Great Gatsby: American Dream

As time flows everlastingly on, the dreams which man builds Its self upon are prone to change. Throughout American history the American dream has changed from being one which inspired and fed the hopes of people all over the country, to the twenties' mangled interpretation of it, where everything revolved around money and status. This theme is expressed in multiple characters and more specifically Gatsby who is a prime example of such corruption.The untimely demise of Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby, signals the unraveling of the American dream. In the beginning of the novel Gatsby dream is pure in its initial form. Starting out his dream is Just like any other's, one with glory and a better life for himself as he believed he deserved. Eventually he gain his dream of riches, this being reflected In his new life In the West Egg with his mansion being brand new apart from the Ivy coating It possesses along with his vast amount of lawn area. Fitzgerald 9) Gatsby pays spec ial attention to his lawn also, cultivating It as he did with his rise to fortune and controlling most details apart from one section allowed to grow wild, which was a Indo to see the inner turmoil of Gatsby. This anxiety within is helped by the fact that one of Gatsby driving notions in the book was to When the realization hits that Gatsby dream is becoming a false sense of its self, the reader is forced to look deeper into the character of Gatsby and who he really is.This leads to the discovery of Gatsby continually living in the past, often times fabricating a story to make himself seem more outgoing and distanced from what he truly is, leaving the reader wondering â€Å"if there wasn't something a little sinister about him after all. (Fitzgerald 69) These tendencies led Gatsby to boast about what materialistic Items he has today and what he can give himself and others. Such as when Gatsby Is feeling anxious about Daisy coming over for tea he mows his own yard for a sense of con trol then extends his control to also â€Å"[send someone] over to cut [Nick's] grass. (Fitzgerald 88) Eventually, Gatsby possessive feelings lead to the corruption of his dream of winning over Daisy because he begins to want to possess her as well. The final turning point In the novel relating to Gatsby distress with his dream is he climaxing fight between Tom and himself over Daisy. Gatsby being so corrupted now, that he yells and forces his supposed true love to tell her husband she never loved him. (Fitzgerald 139) In the end this actually pushes Daisy away more and back into the arms of her husband, Tom.Within Fitzgerald novel the American dream was once seen as a budding new concept but In the end failed to bloom due to the circumstances in which the characters, specifically Gatsby, took to find their route to their believed happiness. Great Gatsby: American Dream By Instrumentalists As time flows everlastingly on, the dreams which man builds its self upon are In the beginnin g of the novel Gatsby dream is pure in its initial form. Starting believed he deserved.Eventually he gain his dream of riches, this being reflected in his new life in the West Egg with his mansion being brand new apart from the coating it possesses along with his vast amount of lawn area. (Fitzgerald 9) Gatsby pays special attention to his lawn also, cultivating it as he did with his rise to fortune hat one of Gatsby driving notions in the book was to materialistic items he has today and what he can give himself and others.Such as when Gatsby is feeling anxious about Daisy coming over for tea he mows his own cut [Nicks] grass. † (Fitzgerald 88) Eventually, Gatsby possessive feelings lead to the The final turning point in the novel relating to Gatsby distress with his dream is the climaxing fight between Tom and himself over Daisy. Gatsby being so corrupted concept but in the end failed to bloom due to the circumstances in which the

