History inquiry

The impact of World War 1 on the farming industry was the unreason for its downfall in the 1920. † During World War 1 farming was booming. The farm prices were giant at a staggering 9. 7 US billion dollars and blueness for farmers were great. The reason for this was that the foreign market (mainly Europe) was demanding allot from America due to the fact that many foreign countries had little harvest due to the war. America was mostly isolated and not involved in the war so farming was not effected by the war in America. This meet that the other countries involved in the war had to rely onAmerica's produce, meaning America's farms were selling allot more produce. Therefore they were gaining allot of money and they were living in very good conditions. Farmers in America at this time Oust before the 1 ass's) decided that to keep up with the demand of harvest they would get loans to allow them to get the latest technology to grow and harvest more produce, more quickly. They believe d that this would make them more money in the long run and therefore they were quick to do it. However, things began to go spiraling down for farmers when the war ended.In the beginning of the sass's foreign countries began to recover and thus the American farmers lost their foreleg market. Farm price dropped to a low 4. 1 US billion dollars. Losing their foreign market meet that they were left with their big loans and were stuck with their newly bought technology making way too much produce. The mass amounts of produce they made didn't have enough people buying it and so it went to waste. Leaving farmers with very little income, meaning they had no money to pay off these loans with. This caused the farmers to quickly fall into dept.The dept meant farmers had to continue to produce the same amount of mass produce to pay off their dept. Thus they were stuck in a loop that was pulling them deeper and deeper into dept. During this time the living conditions for farming families were ho rrendous. 6 million farming families had to live on an average of a mere $200 annul. Around 25 million farmers on small farms had to move to work on a commercially big farm. And they farmed on these farms so much they exhausted the land. These figures and facts show Just how bad the social and economic conditions came for farmers.Besides from farmers, African Americans and Immigrants were also finding this decade to be quite hurdling. Racism and racial segregation could be seen everywhere and black Americans had very difficult times, especially because of growing black hate groups such as the ASK. Immigrants and black Americans had allot of trouble in finding good work in American. Immigrants often had a giant language barrier and allot of the time, both immigrants and African-Americans were very uneducated. These were very big social problems of the 1 ass's. This source was made primarily by Fitzpatrick, Daniel Robert (1891-1969).It shows the hardship of farmers In the 1 ass's. As the picture depicts; Farmers are broke and money Lies else where In Industries and such. It successfully shows how bad farmers of this time have It. The republic policy of having a laissez fairer has been said to have a part In causing the down fall of farming. This Is because these polices refused the government from interfering in the farms and no aid or support could would be more realistic to say that this infant didn't cause anything but instead ended the problem from being solved or made better.The technological advance of the sass's could be described as a cause for the farming crash. Many newly invented machines were put into action to increase the speed and amount of produce being made. The machines meant more produce and the produce couldn't be sold because of the lack of market. Loans were made to get aloud of these machines and these loans couldn't be paid back, leaving many farmers in debt. However these loans were only made because of the conditions set in place by the effects of WWW. The arbitration was also apart of the cause of the down fall of farming in America in the sass's.The prohibition banned all alcoholic drinks in America, therefore stopping the production of all alcohol including spirits. This meant that all the wheat and barley used to make these drinks were no longer bought leaving the farmers with even less produce being sold. The amount of wheat being bought dropped by 25% and the amount of barley being bought dropped by 90%. This may be a cause for the farmer's downfall but it had no where near the effect that the impact of WWW had on farmers. It was a lesser cause and held far little importance than the impact of WWW.

PostQuick Computing project Essay

I designed my project on visual basics 6. 0, and the benefit I found in Visual Basics as compared to other software was that Visual Basics is user friendly. Anyone can use it by clicking certain buttons, and on the other hand other software packages such as Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel require a bit of knowledge before using them. To make my own project using visual basics, I first designed my form on the paper, which gave me a rough idea about how my project form would look like. This is also attached with my documentation. I designed my project by prototyping, and made my form using these things   A set of screen that shows the user what might be possible   A system with limited functionality An existing system that might be modified For my human-computer interface (HCI), I used graphical user Interface (GUI) which is used in Microsoft windows . My form had certain buttons which could be used by clicking the mouse and some text boxes in which data was entered using keyboard. I think that the advantage of this type of interface is this that It is easy to use   In my form no one needs special instruction The disadvantage of GUI is   It uses a lot of processing power   It requires good graphical display   It uses a lot of processing power   It uses a lot of memory and disk space 3. Method of Data Entry, including Validation As said before that my form had certain buttons and these buttons could be used by clicking the mouse and some text boxes in which data was entered using keyboard. I declared each data type with certain specific data type, and checked that if I entered wrong data type then it would not work. The method of data entry is also shown in implementation. The program contains three forms. The main form, which is named input form, is the start-up form. This is the data entry form for all the data, which is entered for a particular assignment. The method of entering data is as follows. Consignment No: These are self-generated. Numbers, its enabled property is false. User has no control on entering its data. Customer Name destination and client address will be entered in respective columns. Afterwards the information of the first parcel of the consignment will be filled (i. e. the whole form will be filled). If there are more then one parcel required to be entered for the same consignment then add new parcel button is pressed for the parcel, and after each parcel entry of the consignment† data entry complete† button will be pressed For a separate consignment†new consignment button â€Å"is required to be pressed. It was part of validation of the project that, the minimum weight of the parcel should not be less then 1 kg. If it does then the message box would appear saying that too less weight in the parcel. Second validation was that the weight of the parcels should not exceed 30 kg, if it does then the message box would appear saying, too much weight of the parcel† The third Validation was that the maximum dimension of the parcel i. e. (length + breadth + height) must not exceed 3 m, if it does then the message box would appear saying â€Å"too big Parcel to send†. The fourth validation was that the maximum weight of consignment must not exceed 200 kg, if it does then the message box would appear saying† too much weight of the consignment† 4. Record structure, file organisation and processing:- The file for the database of the consignments for the Parcel Company is saved as a record structure and saved only for the consignments for one day. It includes the data and information required for the parcels in consignments. It is a record file so it cannot be changed, but the database is changed everyday because each day different consignments are sent to the Parcel Company. The database is linked with Visual basics form, and the file of database is stored as a Microsoft access file. For the backup the file is saved in the floppy so if the actual program in the processor is altered, we can bring back the old one. There are four files that I used for my project one was the form file, named as input parcel, and two forms were for the price list, the Access file linked to database, named as, payslip database which has two databases linked to each other. The actual processing carried out by the program is arithmetic operation, in other words calculation is being carried out, but the bigger companies can use CLOCK SYSTEM, which would be more economical for them. 5. Security and integration of Data Security is the most important thing, because if your data is not secured properly from unauthorised hands then anyone could change your data and could change your project; I therefore kept the project under a password So no one could change or alter my project. If someone did change my database then I could use my backup to restore it from the floppy in which I’ve kept the backup file so if the actual program in the processor is altered, we can bring back the old one. I also protected my data, by using the menu button in the visual basics. If you go to the text box, u click on it and then click text box protect enable force and in this way I can protect my text. I also made sure that when data is entered it is entered accurately and I checked that when I was entering data, no one enters anything. 6. System design:- For documenting my project I used System flow charts-It describes the flow of data around the system. This method uses rectangle to denote some process that takes place, as descriptive symbols to describe the storage or input/output of data. An arrow describes the direction of flow of the data.   Structure diagrams-These are a mean of showing the design of a program or a systemic consists of charts showing the system or programs broken down into number of levels. * Hierarchy charts-these can be used to show menu hierarchy or a directory hierarchy Data model:- A data model represents the relationship between different parts of a database. It consists of entities (data items) and relationship. The entities are shown as rectangles and the relationship are drawn as lines that connect entities. System Flow Chart (describing the flow of data around the system) Parcelquick Company Aqsa Bano Raja 12 s Postquick Structure Diagram The hierarchy Hierarchy diagram 7. Implementation The project that I have made for PostQuick Company can be implemented either as a whole or in parts. The problem maybe that an organisation cannot change instantly to a new method of working as existing records will have to be entered into computer and this may take some time. There are two main approaches to this   Implement the system department by department   Dual run the new system alongside the old system The two databases below are linked to Visual basics6. 0 forms 8. Testing Length,width,height,weight Test Results Right/wrong.

