Slave Narrative Sarah Garner

HIST 1301 April 13, 2013 Summary of Interview with Sarah Garner Mrs. Sarah was a slave in Westmoreland County, and conducted an interview with Archibald Hill. She describes that she did not have an overseer for her labor, in which he expected them to do good work. If they didn’t complete the work, he was at liberty to whip them. She also describes her first time getting whipped as very unpleasant when she didn’t know how to do the labor. Garner was born in Tennessee and her mother, Jula, was born in Virginia. Garner’s husband, Theodore, was born in Blackground, and married him when she was eighteen.Her master bought him and his mother when he was 8 years old. Garner also had two brothers. Next, she describes planting the farm as a child. She’d have to pick it off wit her feet. They had plows so all the work wasn’t done by hand. She explains that she could do as much work as any man could handle. You had to stake the land crossways and plow the open rows. The master had one plow but was having more made at the shops. They made the plows by hand. She was never a house person, which her mother was. She thought of herself as a farmer. She could do any gung; milked cows and hauled flowers.She never had to cook, iron, clean, or wash for the white people. She worked from the day she was born until the day she left. Her mother raised her to be strong. Garner worked outside while her mother stayed inside doing housework. Garner never talked about being able to read and write. Her mother cooked them all meals after the white family ate. At night her mother taught life lessons to all of her siblings. Her father usually worked from early mornings to late at night. On of the main reasons masters didn’t want their slaves to become Christians involved the Bible.This was one reason why most plantation owners did what they could to stop their slaves from learning to read. In the South, black people were not usually allowed to attend chu rch services. Black people in the North were more likely to attend church services. Drums, which were used in traditional religious ceremonies, where banned because overseers worried that they would be used to send messages. Garner raised 12 children. When her son got old enough to care for himself, she moved away. She had three sons. When her son died, she came back here.Her 12 children including her daughters all grew up to go elsewhere. Most of them went North. Some went to Philadelphia, New York or Virginia. Her youngest son died shortly after he was married. She believed that they were in God’s hands, and did what God wanted. They all went their own separate ways when the got old enough. They come back to see family sometimes. Garner becomes excited when asked about life up North, until she sees the labor involved, and she thinks about the work she used to do at home. She lived a healthy life and she enjoys being free.

Marketing Project Essay

China with its population of over 1.3 billion and the GDP growth rate of 7.7% is obviously a major player in the global market based on its size and growth potential. In recent years, the consumer food service industry in China has significantly grown, driven by the change in consumption patterns of urban Chinese consumers amid the robust Chinese economic growth. A number of Western-style franchise chains are increasingly crossing national boundaries and looking for growth among customers in China. In provinces and regions of better economic development and faster lifestyles, quick service restaurants make up a large share of the total food-service sector. Guangdong province can be chosen as a potentially profitable market where the fast-food market contributes about 90% of the total food service sector’s revenue. Mad Mex, as a new entrant in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, is ambitious to penetrate this promising market with the goal to open the first franchise r estaurant in February 2014. Situation analysis: ACMR-IBISWorld (Jan, 2013) estimates that the fast-food restaurant industry in China will generate revenue of $89.60 billion in 2012, up 14.1% from 2011. The pace of urbanization and the higher disposable income urge lifestyle changes and the increase in demand for fast-food. Chinese people have less leisure time to eat in traditional full-service restaurants and prefer to treat themselves in fast-food establishments. Moreover, the rapid development of fast-food service providers and new brands and food styles with improved chain store contribute to the strong growth of the industry in China. The geographic popularity of China’s fast-food restaurants industry is consistent with China’s economic development level. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong are three of the most developed provinces and regions in China, which account for about 45% of total industry revenue in 2012 (ACMR-IBISWorld, Jan 2013). These regions witness the relatively well developed fra nchise operations. Porter’s Five Forces Industry Analysis Figure 1: Forces driving industry competition Source: Porter (1980) â€Å"Industry structure has a strong influence in determining the competitive rules of the game as well as the strategies potentially available to the firm.† (Michael E. Porter 1980, P.3) The Porter’s Five Forces Model introduced a concept of structural analysis as a framework for understanding the five basic competitive forces in an industry. These forces, which are shown in Figure 1- new entrants, rivalry among existing competitors, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers, and bargaining power of suppliers, reflect that the competition â€Å"goes well beyond the established players† (Porter 1980, pp. 6). Both potential and established players can influence average industry profitability. The threat of potential entrants is balanced by the entry barriers like economic of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, access to distribution channel, etc. The intensity of rivalry determines industry attractiveness but figures out the extent to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through competition. Sharon M. Oster (1999) asserts that subsitute products or services play an uneven role in industry dynamics. They can play a modest role in highly competitive industries or during periods of excess production. But subtitutes become significant when demand rapidly increasing or in markets with few competitors. In these cases, the availability of good substitutes influences the profits of the existing firms in a market. Buyer power is varied across markets and constituted by the most important determinants of buyer power in a market, which are the number of buyers and the distribution of their purchase, characteristics of product (for instance, standardization of products increases buyer power). In an industry, powerful suppliers can affect their bargaining power over firms by controlling prices or qualities of supply. Depending on each industry and the particular conditions of the industry, different forces will be more or less prominent in the industry competition. And the collective strength of these forces determines the intensity of competition in the industry and the potential profitability. â€Å"Knowledge of these underlying sources of competition in an industry highlights the critical strengths and weaknesses of the company, animates its positioning in its industry, clarifies the areas where strategic changes may yield the greatest payoff, and highlights the areas where industry trends promise to hold the greatest significance as either opportunities or threats† (Poeter 1980, pp.4). Once understanding these forces and their strategic implications, the company can formulate an effective competitive stratey, which enables it to defend itself from the existing array of competitive forces, affect them in its favour thereby improves the firm’s position in the market. Porter’s Diamond Model Figure 2: Porter’s Diamond Model The theorical framework, which examines the competitive position of a nation and its industries, consists of four determinants: factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy and rivalry. According to Porter (1998), factor conditions refer to production endowment that players need to compete in an industry. These factors are discriminated into basic factors versus advanced factors, and generalized factors versus specialized factors. A basic factor is passively inherited, for example natural resources and unskilled labour. Meanwhile advanced factors include what nations can create during their industrial growth like capital, infrastructure and highly educated labour forces. The standard for production factors is gradually rising due to the improvement of knowledge, science and technology. A nation can possess competitive advantage in an industry when it is able to create new competitive factor conditions and/or upgrade the needed factors. Demand conditions refer to the nature of home-market demand for an industry’s product or service considering in terms of quantity and quality. The size of the home market, the presence of demanding and sophisticated domestic buyers pressure companies to innovate and upgrade, meet high standards in order to respond to more diverse and higher levels of customer needs. â€Å"The presence of suppliers and related industries within a nation that are internationally competitive provides benefits such as innovation, upgrading, information flow, and shared technology development which create advantages in downstream industries† (Porter 1998). A nation thereby gains competitive advantage in an industry when it has competititve edge in the number of related industries. Another determinant is firm strategy, structure, and rivalry, referring to firms’ organizational structure, management situations and the performance of competitors in domestic market. The presence of intense rivalry in the home base is important, because it is powerful stimilus to creation and persistence of competitive advantage. Two external factors are chance and governments. Chance can discontinue the possibility of some companies to gain competitive position and some lose. Governments have an overarching effect on all the players. In many industries, government is a buyer/ supplier and can influence the competition of the industry by its policies. Government can also affect the relation between an industry and subsitutes through regulations and other means. They play a role in shaping the context and institutional structure surrounding companies and in creating an environment to support companies to gain competitive advantage. SWOT Analysis Internal analysis: Strength: Mad Mex is known as a gourmet restaurant with a healthy, fresh approach to Mexican cuisine. Its philosophy is to offer food servicing in a fast paced environment to create a high volume takeaway business but a unique and high quality product offer that is sufficient to command a premium price point. This concept will bring it the competitive advantage in food service industry relative to other global QSRs in China at present. By remaining true to the founding principles: Fresh and Healthy, Fast and Delicious, Authentic and Exciting, Mad Mex gradually broadens its business with 15 stores opened in just over four years and makes effort to arm itself with a team of business savvy, hands-on, franchisees. Weakness: Established in 2007, Mad Mex is still a baby to global giant fast-food restaurants like Mc Donald’s or KFC with its limited presence in three states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland within Australia. It is regarded as a strange brandname to the worldwide food service industry and particularly the Chinese market. External analysis: Opportunities: Chinese consumers are believed to have a positive image of quick service restaurants (QSRs) and good perception of their meal quality and customer services. The average level of consumer satisfaction yet high loyalty of Chinese customers is attracting to Western fast food restaurants franchise to engage their business in this market. According to a study on International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management regarding perceived service quality in the fast food industry in China, â€Å"reliability, recoverability, tangibles, and responsiveness were all significant dimensions of perceived service quality†( Hong Qin, 2010). As the study mentioned, all these positive perception in turn influenced the customer behavioral intentions in the industry. Despite the increasing customer preference for Western-style â€Å"to-go† restaurants in the Chinese market, the QSRs market share accounts for only 9.8 percent of Chinese sales for outside meals (Datamonito r, 2007). This means the unprecedented opportunity for Western restaurant chains to operate in China. Threats: The segmentation of QSRs in China is witnessing a tougher competition between international brands like MacDonald’s and KFC and myriad domestic companies like Yum!Brand and Ajisen. Besides, Asian QSRs are the largest sub-sector in the QSRs in China, in which Chinese cuisine is dominant. It is explained by the fact that Chinese people prefer their tradition rice-based dishes and their price sensitivity when choosing the lower dishes in the Chinese restaurants. Furthermore, for the first time penetrating foreign market, the inability or unwillingness of the company to face dietary and cultural challenges will lead to the failure in the image of Mad Mex in the global market. To succeed in the Chinese market, Western-style QSRs are required to examine Chinese customer behaviours and develop marketing strategies that adapt to the Chinese cultural environment.

