HR (Evaluation and Effectiveness of remuneration practices in a chosen Essay

HR (Evaluation and Effectiveness of remuneration practices in a chosen organisation) - Essay Example Since then, the company’s energy business was publicly introduced as the Origin Energy. Serving more than 3 million customers in Australia and the Pacific today, the company employs almost 4,000 employees throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Region (Origin, 2009b). Due to the tight competition in the energy sector, the practice of pirating an employee from one business organization to another becomes difficult to control. By offering Origin’s competitive employees a higher salary and more attractive benefit packages, companies that produce and sell energy products could easily hire and convince these talented people to shift their loyalty and services to them. Given that Origin Energy is serving more than 3 million valued clients in Australia alone, the HR manager at Origin Energy is being challenged to offer competitive remuneration packages to its competitive employees in order to ensure that its competitive employees would remain loyal to the company. In line with this, the effectiveness of remuneration practices at Origin Energy will be thoroughly examined followed by providing recommended solution on how the HR manager will be able to lessen the turnover rate of its employees. The main purpose of remuneration practices at Origin Energy is not only limited in compensating employees in exchange for the services they have rendered to the company but also attract more competitive individuals to join the team for a long period of time. In line with motivating competitive people to actively participate in managing the daily operations of the company, remunerating practices offered by the company aims to retain the best employees who have the necessary skills needed by the business (Origin, 2009d). Remuneration packages offered to Origin’s executive and non-executive directors as well as its employees varies from one

Strategy enter mode Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategy enter mode - Essay Example However, failures in regard to these plans cannot be avoided, especially if the enter mode chosen is inappropriate for the target market involved. The entry in a foreign market can be a risky initiative, especially when the global market is not stable. However, choosing an appropriate enter mode can help to reduce the risks involved in such plans. The enter modes available to firms that aim to enter a foreign market are discussed in this paper. The literature developed in this field has been reviewed so that all aspects of this study’s subject are adequately explained. Moreover, five studies have been selected and are presented separately for highlighting important points of the issues under discussion. It is proved that a variety of entry modes is available to firms that wish to internationalize their activities. Still, not all these modes can be equally effective; indeed, the risks involved in the target market can be many. It should be also noted that the benefits from entering a foreign market may not be clear in the short term. For this reason, a firm trying to expand its operations globally should have alternative strategies available in case that the enter mode initially chosen is proved faulty. When trying to enter a foreign market, a variety of criteria is used in order to decide which enter mode is most appropriate. The resources available for supporting this project can highly influence the relevant decision (Levi 2006). On the other hand, the experience acquired through similar initiatives in the past can help a firm to choose an appropriate strategy for entering a foreign market (Levi 2006). In addition, when trying to entering a foreign market a firm is expected to face a variety of forces (Albaum and Duerr 2008). Managing these forces can be extremely difficult depending on the firm’s market position and its objectives (Albaum and Duerr 2008). For this reason, a firm

My Teacher, My Hero Essay Example for Free

My Teacher, My Hero Essay When my friends asked me to write again, I decided to start my compilation with something meaningful, a themed essay for the My Teacher, My Hero theme, contrary to last year wherein I had a hard time choosing who to pay tribute to, this year is much different, it was easy and I believe, it is the most obvious choice. Everyone has someone to keep them on their own feet as they walk through life. Normally, it would be your parent or friend, but mine is different, I had kept myself intact with the help of a teacher. Teachers are usually there to impart knowledge and give you an opportunity to move on with life, I was blessed to have someone during my college days who takes time to make sure that I was okay and the strength to hold on to when everything else went astray, he was Engr. Elmerito D. Pineda. I first met Engr. Pineda as my professor back when I was in First Year (Advanced Programming Languages in C) , back then, things were just inside the classroom – lectures, quizzes, exercises which brought my confidence back after losing my scholarship during the previous term but things turned different when I was in my Third Year and he became our thesis mentor. He turned out to be the #1 Supporter to what we have wanted in the first place, the Alumni Tracer for FEU – East Asia College. Despite both parties having to adjust to the situation of having a part-time mentor last year, we both exerted effort to follow-up and communicate with each other. Since I was always doing the documentation portion of most our projects, I was the one responsible for making follow-ups with the mentor, which happened to be Mr. Pineda. I took it as my responsibility to stay late, meet him after classes for checking and even go straight to his FEU Main class just to finish the proposal for our thesis. Unfortunately, our second term was cut short after failing the proposal defense – but when things thought that it was the end of our mentorship with Engr. Pineda, we were wrong. He stayed with us until the very end. He had always made sure that I was okay. He had always made me feel secure especially by showing me how much he believes in the entire group. When we are back for the third term with a different project and mentor, he made sure he would ask us about our thesis and he was one of the few people who first congratulated us after a successful defense – indeed, he showed me that he was true to his words when we started communicating, â€Å"Dito lang ako for you, parang si Ms. Bong (Evelyn Ruth M. Manuel)†. He never left the group, he never left me during the good times and the bad times. Even if he is not physically present, his presence would always be felt wholeheartedly, and in the little ways he does it, I am extremely grateful. As time pass by, I looked up to him as one of the best friends and as my â€Å"dad† in school. I still see him from time to time. He has helped mold my character to be as strong as it is right now. He has his own way of teaching me things, he doesn’t get mad easily when you do something wrong, however, he has his own way to show you that you are wrong and it is proven effective to me, I managed to make amends and never do things again. For all the things he has done for me, all I can do to repay is to be there for him as well. I know I would be supporting him in whatever he would aspire to do in his life. I also look forward to see him finish Doctoral of Information Technology sometime next year for it would add weapons to his already impressive curriculum vitae. I hope he touch more lives and help direct it to a better place, just like how he helped me push my life back on track. My life would never be perfect. I would always experience the roller-coasters of being a human being but I would always remember one thing, that indeed, I was blessed. I was blessed to have people that would guide me. I was blessed to have people who would accept me for who I am. Furthermore, I am blessed to have Engr. Elmerito D. Pineda in my life, whatever you do call him, he would always have a special place in my life, a great mentor, friend and a dad. Engr. Elmerito D. Pineda, hats off†¦ my 2011 would not be complete without having the opportunity to thank you for everything that you have done for me.

