A Discussion on the Thoughts and Philosophies of Pericles

IntroductionIt is innate among humans to be fascinated by the different things that they particularly see around them (Durant, 1986, 10). It could not be denied then that through the years, this particular fascination within the different elements that could be seen in the human environment actually developed into the many discoveries and inventions that humans produced (Sternberg, 1989, 31). Through passing civilization of humans, it could be observed that the people were never contented with what they already have or what they have already accomplished. This is especially true in terms of science and technology as well as in arts and literature (Ambuel, 2006, 15). It is indeed undeniable that people recreate the things that are already existent within their own society.   The fact that they have already been able to see what they could do regarding a certain type of field (Cooper, 1997, 18), they intend to even do better the net time that they deal with the same invention. Yes, h umans never get tired of reinventing everything there is in the environment. Why is this so?Human intelligence has always been noted by philosophers as the primary factor that makes the human creation different from that of the other God-made creations. The humans’ ability to innovate their own achievements to even better results for the present generation to see, has particularly noted them to be those who are capable of reinventing themselves to be able to evolve from generations to generations. (Corlett, 2005, 17)To discuss this particular fact further, take an example of the human literature. It is overwhelming enough to see that the society today is already flooded by the many informations that are presented to humans through the printed pages of literature. More than that, the emergence of internet technology has paved the way even for amateur writers to make mention of their thoughts to the world for them to be appreciated and particularly affect other’s opinion s as well (Cooper, 1997, 10).Literature before was primarily defined as an art of writing that follows certain rules that are strict enough to keep its standards within the classical range of reading. However, when the different generations along with the historical events covered the human generation’s development (Ambuel, 2006, 15), the art of literature became one of the major process by which humans intended to express their thoughts and their predicaments about the things that are going on in the world. As a result, more and more people joined the bandwagon of writing and began to share their thoughts to the world with regards the issues that primarily concern the human society today. (Bakalis, 2005, 17)This particular progress in literature has primarily been further fueled by the democratic arrangement of the major governments around the world, giving a chance for the freedom of human expression. It is through this that people became more aware of the world around them , they cared more than ever with the political agendas, the social issues as well as other informations that concern their interests (Cooper, 2005, 16). True, the changing situation in the society and the demand towards progress requires that human intelligence be perfected in a way that it particularly caters to the needs of the entire humanity. The human brain’s ability to store and restructure informations that were accepted by it through the years of an individual’s life is particularly a proof that the application of humans’ intelligence could still be perfected as generations are still to come along. (Allen, 2006, 18)In the same idea, both the philosophers Plato and Pericles believed that humans are indeed capable of being highly involved with developments as they are certainly given the idealism of becoming the best at anything. They use their instinct accompanied by their need of fulfilling what they particularly opt to find out about life as a satisfact ion to their curious minds (Sternberg, 1989, 14). Although both philosophers believed in this particular through, they did have different approaches in presenting the truth about their claims (Cooper, 1997, 13). To understand the issue better, the thoughts and philosophies of both Pericles and Plato shall be discussed within the paragraphs that follow in two separate presentations.The Thoughts of PlatoPlato has been widely known in the human history of philosophy as the establisher of the western culture. His succession on the position left by Aristotle and Socrates has noted him to be among the most intelligent people who have lived in human history (Corlett, 1997, 25). His special skills in literature and the mind boggling explanation of human philosophy has particularly allowed him to become one of the most sought after philosophers of the world. As a philosopher, Plato has been known for his ability to validate his claims through mathematical pattern of assumptions as he present his ideas through his writings (Corlett, 2005, 27). The possibilities and the calculation of how the human mind reacts to certain situations has been noted to be among the best expertise of Plato himself.As one of the foundations of human philosophy, Plato contributed so much on the knowledge of people at present. Plato has been known for the presentation of his thoughts through the use of dialogues. The conversations between people have been utilized by Plato as a way by which he could convey his ideas to the people. Moreover, the said dialogues discussed different issues of human elements that could noticeably be used to explain the different difficulties that could be considered when the topic about human behavior comes into attention. (Durant, 1986, 31)Among the consequential issues that his dialogues mainly cater to are that of the father and son relationship, the truth behind the human realism, and the ability of humans to perceive the truth from illusionary imaginations (Bak alis, 205, 93). On the first issue cited herein, the relation of father and son have always fascinated the mind of Plato as he tries to identify the connection between the father and the son as both grow further towards maturity. Among the answers he usually opt to discuss is that of the ways by which the values that the father implies on the son contribute to the personal growth and being of that particular individual. Most likely, Plato has long been trying to identify how the elements of fatherhood actually influence the acceptance of different individuals of the teachings, thus applying them as values for themselves to learn from and later on apply in their own systems of living.The second issue presented is on the realism of the human population. This particularly points out to the ability of humans to use their reasoning and their intelligent judgment of the things that they hear, they see, and they observe, thus defining on which one is actually true and which one is on the o ther hand imaginary. True, people have this particular ability of knowing what is real from what is not. However, the reasoning behind such ability is somewhat complex, and this is what actually moved Plato to identify the factors that affect the human judgment on such elemental factors in the human society.The third topic of attention is that of the imaginative abilities of humans. True, humans enjoy the fact that they are able to imagine different things as a part of their intellectual capabilities. When feeling down and depressed, people usually use their capabilities of imagining things to at least ease them from the truths of their present situation. However, although many consider imagination as gift, it could not be denied that the human ability of coming back to reality could still help them set their decision on which one is the real situation differentiating it from the imaginary elements that they themselves have created in their minds.(Ambuel,2006, 15)Through these thoug hts, Plato also tried to imply on his writing the idea on the â€Å"real world†, whereas he refers to the present system of things to be just a shadow of the real world, referring to the people at present as those who are living in an imaginary world. True, this thought might seem quite confusing at some point. However, if closely observed, it could not be denied that the situation is quite obvious. It all boils down to the reality of the people. Because of the fact that humans are less able to become realistic with who they are, they are then consequently living their lives in an unrealistic world that makes it even harder for themselves to â€Å"zap† back into the real life that they ought to face. This is in correspondence to the doubts of humans as to why they are at times in trouble of finding what they really want out of living on earth.The Thoughts of PericlesPericles has been known to be among the list of the most successful ancient politicians of the human his tory. This is most likely because of the skill that he himself has faced during his rule in Athens. Even when he was still on his way in being inspired in becoming an icon of the public, he knew that the responsibility that he was about to take was not that easy to fulfill (Corlett, 2005, 48). This is when he was actually able to take into consideration the understanding that he must gain with regards the philosophical make up of humankind. Dealing with people of different individualities naturally urged Pericles to search in an in-depth way on the beliefs and the elements that contribute to human behavior and development. Hence, he has also be fascinatingly interested in human philosophical education.As he progressed in the learning, he himself has been urged to bring out the best among the people that he led. Particularly referring to the ability of humans to speak out their minds for others to hear their thoughts, he implied amongst his people the importance of one’s abili ty to at least freely speak off their minds to the public (Cooper, 1997, 18). This, according to him, is one of the most important rights a person could have, a certain process by which an individual would be able to experience the reality of life that he is supposed to live with.ConclusionYes, it is indeed true that the human intelligence continues to grow through the years of its history. With the contributed foundation by those who have led the way in understanding the human capability of thinking and acting upon what they believe in, the human society today is now more confident in what they believe in, more expressive of their thoughts and more imaginative on their ways of facing the truth of their lives.From the discussion presented above, it could be observed that Plato particularly proffered on discussion the abstract factors that contribute to the continuous improvement of human intelligence. Moreover, the said thought has been mainly established by the philosopher through explaining his claims using the different dimensions of math and human philosophy. Constantly referring to the ability of the mind to imagine and to bring its thought back to reality has noted Plato as one of the most remarkable philosophers who were able to unlock the truth behind human imagination. On the other hand, Pericles has been mostly focused on the ability of humans to disperse their thoughts and actually affect the society that they are living in. It is through their freedom of speaking their thoughts off to the public that they are able to make the necessary changes that they ought to contribute to their communities.Certainly, if observed closely, Percles’ and Plato’s belief on the capabilities of humans to use their capabilities well explains how the human intelligence is actually used in the systems by which the human civilization progresses towards modernity. As people are able to imagine and disperse their thoughts to others, they are able to make diffe rent, at times even great changes to the societies that they are living in. The thoughts of the two philosophers as discussed herein could be noted as one of the most important influence that they both have left the human society.REFERENCES:Robert J. Sternberg. (1989). Handbook of Human Intelligence. Cambridge University Press.Allen, R.E. (2006). Studies in Plato's Metaphysics II. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-18-6Ambuel, David (2006). Image and Paradigm in Plato's Sophist. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-004-9Bakalis, Nikolaos (2005). Handbook of Greek Philosophy: From Thales to the Stoics Analysis and Fragments, Trafford Publishing ISBN 1-4120-4843-5Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works. Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-87220-349-2.Corlett, J. Angelo (2005). Interpreting Plato's Dialogues. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-02-5Durant, Will (1986). The Story of Philosophy. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-69500-2.Lawrence S. Cunningham and John J. Reich. Culture & Values: A SURVEY OF THE HUMANITIES, volume one/sixth edition,   Library of Congress Control Number: 2005923993.