Marketing – Positioning a New Product

Marketing | | | | Positioning a Radically New Product ForceX, Inc. has plans to create a new Situational Awareness (SA) product that is targeted towards Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA). This new product is a clear departure from the normal Mission Execution products that ForceX, Inc. has developed in the past.Mission Execution software applications normally encompass Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Target Tracking and Locating (TTL) software products that take mission planning data and provide the operators with the functional capabilities to use the planning data in the execution of their assigned mission(s). ForceX, Inc. is attempting to diversify its customer base by moving into this market as well as achieving their strategic vision of becoming the leader in providing SA software solutions. Target MarketThe target market for this product in Federal, State, and Local LEA that conduct emergency response operations in support policin g actions or natural disasters. The customers in this market have ISR and TTL software and equipment provided by other vendors. In all cases the software applications provided by competitors fall into only one of the two categories. None of the vendors in this market provide a solution that combines the two tactical operations of ISR and TTL into one application that provides a situational awareness for operators conducting both ground and airborne operations.The total picture enables law enforcement personnel to conduct all of their tactical operations from a single â€Å"common picture†. It is imperative for law enforcement personnel to have a clear understanding of the situation as they develop their tactics for neutralizing the situation. Unlike the Department of Defense (DoD), LEA have a more stringent set of rules for the use of deadly force during violent situations, to prevent collateral damage and potential lawsuits. The more information that is disseminated to the o west levels of operational personnel the better that chance of mission success with minimum or no collateral damage. This new product alleviates the need for two separate applications and combines the ISR and TTL operations into one software package that will reduce costs. Cost reduction will be experienced in several areas such as software, training, documentation, etc. It will also enable the operators to successfully complete their missions. LEA have limited budgets and resources and ForceX, Inc. an position the new product at a cost far less than the competitor’s product offerings while solving the two highest requirements with one software application. Competition An analysis of the competition in the market shows that the competitors are capable of filling the airborne ISR requirements of the law enforcement market. Their technology is up to date and in some cases is cutting edge. However, there is a distinct lack of the capability to provide and distribute a situationa l awareness â€Å"common picture† to all elements participating in the operation.Competition in this market is fierce and current users will be hard pressed to change to ForceX, Inc. ’s application unless the cost is low and the functional capabilities are high. There are no competitors in the market that serve both the DoD and LEA. All of the competitors only provide ISR applications and most do not distribute the data to ground users. ForceX, Inc. ’s product provides a single software application that allows the ISR platform to distribute real-time situational awareness data any and all elements of the operation being conducted. Positioning Strategy ForceX, Inc. s not the first product to be offered in this market and therefore would be considered a market follower or a market challenger. It would not be in the company’s best interest to go head-to-head for market leadership. ForceX, Inc. will do better by using a strategy that exploits the weaknesses o f those currently in the market. Using its reputation in the DoD market the company can create an image that portrays the superior attributes of its software application and how the software has been combat tested and combat proven. None of the other competitors in this market can make this claim.The Role of Social Media Using social media for ForceX, Inc. would not be a viable solution based on its current customer base of DoD and Department of Homeland Security users. ForceX, Inc. ’s customers and their associated tactical operations are in some cases â€Å"Top Secret† and information posted on social media sites would have to be scrutinized by the ForceX, Inc. ’s Security Officer to insure that no classified information is being posted. The use of social media sites are discouraged by the Defense Security Service for individuals possessing a security clearance.It is their contention that what seems to be harmless data placed on a social media sites can be col lected and piece together to gain sensitive or classified information. This same axiom holds true for corporations and its employees. There is another aspect of Social Media that ForceX, Inc. can take advantage of and that is attracting new talent to come to work at ForceX, Inc. The social media that does this best is LinkedIn because of its link to professionals of all categories and all levels of ability. ForceX, Inc. needs to take advantage of this type of social media to post jobs, attract new talent, and build their brand.However, when ForceX, Inc. decides to launch its commercial product line social media would definitely provide their commercial products with the exposure they need to be successful. If ForceX, Inc. decides to use social media as part of their marketing strategy, we would recommend that they either hire a professional to be on staff or entrust their social media endeavors to a consulting firm that is an expert in the field of social media marketing. Social med ia is a relatively new tool in a company’s marketing tool chest and is quickly becoming a very important part of a company’s strategy for developing its client base.Prior to social media traditional websites were the mainstay for digital marketing efforts. Social media was designed supplement traditional websites not replace them. It is a low cost robust and responsive means to market to customers. To gain a better prospective of the role social media is playing in the market place consider the following facts extracted from â€Å"2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report†: * â€Å"94% of all businesses with a marketing department used social media as part of their marketing platform. * â€Å"Almost 60% of marketers are devoting the equivalent of a full work day to social media marketing development and maintenance. † * â€Å"43% of people aged 20-29 spend more than 10 hours a week on social media sites. † * â€Å"85% of all businesses that hav e a dedicated social media platform as part of their marketing strategy reported an increase in their market exposure. † * â€Å"58% of businesses that have used social media marketing for over 3 years reported an increase in sales over that period. † It stands to reason that companies can no longer avoid not have a presence in the social media realm.There are a myriad of social networking sites but our research has determined that there are four top sites that a company should consider developing a presence in, if they choose to market in this realm: * Facebook – the strategy in this social media would be to create a page for the corporation. Some experts consider this as an â€Å"interactive yellow pages listing†, which Facebook users can follow. On this page the corporation can outline the products and services the corporation offers, post deals on their products and services, launch new products and services, and build the corporation’s brand. T witter – the strategy in this social media would be to use the 140 character â€Å"tweets† to market the corporation’s products, product and services news releases, inform followers of special product and services offers, and notify followers of new site content. Twitter also provides users with the ability to search for information on a particular topic using hashtags. Hashtags allow the corporation to direct fellow â€Å"tweeters† to specific concepts or information in their business tweets. Google+ – the strategy in this social media would be to use the â€Å"Promote† option that allows corporations to create different groupings of followers that can be each marketed to differently. The corporation should also take advantage of the â€Å"Measure† feature that allows the corporation to keep track of how their Google+ page is being used. * LinkedIn – ForceX, Inc. ’s strategy in this social media would be to develop a ne twork of professionals and build brand awareness. LinkedIn allows you to establish your company representatives as industry experts and to connect with prospects, vendor partners, and peers.LinkedIn also provides companies with the ability to post jobs and search for talent. Marketing is an instrument corporations can use to inform consumers about their products and services, who ForceX, Inc. is, and what they offer. Social media accomplishes this for ForceX, Inc. as follows: * Social media can provide an identity to who the company is and the products or services that they offer. * Corporations can create relationships using social media with people who might not otherwise know about the company’s products or service or what the company represents. Social media makes the corporation â€Å"real† to consumers. If the company wants people to follow them, they must insure that they don't just talk about the latest product news, but share the company’s personality w ith them. * The company can use social media to associate themselves with their peers, that may be serving the same target market. * The company can use social media to communicate and provide the interaction that consumers look for. It is apparent from marketing studies that marketing through social media works but it must be done correctly to be efficient and effective.It is imperative that before ForceX, Inc. decides to launch a marketing strategy in social media their management must consider the following guidelines. * ForceX, Inc. cannot depend on social media cannot be your sole marketing tool. To work ForceX, Inc. must integrate it with other vehicles of marketing. While social media will create awareness, it will take time to build up a following. Building a following is a major key to success in marketing through social media, but it doesn’t happen overnight. * Success in social media is directly dependent upon how ForceX, Inc. reflects its personality.There are no written â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† rules when it comes to social media, only the ForceX, Inc. ’s management can determine what will work for them. * Be consistent, if ForceX, Inc. can’t be consistent don’t do it at all – it would be a waste of the corporation’s resources. * Social media must be a part of the ForceX, Inc. ’s everyday life to maintain momentum and attention. Internet Marketing ForceX, Inc. must take extreme care with the information that is placed on their website. As previously stated with social media, there is a risk associated with the information placed anywhere on the Internet.Sensitive information can be derived from pulling pieces of data from what would appear to be unconnected sites and putting it together to form information that could be detrimental to our national security. Information regarding products being developed for the DoD and DHS should be scrubbed by their Facility Security Officer (FSO) to insure that marketing information doesn’t contain any data that would violate the procedures outlined in the National Industrial Security Program Operational Manual (NISPOM).However, there is a need for Internet marketing for launching their new commercial product called â€Å"Widow† that is targeted for LEA. In this section we will address the benefits that ForceX, Inc. would gain from an Internet marketing campaign for products and services as well as and the best approach for them to achieve their internet marketing goals. The fundamental component of Internet marketing is as one would suspect; a company website that contains all of the information a customer would need to determine if ForceX, Inc. ’s products and services meet their needs. The key benefit for ForceX, Inc. ould be to promote their business and to support their branding efforts. Although ForceX, Inc. does not derive sales from their website is important that they use this to media to incre ase awareness to the products and services that ForceX, Inc. develops. ForceX, Inc. currently has a website that contains all the information that ForceX, Inc. wants its potential customers to know: from what company it is, the products and services it provides, descriptions of items being marketed, reviews by experts and customers, business partners, job postings, the company’s history, and other pertinent information.ForceX, Inc. does not have a formal marketing department and currently doesn’t have the resources necessary to support a department that does marketing only. So, in order for ForceX, Inc. to maintain their position in the market place and to compete with competitors that do have a marketing arm. Internet marketing provides ForceX, Inc. with a low cost solution to offset their competitor’s efforts to gain a bigger share of the market. This is a great benefit when they are trying to compete with bigger companies that have unlimited resources.Interne t marketing is all about perceptions and the image that the website portrays can give the perception that ForceX, Inc. is bigger and better than its competitors – good website design is the key here. There is also a huge benefit that comes from the customers that can be reached and the convenience of potential customers to research ForceX, Inc. whenever it’s convenient for them. The Internet provides access to new customers that ForceX, Inc. may not know that they exist, a good example would be a project engineer or program manger looking for a solution to their problems. A lot of ForceX, Inc. s leads come from personnel who are working with existing customers that have the same requirements or a slight variation of what they may need. Internet marketing allows these potential customers to be anywhere in the world and still have access to ForceX, Inc. ’s website. The Internet provides ForceX, Inc. With the ability to proliferate their products and services onlin e, ForceX, Inc. can reach a wide variety of customers quickly and easily. The benefits of Internet Marketing to ForceX, Inc. may not be as great as they are to retail companies but we believe that ForceX, Inc. would greatly benefit from a good online campaign.In order to optimize their resources and get the â€Å"biggest bang† for their buck, we would suggest that ForceX, use the following guidelines in developing a strategy for their online presence. Having a website is not enough though since internet marketing needs effective, innovative, and up to date approaches in order to generate interest and new customers for the business. There are a lot of websites that are in existence today which directly compete for the same customers as ForceX, Inc. Most of the potential customers are more than likely to use a search engine to find information relative to a problem they are trying to solve.This is where the importance of search engine enters. In order to implement an effective and successful web marketing strategy, ForceX, Inc. will need the services of search engine marketing experts who can design the right strategies and solutions specific to their business. This is an essential and cost-effective step in order to reap the maximum benefit that the web can offer. The next thing we would suggest ForceX, Inc. implement is a campaign to publish articles or get listed in news stories or write and publish online press releases that get them a larger online presence.This is essential for insuring that the search engines will pick up their site because of the increased web presence. Getting ranked at the top of the leading search engines can be accomplished by using good â€Å"search optimization techniques†, this is the key to getting noticed online. Branding ForceX, Inc. Logo ForceX, Inc. Logo The foundation of ForceX, Inc. ’s brand is their logo. Their website, packaging and promotional materials have their logo integrated which has effectivel y communicated their brand. ForceX, Inc. derived its corporate name from the military terminology â€Å"Force Multiplier†.A force multiplier is a capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of successful mission accomplishment. Instead of naming the corporation the Force Multiplier, the owner used the â€Å"X† at the end of Force to indicate the multiplication symbol thus indicating that the corporation’s use and employment of the latest software technologies was a force multiplier. The owner’s military roots were in the Special Operations community where the dagger is a symbol of unconventional warfare as well as courage and daring in combat.The dagger symbology was used to form the â€Å"X† in ForceX, and the daggers where placed behind the globe to indicate the company’s commitment to deliver their services wherever our fighting forces are deployed and to preserve the company’s heritage which stems from the Special Operations community. Anyone who has ever served in a Special Operations unit recognizes what the daggers symbolizes in ForceX’s logo and can immediately identify with what the company stands for. The â€Å"crosshairs† on the globe symbolize the pinpoint accuracy that their software applications deliver to their customers.The ForceX, Inc. logo has been recognized as the company’s promise to its customers to enhance their probability of successful mission accomplishment no matter where they are in the world. There are many ways that ForceX, Inc. could benefit from a branding strategy. Consistent, strategic branding would lead to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to ForceX, Inc. ’s products and services that allows them to charge more for their brand than what identical, unbranded/weak branded products command.The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example, ForceX, Inc. associates its products with Special Operations Forces; hoping customers will transfer their emotional attachment from the Special Operations Forces to the product. For ForceX, Inc. it's not just the software application’s features that sell the software application. ForceX, Inc. relies heavily on the customer’s willingness to pay a license fee for their core software modules. License sales are pure profit and are vital to continuing to pursue internalResearch and Development efforts that allow them to remain competitive in the market. Building and maintaining brand equity allows ForceX, Inc. to charge a premium price for their licensable core software algorithms and insuring the customers are willing to pay this premium. We have done an analysis of the ForceX, Inc. ’s branding efforts and we recommend the following steps to enable them to maximize their efforts. * ForceX, Inc. has a great logo and we would have them place it on all media, both internal and external to ForceX, Inc. such as pamphlets, marketing material, written communications, etc. * Develop brand messaging. What are the key messages they want to communicate about their brand? Every employee should be aware of the company’s brand attributes. * Integrate their brand. Branding extends to every aspect of their business; how they answer their phones, what employees and management personnel wear during meetings and other interactions with customers, employee e-mail signatures. * They need to create a â€Å"voice† for their company that reflects their brand.This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, on-line and off. * Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of their brand. * Design templates and create brand standards for the ir marketing and promotional materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, and look and feel throughout – be consistent. * Be true to their brand. Customers won't return to them; or refer them to someone else if they don't deliver on their brand promise. * Be consistent. Be consistent. Be consistent.

