Title and description Essay Example

Title and description Essay Example Title and description Essay Title and description Essay A Project Manager is a responsible individual in a company, for performing several tasks such as Project Plan, execution of plan, team management and in assessing team performance. Further a project manager is also responsible for communication, status reporting, risk management and issues that could not be resolved in a team and even budgeting of project, schedule are some of the   essential roles of   a project manager. Project manager required to be efficient at the outset, in HR management, caliber, managerial skills and a complete professional knowledge about labor laws, which means Project manager is similar to one-man army wherein a specific tool is used when it is required. The job of project manager   is not so easy to perform whereas it requires excessive working and on site knowledge for executing projects on time with the assistance of project team. It can be added here that, a desk job held by an individual does not take much time to perform with the fact that the task is within the purview of individual whereas project manager has to consider the work and performance of project team with each individual possessing different moods and levels of working. Skills and responsibilities Therefore, the job of a project manager is a complex job which requires in depth knowledge of HR management and project management apart from considerable experience in project management. Apart from project team, project manager   is accountable to senior management viz., CEOs, CFOs, COOs and even VPs who from time to time require feed back and progress reports of projects indicating the level of work that is completed and explanations for delays. Construction management shoulders project manager with heavy responsibility of construction engineering work, terms with labor, keeping a stock of construction materials and above all, importantly completing the construction project within schedule, as per architectural design with perfect finishing. Project manager is confronted with maximum hurdles such as lack of or insufficient funds,   lack of efficiency in labor, lack of team spirit or up rise of raw material prices in the market or any such unforeseen accidents while implementing project plan. A thorough training must be offered to Project Manager who is qualified, experienced, dynamic and smart individual.   It must be well understood by the Project Manager that senior management looks for completion of projects   in scheduled time and in achievement of such goals, project manager has to act in a language of professional authority, taking the initiativeness and decision making powers to get the project completed within the time frame, which is essential duty of project manager. Project Manager can also consider the consent of other counterparts viz., team leaders, team committees, project director and project leader. In order to perform exceedingly well in the duty of project manager, neat and well written project plan, detailing each team member duties, schedules, time frames, progressive reports of phase-wise project   completion, must be prepared in advance by choosing one of the best project development model,   which offers a complete set of work schedules for   project management. Periodical meetings with team members, senior members, committee members, would enable a clear picture about project progress and also ensures corrective measures if there were any mistakes while executing projects.   Therefore the role of a project manger is that of hub in a wheel who is a driving force behind completion of projects in time, although it is a hard-labored job of dealing issues beginning from workforce to senior managers. Salary range and benefits A project manager is highly paid and rewarded with maximum benefits.   For instance an IT Project Manager in Florida receives low $60,454,   typical 71,897 and high $ 85,708, according to PayScale Salary calculator. This provides a fact that an IT Project Manager holds a very responsible position in a company with great responsibilities which is why, an attractive pay packet along with benefits such as holiday package, bonus payment and allowances are available for an IT Project Manager. Education and experience requirements For an IT Project Manager, a thorough and professional knowledge both theoretical and practical is required in systems administration and an award of IT Certification is further beneficial in getting the job in an easy process and especially if IT certification is specific in products, vendors and tasks, there is more opportunities for easy entry into the companies. Apart from certification regular reference with IT books,   practical experiences also add up the ability to produce effective results. Small and medium sized businesses are also opting for IT managers who are both qualified and experienced therefore, career opportunities in IT Project Managers are good for the present and for the future and with this supporting and evidencing fact,   career makers can avail this opportunity in mastering project manager certification and experience and be seated in a multinational company or an SME as a professionally qualified Project Manager. For a project manager, each day of working would provide a new working experience and adds to the field of experience whether it is in IT, consumer or a construction company.   The role of responsibility played by a project manager leads to a different working experience which varies from company to company.   Each company has certain limitations, expectations and specific duties and responsibility for a project manager and while considering the appointment, the candidate has to carefully examine, understand and analyse whether a justice to the specifications of job can be met with and only then accept appointment.   A clear SWOT analysis has to be made by a project manager before joining a company. Part 2 Interview Questions Interviews questions have to be quite professional, analytical and creative oriented such that the collective abilities of candidate both   academic, work experience and creativity must be calculated at the time of interview which produces an overall picture of candidate and further enables the interviewer to rate the candidate as Merit, First class, Second class or average Project Manager. The presentation skills,   body language, etiquette and code of dress are all added features   of a good project manager and companies look no further before selecting a right candidate. It is important for the candidates to give no impressive replies whereas produce answers in the right direction, right attitude with complacency. The following interview questions for the job of project manager are pre-meditated   : Ques.1   How do you evaluate yourself as a successful Project Manager? Ques 2   Were you encountered with heated situations which you solved technically and professionally with your own pursuance with   project team? Ques. 3   In the event of unmanageable situation, what is the first thing that you ever take up to do?   In order to reach a manageable solution for completion of a project. Ques. 4   Do you attribute your success of project completion to you personally or to the company   you work/worked for? Ques 5. What are elements of a successful Project Manager ? Part 3 Probable answers expected from the candidate by the interviewer: Ans 1. Rate myself as reasonably good project manager so far, as the projects handled by me are limited to a period of five years work experience wherein, there were no lacunae areas or unsatisfied results throughout the period of project management.   Senior management was content with the way the company’s projects were executed in a quite professional manner along with coordinators and co-workers.   As project manager, believe in encouraging team spirit and motivation which are driving force for speedy delivery of projects within time schedule. Ans.2   There were numerous situations, which were resolved without intervention of any senior member, by implementing and using skills, technical aspects, moral and social aspects which came to a halt in clearing confused areas while working.   This certainly necessitates extra flow of energy and checking of mindset of each individual as to what the other end is looking for and how important it is to satisfy workers or pacify emotions which reach to   high   levels in uncompromising status.   For that matter any situation has only two sides either positive or negative and these have to be handled respectively and cleared for moving ahead with work. Ans 3. Unmanageable situation do occur and personally never get carried away or loose temperament and instead sip a cup of coffee and draw / design a plan in five minutes and get back to the situation   and resolve without further delay.   Piling up of complex situations bring down the progress and slows the down the delivery of projects.     Therefore any hurdles that are encountered with, have to be faced practically and derive solutions without wasting time as one of the main aspects of project management is time management. Ans 4. Company provides authority, reputation and goodwill to Project Manager with an expectation that project manager would perform at a merit level and pays a good salary. Companies believe and trust Project Managers which is an intangible asset for the companies and project managers avail those good opportunities of projects and gain recognition by delivering projects within framework.   Therefore companies have to receive first hand acclamation and thereafter the second half of success belongs to project manager with the fact that skills, potential abilities and work experience were implemented in execution of projects. Ans 5. The first element of a successful project is scope of delivery whether it is in boardroom, videoconference   room or an auditorium with a question â€Å"what are we delivering?†Ã‚   and â€Å"what we are not delivering?†.   The second element is time, the third element is cost, the fourth element is quality and   fifth element is risk.   A project manager must collectively use all these five elements in order to deliver a successful project. The above interview questions were to be answered by an interviewee, a moderate, reasonable with brief description and presentation of answers would be made, with the fact that,   excessive flow of jargon may spoil or may lower the selection process. Everything that is said or written has to be brief, to the point and concise. In other words, usage of correct English, good selection of diction and appropriately spoken would be noble and impresses the interviewer. All kind of interviews may not be similar as it differs from company to company and it requires preparation before attending an interview and keep an update of interview skills and quality paper presentation.   Especially these globalised times, job opportunities for project managers are vast wherein talent pool is in great need and whoever matches with the perfect quality, proves lucky enough in reaping good awards of job placement apart from a winsome salary package and benefits. Conclusion Before opting for any career or job placement, a complete criteria of requisite academics, work experience and skills have to be met with by the candidate in order to perform in the course of employment.

