Lee Chong Wei

The Elite Bloggerz The Blog of Form 3 Elite 2012, SMK Tunku Sulong Home About Us New Project Our Sponsor LEE CHONG WEI One of the most prominent personality in Malaysia that I admire is Datuk Lee Chong Wei. He had brought honor to Malaysia. Datuk Lee Chong Wei was born on 21 october 19m2 in Pulau Pinang. He studied at Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Jit Sin,Bukit Mertajam. Later ,he continued his study at Sekolah Menengah Sungai Way. In His early years,Lee Chong Wei favoured basketball. However his mother soon banned him from that activity due to scanning heat of the outdoor basketball court.Lee Chong Wei began to learn badminton at the age of 11 when his father brought him to the badminton hall. After he had attended the attention of the badminton couch,the couch began to train him. After doing discovered by Misbun Sidek ,he was drafted into the National Squad. He won the silver medal in the 2008 olimpic games and become the first Malaysia to reach the final of the men’s singles event and ending Malaysia’s olimpic medal drought since 1996. This achieviement also earned him the titlt Datuk. As a single player,Lee Chong Wei was randked first world wide on 21 august 2008.He is the third Malaysia’s men’s single shutler after Rashid Sidek and Rosli Hashim to achieve such a ranking and is the only Malaysia’s shutler to hold the ranking for more then ten weeks. In 2011 year,he won many matches such as Malaysia open,Korea open,England open,India open,Sudirman Cup and Indonesia open. He was praised by prime minister Najib Tun Razak after this triumph in All England Open. He was hinted he could retire following the 2012 olimpic. 8 Share this: Email Print Facebook3 Twitter1 # 19/04/2012, 12:32 pm The Essays Tags: izzat | muhdhanif | suthanon | Thanasak 0 Comments adjective that describe fikry Adjective that describe Hanif  » †¢RSS Meta Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress. org Archives Select Month October 2012 (12) Jul y 2012 (4) May 2012 (1) April 2012 (5) March 2012 (8) February 2012 (14) January 2012 (3) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (2) October 2011 (7) September 2011 (11) August 2011 (13) July 2011 (27) June 2011 (6) May 2011 (6) April 2011 (5) March 2011 (7) February 2011 (1) January 2011 (31) December 2010 (7) November 2010 (8) October 2010 (21) September 2010 (2) April 2010 (1) March 2010 (8) Tags mila amira amirul Amsyar archri atiyya boon suang chin joo dayana faiz farhan fathini fatihah fatin fikry fizah hamizatul izzat jia wen mimi Miss N Mrs. A Muhd Hanif muhdhanif nabihah najwa nurulnajwa pirdaus qinwei rizal suthanon syahanis syaqari syareena syifaa teacherz Thanasak yi min Recent Comments barney kid on An interesting event in The Railway Children(Discuss Version) ummiey on exams are bad,bad things!!!! laxes on An interesting event in The Railway Children(Discuss Version) suthanon on The Railway Children_An Importang Event NINA on The Black Beauty Notes Recent Posts Nice Day !!! w hat? PMR is over ? waiting our trip to Pinang Lee Chong Wei Why winning / being no 1 in the world are so important? To be ranked world number one for a long time is a remarkable achievement for a badminton player, especially from Malaysia. This is because the competition in the world of badminton is great enough, not to mention the presence of the players form the powerhouse of world badminton, China, as well as the players from the European continent that often presents a tough challenge to Lee Chong Wei.Lee Chong Wei, who is known for his high fighting spirit, morale and commitment to the sport deserves to be in the world's top ranking, despite never be successful in the Olympics, but Lee Chong Wei is deemed to be the best player ever born by Malaysia in the badminton world. The victory achieved by Chong Wei in international badminton tournaments thus enhancing Malaysia to the eye of the world. Badminton is one of the major sports in the world with a total professional and social players reached billion, and, of course badminton received wi de coverage in the media.In fact, the coverage is not limited in countries like Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Denmark but also covers 169 countries under the auspices of a combination of the main body of world badminton, Badminton World Federation, BWF. The frequently that Chong Wei won major world's tournaments makes the name of Malaysia itself is synonymous with badminton, despite the fact that in parts of the world, many people still do not know in detail the geographical, political and cultural landscape of Malaysia itself. But at least they know Malaysia has a badminton champion named Lee Chong Wei. Lee Chong Wei The Elite Bloggerz The Blog of Form 3 Elite 2012, SMK Tunku Sulong Home About Us New Project Our Sponsor LEE CHONG WEI One of the most prominent personality in Malaysia that I admire is Datuk Lee Chong Wei. He had brought honor to Malaysia. Datuk Lee Chong Wei was born on 21 october 19m2 in Pulau Pinang. He studied at Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Jit Sin,Bukit Mertajam. Later ,he continued his study at Sekolah Menengah Sungai Way. In His early years,Lee Chong Wei favoured basketball. However his mother soon banned him from that activity due to scanning heat of the outdoor basketball court.Lee Chong Wei began to learn badminton at the age of 11 when his father brought him to the badminton hall. After he had attended the attention of the badminton couch,the couch began to train him. After doing discovered by Misbun Sidek ,he was drafted into the National Squad. He won the silver medal in the 2008 olimpic games and become the first Malaysia to reach the final of the men’s singles event and ending Malaysia’s olimpic medal drought since 1996. This achieviement also earned him the titlt Datuk. As a single player,Lee Chong Wei was randked first world wide on 21 august 2008.He is the third Malaysia’s men’s single shutler after Rashid Sidek and Rosli Hashim to achieve such a ranking and is the only Malaysia’s shutler to hold the ranking for more then ten weeks. In 2011 year,he won many matches such as Malaysia open,Korea open,England open,India open,Sudirman Cup and Indonesia open. He was praised by prime minister Najib Tun Razak after this triumph in All England Open. He was hinted he could retire following the 2012 olimpic. 8 Share this: Email Print Facebook3 Twitter1 # 19/04/2012, 12:32 pm The Essays Tags: izzat | muhdhanif | suthanon | Thanasak 0 Comments adjective that describe fikry Adjective that describe Hanif  » †¢RSS Meta Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress. org Archives Select Month October 2012 (12) Jul y 2012 (4) May 2012 (1) April 2012 (5) March 2012 (8) February 2012 (14) January 2012 (3) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (2) October 2011 (7) September 2011 (11) August 2011 (13) July 2011 (27) June 2011 (6) May 2011 (6) April 2011 (5) March 2011 (7) February 2011 (1) January 2011 (31) December 2010 (7) November 2010 (8) October 2010 (21) September 2010 (2) April 2010 (1) March 2010 (8) Tags mila amira amirul Amsyar archri atiyya boon suang chin joo dayana faiz farhan fathini fatihah fatin fikry fizah hamizatul izzat jia wen mimi Miss N Mrs. A Muhd Hanif muhdhanif nabihah najwa nurulnajwa pirdaus qinwei rizal suthanon syahanis syaqari syareena syifaa teacherz Thanasak yi min Recent Comments barney kid on An interesting event in The Railway Children(Discuss Version) ummiey on exams are bad,bad things!!!! laxes on An interesting event in The Railway Children(Discuss Version) suthanon on The Railway Children_An Importang Event NINA on The Black Beauty Notes Recent Posts Nice Day !!! w hat? PMR is over ? waiting our trip to Pinang

Home School vs. Public School Essay

I prefer home schooling over public schooling; which one do you prefer? There are both pros and cons for both Home Schooling and Public Schooling. I am going to explain this all to you in my essay. I personally was home schooled for a few years during middle and high school. All of elementary school and part of middle school I went to a regular school. My reasoning for choosing to be home schooled is I have Agoraphobia which is an anxiety disorder caused by situations where people perceive the environment as being difficult to escape or get help. As soon as I would walk into a class room I would have a panic attack. One thing I liked about public school was being able to play volleyball. I loved playing it for the little bit of time that I was in middle school. Even though I wasn’t really all that great, So I didn’t play very much. That is one con of being home schooled. You cannot play sports affiliated with any school. A pro for public schooling is you have a group environment to learn in with others to help you. On the other hand with home schooling you are on your own. In home schooling you have less choices of curriculum as you would if you were going to public school. You also have more diversity in public school. When going to public school you have a higher student to teacher ratio, now with home schooling there is a small teacher to student ratio. In home schooling you are free to choose your schedule, as in public school your schedule is strict and chosen for you. Public school chooses the curriculum for you. Unlike in home schooling you can choose your own. There are now roughly millions of children being home schooled. Being home schooled teaches students to be independent in their learning choices. Sometimes home schooling can be more expensive than going to public school. Teachers are not always qualified to teach all subjects, and colleges sometimes have stricter admission policies concerning home schooled students. It is also harder to provide social interaction when being home schooled. Like I had stated before I prefer home schooling but everyone has their own opinions. This is the reason why I have enrolled myself into the University of Phoenix online. So that I can have the flexibility of my classes, this way I can work around my everyday life and not miss out when it comes to spending time with my boys. I hope that the information in my essay was helpful to you.