Irish history Essay

Rose Fitzgerald – wife of Joseph Kennedy, Sr. and matriarch of a U. S. political dynasty – was born of a proud Boston Irish family. Her last name however betrays origins that were other than Irish. In fact, the name â€Å"Fitz-Gerald† indicates that her first Irish ancestor to bear that name was the son of a Norman knight or nobleman who was begotten â€Å"in the wrong bed,† so to speak. Irish legends say that the island had been invaded several times before the arrival of the Celts around 250 B. C. E. (Austin, 2007). In historical times however, Ireland was virtually untouched for centuries; Romans never got to the island, nor did the early Germanic invaders that turned Romano-Celtic Britain into England starting around 450 C. E. By the time of the first Viking raid nearly 350 years later, the Celtic inhabitants of Ireland had retained their unique and ancient Celtic culture and language in a pure form for nearly a millennium. Even Christianity didn’t have a huge effect on the core culture, and there is evidence that suggests some druidic practices were integrated into early Celtic Christianity, which differed significantly from Roman Catholicism prior to the Council of Whitby (Griffin, 2000). Interestingly, Celtic languages historically are lost in the face of an invasion by a more aggressive culture. The Celtic language of Gaul was almost completely replaced by Latin, and in the face of Germanic invaders from the Continent, Brythonic (Welsh and Cornish) and Scots Gaelic retreated into the mountainous fringe of Britain. However, Scandinavians (from whom Normans were descended) invading Gaelic-speaking Ireland ultimately wound up adopting the language and the culture. This is probably due less to the durability of Irish culture than it is to Scandinavian adaptability. Wherever Scandinavian Vikings conquered and settled – from Russia to Normandy, or around the Mediterranean – they eventually became assimilated by the culture and language of those they had conquered. In the case of the early Norsemen, political conquest and colonization of Ireland was not a primary goal. For the first two centuries, raids were conducted for the purpose of booty. Only later, starting in the tenth century, did Norse Vikings begin building their port cities – Dublin, Wexford, Waterford and Cork – and begin to settle in. The purposes of the towns were to serve as bases from which raids on England could be launched. Archaeological evidence suggests that over the following two centuries, the Norse who started to spread out into the countryside around their towns were â€Å"heavily Hibernicized† (Oxford Companion, 1999). In the case of the Anglo-Normans however, there were additional factors – political, social and environmental – that led to the decline of their dominance and subsequent assimilation into Irish culture. The first Anglo-Normans in Ireland actually arrived as mercenaries two years prior to the â€Å"official† date of 1169. They had been hired by the ousted King of Leinster, Dermot MacMurrough in order to reclaim his throne. At the time, their was a great deal of internecine warfare in Ireland at the time over the throne and title of High King, providing what was basically an opportunity for the bastard offspring of Norman knights who otherwise would remain landless. Anglo-Norman intervention began in earnest with the arrival of over five hundred fighters between May of 1169 and August of 1170 (Oxford Companion, 17). Eventually – and despite attempted intervention (with papal blessing) on the part of King Henry II, Norman families such as Le Gros, Prendergast, FitzStephen, FitzGerald, FitzHenry and Le Poer had secured virtual kingdoms for themselves by 1200 (Wikipedia, 2007). Events in Ireland during the early 13th Century eventually led to the dissolution of these Norman principalities as the native Gaelic-speaking Irish began to reassert themselves. Part of the reduction of Norman influence in Ireland had to do with inheritance laws; land was divided among all sons, not just the eldest, which led to the reduction in size and power of Norman lands. Periodic famines also served to reduce Norman power in Ireland. Over the next hundred and fifty years, two additional events led to the decline of Norman power in Ireland. First was the invasion of Scottish king Edward Bruce, who rallied the Gaelic nobility against the Sassunach. The other was the Black Death 0f 1347-1350. This plague reduced the population of Europe by a third. Urban dwellers – such as the Anglo-Normans of Ireland – were affected in much greater numbers than those living in the countryside, which was the case of Gaelic-speaking Irish. As the English-controlled areas became confined to the lands in and around Dublin (called â€Å"The Pale†), the Hiberno-Norman lords in the hinterlands began to adopt the Irish language, allying themselves with the native Irish in politics and warfare, and remained Catholic despite the Reformation (Barry, 1988) . This process of â€Å"Hibernicization† was well underway by 1400; it so troubled the English authorities in Dublin that they passed laws in 1367 in an attempt to stop those of English (Norman) descent from intermarrying with the Irish and adopting the language and culture. The statutes had little effect, however because of the Dublin government’s limited authority outside of The Pale. Archaeological evidence of Norman occupation of the Irish countryside includes the remains of numerous â€Å"mottes,† or remains of castles, scattered throughout the country. However, there are some places where Normans are indicated to have lived in written records such as the Irish Annals, where remains of these â€Å"mottes† are not found. It is possible that â€Å"ringworks† – earthen forts – may have been present in these areas (McNeill, 1999). An archaeological dig at Caherguillamore in County Limerick sheds some light on daily life in Ireland during the late Middle Ages. The construction and layout of the houses discovered in this area is similar to those on feudal Norman manors one would expect to find in France and England (Barry, 1988). They appear to be long houses with a central hearth, typical of Scandinavian construction which Normans retained long after becoming culturally and linguistically French. A coin found at the site from the reign of Edward I dates the houses’ construction to the decades on either side of 1300. There does not appear to have been any sort of genre as â€Å"Norman-Irish† or â€Å"Norman-Gaelic† literature, although the latter term was used in the 1940’s by Austin Clarke to describe poetry such as Feuch fein an obair-se a Aodh , which, while strongly Irish in its subject matter and structure, bears some resemblance to the â€Å"courtly love† poems of the French troubadours, which whom most Norman nobility would have had some familiarity with (Carney, 1955). This cross-pollination seems to have gone both ways; Bebedeit’s Voyage of Saint Brendan, dedicated to the wives of Henry I, was adapted from the Irish saga Navigatio Sanctis Brendani, an account of what may have been an early Irish voyage to North America in the 5th Century (Harper-Bill, 2003). Beyond this, there is little in the way of true â€Å"Anglo-Norman-Irish† literature or prose. According to an article in The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, there were three reasons for this. First of all, the vernacular language of Ireland – Irish Gaelic – was difficult for English speakers then as now, and very few inside The Pale would have bothered to learn it. Secondly, those Norman-English living within The Pale were busy trying to hold on to what they had in the face of rebellion by the native Gaels. The Third reason has to do with the entire assimilation issue: separated from their kinsmen in England and on the Continent, surrounded by native Irish speakers, it was inevitable that the Anglo Normans living outside The Pale should be drawn away from the Anglo-French literary traditions and into the Irish Gaelic forms (Bartleby, 2005). The Scandinavian influence – particularly that of the Normans – on European history can hardly be underestimated. The Vikings and their Norman descendants were a dynamic people who, for all their violent ways, created energetic societies wherever they went. Had William the Conqueror failed in 1066, English would presently sound a great like Dutch or German, and the socio-political landscape would look very different today. This energy may be exactly what has allowed Irish culture to survive, despite seven centuries of what was often harsh, cruel and even murderous oppression on the part of the Protestant English beginning around 1600. This vigorous culture was ultimately transplanted to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the U. S. especially, people of Irish descent read like a â€Å"Who’s Who† of American history. The fact that the Irish who came to the U. S. – who were initially despised and discriminated against violently – eventually rose to prominence and produced some of the greatest political leaders and literary figures in the nation owe their energy in part to the contribution of Scandinavians and their Anglo-Norman descendants. Works Cited The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. (1907–21). (Vol. XIV). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. (1999). ). Oxford: Oxford University Press A Companion To The Anglo Norman World.(2003). ). Suffolk: Boydell Press. Norman Ireland. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved 2 April 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Norman_Ireland Barry, T. B. (1988). The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland. London: Routledge. Carney, J. (1955). Studies in Irish Literature and History. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Griffith, P. (2000). Celtic Cross Development. Retrieved 2 April 2007, from http://www. bluhorizonlines. org/cros/cros2. html Mcneill, T. (1999). Castles in Ireland: Feudal Power in a Gaelic World. London: Routledge.