10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for Leader or Official

10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for Leader or Official 10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official† 10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official† By Mark Nichol Sometimes it just won’t do to be sober and serious when referring to someone in authority. These terms help convey an irreverent tone about a lordly leader or an officious official. 1. Big cheese: Interestingly, this slang phrase for an important person has nothing to do with dairy products; derived from a Persian word, chiz, that means â€Å"thing,† it was adopted by British civil servants and others who lived in India during the early nineteenth century, whence it spread to Britain and other English-speaking countries. 2. Big wheel: This slang term for an influential person probably derives from the idea that such a personage, like the wheels on a vehicle, facilitates progress (and the bigger, the better). 3. Bigwig: This word for an important (and self-important) person likely stems from the custom in European countries several hundred years ago of men wearing wigs: Some wealthy and/or powerful men tried to outdo each other by wearing outsize specimens and so were mocked as bigwigs. 4. High muck-a-muck (or high muckety-muck, muckety-muck, muck-a-muck, or mucky-muck): These terms refer to a haughty personage. 5. Honcho: This slang term for a leader, especially a business executive, derives from the Japanese term hancho, which refers to a squad leader in a military unit. 6. Kahuna: This Hawaiian word originally applied to influential members of native society, but it entered general usage when, in the mid-twentieth century, surfers began to refer to the best among them as kahunas or big kahunas. 7. Kingpin: Several theories exist about the origin of this word for a leader, especially one in a criminal enterprise, but it most likely derives from the idea of a key component in a machine. (An alternate possible origin is the name for the pin at the apex of an array of pins in bowling games; if you strike the kingpin, presumably all the other pins will fall. But the analogy of a part holding a machine together is stronger.) 8. Mandarin: This word, ultimately derived from the Sanskrit term mantra yes, that mantra originally came from a Portuguese word referring to Chinese officials. (Portugal was among the first Western nations to have any influence in China.) By extension, it applies now to bureaucrats, especially officious ones, though it also connotes an influential member of the intelligentsia or the literary elite, especially a conservative one. 9. Panjandrum: This coinage by eighteenth-century playwright and actor Samuel Foote refers to a powerful or pretentious official or other person of influence. 10. Pooh-bah (or grand pooh-bah): A pooh-bah the word is inspired by the name of an arrogant character from the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado whose impressive string of official titles terminates with â€Å"Lord High Everything Else† is an influential person or one holding multiple offices. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and ToesBest Websites to Learn English10 Tips for Clean, Clear Writing

