Gender, Cultural, And Religious Context - 1672 Words

â€Å"Art is a product of its time. It is a result of the social, political, and religious context in which it was made† (Cruz). For the aforementioned reason, it is imperative to take into consideration the culture, time period, and the gender of the artist because those individualities have a major influence on the depiction of the women in art. For example, gender is a cultural classification, hence, various artists might have portrayed the identity of the female in a different way. Moreover, gender roles are a set of stringent behaviors and expectations set by the society based on the biological sex of a person. The art works were predominantly created by male artists, thus women were represented based on what the society considered to be†¦show more content†¦For example, Figure 1 depicts a sculpture entitled: Bhudevi. It was created during the Chola Period in Southern India, specifically in Tamil Nadu in the late 11th-early 12th centuries Bronze. In India, Bhudev i is considered to be the Goddess of Mother Earth and one of the wives of the Hindu god Vishnu. One conspicuous attribute is her body figure, which seems to be the epitome of female image in India during that time period. She has a small nose and chin, fat deposition in the cheek area (round face), fuller hips and large breasts, which are considered to be signs of fertility. As a matter of fact, she is the â€Å"Fertility-form in which she is the Mother Earth† (â€Å"About Bhudevi†). She has a ring on the pointer finger of her left hand, which can be symbolized as the Earth that is rotating. Her graceful gestures, such as having one of her hands faced down, depict the feminine nature of women, while having the other one pointed diagonally to lead to her husband, Vishnu. This gesture implies that Vishnu is her husband and that he holds a position of power. The way she is posed portrays her femininity because she is positioned in a way so that her curves are enhanced. Sh e is also depicted naked, which according to some Hindus, the erotic nature portrays Kama-one of their goals in human life. Furthermore, Bhudevi

The Colonization Of America, Australia And Antarctica

During the 1400s, Europeans knew little of the world surrounding them. Outside of Europe and the Mediterranean, little was known, with rumors and imagination filling the gaps. They had no real concept of the size or shape of Africa and Asia and had no clue of America, Australia and Antarctica. Europeans began their explorations of the world starting in the late 1400s, with Columbus’ discovery of the Americas. Here, he discovered that this land was already inhabited and had been civilized for centuries by a native people. These were the Native Americans, who have been there since 13,000 B.C. These Natives used nature to their advantage, and lived in harmony with other tribes, having strong family ties. The Natives had different values†¦show more content†¦Beginning in the summer of 1675 the King Philip s War started and never stopped, as Native American resisted colonial expansion. These Europeans had eliminated approximately forty percent of the Native American popu lation in New England. This war later led to the Natives struggling in their own communities. Colonists had succeeded and the Native American population declined drastically in New England. Much of the Native American population died to new mysterious diseases, including smallpox, typhus, cholera, and measles. These diseases were brought by the colonists and in fact the population of Native Americans in New England fell in 1675, from 10,000 to 125,000. The Europeans also took over land through trade and by expanding their land claims. The next encounter with natives and colonists was in New York and New France. The first French colonists had arrived at the St. Lawrence Valley with around 400 soldiers, 300 sailors and only a few women. Many though passed over the following two years due to scurvy, a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C. France then sent an explorer in 1608, to Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, in order to establish the New France colony. Champlain already had experience with these natives and allied with the Hurons, who were located on the lower Great Lakes, as well as the Algonquins and Montagnais

Public Relations Todays More Complex Business

Question: Discuss about thePublic Relationsfor Todays More Complex Business. Answer: Introduction In todays more complex business environment, good communication is essential for the success and growth of any aviation organization. For airports this requires a heavy focus on effective communication with the public, customers and airport tenants, on issues such as: noise, pollution, flight delays, cost of parking, cost of landing fees, etc. Along with this, for airlines this requires a concentrated effort on clearly communicating with their customers on things such as: price, service and safety and their staff on job security and wages and with governments on a market that is fairly regulated. On the other hand, this research essay would be helpful to critically examine how effectively Australias largest airline has communicated with the public. Moreover, this essay would be useful to portray that how Qantas uses best practices in public relations to communicate with its staff, shareholders, government and customers in an effective and a proper manner. Qantas and Its Public Relations Practices Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services) is the largest domestic and global airline of Australia. Qantas is the third oldest airline in the world. It was founded in 1920 by Winton. In addition, Qantas is the world's leading long distance airline. Currently, Qantas is known as the one of the strongest brands in Australia (Qantas. 2016). Qantas operates domestic, regional and international services to satisfy its customers. The company is fully dedicated towards its customers. Along with this, Qantas builds strong relations and also makes effective communication with its staff, customers, shareholders, and government. This is the major key of success of Qantas. In the views of Lynes Dredge (2006), business organizations use a lot of management functions such as: human resources, research development, finance, marketing, legal, operations, etc. to operate their businesses and to enhance their capacity. Each of these functions plays a major role in the success and growth of the organizations. Apart from this, at present, public relation (PR) has become a unique function that business firms must adopt and implement for the success and growth of the business (Lynes Dredge , 2006). PR plays a significant role to develop and maintain relationships with all the key people and stakeholders by communicating with these groups effectively. In other words, it also can be said that, public relations is a strategic communication process that plays a major role to develop mutually beneficial relationships between associations and their publics. Communication is a major key that is essential to maintain a long-term and credulous relationship with public s and stakeholders of the company (Fitch, 2016). The authors Truscott, Bartlett Tywoniak (2009) state that, public relation (PR) is major point of an organization that is used by the business firm to make strong relations and communications with all its stakeholders. Public relation mainly involves media relations, corporate responsibility, social media, reputation management and crisis communications. Along with this, PR combines the broadcast, global print and online media for the success and growth of the business. The major objective of PR is to gain full media coverage, maintain a positive public image, develop brand awareness and also establish strong relationships with the different audiences of the organization (Truscott, Bartlett Tywoniak, 2009). According to the authors Kotler, Burton, Deans, Brown, Armstrong (2015), Qantas uses a lot of important practices of public relations to make effective communicate with staff, shareholders, government and customers. For case, the corporate PR practice is the major practice that Qantas uses to effectively communicate with staff, shareholders, government and customers. For case, with the help of this practice, the company develops corporate-wide strategies to communicate with the public (Kemp, 2013). Moreover, in the corporate PR practice, Qantas identifies the public, conducts required research, goal-setting, benchmarking, decides measurement criteria for the public relations program, executes the full range of required tactics to accomplish the goals, and also evaluates program success. This area of practice plays a critical role to develop a strong relationship between the Qantas and its staff, customers shareholders. The main reason behind it is that, the corporate area of PR pra ctice fully focuses its attention on the public (Kotler, Burton, Deans, Brown Armstrong, 2015). In the views of Prindle (2011), branding is also the other major practice of public relation. Qantas uses this PR practice to make effective communication with its customers and shareholders. In this area of practice, Qantas ensures that brand messages of the business are executed all the way through the entire organization. Moreover, it should also be noted down that, brand message is essential to develop effective communication with the internal and external audiences of the company. Along with this, branding practice is a part of corporate practice (Prindle, 2011). In this area of practice, Qantas uses research trust-building tactics for instance community outreach, positive media relations, etc. to communicate with staff, customers, shareholders, and government in an effective and an appropriate manner. The authors Gittell Bamber (2010) state that, Qantas uses employee engagement PR practices to effectively communicate with its staff. It is because of the employee engagement practice plays a major role to reinforce communication between the company and its staff. Along with this, the practice is also helpful to improve employee satisfaction level and to decline the impact of third-party hindrance on the employer-employee relationship. Qantas uses grassroots as well as diversity outreach as the major tools of employee engagement PR practice (Gittell Bamber, 2010). For this reason, it is clear that, Qantas takes care of its employees and this is essential to accomplish the desired goals objectives of the business in a specified time period. According to the authors Robbins, Bergman, Stagg Coulter (2014), in todays competitive marketplace, customer satisfaction is essential to success and growth. Qantas uses customer satisfaction PR practice to effectively communicate with its customers. It is well known that, Qantas is the biggest domestic and global airline because of it provides fully satisfaction to its customers. In this area of practice, Qantas identifies the perceptions and expectations of the customers; and also observes the issues that are faced by the customers. Qantas develops specific tools to help out its customers and to decrease challenges that have an effect on the satisfaction level of the customers (Driver, 1999). On the other hand, Qantas conducts post-transaction follow-up to make sure complete customer satisfaction. It also conducts employee focus groups so they may recognize internal obstacles that are reducing the satisfaction level of customers. Qantas also conducts research to find out that it n eeds to develop and perform training programs to improve the customer satisfaction level in an effective way (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg Coulter, 2014). As a result, it can be said that, Qantas is fully reliable to its customers; so it uses customer satisfaction public relation practice to effectively communicate with its customers. The authors Johnston Sheehan (2014) affirm that, Qantas uses issue management PR practice to effectively communicate with its staff, shareholders, and customers. The issues management practice plays a major role to accomplish client goals of the business. For case, with the help of this PR practice, Qantas recognizes major issues that may present opportunities or obstacles to the firm and also develops strategies to capture the opportunities or to reduce threats in an effective and a significant manner. Along with this, in this area of practice, Qantas expresses that staff, shareholders, and customers are the key audiences of the business (Johnston Sheehan, 2014). As a result, Qantas makes effective communication with all the people that are related to the business. According to Robinson, Fallon Cameron (2016), the public-private partnership projects PR practice is also used by Qantas to make effective communicate with its shareholders and government. This PR practice plays a major role in order to create positive responses as well as actions at all stages of the business process. In addition to this, Qantas uses message development, digital strategies, media relations, politicians, and so on as the major components of this public relation practice. Moreover, in this area of PR practice, Qantas fulfill all its legal obligations as well as business commitments; so it can establish strong relations with the shareholders and government (Robinson, Fallon Cameron, 2016). The authors Vaara, Kleymann Serist (2004) state that, Qantas uses granular segmentation practice in order to identify its audience and their drivers in an accurate way. Moreover, in this area of PR practice, Qantas evaluates its target audiences, for instance customers, partners, prospects, suppliers, etc. and also divides them into relevant sub-categories. Apart from this, with the help of this practice, Qantas conducts a research to know that where the target audiences go to gain the information that are related to the company or industry. Qantas also makes efforts to provide services to its target customers at the right place and at the right time (Vaara, Kleymann Serist, 2004). Thats why; it can be said that, Qantas uses this practice to cover the target audiences and also to make communication with them in an effective and an appropriate manner. In the words of Bray Waring (2009), Qantas also uses marketing integration PR practice to effectively communicate with staff, shareholders, government and customers. The PR practice combines all the public relations tactics into the overall marketing program. Along with this, with the help of this practice area, the firm ensures that the marketing public relations messages of the business are well-matched. Moreover, the marketing public relations messages influence the marketing programs and their tactics such as: media relations as well as special events (Watson, 2007). In this area of practice, Qantas develops an environment of sales relations in which public relations play a major role in order to retain existing customers and to attract new customers for the growth and success of the organization. On the other hand, Qantas also focuses on social impact marketing practices to change behaviors as well as opinions of people towards the services of the company. These practices play an important role in order to create long-term substantive impact on the wide social issues. Moreover, Qantas believes that these social practices go beyond the traditional PR techniques to accomplish the business goals and to establish a strong relationship with customers (Bray Waring, 2009). Consequently, Qantas make use of marketing integration practice to effectively communicate with employees, shareholders, government and customers. The author Ayish (2005) states that, in todays advanced technological business environment, Qantas also uses social media as a PR practice in order to make effective communication with its external stakeholders. For case, with the help of this PR practice, Qantas use social media platforms such as: Facbook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. to promote its services and to get customer feedback in a proper way. Along with this, with the help of social media, Qantas comes to know about the perceptions, expectations, needs, and preferences of customers. Qantas makes changes in its services to improve the customers satisfaction level (Ayish, 2005). In this way, the social media practice also helpful to Qantas to make effective communicate with staff, shareholders, government and customers. Conclusion On the premises of above discussion, it can be assumed that, the public relation practices are essential for the growth and success of the business organization. Moreover, it is also observed that, PR practices play an important role to accomplish the strategic as well as competitive goals and objectives of the business. Along with this, it is also scrutinized that, Qantas uses numerous effective PR practices to make strong relations with its staff, customers, and stakeholders. These PR practices also offer full media coverage and also improve the reputation of the firm at the global level. Moreover, the PR practices used by Qantas play a critical role to reduce the obstacles of business and to improve organizational performance effectiveness in an effective and a more comprehensive manner. In this way, it can be said that, PR practices of Qantas play a major role to improve the customers satisfaction level and to make effective communicate with staff, shareholders, government and c ustomers of the organization. References Ayish, M. I. (2005). Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates: A case study of 20 UAE organizations use of the Internet. Public Relations Review, 31(3), 381-388. Bray, M., Waring, P. (2009). The (continuing) importance of industry studies in industrial relations. Journal of Industrial Relations, 51(5), 617-633. Driver, J. C. (1999). Developments in airline marketing practice. Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, 5(5), 134-150. Fitch, C. (2016). Professionalizing Public Relations: History, Gender and Education. USA: Springer. Gittell, J. H., Bamber, G. J. (2010). High-and low-road strategies for competing on costs and their implications for employment relations: international studies in the airline industry 1. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(2), 165-179. Johnston, J., Sheehan, M. (2014). Public Relations: Theory and Practice. Australia: Allen Unwin. Kemp, K. (2013). Flight Of The Titans: Boeing, Airbus and the battle for the future of air travel. Random House. Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L., Armstrong, G. (2015). Marketing. Australia: Pearson Higher Education AU. Lynes, J. K., Dredge, D. (2006). Going green: Motivations for environmental commitment in the airline industry. A case study of Scandinavian Airlines. Journal of sustainable tourism, 14(2), 116-138. Prindle, R. (2011). A Public Relations Role in Brand Messaging. International Journal of Business and Social Science 2(18), 32-36. Qantas. (2016). About Us. Retrieved From: https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/company/global/en Robbins, S.P., Bergman, R., Stagg, I., Coulter, M. (2014). Management. Australia: Pearson Australia. Robinson, P., Fallon, P., Cameron, H. (2016). Operations Management in the Travel Industry, 2nd Edition. UK: CABI. Truscott, R. A., Bartlett, J. L., Tywoniak, S. A. (2009). The reputation of the corporate social responsibility industry in Australia. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 17(2), 84-91. Vaara, E., Kleymann, B., Serist, H. (2004). Strategies as discursive constructions: The case of airline alliances. Journal of Management Studies, 41(1), 1-35. Watson, T. (2007). Reputation and ethical behaviour in a crisis: predicting survival. Journal of Communication Management, 11(4), 371-384.