Beauty Contest Essay Example for Free

Beauty Contest Essay In the average dictionary beauty is defined as a combination of qualities that pleases aesthetic senses, especially the sight. Unfortunately, in today’s society, the meaning of beauty has become extremely distorted and in place beauty pageants have become very popular. These contests take place across the entire world; in big cities and small towns. The contestants’ ages range from 0 to 30 years old. Thus, children are thrown into this lifestyle, without knowing exactly what they are getting into. They are judged by physical beauty and sometimes personality and talent, with the winners awarded prizes or titles. Many people say that it beauty pageants boost ones confidence but in fact, they increase eating disorders, excessive dieting and can even lower ones self-esteem all because they do not feel as physically attractive as â€Å"they should be†. In more ways than one, beauty pageants significantly impact young girl’s life as she develops into a woman. According to an article by Women’s News, the United States generates approximately 100,000 beauty pageants for young girls and approximately 2.5 million girls compete in them. For most pageants, children are entered into them as soon as they are able to sit up by themselves. This means that from a young age these girls learn that the worth of a person is solely based on appearance, thus enabling them into a vain and insecure individual in the future. Though these pageants host talent portions, they are often flooded with over promiscuous dance routines and outfits, throwing pageant kids into things that are not appropriate for their age. Sadly enough, not every girl that enters a beauty contest can win. So, their parents become very competitive and make them go through tanning, waxing and many make-up and hair sessions, to guarantee that they are the â€Å"best†. However, when these girls do lose, they believe that they were not good enough for the judges and lose all of their self-esteem. These pageant kids now become overly competitive and believe everything is about winning. And even worse, a high percentage of these pageant kids will engage in cosmetic and plastic surgery in the future to maintain their definition of beauty. In addition to low self-esteem, beauty pageants can create many bad habits including excessive dieting. Because the parents of these young girls are very obsessive with their children’s appearance they end up robbing them of their childhood. They are not able to grab a slice of pizza or even a kid’s meal because they are watching every calorie intake. These young girls are forced to go on crash diets, to gain energy and lose weight very quickly. Sadly, this creates a number of problems for their health such as impaired growth, menstrual irregularities, low blood pressure and impaired kidney functions. Unfortunately, many of these parents do not know exactly how they are impacting their children’s bodies. They are not only forming nutritional deficiencies but psychological issues too. According to the National Association of Eating Disorders, 90% of the time, girls who were forced to start a diet from a young age increase the frequency of taking extreme measures to continue a â€Å"perfect† figure, which is very destructive to one’s health. Excessive dieting can lead the way for a more harmful habit, eating disorders. In today’s society, 35% of â€Å"occasional dieters† progress into pathological dieting, (disordered eating) and as many as 25%, advance to full-blown eating disorders (Philadelphia Eating Disorder Examiner, July 2011). When these pageant kids grow into young women, they have all of their eggs stacked in one basket, which in this case will be the â€Å"looks department†. They are so used to concentrating on the external and superficial aspects of beauty that they cannot focus on reality. The longing to be thin like the supermodels on magazine covers, causes these pageant girls to go to extreme measures such as bulimia and anorexia. In one situation, a pageant girl as young as 6 years old was hospitalized with anorexia, which was linked to body image. This is not acceptable at all. But the blame cannot be solely placed on them. Their moms are so obsessed with their image; they allow their children to engage in these horrific activities. There is therefore no doubt that beauty pageants do no good for these kids. In closing, beauty pageants cause a great deal of problems for girls in the long run. These pageants are more likely to hurt one then to help one. These pageants are supposed to boost confidence, when in reality they ruin children’s lives and basically kill their mental beings. I believe that beauty pageants for kids are a form of child abuse. These mothers exploit their children, teaching them that there will always be a person better than them. This is unacceptable and beauty pageants need to be banned because beauty is not counterfeit. It is being confident in your own skin without the approval of others. The time for taking action has come.

