Differentiating Between Market Structures Essay

Coca-Cola is one of the world’s top selling soft drink companies. Coca-Cola has continuously progressed since it began 1886. A pharmacist in Atlanta named Dr. John S. Pemberton created a unique soft drink flavor that could be sold at soda fountains. The credit for the name and trade mark goes to Frank M. Robinson. Frank was Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper. Today Coca-Cola is the manufacturer of over 500 brands of products sold in over 200 countries worldwide. The Coca-Cola Company operates in an oligopoly. An oligopoly is a market structure in which there are only a few firms and firms explicitly take from other firms’ likely response into account; there are often significant barriers to entry that prevent smaller firms from making an impact(Colander, 2013). There are several different reasons why Coca-Cola is an oligopoly. Only two firms dominate the majority of the market share, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. There are other smaller firms in the market, but their market share in the industry is very small when compared to these two major firms. Small companies do not have the financial capital to start a brand on a massive scale. For, small companies, the barriers to entering the industry are too high. The high operating cost of production in the soft drink industry prevents companies from entering the soft drink market. Comparisons Oligopoly has previously been defined as a market structure in which there are only a few firms and firms explicitly take from other firms’ likely response into account; there are often significant barriers to entry that prevent smaller firms from making an impact(Colander, 2013). A few firms mean the number of firms has to be significantly low, as in this case two Coca- Cola and Pepsi, for there to be acknowledgment that each firm aware that its future prospects depend on both its policies and the policies of its rival. Firms in oligopoly can use either high-price strategy or low-price strategy to maximize their profit. An industry is defined as a group of firms where the firm’s products are close substitutes for one another that have a high and positive cross elasticity of demand (WEI, 2012). Coca-Cola and Pepsi are in an oligopoly market. Both companies sell the same product, giving them power over pricing, both companies will take into consideration each otherâ€⠄¢s actions are changing the prices of their  products. Prices of their goods usually change according to the kinked demand curve. The kinked demand curve theory is an economic theory about oligopoly and monopolistic competition. If other firms ignored price increases and price decreases brought about lowering of prices by competitors, the firm will have a demand curve with the kink at the present market price of P*. Firms believe that a kinked demand curve is brought about from basic strategic considerations. Usually, low pricing strategy is used by both firms simultaneously to increase market profits. As the summer holidays approach, the firms will use harsh competition practices to buildup sales, and in turn increase profit. Game theory is applied to be a market share. A game theory is a pricing policy, and it helps a firm to enhance profit (WEI, 2012). The barriers are high to enter this market. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have signed a cartel contract. The two firms will become a cartel to avoid other firm from entering this market because it will decrease their economic profit. Cartel is a small number of firms acting together to limit cost, raise price, and increase profit. Neither Coca-Cola nor Pepsi exit from this market, another firm will become a monopoly. The soft drink price will become higher (WEI, 2012). Monopolistic competition is present when the market has multiple sellers marketing differentiated products. Retail trade can be used as an example. Oligopoly represents a steady market form where a few sellers dominate in the market and each firm has a certain amount of share of the market. Both firms are aware of their dependence on each other. Competitive Strategies Coca-Cola and Pepsi take part in non-price product differentiation. Product differentiation is the process of distinguishing a service or product from other products, to make it more appealing to a targeted market. On a rare occasion, will you see Pepsi try to challenge Coca-Cola in pricing. These two companies use creative advertisement instead. Another competitive strategy that, can be used by Coca-Cola is to produce their product globally. Coca-Cola will need to obtain contracts with restaurant chains to be their sole distributor of soft drinks. By partnering with major food chains, it guarantees that consumers on have the choice of purchasing their product. If you only have one choice, it is almost a guarantee your product will be purchased. Product packaging, which is also another form of product  differentiation. Coca-Cola cans and bottles are constantly changing to give consumers a new sense of worth. If Coca-Cola did not keep its packaging updated, Pepsi would gain market share from consumers who have become bored Coca-Cola customers. Recommendations Loyalty programs can be used to gain customer loyalty. Coca-Cola can offer discounts and free products to customers who buy large quantities of their product. Loyalty programs would provide an encouragement for customers to stay loyal to the Coca-Cola brand. Product line expansion, by expanding their product line Coca-Cola will be able to reach a wide variety of customers. With the growth of the global economy, Coca-Cola will need to target the tastes of certain customers. An example would be; people’s soft drink choices are different in Asia than they are in Africa. There will have to do an enormous amount of research and testing to find the right products for these markets. Although the investment will be costly, it will prove to be valuable in the long run. Summary Coca-Cola is in an oligopoly market for obvious reasons. Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominate the soft drink market. There are significant barriers to entry that prevent smaller firms from making an impact on the market. Because of their dominance, the two companies can compete in area like marketing and product expansion to maximize profit. Success is driven by product differentiation through product packaging and advertising. By putting into place loyalty programs and expanding the product line, Coca-Cola will continue to be the top selling soft drink company. Reference Lin, H. (2012). Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi: The Economics behind Coke’s Dominance. Retrieved from http://economicstudents.com/2012/10/coca-cola-vs-pepsi-the-economics-behind-cokes-dominance/ Wei, G. C. (2012). Oligopoly-Coca-Cola & Pepsi. Retrieved from http://economicsdicussion.blogspot.com/2012/11/oligopoly-coca-cola-pepsi.html Octotutor. (2014). The Market Structure of the Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved from http://octotutor.com/the-market-structure-of-the-coca-cola-company/

