Saturday, December 21, 2019

Personal Demoralization In The Awakening - 1561 Words

Personal Demoralization in The Awakening To demoralize someone is to dishearten or discourage them and cause them to lose hope. Kate Chopin uses words like â€Å"depressed† (56), â€Å"hopeless† (56) and â€Å"despondency† (p115) to describe Edna Pontellier, the heroine, in The Awakening. Coupling this description with Edna taking her life at the end of the novel and Chopin’s own inferred demoralization, due to the universal aversion to The Awakening, the natural conclusion is that it is a work of â€Å"great personal demoralization†, (Companion 5) as Michael Levenson states. Levenson suggests most modernist authors and artists paint a bleak picture of their time period because they are demoralized. Although the portrait Chopin paints of female oppression†¦show more content†¦But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul...† (p26). Mrs. Pontellier’s soul is shaken and her deepest emotions aroused causing a seismic shift in her soul. Kate Chopin no tes that all of the partygoers were moved by Mademoiselle Reisz’s performance of renowned composer Frederic Chopin’s music. This alludes to Kate Chopin’s desire to inspire her audience, through her novel, in the same manner as Mrs. Reisz and the importance of art as it can penetrate the soul. In the next scene Mrs. Pontellier suddenly learns to swim and Chopin describes, â€Å"A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul.† (p27). Mrs. Pontellier, now fully awake, realizes that she has control over body, she has autonomy, and Chopin emphasizes her individuality by referring to her as Edna. Edna’s awakening is important because in 1899, women did not have autonomy; their main purpose was domesticity. The church and patriarchy reined over women who were the property of their husbands and considered inferior to men with no sexual desire. Chopin pr esents Mr. Pontellier as a perfect specimen of late nineteenth century patriarchy. Some women thrive in this culture as Chopin demonstrates through Mrs. Ratignolle. However, for many women, like Edna this world was suffocating. The natural reaction to this oppression is feminism, but Chopin does not preach feminismShow MoreRelatedDemoralization In The Awakening1584 Words   |  7 PagesChopin uses words like â€Å"depressed† (56), â€Å"hopeless† (56) and â€Å"despondency† (p115) to describe Edna, the heroine, in The Awakening. Coupling this description with Edna taking her life at the end of the novel and Chopin’s own inferred demoralization, due to the almost universal aversion to The Awakening, the natural conclusion is that it is a work of â€Å"great personal demoralization†, (Companion 5) as Michael Levenson states. Levenson suggests most modernist authors and artists paint a bleak pictureRead MoreEco-Buddhism7194 Words   |  29 Pag estwenty years. Antidepressants are now the commonest type of medication taken by Americans from their late teens to mid-forties.   Clinical psychologist  Bruce Levine  points out that people have been taught (through advertising) to understand demoralization or despair as a medical condition that requires a pharmacological cure. They â€Å"consume† medical treatment rather than ask pointed questions about the goals and values of their society. What if feeling demoralized is an appropriate response to deterioratingRead MoreExplain the Role of Proximity and Globality in Effectiveness6320 Words   |  26 Pagesthat the improvement of SYSTEMS need to be managed Defining the standards expected and the systems required to achieve them are a managerial responsibility. Do not change or alter the expected standard at random. This only leads to confusion and demoralization of the work force. 6. Adopt modern methods of SUPERVISION and TRAINING - eliminate fear It is all too easy to criticize mistakes, but difficult to praise efforts and achievements. Recognize efforts and provide correct training, facilitationRead MoreDiscuss the Importance of Non Verbal Communication to Education24125 Words   |  97 Pagesimplementation capacity on three levels: (a) Service delivery may diminish as sickness and death increase. Contributing factors include: * reduced staff productivity (loss of human resources, absenteeism due to illness and funeral attendance, staff demoralization and HIV/AIDS-related on-the-job fatigue). In one Ugandan agricultural extension office, four out of 22 staff had died in the last 12 months, three of these from AIDS; * increased staff turnover; * increased project expenditures due toRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pagesand a flattened organization. It is an organization that can overcome limitations, understand the pressures against it, and seize opportunities when they present themselves. The basic principles of this approach are made up of five core areas: 1. Personal mastery, with people identifying what is important in the process. 2. Mental models, with the organization continuously challenging members in order to improve their mental models. 3. Shared vision, requiring an imagining of what the organization

