Organizational Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Organizational Culture - Essay Example As such, to establish an organizational culture that embodies the goals of the firm, one would first ensure that there is an effectively designed mission and vision statement, as well as corporate values that would provide the theoretical framework for the kind of organizational culture that one envisions to create. If an organization is to pull together toward common goals, the members must trust one another and work in unison as a cohesive and collaborative group. Openness of information about what is happening to the company and within the company is essential. The lack of information about what is happening demoralizes people. The organizational culture should inspire cooperation and teamwork, from top to bottom, within the work setting. To shape such values, the leader has first to find those values within himself. He must supply the moral leadership in the company, preferably utilizing transformational leadership style and strategies to bring about the kind of organizational culture where people identify their interests with that of the corporation, to find dignity and satisfaction in their work, and with consequent effects on increased productivity, morale and pride in being part of the company. Given this premise, when one is in a leadership position, the kind of organizational culture that one will create would contain the necessary ingredients for manifesting a strong corporate culture, such as: (1) a widely shared philosophy; (2) a concern for individuals; (3) a recognition of heroes; (4) a belief in ritual and ceremony; (5) a well understood sense of the informal rules and expectations; and (6) a belief that what employees do is important to others (Deal and Kennedy 3-85). This information is likely consistent with those elements provided in the course notes that emphasize strong cultures where â€Å"organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared† (Organizational Culture 3). As such,

The senior management team would like you to produce a Marketing Plan Essay

The senior management team would like you to produce a Marketing Plan Considering marketing strategies and tactics within your report - Essay Example Marketing creates link. The link involves so many stakeholders both inside an organization and the outside market. Planning to reach out to the wider market becomes therefore a critical issue and involves a good marketing plan to implement it (Ashishi, 2012, p. 21). Trafford Centre is a Shopping Centre in the city of Manchester in UK. Situated next to Trafford Park industrial estate and the situation is around 5 miles off the city centre. By retail size, the centre is the second largest retail centre in the UK. The retail centre was acquired by Intu Properties in the year 2011 through a very high scale sale in the history of acquisition in the British history (Moss & DeSanto, 2002, p. 204). This report will create a marketing plan for the shopping centre. In view of the same, the plan will analyse the SWOT analysis of the centre followed by an effective marketing audit. The plan will then make a review of the strategic objectives and discuss the control measures for the company in im plementation of the strategy. The SWOT analysis looks at the critical success factors of the company as far as the expansion strategy in the market is concerned (Cant, Strydo, & Jooste, 2009, p. 45). These will weigh the ability of the company to succeed among the many companies that have been in the area prior to its operations. One of the strengths of the company is its location. The area is accessible by more than 10% of the UK population in which there is only a 45 minute drive to the place (Sharma, 2009, p. 295). This creates s very large market if well supervised. In the orient, the centre has a very large food court in the UK and it is well known as such. It is also accessed through the Manchester shipping canal increasing its availability. The place serves a lot of commodities and services including big car parks, art galleries, the imperial war museum, cinemas and many more services. The weakness of this place is that the visitor

Attentional Bias In Alcohol Drinkers Psychology Essay

Attentional Bias In Alcohol Drinkers Psychology Essay Attentional Bias refers to the term not allowing one to examine all possible outcomes when judging about an association. Previous research stems from the famous â€Å"Stroop effect† that was discovered in 1930 by J.Ridley Stroop. This was an experimental effect in which he discovered that the individuals cognitive processing ability was very powerful. In other words ‘The Stroop effect (Stroop, 1935) is a prime example of the human failure to attend selectively to a particular aspect of a complex stimulus (Algom, D., Chajut, E., Lev, S. (2004). Since most researchers are interested in finding out things, the logical next step would be to develop further on and ask whether this actual delay in reaction time is due to moderate drinkers compared to light drinkers. In order to test the effectiveness of this Stroop effect, one uses the colour words example. By this, we mean words that are written using same coloured ink i.e. red written in red ink, and words written in differ ent coloured ink i.e. red written in blue. The participants are asked to read the words and not the colour. This sounds easier to do than it actually is. In this study the methodology and the affects of the Stroop test will be critically evaluated. To achieve this, previous research and literature will be drawn upon. A study of Duka and Townshend (2001) demonstrated attentional bias associated with alcohol cues: differences between heavy and occasional social drinkers, they used a dot probe (alcohol-related pictures and words) and questionnaires, and the aim was to examine whether non-dependent heavy drinkers would differ in their selective attention towards alcohol-related stimuli compared to social drinkers, the results showed attentional bias amongst the heavy drinkers in relation to alcohol-related stimuli, scores in factors such as sociability and sexuality shown to also be high, but low on personality and persistence. A further study of Duka and Townshend (2004) demonstrated the priming effect of alcohol pre-load on attentional bias to alcohol-related stimuli; they used a dot probe and questionnaires, and the aim of this study was to examine whether attentional bias towards alcohol-related stimuli wound increase after priming with either one or two doses of alcohol/placebo, the results on mood ratings showed dose dependent increased in positive mood radar after alcohol pre-load, and in the dot probe task, all participants showed attentional bias towards the alcohol-related stimuli, and the neutral bias was only positive at low alcohol dosage. A study of Sharma, Albery, and Cook (2001) demonstrated selective attentional bias to alcohol-related stimuli in problem drinkers and non-problem drinkers; they used a modified Stroop task (computerized), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in order to measure Anxiety, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to allow scoring (high or low), the participants were divided into three groups: local community alcohol service (CAS), student volunteers who were divided into two control groups, the aim of this study was to examine whether patient of problem drinkers selectively attend to alcohol-related stimuli compare to the two control groups of non-problem drinkers, the results indicate significance amongst the CAS group in longer reaction times in responding to colour of alcohol-related words compared to neutral words, with reduced interference for the high AUDIT group, therefore significant; in the low AUDIT group no significance was found. Additionally, no evidence is provi ded in the interference habituated amongst the three groups. A study of Stetter, Ackermann, Scherer, Schmid, Straube, and Mann (1994) demonstrated whether alcoholics develop an information processing bias towards disease-related stimuli, the results indicated an increase of error amongst alcoholics when presented with the disease-related stimuli compared to the neutral conditions, and controls. A further study Stetter, Ackemann, Bizer, Straube, and Mann (1995) by testing their hypothesis that alcoholics develop a disease-related attentional bias, with 40 male alcohol-dependent, and 40 male healthy, and used the Stroop colour-naming task, the results showed alcoholic inpatients performed significantly poorer than the control group under the critical experimental condition (colour-naming of disease-related words), as compared with the non-critical condition (colour-naming of neutral words; p = 0.03), no effects were found on the reaction times. A study of Johnsen, Laberg, Cox, Vaksdal, and Hugdahl, (1994) conducted in Norway demonstrated attentional bias in the processing of alcohol-related words on alcoholic subjects, using the Stroop colour and word test, the results indicate the alcoholics respond slowly on all categories, more so on alcohol-related words compared to the control group, and both groups responded slowly to colour interfering words than neutral words, the findings suggests that the alcoholic subjects allocated their attention to alcohol-related words, therefore allowing their cognitive processes take over making it impossible to ignore the alcohol-related words. Method Participants The participants were recruited the students at London South Bank University. There will be 170 participants in total, 34 males (17-moderate and 14-light drinkers) and 139 females (68 moderate and 71-light drinkers), and all the participants were adults aged 18years plus. Apparatus All participants were asked to complete the tasks on a computer (PC), and the same apparatus was used to store data, and later analyse the data collected. Design The Stroop task method is used and the two-way ANOVA test will be used to analyse data (2 X 2 Mixed subject design). There are two independent variables i) Group (light vs. moderate alcohol drinkers) ii) Word Type (neutral vs. alcohol-related words), and the dependent variable is the reaction time to identifying the colour the word is presented in. In order to verify differences that may occur, the between group and within group will be looked at in more depth. Procedure In this study, the following was explained. Each participant was asked to follow the instructions provided on the screen. Labels were placed on the buttons on the keyboard for each subject to make their responses. There are two set type of words (alcohol-related words and neutral words). The participants were required to complete a serious of trials in responding to the colour of the ink that the word is written in (BLUE, RED, YELLOW, and GREEN) and (VODKIA, J.DANIELS, GIN, and BEER) rather than word. Part of the instruction was that they must complete each trail as quickly and accurately as possible, as their reaction time would be recorded Results The results of the 2 x 2 ANOVA was used to analyse the data. The effects of word type (alcohol-related words and neutral words) f = (1,168) 140.16, p = (moderate drinkers and light drinkers) f = (1,168) 26.68, p = . Neutral Word Alcohol Word Main Effect of Drinking Type Light 840.00 mean score (34.28) sd 870.52 mean score (28.51) sd 855.26 mean score (31.66) sd Moderate 849.91 mean score (28.86) sd 892.67 mean score (21.26) sd 871.29 mean score (24.73) sd Main Effect of Word Type 845.01 mean score (31.95) sd 881.73 mean score (27.39) sd Discussion For this study the hypotheses do support, in other words significance was found. The literature of the prior studies using the Stroop paradigm with alcohol-related stimuli has a number of fundamental methodological problems. According to Sharma, Albery, and Cook (2001) the first problem identified is that the multitude of different variables that could potentially be manipulated giving a totally different set of results. It therefore becomes apparent that one needs to be very clear on exactly what the variables are and what exactly the researcher wants to achieve. Another problem identified is that of the actual format administered. Again, many issues may arise regarding the way in which the test is formatted. If the format is changed, will the result change along with it? As more development is completed in this area of study on alcohol addiction, the researcher no doubt will see that, the variables and the modes of administration discussed above will have a huge effect on the study. For example, one set of results could construct stronger effects than others, and that the other probable central variables make no difference at all to the outcome. The researcher should also take into account that however, a task is administered to the participants is bound to have both advantages and disadvantages, and can be improved upon. This does not mean that one way is better than the other. It just means that the researcher needs to be aware of this and choose a methodology that best works for them. Choosing the correct methodology in any study therefore can be just as important as the actual study itself. What becomes apparent is that there is no particular way of carrying out a study. Either way studies will carry certain advantages and disadvantages. One particular study related to our discussion was the single-word presentation of the Stroop stimuli. In this case, the stimuli were given in card format. One card had all the needed stimuli for alcohol -related words while the other had neutral words. The time taken by each subject to colour name the words on the first card compared to the second was recorded. In other words, recorded reaction time. This format, although used on many studies, comes with its limitations. Evidence obtained concludes that it is difficult to accurately measure the response time by the individuals and that the process evolved is very time consuming and involves a lot of calculations. In other words this type of format may be seen as being time consuming and tedious for the researcher to carry out. Its not all bad however, the card format can have an advantage in that it ‘produces stronger interference effects (e.g. McNally, Amir and Lipke, 1996; Williams et al., 1996), presumably because it provi des a semantic network of words in a given category (Sharma, et al 2001). In addition, the individuals words recorded in terms of its reaction time are not used with any presentation mode, as each participants reaction times to each category of stimuli are averaged prior to statistical analysis. Other objections to the use of card presented stimuli were that the total time measured included both correct and incorrect responses. Previous research shows that the amount of trials where errors occurred is in fact rare and equivalent for different categories of stimuli. Furthermore, studies by Stetter et al also seem to agree. His study shows that card format stimuli does not allow for the measurement of time-cause of alcohol attentional bias. For instance, with these card presentations one would not know if the strongest bias occurred for alcohol words presented earlier and then the bias attenuated. An attempt to rectify this issue was to assess participants habituation to the stimuli across time. This was achieved by observing how reaction times to the alcohol and neutral stimuli changed during the course of the experiment. In relation to Johnsen et al studies, it was criticized in many aspects such as, the word types not being matched on the frequency. Additionally being assured in using two words alcohol-related words, for example ‘liquor store; ‘red wine. (Sharma, et al 2001).However, Johnsen et al stated clearly that since the studies were carried out in Norway, the words were obviously translated in Norwegian ‘vinmonopol = liquor store, and ‘rodvin = red wine, and as you can see, when translated its single words. Further criticisms were put forward to why the participants were asked to press the key response button; and call out the name of the colour. Sharma et al study contained a number of problems. Firstly, the neutral words were long to a given category (environmental features), which affects the reaction times. Secondly, the number of neutral words being associated closely to the four ink colours (e.g. blue, red, brown, green), also how these colours were closely link ed to the words (e.g. blue sky, green grass). Also concerns were put forward on the manner of design (e.g. low, middle, and high) drinking groups. Lastly, problems occurred with the problem drinkers, who may have resolved their alcohol problems being placed amongst the heavier drinkers. To conclude, there are two opposing thoughts with the methodology used; one that the Stroop paradigm is highly objective, valid and reliable, and the other that some are not worthy of inclusion. Many researchers are continuing to offer theoretical explanations to account for the Stroop paradigm, and still trying to make sense on how it could be adapted to be more advanced in being improved. References Algom, D., Chajut, E., Lev, S. (2004). JourA Rational Look at the Emotional Stroop Phenomenon: A Generic Slowdown, Not a Stroop Effect. nal of Experimental Psychology General. 133 (3), 323-338. Duka, T., Townshend, J. M. (2004). The priming effect of alcohol pre-load on attentional bias to alcohol-related stimuli. Psychopharmacology. 176 (3), 353. Johnsen, B. H., Laberg, J. C., Cox, W. M., Vaksdal, A. (1994). Alcoholic Subjects Attentional Bias in the Processing of Alcohol-Related Words. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors : Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors. 8 (2), 111. Sharma, D., Albery, I., Cook, C. (2001). Selective attentional bias to alcohol related stimuli in problem drinkers and non-problem drinkers. Addiction. 96 (2), 285-295. Sharma, D., Albery, I.P., Cook, C. (2001) .Selective attentional bias to alcohol- related stimuli in problem drinkers and non-problem drinkers, Addiction, 96, 1261-1265. Stetter F, Ackermann K, Scherer E, Schmid H, Straube ER, Mann K. (1994). Distraction resulting from disease related words in alcohol-dependent inpatients: a controlled dichotic listening study. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 244 (4), 223-5. Stetter F, Ackermann K, Bizer A, Straube ER, Mann K. (1995). Effects of disease-related cues in alcoholic inpatients: results of a controlled Alcohol Stroop study. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research. 19 (3), 593-9. Townshend, J. M., Duka, T. (2001). Attentional bias associated with alcohol cues: differences between heavy and occasional social drinkers. Psychopharmacology. 157 (1), 67.