SABIC Company Audits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SABIC Company Audits - Essay Example Many businesses have succeeded based on their historical perspective. From the case, it is determined that the business has been in operation for the past 39 years (SABIC, 2014). This is life stable enough to determine that it has a status in the economy of Saudi Arabia. Apart from time, the company has historically been supported under the focus of the king of the country. According to Doole & Lowe (2008), history has a strong bearing on the success of a company in the market. This is especially prevalent in societies that are relatively conservative. The Saudi Arabian society is incredibly much of a conservative society and there are norms that determine the consumption patterns in the country. Being largely Muslim, most of the laws and legislation on trade are bound to be based on sharia laws. History of existence in market serves a lot of functions to a company (Peng, 2013). First, the company develops the experience of the market and makes it possible to understanding changing t rends from time to time. SABIC Company deals in a collection of products; chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, and metals. It is a size that determines the market success factors because there is a focus on expansion programmes. The company is owned by the government (70%) and the private individuals (30%). History has therefore helped it to know and understand its customers, the market, the need for expansion and the challenges that it is likely to face when in any other country apart from Saudi Arabia. Historical context has enabled the company to understand its customers, the purchase context, the feelings in the market and strategies that help develop a business from one level to another. The insights to the success of SABIC are based on the achievements from the time it was formed to date. Over time, the company has grown and it is now the largest companies in the specified areas of operation.

Retailing story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Retailing story - Essay Example Man’s breaking his bond with nature came about when Victor decided to play god and deprived nature of its natural prerogative to create life. Victor wanted to separate himself from the rest of nature by validating to himself that he can be god through the creation of another life which is a validation of his superiority compared to other men. In today’s context, this could be taken as Victor’s pride that he is better than everyone else of which almost all societies and culture suffer. When Victor came to life, he became the personification of man’s desire to be god which the product of such attempt attests how vile the idea is. The monster, being an assortment of parts of men, is an unhappy product of man’s inexorable nature and its heart is â€Å"a collection of the emotions that he has to be bear throughout his strange life† (Kessler 87). It has no â€Å"center† or a soul because it failed to grasp the breadth of human experience tha t includes joy, happiness, ecstasy, that makes one a truly human being. The monster had only a glimpse of hope of what it is like to be compassionate when the family cottagers took him in. â€Å"Nothing could exceed the love and respect which the younger cottagers exhibited towards their venerable companion. They performed towards him every little office of affection and duty with gentleness, and he rewarded them by his benevolent smiles† (Shelley 82). But even that hazy idea of hope and compassion was immediately extinguished when the same family who took him in drove him away. One can only imagine what the monster felt when the only positive experience he had was taken away from him leaving him hanging and in pain. In sum, the tale was an articulation of man’s arrogance and the consequential pain and suffering because of it which is a theme that is universal to all culture which explains why Frankenstein is still told today not only in our books, but also in our movi es, plays and even comics. II. Retelling the story Shelley’s novel Frankenstein reveals the flaws of human character with the character of Victor Frankenstein. It revealed man’s tendency to become arrogant and to act like God when he already knows so much. When Victor assented to the monster that he will create him a partner, he already assumed to have God like capabilities with what he knows about science. As it was wrong in the beginning, a series of tragedy followed beginning with the murder of Victor’s bride Elizabeth during their wedding night. Victor was inconsolable and filled with revenge as what the monster did to his bride that he became preoccupied about chasing the monster to avenge Elizabeth’s death and became a figurative monster himself. But since he does not have the physical prowess to overcome Frankenstein, Victor created another formula to make him a greater monster to defeat Victor and avenge his wife. He also had the impression that F rankenstein must have a good time destroying everything he touches because he is invincible and therefore cannot be punished with its consequences. So he made a formula to the effect of Mr. Hyde only ten times stronger to make him stronger than Frankenstein. The formula was so potent that when it was injected to Victor, he became uglier than Frankenstein and his physical state became permanent. In the process of

Software Engineering and Novel Programming Essay

Software Engineering and Novel Programming - Essay Example After thorough research done by software engineers and some independent programmers some of the programming languages like BASIC, Pascal etc., were developed. After realizing the importance of using software technologies government agencies in collaboration with private sector companies started development research in programming languages. Companies like IBM, Microsoft, Apple, etc., realized very early what the future holds for them. They quickly grabbed the opportunity and invested heavily on software engineering research. The final result was huge. Many programming languages like C, FORTRAN, COBOL, etc., came into the picture. It's the research and analysis done by the scientists and programmers in software engineering yielded fruitful results in the development of different programming languages, which became more and more user friendly. The main purpose of these programming languages was to develop applications that could be used in everyday life. The researches involved finding potential problems in programming languages and resolving them. The researchers found the flexibility of a language enables it to be used by more clients. Another important factor probably the most important one is the cost. If the final product is expensive there will be only few takers for it. Therefore research has been done to create cost effective applications by using programming languages. ... It saves time and very cost effective. Another important feature developed by the researchers was reverse engineering. In reverse engineering the work is done from final stage to the initial stage. The main purpose of reverse engineering is to extract the code from the final product, working on the final product to the scratch. By using reverse engineering technique one can extract their competitors application and introduce own application in the market accordingly.Today programming languages are termed as procedural programming languages, Object-Oriented programming languages and visual programming languages. Procedural languages like C, FORTRAN etc. uses top down approach in programming. Microsoft Windows 95 and 98 were programmed in C. Visual programming languages like Visual Basic were mostly based graphical user interface (GUI). Since they were very user friendly they became very popular. Object-Oriented Programming languages (OOP's) like C++, Java etc., uses bottom up approach . Java is based on OOP's concepts. It uses bottom up approach. Sun Microsystems developed Java. The OOP's concepts are one of the important features of Java. These concepts are classes, objects, message passing, data encapsulation, data abstraction, polymorphism and inheritance. These are the result of research done by programming experts. Compared to C++, applications created by using Java runs very slowly. Because of the absence of pointers creating viruses in Java is not possible. Java can be simply described by Java buzzwords developed by the Java team. The buzzwords are simple, secure, portable, object-oriented, robust, multithreaded, architecture-neutral, interpreted, high performance,

Ipod Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ipod Analysis - Research Paper Example The other target group for the ipod is the students who may wish to download books and access certain information online. This consists of the famous 4Ps which include: Price, Place involving distribution to consumption point, Product which should be designed to suit customer needs and finally Promotion which enables the producer to increase their sales. This section shall analyze the various elements of the marketing mix in relation to the ipod as below: The ipod has very unique key features which make it likable among the users. One of these features is the fact that it has a large storage capacity which enables the user to store as much documents as he or she wishes. A critical benefit of the ipod is that you can access whatever you want without necessarily having to carry the computer. . The product is presented in the market as one with the best satisfaction qualities. It has the best use interface with a touch screen that enables the user to perform their functions with much ease. Promotion is aimed at either making the product known to the consumer or may be aimed at increasing sales where the market is already ventured into. In this case during the introduction of the ipod the marketer undertook an extensive advertising by using print media, posters in public places and even television commercials. The marketer presented the advert displaying people using the ipod to enable the potential consumers to be able to visualize how the gadget works (Kotler, et al., 2009). In the adverts the ipod was positioned as a cool product for the present generation by dwelling on the main features and benefits of the gadget. Direct selling was also incorporated in places where the potential buyers could not access either posters, print media or even the Television commercials. Pricing Strategy The main pricing strategy for the ipod is the cost based pricing where the price is set with a certain profit margin bearing the costs in mind. This price is aimed at achieving more revenue. This is because ipod consumers will associate the high price to quality since as earlier explained most ipod consumers are middle and high class people. At the introduction stage, prices were set high in order to cover most costs .The aim of the ipod manufacturer was to venture quickly into the market and conquer all consumers and therefore increase sales before counterfeits came to the market. The result was acquisition of the top cream buyers who were less concerned with the price charged. At growth stage a significant amount of the market had been covered and counterfeit ipods had started developing .Since marketers of the new ipods were setting low prices for their products, the price had to be adjusted in order to match those of the competitors to avoid being thrown out of the market .Price was thus set in comparison with that of other manufacturers (Ranchhod & Clin, 2007). Place Distribution strategy A product is useless when it can not reach the target market. Therefore a marketer should make efforts to ensure that the product reaches the consumer in the desired form and at the right place. The ipod manufacturer took the initiative to make sure that the prod