Portfolio of Festivals and Events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Portfolio of Festivals and Events - Essay Example Among the members of its member are renowned business organizations like Nokia, Sprint, IBM, and Makewave and ProSyst. With its quest in providing specification, reference implementations, test suites, and certification to foster a valuable cross-industry ecosystem, it conducts a four day community event which it refers to as OSGi Alliance Community Event. This four day event highlights the technology of the organization and the services that it offers. It is especially targeted to developers and business decision makers who will "gain valuable and actionable information and instruction" (OSGi Alliance Community Event 2007). OSGi prepares the event for the benefit of a company which also capitalizes on technology for survival and success. Members and non-members alike are invited to join this In the current year, this community event is hosted by Siemens and is conducted from June 26-28. The event is described as "value-packed" because it features lightning talks, business practices, and business patterns. Having members which are in the forefront of technological advancements it also provides keynotes from thought and industry leaders. Enhancing this event are the presentations by OSGi Alliance CTO BJ Hargrave and Evangelist Peter Kriens (OSGi Alliance Community Event 2007). In order to include all the essential functional departments in a business organization, the community event requires three participants from member companies. The first day which is June 26 becomes a Marketing Committee Meeting while June 27 and 28 are Members Only and Expert Group Meetings, respectively (OSGi Alliance Community Event 2007). In order to join the event, participants are required to fee registration fees according to their status in relation to OGSi: non-members pay 500; associate members pay 450; while full members pay 400. It should be noted that the aforementioned fees will cover only the materials and activities and are exclusive of accommodation fees. This year's event is conducted in Munich (OSGi Alliance Community Event 2007). 2. Sporting Event: All Star NBA Game Widely regarded one of the greatest gathering of basketball stars that are playing the current game, the players selected to represent the Eastern and Western conferences via votes of the public and the NBA coaches have to prove themselves worthy of their selection in this game. As the highlight of the NBA All-Star Week, basketball points scored in this game are normally fast and furious, with lots of slam dunks and creative plays for the excitement of the fans being made by the players. In this game, the players