Lack of effective communication

When a mountaineer goes up for the mountain’s peak, when a pilot soar high in the sky with his plane and when a treasure hunter goes for the hidden treasure with his map, there are two things they all need to have- a compass and a watch. They are but small, simple gadgets yet their importance cannot be denied. Like a compass, communication gives direction to the players in the organization. As a watch, communication defines the perfect timing of every course of action. Having the best players in a team, the best facilities and enough resources cannot give an organization the assurance of its success. This is simply because, as Keith Denton said, 1â€Å"More often, what is required is the simplest need of all-communication.† What brings all the elements of an organization or a team together is communication. Consider a basketball team who is behind by two points in the last few seconds of the game. If the team has a time-out to utilize, shall the coach call for a time-out or just leave the chance to the players? If not, who will be responsible? It could not be just anyone. Effective communication plays an urgent and essential role in this situation. First, in identifying what the problem is. Communicating factual and accurate information on the nature of the problem is the first step in solving a problem. In the business set-up, the earlier the problem is identified, the more time is provided to the team or the organization to solve it. Consider a manufacturing company which is experiencing a significant decline in its production rate for the past three months. Shift production supervisor A accounts the problem to the old machines they are using. Supervisor B blames it to the shift on the standards of the Quality Control department. Supervisor C thinks the problem is due to the newly imported raw materials from a new supplier. Suppose the production head asked only supervisor A and then agreed to address the problem immediately to the management. So the management decided to buy new production machines in order to cope up with its production. Supervisors B and C did not coordinate their evaluations on the problem because they were not asked. After few months, production increased only by few percentage. Re-evaluation revealed that the problem is due to the newly imported raw materials and not on the old machines. This is just one of the many tragic results of lack of effective communication. If only the production head was able to ask the other supervisors, or the supervisors coordinated their evaluations to the production head, even if they were not asked, then their evaluations could have been considered in the management’s decision in solving the problem. The cost of the new production machines could have been saved and the raw materials supplier could have been immediately reprimanded and replaced. Sad to say, time and effort lost in this situation can no more be saved; they are permanently lost. Communication is a basic requirement in all aspects of the organization. 2â€Å"The absence of good planning and sound communications also causes projects to fail.† (G. Silver) In fact, communication is a vital tool in the planning stage of a project. In identifying the what, where, when, why, who and how of a plan, information has to flow through communication lines in order to be utilized by planners and decision makers. In delegation, controlling and directing functions of the management, communication is a basic tool. This is the reason why leaders have to be good communicators. In problem solving and decision making, one has to learn how to make him understood by others and learn also to understand others. This can only be made possible by developing effective communication skills and process. 3 A case study done at General Electric Company and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. revealed that 88% of its engineers believed that â€Å"lack of communication and cooperation leads to reduced productivity.† Further evaluation of this result will give us the fact that this is because planners and decision makers rely on available, coordinated information in formulating their business activities. If all needed information are properly communicated to the concerned individuals, then problem solving and decision making will most probably have favorable results. Considering the vitality of effective communication in an organization which is working as a team, it is but fair to conclude that communication can make or break an organization. REFERENCES Denton, D. Keith. Business Horizons. September-October 1993. Retrieved from http://www.howtobooks.co.uk/business/networking. retrieved on September 07, 2006 Silver, Gerald and Myrra. Systems Analysis and Design. Chapter 06. page 22. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Mass. USA. 1992 P and Q Survey 1990. Effective Business Communications. Retrieved from http://www.howtobooks.co.uk/business/networking Retrieved on September 07, 2006

How the Concentration Affects the Rate of the Reaction

Title Page Number Diagram of Apparatus Introduction Risk Assessment ` Table of Results Line of Best Fit Graph Error Bars Graph Gradients Graph Analysis †¢ Error Bars Analysis Evaluation †¢ Improvement Assessment †¢ Improved Experiment. †¢ Reliability References Introduction: For this data analysis project, I conducted and experiment to investigate how the concentration of an acid affects the rate of the reaction.I have set up the experiment’s equipment as shown on figure 1. As you can see by figure 1, I have used the reaction between sodium thisoulphate solution and hydrochloric acid (HCL) to come up with results that will help me draw conclusions regarding the effects of the concentration of the acid. I decided to use this particular reaction due to the fact that the product of the reaction between sodium thisoulphate and hydrochloric acid (HCL) is precipitates of sulphur which tend to turn the solution cloudy.As a result, the cross beneath the conical fla sk (see figure 1) would disappear/ become difficult to be seen when the reaction has taken place. Therefore, the idea is that 50 cm? of sodium thisoulphate are made to react with 5 cm? of hydrochloric acid that is of different concentration each time. The concentrations of hydrochloric acid used varied from 0. 1 to 5 moles. Afterwards, the cross is observed through the top of the conical flask until it because invisible. The time of which this happens is then recorded and monitored using a stopwatch.The symbol equation of this reaction is as follows: The above symbol equation shows the reaction: Sodium thisoulphate reacts with hydrochloric acid to form sodium chloride, water, precipitate of sulphur as well as sulphur dioxide. The results that I recorded from this experiment were poor. This is because they were not entirely accurate and did not make sense. As a result, my teacher gave me a different set of results that were recorded at different temperatures to analyse and help me wr ite up.The table of results (table 2), shows the results obtained at 3 different trials of the same experiment. The reason behind repeating the experiment 3 times is to ensure that the result’s reliability is of a satisfactory level. After the experiment was conducted, I looked back at the equipment I used as well as the steps I carried out during the process. I did so to recognize the risks associated with carrying out such experiments. To prevent or minimize such risks in future experiments, I conducted a risk assessment that is shown on the following page: Risk Assessment Risk |Damage |Prevention Method | |Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) |Hydrochloric acid is corrosive. |Eye protection must be worn at all times during | | |Therefore it can damage skin. |the experiment. | | |It can also damage eyes. |Ensure it does not come into contact with skin | | | |and if it does rinse thoroughly. |Conical Flask (glass) |Can roll down the bench |Make sure apparatus made of glass are not | | |B roken glass can cut/damage skin. |chipped. | | | |Wear gloves if possible | | | |Be careful when handling glass. | | | | | | | | |Sodium Thisoulphate |Inhalation may cause irritation and coughing. |Avoid contact with eyes and skin. | | |Skin and eye contact might cause irritation and |Do not inhale on purpose. | |damage | | |Paper |1. A risk of a paper cut is possible. |1. Careful while handling paper and if paper cut| | | |occurs rinse and do not come in contact with | | | |hydrochloric acid. Risk Assessment (Table 2) Analysis: Outliers: Table 2 summarises the results of this experiment. As you can see, a couple of outliers have occurred during the experiment. I decided that a difference of more than 30 seconds between a result and the others obtained from repeating the same experiment indicates that this result is an outlier. Therefore the two outliers are ringed on table 2, so that they are made clear. For instance, the results recorded for the third experiment using 0. 1 moles c oncentrated hydrochloric acid is 583 seconds.This is clearly an outlier due to the fact that the other results are 683 and 626 seconds, making the result of 583 seconds clearly distant and therefore is classed as an anomaly. Another outlier that has occurred is the result for the 3rd trial using 4. 0 moles hydrochloric acid. Here the outlier is 132 seconds, while the other trials show results that vary from 160 to 165 seconds. Graph Analysis: The first graph (figure 2) states the averages of the recordings. I have used a line of best fit on this graph to identify the trends between the results.Firstly, the graph shows overall that the experiment has gone as expected. This is because it looks very similar to the graph in the chemistry text book as well as ones found on the internet. The general trend that is shown by this experiment (as seen on figure 2) is that as the concentration of the hydrochloric acid increase, the rate of the reaction also increases, as the reaction takes less time to take place. Therefore, the experiment shows that the concentration of the acid is directly proportional to the rate of the reaction. From 0. to 0. 5 Moles: As you can see by figure 2, when 0. 1 moles of hydrochloric acid were used, the reaction was at its slowest, taking 656 seconds to take place. From 0. 1 to 0. 5 moles, the rate of the reaction increased significantly with the reaction only taking around half the time: 379 seconds to take place. At the start, the line of best fit has a gradient of 0. 000152 moles per second (m/s). I worked this out using the equation x/y = 0. 1/656 = 0. 000152 m/s. At 0. 5 moles, the gradient of the graph increases rapidly to 0. 00132 m/s.This calculation reinforces that the reaction is at its slowest at the beginning with the sulphur precipitate taking the least amount of time to cloud the solution and causing the cross to become invisibile. This is because a low concentration of hydrochloric acid means that not as much molecules are ava ilable to collide, making molecular collision much less likely (). From 0. 5 to 1 Moles: From 0. 5 to 1 moles, the time taken for the reaction to take place decreases further as the rate of the reaction increases. Therefore the precipitate of sulphur is taking less time to form ().The gradient of the graph also increases as a result to 0. 00357 m/s. I have worked this out using the same equation as above: x/y= 1/280. This indicates that the rate of the reaction keeps on increasing as the concentration of the hydrochloric acid increases. From 1 to 2 Moles: By increasing the concentration of the acid from 1 to 2 moles, the rate of the reaction kept on increasing by taking less time for the reaction to occur. This is again shown by the line of best fit on figure 2, which at this point in the graph has a gradient of 0. 0913 m/s (x/y = 2/219), which is nearly triple the gradient stated previously. The rate of the reaction is a measure of how quickly this reaction is taking place. As you can see by the negative correlation between the time and the molarity of the acid shown on figure 2, the rate of the reaction keeps on increasing as the concentration of the hydrochloric acid is increasing. This result is supported by the collision theory. This theory indicates that for a reaction to occur, the particles or molecules must collide with each other to form a reaction.Infact, they need to collide hard enough for the reaction to become a successful one as well, since only a certain fraction of the total collisions actually result in a chemical change (). When those successful collisions occur, they have enough activation energy to break existing bonds and form new bonds, resulting in a chemical reaction and a new product being formed (). Increasing the concentration of a solution means increasing the amount of molecules that are available in that solution.Therefore, increasing the concentration of the hydrochloric acid from 1 to 2 moles is increasing the amount of molecu les in the acid that would be available to collide and cause a reaction. Therefore, this means that there would be more particles per dm?. The fact that more particles are available explains why the rate of the reaction becomes faster. This is because the more particles there are, the more successful molecular collision would be happening, which increases the rate of which the reaction occurs. This aspect of the collision theory is illustrated by the diagram below:The Collision Theory (figure 5) (). As you can see by the diagram above, the amount of collisions happening per second is a major factor that determines how quickly or slowly the rate of the reaction goes. Therefore a high concentration increases the chances of collisions and consequently results in an increase in the rate of the reaction. From 2 to 4 Moles: When increasing the concentration of the hydrochloric acid again from 2 to 4 moles, the trend still obeys the collision theory as far as the increase in the rate of th e reaction is concerned.This is reinforced by the dramatic gradient increase to 0. 025 m/s (x/y = 4/163), which is shown by figure 2 as well as 4. According to the collision theory, it is expected that when the concentration of the hydrochloric acid doubles, the rate of the reaction will tend to double as a result too. On the other hand this does not seem to be the case in this experiment, since the time take for the reaction to take place when 2 moles hydrochloric acid was used is 219 seconds, while it is 163 seconds when 4 moles hydrochloric acid is used.This indicates that the reaction happening at this experiment was not a perfect one. This could be as a result of human error or other factors affecting the rate of the reaction, which will be discussed later. From 4 to 5 Moles: Finally, by increasing the concentration of the hydrochloric acid used from 4 to 5 moles, the rate of the reaction was increased to become at its highest during this experiment, with the steepest gradient of 0. 035 m/s (x/y = 5/141).This implies that the amount of successful molecular collisions here are the highest with the sulphur precipitate clouding the solution in the quickest rate of time (141 seconds). Thus, the cross disappeared at the quickest rate as well. Error Bars Analysis: The second graph (figure 3) is a graph of error bars. Error bars show the range of results. I have drawn this graph since it is a visual account of the experiment’s reliability and so, it would help me decide whether the experiment was accurate enough or not. As you can see, the size of the error ars on figure 3 varies from small to large ones. I have decided that a bar range of 5 small squares on the graph is a reasonable maximum to detect the experiments accuracy. So, any range bars that vary above 5 small squares show inaccurate set of results. The error bars drawn on figure 3 show that the results obtained from 0. 1 to 0. 5 moles are rather inaccurate. This is because the error bars illustr ated for those set of results are relatively big, showing a difference of from 6 to 10 small squares. This implies that those results with big error bars are quite poor and lack accuracy.However, the rest of the experiments show relatively small error bars. In addition, the error bars seem to be getting smaller and smaller with a bar range that varies below 5 or 4 small squares. This proves that the results keep getting more and more accurate towards the end of the experiment which makes. Overall I believe that the results of this experiment are 71% accurate. This is because 5 out of 7 of the error bars had a small range, leaving 2 out of 7 of the error bars with rather big range bars. Evaluation:

Scientific misconduct Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Scientific misconduct - Essay Example Since then cases of fraudulent scientific researches piled up. The main issue involves less information on major cases of scientific misconduct, but more information on minor cases. In Europe, countries such as Germany and the Dutch have had high profile cases of scientific misconduct. In the United Kingdom, Malcolm Pearce’s case was the first case of scientific misconduct. In 1994, the worldwide media covered a story on a successful ectopic pregnancy re-implant. Doctors had tried to do that for centuries without any success. At the time, Malcolm Pearce worked as a higher-ranking tutor in St George’s Hospital Medical School, in London. As a famous ultrasonography practitioner, the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology put him as an assistant editor. The chief editor of the journal, Geoffrey Chamberlain, alongside Malcolm carried out a study based on ectopic pregnancy. The cases involved the birth of a baby after a successful ectopic embryo re-implantation. Malcolm told one of his colleagues that he had successfully re-implanted an embryo. He added Chamberlain’s name in the article; therefore, the document did not go through the standard peer reviewing procedure. The second case involved a trial treatment of recurrent miscarriages in 200 women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome. However, after a series of investigations, the hospital found out that Pearce had published two fraudulent papers. A young doctor in the Hospital where Malcolm taught raised questions based on the two papers. A series of investigations followed thereafter, which led to the discovery of the lies. Results of the investigations revealed that the patient who had given birth to the baby did not exist at all. He lost his job for fraudulent scientific research by giving false results about the study. For the second case, evidence showed that Malcolm could not have possibly treated 200 patients suffering from polycystic ovary

Analyzing the Reasons for Investing Abroad Essay

Analyzing the Reasons for Investing Abroad - Essay Example This essay critically analyzes and discusses the reasons why a firm chooses to invest abroad. Investing Abroad Firms decide to invest abroad for various reasons. Even so, companies that choose to invest overseas largely strive to strengthen their global competitiveness. Numerous global companies choose to invest abroad to penetrate bigger overseas markets. In order to sustain growth, a company should boost its sales or profits, which could be unattainable in the local market. In general, according to Cohen (2007), local markets are restricted to a specific growth rate and size and are highly exposed to competition from other local markets with comparable production, marketing, and product capacities. In this setting, investing abroad is a rational decision for a firm planning to penetrate a bigger market. Aside from the profitability of an additional, bigger market, foreign markets usually provide further competitive gains to the company (Ajami & Goddard 2006, 221). Such markets, for instance, may not have organizational capabilities that are comparable with or of similar level as those of a company investing abroad and the level foreign market competition may not be as heavy as competition in local markets (p. 221). At times companies should do business abroad to penetrate global markets because government regulations of host countries mandate that the products of the company be produced locally. These regulations are commonly enforced to heighten the growth of the national economy, employment, and overall domestic production (Carbaugh 2010, 12). Hence, the firm that plans to penetrate a foreign market has to spend for foreign facilities that are supervised by local managers, in domestic subsidiaries, or by means of several other mechanisms. A company penetrating a foreign market may prefer to do business there if it realizes that it is more cost-effective to produce products locally, instead of producing them at home and selling them abroad. Production econom ies may take place via other dynamics if the local market is huge and the demand is sustainable to give good reason for investment in the facility and tools required to establish a production system. For instance, the marketing and delivery costs could be cheaper than those of processes at home, the sources of needed raw materials could be nearer to the facility abroad, and the labor costs could be cheaper abroad (Frishberg 2010, 139). Another major aspect is the company’s location. A facility located overseas could also be a lot more productive for a developing market. Generally, companies do business in direct competition with other global and local companies. This form of competition is especially strong in markets where only a small number of major companies dominate. In this setting, the strategies of a particular company are swiftly imitated and rivaled by the others. As a result, if a company invests overseas, its rivals carry out the same tactic (Ajami & Goddard 2006, 222). One apparent reason for investing overseas is to be on a par with the established company in new markets and total sales/profit. Another reason is the necessity of rivaling competitors’ overseas tactic; otherwise, the competition may gain

Food and Beverages Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Food and Beverages - Assignment Example fered, there are numerous choices to undertake in the processes involved such as planning for the services, securing of orders, delivering the orders, preparing and settling the bills, washing of equipments and planning the next service. Customer process refers to procedure a customer follow when receiving food or beverages. Generally the customer process system involves; serving customer at a laid table, customer self-service from the counter, assisted service where the customer is serviced with some meals and then practice self-service with other parts of the meal, single point service where placing of order, clearing the bill and receiving the service occurs at the same point) and then specialized service where the orders are delivered to the clients wherever they are located (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 2006. P. 46). Food and beverages have unique characteristics that manipulate the production and service decision. For example, the demand for food and beverages is intermittent because during breakfast, lunch and dinner the demand is at the climax while the rest of the time demand remains low. Demand for food and beverages varies with seasonal of the year and may be affected by other factors such as production and competitive activities (Adcock, Halborg and Ross, 2001.p. 85). The production of food and beverages is labour intensive hence shift in cost of labour will have a serious effect on the service systems. The perishable nature of food and beverages affects the handling processes during and after preparation. Season: Most of the food and beverage are available for a limited period during the year. Therefore, when supplies are on the season they will be available for sale to the customer but will become unavailable during the off season (Reid and Botanic, 2006. P. 31). Equipment, personnel and storage facilities: even if conventional service system would be economic because food could be stored during the production season, there is limited capacity for

Evaluating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) 15 USC 78dd1 - of Essay

Evaluating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) 15 USC 78dd1 - of 1977 - Essay Example In 1970s, the market was gradually shifting towards globalization with many multinationals expanding to new markets. The result was that to gain advantage over other players in the market, some U.S firms and individuals bribed foreign government officials for considerations in awarding of contracts and business opportunities that promised increased returns in foreign markets. One of the major corruption scandals that even threatened the government was President Nixon’s Watergate scandal. In 1977, the Congress enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 that prohibited bribery of foreign firms or any official by any American corporation or individual. The act aimed at enhancing integrity and repairing the tainted perception of American firms locally and internationally by ensuring firms adhered to high levels of ethics and fairness. This paper will investigate the history behind the act and its respective amendments, the rationale behind implementation of the act, investi gating the efficacy of the policy, its implementation and recommending necessary amendments to make the act more effective. 2.0 History of the Act In the mid-1970s, numerous investigations, legal and administrative actions against many local corporations revealed numerous illegal and questionable payments to foreign businesses and government officials. The only mechanism at the time to deal with such payments was through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which investigated any public corporations for irregular deals concealed from the public (Seitzinger, 1999). The investigated cases were prosecuted by the Department of Justice, DOJ. Through such cases, the government realized that criminalization of bribery practices to foreign officials and enforcement of strict book keeping, accountability and disclosure of firm’s operations to the public were necessary to deal with increasing corruption cases involving American firms in foreign markets. Corruption cases had ba dly affected American foreign Policies, portraying a negative image of American Democracy abroad. Corruption had badly impaired public confidence in financial integrity in the country’s corporations (Seitzinger, 1999). To deal with these problems, the congress responded by passing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, FCPA. The act was therefore as a result of market failure in ensuring integrity and safeguarding financial integrity in corporations. The act was also motivated by government failure in that the government had failed to effectively implement and put in place measures to reduce bribery under the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The act had failed to ensure effective bookkeeping in corporations to account for all transactions. There was a general lack of elaborate internal accounting control systems that would have guaranteed management’s control, responsibility and authority over a firm’s assets (Seitzinger, 2010). As a public policy prescription, the act discouraged bribery of foreign officials through huge fines and jail terms, which discouraged many from the practice. The act encouraged an accountability culture that improved public’s perception of the country’s corporations. Such change of perception was necessary in ensuring investor confidence and improving the country’s image locally and internationally, which had been tainted by massive bribery and lack of strict financial accountability in