A Visit to a Mosque

Theology I have been a member of the Catholic Church my entire life. Although I have often taken time to reflect on my faith, never once have I made an attempt to explore a religion aside from my own. Recently, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and was fortunate enough to visit a mosque. A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam, or one who is Muslim. There are a multitude of services I could have visited to experience a new religion, each with their own identity.The reason I ultimately chose o visit a mosque is because Muslims believe all life begins and ends with God, as do l. However, unlike Catholics, the Islamic religion does not believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, nor that he was crucified on the cross. My goal was to gain a better understanding of the beliefs Catholics and Muslims share, how they differ, and why. The experience was refreshing, and I feel as though I left the mosque with solid answers to my questions, and a new outlook on my own faith. The mosque I visited, called the Mosque Foundation, is located in Bridgeview, Illinois.Although there are mosques shorter in distance from my home, I was told the experience would prove to be better at this particular mosque. When first walking in, I observed many people gathered in the hallways visiting and conversing with one another. After a short time, the women proceeded down stairs and the men stayed upstairs near the main entrance. One woman was gracious enough to explain to me the events taking place. Men and women separate to take part in Salat, or prayer. Because the prayer ritual requires putting one's forehead to the ground, shoes are emoved and placed on shelves.Every woman was dressed modestly and wore a veil/ scarf covering their hair. While many people are aware that Muslim women wear this garment on their heads, perhaps what is not known is that this is a religious practice. Many Muslims believe God requires the hair to be covered, as this is stated in the Qu'ran (what Muslims believe to be His final book). I sat on a chair in the back to watch the group of women prays. I noticed there were a handful of girls sitting on chairs in the back as well, away from the group.It was explained to me that Muslim irls who are menstruating are not permitted to participate in prayer, as they are considered to be unclean. In order to practice traditional salat, one must be in a state of ritual purity. The salat itself is of great importance to Muslims because it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts that are mandatory of Muslims and are considered to be the foundation of Muslim life. The pillars are as follows; 1 . Shahadah- declaring there is no God except God, and Muhammad is God's messenger. 2 .Salat-a ritual prayer done five times a day. . Sawm- fasting and self- control during Ramadan. 4. Zakat- giving 2. 5% of one's savings to the poor. 5. HaJJ- Pilgrimage to the Mecca at least once in lifetime if he/she is abl e to do so. The Muslim faith pray five times a day. The actual salat consists of a series of movements called Rakat. Verses are read aloud by a man over a loudspeaker and the movements are made. The movements, or different parts of the Rakat consist of bowing low with the hands on the knees, lowering oneself to the ground with the forehead and sitting with the feet folded under the body.The actual prayer lasts for less than ten minutes. When the men and women were finished praying, I had a chance to sit down with the Imam, the one who lead the worship service. The Imam's name was Khalid. Khalid welcomed me into his office and talked with me for over an hour about Islam. He knew I was of the Catholic faith, thus the majority of our conversation was spent discussing the differences between us. What I gathered from Khalid is that Muslims believe in one God, who created all, and nothing is worthy of worship except Him. Our entire purpose in this life is to serve im.Muslims do love and v enerate Jesus only as a prophet and a messenger, not as the Son of God. They do not feel Jesus was slain on the cross. According to Khalid, Jesus was sent to the people of Israel to revive a spiritual connection with God. This is one very significant way Catholics differ from Muslims, because not only to we feel God gave the world Jesus as His son, but we also worship Jesus and pray to him. Catholics also believe Mary to be the Mother of God. Muslims do believe Mary did indeed give birth to Jesus, though she was a virgin.The Imam was very adamant bout the fact that Muslims do not Judge others, nor impose their beliefs upon others. They do however feel that Imam is the right and only way one should live, and those that do not practice the right way will be sent to hell. Those who do not live as God wanted us to, especially those that have been shown the way and turned their back, will be punished. I asked how the Muslim faith feels about those that were never shown the way of God-per haps a tribe of some sort never connecting with the outside world- how does God treat them? I questioned how could they know if they were never taught?The answer I received was simple. The Muslims leave those type of questions to God, because only He knows the answer-but they do believe He will treat them fairly. The conversation I had with Khalid had me questioning my own fate. Certainly, I nave been shown the way. Even though I am Catholic, I – like the Muslim taitn- teel as though our purpose is to serve God. This is what He wants us to do and why he put us here. My visit to the mosque made me realize that it is time to make a choice on how I serve God. I feel giving minimal attention and thanks to God is not good enough.Khalid opened my eyes when he said â€Å"those who turned their backs will be punished. † I would never turn my back, but I do need to make some small, achievable changes to feel right again with the Lord. I respect how loyal followers of Islam are. Even with the world changing rapidly, the apathetic attitude people have about religion, technology, temptation, etc. , the Muslim faith is stronger than ever, now the largest religion in the world. The reason they devote their lives to Islam is because they are certain they will be rewarded. Perhaps we could all learn something from visiting a mosque once in our lives.

Is It Possible to Have a Prejudice Free Society Essay

Is It Possible to Have a Prejudice Free Society - Essay Example It is human behaviour to simply distrust or dislike someone and such simple latent feelings often convert into sharp hatred, making people form strong assumptions and theories about why they are prejudiced against others. Such hatred often even causes people to cause others injury and thus is only a matter of attitude within a person’s conscience. The fact of the matter remains - whether or not the society we live in can be free of prejudice at some point. When children are born, their minds are free of all kinds of thought; they usually soak in all the positivity from the environment around them as they are sheltered under the wings of their family members. However, with time, as they begin interacting with different parts of the society, they are taught ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ according to their family members. This causes a change in their attitudes and thus makes them take certain choices which may portray the growing level of prejudice that they feel for other people. Many people have been raised in a way so as to hate other groups of people; for example the shudra caste in olden India was said to be a group of untouchable people whom no one would interact with or even touch for fear of being heralded with sins. However, as the freedom movement gained momentum, leaders like B.R Ambedkar began educating society about how these people were also children of God and deserved a free right to life among other people. They could not be shunned without any reason, without having committed a serious crime or being a grave danger to the other people. In Europe and America, most white skinned people were prejudiced against people belonging to different races; black or brown skinned people were frowned down upon and given the status of slaves. They were supposed to serve their white masters and were stripped off various rights including using the same transport, eating at the same places as well as visiting the same places of worship. Case s of Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King have helped to define the border line for letting people give in to apartheid and accept such discrimination and prejudice caused against people belonging to different races. Today, there are a number of reforms and laws laid down that have helped to abolish such practices all over the world. With time, more and more people have been educated about living together with differences and learning to accept another person’s thoughts, opinions and perspectives on living life. The world we live in has helped us expose each other to a plethora of new cultures and this gives people the hope that it is possible to live in a world free of prejudice at some point. This is because with time, gradually people are coming to an understanding and learning that every person is after all trying to live his own life and make a living for himself and his family. Every man is trying his best to provide for food, shelter and clothing. The basi c necessities of life are what is important for people to survive, not prejudice. Today, many people around the world have a problem with those practicing the religion of Islam because they feel that after the 9/11 attacks, all Muslims have a single goal of terrorism; however, with time, more and more people are coming to the realization that even Islam is a beautiful faith to follow and that the people following it are not doing

Google human resources practices Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Google human resources practices - Assignment Example The analysis should involve a brief overview of the model that will be used. The latter was developed by Edgar Schein and consists of three elements. The first of them focuses on artefacts of an organisation which is anything visible that has a connection towards the company. Indeed, an artefact is not only the logo, it is also the colour that a company primarily uses in its products, the way employees great customers, even the design of the building. In other words, it is the physical manifestation of the company.The second level included espoused values. It must be noted that the elements of the model differ in the way they are connected to the material world; therefore, the second element which will more abstract. Thus, values also stand for the image of the company, but a mental one. In other words, this level includes goals, mission statement and other elements that were designed to explain the manner in which a company operates. In other words, this level of organizational cult ure focuses on the long term perspective of business and encourages people to do their best in order to live up to these expectations.The third element that should be analyzed carefully is underlying assumptions. Indeed, one might suggest that the highest level of manifestation of organisational culture should be extremely perfect and not embodied into anything. While artefacts are physical objects and values can be physically written on a piece of paper, the underlying assumptions are those ideas about the organisation that people take for granted.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Management - Essay Example The company should use the generic strategies to achieve competitive advantage. These generic strategies include; differentiation, focus and cost leadership. Cost leadership strategy strongly emphasizes on working towards a goal of producing low priced products. Many people would be attracted to companies that offer lower prices for their services and products. For example, South West airlines have used this strategy, and the profits have grown immensely through application of cost leadership strategy. Differentiation strategy emphasizes on production of unique products and services that are better than their competitors and are valued more by customers. For a company that wants to make great changes, differentiations of their products is very important. Focus strategy means developing a certain market target. A focused strategy targets market segments which are less vulnerable to any substitutes or in situations where competition is weakest. This will enable a company to attain comp etitive advantage. For a business that is undergoing large change, marketing strategy implementation is also very important. A company may be undergoing a change like change of product, change of process; change of location change of product composition etc. customers may not be aware of these changes and may become reluctant to buy their products (Paley, 2006 pp.21). These changes may have a negative impact on the company if they do not follow well defined strategies. The initial purposes for change which in most cases are done with an aim of increasing profit may not be met if they are not well advertised. For example; a company may decide to change their products. When these products get to the market customers who are not aware of them may be reluctant to buy. Buyers have to be made aware of the products through good marketing strategy. They need to be made aware of the benefits of using the products. Advertisement is a good marketing strategy in the business set up undergoing m assive change. Appealing means of capturing people to buy your product cannot be under weighed (Foxall, 2005).The advertisements should be made in such a way that it targets many people. For example; advertising in popular television and radio programs can capture millions of people. Similarly, advertisements can be done by use of large and attractive billboards in busy streets. For example; using a popular celebrity in your advertisement billboards can attract more attention. Good marketing strategy should be based on well developed ideas and well budgeted. It would require a good sum of money especially if large commercial advertisements have to be done. It should also ensure that the targeted population is reached. For example; a product that targets youth should have marketing strategies that adequately draw their attention more. Strategic management theory Strategic management is the approach and the process of pointing out the objectives of an organization and implementing pol icies that will ensure achievement of these objectives. In broad term, it can be seen as a combination of the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the strategy. Management theory provides a framework for knowledge organization. It also provides blueprint for actions that can guide organizations in achieving their objectives (Parnell, 2004 pp.34). Many managers rely on these contributions that were made by past industrialists.