Business overview of jollibee foods corporation

Business overview of jollibee foods corporation Jollibee Foods Corporation engages in the development, operation and franchising of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). Other activities of the Group include the lease of real estate properties. The franchising segment is involved in the franchising of the Group’s QSR store concepts. The real estate segment leases store sites mainly to the Group’s independent franchisees. Jollibee is a phenomenal success story of a business. It began as a two-branch ice-cream parlour in 1975 offering hot meals and sandwiches and became incorporated in 1978 and signify the birth of the revolutionised fast- food in the Philippines and it was the first fast food chain to break the 1 billion pesos sales mark in 1989 as well as the first food service company to be listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange in 1993. When it comes to Filipinos, there will only be one kind of fast food restaurant that Filipinos cannot and will not trade for, and that is the Jollibee Philippine. The company provides the most mouth-watering fast-food foods. Jollibee did not start on selling hamburgers or chickens but was first started as an ice cream parlour at Cubao in 1975 by Tony Tan Caktiong with â€Å"Jolibe† as the original name selling ice-cream rather than burgers. The two original products of the company were named as â€Å"Yumburger† and â€Å"Chickenjoy†.   Jollibee’s phenomenal growth owes much to its strict and committed adherence to high standards and organisational objectives as symbolized by â€Å"F.S.C.†: Food- everything served to the public must meet the company’s excellence standards or it will not be served at all. Service- must be fast and courteous Cleanliness- from kitchen to utensils must always be maintained. POSITIONING Jollibee dedicated its continuous success to the Filipinos who have been there from the very start. Jollibee is so well-loved every time a new store opens, especially overseas. It is a stronghold of heritage a nd monument of Filipino victory. The company has an American-style fast-food chain with Filipino-influenced dishes specialising in burgers, spaghetti, chicken and some local Filipino dishes. In the Philippines, Jollibee serves Coca-Cola products for its beverages; in overseas markets, the chain serves Pepsi products. It’s kind of a Filipino version of McDonald’s. It may be a little different for Americans or Europeans who are use to the McDonald’s hamburger meal. The beef tastes a lot different at Jollibee. Jollibee Foods Corporation is not a household name when it comes to the global market. But in the Philippines, it’s the king of the burger market. One industry analyst said â€Å"if McDonald’s is the Goliath of fast food, Jollibee is its Filipino David.† Although Jollibee is much smaller than other fast-food companies in global terms, Jollibee concentrates most of its limited resources within the Philippines.   But its primary advantage comes from simply doing a better job of giving Filipino consumers what they want.   Ã‚   To be in the position in the market JFC undertake several marketing activities to hold their market share. It will be shown on the following figures. Figure 1: JFC’s Traditional Media

Determining Copyright Infringement Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Determining Copyright Infringement - Case Study Example A general trend that emerges is that even in instances where copying of original works have been found, a remedy will lie only when infringement is substantial and this has been conditional on the criterion of quality rather than quantity in determining the value of material so infringed. However, legal boundaries have been more clearly established in other countries such as the United States, while in the UK, judgments appear to be on an ad hoc basis providing no legal certainty or consistency, hence the level and delineation of copyright appears indeterminate. Moreover, another aspect that arises in this context is whether such protection as afforded under the Act is adequate in a digital environment where copying is facilitated since the online environment is so structured that a page can be copied without leaving a trace and footprints of the pirate are difficult to track. Although criticisms have been leveled against the recommendations offered by Gowers after an IP review to restrict extensions of copyright on sound recordings, nevertheless this review has highlighted the need for greater flexibility and balance in the IP system, thereby underlining the fact that the current laws may not offer adequate scope to precisely define limits determining infringement. It may be noted that no precise formula can be pinpointed in the Courts’ decisions on what constitutes infringement. Petersen J set out a rough test for a remedy to be provided for infringement of copyright as follows: â€Å"What is worth copying is prima facie worth protecting.†Ã‚  In order to determine whether or not an infringement of copyright in a work has actually taken place, courts first of all try to define copying by determining whether the alleged items or incidents infringed are ideas or expressions. Copyright protection does not extend to mere ideas on which there ca n be no copyright, but to â€Å"sufficient substance of literary protection.†

Immuno-labelling, fluorescence microscopy and live time-lapse imaging Lab Report

Immuno-labelling, fluorescence microscopy and live time-lapse imaging - Lab Report Example The background of the alterations in the cell behaviour to include shape and movement is examined in the paper. The paper seeks to explain the significance of the microtubules in the cell, which is to increase the motility of the cells and the affinity of the cells on different reactions as detected in the body and the cell physiologies (Diaspro, 2011. p. 125). The examination of the process of immune labelling in the experiment to detect the presence and effects of the proteins in the cells is explained. The aims and objectives of an experiment basically answer the intent of the experiment. In this case the aims are directed towards the administration and examination of the cell physiology and the detection of the cell proteins and the reaction tests of the antibodies and antigens of the cell. This work explores on the background of the experiment and the purposes of the involvement of the cell physiological processes and the influences they have, such as the proteins, microtubules. The explanations of the experiment’s procedures, the tasks, actions, results and the findings are all covered in the paper. Introduction Immuno-labelling, fluorescence microscopy and live time-lapse imaging involves the cellular biological experiments which aim to detect as well as visualize the structures of the cells while analyzing the cellular changes in the cell and its substructures during a certain period of the body biological processes (Reimer & Kohl, 2008). This experiment involves the study of the immune system dynamics in the human tracheal cells. The involvement of the fluorescent microscopy in the experiment implies the detection of the fluorescent protein in the cell organelles, while observing other defects in the structure of the cell during the experiment. The experiment is not targeted at one result as the process includes diverse measures to analyze different structures in the cells. The process generally involves the analysis of the cell health to entire ty (Widdows, Kingdom & Ansari, 2009 pp 735). Immuno labelling is a biological process that involves the detection of antigen to a particular site in a cell, tissue or organ. In any immune labelling reaction the antigen and the antibody reacts within the given organ or tissue or cell in the experiment. The experimentation of the immuno labelling in the cell experiments are meant to reveal information about the cell or the substructures of the cells. In these processes, the antigens can be detected and visualizes using a combination of antigen-specific antibody in the process of detection referred to as tag, which is covalently related to the antibody (Tiwari & Nagai, 2013. pp 497). The immune cytochemistry, which is the process involving the imagery and analysis of the cell biology through fluorescent microscopy, compare the amplification strategies for the primary antibody detection in the cells. The results of the experiment after the detection analysis are used to direct action to wards achieving the recommended remedies (Hyatt & Wise, 2001. pp 97). Background of the Experimental Processes The cells of the immune system in the human body explore a wider existence territory than any other cells in the biological systems. The immune-imagery involves t6he visualization of the cells in the native tissues with the intent to detect the changes in the cell biological process of the cell. This process involves the quantification of the immune responses at the cellular level. It is through the process that the

Microbiology review paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Microbiology review - Research Paper Example Some of these factors include the fact that the virus tends to disappear from the tissues of the severely ill patients, and thrives in patients who have been mildly affected (Halstead, 1965), while studies have been made on the tissues of the terminally ill patients (Halstead, 1965). Also, the virus does not reproduce in the effected tissues, but in healthy tissues that are often ignored during collection and isolation (Halstead, 1965). Despite these limitations, at least four different strains of the virus have been isolated, namely type 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Halstead, 1965). The vector for the virus is the Aedes aegypti mosquito in most of the cases (Halstead, 1965). There are other species of the mosquitoes which might or might not serve as vectors, depending on the geographical location of the mosquito population and the dominance of the species (Halstead, 1965). Due to the nature of the vector, Dengue can also be refereed to as a mosquito-borne hemorrhagic fever (Halstead, 1965), howe ver, this term is not preferred over Dengue fever (Halstead, 1965). Epidemiology: The recent technique is to divide the virus epidemiologically into three groups, depending on the types and degree of illnesses that it causes (Rico-Hesse, 2003). If it remains dormant in the human host with almost negligible transmissibility, it can be termed as low-level virus (Rico-Hesse, 2003). If it causes Dengue fever only, it is a medium-level virus (Rico-Hesse, 2003). If it produces the more potent form of the disease, that is Dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome, it is a high-level virus (Rico-Hesse, 2003). The potential of transmission and, hence, the epidemiology of the virus increases with the increase in the level (Rico-Hesse, 2003). The factors for this increase could be the immunological and genetic disposition of the host, and the ability of the virus to replicate progressively in the vector (Rico-Hesse, 2003). The region of the world that is most prone to the epidemics of Dengue hemorrhagic fever and shock is Southeast Asia, affecting predominantly children (Ramos, Garcia, & Villaseca, 1993). However, the epidemics are not merely restricted to this region; some of the most significant outbreaks have been reported in Cuba, Venezuela, and Brazil (Ramos et al., 1993). Other countries or regions where the disease has been reported include Greece, South Africa_ Durbin, Formosa, Bengok, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore (Halstead, 1965). A recent outbreak, in 2004, was reported from Fuzhou, China (Yan et al., 2006). It is interesting to note that no cases have yet been reported from East Pakistan, Indonesia, and Burma (Halstead, 1965). Symptoms: A detailed study of the course of action of the virus and the symptoms of the disease and their causes is beyond the scope of this paper. However, an attempt will be made to succinctly present the course of the disease. Stage 1: The virus is contracted as a result of mosquito bite (Halstead, 1965). This induces a p eriod of viral replication and reproduction as a result of which the patient becomes febrile for three or four days (Halstead, 1965). There is extensive damage to the capillaries, more than is incurred in the usual viral infections (Halstead, 1965). Stage 2: Due to reasons not yet identified, there is extensive damage to the liver, more than there is in the other organs of the body (Halstead, 1965), although the toxic conditions in the body effect the

Methods of communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Methods of communication - Essay Example As for culture, this has been characterized as ‘a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms of behavior; it refers to coherent groups of people whether resident wholly or partly within state territories or existing without residence in any particular territory’. In accordance with the above definition, culture can be a severe obstacle to communication in case that the attitudes or the values of the people involved are different. The elimination of this differentiation is a task that requires a significant amount of time and intensive effort by the interested parties – with no guarantee that the relevant attempt will be successful. In fact the study of Lalonde et al. showed that there are ‘predicted differences in beliefs about PC between members of social groups based on gender ideology and sexual orientation while more conservative views (e.g. right-wing authoritarianism, modem prejudice) would be associated with a belief in a PC movement and endorsement of a PC crusader stereotype’. In other words, political correctness is very likely to operate as a barrier to communication attempts – though this assumption could be more applicable when referring to groups than to individuals. In the same way, personal tendencies can be a barrier to communication especially under the influence of the following circumstances: a) a negative event of the past leads the person to avoid communication, b) the person’s environment (family, school) does not promote communication and so on.