Public Sphere

â€Å"The idea that a public sphere to which everyone can contribute on equal terms is simply a fantasy. † To believe that there exists a public sphere where every single member contributes on an equal level is highly unrealistic. Correspondingly, many academics have critically supported as well as argued against this view. There will be discussion of the public sphere and various writer’s views and concepts regarding it, with specific references to Howley (2007) and Turnbull (2006), as well as Hackett (2010), Holub (1994), Apppadurai (2000), Meikle (2008), and Fraser (1990). The different academics will introduce and discuss; an ideal and flawed public sphere, a democratic public sphere, and the important roles of audiences and participants. Furthermore, there will be a particular focus on Habermas, his theories and findings consequently deconstructing his ideas on his bourgeois public sphere theory. Overall, the key argument in this discussion is that the public sphere is ideally seen as an arena for equal opinions, however pragmatically this is not the case and it is difficult to achieve it because of the different factors that exist between individuals and participants. Holub (1994) explains the public sphere as; â€Å"a realm in which opinions are exchanged between private persons unconstrained (ideally) by external pressures. Theoretically open to all citizens and founded in the family, it is the place where something approaching public opinion is formed. It should be distinguished both from the state, which represents official power, and from the economic structures of civil society as a whole. Its function is actually to mediate between society and state; it is the arena in which the public organizes itself, formulates public opinion, and expresses its desires vis-a-vis [face to face with] the government†. Similarly, a majority of modern conceptualisations of the public sphere relate back to Jurgen Habermas and his bourgeois public sphere. Habermas defines it as a space of reflective discussion about issues and subjects of a common interest, following an informed democratic procedure (Meikle 2008). Thus, a relevant example would be; supplying different resources of media to developing countries in preparation for an election or some sort political decision. By doing this, individuals are being provided an informed democratic process, allowing them access to sources of independent media to make a more informed decision before they elect. This is often present in events such as elections as it is an arena where private people come together as a public; as one. By looking back, the characteristics of the public sphere have not changed when comparing the old and contemporary. Meikle (2008) discusses how Habermas emphasized the role of periodical press in the development of his public sphere (p. 129), describing it as the ‘coffee-house culture’ and how at the time people would sit and discuss topics and events which would in turn lead to influencing the political culture of the 17th and 18th century. However, it must also be noted that Habermas’ accepted criticism to his notion, as well as making it clear that the public sphere is not given to every type of society, and it does not own a fixed status. Furthermore, Meikle (2008) also likens the public sphere to a place where participants can discuss their ideas freely. However, it is important to regard these definitions as the ‘idyllic’ public sphere, Holub (1994) mentions ‘ideally’ in brackets, because realistically it is unachievable to have this sort of ‘perfect’ public sphere where everyone contributes equally. Many academics have criticized Habermas’ bourgeois public sphere, questioning if it ever really existed, and if it did, would it really be able to ever exist again? On that note, Hackett (2010) brings forth the notions that this concept of Habermas’ public sphere that presumes rationality, equality is false, and consequently, he critiques it, alongside Fraser (1990), saying that; â€Å"it embeds a masculinist notion of rationality, and a taken-for granted gendered distinction between private and public spheres. It ignores the ‘counter’ and minority public spheres of subordinate groups, the intrusion of social and economic inequalities into the processes of the public sphere, and the conversion of public opinion into effective state policy through representative political mechanisms. (2010, p. 4). Additionally, Fraser (1990) looks at how Habermas’ theory of the bourgeois public sphere constitutes a number of exclusions, in particular excluding women and individuals of lower social class, as it was not accessible to all. Lower class people did not have the resources and women did not have the same rights, privileges and power as men, in society, to have their equal say. Moreover some of these factors are still relevant, such as the social classes and accessibility to resources. Furthermore, Fraser (1990) mentions the exclusion of subordinate groups, where she states â€Å"subordinate groups sometimes cannot find the right voice or words to express their thoughts, and when they do, they discover they are not heard [and] are silenced, encouraged to keep their wants inchoate, and heard to say ‘yes’ when what they have said is ‘no. ’† (1990, p. 64). It is evident, that this access, whether it is technological, power or status related, to contributing to the public sphere still does not equate to equality. Rather, the factors that need to be considered are not access alone, but also what kind of ‘voice’ the speaker possesses in society. All of which are dependent on a number of factors, such as the speaker’s status in society, gender, age, class, education, culture and country. Moreover, public spheres are relevant in today’s new social media’s like Twitter, Facebook and various blogs. They create an arena in which social sites, like these, generate meanings which are then distributed and discussed amongst a large audience, consequently becoming a public sphere and letting interaction occur with all its participants. This emergence of social media has called for a new public sphere to be formed. Meikle (2008) discusses how media is an integral aspect of the public sphere and that in present society, it is inescapable. Media plays an obligatory part; today’s â€Å"newspapers and magazines, [internet,] radio and television are the media of the public sphere† (Habermas in Meikle, 2008, p. 128). However, for Habermas this role that media plays is an issue, stating that the world shaped by the mass media is only a public sphere on the exterior; only in ‘appearance’ and nothing else. Though the public sphere cannot be regarded as equal, Meikle does suggest that it can be look at in a positive sense; regarding it as a useful standard against which we can measure how the media actually do operate (Meikle, 2008, p. 131). Furthermore, Habermas’ ideal public sphere has often been said that it is being compromised by contemporary tabloid media and culture. It produces a blur between the private and public spheres in regards to celebrity culture and making their private lives a public concern and discussion. As well as regarding media as just pure entertainment, the tabloid media are constructing participants who only consume what they are being fed by the media instead of making their own informed decisions (Meikle 2008). Furthermore, Habermas (in Meikle 2008) believes that our contemporary political mediascapes, which refers to the â€Å"distribution of electronic capabilities to produce and disseminate information [such as] newspapers, magazines and†¦ Television stations† (Apppadurai, 2000, p. 326), are in fact are a long way away from being an ‘ideal public sphere’. He looks at how â€Å"public opinion is no longer produced by the public, instead, public opinion is now something produced for the public† (2008, p. 129) we are being influenced and there is no opportunity to discuss ideas freely, or for there to be complete equality in the contribution to the public sphere because of the different factors that come into play. Similarly, Habermas (in Meikle 2008) uses the term ‘equals’ in regards to participants in the public sphere. Yet, Meikle (2008), in accordance to Fraser’s (1990) view, discusses how the public sphere cannot guarantee each person’s contribution to be of equal amount. This is because of the reasons and factors that exist in society such as; power and status; celebrity power over ordinary individuals, access to resources; developed and developing countries, and gender; the imbalance of power between men and women. Turnbull (2006) looks at the roles of audiences, and why their role is so vital in instances like these. Turnbull discusses the media’s audience and argues how media is looked at as a centrality in our lives and world, some have less or no access and the social and cultural context of the individual is â€Å"embedded in their access to and use of various media technologies†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The â€Å"participation [of audiences] in an increasingly mediated public sphere may be largely conditional† (p. 80), as it alters the stance on every participant having an ‘equal’ contribution to the public sphere. Howley (2007) states that people need to promote a more democratic media culture, for a place that individuals can share their mutual interests and concerns, discuss topics. He supports that there is not one sole public sphere because there is not a single medium that is ‘perfect’ (pp. 357-358). Furthermore, Howley (2007) brings forth the idea that the public sphere is the centrality for media institutions but is also significant for media students, providing a theoretical perspective; it helps to emphasize the essential and crucial relationships between democracy and modern communication systems. As the role of a democracy, a citizen who is informed and wishes to engage, needs to be accommodated by the media; providing them resources of news, information and opinion, for that individual to then be able to use this to identify themselves towards this common interest. However, this notion of a democratically public sphere has issues that arise, the main one being the nature and conduct of public discourse in a highly mobile and heterogeneous society. By regarding societies that have things like ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, partisan politics, and economic stratification present, the sole idea of achieving agreement on matters of public policy seem inaccessible and unachievable. Also, another issue is the â€Å"contemporary media systems – characterised by unprecedented consolidation of ownership and control on the one hand, and the fragmentation of mass audiences into even smaller ‘niche markets’ on the other – makes issues of access to and participation in public discourse equally problematic† (pp. 343-344). Thus, this idea of an equal and democratic public sphere is difficult to have and carry out. In conclusion, the ideal public sphere tries to offer a place where people are able to discuss their ideas freely between one another. However, to believe that individuals can discuss in a completely free manner, with no influence and be complete equals, contributing on equal terms, is a far-fetched hope. There can only ever be a place of equality and rationality in an ideal society, as factors of social, linguistic and cultural inequalities, rights and even freedom of speech of an individual, all affect any possibility of equal communication and contribution between people in a public sphere. Public Sphere â€Å"The idea that a public sphere to which everyone can contribute on equal terms is simply a fantasy. † To believe that there exists a public sphere where every single member contributes on an equal level is highly unrealistic. Correspondingly, many academics have critically supported as well as argued against this view. There will be discussion of the public sphere and various writer’s views and concepts regarding it, with specific references to Howley (2007) and Turnbull (2006), as well as Hackett (2010), Holub (1994), Apppadurai (2000), Meikle (2008), and Fraser (1990). The different academics will introduce and discuss; an ideal and flawed public sphere, a democratic public sphere, and the important roles of audiences and participants. Furthermore, there will be a particular focus on Habermas, his theories and findings consequently deconstructing his ideas on his bourgeois public sphere theory. Overall, the key argument in this discussion is that the public sphere is ideally seen as an arena for equal opinions, however pragmatically this is not the case and it is difficult to achieve it because of the different factors that exist between individuals and participants. Holub (1994) explains the public sphere as; â€Å"a realm in which opinions are exchanged between private persons unconstrained (ideally) by external pressures. Theoretically open to all citizens and founded in the family, it is the place where something approaching public opinion is formed. It should be distinguished both from the state, which represents official power, and from the economic structures of civil society as a whole. Its function is actually to mediate between society and state; it is the arena in which the public organizes itself, formulates public opinion, and expresses its desires vis-a-vis [face to face with] the government†. Similarly, a majority of modern conceptualisations of the public sphere relate back to Jurgen Habermas and his bourgeois public sphere. Habermas defines it as a space of reflective discussion about issues and subjects of a common interest, following an informed democratic procedure (Meikle 2008). Thus, a relevant example would be; supplying different resources of media to developing countries in preparation for an election or some sort political decision. By doing this, individuals are being provided an informed democratic process, allowing them access to sources of independent media to make a more informed decision before they elect. This is often present in events such as elections as it is an arena where private people come together as a public; as one. By looking back, the characteristics of the public sphere have not changed when comparing the old and contemporary. Meikle (2008) discusses how Habermas emphasized the role of periodical press in the development of his public sphere (p. 129), describing it as the ‘coffee-house culture’ and how at the time people would sit and discuss topics and events which would in turn lead to influencing the political culture of the 17th and 18th century. However, it must also be noted that Habermas’ accepted criticism to his notion, as well as making it clear that the public sphere is not given to every type of society, and it does not own a fixed status. Furthermore, Meikle (2008) also likens the public sphere to a place where participants can discuss their ideas freely. However, it is important to regard these definitions as the ‘idyllic’ public sphere, Holub (1994) mentions ‘ideally’ in brackets, because realistically it is unachievable to have this sort of ‘perfect’ public sphere where everyone contributes equally. Many academics have criticized Habermas’ bourgeois public sphere, questioning if it ever really existed, and if it did, would it really be able to ever exist again? On that note, Hackett (2010) brings forth the notions that this concept of Habermas’ public sphere that presumes rationality, equality is false, and consequently, he critiques it, alongside Fraser (1990), saying that; â€Å"it embeds a masculinist notion of rationality, and a taken-for granted gendered distinction between private and public spheres. It ignores the ‘counter’ and minority public spheres of subordinate groups, the intrusion of social and economic inequalities into the processes of the public sphere, and the conversion of public opinion into effective state policy through representative political mechanisms. (2010, p. 4). Additionally, Fraser (1990) looks at how Habermas’ theory of the bourgeois public sphere constitutes a number of exclusions, in particular excluding women and individuals of lower social class, as it was not accessible to all. Lower class people did not have the resources and women did not have the same rights, privileges and power as men, in society, to have their equal say. Moreover some of these factors are still relevant, such as the social classes and accessibility to resources. Furthermore, Fraser (1990) mentions the exclusion of subordinate groups, where she states â€Å"subordinate groups sometimes cannot find the right voice or words to express their thoughts, and when they do, they discover they are not heard [and] are silenced, encouraged to keep their wants inchoate, and heard to say ‘yes’ when what they have said is ‘no. ’† (1990, p. 64). It is evident, that this access, whether it is technological, power or status related, to contributing to the public sphere still does not equate to equality. Rather, the factors that need to be considered are not access alone, but also what kind of ‘voice’ the speaker possesses in society. All of which are dependent on a number of factors, such as the speaker’s status in society, gender, age, class, education, culture and country. Moreover, public spheres are relevant in today’s new social media’s like Twitter, Facebook and various blogs. They create an arena in which social sites, like these, generate meanings which are then distributed and discussed amongst a large audience, consequently becoming a public sphere and letting interaction occur with all its participants. This emergence of social media has called for a new public sphere to be formed. Meikle (2008) discusses how media is an integral aspect of the public sphere and that in present society, it is inescapable. Media plays an obligatory part; today’s â€Å"newspapers and magazines, [internet,] radio and television are the media of the public sphere† (Habermas in Meikle, 2008, p. 128). However, for Habermas this role that media plays is an issue, stating that the world shaped by the mass media is only a public sphere on the exterior; only in ‘appearance’ and nothing else. Though the public sphere cannot be regarded as equal, Meikle does suggest that it can be look at in a positive sense; regarding it as a useful standard against which we can measure how the media actually do operate (Meikle, 2008, p. 131). Furthermore, Habermas’ ideal public sphere has often been said that it is being compromised by contemporary tabloid media and culture. It produces a blur between the private and public spheres in regards to celebrity culture and making their private lives a public concern and discussion. As well as regarding media as just pure entertainment, the tabloid media are constructing participants who only consume what they are being fed by the media instead of making their own informed decisions (Meikle 2008). Furthermore, Habermas (in Meikle 2008) believes that our contemporary political mediascapes, which refers to the â€Å"distribution of electronic capabilities to produce and disseminate information [such as] newspapers, magazines and†¦ Television stations† (Apppadurai, 2000, p. 326), are in fact are a long way away from being an ‘ideal public sphere’. He looks at how â€Å"public opinion is no longer produced by the public, instead, public opinion is now something produced for the public† (2008, p. 129) we are being influenced and there is no opportunity to discuss ideas freely, or for there to be complete equality in the contribution to the public sphere because of the different factors that come into play. Similarly, Habermas (in Meikle 2008) uses the term ‘equals’ in regards to participants in the public sphere. Yet, Meikle (2008), in accordance to Fraser’s (1990) view, discusses how the public sphere cannot guarantee each person’s contribution to be of equal amount. This is because of the reasons and factors that exist in society such as; power and status; celebrity power over ordinary individuals, access to resources; developed and developing countries, and gender; the imbalance of power between men and women. Turnbull (2006) looks at the roles of audiences, and why their role is so vital in instances like these. Turnbull discusses the media’s audience and argues how media is looked at as a centrality in our lives and world, some have less or no access and the social and cultural context of the individual is â€Å"embedded in their access to and use of various media technologies†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The â€Å"participation [of audiences] in an increasingly mediated public sphere may be largely conditional† (p. 80), as it alters the stance on every participant having an ‘equal’ contribution to the public sphere. Howley (2007) states that people need to promote a more democratic media culture, for a place that individuals can share their mutual interests and concerns, discuss topics. He supports that there is not one sole public sphere because there is not a single medium that is ‘perfect’ (pp. 357-358). Furthermore, Howley (2007) brings forth the idea that the public sphere is the centrality for media institutions but is also significant for media students, providing a theoretical perspective; it helps to emphasize the essential and crucial relationships between democracy and modern communication systems. As the role of a democracy, a citizen who is informed and wishes to engage, needs to be accommodated by the media; providing them resources of news, information and opinion, for that individual to then be able to use this to identify themselves towards this common interest. However, this notion of a democratically public sphere has issues that arise, the main one being the nature and conduct of public discourse in a highly mobile and heterogeneous society. By regarding societies that have things like ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, partisan politics, and economic stratification present, the sole idea of achieving agreement on matters of public policy seem inaccessible and unachievable. Also, another issue is the â€Å"contemporary media systems – characterised by unprecedented consolidation of ownership and control on the one hand, and the fragmentation of mass audiences into even smaller ‘niche markets’ on the other – makes issues of access to and participation in public discourse equally problematic† (pp. 343-344). Thus, this idea of an equal and democratic public sphere is difficult to have and carry out. In conclusion, the ideal public sphere tries to offer a place where people are able to discuss their ideas freely between one another. However, to believe that individuals can discuss in a completely free manner, with no influence and be complete equals, contributing on equal terms, is a far-fetched hope. There can only ever be a place of equality and rationality in an ideal society, as factors of social, linguistic and cultural inequalities, rights and even freedom of speech of an individual, all affect any possibility of equal communication and contribution between people in a public sphere.