Edinburgh International Comedy Festival Assignment

Edinburgh International Comedy Festival - Assignment Example This company follows the services religiously to minimize the errors by double-checking. If a mistake occurs it has to be corrected sooner and then delivered to the people because if we make a mistake it would affect us for a long time as there are major long-term commitments we have made. Our operation managers keep check on every single thing that distinct our company from others as a signature like the type of music, lighting and sounds are chosen very carefully and so is our official logo of an importance that reflects our brand loyalty and recognition. The designed logo with the writing style and vivid colors represents the theme of our cafà © (Wong). It is very important to display our updated new official logo for the promotions of the event or advertising because it widely recognized all over the world and there are networks of shops where many tourists but the products or items with the official logo of Hard Rock Cafà © and the company is getting the 48% of the sale from m erchandise. Therefore it should be considered that all the customers and event participants might be getting into the confusion or may doubt the brand status by seeing the old logos at the websites and announcements promoting the annual event organized by your organization. I hope that you will try to prevent the usage of outdated logos of Hard Rock Cafà © and for the recent event promotions I would be grateful if you try your best to make changes in the web designs and announcement by the 1st of June so that we can together fix the blunders that could impact our brand reliability. This act of yours may prolong the benefits of the annual event Edinburgh International Comedy Festival.   

