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 ...

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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? ).

Experience Archaeology Firsthand in a Field School

Experience Archaeology Firsthand in a Field School Would you like to go on an archaeological dig? Do Indiana Jones movies give you wanderlust? Does the thought of conducting scientific research in exotic locations sound like the perfect way to spend your hard-earned vacation? Are you tired of reading about ancient cultures from the pages of books and websites and do you long to learn about those dead societies first hand? An archaeological field school might be just what youre looking for.   An archaeological field school means that even if youre not a professional archaeologist, you, too, can spend part of your summer digging in the dirt. After all, it doesnt seem terribly fair that we should have all the fun, does it? Well, fortunately, there are lots of university-based excavations going on all year long, called field schools, and some of them take unaffiliated volunteers. Whats a Field School? An archaeology field school is an archaeological dig that is organized partly to train the next generation of archaeologists. Of course, field schools are always arranged to conduct real, scientifically-based archaeological research for the professors and their graduate student assistants. The only reason to go into the field and excavate sites must always be to gather new information about ancient behaviors and culturesarchaeology is a destructive process and if youre not gathering data, you shouldnt be digging. But field schools are specifically tailored to teach new students the methods and philosophy of archaeology. And the good news? Even if youre not planning on becoming an archaeologist, you can still attend a field school. In fact, I always recommend that anybody even considering a career in archaeology should go to one early in their education, if possible even before they start taking university classes, to find out if they like hanging around other sunburned and filthy people pursuing scientific research enough to warrant the cost of a college education. Attending a Field School A field school works this way: a small band of studentsgenerally ten to fifteen, although the size varies considerably from school to schoolis collected by a university anthropology department. The students go to an archaeological site where they get instructions on how to survey and dig, and then they dig. Many field schools feature lectures and tours to nearby archaeological sites; sometimes students are assigned a special project of their own. The students get college credit and training that way,   starting them off in a career in archaeology. Most field schools last between two and eight weeks in the warm or dry season, depending on what part of the world the excavations are located. Many field schools also welcome members of the local historical society or archaeology club, or provide opportunities for the public to experience archaeology for themselves. Almost every archaeology department or anthropology department with a concentration in archaeology in the world conducts archaeological field research in schools every summer or every other summer. What Youll Need To attend such a field school, youll need physical stamina, clothes you dont mind destroying, a hat with a brim, and SPF 30 or better sunblock. You may get college credit. You may have to provide your own travel and housing expenses, or they may be provided as part of the experience. Youll need a strong sense of adventure; a stronger sense of humor; and the ability to work hard without complaining (too much!). But you might have the time of your life. So, if you have a few days or weeks off next summer, and you want to experience a little real-live archaeology, this is the time to start looking! Finding a Field School There are several ways to find a field school. There are several dozens being held all over the world every year. Here are a few sites that can be trusted to contain up-to-date listings from around the globe.   Archaeology Anthropology Field Schools ShovelBums site, R. Joe Brandon Archaeological Fieldwork.com, Jennifer Palmer Field School Opportunities from the American Anthropological Society Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin from the Archaeological Institute of America You could also contact the archaeologists associated with the anthropology, archaeology, or ancient history department at your local university. You might consider joining your local archaeology society or club. Good luck and good digging!