See Below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

See Below - Essay Example He became intrigued and, initially, it appeared that his rationalization was driven by the novelty of the concept. It appealed to his mind and thoughts so he started engaging the messenger in a dialogue and learned further about the ethics involved in the treatment of animals. Then he started doing research to find evidence about those reasons that could justify the peoples unjust treatment of the animals. He found none. So he began establishing his own thought. He came to his fundamental rationalization that the norm, the existing thoughts and arguments for the subject are insufficient rationalization of unethical treatment of animals. Afterwards, he became an animal rights activist and became an important advocate of vegetarianism and ethics in science. Singer like other philosophers and sociologists who brought forward the concept of rationalization used objects or phenomena or artefacts in order to explain their own take on rationalization. For instance, there was capitalism for Max Weber, the Holocaust for Zygmunt Bauman or consumption for sociologists like George Ritzer. For Singer, it was ethics in the way animals are treated or ethics in medicine. His rationalization involved a process and elements. In my evaluation of Singers points of view, I have engaged in some rationalization myself. There are points that I disagree with because they were different from or not aligned with practices that I am used to and comfortable with. I immediately began to form some arguments against his positions according to such practices. For instance, I cannot be a vegetarian since I like meat in my food, so I quickly thought about the natural order of things like how other animals kill or maim others so they can be eaten in order for them to survive. I thought, humans killing animals are within the natural scheme of

Personal Value and Ethical Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Personal Value and Ethical Standards - Essay Example In purely lexical terms, the word ethics comes from the Greek word ethikos which means ‘based on habit’. In present terminology, ethics is taken to be a branch of philosophy which judges individual and collective actions as being right, wrong, good or bad. In business and professional fields like finance, construction, public relations, advertising and many others, the application of ethical principles is said to be a part of the good practices which create and increase credibility for the business interest (Alexandra & Woodruff, 1990). The field of human services is not exempt from the practice of ethics and there is an entirely different branch of ethics connected with the actions of those who interact with individuals in need. In fact, even those who have no contact with others and are only conducting research on the various topics under the field have to follow ethical and legal guidelines that govern how research can be done on any particular topic (Scanlon, 2000). Thus, every individual from researchers to those who actually provide services have to follow ethical guidelines. Therefore, it is important to understand what ethical guidelines are in actuality. Velasquez et. al. (1987) report that when people on the street were inquired about the meaning of ethics, they said that ethics have to do with internal feelings of what is right and wrong or that ethics are religious beliefs or that ethics are legal requirements. People also considered ethics to be acceptable behavior as per the rules of society and some simply did not know what it meant. While the responses stated above may come naturally given the context the word ethics is so often used in. It must be clarified that ethics have nothing to do with the internal feelings of a person (Alexandra & Woodruff, 1990). This is because personal feelings and emotions about something may lead a person to do what

Assessment of Agency Performance- Social Work Term Paper

Assessment of Agency Performance- Social Work - Term Paper Example It is for such reasons that the Centre has been accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. The management of the center has also played an integral part in improving the performance of the organization. The leadership skills of the managers is worth noting since it is such characteristics that help boost the productivity of the staff members and the organization in general. One of the functioning of an organization is the leadership approaches that the management team employs. Transformational leadership is the best approach used by leaders to improve the performance of organizations. It entails the acquisition of power and a positive manner that in order to ensure change is brought about through the use of support and resources. This approach views the support staff allies that are necessary in bringing about change in an organization. A transformational leader is willing and able to take risks to change conventional beliefs and wisdom. They often show commitment and dedication in their endeavors and also share their belief in the vision of the organization (Hardina, 2006). These characteristics play an integral part in motivating the staff members or other stakeholders of an organization. By building a sense of community among stakeholders of an organization and sharing the vision and goals of an organization, employees are motivated since they feel they are actively involved in the operations of the organization. The transformational leader works together with these staff members to create the objectives and goals of the organization so that implementation becomes easy due to their involvement in the policy making stages. Sharing power among the participants in an organization as well as interacting with them plays a pivotal part in transforming the behavior of the leader as well as the employees. Change is necessary in

Formative Assessment and Secondary Higher Secondary Essay Example for Free

Formative Assessment and Secondary Higher Secondary Essay Main subjectsEnglish, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Civics, Geography and Economics. Additional subjects (optional)Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, French, Tibetan, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Nepali, Limboo, Lepcha, Bhutia, and Mizo. Continuous and comprehensive evaluation is an education system newly introduced by Central Board of Secondary Education in India, for students of sixth to tenth grades. The main aim of CCE is to evaluate every aspect of the child during their presence at the school. This is believed to help reduce the pressure on the child during/before examinations as the student will have to sit for multiple tests throughout the year, of which no test or the syllabus covered will be repeated at the end of the year, whatsoever. The CCE method is claimed to bring enormous changes from the traditional chalk and talk method of teaching, provided it is implemented accurately. Introduction Implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation was one of the recommendations of the Indian Education Commission, 1964-66 popularly known as Kothari Commission. The recommendation was accepted by the Govt. of India under National Policy of Education(NPE),1968 which was formulated on the basis of the recommendations of the Kothari Commission. A humble beginning was made since then by introducing unit tests in place of Term end exam or year end exam.Subsequently the NPE was re-formulated in 1986.The Govt. of India came out with Programme of Action in(PoA)in 1992.All the documents such as National Curriculum Frame work for School Education,2000 and the National Curriculum Frame work, 2005 also stressed on the implementation of the CCE.With the launching of the SSA, the CCE was introduced for the classes from Ist to VIIth.The RTE also speaks about the CCE. Thus CCE is implemented now during the tenure of Shri Sibbal,Minister of Human Resource Development. This is the new evaluation method introduced recently to decrease the accumulated stress of board exams on the students and to introduce a more uniform and comprehensive pattern in education for the children all over the nation. CCE helps in improving student’s performance by identifying his/her learning difficulties and abilities at regular time intervals right from the beginning of the academic session and employing suitable remedial measures for enhancing their learning performance. CCE is the modern method of evaluating all the prime dimensions of a students personality that of how much he has been through out. New scheme of evaluation As a part of this new system, students marks will be replaced by grades which will be evaluated through a series of curricular and extra-curricular evaluations along with academics. The aim is to reduce the workload on students and to improve the overall skill and ability of the student by means of evaluation of other activities. Grades are awarded to students based on work experience skills, dexterity, innovation, steadiness, teamwork, public speaking, behavior, etc. to evaluate and present an overall measure of the students ability. This helps the students who are not good in academics to show their talent in other fields such as arts, humanities,  sports, music, athletics, etc. Marks and grades In CCE, the marks obtained in an exam are usually not revealed. However, equivalent grades, which would be deduced using a special method by the teachers during evaluation would be revealed. This is considered as a drawback since a child with 92 marks will get the same grade as the child with 100 marks and their talents cannot be recognized by anyone else other than their teachers. Though this system might have some drawbacks it instills this value that students need to compete with themselves to get a better grade and not with others. The grading system is as follows- CGPAGradeQualified?Merited? Unlike CBSEs old pattern of only one test at the end of the academic year, the CCE conducts several. There are two different types of tests. Namely, the formative and the summative. Formative tests will comprise the students work at class and home, the students performance in oral tests and quizzes and the quality of the projects or assignments submitted by the child. Formative tests will be conducted four times in an academic session, and they will carry a 40% weightage for the aggregate. In some schools, an additional written test is conducted instead of multiple oral tests. However, at-least one oral test is conducted. The summative assessment is a three-hour long written test conducted twice an year. The first summative or Summative Assessment 1 (SA-1) will be conducted after the first two formatives are completed. The second (SA-2) will be conducted after the next  two formatives. Each summative will carry a 30% weightage and both together will carry a 60% weightage for the aggregate. The summative assessment will be conducted by the schools itself. However, the question papers will be partially prepared by the CBSE and evaluation of the answer sheets is also strictly monitored by the CBSE. Once completed, the syllabus of one summative will not be repeated in the next. A student will have to concentrate on totally new topics for the next summative. At the end of the year, the CBSE processes the result by adding the formative score to the summative score, i.e. 40% + 60% = 100%. Depending upon the percentage obtained, the board will deduce the CGPA and thereby deduce the grade obtained. In addition to the summative assessment, the board will offer an optional online aptitude test that may also be used as a tool along with the grades obtained in the CCE to help students to decide the choice of subjects in further studies. The board has also instructed the schools to prepare the report card and it will be duly signed by the principal, the student and the Board official. Often during the evaluation of Social Science papers, the following concepts are observed. Investigation of the situation What is the question and what is to be explained. Deductive Method What does the student know and how can he use it to explain a situation. Co-relation with a real life situation Whether the situation given matches any real life situation, like tsunamis, floods, tropical cyclones, etc. Usage of Information Technology Can the problem be solved with the use of IT? If yes, how? In addition to that, various assignments can be given such as projects, models and charts, group work, worksheet, survey, seminar, etc. The teacher will also play a major role. For example, they give remedial help, maintain a term-wise record and checklists, etc.