1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. Essay Example

1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. Essay 1. BASED ON THE CASE STUDY AND YOUR OWN RESEARCH ON COMPETITORS, SUMMARIZE THE STRATEGIC APPROACHES WHICH HAVE HELPED TESCO. COM ACHIEVE SUCCESS ONLINE. Strategic decisions are ones that are aimed at differentiating an organization from its competitors in a way that is sustainable in the future. (Porter, 2002) Porter strongly advocates that decisions in business can be classified as strategic if they involve some innovation and difference that results in sustainable advantage. According to Porter, (2002) operational effectiveness and efficiency are the key elements of success in any organization. A company can outperform its rivals or competitors in the market only with superior management and efficient control creating a difference from the others which eventually attracts customers. Porter defines operational effectiveness as performance of similar activities as its rivals but better than them. A company can perform its rivals only if it can operate in different ways which are not in practice as seen in Tesco. com. After the establishment of various virtual supermarkets, a new phase began when established brick and mortar supermarkets entered the online grocery shopping arena by adopting a ‘click and mortar’ strategy. In the UK there are Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Waitrose. com. These players, by combining the strength of traditional retailing with Internet shopping, have achieved rapid growth. The SWOT analysis of Tesco. com reveals that it is most powerful retail brand, reputation for money, value, commitment, and provides wide range of products. We will write a custom essay sample on 1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on 1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on 1. Based on the Case Study and Your Own Research on Competitors, Summarize the Strategic Approaches Which Have Helped Tesco.Com Achieve Success Online. specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is growing at a brisk pace with expanding its horizon to other parts of world through acquisition and merger. Tesco. com has good opportunities in markets of European and Asia and focuses on acquiring the market through acquisition of smaller stores and merger or partnering with leaders in the specific markets. Also the success factors of Tesco reveals that Tesco had formulated its strategies around its core competence. These core competences are: PROVIDE POTENTIAL ACCESS TO A WIDE VARIETY OF MARKETS: Enables the creation of new products and services. For instance, Tesco has established a strong leadership in food retailing industry. The core competence that enabled Tesco to enter retailing of food and non-food products was a clear distinctive brand proposition that had a focus on a properly define market segment. Tesco is recognized as the company, providing the most customized and efficient service, based on a good customer relationship management. TESCO MAKES A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE PERCEIVED CUSTOMER BENEFITS OF THE OUTCOME: Delivers a fundamental customer benefit. In order to identify core competences in a particular market, the question of why is the customer willing to pay more or less for one product or service than another- needs to be addressed. For example, Tesco have been very successful in capturing the leadership of the retailing market. This shows that Tesco designs and implements effective supply systems and deliver an efficient customer interface. Tesco was the first UK grocer to launch a loyalty card and has been the most effective. Palmer (2004) claims that until recently, it was the only grocer to use the information to mail customers every month. DIFFICULT FOR COMPETITORS TO IMITATE: Highlights the need for a core competence to be competitively unique. This indicated the importance of product differentiation. For example, for many years up to 2003 (In 2003 Tesco has been recognised a leading UK food retailer) Tesco had a very strong position within the retailing industry. It had a different approach to the service concept, providing good corporate reputation and introducing new premium quality products (MarketWatch, 2004). Tesco. com bases its business strategy on these capabilities. Capabilities result from Tescos ability to combine and exploit these resources in uniquely different ways. STRATEGIES OF TESCO. COM Tesco has been pursuing a dual strategy of cost leadership and differentiation, which has led to an increased importance placed on customer service. Drawing upon Keynote (2010), this dual strategy is exhibited through the development of self-service kiosks, financial services, focused direct marketing and promotions. In order to put Tesco’s value chain analysis into perspective, despite its cost leadership strategy the company has been able to create a high degree of value in comparison with its key competitors. The relative analysis of the value created by the big four supermarket chains, i. . , Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons has been provided as follows: [pic] The following strategic approaches were adapted from the two generic strategies been used by Tesco. com which had made them successful online are as follows: FIRST MOVER OR PIONEER STRATEGY Tesco is seen as the most innovative food retailer in the UK retail market, enjoying the advantages of a first move r or pioneer of online retailer but also striving to avoid the disadvantages that become advantages to followers (Lieberman and Montgomery 1988), such as and continual innovative of products and services. The most important advances were that Tesco was first to the first to introduce internet shopping, first to introduce cut-price products under its own brand name in 1993, first to introduce a customer loyalty programme with the Tesco Club card which was followed by the rival UK chains like Sainsbury and Safeway. Also noteworthy was the launch of its first credit card in 1997 through a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which offers points towards its loyalty programme and so has supported the latter and finally it has become the first to launch electronic shopping in the mid-1990s. Through the effective use of information technologies, it was the first retailer to introduce a completely automated replenishment system, aimed at linking in suppliers, and use an advanced scanning programme (barcode reader) from Siemens Nixdorf, aimed at cutting cashier training by up to 60 percent while simultaneously detecting the available stock in the supermarkets. Referring to all these innovations and efforts, IT director, Ian O’Reilly said that they wanted the advantages of being first mover, despite this helping the competition somewhat (Hollinger 1998). Until the follower retailers adapt these novelties to their markets, Tesco is able to exploit the advantages arising from their pre-emptive investments. This is discernible in its turnover and profit. For example By September 2005 online sales in the first half of the year were ? 401 million, a 31% year-on-year increase, and profit increased by 37% to ? 21 million. Tesco. com now receives 170,000 orders each week. Soon it should reach an annual turnover of ? 1 billion online and is generally recognized as the world’s largest. All these revenues were advantages Tesco. com got from being the first mover of online retailer. CUSTOMER FOCUS The best way to make sure customers buy your products and services is to give them exactly what they want. Companies need to take a step back from their offering and try to put themselves in the shoes of their customers. Observing people carefully and analysing how they live their everyday lives needs to be central to the design process. Tesco. com is a prime example. Realising that many of its potential customers didn’t have personal internet access during the day, it made a new online retail outlet available from pocket PC devices and Smartphones, allowing them to shop at home, at work or on the move. Customer-focused design is about getting feedback right through the design process. It’s always effective and can occasionally throw up the unexpected. The company is also very successful in terms of customer loyalty due to its loyalty cards system and its general approach to customizing services to the needs of every customer. This is truly evident in terms of tremendous growth of on-line sales where the company has a strong platform to further develop this revenue stream. After considering the fact that, nowadays majority of people have less time for shopping, Tesco employed this on-line systems and now became the biggest online supermarket. The key business strategy of Tesco is continually to increase value for customers and earn their lifelong loyalty, a strategy that is related to the staff, through appreciation of their contribution, and to the consumers by providing innovative services to meet their needs and wants. Tesco’s strategy is based on ‘customer services’, whose components can be depicted as a pyramid with a cumulative perspective from bottom to top (see Figure 1). The biggest challenge for any business is to keep in touch with customers and be aware of how their needs are changing and be able to respond quickly to their changing needs. Since Tesco want to maximise usage of online channels (web, e-mail and wireless or interactive digital TV where relevant), a distinct, detailed online value proposition (OVP) or online customer value proposition was developed for the target audiences. the online customer proposition did not simply replicated the existing service proposition or brand promise that it is available from offline channels, but it was extended to offer unique online benefits. pic] Source: www. bized. ac. uk/compfact/tesco/tescoindex. htm From the case study Tesco. com focused on improving the customer experience online, the time it takes for a new customer to complete their first order has been decreased from over an hour to 35 minutes through usability work culminating in a major site revision. For their existing customers, e-mail mar keting and direct mail marketing were used to provide special offers and promotions to customers with the intent to satisfy the customer. Tesco also offer delivery to your home service which is an obvious extension of the home-delivered groceries oncept. Tesco claims that its success in online shopping derives from its store-picking approach; Asda fills its online orders from central warehouses. Tesco’s marketing strategy is based on price, quality and service competitiveness. Their ways of achieving these included policies concerning customer service, pricing, product promotions, product range, store design, store refurbishment and advertising on TV, and in the local and national press. These strategies along with the Tesco Club card, which has 10 million active members in the UK, help to preserve customer loyalty. In addition Tesco. om use what they describes as a ‘commitment-based segmentation’ or ‘loyalty ladder’ which is based on recency of purc hase, frequency of purchase and value which is used to identify six (6) lifecycle categories which are then further divided to target communications: †¢ â€Å"Logged-on† †¢ â€Å"Cautionary† †¢ â€Å"Developing† †¢ â€Å"Established† †¢ â€Å"Dedicated† †¢ â€Å"Logged-off† the aim here is to win back). Tesco then use automated event-triggered messaging created to encourage continued purchase. For example, Tesco. com has a touch strategy which includes a sequence of follow-up communications triggered after different events in the customer lifecycle. In the example given below, communications after event 1 are intended to achieve the objective of converting a web site visitor to action; communications after event 2 are intended to move the customer from a first time purchaser to a regular purchaser and for event 3 to reactivate lapsed purchasers. i. Identify customer profile characteristics. This is a traditional segmentation based on the type of customer. For B2C e-retailers this will include age, sex and geography. For B2B companies, this will include size of company and the industry sector or application they operate in. iIdentify behavior in response and purchase. As customers progress through the lifecycle, by analysis of their database, they will be able to build up a detailed response and purchase history which considers the details of recency, frequency, monetary value and category of products purchased (RFM analysis). iii. Identify multi-channel behavior (channel preference). Regardless of the enthusiasm of the company f or online channels, some customers will prefer using online channels and others will prefer traditional channels. This will, to an extent be indicated by RFM and response analysis since customers with a preference for online channels will be more responsive and will make more purchases online. A flag within the database which indicates the customers channel preference and by implications, the best channel to target them by. Customers that prefer online channels can be targeted mainly by online communications such as e-mail, while customers who prefer traditional channels can be targeted by traditional communications such as direct mail or phone. iv. Tone and style preference. In a similar manner to channel preference, customers will respond differently to different types of message. Some may like a more rational appeal in which case a detailed e-mail explaining the benefits of the offer may work best. TOUCH STRATEGY To deliver relevance also requires a plan specifying the number, frequency and type of online and offline communications and offers. This is a contact or touch strategy. A good starting point is to ask ‘what will annoy’ the customer. Clearly if e-mail communications are too frequent, then the customer is less likely to have the time or inclination to open an e-mail. Therefore one approach is to monitor the response for e-mail communications. But higher frequencies will likely lead to higher response. This helps explain the high volume of e-mails sent by Tesco. com to its consumers, which averages between 1 and 2 per week. But Tesco. com have recently been exposed as ‘bombarding UK consumers with a massive e-mail marketing campaign’ Based on the E-mail tracking service E-mail Monitor from Interactive Prospect Targeting Services, Tesco is blitzing the nation with 16-20 million e-mails per month. It reports that in September it issued 44 separate e-mail campaigns last month which was more than Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and Somerfield put together. Part of this activity can be explained by Tesco’s market share. A Tesco spokesman was reported as saying ‘More people shop with us online than with anyone else and we do communicate with a lot of them by email. For existing customer E-mail marketing and Direct mail marketing is used to provide special offer and promotion to the customers. In addition Tesco. om basically relies on in-store advertising and marketing to the supermarket’s Clubcard loyalty scheme’s customer base to persuade customers to shop online. DIVERSIFYING THROUGH DIFFERENT RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND SEVICES WHICH LEADS TO CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION In a rapidly changing business environment with a high competitors pressure Tesco have to adopt new expansion strategies or diversified the existing in order to sustain its leading market position in an already established retailing market. Johnson and Scholes (2003) believe that changes in the business environment may create demand for new products and services at the expense of established provision. Ansoffs matrix also suggests that if new products are developed for existing markets, then a product development strategy has to be considered by the management level of a company. This is what management (Laura) of Tesco did. They diversified in both product and services PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION The Product range development of Telco is also one of the key areas of heir success. From the case, it was noted that they fulfilled all the Grocery order and also offer more intangible offering such as E-diets and music download etc. Tesco also offers broadband and dial-up ISP services, but believe the market for Internet telephony (provided through Skype and Vonage, for example) is not sufficiently developed. Tesco. com concentrated on more traditional services which have the demand, for example, Tesco Telecom fixed-line service s attracted over a million customers in their first year. By May 2005, Tesco. om had 30,000 customers signed up for DVD rental, through partner Video Island (which runs the rival Screen select service). As they were diversify into new area such as Tesco Personal Finance and the telecoms businesses, as well as services offered in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. It does not currently sell clothing online but in May 2005 it introduced a clothing web site (www. clothingattesco. com), initially to showcase Tesco’s clothing brands and link customers to their nearest store with this range. They also started to make home delivery services to the customers like white goods and other products. In addition to achieve growth in non-foods, Tesco has focused on building its capability in four non-foods Areas: Entertainment Health Beauty Household Clothing. Services diversification Services: Tesco Financial Services Tesco financial services products [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com The company build a web site that acts as a portal to most of Tesco’s products and services, including various non-food ranges (for example, ooks, DVDs and electrical items under the ‘Extra’banner), Tesco Personal Finance and the telecoms businesses, as well as services offered in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. It does not currently sell clothing online but in May 2005 it introduced a clothing web site (www. clot hingattesco. com), initially to showcase Tesco’s clothing brands and link customers to their nearest store with this range. PARTNERSHIP AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCES Tesco also formed partnership, alliance with other companies in order to stay competitive. From the case study the offer services in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. For example they formed partnership with Video Island (which runs the rival Screen select service) to provide DVD rentals. By May 2005, Tesco. com had 30,000 customers signed up for DVD rental, through partner Video Island. There was another partnership with eDiets and its partnership with eDiets was promoted through the Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme, with mailings to 10m customers a year. In July 2004, Tesco. com Limited paid ? 