Trusts Law Arguments by Jones Garton and Margaret Halliwell Essay

Trusts Law Arguments by Jones Garton and Margaret Halliwell - Essay Example The articles by modern authors Jones Garton and Margaret Halliwell consider this phenomenon from a modern perspective. They refer to the most well-known cases in this field: Milroy v Lord, Re Rose, Pennington v Wayne and some others. In order to define the level of trust in perfect/imperfect gifts, it is relevant to refer to additional reading from previous years and to current sources (Substantial Change in Trust Tax Law, 2006; Diamond, 2002). A complicated nature of gift is the absence of contract basis, i. e. there is no special consideration of gift transfer (Langbein, 1995; McKendrick, 1992). Moreover, if a giver fails to complete required formal stages or has no legal title, gift may fail. Courts refer to the generally accepted motto in this kind of cases: â€Å"equity will not perfect an imperfect gift† (Langbein, 1995). Consequently, there are a lot of controversies appearing in trust cases. That’s why it is relevant to discuss a balanced nature of trust. In oth er words there is a need to consider its theoretical basis and practical implementation. A consideration about constitution of trust is a vividly discussed issue for academics and researchers, because practical implementation of trust in trusts law is rather rare. The trusts law has some specific features, which have to be discussed in detail. The most striking issue is that transfer may occur even if all formalities were not followed. Re Rose case is well-known with this regard and there is even a name for ‘Re Rose’ principle taken after the case. In this case the settlor transferred shares in a private company on behalf of certain trusts. Nevertheless the authority of the company didn’t register transfer at once and the question which had to be solved by court was when the shares were transferred. The date of settlor’s decision to transfer the shares was acclaimed to be the relevant date of transfer. This principle was discussed in other cases as well (C unningham, 1992, p. 63). Pennington v Wayne is another interesting case for discussion. In this case the concept of unconscionability appears and the court considers this concept to be a primary fact in the case discussion. This concept was taken for granted as a decisive point because not all formalities were followed in the process of gift transfer. Jones Garton’s article The articles by Garton and Halliwell present two points of view on property and securities transfer mechanism. It is relevant to note that both of these authors suggest interesting considerations about trusts law in England. Jones Garton combines the ideas on trust collected from additional sources and law cases. He speaks about constituent nature of trust. Operational mechanisms of trust are focused on the main claim that â€Å"equity will not infer a perfect trust from an imperfect gift† (Garton, 2003). The basic claim was taken from Milroy v Lord (1862) case, from more contemporary case Penningto n v Waine (2002) 1 WLR 2075. In accordance with Garton there are different principles in the rule of the ‘last act’ which establishes constitution and its application. Garton’s work impresses readers by his considerations about the ‘workings’ of trusts in Rose’s case which are express and constructive. Therefore it is clearly seen that Garton is interested in a concept of trust in imperfect gifts.

Discussion questions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion questions - Research Paper Example Consumers’ desire for attractively designed and portable computer has forced companies to concentrate on the production of notebooks and laptops. Furthermore, price cuts, extended battery life, integrated wireless networking, and prevalence of home-offices have resulted escalation of laptop sales (Yeung, 2011). Consumers can be categorized as satisfied switchers, dissatisfied switchers, and stayers based on price and payment conditions. Dissatisfied switchers are the consumers that give less importance to the price of the computer; rather they are obsessed with the technical features and specifications. 2) A complete and successful marketing activity implies that appropriate price, appropriate product, appropriate promotional means, as well as services and enterprise products are devoted to a particular market. According to the theory of marketing, the following market strategies will be appropriate to handle the target market of Lenovo. Currently Lenovo puts into consideration various factors when selecting a market target. Strong brand awareness to cater for city clients who have advanced conception in the information technology. In the laptop market, the consequence of Lenovo brand is comparative advantage, so selecting such market targets can accommodate the requirements of such customers (Pan, 2005). The company should seek to persuade its customers than it offers products that are far superior in comparison to what its competitors are offering. The main benefit that Lenovo stands to gain when products are successfully differentiated include, premium prices for its products, above average profits, an elastic demand for its products, and creates a barrier to entry of new competitors to the market. Lenovo sustainable development is consistent with a correct and unified guiding ideology. It is with an appropriate strategic plan for use and guide of its own attributes with

The current situations that's facing Russia Research Paper

The current situations that's facing Russia - Research Paper Example As the nature of topic involves the description of current scenario of the Russian federation, so the overview will be provided discussing all the social, political and environmental factors. The Russian Federation is divided into 46 provinces, 4 autonomous okrugs, 21 republics, 9 krays, 2 federal cities, and 1 autonomous oblast. Since 7th May 2012, President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN serves as the head of the state, while the government is administered by Dmitriy Anatolyevich Medvedev. The recent political developments in the country include its relations with the United States. The U.S. Congress has already ascertained to ordain new penalties to be imposed on Russian businesses and officials as a quid-pro-quo for annulling a Cold War-era prohibition on conventional trading associations with Moscow. Few of the people in the Obama administration have proposed the discouraging alternative of developing a â€Å"democracy fund† to channelize U.S. money to the pressure groups that pose a threat to the Russian administration. Russia has been labeled by Mitt Romney as a geopolitical foe, so he has offered to disassemble the reset upon being elected. It raises a concern that regardless who wins in the U.S elections, the Russian-U.S. relations are leading towards a more challenging posture (Rojansky & Gvosdev). Mrs. Clinton while attending the yearly Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Vladivostokhere, on behalf of President Obama welcomed Russian access to the World Trade Organization in August. Moreover it was recommended that the American government should now normalize its trade relations so that the U.S owned businesses can harvest the benefits received from the Russia’s membership that include lower tariffs for United States products. The attempt to concede Russia conventional trade status, still, has turned embroiled in legislation that would penalize Russian officials charged of perverting human rights, refusing them visas and suspending their assets. That has aroused doubts that any arrangement on annulling the Jackson-Vanik provisions can be accomplished before the United States presidential elections (Myers, and Herszenhorn). Russia has recently demanded the U.S to cease its support to groups favoring the institution of democracy within the country (Hersze nhorn and Barry). Russia has experienced significant alters since the break down of the Soviet Union, proceeding from a centrally planned, globally-isolated economy to a more global and market-based economy. Russian industry is principally fragmented between worldwide competitive commodity producers. In 2011, it became leading oil producer of the world, passing by Saudi Arabia. It is the world second largest natural gas producer and bears the world's largest reserves of natural gas, the second-largest of coal, and the eighth-largest reserves of crude oil. It is the 3rd largest exporter of primary aluminum and steel. The Russian economy is also facing various challenges. As reported by the World Bank, Russia is reverberating from the worldwide recession more tardily than other developing nations in spite of high oil prices. Various factors that are contributing to the weakening of the Russian

The Downfall of Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Downfall of Macbeth - Essay Example The belief in prophecy is particularly important in gaining a foothold on understanding the downfall of Macbeth and his Lady. When Macbeth first comes upon the Weird Sister and they roll out the prophecies for both Macbeth and Banquo, and by extension Duncan and his family, more is going on than just a foretelling of the future. The prophecies instill in Macbeth the realization of his dreams, of course, but they also portend that the darkest fears of Macbeth will be realized alongside his dreams (Van Doren, Lehman 216). Without Macbeth's unquestioned belief in the occult and acceptance that the Weird Sisters have the power of prophecy, there would be neither a rise nor a fall. If the rise of Macbeth to king can be said to be a combination of belief in the Sisters and the manipulation of his wife, his fall comes about as the result of a fatal mistake on his part: mistakenly believing that he has the power to deny the future as foretold. Macbeth fervently believes in the power of the occult, yet he does not accept his role as mere recipient of the power of fates beyond his control. Just as he is indecisive before the murder of Duncan, Macbeth also proves to be less than firm in his view of how the witches' prophesying works. Rather than merely being a blank canvas upon which is written a predestined series of events that effectively turn him into a puppet on a string to be manipulated by the Weird Sisters, Macbeth from the beginning takes a proactive stance. This activity starts with having his indecision overcome by his wife before he kills Duncan, but the downfall begins when he begins to believe that nothing he does can change the course of future events, but only bring them to fruition. Many famous quotations have come from Macbeth, but it is one of the lesser known lines of the play that presents the key to understanding the downfall of the Macbeths. "Strange things I have in head, that will to hand / Which must be acted, ere they may be scanned." (Shakespeare 160). Macbeth is aware of his fate as well as the fates of others, but as he says this he fully tosses off the shackles of his indecisiveness. In relieving himself at last of all moral quandaries that may exist on his path toward absolute and guaranteed power, Macbeth makes the ultimate mistake in his rise that will lead surely to his destruction. Macbeth has made decision that thinking too much is the cause of his problems. But it is important to realize that by this point Macbeth has strange things taking place inside his head without the input from his wife. It is also important to understand that the downfall of Lady Macbeth occurs only after she has done the opposite by making the decision to finally be gin questioning her amorality (Thompson, and Ancona). Lady Macbeth only begins to lose her mind once she capitulates to the kind of moral quandary from which she earlier plucked her husband. In the wife's case it is the decision to think too much that leads to insanity. The opposite is true for her husband. Macbeth's quick descent into madness is caused by his failure to think too much and act too rashly. What is most strange about this is that Macbeth has seen clearly that the Weird Sisters have been right about everything, yet he seems to be incapable of

Regions Chart and Written Response Essay Example for Free

Regions Chart and Written Response Essay Continued to treat the African Americans poorly. Paid poorly wages just cared about having a name and the money. Social reform movement. Farmers were politically active. Social Growth of industries caused a gap between rich and poor in this region. Political views clashed. Labor union formed first here. Still had race issues. Segregation and discrimination continued. The Chinese immigrants and the white settlers had cultural differences that led to friction. Riots and discrimination laws. Gap between rich and poor. A lot of friction. Active labor unions Economic or Type of Economy Center of the industrialization during the first and second industrial revolution. Producing more than 85% of the United States industrial products. Very low on industrial output. Had textile mills and ironwork industries. Agriculture included timber, coal, iron and steel. Little industrial development. Natural Resources was their main thing such as limber and metals. Agriculture as well. Farming and manufacturing. Steel and automotive. Upper states we center of industry, a hub for shipping and transportation. Population Change  Many immigrants began to come. 1 out of 5 industrial workers was an immigrant. Very high population. African Americans leaving to new factories in the North and Midwest for a better chance at good wages and improve their  economic and social standings. Immigrants from China came to the West looking for jobs on expanding the railroads. Sparse Population. Cities grew rapidly. Large numbers of immigrants. Transportation 200,000 miles of railroads connected cities by the 1900. The necessity of coal led to mining. Great transportation systems. New railroads stretched as far as Florida. Major railroads connected the West to the East.  Railroads and Trains contained livestock and grain. Part 2 – Respond to the prompt in a well- developed paragraph of your own. Be sure to include social, political and economic factors in your response and fully address all parts of the prompt. Explain how the Second Industrial Revolution affected the North, South, West, and Midwest. Which region would you have preferred to live in during this period? Why? The Second Industrial Revolution affected the North, South, West and Midwest mostly by population, economy, and social changes. Many immigrants came to these regions searching for a better life or founding out information on new technology because of this, it led to a lot of social friction between the immigrants and the settlers of the region. Political views clashed, segregation, riots and discrimination laws were happening while immigrants were coming in. These regions had to work with what they had and what they can use, this created the different types of economy such as industrial, manufacturing, farming, agriculture, etc. I would’ve preferred to live in the northern region because it was more developed in industries and technology.