Americans Benefit from the Abuse of Migrant Farm Workers :: Essays Papers

Eating-up Exploitation: How Americans Benefit from the Abuse of Migrant Farm Workers As Americans become more health conscious, their consumption of fruits and vegetables is increased at astronomical levels. Since migrant farm workers are responsible for picking the majority of these products, the eating habits of Americans perpetuate the very farm labor market conditions that many people would like to put an end to. Therefore, whether knowingly or not, Americans are exploiting these Migrant workers who are paid less then minimum wage, have no power to bargain with their employers, and have inadequate and unacceptable living accommodations. In New England, the harvest of blueberries and apples are crucial to the economy, and are in abundant supply. Those who pick these fruits travel across the country, and often across international boarders to fill agricultural jobs that U.S. citizens are not willing to take. Both blueberries and apples are extremely difficult crops to harvest, and require extensive manual labor. Migrant workers are willing to fill these physically exhausting positions because of economic hardships, and the lack of jobs in their own countries. The phenomena of Migrant Workers would not be possible if the migrants were able to get jobs elsewhere, but as many come from Third-World Countries with little economic possibilities, this is not possible. What has resulted is an inexhaustible supply of cheap labor to the United States. This willingness on the part of the workers to work for wages otherwise unacceptable in the United States is problematic. Employers in this position are not under any pressure to reveal truthful, or even any information about wage rates, and many workers do not ask how much they will be paid. As a result, workers often do not know how much they will paid until they are thousands of miles away from their homes, and frequently not until they are paid at the end of a week. This is the story for the Mexican blueberry pickers in Maine, and the growing number of apple pickers who are Jamaican. Mexicans are the majority of blueberry pickers in central Maine where the majority of wild lowbush blueberry plants grow.

How Typical Are X Factor and Csi of Their Genres?

Genre is a way of classifying and then categorising a particular text, they are made up of their own codes and conventions for example narrative, characters and themes which standardise the way in which a story is told. X Factor and CSI have all been huge successes in their own respective genres and this essay will study how conventional these texts are to their genre and how this effects their audience. X Factor is a reality TV programme which attempts to turn an ordinary person into a pop star through its talent contest narrative.It relates to the ‘American Dream’ ideology in the way that it can turn people’s lives from ‘rags to riches’. A conventional representation of reality TV would feature very ordinary people and often trying to make their lives better, or to fix their problems, and then other conventions are more specific to narrative, for example in this case the conventions of a talent show is a high production value which includes viewing luxuries such a flashy lights, extravagant camera angles (such as Birdseye), special effects, and celebrities. The X Factor is no different and seems to embed all these values associated with reality talent shows.However, the X Factor started back in 2004 and has influenced the typical representation of other talent shows ever since, so this would include the Two Step Flow theory as the X Factor has acted as an opinion leader, and has set down the modern conventions for reality talent shows. X Factor has clear intertextuality with more early talent shows such as opportunity knocks. Although the main and considerable difference nowadays is the increased production values and technology, there are also conventions across the two that can be linked.For example the use of a presenter, Hughie Green for opportunity knocks and Dermot O’Leary for the X Factor. Also, the public voting system, opportunity knocks was the original and first talent show to use this method of voting as opp ose to having a panel of ‘experts’ or music celebrities. X Factor also has this same public voting system which connotes them to be using typical and previously used conventions in order to attract audience. A talent show relies specifically on audience is order to be a success. The contestants of the show are mainly battling for fame and fortune, and therefore publicity.If there is no publicity or interest from an audience, then the show is redundant. The X Factor certainly lives up to this typical feature of talent shows, as it has pulled in an average of 8. 4 million viewers in 2012, and although that is a considerable decrease from its earlier years, it is still sufficient for the advancement of the show. However, the X Factor produces much controversy and therefore more media attention. For example, very recently there has been an article in the Daily Mail discussing an incident where a producer whispered in Louis Walsh’s ear just as he was about to make his vote.His vote was then very unpredicted and controversial causing outrage to the British public. Such articles and outrage to the X Factor, fuels and benefits the show and puts the X Factor in the spotlight. This relates to Social Integration, as people would start watching X Factor to see what all the controversy is about, and to feel up to date with the social media trends. All of this results in increased X Factor ratings. CSI has a thriller type genre, with the main focus on crime and police procedural elements.Within the crime genre there is always a focus on gathering clues, in modern crime this is viewed as a chase as evidence deteriorates. This has overrun the typical convention of the car chase although this is still used to provide nostalgia the resemblance between the two is symbolic of fast changing crime. This is a form of iconography in CSI where there is a chase to gather and process evidence to solve the crime and restore order. The iconic image of the police which remains constant throughout the genre is one of evidence gathering, uniform, fast cars, hard work, and the criminal underclass all feature in the crime genre.Vladimir Propp’s narrative theory can be applied to CSI and most other crime investigation programmes as it is standard within the crime genre. The main focus is on the ‘attempt to repair disruption’ and almost every episode ends with the resolution which connotes the programme to have a closed narrative, as the audience are always anticipating that the police beat the crime, and the ‘good guys’ win. It enables channels to fulfil their Public service Broadcasting (PSB) remit whilst not committing to commoditisation, therefore maintaining the realistic aspect which the genre relies upon.The use of an ensemble cast/recurring list of characters allows the programme to maintain a set structure, some characters appear in all episodes such as Nick Stokes in CSI, allowing the audience to gather ‘ evidence’ on the characters and depict their lifestyles. The focus of the audience is maintained on a main character either from episode to episode or series to series. Understanding the main character is key to the crime genre as it helps the audience to understand the programmes and themes. Characters often reflect the characteristics or expectations of the audience and develop with time.As previously mentioned, the crime genre has many realism conventions, and CSI is no different. The use of lighting is often low key and natural to create a dark and gloomy effect. This connotes realism as it represents reality with all the disruptions present, as opposed to a light and more fantasy world. CSI also uses Noir lighting to give a dark and forlorn mood and again give an element of realism all designed to relate to the audience in the form of personal identity and surveillance according to the uses and gratifications theory.Overall, both genres follow many of their genre convent ions to attract audience and remain stereotypical to the values and ideologies that they represent. However, it should be noted that CSI and X Factor are the leading texts for their respective genres, and this may cause them to have an influence on what is considered a typicality of their genre. Similarities that the genres have are that they both use a reality aspect to relate to their audience (social integration) and this is very common across multiple genres in modern day media.