Salvador Dali and Surrealism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Salvador Dali and Surrealism - Research Paper Example The paper "Salvador Dali and Surrealism" highlights the meaning of Salvador Dali's art and his influence in surrealism. Salvador Dali is one of the greatest abstract artists of all periods. The Persistence of Memory is considered as the masterpiece of Salvador Dali. Salvador Dali is a well known Surrealist artist. Surrealism is a typical artistic movement that made researchers, thinkers and artists explore the expression of the unconscious. Surrealism attempted to establish a new social order, giving a new definition for mankind. Surrealism is an artistic style and a cultural movement. It makes use of the visual imagery hidden in the subconscious mind to prepare art works that is not associated with logical comprehensibility. Surrealism is related to the psychoanalytical works of Sigmund Freud and Jung. Giorgio de Chirico, Renà © Magritte and Man Ray are few of the famous artists who were part of the Surrealist movement. Salvador Dali is the advocate of Surrealism. His works like Th e Persistence of Time and Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening are typical examples of his works. The Persistence of Time is a celebrated painting of Salvador Dali. This seminal work of surrealistic art was created by Dali in 1931. The Persistence of Time is deemed as one of the most recognizable icon of the Surrealist movement. This painting is an excellent exhibition of the artist’s deep thoughts on hardness and softness, which was the topic of his works during those periods.

Changing Labor Markets and Demographics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Changing Labor Markets and Demographics - Essay Example Based on this, economic security is not only achievable by one being in employment but also the amount of work and the remuneration he or she gets from employment (Schiller, 2008). Two approaches are instrumental when measuring the length of time that one works. These include the number of weeks one spends at work in a year and the number of hours one spends in a week. Cumulatively, this leads to the computation of the sum of hours a worker spends in employment for a whole year. According to available statistics, the higher the number of weeks spent at work by households, the lower the rates of poverty. This statement directly affects workers who work part time. There are more full time workers than part time in the economy. This insinuates that the work experience of the poor is not properly highlighted by such a rate of incidence. According to the U.S Department of Labor, â€Å"persons who have devoted 27 weeks or more to working or looking for work and who lived in families with incomes below the official poverty threshold† are denoted as the working poor (U.S Department of Labor, 2012). In chapter 8 of the same book, Schiller traces back the poverty situation in America during the 1960s. During this period, many Americans believed that targeted assistance and economic growth could eliminate poverty. This was the War on Poverty initiated by Lyndon Johnson. The results of the war include an improved economy, 70 per cent rise in house incomes and an expanded employed labor hitting the 70 million mark. The U.S government dedicated a significant proportion of its expenditure than ran into billions of dollars into programs that aid the poor. However, poverty is yet to disappear in totality (Lofquist, Lugaila, Lofquist, & Feliz, 2012). This is because even the 1980s and 90s, economic expansions have only reduced the population of the poor in the U.S dismally. The fact that increased economic growth is unable to tame poverty levels is an issue that has elici ted numerous debates. One such debate focused on the existence of an underclass. These poor people have been alienated along social lines. These persons fail to match with the conventional values, prosperity and incentives (Jenkins, 2012). Schiller decided to explore the culture of poverty to understand the reason behind the existence of this group within the American population. This culture spans back to the colonial times when poverty was regarded as the symptom of sin or a vice. This was attributable to the availability of opportunities of economic security that could be acquired by self except the black man. In this context, the poor people were considered as morally bankrupt and received harsh treatment. For instance, the shoulders of the paupers in Pennsylvania were marked with letter P to serve as warning to unsuspecting members of the population. These kinds of culture portray how some behaviors and norms contributed to the difficulties when addressing poverty (Lofquist, Lu gaila, Lofquist, & Feliz, 2012). Mishel, Bivens, Gould and Shierholz in The State of Working America, examine how the policy driven inequality blocks affect the living standards for the low and middle income Americans. The authors share the view that the United States’ economy has done nothing to improve the living standards for majority of American households. This is because wealth inequality accruing from unfair rise in income and wages characterizes the economy. The rise in this trend is attributable to policy responses that

Animal paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Animal paper - Essay Example Oftentimes this methodical rise and descent is accented by one or two acrobatic flips into the ocean air. Instrument + Range Although difficult to express the range of actions and shades of feelings, for this particular animal and the actions it undertakes in a given day I believe a bass violin would be the best instrument to suit this purpose. In this way the low bass would symbolize the size and strength of the animal whereas the higher tenor sounds that could be generated along the upper reaches of the fingerboard could help to symbolize the shades of meaning, and thrill that the animal must feel when it rises to the surface and/or jumps into the ocean air. Musical Dynamics Not surprisingly, the musical style must take on the dynamics of power, suspense, and thrill in order to accurately represent the actions of the cheetah. As such, the best model with which to do all of these things would be that of the classical symphony. The style and musical presence that could be provided wo uld be sufficient to paint the mood and the strength that the animal engenders. Although some might consider the dynamics to necessarily be mundane due to the fact that the animal is not one of a great deal of action; however, this could be countered by the magnificence and power that the animal displays in all of its movements. Rather than a piece that relies on the integrated speed and tempo fast action, the work could display a broad use of building dynamics coupled with crescendos and decrescendos and progressions in order to achieve the desired result. Texture Although the entire symphony would be utilized, the string sections would be relied upon to the greatest degree to provide the listener with the sense of a rush and climb and subsequent descent that would be manifest . Likewise, as the animal approaches the surface, the texture would fill to provide use of all violins, cellos, and bass violins to provide the sense that the desired goal and/or action is nearly completed. L ikewise, with the jump into the ocean air, I would employ use of the first violin section with the brass. This would be affected by having the violins run a quick progression of notes to indicate the jump then suspend their music while the brass section provides a powerful solitary note to be concluded by a strong conclusion of the action by the cymbals/percussion section. Rhythm Section As described multiple times already, it will be up to the individual musical elements to help to describe the power, magnificence, and strength of the whale (Rothenberg, 2012). However, the rhythm section will be relied up on heavily to provide the listener with the accompany actions that the whale undertakes. Likewise, the timpani will be used to emphasize the power and strength that are exhibited in nearly every action. Further percussion will serve to accent the movements and activities to include the jump and subsequent crash back into the ocean water. Likewise, a snare drum could easily be used to denote the release of the oxygen the whale has been holding in its lungs for such a very long period of time. Melody Style In this piece the melody style that will be employed will be that of a conjunct melody. By using such a means of melodical expressions, the slow, methodical, graceful, and majestic movements that the whale makes during its ascent and subsequent descent could be amplified to the listener. Likewise, the pitch of the melody will necessarily

What Is the Marketing Mix and Why Is It Important Essay Example for Free

What Is the Marketing Mix and Why Is It Important Essay The marketing mix is defined as the set of controllable marketing variables that the company blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The marketing consists of the four P’s which are product, price, place and promotion. The product is something that satisfies the customers need. Marketers need to know about their product so that they can market to their target customer. Price is the amount of money that the customer pays to get the product. The marketer needs to know the cost of the product and understand how much the customer is willing to pay to obtain that product. Place stands for the distribution of the product and describes the processes that are taken place to get the product from the suppliers and producers of the product to the market place where it is ready for purchase. Promotion is the way that the marketer can communicate and persuade their target customer to purchase their item. Promotion includes advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and synchronous marketing. This is important to a marketing manager as they are wanting the consumer to purchase their product. There are three other P’s that have been added to the marketing mix and these form the extended marketing mix. These include people, processes and personal evidence. People are a key tool in marketing as they are able to form relationships with customers to promote sales or if trained incorrectly can turn people away from a sale. The process in marketing is important for customer relations also. If one step in the process such as the delivery of a good is done poorly, the consumer will be a â€Å"bad ambassador† for the company. Physical evidence entails examining every aspect that customers use in their perceptual field to assess such a service. This is also an important field in marketing as the customer controls the purchase. For an effective marketing campaign, all aspects of the marketing mix should be considered to achieve the company’s marketing objectives by delivering value to customers. When looking at the 7 P’s, we notice that these all come from the sellers’ side, not the consumers. Therefore, the marketing experts have also created 4 C’s in terms of customer’s wants and needs. These include Customer needs and wants, Cost to the customer, Convenience and Communication. The customers’ needs and wants are important as the need of the customer is the first step in the product purchase process. If there is no need or want from the customer, there will be no purchase. The cost to the customer is also important.