How to Swim the Freestyle and Butterfly Strokes Essay

How to Swim the Freestyle and Butterfly Strokes - Essay Example The freestyle is perhaps the simplest and fastest among the three swimming strokes because it simply involves long stretches of the arms and kicks in order to move the swimmer to the intended destination. However, the arms are not simply stretched to the greatest distance they could reach but they actually involve five components which will be discussed as the instructions are explained in detail. So first, you stretch both arms above the head, with the back of your palms facing you. Make sure that your fingers are together and not spread apart because this will help to propel you to the next distance. This position of having your hand stretched is called the ‘reach’. Obviously, the name suggests that you are to reach out your arms in preparation for the next component called the ‘catch’. To do the catch, you twist your hand forward, slightly forming an â€Å"S† as you pull your hand toward your hip. The third component called ‘pull’ happ ens when you exert effort to make the final stroke for the â€Å"S† shape as you pull your hand toward your mid-section. This is followed by the ‘push’ which is the force that will help determine the distance to move forward to. The final component would be the ‘recovery’ which basically brings the arm to the original position. When you are in the water, you will find out that it is actually difficult to start right away with the instructions mentioned above. What you need to do is to stretch your arms.

Development of the motorways and its impact on the society Essay

Development of the motorways and its impact on the society - Essay Example otorways were constructed to fit into a maze of road networks that link major parts of Britain by road and aid high speed transportation throughout the country. Roads are important components of the development of any nation. The Romans and Chinese Empires relied on roads, which became the bases for motorways almost two millenia after they were started (Needham & Gwei-Djen, 1962). Roads were really vital for each empire in history. In comparative studies, Needham & Gwei-Djen identified that the Aztec empire of Mexico collapsed rapidly because they did not have a network of roads. However, the longevity of the Chinese Empire and the development of European nations is strongly linked to the development of a sophisticated network of roads. 3. It enabled the trading activities of the empire to go on smoothly because it ensured that goods were moved from different points of the Roman empire with ease. This enabled the exchange of goods and ensured the fair development of different parts of the Roman empire over a sustained period of time. Although the Roman roads are quite archaic, it formed the basis for the development of motorways as we have them today. The roads in the Roman Empire started as primitive unpaved roads however, with the increase of traffic on certain roads, there was the need for the infrastructure to be improved to enable the easy movement of persons and goods (Van Tilburg, 2002). This gave way for the development of the paved road-system which is replicated in the construction of motorways (Van Tilburg, 2002). The paved road-system effectively increased the width of roads, supported the integration of engineering constructions like bridges, dams and tunnels into roads and laid the foundation for the development of infrastructure in the Middle Ages (Van Tilburg, 2002). These roads were used by individuals and animal-drawn carts. When cars became popular in the 1900s, there was the need to modify the old road systems to ensure that they could be

What actions might be taken by the government of (one country) to Essay

What actions might be taken by the government of (one country) to reduce and limit price fluctuations of coffee - Essay Example If the price of any product fluctuates highly then the government can limit the fluctuation through minimum and maximum prices, also referred to as price flooring and price ceiling respectively (Dineshbakshi, 2015). The government can set a maximum price which must be below the equilibrium price of coffee in order to be effective and disallow trading above that price level (Dineshbakshi, 2015). As, the price is below the equilibrium it will lead to excess demand and eventually lead to a shortage. In such cases there will also be some consumers who will be willing to buy coffee at a higher price than the price set by the government and this will lead to black markets being created (Dineshbakshi, 2015). The situation cannot be left this way and let the economic situation of the country worsen, thus further actions are required by the government (Dineshbakshi, 2015). Government may take total control of supplying these goods or even producing goods itself (Dineshbakshi, 2015). But the problem may remain as people may not sell all their stock of coffee and black markets may still remain. On the other hand if the government takes control of the production in its hand, it will be accompanied with may management and other technical issues. The government can also help in eliminating this black market and the shortage in the market by supplying coffee from its own stocks (Dineshbakshi, 2015). All these steps by the government will lead to the supply curve shifting rightwards, achieving equilibrium and eliminating shortage (Dineshbakshi, 2015). On the other hand, if the government sets a minimum price which must be above the equilibrium price in order to be effective and ban trading lower than that price level; it may also help in reducing price fluctuations (Dineshbakshi, 2015). As the price is set above the equilibrium price it will lead to higher supply and lower demand leading to a surplus of coffee in the market (Dineshbakshi, 2015). Surplus can also be catered

WestJet Airlines Ltd. WestJet and Air Canada Term Paper

WestJet Airlines Ltd. WestJet and Air Canada - Term Paper Example It also has a loyalty card and rewards program (WestJet, n.d.). Key Features and Benefits The company renders flight security services with also helping the people book flights, hotels and car rentals from airports online. In terms of special benefits the company renders special privileges for persons relating to special categories and also pertaining to the maternity category (WestJet, n.d.). WestJet in competition to Air Canada has introduced ‘premium economy’ seats to help the consumers enjoy an extra leg space that would be made available in the first four rows of the airlines. Though the booking of the ‘premium economy’ seats would tend to charge more from the consumers yet a comparison drawn reflects that the charge is half than charged by other premium airlines in the course of rendering boarding and on-flight amenities to its passengers. This premium seating model of the company helps WestJet to continue with its low cost position (Hasselt, 2012). We stJet’s Product Life Cycle The Product Life Cycle curve for a company has four stages like Introductory, Growth, Maturity and Decline. WestJet reflects a growth in terms of market revenues and passenger traffic along the periods ranging from 2007 to 2011 from $2127 to $3072 million and from 14,545 to 21,186 million respectively. Thus WestJet falls in the Growth stage (WestJet, 2011, p.6). Products Rendered by WestJet and Consumer Needs WestJet renders online booking of flight, hotel and other hospitality services for both business and corporate passengers along with vacationers. Along with insurance and security benefits the company also renders an extensive reward program catered to meet the needs of loyal consumers (WestJet, 2011, p.10-14). Passengers through the above services can book their flights and hotels associated with the airline company in an online fashion that helps in making their tour more comfortable. Insurance and security benefits help the passengers retrie ve their expenses related to their vacation and tours in cases of any emergency. Further the loyalty scheme of the airlines company helps the consumers avail special discounts and promotions rendered by WestJet during special occasions. WestJet’s Offerings vs. Its Competitors West Jet’s service offerings in comparison to other flight servicing companies operating in the Canadian landscape like Air Canada and American Airlines gain dominance in being able to provide the best quality of service at highly affordable or economic rates. Moreover the company operating on the basis of hub and spoke model reflects higher interconnectivity than its competitors (Grant, et al., n.d.). When, How and by Whom are the services of WestJet Procured Flight touring services and amenities rendered by WestJet are procured by people in times of deciding on vacations and also while planning to take short business tours. Services and amenities rendered by WestJet relating to booking of flight s, hotels, car rental services along with travel insurance benefits can be availed by the consumers through the help of online portals. The consumer or passenger traffic in WestJet consists thus of passengers that are frequent vacationers or are tending to visit places relating to their business and professional needs (WestJet, 2010, p.9; Lamb, 2011, p.571). Market Segments of WestJet WestJet mainly focuses on being a low-cost carrier rendering services to economy class passengers. Moreover the airlines company also caters to the needs of consumer segments through the transportation of cargo commodities on board (Aylen, 2012, p.250). Consumer or market segmentation of WestJet can be made in terms of Leisure Class Passengers that tend to avail flights for tour or vacation