The debate between essentialism and social construction

The debate between essentialism and social construction is a very complicated one. Since both essentialists and social constructionists have different perspectives on matters, in order to be able to decide whether or not there was a presence of homosexual persons over time and place certain aspects have to be taken into consideration. Such as, was it biologically inherited, was it brought about with a preference on acts and desires or overtime influenced by religion, culture, beliefs, social norms, and acceptance has a define answer is a tough decision to make. Essentialists are stereotypical; they choose to have a set definition of a homosexual, whereas a social constructionist would have variations in their idea of what makes a homosexual. A social constructionist would disagree with whether the presence of homosexual persons over time and place have a set thought as to homosexuality was biologically inherited because they would feel that, that would be limiting the thought of other aspects influencing homosexuality. Social constructionists would feel that there is not just one set category or definition that makes you a homosexual. For example, an essentialist would say that a homosexual is someone who has black hair; therefore everyone who has black hair to an essentialist would be a homosexual. Whereas, a social constructionist would say black hair, brown, yellow, purple it doesn't matter it is in fact what that person felt that made him a homosexual. So taking an essentialist point of view stating that there was homosexual persons throughout time and place would discriminate other homosexuals who had different sexual desires, preferences, and acts that transcended through time due to other influencing matters. Matters such as culture, social norms and acceptance, beliefs, and backgrounds are good examples. Whereas Gordon and Abott state, â€Å"Social Constructionism usually has to do with categorizing. † This statement could be viewed as someone stating that religion is a deciding factor to whether someone is homosexual and someone else saying that background is a deciding factor to deciding homosexuality. There are two ideas or theory's stated here that both do influence homosexually. A social constructionist would be able to figure out what is means to be influenced by religion and what is meant to be influenced by background, and be versatile between the two the groups allowing homosexual individuals themselves to decide which factor influenced them even if it was both religion and background.. While an essentialist would simply state those definitions and state which category he/she would fall into there would be not switching into groups. (Gordon and Abott). In the article the Hijras of India by Serena Nanda, the Hijras of India are viewed as a separate group just like gay, lesbian and bisexual people in any other cultures, countries, religions, etc, just because their differences are not viewed as a social norm. They are also treated differently in every aspect because of different influences such as births and weddings. Hijras are a religious group of men who dress and act like women either because they are men who are bisexual and gay, or because when they were young boys they were castrated because of religious beliefs. The Hijras that were castrated when the where young boys are neither men nor women and cannot reproduce so they are viewed as powerful, able to curse those who disrespect them, yet outsiders in their contribution to this India society. Considering gay, lesbian and bisexual lives are not accepted in this culture, would it be reasonable to say that these men who started this religious belief where gay or bisexual men are looking for a way to express there emotions in this non accepting society? This would be a social constructionist view because over time actions and desires have changed in this society because acceptance, beliefs, culture, etc have become more accepting and understanding of the true meaning behind this religious belief. Some other things that came up were are these acts still being performed to younger boys and is this against their religion to deny a human being the right to be male and reproduce (source: Nanda)? In Class on Tuesday September 23, 2003 we had a class discussion on biological differences or mishaps that happen to babies that make it confusing to decide what sex that baby really is. In this class discussion we looked at different examples of baby girls who had their chromosomes in tact but their ovaries were inside of them and had larger clitorises. Should they have been men? We also looked at many other different situations pertaining to that subject. This could also relate back to the Hijras because they could not help what was done to them and this was only done because of social norms and social acceptance. This being an essentialist point of view there was a need for order and meaning. A social constructionist would just simply say that they could fall into many categories and find out what it means to be an XYYY baby or an XX baby with no vagina hole. â€Å"Thus, social constructionists spend much time â€Å"deconstructing† things: demonstrating that a group of categories have no truth and showing how they are socially accomplished (Gordon and Abbott)† Instead of the doctors, parents or the Hijra men who decided what sex a child should be a social constructionist would not follow the social norm in a need to have order and find an answer they would except the difference and make it a category with meaning. Ancient Greece provides another example of how there has always been a presence of homosexuality with an influence from culture. There was presence of homosexuality then and still is today but it has been influenced throughout time by culture, acceptance, social norms etc†¦ , because over time religion, cultures, etc have become more important and more needed for order to place people by the essentialists (Vance). Social constructionist views are more acceptable to differences and variations form the social norms of order and judging. They have shown that there has been a presence of a homosexual person over time and place but not just one type of homosexual person variations of unique homosexual persons. Social constructionism proves that there is not just one way to be but many ways and many categories we can all fit in not judging upon sexual orientation.

Free Essays on The Confederate Flag Controversy

Living in this diversified country, the one thing that everyone has in common is the fact that we all live under the American Flag. It symbolizes that this is the land of the free, and represents a part of this country’s history just as the Confederate Flag does. The Confederate flag for some people is a symbol of racism and oppression. For others it remains a nostalgic source of pride. Still for others, it’s simple design grants testament to that turbulent era in American history, where American stood against American, glared one another in the eye, and attacked with barely a thought as to why. Is history destined to repeat itself? Are we as Americans prepared to divide ourselves again over the Confederate flag? Will there ever be a day when at last man can sit back; taking with him one thing that has escaped unscathed from controversy? I think not! I fear we live in a restless society where issues like the Confederate flag will always be a problem. What symbol is so important that we spend years debating over, we waste lives fighting for, our best minds quarrelling over, and precious manpower defending? The answer is quite simple â€Å"The Flag.† This simple but complex piece of material holds many different meanings for many different people. Since its conception in late 1861, the Confederate flag was designed to represent the Southern Confederate States of the early Civil War era. While these Confederate States were based loosely on the concept of slavery, the flag was also established for still undetermined political reasons. As such, the flag exemplifies these same concepts. It was flown imperiously on Civil War battlefields and it came to represent the cause of the Southerner. Then again, this cause was just as ambiguous as its aim. Over the years, after its abuse by white-supremacist groups, namely the KKK, and the like, it has ultimately become a symbol of hatred and racism in the eyes of many. One example of h... Free Essays on The Confederate Flag Controversy Free Essays on The Confederate Flag Controversy Living in this diversified country, the one thing that everyone has in common is the fact that we all live under the American Flag. It symbolizes that this is the land of the free, and represents a part of this country’s history just as the Confederate Flag does. The Confederate flag for some people is a symbol of racism and oppression. For others it remains a nostalgic source of pride. Still for others, it’s simple design grants testament to that turbulent era in American history, where American stood against American, glared one another in the eye, and attacked with barely a thought as to why. Is history destined to repeat itself? Are we as Americans prepared to divide ourselves again over the Confederate flag? Will there ever be a day when at last man can sit back; taking with him one thing that has escaped unscathed from controversy? I think not! I fear we live in a restless society where issues like the Confederate flag will always be a problem. What symbol is so important that we spend years debating over, we waste lives fighting for, our best minds quarrelling over, and precious manpower defending? The answer is quite simple â€Å"The Flag.† This simple but complex piece of material holds many different meanings for many different people. Since its conception in late 1861, the Confederate flag was designed to represent the Southern Confederate States of the early Civil War era. While these Confederate States were based loosely on the concept of slavery, the flag was also established for still undetermined political reasons. As such, the flag exemplifies these same concepts. It was flown imperiously on Civil War battlefields and it came to represent the cause of the Southerner. Then again, this cause was just as ambiguous as its aim. Over the years, after its abuse by white-supremacist groups, namely the KKK, and the like, it has ultimately become a symbol of hatred and racism in the eyes of many. One example of h...