Greasy Lake

The Difference Between, Story and Song In the story and the song, what is too be learned? The story and the song are different in so many ways. The story has a dark side to it and it is not all fun and games anymore. The boys in the story get hurt and scared. The song on the other hand has a lighter touch to it. The boys are having a great time and living it up. They do not focus on the next day just what is going on at the time. They both show how teenagers can be irresponsible and not have a care in the world. They also have their unique qualities to the story they tell.The setting in the story had a dark side to it. It was all fun and games as they rode around town, got drunk and smoked weed. Then they decided to go to Greasy Lake. They thought they saw their friend and started honking to give him a hard time, but they were wrong. Everything thing went downhill from there. The guy that owned the car was mad and it started a huge fight. This shows darkness by it being late so every one is out that should not be and there fighting someone could have got killed. The main character had lost his keys and could not find them so that they could get away.Jeff and Digby, friends of the main character, were fighting the guy that owned the car; the main character went for the tire iron under the seat of his own car. He thought, â€Å"I kept it there because bad characters always keep tire irons under the driver’s seat, just for an occasion like this† (127). He got the tire iron and hit the guy over the head with it and he hit the ground. Everyone just froze and stared for a minute. This is one example of how the story is dark and what could happen; no one got knocked out in the song. Then a girl came around the car yelling, â€Å"animals† (128).The boys just stared and lusted of her. Then they started tearing her clothes off and were trying to pin her to the hood of the car. This is a dark point in the story because they were going to rape the girl. Before they could do it head lights peered into the lot. The boys took off running. They were friends of the guy they had knocked out. The girl was screaming, â€Å"it is them they tried to rap me† (129). They guys chased they boys through the woods. They boys all separated in different directions. The main character had plunged into the lake and just as he started to swim he hit something.He said it was, â€Å"unspeakable, obscene, something soft, wet, moss-grown† (129). He figured out it was a dead body floating in the water. The boys where hanging out where bad characters go, that body in the water could be them one day. He had to stay there and hide for a while though. They boys finally met back up after the other guys left and the car was ruined. The windshield smashed in, dented all over and trash thrown into the car. He found the keys and two girls pulled up looking for the dead guy. They got out of that and got out of there, they were scared they were going to jail and just wanted to go home.The song has a lighter setting to it. The boys are cruising around town having the time of their lives. They go around and pick up all of their friends and head to Greasy Lake. The song lyrics say, â€Å"I got a bottle of rose so let's try it and I'll take you all out to where the gypsy angels go, They're build like light And they dance like spirits in the night† (Spirit in the Night). They just want to have a good time and go out with their friends to the lake. There was some fighting in the song but not as graphic as in the story. The boys were just dancing under the stares all night.The song lyrics said, â€Å"And we danced all night to a soul fairy band† (Spirit in the Night). The boys did not try to rape anyone like they did in the story, but they were making love under the stares. The song lyrics say, â€Å"Me and Crazy Janey was makin' love in the dirt, Singin' our birthday songs† (Spirit in the Night). They did not have a care in the world. Also they were not running from anyone and finding dead bodies in the lake. They were all drunk or high and going out for a good time. Both the song and the story talk about rout 88. That’s the way to greasy lake.I think the song is meant for just going out and having a good time. It leaves out all the bad things that could happen. The song is like a dream the story is more of a reality. In that kind of situation: getting drunk and smoking weed, normally always something goes wrong. In the song it is all fun and games and a little fighting. It is mostly just dancing under the stares, drinking, smoking, and making love. The song lyrics say, â€Å"Now, the night was bright and the stars threw light, On Billy and Davy dancin' in the moonlight† (Spirit in the Night).This is a sugar coated version of the story. The story has a darker side to it. People are fighting and getting knocked out. There was an attempted rape and dead bodies floating in the water . The song and the story are completely different. The boys in the story were scared that they might go to jail for all the stuff they have done. In the song they did not have a care in the world. Also in the story the boys tried to act like they were bad characters and were mean and did all this stuff. When really they were just young teenagers who really did not understand it.They were foolish and just wanted to act like they were cool. They really had no idea what it meant to be that way until that night a greasy lake. The main character thought, â€Å"I wanted to go home to my parent’s house and crawl into bed† (131). What I learned from the story and the song are opposite. The boys in the story think they are these cool bad characters. In reality they just wanted to act that way. They had no idea what it was like to really be that way until they got in the fight with that guy and his friends showed up.The song has a more upbeat tone to it. It shows them having a g reat time and getting along for the most part. I like the fact that they portray different stories though. It makes it more interesting and gets you thinking. Works Cited Boyle, Coraghessan. â€Å"Greasy Lake. † Literature: An Introduction to Fiction Poetry, Drama, and Writing, 11thedition. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2010. 125-132. Print. Springsteen’s, Bruce. â€Å"Spirit in the Night. † Greetings from Asbury Park. Clive Davis, 1973. CD.