Parenting styles Essay Example for Free

Parenting styles Essay Child development has been a topic of interest of most developmental psychologists, especially in terms of the relationship between a parent and a child (Eisenberg et al. , 2009). There has been considerable effort in establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between a particular approach that a parent employs and the resulting behavior in a child. Unfortunately, the precise connection has been quite elusive, as there are yet a number of factors that could influence the impact of a parental action towards a child. There are also other external factors that may modify the impact of a specific parental action, thus generating a modified response in a child (Jackson et al. , 2008). Another complicating factor to consider in this type of analysis is the observation that children show varied responses to a specific parental approach despite the utmost similarity in the characteristics of the child’s immediate environment. There are also twin studies that depict variations in the personalities of children despite their growth and development in the same location. One widely recognized association between parenting styles and the impact on children is that established by Baumrind (1967). In her study involving approximately 100 children who were at their pre-school age, four dimensions were identified to be strongly associated with parenting. Among these were the type of strategy that was employed in instilling discipline in a child, the degree and method of providing care and warmth to a child, the mode of communicating to a child and the amount of maturity of a parent towards his child. These dimensions could thus characterize a specific parenting style, of which could be easily identifiable among parents. This essay will present the four parenting styles that were described by Baumrind (1967), as well as analyze the impact of each style on the general well being of the child. The four styles of parenting according to Baumrind (1967) The term parenting pertains to a complex action that is strongly associated with a particular behavior that influences a child’s growth and development. Parenting can thus become a positive or a negative factor on how a child with turn out. It should be understood that parenting is a complex behavior because it is often difficult to directly associate one behavior to a specific outcome in a child. For example, the physical infliction of punishment, such as spanking, does not automatically result in the creation of a juvenile delinquent. Moreover, reading a story to a child does not directly indicate that the child will turn out to be a well-disciplined young individual. The combination of all activities of a parent in relation to a child thus comprises the holistic concept of parenting. The main mechanism behind the adaptation of a parenting style by a parent is to control, as well as to teach their child to interact with other individuals. There are two general points that need to be understood with regards to the concept of parenting. Firstly, a parenting style may have variations that would create a unique and personal touch for each parent. In addition to the personal style of every parent, it is also common to observed parenting styles that have hints of cultural, religious and ethnic characteristics. For example, Asian parents are usually more protective of their children than parents from Western countries. It is therefore common to see families that are comprised of three generations living under one roof. A Catholic parent may also have slight differences in their parenting style, as this would include teachings of regularly going to church and in more conservative Catholics, recognizing days of fasting and abstinence. A parenting style may also be slightly modified based on the gender of the parent, wherein a male parent may perform such action using a masculine approach and a female parent would employ a feminine style. Another general point regarding the concept of parenting is that despite the variations in the approaches and styles that parents assume over their children, the main goal of parenting is still focused on the subject of control. Children, especially during their formative years, are highly malleable to external factors and thus every parent attempts to teach their children of the proper ways of going about regular activities in life. Since children are too young and immature to understand the principles and facts of life, parents thus take responsibility of teaching their children and in most instances neglect to explain every situation that comes by their children’s way. The simplest and effective method for a parent to prevent their children from experiencing any harm is to provide rules that would ultimately control their actions towards getting into trouble. Parenting is also related to two essential elements, namely responsiveness and capacity to demand. Parental responsiveness pertains to the degree to which a parent supports individuality and assertion on the part of the child. This element thus allows a child to perform actions that he wants to engage in, as long as these are still acceptable and proper. On the other hand, a parent’s capacity to demand pertains to the claim made on a child in order for this young individual to be integrated into the family. In addition, a parent’s level of demand is also associated with a parent being capable of confronting a child when he disobeys the established rules of the family. Authoritarian style of parenting. This parental approach is generally characterized by establishing rules in the household, of which the children are expected to follow. In any case that these rules are not followed, the parent then imposes a punishment on the child. One unique feature of this parenting style is that most parents do not provide any opportunity to explain to their children when a certain rule has been established in the home (Williams et al. , 2009). The child, on the other end, is thus unaware of the principle behind each rule, yet he would follow the rules in order to avoid getting any punishment from his parent. A strong correlation with the authoritarian style is the quality of having high standards, as well as great expectations on the part of the parent. It is quite unfortunate to see that despite the strict rules in the home, an authoritarian parent does not respond to the inquiries of the child. In addition, authoritarian parents are generally focused on the concepts of obedience within the family, as well as maintenance of the status of this social unit. Authoritative approach for parenting. In the authoritative style of parental behavior, the same rules are established in the household. This may be similar to what is observed in the authoritarian style of parenting, yet the authoritative approach also provides some unique features. Firstly, the authoritative style recognizes democracy in the family, wherein the children may express their concern and engage in discussions with their parents about a particular rule. On the part of the parent, there is also some extent of responsiveness towards the children, as the parent permits the opportunity for discussions and possibly, debate with their children. The authoritative approach to parenting also provides a nurturing environment to their children, including instances when the child has broken a rule that was established by the parent. More importantly, the authoritative parent also forgives a child when he is unable to fulfill the expectations that were described to him for delivery. Despite its similarity to the authoritarian approach to parenting wherein there are rules that have been established in the home, the authoritative style involves regular monitoring of the child, thus directing this young individual as he progresses through his childhood. In addition, the authoritative approach also employs clear and distinct rules that would result in an acceptable standard to both the parents and the children themselves. Permissive approach to parenting. Permissive parenting generally involves an indulgent approach to children, wherein only a few expectations are expected of the children. In addition, permissive parents seldom punish their children because there are no rules to follow at home. The parents also do not demand any signs of maturity, as well as self-control, from their children. In terms of comparing the predominant feature in permissive parenting, the parents are described to be more interactive and responsive, than the feature of being demanding of their children. Using this approach, the children thus sense a nurturing effect from their parents, as they are given the opportunity to communicate to their parents. It is also possible that children feel that their permissive parent is more of a friend than a strict parent. The uninvolved style of parenting. The uninvolved parent is often associated with having only a few expectations, as well as a low degree of responsiveness to their children. In this parenting approach, there is seldom any interaction between the parent and the children. However, it should be understood that despite the silence between the two parties, the basic needs of the child are still met, although the parent maintains a detached personality towards the child. There may also be cases wherein the uninvolved parent is unable to care for the child. The effect of various parenting styles on the child Every parenting style is destined to generate a specific impact on the recipient child. However, it should be understood that the total effect of a parenting style on a child could have inter-individual variations because the environment, genetics and other external factors will also contribute to the entire condition of the child. In general, the authoritarian approach to parenting generates children who are obedient. These children are commonly observed to be proficient in most of their activities. However it is also common to find that their children carry a low degree of self-esteem and often describe themselves to be unhappy. Children of authoritarian parents also find difficulty in interacting with other people (Williams et al. , 2009). Children of authoritative parents, on the other hand, are usually happy, as well as highly capable of producing their expected results. In addition, these children often result in successful lives during their adult year. Children of permissive parents are often unhappy, despite the freedom to perform any activity of their choosing. It has been reported that children of permissive parents are more likely to encounter problems due to illegal activities, as well as result in poor academic performance. The uninvolved approach in parenting generally results in the lowest quality of childhood, wherein children have been found to lose any sense of self-control. In addition, children of uninvolved parents often carry a low degree of self-esteem and are usually less competent that other children of the same age range (Eisenberg et al. , 2009). Variations in parenting styles are mainly due to the differences in the cultures and religious principles of parents. There are also other external factors that influence the predominance of a particular parenting style, such as the size and the socioeconomic status of the family (Jackson et al. , 2008). The educational level of the parents is also instrumental in the parenting style that would be adapted by a parent. Another factor to consider in parenting styles is that each parent may adapt a different approach and thus the child generally results in a specific personality that is the resultant effect of two different parenting styles. For example, the father could employ an authoritarian parenting style, while the mother engages in the permissive approach. The child thus adapts a personality and attitude that adjusts to the presence of both parenting styles. Conclusions There are four general parenting approaches that have been described by Baumrind (1967), resulting to distinct outcomes in a child. The authoritarian style is characterized by a strict set of rules, while the authoritative approach shows more lenience in house rules. Permissive parents often lacks monitoring and self-regulation of children, while the uninvolved parent is often distant to children. The variations in the growth and development of a child may be influenced by the parenting style that a parent employs and thus it is important to constantly monitor the progress of a child’s development in terms of the external influences that surround him. References Baumrind, D. (1967). Child-care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75:43-88. Eisenberg, N. , Chang, L. , Ma, Y. Huang, X. (2009). Relations of parenting style to Chinese childrens effortful control, ego resilience, and maladjustment. Developmental Psychopathology, 21(2):455-477. Jackson, A. P. , Bentler, P. M. Franke, T. M. (2008). Low-wage maternal employment and parenting style. Social Work, 53(3):267-278. Williams, L. R. , Degnan, K. A. , Perez-Edgar, K. E. , Henderson, H. A. , Rubin, K. H. , Pine, D. S. , Steinberg, L. Fox, N. A. (2009). Impact of behavioral inhibition and parenting style on internalizing and externalizing problems from early childhood through adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37(8):1063-1075.