Segeration essays

Segeration essays In 1865, the 13th Amendment outlaws slavery and in 1868 the 14th Amendment grants equal protection of laws to blacks. Although these Amendments existed, white people did not always treat blacks fairly. Blacks struggled for the end of segregation, which meant that they were "separate but equal." The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed in 1909. There was much protest against segregation and against the unfair ways blacks were treated. Famous protests were restaurant sit-ins and the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist was sitting on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Blacks were required to give their seat up to a white person and sit in the back or stand if there were no seats available. When a white man told her to give up her seat she refused and was arrested by Montgomery police. When other blacks herd this news, they instituted bus boycott in Montgomery that started on December 5th, 1955. On December 13th, 1956, the United States Supreme Court outlaws bus segregation, and the Montgomery bus boycott end in victory on December 21st, 1956 Many protest were held against segregation. Most of them were nonviolent. Martin Luther King was a leader of many nonviolent protests. Many of them were modeled after Ghandi's Protests' in India. One of Martin Luther King's famous marches was in Washington D.C. in 1963 where he addressed more then 250,000 marchers with his famous "I have a Dream" speech on August 28th, 1963. Near the end of the speech he began making extemporaneous references to biblical prophets Amos and Isaiah. King stopped reading his speech and preached whatever came to him. His speech ended with "... let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania ... But not only that; let freedo...

Rethinking Thanksgiving Old Holiday, New Traditions

Rethinking Thanksgiving Old Holiday, New Traditions If you’re the kind of person who isn’t a fan of traditional family dinner Thanksgiving celebrations, it doesn’t mean you have to give up on the holiday altogether. In fact, there are many fun, freaky ways to celebrate Turkey-Day in a style that’s all your own. With a little food, and a creative outlook, this year’s Thanksgiving can be one that you and your friends will remember forever. Eat a Non-Traditional Turkey Although Thanksgiving is traditionally turkey day, you can make it your own way by creating your turkey out of anything but turkey. Carve a cheese turkey, tofu turkey, or create a turkey made out of hamburgers. In fact, your new tradition can be making your turkey as untraditional as possible. If youd like to go vegetarian or just want to try some new holiday menu, check out these great, non-turkey turkey recipes: Cheese Ball Turkey (tasteofhome.com/recipes/turkey-cheese-bal) Vegetable Turkey Tray (princesspinkygirl.com/make-veggie-turkey-tray) Tofu Turkey (allrecipes.com/recipe/tofu-turkey-i) Do a Modern-Day Thanksgiving Play Everyone has seen that hashed-out thanksgiving play where pilgrims get cooking advice from the Native Americans. Instead, infuse a little fun into your Thanksgiving by producing a personalized Thanksgiving production. Choose an event that happened this year that made you thankful about something. Reenact or tell your story to keep your guests laughing and thankful. Make a Thankful Pumpkin No need to throw out those Halloween decorations just yet. For your new Thanksgiving tradition, create a â€Å"Thankful pumpkin.† Not only is this a fun way to get you and your roommates thinking about the good things that have happened this year, but they are a cute addition to your holiday dà ©cor. Just grab a couple of pumpkins (small or large) and some Sharpie markers. Then, have your guest write the things they are thankful for this year. You can even make a tradition of writing a single thing each day between Halloween and Thanksgiving to make the thankfulness last all month long! Eat Small Although Thanksgiving is traditionally known for it’s huge food, invent your own Thanksgiving tradition of eating small. Create a menu of miniature cupcakes, turkey cutouts, and apple pie pops. Not only will it impress your friends, but you’ll be less likely to overeat and overspend on the holiday of excess. Start a Thanksgiving Journal A cool way to remember what you’re grateful for is to start a Thanksgiving journal. To start your journal, try to remember all the amazing things that happened during the year and write them down. Then, starting the day after Thanksgiving, write a single thing each day that you’re thankful for – no more than a sentence or two. Next Thanksgiving, you can review the wonderful things that happened all year long. Hide the Pope’s Nose The â€Å"Pope’s Nose† is the fatty extra part of the turkey. As a fun Thanksgiving tradition, hide this weird-looking turkey part under the mashed potatoes of someone before the feast begins. It’s a guaranteed way to get people laughing, and fun surprise that your guests will look forward to every year. You can even have the person who gets the â€Å"pope’s nose† start the round-table discussion of what they’re thankful for. Try Thanksgiving Drinking Game If you want to really get into the spirit of the holiday, there is nothing more traditionally untraditional than turning the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade into a drinking game. Or, if you’re not a drinker, it’s a spice up your Thanksgiving with a little truth or dare. Rules of the Game: Drink (or do a dance) every time a float features a Broadway musical. Drink (or take off an article of clothing) every time a singer messes up his lip-syncing. Drink (or switch seats with someone) every time someone mentions the word â€Å"Snoopy.† Drink (or do the Chicken Dance) every time someone says the word â€Å"Turkey.† Drink (or sing â€Å"Santa Claus is Coming to Town) when you see Santa. Drink (or kiss a stranger) every time an announcer says â€Å"Wow.† Drink (or tell an embarrassing story) every time you call it the â€Å"Macy’s Day Parade.† Say goodbye to boring, emotionally-fraught holidays of the past. All it takes is a little creativity and a willingness to have fun to make your Thanksgiving into a fantastic holiday. With a couple of creative recipe ideas, some brand new holiday traditions, and even a drinking game or two, Thanksgiving could easily become your new favorite holiday. What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? Do you have some unusual traditions for the holiday? We are waiting for your comments and feedback!

Assess what are the barriers for Project Management Organisations Essay

Assess what are the barriers for Project Management Organisations operating outside their current sector - Essay Example project manager should be able to apply the same skills for managing an IT project, but there seems little evidence that project management organisations are exploring other industries to become market leaders. To find out how a project is run and works project success must be looked at in totality to determine what are the success factors that these project management organisations want to achieve overall, ‘a successful project’. Project must be run successfully and how this success is brought about must also be researched to determine if project managers can manage projects in other sectors successfully. It can often be easy to ask the question ‘why don’t project management organisations branch out into other sectors’ but the risk associated with the move must also be researched. It may be possible that the risk outweighs the benefits in some circumstances. In principle the success of a project should be determined by the satisfaction of the end use, often the project owners. This argument is fundamental to this paper’s discussion. The issue of whether a manager is able to successfully move across sectors will impact their performance on each project. The converse of this argument is that those that have spent the majority of their professional career focusing on a sector will be able to offer a deeper and more specialised array of skills that will prove invaluable to the project owners. These concepts will be the foundation of the discussion of results later in the paper. An expansion on these arguments is considered when looking into the risk associated to companies for employing individuals with various backgrounds. One consideration is that companies that employ such people will be able to react much better to fluctuation of market sector economic strengths. For example the rise and fall of technological companies in the mid 1990’s would have seen the increase of technological projects giving rise to profits and growth of project management

Self-Esteem Brands and Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Self-Esteem Brands and Marketing - Essay Example Example, celebrity with healthy, beautiful tanned skin, advertises and promotes a skin cream, hinting that anybody's skin could look as beautiful if they use the cream. This of course is not true, as people with very bad skin could only hope to improve or hide their bad skin. So why not create and market a brand that gives true information to the consumer The hypothesis I would like to prove in my proposal is that the average person will more likely buy products and brands that are targeting their specific problems and concerns. My research will also show that consumers are much more informed and become antagonised when marketers under-rate their intelligence and try to prescribe what they should use, wear or look like. The underlying fact that will be proven is that customers in today's world wants to be recognised as individuals who have a choice and who are educated enough to understand what promotion and marketing strategies are untrue, superficial, threaten their individuality and questioning their intelligence. The method I will The method I will use to source my information will include surveys among 18 to 30 year old customer (men and woman) segment, with the main outcomes supported by literature information sourced from text books, journals, magazines and the internet. Due to time restriction, sampling will be restricted to 20 persons, striving to obtain an equal sample from men and woman. Introduction Self-Esteem marketing has become a hot topic highly debated by scholars and philosophers. It is within this context that my proposed research could be of great value within the fashion industry. Celebrity labels promotion and marketing may have a detrimental effect on the average customer's self-esteem. As some people may never be able to wear sexy outfits, or have nice teeth or a soft mark free skin. Yet many brands promote only perfect people, making the normal person in the street feel inferior, resulting in lowering of self-esteem. Some academics have argued that lower self-esteem leads to higher school drop out rates, lower changes of promotion in the work environment, and reduced changes for a long term relationship. This I see the main stream of fashion marketing and promotion bordering on the un-ethical and believe that "Self-Esteem Marketing" is a much more ethical approach that could be used to promote and market apparel that are better suited for the target customer segment. By meeting the unique fashion needs of a target group, it is possible to enhance their self esteem as this will show acceptance in a society. What makes different target groups unique can be seen as market niche opportunities for players in the fashion industry, which could increase sales and this the market share of companies implementing such a strategy. As an example, the marketing strategies towards Hispanics in the United States can be seen as

Must demonstrate the understanding of new learning in the field of Research Paper

