India is not as competitive as portrayed by some people, but that does not mean there is no room for growth. (â€Å"Global Competitiveness Report†) India holds a score of 36 on the corruption perceptions index; this means that again when looking into entering the country either with manufacturing or competitive ambition one must asses the risk that is going be taken, such as how will the government treat your corporation as well as how will the patrons of the country view your corporation. (â€Å"Corruptions Perception Index†) Last but definitely not least another report that is very useful in assessing the want to on pursuing a manufacture or competitive is the World Press Freedom Index. India is in the difficult situation range in this index meaning, that freedom of speech is kind of difficult to actually have because the government watches closely to what is being spoken and said about their country and the people in it. (â€Å"Reporters without Borders†) Based off the indexes and other information presented above do not believe as a company of the United States need to enter the market in India. I believe this is so because of the uncertainty of the market, as stated above India has great potential to grow and be the next China but it has been heading in that direction since the 1950’s and not much change is evident. There are aspects about the country that would be desirable to enter into and if doing so I recommend the company use the strategy of global standardization. This strategy uses the low cost of the country to its advantage and in the United States outsourcing is chosen for that very reason, so instead of just outsourcing I believe it would be wise to use this method to pursue a start up of an international branch in a country like India where there is low labor cost and where it is not necessary for the people to respond due to the fact that there is a low economic freedom and instead it relies more on the main office back in the United States rather than the host country, or in our case, India. (Aimes) Exhibits Exhibit A Exhibit B Works Cited Aimes, Frederico. Foreign Exchange. Online Lecture, Stillwater. 07 Oct. 2013. Lecture . Aimes, Frederico. â€Å"International Business Strategy.† Lecture. International Management Lecture. D2L, Stillwater. 09 Oct. 2013. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Americans Should Jump on the India Wave.† Web log post. Boston.com. N.p., 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Corruption Perceptions Index.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Embassy of India – Washington DC (official Website) United States of America – Economic Relations.† Embassy of India – Washington DC (official Website) United States of America – Economic Relations. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Global Competitiveness Report.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Index of Economic Freedom.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"India – GNI per Capita.† India. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"India GDP per Capita.† TRADING ECONOMICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"India Gross National Product.† TRADING ECONOMICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"India–United States Relations.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Infochange India.† India Invests Just 3.3% of Its GNP on Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"List of Countries by Human Development Index.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Manufacturing in India: The Masala Mittelstand.† Editorial. The Economist 11 Aug. 2012: n. pag. The Economist. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Manufacturing Sector in India.† , Manufacturing Industry, Indian Industries. India Brand Equity Foundation, Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Menon, Shivshankar. â€Å"India, US Ties Have Come a Long Way: Shivshankar Menon.† The Economic Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Politics of India.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. â€Å"Reporters Without Borders.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Shilling, A. Gary. â€Å"Why India Will Displace China as Global Growth Engine.† Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 16 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Srikrishna, B. N. (2008) â€Å"The Indian Legal System,† International Journal of Legal Information: Vol. 36: Iss.2, Article 8. Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/ijli/vol36/iss2/8