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each year there about 250 people added to death row and only 35 of them are even executed. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment actually enforced by the United States government. Once the jury has convicted a criminal offense they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment part. If then the jury considers the death penalty, then the judge agrees that the criminal will have to face a form of execution. Lethal injection is the most widely used by todays death row criminals. For a period between 1972 to ‘76, capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. There are many reasons for why they thought that. The death penalty was looked at a cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. This decision was switched when a new method of execution was formed. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are many opinions as there are people on this earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the beginning of the United States there has been over 13,000 legal executions. Texas has executed the most people since the death penalty has been reinstated in 1976. There are only about 30-60 prisoners killed yearly. â€Å"The Bible requires the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes, including sex before marriage, adultery, homosexual behavior, doing work on Saturday, and murder. It even calls for some criminals to be tortured to death by burning them alive†(SOURCE 1). Some of the things stated in the last quote were a little morbid, and made me question in what I truly believe in. John Stuart Mill once stated, â€Å" When there has been brought home to any one, by conclusive evidence, the greatest crime known to law; and when the attendant circumstances suggest no palliation of guilt, no hope that the culprit may even yet not be unworthy to live among mankind, nothing to make it probable that the crime was an exception to general character rather than a consequence of it, then I confess it appears to me that to deprive the criminal of the life which he has proved himself to be unworthy--solemnly to blot him out from the fellowship of mankind and from the catalogue of the living-- is the most appropriate as it is certainly the most impressive, mode in which society can attach to so great a crime the penal consequences which for the security of life it is indispensable to annex to it†, this was stated before Parliament on April 21, 1868. I find that in this passage a lot of good is said.

A Study of a Dionysiac Sarcophagus :: Art

A Study of a Dionysiac Sarcophagus In the Los Angeles County Art Museum A man dies. He winds his way down into the underworld to reach the banks of the river Acheron where he meets the ferryman Charon. He takes a coin from his mouth to pay the toll across. On the opposite bank he is greeted by a Maenad or perhaps Bacchus himself who offers him a kylix of wine. Drinking deep, the man is transformed and resurrected from death to a higher plane. Instead of living a miserable dream in the underworld he receives redemption from his god Dionysos, the Savior. In Roman imperial times there was a great resurgence of the "Mystery" cults of Greece fueled by the hope of a life after death. In funerary monuments there can be seen the tenets of the religion as well as how it views the afterlife. Within the Los Angeles County Art Museum stands such a vessel created to facilitate this journey to eternal bliss. A gift from William Randolph Hearst, the piece is a sarcophagus from the Severan period of the Roman empire near the end of the second century detailing a procession of Dionysos, the god of wine, and his followers. Such a procession could be from Dionysos's messianic journeys or from his triumphal return from spreading the wine cult. Originally in the mausoleum of a wealthy family in Rome, the sarcophagus was in later times used as a planter for a flower bed(Matz, 3). This "misuse" of the piece explains the deterioration of the marble which necessitated extensive restoration in the 17th century(4). It is tub shaped with dimensions of 2.1 meters long and 1 meter wide, standing 0.6 meters from the ground. The shape is similar to tubs used for trampling grapes which had spouts ornamented with lions' heads to vent the wine(3). Being shaped like a wine vat makes the sarcopagi a transformative force in its own right by symbolically turning the person interned within into wine ! bringing hi m closer to the god. Unlike other sarcophagi of the period the back of this piece has not been left unhewn, but instead a strigal pattern of repeating "S" shapes has been carved, suggesting that the piece may have stood in the center of the mausoleum. Unlike other more famous and elaborate Dionysiac sarcophagi, such as the Seasons sarcophagi and the Triumph of Dionysos in Baltimore which portray specific pivotal events in the mythos of Dionysos, this piece gives us instead a somewhat generic slice of Bacchic life(Matz, 5).

Earth 2 Puzzle :: essays research papers

PlotA. The main idea of this story is for the colonists that landed on the new earth to get out of the terrian's (an alien life that lives on the planet) underground city, that was thought to be built a long time ago. 1. One event that is really important to the plot of the story was, the colonists were wondering in the dessert for days. They were running out of water, their best bet was to follow their tracers to the nearest body of water. An underground city was the closest thing to having water. Another important event that led up to the plot of the story was, It was migration time for the buffalo like creatures on the planet. As the colonists were making there way through the desert, the creatures broke one of there primary water tanks which is what made them head toward the sacred city.2. The problem that the main character must sole by the end of the story is, Devon Adair must find a way out of the terrian tunnels. The colonists and her were trapped in them by a puzzle that was misinterpreted by Devon.3. The climax of the story is when one of the colonists got part of the tunnel buried on him and everyone had to dig to get him out. This is the high point in the story because earlier in the story he had a dream that that would happen to him.4. The story ends when the colonists get out of the tunnel alive. They pop up in a part of the sacred city they have never seen before, but manage to unlock the puzzle of trying to get out of that part of the city. They meet up with the colonists that were not trapped inside the tunnel.a. I think the ending was respectable. It had its good and bad points. One good point is no one died. One bad point is they just leave you hanging to wait till the next book comes out.b. At the end of the book I felt happy because their mission did not end and there is a possibility for a new book to come.c. The ending was very logical in terms of events because it took the group to figure out all different kinds of puzzles and traps. At the end of the book they had to figure out another puzzle to get out of the underground city.