Must demonstrate the understanding of new learning in the field of project management and how it relates to the Project Management Maturity Model - Research Paper Example Maturity model is a tool that enables businesses to measure the ability of an organization to maturely manage different projects. It thus identifies the level of maturity and the avenues within the business within improvement before a roadmap is developed. In this roadmap, different steps are outlined that enable the business to manage its projects within the maturity model and achieve its long and short-term goals (Brown, 2008). The adoption of the maturity model by businesses increases the potential for success and the attainment of the strategic goals within the time set out in the organization’s missions and goals. Through the adoption of the maturity model, an organization increases its ability to continuously improve and develop strategic approaches, which are essential to the success of an organization. Though applied to project management, maturity model was developed under the aegis of quality management and assurance in an organization (Caron, Ruggeri & Merli, 2013). As a result, it was used in the processes of improving the quality of goods and services produced by a given organization, a process that is critical in the success of the same. By adopting the maturity model, an organization links its processes to the continuous improvement goals through a process that involves the understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the same. As a result, avenues that can be improved through change can be identified through the adoption of the maturity model and this increases the success possibility of an organization (Brown, 2008). Within different organisations, there is an increasing need for the development of processes that capable of managing the variability has and obtain the desired results within the time set. Working towards achieving goals within the set budget and time constraint has remained the basic component of any project management plan. As a result, the maturity model has enhanced the management of projects especially within the

Food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Food - Research Paper Example This may be seen, for example, in the cultural prohibitions against eating pork in the Jewish and Muslim religions – this is an essential part of their cultural heritage, and it sets them apart and defines them as a part of their cultural group (James, 3). Food also forms memories, and these memories and associations form the basis for what is commonly termed as â€Å"comfort food.† Wansink et al., (740) state that comfort foods are foods which conjure a comfortable and pleasurable state in the person, and that childhood experienced and social-affective contexts influence these food preferences. The psychological pleasure that these foods bring is based upon the feelings of pleasure and love which are behind these foods. The researchers state that this psychological response explains why some people love liver and onions, while others find this aversive. Moreover, chocolate is often favored in part because of its association with gift-giving and rewards in childhood exp eriences. At the same time, certain foods may have negative connotations, and these negative connotations creates food aversions. Concurs Wood (36), food often has a certain nostalgic appeal that is based upon sentiment, and is often associated with home and contentment. Familiar foods evoke comfort and psychological benefits. Wood also found, interestingly enough, that when individuals are in the midst of great personal change, they choose familiar favorites less often (Wood, 36). Thus, as Wansink and Wood acknowledge, there is a very powerful memory component in the consumption of food. Whether one remembers mum serving Yorkshire Pudding every Sunday evening at dinner, or one remembers one’s father serving curried chicken, these will be the foods which will be psychologically comforting, because these are the foods which are steeped with memories of home, childhood and love. These will be the foods which will create the nostalgic craving, that, interestingly enough, accordi ng to Wood, are not as appealing when an individual is going through great personal change. While this paper will concentrate on three different regions of the world, and some of the trends or the staples of their diet, James (3) cautions against using stereotypes in ascertaining typical regional diets, given the diversity within cultures for what people prefer to eat. James states that people have an idea about typical diets, such as a typical Italian diet, or Greek diet, or Spanish diet, and this is what gives society at large a general idea of what to expect when visiting these countries. Furthermore, as each region of the world is influenced by the global nature of society, as well as immigrants into the country and the general fluidity of the populace with regards to travel, food, according to James, has more of a global character than a local one. She points out that olive oil has only become a staple in the Provencal region since the end of the 19th Century (James, 4). Theref ore, James argues that regional cooking is influenced by globalization, and, as such, is ever evolving. Since there is such diversity in each of the areas which are explored – for instance, even in the United States of America, there are distinctive regions that serve different kinds of foods (southern food is much different than New England food, which is different from West coast food, etc) –

Case 9-B Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case 9-B - Assignment Example The National Enquirer is known as a tabloid focusing on celebrity gossip, news and crime stories. If a candidate who is waiting to be interviewed reads the National Enquirer instead of the company annual report, it reveals the preference of the candidate for reading materials which are unsubstantiated and without value. If a company annual report is read, instead, the recruiters would gauge that the candidate is interested to know more about the company which he/she plans to serve. Driving habits reveal an aspect of one’s personality, especially in terms of handling unexpected situations. When a person drives, his mind automatically shifts to routinary behavior and can be seen as a significant manifestation of one’s job performance. In the case, the candidate lost his temper when his car was hit by another vehicle despite it being his fault. It revealed his poor road etiquette initially and possible inability to handle conflicts and difficult situations on the job. These recruiters emphasize the need to stay focused on the recruitment process by putting everything else out of one’s mind. The ultimate objective of recruitment is â€Å"to find qualified employees who fit well into the culture of the organization† (DuBrin, 2008, 303). Therefore, graduates seeking entry-level technical and professional jobs must be at their best during the interview process and be prepared to listen and respond,

Causes and Effects on Global Economy Research Paper

Causes and Effects on Global Economy - Research Paper Example The spate of events undermined the confidence of the investors impacting the global financial markets. With the tightening of the credit norms, there was a slowdown in the economies worldwide. It is argued that the government and Federal banks could have avoided this situation had they acted on time. Critics put the blame on the regulatory practices of the government and credit rating agencies. The latter failed to assess the risk associated with the mortgage-based financial products. As a result of the high ratings given to these securities, they were passed on to the investors easily. A hike in the interest rate led to widespread delinquency on the home loans and early foreclosures. This increased the supply of houses thereby putting a downward pressure on their prices. The rise in the rates of delinquencies due to the steep housing installments eroded the value of the mortgage-based securities. Surplus liquidity and low rates of interest created conditions of easy credit and contributed to a housing boom. There was a considerable increase in the homeownership rates in the country most of which was comprised of the subprime mortgage. During this time credit was extended to the borrowers with a bad credit history. The installments on these loans were low initially but with the rest of the interest rates, the monthly installments of the borrowers also increased substantially. Meanwhile, the steep rise in the house price and credit created a building boom. The rise in the rate of foreclosure together with the surplus unsold houses caused a steep fall in the housing prices in the US. Another reason that contributed to the rise in the home loan delinquency was the quality of credit. Enticed by earning higher transaction fees the lenders failed to check the creditworthiness of the borrower and in the process extended credit to the high-risk segment.

Case 9-B Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case 9-B - Assignment Example The National Enquirer is known as a tabloid focusing on celebrity gossip, news and crime stories. If a candidate who is waiting to be interviewed reads the National Enquirer instead of the company annual report, it reveals the preference of the candidate for reading materials which are unsubstantiated and without value. If a company annual report is read, instead, the recruiters would gauge that the candidate is interested to know more about the company which he/she plans to serve. Driving habits reveal an aspect of one’s personality, especially in terms of handling unexpected situations. When a person drives, his mind automatically shifts to routinary behavior and can be seen as a significant manifestation of one’s job performance. In the case, the candidate lost his temper when his car was hit by another vehicle despite it being his fault. It revealed his poor road etiquette initially and possible inability to handle conflicts and difficult situations on the job. These recruiters emphasize the need to stay focused on the recruitment process by putting everything else out of one’s mind. The ultimate objective of recruitment is â€Å"to find qualified employees who fit well into the culture of the organization† (DuBrin, 2008, 303). Therefore, graduates seeking entry-level technical and professional jobs must be at their best during the interview process and be prepared to listen and respond,

We Are Not Responsible for Our Actions Essay Example for Free

We Are Not Responsible for Our Actions Essay Critically asses the view that we are not responsible for our actions Is it true that the society we live in, we have the right to make and produce our own decisions and its purely down to each individual to any actions they produce? In this essay I will explore if we have the right to be responsible for any action we take. Some may believe its down to God and his decisions, obviously, this cannot be proved, however surely each human have the right to be responsible for any actions. This question comes down to; do we have free will or is it determinism? A key case which questioned this question would be the Darrow trial. Successfully, the Lawyer was able to reduce the death penalty to life imprisonment, blaming that it was other factors such as power that made them do this action. He therefore believed that we are all not responsible for our action other factors must also be responsible not purl down to that individual. A prime example of an ethical theory which backs up this trial is Determinism. This means all our actions all have prior causes going back to the first cause which is God, therefore any evil action is inevitable. Determinism states that freedom of choice is just an illusion and so personal responsibility is a meaningless concept, as are the blame and punishment. This sort of determinism would be hard determinism. Therefore, determinism followers would reject that we have free will. Hard determinism followers such as John Hospers said that there is always something which compels each human to externally and internally perform an action that we would consider was the result of our own free will. He says â€Å"it is all a matter of luck†. Hospers would strongly agree that we are not responsible for any actions. He believes in other factors. Carrying on from this, behaviourism is an extreme modern version of hard determinism. It states that all our actions are due to the social conditioning and subconscious influences. John B. Watson discussed psychological behaviourism. He suggested that our behaviour is influenced by heredity and environment. By manipulating the environment an individual’s behaviour can be alerted. All theories of determinism are influenced by Isaac Newton’s physics.

