Saturday, August 31, 2019
Information Security Classification Essay
Information Security is simply the process of keeping information secure: protecting its availability, integrity, and privacy (Demopoulos). With the advent of computers, information has increasingly become computer stored. Marketing, sales, finance, production, materials, etc are various types of assets which are computer stored information. A large hospital is an institution which provides health care to patients. They are staffed by doctors, nurses, and attendants. Like any large organization, a hospital also has huge amounts of data and information to store. Hospitals have increasingly become automated with computerized systems designed to meet its information needs. According to the Washtenaw Community College website, the following types of information are stored in a Hospital: †¢ Patient information †¢ Clinical laboratory, radiology, and patient monitoring †¢ Patient census and billing †¢ Staffing and scheduling †¢ Outcomes assessment and quality control †¢ Pharmacy ordering, prescription handling, and pharmacopoeia information †¢ Decision support †¢ Finance and accounting †¢ Supplies, inventory, maintenance, and orders management Viruses, worms and malware are the most common threats to information security. In computers, a virus is a program or programming code that replicates by being copied or initiating it’s copying to another program, computer boot sector or document (Harris, 2006). Floppy disks, USB drives, Internet, email are the most common ways a virus spreads from one computer to another. Computer viruses have the potential to damage data, delete files or crash the hard disk. Many viruses contain bugs which can cause system and operating system crashes. Computer worms are malicious software applications designed to spread via computer networks (Mitchell). They also represent a serious threat to information security. Email attachments or files opened from emails that have executable files attached are the way worms spread. A Trojan is a network software application designed to remain hidden on an installed computer. Software designed to monitor a person’s computer activity surreptitiously and which transmits that information over the internet is known as spy ware (Healan, 2005). Spy ware monitors information using the machine on which it is installed. The information is transmitted to the company for advertising purposes or sold to third party clients. Identity theft and data breaches are two of the biggest problems facing Information security managers. Hackers steal Social Security numbers, credit card data, bank account numbers and other data to fund their operations. There are other potential threats to the hospital information like power outages, incompetent employees, equipment failure, saboteurs, natural disasters, etc. A large hospital requires an information classification policy to ensure that information is used in appropriate and proper manner. The use of the information should be consistent with the hospital’s policies, guidelines and procedures. It should be in harmony with any state or federal laws. The hospital’s information should be classified as follows: 1. Restricted 2. Confidential 3. Public Restricted information is that which can adversely affect the hospital, doctors, nurses, staff members and patients. Its use is restricted to the employees of the hospital only. Finance and accounting, supplies, inventory, maintenance, and orders management are restricted information which comes in this category. Confidential information includes data on patients which must be protected at a high level. Patient information, clinical laboratory, radiology, and patient monitoring are some of the information which comes in this category. It can also include information whose disclosure can cause embarrassment or loss of reputation (Taylor, 2004). Public information includes data which provides general information about the hospital, its services, facilities and expertise to the public. Security at this level is minimal. This type of information requires no special protection or rules for use and may be freely disseminated without potential harm (University of Newcastle, 2007). Information Classification Threat Justification Patient information Confidential Disclosure or removal Any disclosure or removal can cause serious consequences to the patient Clinical laboratory, radiology, and patient monitoring Confidential Disclosure or removal Any disclosure or removal can cause serious consequences to the patient Finance and accounting, supplies, inventory, maintenance, and orders management Restricted Loss or destruction Any loss or destruction of this information could be very dangerous for the organization General information about the hospital, its services, facilities and expertise Public Low threat Low threat since the information is public. It would affect public relations however. Research Information Confidential Disclosure or removal This is confidential material since its exposure would cause serious consequences for the hospital Figure: Classification table Information is an asset for the hospital. The above information classification policy defines acceptable use of information. They are based according to the sensitivity of the information. According to the government of Alberta information security guideline, there are four criteria are the basis for deciding the security and access requirements for information assets. These criteria are: Integrity: information is current, complete and only authorized and accurate changes are made to information; Availability: authorized users have access to and can use the information when required; Confidentiality: information is only accessed by authorized individuals, entities or processes; and Value: intellectual property is protected, as needed. Information security must adequately offer protection through out the life span of the information. Depending on the security classification, information assets will need different types of storage procedures to ensure that the confidentiality, integrity, accessibility, and value of the information are protected. The hospital director must be responsible for the classification, reclassification and declassification of the hospital’s information. The information security policy must be updated on a regular basis and published as appropriate. Appropriate training must be provided to data owners, data custodians, network and system administrators, and users. The information security policy must also include a virus prevention policy, intrusion detection policy and access control policy. A virus prevention policy would include the installation of a licensed anti virus software on workstations and servers. The headers of emails would also be scanned by the anti virus software to prevent the spread of malicious programs like viruses. Intrusion detection systems must be installed on workstations and servers with critical, restricted and confidential data. There must be a weekly review of logs to monitor the number of login attempts made by users. Server, firewall, and critical system logs should be reviewed frequently. Where possible, automated review should be enabled and alerts should be transmitted to the administrator when a serious security intrusion is detected. Access to the network and servers and systems should be achieved by individual and unique logins, and should require authentication. Authentication includes the use of passwords, smart cards, biometrics, or other recognized forms of authentication. This policy is the access control policy. It prevents unauthorized access to critical data. A large hospital like any organization today uses computers to store its information. The classification of its data is a very important goal to protect it from threats like viruses, Trojans, worms, spy ware, ad ware and hackers. Natural disasters and incompetent employees are another type of threats to the hospital’s data. A proper information security policy can protect the organization’s critical data from any external or internal threat. Bibliography Allen, Julia H. (2001). The CERT Guide to System and Network Security Practices. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley. 0-201-73723-X. Krutz, Ronald L. ; Russell Dean Vines (2003). The CISSP Prep Guide, Gold Edition, Indianapolis, IN: Wiley. 0-471-26802-X. Layton, Timothy P. (2007). Information Security: Design, Implementation, Measurement, and Compliance. Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach publications. 978-0-8493-7087-8. McNab, Chris (2004). Network Security Assessment. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. 0-596-00611-X. Peltier, Thomas R. (2001). Information Security Risk Analysis. Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach publications. 0-8493-0880-1.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Howard Zinn on Democratic Education Essay
Upon reading the book, Howard Zinn on Democratic Education, I felt a lot of questions I had regarding education was answered. I had always regarded education as something liberating, something that would be able to teach students how to become enlightened. That is why I read a lot of books. But regarding my schooling, I questioned why we are loaded with so much homework and tests, we end up not deeply understanding anything at all, because there is no time to process all the information. It is as if our schooling stunts our educational growth. Yet, the irony of it is they teach us so much facts of how, where, when, who, and what, but I had this nagging suspicion that teachers were hiding vital information from us. I did not know what exactly, but I always felt something was missing because I could not connect what I learned in school to what was happening to our country as I watched the news. It was as if there was a missing link, a key that would make everything make sense. Yet, as the years in the academe passed, I encountered no such link. Until now. It was as if my youthful objections found validation. I had always felt that my schooling lacked feeling. All these hard facts were discussed as if they did not involve people. We really never knew, through history, how terror felt when planes during the World War II flew overhead, or triumph when the war was declared over. It is not anybody’s fault. I think, history cannot be studied; it has to be lived. Although in my opinion, it can be remedied. Instead of sitting in classrooms all day, reciting facts, we should focus on gathering our own information regarding events. This does not mean reading even unassigned readings. I have always thought that people are not foolish. Each individual has a unique story, if we only care to listen. We should experience learning, and this can only be done by going out of the classroom, and learning from living people. After all, the papers our books are made up of were once living things too. The critical question now is, what now? Now that we possess such knowledge, what must we do with it? Knowledge that is not followed by action is a dead thing. We could start through transforming our own classroom, if we are to teach, or even in our own homes. Drop-out rates are not surprising due to the fact that so few kids feel remotely connected to their schooling. If we involve these kids, make them see that it is also their classmates’ loss if they do not attend classes, they can be pulled back into the academe. To do this, they must be able to feel that they can contribute something to the discussion, whether it be a question or an opinion. We must impress upon our minds that there are no right or wrong questions or opinions. Each comes from a different background (hence a different culture), so we must be patient and understanding. We must also find tangent points; we must connect the academe with their lives. We must do away with the notion that scholars have ivory towers. We must reconnect. Because this is what education does. It reconnects people with other people. It reconnects people with ideas. It reconnects people with opportunities. It reconnects people with hope. If all the attendants in a classroom participate freely and energetically, actively molding their curriculum to suit their individual needs, we will have captured the essence of a democratic education. Through this, we will have a truly democratic country. References Schugurensky, D. (2005). Howard Zinn on Democratic Education. International Journal of Citizenship and Teacher Education , 1, 99-100.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Psychology Learning Essay