IBM Selling Plan :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

IBM Selling Plan Executive Summary We have selected IBM as a prospective buyer for Nidec’s spindle motors. For the past several months, Nidec has been the sole supplier of cooling fans for the production of IBM’s servers. Using this strong relationship as a base, we will present three main reasons for IBM to use Nidec as a supplier for spindle motors as well. First, Nidec is able to charge a lower price than competitors. This feature is possible because Nidec’s 70% spindle motor market share allows the company to achieve economies of scale. Second, Nidec is committed to pursuing a double-win philosophy with its customers. IBM can count on Nidec to provide the best solution to its many design and production problems. Nidec will work with IBM and IBM’s suppliers to facilitate the design and production of new products. Finally, Nidec places primary focus on the quality of its products from design to delivery. With one of the lowest DPPM’s in the industry, Nidec has demonstrated its ability and dedication to maintaining a high level of consistency and reliability. We are scheduled to give a presentation to a commodity manager and commodity engineer from IBM’s hard disk drive department on February 22, 2000. This presentation will be persuasive in nature. It has one primary objective: closing the sale! By â€Å"closing the sale,† we mean securing a two-year agreement with IBM to purchase spindle motors exclusively from Nidec. If this objective cannot be met, we are confident that we will at least be able to secure a visit to Nidec’s site in San Jose. A plant visit would surely convince IBM that Nidec offers the best solution. Customer Background Customer Profile IBM is the world’s leading information technology company. From its beginning in 1890, the company has had a history of providing innovative solutions to complex problems. One of the more recent of IBM’s innovations is its server technology. IBM is widely known for producing high quality and powerful servers for a variety of businesses, including retail, manufacturing, finance, distribution, health, legal, transportation, insurance and education (www.ibm.com/servers/). IBM produces dozens of different types of servers comprising five separate categories: AS/400, Netfinity, NUMA-Q, RS/6000, and S/390. These servers are sold in more than 120 countries and can run on over 49 different languages (www.ibm.com/servers). They are adaptable to multiple platforms, and are compatible with thousands of software programs. During the past several years, IBM has spent billions of dollars incorporating the most advanced technological capabilities into its servers.