Coca Cola Entry Methods and Strategy Analysis

Coca Cola Entry Methods and Strategy Analysis Introduction Since the Coca-Cola was formulated by pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S., passing by 140 years it became the worlds largest soft drink company in term of manufacturer, distributor and marketer in non-alcoholic area, and operates in more than 200 countries servicing over 16 million people different Coca-Cola products every day. The products in Coca-Cola company including sparking drinks and still beverages such as waters, juices and juice drinks , teas , coffees , sports drinks, and energy drinks. (Coca-Cola website 2010) Brand as the definition is A name, a sign, symbol or design or combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of either one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate the from the competitors (Kotler 1984, p442) . Brand is a symbol, an attitude and a culture to the people which can show their own personalities and life. A good brand is not only a name and a promise is not only a memory in peoples mind however it can influences peoples life. The brand Coca-Cola now is one of the most valuable brand ($66,667 million) including 500 soft drink brands in the company. Beside the most valuable brand Coca-Cola, the company still have another 12 brands which are over $10 hundred million consist of Diet coke, Sprite, Fanta, Coca-Cola zero, Glaceau, Powerade Minute Maid , Georgia etc(Coca-Cola website 2010), (annual report 2009) Foreign direct investment (FDI) FID which means investment in manufacturing and service facilities in a foreign country with an intention to engage actively in managing them-is another facet of the increasing integration of national economies. (Kotabe Helsen) The biggest investment in foreign market is direct investment, as the company investment the new manufacture in the foreign country to develop their local product and easy to control the price come from the raw material details. Such as HP make the direct investment in some majored market around the world, including India. (Kotler and Armstrong). Generally the foreign direct investment can help the company developing deeper relationship with government, customers and local supplier, at the same time improved their image in the target country because they create jobs. Also the foreign direct investment have the disadvantages like government changing , falling markets, frankly speaking the company have no chose but can build the effective operations to accept this. This first Coca-Cola bottling manufacture factory was established in Beijing in 1981, to got the benefits from direct investment, until now there are 35 bottling company and 29 manufacture factory for Coca-Cola products in china, more than 30,000 people working in Coca-Cola,99% stuff are Chinese local . Network models (alliances and joint ventures) Alliances An operate joint venture is an agreement for the partners to collaborate but does not involve any equity investment. (Kotabe Helsen) For the fierce of the business, more choose face to the customers in the market, however how can the company satisfy the customers multi-choice of the produce is an impotent to the company management. However the marketing partnership will be the first choice to enhance the value to customers. For instance two different company become to alliance their retailers has to be treat they are customer too, cause they may not in the same industry and market, therefore two different company to be alliances can support their sales channel ,design and implemented co-operative advertising campaigns. (Keller, aperia, georgson2008) 2000 in china , Coca-Cola and Lenovo (top technologies company in china) home computer together becoming to the marketing partner, with Lenovos high-tech image to match the Internet Express, Coca-Cola with this alliances for the first step to connected with internet and also it is a required of the development of the technology. In Chinese technology marketing, Lenovo has hundreds of stores and thousands of dealers spread all over the country, with the lager channel system, Coca-Cola to be well -know brand in china .(Lenovo website 2010) Joint ventures Joint ventures is the participation of two or more companies in an enterprise in which each party contributes assets, owns the new entity to some degree, and share risk.(Hollensen 2004) Joint ventures as the important strategy to the company developing their global business, before the FDI (Kotabe Helsen) most of the company choose corporation with the local company to help them entry the new marketing, therefore the most of the local company have majority market share in their industry, so it is easily and fast to the foreign company to introduce the product and build their services net work in the new marketing. Two top companies in the world Coca-Cola and nestle joined marketing force called Coca-Cola and nestle refreshments(CCNR) as the beverage partners worldwide (BPW)since 2001, the fifth-fifty joint venture held by the two companies. The joint ventures concentrate on the reedy-to-drink tea excluding the US and Japan, probably create the new values for all shareholders both of two companies. Before to cooperate with Coca-Cola, Swire Groups services consisted of property, aviation, beverage, marine services, industry industrial; COFCO is the largest oil and foodstuffs import and export company in china, also have food manufacture, hotel management and financial services, list by the magazine as one of the top 500 companies in the world; the Kerry group also the top oil and foodstuffs company have the high market share in china. In china Coca-Cola with the three partners in a joint venture bottling plants-Swire Group, Kerry Group and COFCO (China Oil Foodstuffs Corporation), responsible for the implementation of the beverage production, sales and building the marketing channels. The responsibilities for Coca-Cola are brand promotion, marketing development and control the liquid forms of cooperation. (Annual report 2009) (COFCO website). Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary Chinese culture Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture (Hofstede 1980, p21). To understand the different culture in different countries is a main principle for the global company enters the foreign, unknown market. Some of the culture elements like history, religion, ethnicity, family, language, social class, politics, income, etc, are very important when the company doing the business in foreign counties, so according to the different culture in different country to make the company localization strategy is helpful to the company for the long-term business to entry the new global market. China is one of the worlds oldest history of more than 5,000 years, has the territory area of 9.6 million square km, with the sea area of about 4.73 million square km, second largest country in the world. (China culture 2010). Coca-Cola in china While Coca-Cola was succeeded in penetrating nearly every country of the world, it has never been able to separate itself from the image of overpowering US brand (Hollensen 2004). For help to raise the international profile of the brand further Coca-Cola entry the third biggest country in the world -china. Therefore Coca-Cola is one of the earliest US company entries Chinese marketing since 1927. The first bottling manufacture factory established in Shanghai and Tianjin, this is the first time that Chinese people drink the new types, high-quality drinks. In 1930, in Qingdao the third bottling factory was established, till 1948 Shanghai become the first city outside Unites exceeded sales 100 million boxes. (Coca-Cola website 2010) After the restored diplomatic relations between china and the Unites States in 1979 , the first 28,000 boxes of bottled and canned Coca-Cola products were shipping from Hong Kong to mainland china to sales, since the Chinese marketing opening to the global ,the first Coca-Cola bottling manufacture factory was established in Beijing in 1981, until now there are 35 bottling company and 29 manufacture factory for Coca-Cola products in china, more than 30,000 people working in Coca-Cola,99% stuff are Chinese local . over the past 5 years of business in china the Coca-Cola company to be the main leadership in Chinese soft drink market, china become the worlds third largest market for Coca-Cola as well.(Coca-Cola website 2010) Segmentation (Kotler and Armstrong) statistics the definition of market segmentation as involves individuating a market in to smaller groups of buyers with distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviours that might require separate marketing strategies or mixes. Market segmentation is the subdividing of a market into distinct subsets of customers, where any subset may conceivably be selected as a target market to be reached with a distinct marketing mix. (Kotler 2010) The major segmentation elements for consumer markets are: Geographic, Demographic, psychographic and Behavioural. (Kotler and Armstrong2010) Developing the global businesses for the geographic and operating segmentation Coca-Cola divided the world into six parts: Eurasia, Africa, Europe, Latin American, North American and Asia Pacific.(Annul report 2009) Coca-Cola company purchase the vehicles for the factory to responsible for the drinks to retailers and giving free refrigerators, umbrellas to retailers, the company trying to find the different ways to perfect their customer services. once the people will think about Coca-Cola when they want to drink ,no matter where you are ,you can fine a Coca-Cola around you ,like grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors, convenience stores, movie theaters and amusement parks, the products covered among many others public squares. (Coca-Cola website 2010) (Annul report 2009) Therefore the fierce completion push the company must provide more products to satisfy the customers choice, for the entry the variety beverage field Coca-Cola try to transform itself into a localized comprehensive. on the other hand Coca-Cola was alliances with one of the Chinese largest internet services website companyTencent to developing their youth marketing in china, the star product of Tencent company is QQ (similar with MSN , is a instant message software), until march 5, 19:52:58 ,Tencent QQ announced that the number of the current users exceeded 100million .with this cooperation ,Coca-Colas iCoke website (www.icoke.cn) introduced the use of 3D QQ Tencent game show , QZONE personal space, QQ theme packages ,to be the first comprehensive online community for young consumers with a new experience of communication.Listen Read phonetically Target market and positioning strategy A target market is a chosen segment of market that a company has decided to serve. (David Jobber 2010 p 261) A clear target is helpful to the company to understand the costumers demand and favorite, easier to design the target product to the target customers. For instance CNN target its news program me, that is why CNN has globally, concentrate to the distribution effort in to hotels room, for the business people they can see the CNN news wherever they are.( David Jobber 2010) There are 3 key points of the Coca-Cola company-quality, customers and consumers. As the leader of beverage market, in the fierce international competition, Coca-Cola company does not pre-localization strategy, as the first global company to annoy the new localization theory think local, act local to the whole world, the main principle about this theory is relevant to the basic conditions of the different countries to make different decisions and strategy. Since the Coca-Cola has the 30% market share in US, the company theory is to satisfy every customers demand, the aim for the whole company to make the everywhere and easy to buy, so pervasiveness, price, value, preference to be the sales goal for Coca-Cola Company .The Coca-Cola Company is always Been the one of the first enter to developing marketing and build their strong positioning. Coca-Cola will no longer focus on formal product but it committed to expand its beverage varieties. From the style of oolong tea to a new era of mixed fruit drinks, high-calorie energy drink, or even to the most basic drink-water. Coca-Cola company follow give the world a coke, begin according to peoples teats in different countries to tailored drinks. Marketing mix Chinese marketing mix marketing mix is the set of market tools the firm uses to implement its marketing strategy. The major marketing mix tool is classified into four board four groups, called the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, promotion (Kotler and Armstrong 2010 p 36) Product strategy Produce decision involves deciding what goods or services should be offered to a group of customers (David Jobber 2010 p 17) A good whatever the design, the brand, the price, the main objective should be according to the customers demand. The most important element is new product development. Because the change of the technology and taste, product become out of fashion probably or defeated by the competitors, so company should replace them to satisfying customers needs. As the developing of the society, more and more pay attention about their quality of living and health, people in order to keep their weight to reduce to eat some high energy food and even drinks.co ca-ca la at this time to be the extension of the market to made the coke without sugar and no calories but plenty of taste called diet coke in 1982, within two years it had become to the top diet soft drink in the world. In 2008 another successful product Coca-Cola zero was published. (Coca-Cola website) China has almost four or five thousand years history to drink tea, to the Chinese people tea is not just drink it is a type of culture. For this especially culture Coca-Cola made the product strategy for Chinese marketing to sale Nestea ice rush lemon tea, and design a new product for Chinese people called Smart to enhance the marketing competitions. Pricing strategy Pricing strategy is a key element and basic element of the marketing mix, for instance, the Spending on product design (product), advertising and salespeople (promotion), Transportation and distribution (place). So the pricing strategy should be very clear about objective, ethos, factor and influencing, and also the discount and allowance in some transactions. (David jobber 2010) The main principle in Chinese economic marketing are vast land and large numbers of population, varieties raw materials, nevertheless the another issue of the marketing is the low cost of the labor force. However compared the product price between china and other countries, the price advantages is obviously appeared. Place strategy Place involves decisions concerning the distribution channels to be used and their management, the locations of outlets, methods of transportation and inventory levels to be held. The aim of the place strategy is to choose the right time and place to do available produce and service. (David Jobber 2010 p 19) To build an effective distribution channel is a best way to cooperate to the retailers, and wholesalers, because they will fine the good way to sale the product and also analyses the market to help the marketer to change the marketing planning at the first time. The Coca-Cola s partner in china have the effective marketing occupation, the Swire group occupied southern part and central part market ,Kerry Groups business including North , Southwest, and Beijing, COFCO control sites including the northwest, northeast, Hunan, Hainan, and other areas, so for the share market area Coca-Cola s sales market channel like a big net hold the whole China. Promotion strategy Promotion mix: advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing and online promotion.(David jobber 2010, p18) With the globalization of trade, many best international companies gradually enter the Chinese marketing, the best way to publicity is advertising, the effective advertising strategy for the foreign company must be care the basic conditions of the target country and the domestic customers demand. For the long term Coca-Cola advertising in china is coupled with the US vision of the Chinese commentary, the advertising was full of typical American style and American personality .Since 1999, Coca-Cola have been adjusted their advertising strategies in china , for the first time the Chinese stars , the traditional mascot ,family relations and friendship appeared in the advertising stories. The localization in china also appears on product packaging the most successful one produced for Chinese traditional festival- New Years Day, they put the 12 zodiac in the cans (this is the first souvenir to use Chinese theme around the world, worthy to collected and commemorative) for this new packaging Coca-Cola use Chinese culture to design the cans with 12 animals. Also as the New Year gift Coca-Cola change the normal size to family Value Pack, for another point of view satisfied the costumers demands. Coca -cola is the longest-serving sponsor since 1928. 2008 was the fantastic year for Coca-Cola when china held the Olympic game in Beijing; it is create a unique opportunity to the world to understand a new china and new Coca-Cola china. another agreement was signed at the great wall in Beijing between Coca-Cola company and IOC about sponsor responsible ,from 2009 to 2020 during winter Olympics in Vancouver, summer games in London and Olympic games in 2014,2016, 2018 until 2020.(Coca-Cola website) (BBC news) Conclusion As the sum up of all factors and model during Coca-Colas global business strategy, for a past 140 years Coca-Cola use their product, brand, cultural to infiltrate into the propelss life and impression of the taste from generation to generation. For the fierce of the competition and development of economic and technology ,Coca-Cola will meet more challenge and good competitors in the future, how can they conquer everything and according to methodthink global, act local,and still following the company work give to the world a Coca-Colais a worthy question need to considering in the next step. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary Appendix (Finger 1. The list of Coca-Cola products) PRODUCTS SERVED AT THE WORLD OF Coca-Cola (except US) Product/Brand Country of Sale / Group Stoney Tangawizi Tanzania / Africa Fanta Exotic Fruit Punch Uganda / Africa Krest Ginger Ale Mozambique / Africa Sparletta Sparberry Zimbabwe / Africa Bibo Candy Coco-Pine South Africa / Africa Sunfill Mint Djibouti / Africa Bibo Kiwi Mango South Africa / Africa Sunfill Blackcurrant Mauritius / Africa Smart Apple China / Asia Sprite Ice India / Asia Fanta Apple Kiwi Thailand / Asia Smart Watermelon China / Asia Crushed Lemon Bahrain / Asia Nestea Ice Rush Lemon Tea China / Asia Aquarius Citrus Taiwan / Asia Vegitabeta Japan / Asia HI-C Ume Japan / Asia Beverly Italy / Europe Fanta Magic (Blue Grape) Estonia / Europe Mezzo Mix Germany / Europe Kinley Bitter Lemon England / Europe Fanta Pineapple Greece / Europe Nestea Raspberry Iced Tea Spain / Europe Nestea Lemon Bulgaria / Europe Nestea Peach France / Europe Lift Manzana Chile / Latin America Fanta Kolita Costa Rica / Latin America Inca Kola Peru / Latin America Simba Guarana Paraguay / Latin America Ciel Aquarius Jamaica Sun Mexico / Latin America Delaware Punch Honduras / Latin America Nestea Light Peach Brazil / Latin America Nestea Mango Mexico / Latin America Finger 3. Some of the Coca-Cola product in china (some of localization) (Finger 4. Specific product designed for Chinese marketing) (Figure 5: Coca-Cola alliances with Lenovo to public the Coca-Cola /Lenovo laptop) (Figure 5: Coca-Cola to be the sponsor of Beijing Olympic Game 2008) (Figure 5: Coca-Cola alliances with Tencent) (Figure 6: the spread of the bottling factory in china)