Friday, December 13, 2019

Role and Functions of Hr Managers Free Essays

Role and functions of HR Managers Introduction The Human Resource Department deals with management of people within the organisation. There are a number of responsibilities that come with this title. First of all, the Department is responsible for hiring members of staff; this will involve attracting employees, keeping them in their positions and ensuring that they perform to expectation. We will write a custom essay sample on Role and Functions of Hr Managers or any similar topic only for you Order Now Besides, the Human Resource Department also clarifies and sets day to day goals for the organisation. It is responsible for organisation of people in the entire Company and plans for future ventures and objectives involving people in the Company. Handy, 1999) Research has shown that the human aspect of resources within an organisation contributes approximately eighty percent of the organisation’s value. This implies that if people are not managed properly, the organisation faces a serious chance of falling apart. The Human Resource Department’s main objective is to bring out the best in their employees and thus contribute to the success of the Company. These roles come with certain positive and negative aspects. However, the negative aspects can be minimised by improvements to their roles and functions. These issues shall be examined in detail in the subsequent sections of the essay with reference to case examples of businesses in current operation. Positive aspects of Roles and Functions of the Human Resource Department Recruitment of Employees This is one of the most fundamental roles of the HR department. This is because this function ensures that the Company under consideration selects the most skilful and competent person from a sea of applicants at that time. This function involves evaluation of ability and competency of potential employees in relation to what the Company needs. This role falls under the Staffing role of management. If this function is performed well, then the organisation will increase value consequently being on the right pathway to achieve its organisational and departmental goals and objectives. (Hyde, 2004) Effective recruitment can be done through a number of ways. First of all the Company can conduct educational and psychological measurements. This task will involve assessment of abilities, skills and character evaluation of applicants. Through psychometric evaluation, the Company can ensure that employees have the right attitude necessary to fit into the organisation. Another method Companies use to recruit members of staff is through interviews. Here, the Human Resource Department can ask applicants questions that evaluate their decision making abilities and how they would deal with certain situations if presented with them. The Department can also employ the use of written interviews where applicants answer questions addressing key issues in the organisation. Through these channels, the Department contributes towards organisational performance. An example of a Company that performs this role well is Tesco Ireland. The Company notifies the public about vacancies. It then posts a questionnaire online and interested parties fill it at that time. This is then evaluated and those who fall within their minimum requirements are invited for an interview. In the interview, applicants are asked a number of questions and those who did extremely well are further analysed and retained. Those who did moderately well are not immediately eliminated; instead, their interview questions are kept on file then these are reviewed after six months. By so doing, the Tesco Ireland makes sure that its employees are highly capable and that they will enrich the organisation. (Hyde, 2004) Improvement of Compensation Packages One of the major functions of the HR department is to motivate employees. This can be done through rewards especially for those who have done well. The HR department needs to evaluate performance of employees and those who have exceeded expectations should be compensated for their actions. Research has shown that rewarding employees for good performance is the number one incentive for keeping up this trend. These compensation packages can come in the following ways; – Holiday Offers – End of Year Bonuses – Equities – Awards – Salary Increments – Provision of Flexible Working Hours – Straight forward Promotion Schemes and Career Developments If the HR department includes these incentives, then it will ensure that employees are satisfied with the Company. It will also contribute towards good staff retention rates. This is especially crucial in increasing stability within the organisation. It also makes employees identify with the firm and instils a sense of loyalty. Handy, 1999) Planning in the Organisation The Human Resource Department is placed with the responsibility of ensuring that it plans adequately for all the organisation’s future engagements that will involve people. One important aspect of this is planning for employees in the organisation. It is important that the organisation ensures that all the employees under its wing are just enough to increase value to the organisation. The Department must ensure that staff members are not too many because if they exceed this amount, then the organisation stands too lose. It must plan adequately to ensure that staff members are not too few either, otherwise they will be overworking those who are already in place. Consequently, there will be poor motivation resulting from fatigue. The HR department is also bestowed with the responsibility of planning future organisational goal in relation to people or clarifying these same goals to staff members. This function of the department ensures that people in the organisation have a general direction which they are working towards. Organisations that have a clear direction are always more effective; those members of staff will be more result oriented rather than just working for the sake of it. The Department is also responsible for setting day to day objectives necessary for streamlining activities within the organisation and thus ensuring that work is not just done haphazardly. (Hyde, 2004) Negative Aspects of Functions and Roles of the Human Resource Department There are a number of problems that arise as the department goes about its activities Problems in Recruitment The department may sometimes be unable to adequately coordinate and incorporate all the employees needed in the Company’s operations. One such example is the NHS. In the year 2004, the organisation was found to be wanting in its human resource department’s functions. The Company was recruiting a large proportion of its employees; 40% from Asian and African countries. This means that the organisation was draining medical personnel from those needy countries and using them for themselves. (Katherine, 2002) Such a practice showed that the HR department had exercised bad judgement in ts staffing function. Instead, it could have used these foreign nurses as temporary measure and put in place a strategy to train local nurses such that it could stop depending on those poor countries for supply of nurses. Problems in Remuneration In the process of trying to motivate members of staff to perform better, the Human Resource may make deals that eventually cause problems. A case in p oint is the Home Depot. This Company has an employee Compensation policy that requires that one should be rewarded for the time they have served the Company. The Home Depot Company offers an end of year bonus, basic salary and grant on stock shares as an incentive for some of its employees The CEO of the Company Robert Nardelli lost his job in the year 2007. This was because the company has experienced a lot of losses under his leadership; its shares fell by eight percent in the stock exchange and he deserved to leave the Company. However, because the Human Resource Department had put in place a policy that requires all members of staff to be given the incentive mentioned above, he left with a lot of money. It was reported that he had with him about two hundred and ten million dollars. The Company had no way out of this payment because HR had already passed that policy and they were bound by the law. This goes to show that sometimes policies made by the HR department do not benefit the Company especially if the parties involved are considered as losses to the Company. (Michael, 2007) Problems in Planning Sometimes the HR Department can employ people who may not contribute towards organisational principles. A classic example is the Arthur Andersen Company that fell apart in the year 2002. This was an American Company that dealt with audits. It was initially very successful in its operations prior to that fateful year. But in the latter years of its operations, the Company was involved in two accounting scandals that tarnished its name and subsequently caused failure. The Company failed to plan well for the kind of employees it recruited. This was witnessed when one of its employees in the Legal Department called Nancy Temple was fined in the Court of law for non adherence to accounting laws. This problem could have been prevented if the HR department had evaluated this employee before hiring her and also evaluation should have been done during her performance. If HR had been extremely critical, then they would have realised that the employee did not adhere to Company principles and would therefore have terminated her employment. Beside this, the Arthur Andersen Human Resource department also failed in its communication function to employees. The department should have ensured that they constantly communicate to members of staff about the goals and objectives of the Company on a day to day basis. This would have made them very clear in the minds of employees and would have prevented the downfall of the Company. Strategies to Improve Human Resource Department’s  Ã‚   Value to the Organisation Training and Internships It is not necessarily a guarantee that a candidate who did well in the recruitment exercise is the best in performing an organisation’s functions. New employees need orientation into the Company’s functions and can also improve some inefficiency that these new employees may have in relation to their skills. This is the purpose of placing them on internships. (Norbert, 1967) Training is also essential for members of staff who have been working for the organisation for a long time. This is especially so in the wake of technological advancements, legal changes and changes in service delivery. It is important for an Organisation to keep up with industry trends otherwise it faces the danger of becoming obsolete; especially in the background of increasing competition. Training need not be restricted to improvement of skills; it can also involve improvement of attitudes. This is normally characterised by attendance of workshops and other forms of talks. Training also increases motivation of employees and gives them that extra boost of energy needed to get them through tough times in their jobs. All the above tasks are placed under the Department of Human Resource because it is the one that will asses when training is needed, who needs the training, where and by whom. This aspect is a sure to improve value of the HR Department in the organisation. An example of a company that adheres to this principle is Marks and Spencer retail chain outlet. The Company offers training for twelve moths. Here new employees are taught all that is necessary to meet organisational goals and objectives then they can start work when they are ready to do so. (Norbert, 1967) Making Better Use of Time The Human Resource is conferred with the responsibility of ensuring that all members of staff perform to their best ability. It could improve this area by facilitating better use of time in all departments within the organisation. Time is one of the most crucial yet intangible assets of the Company. The proper use of this resource could maximise production and achievement of organisational goals. (Harold, 2003) The Department can do this by planning activities to be carried out in the organisation. It can make schedules for the various activities that have to be done in the organisation and thus facilitate better flow of information. In addition to this, the Company can also ensure that all members of staff are held accountable for not performing a certain task. This is especially in regard to maintenance of the schedules. In so doing, human the Human Resource Department will be ensuring that employees do not simply report to work and that the time spent at work is directly proportional to output. Improving Organisational Culture The Human Resource Department can try to improve organisational culture through a three step procedure. The first step of the process is observation. In this step HR finds out what makes ups or what the company’s culture is like. HR should also be very intense on the organisational needs. Here, HR should realise that personal fulfilment works better and therefore should try to ensure that the change is relevant to every staff member. In this stage, HR should try to explain to all staff members or stakeholder the advantage of transforming the culture in the organisation. This should be made clear so that all can see the advantages at the individual level and not simply at the organizational level. Erica, 2006) Then HR should try to eliminate all inhibitions in staff member’s minds. It is possible that some may claim that they tried one or two strategies before and it did not succeed. This are what are called ‘cries of despair’ and HR should try its best to explain to staff members the need of changing the culture of the organisation. The next step is the analysis of various aspects. Here, there is collect ion of data needed in making certain that culture changes. This stage involves checking out the success features or the factors that can facilitate its success. There should be calibration of data collected. Staff members should be made to understand that there are no perfect situations for implementation of changes. The analysis should involve assessing whether the information is sensible or not. Whether data gathered will be helpful or not and if it is too little or too much. Staff members should be requested for data that will help change the culture. Of course when trying to bring in change HR Department should have perceived benefits, a deadline for execution and also the realised gains in relation to the change in culture. In this step, there should be reality checks which should be done often. There should also be continuous integration. Through this scheme HR Department should be able to change the culture in the organisation and add value to it. (Harold, 2003) Conclusion The Human Resource Management team’s main function is to manage people. There are positive and negative aspects of this function; first of all, the HR department enriches the organisation through recruitment procedures and an example an effective HR team in this area is Tesco Ireland. HR department also ensures that members of staff follow a general direction by frequently clarifying and reminding them of the organisation’s goals. Besides this, they are also responsible for organising incentives or compensation packages to motivate employees. All these functions contribute towards organisational effectiveness. However, there are some negative aspects of HR; it has to bear the burden of blame if an employee performs poorly like the Arthur Andersen Company. Besides this, some policies made by the department may be detrimental to the Company like in the Home Depot Company’s case. Improvements to their role can be done by arranging training for staff members, organising activities for the organisation and changing organisational culture. (Erica, 2006) How to cite Role and Functions of Hr Managers, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Diocese Of The Anglican Church Of Australiaâ€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Diocese Of The Anglican Church Of Australia? Answer: Introduction Anglicare Australia is a repudiated national level body for community service with respect to agencies related to every Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. Anglicare is also referred as a brand name using which various Australian Anglican Community Services continue their operations even when they are separate legal persons. Anglicare and AVR had merged to give rise to a new organization known as Anglicare. The new organization is equipped to serve the need of the people in a better way across various diocese having shared values and purpose. The organization promises its home care clients, residents and the community that they would be providing those best possible services to support them through life. The organization promises through its website to include integrity, honesty, compassion and excellence through their operations. The organization states that its purpose is only to meet the needs of people in the community, share love of God and enrich lives. The organizatio n holds its Christian motivation alongside responding to satisfy the need of the society. The organization provides enhanced compassion and care for every person by meeting social, spiritual, physical, emotional and material needs. The organization in partnership with others provide various services which enhances safety, dignity wellbeing, participation , homes, relationships and the community as whole. The organization provides mostly all services related to community well being such as retirement care, home care, residential care and community services. The organization does not operate for making profit and is a non-profit organization operating in Australia to provide community care. The organization had been established initially in form of a church society in the year 1856 and then came to be known as Home Mission Society since 1911 to 1977. The original purpose of the organization was although to build churches and fund clergy since the 1890 depression it extended its role to bring people who require support under the provisions of Christian care. Prior to WW2 significant milestones included appointing deaconess to work with young generations who appear before the children court since 1920 along with expanding the work for welfare society including Wollongong and Sydney both. The first Parish nurse had been appointed by the organization in the year 1943 to provide care to those people who are aged in interior Sydney which was followed through establishing the initial Chesalon home in 1952 at Summer hill along with a Family Service Center which dealt with various needs such as family problems, marriage and financial issue in 1945[1]. Since 1960 the decade witnessed establishment of a few major programs which included Anglicare shops, foster care services, disability services, adoption migrant and refugee services along with expanding via a network of local and regional offices. A major emphasis in the recent years has been to work closely in partnership with churches in the locality. In the year 2016 April the Synod of the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church voted unanimously for supporting a merger of Anglicare with AVR. Through the merger the organization would be able to serve better the community[2]. Management, Relationship Issues, Legal Governance Various legal provisions are imposed on an organization indulging in profit and non-profit making operations. Organizations which have the object of making profit are imposed with increased compliance regimes as compared to non-profit making organization. The directors of non-profit organizations mostly are not held personally liable for the liabilities of the organization or any unsatisfied court judgments. The fundamental principles of the provisions governing the activities of an organization are same although there may be very minor variations across different Jurisdiction. The identity of a corporate body is not the same as its members. As there are various shareholders in an organization and all of them cannot participate actively in the functioning of the organizations directors are appointed to control and manage its operations. For the purpose of protecting the legitimate interest of the members, stakeholders, creditors and the community which might be affected by the functi ons of the organization the directors have to be essentially provided with guidelines which they must follow while doing their duties. The guidelines are given to the directors in a statutory manner so that their significance is realized by the corporate sector. For the purpose of smooth functioning the most important factor which an organization has to take into account is legal compliance. Not only the shareholders but also the community, employees and consumers of the organizations are affected by its functions. Therefore there is a vast area of legal provisions which are imposed on an organization. Different sectors of the company are imposed with separate regulations which are stated through common law as well and statutory provisions along with governing bodies which have delegated responsibility to enact regulations and keep an eye in the functioning of the business. The first and foremost obligation which the organizations have towards compliance is abiding by the rules of proper corporate governance. The system through which the directors, shareholders, and other officers of the organizations are governed with is known as the system of corporate governance. All participants of the organization are provided specific sets of responsibility and entitlements. Corporate governance although being only a guideline it is utilized to observe and monitor the functioning and decision making off a company with respect to its directors, shareholders and other officers. The provisions of common law along with enacted legislations of the parliament bind the directors of the organization to certain duties. the decision of the officers and directors of a company has to be confined towards the best possible interest if the organization and there must be a element of good faith in all the decision which have been taken by them for the organization. Moreover the s kills possessed by the directors and officers of the organization have to be implemented with care and diligence towards the operations of the organization by the directors, any situation which may give rise to a conflict of interest between their personal needs and the needs of the company. The directors of n organization must in any case not use any data which they possess in relation to the organization in such a way so as to bring detriment to the organization and make personal gains. In the same way the position which the directors have in relation to the organization must also not be used in a way to make personal interest and bring detriment to the company[3] Employment of staff is also an area of legal issues for the organization. A company has to abide by the employment law regimes of the country with respect to the process of hiring selection and treatment of the employees. There are various issues which come out from the organization in relation to employment provisions. The issues include discrimination, sham contracting related to the position of an employee as an independent contractor, unfair dismissals and exploitation of employees within the organization. The employment law regime of any country has the purpose of enhancing a fruitful and healthy relationship between the employee and the employer. It is therefore the responsibility of all managers within the organization to ensure that they provide equal opportunity to all the employees within the organization so that no discrimination takes place. The employees have to be provided with fair remuneration for their work along with the appropriate status that has been employed wit h. In Australia the rights of employees and employers and the relationship between them is monitored by the Fair work Commission established through the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)[4]. One of the major aspects for the growth of an organization is the condition of the employees and their relationships with the