Nature of the Consumer Decision Making Essay

Introduction Now more than ever in such a highly competitive business world were each product and service offered is competing with similar and alternative products, it is crucial from the businesses point of view that their product or service is of the highest standard possible. Correctly marketed a product could be infinitely successful, whilst on the other hand a poorly marketed product could be the death of it. From a marketers perspective it is them making the product what it is, from deciding consumer’s wants and needs, to interpreting these in an end product that satisfies these needs. In order for this to happen marketers must take into account the vast amount of cognitive processes the consumer goes through before, during and after making a purchase. This report provides a view into the consumer’s decision making process, looking more depth into the role motivation plays in these decisions and the various theoretical model frameworks that are used in this process. The repor t will also outline how a marketer can use this knowledge to assist consumers in their purchasing choices and decisions throughout the report when applicable. The consumer decision making process Four views of consumer decision making The consumer decision making process is one that the consumer makes when making a purchase. There are different models that have been produced in time to support this idea, with four generalist views of consumer decision making, each highlighting different variables. These are the ‘Economic view’ which focuses on the idea that the consumer makes decisions based on rational behaviour, i.e. cost verse benefits, will I get a good enough product service for my money?. Another view that marketers hold is the ‘passive view’ in which opposes the economic view by believing consumers to be submissive to all marketers input, stating that consumers are impulsive buyers, easily manipulated with marketing efforts. Thirdly is the ‘Emotional view’ which may be seen as irrational behaviour based on feelings rather than any logical reasoning, i.e. decisions based on love, hope, sexuality etc. Fourth and probably the most prolific one would be the ‘5 stage (cognitive process)’. The 5 stage process outlines the cognitive procedure consumers go through when making decisions. Marketers will often refer to  this model when considering how to effectively influence the consumer’s choices. It shows that more consideration goes into the decision making process than just a purchase decision and even continues post-purchase. Although the consumer does not always necessarily follow each stage, sometimes they may skip stages when making more impulsive decisions or routine purchases. For example when considering this model it would be naà ¯ve to think the consumer will put the same amount of thought into buying a pack of chewing gum at a newsagent to buying a new car. The purchase of chewing gum is generally an impulsive decision that does not require much previous thought, whereas the purchase of a car is less routine and requires a lot of thought into varying factors such as cost verses benefits. (Consumer Decision Making Process, 2008) Schiffman and Kanuk describe the process as being viewed in 3 distinct but interlocking stages, the input stage, process stage and output stage. Below is an extended model of this process, which includes external influences and psychological factors. Figure 1 External Influences Before the consumer even has the thought of making a purchase, they are already influenced by two sources subconsciously, the first being the firms marketing efforts (the four P’s) which creates an awareness for the product via marketers attempts to inform and persuade the consumer through products, promotion, price and channels of distribution . Secondly, sociological influences reveal an underlying fundamental need to fit in to certain social groups, lifestyles, cultures etc. that are not directly commercially related i.e. A neighbour or friend owning a product that an individual likes, therefore perhaps creating a want for it. Consumer decision making model The decision making model as shown in figure 1 could reflect not only the cognitive view to decision making, but also the emotional view as it incorporates various socio-cultural input (as previously mentioned) that could be described as emotional based, and also psychological processes(discussed later)involved when actually making the decision. Looking at figure 1 the first stage of the decision process is the ‘need  recognition’, this is where the consumer realises a need for something. This could come from perhaps running out of something and needing more, or receiving information on a product from an external source that leads them to want it. This would logically then lead the consumer to the second part of the process ‘the pre-purchase search’, this is the point where the consumer begins to process the thought of what product may satisfy their need, they may base their ideas on previous experience and memories (psychological factors), or may opt to s earch for useful information to help in their decision (basic internet search). At this point the consumer is drawing up information from external sources and at the same time has psychological factors influencing their decision. i.e.Consumer’smotivation, perception, learning, personality and attitudes. Solomon (2006) addresses the fact to how much actual searching takes place, stating that younger, better educated people will spend more time searching/fact finding before making a decision in comparison to an older person, who has less available channels to search. He also says that women are more inclined to research products. A generalisation that is worth keeping in mind from a marketer’s perspective as based on this theory it would be logical to focus marketing efforts at these for a more effective result. For example it would not be cost-efficient for a business to waste money trying to advertise a product to a social group that tends to have limited internet access, i.e. older people. The third stage of the process ‘the evaluation of alternatives’ is probably the longest part of the decision making process in terms of time as the consumer has multiple factors to consider. At this point the consumer, given previous knowledge built up in the previous stage, now has to filter from the potentially hundreds of available possibilities. Perhaps using basic cost v benefits and perceived risk of alternatives, or even more complicated cognitive processes requiring more effort. The considered sets of choices are known as the ‘evoked set’ The fourth stage enters the output area of the decision making process, this is where the consumer has made a decision and makes the purchase from the set of possibilities acknowledged in the ‘evoked set’, this would be classed as a ‘trial purchase’ as the consumer has not previously tested the product. The other type of purchase would be the ‘repeat purchase’ in which the consumer skips steps of the process because they already have a want for the product due to already  using it and needing more (brand loyalty). Once purchased the next and final stage of the process would be ‘the post purchase evaluation’, consumers now evaluate their purchase decision, deciding whether they are totally happy with the product, or perhaps would have preferred one of the alternatives. At this point it is vital for the marketers to make sure the consumers feels they made the right decision in choosing their product, as next time they will take their business elsewhere. Psychological factors The psychological factors in the human psyche that influence the input stage of the model are key tools that a marketer can use to utilise their relationship with the consumer. A good understanding of each can help the marketer focus efforts based around the consumer’s way of thinking. Consumer Personality – this is what separates humans and reflects individual differences, personality is always consistent and enduring. Sigmund Freud famously split the complex subject into three interacting parts, ID, Superego and Ego. The ID being your basic needs (hunger, thirst and sex). Superego being the way the people act out their primitive needs in a socially acceptable manner (restraining impulsive ID feelings). Lastly the Ego is the consumer’s conscious ability to control the demands and constraints of the previous two. Freud believed that an individual’s successfulness in tackling each stage will in turn reflect personality. For example a person can be fixated in later life through a dissatisfaction of needs in development stages in early life. i.e. if a child does not feel loved when developing it could leave them striving to feel it in later life, or perhaps opposing this lead them to not seek love due to not experiencing it (a defining characteristic in any personality). From a marketers opinion a person could be easily manipulated in later life due to decisions they have made in earlier stages. Consumer Perception – â€Å"†¦the active psychological process in which stimuli are selected and organised into meaningful patterns†, (Buchanan, 1991). Perception is how humans interpret information they make pick up through sensations like sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch, and then respond to accordingly to create a perception. For example from the marketer’s perspective, it is crucial that the perception of their product or service to the consumer is good i.e. effective stimul i,  as if the consumer gains a bad perception of a good they will not wish to purchase. Marketers can seek to improve brand perception through trials i.e. if consumer enjoys the product they will re-purchase based on previous experience. This would be one example of assisting a consumer in a purchase. Consumer Learning – refers to a human’s capacity to pick up knowledge, through information or experience on a product, directly or indirectly i.e. a consumer does not have to have tried a product to have a perceived familiarity with it, they may know somebody who has a familiarity and has told them about it, given them enough of an understanding to either like or dislike it. The general idea that when a product is completely unknown to the consumer that the quality of it is reflected in price. Consumer Attitudes – An attitude in marketing terms is defined as a general evaluation of a product or service formed over time (Solomon, 2008). An attitude satisfies a personal motive—and at the same time, affects the shopping and buying habits of consumers. Dr. Lars Perner (2010) (Understanding Consumer Attitudes, 2010). For the marketers it is up to them to understand why certain attitudes exist and either work with them or seek to change them. Consumer Motivation – defined by Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) as being ‘the driving force within individuals that impels them to action’. It could be referred to as the processes that cause people to behave as they do, from a psychological need to how they seek to satisfy it. Marketers can use identified motives to develop a better marketing mix giving them a better targeted marketing strategy. The role of motivation Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Dr Abraham Maslow formulated this hierarchy of needs as a theory behind how human motivation works, a theory now widely accepted. Similarly to Freudian beliefs (the ID) that basic physiological needs have to be fulfilled in order to reach higher satisfaction. i.e. food, water, air, shelter and sex. Generally these needs are satisfied by the majority (unless homeless, then these would be entire needs). Once satisfied the next stage would lead to safety needs not only physical safety but also safety in terms of finance, stability, education etc. Once an individual believes the previous needs are  met they then consider social needs. These needs include love, affection and acceptance, all of which are socially desired by everyone as we are motivated to find good relationships. Once these needs are generally met, the ego needs of human nature come into play. The ego needs can be of two types, inward directed i.e. self-esteem, success, personal satisfaction, or outwardly directed ego ne eds such as prestige, status and reputation. The ultimate need is for humans to reach self-fulfilment, to become the best of their potential (according to Maslow this need is rarely satisfied because generally ego needs are not fully satisfied) Alderfer (1972) describes there being two types of needs, a basic need (innate), innate needs being the basic level of needs relating to survival i.e. hunger, thirst and sex, and also Acquired needs which are picked up in life as a response to the environment and cultures. A theory echoed by Freud and also Maslow. Although Alderfer revised the latter stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by realising some of the middle stages overlap, confusion of these needs could lead a marketer to appeal to the wrong type of consumer. So Alderfer changed Maslow’s five stage process into a more simple three stage one, which is similar in the fact it represents levels of needs (pyramid). Although Alderfer’s model states that humans may be motivated by more than one need and non-reliant of satisfaction of each need for progression i.e. an artist who may place growth needs above existence. An article by Mark Rodgers called ‘Challenging Maslow’ refers to the period of time in which Maslow has created this theory on motivation, stating that given the time in which it was created would not depict modern views to human motivation. Rodgers believes that Maslow produced his theory in a time when his home country had just emerged from a world war and out of the greatest depression of the 20th century, needs at this time would be lower as in physiological and safety. Whereas nowadays with more than 50 years of economic growth, the average person enjoys a more stable lifestyle and allows them to have higher focused needs such as egoistic and self-actualization. (Rodgers, 2004) How marketers can apply understanding of these processes and motivation to assist consumers in purchasing decisions Developing on what has been previously touched upon it would be a fair  judgement to say that marketers have the ability to manipulate consumers entirely. Once they have understood consumers’ needs and wants they can use them again when producing a marketing plan to reposition a product or perhaps launch another. Using theories such as Maslow’s, marketers can advertise to specific motivational needs, using powerful marketing tools such as advertising. Advertisements are cues used to arouse needs, marketers therefore creates ads to aid consumer choices. Advertising techniques can attract attention by appealing to needs (innate) or perhaps having such an image to create a new need or desire (acquired). They can advertise a product to directly stimulate levels of motivation i.e. Maslow’s self-fulfilment or Freud’s super ego through making a product seem visually emphasised as a certain amount of perfection which would satisfy top level needs. Physiological arousal can be used to stimulate consumers most basic needs, for example a visually ‘sexy’ advertisement would attract the attention of most adults, or perhaps an advertisement of a new burger at a fast food chain would focus to basic biogenic hunger needs. Cleverly marketed an advert can appeal to multiple needs, making a product seem vital for a consumer to own as it is seen as satisfying many needs, creating a strong chance of consumers purchasing this product. Looking into an emotional arousal view of marketing it can be seen that a lot of charity based organisations use emotional advertising to trigger a sad response from the audience. For example an advert seeking to create an awareness and revenue for starving children of third world countries would seek to discomfort the viewer by highlighting their struggle to find satisfaction of their biological needs and contrast this with our perhaps unnecessary ego and self-fulfilment needs. This in turn triggers an emotional response, and perhaps self-disappointment which would lead the individual to donate sympathetically. Conclusion To conclude, there has been a build-up of various consumer decision based theory and framework in this report that helps give an understanding to how the processes work, leading into motivation and various theory and models behind them. The theory can be applied directly when producing a marketing mix or segmenting the market, as it offers a clear insight into how the  human mind operates when considering purchase decisions. Another key aspect of marketing, by gaining an understanding of the consumers wants and needs before creating a product and marketing campaign that could ultimately fail and cause substantial losses financially. Marketers nowadays have to be at the top of their game due to flooded markets with similar products they have to be able to communicate the benefits of their product to the consumer and how it may differentiate from competitors. Marketers have the ability to create a want for a product that would not previously have been desired and therefore have the ability to manipulate people’s needs throughout their lifetimes through this incredibly strong tool and the added benefit of ease of distribution channels of information through advancements in modern day technology.