Ecological Footprint Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Ecological Footprint - Essay Example My final score was 4.69 earths. This score means that if every single individual on the earth’s surface lived my lifestyle, up to 4.69 earths would be required to sustain that lifestyle. By category, I scored 38.34 on carbon footprint, 65.74 on food footprint, 34.18 on housing footprint, and 43.68 on goods and services footprint (http://myfootprint.org/en/quiz_results/#). The surprising aspect with the test is that the pressure I exert on the environment is so massive that it would take more than four earths for the human population to live my lifestyle. In order to reduce my ecological footprint, it is essential that I adopt measures to ensure that I recycle what can be recycled. Personally, I have not embraced recycling to a greater extent, but it seems to an important step towards working on a reduced ecological footprint. Also, my food, transport, and housing lifestyle need to be redesigned in order to make it environmental friendly. In so doing, my ecological footprint can reduce and ease pressure on natural capital, thereby enhancing ecological regeneration (Spoolman and Tyler 237). To others, I would still suggest recycling as a fundamental factor in the reduction of ecological footprint. In order to make the process more functional, I would suggest the use of cleaner and healthier means of transport. This is not forgetting the advocacy to save energy and water, going local in terms of food, choosing green housing designs, and ultimately recycling and using recycled products. Consumption level among other variables directly influence ecological footprint (Spoolman and Tyler 281). Changes in consumption levels can either reduce or increase the ecological footprint depending on the activities involved and the lifestyle observed. For instance, eating local and organic foods work towards reducing food footprint. The same trend can be realized from shopping locally and preferring low mileage foods. For goods and services,

Library Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Library Financial Management - Essay Example Budgeting can also be used in library as standards and measures for future performance. Budgets are basically of three types viz. line item budgeting, program budgeting and zero based budgeting. The budget type that is used by Anamerican college library is line item budget as it outlines various expenditures and resources of the library along with the various services that the library offers to its users. Dossett (2004) suggests that the line item budgeting is a type that is applied to almost every library setting. This type of budget classifies each sort of activity in a separate appearance. The program budget emphasises the services or programs that are provided by the library to its customers. Hence this budget allows a library to evaluate performance with respect to various programs that it offers. Seer (2000, p188) says that "the primary characteristic of a program budget is that all expenditures needed to provide that product or functions are grouped together". Zero based budgeting, on the other hand, maintains its focus on the future aspects and accomplishment of the goals of the organisation. "Zero-based budgeting ignores previous practice and insists that every budget fully proves its worth, not in respect of what happened in the past but solely in terms of current organisational objectives" (Heery, 1999, p60). The line item budget that this library uses appraises its performance by outlining all the expenditures and resources, while comparing it to that of the previous year. Seer (2000, p188) says that "a line item budget reflects input (what you are spending) not output (what your organization is getting for the money), resources not results". As Anamerican library uses line item budget to plan its various expenditures and evaluate the available funding and resources, the budget also sheds light on several aspects of information services and roles it performs. As indicated in the budget, the library provides various services such as referencing, circulation, and cataloguing to its users. The budget also shows various expenditures borne by the library towards employees' salaries and benefits along with its information resources such as books, periodicals/serials, electronic reference materials, microforms etc. and other assets, which include computers for different uses. The referencing service of the library appears to be at the stronger side, with the library staff providing referencing and information services to the customers both on the usage of printed as well as online resources. These reference librarians also provide training and education to the users with regard to effective usage of all the materials available in the library. This is very important in when electronic resources constitute an eminent part of information as well as the library sources. According to Gessesse (1997, p92), "the fact that many library users will not have direct access to equipment or the knowledge levels to use effectively the online environment, requires that librarians continue to be sophisticated translators of patrons' needs". Interaction with users also allows reference