Significance Of Social Media Of Pepsi Marketing Essay

Significance Of Social Media Of Pepsi Marketing Essay Marketing has always been a challenge for firms since making the company, brand or product appealing to the customer with the intention of increasing sale volume. Companies therefore tend to come up with innovative marketing strategies to gain customers attention. Traditional marketing approaches such as TVCs, printed advertisements, telemarketing etc. have lost their charm due to bombardment of same old marketing techniques. Customers are now fed up of promotional activities and tend to get annoyed due to excessive marketing. Moreover customers are so much aware and knowledgeable now a day thanks to internet that they themselves pick out what marketing activities they need to see and what to block out. Moreover social networking communities on the internet have created the flow of information more dense and fast since positive peer reviews, marketing blogs and number of Likes on a companys page now make up the customer equity of a firm. This is why more companies are moving towards social media marketing as it is a rather inexpensive and easy way to reach a large audience with similar taste. We can say that the proverb Birds of the same feather flock together is the basis of notion for increasing interest in social media marketing. The major reason is that social networking websites have communities in which people loyal to a particular brand or users of a product or any specific taste or activity tend to get involved and interact. This interaction and engagement is what we call as Resonance in the brand resonance model which is the top most stage of brand development (Kevin Lane Keller, 2001). More and more companies are now adopting this strategy to directly communicate with the targeted customers while providing them with exactly what they need. Such marketing strategies also enhance the chances of positive word-of-mouth marketing which is the most influencing marketing strategy we know till now. This report will further determine how different companies im plement this marketing strategy along with the positive and negative aspects associated with this strategy. Pepsi Refresh Project Pepsi is one of the worlds largest companies and a leader in the beverage market with a tough competition from Coca Cola. In fact we can even state that both these companies tend to form a kind of Oligopolistic competition in the market and enjoy large market shares by strategically dividing the worlds region among them. Pepsi is well known for innovative TVCs and tend to spend a huge amount of capital in this marketing strategy. In 2010 however marketers at Pepsi got the idea of utilizing the social media marketing technique for enhancing the brand equity. They played a huge gamble by trading their Super bowl opening ad position with a social campaign worth $20 million. This was a huge risk for Pepsi since they initially did not have a large following on social networking websites like Twitter and facebook in contrast with more than 4 million facebook fans of Coke (Digital Buzz Blog , 2010). However Pepsi launched this marketing campaign in which grants were to be made to an innovat ive idea which impacts the community or environment and gets the highest number of votes on social networking websites namely Twitter and facebook. Pepsi very interestingly combined two marketing techniques in their strategy one was using social media and the other one was marketing for social good. Thus Pepsi was actually looking at mutual benefits and gaining free publicity for this strategy. This technique proved a great success for the firm since the mere number of visitors on their website increased by 800% (Moir, 2010) and their following on Twitter and facebook increased significantly too. Other companies say their success and tried to imitate as well since the successful execution of this viral marketing strategy was as living proof that social media is the future of marketing. Significance of Social Media As stated earlier and in several other sections of this report social media is gaining popularity day by day. According to statistics facebook has more than 800 million active users and 100 million active users of Twitter and growing. Thus we can see that these social networking websites are themselves a huge ground to market the company and create awareness with increased recognition and recall strategies. It is not only the mere number of user but there are several other features which allow the companies to interact with the customers in a rather innovative manner. For example companies can post their pictures, activities, information regarding products and about the company. Moreover the more significant aspect of social media is getting live on spot feedback from the customers. Companies can even measure their brand equity and build it through social media since it allows customers to engage with the company and other customers. Before the emergence of social media concept of co mmunities and brand engagement was not so popular so we can say that this marketing channel has a great impact on marketing strategies of today as well as tomorrow. Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing Even though social media marketing has gained popularity and companies claim that it has a significant influence on the profit of a company yet the relevance of number of followers on a social networking website with the actual sales is debatable as stated earlier. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with this strategy. We will first look as the advantages Inexpensive marketing strategy as compared to traditional techniques Direct communication channel with the customers Innovative marketing techniques allows sharing the experiences and associations of consumers Ability to reach a large audience without any geographical boundary with no additional cost Encourages customers to engage with the brand community and other customers such creating brand resonance Even with all these advantages on hand there are some disadvantages associated with this marketing technique such as lack of expertise required to handle social media marketing (Sandilands, n.d.). If not executed properly which means updating statuses and posts on at least daily basis then this strategy can only become an additional cost for the company without any positive impact on the revenue. Moreover since social media is based on freedom of speech almost anyone can say anything therefore any negative comments might also trigger negative emotions over a large scale just like positive comments do. In the same way as positive viral marketing is healthy negative viral marketing by a competitors or any regular person may prove to be detrimental for the company. Impact of Social Media Marketing on Pepsi Pepsi gained huge advantage from implementation of this viral marketing strategy. However we might say that the correlation between the popularity of a social media marketing strategy with the actual increase in revenue is still a topic to be debated yet companies find a significant increase in their brand equity after successful implementation of social media marketing techniques such as Pepsi did. As a proof we can see that the number of followers of Pepsis facebook page in 2010 was around 25,000 however as of today the number has leaped to more than 9 million followers. This can be regarded as a huge success (even though it is still far behind Coca Cola with 55 million+ followers) since it is also a fact that only those companies enjoy a large following who have higher customer loyalty which is indirectly judged by the will to engage with the brand. The company tends to promote their brand by posting videos, pictures and updates regarding events organized by Pepsi. They encourage customers to upload their own photos regarding experiences with the product and ask random questions like Who hides their Pepsi in the fridge to connect and relate in a rather informal way with the customers. The company also boasts about the number of Tweets it gets per minute regarding a certain project. This strategy has proved to be quite beneficial for the company since more people following the page means more people talking about the product and more people talking about it means higher engagement with the brand which indirectly enhances the revenues of the company. The Chief Consumer Engagement Officer at Pepsi, Frank Cooper, states that at Pepsi they believe that social relationships are a foundation for the effectiveness of their marketing plan the customers tend to communicate with real life social networks about why they love the product and this word-of-mouth marketing influences revenue and profit (Silverstein, 2010). Social Media Marketing in Other Businesses As states above social media marketing and online presence has become a norm in the business sector. The main reason behind it is the growing number of internet users. People tend to Google products they want and read their specifications and reviews online before making a purchase. Therefore every other firm is adopting social media marketing strategy and integrating it as a formal marketing strategy in their business plans. We will discuss two other business which are implementing this marketing technique and enjoying its benefit. Samsung Samsung has its own page on facebook called Samsung Mobiles USA it is one of the several pages associated with the company. The page currently has more than 21 million users following it which makes this page a huge success. The customers interact with other users of the product, share their experiences, give reviews and even take part in contests arranged by the company. The company also uses this page to advertise the latest releases and informing customers about upcoming products. For example the recent post of Samsung Mobile USAs page is about the innovative features of Galaxy Note II which has around 40,000 Likes. By analyzing the data we can conclude that Samsung also rests on top of the Brand Resonance Model and enjoys great customer engagement thus strengthening its brand equity. Lamborghini Another example is of luxury cars manufacturing company Lamborghini which has official community on facebook and Twitter. The company has around 5 million followers on facebook alone which makes a huge fan following since this company tends to target a niche market. The company uses these social media channels to promote their cars along with additional products such as Lamborghini Original Accessories which lovers of this brand can buy even. The company also uploads videos regarding sneak peeks into the luxury cars and other specifications which might interest the customer. We can see that companies dealing in any business sector from beverages to cars to automobiles tend to utilize social media to communicate with the most precious asset of a company Customers. Impact of Social Media Over the Next Decade A major impact of Social Media over the next decade as stated by Asur, S., Huberman, B. A. (2010) will be that companies may be able to predict the success or failure of an offering without actually launching it. This will be done through social networking websites just like companies are doing right now however statistical models can be applied to check the success rate of a product/service. Moreover marketing gurus state the e-marketing will be the future of marketing since customers are no longer attracted to the traditional marketing techniques. What the customers now need is a rather customized and direct approach through which they are listened as much as companies communicate about themselves. To achieve this target companies will be using social media channels such as facebook and Twitter to form long-term relationships with the customers. We can even say that social media might become the next big thing for advertisement leaving TVCs and print media behind. The main reason is obviously the changing preferences of targeted customers which are mostly Generation X and Y who tend to be more tech savvy and internet users. Even the current statistics of facebook and Twitter show the road ahead as researches state that 55% users of facebook state that they are likely to recommend a brand after becoming its fan and 34% of the marketers have stated to generate their leads through Twitter (Digital Buzz Blog, 2012). With such statistics we can conclude that social media has a bright future ahead and over the next decade who knows we might be teaching the business students 4 Ps of Social Media Marketing Mix. Moreover this marketing channel will cause a paradigm shift a will change the face of marketing as we know it. Old marketing practices will be abolished and considered obsolete. The companies which will not move forwards and adapt this new strategy will be losing on a major competitive edge which companies highly active on social networking websites will gain . Conclusion Since social media marketing has itself become a viral marketing technique it has become a business norm for companies to mark their presence online or else they might be considered lacking in their marketing aspects. However such innovative marketing techniques since totally different from the traditional marketing techniques need to be implemented tactfully. Just like marketers were needed for developing a traditional marketing plan in the same way experts are needed for socializing on the social media with the public and making their pages meaningful, relevant and distinctive for the customer. The marketing campaigns should also include something customers can relate with since it is more like an informal interaction channel with the customer through which companies can communicate about them along with listening to what the customers have to say. This is why companies tend to encourage customers on social networking websites to share their feelings, associations and experiences w ith the product. Such sharing of information creates a healthy and long-term relationship between customer and the company. This marketing strategy allows the companies to disseminate information regarding any upcoming event, product or launch directly to the end user thus eliminating any intermediary cost which was incurred in traditional marketing approach. However as stated earlier that this strategy along with several advantage has some drawbacks to it as well but which strategy doesnt? Even if the pros are contrasted with the cons of social media strategy we will see that its benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore companies who need to build brand equity must get themselves socially involved with the public and build relationships with their customers just like Pepsi did. The proof of success of viral marketing through social media can be seen in numerous examples one of which is the new song Gangnam Style by PSY which gained millions of views in a matter of days thus s ocial media is the next big thing in marketing.