Operations Managemen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Managemen - Essay Example The challenge gets even worse with the great variety of products presented with every single wear vendor. Product lines vary in styles, cloths and sizes - the range of goods a vendor must produce to attract the attention of buyers is enormous. Minding the fact that only a small part (50% in the case of Jossey Menswear) of the whole stock is sold at full price it becomes clear that wear vendors put up with significant wastes. And because of what Because of inaccuracies and misconceptions of fashion forecasts. Since the production cycle of clothes is rather long (it takes 18 months from the first sketch of a designer) companies have wear in their stores, which were presumed to be popular a year and a half ago. Obviously, there are two ways a company can take to improve its chances of hitting the bull's eye of customers' popularity. The first one, extensive, lies in broadening its product range and increasing volumes of production. The second path is intensive, and tries to improve the accuracy of forecasts, which only can be made through shortening the production cycles. Of course, the second path is better for Jossey Menswear since it leads to full price sales proportion increasing, while keeping the production volumes the same, or even lower than before, which increases profits for the company. Meanwhile, the first way simply increases revenues along with manufacturing costs. Thus, the efficiency of forecasts falling over time and wastes associated with manufacturing of unpopular products are the main reasons behind the choice of quick response (QR) manufacturing system. The main driving factor between the strategies based on QR manufacturing is the reduction of lead time - this business concept is also known as 'agile manufacturing' (Suri, 2003). Another business concept, known as 'lean manufacturing' uses wastes elimination as the main driving factor. Despite the common opinion these two theories are not mutually exclusive and can be applied together (Martin and Towill, 2000). So the question for Jossey Menswear is not stated as "agile or lean approach" - both concepts should be used, because the main objectives of supply chain improvement for Jossey are both reducing lead time and eliminating wastes. Inevitably, every improvement action taken by the company should be monitored in order to learn lessons from it. The implementation of QR manufacturing requires to be monitored from several dimensions: informational, financial and external (customer). The informational perspective can be considered primary, as it reflects the main goal of improvement increase the speed of information flow between different segments of supply chain. Financial perspective can be analysed with the help of total cost analysis. TCA assessment offers a final statement reflecting not only the cost of improvement but all aspects in the further use and maintenance of inventory. For instance, TCA may show that while direct costs of the improvements may be high, a further reduction of material and inventory costs acquired from the increased velocity will be beneficial (Kauffman, 2004). The customer perspective may be reviewed through customer profitability analysis (CPA). This technique assigns revenues and costs to groups of customers rather than to organisational units, products, etc. By doing so, CPA gives its users the information, which customers are the most beneficiary for them, which in our case will show how helpful is the improved supply chain in adding revenue from customers. 2. It is

Evaluation Rally championship Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation Rally championship - Coursework Example Evaluation is important in a rally car championship just as in any other field. To perform an evaluation, it is important to choose an evaluation tool and instrument in order to properly assess the ability of all the participants who took place in the training program (ASTD 24). Evaluation of each participant should be measured against the requirements and objectives of the course. The selection of the evaluation instruments is dependent on the stage or the level of training. Kirkpatrick’s four level training models help in analyzing the effectiveness of a program, and they include reaction, learning, behaviour and results. Level 1: Reaction This level measures the reaction of the trainees towards the car rally championship training. ... The type of question used will depend on the main purpose of evaluation. Select the type of questions which can be closed ended or open ended Design the questionnaires Pre-test the questionnaires to determine if they are ideal to be tested on the participants Finalize the questionnaire Level 3: Behaviour This level enables the evaluator to evaluate the progress of the trainees in terms of their changed behaviour based on what they have learnt. This level looks at how the trainees are able to apply the information learnt. There are four necessary conditions required for a change to take place: The person must work in the right climate The person must have the desire to change The person must be given a reward for the change The person must know what to do and how to do it Impact survey is the appropriate tool for evaluating behaviour change on the learners. An impact survey should be carried out as a follow-up evaluation several months before the training program is completed (ASTD 24 ). This tool measures the final results that occurred in behaviour as a result of the participant’s participation in the training program. The main reason for the use of impact survey is to assess the participant’s behavioural change. Evaluation on this level will measure whether the skills and knowledge learnt by the participants is applied to work. The evaluation tools will be chosen depending on the goals of the training program. The evaluation tools will also be result based which calls for the evaluators to carry out a step by step analysis in order to meet the set objectives. The chosen tools are very important in helping the evaluators or instructors

General History of Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

General History of Planning - Essay Example egic implication and enclose choices that are possible on future suggestions based on present decisions hence encouraging the improvement of human settlement. The Roman Grid and Spanish law Idies were to instigate fear between the people of U.S who were not originally Americans, but Indians who settled there. It also created an understandable and a supervised area where by colonies used to place innovated architecture (Bryson, 2011). Due to the reasons of trading and spacing and during events such as military and other occasions, the Roman Grid and Spanish law Idies gave measurements and the shapes of the Central Plaza. On the other hand, the Marxism Building involves simply tackling ranges of sociological problems. The aim of Marxism is to contribute theoretical model by ascertaining their shortcomings. However, this Marxism engages the normative assurance instead of beliefs in technical virtues. Mixed scanning is a mode that involves decision making with high order. This term is used to indicate collections and evaluation of data and also concluding elements that are involved in the same process (Brson, 2011). While increment does not base on the best way, but searches for an alternative, because the decision makers do not have the resources together with the ability to arrive at decisions. On the contrary, a rational model basically deals with ideals whereby the decision making for an organization can almost be realistic and