Introduction     The following account should probably come under the heading â€Å"Strange but True.†It describes a psychologist’s use of self-administered punishment to change a socially unacceptable behavior.     A person once knew a psychologist who, for reasons which will be discovered shortly, shall remain anonymous. For the sake of the study, this person is named Richard. Richard had a bad habit. He chewed his nails. Well, that’s not actually correct; he chewed his nails off and then spit them out, usually while he was lecturing. Once in a great while, this practice was called to his attention, and it always embarrassed him. He said that he wasn’t aware that he was doing it. It had become such an ingrained habit that he could chew off all ten nails, spit in all directions, and still be totally unconscious of what he was doing.     Richard was a respected learning theorist, and he decided that if anyone could devise a behavior-modification technique to eliminate his habit, he would. The next day he arrived, all smiles, and said he had a request: If any of those around see him biting his nails, this should be brought to his attention. It wasn’t long that before someone said, â€Å"Uh, Richard, you’re doing it.†He stopped and looked at his nails and said, â€Å"So I am.†Then as everyone was watched, pulled up his shirtsleeve, grabbed hold of a heavy-duty rubber band that had wrapped around his wrist, stretched it out a distance of about ten inches, and let is go. There was a vicious snap. He yelled, cursed, and shook his hand. Everyone looked on amazement. Surely learning theorist were all a little insane. â€Å"Punishment,†he said. â€Å"Punishment is the answer!†    What happened to the people around Richard was interesting. Some took relish in pointing out that he was biting his snails, just to see him snap the huge rubber band around his wrist; others preferred to ignore his habit, because they couldn’t stand to see him in that much pain. Happily, after two days, Richard’s habit had been broken.     One person asked him how he thought his program worked. He said, â€Å"Well, if I unconsciously unlearn it. Whenever I was chewing my nails, I administered this punishment. Pretty soon my brain learned that nail chewing resulted in something very unpleasant.†He said that the last time he reached his hand up to his mouth (quite unconsciously), he got a terrible sinking feeling that something awful was about to happen. â€Å"It made me aware.†he said. â€Å"I looked at my hand and saw it was approaching my mouth. Somewhere deep in my brain the little gray cells were screaming, â€Å"Don’t do it!†    It was reported that some days later Richard was wearing rubber bands around his ankles, but nobody wanted want to ask why (Dworetzky, 1994). Discussion     Learning pervades people’s lives. It is involved not only in mastering a new skill or academic subject but also in emotional development, social interaction, and even personality development. People learn what they fear, what to love, how to be polite, hoe to be intimate, and so on. Given the pervasiveness of learning in lives of people, it is not surprising that there have been instances of it – how, for example, children to perceive the world around them, to identify with their own sex, and to control their behavior according to adult standards (Atkinson, 1993). However, there is a more systematic analysis of learning.     Learning may be defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from practice; behavior change that are due to maturation (rather than practice)or temporary conditions of the organism (such as fatigue or drug-induced states) are not included. All cases of learning are not the same though.     Psychology is the study of behavior. Psychologists study learning because among most animals, especially humans, the vast majority of behavior is learned. Learning may also be defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience (Dworetzky, 1988).  Experts, however, tell that when somebody says â€Å"relatively permanent change,†this excludes the effects of such factors as fatigue. Fatigue, which occurs because of experience, may change behavior, but only temporary, whereas learning implies a more lasting change.     Learning is defined by Craig et al., as a process through which one’s capacity or disposition is changed as a result of experience. Whitaker (1972) defines it also as the process by which behavior originates or is altered through experience, while Wittig (in Bernstein et al., 1991) and Hilgard (1975) view it as behavior that occurs as a result of experience.     Apparently while learning can be defined as a process and as a product, more definitions stress learning more as a process. This idea suggests that it is not the product but the process that is important since the products of learning both what one is capable of and what one is predisposed to. Changes resulting from development and experience are emphasized; changes resulting from maturation such as growing older, innate tendencies like reflexes and conditions caused by fatigue, drugs, and diseases are strictly not considered as learned behavior. Adaptive value of Learning (Classical Conditioning) ~Overeating: Taste-Aversion Learning     Taste-aversion learning involves associating particular sensory cues (smells, tastes, sounds or sights), with an unpleasant response, such as nausea or vomiting. Taste-aversion learning can also occur from overindulgence. For example, children report taste aversions to food after overeating and becoming sick. Similarly, the majority of college students’ report taste versions after drinking too much alcohol and getting sick. In these examples, taste aversions to food or drink developed after a single trial and lasted an average of four to five years (Logue et al., 1981). ~Conditioned Emotional Response: Why a certain Christmas song elicits pleasant childhood memories.     In the conditioned emotional response, one feels some positive or negative emotion, such as happiness, fear, or anxiety, when experiencing a stimulus that initially accompanied a painful or pleasant event.     For example, many couples have a special song that becomes emotionally associated with their relationship. When one in the absence of the other hears this song, it can elicit strong emotional and romantic feelings.     In other cases, conditioned emotional responses may develop into irrational fears that are called phobias.     A phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an intense and irrational fear that is out of all proportion to the danger elicited by the object or situation. In comparison, a fear is a realistic response to a threatening situation (Bernstein, 1991).     About 73 percent of people with phobias were able to trace the start of their phobias to fearful, painful, or traumatic situations that involved classical conditioning (Atkinson et al., 1993 in Kleinknecht, 1994 and Kuch et al., 1994). For example, about 5 victims involved in moving car accidents had developed fears of sitting or riding in cars, and another third developed the corresponding phobias (Kuch et al., 1994). Just as classical conditioning can result in fears and phobias, however, it can also be used to reduce them. ~Prejudice     In the mid-1940s, psychologist Kenneth Clark held a black doll and a white doll in his hands and asked the following questions of young white children living in the South:     â€Å"Which doll looks like you?†    â€Å"Now tell me which doll is the good doll?†    â€Å"Which doll is the bad doll?†These children knew that the white doll looked like them. most children also indicated that the white doll was the â€Å"good doll†and the black doll was â€Å"dirty†or â€Å"ugly†( Clark and Clark, 1947). How had these southern white children learned to make such association? During the decades of racial prejudices that had come before, darer skins had become associated with poverty and with being â€Å"inferior,†not just in the South, but generally throughout the United States. The white children had learned to attribute these characteristics to black people.     The racist attitude is what the white children had been taught; it is also what the black children had been taught. The black had been raised in the same general environment, the same country. They, too, had seen that the whites had better and they had worse. And, as the Clarks discovered in further research, a majority of black children also chose the white doll as the good one and the black doll as the bad one.     A conditioning experiment conducted by researcher Staats (1958 in Atkinson et al., 1993) helped to show how association process could be responsible for the prejudice, Dr. Clark observed. In their experiment, college students were asked to look at one word while pronouncing another. Without being aware of the purpose of the experiment, the students were manoeuvred into pairing pleasant words or unpleasant words with a particular name (Tom or Bill) or a certain nationality (Swedish or Dutch). In short, subjects revealed obvious differences in attitudes towards these names and nationalities, simply because those words had been paired with positive or negative words. Advertisers, politicians, movie makers, and just about everyone else try to use this kind of conditioning to affect people’s emotions. Then a politician associates himself with a positive symbol such as the flag, or when a movie maker uses dramatic music, or when someone dresses well for a job interview, each is invoking the same process: Each is attempting to render something – the politician, the movie maker, or the job seeker – more appealing through association with positive stimuli.     What appears to be occurring in the instances of association, like those just described, is a kind of higher order conditioning (Dworetzky, 1998). Conclusion     In classical conditioning, the conditioned response often resembles the normal response to the unconditioned stimulus: salivation, for example,  is a dog’s normal response to food. But when you want to teach an organism something novel – such as teaching a dog new trick – you cannot use classical conditioning. What unconditioned stimulus would make a dog sit up or roll over? To train the dog, you must first persuade it to do the trick (Bernstein et al., 1991).     Much of the real-life behavior is like this: responses are learned because they operate on, or effect the environment. Referred to as an operant conditioning, this kind of learning occurs in human individuals, as well as in animals. Alone in a crib, a baby may kick and twist and coo spontaneously. When left by itself, a dog may pad back and forth, sniff, or perhaps pick up a ball, drop it, and play with it.     Neither organism is responding to the onset or offset of a specific external stimulus. Rather, they are operating on their environment. Once the organism performs a certain behavior, however, the likelihood that the action will be repeated depends on its consequences. The baby will coo more often if each such occurrence is followed by parental attention, and the dog will pick up the ball more often if petting or a food reward follows this action. If we think of the baby as having a gaol of parental attention, and the dog as having the goal of food, then operant conditioning amounts to learning that a particular behavior leads to attaining a particular goal (Rescorla, 1987). Reference: Atkinson, R.L., R.C. Atkinson, E.E. Smith, D.J. Bem, and S.    Nolen-Hoeksema, 1993. Introduction to Psychology, 13th ed.  New York: Harcourt College Publishers. Bernstein, D.A., E.J. Roy, T.K. Srull, and C.D. Wickens, 1991.     Psychology. New Jersey: Houghton Mifflin Company. Bootzin, R.R. 1991. Psychology.  New York: Gilford Press. Clark, L., A.D. Watson, and S. Reynolds, 1995. Diagnosis and     classification of psychopathology: Challenges to the current system and future directions. Annual review of    Psychology 46: 121-53. Dworetzky, J.P. 1988. Psychology.3rd Ed. Mew York: West    Publishing Company. Logue, A.W., I.Ophir, and K.E. Strauss. 1981. The Acquisition  of taste aversions in humans. Behavior Research and Therapy,19:3:19-35. Morgan, Clifford T. 1977. A Brief Introduction to Psychology.  2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Rescorla, R.A. 1987. A Pavlovian analysis of goal-directed     behavior. American Psychologist 42:119-129, 265. Â