Literature Review on Leadership Theories

Literature Review on Leadership Theories 1. Introduction This chapter examined the literature of leadership practices on organizational commitment among managers. The study of leadership is seen as complicated because there has not yet reached any agreement among the researchers in terms of the real meaning of leadership. Professions from different fields around the world such as researchers, philosophers, organizational leaders had attempted to define the concept and meaning of leadership (Woods, 2007). As there are a lot of definitions define by professions around the world about the term of leadership, this study helps to identify the concepts of leadership in order to improve leadership practices on organizational commitment. The elements that will be discussed in this chapter were about theories of leadership that have been argued centuries. Then the definitions of leadership practices and five dimensions of leadership practices will be explained in detail. Lastly, the definition of organizational commitment will also be identified and be elaborated in detail. 2. Leadership Theories There had been existence of arguments about the definition of leadership for several centuries (Woods, 2007). It was indicated that the term of leadership cannot be defined easily. However, the existence of leadership in an organization cannot be denied in terms of its role in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization (Grojean, Resick, Dickson Smith, 2004, p.224). The scientific study of leadership became popular on 20th century and a lot of studies at that time were mainly focused on the effectiveness of leadership (Weinberger, 2009; Yukl, 1998). Daft (2005) defined leadership as a relationship between two parties which were leaders and followers that who were willing to create a shared value and strive toward a shared missions and objectives together (Lee, 2008). Besides that, leadership consisted of the meaning that a leader acts as an example or role model for the employees so that they can follow the step of the leader on the path towards the accomplishment of their tasks (Knab, 2009). The members in an organization tend to create the perceptions of what capabilities and criteria should be posses by an effective leader. Therefore, leadership was seen as effective when the leaders are able to develop and maintain the commitment of the employees through efficient monitoring and encouragement (Knab, 2009). According to Weinberger (2009), leadership can be nurtured in the attitudes and behaviours of the people through consistent training and practices. As many leaders in the leading organizations today are unable to fulfil the needs of team. Therefore, the studies of the leadership in terms of teamwork had received attention by the researchers around the world (Carroll and Levy, 2010). This is because different leader have different attitudes and behaviours. Thus, they will perform in different types of leadership practices under different circumstances (Morgeson, DeRue, and Karam, 2010; McGrath, 1962). In current century, the requirement of a leader to practice well in the leadership is getting more difficult. For the situation nowadays, leaders have to confront with more dynamic environment compared to the working environment that was less challenge for a few centuries ago (Leonard and Lang, 2010). The effective leaders were those who were able to fulfil their obligation perfectly and were able to achieve the expectation of the organization and its stakeholders (Weinberger, 2009; Goleman, 2000). There is no comprehensive of the theory and meaning of the term leadership, so it is difficult to determine what a leader should react and how the leader should behave in a particular situation. Regardless of the various meaning and definition of leadership, it continues to be one of the most widely researched topics today. The previous research on leadership had spur out different types of leadership theories such as Great Man Theory, Trait theory, Contingency Theory, Behavioral Theory, Transactional Theory, and Transformational Theory. Each of the leadership theories mentioned has their own meaning and explanation. The existence of different types of leadership theories indicated the efforts of previous researchers in the studies of leadership. Those theories play important role for the further literature study of the leadership (Morgeson, DeRue, and Karam, 2010). The management styles in Asian countries are different with those in western countries. Therefore, there is difficult to practice the western style of leadership in Asian countries such as Malaysia. Consequently, the leadership styles and theories that are accepted by western countries may not have the notable impact on the management styles of organizations in Malaysia (Lee, 2008). Every leader is different in his or her attitudes, behaviours, and management styles. Hence, there is no single theory works for all leaders. Leaders need to develop their own leadership approach by learning more about the following leadership theories. Great Man Theory Trait theory Contingency Theory Leadership Theories Behavioral Theory Transactional Theory Transformational Theory 2.1.1 Great Man Theory Researchers who support the Great Man Theory believe that people are born with the ability and competency to become a leader (Penn, 2008). The earlier studies defined that Great Man Theory described the leaders that had achieved greatness in their behaviours and attitudes (Daft, 2008). In the new era of today, there are still people that are willing to believe in this theory. Although this theory may sound old-fashioned in the eyes of some people in management team today, research suggests that some people actually possess the intelligence, personality traits, and characteristic that lead them to become good leader (Penn, 2008; Yaverbaum and Sherman, 2008). The term Great Man Theory was first studied by Thomas Carlyle (1841) who suggested that great men are the people that posses the intelligent and created the history of the world. Carlyle argued that great man is born with well personality traits, good behaviours, and high degree of knowledge. They are the people that able to facil itate their power and ability of leadership and open minded which lead them to become a great leader and will leave their footprints in the legend and history (Eckmann, 2005). Leader Born Personality traits Behaviours Knowledge 2.1.2 Trait Theory Trait Theory suggested that an effective leader can be identified through the recognition of his or her traits. Traits are the personal characteristic that possess by a leader, such as intelligence, knowledge, values, ideas, self-confidence, and attire or appearance (Daft, 2008). Trait theory suggested that a leader that complete with perfect and unique characteristic will become an effective leader. There were several studies found that potential leader will posses that similar straits of an effective leader. Trait theory had been neglected in the pass studies of leadership. However, as there had been more researchers explored the studies of leadership theories, more research had been done on this theory in recently years (Penn, 2008). Since the studies about straits theory has getting more popular, more research can be done on other personal traits that a leaders possess such as physical and social characteristic so that a more specific and appropriate trait of an effective leader can be develop. According to Daft (2008), there were some studies of this theory showed that same kind of personal characteristic may not suitable for every situation as the environment is always changing. Leader Characteristics or Traits Intelligence Values Self- confidence Appearance 2.1.3 Contingency Theory Contingency theory suggested that effective leaders will perform an appropriate leadership practices according to the different environment and situation (Penn, 2008). They will commit in the management styles that suitable and acceptable by the employees and organizations. According to this theory, the challenge and environment for every organization was different, so there was no a particular leadership or management style that can fit into all kinds of scenarios. A leadership style will have a positive impact for the organization and its member when the style fulfils the requirement of the situation and expectations of the employees. There were two Contingency had been identified in the past studies which were Path-Goal theory and Situational theory (Penn, 2008). According to Daft (2008), Path- Goal Theory suggested leaders can increase the commitment and enthusiasm of the employees to their jobs through the implementation of the leaders behaviours that fulfil the expectation of the employees. Besides that, this theory emphasized that employees organizational commitment can be increase through the using of reward to show the appreciation of contributions of the employees. On the other hand, Situational Theory emphasized that suitable and appropriate leadership styles will be formed for different situations and leaders have to make sure that their leadership styles are match with the abilities of the subordinates and function in the right situation (Hamilton, 1992). Contingency Theory Path-Goal Theory Situational Theory Leader Behaviour Use of Rewards Right Situation Leadership Style 2.1.4 Behavioral Theory In contrast to other theory discussed above, Behavioural Theory suggested that the actions of leaders will have a positive impact when the leaders perform appropriate behaviours that fit into the situations. In other words, everyone can learn to become a good leader if he or she can match the categories of their behaviours with the appropriate leadership styles (Katsuhiko, 2007; Shapira, 1997). According to Coleman (1986), Blake and Mouton of the University of Texas had proposed a two-dimensional leadership theory called the leadership grid. Each axis on the grid is a nine-point scale, with 1 meaning low concern and 9 meaning high concern. Figure 4.1.4 shows the leadership grid. According to Blake and Mouton (1980), Team management (9,9) was considered as the most effective leadership style because all members in the organizations that work together as a team will complete the tasks faster and can achieve a better result through the process of knowledge sharing in a team. Country club management (1,9) occurred when the leaders were behave to be more concern about the well-being of the employees instead of the productivity of the company. In a contrast, Authority- compliance management (9,1) occurred when the leaders show more concern of the productivity instead of the well-being of the employees. Nevertheless, Middle-of-the-road management (5,5) reflected a moderate amount of concern for both people and production. Impoverished management (1,1) was identified as the worst leadership style as the leaders are not concern for both people in the organization and productivity of the organization. Managers are not put their efforts in the maintaining of the relati onship with the subordinates. They also do not concern of the sustainability of the organizations production. 2.1.5 Transactional Theory Transactional leadership suggested that there was an agreement of contract made between the leader and follower about the obligations of both parties (Penn, 2008). According to the agreement, the followers need to perform and accomplish the task and instructions given by the leaders with full commitment. Instead, leaders have to recognize the contributions of the employees and reward them if the tasks given are being fulfilled effectively. Transactional leadership suggested that people tend to put in more effort in order to complete tasks given when there is existence of the rewards and reorganization. However, in the today diverse working environment that full with challenges, there are getting more people that put in effort to complete the task not by the attraction of rewards, they are doing so due to the self motivation and the inspiration of challenge themselves. Transactional leadership consists of two factors which are contingent reward and management by exception (Bass, 1990) . Contingent reward is formed when there is a mutually agreement between leaders and followers in with the ultimate purpose of achieving the objectives and goals of the company. On the other hand, management by exception is focusing on task execution which means that there is mutual trust between the leaders and the employees. Leaders will try their best in correcting the problems arise in order to maintain employees well performance (Weinberger, 2009). Transactional leadership Contingent Reward Management by Exception Mutual Agreement Focusing on task execution Correcting Problems 2.1.6 Transformational Theory Burns (1978) developed the original idea of Transformational Theory. This theory was defined as a process that transforms people through the motivation, values, and well planning goals which can lead the leaders and followers to higher level of satisfaction and successful in achieving target (Anagnoste, Agoston, Puia, 2010). This theory also indicated the ability of leaders in satisfying the needs and expectations of the followers (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987). Bass (1985) suggested that Transformational Theory emphasized the influence of leaders to the followers by developing a way that can encourage the commitment of the followers to achieve a better performance (McCall, Jr., Morgan, 1986). Transformational leaders tend to have the capability to inspire the subordinates. They always encourage the employees to explore deeper of their potential so that they can be more confident about themselves and can contribute more in the effort of achieving the goals of organization (Carless, 2001). According to Bass (1985), there were four major factors that must be practiced by the leaders that wanted to commit in Transformational Leadership. The first factor was Charisma which emphasized on the characteristics expressed by the leaders that can attract and retain the employees through their persuasive words and actions. The second factor was Inspirational leadership which was defined as a sub factor within charismatic leadership behaviour. The leaders that commit in this leadership have the capability to motivate and influent others through the emotional qualities. The third factor was Individualized Consideration which means that the leaders concern for the needs and development of each employee and they respect the dignity of each