Environmental Impact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Environmental Impact - Essay Example This paper illustrates that in making the judgments on the various broad impacts identified in the preceding section, it was considered that two major impacts – that on human beings and on the flora and fauna – were of equal importance: the first, because of their direct impact on humans at present, and the second, because of their protracted impact well into the future that will affect succeeding generations of humans and the ecology and biosphere of the broader environment. The significance criteria employed in the following discussions were adapted from the United Nations University EIA Significance Criteria. The subsequent explanation based on the criteria, the mitigation measures, and the residual impacts follow thereafter. a. Effects on human beings, buildings and man-made features Significance Criteria 1) Disturbance to human settlements 2) Adverse effects on safety 3) Adverse effects on human health 4) Loss of areas or environmental components that have cultural , recreational or aesthetic value; 5) Disturbance to economic activities 6) Increase in ambient and peak noise levels. Disturbance to human settlements Traffic is expected to increase significantly in five major areas, but there currently is a good amenity for the Gipsy Lane (180% increase in traffic) while Thurmaston Lane (105% increase) passes through the industrial environment. Sandhills Avenue, where traffic is expected to increase most (695% increase) has good amenity with adjoining free space which may later be factored in to accommodate the increase in traffic. For these three areas, and therefore the negative impact is not expected to be substantial.

Zoology. Mitosis and biglight phases of embryological development Essay

Zoology. Mitosis and biglight phases of embryological development - Essay Example Mitosis is divided into these following phases: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Prophase is when the chromatin liquefies into a structure known as a chromosome, which allows the chromatin to become visible. Prometaphase is what happens when the nuclear envelope breaks itself into smaller fragments and then disappears entirely. Metaphase takes place when the chromosomes are situated in the center of the cell prior to splitting into the two daughter cell sets. Anaphase is when the chromosomes separate within the eukaryotic cell. The last phase, telophase, is when the stages and effects of prophase and prometaphase are reversed within the eukaryotic cell. Meiosis takes place when the chromosomes are split into halves, and is an essential part of sexual reproduction. Meiosis has many more complex stages then mitosis, as seen in the following: meiosis 1, prophase 1 (which consists of these further stages: leptotene, zygotene, pachytene, diplotene, diakinesis, and synchronous processes), metaphase 1, anaphase 1, telophase 1, and meiosis II. In meiosis 1, the homologous chromosomes are separated into two haploid cells. During prophase 1, the pairs of homologous chromosomes recombine with other pairs. The following are the phases of prophase 1: leptotene - each separate chromosome condenses into long threads inside of the nucleus; zygotene - the thread-like chromosomes line up with each other;

Federal Reserve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Federal Reserve - Essay Example For e.g. an increase in the purchasing by the central bank in the security market increases the amount of money that people has and it increases the money supply in the economy. Similarly, selling of these securities in the money market dampens the people buying power and reduces the money supply in the economy. 1c) Funding: This option is probably the most effective of the lot to change the money supply in the economy. By funding we mean that the central bank changes the composition of national debt in order alter the money supply in the economy. When it wants to reduce the money supply in the economy it issue more illiquid assets to fund the national debt like long-term securities. Similarly, when it wants to increase the money supply in the economy it funds the national debt by issuing liquid assets, such as treasury bills. 4A) During the last year (2008), we witnessed a severe recession. In order to lubricate the economy towards growth many governments decided to reduce the interest rates in order to increase the aggregate demand and lead the economy towards growth. The graph in this site shows, how rapidly interest rates were decreased in Australia following this recession. (http://www.news.com.au/money/interest-rates) The government of USA conducted more open market... r recession, the U.S government is trying to increase the money supply in the economy by funding major chunk of their debt with treasury bills which are liquid assets. (http://home.att.net/mwhodges/debt.htm) The government of USA conducted more open market operations than ever before in 2008. During this period they bought more securities than they sold. This increased the money supply in the economy and reduced the impact of recession. (http://www.zerohedge.com/article/open-market-operations-and-statistics) 4B) The best strategy for me to control the money supply in the economy will be Funding. Funding is twice as effective as open market operations as it reduces the overall money supply in the economy and not just of the commercial banks. This method has very satisfying result for government all over the world as it saturates money completely from the economic pipeline. The only disadvantage of this method is that it cannot be use as a tool for short-term strategy. If for example, after a small period of time, the government decides to increase the money supply, it won't be able to do so, because long-term securities had already been issued. Work Cited: Lipsey and Chrystal. (2001). Economics. Oxford University Press

Strategic Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Marketing Plan - Assignment Example There exists cut throat competition and rivalry with nearly all cafes coming up with certain packages, promotions, and offers to attract clients, as the service being offered is highly homogenous. Our firm wants to operate in such a competitive environment and wants to get the major chunk of the market share, attract customers, and develop loyalty towards our services. Our organization aims at developing a cyber caf that provides the teenagers and the office and retired people a complete new experience of the internet as well as entertainment. The cyber caf will have a coffee shop in addition to the usual internet access that the ordinary cyber cafes offer. Thus the people visiting our cyber caf will get addicted to come again due to the relaxation and a complete new experience offered here. Our target market is mainly the students and the teenagers but we also focus the office going people and the retired old persons that can spend a new life here and enjoy the coffee and experience and search a massive amount of interesting and informative information on the internet. The corporate objectives of the business are to achieve at least 5 percent of the market share of the current i... Mission statement To provide our customers with a complete new experience of internet access and relaxation and to provide employee satisfaction to our employees Corporate objectives To become a market leader in the industry of internet cafes by providing the best services to the customers The corporate objectives of the business are to achieve at least 5 percent of the market share of the current industry in the forthcoming year. These are the least set objectives but the company aims to achieve more than that. The company aims to achieve sales of roughly $275,000 in the first year and then this figure increasing at least 10% annually. 3. Application of Strategic Management Tools & Techniques SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a double impact tool that analyses both internal and external factors influencing an organization on the whole; Strengths and Weaknesses are internal, while Opportunities and Threats are external factors. As understandable by the name, internal factors are within the spam of control of the organization while the external ones are not. The application of SWOT to an environment ensures that resource allocation can be analyzed and the strengths can be appropriately capitalized, while minimizing the weaknesses' impact for assuring maximum from the opportunities and minimizing the threats. Following is the application of SWOT analysis to Hot Coffee Cyber Caf: S Strengths -The entertainment offered by the caf which is not available at other cafes -The awesome internet speed and the equipment offered to the customers -Quality of services provided to the customers -Quality of the coffee and other beverages provided -Qualified Staff that can

Phase 2 Discussion Board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Phase 2 Discussion Board - Assignment Example cue efforts even though it was difficult because of the harsh terrain, which made it difficult to get to a close proximity to the earthquake epicentre (Chen & Booth, 2011, p. 199). An earthquake relief team that included about 184 people from Beijing military command and Armed police General Hospital came to help in rescue efforts by providing tents, medical supplies, food and also drinking water. The Red Cross Society in China sent over eighty men to carry supplies by foot to the affected areas since the roads had been damaged completely by landslides. Humanitarian rescue efforts were crucial because the lack of road transport saw helicopters being deployed to rescue people and also provide supplies to the stranded villages. The injured were evacuated from the earthquake-stricken areas on the same day that the earthquake occurred (Chen & Booth, 2011, p. 199). The humanitarian efforts played a great role because of their efforts many lives were saved on the day of the earthquake, who would have died without the fast response. From these efforts, a commander of the armed forces in China announced that over 3,000 survivors had been rescued by the second day of t he earthquake. On the morning of May 14, a team of 15 Special Operations Troops that carried relief supplies and various communication gear managed to use a parachute and land in the inaccessible area of Mao County in the northeast of Wenchuan. In May 25, an additional 90 helicopters were deployed to assist in rescue efforts, and this maximized the number of people that were evacuated from the affected areas. Many injured and hungry were treated and given food and evacuated to safe places. On May 13th, the first outside humanitarian team from Taiwan joined China by sending a chartered flight that carried some 100 tons of various supplies. On 16th May, other humanitarian and rescue teams from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia and even the United States sent aircrafts with tents, medical supplies,

Obesity in the African American Community Research Paper

Obesity in the African American Community - Research Paper Example However, over the last decade, statistics have shown that obesity is gradually becoming more pronounced among the black community (Pan et al., 2009). While it is still high among Caucasians, it appears to be plateauing or even slightly reducing while it increases for the blacks. This has resulted in considerable research and investigations in an effort to identify the specialized causative factors and come up with mitigative actions from both national health and community level. There have been numerous factors proposed for the high incidences of obesity among the African American community most, which stem from education and poverty and an overreaching culture grounded in unhealthy eating habits. A study carried out by Slone Epidemiology Center followed up on 23,631 African American women aged under 55 from 1995 to 2009 (Coogan, 2012). They found that women whose parents had not gone through college tended to gain weight as children and often became obese as adults. However, women whose parents were college educated were much less prone to this; in cases where women had completed college, their risk was significantly lower irrespective of their parent’s education. The study determined that lower education and by extension income levels among parents are attributed to weight gain and a greater obesity risk and over a lifetime (Coogan, 2012). When a woman is disadvantaged in childhood, she is likely to develop obesity but this can often be overcome if she achieves a high level of education and â€Å"liberates† herself. For black women found to have a low obesity risk, the study suggested that education provided more access to financial security, which enabled them access to healthy foods and other factors that prevent obesity such as gym membership. Most scholars agree that the most likely culprit is diet; however, this like many of the social problems facing the African American population is compounded with a host of other