The Big Data

In my opinion, there will be a huge business transition in organizations and the way business functions with the more and more generation of data every day. There has been massive increase in the way data is being used and is getting difficult to manage data. It is very important to get proper insights as it controls the influence of big data analytics to inform key strategic decisions. The big data provides competitive advantage to the businesses in terms of decision taking process. Big data analytics helps in taking important decisions as they make it more agile and responsive. With increasing digitization in the world, businesses now have too much data generated every day. With this increasing data it is very difficult to manage this data and get proper insights from this data. Simply bigger the data, harder the analytical process becomes. As big data doesn't really mean only the collection of data or just having the information, it also includes all the processes and tools that help in the analysis of this big data and the results derived from it. The biggest advantage if big data is that it can be applied to time fraud detection, complex competitive analysis, call center optimization, consumer sentiment analysis, intelligent traffic management, and to manage smart power grids. Big data is characterized by three primary factors:Volume (quantity over quality);Velocity (too much generation of data every day);Variety (different types of data).Following are the four types of Big Data BI that affects a business:Prescriptive Analytics refers to the rules and recommendations for the following steps to be taken.Predictive Analytics help in analyzing the data and help in knowing what might happen and derive what steps can be taken.Diagnostic Analytics is usually to analyze the past data and what happened, why it happened. This is to understand how the analysis will help in making the dashboard easier to understand.Descriptive Analytics will in knowing what is happening now based on incoming data. It uses the real time data and dashboar d in order to carry out analysis.With the big data, along with a lot of benefits, the decision-making process faces a lot of challenges. According to me below are the pros and cons of using big data in the decision-making process. Advantages of Big Data in Decision-MakingIt helps in gaining the market advantageIt helps in building trust with clientsAs the speed of collection is often too fast, the decisions can be taken at a faster paceDisadvantages of Big Data in Decision-Making  There is a higher chance of analyzing and taking decision for the inaccurate data.Time and money will be wasted if the decisions are taken for the inaccurate data.Decision making with Big Data requires a lot of talented people to work it in our favor. Mistake in one step would lead to iterating of entire   process making it time consuming.  In addition to that, there are always cybersecurity risk which can manipulate the decisions when it comes to data.Taking example of the Amazon, it has been rightly using big data in all its benefits and has become the biggest ecommerce giant in the world. These are the perks of using big data analytics in the right way. Amazon is the perfect example to understand how big data can work in you r favor and help you achieve the market that you are targeting. Therefore, taking the example of Amazon, it entered the Chinese market without any analysis of the data or without any knowledge of the market. It failed miserably in the market and had to undergo losses. Few years later, it decided to enter Indian market and be its biggest ecommerce retailer. Now, before entering the Indian market, Amazon decided to analyze its mistakes that it made while entering the Chinese market. Amazon used the diagnostic analysis of the big data to understand its failure in the Chinese market and was able to create the dashboard describing the factors that led to failure. Those factors were:did not get enough support from the customerscould not stand the local competition of Alibaba (local Chinese e-commerce)did not get enough support from the Chinese governmentAmazon did not only analyze the Chinese market, but it also undergoes descriptive, prescriptive and predictive analysis for the Indian ma rket before entering it and created a well-versed dashboard. Thus, these three factors play an important for any company entering a foreign country. Here that is what Amazon did and I also as a decision maker would have done the same thing as analyzing these three things which made Amazon fail in Chinese market, can actually help it succeed in Indian market. Moreover, in addition to that, there are so many startups in India which needs a boost and needs investment unlike the case in China. So, Indian market has availability of low-cost technical efficiency which helps in avoiding huge costs of outsourcing. Not only that, Indian consumers are always fascinated by these new changes and are always welcoming to more convenient options if available. So, choosing startups rather than outsourcing and making convenience of customer first priority would help in Amazon succeeding the Indian market. Thus, from the example of Amazon, we can conclude that Big Data analytics help in making the process of decision-making smoother and more responsive. It provides a competitive edge by making the analyzing much easier and that too in a minimal time making the process very optimum.

Cancers and Tumors

Cancers and Tumors Cancer is any of more than 100 diseases characterized by excessive, uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which invade and destroy other tissues. Cancer develops in almost any organ or tissue of the body, but certain types of cancer are more lethal than others. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and second only to heart disease in the United States. Each year, more than 1.2 million Americans and 132,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer, and more than 1,700 people die from cancer each day in the United States and Canada. For reasons not well understood, cancer rates vary by gender, race, and geographic region. For instance, more males have cancer than females, and African Americans are more likely to develop cancer than persons of any other racial and ethnic group in North America. Cancer rates also vary globallyresidents of the United States, for example, are nearly three times more likely to develop cancer than are residents of Egypt.Birmingham Children's Hospital, S teelhouse Lane, B...Although people of all ages develop cancer, most types are more common in people over the age of 50. Cancer usually develops gradually over many years, the result of a complex mix of environmental, nutritional, behavioral, and hereditary factors. Scientists do not completely understand the causes of cancer, but they know that certain lifestyle choices can dramatically reduce the risk of developing most types of cancer. Not smoking, eating a healthy diet, and exercising moderately for at least 30 minutes each day reduce cancer risk by more than 60 percent.Cancer begins in genes, bits of biochemical instructions composed of individual segments of the long, coiled molecule deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Genes contain the instructions to make proteins, molecular laborers that serve as building blocks of cells, control chemical reactions, or transport materials to and from cells. The...