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Analytical Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Analytical Paper - Essay Example Everything is available throughout the world with the help of internet and telecommunications. In the global economy, anyone can buy and sell anything using the advanced technologies. Globalization increases the interaction, cooperation and communication among different countries. A successful globalization will not only provide economic prosperity and development but also will provide social justice and equality to all kinds of people of the society. It should bring success for the poor people also. When some of the countries are working together for a common goal then it is called internationalization. But globalization is a broader term where there is no border, no barriers for people to do trade. Globalization is the process of converting the national economy into a global economy. Critics sometimes said that globalization is only good for the developed nations as it does not create positive impacts on the developing countries. India is one of the examples of developing countries and the effect of globalization in India will be discussed in this report. From the discussion of globalization in India, it will be clear how far the globalization has created positive as well negative impacts in Indian socio-economic and cultural platform. Discussion India opened up their economy in the early nineties after facing an exchange crunch. As a result, Indian economy felt the necessity of the presence of the multinational companies for overall growth and development. In 1991, the liberalization and globalization policies marked the beginning of a new era in Indian history. Economic effect Indian economy from the time of independence was a close economy. The different political parties came into the power but the type of economic inclination was same for India. In 1991, the new era in Indian economy started with three key words - Liberalization, Globalization and privatization. With the globalization process the restructuring of Indian economy started and some major ref orms were observed. Globalization brings a favorable impact on Economic growth. In 1970, the GDP growth was only 3 % in India. The countries like Mexico, Brazil achieved more than twice growth rate than India. In the eighties, a significant annual growth was observed from 3% to 5.9% but still it was comparatively very low compared to countries like China, Korea. In 1991, the GDP was calculated on purchasing power parity basis and Indian economic growth was 0.9 % only. Indian economy achieved a growth rate of 8% in the year 2003-2004. Not only the high GDP growth was noticed but also a significant structural change was noticed in Indian economy. Before the globalization, the maximum amount of GDP was generated from the primary sector. But after globalization, the maximum part of the GDP contribution comes from the service sector. ITES-BPO, software services providers has achieved a significant growth in recent years. GDP from the major sectors The service sector is the major employme nt provider also in Indian Economy. In recent times, the service sector has a great contribution in the national income also. The reason for growth of service sector is urbanization, privatization and high demand for consumer service. Significant high growth rate was observed in 2006-2010. The growth rate and service sector contribution have been shown in the above diagram. The government of India formulated policies to make foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector. The FDI in manufacturing sec
Advertising review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Advertising review - Assignment Example This promotional tool is thus utilised by companies with the objective of creating better awareness among customers in the market segments in relation to their products and/or services [1] (The University of Sydney, 2013). Coca-Cola is a world-renowned beverage company established in the year 1986 that has been operating quite competitively on a global context. The company is perceived to be executing its business activities in beyond 200 countries currently. Moreover, the company is recorded to be offering around 500 brands to its consumers in the worldwide market. In its marketing tactics, the company has been utilising various promotional strategies with the objective of performing its various business activities in a successful and competitive manner within its wide-ranging market segments. In this respect, it has been observed that the company uses extensive advertisement practices, especially through the audio-visual media such as television and internet for developing better a wareness among consumers (The Coca-Cola Company, 2011). For instance, in 2011, the company used an effective promotional strategy named ‘Share a Coke’ campaign with 150 different popular first names of individuals printed on the bottles and cans along with the brand name of the company. The campaign was launched within the beverage market of Australia. The campaign was promoted through advertisements in television and other internet medium which included FaceBook as well as websites (Digital Advance Limited, 2013). Taking the example of this advertisement campaign, the discussion henceforth will intend to discuss the strengths as well as weaknesses of the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign organised by Coca-Cola in its Australian market. Moreover, the discussion will also emphasize on strategies to be recommended in order to improve the effectiveness of the campaign. A Critical Review of the Campaign In Relation To Its Strengths and Weaknesses The ‘Share a Cokeà ¢â‚¬â„¢ campaign was organized and executed in the beverage market of Australia in the year 2011 targeting the young generation buyers. In accordance with the campaign, the first names of 150 different individuals of Australia were to be printed on the bottles as well as cans of Coke. This in turn was expected to build enthusiasm among the young buyers and thus assist in obtaining the main objective of creating better awareness among the customers about the products offered by Coca-Cola. In the short run, the campaign was also expected to improve the sales volume and profit margin of the company in the Australian beverage industry. Source: (YouTube, 2012) Strengths of the ‘Share a Coke’ Campaign The Coca-Cola Company is recognised to be one of the world’s leading ‘Fast Moving Consumer Goods’ (FMCG) companies which have been a pioneer in executing some of the unique but quite effective marketing campaigns. Likewise, the major strength of its ‘Sh are a Coke’ campaign in Australia can be recognised as its target to teens as well as young adult consumers. Additionally, in targeting the youth, the company focused on making use of attractive audio-visual media such as the social media through internet and television which are extensively used by this generation and is further perceived to be highly persuasive for this particular group of consumers. Moreover, the company with the assistance of this campaign was facilitated with the opportunity of offering its products availing a better public awareness program. Prior
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Juvenile Convicts and Their Expectation of Privacy Research Paper
Juvenile Convicts and Their Expectation of Privacy - Research Paper Example In this respect, juveniles include adolescents and children who are below the age o majority. The age of majority may be determined by law more so with respect to minor crimes. However, for major crimes, a court of law may consider trying a juvenile as an adult (Lawrence, 2003). This is important a distinction given that sentencing for major offences may not only limit a young person’s life to prison for a lifetime. A convict on the other hand is a person who has been found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court of law. A convict can also be defined as any person serving a sentence in prison. Convicts are usually referred to as inmates or prisoners or simply as a â€Å"con†in slang. Juveniles who are alleged to have committed an offence may have their cases heard in juvenile courts as noted by (Karmen, (2009). Juvenile courts have different rules from those of adult criminal courts and they provide defendants with fewer rights. In many states, juveniles are denied the right to a jury trial but given the right to an attorney and appeal (Lawrence, 2003). This paper will focus on analyzing the perception of convicted juveniles regarding privacy. The research will present information regarding the history and current trends with respect to juvenile conviction and their perceptions of privacy. The research will also seek consider the diversity sensitivity and multi-cultural issues related to juvenile delinquency. History of Juvenile Conviction Juvenile delinquency and conviction is not something that is new to the world. From generation to generation, since time immemorial, young people have gotten to commit minor crimes and sometimes major crimes that warrant serious corrective or retributive measures. Among the earliest records of juvenile convicts in modern times can be traced back to the 1780s according to Horshamps (nd). The juvenile convicts in this case were set aboard the first fleet of eleven ships that sailed from Botany Bay to Plymouth, England. The total number of juvenile conflicts were 13in the 1787 trip according to Horshamps (nd). In the 1820s, Members (nd) states that there were juvenile convicts that were transported to Sydney. The some of the convicted children were children of convicted parents according to Members (nd). While female convicts were sent to work in the female factory or got married by Australian settlers, their children stayed in orphanages or with their mothers. The children convicts were sent to separate orphanages depending on their gender, records of their activities and health being taken. Juvenile male offenders were often relocated to New South Wales and trained to do certain jobs with the risk of facing a goal sentence in the event that their masters complained according to Members (nd). Many boy convicts aged between nine and 18 were relocated to Tasmania in the 1830s. This age was considered unfit for performing difficult tasks like clearing bushes, building roads and working in q uarries. Girl convicts on the other hand were however sent to the female factories to be workers therein or assigned work as servants to the settlers. The issue of privacy during the periods preceding the 1830s was not a major issue with regard to convicts’ lives. Conviction of whatever kind at this time was mainly aimed at punishing
Monday, August 26, 2019
Kinesiological analysis assessment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Kinesiological analysis assessment - Coursework Example In most of the occasions, the athletes perform a counter movement jump. They start from an upright position, make a downward movement by flexing at the knees and hips then extend the knees and hips again to drop vertically on the ground as shown in figure 1a. Such actions make the muscles be pre-stretched before shortening in the desired direction. A male group two member performed squat jumps and countermovement jumps. He played without arm movement on a force platform. The vertical position of the subjects center of mass can now be obtained using free flight equation. From the observation made during the vertical countermovement jumps, the subject had a maximum take-off range at which the knees get flexed to around ninety degrees. For the squat jump, there was no clear optimum take-off as shown in figure 1. The figure illustrates the kind of motions that occur in countermovement jump and squat jump. In a countermovement, the jumper commences from an upright standing posture, makes downward movement just by flexing at the hips and knees and vigorously extends the knees and hips to jump vertically off the ground. It is like other movements like running, other types of jumps and throwing where the required motion starts by movement in the opposite direction thus making the muscles be pre-stretched before turning in the required direction. Pre-stretching further enhances the work output and the force production of the muscles in the movement flow (Hanson, 2005). In a squat jump, the movement begins from a stationary semi hunched posture then vigorously extends the hips and knees to climb vertically from the ground as shown in figure (1b). In this case, no preliminary downward phase is employed, therefore, no pre-stretching of the muscles. This kind of jump was observed to be highly artificial kind of movement that is rare during practice. Most people prefer countermovement form of climbing because it appears natural and a real number can drop