Monopoly Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Monopoly Term Paper Essay Monopoly is a market structure containing a single firm that produces a unique good with no close substitutes. It controls supply of a good or service. It is where the entry of new producers is prevented or highly restricted. According to the Business Dictionary, monopolist firms keep the price high and restrict the output, and show little or no responsiveness to the needs of their customers. Most governments try to control monopolies by imposing price controls, taking over their ownership (nationalization), or breaking them up into two or more competing firms. Monopolies exist in varying degrees (degrees (due to copyrights, patents, access to materials, exclusive technologies, or unfair trade practices) almost no firm has a complete monopoly in the era of globalization. So we can see the problem of monopoly is that it can set a higher price than marginal cost. The fact that a monopoly does not face the discipline of competition means that the monopoly may operate inefficiently without being corrected by the marketplace. An example for monopoly might be Comcast. If Comcast were the only cable television provider in your area. If you want cable, you have no choice but to go to Comcast. And because of this, they can charge any price they want. Other local electric power company, campus bookstore or local telephone service might be local monopolies as well. George J. Stigler, director of the Center for the Study of The Economy and the state, professor of economics at the University of Chicago states that a monopoly is free to set any price it chooses and will usually set the price that yields the largest possible profit. There are three problems that often associated with a market controlled totally by a single firm such as inefficiency, inequity and political abuse (AmosWEB Encyclonomic). Inefficiency is the most noted problem in monopoly. A monopoly charges a higher price and produces less output than perfect competition. Also, the price charged by the monopoly is always greater than the marginal cost of production. Income inequality is another problem of monopoly. Monopoly earns economic profit, consumer surplus is transferred from buyers to the monopoly. So buyers end up with less income, and the monopoly ends up with more. Monopoly is able to maintain single-seller status and market control, income continues to be transferred from buyers to the monopoly and to the monopoly resource owners.

Case Study On Marketing With Facebook

Case Study On Marketing With Facebook 1. Introduction What makes Facebook so successful and why it is used by all companies today for marketing? These are the two questions are going to be answered in this paper. There are other social networks available like Friendster, Orkut, Myspace etc. still Facebook is preferred due to the number of users using Facebook, amount of customization provided and peer pressure to stay in competitive in the market. With more than 500 million users and many adding many more adding every day, Facebook has become the preferred choice of marketers who are looking for more innovative ways to outsmart their rivals in all fronts. Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of Facebook and it was started in 2004. It was open to all users worldwide in 2006 and it has grown in such a speed that if Facebook was a country it would have been 6th most populated country in the world. According to marketingcharts.com, US market share of Facebook in Social networking websites and forum is 61% of the total market share is for Facebook. 1.1 What is Facebook? Facebook is a social networking site which was started in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. It has 500 million active users. Any person who is 13 years old or more and who have a valid email address can create a user profile in Facebook. Users can create a profile page, add others users in Facebook, can add their common interest groups, communicate with each other, can share photos etc, see news feed, applications etc. According to December 2010 report of Alexa.com an Internet market research company, Facebook is the second most visited website in the world just behind Google. To visit Facebook visit the link www.facebook.com and it looks as shown below. 1.2 Introducing Facebook Marketing to Business The question all the companies ask is how it will help them. What will be ROI on investing in Facebook for marketing? Anyone can create a Facebook page, but an official representative of a business can create a Page and can serve it as an admin to the page. Admin can have security given to the Page like approval needed by admin to join the page or denying permission for user from a particular demographic region. Pages are designed to provide basic information of the page and can have discussion boards, ability to comment by user assessing the page and also uploading user generated contents. Benefits for Business to Consumer marketers are that they can use this page to generate more interests in their customers. B2C were the first marketers to realize the potential of using Facebook for marketing as they can use this page to generate interests in their new products, or generating news feed using user participation which allowed them to generate more participation and also word mouth to increase their popularity. It also allowed company to improve companys search engine rankings. Benefits for Business to Business Marketers are using Facebook as a feedback loop where customer can ask any questions or can participate in appreciating a product which will help to leveraging new customers. It can also used by Big companies to share knowledge and help employee communication. To create a Page in Facebook Page, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages and give the necessary details required. 2. Using Facebook in business 2.1 Creating a Page for Business Before you can start marketing in Facebook, you need to be part of Facebook user community. It gives lot of opportunities to organizations to get exposure. In Facebook, your ability to connect and influence the users can be the main factor in success or failure in achieving your objectives. Unlike other marketing fronts, marketing with Facebook is a 2 way model where customer and companies can communicate and share the ideas. You can create an account in Facebook by going to the home page of Facebook which is www.facebook.com. When creating a Page in Facebook main thing to note will be what is the objective of the page and how can you achieve your objective. Facebook doesnt limit the number of users who can become fan of your page. To access a page, the users must become fan of the page. It is a term used by Facebook for the users to connect to a particular page. 2.2 Creating a Facebook Marketing Strategy First step for creating a Marketing Strategy would be to have a nice Facebook page. Facebook pages come in three categories. Local: These pages are for business that would benefit from a strong local market presence. A restaurant or a cafà © can be example for the same. Brand, Product or Organization: These pages are for larger businesses which can include also non-profit organization. Example for the same would be SAP, Versace, and Red Cross etc. Artist, Band or Public Figure: These pages are used by popular artist or celebrities. Barack Obama and Kraftwerk can be good examples for the same. The best way to create a good Facebook page would be to keep some points in mind like keep it simple, fresh, specific to the product or company and main would be to think about the fan base. If these points are considered thought fully we can create a very good page. Please see an example of a page. This is a Facebook page of Nike football Deutsch. You can create a page by going on the link http://www.facebook.com/pages and once created we can start with customizing of the page. Apart from some basic element we can customize Facebook according to our liking. There are many tabs which are present in your page like wall tab where users can comment on your page, Info tab is used to give information about the company, and other tabs can be used according to companies requirement. For example we can have event tab where we can show upcoming event of the company or products, some other tabs are videos tab and photos tab. You can also have applications in your tab. We can have discussion tab for users to use effectively communicate about our existing product or upcoming products. Once we have created a page, next step would be to think about the privacy. We can have different privacy ranging from limiting users from a certain demographic area to limiting users based on age group. 2.3 Advertising your Facebook page Now that we have created a page, we need to advertise our page. We need to have more user interaction in our page that gets noticed. There are many ways to promote our page in a smart way. The following are the smart ways to promote. Adding Application One of the ways is to add application to our page. We can do by posting in our wall and also in the news feed of users who are there in your page. Facebook has different apps for different categories like Business, Entertainment, and Sports etc. Posting information We can post some link of the company newsletter or blogs which are interesting news about your company or business. Commenting on Discussion tab By commenting to members discussion or your page shows that you are engaged in the feedback and this adds value to the discussion. This will make your customers more eager to discuss various things and will show your transparency. When a user become fan of our page, it is shown on their wall and can be seen by others who have not seen your page and this can help in promoting your page indirectly and this can be effective as this can be a way for endorsement of our product or business. 3. Strategies for Advertising Success There are different ways to advertise in Facebook. Some of the key strategies are as follows. Our marketing strategy should be based on following objectives like Building brand awareness, Increasing Sales, and active participating in discussions with the customers. 3.1 Different Advertisement Strategies Building brand awareness A brand is something how you define your business or product. It is a major factor in defining marketing goals which can help in creating more brand awareness in our existing and potential customers. Here you can discuss with your customers to know about customer needs. You can promote about your presence in Facebook by using your company website or using printed newsletter. You can also sent email to people who are not in Facebook about your page. Increase Sales Main aim of advertising is increasing sales. Facebook page can be used to promote various offers and discount in your products. You can have a link in Facebook which will lead the customers to your company website where they can read more about special offers and various things about your brand. Facebook Marketplace can also be a nice place to advertise if your products are tangible goods. You can have some exclusive events to Facebook customers using events tab. This way you can show them you are taking the Facebook customer seriously and it can also increase the fans for your page. Participating in discussion You can discussion with your customers from your page. There is a discussion tab which can be used for many things. We can use these results when we are thinking about launching a new product. Facebook ads are like online banner ads. But here when a user clicks on the ad it will redirect them into your page, Facebook ads are made of image, some information and a title. Ads on Facebook are purchased with pay for clicks (CPC) and pay for impression (CPM). You can buy Facebook ads by going on the link www.facebook.com/advertising. If you go to the link you can make the advertisement. You can have your specification listed like what demographic region you are targeting and other specifications are needed and then Facebook will calculate the cost for the advertisement. Below is the way how you can create an advertisement on Facebook. Next step in advertising on Facebook is deciding on the budget you want to spend on advertising. For example, a Blog will cost nothing, a podcast can cost around $2000 but for advertising using Facebook is free unless you add some apps or have dedicated advertising created using Facebook advertising. The real cost of creating a steady stream of content in your website which has to be managed. 3.2 Buying and Selling in Facebook Marketplace This is a free service from Facebook where you can buy and sell products. Here users can have classified ads for the following category like For Sale, Housing, Jobs, Rentals etc. We can access this website from the link www.facebook.com/marketplace which is as shown below. Here we can sell anything which is advertising our Tangible goods. This can be a good way for selling goods as this is free service and we dont need to spend any money on the same. So whatever goods sold in this way can be added to our profit. 4. Facebook Viral Marketing Facebook Apps have become the most important tool for the marketers. There are more than 52000 apps in Facebook according to Facebooks Statistics. Facebook apps are the software application that we can integrate in our Facebook page or profile which can add a unique personality to our page. We can either create our own apps or we can use other apps. There are many apps which is available for free and also we can have a pay per install model. In this model we need to pay when a user installs the apps. To see the list of apps go to the link www.facebook.com/apps/directory.php which can seen as below. There are different categories of apps available and we can select apps according to our needs. 4.1 What is Viral Marketing? Viral Marketing means how your marketing suddenly gets popular among the customers. The sudden rise in popularity of your brand can be termed as viral. When you offer good incentives, customers get excited and through word of mouth your brand will get popular. 4.2 Different ways to promote Facebook Viral Marketing The main aim of viral marketing is to create more brand awareness and to increase sales. Keeping this in mind, we can have Contest, free gift etc. In the end we can have more customers visiting our Facebook page and also can visit our company website. We can have the following things keep in mind while making the promotional contest. Keep it simple Keep the competition simple. Dont try to put complicated rules. If the competition is simple more users will try the contest. Offer an exciting price Customers are always excited when the price you give is nice. Better the gifts more customers will try the contest. Price neednt have to be pricey. We need to think about giving some unique prices like pre event party tickets, meeting a celebrity or putting the winner in companys new advertisement. Use existing fan base Getting noticed with a promotional event is the hardest part in Facebook contest. You need to promote this event using your company website or through the Facebook pages wall etc. Run the promotional event for a month The promotional event should run for at least a few weeks up to a month. We need time for word of mouth advertising. The more time we keep the promotional event active more users will check the event. But it also has some drawbacks like it shouldnt be running for more time as it can also have a negative feedback from the customer as they might think we are not updating our Facebook page regularly. Integrate it with media campaign This is the most important part for making the event successful. We need to promote the event on our company website and other mediums through which we do our advertising. In this way we can have more users using this event and we will also generate a viral effect. We can use Facebook ads to promote our event which can be visible by larger audience and we can be sure of the event turning out to be a large success. There were many companies who tried to use this promotional event for getting popularity increased. The best example for the same is recent promotional campaign launched by Burger King. In this campaign they asked all the users to delete 10 friends from their friend list to get a free whopper burger from Burger King. This promotional event became so popular that they had to shut down the event. These are just examples which show that you dont need to spend high money or give away cost prices to attract more people. We can use surveys to collect statistics for market research. This can be done in Facebook and it will also be more cost effective and accurate than the normal way to data gathering. There are many free Facebook apps available for survey like Polls, Daily experience survey, YouGov etc. We can use these survey apps integrate into our page and can be used effectively to know more about what customer thinks about our brand and can interact with them directly to find more ideas for improvement. Below is one of the example of how survey application look like. We need to join this application to add this to our page. You can use Facebook connect to have broader reach of the viral marketing to Third-party websites, devices or applications. Facebook connect was launched in December 2008 and since then more than 15000 websites, application and devices have implemented it successfully. Facebook connect is a feature through which you can extend your Facebook platform to other websites and ask Facebook users to use their login of Facebook to connect to that Facebook- Connect enabled website. The best of Facebook Connect is that it is free of cost. The main feature of Facebook Connect is that using this facility, Facebook users can interact on other websites which will be reflected in the Facebook. The best part of Facebook Connect is that it eliminates the users from registering to a new website for accessing them. This makes users more convenient to surf your websites, blogs etc. For example, if you want to upload or wanted to comment in CNN.com previously it was necessary to have a username and password but now using the Facebook connect facility users doesnt need to have a registered account with CNN. If you have a Facebook account you can directly access the website by giving your Facebook account details which is shown as below. To integrate this Facebook connect feature to a website, we must register and receive an API (Application Programming Interface) key via Facebook Developer Apps page. To get more insights of Facebook Connect visit the following link http://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/web. It is free to register for a Facebook API key. Once we have the API Key, we can create a Facebook app and configure it to point it our website. This is termed by Facebook as Callback URL field. The above mentioned features are mainly responsible for creating Viral marketing of our brand. This if done properly can surge our sales to amazing levels. 5. Social Media Optimization (SMO) In the last couple of years search engine has become an important tool for online business but these days Social media optimization (SMO) has become most popular techniques to promote products and services in the market by the mediums of various social media book markings and Facebook has provided a unique and new medium for the marketer to innovate and reduce their cost of advertising. Search engine optimization techniques can be broadly classified into two Categories into two which are on-page optimization and off-page optimization; these techniques are very helpful for improving traffics for a website. Some point should be included in social media optimization Know how to target your audience create content create a SMO strategy Book marking and tagging Increase your link ability SMO should be a continuous process 6. Advantages of using Facebook in Business Facebook platform has turned out to be one of the most powerful platforms for business since the invention of Adwords by Google. Below are the key benefits of using Facebook. More Activities in our Facebook page can work as a SEO for search engine Any users in Facebook can find about our brand with the help of Facebook page. Marketing is not limited to a demographic region in Facebook Attracts more Clients Run promotional events for Fans Can Sync our company website to our Facebook Blog Can deal with unsatisfied customer more conveniently 7. Conclusion As we can see marketing with Facebook can never be termed as highly complex thing. It is simple and easy way to attract more customers in this modern competitive world where competitors are constantly trying to outsmart their rivals to gain more market share. Creating a Facebook page is a free and easy way to increase your visibility of your brand. Using different techniques like Events, Facebook Ads, Promotion, Discussions and all a company can increase their reach globally. There are more than 500 million of users and to advertise to these users using old marketing way of TV, Radio and all can be very expensive. So this is a cost effective and latest way to improve your Sales using the latest technology trend which is Facebook.