2 million for the exclusive licence to eDiets. com in the UK and Ireland under the URLs www. eDietsUK. com and www. eDiets. ie. Through promoting these services through these URLs, Tesco used the dieting business to grow Tesco. com service and in-store sales. In addition Tesco Mobile, the joint ‘pay-as-you-go’ partnered with O2 which is mainly serviced online, to promoted in-store and via direct mail. BRAND VALUE The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. Tescos innovative ways of improving the customer shopping experience, as well as its efforts to branch out into finance and insurance have also capitalized on the brand name and value. There are companies that have always understood that they were selling brands before the product. Tesco is a brand and also serves as the core strategic advantage. The company was spreading like wildfire transforming the generic into the brand-specific, largely through carefully branded packaging and the promotion of an â€Å"every penny counts† environment. The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. For eample while all private label products are labeled Tesco, the company uses sub-brands to segment the Market. Tesco private label architecture [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Wal-Mart/Asda challenge: Since the US shopping giant Wal-mart purchased Asda, Tescos rank as the top UK supermarket has been threatened. Asda can now compete extremely well on price and range of goods. For the moment, Asda is the third largest supermarket in the UK, just behind Sainsburys and then Tesco. However, Asda closed the gap on Sainsburys in 2003, leaving the company to directly challenge Tescos dominance. Tesco is well aware of this, and has so far been quick to keep up with price cuts or special offers at Asda. Wal-mart may also decide to wield its buying power more heavily in the UK, and this could spell the end of Tescos brand dominance in the future. Sainsbury was the UKs biggest grocer until 1995, but was recently relegated to third position behind Tesco and Asda. Internal problems and strategic errors have left Sainsbury struggling. The company believed it could abandon the classic focus on price in favour of refurbishing store fascias (their own term for aesthetic design) and supply-chain improvements. Its loss of market share illustrates that price is still the key for many consumers. Asda, owned by US Corporation Wal-Mart since 1999, is the only supermarket with the potential to become a thorn in the side for Tesco. Wal-Mart, with global sales of $256bn in 2003, is the biggest company in the world with annual sales eight times bigger than Tescos. Asda is rumoured to be about to acquire Matalan, the giant discount clothing and home furnishing store. Already, Asdas George range of clothing is the best-selling brand in the UK. Two million of its ? 4 pairs of jeans were sold during 2003-4. Tesco’s latest strategy is to launch Tesco Telecoms, which includes Tesco Mobile and Tesco Talk, a land line service. Tesco Personal Finance has proved a big success as one of Europes fastest growing financial service providers, with over 4 million customer accounts by August 2003, and 50,000 new accounts opening each week. 35 GROWTH STRATEGY First, Tesco developed new products and services to sell to existing customers [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Next, Tesco developed new store formats to capture more customers [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Table 2: Online Survey: Elements Of Business Models In UK Online Supermarkets [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] Source, 17th Bled eCommerce Conference eGlobal, Online Supermarkets: Emerging Strategies And Business Models In The UK In addition From the beginning Tesco. com used one more channel through which toreach its existing customers as well as some new ones. It tried to provide a multi-channel experience to customers it had already attracted. And that strategy allowed Tesco. coms online grocery business to thrive. Tesco’s strong brand, good use of design and innovative approach has helped to minimise customer capture costs. Coupled with its existing IT, retailing and logistics skills, this ‘clicks and mortar’ front-runner looks set to lead the e-retailing pack for some time to come. In summary Tesco explains its growth strategy with two basic diagrams [pic] Source, tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com CONCLUSION The success of the Tesco shows how far the branding and effective service delivery can come in moving beyond splashing ones logo on a billboard. It had fostered powerful identities by making their retailing concept into a virus and spending it out into the culture via a variety of channels: cultural sponsorship, political controversy, and consumer experience and brand extensions. 2. DISCUSS SOME OF THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED BY MANAGEMENT AS IT EMBARKS ON MOBILE TRANSACTION, DEALING WITH CLIENTS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. Businesses that operate on the Web must comply with the same laws and regulations that govern the operations of all businesses. If they do not, they face the same penalties—including fines, reparation payments, court-imposed dissolution, and even jail time for officers and owners—that any business faces. Laws in the physical world do not apply to people who are not located in or do not own assets in the geographic area that reated those particular laws. For example, the United States cannot enforce its copyright laws on a citizen of Ghana who is doing business in Ghana and owns no assets in the United States. Any assertion of power by the United States over such a Ghanaian citizen would conflict with the Ghanaian government’s recognized authority over its citizens. Ghanaian citizens who brin g goods into the United States to sell, however, are subject to applicable U. S. copyright laws. A Ghanaian Web site that offers delivery of goods into the United States is, similarly, subject to applicable U. S. laws. The level of power asserted by a government is limited to that which is accepted by the culture that exists within its geographic boundaries. Ideally, geographic boundaries, cultural groupings, and legal structures all coincide. When they do not, internal strife and civil wars can erupt. Once businesses begin operating online, they found that traditional effects-based measures did not apply as well and that the laws based on these measures did not work well either. For example, France has a law that prohibits the sale of Nazi memorabilia. The effects of this law were limited to people in France and they considered it reasonable. U. S. laws do not include a similar prohibition because U. S. culture makes a different tradeoff between the value of memorabilia (in general) and the negative cultural memory of Nazism. When U. S. -based online auction sites began hosting auctions of Nazi memorabilia, those sites were in compliance with U. S. laws. However, because of the international nature of the Web, these auctions were available to people around the world, including residents of France. In other words, the effects of U. S. culture and law were being felt in France. The French government ordered Yahoo! Auctions to stop these auctions. Yahoo! argued that it was in compliance with U. S. law, but the French government insisted that the effects of those Yahoo! auctions extended to France and thus violated French law. To avoid pro-tracted legal actions over the jurisdiction issue, Yahoo! decided that it would no longer carry such auctions. The levels of authority and autonomy with which governments of various countries operate vary significantly from one country to another. Online businesses must be ready to deal with a wide variety of regulations and levels of enforcement of those regulations as they expand their businesses to other countries. This can be difficult for smaller businesses that operate on the Web. Physical boundaries are a convenient and effective way to announce the ending of one legal or cultural system and the beginning of another. The physical boundary, when crossed, provides notice that one set of rules has been replaced by a different set of rules. Notice is the expression of such a change in rules. People can obey and perceive a law or cultural norm as fair only if they are notified of its existence. Borders provide this notice in the physical world. The legal systems of most countries include a concept called constructive notice. People receive constructive notice that they have become subject to new laws and cultural norms when they cross an international border, even if they are not specifically warned of the changed laws and norms by a sign or a border guard’ s statement. Thus, ignorance of the law is not a sustainable defense, even in a new and unfamiliar jurisdiction. This concept presents particular problems for online businesses, because they may not know that customers from another country are accessing their Web sites. Thus, the concept of notice does not translate very well to online business. The tasks of defining, establishing, and asserting jurisdiction are much more difficult on the Internet than they are in the physical world, mainly because traditional geographic boundaries do not exist. For example, a Swedish company that engages in electronic commerce could have a Web site that is entirely in English and a URL that ends in â€Å". com,† thus not indicating to customers that it is a Swedish firm. The server that hosts this company’ s Web page could be in Canada, and the people who maintain the Web site might work from their homes in Australia. If a Mexican citizen buys a product from the Swedish firm and is unhappy with the goods received, that person might want to file a lawsuit against the seller firm. However, the world’s physical border-based systems of law and jurisdiction do not help this Mexican citizen determine where to file the lawsuit. The Internet does not provide anything like the obvious international boundary lines in the physical world. Thus, the four considerations that works so well in the physical world; power, effects, legitimacy, and notice, do not translate very well to the virtual world of electronic commerce. Governments that want to enforce laws regarding business conduct on the Internet must establish jurisdiction over that conduct. A contract is a promise or set of promises between two or more legal entities. If either party to a contract does not comply with the terms of the contract, the other party can sue for failure to comply, which is called breach of contract. A tort is an intentional or negligent action (other than breach of contract) taken by a legal entity that causes harm to another legal entity. People or corporations that wish to enforce their rights based on either contract or tort law must file their claims in courts with jurisdiction to hear their cases. A court has sufficient jurisdiction to hear a matter if it has both subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Businesses should be aware of jurisdictional considerations when conducting mobile commerce over state and international lines. In most states, the extent to which these laws apply to companies doing business over the Internet is unclear. Because these procedural laws were written before mobile commerce existed, their application to Internet transactions continues to evolve as more and more disputes arise from online commercial transactions. The trend in this evolving law is that the more business activities a company conducts in a state, the more likely it is that a court will assert personal jurisdiction over that company through the application of a long-arm statute. One exception to the general rule for determining personal jurisdiction occurs in the case of tortious acts. A business can commit a tortious act by elling a product that causes harm to a buyer. The tortious act can be a negligent tort, in which the seller unintentionally provides a harmful product, or it can be an intentional tort, in which the seller knowingly or recklessly causes injury to the buyer. The most common business-related intentional torts involve defamation, misrepresentation, fraud, and theft of trade secrets. Although case law is rapid ly developing in this area also, courts tend to invoke their respective states’ long-arm statutes much more readily in the case of tortious acts than in breach of contract cases. If the matter involves an intentional tort or a criminal act, courts will assert jurisdiction more liberally. Courts asked to enforce the laws of other nations sometimes follow a principle called judicial comity, which means that they voluntarily enforce other countries ’ laws or judgments out of a sense of comity, or friendly civility. However, most courts are reluctant to serve as forums for international disputes. Also, courts are designed to deal with weighing evidence and making findings of right and wrong. International disputes often require diplomacy and the weighing of costs and benefits. Courts are not designed to do cost –benefit evaluations and cannot engage in negotiation and diplomacy. Thus, courts (especially U. S. courts) prefer to have the executive branch of the government (primarily the State Department) negotiate international agreements and resolve international disputes. The difficulties of operating in multiple countries are faced by many large companies that do business online. For example, eBay, which had struggled to compete in China for many years, finally closed its operations in the country in 2006. eBay entered China in 2003 with a $30 million investment. In subsequent years, it poured another $250 million into acquisitions and advertising in China. But the effort to compete effectively against Alibaba. com’s TaoBao consumer auction unit failed. Some observers believe that a Chinese cultural tendency to favor home-grown online services was primarily to blame for eBay’s failure. But many others noted that the Chinese government made it difficult for eBay to operate in China by passing laws that favored companies that were majority-owned by Chinese entities and that blocked eBay’s PayPal unit from operating in China. Some have even accused the Chinese government of intentionally blocking access to eBay’s site for a few minutes each day so that Chinese competitors (some of which are owned, in part or completely, by the Chinese government) would appear to be more reliable. Because eBay was a foreign company, it was at a considerable disadvantage regarding government regulation and many have argued that this disadvantage was a larger factor in its failure than cultural issues. [pic] Source, electronic commerce Conflict of Laws; In the United States, business is governed by federal laws, state laws, and local laws. Sometimes, these laws address the same issues in different ways. Lawyers call this situation a conflict of laws. Since online businesses usually serve broad markets that span many localities and many states, they generally look to federal laws for guidance. On occasion, this can lead to problems with state and local laws. Jurisdictional issues are complex and change rapidly. Any business that intends to conduct business online with customers or vendors in other countries should consult an attorney who is well versed in issues of international jurisdiction. However, there are a number of resources online that can be useful to non-lawyers who want to do preliminary investigation of a legal topic such as jurisdiction. The Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet Society Web site includes links to many current Internet-related legal issues. The UCLA Online Institute for Cyberspace Law and Policy contains an archive of legal reference materials published between 1995 and 2002, important years in the development of online law. LEGALITY vs ETHNICS | |LEGAL |ILLEGAL |ETHNICAL |1 |2 | |UNETHNICAL |3 |4 | Illegal acts break the law while unethical acts may not be illegal. Any business process or activity that falls under quadrant 1 is considered legal and ethical; quadrant 2 is considered ethnical but illegal, quadrant3 is considered legal but unethical and quadrant 4 is considered illegal and unethical. Depending on the cultural and religious background of the people in a geographical location which a company wants to operate in, management must decide the type of product or service that would fall either in quadrant 1 or 3 as any of the other two quadrant would mean the company is operating any illegal business. OTHER MAJOR LEGAL AND ETHNICAL ISSUES IN MOBILE COMMERCE In addition to the above Management must also address following; i. Privacy issues in relation to management of customer collected information and cookies design on the company†s website. i. Intellectual property iii. Free speech iv. Taxation v. Computer crime vi. Consumer protection REFERENCES Strategic Management: A Case study of Walmart Inc,http://www. articlesbase. com/strategic-planning-articles/strategic-management-a-case-study-of-walmart-inc-945260. html, Ivory Research Ltd. Tomlinson, H. Evans, R. (2010), ‘Tesco stocks up on inside knowledge of shoppers’ lives’, Guardian, September 2 0, 2010. http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2005/sep/20/freedomofinformation. supermarkets [accessed 07/07/2010] Turban, E. , Rainer, R. K. Potter, R. E. (2001), Introduction to Information Technology, (Chichester: Wiley) http://www. essaycoursework. com/modelanswer/business/help/pestle/tescos. php http://mohit2nite. blogspot. com/2010/03/tescocom-increases-product-range-and_21. html http://www. ivoryresearch. com/sample5. php Irene Yousept, Feng Li, Online Supermarkets: Emerging Strategies And Business Models In The UK, Source, 17th Bled eCommerce Conference eGlobal, Bled, Slovenia, June 21 23, 2004 What Webvan Could Have Learned from Tesco, (http://knowledge. harton. upenn. edu/article. cfm? articleid=448) Tesco: a case study in supermarket excellence july 2004, www. coriolisresearch. com Andrew Summers and Digby Jones, Competitive advantage through design, CBI the Voice of Bussiness Deniz Eylem Yoruk and Slavo Radosevic , International Expansion And Buyer-Driven Commodity Chain: The Case Of Tesco http://pradeepjoram. blogspot. com/2010/03/case-study-tescocom-increases-product. html