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Economic principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Economic principles - Essay Example I find them much appealing to my values as compared to those that do not bear the incentive I desire. For instance, I am more than ready to study hard so that I can gain the incentive of one day becoming a successful economists. Another case is that I like helping others who are facing hardship because I believe they might be of use to my political agenda at one moment in time. In both of the above cases, there is always that incentive that motivates my present behavior. â€Å"Opportunity cost†is the other economic principle that often characterize my life. I desire so much yet I cannot get everything I want at the same time. For example, I like sleeping!!!! (But for the fear of being misquoted as lazy I accompany it with a disclaimer). On the other hand, I also want to attend classes so that I can gain the necessary knowledge in my major. Since I cannot sleep and attend classes at the same time, I am always forced to give up on sleep for the sake of attending classes. In this case, sleeping becomes my opportunity
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Economic Collapse of 2008 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Economic Collapse of 2008 - Research Paper Example When events like this occur, we automatically look back at the control systems that are supposed to alert us and in fact prevent such a fiasco from assuming alarming proportions. In this case, obviously something went wrong somewhere or the signs were ignored. This paper will look at the main factors that led to the collapse, the consequences of the collapse, who should be held accountable for it, where we stand today and how it has impacted on our hopes for the future. Main Factors Which Led to the Collapse It all started with an excess of lending in the sub–prime mortgage sector of the USA. The economy was going well and life was good. It seemed that the good times were here to last and there was no letting up. And then it finally happened. Bankers who had previously considered even people with a bad credit history as good enough for taking a loan now began to cut back on lending in the interests of risk control and compliance. As the economy shrunk and credit dried up, bank ers began to call on the sub-prime mortgages and the consumers were left with nowhere to turn to. Imagine their predicament as interest rates rose up and they had to let go of their precious mortgages. It was havoc and pandemonium in the housing sector. As the crisis deepened, even the banks that had not provided adequately for bad debts in the real estate sector were affected. Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers in the USA and Morgan Stanley in the UK were institutions that were brought down by the crisis; others have had to sell off, divest and re-organize themselves. For institutions like international banks, who have diversified their investment portfolios across the world in different continents to spread risk, it was inevitable that their holdings were impacted in some way or the other. AIG and Citibank in the USA, Deutsche Bank in Europe, Citigroup in the USA and Standard Chartered in the UK were all offered stimulus packages that have helped them recover rather than join the r anks of the bankrupt companies. To date in excess of 400 small and large banks have had to bite the dust. One contributing factor it seems that too much power had been given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in relation to credit and control over the housing and real estate sector in the USA. The burgeoning housing sector has been hard to control. With their disbanding, and control in the hands of another regulatory agency, things are expected to become better. Another factor that has us bogged down is our insistence on continuing the War on Terror, a war we cannot win so easily. After nine years of fighting in Afghanistan and five in Iraq, we have little to show for it. We are spending millions of dollars per day and the average US citizen is being mired in debt without his consent. The 9/11 attacks were a blessing in disguise to the faltering Bush Administration who wasted no time passing the Patriot Act, creating Homeland Security and terrorizing citizens with different alert levels, racial profiling and enhanced security checks at airports. Bush had famously announced the names of countries he regarded as the Axis of Evil nations in a speech. He vetoed many of the expenses on the War on Terror, over the combined judgment of Congress representatives. The result is trillions of dollars in debt which we cannot possibly correct in our lifetimes. Many have criticized the
Friday, August 23, 2019
I will tell you later Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
I will tell you later - Essay Example Secondly, the paper will focus on the relationship between food and water security and possible solutions to the security of the two. In the conclusion, there will be focus on the solution to safeguard food and water security in both developed countries and developing countries. Food-Water nexus Water and food are extremely connected; the impact of the quality and proper usage of the two is made necessary by the utilization of water resources and practice of good agricultural methods. Water is very essential in the food industry. In the primary production stage, it is used in irrigation, livestock watering and aquaculture. According to Krittasudthacheewa 3, agriculture consumes about 70% of all surface water supplies whereas domestic and industrial usage takes up the remaining percentage. It also performs a main role in the preparation and processing stage where it is used as a means of transport, as an ingredient for washing, pasteurizing, cooling and steam production. In order to p roduce, process and prepare food, a lot of energy is required. Energy is used in the transportation, treatment and production of food. Water enables the production for hydroelectric power which aids in the food production process by provision of energy. ... Poor agricultural practices have resulted to loss of soil due to run off water and had also caused water logging because of hard pans. The pollution of animal waste and water used in irrigation leads to the pollution of surface and ground water. Irrigation flows carry salts, nutrients and pesticides which contaminate the water sources and alter the eminence of the water. The pollution has negative impact on food production especially since the polluted water is to be reused in future. Utilization of polluted water in the food production chain results in low quality and insufficient agriculture produce. It also impacts on the cost of production that rises due to increased costs in the purchase of the necessary curatives needed for maximum production and protection of the impact of the infected produce. It is therefore necessary to practice good agricultural methods while at the same time regulating water usage. Protection of water sources from pollution and unnecessary use normally re sults in increased productivity. The relationship between water and food production should be well balanced to ensure the continued supply for food and likewise existence of suitable and non-polluted water. The disturbance of one has tremendous impacts on the other. The two depend on each other for maximum productivity which is essential to cater for the ever increasing human needs and wants. Impact of food production and water security Water security is the access to safe water for consumption and sanitation. Food security on the other hand is the availability of safe, sufficient and nutritious food to live a healthy life. Interdependence between water and food is the reason why agriculture is responsible for much water exploitation. During food production,
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Quality Management-Toyota Essay Example for Free
Quality Management-Toyota Essay This paper explores multiple published articles discussing Toyota Motor Company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A review of Toyota’s decisions to hide important information prior to recalls leads us to a discussion of where Toyota can go from here. The paper includes recommendations for Toyota Motor Company in order to move forward after their 2010 recalls. In addition, organizational changes will assist Toyota Motor Company in overcoming their recall problems. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 3 Quality Management within Toyota Motor Company After a number of discouraging recalls at Toyota Motor Company in 2010, a number of quality management techniques were implemented. Toyota Motor Company’s SWOT Analysis played into the newly implemented quality management techniques. Toyota’s strengths allowed them to fight back quickly against these recalls that could have ultimately led to Toyota’s fall from one of the top motor company’s. Toyota Motor Company’s strengths include dominant position in the marketplace, strong brand recognition, strong focus on research and development, and broad production and distribution network. In addition to Toyota’s strengths, their weaknesses were reviewed in order to find opportunities to capitalize upon. The recalls were obviously a large weakness at Toyota. Opportunities were reviewed which included the growth of the global automotive industry. Last, Toyota’s threats were reviewed. Here it was found that powerful competition is a worry for Toyota Motor Company. After the review of Toyota Motor Company’s SWOT Analysis, the issue of the recalls was assessed. Analysis shows the issue within Toyota Motor Company did not appear overnight. However, secretive management styles let the company astray. A diagram was created by functional area to summarize how Toyota has responded to these recall problems. The functional areas reviewed include management, production design and safety, quality, and manufacturing. Last, the analysis of Toyota Motor Company’s recall and quality management issues are discussed from a point of solving the problem. Recommendations are discussed that will help Toyota Motor Company to turn their weaknesses into strengths. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 4 Method Discussion SWOT Analysis Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses Product †¢ Dominant position in the marketplace †¢ Strong brand recognition †¢ Strong focus on Research Development †¢ Broad production and distribution network. †¢ Product recalls have the ability to negatively affect brand image †¢ Declining sales in crucial geographic areas External Factors Opportunities Threats Competition †¢ Growth of the global automotive industry †¢ Potential benefit from partnering with BMW †¢The outlook for the new global car market is strong †¢ Powerful competition †¢ Appreciation of the Japanese Yen †¢ Environmental regulations †¢Natural disasters Strengths. Toyota has a number of internal product strengths as noted in the SWOT Analysis table above. Toyota’s market share in 2011 was 16. 5 percent, its highest market share in 4 years. This strong market share allowed Toyota to hold a competitive advantage against their competition. In addition to holding a dominant position in the marketplace, Toyota possesses strong brand recognition through a number of brands. These brands include Toyota, Lexus, Prius, Corolla, Yaris, Camry, Sequoia, 4Runner, Scion tC, Highlander, Land Cruiser, and a number of other brand names. These brands are some of the most desired premium brands in the world according to the Company Profile report for Toyota Motor Company documented by MarketLine. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 5 Another strength of Toyota is their strong attention to research and development. According to the Company Profile report, Toyota’s focus on research and development is pointed towards the creation of new and improved products. Research and development operations are conducted at 14 facilities located around the world. This strength has allowed Toyota to increase the technology included in existing products. One of these products, a Pre-collision System (PCS) helps drivers avoid collisions. Overall, the strong focus on research and development has been a big strength for Toyota. Last, Toyota’s production and distribution network has been a big strength for the company. Toyota produces automobiles, related parts, and other components through more than 50 manufacturing companies throughout 27 countries and regions, not including Japan. As mentioned on the Toyota Motor Company website, major locations include Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Thailand, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil. As reported by Toyota Motor Company, during fiscal year 2013 the company had consolidated vehicle sales totals of 8. 