Depression Essay -- essays research papers

Depression and suicide are two causes of death that are increasing in prevalence for all age groups. They are also on the rise in a specific age group, that of older adults. The theory behind this finding that older adults are becoming more and more depressed and committing suicide at a greater rate than ever before is due to their failing physical and mental health. The purpose of this paper is to expand upon and prove this theory by gathering statistics about suicide in older adults, and by obtaining the information of scholarly sources by summarizing their views as it relates to the above mentioned theory. Official suicide statistics identify older adults as a high-risk group (Mireault & Deman, 1996). In 1992, it was reported that older adults comprised about 13% of the U.S. population, yet accounted for 20% of its suicides; in contrast, young people, ages 15-24, comprised about 14% of the population and accounted for 15% of the suicides (Miller, Segal, & Coolidge, 2001). Among older persons, there are between two to four suicide attempts for every completed attempt (Miller, Segal, & Coolidge, 2001). However, the suicide completion rate of older adults is 50% higher than the population as a whole. This is because older adults who attempt suicide die from the attempt more often than any other age group. Not only do elders kill themselves at a greater rate than any other group in society, but they tend to be more determined and purposeful (Weaver & Koenig, 2001). Studies of Depression and Suicide in Older Adults Depression in Older Adults A study was conducted examining the relationships between disease severity, functional impairment, and depression among a sample of older adults with age-related macular degeneration. It showed that the relationship between visual acuity and physical function was moderated by depressive symptoms (Casten, Rovner, & Edmonds, 2002). It appears that when faced with vision loss, depressed persons tend to generalize their disability to activities that are not necessarily vision dependent. They seem to adopt the attitude of not being able to see leads to not being able to do. This attitude is in line with the cognitive theory of depression in which depressed persons engage in faulty information processing (Casten, Rovner, & Edmonds, 2002). Suicide in Older Adults A study about older adult suicide was c... ... adults, reasons for depression in older adults, reasons for suicide in older adults, and included studies on depression and suicide in older adults. A review of suicide notes from older adults was also conducted. It was found that the theory to be corroborated was successful. It is true, based on the findings from the above mentioned sources, that depression and suicide are increasing in prevalence among older adults due to their failing physical and mental health. There are several aspects to physical and mental health, however they appear to be the main causes for the increase in depression and suicide among older adults. Reasons for depression among older adults briefly include anxiety, cognitive dysfunction, genetic factors, interpersonal relations, and stressful life events. Reasons for suicide among older adults can be briefly summarized by physical and psychiatric illnesses, unbearable psychological pain, cognitive construction, indirect expressions, inability to adjust, interpersonal relations, rejection-aggression, alcohol abuse, identification-egression, visual impairment, neurological disorders, malignant disease cardiovascular disease, and musculoskeletal disorders.