The Modern Marketing Concept Competitive Advantage Marketing Essay

The Modern Marketing Concept Competitive Advantage Marketing Essay The 21est century saw an excellent outburst of IT application connecting medias with a power to penetrate the market on a large scale. The obvious reason for this advancement in networking techniques reduction in per capita cost for network setup. The ever expanding IT site cluster took the world into its arms people soon began capturing the sideeffects side advantages of this new shining domain which was attracting penetrating the society at a such larger scale. The awake marketer definitely would like to use this platform to widespread his sells get along with the tunes of tomorrow which certainly demands using IT as tool of marketing. Before accepting any new media as a tool in a business scenario is important to simulate the model of it analyse it beforehand before practical implementation so as to avoid potential revenue losses which arise if the new strategy fails. The paper aims to put forth various models of social networking websites in view of market dynamics. The new age marketing his highly vibrant phenomenon requires a risk analysis as well. In view of this threat is essential to carry out to understand the interpretation of using social networking as a marketing tool. Its a must as a backup strategy of a firm. Marketing must be understood not in the old sense of making a sale selling but in the new sense of satisfying customer needs. This does not mean that selling and advertising are unimportant. Rather, it means that they are part of a larger marketing mix a set of marketing tools that work together to affect the marketplace. Marketing can be defined as a nodal and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others: To explain this definition, we examine the following important terms: needs, -wants and demands products value and satisfaction;exchange, transactions and relationships and Figure shows that these core marketing concepts are linked, Under the marketing concept, companies gain competitive advantage by designing offers that satisfy target-consumer needs better than competitors offers. They might deliver more customer value by offering consumers lower prices than competitors for similar products and services, or by providing more benefits that justify higher prices. Marketing strategies must consider the strategies of competitors as well as the needs of target consumers. The first step is competitor analysis: the process of identifying key competitors; assessing their objectives, strengths and weaknesses, strategies and reaction patterns; and selecting which competitors to attack or avoid. The second step is developing competitive strategies that strongly position the company against competitors and give the company the strongest possible competitive advantage. The diagram attempts to present the Marketing its functional relationships with competitive advantage As vivid in model diagram below , the there main reasons for attracting web traffic for the websites categorised under this model are authenticity of data , subject independent of search free acess. These factors amounts to the traffic enhance the probability of sales. In this model, its essentially the information which attracts the potential customers towards the social networking website. E.g. The open source enclopedies like Twiki, Wetpaint , Wikipedia 2. Utility driven model Its includes the most popular websites which attracts the youth due to utility of easy connecting these websites offer. They have highest penetration although the low no. Of clicks per link per minute. However, since the traffic is high , the net amount of traffic diverted towards the marketing application is high. The model includes websites like Facebook , Orkut , Twitter etc 3.Bookmark Sharing model This model encapsulates the idea of search ,store manage the bookmarks of online available resources. This class of websites are still in developing state due to the underlying complicates therein such as use of informal vocabularies ,complex system dynamics, spam difficulty in validation of data management. Sites like Digg, Reddit fall under this category. The Marketing Mix The core strategy of the firm THE MARKTTING PULL OF BOOKMARKING WEBSITES 4. Media Sharing Model It includes craze amongst the market to share their common interests passions via popular mediums like video or photos. These websites contribute to high volumes of traffic has advantage of higher retention rate. The obvious reason being will to exercise the completion of being run. The marketing model of these websites can be following manner. TARGETTING Websites as like Youtube, Picasa , Flicker etc. Fall under this category 5. Social Interaction Model Blogs are the social platforms been setup by various service providers in order to simulate the sharing expression of feelings. The Google is most popular medium of blogging via its its Patented blogger. Google also carries our its Ad sense business via blogs then attracting the consumer towards the product lines. The social interaction model drives its energy from following parameters which inheritate the marketing functions as indicated in the modelling diagram. Sites likes blogger,wordpress are included in this model type. 6.Professional networking model Each individual in the society is a professional in his own way to earn his bread butter. This model uses this concept so as to build up a chain of individuals in the society sharing common interest linking them up with each other for the utility of each other. The High Hierarchy is cream class of the society which is practically beyond the reach of Base hierarchy on personal interaction basis. However, the sites offer warm affectionate means to connect them establish a relationship of mutual benefit. Here lies the punch of this model the sole reason to attract the traffic for marketing utility Chapter3 Porters Model of Five Forces The model is a framework designed by Porter in 1979 till date considered as one of the best means to analyse the business threats especially of a new marketing trend been set up. Ch4 Qualitative Analysis of Ning.com via Porters Model of 5 force Ning.com is one of the most popular websites of social networking promotes building of Personal Professional Hubs The Model highlights following facts above social networking websites from analysis point of view. 1) The business done via social networking is technology dependant technology accelerated. 2) The risk of new entrants is very high as the competitor has the option of exercising his powers publically. 3) In view costing, the high risk element prohibits to high spending of advertising revenues in this websites. Infact the targeting is better achieved when low fee websites are attacked in high volumes of advertisement. This is most significant conclusion obtained from Porters five forces model. The 7 C Framework Model of Social Networking websites The 7 C model gives a framework to analyse social networking website using defined parameters as indicated in the diagram below. Chapter 4 The following list encompasses a cluster of most useful websites ,systematically analysed by Jane Copland semonz.org The paper includes this list a comprehensive guideline for marketers to help to select their marketing platform Source: How to Leverage Web 2.0 Social Media Sites to Market Your Brand Control Your Message by Jane Coupland. SEOMOZ.org. Referances 1) Markeeting management by Phillip Kotler 2) Google.com 3) Stretegic IT Implementation by Steve Moorie 4)Browsing knowledge of Social Websites by Sk Pillai

Target Market of Nike

Target Market of Nike To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. A mission statement is a statement of the organizations purpose- what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. Nike has evolved a lot over the years, from a US-based footwear distributor to a global manufacturer and marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment. Over the years of this evolution the target market for the company has kept on evolving. Market segmenting, by grouping together with similar needs, provides a commercially viable method of serving these customers. According to the Nikes official website the goal of the company is to carry on with innovating thinking to develop product that helps athletes of every level of ability to reach the potential they are capable of and side by side create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the various competitors. According to the official website of Nike the core consumer categories is action sports, basketball, football (soccer), mens training, running, sportswear and womens training. Thus in a way the primary target market for the company are athletes. Keeping this in mind I have selected a new athlete shoe as my product. The Marketing Mix For our case study we have concentrated on the traditional 4Ps marketing mix. Nike is one of the pioneers in marketing and has one of the strongest Marketing Mix. Product We define a product as anything that is offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption and that might satisfy a want or a need. Jim Blythe rightly said product brought to satisfy personal and family needs are consumer goods and Nike caters to all the relevant aspects in terms of its products and understanding consumers. A customer would emphasis at the three levels of benefit from product. Core Product Actual Product Augmented Product Core Product: The Problem solving services or core benefits that consumers are really buying when they obtain a product. Briefly it can so be said that Nike deals in four core categories which is footwear, apparel, equipment, accessory product. Actual Product: A products parts, quality level, features, design, brand name, packaging and other attributes that combine to deliver core product benefits, Nike has taken these factor into special consideration in terms of the product it brings in the market. Augmented Product: Additional consumer service and benefits built around the core and actual product, it is so said the more you keep your customers satisfied and happy the better for the business and Nike has given priority to these factors one being after sale service. Nike considered Design creates performance innovation products that minimize environmental impact by reducing waste throughout the design and development process, using environmentally preferred materials and eliminating toxics. Nike designers make smart, sustainable design choices at the start of their creative process, working to achieve breakthroughs to solve the big problems that hinder progress toward a sustainable future Internally, NIKE works across product teams and with groups ranging from the hub of product design and creation functions to influence the development of short-, mid- and long-range projects that make progress toward closed-loop products. The product choose is a new shoe for athletes manufactured after doing research and talking to making athletes to find out there requirements and needs of a shoe. The product will be light as well as durable and will athletes to run faster and more easily. Promotion Promotion, according to Kotler and Armstrong (2010), mean activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it. Promotion for Nike is the most critical and though about part of the marketing mix. Nike uses the following tools to promote its brand: Tool 1: Advertising Advertising, according to Kotler and Armstrong (2010), is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. The basis thing that Nike does through its advertising is makes its corporate visual identity: the swoosh, as popular as it can get. Corporate identity is a broad term referring to the set of meanings by which an object allows itself to be known and through which it allows people to describe, remember and relate to it (van Rekom, 1997). The literature suggests that firms who standardize their global corporate visual identity achieve communication benefits beyond the usual marketing mix (Melewar and Saunders, 2000). In all of the banner, newspaper advertisements, holdings, T.V commercial and even on their product Nike is recognized now through the swoosh instead of the brand name. Advertisements have been instrumental in marketing most of Nikes products(Hunger Wheelen, 2003). Tool 2: Personal Selling Personal Selling, according to Kotler and Armstrong (2010), is personal presentation by the firms sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships. Nike has setup two mediums through which it achieves personal selling: Nike has set up Nike exclusive store across the globe though help of distributor where one to one marketing of the brand is carried out by the sales person with in the stores and second Nike has setup a virtual store where any one visit anytime of the day and not just order the product even customize it. Tool 3: Sponsorship Sponsorship, according to Fahy, Farrelly and Quester (2004), has been viewed as an appealing communication tool, given the increasing clutter and fragmentation of the traditional mass media. Nike sponsors numerous sporting personalities in a wide range of sporting activities; for example: Tiger Woods in Golf, Wayne Rooney in Football, Roger Federer in Tennis (Brown, 2010). The strategic role of sponsorship is to attain advantage in the competitive market where the sponsorship must rise above the clutter and effectively resists the efforts of competitors to ambush it (Fahy, Farrelly and Quester, 2004). Nike has been known to use ambush marketing strategy for a long time now. The Just Do It campaign helped Nike to increase its market share. Nike increased its share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent to 43 percent, from $877 million to $9.2 billion in just ten years between 1998 and 2008. This campaign made Nike so identifiable that Nike stopped using the word Nike in the commercials, the swoosh was enough for the customer to understand whos ad they were seeing. By 2000s, just as the evolution of Nike product has occurred, the approach of the company towards marketing has also evolved. In 2002, Nike started its very first global marketing effort through the Secret Tournament campaign. Secret Tournament is an integrated approach which has now become the cornerstone marketing and communication effort by Nike. Ambush marketing is an effective way by which Nike over the years has promoted its brand and increased its brand image. Ambush marketing occurs when one brand pays to become an official sponsor of an event and another competing brand attempts to cleverly connect itself with the event, without paying the sponsorship fee and more frustratingly without breaking any law. Now the product that we are forwarding is specifically for athletes but can be used by anyone who wants to be fit. Thus again ambush marketing will be used. The product poster and advertising will be everywhere. The main cost in the marketing mix will be given to promotion to get the product successful. Place Nike has come a long way from when its founders used to sell the shoes out of the trunk of their cars until the first Nike store was built in 1966. During the November of 1990, Nike opened its retail- as- theatre experience called Nike town in Portland. Nike town won many architectural design and retail awards. Nike then also opened a dozen of other Nike town around USA and also internationally. According to Jobber (2004), Place involves decision concerning the distribution channels to be used and their management, the locations of outlets, methods of transportation and inventory levels to be held. The recent World Headquarters (WHQ) of Nike, Inc. encompasses of 17 buildings spread across 193 acres of land which totals 1.9 million square feet of interior space. The World Headquarter is in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike, Inc. also leases out 750,000 square feet or more of space in the area which is in the surrounding metropolitan. The European Headquarters (EHQ) of Nike, Inc. is located at Hilversum, The Netherlands. The office space is around 500,000 square feet which has been leased. Nike, Inc. has three major distribution and customer facilities for all the Nike-branded products. The location of these facilities: two are in Memphis, Tennessee and one is located in Wilsonville, Oregon. Place includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers. Nike, Inc. has approximately six production office located outside of the United States. There are over 100 sales offices and showrooms which are located worldwide. Nike, Inc. also has over 70 administrative offices worldwide. The product will be available in each and every shop and retail outlet that NIKE owns. It will also be sold online on the official Nike website. To gain maximum profit out of sales online sales of the product will be given emphasis. Price In a narrowest sense price is the amount of money charged for a product or service. More broadly, price is the sum of all the values that customer give up in order to gain the benefits of having or using a product or service. In marketing mix pricing is the only element that produces revenue; all other elements represent costs and that is the sole reason where Nike has been very successful as it has priced its product according to the needs of the customer. The various segments where Nike proves why Nike is so very popular and successful among its customers in terms of price are: Footwear (54% of Revenue) Nike specializes in athletic footwear, although Nike also sells sport-inspired casual footwear like its Air Force Ones footwear line. Footwear sales increased 14% in 2009, reaching about $10.3 billion, and accounted for 54% of Nikes 2009 revenue. Apparel (27% of Revenue) Apparel sales totaled $5.24 billion in 2009, a 0.2% increase from a year earlier.ÂÂ  2008 sales from this segment grew by 14% from 2007, a trend that Nike attributed much of this revenue growth to a 25% increase in sales inÂÂ  emerging marketsÂÂ  like Russia in the EMEA region as well as a currency-neutral 50% increase in revenues fromÂÂ  China. Equipment (6% of Revenue) Nike also sells sports equipment such as balls, protective equipment, and golf clubs. Sales of Nike branded equipment reached $1.11 billion in 2009, a 9.5% increase from 2008.ÂÂ  This increase was driven primarily by a 10% increase in equipment sales in the Asia region. Other (13% of Revenue) Nike also sells apparel and footwear under the Nike Golf, Cole Haan, Converse, Hurley International, and Umbro brand names and earns approximately 13% of its revenue, or $2.5 billion in 2009, from these segments. As we can see the main income of the company is from the Footwears and its main target market is athletes, this product is going to be for high class people. The product will be in the high range band.