871 million units (TCM, 2013). As reported by Toyota Motor Company, this was an increase of 1. 519 million units compared to the previous fiscal year. In addition to the widespread production of Toyota products, the company has a large distribution network. Toyota’s distribution network is one of the largest in Japan encompassing four sales channels (Toyota, Toyopet, Corolla, and Netz). In 2012 the distribution network of these channels was comprised of 283 dealers. In addition to this network, Toyota operates over 170 Lexus sales channels in Japan. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 6 As reported by Toyota Motor Company, in fiscal year 2013 these networks accounted for the following vehicle sales: †¢JAPAN SALES TOTALED 2. 279 MILLION UNITS †¢IN NORTH AMERICA VEHICLE SALES TOTALED 2. 469 MILLION UNITS †¢IN EUROPE VEHICLE SALES TOTALED 799,085 UNITS †¢ASIA CAME IN AT TOTAL VEHICLE SALES OF 1. 684 MILLION UNITS †¢CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, OCEANIA AND AFRICA CAME IN AT 1. 640 MILLION UNITS As you can see, Toyota’s distribution network is widespread allowing for diversification and a wide reach of clientele, ultimately boosting revenues and sales. Weaknesses. A large focus of the case study focuses on the weakness of Toyota’s product recalls. As many are aware, Toyota has encountered a number of recalls in the recent past. It is a concern that these recalls could negatively affect Toyota’s brand imagine ultimately leading to decreased sales for the company. When searching for Toyota recalls it was easy to find a few recent recalls. The most recent is a recall of 700,000 Toyota Prius models which were recalled over electronic issues in the United States (csmonitor. com, 2014). Another very recent recall includes certain versions of the Lexus RX crossover. In this case, more than 261,000 vehicles are being recalled due to a brake issue (csmonitor. com, 2014). In addition to the many recalls, Toyota has been involved in a number of lawsuits. In December 2012, Toyota settled a suit by paying $17. 4 million to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to settle claims related to the June 2012 recall of potential accelerator pedal entrapment issues. This bad press will ultimately result in a negative effect on consumer’s confidence in Toyota’s brand. In addition, the settlement of suits ultimately decreases Toyota’s QUALITY MANAGEMENT 7 profits. As a result of this bad press Toyota saw a decline in 2012 sales in important geographic areas. Declining sales in fiscal year 2012 were seen across North America, Asia, and Europe. Opportunities. As reported by the article, Global automotive industry to experience modest growth in 2012, a number of opportunities exist in the global automotive industry (2012). The Japanese auto industry responded from natural disasters which had caused reduced inventories and production. It is forecasted that the industry will continue to grow increasing Toyota revenues. In June of 2012, BMW and Toyota signed a long-term partnership. The two companies are partnering on the developments that will help to increase market share and sales. This relationship is expected to increase technology between the two companies as well as result in new product development. In addition to these opportunities, the new car market is experiencing moderate growth which will assist in increased sales and profits. Threats. Intense competition in the worldwide car market has become very competitive. This competition will likely increase in the upcoming years as competitors add more technology and increase developments. In addition to the intense competition, the appreciating Japanese Yen has become a big concern for Toyota. Last, environment regulations have the potential to increase production costs. Emissions regulations that are updated periodically could cause issues in new car production. Evolvement of Quality Management Issues At first glance, it seems that Toyota’s gas pedal issue appeared overnight. However, upon further research, evidence was found to prove the opposite. As reported in the article Secretive Culture Let Toyota Astray, evidence that Toyota cars could suddenly speed up had been piling up for years (2010). At the time of the recalls, Toyota had known about this gas QUALITY MANAGEMENT 8 pedal problem for more than a year. The problem was stated to be Toyota’s secretive corporate culture in Japan which ultimately conflicted with United States requirements that auto makers disclose safety threats. New initiatives brought to the table by Toyota have attempted to correct the previous secretive culture of Toyota. Total quality management initiatives have been put in place to assist in better customer service and safety and repair issues. According to Jacobs and Chase, total quality management can be defined as managing the entire organization so that it excels on all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer (Chase and Jacobs, 2014, p. 296). The table following this discussion addresses the steps Toyota has taken in response to its recent quality recall problems. Functional Area Quality Management Steps Management †¢ Managing Director names to oversee any safety-related issues †¢ Top down management approach Product Design Safety †¢ Troubleshooting teams known as Swift Market Analysis Response Teams work to find any safety issues that need to be reported Quality †¢ TAQIC – Toyota Advanced Quality Information Center staffed by a group of employees who compile repair reports from dealerships worldwide †¢ 1000 engineers hired to spot-check quality Manufacturing †¢ No drastic changes to assembly lines QUALITY MANAGEMENT 9 Results/Discussion Problem Solution As discussed in the diagram above, there were many opportunities for Toyota after their encounter with the recall situation. Akio Toyoda, the head of the company, acted quickly by implementing a top down management approach instead of the more popular Japanese â€Å"bottom up†approach that slows down the decision making. In addition, Akio cut board of directors by fifty percent and cut out management layers. Akio also began meeting with his top five advisers on a weekly basis. In these meetings decisions were made quickly. Akio pushed his team to make â€Å"always better cars. †This change in the way the organization is managed helped Toyota to stay on top even through the recalls. Recommendations Many recommendations have been made to assist Toyota Motor Company in improving the recall situation they encountered in 2011. Some recommendations Toyota should follow include as recommended by the North American Quality Advisory Panel include the following: †¢GIVE NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS MORE INDEPENDENCE IN MAKING RECALL DECISIONS †¢STRENGTHEN QUALITY CONTROL PROCESSES †¢EXTEND DEVELOPMENT TIME OF NEW PRODUCTS TO INCLUDE MORE SAFETY TESTS †¢CREATE A ROLE OF CHIEF SAFETY TECHNOLOGY OFFICER. †¢CREATE AND LAUNCH A SAFETY RESEARCH CENTER FOCUSED ON PROTECTING THE MOST IMPORTANT clientele (children, teens, and seniors) QUALITY MANAGEMENT 10 These ideas follow the concept of total quality management which focuses on two fundamental goals: †¢CAREFUL DESIGN OF THE PRODUCT (IN THE CASE OF TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY, THE VEHICLE) †¢ENSURE THAT TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY SYSTEMS CAN PRODUCE THIS DESIGN IN A CONSISTENT manner Quality at the source seems to be a great way for Toyota Motor Company to proceed. Quality at the source means that the person who is doing the work is taking the responsibility for making sure the work meets specifications. As previously discussed, safety control will be a huge initiative for Toyota Motor Company going forward. If implemented, these recommendations can do a lot to help Toyota Motor Company increase their organizational effectiveness. As previously discussed, many organizational steps were taken by Akio Toyoda after these recalls. It seems that Toyota could greatly benefit from organizational learning. As stated by Operations and Supply Chain Management, â€Å"it has been argued that organizational learning is critical to sustaining a competitive advantage†(Chase and Jacobs, 2014, p. 138). Organizational realignment was important to Toyota Motor Company after the 2010 and 2011 recalls. According to a Toyota news release in December of 2008 organizational changes include the establishment of the below: QUALITY MANAGEMENT 11 †¢A GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP WHICH WAS FOCUSED ON QUICK RESPONSE TO inquiries from around the world while also unifying public affairs functions. †¢AN ACCOUNTING GROUP AIMED AT STRENGTHENING THE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL management system of Toyota Motor Company. †¢A EUROPE AND AFRICA OPERATIONS GROUP INTENDED TO ASSIST WITH BUSINESS PLANNING IN African and Central Asia. The group was also established to conduct business promotion events in both Europe and Africa. †¢A PRODUCTION ENGINEERING GROUP AIMED AT INCREASING THE STRENGTH OF THE QUALITY control system for semiconductors for hybrid vehicles. The recommendations made are important to Toyota’s future. Reorganization and creation of new groups within the organization will help Toyota to overcome these recalls. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 12 References Ingram, A. (2014, Feb 12). Toyota recall: 1. 9 million Prius vehicles recalled to fix software glitch. Retrieved from http://www. csmonitor. com/Business/In-Gear/2014/0212/Toyota-recall-1. 9-million-Prius-vehicles-recalled-to-fix-software-glitch Jacobs, F. R. , Chase, R. (2014). Operations and supply chain management. (14 ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Lassa, T. (Feb, 2012). U. s. market share for the top five automakers. Retrieved from http://www. motortrend. com/features/auto_news/2011/1202_u_s_markets_share_for_the_ top_five_automakers/ Linebaugh, K. , Searcey , D. , Shirouzu, N. (Feb, 2010 08). Secretive culture led toyota astray. Retrieved from http://online. wsj. com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238 ? mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollectionmg=reno64-wsjurl=http://online. wsj. com/artic le/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238. html? mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection Marketline. (2013, Jan). Toyota motor corporation swot analysis. Retrieved from http://web. a. ebscohost. com. library3. webster. edu/ehost/detail? vid=4[emailprotected]hid=4212bdat a=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ== Ridley , G. (2012, Jan 06). Global automotive industry to experience modest growth in 2012. Retrieved from QUALITY MANAGEMENT 13 http://www. ey. com/GL/en/Newsroom/News-releases/Global-automotive-industry-to-exp erience-modest-growth-in-2012 Taylor, A. (2012, Feb 27). Toyotas comeback kid. Fortune, 165(3), 72-79. Retrieved from http://web. b. ebscohost. com. library3. webster. edu/ehost/detail? [emailprotected]vid=1hid=126bdata= JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ TMC. (2013, May 08). TMC announces year-end financial results for fiscal year ended march 31, 2013. Retrieved from http://www2. toyota. co. jp/en/news/13/05/0508_1. html Voss, M. (2011, May 23). Toyota receives recommendations from north american quality advisory panel. Retrieved from http://corporatenews. pressroom. toyota. com/releases/toyota receives recommendations north american quality advisory panel. htm.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Macroeconomics Of Japan Essay Example for Free