Essay --

Country Details Republic of India is situated in South Asia; it is at the 7th position in world by the area. The population as per 2011 census is approx. 1.2 billion, which is the 2nd largest economy in the world after the China in terms of population. India is the democracy country. From the oldest era India is the famous for its civilization and its culture. There are so many different types of people are lived together. The main are Hindu, Muslim, Shikh, Christian. The currency of India is Indian Rupee i.e. INR. As per 2013, India is the third largest economy by purchasing power parity and the 11th largest by nominal gross domestic product. The per capita income of India is approx. $1414 which is estimated in 2013. There are total 28 states and 7 union territories in India. States has its different parliament while the union territory is directly under the President of India. All the states have its divided in different districts also. The official language of India is Hindi and English, because there are more than 500 languages are there in India. The capital of India is Delhi. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee is the 13th and current President of India. The national anthem of India is Jana Gana Mana and the Motto is Satyameva Jayate. There are so many industries in India. India is a developing country. The GDP of the country is 6.1% as per 2011-12. The India is the fastest growing economy in the world. There are 486.6 million workers in the country, so as per labor force India is the second largest country in the world as per 2011. India has the world’s third largest military which is commanded by the President of India. It includes the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The National Stock of Exchange and the Bomba... ...13. India is the most attractive nation in the world in terms of investment. In 2013-14 the India is expected fiscal deficit at 3.4% from the previous year 2012-13. India is also good in export of the product. It has done export worth US$ 303 billion in FY 2012-13. The expected growth in export is about US$ 325 billion in this FY. India's industrial economy is gathering momentum on the back of improved output of eight core sector industries – coal, crude oil, refining, steel, cement, natural gas, fertilizers and electricity – which, at 8 per cent in September 2013, rose at its fastest pace in a year. The US$ 1.2 trillion investment planned in the infrastructure sector will go a long way in boosting export performance of Indian companies and the Indian growth story, according to Mr. Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India. â€Æ'

A Comparison of East of Eden and Candide :: compare and contrast essay examples

East of Eden and Candide In the midst of 80s nostalgia and remembering the greatness that was this decade, I don't want readers to think that "children of the 80s," are oblivious to great, classic literature and today's current events. Recently, I have read two incredibly amazing books. Furthermore, I have noticed some interesting parallels. The first is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This novel is an unbelievably grandiose recreation of the Book of Genesis. Salinas County is depicted as a place of incredible purity and innocence, in which people have simple values and work hard to sustain them. In contrast, there is Monterrey, a seedy, dirty, yet attractive town filled with brothels, bars, factories, and ports. Some sort of warped destiny once joined Mr. Trask to Kate, the union of good and evil. As a result, she gives birth to twins, Aaron and Caleb. Both Mr. Trask and Aaron embody all that is good, whereas Kate and Cal embody all that is evil. Cal often goes to Monterrey, and upon finding out that his mother is still alive as well as being the head of the most prestigious brothel in town, he seeks her out. After repeatedly being underestimated and rejected by his father, Cal decides that the ultimate revenge will be to take his brother Aaron to meet his mother. He was right? Upon hearing the news, Mr. Trask has a stroke, and Cal feels incredibly guilty. The last few chapters of this book compose the most intense writing or probably even the most intense experiences that I have ever had. Lee, the family's loyal servant, repeatedly notes a passage in the Bible, in which it is made clear that any individual, regardless of past experiences or trauma, has a choice in life. The fact that humans have the ability to always make this crucial choice and use a superior rational is what sets us apart from other species. Even though Mr. Trask is virtually a vegetable and at the brink of death, Lee begs that he show some sign that he has forgiven his son Cal or the cycle will not be broken. Cal will continue to be a resentful rogue, who feels unloved and has no direction. This simple idea is extended through and endless number of pages. I have never read so fast and understood so much in my entire life, not that my life is really that long yet.

Philips vs Panasonic: Facing the 2008 Economic Crisis Essay

1. Introduction Panasonic and Philips are two of the main consumer electronics companies in the world with different origins but similar international path. Several hurdles were faced by both companies in their evolution. This paper will analysis how the administrative heritage of Philips and Panasonic caused problem in the changing of their strategy, causing problem in the implementation of the respective strategic decisions. Moreover it tries to explain how time contingences and the external environment had influenced the strategy of the two MNEs and shape the organizational structure; sometimes leading to success, sometimes losing ground in the market field. Nowadays the main tasks of the two companies are conflictual : for Panasonic defending its leadership position, for Philips challenging the global leader. How to reach these goals? The last paragraph will address these objectives providing to the CEOs of the respective companies further steps to consider in order to remain com petitive in the market field, from 2008 looking forward. 2. How the environment and culture shape companies’ strategy and organization 2.1 Philips evolution: from responsive to integrated Philips’s strategy, right after WWII, led the company to its success. The economic situation during the 30s, forced the company to transfer part of its assets and laboratories abroad. This led to a dispersion of responsibilities. Countries protectionism, high tariffs and trade barriers required local production facilities. These problems led to the adoption of a decentralized federation with independent and self sufficient units and autonomous marketing. The contingent environment spurred the management to rebuild their structures upon National Operations (NOs). Philips built its success on a worldwide portfolio of responsive national organizations. Economic conditions, tastes and preferences, at that time, differed across countries; corporate management treated subsidiaries as independent national businesses with the aim to satisfy local needs. National Organizations were so vigil that they manage to preempt products required by customers, launching products such as the first color TV, the first stereo TV and the first TV with teletext. Innovation and R&D were the core strength of the company. They were flexible, responsive and fast in the approach to market. Entrepreneurial initiatives derived, not from top down imposition, but from every single division. The company succeeded in managing its innovation and to bring it to the next level, making innovation and customer’s needs the purpose of their business. The focus on national responsiveness was appropriate since the 50-60s, when it started to become the firm’s limitation. The great focus given to tailor solution to costumers’ tastes increased the cost of production and led to a dispersion of subsidiaries across too many countries. Problems of efficiencies and coordination arose. The company took several years to get rid of its matrix structure. Attempts to shift the companies to a slimmer organization in order to become more efficient in its production were slow and cumbersome. The National Operations continued to detain major responsibilities. The company was captive of its past. Contrarily to management prevision, the matrix structure created more problems that it solved. It was more complex than either the â€Å"worldwide area structure† or â€Å"the worldwide product structure†, and it created conflicts of responsibilities. Market signals warned the company to implement changes in the way business was conducted. However, in the 1990s, the company was, still, going through major losses. The structure was too costly and value added higher, compared to Japanese production facilities. Even if a good objective were settled in the strategic planning, however, as history showed, the further step of re-organization failed due to difficulties encountered in rebuilding the organization. It was not a zero-base reconfiguration. For more than 35 years, from 1971 onwards, different CEOs tried to take action in order to reduce the power of NO and create an agile and simple divisional organization that could create efficiencies, however trying not to neglects their sources of innovation: respond to country specific markets. 2.2 Matsushita evolution: from integration to responsiveness Matsushita point of departure instead was complete different from the one undertaken by Philips. Matsushita employed a divisional structure with a strong centralized decision making. The adoption of the divisional organization was well-thought due to the large and highly differentiated product range manufactured by the companies, aimed to different target clients. This allowed the company to reduce the organizational complexity and reducing transaction costs within the company. Matsushita exploited the favorable characteristic of the post war era, such as a convergence of tastes across borders and the â€Å"uncontrollable† globalization. In the 60s, the firm managed to expand its product range. It created self-funded research laboratories to develop new product solution. At the time, Matsushita detained a strong distribution channel directly owned by the company with more than 25.000 domestic retail store. However, when the demand in the domestic marketed slowed down, what was a competitive advantage domestically was not replicable abroad. The company made a lot of effort in expanding its international presence, without being demoralized. However as times passed by, the highly centralized control structure, create problems in their offshore operations. By the 1980s, the company, mainly concentrated on global integration instead of localization, decided to re-tailored its strategy . Decentralization of responsibilities was more than a necessity. Matsushita’s strategy was too focused on global efficiencies neglecting innovation, and learning and flexibility. R&D was vital in this industry. Actions of several CEO tried to address these issues, changing the company’s strategy from copycat to promoter of invention. However, as Philips encountered problem in its â€Å"transformation†, so did Mastushita. The firm had difficulties in promoting self initiatives among different divisions. The former centralized hub organizational structure was still present in the employees’ mentality. The initiatives, such as the introduction of local managers with stronger responsibilities in key positions and locations, did not give the expected outcome in the short run. It took several years and a lot of effort to see some res ults. Again the company was captive of its past. Today, Mitsushita’s configuration is mainly built around 3 main divisions: Digital networks, Home appliance and Components; reduced from the 36 product divisions used in the 1980s. The simplification was clear and so its advantages. The reaction of such a structure led the company to be more flexible to local need, reduce costs of duplication and achieve economies of scope. The products developed within each division were highly linked. However the company was not safe from competition. With the crisis’ approaching, the economical situation of the company does not remain untouched. What else is left to do? 2 Core issues today in the consumer electronic industry The current economic situation differs drastically from the one encountered in 10 or 20 years ago. Phenomena like globalization have given companies such as Philips and Panasonic the chance to provide their product to an extensive market, raising however new challenges. The global economic recession has created new needs. Consumers are more price sensitive and less willing to pay high prices for low quality products. Companies need to be aware of their cost structure and be ready to take respond to rapid technological changes and changing consumer preferences with timely and cost-effective introductions of new products in markets that are highly competitive in terms of both price and technology. The access to low factor cost, such as low labor force in emerging country as become crucial. Moreover, developing markets, such as India and China, are not only location where firms can manufacture products at lower costs, but also new opportunities where companies can market their own produ cts. In the consumer electronic industry, competition has become extremely high and innovation, now more than ever has become crucial as new source of revenues. 3. Recommendation for Philips: Exploit contingencies of the time you are in The 2008 situation of Philips is not flourishing. In 2008, the company scored a net loss of â‚ ¬260 million. This was probably due to the financial crisis that affected the company drastically. However, company’s loss can not only be attributed to external factors. The company has made some mistakes, in the recent years, and should take action and correct its own strategy, remembering it origins. Coherence with past is crucial to tailor an effective strategy that could lead to innovative solutions for the future. That’s why Philips should continue to develop consumer-centric solutions. Research laboratories should remain independent but linked across one another. Philips should tackle the recession without sacrificing its long term strategic ambition: â€Å"Improving people live through meaningful innovation†1. That why now, more than ever, the company should be able to forecast marke t trends. Philips should continue more efficiently to re-allocate resources to growth opportunities and emerging markets. To do so it should transfer part of its qualified personnel to target markets, such as from India and China, building a strong teams of both local and expatriates managers and engineers. The combination of foreign and local figures could help the firm to continue the strategy of local responsiveness. To do so, it is necessary to include in the company agenda selective mergers and acquisitions. M&A, however, should not be out of focus. Philips has reduced its current division to 3 main domains: healthcare, lighting and customers lifestyle. My recommendation would be to stay true to these three core segments, acquiring key strategic companies in foreign markets. How to finance these new objectives? Disinvestments in peripheral activities and less profitable plans are still needed in order to obtain liquidity to reinvest in developing countries. This tactic would not repay within short term but long term profits would offset the high level of investments. Moreover leveraging of local subsidiaries in emerging markets can a springboard, to target back developed markets selling low cost products. 4. Recommendation for Mastushita: defending worldwide dominance The economic situation of Panasonic is different from the once faced by Philips. Panasonic is the world’s leading plasma maker in the industry and has to defend its worldwide dominance. Matsushita has based its competitive advantage ion low cost production. However, particular during financial crisis period, several other initiatives are to be implemented. First the company has to reduce its cost structure in order to face the deep decrease in demand in order to continue to make profits. Panasonic its already leader in this activities, however, there are always margins of improvements. To achieve cost reduction, it has to downsize its workforce. The firm should prioritized certain businesses over less profitable ones. Moreover adopt a lean management in order to reduce at the minimum the wastes in the value chain. Secondly it should restructure its organization to make it as clear and simple as possible in order to avoid cost duplication, slow process and cost of bureaucracy. In addition, The shift of demand and the focus on emerging market, in particular Asian markets, should be the highest priority. The market signaled opportunities in untapped market. The firm should be upfront in order to gain advantages over competition. These is a necessity to shut down plants in Japan and oversea and transfer workforce and capital to new sites. This initiative can also overcome exchange currency risk. Also distribution channels in these countries should be enhanced. However, the company should not forget its heritage: leverage on efficiency. The company should achieve a â€Å"transnational strategy†; incrementing its local responsiveness and innovation and learning, at the same time. Even during times of recession in essential to continue to invest in R&D, with the objective to grow faster than competitors when the market recovers. The main revenues for the companies come from distinct technologies. Local responsiveness could be achieved through the delegation of, even more, profit responsibilities to the three main divisions. This could enhance the company performance and to keep it on the podium. 6. Conclusions The structural variety is function of the environmental characteristics, Organization has to adapt to the external environment. Both companies has gone through several changes in their evolution. Environmental factors pushed companies to rethink their strategy and consequently their organizational structures. In some cases the difficulties encountered in the transition, for instance from an highly integrated company to more responsive, was slow and cumbersome. Both companies has been proved to be reluctant to change. . It is true that the set of strategies a firm is limited by the decisions the company has made in the past, however, these limitation should not be considered as insurmountable. Change can occur and rapidly. Philips and Panasonic lacked the ambition to design solution at 360 °. Firms should learn from their past and continue to leverage on their own competitive advantages, building on existing infrastructure. Do not be captive of your own past, but use your past experience to create a strong advantage, compensating your deficiencies. 5