employer. Various studies have depicted that there is direct relationship between employee satisfaction and organization performance. The organizations have to abide by employment law further to mitigate legal violations risks. Legislations for business organizations in Australia The Corporation Act 2001 (Cth)[5] is the primary legislation which governs the functioning of the companies in Australia. The Australian Investment and Securities Commission Act 2001 which have established the Australian Investment and Securities Commission is also a governing body of organizations in Australia. Both the legislations in a combined manner deal with the provisions related to insolvent trading, directors duties, fines and penalties for the directors for both criminal and civil breaches, the provisions related to the issue of shares and dividends and the rights of the directors and shareholders of the organization. The legislations also set out clearly the remedies which a shareholder may seek in case their rights have been oppressed along with the procedures required to appropriately carry out business activities by the organization. The Workplace Relations Act 1996[6] and Fair Work Act 2009 provide provisions with respect to governing the employment relationship within an organization. The legislations set out guidelines which have to be observed by both employees and employers in relation to the organization. Any failure to comply with such provisions can result in pecuniary penalties. The working environment in relation to the workplace in Australia is governed by The Work health and Safety Act[7] and regulation 2011. Through the legislation it is made sure that a safe working environment is provided to the employees within the organization along with any necessary equipment needed to carry out the work safely and to ensure personal development of the employees. Through The Competition and Consumer Act 2010[8] it is ensured in Australia that the businesses do not indulge in any kind of anti competitive activities with respect to their operations in addition the organizations providing services and goods have to comply with the provisions of Australian consumer Law as provided by Schedule 2 of The Competition and Consumer Act 2010. There are man y legislations which have also been implemented to prohibit any kind of discrimination within the organization and to provide equal opportunity to all those who are associated with it these legislations include Disability Discrimination Act 1992[9] and Age Discrimination Act 2004[10]. In addition the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986[11] also provides provisions related to the treatment of employees in an organization. Legal Risk Areas A company is a huge entity which has its operations distributed among various areas. Therefore each of such areas are subjected to potential legal risks. The risks which an organization may be subjected can be classified into financial risks, strategic risk, demographic risk and operational risk. A legal risk with respect to a company arises when the company fails to comply with the legal provisions of the country. In case legal risk in relation to the organization arises they are subjected to civil and criminal penalties which may extend to its officers and directors. The main aim of the paper is to discuss and analyze legal risk which may originate from the functioning of an organization. Risk related to Corporate Governance It has already been stated above that the operations of the organization are completed through the process of corporate governance. The directors of the organization have the duty to perform their functions for the betterment of the organizations along with meeting the needs of the creditors and shareholders. The directors by virtue of their position are provided supreme control over the operations of the organization. In such circumstances because of human nature the directors can be use their positions to make personal interest benefits and ignore the needs of the organizations and those who are associated with it. The information which they possess can be easily used by them to make personal gains at the cost of the company. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) provides seven recommendations in relation to the corporate governance within an organization. Although no company is forced to take up such recommendations as a part of their business as it may not be suitable for them and they may have better options to implement in relation to corporate governance, such businesses have to provide the ASIC that why they are not using the recommendation. The policy can be described as an if not why not policy. There have been various cases brought up by the ASIC which denotes that the directors have not been complying with the duties they owe to the company. The directors seek to take advantage of the doctrine of corporate veil and indulge in activities which are illegal and fraudulent. Detriments can also be brought by the directors of the company to the shareholders and creditors of the organization through dividends, share buybacks and bonus shares. Therefore along with the guidelines and recommendations provided by the ASX there are many other legal provisions which have been deployed to protect the shareholders, community, creditors related to the organization from the discretionary powers of the directors[12]. The directors have been made liable on various instances by the courts for not been able to comply with the legal provisions such as in the cases of Shafron v Australian Securities and Investments Commission[13], ASIC v Cassimatis[14] and ASIC v Lindberg[15]. Another major risk any organization whether profit or non profit is subject to is that of insolvent trading. The directors through section 588G of the CA are disallowed to indulge in any form of insolvent trading even if they believe that the company would be insolvent because of such transaction. In a nonprofit organization like Anglicare where the directors are not usually held liable personally more attention have to be paid by the directors towards their operations The organization is huge in structure and although it has a nonprofit nature it can be subjected to evils like corruption in case there is any negligence by the directors towards managing its operations. Any big organization would always be prone to corporate governance risk if they are not observing integrit y and ethics in their corporate governance framework. As a non-profit organization Anglicare has an increased responsibility of maintaining its goodwill in the society as the main aim of the organization is community development. The organization may also in certain situations subjected to financial risk if they do not comply with ethical corporate governance framework. Risk related to environment The ever increasing nature of industrialization prompts an immediately required actions related to the environment. Every organization has a corporate social responsibility imposed on it according to which they have to company with the provisions of environmental protection as well as engaging in the development of the community. The services which any organization has to provided has to be environmental friendly and such services are always monitored by the environment protection provisions. Any project which is initiated by the organization has to take the environmental impact assessment in order to successfully initiate the project. The Australian government has made it mandatory to company with the environmental provisions. A huge amount of compensation has to be paid by the organizations if it is found that they did not base their operations in accordance to environmental provisions such as sustainable development principles. Rules and regulations with respect to the protection of environment are provided in Australia through The EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity ConservationAct1999[16]. The legislation imposes fines and penalties on organization which have not abided by its provisions. There have been many cases in Australia which denotes that organization have not complied with their environmental obligations and thus had been subjected to penalties and fines. Although Anglicare is a non-profit organization and its operations are largely based on proving care to individuals in the society who require it they can be subjected to environmental provisions related to health care facilities provided by them along with providing a clean living environment while giving residential care. Completion and consumer risk In Australia there is a very strict regime of competition law so that the market of the country may run smoothly. In addition the provisions of consumer law have also been strengthened to provide an increased bargaining power to the consumers compared to that of the seller. The organizations in the country must not do any operations which may be regarded as an anti competitive action as per the rules of The Competition and consumer Act 2010. Activities such as market abuse, illegal joint ventures, authorization and notification, acquisition, mergers, exclusive dealing, limiting rice, refusal to deal, dividing territory, mergers, dumping and resale price abuse are a few examples which denotes anti competitive activities. These activities pose high risk to any organization but in case of non profit organization it is evident that they mostly do not indulge in anti-competitive activities The law for the protection of the consumers is known as a consumer law. The law protects the consumers from any discretionary powers which may be exercised by the sellers against them. There is an increased risk which is posed to the consumers as they are subject to the high bargaining power of the sellers and manufactures in relation to the contract for sales. In Australia the rules in relation to the protection of consumers have been stated through the ACL as provided in schedule 2 of the CCA[17]. All organization operating at a large or small scale have to abide by the consumer laws if they fall within its scope and the organizations cannot incorporate a term in the contract to opt out of consumer law remedies. It is the duty of organizations to provide the consumers with services in such a way as expected by the consumers and also ensure that no damages are incurred by the consumers because of the services provided to them. The law also prohibits an organization from making bait advertisements, indulging in false and misleading conduct and incorporating an unfair term into a standard for of contract. Therefore the above mentioned risk can originate in relation to Angelicare as they indulge in providing services to the consumers. They can be held liable for any loss to the consumers which arise out of the services provided by them. Common law negligence As discussed above an organization is a separate legal entity and has a distinct identity. Although it cannot commit negligence as it is not a natural person it can be held liable for any negligence committed by its managers and employees in the course of business as per the principals of Vicarious Liability. Negligence arises which a person has a duty of care towards another. Therefore an organization being a natural person having a duty of care to its subjects can be held liable for any negligence. The concept of duty of care in Australia was provided through the case of Australian Knitting Mills, Ld. v. Grant[18]. According to the case if a harm caused to another person because of ones action is forseeable a duty of care exits. A person is to not abide by the duty of care if in same situation a better and cautious moduce operandi may have been taken by a reasonable person. In the same way the actions of the organization and its employees in relation to negligence are analyzed usin g these principles. In case of negligence the organization has to pay financial damages to the party which has been injured because of the actions of the employees or the organization. The damages can extend to the extent of injury and losses which have been incurred by the aggrieved party. In the given circumstances where Anglicare provides services to the aged and disable people they have to be very cautious in relation to any negligence as they may be held liable to pay compensation to the aggrieved party. Risk related to Employment law It is not possible for an organization to function without a workforce and thus it needs employees and their services to carry out its function. In return for such services to be provided by the employees the organizations provide the employees with salary and remunerations. The management in relation to the contract of employment has a very much increased bargaining power as compared to the employees as they have the authority to vary the contractual terms as per the needs of the organization. The organization have an implied duty to provide protection to the employees working for it. It is the right of every employee to be treated equally in an organization, to be paid appropriate remuneration to be granted the leaves that are entitled to be law along with a working environment which is healthy and provides for their development. Legal obligations would be imposed on any organization in case it is found that they are not able to provide the employees working for them with these bas ic righ[19]t. An organization while dismissing any employee has to abide by the procedure related to a fair dismissal. In case such procedure is not followed the aggrieved employee has the right to bring a claim for compensation against the organization. The health and safety of employees within the organization also have to be safeguarded by the organization itself and any injury which is caused to the employees within the organization can make them initiate a claim from compensation against the organization for the injuries caused to them. Angelicare employs varies employees along with volunteers to provide community services. Although the organizations do not have much obligations towards the volunteers they have the liability to comply with all legal requirements in relation to the employees working for it. Implications and reasons of employment law risks This part of the report would discuss employment risk which may be faced by an organization in relation to its activities. The reasons why such risk arise and the implications of the risk would also be analyzed in this section of the report. The risk may arise out of poor employment management strategies and may have both short and long term effect on the performance of the organization. It is a fact that the way in which an organization operates is a direct result of the performance of its employees. In case employees provide extra effort towards the functioning of an organization the operations of the company would at all cost increase as so is the contrary. In relation to service industry where the employees of an organization are directly in contract with the clients the performance of the organization is derived from the behavior of its employees and the services provided by them to its consumers[20]. An organization has to also invest in the development of the employees which is a major issue especially for those organizations which do not operate to make profits. The expenditure which the organization has to make in relation to the employees has a major role to play for the proper functioning of the organization as it does not have stable sources of gaining revenue. On the other hand if an organization does not make proper investment in relation to the needs o f their employees the employees would not provide their best efforts towards their services and would be constantly looking for options to leave. One of the main reasons why risks with respect to employment arise in the organization is that their rights are not provided to them. Discrimination is another evil which may e cited as a cause for employment dispute within an organization. Human beings by nature are somewhat bias and prefer one thing over the other. However it is very important that such preference is not based on traits like sex, gender, matrimonial status, disability religion or race. Another cause of employment disputes is not dismissing the employees in a proper manner which may result in unfair dismissals[21]. There are vast implications of not complying with the provisions of employment law within an organization. The organizations are not only made to pay compensation to the employees as a result of legal action but also suffer a loss of goodwill and the moral of the other employees of the organization also goes down. No extra effort would be provided by the employees to the organization in case they develop a feeling that the organization does not take any interest in their well-being. In long term also the organization would not be able to retain employees and would have to incur additional cost for rehiring process. Fines and penalties would further subject the organization to the loss of revenue in the short term as well as loss of goodwill in the society which is very necessary for a non-profit organization. Strategic options for managing risks in the organization related to employment The structure of management within the organization related to risk has to be not overbearing but scalable, not simplistic but simple not regimented but practical and must be flexible along with having clear guidelines. Risk in relation to an organization can not only increase it operations cost but also result in the loss of goodwill[22]. Before implementing a risk management system it is important that the commitment of managers to it is obtained. The line managers in their own area can implement a risk management system with respect to the employees. This can also be done by the team leaders, human resource manager and any person having a supervision role in the organization. Through emphasizing on employment law risk the organization can derive two major benefits for it firstly the operation of the organization would become more clear and transparent and secondly the managers of the organization would have an enhanced sense of accountability. For the purpose of addressing employm ent risk in the organization they have to be indentified correctly. Risk identification would need investment of money and time as a framework would be required to be formed[23]. The internal regulations of the company have to be analyzed so that any defects within them can be addressed as they are the primary guidelines which create the relationship between employer and employee. The potential risks which have been identified have to be recorded and registered so that they can be appropriately addressed. The risk has to be further evaluated after being identified through prioritizing the response related to the risk. For divers risk diverse treatment would be required by the organization. A proper risk management strategy has to firstly identify the risk, record the risk, analyze the risk and then evaluate it for addressing them properly[24] Conclusions Therefore through the above discussed information it can be said that an organization has various potential legal risks in relation to its operations. The organizations have to address such risk through the implementation of proper risk management strategies. The structure of management within the organization related to risk has to be not overbearing but scalable, not simplistic but simple not regimented but practical and must be flexible along with having clear guidelines. The accountability and commitment of the managers have to be increased in order to properly implement risk management strategies within the organization. Managing employment risk not only protects the organization against legal actions but also enhances the reputation of the organization in the society and its employees. Few recommendations for deploying proper risk management within the organization are: The implemation of an anti-discrimination policy in the organization so that no discrimination is done to the employees Line managers have to be provided increased role towards employment risk management in the organization Proper and periodic feedback has to be taken from the employees so that their grievances can be addressed Managers must be trained to handle employees with compassion and care There must be a risk register in place to identify and record any risk so that it can be addressed. References About Anglicare | Anglicare (2017) Agedcare.anglicare.org.au https://agedcare.anglicare.org.au/why-anglicare/about-us/. ASIC v Cassimatis (No 8) [2016] FCA 1023 ASIC v Lindberg - [2012] VSC 332 Australian Knitting Mills, Ld. v. Grant 50 C. L. R. 387 Boyle, T. (2015).Health and Safety: risk management. Routledge. Bromiley, P., McShane, M., Nair, A., Rustambekov, E. (2015). Enterprise risk management: Review, critique, and research directions.Long range planning,48(4), 265-276. Competition and consumer Act 2010 Corporation Act 2001 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Drennan, L. T., McConnell, A., Stark, A. (2014).Risk and crisis management in the public sector. Routledge. Giannakis, M., Papadopoulos, T. (2016). Supply chain sustainability: A risk management approach.International Journal of Production Economics,171, 455-470. Olson, D. L., Wu, D. D. (2015).Enterprise risk management(Vol. 3). World Scientific Publishing Co Inc. Lam, J. (2014).Enterprise risk management: from incentives to controls. John Wiley Sons. Sadgrove, K. (2016).The complete guide to business risk management. Routledge. Shafron v Australian Securities and Investments Commission [2012] HCA 18 Sutton, I. (2014).Process risk and reliability management. Gulf Professional Publishing. Tallon, P. P. (2013). Corporate governance of big data: Perspectives on value, risk, and cost.Computer,46(6), 32-38. The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 The EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity ConservationAct1999 The Fair Work Act 2009 The Work Health and Safety Act 2001 Tricker, R. B., Tricker, R. I. (2015).Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA. Turner, J.R., 2014.The handbook of project-based management(Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-hill. Workplace Relations Act 1996 [1] About Anglicare | Anglicare (2017) Agedcare.anglicare.org.au https://agedcare.anglicare.org.au/why-anglicare/about-us/. [2] Anglicare - AustraliaS Leading Aged Care Provider | Anglicare (2017) Agedcare.anglicare.org.au https://agedcare.anglicare.org.au/why-anglicare/about-us/our-story. [3] Council, ASX Corporate Governance. "Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations, 3rd edn (ASX, Sydney)." (2014). [4] Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). [5] Corporation Act 2001 (Cth) [6] Workplace Relations Act 1996 [7] The Work health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) [8] Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) [9] Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) [10] Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth) [11] Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) [12] Council, ASX Corporate Governance, and A. S. Exchange. "Corporate governance principles and recommendations . ASX Corporate Governance Council." (2014). [13] [2012] HCA 18 [14] (No 8) [2016] FCA 1023 [15] [2012] VSC 332 [16] EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity ConservationAct1999 (Cth) [17] Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) [18] 50 C. L. R. 387 [19] Wilcox, Kirby C., and David M. Youngsmith. "Overview of Equal Employment Opportunity Laws." California Employment Law 2 (2015). [20] Burman, Robert. "Dismissal for operational requirements: the price of non-compliance: employment law." Without Prejudice 14.4 (2014): 68-69. [21] Kavanagh, Megan, and Emily McRae. "Employment law: Protecting vulnerable workers amendment to fair work act." Governance Directions 69.4 (2017): 241. [22] Glendon, A. Ian, Sharon Clarke, and Eugene McKenna. Human safety and risk management. Crc Press, 2016. [23] McNeil, Alexander J., Rdiger Frey, and Paul Embrechts. Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press, 2015. [24] Lam, James. Enterprise risk management: from incentives to controls. John Wiley Sons, 2014.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics essays

Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics essays In Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics, he expresses his opinions on the basis of thought through eudaimonia and arete. Eudaimonia is the goal of human conduct, or telos in Greek. In English, Eudaimonia translates into happiness, but Aristotle uses it as a well being through prospering and flourishing. To achieve this prospering and flourishing, one needs satisfaction of a job well done. Arete is excellence in fulfilling a function, also known as an ergon. Aristotle finds arete, or a virtue in all objects, animate and inanimate. Aristotle explains his view of the chief good throughout the Doctrine of the Mean, through the comparing and contrasting of virtues and vices. Aristotle begins Nicomachean Ethics with an explanation of the chief good. This good is presented by him through thoughts and theories of the Doctrine of the Mean. He states that all men who are in search of the good and knowledge of the good have a profound influence on life. He then writes how a good man, sets goals for himself on a specific task. This experience in the function of the task gives self satisfaction. An example used by Aristotle is a sculptor who participates in the art of sculpting. The end result of his sculpting is a beautiful piece of artwork. This proves that the function done by the sculptor makes him satisfied in performing the action. The final result is the chief good which is sought out by the man who is doing the activity. Aristotle believes that since the activity culminates the soul, it will have an end result in making the soul happy. Aristotles view in the Doctrine of the Mean on human virtue is split into two parts; intellectual and moral virtue. Intellectual virtue is birth and growth through teaching, experience, and time. Moral virtue comes as a result of habitual activities. He explains that there are three rules of moral virtue. The first ...