British Armed Forces

British Armed Forces Management now are aware of the importance of employees, hence using the correct recruitment and selection methods are crucial part of management functions. The success of any organisation depends largely on acquiring the right balance of employees, with the right skills and abilities. Most companies have an established personnel department responsible for   this function. (Armstrong, M. 2009) Poor recruitment and selection techniques can result in rise in cost, lower morale, and a rise in labour turnover. As a result of these, the aim of management is to reduce cost and maximise productivity. This assignment looks at recruitment and selection methods used in the British Armed Forces, selection methods, reliability and validity. (Noe, R.A. et al, 2004) However, interviews and its benefits and types are also dealt with in details. The different types and drawbacks of test, and government legislation form the basis of employment and organisation has to follow set procedures as such. These are all discussed in subsequent chapters. (Noe, R.A. et al, 2004) This assignment focuses on recruitment and methods of selection processes. These systems may be the first formal interaction which candidates have with the organisation. Their impact may extend across a range of stages in the pre-employment relationship with the organisation, not only during the initial attraction, the selection process and the offer of employment, but also in the subsequent attrition, and decision by existing staff to leave.   Example Toyotas recruitment and selection practices are tailored to find the best possible applicants to hire. (Beardwell, J., and Claydon, T. 2007) 1.2 Recruitment and selection in the British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces described recruiting as the measures taken in order to attract a pool of candidates for selection. Recruits are then taking in for training in order to prepare them for their careers in the Army. The training is a continuous process throughout a soldiers career. (www.armedforces.co.uk, 2011) 1.2.1 Army Recruiting and Training Directorate (ARTD) This body is in charge of the step by step progress of potential recruits from the initial recruitment through to the selection process, specialist training and deployment in the army field. (www.armedforces.co.uk, 2011) The ARTD has an estimated annual budget approximately  £700m in which they have enlist 13000 potential candidates, and train 100000 soldiers and officers. The ARTD functions operations are categorised into three phases; such are, general training, Specialist training and Career training. (www.bbc.co.uk, 2011) 1.2.2 Soldier Selection The selection process requires all potential recruit to do an entry assessment at the Armys Careers Office.   Here potential recruits will undertake a touch screen British Army Recruit Battery (BARB) test, psychometric test all computer based designed to see which area in the Army is best suited for the recruit. The tests also include a numeric and literacy test.. (www.armedforces.co.uk, 2011) Candidates who successfully passed both the tests and interviews will be booked for further test. This test is normally a two days course at an Army Development and Selection Centre (ADSC). Here candidates will undergo a thorough medical examination, physical assessment tests, and fitness checks to determine the suitability for an Army career. (www.armedforces.co.uk, 2011) At the end of the two days course, candidates will be informed whether they are success or not, hence, if successful candidates can be given a place in any of the trade they wish to undertake, a Phase 1 training, which is a 14 weeks course, designed to give candidates all the required skills to be a soldier.   At the first day of training, recruits will formally enlist in the British Army, and Phase 2 specialised training will begin at the Army Training Regiment, Pirbright, Surrey. (www.armedforces.co.uk, 2011) 3.1 Methods of Selection Selection is the process of identifying the suitability of applicants from a given pool of candidates. The main reasons of carrying out selection are: (Dessler, G. 2011) To gather relevant information about jobs, applicants and organisations in order to ensure a better quality decisions. To change information and predict future behaviour To facilitate cost-benefits for the investment made in an employee To check, recruit and place job candidates in the best interests of organisation and applicants. (Dessler, G. 2011) 3.1.1 Reliability For employers to ensure that selection has been free of any kind of bias the reliability of the tests has to be demonstrated. Reliability refers to the logical coherence of scores collected by the same person when tested over time on the same test. If test outcomes are not consistent, it will be unethical to take any measures on the basis of the test.   It shows the extent to which similarities or differences in scores could be associate with errors. Dunnette (1966) has identified four sources of errors. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) Errors due to inadequate sampling of contents indicating that the items for the two tests may have been slightly different. Errors due to chance response tendencies indicating guessing or random responding to the items. Errors due to changes in the testing environment indicating the effect of physical conditions such as light, temperature, time of the day. Errors due to the changes in the person taking the test indicating the influence of health, fatigue, mood, and practice. The different types of reliability can be found in the appendix sections. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) 3.1.2 Validity This is the most important requirement of a test. Validity means degree to which a test measures what it claims to measure. A test with a high validity means it is nearly comparable to the tests objective. A test with a weak validity means it does not measure what it intend to measure. As a results, there is no prove to use the test outcomes for their primary objective. There are different ways to establish the validity of a test. The different types of validity can be found in the appendix sections. (Legge, K. 2004) 3.2 Ability Tests These are designed to measure individuals capabilities to carry out a task in a specific and unique manner. There are many different types of ability test; (Milmore, M. 2003) 3.2.1 Cognitive ability tests This measures a persons thinking, memory, reasoning, verbal and numerical capabilities. This can be used to show applicants knowledge of terminology and concepts, word fluency, comprehension, spatial orientation, conceptual reason, general and mutual ability. Organisation should ensure that these tests determine cognitive abilities than a job related. (Armstrong, M. 2009) 3.2.2 Physical Ability Tests This measures what a person can do with his/her strength, endurance, and flexibility. For example 1, the British Armed Forces uses this type of test to assess new recruits to ascertain the suitability for a career in the Army. (www.thearmedforces.co.uk, 2011) Another Example 2 is Ford Motor Company, where line workers regularly lift and carry equipment, climbs ladders and performs other physical tasks.(Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) Another example 3, Township Fire Department also uses physical ability test (PAT) in assessing potential applicant and highlighted the importance of physical fitness of fire fighters. (Armstrong, M. 2009) Example 4 Portland police bureau uses this to determine the suitability of professional police officers. (Armstrong, M. 2009) 3.3 Personality Tests This is a unique mixture of individual characteristics that can affect how an individual interacts in his/her work environment. As a result, a large number of organisations use different personality tests that determine the extent to which applicants characteristics suits specific job criteria. (Torrington, D., Hall, L., and Taylor, S., 2008) Example 6, the Finish Line, a large retail chain specialising in sporting products, offers job applicants a web-based test which evaluates their personal tendencies and test scores are use to group individuals for the hiring decision. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) Another example 7 is Blockbuster and Sports Authority also uses similar tools in their pre-employment screening. (The Economist, 2011) Example 8 a California based technology firm also found that the use of personality tests enhanced the selection decision made in the company. (Financial Times, 2010) 3.4 Assessment Centres This consists of various selection techniques, and group selection methods which are considered as a major element, as with work simulation programs and presentation. Assessment centres are used to assess, in depth, a group of broadly similar applicants, using a set of competencies required for the post on offer and a series of behavioural statements which indicate how these competencies are played out in practice. Example 5, Cadbury Schweppes. (Beardwell, J., and Claydon, T. 2007) Example, Energis utilises a series of assessment centres. 3.5 Honesty tests and Drug test Many organizations formerly employed polygraph tests, or lie detectors, to evaluate job applicants, but this changed with the passage of the Polygraph Act in 1988.   This act prohibited the use of polygraphs in employment screening for most organizations. A new technique known as the honesty paper-and-pencil tests was born. This typically ask candidates directly about their attitude towards theft or their past experiences with theft. (Noe, R.A., et al 2004) For example 9, Nordstorm, the large department store chain, uses Reid Survey to screen for violent tendencies, drug use and dishonesty. (The New York Times, 2010) As with theft, there is a growing perception of the problems caused by drug use among employees. For example 10, Fortune 1000 chief executives cited substance abuse as a significant problem in their organization. (Noe, R.A., et al 2004) 3.6 Polygraphs This is more generally and incorrectly termed as the â€Å"lie detector† which is a mechanical device that measures a persons heart rate, galvanic skin responses and breathing rate. The ideology of this device is that if a person answers a question wrongly, the bodys physiological responses will â€Å"show† that a person gave an incorrect response through the polygraphs recording machine. They play a vital role in criminal investigations and background checks. For examples 11,companies such as Pick n Pay, KFC and First National Bank all uses the polygraph to assess the trustworthiness of potential candidates. (Brown, C. (2010) 3.7 References and Biographical Data References are information that an employer gets from other people who know the applicant, either through friends or previous employer. The evidence on the reliability and validity of reference checks suggests that these are, at best, weak predictors of future success on the job. One major reason for this is that most reference letters are so positive that it is difficult to differential applicants. (Van den Brink, et al, 2010) For example 14,Northwestern Bells district manager