Avoid these 8 words and phrases in your cover letter if you want to impress

Avoid these 8 words and phrases in your cover letter if you want to impress You’ve created  a killer resume and now it’s time to write a cover letter and send off your whole package. Your main goal is to make sure it’s polished, professional, and a perfect summary of why you’re the best candidate for the job. The best cover letters stand out from the crowd, while not falling victim to any common annoyances that can irritate recruiters and compromise your chances before you even get started. Here’s a list of some of the common words and phrases that will turn off potential employers and stall out your job search. Make sure the impression you are making is the right one!1. â€Å"Always† and â€Å"Never†Speaking in absolutes isn’t a good idea. Situations can change, so it’s silly to box yourself into a corner if there’s a chance you might backpedal one day. First of all, never say never. You don’t want to come across as rigid.   Keep an open mind about your future, your ability to shift, and the future of your industry. Always is just as tricky- personalities change and you never know how you will react until you face a specific situation. With either extreme, you look like an amateur. Put things in grown-up terms that leave room for adaptability.2. â€Å"To Whom It May Concern†Your parents might still claim this is the best way to open a letter, but it is way outdated. Put in the extra effort to Google the company and figure out who is most likely to be reading your resume: either an HR manager, a department head, a recruiter, or your future boss. Address your letter that way. (The same goes for â€Å"Dear Sir† or â€Å"Madam.†)3. â€Å"Handled†This is a common verb to fall back on when you want to talk about your problem-solving skills or how you put out fires. But it isn’t very descriptive or strong. Also, â€Å"handling† customers or coworkers doesn’t really strike the correct tone. Try â€Å"diffused tens e customer relations situations† or â€Å"treated difficult customers with respect while†¦Ã¢â‚¬  instead. If you’re talking about situations, use specific language: examples like â€Å"led a team† or â€Å"created a system to† describe what you did.4. â€Å"Works well independently or as part of a team†This one has been said so often that it’s now off-limits. Find another way to convey both these points by showing how you do this, rather than telling in the same old tired language.5. â€Å"I/me†Obviously, you can’t get away with using these personal pronouns entirely. Just try to go through your letter at the end and make sure you aren’t abusing the privilege. Keep the â€Å"I†s to a minimum.6. â€Å"Looking for a great position†¦Ã¢â‚¬ First, no one is looking for a boring or bad position. Let’s be real. Come up with something better and more concrete (and, ideally, more tailored to the positio n you seek), and put that in your objective section or summary instead. Second, the point of the cover letter is to describe what  you can offer them, not what they can offer you.7. â€Å"I feel that†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Be confident enough to assert facts. Delete â€Å"I feel that† and your sentence automatically becomes more assertive. If you aren’t dealing in facts, try â€Å"I believe† or â€Å"I am confident that† instead. You’ll come across as much more capable.8. â€Å"Really†Just don’t bother with these empty adjectives (â€Å"very† is another one). They have the opposite effect of what you’re going for, by making you seem like you’re overselling or covering for something. Let the details stand for themselves and find another way to spice up the text to make it sing.