How to Achieve Sales Target

How To Achieve Sales Targets Sales personnel often ask themselves how to achieve sales targets? Prospects are more savvy now when buying products and there is a wider choice of products in the market place. What can sales people do to achieve these targets? 1. Selling Is About The Value The Customer Gets Many sales people study very well the features and functions of the products and services that they sell. What is more important is to understand what value the product or service brings to the person who buys it. For a given product, different people buy it for their own unique reasons.It is therefore necessary to know what are the kinds of needs that the product or service serves. You can then find out the needs of the prospect first and then only present your product or service in the light of their requirements. This approach will not only help you close the sale with the prospect that you are dealing with. It will help to increase referral sales that you can get. 2. Serve Before Selling Sales people can be so focused on selling that they may not realize that this approach is normally seen as very aggressive by the prospect.To understand the prospect needs and to serve the prospect with no expectation of selling is actually proving to be a much more effective way of selling. Once you know the prospect needs, be generous about tips on how the person can meet their needs. One of the options, of course, is to use the product or service that you are selling. This approach is subtle and non-threatening. Even if the prospect did not buy, the chances that they will refer you to someone else is high. In addition, they may later decide to buy your product. So, do remember to give your contact details even if you do not make a sale. 3. Strategize And Follow Your StrategyWhen you are faced with a question of how to achieve sales targets, the first step must be to strategize. Without a strategy, you will be aimlessly going through actions not really knowing if you can achieve your target. Then, of course, follow your strategy. In following your strategy, monitor the results to check if your strategy is working the way you intended it to. If it does not, then it is time to evaluate and make adjustments based on your findings. This simply means that you have mini-targets and dates against which you track your progress. While strategies are high level, they are still not cast in concrete.It will be pointless pursuing a strategy that you realize is not making headway. 4. Develop A Plan Based On Your Strategy It is important that a strategy is converted into a working plan with dates and expected results or deliverables at each of these dates. In the event that other people are involved, clearly state who is accountable for each of these actions. Identifying results or deliverables is important as these will indicate if the actions have been successfully completed. Use these results and deliverables as a basis to make any adjustments to your action pl an or even to the strategy if required. . Enjoy The Journey Make sure that the whole process of achieving sales targets is an enjoyable journey for you. If you find that it is not, you may want to find ways of creating some fun along the way. There are people who use fun stationery when planning and tracking their work. Even strategizing can be fun when using colors and pictures. Mind maps are a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Another way will be to reward yourself not just at the end of achieving your objectives, but also at milestone achievements. These do not have to burn a hole in your pocket.While you could take a holiday at the end of the project, at milestone achievements, you might want to reward yourself with watching a movie or buying that new pair of shoes. It could even be as simple as having that ice cream only when you achieve the milestone. Steps on strategizing, planning, tracking and rewarding are common thoughts on how to be successful at sales. Add to this the concepts of serving before selling and the value you bring to the customer, and you will have a winning strategy on how to achieve your sales targets.