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Major Alliances of World War I

The Major Alliances of World War I By 1914, Europes six major powers were split into two alliances that would form the warring sides in World War I. Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy joined in the Triple Alliance. These alliances werent the sole cause of World War I, as some historians have contended, but they did play an important role in hastening Europes rush to conflict. The Central Powers Following a series of military victories from 1862 to 1871, Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck formed a German state out of several small principalities. After unification, Bismarck feared that neighboring nations, particularly France and Austria-Hungary, might act to destroy Germany. Bismarck wanted a careful series of alliances and foreign policy decisions that would stabilize the balance of power in Europe. Without them, he believed, another continental war was inevitable. The Dual Alliance Bismarck knew an alliance with France wasn’t possible because of lingering French anger over Alsace-Lorraine, a province Germany had seized in 1871 after defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War. Britain, meanwhile, was pursuing a policy of disengagement and reluctant to form any European alliances. Bismarck turned to Austria-Hungary and Russia. In 1873, the Three Emperors League was created, pledging mutual wartime support among Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Russia withdrew in 1878, and Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the Dual Alliance in 1879. The Dual Alliance promised that the parties would aid each other if Russia attacked them or if Russia assisted another power at war with either nation. The Triple Alliance In 1882, Germany and Austria-Hungary strengthened their bond by forming the Triple Alliance with Italy. All three nations pledged support should any of them be attacked by France. If any member found itself at war with two or more nations at once, the alliance would come to their aid. Italy, the weakest of the three, insisted on a final clause, voiding the deal if the Triple Alliance members were the aggressor. Shortly after, Italy signed a deal with France, pledging support if Germany attacked them. Russian Reinsurance Bismarck was keen to avoid fighting a war on two fronts, which meant making some form of agreement with either France or Russia. Given the sour relations with France, Bismarck signed what he called a reinsurance treaty with Russia, stating that both nations would remain neutral if one was involved in a war with a third party. If that war was with France, Russia had no obligation to aid Germany. However, this treaty lasted only until 1890, when it was allowed to lapse by the government that replaced Bismarck. The Russians had wanted to keep it. This is usually seen as a major error by Bismarcks successors. After Bismarck Once Bismarck was voted out of power, his carefully crafted foreign policy began to crumble. Eager to expand his nations empire, Germanys Kaiser Wilhelm II pursued an aggressive policy of militarization. Alarmed by Germanys naval buildup, Britain, Russia, and France strengthened their own ties. Meanwhile, Germanys new elected leaders proved incompetent at maintaining Bismarcks alliances, and the nation soon found itself surrounded by hostile powers. Russia entered into an agreement with France in 1892, spelled out in the Franco-Russian Military Convention. The terms were loose but tied both nations to supporting each other should they be involved in a war. It was designed to counter the Triple Alliance. Much of the diplomacy Bismarck had considered critical to Germanys survival had been undone in a few years, and the nation once again faced threats on two fronts. The Triple Entente Concerned about the threat rival powers posed to the colonies, Great Britain began searching for alliances of its own. Although Britain had not supported France in the Franco-Prussian War, the two nations pledged military support for one another in the Entente Cordiale of 1904. Three years later, Britain signed a similar agreement with Russia. In 1912, the Anglo-French Naval Convention tied Britain and France even more closely militarily. When Austrias Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, the great powers of Europe reacted in a way that led to full-scale war within weeks. The Triple Entente fought the Triple Alliance, although Italy soon switched sides. The war that all parties thought would be finished by Christmas 1914, instead dragged on for four long years, eventually bringing the United States into the conflict. By the time the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, officially ending the Great War, more than 11 million soldiers and 7 million civilians were dead.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Government Business Relations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Government Business Relations - Research Paper Example Regarding to this, the core purpose of this paper is to evaluate and understand the philosophical underpinning of different perspectives concerning knowledge and theory. As a matter of fact, there are number of paradigms which have been substituted in order to provide reasoning and conducting inquiry for a respective subject of matter. Careful consideration will be given to paradigms of inquiry including positivism, post positivism, critical theory and constructivism. Furthermore, the paper incorporates a framework outlining ontology, epistemology, methodology and methods along with distinction to all the aforementioned paradigms. This is to form a basis for the development of research protocols insisting understanding of the relationship between government and business impacting economic and public policies in Azerbaijan.   Subjective and Objective Perspectives Reality, knowledge and truth have been long debated by those who have tried to discover the meanings and indications with in their environment. It is due to this reason that truth and knowledge have been discussed and interpreted by different schools of thought including subjectivism and objectivism. Herein, it is integral to note that objectivism view truth as a scientific figure which can be revisited and measured. Any statement which has been posed in contradiction to measureable results is considered as false according to objectivism perspective of knowledge and truth (MacDonald, 2009). In order to evaluate the subjectivist view of knowledge and truth, it is imperative to discuss truth in distinction to objectivism. As noted above, objectivism views truth to be measureable which is an inappropriate stance for philosophers and investigators who believe that truth and knowledge is subjective. It has also been marked that anything and everything that has concerns or impact over humans have to be studied through the lens of subjectivism. Meaningfulness to the beliefs has determined knowledge and truth about objects and aspects within environment. Subjectivism suspends the presence of factual information which is measurable. Consequently, any statement which is presented in the form of figure is considered as non-social inquiry for subjectivists (MacDonald, 2009). According to the identified distinctions of subjective and objective perspectives of reality, knowledge, truth and theory, the perspective of current research that is to see the influence of the relationship of government and business on public and economic policy of Azerbaijan is subjective. Its subjective perspective is based on the issue which the thesis is relating to that is the assessment of public and economic policy of Azerbaijan in the context of government and business relationships that requires a combination of reflective and critical thinking. In order to assess the aimed question of inquiry, it is important to acquire a subjective perspective of truth, knowledge, reality and theory (MacDonald, 2009). More a ppropriate reasons and significance of this will be developed in the following headings. Philosophical Orientation The philosophical orientation of the issue of inquiry on the bases of developed ontological and epistemological grounds is found to be identified in the scope of critical theory. Critical theory is the school thought which propose to inquire the society and culture with the perspective of reflective thinking upon it. Critical theory emphasizes to pose critique on society and cultu