Wedding planning in China

Wedding planning in China CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Wedding is once-a-life event in peoples life. For most of families, they are willing to spend a considerable amount of money to ensure the wedding is organized as perfect as possible. According to Howard (2006), wedding today is a $70 billion business in U.S., and the average cost of wedding is $26,000 per couples. As a spinoff the larger discipline of event management, the business of wedding planning will provide business to a broad array of supporting industries, such as hotels, retails, and catering service. Comparing with the other personal events, such as birthday, anniversaries, wedding is more complicated, because it involves friends and families and a range of related service activities covering from catering to entertainments (Shone Parry, 2004). In order to make sure everything goes smoothly in the wedding day, most of the prospective couples would like to plan the wedding in sometimes year in advance. Both brides and grooms put much effort into the wedding preparation including the venue selection, honeymoon booking and dress design etc. However, not all of them have enough time and energy and knowledge in wedding planning to arrange everything themselves. They need someone to assist them in wedding planning, budget preparation, planning detail checklists, venue arrangement as well as onsite supervision and coordination on the wedding day. Wedding planners, the professional dealing with all the details of wedding, provide a one-stop service to potential couples by charging some considerable consultant fee (Wikipedia org, 2009). The role of the wedding planners is to save time, look after details, make couples dream come true, stay on the budget and save money. Wedding planners have become one of the outsourced labours in modern society (Blakely, 2007). With the rapid development of the society in the last decade, more and more couples prefer to go to college and start their own careers after graduation. Marriage is happening later in brides and grooms life (Mayling, 2002). This means couples have more disposable income to afford the wedding expenses; and they are more likely to look for some special unique wedding styles, such as theme wedding, green wedding etc., which probably involves different elements, such as ethic, religious custom, family tradition, class identity, regional practice and individual tastes and preference (Howard, 2006). As a result, wedding planners, who are providing professional advices and assistance to the couples from the moment of distributing the invitations, arranging the style of cake ceremony, table setting, and setting for banquet, are necessarily needed and developed dramatically (Markby, 2006). 1.2 Wedding in China In traditional Chinese culture, marriage was creating alliances between families. Therefore, it was strictly arranged by parents or elder people in families. Wedding should be planned strictly according to the customs. For example, people should choose a good year, a good month, a good day as well as a good time for wedding ceremony; and use red in the declaration for everything with the purpose of auspicious. Wedding is also one of the ways for Chinese families to present their social classes therefore the families are willing to spend a large mount of money on wedding, and much of which were supported by parents or relatives. Because of the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s, nowadays, the living standards in China have been dramatically increased. According to the China Statistic Yearbook 2008 (2009), the GDP per capita in Mainland China is increasing steadily and has reached 18,934 RMB in 2007. At the mean time, the social culture is becoming diversified. More and more Chinese people, especially the younger generation who have better education, began to accept the western culture. Most of the prospective couples would like to experience different types of weddings that can make their special day more measurable. For example, some people choose white wedding instead of traditional Chinese red wedding; some may prefer destination wedding instead of having wedding at home, which may require more time and professional planning and organizing throughout the wedding preparation. Therefore, wedding planners, as a new business in China, has developed rapidly during the last decade. According to the ministry of commerce of the PRC (2008), wedding service today has become a big business in China covering about 76 industries, such as matchmaking business, wedding planning as well as banquets, tourism industries etc. where the photographer has the highest profit that is above 30% while the wedding planner is 15%. The average expenditure for more than 3.7 million new Chinese couples in 2006 was about 126,600 RMB. Based on the statistics of Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC (2009), about 11 million couples got married in 2008 with the growth of 10.8% than 2007. All the statistics above show that wedding business in China has a huge market and potential. This research will focus on Pearl River Delta, the most economically dynamic region in southern part of China. PRD covers nine prefectures of Guangdong province including Guangzhou, Shenzhe, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing; and has become one of the leading economic regions and a major manufacturing center of China, which accounted for 10.2% of Chinas GDP. People in PRD have more purchasing power than the other region. The per capita GDP in PRD ranges from 35,700 to 79,600 RMB which is much higher than the national per capita GDP (HKTDC, 2008). Because of the advantages of its location and open-door policy, PRD became the first region in China which allowed the foreign investments. Thus, apart from the economic strength, people in PRD were influenced by the western cultures earlier than the other places of China. 1.3 Research problem statements Due to the low entry cost in the wedding planning business, the number of wedding planners has increased rapidly in China in the last decade. Generally, two to three persons having relevant planning experience can establish a wedding planning company with around 100,000 RMB investments in China. They just need an office for meeting with clients and an official blog or website for promotion. Despite of the rapid development of the wedding business, the service/product offered by the wedding planners is similar. Comparing with the wedding photo service business, there is a lack of leading brand in the wedding planning business. With the growth of income level and education level, the couples in China are becoming more and more demanding towards the wedding service/products and face a problem that how to choose a suitable wedding planners who can provide excellent service/product. Thus, from the supply side, identifying and satisfying the important and unfulfilled needs of prospective c ouples is one of the ways for wedding planners to differentiate their products from the competitors, and make success in the competition. However, there is few studies indentifying prospective couples needs or attitudes toward products or service of wedding planner in Pearl River Delta even though in Chinese mainland, nor research about how well the wedding planners in China is meeting the needs of prospective couples. Therefore, this study will focus on the following questions to find out the needs of prospective couples (demand side) towards the wedding planners in PRD Whats the reason for couples hiring wedding planners? Whats the factors affecting the selection of wedding planners? Reputation? Price? Or other? Do the needs of prospective couples toward wedding planners in Pearl River Delta vary according to the different demographical characteristics? 1.4 Research objectives: To find out the needs of prospective couples when hiring the wedding planners in the Pearl River Delta; To investigate the relationship between the needs for prospective couples and the choice of product/service offered by wedding planners in Pearl River Delta Region; To investigate how the needs of potential couples are influenced by their demographic profiles; To make recommendations to the wedding planners in Pearl River Delta. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the previous studies related to wedding, wedding planners as well as the consumer purchase behavior will be reviewed. 2.1 Nature of wedding From the view of sociology, Edward (1987) defined that weddings are rites of passage, which belong to the class of rituals that everywhere mark the transition of a person or persons from one status to another. Wedding therefore becomes a private and highly-personalized event in peoples life. Event is held for a purpose that brings people together to share an experience and produce a measurable outcome no matter public or private, commercial or charitable, celebratory or commemorative (Silvers, 2003). Shone and Parry (2004) defined the wedding, together with the other personal events (e.g. birthday or anniversaries), as a type of special events. Their phenomenon arise from leisure, cultural, personal or organizational objectives which are set apart from the normal activity of daily life and their purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain or challenge the experience of a group of people. The characteristics of special events include personal interactions, ritual or ceremony, intang ible, fixed timescale, labor intensive, ambience and service, perishability as well as uniqueness. Getz (2007) also defined wedding as a form of planned events because it is held in venues that cater to individual and small-group clients which may require professionals or be entirely arranged by the participants. From this point of view, Getz (2007) believed that the wedding is a multi-meaning experience in both personal and social aspects, and it is can be considered as celebrations in which a theme and emotional stimulation are essential. Although, wedding is usually defined as a type of small or personal events, it is still an area lack of study and research compared with meeting, exhibition, incentives or other events. There is quite a few academic book or journal devoted to the planning and design of weddings, parties or other private functions. 2.2 Wedding planners 2.21 The nature of wedding planner Arranging an event is complicated as it involves different elements such as the specialist sets, props, customers for participants or guests, and all the range of support requirements from special effects and lighting to music and entertainment. Event management companies are increasingly common in the events business in the last decades, which have specialized in providing of the complete event by careful planning and management. People can enjoy a number of benefits of having an EMC including the expertise, ideas and experience they can draw on (Shone Parry, 2004). Shone and Parry (2004) found that although there are some major companies in the event business, there are a wide range of smaller organizations and individuals that are willing to provide events-related service particular for the personal event market, which include the organization of parties, celebrations, weddings, anniversaries and many of similar events. Professional party planners or event organizers are those pr ofessional who deal with the nitty-gritty details of planning, organizing, operating and managing an event to ensure everything goes smoothly. According to Wikipedia (2009), wedding planners are the professionals who deal with all the details of the wedding, which includes planning, organizing, operating and management, to ensure everything goes smoothly and correctly. Ellis-Christensen (2008) defined that wedding planner as an event professional whose responsibility is not only to plan a memorable wedding, but also to give some professional advices to the couples including the venue selection, equipments preparation etc. They usually act as a wedding advisor, coordinator, supervisor, financial planner and mediator during the wedding (Brush Creek Weddings, 2008). Peters (2007) also stated that the range of service offered by wedding planner is widely. Some may prefer to offer consulting service only while some may prefer to provide comprehensive wedding package. At the meantime, Peters (2007) also pointed out that the global trend of the wedding business has been toward offering total coordination of the entire blessed even t from the beginning to the end, which includes identifying the needs of new couples, budget preparation, planning detailed checklist, venue arrangement, identifying the professionals (e.g. florists, photographers etc.) as well as on-site supervision and coordination on the wedding day. The consultant fee varies widely depending on different locations or different packages. The consultant fee may be higher in larger cities where disposable income of couples is higher than the other places. 2.22 The requirements of a wedding planner Having a strong organizational skills as well as an eye for details are necessary and basic requirements for a successful professional meeting planner because meeting process is both comprehensive and meticulous. Moreover, meeting planners must have the ability to work successful under pressure, to react calmly to constant change, and to make quick decisions (OBrien Shaw, 2002). Howard (2006) stressed that wedding planning is highly customer oriented as most of the couples are looking for special, unique and memorable wedding. Ethic and religious custom, family tradition, class identity, regional practice, and individual tastes and preferences certainly all played a role in shaping wedding consumption. Peters (2007) suggested that good communication skills, good organizational skills as well as good interpersonal skills are very essential for being a successful wedding planner, because wedding planners act as a middle person who deals with both clients and suppliers. The appearance of the professional wedding organization was an important benchmark in the rise of wedding planner business, indicating that wedding planning service today are more and more professional. These professional organizations help wedding planners naturalize particular customs and practices on a potentially national scale by sharing etiquette and customs. They provide some training course for wedding planners. Getting a certificate from professional organization has became one of the evidences for professional and made the customer confident with the service quality. Additionally, the organization also centralized and rationalized a consultants business, providing important resources and information regarding the markets as well as the trend (Howard, 2006). 