of management employment notes â€Å"They all say, ‘This is the greatest individual the world have ever seen, the next president, at least..It is not always accurate. (Noe, R.A. et al, 2004) For example 15, Intuit Corporation tries to get around these problems by requesting references in bulk sometimes asking for as many as 12 letters of reference. The evidence on the utility of biographical information gathered from candidates is far more accurate. The biographical information form also provides a written document that the organisation can verify via outside checks. (Pollitt, D. 2007) For example 16, APCOA Inc. conducts a battery of checks depending on the position, and such investigation may include driving records, credit history and criminal record. (Ordanini, A., and Silvestri, G. 2008) 3.8 Problems with using test There are a number of problems associated with using tests. (Brown, G. T. L. 2008) In most cases, tests may not always be fair as there may be an element of racial, social and sexual bias in the questions and scoring system. For instance, some cultures may be unused to ‘working against the clock. (Hao, Z., and Liden, R.C. 2011) Validation procedures take a lot of time, but yet still are essential to the use of tests. Issues such as the use of web testing, new types of tests, like emotional intelligence tests, are being developed without sufficient validation. (Tulip 2002) The criteria used in defining good job performance are usually inadequate, hence such criteria are subjective and to some extent for the mediocre correlations between job performance and test results. (Collings, D.G., and Wood, G. 2009) Most tests are job specific and unique. Therefore, when the job for which the test is used changes, then the test can no longer be said to relate with job performance in the same manner. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) 4.1 Government Policy and Legislation The final standard that any form of selection method should adhere to is the law. Legislation has a vital role in the recruitment and selection process especially in preventing discrimination on the grounds of disability, sex, race and age. (Noe, R.A. et al, 2004) The Civil Rights Act of 1991, an extension of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 protects individuals from discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions. There are three major differences between the two Acts. (CIPD, 2010). One recent example 12 can be seen at Coca-Cola and this is highlighted in the â€Å"Competing by Meeting Stakeholders Needs† box; (Lavigna, R.J, and Hays S.W. 2004) Sex and Race DiscriminationThe Sex Discrimination Act (1975) was introduced to protect people and made it unlawful to discriminate based on sex or marital status either directly or indirectly in the field of employment. However, the Race Relations Act (1976) also prohibits employers from discriminating individuals on the grounds of race, colour and nationality. (Torrington, D., Hall, L., and Taylor, S., 2008) Age Discrimination In the UK, age discrimination was introduced in 2006 and makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate based on age in recruiting, promotion and training. (Noe, R.A. et al, 2004) Examples 13 of companies sued under this act include CBS Inc., McDonnell Douglas, Northwest Airlines, Disney, and Martin Marietta. (Noe, R.A. et al, 2004) 5.1 Selection Interviews An interview is a discussion between and employer and a potential candidate for the benefit of both parties to get to know each other for the purpose of filling a vacant position within a company. There are two major reasons for conducting an interview; as an initial screening, and to ascertain that the individual has met minimum qualifications required, and then an in depth interview with HR staff. (Singh, P. 2008) 5.2 Types of selection interviews 5.3 Structured Interviews This conducted by using standardised questions for all candidates to ensure comparisons can be done easily. It provides the opportunity   for the interviewer to design relevant questions and also to facilitate a standardised interviewee evaluation. It is useful in the initial screening process because many applicants can be effectively evaluated and compared. (Valentinis, L., et al 2009) 5.3.1 Behavioural Interview The interviewers often use an experiential type of structured interview. This is a method in which the interviewer will give applicants a job scenario (in which he/she will be looking for certain skills be it multi tasking, flexibility, diplomacy, patience, marketing tactics, and so on) and ask for the candidates opinion in exact steps. (Holtbrugge, D., et al 2010) Example, ATT and Accenture have been using behavioural interviewing for about 15 years now, and because increasing numbers of employers are using behaviour-based methods to screen job candidates, understanding how to excel in this interview environment is becoming a crucial job-hunting skill. Example 17,Capital one uses tests that assist in the evaluation of important behavioural and cultural-fit job criteria. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) Example Century 18, Theatre also made use of this test and finds it to be saving them money and resources. A recent study indicated that â€Å"past behaviour† structured-type interviews are better at identifying achievement at work than are situational interviews, hence showing the efficacy of this interview strategy. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) For example 19,the Struder Group consulting firm, after working with a multitude of health care firms across the nation, identified the use of behavioural interviews as a positive practice in organisations. (Gump, S.E. 2006) 5.3.2 Competency Interview This type of interview is similar to the behavioural interview except that the questions are designed to provide the interviewer with something to measure the applicants response against. Competency-based interviews are structured, with questions that relate directly to the essential criteria and competencies required for the post. Using competencies as a benchmark to predict job candidate success is useful because interviewers can identify the factors needed in specific jobs. (Doherty, R. (2010) However, this interview takes time and sometimes is of more benefit to management-oriented people. However, it is also important that you fit in with the team, and with the employers culture and style. A competency-based interview is designed to ask you additional questions about your character, soft skills and personal attributes that let both you and the employer determine whether you fit their needs. (Cardy. R.L., et al 2002) 5.3.3 Situational interview In situational interviewing, job-seekers are asked to respond to a specific situation they may face on the job, and some aspects of it are similar to behavioural interviews. These types of questions are designed to draw out more of your analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as how you handle problems with short notice and minimal preparation. (Dessler, G. 2011) For example 20, a variation of situational format that is used by companies such as GE and Microsoft is termed the case study interview, which requires a job applicant to find out and correct organisational challenges during the meeting. (Beardwell, J., and Claydon, T. 2007) 5.4 Unstructured or Less-structured interview An unstructured interview is one where there may be a script to get the process started, but once the interview gets going the interviewer will start to follow her own points of interest and stop following any script. (Searle, R.H. 2003) An unstructured interview occurs when the interviewer improvises by asking questions that are not predetermined. A semi structured interview is a guided conversation in which broad questions are asked and new questions arise as a result of the discussion. (Searle, R.H. 2003) 5.4.1 Stress Job Interviews The stress interviewing technique is typically used only for positions in which the job-seeker will be facing stress on the job, and the interviewer wants to see how well you can handle the pressure. The key to surviving stress interviews is to remain calm, keep a sense of humor, and avoid getting angry or defensive. (Ball, F.W., and Ball, B. 2010) 6.1 Advantages of interviews The following are the advantages of using interview as a method of selection: Interviews provide opportunities for interviewers to ask probing questions about the candidates experience and to explore the extent to which the candidates competences match those specified for the job; it enable interviewers to describe the job and the organisation in more detail, suggesting some of the terms of the psychological contract; provide opportunities for candidates to ask questions about the job and to clarify issues concerning training, career prospects, the organisation and terms conditions of employment; The interviewer may try to stress you in one of several ways, such as asking four or five questions in a row, acting rude or sarcastic, disagreeing with you, or simply keeping you waiting for a long period. (Armstrong, M. 2009) 6.2 Disadvantages of interview Snap judgments: some interviewers decide whether an applicant is suitable withing the first two to four minutes of the interview, and spend the rest of the time searching for crucial evidence to support their judgement. Negative emphasis: when evaluating suitability, the unfavourable information regarding a candidate is often more emphasised than the information that favours the candidate. Biases and stereotyping: a bias can be describe as a situation where the interviewer favours or select people that they consider to be the same as them based on various personal factors. However, candidates ethnic names and accents can negatively impact personal evaluations. Also, older candidates are most of the time less likely to be interviewed and hired compared to younger applicants. (Mathis, R.L. and Jackson, J.H. 2007) 7.1 Conclusions A year and a half ago, organisations such as investment banks example HSBC, blue chips and consulting firms were competing with dotcoms companies for example Amazon, and Facebookover recruiting the best people. But in the present environment, there are waves of redundancies hence many are grateful that they have a job. However, boom or bust, good recruitment and selection practices are essential. In conclusions, this assignment agrees with the statement; â€Å"the most efficient solution to the problem of interview is to do away with interview and substitute paper-and-pencil measures† This is because research has demonstrated that interviews are an inefficient method of predicting future success in a job. According to Smart (1983) argues that only 94 out of 1000 interviewee respond honestly in conventional interviews. (Armstrong, M. 2009) Factors such as poor reliability and validity of test scores are also major problems of interviews. Different interviewers have their own different styles and approaches, inconsistent handling of different candidates, variation in assessment criteria, biases, and errors are all factors that limits the use of interviews as a method of selection. (Armstrong, M. 2009)