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

How the Canadian Banking System Survives the Subprime Meltdown Essay

How the Canadian Banking System Survives the Subprime Meltdown - Essay Example High interest rates in mortgage had increased the lending operations of the commercial banks. The quality of credit started to fall drastically. This had resulted in the collapse of many financial institutions. However, the Canadian banking system had managed to survive these critical conditions. Thus, it is highly rational to realize the underlying cases for this success. The following essay would consider the background, methodology and analysis regarding the topic of discussion (Brender & Pisani, 2010). The goals of the essay are as follows: To understand the nature of Canadian Banking System. To interpret empirical data explaining the various types of banking economic indicators. To analyze the models or the policies those were used by the banking institutions of Canada to protect their economy from the impending danger. To conclude on the overall performance of the Canadian banks in the context of the matter of discussion. Background It was found that during the subprime meltdow n, the nation of Canada did not encounter an absolute collapse of its financial institutions. The five commercial banks in Canada had experienced profit during the financial crisis in the money markets of other economies. ... There are three characteristics of the monetary authorities in Canada: The different monetary policies which are undertaken by the commercial banks in Canada are introduced by the Bank of Canada. This banking organization is owned by the government of the country and is highly interlinked with the Federal government. However, it should be observed that the federal government is not allowed to interfere in the monetary affairs of the country. The rates of interests charged on different assets in Canada are the same for similar assets in the other regions of the country. The Bank of Canada is the primary organization that engages in the function of issuing money to the economy. There is only a single policy instrument that is adopted by the Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada often charges the overnight interest rates for the country. By changing the level of overnight interest rates, the bank introduces various changes in the different interest rates in the market. Reasons for the Succ ess Many analysts and economists believe that the strong regulations which are implemented by the commercial banks of Canada were responsible for their successful performance even at the critical situations. Moreover, the commercial banks in Canada were highly united with each other, which in turn had helped them to coordinate and take business decisions jointly. In Canada, if the commercial banks had offered credit to the individuals on 80% of the value of a house loan, then they ensured that the debtor had insurance for the mortgage. The banks only issued loans to those individuals, with a worth of 80% (mortgage value), who could offer the mortgage insurance against the loan. Moreover, the commercial banks also

Monday, November 18, 2019

Marketing Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing Communications - Essay Example A marketer detect these goals while analysing hierarchies in which consumers’ values drive the desired psychosocial consequences of product consumption, and the latter, in turn, influence product preferences. In general, researchers have yet to make a connection between the macro and micro approaches to consumer goals. Other approaches that highlight situational influences on consumer goals include the social, cultural, physical, and timely contexts of consumption (Ratneshwar et al: 10). Different methods through which consumer behavior can be analysed are by studying consumer economic, passive, emotional and cognitive behavior. An economic perspective according to Becker (1965) helps us to make the best usage of time as he suggests that time is as valuable as money. Consumer makes decisions while equating in his mind the value of time with the opportunity cost, the wage rate, and assumes that the value of time is a constant and is not influenced by any characteristic of the outcomes as long as the best alternative use of time is unaffected (Holbrook: 30). Economic perspective serves as an indicator to analyse consumers with respect to several alternate solutions or products, among which they prefer to choose one that economically suites them, while satisfying their area of interests. Becker’s context-free approach supports the economic view under which a consumer makes decisions and terms it as prospect theory. According to this theory what matters to consumer to take a decision are the utilities and values that exist in the back of his mind? While these utilities acts as a function of gains and losses relative to a particular reference point, it is this point that indicates the extent and represent consumer’s buying power. To examine this method an experiment was conducted where consumers were given an option to save few minutes of travel time on a train by paying an additional $2 for a service. Prospect theory mentioned it as an opportunity

Friday, November 15, 2019

Impacts Of Cruise Tourism

Impacts Of Cruise Tourism This business report addresses the impacts of cruise tourism offered by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. on the environment and its related issues. It aims to attend the necessity of Ecotourism as a sustainable business for the company. Although Royal Caribbean (the worlds second largest cruise with 23.8% of worlds market share) has contributed positively to regional growth by diversification, creating job opportunity, earning foreign reserves but it has diverse issues related to economic, socio cultural and the environment. However the main focus will be on environment which is strongly affected by the increase in cruise lines and there is a need to protect the ecosystem. The issues of cruise tourism pertaining to the environment arises because of three important reasons; lack of proper waste management, selection of improper tourists destinations, and lastly because cruises doesnt restrict to the number of visitor carrying capacity of the tourism destinations, resulting in site congestion, gathering of wastes, deterioration of archaeological and historical sites. Tourist destinations should be national parks, flora and fauna instead of fragile destinations. Due to ocean pollution the company has to pay penalty which raises its expenses, incur losses and also social impact. Even if cruise tourism is the fastest growing business of the travel industry however if the growth is not planned properly it may cause economic, environment and socio-cultural impacts on tourist destinations. Thus, the need for responsible tourism is highly recommended for the sustainability of the business, which can be achieved by ecotourism. Ecotourism is one form of tourism, which addresses the negative impacts associated with mass tourism through the implementation of sustainable practices. Its impacts and benefits are critically analysed and it was recommended for the company to implement it. Necessity of Ecotourism as a sustainable measure for Royal Caribbean 1. Introduction Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is the worlds second largest cruise company founded in 1969 and it. The company is responsible for giving a new dimension to the cruise industry transforming a simple ocean carrier service into a mega vacation option. It sails in more than 160 destinations with a variety of travel options. The two brands are Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. It operates globally, however majority of its passengers are from North America. Main competitors are Carnival Corporation, NCL Corporation, and Star Cruises Ltd. (Royal Caribbean International, n.d.) The main objective of this report is to identify the issues, analyze the impacts of the issue on the sustainability, recommend a solution to fix the issue, find out its benefit, and its implementation by the company making it a sustainable business. The issues and challenges faced by Royal Caribbean cruises in terms of social, economical and environmental factors are discussed in this report. The problem that was identified with the cruise tourism of RCCL was the improper waste management which lead to ocean pollution thus affecting the marine as well as terrestrial environment. The poisonous oil leakage from the vessels killed people and also had harmful effects causing deadly diseases. This impacted the environment as well as society. The economy of the company was negatively impacted because Royal Caribbean had to pay heavy penalty for polluting the environment. This raises the issue of sustainability because for the companys long term business, it is essential to have a balance between these three factors. Ecotourism is suggested as a tool for sustainability. However it is important to critically analyze the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for development, evaluate the impacts and benefits of ecotourism, and the ways t o improve ecotourism practices and policies for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 2. Issues With the increase in popularity of leisure tourism, the company focuses on providing adventure, relaxation and entertainment to passengers from across the globe and tourist destinations as a part of the cruise package deals. However it is also necessary to maintain the glory of such destinations as it is linked to the environmental performance and the future of tourism also depends on it. Marine life should be protected which is the base of shipping industry. Cruises generate a high volume of wastes, pollutants into the water body which affects the marine environment. Royal Caribbean was found guilty of illegal waste-handling by disposing the toxic waste into the Alaskas Inland Passage waters thereby polluting the marine environment and for which it has to pay a fine of $18 M. But the company was convicted by the U.S Federal for 11 times in charge of ocean pollution. The $9M and $18M fines each were the highest record set for the largest pollution penalty for a cruise-ship company (F ishman, 2000). These pollution scandals not only increased the expenses but also affected the companys gracious public image. The socio- cultural issue in Haiti has also put Royal Caribbean under a heavy media fire. The company brings the vacationers to a private resort maintained by it in Labadee, Haiti, which is 60 miles away from the earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince (Bennett, 2010). Ms. Martinez, Manager Corporate Communications said, the company is very sensitive to the idea of delivering a vacation experience so close to the epicentre of the earthquake, but given the financial and social challenges the country is now facing, it needs the positive economic benefits Royal Caribbeans cruises provide. Despite Royal Caribbeans help to the Haiti relief effort, $1 M donation as relief fund, the company is charged for bringing cruisers to this place. It is criticized saying that the cruise line should never have tried to mix its commerce and humanitarian efforts in telling its side of the story (Bush, 2010). In a nutshell, the main issue figured out was cruise tourism which had the serious problems like lack of provision for waste disposal leading to environment and economic crisis, destination selection raising social issues. We will further analyse the effects of cruise tourism in this report. Impacts of Cruise Tourism on the Environment The cruise tourism is likely to have effects on various aspects of the maritime and terrestrial environments. There is always a high possibility of oil spills by the ships in the sea which is very difficult to clean up in the cold remote locations. The impact of vessel activity in the breeding ground and feeding areas of marine mammals risks the wild life and is an area of concern. Whereas the terrestrial environment is affected by the numerous passengers who often make shore visit to places of natural and historical interests as a part of their cruise holiday package, either by speed boats, zodiac or helicopters thereby creating noise pollution and destroying the archaeological sites. Another potential threat is there to the flora and fauna of the place because these species have low tolerance capacity which leads to the destruction of the ecosystem. Not only this, there is a social and cultural disruption among indigenous people whose communities play host to cruise visitors on an increasingly regular basis. While cruise tourism has the potential to disrupt local communities it also has the capacity to enrich them. It can contribute positively to the economies of remote communities and also can be viewed as an environmentally sustainable option. Aspects of global environmental change with relevance to cruise tourism The effects are on three sectors: Infrastructure, Access, and Attractions. Cruise tourism increases the open water which leads to storm surges and shoreline erosions. This creates structural damage and raises construction and engineering problems. An effect on Access is because of declination in sea-ice extent causing extended shipping season and melting of glaciers also causes iceberg hazards. Effect on the attractions is because environmental changes alter local activity possibilities, changes scenic values locally and variations in ecosystem lead to alterations in distribution and abundance of existing animal species (Gissling Hall, 2005, p. 44). 3. Recommendations Royal Caribbean should adapt Ecotourism business to address the sustainability dimensions which will provide a diversity of economic benefits to the company, environment and the community. The benefits of implementing this sustainability practice will reduce operating costs, protect the brand image, provide credible marketing advantage, increase client base, and improve the business efficiency. It is recommended for Royal Caribbean to discourage mass tourism because travelling in small groups helps to conserve energy and the waste needs of passengers are managed in a better way, thereby having low impact on the environment (Paul F. J. Eagles, 2002, p. 20). The travellers should be educated on practices respectful to the local environment and the benefits of small-group responsible tourism. So limit in cruisers number will help to protect the local tourism infrastructure for future generations. Cruise destination should be selected wisely because travel to unspoiled virgin areas is harmful and may damage areas of the environment that are exceedingly rare and fragile. It should sail to nature based places like national parks, areas of conservations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle should be the strategy for waste management. It should recycle all materials like glass, plastic, paper etc. Water bottles can be reused; special processing of wastes such as toner cartridges, wooden pallets and cooking oil should be done by approved shore side vendors. The outstanding garbage can be reused in some countries as road fill, or can be treated as special waste for further processing or disposed of in a landfill. The unconsumed foodstuffs by the guests can be sent to the crew galleys; remaining food scraps can be treated inside the vacuum system of the ship and can be discharged to the sea. Similarly water waste is filtered and purified into potable water. Tour can contribute financially toward the local economy and nature conservation (WTO UNEP, 2005, pp. 9-10). It should contact the local guides, local activity providers for the travel guide to the local places; the cruisers can purchase from the local buyers thereby promoting the local business, visit the national parks. Support the integrity of local cultures by integrating tours within the cultural fabric of the sites. The passengers should be encouraged to stay in local hotels, visit places, and participate in activities that foster meaningful interactions with them. It helps in providing employment, encourages cultural exchange and strengthening of intercultural understanding and tolerance for both guests and hosts. Ecotourism Martha Honey defines as Travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and (usually) small scale. It helps educate the traveller, provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights. (Honey, 1999, p. 25) Advantages of Ecotourism It can help in protecting the ecosystems, preserving natural areas and increase the tourism. Increase the awareness on environment; educate people about the consequences of exploiting natural resources. Help in providing employment to the local and regional people, e.g. selling of handicrafts, local food items etc.; this also creates some entrepreneurial skills (Leader-Williams, Hashimova, Guliyeva, 2004, p. 45). Increases foreign reserves of the region, enhances economic growth. Raises the warmth to multitude countrys political, environmental and social climate Cultivate a feeling of pride and community through a revival or safeguarding of customary beliefs, practices and enriching techniques. Untouched destinations and natural activities may become a craze for tourists creating scope for ecotourism. Diversifying the tourism package into interesting events such as halt in country boats, trail walks etc. will help retaining the revenue generated with the local people and promote local economy. Figure 1: Sustainable Development Triangle (World Conservation Union, 2003) Utilizing the above figure of sustainable development triangle we can say that ecotourism puts a balance between these three sides i.e. economy, environment, and the society. For the long term development of a company it is necessary to be sustainable; Ecotourism will bring future and current benefits as well as work as a form of sustainable development. SWOT Analysis of Ecotourism can be referred in the Appendix attached at the last. 4. Implementation The company should get the new criteria for selecting destinations in a cruise ship port of call from the tourism council. It should follow the guidelines on ecotourism destinations set by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. After that a third party verification of its land excursions adhering to Global Sustainable Tourism Council-recognized standard by 2015 should be done. Once final GSTC Criteria for Destinations are in place, they will provide another standard by which Royal Caribbean can judge ports of call. (Wilkinson, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, 2012) Timeline: An approval from the CEO has to be obtained and then the company should follow GSTC for obtaining the criteria. This process of implementation will take around 3 years which is the timeline. Instead of activities like snorkelling, scuba diving etc. which has impact on the marine life there can be other attractions like visiting conservation area, Plantation house, lush forest trekking, catamaran ride to beaches where the guests can have beach barbeque. Maintaining the quality of these experiences means integrating the guidelines of sustainability, with the help of a GSTC consultant. Timeline: There should be an approval received from the strategic planning department and It can be implemented within 6 months from now. There should be proper waste disposal system in the cruises. Modern equipment like exhaust gas scrubbers should installed on smokestacks, superior wastewater purification should be on the vessels. RCCL can implement these systems on the newer ships as a measure to treat all kind of wastes like solid waste, water waste and air waste. It can also have highly developed systems like reverse Osmosis system that uses only 35 percent of the electricity consumed as compared to older units for converting sea water into drinkable ship water. Timeline: Approval from the corporate governance department should be obtained and this can be implemented within 6 months from now. In order to preserve the environment from dumping things overboard RCCL can initiate programs for educating the cruisers, travellers, crews for recycling all the wastes like aluminium canes, water bottles, food stuffs etc. It can also purchase more than one million pounds of recycled products each year. An approval from the CEO can be obtained for immediately implementing the plan and the sanction for purchasing recycled products can also be got from finance department. Timeline: This can be implemented within 2 month. 5. Conclusion Ecotourism is a win-win solution for destinations where the conservation efforts for the environment are also associated with the livelihood opportunities of the local people. For ecotourism to be effective in its true sense there is a need to develop a proper ecotourism package which should be different from the existing mass tourism packages. Royal Caribbeans plan to implement Ecotourism as a sustainability measure is indeed a commendable decision. The companys initiative to sponsor programs such as setting new criteria for selecting holiday destinations, running programs like Save the Waves with mission as reduce, reuse, recycle will certainly help it for a long term development and overcome the challenges to sustain its business. Although RCCLs investment will be more on these sustainable measures but it will not have a negative impact on the environment, social image and the economy as well because there will be no threat for hefty fines for creating pollution.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Handmaids Tale and Family Values :: Handmaids Tale Essays