Donatello - Master of Renaissance Sculpture

Donatello - Master of Renaissance Sculpture Donatello was also known as: Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi Donatello's Accomplishments Donatello was noted for his superb command of sculpture. One of the foremost sculptors of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello was a master of both marble and bronze and had an extensive knowledge of ancient sculpture. Donatello also developed his own style of relief known as schiacciato (flattened out). This technique involved extremely shallow carving and utilized light and shadow to create the full pictorial scene. Occupations: Artist, Sculptor Artistic Innovator Places of Residence and Influence: Italy: Florence Important Dates: Born: c. 1386, GenoaDied: Dec. 13, 1466, Rome About Donatello: The son of Niccolà ² di Betto Bardi,  a Florentine wool carder, Donatello became a member of Lorenzo Ghibertis workshop by the time he was 21. Ghiberti had won the  commission to make the bronze doors of the Baptistery of the cathedral in Florence in 1402, and Donatello very likely assisted him on this project.  The earliest work that can definitely be attributed to him, a marble statue of David, shows the clear artistic influence of Ghiberti and the International Gothic style, but he soon developed a powerful style of his own. By 1423, Donatello had mastered the art of sculpting in bronze. Sometime around 1430, he was commissioned to create a bronze statue of David, although who his patron may have been is up for debate. The David is the first large-scale, free-standing nude statue of the Renaissance. In 1443, Donatello went to Padua to construct a bronze equestrian statue of a famous, recently-deceased Venetian condottiere, Erasmo da Narmi. The pose and the powerful style of the piece would influence equestrian monuments for centuries to come. Upon returning to Florence, Donatello discovered that a new generation of sculptors had overtaken the Florentine art scene with excellent marble works. His heroic style had been eclipsed in his home city, but he still received commissions from outside Florence, and he remained fairly productive until he died at about aged eighty.   Although scholars know a good deal about Donatellos life and career, his character is difficult to assess. He never got married, but he had many friends in the arts. He did not receive a formal higher education, but he acquired considerable knowledge of ancient sculpture. At a time when an artists work was regulated by guilds, he had the temerity to demand a certain amount of freedom of interpretation. Donatello  was greatly inspired by  ancient art, and much of his work would embody the spirit of classical Greece and Rome, but he was spiritual as well as  innovative, and he took his art to a level that would see few rivals besides Michelangelo.

Examine the Parties Involved in the Agreement and the Different Types Essay

Examine the Parties Involved in the Agreement and the Different Types of Leases - Essay Example In this regard, this right to occupy and use the property of another person is regarded as lease. With regard to these deliberations, in order for the two parties to have come to a conclusion that the landlord will allow the tenant to occupy the property and for the tenant to accept to occupy the property, the term lease agreement comes in. A lease agreement is the document that forms the basis of the landlord-tenant relationship by protecting all parties but gives final control to the landlord. A lease agreement is the document that outlines the foundation of the landlord-tenant relationship by protecting all parties but gives final control to the landlord. Upon entering into a lease agreement, both the landlord and the tenant must abide by the terms of the form of the tenancy. The lease agreement should clearly stipulate on the rights and duties expected to be fulfilled by the both parties (Sigismond, and Goldman, 495). In this regard, the rights and duties of the parties will be a rticulated upon under each form of tenancy in the succeeding paragraphs. Additionally, there are different termination circumstances and provisions of how each of the tenancies can be terminated. These will also be focused under each form of tenancy. ... uration of the tenancy, although some preparations were made on how payments would be made at certain intervals or after a given specific duration of time. The real estate law stipulates that periodic tenancy involves an arrangement between the occupant and the owner, and that the landlord permits the tenant to occupy a property on a periodical basis (Jennings, 181). Tenancy may be designed on a weekly, monthly or on an annual basis (Battle, 68). Alternatively, though not common and not formal, the landlord and the tenant may agree on another set of period. A tenancy can take place for either residential or commercial properties. Nevertheless, this kind of tenancy arises and most commonly takes place after a formal written lease has expired. Each of the two parties involved in periodic tenancy has rights and duties, which must be adhered to. The landlord is entitled to a right to obtain payment on time. It is also the right of the landlord to expect that his/her property will not be subjected to any form of damage or used for illegal purposes. The land lord is also entitled to receiving compensation or payment for damages that the tenant may have caused during their stay in the property (Miller and Jentz, 647). On the other hand, the tenant has the right to â€Å"quiet enjoyment† during his/her stay in the rented premises. Tenant has also the right to receive a written notice as stipulated by law. It is also the right of the tenant to receive the full amount given as deposit. In addition, the landlord is expected to provide timely repairs to the premises after being informed by the tenant (Jennings, 181). Termination of periodic tenancy normally occurs, when one part offers the other with proper termination notice. It is also argued that the notice needs to be equal to

Gobalisation and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Gobalisation and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example study will focus on the example of a Japanese company, Toyota Motors Corporation, which has slowly but surely gone up in the ranking of profitable automotive manufacturing companies. According to several recent news reports, it has taken over General Motors Corporation as the number one company in terms of sales in the biggest automotive market in the world: the United States of America. The abstract is a 150-word (or less) summary of the key points of the research paper and will inform the interested reader what the research paper is about, how the researcher gathered and analysed information, and what conclusions were formulated. The Introduction contains a brief background of the major topics that would be researched and discussed in the research paper. This also contains the research objectives of the paper, how the research would be carried out (research methods), and how the data gathered would be analysed (methods of data analysis). This portion would also lay out the key terminologies that would need to be defined in the paper, such as globalisation, corporate social responsibility, and production chains. For purposes of this preliminary proposal, the research objective would be as follows: â€Å"To assess and analyse the corporate social responsibility principles and practices of Toyota Motors Corporation (TMC) across its globalised production chain.† For the research study, the primary method for data gathering is through the use of secondary sources which are analysed under the guidance of the research objective. Secondary sources are published materials coming from the company concerned (Toyota Motors) or from other third-party sources such as journals, industry, academic, government or semi-government reports, and newspapers. The Internet would also be helpful in gathering secondary source data. These secondary sources contain important information on the topics being studied, which are the globalisation process, the production chain,

Supporting children in making choices Essay Example for Free

Supporting children in making choices Essay It is the beginning of the new school year. The class teacher and yourself need to speak to the new class about the kind of behaviour you expect to see in the class. You have decided that you will involve the pupils in discussing a set of class rules. Why might this be a worthwhile exercise? This exercise would be worthwhile because it shows that you are trusting the children to help you make suggestions to the rules that are going to be set for the rest of the school year, the children will pick rules that they think should be set in the class and the choices they should make while in the class to respect others around them, they can then be put up around the classroom to remind them of the rules that they set at the beginning of the year. What support would you need to give the pupils? I would remind them of things like others feelings and others opinions if doing a group discussion, I would ask them to include things they would like other people to do to them if they where talking or working as part of a team. Have you been involved in similar activities in your own school? At the beginning of the school year we had a circle time discussion about what the children thought our classroom rules should be and why? The rules where then copied up and put on display in the classroom.

king Louis :: essays research papers

Introduction Perhaps one of the most famous of European monarchs, King Louis XIV ruled France for some 72 years, the longest by any French head of State. It is believed that reign of King Louis XIV was reputably famous as one of 'Absolute government', primarily because the King had his own particular and dominating style of governing the nation. Attaining the powers of a King at a young age of only 5 years, King Louis XIV would rule through his mother's guidance and Cardinal Mazarin acting as the head of state deciding most of the official and civilian matters concerning the governance of France. With no proper or formal education to his credit, King Louis XIV nevertheless gained immense insight on practically all matters of governance and grew up to be an extremely intelligent head of state. From the onset of his adulthood, King Louis XIV had perceived numerous plans for his country, and if one were to grade the King according to today's standards, one would certainly place him in the category o f 'Type-A personality'. This was because the King had learnt, and that too from childhood' that the best way to rule would be to control the subject with absolute authority. In doing so, the King chose his advisors and consultants from the category of 'non-nobles, with the objective of inviting least opposition, and for reasons of imposing his decisions and motives without being questioned. The nobles too were useful, and had to be retained around the King's circle, primarily to win over their confidence, in return for the positions and wealth offered to them on behalf of the state. Also famous as a hard working and pleasant natured, the King sought to bring 'glory' for France, and strived for a united France, simply because it was easier to rule. The King's ideas about making France a glorious state were also exhibited in his desires for other European nations to fear, respect as well as imitate France in all matters of governance, aspects which only remained merely a set of ideas. Born in 1710 at Versailles, King Louis XIV gained the title of "Louis the Well Beloved", yet this title only remained so until the King remained a monarch of France, and practically diminished upon his death. Unlike heirs of monarchs, King Louis XIV was neither formally educated in worldly discipline, nor was he nurtured to become a head of state.

Dispostional Personality Theories Essay

The two most common dispositional theories are Allport’s psychology of the individual theory and the trait and factor theory. Allport’s psychology of the individual theory emphasized that people are unique, even though they may share traits in common, and those unique qualities are what should be focused on. â€Å"More than any other personality theorist, Gordon Allport emphasized the uniqueness of the individual. He believed that attempts to describe people in terms of general traits rob them of their unique individuality†. In order to focus on the individuals uniqueness Allport felt that a broad theory is more useful than a narrow one and he would use information from different theorist in his research. For many years there has been much debate about how many traits actually have an effect on an individual’s personality. In recent years the majority of theorist have come to the conclusion that five is the magic number. Esyneck, McCrae, and Costa have focused their studies on the trait and facto theory and have done much research using standardized tests, clinical observations, and observations from friends and families of the individuals studied. â€Å"Trait and factor theories of personality are based on factor analysis, a procedure that assumes that human traits can be measured by correlational studies†. Each of these theories have different approaches to explaining an individual’s behavior. Both Allport’s psychology of the individual theory and the trait and factor theory have its own effect on individual personalities. Interpersonal relationships are influenced by each of these theories in its own way as well.