Recent Trends In Co Branding

Recent Trends In Co Branding Co-branding as an alternative branding proposition is fast making grounds in todays marketing arena all over the world in almost all the industries as well as in international marketing. Apart from the factors like cooperation brands equity, information, category, consumers knowledge, experience, nationality and culture, etc, the success of a co-branding alliance also depends on the COO effect. The country of-origin effect is mainly produced by cooperative brands country of-origin image and plays an important role in the success of co-branding strategy. In this paper, we identify various strategies a company can follow in order to enter a co-branding alliance and critical factors of a successful co-branding strategy with special focus on country-of-origin effect to assist the multinational companies make decisions about co-branding. We also utilise some real-world cases in order to demonstrate our notions. Introduction Nowadays, one of the highly valued assets for a company are its brands (Aaker, 1990), with branding being every companys top priority. But it often costs the companies huge amount of money and takes them a long time to build their brand. Todays market is suffering from a syndrome of sameness where all the products offered to the customers look very similar both in terms of sameness in the physical brand element and in the symbolic value proposition offered to the market. Thus it has become difficult to establish a unique position for new products with markets cluttered with competing brands. Even innovative differentiated products can be imitated quickly, leaving no strategic edge. As globalization phenomenon continues to elevate competition in the marketplace, product introduction has become highly fraught with risk. One reason of such risk is the incredibly high cost of building brands for a product, which in some cases can exceed $100 million (Voss and Gammoh, 2004), and another i s that firms are facing the reality of high new-product failure rates between 20 and 40% per year (Spethman Benezra, 1994). In this situation marketers are searching for alternative method of branding for creating sustainable competitive advantage. Although there are a number of ways for a company to build its own brand, co-branding may be a good branding strategy since it can offer fresh opportunities for companies to gain new markets that may otherwise be difficult to reach effectively, and it is beneficial to the organizations involved to alleviate costs when entering new markets by using the established equity of the second brand (Aaker, 2004; Kapferer, 2004; Keller, 2003). Moreover, it can also help the company to increase consumers perceived quality and image toward their brand (Keller, 2003). Co-branding is a marketing arrangement to utilize multiple brand names on a single product or service (Chang, 2009). Basically, it involves combining two or more well-known brands into a single product. The constituent brands can assist each other in achieving their objectives. Used properly, co-branding has the potential to achieve best of all worlds synergy that capitalises on the unique strengths of each contributing brand. Successful examples include Coach and Lexus, Diet Coke and Nutra Sweet, Pillsbury Brownies and Nestle Chocolate, Crocs and Disney, IBM and Intel, Betty Crocker and Hershey, Breyers and Hershey, Lays and KC Masterpiece, Sony and Kodak, and so forth. These co-brandings have created large benefits for stakeholders. However sometimes co-branding can pose the threat of differential advantage on one partner and generate potential competitors. Many a times, co-branding effects one partner positively and the other negatively. Among many factors (discussed later, in detail) that affect a brands evaluation by its customers and thus affect a co-branding alliances success, country-of-origin is an important factor. Leading research publications have established country of origin information as an indicator used by consumers to infer the quality and reliability of products from a country (e.g., Hong and Wyer 1989, 1990; Klein, Ettenson, and Morris 1998; Gà ¼rhan-Canli and Maheswaran 2000). This notion is typically used to describe the overall quality of goods within a particular product category, such as electronics or automobiles. Country-of-origin fit is described as the consumers perception of the overall compatibility of the two countries of origin involved in the brand alliance. Compatibility is assessed by comparing the consumers overall perceptions of the countries ability to produce quality goods within their respective product category. For example, assume that a consumer is evaluating a brand alliance that involves a Taiwanese computer manufacturer and a Japanese microprocessor chip manufacturer. When analyzing country of origin information, the consumer will rely on his or her perception of the overall quality of computers made in Taiwan and microprocessor chips made in Japan. If there is an inconsistency within this country of origin fit, the consumer may either weigh each country in terms of relative importance to the brand alliance or simply view the alliance unfavourably due to its dissimilarities of perceived product quality of the brands. Therefore country of origin fit will directly influence consumer attitude towards a cross-border brand alliance for specific product categories. That is to say, if the brand had a very strong negative brand of origin stereotype, it would be very difficult for it to build its own brand. In this paper previous research on co-branding is reviewed and recent trends and examples analysed to offer the critical success factors for assessing co-branding opportunities with special focus on the country-of-origin effect. Benefits of Co-branding There are several reasons why some companies would want to pursue co-branding. The first one is that co-branding can attract a wide range of consumers. Because once company adopts the co-branding, for consumers, it means that it provides more selection and more function of products. For example: Nike and Ipod, announced a partnership, which resulted in forming a coopetitive alliance of co-branding named Nike+Ipod. They call the co-brand product Nike + Ipod Sport Kit. The consumers can download the music from the Ipod website for free. They realized that there is one kind of the potential consumers who like to listen to music while can achieve the aim of the exercise. This is the change from a single product to a diverse selection of products. What is more, there are not only bringing more choices to choose brand and product but also bring the convenience for the consumers. In this fast-paced society, more and more people want to purchase the require goods in one place. So co-branding integrates variety of business concepts in order to meet the consumer needs. They can take the less money and time to buy the satisfied products. So co-branded products and services can gain consumer choices, loyalty and ultimately make the brand unique and distinctive. In addition, co-branding can bring more opportunity for the company. It can improve the quality of the product and influence the consumer judgment of the brand. Like innovation, this approach offers opportunity of growth in existing market and exploration of new markets. In such alliance, companies come together to create new offerings for customers. Once the new products can meet the consumers taste, it means that can bring the more profits for the company. So, it must have more space for development. For IT industry, relying on co-branding to gain the trust of consumers is a common marketing strategy. Co-branding can also reduce the risk of company to enter new markets, because they share the risk and responsibility from each other. Most of all, it can help the company reduce the costs and expense of operation. So co-branding provides the opportunities and integrates their resources and makes-up their disadvantage in order for business to achieve the win-win situation. Like Miller Brewing Corporation and Coors Brewing Corporation, which are US second and third largest brewers, combine their operations to create a bigger challenger to Anheuser-Busch Corporation. SABMiller and Molson Coors will each have a 50% interest in the joint venture, and have five representatives each on its board of directors. Based on the value of the assets, SABMiller will have a 58% economic interest in MillerCoors, and Molson Coors will have a 42% economic interest. MillerCoors will have annual beer sales of 69 million barrels, roughly 29% of the U.S. market, and revenue of $6.6 billion. Anheuser-Busch h as a market share of around 48%. (Wei-Lun Chang, 2009, page 4) Collaboration not only increases the number of market share, but also reduces the cost of two companies. Risks posed by Co-branding However, co-branding can also provide bad effect to the company. Because collaborating with your competitors is like a double-edged sword. Firstly, it is difficult for one of the parties to abandon the partnership and re-establish itself in the market independently. Once a co-brand takes position in market, it becomes difficult to dismantle co-brand and even more difficult to re-establish the brand alone. It is not good for the firm future because it more easily bring dependence. Secondly, brands are also exposed to the risk of devaluation, sometimes virtually overnight. At times, both companies can be affected, as in the case of a partnership between a discount chain and an upscale house wares company. At first, the co-brand created significant earnings for both companies-in one year generating more than $1 billion in sales. But when the discounter filed for bankruptcy the announcement depressed the partner companys stock. It also caused the investment community to question the partner about its contingency plans-an unexpected challenge for a co-brand. Subsequent bad press about possible criminal activity by the house ware brands CEO had similar effects and raised similar questions for the discounters managers. Shortly after the allegations were made public, a consumer tracking firm reported that nearly 20 percent of the upscale manufacturers customers said that now, because of the negative media attention, they would be less likely to buy the companys produ cts. Thirdly, when establishing co-branding, choosing the right partner is very important. Sometimes, due to the different cultures and vision and even operational frictions, they are in-compatible. One fast-food chain that serves mostly sandwich fare had unsuccessfully tried co-branding with Italian and Mexican restaurant chains. While these partnerships created great brand synergies, operational friction was created because the co-branded restaurants attracted customers at the same time of day-during the lunch and dinner rushes. The chain went ahead with the deals anyway, overburdening its staff and diminishing the in-store customer dining experience. Finally, the company learned its lesson, and its most recent co-branding partner is a breakfast-food chain. Gary Hamel pointed that Western firms commonly exhibit a lack of strategic intent in collaborative efforts. The contribution of a Western firm in a collaboration effort is often in the form of technology and is relatively easy for the alliance firm to transfer. In many instances, Western firms are less skilled at limiting unintended competency transfer than their Japanese counterparts. So if the company with different culture backgrounds transfer, perhaps it will bring the bad effects (including low profit, internal conflict). Finally, in some extent, co-branding can lead to transfer of competitive advantage to the partner, creating a potential competitor. Collaboration allows two firms to share their resources, tacit knowledge, and know-how to align with a joint goal. (Wei-Lun Chang, 2009, page80) In a word, due to the collaboration they lose their own advantage in strategy. Sometimes co-branding more easily leads to loss of characteristics of their own products and their own strategy. Meanwhile, there is a crisis in co-branding, when they share the same brand, so there is a problem which company can get the ownership of the brand after co-brand. On the other hand, it can lead to transfer of consumers. For example, the per-brands product image and quality can effects the partner. After co-brand it may lose some consumers. So, sometimes, co-branding is a treat for the company. Critical Factors for a successful co-branding strategy In order to achieve a strategic fit, Chang, 2009 suggested five critical factors that must be analysed for a successful co-branding strategy. This can be referred to as a 5C model for evaluating a co-branding opportunity (Figure 1). These factors can assist a company in organising a successful and appropriate co-branding strategy from a macro perspective. Transition Cost Its important to consider the transition costs for two companies embarking on a successful co-branding strategy. For the joint venture type, the two companies have the same responsibility for both profits and liabilities (e.g., Sony and Ericsson). Thus, the transition cost for both parties is symmetric. But in the merger type, one party (e.g., BenQ) must take responsibility for the other (e.g., Siemens). BenQ merged with Siemens and had to provide constant financial support. Unfortunately, BenQs pockets just werent deep enough to absorb the cost of turning around the profit-losing Siemens unit. The cost for both parties was thus asymmetric. Thus the transition costs of co-branding seriously affect the future for the companies involved. Cultural Differences Cultural differences are also a crucial consideration for two companies planning a co-branding strategy. Trying to consolidate companies from different countries creates many unknowns of, especially at the employee level. For example, if one companys culture is conservative while the other is innovative, cooperation will prove difficult. And there are many other potentially problematic cross-cultural factors like power distance, uncertaininty avoidance, etc. BenQs employees worked hard to collaborate with Siemens workers for nine months, but ultimately failed, largely as a result of underestimating the intractability of German labor laws. Cultural differences are a major factor impacting on the direction and outcome (success or failure) of a co-branding strategy. Thus cultural differences between two companies should be considered thoroughly in advance and require very effective management. Consumer Acceptance The third lesson is know thy customers. Consumer-centric design will drive a successful co-branding strategy. Sony and Ericsson is a case in point, having launched several consumer-centric mobile phones in recent years (e.g., embedded with Cybershot technology), they advanced the level of functions (digital video recorder, Bluetooth, etc.) in order to increase competitive advantage. On the other hand, BenQ and Siemens originally targeted teenage customers (based on the slogan enjoy matters) and then attempted to provide diversified models (e.g., classical and business models) for other groups (besides teenagers). However, consumers in Germany and Taiwan are completely different. It was difficult to find a leverage point and common ground for both parties to satisfy the radically different types of consumers in the two countries, the companies should identify, focus on and act concertedly in terms of what specific consumers want and need. Core Positioning The core competence of a brand is fundamental in attracting large numbers of customers. Since each individual brand has its own core competence, the synergy between two brands is extremely