Elmer Gantry essays

Elmer Gantry essays The majority of all books are trash. Sinclair Lewis Elmer Gantry is a great book because it has credibility, a timeless theme, and it has the necessary action. Any book that can do that is a great book. The credibility of Elmer Gantry is something that will keep this book eternally great. Although the actual time period is dated, the plot is not dated. Most people can relate to the different characters in the book. Elmer is a pompous football player who thinks that he is higher than any religion. However, people try, and successfully convert him. He attempts to please two masters at first: his vices and God. He eventually makes the decision to live by God, but of course he will occasionally fool around with his old vices, especially adultery. Most people know someone who is like this and still somehow succeeds although he shouldnt have. Although Elmer is more extreme than the people the reader is likely to know, he is still a very credible characters. Another thing that makes this a timeless novel is that it has the needed action to attract the reader who only wants entertainment. Elmer often gets into fights that will keep the reader in the edge of their seat. He will face odds that most would run away from, but also has times when he backs down from a fight, such as when Brother Naylor and Brother Bains confront him about fooling around with Lulu. It also has enough opportunities for the modern person to think about sex although it doesnt graphically say what happens. This makes all the sex scenes up to the reader which may dismiss them or relish on them. A book with this combination of sex and violence makes it a book that it is even suitable for easy reading for the person who does not want to learn anything. Finally, Elmer Gantry is a timeless book because it has a universal theme: humans will always sin. It is most obviously seen through Elmer, although it is seen in other...

dew drop dead essays

dew drop dead essays The book Dew Drop Dead is a mystery book written James Howe. The book is about three kids who thought they found a dead body in the Dew Drop Inn. Those kids are Sebastian Barth and his best friends David Lepinsky, and Corrie Wingate. I havent read a book besides Dew Droop Dead by the author James Howe. I also havent read a mystery book like Dew Drop Dead. I would like to read another book by the author James Howe though because he actually makes you think and go back some pages to figure out things. I think this book is very interesting. The story Dew Drop Dead opens with Sebastian Barth writing a letter to his pen pal in Japan, Koji. The story takes place in the town of Pembroke, and the story happens during the nineteenth century. The first character to appear in the story is Sebastian Barth. He is a twelve-year-older in the sixth grade that used to have a job at a radio station. There are three important characters in the story and they are Sebastian Barth, and his best friends David Lepinsky, and Corrie Wingate. Three minor characters are Sebastian's dad William Barth, Davids little sister Rachel Lepinsky, and Josh Lepinsky. I dont know anybody in real life thats like one of them. I think the most exciting event in the story was when Sebastian and his friends were in the woods and that man started chasing them. The thing that I liked best about the story was that in the beginning it had you thinking something and in the middle it had you thinking something else and at the end something totally different popped out and surprised me. I liked the ending of the story and I liked it because it had you thinking that the person was dead and then at the end it surprised me by saying he was alive. Basically the story is about three friends who thought they found a dead body but really the person was alive. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes myst ...