The Mexican-American War

The Mexican-American War From 1846 to 1848, the United States of America and Mexico went to war. There were several reasons why they did so, but the most important ones were the US annexation of Texas and the Americans desire for California and other Mexican territories. The Americans took the offensive, invading Mexico on three fronts: from the north through Texas, from the east through the port of Veracruz and into the west (present-day California and New Mexico). The Americans won every major battle of the war, mostly thanks to superior artillery and officers. In September  1847, American General Winfield Scott captured Mexico City: this was the final straw for the Mexicans, who finally sat down to negotiate. The war was disastrous for Mexico, as it was forced to sign away nearly half of its national territory, including California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of several other current US states. The Western War American President James K. Polk intended to invade and hold the territories he wanted, so he sent General Stephen Kearny west from Fort Leavenworth with 1,700 men to invade and hold New Mexico and California. Kearny captured Santa Fe and then divided his forces, sending a large contingent south under Alexander Doniphan. Doniphan would eventually take the city of Chihuahua. Meanwhile, the war had already begun in California. Captain John C. Frà ©mont had been in the region with 60 men: they organized American settlers in California to revolt against the Mexican authorities there. He had the support of some US navy vessels in the area. The struggle between these men and the Mexicans went back and forth for a few months until Kearny arrived with what was left of his army. Although he was down to fewer than 200 men, Kearny made the difference: by January of 1847 the Mexican northwest was in American hands. General Taylors Invasion American General Zachary Taylor was already in Texas with his army waiting for hostilities to break out. There was already a large Mexican army on the border as well: Taylor routed it twice in early May of 1846 at the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. During both battles, superior American artillery units proved the difference. The losses forced the Mexicans to retreat to Monterrey: Taylor followed and took the city in September of 1846. Taylor moved to the south and was engaged by a massive Mexican army under the command of General Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista on February 23, 1847: Taylor once again prevailed. The Americans hoped that they had proved their point: Taylors invasion had gone well and California was already securely under control. They sent envoys to Mexico in the hopes of ending the war and gaining the land they desired: Mexico would have none of it. Polk and his advisors decided to send yet another army into Mexico and General Winfield Scott was selected to lead it. General Scotts Invasion The best route to get to Mexico City was to go through the Atlantic port of Veracruz. In March of 1847, Scott began landing his troops near Veracruz. After a short siege, the city surrendered. Scott marched inland, defeating Santa Anna at the Battle of Cerro Gordo on April 17-18 along the way. By August Scott was at the gates of Mexico City itself. He defeated the Mexicans at the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco on August 20, gaining a toehold into the city. The two sides agreed to a brief armistice, during which time Scott hoped the Mexicans would finally negotiate, but Mexico still refused to sign away its territories to the north. In September of 1847, Scott attacked once again, crushing the Mexican fortification at Molino del Rey before assaulting the Chapultepec Fortress, which was also the Mexican Military Academy. Chapultepec guarded the entrance to the city: once it fell the Americans were able to take and hold Mexico City. General Santa Anna, seeing that the city had fallen, retreated with what troops he had left to unsuccessfully try and cut the American supply lines near Puebla. The major combat phase of the war had ended. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Mexican politicians and diplomats were finally forced to negotiate in earnest. For the next few months, they met with American diplomat Nicholas Trist, who had been ordered by Polk to secure all of the Mexican northwest in any peace settlement. In February of 1848, the two sides agreed on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico was forced to sign over all of California, Utah, and Nevada as well as parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming and Colorado in exchange for $15 million dollars and exoneration of about $3 million more in previous liability. The Rio Grande was established as the border of Texas. People living in these territories, including several tribes of Native Americans, reserved their properties and rights and were to be given US citizenship after a year. Lastly, future disagreements between the US and Mexico would be settled by mediation, not warfare. Legacy of the Mexican-American War Although it is often overlooked in comparison with the American Civil War, which broke out about 12 years later, the Mexican-American War was just as important to American History. The massive territories gained during the war make up a large percentage of present-day United States. As an added bonus, gold was discovered shortly thereafter in California which made the newly acquired lands even more valuable. The Mexican-American War was in many ways a precursor to the Civil War. Most of the important Civil War Generals fought in the Mexican-American War, including Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, George Meade, George McClellan, Stonewall Jackson and many others. The tension between the slave states of the southern USA and the free states of the north was made worse by the addition of so much new territory: this hastened the onset of the Civil War. The Mexican-American War made the reputations of future US Presidents. Ulysses S. Grant, Zachary Taylor, and Franklin Pierce all fought in the war, and James Buchanan was Polks Secretary of State during the war. A Congressman named Abraham Lincoln made a name for himself in Washington by vocally opposing the war. Jefferson Davis, who would become President of the Confederate States of America, also distinguished himself during the war. If the war was a bonanza for the United States of America, it was a disaster for Mexico. If Texas is included, Mexico lost more than half of its national territory to the USA between 1836 and 1848. After the bloody war, Mexico was in ruins physically, economically, politically and socially. Many peasant groups took advantage of the chaos of war to lead uprisings all over the country: the worst was in Yucatan, where hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Although Americans have forgotten about the war, for the most part, many Mexicans are still irate about the theft of so much land and the humiliation of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Even though there is no realistic chance of Mexico ever reclaiming those lands, many Mexicans feel they still belong to them. Because of the war, there was much bad blood between the USA and Mexico for decades: relations did not begin to improve until World War Two, when Mexico decided to join the Allies and make common cause with the USA. Sources: Eisenhower, John S.D. So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1989 Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States.New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: Americas Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2007.