important. In the brand alliance situation, a strong brand should clearly and uniquely identify and position its core competence, so that the second brand can integrate with it. The core competence could be either homogeneous or heterogeneous. Ideally, similar core competencies (i.e., homogeneous) will generate a stronger co-branding effect. However, heterogeneous core competencies can complement each other to create a substantial synergy. For example, BenQ has re-positioned its brand as keep exploring to replace the original slogan enjoy matters after that original venture failed. The lesson is that the core competencies of two companies should be clearly identified in order to successfully position the new brand. Capital Restructuring As previously mentioned, co-branding may take on one of two essential operational types: joint-venture or merger. For the former, both companies restructure the capital structures of the original corporations. That is, each member corporation is responsible for the new joint-venture company, especially the financial aspects. In the merger situation, the dominant company should be responsible for the gain and loss after merging. For example, the capital structure of BenQ was reorganized after it merged with Siemens, and this resulted in a loss of around 810 million US dollars between October 2005 and June 2006. The lesson: adequate capital for two companies is critical before they even start evaluating each other and organizing a co-branding plan. Various strategies for co-branding A co-brand is more limited in terms of its audience than a corporate brand. It conveys a specific image and a set of expectations to target customers in a given market. The key decision that the merged firm needs to make regarding its co-brand is to choose the type of tactic it wants to create or maintain with the various strategies previously served by the individual firms. Should it try to maintain all the existing strategies or eliminate them in favor of just one or a few? The issue underlying these choices is how to manage similarities and differences in respect of both customers and the brands that it has inherited through a clear co-branding strategy. The two dimensions that determine a merged firms co-branding strategy are its co-brand name and its intended market. The co-brand name signifies a new or existing brand name for a co-brand. The co-brand name involves a choice for the firm: should it have a same brand name to all its customer segments no matter how different they might be from each other? Or should it create a different brand name, varying the range of specifications and quality accordingly to different customers segments? The intended market dimension signifies the market positioning of the firms products or services that it wishes to convey to a given market. The merged firm may decide to stay in the existing market regard to all its product or service that is, suggest the same positioning across all served segments. Alternatively, the firm could create new opportunities to move to a new market with its product or service that is, adopt different positioning for them depending upon the particular customer and competitive dynamics in each of its served segments. Intended Market. Co-Brand Name Existing Existing Market Penetration Strategy New Global Brand Strategy Figure 2: Co-branding strategies Cross-classifying the two dimensions (Co-brand name: existing or new; Intended Market: existing or new) leads to four alternative co-branding strategies, each representing a particular way to integrate the brand name and customer positioning dimensions: Market Penetration, Global Brand, Brand Reinforcement, and Brand Extension (see Figure 3). Market Penetration Strategy A Market Penetration Strategy signifies a conservative tactic to keep the existing market and the original brand names of two firms. In essence, the co-brand name is either a single brand name (e.g., BMW MINI Cooper) or the combination of two firms (e.g., MillerCoors and DaimlerChrysler). The key assumption that drives the adoption of a Market Penetration strategy is the horizontal convergence of two companies. The merged firms commitment is to take advantage of such horizontal integration, accentuate the desirable goals and benefits by sharing the resources. The merger between HP and Compaq, for instance, has led to the creation of a global brand. HP uses single brand name for the firms image but some products with a dual name such as HP Compaq Presario series of laptop/desktop. However, focusing on existing market and brand names might not cause the synergy to make the merged firm stronger and more efficient (e.g., HP was not superior to IBM much after merging Compaq). Finally, for a Market Penetration strategy to succeed, it is critical that the heterogeneous of customer segments and the reputation of two firms should be sufficiently high. Global Brand Strategy A Global Brand Strategy signifies a firms decision to serve all its customers with an existing co-brand name in a new market. The key assumption that drives the adoption of a Global Brand strategy is convergence of cross-segmental preferences. The merged firms commitment is to take advantage of such convergence, accentuate the desirable goals and benefits by utilizing global recognition. Among recently merged firms in the telecommunication sector, BenQ has actively pursued to extend the market share and global visibility by merging telecommunication department of Siemens with existing brands of the combination BenQ-Siemens. For the merged brand, advantages of a global product brand could accrue at both the supply end when scale and scope advantages substantially outweigh the benefits of partial as well as the demand end, with uniquely and premium than local or regional brands. However, focusing on extending the current market might cause fail and lose the original advantages (e.g., BenQ reduced its assets dramatically after merging Siemens). Finally, for a Global Brand strategy to succeed, it is vital that the universality across diverse customer segments appeal continuously to evolving patterns of preference. Brand Reinforcement Strategy A Brand Reinforcement Strategy signifies two firms decide to use a new name as a co-brand name in the existing market. The key assumption that drives the adoption of a Brand Reinforcement strategy is brand image reinforcement. The merged firms commitment is to take advantage of such attempt of a totally different co-brand name, accentuate the desirable goals and benefits by providing a diverse name and representation style. For the new co-brand name, two firms could reinforce the reputation of their original brands without hurting the original names. However, focusing on creating a new brand name might cause fail lose the advantages (e.g., people have negative image will affect the seed company of a diverse co-brand name). Finally, for a Brand Reinforcement strategy to succeed, it is essential to create an appropriate co-brand name that is totally different from original ones effectively and efficiently. Brand Extension Strategy A Brand Extension Strategy signifies two firms decide to serve a newly co-brand name in a new market. The key assumption that drives the adoption of a Brand Extension strategy is union of cross-segmental preferences (e.g., Sony and Ericsson). The merged firms commitment is to take advantage of such union, accentuate the desirable goals and benefits by extending different segments. The merger between Sony and Ericsson has led a horizontal integration for a strategic purpose. Before merging with Ericsson in 2001, Sony was not (with market share of only 1% to 2%) a leading player in the telecommunication industry. Sony had superior design capabilities, but lacked core telecommunication competences, whereas Ericsson had excellent RD capabilities. The merger began to earn profits in the second merged year (2003). Sony-Ericsson is currently among the top four mobile phone manufacturers. This success can be attributed in part to the fact that the partners had a good co-branding plan including a joint brand name for cellular phones. For the merged brand, positioning a co-brand in an extension purpose might cause by a successful co-branding plan (e.g., Sony-Ericsson). However, it is risky for both firms to position a new brand in an unfamiliar market or customer segments. Finally, for a Brand Extension strategy to succeed, it is vital that two firms have to take advantage of their core competences at the first place, generate the positive synergy as well as draw up an appropriate long-term co-branding plan. Types of Co-branding The uncomplicated type of co-branding can create significant value for companies and their customers, the potential of more durable and innovative co-branding approaches-those that focus on combining the real capabilities of partner companies to create new customer-perceived value-is far greater. While there are many forms of co-branding, before a company can decide which option makes the most sense for its situation, it must fully explore four main types of co-branding. Each is differentiated by its level of customer value creation, by its expected duration and, perhaps most important, by the risks it poses to the company. These risks include the loss of investment, the diminution of brand equity and the value lost by failing to focus on a more rewarding strategy Country-of-origin Effect and its significance Companies all over the world are looking to expand their businesses into foreign markets. With the dropping of trade barriers and improvements in communication, many firms aspire to go global. The safest approach is to build brands with relevant differentiation and value proposition that would encourage customer loyalty. However, the consumers brand evaluation process is a complex one with a number of variables. One key factor proposed by Robert Schooler, 1965, is the Country-of-Origin (COO) of the brand. Al-Sulaiti and Baker (1998) even considered it as the fifth element of the marketing mix. Country of origin refers to information pertaining to where a product is made (the made in concept). It is also defined as the positive or negative influence/associations that a products country of manufacture may have on consumers decision processes or subsequent behaviour (Elliott and Cameron, 1994). According to COO theory, when consumers are exposed to the product which is made from other countries, they will perceive some stereotype images about those countries and these images are subsequently used as information cues in judging products from different origins (Lotz and Hu, 2001). For example, France is associated with fashion, Japan with hi-tech/electronic goods and Germany with high level of technology. Factors affecting influence of COO effects on brand evaluations Research in international marketing has proven that country associations do lead to customer bias. Such bias is based on the image of the country in customers minds. This leads to the next obvious question what constitutes an image of a country? What makes French the best country for wines, what makes Germany the best in engineering and what makes Switzerland the best in watch manufacturing? Many factors contribute to the country image. Here are some of the most important ones: Economic Development One of the main factors that influence customers perceptions towards a country is the level of the countrys economic development. Level of economic growth acts as a main proxy for the countrys other activities. In developed countries, national products are likely to be preferred than imports. On the other hand, in developing countries domestic products are likely to be evaluated less favorably than foreign made products especially from developed countries. Business history This refers to the evolution of business in a country and what a country has specifically been known for historically. Even though countries evolve through time to specialize in successively high-value industries, it takes a long time to shrug off any negative associations of the past. As such, the business history of the country contributes to the overall image of the country. Demographics The consumer perception toward COO can vary by demographics i.e. the effect of gender, age group or education and income. Studies (Kotabe and Helson, 1998) have shown that COO influences would be strong among the elderly, less educated and politically conservative consumers. Another factor is wealth index that refers to the perceived/actual overall wealth of a country as measured through levels of consumption, number of millionaires, number of billionaires, the size of the luxury goods industry, the sophistication of leisure industry, the proportion of individual income spent of leisure and self enhancing activities and so on. Wealth index offers customers a cue to infer the level of product quality, variety, and perceived credibility of the products/brands. Technology Given the extent to which technology and technological innovations impact consumers lives in todays world, it is not surprising that the extent of technological advancement of a country bears heavily on consumers perception of the country. This factor is usually related to the level of economic development of the country. Higher the technological capability of a country, more positive is the COO effect. Ethnocentricity However, in the context of economic development given above, the issue of ethnocentricity of the host country becomes critical. Customers who are ethnocentric are likely to feel that it is inappropriate and wrong to purchase foreign made products (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2002). It is argued by LeVine and Campbell that in developed countries, consumer ethnocentrism is seen as the most important factor because they more knowledgeable therefore they prefer to buy domestic to keep domestic jobs and thus increase their countrys GDP, and as a result, COO effects have a minimal role to play. Hence, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Low ethnocentric consumers are more likely to use COO cue to infer product Quality whereas, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ high ethnocentric consumers looks at COO as a means to express loyalty as so reflected in their purchasing behaviour Regulatory mechanisms With heightened globalization, the existence and effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms have become a major factor in creating country images. Regulatory mechanisms such as Intellectual Property Rights law (IPR), online piracy laws, anti-fraud regulations and others create a sense of perceived security in the minds of businesses and customers about a specific country. Product Categories The usage of COO cue is primarily determined by the specific type of product. Therefore, COO effect varies by product category. Typically, those products that can be categorized as high involvement products (such as durables) are more relevant to the concept of COO than low involvement goods. Consumer Expertise (Related to the above point), COO influences will be stronger when the consumer is not familiar with a product category, which can be categorized in novice group (Novices are the consumers who have the time limitation and lack of sufficient product knowledge). They possibly use COO cue under any circumstances (Usuiner, 2000). On the other hand, expert consumers only rely on COO cue when the product attribute is vague. All of these factors contribute towards the formation of an overall image of a country. As such, a country which is economically well developed, is technologically advanced, has a high wealth index, has stringent regulatory mechanisms, follows a market economy, and has positive hi