Land Ethics Essay -- essays research papers fc

Land Ethics in Our Communities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While wading through the reserved reading in the library, I came across the article, â€Å"The Land Ethic†, which caught my eye, as well as sparked an interest deep within me. It revealed the idea that we, as humans, tend to be quite caught up in the idea of community; community between neighbors, co-workers, etc. seems to be something we strive for in our society. It seems that we have not integrated the land into our idea of community, and I feel that this is a serious problem that if not treated, will continue to grow and strive until the land turns into the â€Å"dead nothing† many people of today’s society feel it to be. I had been put face to face with the fact that I was one of those careless and self-involved members of our race. Having never thought of the concept of â€Å"land ethics†, I realized that it is very likely that many other people have yet to know of it either. This is a present conservation problem which worries me more than I have ever thought a simple article could be able to do to me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the author of this revelation piece, Aldo Leopold (1966), stated in his article, that we need to change our â€Å"human role from conqueror, to a member of the land community†(p.). This is vital for the future existence of an Earth that is habitable and non-toxic. Many people claim that they have ethics in their work place, or in general life practices. I have yet, however, had the pleasure...

Symbolism in Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury Essay -- Farenheight 451

Symbolism in Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury is a futuristic novel, taking the reader to a time where books and thinking are outlawed. In a time so dreadful where those who want to better themselves by thinking, and by reading are outlaws as well. Books and ideas are burned, books are burned physically, whereas ideas are burned from the mind. Bradbury uses literary devices, such as symbolism, but it is the idea he wants to convey that makes this novel so devastating. Bradbury warns us of what may happen if we stop expressing our ideas, and we let people take away our books, and thoughts. Bradbury notices what has been going on in the world, with regards to censorship, and McCarthyism in America. That is what he is speaking out against. Bradbury's use of symbolism throughout the novel makes the book moving and powerful by using symbolism to reinforce the ideas of anti-censorship. The Hearth and the Salamander, the title of part one, is the first example of symbolism. The title suggests two things having to do with fire, the hearth is a source of warmth and goodness, showing the positive, non-destructive side of fire. Whereas a salamander is a small lizard-like amphibian, and also in mythology, is known to endure fire without getting burnt by it. Perhaps the salamander is symbolic of Guy Montag, who is being described as a salamander because he works with fire, and endures it, but believes that he can escape the fire and survive, much like a salamander does. On the other hand, it is ironic that Guy, and the other firemen believe themselves to be salamanders because both Capt. Beatty's and Montag's destruction comes from the all mighty flame, from which they thought they were invincible. The symbol of a Phoenix is used throughout the novel. This quote accurately describes the Phoenix, "It is known to be a mythical multi-colored bird of Arabia, with a long history of artistic and literary symbolism, the Phoenix is one of a kind. At the end of its five-hundred-year existence, it perches on its nest of spices and sings until sunlight ignites the masses. After the body is consumed in flames, a worm emerges and develops into the next Phoenix.". The Phoenix symbolizes the rebirth after destruction by fire, only to get burnt, and be destroyed again. Firemen wear the Phoenix on their uniforms, and Capt. Beatty symbolically ... ... was the Nazi book burning that took place after Hitler came to power. These burings took place to eliminate Jewish and outside ingluence on the Aryans, which is precisely what Bradbury demonstrates in this extraordinary piece of literature. Now to the probability portion of my statement, with the censorship by various parties, political and otherwise it is not unlikely that such a catasrophy could happen again, although it could come in the form of simply choking off the undesireable ideas. Symbolism added to the power and overall affect behind this book. The symbols were usually descriptive of something or somebody, such as the Phoenix, and the salamander. Whereas destruction and fire came to be a symbol in the eyes of the reader throughout the novel. Perhaps this novel, written in the early 1950's, spoke out against the future, and spoke out against censorship, but one thing is for sure, we must always attempt to better ourselves with knowledge, and always form our own ideas. If we do, then we will have gotten the message of Ray Bradbury. "There is no knowledge that is not power... And all our lives we must search for power, and in that search, we gain knowledge."(Anonymous) Symbolism in Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury Essay -- Farenheight 451 Symbolism in Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury is a futuristic novel, taking the reader to a time where books and thinking are outlawed. In a time so dreadful where those who want to better themselves by thinking, and by reading are outlaws as well. Books and ideas are burned, books are burned physically, whereas ideas are burned from the mind. Bradbury uses literary devices, such as symbolism, but it is the idea he wants to convey that makes this novel so devastating. Bradbury warns us of what may happen if we stop expressing our ideas, and we let people take away our books, and thoughts. Bradbury notices what has been going on in the world, with regards to censorship, and McCarthyism in America. That is what he is speaking out against. Bradbury's use of symbolism throughout the novel makes the book moving and powerful by using symbolism to reinforce the ideas of anti-censorship. The Hearth and the Salamander, the title of part one, is the first example of symbolism. The title suggests two things having to do with fire, the hearth is a source of warmth and goodness, showing the positive, non-destructive side of fire. Whereas a salamander is a small lizard-like amphibian, and also in mythology, is known to endure fire without getting burnt by it. Perhaps the salamander is symbolic of Guy Montag, who is being described as a salamander because he works with fire, and endures it, but believes that he can escape the fire and survive, much like a salamander does. On the other hand, it is ironic that Guy, and the other firemen believe themselves to be salamanders because both Capt. Beatty's and Montag's destruction comes from the all mighty flame, from which they thought they were invincible. The symbol of a Phoenix is used throughout the novel. This quote accurately describes the Phoenix, "It is known to be a mythical multi-colored bird of Arabia, with a long history of artistic and literary symbolism, the Phoenix is one of a kind. At the end of its five-hundred-year existence, it perches on its nest of spices and sings until sunlight ignites the masses. After the body is consumed in flames, a worm emerges and develops into the next Phoenix.". The Phoenix symbolizes the rebirth after destruction by fire, only to get burnt, and be destroyed again. Firemen wear the Phoenix on their uniforms, and Capt. Beatty symbolically ... ... was the Nazi book burning that took place after Hitler came to power. These burings took place to eliminate Jewish and outside ingluence on the Aryans, which is precisely what Bradbury demonstrates in this extraordinary piece of literature. Now to the probability portion of my statement, with the censorship by various parties, political and otherwise it is not unlikely that such a catasrophy could happen again, although it could come in the form of simply choking off the undesireable ideas. Symbolism added to the power and overall affect behind this book. The symbols were usually descriptive of something or somebody, such as the Phoenix, and the salamander. Whereas destruction and fire came to be a symbol in the eyes of the reader throughout the novel. Perhaps this novel, written in the early 1950's, spoke out against the future, and spoke out against censorship, but one thing is for sure, we must always attempt to better ourselves with knowledge, and always form our own ideas. If we do, then we will have gotten the message of Ray Bradbury. "There is no knowledge that is not power... And all our lives we must search for power, and in that search, we gain knowledge."(Anonymous)