Urbanisation Essay Example for Free

Urbanisation Essay London in the 18th century brought about a revolution in urbanisation and the expansion of an urbanised city began in England and spread rapidly all around Europe. Urbanisation brought a dramatic and radical change to London, significantly in the impact of the Industrial Revolution which was effected urban society. There were both general and particular reasons why the eighteenth century was a century of urban growth and amoung the general reasons were the rise in national population, the expansion of industry and commerce, and the displacement of growing numbers of country-dwellers by an agricultural revolution. [1] At the beginning of the 18th century, Britain was primarily an agricultural country with most people living in rural areas and the majority of workers and industires operated within a domestic system. 2] This involved people working in their own homes to produce goods and also to cultivate food on their own farm or piece of land. During the 18th centuy, there was a gradual move away from this way of working and the growth of urbanisation changed the domestic system to improve the lives of the British public. Urbanisation brough together all the manpower it required, whether for manual work or for the tertiary sector where the new age was creating more and more jobs, especially once London became more urbanised. 3] A further indicator of the abundance of the labour supply was the enormous number of domestic servants and at the end of the 18th century, domestic servants made up over 15% of the population of London and ultimately, England had no labour shortage as it was being urbanised. [4] The invention of machines after the industrial revolution led to a transformation in the ways in which goods could be produced and the speed and scale of the process of the 18th century, saw significant changes in the size, location and lifestyle of the British population. 5] Industrialisation was a very important influence in stimulating the movement to urbanisation and the growth of factories and the availibility of work in them attracted people from rural areas and sustained higher densities of people in London. Industrialisation was a majour factor in the population growth and urbanisation in London in the 1700s and although it initially created a new urban poverty, the living standards of the working cla ss rose from the mid-18th century onwards as new employment opportunities became vailable. [6] During the 18th century, major improvements occurred whilst London was being urbanised, especially in agricultural prodoction. Modern scientific farming methods brought about new tools and farming machines, new methods, improved crops and employment rose. [7] In 1702, 1757, 1769 and 1773 Parliament passed legislation, liberalizing the economy and this led many to conclude that libralization significantly contributed to accelerate growth, due to urbanisation. 8] The vast majority of economic historians do not believe that any of these variables alone was responsible for the boom in the British economy, although many believe that urbanisation was essential for the Londons improvement in its economy beause it is frequently asserted that it was the concomitant effect of all of them that delivered the improved performance. [9] Farming was modernised through the use of enclosure, the enlargement of farms, the use of new methods, new crops and the population grew, commerce expanded, and Lon don promoted exports. 10] Due to urbanisation and the industrial revolution, the English countryside intergrated into the islands national market; as a component part of this network, English farms fed the population of the towns and industrial conurbations; they were the essential component in a domestic market which provided London to continue to develop in its early days. [11] It also had colonies, and London enjoyed the same stock of natural resources as it did a century later, all because of London becoming urbanised and it brought London into political stability as it also liberalised the economy. 12] Within the industrial revolution as a whole, Britian went through a series of individual revolutions once London became more urbanised and the British public revolutionised in its agriculture, demography, inland transport, technoloy, trade and industry. [13] As Europes commetial and finantial centre of gravity shifted to London in the early 18th century, a strong territorial state and an intefrated national economy provided the resources for a new type of commercial metropolis, the modern â€Å"world city. [14] Although urbanisation brought prosperity to London, the social consequences of urbanisation left a huge social upheaval in the 18th century which had a majour effect on the physical and social conditions in which people had to live. The consequences of a large mass of people moving to live around new factories in a relatively short space of time included – housing shortages and squalor, sanitation problems, public health problems and regular utbreaks of disease and exploytation of workers and widespread poverty. [15] As the population increased in Britain, people moved from the countryside to the unrestrainedly frowing towns, which faced serious public health problems. The poor physical conditions in urban areas in the 18t h century led to majour public health problems and rapidly growing cities experienced majour outbreaks of disease, epidemics and other problems of : overcrowded, damp, and poorly ventilated housing. 16] Urbanisation also contributed to the lack of an effective sewerage system, industrial pollution, the lack of a clean water supply and a lack of undertanding about how infectious diseases were spread and so, many people living in the 18th century died at a relatively young age of infectious diseases that were contracted because of the public health condition, a lack of servises and multiple disease epidemics at the time. 17] As London became larger, the disposal of residential and industrial wastes became even more of a challenge, partly as a result of the mountening pressure for people to migrate to cities; the growth in urban populations stripped the availibility of basic servises such as – water, transportation and electricity. [18] As a result, life in London in the 18th Century in the urban shantytownes was plagued by poverty, pollution, congestion, homelessness and unemployment. The rapid expansion also led to problems of overcrowding and insanitary conditions, bringing desease, high death rates and it was therefore only through substantial migration from the countryside that London could continue to grow. [19] Whilst England had its small though rapidly expanding population, it became the most urbanisted country in Europe in the sense that the larger proportion of its citizens lived in a directly urban environment than anywhere else. Although there were many positire reactions to London being urbanised, many critics gave cynical views on the dramatic changes of the city. As David Landers has said, â€Å"Industrialisation in England had the effect of concentrating larger numbers of weavers and spinners in manufactoring districts which, thought still rural and not yet urban, became densely packed: full of people as Defoe wrote of the country around the Halifax in the West Riding. †[20] As Jacques Bertin said, I admit I am still completely in the dark about what industrilisation means. Does it mean railways? Cotton? Coal? Metals? So, even at the time of the industrial revolution, urbanisation wasnt highly liked and many were bemused by the act that London was evolving. [21] Since urbnisation meant everything – society, economy, political structures and public opinion, the most ambitious kind of history could not embrace it because the industrial revolution along with the urbanisation of London – it threw Britain into upheaval and it was not a netely-definable phenomenon. [22]There were also pessimists who, seeing its expansion, bel ieved that urbanisation was sucking in the life-blood of the nation, among them was Dr. Richard Price, who wrote gloomingly in 1783 that the inhabitants of the cottages thrown down in the country fly to London, there to be corrupted and perished. [23] This already is a strong indication that urbanisation was not the majour element in the onset of revolutionising London; this conclusion is reinforced by the analysis of urbanisation trends and it was not the traditional network of cities which was the basis of the new industrialisation process and this process was essentially located in very small towns or villages, which obviously later became big cities. 24] Urbanisation strengthened the political power of workers and of those engaged in business, with a middle class, the bourgeoisie, formed out of managers, suppliers of services, investors, bankers, industrialists, engineers and others whose well-being depended on industrialisation and urbanisation. [25] Although urbanisation did bring prosperity to London, H.  Shmal has suggesed that high levels of urbanisation actually limited the possiblities of productive investement, especially in the new sectors and consumption demanded from the cities and even the construction needed to be absorbed to a large share of resources, that ultimately resulted in poor living and unhealthy living conditions. [26] High levels of urbanisation in London created urban under-employment, and therefore, lowered productivity on the whole economy and this under-employment also lead to a too large tertiary sector, and to rigidity in the offer and mobility of the labour force. [27]