Advanced financial accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Advanced financial accounting - Essay Example The use of Fair value of in the UK’s Financial Reporting Standards appears to take the position of the US Academics which is conservative in character. This is supported by the statement of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) which stated that the UKs Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has put itself in a potentially serious conflict with the International Accounting Standards Board over the use of fair value.1 ACCA reported the response the IASB’s discussion paper ‘Fair Value Measurements’, where the ASB made clear it rejection of much of the underlying rationale of the IASB’ paper’s proposals. The ASB seemed to have asserted that the use of the US approach to fair value was not appropriate in Europe. While the US standard SFAS 1572 could useful as a methodology to know market-based exit prices, as admitted by the ASB, the UK board is not fully convince that the assumption that fair value3 should necessarily be equated with exit value.4 ASB does not also accept to have a ‘one size fits all’ approach to fair valuation as it suggested instead ‘standard by standard’ basis. It also criticized the statement â€Å"that fair value should always be assessed from the perspective of a market participant, rather than the entity† as it asserted more prominence to be given that would address the importance of entity-specific measures.5 Given the position taken by the ASB in its statement or comment concerning the fair value accounting, it is doubtful if UK will recognize the importance of fair values, with reference to international accounting standards the same way that IASB is giving the same issue in accounting. 2.2 Describes the alternative methods by which assets and liabilities could be measured, and critically assesses the performance of each method against the Qualitative Characteristics of financial information described in the ASB’s Statement of Principles (the Conceptual Framework). The

Research paper on Armenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research paper on Armenia - Essay Example In this paper, we will focus on the historical contexts of Armenia. With that, we mean that we will delve into the historical times of the country and what cultural attachments there are for us to see and understand from in the context of Armenia as a historical state. Whilst on the topic of research for this paper, we find that Armenia as a nation has never found things going easily for herself. There have been invasions, troubles, and battles all around which have marred the historical significance of the country nonetheless. Armenia since prehistoric times has been proposed as the Garden of Eden as it is surrounded by the Biblical mountains of the Ararat. The Armenian highlands are credited as being as first ones in the world to have any traces of human civilization. The capital of Armenia, Yerevan has founded in the year 782 BC and is a rich splendor when the talk rises up concerning the heritage of human civilizations. Orontid Dynasty is known as the first kingdom which was formed within Armenia and this had its fair share under the different dynasties that actually existed within the time until 428 AD. This kingdom became one of the most powerful ones between 95 and 66 BC. There were periods of independence which were enjoyed by Armenia during this time as well as autonomy was there for the rulers to enjoy during the dynasty. The dynasty thus can easily suggest to us the sort of aura Armenia had for its countrymen and women yet it failed to live up to the historians’ expectations in the matter that there were troubles looming all around.