Macroeconomics Of Japan Essay Japan is the greatest economy in Asia, in terms of GDP, as well as human resources and technology. The nation was once predicted to be the next superpower nation exceeding the United Sates and countries of the European Union. Today, it is the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and People’s Republic of China. It is also the second-largest economy by real GDP and market exchange rates. The economy is highly efficient and competitive especially in the services industry, which is originated from a good cooperation between the government and the industry, a strong work ethic and the mastery of high technology. Recent analysis however, revealed that the economy is currently under serious problems. Observers and even Japan’s own officials have admitted that the economy is no longer ‘first class’. There are even worries that Japan has no longer sustain the capacity to be one of the world’s greatest economies anymore, and the economy will slowly degrade into one of the typical Asian economies. Analysts stated that such an occurrence has happened before, when Argentina which were once considered one of the strongest economies in the world degraded into typical third world economies today. Is this the case with Japan? In this paper I am discussing the problems that stayed within Japan’s economy and elaborating their probable causes. Afterwards, I will elaborate the macroeconomic policies which have been performed by the Japanese government in response to these issues and how these policies have affected the economy. The period of discussion is 1997 -2007, which are the years after the ‘Japan economic bubble’ bursts, to the present day. II. Japan Economic Issues 1997-2007 II. 1. Background of the Issues – Japan Economic Bubble Japanese growth rates have been nothing less than spectacular for decades. In the 60’s the average real economic growth rate was 10%, in the 70’s it was 5% and in the 80’s it was 4%. Japanese financial system however, was based on a bureaucratic fiat. The government believes that by injecting sufficient amount of capital into the market, the economy will experience a rapid rate of growth. Thus, the financial system was set to inject cheap capital into the business sector (Hamada, 2004). In support of this policy, banks even reluctant to report –in bad loans. In short, companies were encouraged to borrow and expand continuously. Companies would then borrow using assets like land and then invest the money into the stock market. After the market rises, the company would have latent profits which will be used to buy more land and therefore, the cycle continues. These cycles were the origins of the huge real estate and stock market bubbles. These bubbles however, cannot be sustained forever, and when the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interests rates, the bubble bursts in 1989 and leaving commercial banks in Japan with a mountain of bad loans. II. 2. Stagnant Economic Growth Afterwards, assets prices began to decline rapidly. Japan’s economy was going through a long period of deflation since then, partly caused by the appreciation of yen. Because of this appreciation, the CPI increase rate dropped into negative in 1995. The expanding deflation caused Japan’s economy to remain in a static condition. Moreover, the deepening deflation was accompanied with weakening state of real economy like growth rates declines and increased unemployment rates. Between 1992 and 1994, real growth rates are below 1%. It even dropped toward a negative range in 1998. Jobless rate have also suffered a rise of 3. 4 % from 2 % in 1990 to 5. 4% in 2003. The economic downsizing in 1997 put Japanese economy into a new state of deflation (Oliver, 2002). II. 3. Deflationary Trap It was not considered serious until the inflation rate slipped to below zero in 1997. In this phase, observers believed that Japan was in a ‘deflationary trap’. However, because of various long-term considerations, the government has implemented policies to maintain inflation stable near the zero mark. In this situation however, the central bank cannot use its traditional instruments to deal with the issue. As a result, deflation deepens even further and the market intensified expectations toward further and longer period of deflation. Due to the increase in real rate of interest, consumer spending and corporate investments were discouraged. Unfortunately, the shrinking total demand in the macro economy further worsen the deflation. If not dealt with accordingly, this could lead into self-sustaining deflationary process (Campbell, 1992).
Behavioral Approach To Leadership Management Essay
Behavioral Approach To Leadership Management Essay The focal point of thuis chapter will be on theoretical developments made in leadership literature with the way of time by the advocates. Hence, the existing chapter will be divided into four major parts. In the first part, trait approach to leadership will be described. In the second part, behavioral approach to leadership will be discussed. Third part will be devoted to contingency approach to leadership. In last and fourth part, cutting-edge approach to leadership will be presented. Trait Leadership Theory: Leadership consists of leaders, followers and situations, but trait approach only focuses on leaders. Trait approach was one of the first systematic attempts to study leadership in which research started by focusing on leaders traits that differentiate between leaders and non-leaders. Trait theory assumes that people are born with inherited characteristics. In other words, leaders were born, not made and leadership is rooted in characteristics of leaders. This assumption that leaders are born not made was taken from Great Man Theory. The underlying concept of this theory was that leaders are from upper class. Great Man theory was named so because in those days, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality. Stogdill studied more than 124 studies conducted between 1904 and 1947. Stogdill (1948) stated that the aspect allied with leadership could be categorize under six broad directions: capacity (intelligence, alertness, originality and judgment); achievement (scholarship, knowledge); responsibility (reliability, inventiveness, determination assertiveness, self-assurance and the desire to excel); participation (activity, friendliness, teamwork, flexibility and absurdity); status (socioeconomic position and popularity) and situation (status, ability, wants and wellbeing of followers, objectives to be accomplished). Bryman (1993) also talk about the principle that there are distinct attributes that distinguish a leader from a non-leader, these being physical features (height); personality factors: (extroverted); and ability related characteristics: (speech fluency). Trait theory offers no explanation for relationship between individual characteristics and leaderships. This theory did not consider the impact of situational variables that moderate the relationship between leader traits and measures of effectiveness. As a result of lack of consistent findings, linking individual traits to leadership effectiveness, empirical studies of leaders traits were largely abandoned in 1950s. Behavioral approach to Leadership: In beginning of 1950s, focus of leadership research shifted away from leader traits to leaders behaviors. Purpose of this research was that the behavior exhibited by the leaders is more important than their physical, mental, emotional traits or internal state. Behavioral theories differentiate between effective leaders from ineffective leaders. Behavioral theories of leadership are based on the belief that great leaders are made, not born. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through training and observations, thus, anyone can become a leader if they want to. Leadership is composed of two general kinds of behaviors: task behavior and relationship behavior. Task behavior focus on goal accomplishment and help subordinates in achieving their behavior while relationship behavior help subordinates to feel comfortable at workplace. Central focus of this approach is to examine how leaders combine these two types of behavior in order to make subordinates to put their efforts to reach a goal. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the behavioral approach. Some of the first studies were conducted at Ohio State University in late 1940s. At the same time, another group of researchers at Michigan University were studying leadership functions. These studies sparked hundreds of other leadership studies and are still widely used. The Ohio Studies: Group of researchers at Ohio studies analyzed how a group of individuals acted when they were leading a group or organization. For this purpose, complete questionnaire about leader was developed on that questionnaire, subordinates had to identify the no. of times their leaders engaged in certain kind of behavior. Questionnaire was composed of 150 questions and was called the Leader Behavioral Description Questionnaire. (Hemphill and Coons, 1957). Questionnaire was distributed among military, manufacturing companies and educational institutes. The result showed that the certain clusters of behaviors were typically of leaders. Researchers found that respondents responses on the questionnaire clustered around two general types of leaders behavior: Initiating Structure and Consideration (Stogdill, 1974). Initiating Structure sometimes called task-oriented behavior, involves planning, organizing and coordinating the work of subordinates. Consideration involves showing concern for subordin ates, being supportive, recognizing subordinates accomplishments, and providing for subordinates welfare. Many studies have been conducted to determine which style of leadership is most effective in a particular situation. In some contexts, high consideration has been found to be most effective, but in other situations, high initiating structure has been found most effective. Some research has shown that being high on both behaviors is the best form of leadership. The University of Michigan (1961 1967): The Michigan leadership studies took place at about the same time as those at Ohio Studies. The focus of the Michigan studies was to determine the principles and methods of leadership that led to productivity and job satisfaction. The studies resulted in two general leadership behaviors or orientations: an employee orientation and production orientation (Likert). Leaders with an employee orientation showed genuine concern for interpersonal relations, while those with a production orientation focused on the task or technical aspects of the job. The supporters proposed that the more the leader is employee oriented, the lesser hell be production oriented and vice versa. He suggested that employee oriented approach results in the most positive outcomes. The Managerial Grid: The behavioral dimensions from early behavioral leadership studies provided the basis for the development of a two dimensional grid for appraising leadership style. One concept based largely on behavioral approach to leadership effectiveness was the Managerial (or Leadership Grid) development by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton (1964). The Grid helps to explain how leaders help organizations to reach their purposes through two factors: concern for production and concern for people. It closely parallels the idea and findings that emerged in the Ohio State and University of Michigan Studies. Concern for production refers to how a leader is concerned with achieving organizational tasks. Concern for people refers to how a leader attends to the people in the organization who are trying to achieve its goals. In grid, concern for production has been placed on horizontal axis and leaders concern for people has been placed on vertical axis. Leaders behavior was ranked on a scale of 1 (Low) to 9(h igh). The grid has 81 potential categories into which a leaders behavioral style might fall, emphasis was placed on five: authority compliance (9,1), country club management(1,9), impoverished management (1,1), middle of the road management(5,5), and team management(9,9).Researchers concluded that managers performed best when using a team management(9,9) style. It promotes a high degree of participation and team work in the organization a satisfied a basic need in employees to be involved and committed to their work. Team management approach cannot be affective in all situations. So leaders have to adapt their style according to followers ability. The assumption of the leader behavior was that there were certain behaviors that would be universally affective for leaders. Unfortunately, empirical research has not demonstrated consistent relationship between leaders behavior and leader effectiveness. The failure to attain a consistent relationship led to a new focus on situational influences. Like trait research, leader behavior research did not consider