Good Manufacturing Practices

Good Manufacturing Practices Introduction Good manufacturing practices are the set guideline that outlines the process of manufacturing and testing to enhance on the quality of the pharmaceutical drugs (Moynihan 2003). This set of regulations and guidelines must be strictly followed although in some areas, to encourage innovation there is some latitude offered as long as the following steps are followed and documented:Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Good Manufacturing Practices specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ensure raw materials are of quality. Record detailing the whole process of manufacturing should be kept High standards of cleanliness should be maintained Confirm the qualifications of the manufacturing personnel. Do in house testing immediate after manufacture. Ensure that high standards are maintained in the production processes. Maintain proper channels of storage as well as of distribution (Finn 1999). The process involved in changi ng of the drugs The actual stage of manufacture is the last stage in the pharmaceutical drug production. Thus to change the profile content of an existing drug is treated the same as manufacturing because the side effects of this new ingredients are not yet known. This process requires strict and rigorous documentation for the drug to comply with the good manufacturing process. Recording of the entire manufacturing process is mandatory because the records can be used in the case of a problem or when challenged by legal hurdles (Leape 1994). The first documents involved are the research documents. Before any pharmaceutical drugs are manufactured for public use, research must be undertaken. First in the labs to ensure that, they will work for the intended purposes. This is done by testing the compounds that are thought to contain substrates that can help to combat or help to alleviate the symptoms of the disease the drug is intended. The process is complicated and can be achieved usin g many methods including use of computer simulation or testing the combinations nature if different compounds. At this point, the research findings must be documented and the total RD funds used in the process documented as well. The handling of the new material should be handled with care and should be treated as raw materials until all the tests have been concluded. The raw materials should be tested to ensure that they comprise of the required substrates The QC manager should be able determine their origin and method of manufacture. This is because the sources could be natural or synthetic (Rang, et al. 2003). This is because most of the raw materials that had been produced naturally in the past now are now being produced synthetically. Their production process production should be investigated by the QC manager to ensure that it is up to all the standards set out by the drug controlling body of the respective country. He should ensure that the raw materials are also inclusive of active pharmaceutical ingredients that are pharmaceutically safe and that they contain the desired effects on the body (Ray 2003).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After being certain that, the raw materials are well according to standards, the next step should be the production of the sample of the drugs so that they can be used for testing and for obtainment of a license. After the manufacture of the sample, the testing of the drug is ready and can be done (Ray and Alan 2005). Testing of the drug The testing of the drug is carried out through drug trials where a sample of people are administered the drugs and the effects it has on the people recorded for further analysis. The first step in the testing is the use of preclinical studies. These are done in vitro tubes or on animal and cell structure experiments (Ruesch 1991). The next step is the use of a small numb er of volunteers to investigate whether the drug has any therapeutic effect on the human body as was expected. This stage does not deal with safety or even the efficacy of the drug (Ruesch 1992). Phase 1 involves using groups of about 20-100 healthy volunteers to establish the safeness of the drug and also the total time the body can absorb and make use of it. The stage also include dose ranging so that the exact amount of dose that be used for therapeutic purposes is established. Payments of the volunteers are done according to the agreed amount and the time spent on the testing facilities. The other stage of testing involves the use of a large number of patients’ volunteers. They test on the drug to establish how effective it is against the symptoms of the disease, the amounts of the doses that are effective and the side effects that might occur. The final stage involves the use of a large number of volunteers to test the drug. At this point the effective nature of the drug is investigated as well as the side effects that can occur in the event of the usage of the drug. After the success of this stage, then the drug is licensed and given a trademark name ready to be sold to the public ( Burgos 1986). Impurity profiles Impurities are common in drugs because they are also part of the ingredients used in their manufacturing process and purity tests must be undertaken to ensure their complete elimination. The most famous and effective is the use of chromatography that separates the impurities from the real ingredients if they are any available (Braithwaite 1984).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Good Manufacturing Practices specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More After the impurities have been identified, ways should be formulated to ensure their removal and also to minimize their effects on the drug. This should be by elimination of some of the manufacturing practices that are practiced in the f irm. There should be manufacture of fine crystals while the process of isolation, the drying of the tablets should be done by a vacuum dryer and finely stability studies should be undertaken and detailed investigations on the process of preparation (Barnett 2003). How to ensure high quality products are produced To ensure that high quality products are produced, quality control should be applied at every stage of manufacture. This is to make sure that there is early identification of any production problems especially the weakness of the drugs. If a problem is identified then, production should stop and the problem determined (Baker 1994). Conclusion Good manufacturing practices are guidelines which are set for the safety of the public while using the pharmaceutical drugs. The entire process should be adhered to ensure that only quality kinds of drugs are available to the public. There have been cases of some pharmaceutical companies using undue methods to get their drugs approved b ut later these drugs cause some un repairable damage or even death. The governing body such as the FDA in the United States should that the process is strictly followed and only quality drugs are licensed for sale. References Baker, A., 1994. Awakening Our Self-Healing Body A Solution to the Health Care Crisis. California: Self Health Care Systems, LA. Barnett, A., 2003. Revealed: how drug firms hoodwink medical journals. London: The Observer.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Braithwaite, J., 1984. Corporate Crime in the Pharmaceutical Industry. London: Routledge Kegan Paul. Burgos, J., 1986. Hidden Crimes (Film), SUPRESS. California: Pasadena. Finn, R., 1999. Cancer Clinical Trials: Experimental Treatments and How They Can Help You. Sebastopol: OReilly Associates. Leape, L., 1994. Error in medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 272 (23), p. 1851. Moynihan, R., 2003. Who pays for the pizza? Redefining the relationships between doctors and drug companies. 2: Disentanglement. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 326 (7400), pp. 1193–1196. Rang, et al., 2003. Pharmacology 5 ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Ray, M., 2003. Drug company sponsorship of education could be replaced at a fraction of its cost. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 326 (7400), p.1163. Ray, M. and Alan, C., 2005. Selling Sickness: How Drug Companies are Turning Us All Into Patients. Allen Unwin. New York. Ruesch, H., 1991. Slaughter of the Innocent. Hartsdale N Y: CIVITAS Publications. Ruesch, H., 1992. Naked Empress the Great Medical Fraud, CIVIS. Switzerland: Massagno/Lugano.