Education Essay

The most prominent example of a formal setting in the book is school. However, Scout does not learn much from school. This can be examplified by the fact that when Scout is able to read better than the teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher had expected, Miss Caroline Fisher told her to tell her father to stop teaching her how to read. Instead of helping Scout to improve her reading, Mrs Fisher is impeding Scout’s learning process. This shows that schools do not cater to children of different abilities and Scout’s learning is restricted in school. Hence, school is not the only place where a child learns. Jem and Scout learn moral values from Atticus. This is examplified by the many values Atticus teaches them such as moral courage and to stand up for what one believes is right. Atticus brought his children up to treat the blacks and the whites as equals. When Scout tells Atticus to send Calpurnia away, Atticus told Scout that they could not survive a day without Calpurnia and he told Scout to â€Å"mind† her. Scout learnt that she had to treat Calpurnia (a Negro) like how she would treat a White and to be respectful towards Calpurnia. Jem looks up to Atticus and tries to emulate him. This is because Atticus is a good role model and a good father. Jem learns from Atticus to have the moral courage to fight for what is right. This is evident as Atticus went all out to fight for Tom Robinson as he believed that Tom was innocent. Atticus did this although he knew that he would face severe criticism from the people in Mycomb and that he would put his life and his children’s at risk. From the example he sets, Jem is able to learn to have the moral courage to fight for what is right. Hence, Jem and Scout do learn in informal settings. Jem also learnt to have the courage to do what one decides to do. This is evident from Jem’s encounter with Mrs. Dubose. Mrs Dubose is a morphine addict and she tried very hard to get rid of her addiction. Mrs. Dubose sets an alarm clock and made Jem read to her as he was angry at what she said and cut off the top of her bushes. When the alarm clock rings, it would mark the end of Jem’s reading time. During this period of time when Jem is reading, Mrs Dubose will refrain from taking morphine. She used this method to try and get rid of her morphine addiction. To further elaborate, Mrs. Dubose was very courageous to try and get rid of her morphine addiction as it was a very painful process. Mrs. Dubose was almost dying but she wanted to leave the world beholden to nothing so she tried her very best to get rid of her addiction and displayed a strong sense of courage. Jem learnt from Mrs. Dubose that no matter how painful the process is, one should have the courage and determination to accomplish it. Hence, Jem do learn in an informal setting. Jem and Scout also gained knowledge from a new experience that Calpurnia showed them. This is evident as Calpurnia showed them how it was like in a Negro church. By visiting their church, they learnt about the difference in the conditions of the Negroes’ church and their church. They also learnt more about Tom Robinson’s case when Scout asked Calpurnia why the pastor demands a donation from everyone to help Tom Robinson’s wife provide for her kids. From these, the children were somewhat more aware of the discrimination happening in Maycomb.

Everything You Need to Know for Your Upcoming Summer Vacation

Everything You Need to Know for Your Upcoming Summer Vacation It’s the time of year you’ve been waiting for: summer vacation! Time for you to kick back on the beach with a cold beverage and forgot about all of your responsibilities. Unfortunately, preparing for your upcoming summer vacation can be just as stressful as your normal responsibilities. Taking a vacation reduces stress and improves your overall productivity. So the last thing you need is to be stressed out and offset the positive benefits of your vacation.Fortunately, there are many approaches you can take when planning your summer vacation. You can book a cruise or tour. That way, someone else will plan everything for you. If that’s not your cup of tea, you can find a packaged deal, where expenses are lumped together. Either way, there are a lot of options for you to consider.With that said, here’s everything you need to know in order to be better prepared and lessen the stress of getting ready for summer vacation.Source: [BusinessInsider]

Scott Kelly, Astronaut Who Spent a Year in Space

Scott Kelly, Astronaut Who Spent a Year in Space On March 2017, Scott Kelly, astronaut, blasted off to the International Space Station (ISS) on his fourth flight to orbit. He spent a year aboard, racking up a record total of 520 days in space over his career. It was both a scientific and personal achievement, and his time on orbit continues to help scientists understand the effects of microgravity on the human body. Fast Facts: Scott Kelly Born: February 21, 1964 in Orange, New JerseyParents: John and Patricia KellySpouses: Leslie Yandell (m. 1992-2009) and Amiko Kauderer (July 2018-present)Children: Charlotte and Samantha (with Yandell)Education: United States Merchant Marine Academy, University of Tennessee (MS)Published Works: Endurance: A Year in Space, My Journey to the Stars, and Infinite Wonder: An Astronauts Photographs From a Year in SpaceAccomplishments: Spent a year in space as part of the Twins Study of long-term effects of microgravity on humans Early Life Astronaut Scott Joseph Kelly and his identical twin brother Mark (who also served as an astronaut) were born on February 21, 1964, to Patricia and Richard Kelly. Their father was a police officer in Orange, New Jersey. The twins went to school at nearby Mountain High, graduating in 1982. During high school, Scott trained and worked as an emergency medical technician. From there, Scott went to college at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. In his memoir Endurance: My Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery, Kelly wrote that his early college years were difficult, and he lacked direction in his studies. By his own admission, his high school grades were bad and his SAT test scores werent impressive. He wasnt sure what to do with himself. Then, he picked up a copy of Tom Wolfes The Right Stuff and the words he read impressed him deeply. I felt like I had found my calling, he wrote about that time in his life. I wanted to be a naval aviator...The Right Stuff had given me the outline of a life plan. To pursue that plan, Scott transferred to the New York Maritime Academy, where his twin brother Mark was already attending college. He graduated in 1987 with a degree in electrical engineering and went on to earn a masters degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee. As a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, Kelly attended flight school in Pensacola, Florida, and later flew jets at various duty stations. In 1993, he attended Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent in Virginia, and over the course of his career amassed more than 8,000 hours of flying time in dozens of different aircraft in both land and carrier landings. Astronauts Scott Kelly (right) and Mark Kelly (left) in an interview about their work with the Twins Study and as astronauts. NASA   NASA and Dreams of Flight for Astronaut Kelly Scott Kelly and his brother Mark both applied to become astronauts and were accepted in 1996. Scott was trained in caution and warning systems for the ISS. His first flight was aboard space shuttle Discovery on STS 103, a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. His next assignment took him to Star City, Russia, where he served as Director of Operations there for joint Russian-American flights. He also served as backup for crew members on several ISS missions. Due to the Columbia accident in 2002 (for which he flew search and recovery operations), flights were postponed until NASA could investigate the causes of the tragedy. Scott next worked as the Astronaut Office Space Station Branch Chief in Houston before doing a stint on the NEEMO 4 mission. That underwater training laboratory in Florida was developed to study the similarities between living in space and underwater for long periods of time in enclosed quarters under simulated space conditions. Kellys next two flights were to the International Space Station for STS-118, and Expeditions 25 and 26, where he worked for several months. He participated in installing instruments for the station, as well as a variety of science experiments. Astronaut Scott Kelly in the cupola section of the international Space Station. NASA Scott Kelly and the Astronaut Twins Experiment The final mission for Scott Kelly was part of the famous Twins Study. For that, he spent nearly a year in microgravity while his brother Mark, who is now a retired astronaut, stayed on Earth. Scientists devised the experiment to study the effects of prolonged microgravity on Scott, and compare changes in the two over the course of the mission and beyond. The study also provided valuable information about how astronauts living and working in space on long-term voyages to the Moon and Mars can be affected. The mission began for him on March 27, 2015, when he blasted off from Earth with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko. Kelly was on for two missions and was commander for the second one. He returned to Earth on March 11, 2016. In addition to the Twins Study, Mark worked with Russian colleagues aboard the station and was commander for the mission during part of his stay. He traveled to and from the station aboard a Russian rocket and capsule. Among other activities, Kelly performed an extravehicular activity with fellow astronaut Timothy Kopra to repair a mobile transporter aboard the station. He also did an EVA with Kjell Lindgren to service several parts of the station, including the Canadarm 2 and installation of docking equipment for future missions by SpaceX and NASA crew vehicles. Scott Kellys personal living quarters aboard the International Space Station were quite small and include a sleeping and personal work area.   NASA The ongoing research into changes in both men has uncovered some significant effects of space flight. During his time in on orbit, Scott grew two inches in height due to weaker gravitational pull on his skeleton. Upon return to Earth, his skeletal structure returned to nearly the same as it was before the mission. Genetically, the men remain the same, but scientists noted some ways that his bodys gene expression had changed. This is not the same as his actual genes changing, but has more to do with how they prepare the body to respond to changes in the environment. In addition, Scott participated in research to help doctors understand why astronaut eyesight can change drastically over time in space. He, like many other astronauts, noted a distinct change in mental viewpoint and also how personal relationships are affected by lengthy stays in space. Kelly noted that one unique aspect of the mission was that time on the station flowed at a slightly different rate than it did for his brother on Earth. It made him slightly younger than Mark and medical scientists are still assessing the effects of his trip on his body. He wrote that his part as a scientific lab rat never ends. I will continue to be a test subject for the rest of my life, he wrote. I will continue to participate in the Twins Study as Mark and I age...for me, its worth it to have contributed to advancing human knowledge, even if its only a step on a much longer journey. Personal Life Scott Kelly married his first wife, Leslie Yandell in 1992 and they had two daughters, Samantha and Charlotte. The couple divorced in 2009. Kelly married his second wife, Amiko Kauderer, in 2018. Scott Kelly retired from NASA in 2016 and has worked with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs since that time. The memoirs of his time in space were published in 2017, and he spends time giving public talks about space and space travel. Ive been traveling the country and the world talking about my experiences in space, he wrote. Its gratifying to see how curious people are about my mission, how much children instinctively feel the excitement and wonder of spaceflight, and how many people think, as I do, that Mars is the next step. Honors and Awards Scott Kelly received many medals and much recognition for his work, among them the Legion of Merit, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Medal for Merit in Space Exploration from the Russian Federation. He is a member of the Association of Space Explorers and was one of Time Magazines Influential 100 in 2015. Sources Kelly, Scott, and Margaret Lazarus Dean. Endurance: My Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery. Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House, LLC, 2018.Mars, Kelli. â€Å"Twins Study.† NASA, NASA, 14 Apr. 2015, www.nasa.gov/twins-study.Mars, Kelli. â€Å"NASA Twins Study Confirms Changes to Mark Kellys Genes.† NASA, NASA, 31 Jan. 2018, www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-twins-study-confirms-preliminary-findings.Northon, Karen. â€Å"NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly Safely Back on Earth after One-Year Mission.† NASA, NASA, 2 Mar. 2016, www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronaut-scott-kelly-returns-safely-to-earth-after-one-year-mission.â€Å"Scott Kelly.† Scott Kelly, www.scottkelly.com/.