The Handmaid's Tale and Family Values In the olden days, religion and politics went hand in hand. The church either ran the land or had a strangle hold on the people. If the church thought there was one way to do something, one had to do as the church requested or suffer great penalty. To go against the church was to go against God, and that meant death. The king was supposed to be chosen by God to rule the people in the way he commanded. The king was the closest thing to God on earth. Monarchs generally ruled hand in hand with the church. As the monarchy's rein started to come to an end, the church's tight grip on the citizens slowly started to loosen. With the implication of democracy, the church lost all real power to make laws and actually govern the people. The church still held power over peoples' morals, but without the monarchy's to enforce it the church's found their power decreasing. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the government and the church are interchangeable. The government is what used to be called the church, they have come together to become one unit of power. The power of a modern day government with all the knowledge and weapons combined with the fanaticism of a medieval based church create a dictatorship like none other. The novel deals with the treatment of children harshly for a society which views children as their last hope, their most valuable commodity. Children are taken away from their homes to be given to the privileged, and women are forced to give birth to babies they can not keep. The society of Gilead takes the views of a traditional religious monarchy and enforces them with modern day power. In the novel The Handmaid's Tale, there is a place called the "Red Center", which is a training facility. When one thinks of a training facility they tend to invision a military base with young soldiers learning what they need to know to survive. Atwood's "Red Center" is very similar to this type of facility; it has soldiers inside the facility and people are being taught how to survive. Women in the "Red Center" are being taught how to become submissive to the new order.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Branding: Marketing and Answer