2.23 Demand of wedding planners Wedding is an important event in peoples life that many people are willing to organize by themselves on the small and more intimate scale. However, not all of them have the time and wish to expend the effort on doing so and happier to pay a professional to come along and deal with all the details of planning, organizing, operating and managing to ensure everything goes smoothly (Shone Parry, 2006). According to Blakely (2007), the supply of commercial service increases dramatically along with the growth of demands for family jobs. Wedding planners are a form of outsourced labor in the modern society. These jobs which are transported from home to the public marketplace are responding to the time crunch produced by work-family conflict. From this point of view, Blakely defined wedding planners as commercial substitutes. Besides, Edwards (1987) conducted a research to examine the relationship between the weddings commercial development and its nature as a rite of passage. He found that the reason of the success of the wedding business was the convenience offered by the wedding planners and the demand from consumers for larger and more sumptuous celebrations. Consumers were looking for a wide range of wedding-related service (one-stop service) through a single organization. 2.4 The trend Firstly, the wedding today tends to be more customized than before. According to Hensdill (1996), because of the cultural exchange among the global village, traditional wedding customs are giving way to the trends of Western societies. Some new styles of wedding exist, such as theme wedding, destination wedding and green wedding, because more and more couples are looking for unique wedding. Destination wedding is a new wedding style that a couple decides to hold their wedding in a location where neither one of them resides (Daniels Loveless, 2007). There are several top destinations for wedding in the world, such as Caribbean, Las Vegas, Hawaii as well as Maldives. Generally, some special theme may be adopted into the destination wedding. For example, hotel in Las Vegas has organized Italian-style wedding for wedding couples (Stratton, 2001). Moreover, the destination wedding often merges into the honeymoon (Daniels Loveless, 2007). Secondly, the internet and e-commerce has shaped the modern wedding consumption and gave it a new immediacy and flexibility. As a result, the wedding planners can target different segments of the bridal markets through developing website that advertised their goods and services and allowed consumers to make agreement or shop directly through their online site (Howard, 2006). 2.2 Consumer purchase behaviors toward wedding Consumer behavior is defined as the behavior that consumers display in searching form, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. It focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007). 2.32 Factors affecting consumer purchases As people are willing to devote time and effort to the ritual occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving, some researches regarding the types of purchases associated with ritual occasions have been conducted by researchers in consumer behavior (Lowery, 1994). According to some market analysis, consumer purchase behavior is strongly influenced by social, cultural and individual characteristics. a) Social factors According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2007), consumer behavior is influenced by two major groups, namely the reference group and families. A reference group that is perceived as credible, attractive, or powerful can induce consumer attitude and behavior change (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007) Based on the traditional family life cycle, the prospective couples belong to the stage II, honeymooners, who have available a combined income that often permits a lifestyle that provides them with the opportunities of more indulgent purchasing of professions, which means that the honeymooners are happy to accept the professional products and service and willing to pay more money for them as they pursuit high quality of life. The reason hidden behind may be because they have more disposable income and more free time for themselves before the born of young children. Additionally, for the newlyweds, the advice and experience of other married couples (e.g. parents or friends) are likely to be important when they start-up their expenses to establish a new home (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007). For many consumers their family is their primary reference group for many attitudes and behaviors. The members of a family assume specific roles in their everyday functioning; such roles or tasks extend to the realm of consumer purchase decisions. Key consumer-related roles of family members include influencers, gatekeepers, deciders, buyers, preparers, users, maintainers, and disposers. A familys decision-making style is influenced by its lifestyle, roles, and cultural factors. (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007). Different social classes have different preferences in clothing, home decoration and leisure activities as well as saving, spending and credit habits. Based on the market study by Brides magazine, 20% of the buyers of the wedding products identified themselves as buyers of Brides magazine who were mainly middle class women employed in white-collar, professional and technical fields and had higher medium annual income, when combined with their future husbands. This means that the bride had more control over future consumer decisions that the couple would make (Howard, 2006). Another research about the division of wedding labor and its meaning for couples by Sniezek (2005) indicated that women complete the a disproportionate amount of wedding work just as women do more of kin-work, housework, childcare and managerial family work. He also pointed out that couples were not likely to label the unequal division of labor as unfair which may potentially put the relationship in a state of conflict. From this point of view, his statement highly support Blakelys study (2007) which stated that the wedding planning businesss targeted market is modern career women. Blakely also used the case study of wedding planning to confirm Hochschilds thesis (2003) that feminism plays and important ideological role in the expansion of the commodity frontier. However, after comparison of the emphases that brides and grooms place on artifacts selected for use in their weddings and reception, Lowery (1994) found out that the brides participating in the focus group had no difficulty describing artifacts that were important to them; while grooms had greater difficulty. They also suggest that the emergence of traditional or modern gender roles in wedding planning is partially determined by the attitudes of the bride and groom toward these roles. This is also proved by Schiffman Kanuk (2007) that wedding purchase is a joint-decision in the family where the couples may play different roles in the decision making procedure. b) Cultural factors Culture is the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to regulate the consumer behavior of member of a particular society. (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007) When explaining how culture affects the consumer behavior, Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) indicated that all phases of human problem solving are directed and guided by culture, which includes various ritualized experiences and behaviors. For instance, in practice, rituals accompany with people throughout the human life cycle form birth to death, including a host of intermediate events such as confirmation, graduations and marriage. Besides the culture, subculture also plays an important in consumers behavior which includes nationality, religion, geographic, location, race, age and sex. For example, when comparing the husband-wife decision making between United States and China, Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) found out that there were substantially fewer joint decisions and more husband-dominated decisions for many household purchases in China. Even in the same country, another research showed that in larger city like Beijing, couples were more likely than rural couples to share equally in pu rchase decisions. c) Individual factors Apart from the social and cultural factors which affecting the consumer behavior, individual factors play an important role when people make decision (Dholakia, 1979). Schiffman Kanuk (2005) explained the influences of the individual factors through several categories: motivation, personality, perception, learning as well as attitudes. As a driving force within individuals that force them to take actions, motivation is produced by a state of uncomfortable tension unsatisfied needs. Liking to our topic, hiring the wedding planner may be motivated by the needs of couples, such as lack of time for preparation, looking for professional service etc. Personality determines and reflects how a person responds to his or her environment. Generally, people are looking for the balance between the perceived self-image and their behavior including the purchasing products or service. Some may prefer innovative wedding style (e.g. destination wedding, green wedding) while the other may choose trad itional wedding. Moreover, each individual has its own process when he or she selects, organizes and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world. This process is highly subjective and is based on what the consumer expect to see. There are several factors that can influence the perception including physical appearance, stereotypes, halo effects, irrelevant cues, first impressions, and the tendency to jump to conclusions. 2.3 Theoretical foundation- Consumer decision making process This research is based on consumer decision making process, which is one of the theories of consumer behavior. Decisions are about the selection of an option from two or more alternative choices. According to Kotler, Bowen and Makens (2006), consumer decision process consists of five essential stages: 2.31 Need recognition From the moment that the consumer recognizes a problem or need, the consumer buying process starts. The consumers needs can be stimulated by both internal and external factors. Advertisements, word-of-mouth, social cues from families, friends and anyone within the families can influence the customers need recognition. In the case of wedding planner, potential couples, their internal stimuli probably is lacking of time for preparation, looking for some unique and special wedding while the external stimuli may be the advertisement in the internet, the promotional events held by wedding planners, especially by the friends or families who have previous experience. 2.32 Information search Searching information about their needs or problems is the second step of buying process. How much information a consumer looks for will depend on the strength of the drive, and the amount of initial information, the value placed on additional information. Linking to the wedding planners, couples will take some time for information searching. This is a stage that couples can decide if they would like to hire a wedding planners or if the products/service offered by wedding planner can satisfy their needs. 2.33 Evaluation of alternatives After searching the relevant information, customers will use the information to arrive at a set of final brand choices. At this stage, potential couples may set up a personal comparison system through different attributes such as reputation, price, theme etc., in order to identify which would be the most ideal brand. 2.34 Purchase decision Subsequently, consumer will buy the most preferred brand based on their evaluation in the previous stage. This is the stage that potential couples choose which brand, what kind of services and check if the product/service is available. This is also the stage that potential couples decide if they would like to hire a wedding planner or not. 2.35 Post-purchase behavior Based on the performance of the service/products, the final stage determines whether the consumer satisfy the service/products or not. 2.4 Summary After reviewing the previous studies related to wedding and wedding planners, we can find out that most of the studies were conducted in the developed countries such as U.S or United Kingdom, while there is a blank area regarding this field in China. Moreover, there is little study regarding the consumer purchase behavior towards the wedding planners conducted before. This research will based on the theories of consumer behavior to conduct three in-depth interviews to find out the reasons for potential couples hiring wedding planners; and the factors affecting their decision. Then, a quantitative research will be conducted to express the findings in statistical terms. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY This research will be designed as an exploratory, quantitative, cross-sectional investigation of prospective couples needs towards the service/products offered by wedding planners in Pearl River Delta. 3.1 Research Design The advantage of semi-structure interviews is that it can allow issues to be explored deeply while questionnaire survey is that it can collect information from a large number of people and express the findings in statistical terms (Jennings, 2001). As limited study regarding the needs of potential couples towards the wedding service has been conduced in China so far, for this research, the important variables are not clear and still need to be defined. In order to develop a more reliable questionnaire to conduct quantitative research at the second stage, the first stage is to explore the important variables through a qualitative research. In-depth interviews with three potential couples will be conducted, which will facilitate the identifying the different requirements made by potential couples when selecting the wedding planners. These in-depth interviews are critical for the whole research because the finding of these interviews will be used to develop the questionnaire. 3.2 Questionnaire design There will be four main parts in the questionnaire. The first part will be the screening questions with the purpose of screening the invalid sample through some questions. Then, the second part will include some questions regarding the prospective couples attitudes towards the service/products offered by wedding planners in Pearl River Delta. Respondents are required to indicate their personal opinions on each statement on a five-point Likert type scale: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. In the third part, open-end questions will be included in order to examine the personal experience and intention of hiring a wedding planner. Finally, there will be a set of questions regarding the demographic characteristics of the respondents, which will include gender, age, income level, marriage status, and education level. In order to explain the purpose of the research to the respondents, a covering letter will be attached to the questionnaire. The covering letter will include the information that how the sample was selected, the time will take to complete the survey, contact person for questions and assuring the response would be kept confidential and only used for statistical purposes. 3.3 Samp