Choose an issue surrounding capital punishment (deterrence, innocence, Research Paper

Choose an issue surrounding capital punishment (deterrence, innocence, cost, racial bias, etc.) and use it to argue why or why n - Research Paper Example Many other states in America also released similar reports with respect to the expenses of capital punishment. Billions of Dollars are spent yearly for implementing capital punishment in America. Normal court procedures are impossible in the death penalty cases. The court needs to double confirm that the criminal is eligible for death penalty because of the value associated with human life. â€Å"The essence of American criminal justice system is that â€Å"partisan advocacy of both sides on a case will promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free† (Ferdic et al, p.37). So, before implementing death penalty, the criminal went through for a series of expensive trial procedures including state and federal supreme courts. The criminal can question the punishment several times in different courts before the final judgment of the Supreme Court. All these court procedures are highly expensive because of the various expensive services (Smart a dvocates, Forensic experts, Investigating officers, witnesses, etc) needed for it.

Revolution of architecture Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Revolution of architecture - Coursework Example Beijing the capital of China has undergone such a rapid change in quite a short span of time similar to a few other capital cities like Hanoi, Vietnam that were destroyed after the war and other calamities.(Economist ed 2004 pp 63). Beijing was nothing but a rubble of old alleys and small streets and dilapidated apartment blocks, but today this is a city of commercial interests that has led to the birth of rapidly growing office towers, skyscrapers, shopping malls and supermarkets, colossal stadiums and lavish government buildings. With this reformed transformation one has to agree that there was a high influence of westernization in the bigger cities of China not only on the domestic front but also globally. This transformation took place after 1949 with an attempt to create profitable markets not only for consumption but also to reform it into a city of production and trade. PROBLEM STATEMENT In this study the problem is defined as "Does urban design or planning in Beijing relate to the western concepts of architecture and in what way are they related'" This relation between urban design and architecture is necessary so as to understand the perspective of the research. In this study yet another problem is defined as "which theory will be best acknowledged from the theory perspective". Is it the post-structural social theory OR post-modernism theory or post Marxist theory that will be seen in the application and existence of revolutionized architecture' EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In this dissertation, the research will be focusing on the architectural advancement in Beijing and the manner in which the Western form of architectural styles enhanced the outlook of the city of China. During the 1950's there was a breakthrough in Chinese...With this reformed transformation one has to agree that there was a high influence of westernization in the bigger cities of China not only on the domestic front but also globally. This transformation took place after 1949 with an attempt to create profitable markets not only for consumption but also to reform it into a city of production and trade. In this study yet another problem is defined as "which theory will be best acknowledged from the theory perspective". Is it the post-structural social theory OR post-modernism theory or post Marxist theory that will be seen in the application and existence of revolutionized architecture' In this dissertation, the research will be focusing on the architectural advancement in Beijing and the manner in which the Western form of architectural styles enhanced the outlook of the city of China. At this juncture the Chinese architects began to examine the social princ

Critically examine the measures in the detailed case study Essay

Critically examine the measures in the detailed case study - Essay Example Also, as a way of increasing cost savings while not sacrificing the morale, loyalty and motivation of employees, they are given various opportunities for a more flexible work schedules and arrangements to suit their career growth and development needs. Under the heading of â€Å"Workforce Planning†, important measures given emphasis on by the proposed measures involve the management of planned retirements in relation to the expected high retirement rates within the next 10 or more years. However, grants for allowing temporary retention of employees aged 64 are still allowable under certain circumstances in order for them to enter into a state of transition prior to fully retiring from the workforce. In relation to this measure, while there are no prohibitions to the retention or the rehiring of employees beyond their retirement ages, due to the need for a career succession in hopes of adding contributors of new ideas or innovations to the organisation as well as to allow the career growth of the remaining 65% of the workforce there will be a prioritisation of opening positions in the upper rung of the corporate ladder, with exceptions to certain positions related to advisory councils or organisational consultants. It is als o proposed that aside from vertical realignment of positions there will also be possible redeployment in line with the need to change how the whole organisation functions upon the retirement of 35% of the workforce. Thus instead of hiring new employees to fill in the jobs, there will be a greater focus on retraining employees to be more flexible in their jobs to meet the needs of the organisation, thereby decreasing the odds of redundancy within the next few years. To prevent any violation of contracts or other prior agreements it is proposed that negotiations and consultations are done between trade unions and the council, with assistance from human resources. In line with the proposal for an organisation change