Chapter-9: MCQ’s and short questions: 1. _____ is endowing products and services with the power of a brand. Your Answer:| Branding | 2. _____ is the added value endowed to products and services. Your Answer:| Brand equity | 3. ______ are those trademarked devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand. Your Answer:| Brand elements | 4. _____ marketing is about mixing and matching marketing activities to maximize their individual and collective effects. Your Answer:| Integrating | 5. _____ is consumers' ability to identify the brand under different conditions as reflected by their brand recognition or recall performance.Your Answer:| Brand awareness | 6. _____ occurs when customers experience the company as delivering on its brand promise. Your Answer:| Brand bonding | 7. A _____ is a consumer-focused exercise that involves a series of procedures to assess the health of the brand, uncover its sources of brand equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage its equi ty. Your Answer:| brand audit | 8. When a firm uses an established brand to introduce a new product it is called a _____. Your Answer:| brand extension | 9. A _____ product is one whose brand name has been licensed to other manufacturers who actually make the product.Your Answer:| licensed | 10. _____ occurs when consumers no longer associate a brand with a specific product or highly similar products and start thinking less about the brand. Your Answer:| Brand dilution | 11. _______is the set of all brands and brand lines which a particular firm offers for sale to buyers in a particular category. Your Answer:| Brand portfolio | 12. _____ measures the degree to which a brand is seen as different from others. Your Answer:| Differentiation | 13. _____ measures the breadth of a brand's appeal. Your Answer:| Relevance | 14.Nike has the distinctive â€Å"swoosh† logo, the â€Å"Just Do It† slogan, and the â€Å"Nike† name based on a mythological goddess. These items a re called _____. Your Answer:| brand elements | 15. Burton, a maker of snowboards, is introducing a new snowboard called â€Å"The Dominator. † This snowboard will be associated and identified with top professional riders. What marketing strategy is Burton using? Your Answer:| leveraging secondary association | 16. The purpose of the _____ is to provide a current, comprehensive profile of how all the products and services sold by a company are marketed and branded. Your Answer:| brand inventory | | 7. A _____ typically employs quantitative measures to provide marketers with current information as to how their brands and marketing programs are performing on the basis of a number of key dimensions. Your Answer:| tracking study| | 18. Nivea, a strong European brand, has expanded its scope from a skin-cream brand to a skin-care and personal-care brand through carefully designed and implemented brand extensions. This is an example of _____. Your Answer:| brand reinforcement | 19. Dannon Yogurt offers several types of new yogurts, Fruit on the Bottom, Natural Flavours, and Fruit Blends to name a few.This is an example of a _____. Your Answer:| line extension | 20. Honda uses the company name to cover different products such as automobiles, motorcycles, snow blowers, and snowmobiles. This is an example of a _____. Your Answer:| category extension | 21. A _____ brand may be kept around despite dwindling sales because they still manage to hold on to a sufficient number of customers and maintain profitability with little or no marketing support. Your Answer:| cash cow | 22. All products marketed by Heinz carry the brand name ‘Heinz'. This is an example of ___________. Your Answer:| blanket family names |Short Questions: Chapter-9: 1. Describe the functions a brand provides for the firm. Ans:Brands simplify product handling or tracking. Brands help to organize inventory and accounting records. Brands also offer the firm legal protection for unique features o r aspects of the product. Finally, brands signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product again. 2. What are the two basic approaches to measuring brand equity? Ans: The indirect approach assesses potential sources of brand equity by identifying and tracking consumer brand knowledge structures.The direct approach assesses the actual impact of brand knowledge on consumer responses to different aspects of the marketing. 3. From a marketing management perspective, there are three main sets of brand equity drivers. List these factors. Ans: The initial choices for the brand element or identities making up the brand. The way the brand is integrated into the supporting marketing program. The associations indirectly transferred to the brand by linking the brand to some other entity. 4. What are the six criteria used to choose brand elements? Explain each of these.Ans:- 1. Memorable – how easily is the brand element recalled and recognized. 2. Meaningful – to what extent is the brand element credible and suggestive of the corresponding category? 3. Likeability – how aesthetically appealing do consumers find the brand element? 4. Transferable – can the brand element be used to introduce new products in the same or different categories? 5. Adaptable – how adaptable and updatable is the brand element. 6. Protectable – how legally protectable is the brand element? How competitively protectable is it? Can it be copied? 5.Discuss the four general strategies used in choosing a brand name. What are the advantages to each of these strategies? Ans:- ? First, a company can use an individual name strategy. This way the company does not tie its reputation to the product's. If the product fails or appears to have a low quality the company's image is not hurt. ? A second strategy is to use blanket family names. By using this strategy, there is no need for â€Å"name† research or heavy advertisin g to create brand-name recognition; this reduces initial development costs. ? A third strategy is to use separate family names for all products.This works best for companies that produce quite different products and one blanket family name is not desirable. ? Finally, a company can use the corporate name combined with individual product names as a branding strategy. The company name legitimizes and the individual name individualizes the new product. 6. The Marketing Insight – Applying Permission Marketing, presents the practice of permission marketing as an important tool for building customer loyalty. List the five steps which Seth Godin, a pioneer in the technique, has identified as important in creating effective permission marketing.Ans:-   Godin identifies the following 5 steps: Offer the prospect an incentive to volunteer (e. g. , free sample, sales promotion, or contest). Offer the interested prospect a curriculum over time that teaches the consumer about the product or service. Reinforce the incentive to guarantee that the prospect maintains the permission. Offer additional incentives to get more permission from the consumer. Over time, leverage the permission to change consumer behaviour toward profits. Chapter-10: MCQ’s and short questions: 1. ____ is the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. Your Answer:| Positioning | 2. Companies can gain a strong competitive advantage through having better-trained people. This is called _____. Your Answer:| personnel differentiation | 3. _____ pass through four stages: distinctiveness, emulation, mass fashion, and decline. Your Answer:| Fashions | 4. In a _____ pattern of the product life cycle, sales grow rapidly when the product is first introduced and then fall to a â€Å"petrified† level.Your Answer:| growth-slump-maturity | 5. The _____ stage is marked by a rapid climb in sales. Your Answer:| growth | 6. During the _____ stage sales slow down creating over-capacity in the industry, which leads to intensified competition. Your Answer:| maturity | 7. During the _____ stage sales and profits decline and some firms withdraw from the market. Your Answer:| decline | 8. _____ calls for gradually reducing a product and business's costs while trying to maintain sales. Your Answer:| Harvesting | 9. If a new product sells well, new firms will enter the market, ushering in a(n) _____ stage.Your Answer:| market-growth | 10. Eventually, when competitors cover and serve all the major market segments the market enters the _____ stage. Your Answer:| maturity | 11. A company may follow the strategies of deletion, harvesting, or contracting in the _______ stage. Your Answer:| decline | 12. Creating the image of a â€Å"delivered pizza† rather than a â€Å"frozen pizza† category for McCain's pizza is an example of _______. Your Answer:| positioning | 13. Attributes or benefits consumers strongl y associate with a brand, such as FedEx-guaranteed overnight delivery-are called _____.Your Answer:| points-of-difference | 14. Associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand are called _____. Your Answer:| points-of-parity | 15. A _____ is a basic and distinctive mode of expression appearing in a field of human endeavour. Your Answer:| style | 16. During the _____ stage prices remain where they are or fall slightly. Your Answer:| growth | 17. The _____ stage divides into three phases: growth, stable, and decaying maturity. Your Answer:| maturity | 18. During the _____ stage product managers try to stimulate sales by modifying other marketing program elements.Your Answer:| maturity | 19. During the _____ stage firms may withdraw from smaller market segments and weaker trade channels. Your Answer:| decline | 20. _____ is used to milk the firm's investments to recover cash quickly in the decline stage. Your Answer:| Harvesting | 21. In a _____ strategy a new product can be designed to meet the preferences of one of the corners of the market. Your Answer:| single-niche | 22. Which of the following is not a key desirability for PODs? Your Answer:| Feasibility | Short Questions: Chapter-10: 1.What are the three key consumer desirability criteria for POD's (points-of-difference)? Ans:- 1. Relevance – target consumers must find the POD personally relevant and important. 2. Distinctiveness – target consumers must find the POD distinctive and superior. 3. Believability – target consumers must find the POD believable and credible. 2. What are the four stages in the Product Life Cycle? Describe what happens at each stage. Ans:- ? In the first stage, introduction, the product experiences slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. In the second stage, growth, there is a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement. ? In the third stage, maturity, the product experiences a slowdown in sales growth, p rofits stabilize or decline because of increased competition. ? And in the fourth and final stage, decline, sales show a downward drift and profits erode. 3. Companies can gain a strong competitive advantage through better trained people. List some of the characteristics of better-trained personnel, and give some illustrative examples.Ans:-   Competence – they possess the required skill and knowledge Courtesy – they are friendly, respectful, and considerate Credibility – they are trustworthy Reliability – they perform the service consistently and accurately Responsiveness – they respond quickly to customers' requests and problems Communication – they make an effort to understand the customer and communicate clearly Some examples of the above: Singapore Airlines – excellent reputation in large part because of its flight attendants McDonald's people are courteous IBM people are professional Disney people are upbeat. . What are the thr ee main ways to convey a brand's category membership? Ans:- 1. Announcing category benefits — benefits are frequently used to announce category membership to reassure consumers that a brand will deliver. 2. Comparing to exemplars — well known noteworthy brands in a category can also be used to specify category membership. 3. Relying on the product descriptor — the product descriptor that follows the brand name is often a concise means of conveying category origin. 5. What five strategies are available to firms in declining industries? Ans:- 1.Increasing the firm's investments. 2. Maintaining the firm's investment level until the uncertainties about the industry are resolved. 3. Decreasing the firm's investment level selectively by dropping unprofitable customer groups and simultaneously strengthening the firm's investment in lucrative niches. 4. Harvesting the firm's investment to recover cash quickly. 5. Divesting the business quickly by disposing of its assets as advantageously as possible. 6. Define and discuss the concepts of points-of-parity (pop) and points-of-difference (pod). Use examples to illustrate your discussion.Ans:-   Points-of-Difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. Strong, favourable, and unique brand associations that make up PODs may be based on virtually any type of attribute or benefit. Examples are FedEx (guaranteed overnight delivery), Nike (performance), and Lexus (quality. ) Points-of-Parity (POPs) are associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may be shared with other brands. They come in two basic forms: category and competitive.Category POPs are associations consumers view as essential to be a legitimate and credible offering within a certain product or service category. They represent necessary conditions for brand choice. They may change ov er time due to technological advances, legal developments, or consumer trends, but they are the ‘greens fees' to play the marketing game. Competitive POPs are associations designed to negate competitors' PODs. If a brand can ‘break even' in those areas where the competitors are trying to find an advantage and also can achieve advantages in other areas, the brand should be in a strong, and even unbeatable, competitive position.Chapter-13: MCQ’s and short questions: 1. A distinct characteristic of services is _____. Your Answer:| intangibility | 2. Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously. This is an example of the _____ characteristic of services. Your Answer:| inseparability | 3. Services cannot be stored. This describes the _____ characteristic of services. Your Answer:| perishability | 4. _____ describes employees' skills in serving the client. Your Answer:| Interactive marketing | 5. SSTS refers to _____. Your Answer:| self-service technologi es | 6.Top firms audit service performance by collecting _____ measurements to probe customer satisfiers and dissatisfiers. Your Answer:| voice of the customer | 7. The services a customer expects are called the _____ service package. Your Answer:| primary | 8. Added features to an offering are called _____ service features. Your Answer:| secondary | 9. The intangibility of services has implications for the choice of _____. Your Answer:| brand elements | 10. _____ cost refers to the product's purchase cost plus the discounted cost of maintenance and repair less the discounted salvage value.Your Answer:| Life cycle | 11. According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Benny, the most important determinant of service quality is: Your Answer:| Reliability | 12. An offering that consists primarily of a tangible good with no services at all is considered a _____. Your Answer:| pure tangible good | 13. A restaurant is an example of a(n) _____. Your Answer:| hybrid | 14. _____ refers to the willingne ss to help customers and to provide prompt service. Your Answer:| Responsiveness | 15. _____ refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence.Your Answer:| Assurance | 16. _____ refers to the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Your Answer:| Reliability | 17. Mystery shoppers refer to the use of _____. Your Answer:| undercover shoppers | 18. Customers often view a service as fairly homogeneous, caring less about the provider than the price. Service marketers must therefore _____ their services. Your Answer:| differentiate | 19. Marriott is setting up hotel rooms for high-tech travelers who need accommodations that will support computers, fax machines, and e-mail.These are examples of _____ service features. Your Answer:| secondary | 20. _____ extensions often require sub-branding strategies where the corporate name is combined with an individual brand name or modifier. Your Answer:| Vertical | 21. Servi ces such as installations, staff training, maintenance, and repair services and financing are called _____ services. Your Answer:| facilitating | 22. Ritz-Carlton Hotels' legendary service is an example of which one of the following distinct characteristic of service? Your Answer:| Intangibility | Short Questions: 1.What are the five categories of offerings in the product-service mix? Ans:- 1. Pure tangible good – the offering consists primarily of a tangible good, no services accompany the product. 2. Tangible good with accompanying services – the offering consists of a tangible good accompanied by one or more services. 3. Hybrid – the offering consists of equal parts of goods and services. 4. Major service with accompanying minor goods and services – the offering consists of a major service along with additional services or supporting goods. 5. Pure service – the offering consists primarily of a service. . What are the five determinants of servic e quality in order of importance? Ans:- 1. Reliability – the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. 2. Responsiveness – the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. 3. Assurance – the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. 4. Empathy – the provision of caring, individualized attention to customers. 5. Tangibles – the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials. 3.Holistic marketing for services requires external, internal, and interactive marketing. Define these terms. Ans:-   External marketing describes the normal work of preparing, pricing, distributing, and promoting the service to customers. Internal marketing describes training and motivating employees to serve customers well. Interactive marketing describes the employees' skill in serving the client. Clients judge service not only by its technical quality (e. g. , was the surgery successful? ) but also by its functional quality (e. g. , did the surgeon show concern and inspire confidence? ). Branding: Marketing and Answer Chapter-9: MCQ’s and short questions: 1. _____ is endowing products and services with the power of a brand. Your Answer:| Branding | 2. _____ is the added value endowed to products and services. Your Answer:| Brand equity | 3. ______ are those trademarked devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand. Your Answer:| Brand elements | 4. _____ marketing is about mixing and matching marketing activities to maximize their individual and collective effects. Your Answer:| Integrating | 5. _____ is consumers' ability to identify the brand under different conditions as reflected by their brand recognition or recall performance.Your Answer:| Brand awareness | 6. _____ occurs when customers experience the company as delivering on its brand promise. Your Answer:| Brand bonding | 7. A _____ is a consumer-focused exercise that involves a series of procedures to assess the health of the brand, uncover its sources of brand equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage its equi ty. Your Answer:| brand audit | 8. When a firm uses an established brand to introduce a new product it is called a _____. Your Answer:| brand extension | 9. A _____ product is one whose brand name has been licensed to other manufacturers who actually make the product.Your Answer:| licensed | 10. _____ occurs when consumers no longer associate a brand with a specific product or highly similar products and start thinking less about the brand. Your Answer:| Brand dilution | 11. _______is the set of all brands and brand lines which a particular firm offers for sale to buyers in a particular category. Your Answer:| Brand portfolio | 12. _____ measures the degree to which a brand is seen as different from others. Your Answer:| Differentiation | 13. _____ measures the breadth of a brand's appeal. Your Answer:| Relevance | 14.Nike has the distinctive â€Å"swoosh† logo, the â€Å"Just Do It† slogan, and the â€Å"Nike† name based on a mythological goddess. These items a re called _____. Your Answer:| brand elements | 15. Burton, a maker of snowboards, is introducing a new snowboard called â€Å"The Dominator. † This snowboard will be associated and identified with top professional riders. What marketing strategy is Burton using? Your Answer:| leveraging secondary association | 16. The purpose of the _____ is to provide a current, comprehensive profile of how all the products and services sold by a company are marketed and branded. Your Answer:| brand inventory | | 7. A _____ typically employs quantitative measures to provide marketers with current information as to how their brands and marketing programs are performing on the basis of a number of key dimensions. Your Answer:| tracking study| | 18. Nivea, a strong European brand, has expanded its scope from a skin-cream brand to a skin-care and personal-care brand through carefully designed and implemented brand extensions. This is an example of _____. Your Answer:| brand reinforcement | 19. Dannon Yogurt offers several types of new yogurts, Fruit on the Bottom, Natural Flavours, and Fruit Blends to name a few.This is an example of a _____. Your Answer:| line extension | 20. Honda uses the company name to cover different products such as automobiles, motorcycles, snow blowers, and snowmobiles. This is an example of a _____. Your Answer:| category extension | 21. A _____ brand may be kept around despite dwindling sales because they still manage to hold on to a sufficient number of customers and maintain profitability with little or no marketing support. Your Answer:| cash cow | 22. All products marketed by Heinz carry the brand name ‘Heinz'. This is an example of ___________. Your Answer:| blanket family names |Short Questions: Chapter-9: 1. Describe the functions a brand provides for the firm. Ans:Brands simplify product handling or tracking. Brands help to organize inventory and accounting records. Brands also offer the firm legal protection for unique features o r aspects of the product. Finally, brands signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product again. 2. What are the two basic approaches to measuring brand equity? Ans: The indirect approach assesses potential sources of brand equity by identifying and tracking consumer brand knowledge structures.The direct approach assesses the actual impact of brand knowledge on consumer responses to different aspects of the marketing. 3. From a marketing management perspective, there are three main sets of brand equity drivers. List these factors. Ans: The initial choices for the brand element or identities making up the brand. The way the brand is integrated into the supporting marketing program. The associations indirectly transferred to the brand by linking the brand to some other entity. 4. What are the six criteria used to choose brand elements? Explain each of these.Ans:- 1. Memorable – how easily is the brand element recalled and recognized. 2. Meaningful – to what extent is the brand element credible and suggestive of the corresponding category? 3. Likeability – how aesthetically appealing do consumers find the brand element? 4. Transferable – can the brand element be used to introduce new products in the same or different categories? 5. Adaptable – how adaptable and updatable is the brand element. 6. Protectable – how legally protectable is the brand element? How competitively protectable is it? Can it be copied? 5.Discuss the four general strategies used in choosing a brand name. What are the advantages to each of these strategies? Ans:- ? First, a company can use an individual name strategy. This way the company does not tie its reputation to the product's. If the product fails or appears to have a low quality the company's image is not hurt. ? A second strategy is to use blanket family names. By using this strategy, there is no need for â€Å"name† research or heavy advertisin g to create brand-name recognition; this reduces initial development costs. ? A third strategy is to use separate family names for all products.This works best for companies that produce quite different products and one blanket family name is not desirable. ? Finally, a company can use the corporate name combined with individual product names as a branding strategy. The company name legitimizes and the individual name individualizes the new product. 6. The Marketing Insight – Applying Permission Marketing, presents the practice of permission marketing as an important tool for building customer loyalty. List the five steps which Seth Godin, a pioneer in the technique, has identified as important in creating effective permission marketing.Ans:-   Godin identifies the following 5 steps: Offer the prospect an incentive to volunteer (e. g. , free sample, sales promotion, or contest). Offer the interested prospect a curriculum over time that teaches the consumer about the product or service. Reinforce the incentive to guarantee that the prospect maintains the permission. Offer additional incentives to get more permission from the consumer. Over time, leverage the permission to change consumer behaviour toward profits. Chapter-10: MCQ’s and short questions: 1. ____ is the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. Your Answer:| Positioning | 2. Companies can gain a strong competitive advantage through having better-trained people. This is called _____. Your Answer:| personnel differentiation | 3. _____ pass through four stages: distinctiveness, emulation, mass fashion, and decline. Your Answer:| Fashions | 4. In a _____ pattern of the product life cycle, sales grow rapidly when the product is first introduced and then fall to a â€Å"petrified† level.Your Answer:| growth-slump-maturity | 5. The _____ stage is marked by a rapid climb in sales. Your Answer:| growth | 6. During the _____ stage sales slow down creating over-capacity in the industry, which leads to intensified competition. Your Answer:| maturity | 7. During the _____ stage sales and profits decline and some firms withdraw from the market. Your Answer:| decline | 8. _____ calls for gradually reducing a product and business's costs while trying to maintain sales. Your Answer:| Harvesting | 9. If a new product sells well, new firms will enter the market, ushering in a(n) _____ stage.Your Answer:| market-growth | 10. Eventually, when competitors cover and serve all the major market segments the market enters the _____ stage. Your Answer:| maturity | 11. A company may follow the strategies of deletion, harvesting, or contracting in the _______ stage. Your Answer:| decline | 12. Creating the image of a â€Å"delivered pizza† rather than a â€Å"frozen pizza† category for McCain's pizza is an example of _______. Your Answer:| positioning | 13. Attributes or benefits consumers strongl y associate with a brand, such as FedEx-guaranteed overnight delivery-are called _____.Your Answer:| points-of-difference | 14. Associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand are called _____. Your Answer:| points-of-parity | 15. A _____ is a basic and distinctive mode of expression appearing in a field of human endeavour. Your Answer:| style | 16. During the _____ stage prices remain where they are or fall slightly. Your Answer:| growth | 17. The _____ stage divides into three phases: growth, stable, and decaying maturity. Your Answer:| maturity | 18. During the _____ stage product managers try to stimulate sales by modifying other marketing program elements.Your Answer:| maturity | 19. During the _____ stage firms may withdraw from smaller market segments and weaker trade channels. Your Answer:| decline | 20. _____ is used to milk the firm's investments to recover cash quickly in the decline stage. Your Answer:| Harvesting | 21. In a _____ strategy a new product can be designed to meet the preferences of one of the corners of the market. Your Answer:| single-niche | 22. Which of the following is not a key desirability for PODs? Your Answer:| Feasibility | Short Questions: Chapter-10: 1.What are the three key consumer desirability criteria for POD's (points-of-difference)? Ans:- 1. Relevance – target consumers must find the POD personally relevant and important. 2. Distinctiveness – target consumers must find the POD distinctive and superior. 3. Believability – target consumers must find the POD believable and credible. 2. What are the four stages in the Product Life Cycle? Describe what happens at each stage. Ans:- ? In the first stage, introduction, the product experiences slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. In the second stage, growth, there is a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement. ? In the third stage, maturity, the product experiences a slowdown in sales growth, p rofits stabilize or decline because of increased competition. ? And in the fourth and final stage, decline, sales show a downward drift and profits erode. 3. Companies can gain a strong competitive advantage through better trained people. List some of the characteristics of better-trained personnel, and give some illustrative examples.Ans:-   Competence – they possess the required skill and knowledge Courtesy – they are friendly, respectful, and considerate Credibility – they are trustworthy Reliability – they perform the service consistently and accurately Responsiveness – they respond quickly to customers' requests and problems Communication – they make an effort to understand the customer and communicate clearly Some examples of the above: Singapore Airlines – excellent reputation in large part because of its flight attendants McDonald's people are courteous IBM people are professional Disney people are upbeat. . What are the thr ee main ways to convey a brand's category membership? Ans:- 1. Announcing category benefits — benefits are frequently used to announce category membership to reassure consumers that a brand will deliver. 2. Comparing to exemplars — well known noteworthy brands in a category can also be used to specify category membership. 3. Relying on the product descriptor — the product descriptor that follows the brand name is often a concise means of conveying category origin. 5. What five strategies are available to firms in declining industries? Ans:- 1.Increasing the firm's investments. 2. Maintaining the firm's investment level until the uncertainties about the industry are resolved. 3. Decreasing the firm's investment level selectively by dropping unprofitable customer groups and simultaneously strengthening the firm's investment in lucrative niches. 4. Harvesting the firm's investment to recover cash quickly. 5. Divesting the business quickly by disposing of its assets as advantageously as possible. 6. Define and discuss the concepts of points-of-parity (pop) and points-of-difference (pod). Use examples to illustrate your discussion.Ans:-   Points-of-Difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. Strong, favourable, and unique brand associations that make up PODs may be based on virtually any type of attribute or benefit. Examples are FedEx (guaranteed overnight delivery), Nike (performance), and Lexus (quality. ) Points-of-Parity (POPs) are associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may be shared with other brands. They come in two basic forms: category and competitive.Category POPs are associations consumers view as essential to be a legitimate and credible offering within a certain product or service category. They represent necessary conditions for brand choice. They may change ov er time due to technological advances, legal developments, or consumer trends, but they are the ‘greens fees' to play the marketing game. Competitive POPs are associations designed to negate competitors' PODs. If a brand can ‘break even' in those areas where the competitors are trying to find an advantage and also can achieve advantages in other areas, the brand should be in a strong, and even unbeatable, competitive position.Chapter-13: MCQ’s and short questions: 1. A distinct characteristic of services is _____. Your Answer:| intangibility | 2. Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously. This is an example of the _____ characteristic of services. Your Answer:| inseparability | 3. Services cannot be stored. This describes the _____ characteristic of services. Your Answer:| perishability | 4. _____ describes employees' skills in serving the client. Your Answer:| Interactive marketing | 5. SSTS refers to _____. Your Answer:| self-service technologi es | 6.Top firms audit service performance by collecting _____ measurements to probe customer satisfiers and dissatisfiers. Your Answer:| voice of the customer | 7. The services a customer expects are called the _____ service package. Your Answer:| primary | 8. Added features to an offering are called _____ service features. Your Answer:| secondary | 9. The intangibility of services has implications for the choice of _____. Your Answer:| brand elements | 10. _____ cost refers to the product's purchase cost plus the discounted cost of maintenance and repair less the discounted salvage value.Your Answer:| Life cycle | 11. According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Benny, the most important determinant of service quality is: Your Answer:| Reliability | 12. An offering that consists primarily of a tangible good with no services at all is considered a _____. Your Answer:| pure tangible good | 13. A restaurant is an example of a(n) _____. Your Answer:| hybrid | 14. _____ refers to the willingne ss to help customers and to provide prompt service. Your Answer:| Responsiveness | 15. _____ refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence.Your Answer:| Assurance | 16. _____ refers to the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Your Answer:| Reliability | 17. Mystery shoppers refer to the use of _____. Your Answer:| undercover shoppers | 18. Customers often view a service as fairly homogeneous, caring less about the provider than the price. Service marketers must therefore _____ their services. Your Answer:| differentiate | 19. Marriott is setting up hotel rooms for high-tech travelers who need accommodations that will support computers, fax machines, and e-mail.These are examples of _____ service features. Your Answer:| secondary | 20. _____ extensions often require sub-branding strategies where the corporate name is combined with an individual brand name or modifier. Your Answer:| Vertical | 21. Servi ces such as installations, staff training, maintenance, and repair services and financing are called _____ services. Your Answer:| facilitating | 22. Ritz-Carlton Hotels' legendary service is an example of which one of the following distinct characteristic of service? Your Answer:| Intangibility | Short Questions: 1.What are the five categories of offerings in the product-service mix? Ans:- 1. Pure tangible good – the offering consists primarily of a tangible good, no services accompany the product. 2. Tangible good with accompanying services – the offering consists of a tangible good accompanied by one or more services. 3. Hybrid – the offering consists of equal parts of goods and services. 4. Major service with accompanying minor goods and services – the offering consists of a major service along with additional services or supporting goods. 5. Pure service – the offering consists primarily of a service. . What are the five determinants of servic e quality in order of importance? Ans:- 1. Reliability – the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. 2. Responsiveness – the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. 3. Assurance – the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. 4. Empathy – the provision of caring, individualized attention to customers. 5. Tangibles – the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials. 3.Holistic marketing for services requires external, internal, and interactive marketing. Define these terms. Ans:-   External marketing describes the normal work of preparing, pricing, distributing, and promoting the service to customers. Internal marketing describes training and motivating employees to serve customers well. Interactive marketing describes the employees' skill in serving the client. Clients judge service not only by its technical quality (e. g. , was the surgery successful? ) but also by its functional quality (e. g. , did the surgeon show concern and inspire confidence? ).