Bear Stearns Collapse Timeline Essay Example for Free

Bear Stearns Collapse Timeline Essay This week five years ago, JP Morgan announced it would buy Wall Street rival Bear Stearns in a deal worth $2 a share – this ultimately rose to $10. Here, Financial News looks at the events in the run-up to the fall of the 85-year old independent investment bank. Financial News compiled the timeline from press releases, contemporary media reports and William D Cohan’s account of the collapse of the bank, ‘House of Cards’. May 21, 2007 After months of growing instability in the US sub-prime mortgage market, Bear Stearns chairman Alan ‘Ace’ Greenberg offers reassurances that the firm, heavily exposed to the market, is on top of things. â€Å"The sub-prime (issue) has been blown completely out of proportion,† he says, in comments reported by Dow Jones Newswires. Mid-June 2007 Serious problems become apparent at two Bear Sterns hedge funds with a high exposure to sub-prime mortgages. Investors in the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, which managed $600m, are informed that the fund has lost 23% of its value over the year to April, reports The Wall Street Journal. The fund begins a fire-sale to minimise exposures. After the failure of a mooted rescue plan involving support from lenders, a new rescue scheme is announced by Bear Stearns, which offers $3. 2bn for a bailout of a second fund the High Grade Structured Credit Fund. The bank previously had only $45m invested in this fund’s equity, according to William D Cohan in House of Cards’. Bear Stearns later says it is providing $1. 6bn to the fund rather than the original $3. 2bn, citing the sale of assets. A decision is made not to rescue the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, according to Cohan. August 3, 2007 Standard Poor’s downgrades the bank’s outlook to negative. The bank says that concerns over its situation are â€Å"unwarranted† as the hedge fund fallout represented â€Å"isolated incidents† and â€Å"by no means a broader indication† of the bank’s performance, according to The Wall Street Journal. August 5, 2007 Bear Stearns president and co-chief operating officer Warren Spector resigns from the bank. Alan Schwartz is confirmed as sole president. Days later, the Associated Press reports that the bank sends letters to clients reassuring them of its financial position. September 10, 2007 British billionaire Joseph Lewis expresses his confidence in the future of the bank by acquiring a 7% stake, becoming one of the largest shareholders. October 5, 2007 Federal prosecutors launch an investigation into the collapse of the Bear Stearns hedge funds. November/December 2007 Chief financial officer Sam Molinaro says that the bank has been â€Å"very conservative and aggressive† in its revaluations, according to Dow Jones Newswires. On December 10, MarketWatch reports that the bank has written down $1. 9bn related to mortgage exposure. January 8, 2008 Chief executive Jimmy Cayne steps down after widespread criticism of his hands-off response to the events of the previous year. He remains as chairman. He is replaced at the top by Alan Schwartz. In the same month, the bank announces the closure of a third fund, the Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities Fund. Bloomberg reports that this fund has suffered a decline of 39% of its value over a year. February, 2008 Hedge fund Peloton Partners, run by Goldman alumnus Ron Beller, collapses following its exposure to asset-backed securities. March 2008 Carlyle Capital, a hedge fund based in Amsterdam, collapses as concerns over exposures to mortgages begin to multiply, causing a squeeze on lines of funding. By March 5, insurance premiums on Bear Stearns debt have risen from $50,000 per $10m of debt at the beginning of 2005 to $350,000 per $10m debt, according to William D Cohan. It soon reaches $700,000. Monday, March 10, 2008 The company’s stock falls 11% to its lowest level in five years following a Moody’s downgrade of portions of its mortgage bond holdings, writes Cohan. The bank denies rumours that it is in trouble. Investors look for ways to bet on further falls in the bank’s stock. Tuesday, March 11, 2008 ING Groep, the Dutch bank, cancels $500m of short-term funding for Bear Stearns, according to The Wall Street Journal, following an example set by Rabobank. According to a press release, the Federal Reserve announces an unprecedented lending facility in which collateral can be exchanged for funding, but the scheme cannot be accessed until March 27. In another important incident, cited by Cohen in ‘House of Cards’, Goldman Sachs refuses to stand in for Hayman Capital in a trade with Bear Stearns, suggesting hemorrhaging confidence among major financial players. Wednesday. March 12, 2008 Overnight markets for funding begin to dry up, while institutions continue to deny short-term lending to Bear Stearns. Hedge funds and other investors continue in their attempts to extract their money from Bear Stearns, which is rapidly approaching a funding crisis. Thursday, March 13, 2008. As customers continue to withdraw funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Federal Reserve begin discussions on the crisis. In a meeting on Thursday night, reported by Cohen, it is discovered that outgoings at the firm can no longer be maintained, with the firm effectively running out of cash during the afternoon. Lawyers are summoned to discuss the options for bankruptcy, while a deal with JP Morgan Chase is sought. After late night negotiations, JP Morgan agrees in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that it will provide secured funding to Bear Sterns for an initial period of up to 28 days. Friday, March 14, 2008 The cobbled-together deal fails to assuage the markets. Investors continue to pull money from the bank over the course of the day. By the evening, it is clear that a solution will have to be devised over the weekend if the bank is to survive. Saturday, March 15- Sunday, March 16, 2008 JP Morgan says it cannot do a deal without support from the Federal Reserve, due to the large number of toxic securities on the books of Bear Stearns. In response, the Fed approves a loan of $30bn saying that it is necessary to avoid â€Å"serious disruptions in the financial markets†. JP Morgan offers just $2 per share for the bank, a large loss for those whose stock was worth $30 on Friday, $60 the week before and over $150 a year before. Bondholders will be rescued by the deal, which is accepted by the board of Bear Stearns on Sunday morning. Wrangles with JP Morgan over a contract situation which potentially leaves the bank liable for funding Bear Stearns without claiming full ownership result in brinkmanship from Bear Sterns. A final price of $10 per share is agreed, with a value of $1. 45bn attached to the equity. March 25 Bear Stearns chief executive Jimmy Cayne and his wife sell 5. 66 million shares in the bank for $61. 34m, which, according to Cohan, represented a $1bn loss on the bank’s stock. May 29 The final Bear Stearns shareholder meeting takes place, at which former CEO Cayne speaks of his sadness at the firm’s demise, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing guests present.