Kinds of research data Essay

The basic classification of research data is in terms of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative research entails examination of numerical data by using mathematical models and statistical procedures. (Morgan, 2000). Qualitative research involves use of analysis and opinions to explain interviews and documents and understanding the phenomenon. The study requires a qualitative and some quantitative approach rather than a purely numerical one. Data Collection Approaches Data collection approaches can be primary and secondary. Both primary and secondary approaches will be utilized Extensive research will be carried out in the Library as well as on the World Wide Web. Qualitative Research Methodologies Qualitative methodology focuses on â€Å"quality† a term referring to the essence or ambience of something. Qualitative methods are used to understand complex social phenomena. In the present situation, literature survey along with interviews and questionnaires will be the key techniques used for data collection, collation and analysis. Case-Study Research Methodology. Case study in the primary research methodology employed in this study. A case study is an enquiry which uses multiple sources of evidence. It evaluates a contemporary phenomenon in real life context within the boundaries of the phenomenon and when the context is not clearly evident. Potter, (1996) has defined case study as a â€Å"realistic† methodology, which deals with solid and specific questions. Case study translates research objectives into more researchable problems, and provides rich examples, which are easy to comprehend. The significance of case studies is its revealing the meaning of a phenomenon. A peer group case study approach is considered best suited than other techniques to implement this research, as it will concentrate on an empirical, contemporary problem. It will also enable answering the questions as, â€Å"why† and, â€Å"how† to understand the underlying motivations. It will generate empirical data and interesting information specific to the phenomenon under study. Research cases offer a unique tool to testing theory by examining phenomena which are beyond the traditional statistical approaches. (Potter, 1996). Case study research is useful to the aims because the degree to which a case study produces valid and credible information is generally higher than qualitative research in a more general survey. An analysis of the Chinese and UK banking systems is proposed to be carried out with reference to the case study of Bank of China and HSBC, London. Limitations of Case Study One of the limits of case studies is the difficulty of generalizing their findings. If the case design is sound and if the researcher is careful to be explicit about the phenomenon and the context of the study, then results can be generalized.(Potter, 1996). Another limit of case studies is that they generate a lot of information that needs to be logically handled to strengthen the argument presented in order to develop credible conclusion. Research Instruments Primary data is collected for the research study to answer a specific question. Ways of collecting this kind of information includes surveys, observation or controlled experiments. Surveys are one of the most common ways to collect data, where the subject can be contacted through mail, telephone or directly in personal interviews. (Veal, 2000). It entails sending questionnaires, interviews and non-formal enquiries made to people. By carrying out interviews of a significant number of individuals a broad perspective can be provided. This research will collect data by essentially the method of interviews and questionnaires. Data Collection Method Questionnaire Survey Surveys are frequently used to obtain information about social issues. Jones (1997) has described that survey needs planned strategy to gather data. Surveys can be conducted in many ways, over the telephone, by mail or in person. Questionnaire surveys are ideal for providing complex information. Questionnaire involves a sample of the population which can range from few hundreds to few thousands depending on the research study (Veal, 2000). Questionnaire technique has been used in the study. Limitation of the questionnaires On an average the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but a key drawback is low response rate. This will result in low level of confidence and distort the analogy of statistical information. Another weakness of questionnaire is the fact that it is a structured format and allows little room for flexibility with respect to reply by the respondents. Interview Interviews will form an interactive part of this study and will be carried out after the secondary research is done in combination with the questionnaire. When doing these interviews it will be important to keep a neutral view of the research topic, where the actual behavior instead of an intended behavior needs to be identified. Veal (2000) has described interview as a strategy to find out from people about the things, which cannot be observed directly.

From Dancing Shoes to A High School Diploma Essay

I have always believed that something great was destined for each and everyone of us. No matter how hard we try, there are still certain things that we take for granted. Sometimes, these little things are the ones that matter in the end. From being the average student to the extraordinary dancer, these experiences have definitely helped shape who I am today. I am originally from Korea, where I finished my elementary and high school. School has always been a challenge for me, making me finish the elementary level with just average grades. I did not belong to the group of students who brought honor and pride to their parents because of exemplary performance in school. I was just an average student who would sit in class and listen to the lessons taught by the teachers. Middle school became another challenge for me. I was growing older, and wanted so much to fit in the crowd. I became more interested in hanging out with my friends rather than attending school and preparing myself for the real world. My grades started to deteriorate, and my teachers and my parents were alarmed with what was happening to me. I became clueless with what my goals in life should be. All I know was that I wanted to enjoy life and be with my friends. While I was still able to pass middle school, my grades were nowhere near impressive. I was still my old self–uninterested with school and dependent on what my peers would say. One day, a high school student approached me and asked me to join the dance club. I guess all of those dancing stints during parties paid off. I was accepted and was forever changed by my experience in the club. The few sessions I had with the dance club made me realize a lot of things. I learned the basics of hard work and determination. Dancing became a big part of my life. Whether it was daytime or night time, I was always dancing. Unfortunately, my grades were greatly affected again. They started to deteriorate, and this prompted my teachers to open my eyes to reality. My homeroom teacher constantly explained to me that dancing is a good hobby, for I am able to express myself creatively. However, she told me that I should pay more attention to my studies so that I may be able to enter a reputable high school. I ignored these statements and went on with the kind of lifestyle I was used to. The last year of middle school meant that we had to apply in different high schools. Together with my friends and peers, we started applying to the prestigious schools in our district. My friends were able to get accepted in some of these schools, unfortunately, I was not one of them. My unimpressive school transcript prevented me from being accepted in a reputable school. In short, I was rejected most of the time. My homeroom teacher became concerned with the situation, so she suggested that we enter a dance competition in order to get extra curricular points that may be included in our application forms. My friends and I thought that this was our last option to prove ourselves, so we decided to enter the said competition. I could definitely say that we gave our best, practicing until our bones and muscles hurt. Unfortunately, we were defeated in the preliminaries. I was greatly affected with the decision, making me cry my heart out. After all the hard work and dedication I gave for this competition, still it was not enough. I decided to live a new life from then on. Eventually, I was able to attend a high school away from my friends and family. I became determined more than ever to study hard and be someone. My lack of knowledge in middle school has made high school difficult for me. Being accepted in a reputable university was the hardest part of all. My hopes and dreams of actually succeeding in life started to diminish. With these in mind, I decided to learn a particular skill, no matter how difficult it was. Currently, I am in the United States hoping to somehow fulfill my dreams and aspirations. I am determined more than ever to study and learn to the best of my abilities, and avoid the mistakes that I have committed in the past. I learned that work and play should be balanced, and that there should be a set of priorities that should not be taken for granted. I am now aware that everything happens for a reason and that no time should be wasted. As I look back and recall my days in middle school, I cannot help but be disappointed in myself. If only I can go back in time and correct the mistakes I have committed in the past, I would do it. I have realized that opportunity only knocks once in a lifetime, and you can never go back to redo the things of the past. The said experience has helped me rise up and always be thankful that I am given another chance to fix my life.