Analysis Of The Coconut Oil Industry Economics Essay

Analysis Of The Coconut Oil Industry Economics Essay The coconut oil milling industry, which started during over a century ago, is still active and exporting to other countries. This industry seems to have a huge potential for profit in both the local and global setting. Producing millions of metric tons of coconut oil, the Philippines is the top exporter of coconut oil; hence, the firms producing them are highly profitable. This paper investigates the profitability level of the coconut oil industry. Furthermore, the paper would be looking at its production and exports contributing to the economy. Lastly, the paper would take a look at its trends and how it affects Philippines GDP. The paper would be using statistics, tables, graphs and news to prove that the said industry is making profit up to this point. This paper hopes to achieve more insight on the coconut oil industry and learn more about its current state in the Philippine market. Introduction Background History Other than semi-conductors exports, the Philippines is also known for its coconut oil exports. The Philippines is presently the top exporter of coconut oil worldwide. In 1989, the Philippines was the second largest exporter after Indonesia. The Philippines is producing a lot of metric tons of coconut oil and exporting them to the world. Some of the countries that the Philippines cater to are United States, Netherlands, Japan, Italy, and China (Philippines coco oil exports up to 33.39 pct in November, 2010). The coconut oil industry started to bloom during the 1960s. The Philippine pesos devaluation during 1962 and 1970 respectively had increased the worlds demand for Philippine products such as coconut oil. Because of this devaluation, the land devoted to coconut oil has been increasing 6% per year which In the 1960s and 1970s land devoted to coconut oil cultivation has been increased by 6% per year due to the devaluation of Philippine peso in 1962 and 1970 respectively therefore increasing worlds demand for coconut oil. Because of this devaluations, the local government provided investment incentives to encourage the production/processing of coconut oil. The number of coconut mills grew from 28 to roughly 62 mills in 1979. (Philippine-Coconut Industry, 1991) During the Martial Law Regime in 1973, all coconut-related, government operations were placed under the control of one agency known as the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). The PCA was tasked to collect a levy of P 0.55 per 100 kilograms of copra to stabilize the domestic prices of coconut-based goods, particularly coconut cooking oil. In 1974, the Coconut Industry Development Fund was created for the development of hybrid coconut trees. In the same year, the PCA was overtaken by the Coconut Producers Federation or Cocofed, a group of coconut planters. In 1975, PCA acquired a bank which was renamed to United Coconut Planters Bank, to help coconut farmers in their business. (Philippine-Coconut Industry, 1991) In the early 1980s, as coconut prices began to fall, the government was pressured to alter the structure of the industry. The government was being forced to give up its monopolization of coconut oil. In 1985 the Philippine government agreed to dismantle the United Coconut Oil Mills as part of an agreement with the IMF to bail out the Philippine economy. By 1989, coconut trees occupied about 25% of cultivated land. It is estimated that around 25% to 33% of the population was at least partly dependent on coconuts for their livelihood. (Philippine-Coconut Industry, 1991) Research Coconut Industry The coconut industry is the biggest agricultural industry. Based on 2002 Census from the Department of Agriculture, the industry compromises roughly 1.4 million or at least 30% of the total farms in the Philippines. The production of coconut oil heavily rests on the coconut grown by the millions of farmers. The land that grows coconuts is totaled to be roughly 3.32 million ha which surprisingly is even bigger than the land used to produce rice (Dy, 2006). There are 65 coconut oil mills which have the capacity to crush 4.54 million tons of coconut a year (Dy, 2006). The agricultural sector employs almost 40 percent of the total labor force to produce agricultural products like rice, coconuts, etc. (Encyclopedia of Nations). Presently, 25 to 33 percent of the population is dependent of the coconut industry as their livelihood, whether it is through farming the coconuts or milling and refining them (Dolan, 1991). The government and United Coconut Association of the Phillippines (UCAP) declared that the coconut industry might be the next major employment sector of the Philippines (Coconut industry poised as next major employment sector, 2011). They projected that the employment coming from the coconut industry would significantly increase in size by end of 2016 (Coconut industry poised as next major employment sector, 2011). Market size Figure Coconut Oil ProductionThe Philippines, Indonesia, and India are the leading exporters of coconut oil in the Asia Pacific. They account for more 75% of the total production of coconut oil in the world (Smith Nyugen, 2009). It is estimated that the Philippines alone produces around 13 billion coconuts which is refined to oil (Dhanuraj, 2004). In 2011, the production of coconut oil in the Philippines was estimated to be roughly 1.7 million metric tons (Index Mundi, 2011). In the past five years, more and more coconut oil is being produced due to the efficiency of equipment and cultivation of land. The continuous trend in production of coconut oil is an indication of how stable the industry is. The fact that the industry can manufacture almost the same amount of coconut oil per year would show us how stable the industry is. Revenues on Exports Source: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics Figure 2 Coconut Oil Exports Figure Coconut Oil ExportsThe coconut oil industry is focused more on exporting cooking oil to other countries. There is no data on the revenue and profit of the industry in the local setting. Every four out of five metric tons produced in South East Asia, especially from the big three producers, are sent to either Europe or the United States (Smith Nyugen, 2009). Only one out of every five metric tons remains in Asia. The Philippines, being the top exporter of coconut oil in the world, has exported millions of metric tons in the past three years (Department of Agriculture, 2011)(see figure above). Furthermore in 2010, the Philippines has not only exported 1.3 billion metric tons of coconut oil, but also earned around 1.2 billion USD which is an outstanding revenue of 55 billion pesos (Department of Agriculture, 2011). During the First quarter of 2010, the prices were pegged at around 1000 USD (Department of Agriculture, 2011). GDP In recent years, the agricultural sector roughly contributes 12~15 percent of the Philippine GDP (Index Mundi, 2011). The agricultural sector had contributed roughly 4 billion USD in 2010. Coconut oil and tuna were computed to be 39.67% percent of the total GDP contributed by the agricultural sector (Department of Agriculture, 2002). The GDP of 2010 has risen by roughly 30.67% from the previous years GDP (Department of Agriculture, 2011). Though it is true that the GDP decreased in 2011, mathematically speaking the GDP contributed by the agricultural sector did not. During 2010, the GDP of the Philippines is roughly 7.3% and roughly 13.9% of comes from the agricultural sector (Instituto Espanyol De Comercio Exterior). In 2011, the GDP is roughly 3.7% which is significantly lower than the previous year, but the agricultural sector still maintains and contributes roughly 12.3% which is not bad (Index Mundi, 2011). Furthermore, on December 2011, coconut oil exports began to rise again by about 2.7% (Reuters, 2011).Thus, coconut oil exports would increase by the year 2012. The Philippine Coco Coir Industry forecasts that by 2016, the exports of coconut oil would increase by 400 percent (Coconut industry poised as next major employment sector, 2011). Importance to the Economy. According to the research done Roland Dy, Ph.D, the coconut oil industry is important to the economy of the Philippines. First, coconut farms are located in 68 out of the 79 provinces of the Philippines. Second, 30% of the total farmlands in the Philipines are coconut farms. Third, coconuts contribute half of the agricultural exports. Fourth, coconut farming lands have the largest potential of diversification. Fifth, it is a huge untapped resource pool for industry development (Dy, 2006). Not only has coconut oil been sold abroad as exports, but it also used as cooking oil. Coconut oil is also used in homes (Isip, 2012). A significant percentage of the market uses coconut oil. It is not only used by homes but also by biscuit industries. The National and Global Environment Technological Environment The Technological Environment of a business greatly affects its ability to produce its products and, therefore, affect its overall performance in the industry. In the Philippines in 1997, coconut production in copra equivalent accounted for 3.83% of the total production of agricultural crops (Aragon, 2000). The coconut production during 1990-1997 was a little small which was due to the slow growth rates in coconut hectarage (0.9%/year) and coconut-bearing trees (0.3%/year) (Aragon, 2000). During the period of 1990-1997, about 91% of the coconut production in the Philippines passes through the copra stage (Aragon, 2000). The minimal production of coconuts of the stagnant farm sector caused the over-capacity of the coconut industrial sector. According to the study done by the Philippine Coconut Industry, there are about 65 coconut oil mills with an installed copra crushing capacity of 4.54 million tons a year (Dy, 2006). According to another study made by them, the number of mills in t he Philippines rose from 28 in 1968 to 62 in 1979 (Phillipine Coconut Industry, 1991). There was also an issue of declining yields because of the aging of coconut trees in some regions (Phillipine Coconut Industry, 1991). Some coconut oil milling industries still use low technology machineries or techniques to produce coconut products. There have been many researches and experiments done to improve this industry. Technologies for coconut processing have been made but only a few of these reached the actual production areas. During a study made by Joey Faustino (2006), the farmers burn the higher value coconut husks/shell to dry the lower value output that is copra(coconut shell). This means that because of the low level technologies that are used by some of the farmers and companies, their level of output is also affected. A famous Malaysian newspaper republishes Wong Yee Tuans work, which says: In the late 19th century, a few businessmen introduced new technology and established Khie Heng Bee Mill, a modern rice and oil mill equipped with steam and hydraulic machinery. The mill was driven by a 60hp horizontal engine and the hydraulic oil presses were worked by a 24ho engine. It was capable of producing 100 piculs (6,000 kilos) of oil per day. It became one of the largest and most important industrial concerns in northern Malaya. The founders of this modern enterprise were Phuah Hin Leong, Chuah Yu Kay, Lim Leng Cheak, Cheah Joo Jin and Cheah Ewe Ghee. (Tuan, 2011) Their technological advancement affected their capability in producing their products. The initiative made by these businessmen inspired others to develop new technologies to improve the industry. In Zamboanga, the Zamboanga Coconut Research Center have produced around 20 hybrid coconut varieties according to the Philippine Coconut Administration (Gumapon). These hybrid coconut varieties were discovered to counter the dry spell (Gumapon). The Coconut Industry Investment Fund-Oil Mills also uses modern technologies in operating their plants. Their plants have a combined crushing capacity of 750,000 metric tons of copra with a refining capacity of 280,500 metric tons of different grades of processed coconut oils (CIIF Oil Mills Group). Having technological advancements helps the industry to improve. The modern technologies help the companies to produce more copra which in turn helps them produce more coconut oil. Economic Trends Coconut oil production is a constant all year round process. As long as there is a constant supply of coconut, coconut oil, and other by-products are constantly being refined and manufactured. Coconut oil products are sold to different firms all over the Philippines and are also exported to other countries all over the world. The Philippines mostly exports its products to countries like United States, Japan, Europe, and most of the ASEAN countries (Encyclopaedia of Nations). The Philippines, being the top producer and exporter of coconut oil, is rapidly growing during the last few years. In the last two years, 1.69 billion metric tons of coconut oil is being produced all over the Philippines (Index Mundi, 2011). But in the recent years, the exportation of coconut oil is slowing declining over the years. The coconut oil industry for 2011 exports roughly fell to .8 million metric tons from the 1.34 million of metric tons produced during 2010 (Olchondra, 2012). Decline in exports of coconut oil is being attributed to the 2011s large export of coconut oil. During January 2012, a coconut oil export is roughly 54,000 metric tons which is roughly half the exports of last year (Galvez, 2012). According to Yvonne Agustin, UCAP executive director the export of coconut oil is going to increase by the second quarter. She says, Right now, the demand for CNO is still weak since most of the foreign buyers still have plenty of stocks from last year, but we expect demand to pick up in the second quarter of the year (Galvez, 2012). According to a research by Asian and Pacific Coconut Community, coconut oil is being produce and exported in significant volumes (see figure below). During the early stages of the coconut oil industry, the production and exports of coconut oil is roughly 1.5 million metric tons and .5 million metric tons respectively. The market had grown so fast that the Philippines alone can produce the same amount of coconut oil in just a year time. (Vinay Chand Association) Figure Coconut Oil Production and ExportsProduction and Exports of Coconut Oil in Metric TonsC:UsersROBERT S. CHENGDesktopUntitled.png Source: Index MundiGlobal Environment Coconut oil accounts for approximately 20% of all vegetable oils used worldwide. Coconut oil is used in margarines, vegetable shortening, salad oils, confections, and in sports drinks to boost energy and enhance athletic performance. The total cultivation under coconut was estimated at 11.0 million hectares producing 55 million tons in 2004. Asia remained the largest producing region at 46 million tons or 85% of global production in 2004. In the western hemisphere, South America was a major producing region at 6% of production (Singh Seepersad Rankine eds, 2007) Philippines and Indonesia are the worlds two largest producers of coconut, with an estimated production of 16.3 million tons and 14.4 million tons from 3.3 million ha and 2.7 million ha respectively. In 2007, the Philippines produced 37% of total world production and Indonesia comes second with 29%. India, the third largest with 13%, produced an estimated 10 million tons from 1.9 million ha. Indonesia and the Philippines were major exporters while India consumed most of its coconut production. Central America, Brazil, Mexico (with 4%) and Jamaica were major producers in the Western Hemisphere (Singh Seepersad Rankine eds, 2007). World production in 2007 fell by -6.8% yr/yr to 4.652 million metric tons, and remains far below the record high of 5.662 million metric tons posted in 2001. (CRB Fundamentals 2008 Commodity Articles: Coconut Oil and Copra, 2008). This fact might be true for the worlds production of coconut oil. But the Philippines is still consistently performing well with 1.358 million metric tons and 1.625 million metric tons in 2001 and 2007 respectively (Index Mundi). The table that follows summarizes the world production of coconut oil in 2011. World Coconut Oil Production in 2011 Source: USDA Figure Coconut Oil Production 2011 Price of Coconut Oil in 2011 Source: Index Mundi Figure Coconut Oil Prices Percentage Change in Coconut Oil Prices in 2011 Jan 2011 2,063.00 Source: Index Mundi- Feb 2011 2,260.00 9.55 % Mar 2011 1,925.00 -14.82 % Apr 2011 2,088.00 8.47 % May 2011 2,097.00 0.43 % Jun 2011 1,803.00 -14.02 % Jul 2011 1,663.00 -7.76 % Aug 2011 1,454.00 -12.57 % Sep 2011 1,310.00 -9.90 % Oct 2011 1,208.80 -7.73 % Nov 2011 1,479.00 22.35 % Dec 2011 1,439.00 -2.70 % Figure Coconut Oil Price Change The world market price for coconut oil is constantly fluctuating. The following table shows the schedule for the price of coconut oil in the world market for the past year. In 2011 alone, price percentage changes fluctuated to a decrease as low as -14.82% in March and to an increase as high as 22.35% in November. The following table shows the schedule for the price of coconut oil in the world market for the past year. Health Benefits Coconut oil is known to be one of the more expensive oils. It can be seen in trends that among the widely used edible oils, coconut oil usually takes a higher level of prices. The following graph compares edible oil prices of soybean oil, palm oil, canola oil and coconut oil from 1997 to 2005. The steep downward slope of coconut oil was due to the Asian financial crisis. Coconut oil being more expensive than its competitors had suffered a lot from the crisis. As seen after the crisis, the trend is gearing upwards again. Edible Oil Prices from 1997 to 2005 Source: Index Mundi Figure Edible Oil Prices When talking about the global environment of the coconut oil industry, it is important to take note of the possible impact of recent medical research done on the health benefits that can possibly be acquired from coconut oil. As written by Singh, Seepersad and Rankine(2007), Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the number of scientific studies conducted relating to the merits of the traditional tropical diets premised on the use of fruits and vegetables as practiced in the Philippines and Hawaii. Also, studies focused on the merits of using some of the product derivatives such as coconut and palm oil as compared to traditional soybean and other unsaturated oils. Coconut oil has been proven to have a saturated fat, which is of the medium-chain fatty acid variety (MCFA). MCFAs are more readily digested by the body, in that MCFAs are not stored as fat but are immediately converted into energy. This results in an overall increase of the bodys metabolism. Studiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ showed that coconut oil prevented the formation of hepatic cholesterol esters. In addition to this, the lauric acid found in coconut oil provides the disease fighting fatty acid monolaurin, which boosts the immune system. Coconut reportedly has been proven to have no dangerous trans-fats, which are traditionally found in vegetable oils, margarines and shortenings. These substances have the effect of increasing the bodys production of LDLs or bad cholesterol, which has implications for heart disease, diabetes and other health problems. Conclusion The Philippine Coconut Oil industry, which started over a century ago, bloomed and is still consistently profiting from selling cooking oil to the local and global market. Though it has been affected by the Asian Financial Crisis, it still managed to recover. It was able to brought back its sales. The trend of using coconut oil is still consistent. The Philippines produces and exports coconut oil in the same degree. Despite the fluctuating prices and volumes sold of coconut oil, the percentage it contributes to the Philippines GDP has been overall consistent over the past few years. With new technology, the production of coconut oil has been and is consistently getting better. There are fewer wastes, and the cooking oil manufacturers are finding ways to use these wastes for other purposes. My uncle who is part of this industry and one of the leading manufacturers of coconut oil says they are using the wastes as components for bio-fuel. The market for coconut oil has been consistent throughout these past few years despite the costs of coconut oil against its substitutes. Though edible coconut oil is a lot more expensive than oil made from other products such as palm oil, coconut oil is still welcomed by the market. With this statistics, I would like to believe that the coconut oil industry would continue to move on and still be successful in future. Despite the indications of the industry degrading, still shows consistent performance.