Shakespeares Hamlet - Laertes :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Hamlet’s Laertes      Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the less-discussed characters in the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, is Laertes, the son of Polonius and brother to Ophelia. He witnesses the death of all of his immediate family, thus losing his â€Å"honorable† approach to living – until the very end of the drama.    Bernice W. Kliman in â€Å"A Television Interpretation of Hamlet† (1964 with Christopher Plummer) highlights the actions of Laertes at the climax of the drama:    Close-ups, of course, reveal that Gertrude offers Hamlet the poisoned wine once she has drunk, that Laertes crosses himself as he takes the fatal rapier, that he gives Hamlet a foul blow after impatient urgings from Claudius, that the soldiers restrain Claudius after Laertes’ revelation. Yet the setting allows enough space around the close-ups for Laertes to make his first admission to Osric alone and for the supernumeraries to disappear while Horatio holds the dying Hamlet, the frame widening out for Fortinbras’ stately entry. (157)    Kliman’s description contains some detail which is not within the official text since her description derives from a television version of Hamlet. Based on the stage version, Marvin Rosenberg describes Laertes in his essay, â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat†:    Laertes is a dashing, romantic figure who excites striking, spectacular moments in the play. Not much attention has been paid to him by scholar-critics and theatre observers; for all his activity in the later acts, he is not much cursed with inward struggle – while being surrounded by others fascinating for their infernos of inwardness. After Laertes’ brief, bright introduction in I,i and I,iii, he disappears from the play – and Denmark – until he returns at the head of a rebellion in IV,v [. . .]. (87)    With Rosenberg’s overview of Laertes’ situation in the play, let us begin a consideration of his interaction with other members of the cast. Laertes makes his appearance in the drama after Marcellus, Barnardo and Horatio have already seen the Ghost and have trifled with it in an effort to prompt it to communicate with them. Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet, who is dejected by the â€Å"o’erhasty marriage† to Hamlet I’s wife less than two month’s after the funeral of Hamlet’s father (Gordon 128). After this scene, Laertes is one of many in attendance at a post-coronation social gathering of the court at Elsinore.

Amazing Doctor for Marketing

Review questions for the midterm exam Topic 1: Introduction to Marketing 1. Define marketing and discuss how it is more than just â€Å"advertising and selling. † 2. Explain why it is important for all departments of an organization—marketing, accounting, finance, operations management, human resources, and so on—to â€Å"think consumer. † Why is it important that even people who are not in marketing understand it? 3. Marketing has been criticized because it â€Å"makes people buy things they don’t really need. † Refute or support this accusation. . What are the five different marketing management orientations? 5. Explain the production, product, selling, and marketing concepts. 6. Explain the societal marketing concept and provide three examples of companies that are practicing social responsibility in their business activities. 7. List the different steps of the marketing process. 8. What are the two important questions the marketing manage r must answer to design a winning marketing strategy? How does the marketing manager go about answering these two questions? 9.Explain what is meant by segmentation and targeting. 10. Define positioning and explain how it is accomplished. 11. Define the concept of marketing mix. 12. Define each of the four Ps. What insights might a firm gain by considering the four Cs rather than the four Ps? 13. What is the difference between the concept of customer (perceived) value and customer lifetime-value? 14. What is the difference between the concept of brand equity and customer equity? 15. Do loyalty cards foster (i. e. , create) brand loyalty in the marketplace?Explain your answer. Topic 2: The marketing environment and Strategic Planning 1. Define the concept of strategic planning and enumerate the steps that lead managers and the firm through the strategic planning process. 2. Describe the elements of a company’s marketing environment and why marketers play a critical role in tra cking environmental trends and spotting opportunities. 3. Explain what is meant by a market-oriented mission statement and discuss the characteristics of effective mission statements. 4. Explain the product/market matrix. 5.Explain what is meant by a business portfolio analysis. Also, name and thoroughly describe a framework (a tool) that can be used to conduct a business portfolio analysis. Topic 3: Marketing Research 1. Contrast between qualitative research and quantitative research. 2. List the different steps of the research process. 3. Explain the role of secondary data in gaining customer insights. Where do marketers obtain secondary data? 4. Compare open-ended and closed-ended questions. When and for what is each type of question useful in marketing research? 5.What is the difference between a Likert scale and a semantic differential scale? Propose a Likert scale to measure the concept of brand loyalty. 6. A marketing researcher should assess the reliability of his findings a nd the validity of his measurements. What is the difference between reliability and validity? Support your answer by giving examples. 7. A manufacturer would like to measure the effects of the colour of the product package (red vs. blue vs. black) on the sales. Would you advise the manufacturer to use ethnography, projective techniques or experimentation? Explain your choice.