Nature is our friend Essay

Time has come now to realize that the energies of the Earth’s own kingdoms are very precious! The plants own natural state of love, joy and pride, is the core essence of Life. This is the understanding we all need to free ourselves from limiting thought forms. see more:trees our best friends essay 150 words The new consciousness contains a great love both for the planet and the nature. The new thinking will make us change our attitudes to plants and animals that continuously give us gifts. Many people on Earth have taken the nature for granted. It is here as en obvious part of life, it seems, and very few of us have really noticed how many gifts we are receiving from plants and animals. Every single particle in what we eat is conscious. Everything we take into our bodies comes from nature! The development has now entered a new track. We will all soon feel the connection to nature in a new way and start giving thanks to the specific plants that we love to eat and use as a part of our life, for example cotton an linen. It is really a gift from the plants to us. As they consist of conscious particles, they receive the gratitude from us by the particles’ mutual togetherness system. The Earth is an interesting planet for beings from many dimensions because it is very special†¦ because we have water and we have the rich life in nature as a consequence of that. This is an enormous abundance, consisting or the light particles of our solar system. It is really time to appreciate that we live on the most precious planet in our galaxy. The journey through the suffering and separation is soon over. The next years to come, we all will open our eyes for the true gifts of nature. It will lead us to new choices. When we chose to incarnate in physical body, one of our goals is to enjoy nature because this is the only planet where we can do it. When we one day move on, our love for nature and our ability to visualize what it looks like, make us able to create trees and flowers in our gardens in higher dimensions..:) by our own thought power. We live on a planet where we originally have developed from simple beings, like Darwin discovered. However, we have not developed because the  strongest won like Darwin said. The human race is what it is because we were transformed from Neanderthals by creating masters that originally came from other civilizations in our galaxy thousands of years ago.

Prewriting for the Process Analysis Essay

Whoever said life was going to be easy, the sooner everyone learns that the better off they will be. Life in itself is very stressful, but when you throw in being a wife, mother, student and employee it’s almost too much to bear. In order to deal with everything I must do I have a calendar with everything on it and how much time needs to be spent. Now, where should I begin? I’m a wife and therefore I must make sure my husband has clean work clothes and food for work. We all know how men don’t like to do their own laundry or cook.At least my husband doesn’t like to. Don’t get me started on trying to keep my house clean with him and my animals, it’s like a tornado hits this place just about every other day. Dirty dishes, clothes, cat toys, food, cat litter anything you can just about think of. I also feed and clean up after the animals; I have five cats inside, two chameleons, and a cat outside. I must wake up every morning at 7 AM to feed them . I’m their mother now so they all depend on me. If all that is not enough I must also work for a living.I clean a local movie theater in my town. I’ll tell you right now, if everything I deal with at home isn’t stressful enough when I get to work and walk through those doors the stress slaps me in the face. I just don’t understand how people can be so nasty. The restrooms are another story, they are so gross. I have never realized how dirty and inconsiderate people really are and that makes my life stressful when I have to pick up after all them. With all that being said I how could I possibly find any time to do my school work but I always seem to do it.It’s very hard to do daily things then try and set down to do homework, especially the section I’m doing now with writing. I get so stressed out because I get very aggravated when I try and write because I’m not good at it. It seems to take me forever to get it done and that makes me just want to throw the pen and paper down and quit. But I seem to figure out a way to get it done and not go insane in the process. I’m not totally sure if there is a solid way to cope with stress but there are many ways to try and manage it.When life seems to get too stressful or even out of control I will go outside and walk around while taking in fresh air to try and clear my head. I have picked up a nasty little habit a long time ago, I know it’s not good and I need to quit but it’s hard and it seems to really help in stressful times and of course this is none other than smoking. I guess it’s really just a matter of what kind of stress and how bad it is. Sometimes I turn everything off and turn on the radio and just lie on the bed and listen to the music.Sometimes if it’s just bad enough I will end up crying and yes it sounds like a child but is seems to unleash the stress and wash it away as if its water in a bath tub when the plug gets taken out. Regardless of the situation I pull myself together before it gets out of hand. So many responsibilities every day is a bit tough, but there is always a way to do everything. The way I get everything done is just having a plan for each specific thing . Whoever said life was going to be easy, the sooner everyone learns that the better off they will be.First thing, I must take care of my family/home life. There are a lot of things that must be done when it comes to my home responsibilities. I must make sure my house is nice and clean, we all know it’s not very pleasant living in a dirty home. With that I have to wash dishes, clean the bathrooms and put things away. Make sure everything is put up in the right places, make all beds up and vacuum all floors then sweep and mop. I got to gather all dirty clothes and get them done then there is the outside to deal with.I always make sure the outside of my house is nice and neat, I don’t like to have my house looking like a bunch of wild animals live here. I keep my yard mowed; everything put up and kept in order. We burn wood so I make sure there is wood cut and split and stacked up out at the tree and I make sure to wood stack is neat and stacked well and covered up away from the weather. Next I must tend to my children that are the kind of non-human kind. That’s a whole task in itself; I believe that it’s probably harder than dealing with human children. They make things very stressful; they meow over and over like it’s going out of style.I got to feed them and when that time comes you better make sure you watch out cause they all come running through the house all at once because they know what time it is and if you’re in their path they will knock you over like a pack of hungry wolves. I got to make sure their bathroom is clean and make sure the cats outside are feed and taken care of to. Then I have to turn my attention to my chameleons, I have to make sure they have water because they don’t drink water out of a dish so I have to do it out of a spray bottle or they will die.I have to make sure they got bugs in their cages so they can eat. I have a lot of things to do on a daily basis, it get tough and very stressful so I have to make sure I plan everything down to the last thing because I would never have the time to do everything. I have a small window of time after I take care of my animals to do some school work so I try and buckle down and do as much as possible. Sometimes the lessons are hard but I got to try and clear all the stuff out of my head from everything else I have had to do and just try my best.When work time comes around I get ready and head out the door. I have to clean the movie theater. There are seven theaters, two bathrooms, two hallways and one lobby; the place is pretty big and I do all this by myself. When all this is done I go back home and weather I’m tired or not I sit down and do more school work. When times are stressful I stop and pull myself together and calm down. When we get stressed out and just want to quit just to let the stress away, but weather you know it or not calming yourself down and working through it to get everything done is very much worth it.