employee. The last factor was Intellectual Stimulation which implied the intelligent of leaders in problem solving. They encourage the subordinates in asking question and explore the potential of employees to be creative (McCall, Jr., Morgan, 1986) . Transformational Leadership Charisma Inspirational Individualized Intellectual Leadership Consideration Stimulation 2.2 Leadership Practices There were several aspects of the studies of leadership practices because it compromised by different identifications and reorganization (Morgeson, DeRue, and Karam, 2010). An effective leadership practices is the main key to improve employees achievement. Therefore, the focus on this study is to identify the effectiveness of leadership practices in promoting the followers to achieve higher level of organizational commitment. According to Knab (2009), leaders that perform well leadership practices have the ability to motivate and generate interest of the employees to the jobs. At the same time, they are the leaders that can inspire the employees to strive for the wellness of the organization and productivity and look beyond their own self interest. Kouzes and Posner (1993) suggested that credibility is characteristic that can be learnt by leaders through the experience of previous actions. Leaders that had been through different kinds of challenges tend to be more mature and know the way to handle their relationship with subordinates (Woods, 2007). Leaders are responsible to strive and maintain the credibility through continuing behaviours. With credibility as the essential ingredient of leadership, leaders need to always improve in that particular area in order to increase the trust and commitment of employees to them. Kouzes and Posner (2007) also suggested that the theory of leadership practices had been studied by many researchers and those practices can be studied jointly or independently. According to the previous research, practices of credible leaders can be defined in five categories which are: (a) Challenge the Process (b) Inspire a Shared Vision (c) Enable Others to Act (d) Model the Way (e) Encourage the Heart Leadership can happen at any location, in any form and occur in anytime. The effective leaders that organize the people well can accomplish many and different kinds of difficult tasks. According to Kouzes and Posner (2009), every leader that wanted to success in the leadership must commit in the five dimensions of leadership practices that mentioned earlier. 2.2.1 Challenge the Process The meaning of this Challenge the Process leadership practice was defined detail by Kouzes Posner (1995). The previous studies showed that this particular leadership practice described the characteristic of a leader that always look into the opportunity and space for improvement. They are the group of people that willing to confront with the challenges and risks. Besides that, they always prepare themselves to face the changing of the world (Knab, 2009). Leaders that commit in this leadership practice are not afraid of failure, instead they take failure as a process to grow up and improve. The leadership practice of Challenge the Process emphasized on the attitude of leaders that always prepared to venture out. They are the group of people that able to accept new creations and encourage the followers to accept new products, systems, and processes. In fact, they are the one that bring into the new products or services into the organization. The leaders engaged in this leadership practices are the originators of innovation. Therefore, this leadership practice suggested that the leaders to constantly think the situation from different dimensions so that they can create a different and unexpected new thing that can contribute to the productivity of the organization (Kouzes Posner, 2009). 2.2.2 Inspire a Shared Vision Members of the organization expect their leaders to have a clear image of the future and share the vision with them. Leaders who committed leadership practice of inspire a shared vision will helps everyone to formulate a clear picture about future goals that are acceptable and achievable by everyone (Knab, 2009). Leaders play a significant role in communicates the objectives and future plans to the employees in an effective way, and in the meanwhile inspires them to work towards a shared vision. According to Hyatt (2007), the effective leaders that commit in this leadership practice have to share their ideas with the employees. Therefore, the employees will know the direction that of their effort and will strive towards the goal with full commitment. Besides that, the leadership practice of Inspire a Shared Vision emphasized on the behaviours of the leaders that allow the employees to take part in the forming of future vision (Hyatt, 2007; Gabris Ihrke, 2000). Thus, employees will have a feeling that they are part of the organization and play an important part in future planning. Leaders that engaged in this practice are willing to accept known possibilities of the future. They tend to figure out the outcome first before they give the instructions to start a new project. Therefore, they will form a clear picture about what exactly they are pursuing and the best way to achieve the successful. Furthermore, they create a common and shared vision taking into account of the needs and expectations of all members in the organization (Kouzes Posner, 2009). 2.2.3 Enable Others to Act According to Knab (2009), an effective leader that engaged in leadership practice of Enable Other to Act have the ability to influent others and encourage others to act in the way that expected by the leader. They are the leaders that support and encourage the employees to speak out their mind and contribute their ideas in the projects. Besides that, they always provide options for the employees and inspire the commitment of the employees. This leadership practice emphasized the effort of leaders and subordinates work as a team (Woods, 2007). Therefore, leaders play an important part in nurturing mutual trust within the team members (Hyatt, 2007; Tan Tan, 2000). In order to achieve successful in a project, mutual trust and cooperation among the team members are extremely important. This practice also suggested that leaders enable others to act not by forcing or strictly command. Instead, they encourage others to act through the delegation of power (Hyatt, 2007; Gabris Ihrke, 2000). They allowed the employees to make their own decision as long as the decision they make was for the good of the organization. Moreover, they always use the word we to emphasize the important to work as a team (Kouzes Posner, 2009). Thus, the employees will have a perception that they are on the same boat with others member, then the organizational commitment will increase. 2.2.4 Model the Way The leadership practice of Model the Way suggested that leaders can develop and foster mutual trust between the leader and subordinates and within the subordinates by being the role model for the subordinates (Knab, 2009). Leaders that engaged in this practice are the leaders that ethic, honest and respect dignity of others. They will clearly define the obligations of employees and give a specific instruction so that employees will receive a clear picture of what are the expectations of leaders to them. According to the study of Woods (2007), it was defined that leaders that engaged in this particular leadership practices are able to express themselves with a clear values. Then they will make sure that their behaviour and attitudes are aligned with the values they show to the employees. Competency leaders know that they must involve in the role model expected by employees so that they can gain the trust of the employees and upgrade the commitment of the employees. To be an effective leader that model the way, leaders have to make sure their values and beliefs were accepted by the employees and demonstrate their daily actions that committed to their values and standards (Hyatt, 2007; Gabris Ihrke, 2000). Leaders actions will have more impact on the commitment of the employees than their words or instructions. However, leaders actions must be consistent with what they are promised to the employees. Besides that, leaders have to identify their position in the eyes of employees. They have to make sure that their existence in the organization is important and their instructions always followed by the subordinates. The leadership practice of Model the Way explained the right attitudes that leaders should commit in their direct interaction with employees. The leaders that act as a role model tend to be the leaders that earn the respect of the employees (Kouzes Posner, 2009). 2.2.5 Encourage the Heart Leaders that engaged in leadership practice of Encourage the Heart are willing to show their appreciation to the employees publicly, and always find ways to celebrate the achievement of the subordinates (Knab, 2009). Therefore, people will be more enthusiasm to their job as their contributions are appreciated by the leaders. Besides that, the employees that receive the recognition of the leaders will increase in their self-confidence and self-esteem (Hyatt, 2007; Javidan Waldman, 2003). Thus, they will not be afraid to share their ideas and knowledge with other colleagues. The increase of confidence of employees will then encourage the commitment of employees in their jobs. This will be a competitive advantage for the organization to compete in this challenging world. The high level of organizational commitment among the employees will then increase the productivity ultimately. In the process of upgrading the quality of the products and services require the leaders to motivate the heart of the employees. Leaders play an essential role to ensure that the employees values are align with the objectives of the company (Kouzes Posner, 2009). The leaders that appreciate the effort of the employees will increase the sense of belonging of the employees. When the employees feel that they are a part of the members in the organization, they will be more commit in their jobs and willing to stay with the organization even in the through tough times. 2.3 Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment had received highly attention of the researchers in the previous studies. Previous research had identified that organizational commitment had a significant influence in some aspect of working attitudes and behaviours such as job satisfaction, job performance, and turnover rate (Lee, 2008; Lok and Crawford, 2001; Yousef, 2000). Organizational commitment focuses on employees commitment to the organization. Mowday et al., (1974) explained the definition of organizational commitment as the belief of employees regarding the organizations objectives and values. This will imply the desire of the employees effort and the willingness to contribute to the organization. The employees will be more committed in their organizations if the values and culture of the organizations align with their expectations. Then they will stay loyalty to the organization. According to Cole (2000), a committed worker always believes in companys products and services. He or she is willing to put in a lot of effort and even willing to make sacrifices as long as the purpose is for the good of company. Besides that, the employees are willing to introduce the company to their friends. They will feel proud of their company and recommend their organization to the others as the best place to work for. Furthermore, they will choose to contribute to the company that spur out their organizational commitment rather than the company that provide high salary but absence of the sense of belonging (Lee, 2008). Meyer and Allen (1991) developed three different types of organizational commitment. According to Woods (2007), the three aspects of organizational commitment were defined as below. Affective Commitment This aspect of the commitment described the feeling of employees to the organization that expressed in a positive way. They feel attach to the organization because the organization provided them a sense of belonging. The choose stay in the organization because they want to. Continuance Commitment This aspect of the commitment explained the perceptions of the employees that they will lose their benefits if they leave the organization. Besides that, they afraid to suffer the cost of losing their friendship with colleagues and the cost of losing the economic cost such as insurance, welfare, bonus, and etc. Therefore, they will choose to stay in the organization because they have to. Normative Commitment This aspect of the commitment suggested that the employees continue to contribute to the organization as they have a feeling of obligation. There will be many causes of that feeling. For instance, an employee will have a sense of moral obligation and afraid to leave the company as the company had invested a lot in his or her training. Therefore, the employee will have a perception that he or she has the responsibility to stay still in the organization. As a result, the employees will choose to commit in the organization as they feel that they ought to. 2.4 Summary Leadership was defined in many meanings by researchers and it showed that leadership was indeed plays an important role in todays organization. Although there have been many different theories and definitions of leadership, there is still space for further research about leadership (Lee, 2008). Since it was suggested by previous studies that principal of leadership is the key to improve employees achievement, it is important that we continue to investigate what type of leadership is most effective for the organizations (Knab, 2009). The need for effective and efficient leadership practices are important for the leaders in today organization to engage in. Sufficient and efficient practices of leadership in the organization by leaders will increases the organizational commitment of the employees. As a result, the productivity will also be increased. A leader may have knowledge and skills to act effectively in one situation but he or she may not perform as effectively in a different situation as there is always consist of different challenges in different situation (Lee, 2008; Rad and Yarmohammadian, 2006). In this chapter, the theories of leadership were defined. Subsequently, in this chapter the five leadership practices was explained and its important was discussed as well. Furthermore, the meaning of organizational commitment also be defined and three-component model of commitment was identified.