Junk Food Essay

Fast food , the type of food changed our lives. It’s fast, it’s easy to prepare, it’s easy to eat, and it’s cheap. It’s for everyone. It’s for the poor and the non-poor. It’s for students, for managers, for actors, for factory workers, for criminals, for priests†¦ today it seems like fast food was always around and it is not possible to imagine a world without fast food. Even countries like Japan, which has a traditional diet of rice, fish, vegetables and soy products, accepted fast food into their worlds. The biggest help of this growing is advertisement. Fast food advertisements are mainly focusing on television, magazines, billboards and Internet. One of the most powerful ways of advertising fast food is product placement. Product Plac/ement is a term defined as â€Å"the practice of integrating specific products and brands into filmed e/ntertainment. † Product placement was always evolved into the billion-dollar market of Hollywood. As the costs keep increasing for producing movies, studios become ready to make connections with big corporations, which are willing to place their products in a big, particular film. These big connections have big payments. For example â€Å"direct payments for product placement (for instance in License to Kill Phillip Morris Tobacco paid $350,000 for Bond to smoke a Lark cigarette). † Another good example is, In the biggest co-marketing deal in film history, Coca-Cola paid Ј95 million to the producers of Harry Potter for the right o use the film’s logo on it’s cans in what will become a series of films; the first Harry Potter film cost Ј75 million. It went on general release on November 2001 and is expected to be shown on a thousand screens in the UK. The movie was like the big bang as expected. Harry Potter products everywhere sold in huge amounts and consumers attacked to any product of the movie letting the industry behind the scenes to gain more power. Today all major US film studios seeking for brands to place into a film they are producing. Studios don’t pay to the brand owner but the benefits of product placement advertisement are so big to the product name and the film itself that each side promotes the other. Even some smaller studios are seeking for product placement. These movies usually require the product owners to pay television and billboard advertisements. A small film cannot afford these types of advertisements but product placement can. Eric Schlosser is the author who has written about the fast food industry and he presents many of his findings in the book â€Å"Fast Food Nation†. However, his book is not merely an expose of the fast food industry but is even more a consideration of how the fast food industry has shaped and defined American society in America and for other nations as America exports its fast food culture to others. Schlosser describes a great deal of American culture to the fast food mentality, and he finds that globalization is taking the fast food culture around the world at a rapid rate. Schlosser addresses a number of specific issues related to food production and distribution. He connects the social order of a society to the kind of food it eats and the way it eats that food, with American society very much defined by the fast food culture that has developed. Schlosser tends to represent the theory stressing the importance of interdependence among all behavior patterns and institutions within a social system, as can be seen from how he connects fast food to other social processes and institutions. The icon that represents fast food culture for most people is McDonald’s, though the fast food culture developed long before the creation of that restaurant chain. Schlosser considers the impact of such fast-food chains but also considers the primacy of the hamburger in the American diet and some of the dangers it poses. McDonald’s reliance on hamburger is a questionable item for a steady diet in a more health conscious age, and interferes with local customs and food in different parts of the world. Schlosser addresses this issue from several perspectives, beginning with a consideration of how safe the meat really is, not only on the basis of nutritional value but also on the basis of additives, preservatives, diseases, and even potential radioactivity. Some beef is considered questionable, and much of it makes its way through the USDA to school cafeterias Napoleon Bonaparte once said, †A man’s palate can, in time, become accustomed to anything. † While this French emperor may have had some difficulty like the Battle of Waterloo, he certainly has hit the nail on the head this time. The food industry has evolved in ways that may not be distinguishable to the human palate, but hopefully remain distinguishable to the human conscience. With all the options now available to industrial leaders, citizens must be sure to keep them from abusing their powers and continuing to harm employees, animals, and consumers. The best ways are to promote public discourse, to act as the industrial ‘watchdog,’ and to make the most of the power of the consumer†¦ the almighty dollar. Fast Food Industry Name: Course: InstructorÐ ²Ãâ€šÃ¢â€ž ¢s name: Date: Abstract This paper on Fast food industry covers a detailed exploration of the fast food industry to in order to identify new emerging issues in the field of fast foods industry. The paper also significantly projects about the future rends of this economy that is growing tremendously fast. It identifies fast food in a specific region or nation and provides sequence details about that particular market. Experts with experience in economics, politics, and the restaurant industry can be involved in the projections of fast food industry analysis. Health concerns From the time fast foods services were established the chain gangs have intensely emerged throughout the preceding decades. The values of nutrition in fast food providers as well as in the provisions made have diminished as the demand for convenience exploded throughout America. This is due to the many health effects than advantages that those who access these services pose. It has been noted that eating frequently at fast food products leads teens and young adults to gain more weight. This emerging lifestyle poses an increased risk of developing insulin resistance to those practicing it, according to the recent study of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Pathetic Fallacy