Macbeth, King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing :: English Literature Essays

Macbeth, King Lear and Much Ado About No Shakespeare writes his plays to teach a moral story, of behavior and love. The three plays, King Lear, Much Ado About nothing, and Macbeth, the parents are very stubborn and their views are very narrow toward their children. The children know that they are treated poorly but love their parents although they have many faults in trust and love. Each play ends with a loving relationship because thoughts about one another is cleared up and they live happily ever after. King Lear, has many valuable points. Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of love between family members by showing how much harm disloyal or unloving family members can cause. King Lear cruelly abuses his most loving daughter, Cordelia, simply because she admits that her love for her father is limited: "Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty/ According to my bond, no more nor less." This truthful declaration by Cordelia leads to her disinheritance. However, despite this rejection, Cordelia continues to stand by her father's side and defend him in his time of need against Regan and Goneril. Now that they have their land and power, these disloyal sisters won't care for or even support their father. In fact, the two are now so greedy and disloyal that they wish to have Lear murdered. In effect, Lear, Goneril and Regan are very much alike: their failure to love family members causes great pain, first for themselves and then for others. Lear treats Cordelia poorly because he does not realize that he has mistrusted his only true daughter. This mistrust comes from the fact that Lear believed Regan and Goneril when both professed their love for him. However, neither is honest. Toward the end of the play, Lear realizes that he has been very unfair to Cordelia, and that the other two sisters have misled him. Cordelia, however, remains true to Lear, as she respects the relationship between them although he does not. Shakespeare expects family members to be true to one another and have a solid trust in each other. Lear doesn't do what Shakespeare expects: he no longer loves Cordelia after she confesses she loves him only to the extent a daughter should. All of his love is for Regan and Goneril because both of them tell their father what he wants to hear: that they love him more than anyone in the world. Macbeth, King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing :: English Literature Essays Macbeth, King Lear and Much Ado About No Shakespeare writes his plays to teach a moral story, of behavior and love. The three plays, King Lear, Much Ado About nothing, and Macbeth, the parents are very stubborn and their views are very narrow toward their children. The children know that they are treated poorly but love their parents although they have many faults in trust and love. Each play ends with a loving relationship because thoughts about one another is cleared up and they live happily ever after. King Lear, has many valuable points. Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of love between family members by showing how much harm disloyal or unloving family members can cause. King Lear cruelly abuses his most loving daughter, Cordelia, simply because she admits that her love for her father is limited: "Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty/ According to my bond, no more nor less." This truthful declaration by Cordelia leads to her disinheritance. However, despite this rejection, Cordelia continues to stand by her father's side and defend him in his time of need against Regan and Goneril. Now that they have their land and power, these disloyal sisters won't care for or even support their father. In fact, the two are now so greedy and disloyal that they wish to have Lear murdered. In effect, Lear, Goneril and Regan are very much alike: their failure to love family members causes great pain, first for themselves and then for others. Lear treats Cordelia poorly because he does not realize that he has mistrusted his only true daughter. This mistrust comes from the fact that Lear believed Regan and Goneril when both professed their love for him. However, neither is honest. Toward the end of the play, Lear realizes that he has been very unfair to Cordelia, and that the other two sisters have misled him. Cordelia, however, remains true to Lear, as she respects the relationship between them although he does not. Shakespeare expects family members to be true to one another and have a solid trust in each other. Lear doesn't do what Shakespeare expects: he no longer loves Cordelia after she confesses she loves him only to the extent a daughter should. All of his love is for Regan and Goneril because both of them tell their father what he wants to hear: that they love him more than anyone in the world.

The Price of Gasoline Essay -- essays research papers

The Price of Gasoline   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What you are paying for when you buy a gallon of gasoline? Most people complain about the high cost of gasoline, but few understand how the price is calculated. Many people think this cost is for gasoline only, but many other factors determine what you pay at the pumps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gasoline is a mixture of the lighter liquid hydrocarbons, and used chiefly as a fuel for internal-combustion engines â€Å"Microsoft Encarta,† 2005). Crude oil accounts for nearly 17 percent of the energy consumed in the United States. Gasoline is one of the main products developed from crude oil in the United States. The primary use for gasoline is in automobiles and light trucks. Fuel produced all year round, and is delivered from oil refineries through pipelines to a massive distribution chain serving 167,000 retail stations throughout the United States (â€Å"EIA Brochures†, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prices paid by consumers at the pump reflect the cost to produce and deliver gasoline to consumers. Included is the cost of crude oil to refiners, refinery- processing costs, marketing and distribution costs, and finally the retail station costs and taxes. Approximately 27 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is federal, state, and local taxes. Another 14 percent is a combination of distribution, marketing, and retail dealer costs and profits. Refining costs and profits account for about 15 percent of the retail price of gasoline. This part varies from region to region due to the different formulations required in different parts of the country (â€Å"EIA Brochures†, 2004) .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The average retail price for gasoline tends to be higher in certain States or regions than in others. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), other factors contribute to regional and local differences in gasoline prices aside from taxes. Special gasolines are required in some areas of the country. Environmental programs, aimed at reducing carbon monoxide, smog, and air toxins, require oxygenated reformulated, and low-volatility (evaporates more slowly) gasoline, which comes at a much higher price (â€Å"EIA Brochures†, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The proximity of refineries to crude oil supplies can be a factor, as well as shipping costs from the refinery to market. In addition, the areas farthest from the Gulf Coast are the source of nearly half of the gasoline produced in the United States, and th... ...ors that go into that price. Whether it’s the taxes charged by federal state, and/or local government, the amount of competition in the region, the region’s proximity to a reliable gasoline supply or even emissions regulations. The price of the fuel we buy is carefully calculated and is subject to many variables. Informed consumers should understand these factors, and keep them in mind each time they fill their tanks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reference California Energy Commission, Media and public communications office, (1994-2008), page updated 03/17/2007 Retrieved 05/19/2007 from http:///www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline_q- and-a.html Energy Information Administration, (2003) California gasoline price study: preliminary findings, Retrieved 5/04/2007 from Http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/feature_articles/2003/cagasoline/cagasoline.pdf Specialized Information Services, A primer on gasoline prices, publication number DOE/EIA-X040, (released June 2007), Retrieved 5/04/2007 from Http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/oil_gas/primer/primer.htm Speir, Robert A, Investigation into the current run-up in gasoline, (2004-2008) Retrieved 5/18/2007 from Http://www.iic-inc.com/curr.shtml