situational influences that might moderate the relationship between leader behavior and leaders effectiveness. Situational Leadership Theory: As the name of approach implies, situational leadership focuses on leadership in different situations. The premise of the theory is that different situations demand different kind of leadership. From this perspective, to be an effective leader requires that a person adapts his or her style to the demands of different situations. Contingencies theories gained prominence in 1960s and 1970s. Few of the situational leadership theories are discussed in next section. The Fiedler Model (1967): Fred Fiedler was the one who gave the first comprehensive contingency model. It specifies how situational factors interact with leaders traits and behaviors to influence leadership effectiveness. This theory proposed that effective group performance depends on the proper match between a leaders style of interacting with his or her followers and the degree to which the situation allowed the leader to control and influence. The theory suggests that the constructivity of the situation determine the effectiveness of task and person oriented leader behavior. Constructivity is determined by three things: leader follower relationship, task structures and the position power. Situation is constructive when followers respect and trust the leader, the task is highly structured and leader has control over rewards and punishments. To measure leaders style, Fiedler developed Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Questionnaire. In questionnaire researcher used 16 pairs of contrasting adjectives like hardworking-not hardworking, friendly-unfriendly. Leaders were asked to think of a coworker with whom they had tough time and rate them on bipolar scale ranging from 1 to 8(8 describes positive adjective while 1 describes negative adjective out of the pair). Fiedler believed that you could determine a persons basic leadership style on the basis of the responses to the LPC questionnaire. Fiedler concluded that high LPC score shows that leader is people/relationship oriented while low LPC score means that leader is task oriented. Fiedler research indicated that leaders were more effective either in highly favorable situation or highly unfavorable situation while relationship oriented leaders perform better in moderate situations. Fiedler contingency has been criticized on both conceptual and methodological grounds. There was no discussion on the practicality of LPC and it is probably unrealistic to assume that a person cannot change his style in order to fit the situation. This theory does not take into consideration all situational factors. Despite its shortcomings, empirical research has supported many of specific propositions of the theory, the Fiedler model provided evidence that effective leadership style needed to reflect situational factors. Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership Theory (1969 1977): In contrast to Fiedlers contingency leadership model and its underlying assumption that leadership style is hard to change (trait theory). The Hersey Blanchard situational leadership model suggests that successful leaders do adjust their style (behavioral approach). Secondly, Fiedler define situation covering three dimensions namely leader-follower relationship, task structure and position power while Hersey and Blanchard defined situation as a function of followers maturity/task related maturity of subordinates. Followers maturity is indicated by followers readiness to perform in a given situation. Readiness is largely based on two major factors-follower ability and follower confidence. Situational leadership theory uses the same two leadership dimensions that Fiedler identified: task and relationship behavior. However, Hersey and Blanchard go a step further by considering each as either high or low and then by combining them into four specific leadership styles. The two-by-two matr ix shown below indicates the four possible leadership styles. High Participating Styles Share Ideas à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Followers able, unwilling, not confident Selling Style Explain Decisions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Followers unable, willing, confident Delegating Style Turnover decisions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Followers able, willing, confident Telling Style Give instructions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Followers unable, unwilling, not confident Low High Hersy Blanchard model map each leadership style to each maturity level, as shown below. Maturity Level Appropriate Leadership Style M1: Low Maturity S1: Telling/Directing M2: Medium Maturity, limited skills S2: Selling/ Coaching M3: Medium maturity, higher skills but lacking confidence S3: Participating/Supporting M4: High Maturity S4: Delegating To use this model, reflect on the maturity of individuals within team. The table shows which leadership style Hersey and Blanchard consider the most effective for people with that level of maturity. Unlike many other leadership theories, this approach does not have empirical research findings to justify and support the underpinning on which it stands. As a result, there is ambiguity regarding how the approach conceptualizes certain aspects of leadership. It does not explain how subordinates move from low development levels to high development level nor is it clears in explaining how commitment changes over time for subordinates. Also, the model does not clearly define how to match leader behavior from one situation to another (Draft 1999). Vroom and Jago 2007investigated that overwhelming focus of this theory was on one situational variable (the maturity of followers) and thus other important contextual characteristics within which interactions take place are ignored. According to assumption of model, followers maturity is taken as independent variable while task related leaders behavior is taken as dependent variable. However, it remains one of the better-known contingency theo ries of leadership and offers important insights into the interaction between subordinates ability and leadership style. Path-Goal Theory: Path-goal theory first appeared in the leadership literature in early 1970s in work of Evan (1970) and House (1971). Path-goal theory emphasized the relationship between leaders style and characteristics of the subordinates and work-setting. This theory was based on expectancy theory (Vroom 1964), which suggests that subordinates will be motivated if they think they are capable of performing their work (path instrumentality), if they believe their efforts will result in certain outcomes (expectancy) and if they believe that the reward for doing their work are worthwhile (valence). In this perspective, leaders behavior is dependent upon subordinates needs, desires and task characteristics. Therefore, path goal theory is designated to explain how leaders can help subordinates along the path to their goals by selecting specific behaviors that are best suited to subordinate needs and to situations in which subordinates are working. By choosing appropriate style, leaders can give rise specific motives related to task through rewards in order to achieve goals. House (1971) identifies four leaders behavior. These are achievement oriented, directive, participative and supportive. Leaders behaviors are contingent to the environment factors and followers characteristics. In contrast to Fiedlers view, a leader could not change his or her behavior, but House assumes that leaders are flexible. In other words, path goal theory assumes that same leader can display any or all of these leadership styles depending upon the situation. Path-goal theory proposes two classes of situational or contingency variables that moderate the leader -behavior outcome relationship: environmental/task characteristics that are outside the control of followers (e.g. task design, formal system of authority)- these have a major impact on the way a leaders behavior influence followers level of motivation. Second is subordinates/followers characteristics (e.g. locus of control, experience) these determine how a leaders behavior is interrupted by subordinates in a particula r work context (Northouse, 2007). Environmental contingency factors Task Design Primary Workgroup Formal System of Authority Leaders Behavior Outcomes Directive Performance Supportive Job satisfaction Participative Achievement Oriented Subordinates Contingence Factors Perceived level of task obtained Locus of Control Need for affiliation Authoritarianism Experience The theory proposes that leaders behavior will be ineffective when its redundant with sources of environmental structure or incongruent with follower characteristics. When followers needs are there, there is desire for leader intervention. Moreover, he described certain situations in which leaders interventions have positive impact and in which negative influence. It has been investigated that employee performance and satisfaction is likely to be positively influenced when the leader compensates for shortcomings in either the employee or in the work setting. However, if the leader spends time in explaining tasks that are routine tasks and are clear or when the employees has the ability and experience to handle them without leaders intervention, the employee is likely to see such directive behavior as redundant or even insulting. Based on these theoretical reasons, one can easily conclude that leaders intervention is dependent upon work settings. In some work settings leaders intervention is highly valued while in others have no value or even considered as negative. Later on, this notion became base for evolution of substitutes for leadership and followers need for leadership.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
A TV Show that is Appropiate for a Younger Audience :: Free Essay Writer
A TV Show that is Appropiate for a Younger Audience Wishbone: A Little Dog with a Big Imagination â€Å"Printed Paws of Thieves" With his uncanny knowledge of famous authors, a little dog-named Wishbone is one very smart canine. The Wishbone television series has been created to introduce children to classic literature and encourage a love for reading books. The half-hour, live-action series, designed primarily for elementary school children between the ages of 6 and 12, represents an entirely new concept in educational programming. As children watch Wishbone the dog’s adventure in the world of literature, they will come away with their first taste of classic literature as well as a desire to learn more. The series stars Wishbone the dog, â€Å"a little dog with a big imagination,†who serves as a canine bridge between life and literature. Portrayed in the series by a real Jack Russell terrier, Wishbone the dog represents an articulate, clever and funny character, whose every thought, is heard by the audience. Each episode presents a different literary classic, introduced through Wishbone the dog’s active imagination and fantasies. For example in the episode â€Å"Printed Paws of Thieves†which presents the story of Robin Hood, Joe Talbot the 12-year old owner of Wishbone almost gets suspended when he helps the school lunch lady donate leftover food to a local shelter. Meanwhile, Wishbone as Robin Hood risks arrest when he robs from the rich to give to the poor. In this episode, Wishbone is wearing the typical outfit we think of Robin Hood wearing a Brown leather two-piece outfit carrying a bow and arrow and a feathered cap. Wishbone portrays the character, Robin Hood as if how we would perceive him in the classic literature story. Throughout this episode Wishbone and the other characters, Joe Talbot, David (Joe’s best friend), and Samantha (a neighborhood friend of Joe’s and David’s), reinforce the primary literary themes explored in â€Å"Robin Hood.à ¢â‚¬ Wishbone the dog represents the imaginative, playful child inside all of us. Through his wild adventures and heroic stunts, children will be introduced to some of the greatest literary works of literature. This PBS series provides a challenge for children to read, by providing signature scenes, the basic characters, and themes from classic literature without presenting the entire story so children will want to learn more about the story. It provides a foundation for the children to apply what they already know about the story from the Wishbone series to the actual classic literary form of the story so they will comprehend the story better.