Pathetic Fallacy Pathetic Fallacy Pathetic Fallacy By Mark Nichol Is a pathetic fallacy really all that pathetic? Although some literary critics condemn the technique, the person who coined the phrase was attacking not its use but its overuse. Pathetic fallacy is the association of feelings, sensations, or thoughts to inanimate objects, such as when a writer describes a cruel sea or a brooding cliff or an unyielding boulder. Nineteenth-century critic John Ruskin wasn’t being pejorative when he first described the concept; pathetic, in his usage indeed, in its original sense refers not to something pitiful, as the dominant modern connotation implies, but to something associated with feeling. (Pathos, the Greek word from which pathetic is derived, means â€Å"emotion, experience, or suffering.†) Pathetic fallacy also applies to scientific and technical contexts. For example, the widely misquoted and misunderstood statement â€Å"Information wants to be free† imputes a motive to information. (The entire comment by technology writer Stewart Brand has been manifested variously, including this version: â€Å"Information wants to be free. Information also wants to be expensive. . . . That tension will not go away.†) However, as the noted philosopher-warrior Yoda sagely observed, â€Å"Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.† Strictly speaking, no inanimate object or phenomenon can attempt something; it can only accomplish or fail to accomplish it. But even scientific and technical writers often indulge in poetic license, describing how, for example, electricity tries to complete a circuit, as if the force were engaged in an endeavor prompted by a cognitive cue. That’s not too far removed from, for example, a novelist’s or a poet’s reference to icy fingers of gusting wind trying to penetrate a ramshackle cabin during a blizzard. So, don’t hesitate to employ pathetic fallacy ascribing emotion to phenomena (â€Å"Nature abhors a vacuum†) is a sensible analogy, and sensible and subtle literary use is likely to be effective and unobtrusive but put your critical faculties on full alert to recognize when overreaching produces purple prose or poesy. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Talking30 Baseball IdiomsWhat is an Anagram?

How to Use German Particle or Filler Words

How to Use German Particle or Filler Words German, like any other language, has particular words and expressions that can be used in more than one way. These include the short but tricky  Wà ¶rter  known as â€Å"particles† or â€Å"fillers.† I call them â€Å"small words that can cause big problems.† Simple-Looking German Particles That Are Actually Tricky German words such as  aber,  auch,  denn,  doch,  halt,  mal,  nur,  schon  and even  ja  look deceptively simple, but are often a source of errors and misunderstanding for even intermediate learners of German. The main source of problems is the fact that each one of these words can have multiple meanings and functions in different contexts or situations. Take the word  aber. Most often it is encountered as a  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹coordinating conjunction, as in:  Wir wollten heute fahren,  aber  unser Auto ist kaputt.  (â€Å"We wanted to go/drive today, but our car is broken down.†) In that context,  aber  functions like any of the coordinating conjunctions (aber,  denn,oder,  und). But  aber  can also be used as a particle:  Das ist aber nicht mein Auto.  (â€Å"That is, however, not my car.†) Or:  Das war aber sehr hektisch.  (â€Å"That was really very hectic.†) Another characteristic that such particle-word examples make clear is that it is often difficult to translate the German word into an English word. German  aber,  contrary to what your first-year German teacher told you, does  not  always equal â€Å"but†! In fact, the Collins/PONS German-English dictionary uses one-third of a column for all of the uses of  aber.  Depending on how it is being used, the word  aber  can mean: but, and, at all, however, really, just, isnt it?, havent you?, come on now or why. The word can even be a noun:  Die Sache hat ein Aber.  (â€Å"Theres just one snag.† -  das Aber) or  Kein Aber!  (â€Å"No ifs, ands or buts!†) In fact, a German dictionary rarely offers much help in dealing with particles. They are so idiomatic that it is often impossible to translate them, even if you understand German pretty well. But throwing them into your German (as long as you know what youre doing!) can make you sound more natural and native-like. To illustrate, lets use another example, the often over-used  mal. How would you translate  Sag mal, wann fliegst du?  or  Mal sehen.? In neither case would a good English translation actually bother to translate  mal  (or some of the other words) at all. With such idiomatic usage, the first translation would be â€Å"Say (Tell me), when does your flight leave?† The second phrase would be â€Å"Well see† in English. The word  mal  is actually two words. As an adverb, it has a mathematical function:  fà ¼nf mal fà ¼nf(5Ãâ€"5). But it is as a particle and a shortened form of  einmal  (once), that  mal  is most often used in day-to-day conversation, as in  Hà ¶r mal zu!  (Listen!) or  Kommt mal her!  (Come over here!). If you listen carefully to German-speakers, youll discover that they can hardly say anything without throwing in a  mal  here and there. (But its not nearly as irritating as the use of â€Å"Ya know† in English!) So if you do the same (at the right time and in the right place!), youll sound just like a German! Uses of the German Word Doch! The German word  doch  is so versatile that it can also be dangerous. But knowing how to use this word properly can make you sound like a true German (or Austrian or German Swiss)! Lets start with the basics:  ja,  nein  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and  doch! Of course, two of the first words you ever learned in German were  ja  and  nein. You probably knew those two words  before  you began studying German! But they arent enough. You also need to know  doch. The use of  doch  to answer a question is not actually a particle function, but it is important. (Well get back to  doch  as a particle in a moment.) English may have the largest vocabulary of any world language, but it doesnt have a single word for  doch  as an answer. When you answer a question negatively or positively, you use  nein/no or  ja/yes, whether inDeutsch  or English. But German adds a third one-word option,  doch  (â€Å"on the contrary†), that English does not have. For instance, someone asks you in English, â€Å"Dont you have any money?† You actually do, so you answer, â€Å"Yes, I do.† While you might also add, â€Å"On the contrary...â€Å" only two responses are possible in English: â€Å"No, I dont.† (agreeing with the negative question) or â€Å"Yes, I do.† (disagreeing with the negative question). German, however, offers a third alternative, which in some cases is required instead of  ja  or  nein. The same money question in German would be:  Hast du kein Geld?  If you answer with  ja, the questioner may think you are agreeing to the negative, that yes, you do  not  have any money. But by answering with  doch,  you are making it clear: â€Å"On the contrary, yes, I do have money.† This also applies to statements that you want to contradict. If someone says, â€Å"Thats not right,† but it is, the German statement  Das stimmt nicht  would be contradicted with:  Doch! Das stimmt.  (â€Å"On the contrary, it is right.†) In this case, a response with  ja  (es stimmt) would sound wrong to German ears. A  doch  response clearly means you disagree with the statement. Doch  has many other uses as well. As an adverb, it can mean â€Å"after all† or â€Å"all the same.†Ã‚  Ich habe sie doch erkannt!  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I recognized her after all!† or â€Å"I  did  recognize her!† It is often used this way as an intensifier:  Das hat sie doch gesagt.   â€Å"She  did  say that (after all).† In commands,  doch  is more than a mere particle. It is used to soften an order, to turn it into more of a suggestion:  Gehen Sie doch vorbei!, â€Å"Why dont you go by?â€Å" rather than the harsher â€Å"(You will) go by!† As a particle,  doch  can intensify (as above), express surprise (Das war doch Maria!   That was actually Maria!), show doubt (Du hast doch meine Email bekommen?   You did get my email, didnt you?), question (Wie war doch sein Name?   Just what was his name?) or be used in many idiomatic ways:  Sollen Sie doch!   Then just go ahead (and do it)! With a little attention and effort, youll begin to notice the many ways that  doch  is used in German. Understanding the uses of  doch  and the other particles in German will give you a much better command of the language.