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Essay

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs has become common place in today’s society. Every household with a television is aware of DTC advertising as they interrupt their nightly programs. Every national magazine or local newspaper offers advertising on the latest drug remedy for what ails us. This multi-media approach is relatively new for pharmaceutical companies as previously such efforts were directed only at physicians who were the sole decision makers when choosing medications. With the 1997 change in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidelines along with patients desires to be more involved in their own care and treatment, drug companies have expanded their promotional efforts to include the consumer. This essay will look at some of the current regulations concerning DTC advertising, pros and cons of these ads, and the ethical issues that arise from DTC advertising. Regulations Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is the â€Å"promotion of prescription drugs through newspaper, magazine, television and internet marketing.† (Direct-to-consumer advertising, 2010) These ads are directed towards the end user, the consumer, and not the prescriber/physician. Prescription drug advertising has been regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1962. Their Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC) is responsible for ensuring that companies that directly advertise to the public are providing â€Å"information that is truthful, balanced, and accurately described.† (FDA, 2010) Even though the FDA has oversight on DTC advertising, it should not impose unnecessary restrictions on them as they fall under the category of commercial speech protected by the first amendment (Evans & Friede, 2003, p. 387). The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires that anyone who makes, packages, or sells prescription drugs for hum ans must disclose information in their advertisements about the products uses and risks (U.S. Department of HHS, 1999, p. 3). This information disclosure is called the brief summary. Contrary to its name, the brief summary is rather lengthy as it must contain every risk associated with the drug’s approved use. Prior to regulatory changes made in 1997, these disclosures had to be included in every advertisement making television commercials impractical due to the restricted amount of time available. Now there is a distinction between print and broadcast advertising so that only print ads must contain this brief summary. The DDMAC’s 1997 revisions now only require audio and/or visual ads to disclose two things. The drugs major risks in consumer-friendly language, the major statement, and give adequate provision for the consumer to access the full product labeling (U.S. Department of HHS, 1999, p. 5). This can be achieved by providing a toll free number to call, referencing the full advertisement in a print ad, or making sure brochures are easily accessible outside of a physician’s office, like a pharmacy or grocery store. By decreasing the amount of information required in these ads, commercials suddenly became a viable form of marketing. Advertisements seen on television or in magazines are not required to be submitted to the FDA for approval prior to their release; however, companies must submit their ads to the FDA when they first appear in public. The FDA is available to offer their advice to pharmaceutical companies when asked for help (FDA, 2010). Once they see the ad and if they feel that it violates the law, they will send a warning letter requesting that the company stop the ad immediately. These letters are posted on their web site for public inspection. The drawback to this process is that an ad that violates the law may be aired without oversight. If the warning letters do not rectify the situation, â€Å"the FDA can work with the Department of Justice to seek injunctions against companies, or criminally prosecute firms.† (Vogt, 2005, p. 26) The FDA also has the authority to seize drugs that it deems as misbranded and can even reverse approval for the drug. Pros There are numerous arguments on the benefits of direct-to-consumer advertising. Supporters of DTC advertising contend that ads can be educational, provide important health information, and generate sales to further necessary research and development (R&D). One of the most commonly heard reasons is that DTC advertising has assisted consumers in â€Å"identify(ing) disease conditions and engage(ing) in more informed conversations with their health care providers.† (Pfizer, 2011) Supporters uphold that this advertising helps the doctor/patient relationship by being a conversation starter allowing discussions on disorders and options that a patient may not have known how to talk about earlier. Most patients today are educated and desire a greater level of involvement in their healthcare choices. DTC advertising gives the consumer power through knowledge. Important health information can be delivered in DTC advertising. These ads have the ability to reach millions of consumers rela tively easily. Through print and media advertising, pharmaceutical companies can play a useful role in raising awareness of certain conditions and disorders. Raising the public’s awareness can promote consumers to seek medical attention when they otherwise may not have. Seeing these conditions on television or in a magazine can lessen the stigma associated with them. Large pharmaceutical companies use the money made from DTC advertising to fund their R&D. This research and development plays an integral part in ensuring a drugs safety which in turn saves generic companies from needing to repeat R&D on the same drug. This makes generic manufacturers another supporter of DTC ads. By advertising new, name brand drugs, companies are causing a demand for the medication. Once the drug has lost its patent, physicians can begin prescribing the less expensive generic alternative. The generic manufacturer has benefited by default on the large pharma’s campaign. Cons There are an equal number of allegations on the negative effect of direct-to-consumer advertising. Opponents of DTC ads argue that ads can be detrimental to the physician/patient relationship, increase medication costs, and harm public health. Those against DTC ads feel that they have the potential to change the way doctors and patients interact with each other. A patient may see a particular advertisement and be convinced that they have a certain condition or that they need a specific drug. The patient may then present to their doctor feeling that they have diagnosed themselves and request prescriptions even if not needed. The physician may then feel pressured to oblige the patient rather than discussing other, possibly cheaper or drug free, treatment options. This scenario can lead to over-prescribing and over-use of a particular drug based on the effectiveness of the advertisement. Others have argued that advertising is expensive and the pharmaceutical companies have to recoup the ir cost somewhere. This leads to the cost being passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prescription costs. The amount of money spent on DTC ads has increase dramatically from 1997 to 2005 from $1.1 billion to $4.2 billion (GAO, 2006, p. 12). This increase expenditure could create higher healthcare costs across the board. Another cost of DTC advertising could be at the expense of public health. Most consumers lack the specialized knowledge required to evaluate the content of these ads and therefore take them at face value. They may not be fully aware of the harmful side effects or interactions of the drug. DTC ads can be seen as misleading since they are not required to mention other alternatives like diet, exercise or other preventative measures. These alternatives could treat the advertised condition without medication. By not including the alternatives, companies are advocating drug use as a primary response to medical conditions. Ethical Issues Pharmaceutical companies have a substantial obligation to ensure that their direct-to-consumer advertising is ethical. Their products not only have the ability to help consumers but they may also cause potential harm. Advertising of a drug is not like advertising of any other product where you are trying to convince the consumer to buy something they don’t need. Drug advertising needs to educate the consumer while still promoting their product. Persuasion tactics therefore should be ethical. How does one go about knowing if DTC advertising methods are ethical? In the book Persuasion: Theory and Practice, ethical persuasion is defined as â€Å"a communication activity that †¦ permits maximum individual choice† (Anderson, 1978, p. 3). The key is that the consumer must be able to make a voluntary choice without feeling coerced. DTC ads should not rely on deceptive or manipulative tactics. As previously stated, the consumer can be viewed as a vulnerable audience if the y are being spoken to at a level that is beyond their ability to understand (Baker & Martinson, 2001, p. 166). Ethical marketing requires that these audiences not be unfairly targeted because of this vulnerability. DTC advertising ethics is concerned with what drug companies ought or ought not to do. Lying is morally wrong and therefore considered unethical. Using lies or false impressions in a DTC ad distorts the information a consumer receives and can alter the choices they may make (Baker & Martinson, 2001, p. 160). Therefore DTC ads should not create false impressions or omit pertinent information just for the sake of the ad. The point of DTC advertising should not be increased sales but be more of a means to an important social end which should be consumer education. An example of an ethical advertisement would be one that utilizes those messages that demonstrate respect for the consumer to whom they are directed. Respecting the consumer means that their needs are placed before the needs of the advertiser. Currently, the DDMAC does not regulate the ethicalness of pharmaceutical advertising. Their mission statement is, â€Å"To protect the public health by assuring prescription drug information is truthful, balanced and accurately communicated.† (FDA, 2010) â€Å"Ethical ads tell the truth about their product and do not try to distort its capabilities or hide its defects.† (Vaux) Unfortunately an ad can be truthful and still be considered unethical. Ads that play to â€Å"base† human emotions such as fear can be considered unethical as they are just trying to promote emotions that would cause the consumer to seek relief through the advertiser’s product. Conclusion Direct-to-consumer advertising has been integrated into our culture and is likely not going to go away. Just as there are those who lobby against these ads, there are an equal number of proponents who support them. Regulations have been changed to allow the advancement of these ads to their current place in our society. As such, the DDMAC is constantly monitoring DTC ads and will need to be the ones to set ethical boundaries and ensure they’re being adhered to. Consumers must evaluate pharmaceutical ads critically so as not to be persuaded as much as they are educated. Although proponents of DTC advertising argue they provide important consumer information, too frequently the ads can operate dysfunctionally by â€Å"providing misinformation and inducing the consumer to make purchases that are not in either their short or long term interest.† (Baker & Martinson, 2001, p. 151) Ethical DTC ads should serve an educational purpose first and a promotional purpose second. They should offer consumers information on alternatives along with true representations of the risks their medications may have. Unethical ads are those that may try to point out your flaws, i.e. depression, and then tell you they have the answer, i.e. Prozac. These unethical ads will use your emotions to cause you to believe you are in need of a fix when in reality you may not be. I believe there is a place for direct-to-consumer advertising. Consumers are constantly looking for more and more information to help them make better informed decisions. DTC ads, when done appropriately, can be used to provide this information not only about medications but health conditions as well. Decreasing public stigma around certain health issues is another advantage advertising can bring; especially if it opens doors for patients to have difficult discussions with their doctors. That being said, I believe that a balance lies with the FDA needing to take a more proactive role in how they manage DTC ads. I think that all ads should be required to go through a pre-approval process rather than the current release and retract method. It is hard to take back something that has already been seen and that may cause damage to the consumer. References Direct-to-consumer advertising. (2010, June 11). Retrieved March 4, 2012, from Sourcewatch: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Direct-to-consumer_advertising Anderson, K. E. (1978). Persuasion: Theory and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Baker, S., & Martinson, D. L. (2001). The TARES test: Five principles of ethical persuasion. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16(2), 148-175. Evans, G. W., & Friede, A. I. (2003). The Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of prescription drug manufacturer speech: A first admendment analysis. Food and Drug Law Journal, 58(3), 365-437. FDA. (2010, April 4). Drugs. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from FDA: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/PrescriptionDrugAdvertising/ucm071964.htm GAO. (2006). Prescription drugs: Improvements needed in FDA’s oversight of direct-to-consumer advertising. Pfizer. (2011). Ethical Sales and Marketing. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from Pfizer: http://www.pfizer.com/investors/financial_reports/annu al_reports/2010/ethics-sales.jsp U.S. Department of HHS. (1999). Guidance for Industry Consumer-Directed Broadcast Advertisements. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Vaux, R. (n.d.). What is the