Monday, August 19, 2019
Free Essays on Whartons Ethan Frome: Isolation :: Ethan Frome Essays
Isolation in Ethan Frome Ethan Frome is a story of ill-fated love, set during the winter in the rural New England town of Starkfield. Ethan is a farmer who is married to a sickly woman named Zeena. The two live in trapped, unspoken resentment on Ethan's isolated and failing farm. Ethan has been caring for his wife for six years now. Due to Zeena's numerous complications they employ her cousin to help in the house, the animated Mattie Silver. With Mattie's youthful presence in the house, Ethan is awoken of the bitterness of his youth's lost opportunities, and a dissatisfaction with his life and empty marriage. Ethan and Mattie in turn, fall in love. However, they never follow their love due to Ethan's morals and the respect he has for his marriage to Zeena. Ethan eagerly awaits the nights when he is able to walk Mattie home from the town dances. He cherishes the ground she walks on. After a visit to the doctor, Zeena is told that she needs more sufficient hired help. Thus, she decides to send her incompetent cousin away and hire a new one. Ethan and Mattie are desperate to stay together. However, Ethan's lack of financial means and Zeena's health are factors that will never allow him to leave Starkfield. Unable to find any solutions to this problem, Ethan and Mattie decide to commit suicide by sledding into a tree. They figure it is the only way they can be together. The attempt fails, and the two are left paralyzed. Now Ethan's wife must care for the two for the rest of their lives. There were many themes found in Ethan Frome, but the greatest of them all is loneliness and isolation. In college Ethan acquired the nickname "Old Stiff" because he rarely went out with the boys. Once he returned to the farm to care for his parents, he couldn't go out with them even if he wanted to. Whatever he's done has kept him apart from others: tending to the farm and mill, nursing his sick mother and caring for Zeena. Ethan's isolation is intensified, because he is often tongue-tied. He would like to make contact with others but can't. For example, when he wants to impress Mattie with beautiful words of love, he mutters, "Come along." In their own ways, Zeena and Mattie are solitary figures, too. Free Essays on Wharton's Ethan Frome: Isolation :: Ethan Frome Essays Isolation in Ethan Frome Ethan Frome is a story of ill-fated love, set during the winter in the rural New England town of Starkfield. Ethan is a farmer who is married to a sickly woman named Zeena. The two live in trapped, unspoken resentment on Ethan's isolated and failing farm. Ethan has been caring for his wife for six years now. Due to Zeena's numerous complications they employ her cousin to help in the house, the animated Mattie Silver. With Mattie's youthful presence in the house, Ethan is awoken of the bitterness of his youth's lost opportunities, and a dissatisfaction with his life and empty marriage. Ethan and Mattie in turn, fall in love. However, they never follow their love due to Ethan's morals and the respect he has for his marriage to Zeena. Ethan eagerly awaits the nights when he is able to walk Mattie home from the town dances. He cherishes the ground she walks on. After a visit to the doctor, Zeena is told that she needs more sufficient hired help. Thus, she decides to send her incompetent cousin away and hire a new one. Ethan and Mattie are desperate to stay together. However, Ethan's lack of financial means and Zeena's health are factors that will never allow him to leave Starkfield. Unable to find any solutions to this problem, Ethan and Mattie decide to commit suicide by sledding into a tree. They figure it is the only way they can be together. The attempt fails, and the two are left paralyzed. Now Ethan's wife must care for the two for the rest of their lives. There were many themes found in Ethan Frome, but the greatest of them all is loneliness and isolation. In college Ethan acquired the nickname "Old Stiff" because he rarely went out with the boys. Once he returned to the farm to care for his parents, he couldn't go out with them even if he wanted to. Whatever he's done has kept him apart from others: tending to the farm and mill, nursing his sick mother and caring for Zeena. Ethan's isolation is intensified, because he is often tongue-tied. He would like to make contact with others but can't. For example, when he wants to impress Mattie with beautiful words of love, he mutters, "Come along." In their own ways, Zeena and Mattie are solitary figures, too.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Philosophy :: essays research papers
Philosophy â€Å"Man’s life is a line that nature commands him to describe upon the surface of the Earth without ever being able to swerve from it, even for an instant†¦His organization does in nowise depend upon himself, his ideas come to him involuntarily, his habits are in the power of those who cause him to contract them†¦He is good or bad, happy or miserable, wise or foolish, reasonable or irrational, without his will being for anything in these various states.†-D’Holbach      I believe D’Holbach is trying to convey essentially that man is deprived of â€Å"free will.†Mankind in no way possesses any control of their actions, being, personality, or will. Every aspect of a person’s life is predetermined. He says people have only adopted the views of religion and put their faith in supreme beings such as God.      Nietzsche, on the other hand, views human nature in a different perspective. He believes man originated the idea of â€Å"free will†solely for the purpose of accountability to give men authority in crime and punishment. He also writes of the injustice in common misinterpretations of causation. Nietzsche focuses mainly on the relationship between cause and effect and â€Å"free will†whereas D’Holbach speaks more assertively about man’s predetermination and ignores any opposition one might have towards his point of view. Nietzsche also believes a person cannot be held accountable for their existence or living environment (also accountability is a major part of his idea). He states â€Å"No one gives a human being his qualities: not God, not society, not his parents or ancestors, and not himself.†On the contrary, D’Holbach believes some superior being is responsible for having a â€Å"master plan†for each human and giving them their characteristics, hence â€Å"we are cogs in the universe.†I interpret the ideas of these two philosophers to be closely related. Philosophy :: essays research papers Philosophy â€Å"Man’s life is a line that nature commands him to describe upon the surface of the Earth without ever being able to swerve from it, even for an instant†¦His organization does in nowise depend upon himself, his ideas come to him involuntarily, his habits are in the power of those who cause him to contract them†¦He is good or bad, happy or miserable, wise or foolish, reasonable or irrational, without his will being for anything in these various states.†-D’Holbach      I believe D’Holbach is trying to convey essentially that man is deprived of â€Å"free will.†Mankind in no way possesses any control of their actions, being, personality, or will. Every aspect of a person’s life is predetermined. He says people have only adopted the views of religion and put their faith in supreme beings such as God.      Nietzsche, on the other hand, views human nature in a different perspective. He believes man originated the idea of â€Å"free will†solely for the purpose of accountability to give men authority in crime and punishment. He also writes of the injustice in common misinterpretations of causation. Nietzsche focuses mainly on the relationship between cause and effect and â€Å"free will†whereas D’Holbach speaks more assertively about man’s predetermination and ignores any opposition one might have towards his point of view. Nietzsche also believes a person cannot be held accountable for their existence or living environment (also accountability is a major part of his idea). He states â€Å"No one gives a human being his qualities: not God, not society, not his parents or ancestors, and not himself.†On the contrary, D’Holbach believes some superior being is responsible for having a â€Å"master plan†for each human and giving them their characteristics, hence â€Å"we are cogs in the universe.†I interpret the ideas of these two philosophers to be closely related.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Payless ShoeSource case study
1. Which of the different product mix pricing strategies applies best to Payless’s new strategy? To my view they are using mix of different strategies. Firstly, skimming pricing. This is about selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit, therefore ‘skimming’ the market. I see that they have invested a lot of money to hire top notch designers, rebranding effort like remodeling stores etc. There needs to be some mechanism (read, strategy) to recover this cost. For some items they have even employed premium pricing. Interestingly, Payless came up with some really good product like Lela Rose, Abaete etc. On the other hand, they have products which are low as $12. As best strategy that they are employing; I would say that they are going for Product Line Pricing. They want their customers to get attracted by the big brands in their portfolio. In that way, other products will gain due importance too. So to customers, overall portfolio will look very attractive. 2. How do concepts such as psychological pricing and reference pricing apply to the Payless strategy? In what ways does Payless’s strategy deviate from these concepts? By definition, psychological pricing on the theory that certain prices has a psychological impact. The retail prices are often expressed as â€Å"odd prices†: a little less than a round number, e.g. $19.99 or  £2.98. There is no explicit reference given in the case where we see that they are using this strategy. As a matter of fact, we see that though Payless is increasing the price of their products. So, sudden upward movement of price may come as a shock to customers. This strategy of Psychological pricing can be employed in this scenario. Payless actually did not pay a heed to that and did not come up with any proper plan towards psychological pricing. As for Reference pricing, it is a strategy in which a product is sold at a price just below its main competing brand. Now, in the case of Payless, they did not stress on setting the price at competitor price level. Instead they just increased the price to a bare optimum level so that customers can afford luxury and trendy items at much lower price. This price is well below the market price. 3. Discuss the benefits and risks of the new Payless strategy for both Payless and the designers. Which of these two stands to lose the most? There are benefits as well as risks involved in the new strategy of Payless. Benefit is customers can afford the luxurious and trendy items at much lower costs. They will be able to buy the designer product and a range of shoes and other related products at ease. In the process Payless will get a large volume of customers. Risk is historically designer luxury items and low cost does not gel together. Low cost has two connotations. One, the product is cheap. Second, the product is of inferior quality. Now consumers may be totally confused as to what will be the product quality when they see the cost price is so low than others in the market. If this is the case, sale will dip instead of increase. 4. Consider the scale on which Payless operates. How much of a price increase does Payless need to achieve in order to make this venture worthwhile? Payless undoubtedly operates at a mass volume of customers. The CEO, Rubel said, in many cases the price increases may be as little as 50 cents per pair of shoes. Payless has a large base of value conscious customers. In that segment a small price increase can sustain profitability. Basically that segment needs to be sustained so that they do not go for other company’s products. That is the key for assured return in terms of margin. They are banking on the fact that â€Å"making everyone happy will ring up the sales and profits it needs†. I think, some of the products which are really of very good quality and come from top designer houses can be priced at a bit lower than the markets. It is necessary to recover the huge volume of money spent on remodeling of the business and distribution system.
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