Cultural, Economic, and Institutional Inequality in the US Assignment

Cultural, Economic, and Institutional Inequality in the US - Assignment Example While using the public policy field, it will be possible to have a deeper understanding of how the political economy in the US is organized. Within these fields, the focus will mainly be on the wealth and poverty in the United States with regards to public policy, as well as social inequalities in the US with regards to sociology. This research will be important to a wider audience because there has been a significant increase in cultural, economic, and institutional inequality in the United States since the mid-70s. The United States for a long time has been one of the most unequal countries among the developed countries in the world. However, the cultural and economic upheaval that started in the seventies acted as a stark departure from the movement that had sought to push for more equality after the Great Depression and into the Second World War (Pontusson 41). The push for equality had been a core feature of public policy in the thirty years after WWII and its reversal consequences of this reversal should be of importance. In addition, this research paper is important because it will deal with a pertinent issue in American society today. Despite the magnitude with which inequality has risen in the United States, it seems that political discourse only refers obliquely to inequality in the United States. Th e debate in the public arena, neither acknowledges the scale and widespread nature of inequality in the United States, nor does it discuss why these sustained, and sudden changes have occurred in a serious and focused manner (Pontusson 42). This research paper will seek to expand, on policy recommendations, to reverse the trend of economic inequality in the United States, providing an alternate view of the period after World War 2, particularly the last thirty years.  

Ethical Dilemma Capstone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Dilemma Capstone - Essay Example ry, which states that what happens in a state is its own affair as long as it takes place within the limits of the international law then the US had no right to interfere whatsoever (Burge 9). However, there are instances where human rights violations are so severe that the use of force from outside is the only way to halt such scenarios. Therefore, the concept of non-interference must occasionally be overlooked by the international states to protect the targeted population. Nonetheless, this right or duty of humanitarian intervention sometimes acts against the consent of a state or its leaders for purposes that are claimed to be humanitarian, but some action does have hidden motives (Abbott, 8). For instance, the US was giving financial aid and military advice to French in Indochina. This was, however, primarily because America was concerned with keeping the Indochinese resources in a friendly way for the benefit of itself and its allies (Burge, 9). The American society was getting concerned with the financial aid that the U.S government was spending on French war. The U.S official reaction to this was; if they allowed communists to take over in countries in the Southern Asia, then America would face serious repercussions that would affect the political and economy of the U.S. Consequently, communism would spread to other parts of the world, thereby affecting the stability of the European region (Smith, 1). Although the U.S provided French with money, weapons and supplies they did not participate in the actual fighting. Later on when Viet Minh launched a major attack, France implored the U.S for direct military support but did not get any. Without the support of the allies the French forces stood little chance against an enemy with superior weapons, but on the other hand, they actually supported the Vietnam with their military. Thus, U.S would only participate in intervention when they stood to gain something. As Americans continued to aver support and