The Educational Part Of The Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Educational Part Of The Life - Essay Example As a professional nurse, my past experience will make my work more interesting because I will have the fore-knowledge towards tackling the situational crisis and managing available resources to benefit every citizen regardless of social class. It will be with regards that I am offered the scholarship to further my studies in a provision that throughout my life I have struggled to accomplish my dream in career and goal achievement. Currently, I have an obligation as a father and at the same time a student. Having closed my business and quit the NA position, it will be challenging to pay tuition fees for my children at the elementary level to college level, at the same time provide basic needs for them and cater for my education. The scholarship offer will greatly be a show to the society, especially to the nontraditional students that there is always a way and learning requires space and time to be accomplished. With all the devotions experienced in life, I am affirmed that the result s to my Master’s degree in Nursing will change the face of the society and that of my family. Having difficulties in finishing high school due to financial constraints, I wish to engage all my efforts in my studies and that’s why solely my mind has got the right direction to pursue MDN though the scholarship offer. Receiving the scholarship will instill credibility and as well sound as a form of reward to my hard work recognition to an extent of empowering my personality as a father and a professional in the field of nursing.

September 11 Attack on America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

September 11 Attack on America - Research Paper Example A Description of the historical event Analysis of the historical and contemporary causes of the event Analysis of the different historical interpretations of the event Evaluation of the positive and negative outcomes of the event Conclusion September 11 attack on America Introduction September 11 attacks on America remain to be the main memorable event of the twenty first century all over the world. The recent decades have seen scientists, academicians and the theorists conduct comprehensive research in a bid to establish the causes of such a thrilling event as well as the impacts, which some remain unfolded. However, the historical descriptions in regard to this event are quite amazing to the extent of instilling fear on the contemporary society. The issue has long raised a variety of truths as well as controversies since its occurrence as many as try to swallow the event’s bitterness. There are countless historical and contemporary causes of the challenging 9/11, which are i nclusive of the bitterness of the Al-Qaeda towards America for supporting Israel. The demonstration of this bitterness is viewed in the recent incident where America portrayed its deed of killing the then Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. The event sets the stage of understanding the extent to which great psychological, social, political, and economic impacts overtook the contemporary America. The discussion in this paper seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of September 11 attacks. A discussion of the historical context in regard to the even will be provided. ... The terrorists are said to have hijacked four passenger Jet airliners that were meant for commercial services and crashed them at various destinations, which included the north and south towers of the world trade center, pentagon house and forth targeted the white house, the location of the American capital. The 9/11 morning dawned in a devastating state when the Al-Qaeda’s hijacked jet airliners. Two airliners were intentionally crashed at the World Trade Center Twin Towers that collapsed within two hours of attack. The third airliner was as well crashed at the Arlington, Virginia pentagon house, while the fourth was directed onto the rural Pennsylvania’s Shanksville. Three thousand people were killed on the sport, and no one survived from the crashing flights, including 60 military officials (Griffin, 2009). The report of the investigations conducted by the Newborn research personnel indicated that there had been prior plans by the terrorist group on the procedure of attacking the entire United States, including the capital city. The attack is always remembered since it resulted in massive deaths of people, who included 60 military officials, a case that has never occurred in any other war or attack in the world. Therefore, the 9/11 attacks left a legacy that all Americans have in mind up to date. The chief suspect at the time was Al-Qaeda under the leadership of Osama bin laden, who denied responsibility of the act. In 2004, he agreed to take responsibility and disclose the act where it became identified worldwide. The history commences with a heavy burst where in May 2011, the then AL-Qaeda leader Osama was found and put to