Teachers and Computers :: Technology Education Essays

Teachers and Computers: The Task Ahead Our world is becoming increasingly dependent on technology. In factories, offices, highways, and homes, one can find a plethora of machines in use. It makes sense then, that one would find some of the same technology in the schools. There is an obvious need for incorporating technology into the schools and curriculum. The task ahead for today’s educators is to learn how to use computers efficiently, develop a technology team in their school, and successfully include computer-based instruction in their classroom. The purpose of this paper is to present a process for bringing computers and teaching together. The first step is to educate the educators. A surprising number of teachers have very limited computer and technological skills. It is ridiculous to think that someone who is technologically inexperienced could teach a lesson involving multimedia presentations or computer simulations. The first standard of the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) states that teachers need to â€Å"demonstrate introductory knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts related to technology† (NETS 9) There are eight basic types of technology with which educators need to be familiar. Each one provides a different educational benefit. A word processor encourages editing. Multimedia presentation software provides for different learning styles. Drill and practice software helps to reinforce things that the students have learned. A database helps students find the information that they need. Simulations provide a fun and effective way to learn, in which students take on role s in a story or event. Spreadsheets allow the user to perform several calculations at the same time for easy comparison. Tutorials work well for a group with diverse learning abilities because it provides self-paced instruction. The eighth and final basic technology type is telecollaboration over the internet. This allows students to experience parts of the world that they may never see. With all this technology available the question becomes, how are the teachers going to learn to use it all? The key word here is professional development. Professional development is â€Å"collaboration between partners to provide opportunities for teachers to strengthen their ability to contribute to the students they serve† (George 311). There are many ways teachers can strengthen their ability to contribute to students. One of which is attending seminars.

Rape in Romanesque Art Essay -- Art

The Rape of Ganymede capital in San Madeleine in Và ©zelay is a depiction of the story of the rape or abduction of Ganymede. On its front face the capital features an eagle holding the young shepherd boy, Ganymede, in its mouth. Ganymede is being held upside down helplessly with a look of terror on his face. On the left are two adults holding their heads and staring helplessly at the eagle taking the boy. On the right side is a demon looking out at the viewer sticking its tongue out in happiness, as if to taunt us. In the eagle’s talons is a dog, which looks like a hyena, baring its teeth. The capital depicts a story from Aeniad, where Jupiter becomes infatuated with the handsome shepherd boy, Ganymede, and according to his version of the story, sends an eagle down to abduct the boy. Ganymede then serves as Jupiter’s cupbearer, and this evokes jealousy from Juno, thus incurring her wrath which is supposedly one of the factors that begins the Trojan War. Virgil’s version of the story is similar, but includes the visual element of the barking dog and the guardians on the side, unable to aid the boy. Both story versions come from Antiquity. As I began analyzing this capital, it took me a while to get a grasp on what was going on. There is a lot of content crammed into a small space on this capital. All the figures are oversized and in extremely close proximity to one another. I noticed the caricature-like portrayal of the figures. This seems to be the case in all the capitals at Và ©zelay. I was particularly interested in the facial expressions. The face of Ganymede is filled with dear and confusion as he hangs upside down. The dog looks frightening and angry, but it is unclear to me if he is sided with Jupiter’s eagle or if he is... ... Meaning on a Capital Representing the Fall of Man.† Tradito 55 (2000): 105-123. Forsyth, Ilene H. â€Å"The Ganymede Capital at Và ©zelay.† Gesta 15, No. 1/2. Essays in Honor of Sumner McKnight Crosby. (1976): 241-246. Kolve, V. A. â€Å"Ganymede/Son of Getron: Medieval Monasticism and the Drama of Same-Sex Desire.† Speculum 73, No. 4 (1998): 1014-1067. Mills, Robert. â€Å"Gender, Sodomy, Friendship, and the Medieval Anchorhold.† Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures 36, No. 1 (2010): 1-27. Quinn, Patricia A. Better Than the Sons of Kings: Boys and Monks in the Early Middle Ages. (New York, 1988) Van Buren, Anne H. Review of Ganymed: Studien zur Typologie, Ikonographie und Ikonologie by Gerda Kempter. Speculum 57, No. 3 (1982): 624-625. Wolfthal, Diane. â€Å" ‘A Hue and a Cry’: Medieval Rape Imagery and Its Transformation.† The Art Bulletin 75, No. 1 (1993): 39-64.

Society’s Favor for Mental Labor :: Scientific Sciences Labor Work Essays

Society’s Favor for Mental Labor A claim is a statement made to influence others to accept a certain point of view. In her essay "Science, Facts, and Feminism," Ruth Hubbard presents various claims criticizing the way scientific epistemology works as a separate, exclusive entity. Hubbard’s claims suggest that the way society perceives and values science ought to be reevaluated. I agree strongly with two of her claims. One of these claims states that "this society values mental labor more highly than manual labor" (121). This claim is fairly straightforward in meaning; it says that the Western culture places a higher priority on mental labor than manual labor. In the Western culture, positions which require completion of stringent educational requirements rank higher in status, both in terms of respect and monetary rewards, than those which require physical work. In America people working in mental occupations are often paid higher salaries than those working in manual positions. The number of letters following one’s name that indicate educational achievement often dictates the amount of respect he or she receives. People sometimes look down upon jobs requiring intense physical labor. The people who see mental labor as superior sometimes cite the fact that anyone could work outside all day in the sun, but it takes an educated professional to work in a laboratory. This outlook exemplifies the value society places on mental work. While I agree with Hubbard’s claim, it is a bit naà ¯ve in assuming that every occupation is either all manual or mental. While most jobs are viewed by society as wholly manual or mental occupations, manual occupations cross over into mental occupations (and vice versa) every day. Farmers, for instance, must have knowledge in the areas of business, biology, and mathematics, to name a few, in order to run a profitable operation. However, most farmers, thought of as "manual" workers, do not attain the same respect as a business person or scientist, "mental" workers. My personal experiences have demonstrated to me the truth in Hubbard’s claim that society places a higher value on mental work than manual work. I have lived on a farm my entire life, so I feel I am acutely aware of society’s devaluation of manual labor. While most farmers work hours that would breach those of almost any "day job," they are still, on average, paid far less than, for example, an engineer that has set weekday hours and rare weekend work.

Case Study Pandora Essay

2. How do horizontal and vertical conflict impact Pandora? 2. Horizontal conflict impacts Pandora by the number of alternative radio streaming companies and â€Å"players† available to the market. Because the radio market is no longer a closed loop network that is dictated by area codes or other geographic locations, Pandora risks losing its listeners among the competitors like Spotify, the radio, online streaming, iTunes, or even YouTube. The Vertical conflicts impacting Pandora are the licensing to songs, the audio quality available to the company, the effectiveness of channels to stream their music, their intermodal transportation networks, Pandora’s add-free listening with contracts could bolster their listening audience, but also impact their profits due to the loss in advertising sales. However, these two conflicts impact Pandora’s profits, quality, and exposer to the consumers 3.How does Pandora add value for customers through its distribution functions? 3. Pandora adds value for customers through its distribution functions by implementing the vertical marketing system. Ultimately, the producers of the music have the most hold over Pandora, for if they do not give Pandora the rights to play the songs, then Pandora would be at a loss without those tracks. However, the producers benefit from being on Pandora because people get to listen to the music and may ultimately buy the song because it is made easy through the app. This benefits customers because it gives them what they want. The greater the selection of music, the more likely customers are to stay.