Harley Davidson Essay -- essays research papers

Harley-Davidson Case Study Introduction of the Company In 1903 William Harley and Arthur Davidson produced the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle for sale to the public. The first year’s production was only three motorcycles with one dealer. In 1909, Harley-Davidson introduced the first? V-twin engine, which is still the company standard today. Harley-Davidson rapidly grew to the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world by early 1920s, with 2,000 dealers in 67 different countries. By the 1930s all of the American competition was gone. Harley-Davidson suspended production of civilian motorcycles during World War II, and only built motorcycles for the military, exclusively. When the war was over, Harley-Davidson converted back to civilian production. Harley-Davidson's growth was fueled by acquisitions as well as capitalizing on new technologies. In 1969 Harley-Davidson merged with American Machine and Foundry (AMF). By the 1970s other competitors were entering the global market, and many of them were from overseas. In an attempt to transform the company, in 1981,a senior executive of Harley-Davidson bought the company from AMF and turned the company around dramatically. Harley-Davidson emerged with new products and innovations along with a new commitment to quality, creating the dynasty Harley-Davidson has become today. Harley-Davidson's success continued to grow as they received tariff relief from the International Trade Commission on 700cc motorcycles. Another event contributing to Davidson's renewed success was the formation of the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.). This company sponsored club consisted of riders who transformed motorcycling into a family-oriented social sport. It continues to be very successful with 600,000 owners and 1,200 chapters worldwide. Economic Indicators Internationally, Harley-Davidson revenue has exceeded $816 million, which accounts for 18% of the net revenue for motorcycles. The Harley-Davidson emblem is an international icon and the sound of V-twin engine is unmistakable. Harley-Davidson is the number one motorcycle manufacturer and is also the number one seller of heavyweight bikes in the U.S. They also sell a line of clothing and accessories as well as make bikes under the Buell nameplate. Harley-Davidson’s attire has attitude and rightfully so, there is no other motorcycle as classy as the â€Å"Harley†. One Harley-Davidson ... ... and strong brand recognition, it may appear as if they can’t improve much more than they already have. As with any business, the one thing Harley-Davidson can do wrong is be too confident in their success. They have to search for new markets and continuously improve their current products. They need to remain flexible and knowledge of their internal and external strengths and weaknesses. As with any company in the lead, competitors will seek to copy what they have or improve upon their technologies. Harley-Davidson’s loyal market is aging and they have not been successful in tapping into the female riders or the African American riders. Recently Harley-Davidson commercials have begun appearing on certain networks targeted for these markets. The new commercials also feature the female rider. If Harley-Davidson is successful is attracting these new markets, they will also have to expand their products to meet the demands of the new demographic. Harley-Davidson appears to be poised to go after this market and if history repeats itself, Harley-Davidson will continue to stay in front on their strategies and continue to remain a force to be reckoned with in this industry.

Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Grays Elegy (Eulogy) Written in

Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard By combining the formal and dialogical approaches, patterns and voices within the text seemingly interplay and overlap to reveal a deeper sense of the author's intentions. While the formalistic analysis focuses on the text and the unfolding themes within, the dialogical analysis recognizes "...the essential indeterminacy of meaning outside of the dialogic - and hence open - relationship between voices" (HCAL 349). When applied to "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," these two approaches collaborate to emphasize recurring concepts and establish a twisted sense of authority. Formal analysis identifies the initial elements of a work and determines their significance in relation to what remains. By selecting such a title as an "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the author is providing the reader with an indication for what will follow. Amazingly, the poem is exactly what the title states. It is an "elegy," expressing grief and lamentation for the humble unknown villagers who hav... Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard By combining the formal and dialogical approaches, patterns and voices within the text seemingly interplay and overlap to reveal a deeper sense of the author's intentions. While the formalistic analysis focuses on the text and the unfolding themes within, the dialogical analysis recognizes "...the essential indeterminacy of meaning outside of the dialogic - and hence open - relationship between voices" (HCAL 349). When applied to "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," these two approaches collaborate to emphasize recurring concepts and establish a twisted sense of authority. Formal analysis identifies the initial elements of a work and determines their significance in relation to what remains. By selecting such a title as an "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the author is providing the reader with an indication for what will follow. Amazingly, the poem is exactly what the title states. It is an "elegy," expressing grief and lamentation for the humble unknown villagers who hav...