Price Discrimination: Concepts and Types

Price Discrimination: Concepts and Types â€Å"Please explain in details the concept of â€Å"price discrimination†, what are the different types of price discrimination. Explain with the use of examples.†   Ã‚   According to Phlips (1983, p.5) â€Å"the more one thinks about price discrimination, the harder it is to define.† Phlips (1983, p.6) suggests that price discrimination should be defined as† implying that two varieties of commodity are sold (by the same seller) to two different buyers at different net prices, the net price being the price (paid by the buyer) corrected for the cost associated with the product differentiation†. Another definition of price discrimination is â€Å"where a firm sells the same product at different prices† (Sloman, 2006, g.13). Geographical location, gender, race, age and income are some of the aspects in which discrimination among buyers may be established. In order for price discrimination to work, businesspeople must be incapable of buying goods at the lower price and reselling them at a much higher cost. The firm or company must have to some extent, monopoly power and firms must be capable of classifying domestic and industrial consumers (Economicsonline.co.uk, 2014). Laws against price discrimination have pursued to hinder its use by one business retailer driving out another competitive seller â€Å"bankrupt† by depreciating the rival in his own market, whereas retailing at a higher cost in other markets. (Encyclopedia Briticanna, 2014). There are three types of price discrimination. These are: first-degree, second-degree and third-degree price. According to Dwivedi (2006), the first-degree (also known as perfect price discrimination) is considered the â€Å"discriminatory pricing that attempts to take away the entire consumer surplus†. Investopedia (2014) defines consumer surplus as a form of economic strategy used to evaluate customer satisfaction. This is analyzed by exploring the difference between what customers are prepared to pay for each and every single good / service comparatively to the market price. Dwivedi states therefore, that only when the seller discerns the precise amount that a buyer is willing to pay for an item, (buyer’s demand curve) will first-degree price discrimination be deemed as successful. But how will the seller know this information? Dwivedi states that firstly the seller initiates the highest buying price that consumers are ready to pay (some may be willing to pay an elevated price while others at a lower price) and buy at minimum a unit of a product. Only when the consumer surpl us of this segment of customers is used up, the seller then progressively lowers the price so that consumer surplus of the buyers regarding the subsequent products can be obtained. An example of first-degree price discrimination provided by Cabral (2000, p. 170) is that of a doctor providing health care in a small town and who has ample information of all the people living in the town, particularly their financial status. Acting on this information, the doctor analyzes the client willingness to pay each fee and sets a suitable price. Another example provided by Cabral, is by aircraft. While certain manufacturers publish a list of fees for each airliner, in actuality each airline shells out a different cost for each aircraft. The graph image below shows a monopoly representation of the first-degree price discrimination. MC (marginal cost) and ATC (average total cost) are the regular curved shapes with MC traversing through the minimum point on the ATC curve. The solid line that slopes downwards represents the firm facing the market demand curve, which is identical to the firm’s demand curve, (D = d). The marginal revenue relates to the firm’s demand curve, (d = MR) since the company expenses every customer the highest price he / she is ready to make. At the output level, profit maximization happens; matching to MR equals marginal cost. Plast represents the price for each and every last unit of product sold. Subsequent units have a higher price. The end profit for the company adds up to the profits received for every unit subtracted from the ATC per unit (ATC0). The shaded area displays the total profit earned since the price for every unit is the highest price as established from the demand curve. Graham (2013). According to Mukherjee (2002), second-degree price discrimination is where prices vary depending on the amount of output bought by each consumer. This is also known as â€Å"volume discounting†. The seller incurs a higher â€Å"per-unit† cost for the lesser units sold while for the larger amount of product are sold at a lesser per-unit cost. Similar to the first-degree price discrimination, the company will result at a quantity of output where the marginal costs are covered by the prices charged. The objective of the seller is to draw out not the entirety of the consumer surplus, but just some of it as profits along with a remaining surplus. Ruby (2003). An example of this type of discrimination is the different prices charged for different sizes of cereal. Another example of this type of discrimination is the discounts found in stores; for instance a shoe store would advertise a list of shoes that qualify for the discount, where if a customer purchases one pair of shoes the other one would immediately grant that he/she gets a discount off the other pair of shoes. The illustration below represents a graph of second-degree discrimination. Ruby from digitaleconomist.org, utilizes an example of a company charging a variation of three prices for one item. He points out that if a user decides to purchase Q0 units then the cost P0 is charged for each unit of the good. For a larger quantity Q1 a lower charge P1 is made and for quantity Q*2 the price P2 is charged. â€Å"(the level of output such that P2=MC (Marginal Cost)† The third-degree price discrimination occurs where a firm is capable of dividing its consumers into different markets and charging different prices. Or in other words, charging different fees to each customer class. Each market is distinguished by exceptional â€Å"demand† characteristics. It is noted by Ruby that some of these particular markets may be â€Å"less† price sensitive in correspondence to others where the quantity demanded is more â€Å"sensitive† to cost alteration. This form of discrimination is very similar to second-degree price discrimination. An example provided by Managerial Economics, Hirschey (2009), is that a bus company may incur a lower fee and apply this type of price discrimination towards senior / aged people, as well as the disabled / handicapped individuals. This will therefore benefit these particular customers, providing a great service to ride the bus. Due to the increase of revenue earned from these passengers, the bus company may provide additional services such as going off route (routes that could not be maintained by the income from those full-fare customers only or it may be capable of functioning with a lesser taxpayer subsidy. References Phlips, L. (1983).The economics of price discrimination. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press. Sloman, J. (2006) Economics, (6th Ed). Prentice Hall/Financial Times. Economicsonline.co.uk,. (2014). Price discrimination. Retrieved 15 September 2014, from http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Business_economics/Price_discrimination.html Price discrimination. (2013). Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago:Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Dwivedi, D. (2006).Microeconomics: Theory And Applications.(1st ed.). 327. New Delhi: Pearson Education. consumer surplus. (2014). Investopedia.com – Your Source For Investing Education. Retrieved September 15th, 2014, from Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/consumer_surplus.asp Cabral, L. (2000). Introduction to Industrial Organization.(1st ed.) Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press. Graham, R. (2013). Managerial Economics For Dummies. (1st ed.). [Graham, R. Graph of First Degree Price Discrimination]. Retrieved September 15th, 2014, from: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/basics-of-firstdegree-price-discrimination-in-mana.html Mukherjee, S. (2002). Modern Economic Theory. (4th ed.). New Age International. Ruby, D. (2003). Price Discrimination. Retrieved September 15th, 2014, from: http://digitaleconomist.org/pd_4010.html [Ruby, D. Graph of Second Degree Price Discrimination]. Retrieved September 15th, 2014 from: http://digitaleconomist.org/pd_4010.html Hirschey, M. (2009). Managerial Economics. (1st ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.