The Importance Of Research And Development

The Importance Of Research And Development New product design and development is more often than not a crucial factor in the survival of a company. In an competitive environment that is fast changing, firms must continually revise their design and range of products. This is necessary due to continuous technology change and development as well as other competitors and the changing preference of customers. A system driven by marketing is one that puts the customer needs first, and only produces goods that are known to sell. Market research is carried out, which establishes what is needed. If the development is technology driven then it is a matter of selling what it is possible to make. The product range is developed so that production processes are as efficient as possible and the products are technically superior, hence possessing a natural advantage in the market place. RD has a special economic significance apart from its conventional association with scientific and technological development. RD investment generally reflects a governments or organizations willingness to forgo current operations or profit to improve future performance or returns, and its abilities to conduct research and development. In 2006, the worlds four largest spenders of RD were the United States (US$343 billion), the EU (US$231 billion), China (US$136 billion), and Japan (US$130 billion). In terms of percentage of GDP, the order of these spenders for 2006 was China (US$115 billion of US$2,668 billion GDP), Japan, United States, EU with approximate percentages of 4.3, 3.2, 2.6, and 1.8 respectively. The top 10 spenders in terms of percentage of GDP were Israel (4.53%), China (4.3%), Sweden (3.73%), Finland (3.45%), Japan (3.39%), South Korea (3.23%), Switzerland (2.9%), Iceland (2.78%), United States (2.62%), and Germany (2.53%). In general, RD activities are conducted by specialized units or centers belonging to companies, universities and state agencies. In the context of commerce, research and development normally refers to future-oriented, longer-term activities in science or technology, using similar techniques to scientific research without predetermined outcomes and with broad forecasts of commercial yield. Statistics on organizations devoted to RD may express the state of an industry, the degree of competition or the lure of progress. Some common measures include: budgets, numbers of patents or on rates of peer-reviewed publications. Bank ratios are one of the best measures, because they are continuously maintained, public and reflect risk. In the U.S., a typical ratio of research and development for an industrial company is about 3.5% of revenues. A high technology company such as a computer manufacturer might spend 7%. Although Allergan (a biotech company) tops the spending table 43.4% investment, anything over 15% is remarkable and usually gains a reputation for being a high technology company. Companies in this category include pharmaceutical companies such as Merck HYPERLINK file:///wiki/Merck__Co.HYPERLINK file:///wiki/Merck__Co. Co. (14.1%) or Novartis (15.1%), and engineering companies like Ericsson (24.9%). Such companies are often seen as poor credit risks because their spending ratios are so unusual. Generally such firms prosper only in markets whose customers have extreme needs, such as medicine, scientific instruments, safety-critical mechanisms (aircraft) or high technology military armaments. The extreme needs justify the high risk of failure and consequently high gross margins from 60% to 90% of revenues. That is, gross profits will be as much as 90% of the sales cost, with manufacturing costing only 10% of the product price, because so many individual projects yield no exploitable product. Most industrial companies get only 40% revenues. On a technical level, high tech organizations explore ways to re-purpose and repackage advanced technologies as a way of amortizing the high overhead. They often reuse advanced manufacturing processes, expensive safety certifications, specialized embedded software, computer-aided design software, electronic designs and mechanical subsystems. Research has shown that firms with a persistent RD strategy outperform those with an irregular or no RD investment programme HenceI have chosen to analyze GSKs RD and focus how it achieved growth. Brief Company Background: Head quartered in the UK, GlaxoSmithKline was formed in 2000 as a result of the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. It employs over 100,000 people in 116 countries with over 15,000 involved in research. GSK has a broad portfolio, with projects in the fields of respiratory, central nervous system, and anti-infectives to name a few. In addition, GSK has an extensive vaccines portfolio. According to GSK, it supplied one quarter of the worlds vaccines by the end of 2006 and had a further 20 in clinical development With nearly 210 pharmaceuticals and vaccine, GSK has one of the most promising pipelines in the pharmaceutical arena. However, its current success appears to be not only due to the blockbuster merger, but also to the leadership and business acumen of its CEO, Dr Jean-Pierre Garnier (formerly CEO of SmithKline Beecham), and his strategy to prioritise RD activities. Additionally, the strategic bolt-on acquisitions, such as those of Corixa and Domantis, have further strengthened the business, adding specialist expertise to maximise future potential revenue. It is important to note that GSK is not only a world leader in pharmaceuticals, but generates significant revenue from its Consumer Healthcare division Lucozade and Nicorette, for example, are globally recognised brand. In all core areas of GSK research and development plays a very important role in the product pipeline, new product development, launch and timing of the product and the final release of the product. In all these stages other department coordinate with the research and development department to ensure that the product helps GSK maintain a strong market share. Interview: GSKs Research and Development and its strategic priorities While writing this report I conducted a brief interview with Faisal Mehmud , Director GSK , Global Research and Development , who has said that GSKS merger was a complete success and that the RD department of GSK is one of the best in the world and has been instrumental in making GSK a market leader. Why do you think RD department in GSK is important? Faisal: Research and development is nowadays of great importance in business as the level of competition, production processes and methods are rapidly increasing. It is of special importance in the field of marketing where companies keep an eagle eye on competitors and customers in order to keep pace with modern trends and analyze the needs, demands and desires of their customers How do you manage GSKs RD capabilities? Faisal: Research often refers to basic experimental research; development refers to the exploitation of discoveries. Research involves the identification of possible chemical compounds or theoretical mechanisms. GSK normally buys licenses from universities or hires scientists directly when economically solid research level products emerge and the development phase of drug delivery is almost entirely managed by GSK. Development is concerned with proof of concept, safety testing, and determining ideal levels and delivery mechanisms. Development often occurs in phases that are defined by drug safety regulators in the country of interest. In the United States, the development phase can cost between $10 to $200 million and approximately one in ten compounds identified by basic research pass all development phases and reach market What does the term RD alliance means? And who are GSKs partners in RD alliance? An RD alliance is a mutually beneficial formal relationship formed between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon goals while remaining independent organisations, where acquiring new knowledge is a goal by itself. The different parties agree to combine their knowledge to create new innovative products. Thanks to funding from government organizations, like the European Unions Seventh Framework Programme and modern advances in technology. GSK has many partners in research and development including the world health organization (WHO) and the Japanese government to name a few. Research and Development in GSK: A brief Literature Review. With the general growth of RD in many academic and business fields, it is hardly surprising that the relationship between research and development and growth has attracted considerable attention in recent years. In an attempt to go beyond traditional assumptions about how research and development helps achieve competitive advantage and market growth, studies have focused on anything from different traditional, analytical or structural uses of research and development to aspects of marketing, such as product launch and timing, and other interactions in the product life cycle. While some research has focused only on the description and functions of research and development, other work has sought to show how research and development helps a company grow in terms of gaining and then maintain a competitive advantage not shared by its rivals. Accordingly, Kuemmerle (1999) suggests that research and development can be divided into studies that focus on product development and those that foc us on innovation. Much of the earlier work emphasized product development. SL Brown (1995) pioneering work suggested that product development can be divided into three streams of research and development: product development as a rational plan, communication web and disciplined problem solving . Thus, he argued that the type of RD capabilities will later shape the structure of the organization since research and development is a key component of product development and new products are becoming the nexus of competition amongst firms striving to achieve a larger market share(1995, p.5). While there are clearly some problems with SL Brownss work his analysis was not based on empirical research, for example the automatic equation of product development with `three streams is problematic the emphasis on research and development has understandably remained at the Centre of much of this work. Research has shown how companies invested in RD dominated more, interrupted less often, held the market share for longer, and so on (see, for example, J Griffin , Journal of product innovation 1995). The chief focus of this approach, then, has been to show how research and development interacts between new product development and dominant market share Some studies, however, have taken a different approach by looking not so much at RD in product development but have focused how research and development helps innovation. In a typical study of this type, JF Reinganum (1989) developed lists of what he described as research and development features of innovation. He argued that For research and development to yield up new approaches, they must also be closely coupled to the problems and challenges where innovation is needed. Much of this research has focused on comparisons between, for example the competitive nature of businesses and the ways to acquire larger market share through innovation. While some of the more popular work of this type, such as GC Moore (1991), lacks a critical dimension, the emphasis on innovation has nevertheless been valuable in interaction between research and development and company growth Although Kuemmerle (1999) distinction is clearly a useful one, it also seems evident that these two approaches are by no means mutually exclusive. While it is important on the one hand, therefore, not to operate with a simplistic version of product development and to consider research and development only in product development and innovation, it is also important not to treat research and development as if it existed outside sphere of business studies. As AH Van de Ven, HL Angle, MS Poole (2000) ask, Can it be coincidence that only firms with a persistent RD strategy outperform those with an irregular or no RD investment pr (p.80). Clearly, there is scope here for a great deal more research that is based on empirical data of research and development; operates with a complex understanding of research and development and its relationship with other core functions of business management looks specifically at the contexts of RD use, rather than assuming broad categories; aims not only to describe and explain research and development but also to change the overall understanding of RD and its importance in growth and development of a company. How research and development helped GSK GSK adopted a resource strategy to grow a well diversified global business.GSK invested heavily in its research and development (Â £3.2 billion in 2007 alone) and linked IT with biology to retrieve, process, analyse and model the vast amount of information for optimum results. GSK also realised the growth potential of emerging markets and drove expansion in Japan. The merger of Glaxo and SmithKline Beeckham created a diverse range of product portfolio for GSK and allowed geographical expansion GSK also grew its consumer healthcare business; this was done by focusing more on innovations and scare resources where they could make the biggest difference. Patent protection ensures competitive advantage, however once patent protection is lost a company has trouble maintaining a products position in the market, for this reason GSK maintains one of the best research and development facilities in the world and has some 160,000 RD staff worldwide At any time GSK has some 150 projects in clinical development comprising new drugs, product line extensions and vaccines to ensure their comparative advantage and their position as a market leader. GSK stuck with its past product success. These products were targeted at its current customers in their current markets. GSK implemented a conservative new product strategy by making minor modifications and incremental improvements in the packaging of their current products. At the same time they adopted a strategy of exploring market potential of their established existing markets by targeting them with extended new products. These new products were commercialized to replace old products that were running out of patent protection or substituted by superior rival products from competitors. GSK also identified new markets for its products. GSK adopted all these strategies simultaneously to grow a well-diversified business. GSKs main competitors such as Novartis, Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis also have a strategy of delivering more products of value however GSKs strategy of delivering more products of value is based on simplifying its clinical RD and by adding value to the supplies brought into the organization. GSKs strategy was to increase flow and improve the distribution of its products simultaneously they increased the quality of their products through research and development and creating global brands with a strong marketing initiative. GSK also compensated individuals who bought supplies for them and took strong steps to improve their supply-chain management. Unlike its main competitors GSK maintained a prescriptive resource strategy. GSK used its resources for maximum strategic benefit. If we link GSKs strategic priority of delivering more products of value with its prescriptive resource strategy we see that GSK significantly grew its biopharm capability. Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology. GSK invested heavily to attract the best talent, compensated them and took maximum advantage of their human resources and development, which resulted in not just a growth in biopharm but also resulted in enhanced productivity for drug discovery. GSKs vision of becoming a undisputed market leader can only be accomplished if it has the right talent. Research and Development hence helped GSK achieve all its strategic priorities. Methodology I envision this project as an investigation of three primary issues: how research and development helps an organization grow, how research and development helps in product development and how research and development helps achieve innovation. In order to conduct my research effectively I chose GSK as a company to study and prepare a case study, there were two important reasons for choosing GSK. Firstly GSK has a very good research and development department that has contributed to its growth as one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Secondly GSK is a research based organization and hence maintains a very good RD capability which is worth researching. The first part of my research is primarily concerned with analysis of research and development in context with GSK. This is important because without this interrelation it becomes very difficult to understand the importance of GSK in a multinational business environment. I have also used this part to understand how research and development fits into a overall corporate strategy and goals of a company. This helps me understand why so much money is spend on research and development. It also answers several important questions from the point of view of shareholders who are often confused where these intangible costs are attributed and how the gains from spending on something non productive as research and development are maximized. The second part of my research is concerned with RD as a primary tool for production processes and product development as a linear function. As mentioned in the literature review this part is more theoretical than other parts as it involves research and development at the very core of product development. Figure 1 As shown in figure 1 Research and Development is at the very centre of product development in the product life cycle. Hence this area is of considerable importance in the field of business management and requires further research. It is a well established fact that any company that has a good RD department benefits in the long run compared to a company that gives little importance to RD hence in this part I tried to understand why research and development is so crucial in the long run for any company. By understanding product development with a case study of GSK I will begin to understand how research and development is linked with product development. Then with empirical evidence I will try and compare other companies whose research has helped them grow an impressive product portfolio. Next I will try and understand with analysis how other factors contribute to make research and development an effective force in product development, I will do this with a case study of GSK. The third aspect is how research and development contributes to innovation. For this it is important to understand innovation and study an innovative organization. Innovation helps an organization achieve competitive advantage which is a unique position a firm occupies with respect to its competitors. Innovation is a new discovery, which is commercially viable in a business sense, and which is not explored and marketed by anyone else. Innovation is protected through various mediums including trademarks and patents. I wanted to find whether research and development leads to innovation and if YES then how. For this I studied the basic model of the RD capabilities of GSK who have innovated many drugs and spoke with Dr Faisal Mahmud, Director RD, GSK. In this third aspect my focus was on the subjective side of research and development as a tool for innovation. It was observed that in an organization that devotes some and most of its energies in the primary research and development capabi lities do infect breed innovation. Also my research observed that most aspects of a business chain are integrated and linked with research and development. Research Methods. Primary Research: The fieldwork for primary research took place in two regions. I conducted an informal interview with Faisal Mahmud, Director Global RD, GSK. Also I conducted a SWOT analysis on GSK as a company, in general, and their RD department in particular. WEAKNESSES -Loss of patent protection. -Does not perform well on marketing practices. -Environmental performance. -External pressures. STRENGTHS -Size: Economies of scale -Patent protection. -Focus on innovation. -Good research and development. -Globally recognized brand. -Strong financial reserves. -Good return for investors. -Access to larger markets. -Experienced corporate management team. -Passion for achievement SWOT ANALYSIS DIAGRAM . OPPORTUNITIES -Expansion in developing countries. -Strong global influence. -Segmented market. -Product development -Growth in Japan. OPPORTUNITIES -Expansion in developing countries. -Strong global influence. -Segmented market. -Product development -Growth in Japan. OPPORTUNITIES -Expansion in developing countries. -Strong global influence. -Segmented market. -Product development -Growth in Japan. THREATS -Competitors. -Loss of key staff. -Political pressures. -Court cases. -IT development. -Legal controversies. THREATS -Competitors. -Loss of key staff. -Political pressures. -Court cases. -IT development. -Legal controversies. THREATS -Competitors. -Loss of key staff. -Political pressures. -Court cases. -IT development. -Legal controversies. OPPORTUNITIES -Expansion in developing countries. -Strong global influence. -Segmented market. -Product development -Growth in Japan. OPPORTUNITIES -Expansion in developing countries. -Strong global influence. -Segmented market. -Product development -Growth in Japan. THREATS -Competitors. -Loss of key staff. -Political pressures. -Court cases. -IT development. -Legal controversies. THREATS -Competitors. -Loss of key staff. -Political pressures. -Court cases. -IT development. -Legal controversies. OPPORTUNITIES -Expansion in developing countries. -Strong global influence. -Segmented market. -Product development -Growth in Japan. THREATS -Competitors. -Loss of key staff. -Political pressures. -Court cases. -IT development. -Legal controversies. I also conducted a survey of 10 GSK product users and asked them the following questions regarding the research and development of GSK Below a sample survey I conducted for my primary research Secondary Research: For my secondary research I conducted a judgmental sampling, this was done by the help of the BCG Growth share matrix model, which I used just for my research and the matrix allowed me to compare, along with sampling, different RD departments and their activities and link it, or compare it, with GSKs. This comparative studies was followed by many journals and articles I read online and many books including Corporate Strategy by Richard Lynch, which helped me not just in terms of comparison but also helped me conduct my research and analysis properly. Thus through my research I have tried to understand how GSK, through its RD, maintains a competitive advantage over its competitors. Apart from the above mentioned objectives, my project and research have answered the following questions: Globally diagnosis and treatments have improved, so people are using more medicines now than ever before. How does GSKs research and development help maintain demand for their products? Demand for safer, more effective, new medicines continues to grow. How does RD propose to integrate efficiency and safety? Ageing populations take long-term treatments. How does GSKs research and development propose to meet this challenge? Major healthcare challenges exist in the developing world with no easy solutions. Does GSKs research and development help improvised nations? It takes 10-12 years from the discovery of a potential new medicine until it is available for the patients. Can this time be reduced? The estimated cost of each medicine, from discovery to market, is $897 million but only 3 out of 10 new treatments recover development costs. Is it really worth it? Results Results As mentioned in the literature review and methodology the research conducted for this report focused primarily in three areas. How research and development helps an organization grow? How research and development helps in product development and how research and development leads to innovation. As mentioned this research was conducted with a case study of GSK. How research and development helps an organization grow? Results: From my research I found out that RD helps considerably for an organization to grow and expand. Based on facts until the merger of Glaxo and Smith to form GSK both companies maintained a highly productive research and development department but had opposite interests, while Glaxos main businesses were medicines Smithkline Beckham dealed in Vaccines primarily. Hence their research was limited in the sense of their strategy and their respective market share. After the merger both organizations integrated their RD capabilities and invested heavily in research and development. This led to many RD centers to be established across the world including in countries such as India and Australia which are considered emerging markets. This high investment in research and development created a diverse and unique product portfolio and led to groundbreaking developments in fields such as central nervous systems, bacteria, malaria and cancer. This helped GSK, a newly merged company in 2000 to become the second best pharmaceutical company in the world. Andrew Witty, CEO GSK, in an interview with the Financial Times in 2007 described the phenomenal growth of GSK to its outstanding research and development capabilities which led to a unique product portfolio and helped develop a strong position against competitors. From my research I found out that through RD GK developed a very good overall reputation for discovering new drugs which led to affiliations with organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO). Also RD ensures that new products not launched by competitors are developed and marketed which keeps the comparative advantage enjoyed by an organization and helps maintain a strong market share and growth rate in the long run. How research and development helps in product development? Results: Research and development forms the core and integral part of any product development. Business analysts evaluate gaps in the market and understand and comprehend market and customer needs. This information is then passed to the RD department who work vigorously to develop products which suit the requirements of the business models and corporate strategy of the organization. RD makes the designs, comprehends the requirements, conducts research and forms the basis and provides a prototype. This proto is then subjected to a number of tests to make sure the product meets the standard international health and safety laws and whether it is feasible. This process is very vigorous and time consuming. Once all the tests all positive then the organizational heads decide how best to market the product. Sometimes they even sample it to customers as an extension of the Testing process. It is established that not all RD leads to a standardized product and results in many wastages however without research and development constant changes which are needed for a product cannot occur and secondly product development process cannot start by ignoring RD costs and benefits. How research and development leads to innovation: Results: In my interview with Dr Faisal Mehmud he said Research often refers to basic experimental research; development refers to the exploitation of discoveries. Hence innovation is indeed a discovery and constant research helps solve unresolved problems in any field where research is being conducted. For example from my research I found that many updated versions of in market drugs that had limited cure in diseases such as malaria and cancer are solved by GSK . Many incurable diseases not have prescription. These are all innovations. Constant research invariably leads to innovation. Many innovations solve problems and are limited in scope for drugs for cancer. But constant research is the only way to solve these issues. Also as far as GSK is concerned most research is experimental and experiments lead to discoveries and innovations. Reflective Report: I started working on this report in November 2009. The fieldwork for this research took place in two regions and many academic journals, online materials, reference books and opinions were needed to complete this report. I faced a number of p-problems while writing this report and it was a big challenge. The first problem I faced was understanding RD. It is a very complex term and is used not just by firms but governments and even the military. Each RD capability has its own unique function that caters to the organization it represents. However what made this subject interesting to study was the importance of RD. When I first started my project, I remained in the forming stage for quite a while. It took me many weeks and many meetings to figure out what I was doing and split up into three broad categories. Although the forming stage did take a while, I was able to cover most of the norming stage at the same time because I started knowing the subject quite well. Once I finally formed my basis, the rest of the stages went much easier. I was able to finish up the norming and began performing rather quickly. This stage continued until recently as I was doing research, and reading journals, quite often. I performed quite well in research and spent very little time, if any, in the storming stage. Most of the storming I dealt with was with the help of other students and my academic teacher at Greenwich. I was trying to plan an interesting project, Another topic I was able to apply to my project was clarity and hardwork. Once I decided, I was able to take responsibility for different parts of the project. I learned to wor

The Federalist Papers And Federalism :: essays research papers fc

The Federalist Papers and Federalism The Federalist Papers were mostly the product of two young men: Alexander Hamilton of New York, age 32, and James Madison of Virginia, age 36. Both men sometimes wrote four papers in a single week. An older scholar, John Jay, later named as first chief justice of the Supreme Court, wrote five of the papers. Hamilton, who had been an aide to Washington during the Revolution, asked Madison and Jay to help him in this project. Their purpose was to persuade the New York convention to ratify the just-drafted Constitution. They would separately write a series of letters to New York newspapers, under the pseudonym, "Publius." In the letters they would explain and defend the Constitution. Hamilton started the idea and outlined the sequence of topics to be discussed, and addressed most of them in fifty-one of the letters. Madison's Twenty-nine letters have proved to be the most memorable in their balance and ideas of governmental power. It is not clear whether The Federalist Papers, written between October 1787 and May 1788 had any effect on New York's and Virginia's ratification of the Constitution. Encyclopedia Britannica defines Federalism as, "A mode of political organization that unites independent states within a larger political framework while still allowing each state to maintain it's own political integrity" (712). Having just won a revolution against an oppressive monarchy, the American colonists were in willing to replace it with another monarchy style of government. On the other hand, their experience with the disorganization under the Articles of Confederation, due to unfair competition between the individual states, made them a little more receptive to an increase in national powers. A number of Federalist Papers argued that a new kind of balance, never achieved elsewhere was possible. The Papers were themselves a balance or compromise between the nationalist ideas of Hamilton, who wrote more for the commercial interests of New York, and the uneasiness of Madison, who shared the skepticism of distant authority widely held by Virginia farmers. In American Government and Politics Today, Madison proposed that, instead of the absolute sovereignty of each state under the Articles of Confederation. The states would retain a residual sovereignty in all areas which did not require national concern. The very process of ratification of the Constitution, he argued, symbolized the concept of federalism (77). He said: This assent and ratification is to be given by the people, not as individuals composing one entire nation, but as composing the distinct and individual States to which they respectively belong... The act, therefore, establishing the Constitution, will not be a national but a federal act (qtd in