Car Rental Demand in Bric Essays

Car Rental Demand in Bric Essays Car Rental Demand in Bric Essay Car Rental Demand in Bric Essay During the review period, the leisure tourist car rental market in China registered the highest growth with a CAGR of 31. 94%, followed by India with a CAGR of 21. 83%. Brazil and Russia recorded CAGRs of 10. 24% and 11. 52% respectively. Over the forecast period, the leisure care rental markets in India, Russia and Brazil are expected to grow more quickly than Chinas. A BRICData, which studies Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), released a 2012 study looking at the four regions focusing on â€Å"Market Entry Strategies and Emerging Opportunities in the Car Rental Industry in BRIC,† as the study was titled. According to the report, the four countries make up slightly less than half of the world’s total population. At a total compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% over the past five years, the four countries are expected by BRICData to continue to grow at a CAGR from 2012-2016 of 13. 7% - reaching $17. 4 billion in 2016.The market size of BRIC hit $8. 9 billion i n 2011, according to the report. â€Å"Increasing GDP levels, high levels of personal disposable income, increasing volumes of both domestic and inbound tourists, and increasing levels of economic activity are the key driving forces behind the increased demand for the car rental industry in the BRIC nations,† the report states. Brazil The car rental market in Brazil is expected to grow in value from BRL5. 83 billion in 2012 to BRL7. 96 billion in 2016, attaining a CAGR of 8. 9% over the forecast period. Growth is expected to be driven by the hosting of international sports events such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, increasing volumes of both leisure and business tourists. The industry is highly fragmented with more than 1,000 companies operating in the economy. Russia The Russian car rental industry has recorded considerable growth over the last few years, as the market size reached RUB2. 57 billion in 2011, an increase of 12. 7% from 2010. The mark et is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16. 5% during the forecast period to reach RUB4. 73 billion by 2016. Demand for rented cars in Russia comes primarily from international tourists, visiting the country either for leisure or business purposes. Demand is expected to increase significantly in line with tourist volumes. The Russian car rental industry is expected to remain highly competitive and fragmented, with large numbers of both local and international operators offering a variety of services at competitive rates. India India’s car rental industry grew at a CAGR of 21. 95% over the review period.The market is primarily driven by increasing volumes of local and international tourists, and considerable investments in road infrastructure. The Indian car rental industry is primarily driven by the unorganized market; the organized car rental industry contributes just 3% of the overall rental fleet size. With the presence of a large number of small companies, the market is expected to consolidate as larger operators look to acquire smaller companies to improve their geographical reach. Demand for rented cars in India is driven by both domestic and international tourists.Business customers are the primary target market, with a total market size of INR81. 59 billion in 2011. China China’s car rental industry is one of the fastest-growing markets in all the BRIC nations, recording a CAGR of 32. 03% during 2007–2011. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16. 10% during 2012–2016 to reach CNY54. 09 billion in 2016. The market’s growth will be driven by increased spending on travel by domestic tourists, urbanization rates, the high costs of owning and driving a car, and new government policies curbing private car usage. The Chinese car rental industry is highly fragmented, with more than 40,000 car rental companies operating across the country. The market is mainly unorganized as only 6,000 of these companies are officia lly registered, and 75% operate five cars or less. With the entry of foreign competitors, the sector is expected to register high levels of consolidation. | Looking at various key indicators for the car rental industry in the BRIC countries, China seems to excel across key parameters.However, Brazil leads China in terms of rental volume, while Russia leads in terms of the overall utilization rate. | | China is expected to lead the field in terms of future growth, while India is poised for significant growth with the highest rental volume and second-highest utilization rate. Brazil is expected to be a promising market for car rental companies, with forthcoming global sporting events which are likely to drive demand for rented cars. |

What Fail to Reject Means in a Hypothesis Test

What 'Fail to Reject' Means in a Hypothesis Test In statistics, scientists can perform a number of different significance tests to determine if there is a relationship between two phenomena. One of the first they usually perform is a null hypothesis test. In short, the null hypothesis states that there is no meaningful relationship between two measured phenomena. After a performing a test, scientists can: Reject the null hypothesis (meaning there is a definite, consequential relationship between the two phenomena), or Fail to reject the null hypothesis (meaning the test has not identified a consequential relationship between the two phenomena) Key Takeaways: The Null Hypothesis In a test of significance, the null hypothesis states that there is no meaningful relationship between two measured phenomena. By comparing the null hypothesis to an alternative hypothesis, scientists can either reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis cannot be positively proven. Rather, all that scientists can determine from a test of significance is that the evidence collected does or does not disprove the null hypothesis. It is important to note that a failure to reject does not mean that the null hypothesis is true- only that the test did not prove it to be false. In some cases, depending on the experiment, a relationship may exist between two phenomena that is not identified by the experiment. In such cases, new experiments must be designed to rule out alternative hypotheses. Null vs. Alternative Hypothesis The null hypothesis is considered the default in a scientific experiment. In contrast, an alternative hypothesis is one that claims that there is a meaningful relationship between two phenomena. These two competing hypotheses can be compared by performing a statistical hypothesis test, which determines whether there is a statistically significant relationship between the data. For example, scientists studying the water quality of a stream may wish to determine whether a certain chemical affects the acidity of the water. The null hypothesis- that the chemical has no effect on the water quality- can be tested by measuring the pH level of two water samples, one of which contains some of the chemical and one of which has been left untouched. If the sample with the added chemical is measurably more or less acidic- as determined through statistical analysis- it is a reason to reject the null hypothesis. If the samples acidity is unchanged, it is a reason to not reject the null hypothesis. When scientists design experiments, they attempt to find evidence for the alternative hypothesis. They do not try to prove that the null hypothesis is true. The null hypothesis is assumed to be an accurate statement until contrary evidence proves otherwise. As a result, a test of significance does not produce any evidence pertaining to the truth of the null hypothesis. Failing to Reject vs. Accept In an experiment, the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis should be carefully formulated such that one and only one of these statements is true. If the collected data supports the alternative hypothesis, then the null hypothesis can be rejected as false. However, if the data does not support the alternative hypothesis, this does not mean that the null hypothesis is true. All it means is that the null hypothesis has not been disproven- hence the term failure to reject. A failure to reject a hypothesis should not be confused with acceptance. In mathematics, negations are typically formed by simply placing the word â€Å"not† in the correct place. Using this convention, tests of significance allow scientists to either reject or not reject the null hypothesis. It sometimes takes a moment to realize that â€Å"not rejecting† is not the same as accepting. Null Hypothesis Example In many ways, the philosophy behind a test of significance is similar to that of a trial. At the beginning of the proceedings, when the defendant enters a plea of â€Å"not guilty,† it is analogous to the statement of the null hypothesis. While the defendant may indeed be innocent, there is no plea of â€Å"innocent† to be formally made in court. The alternative hypothesis of â€Å"guilty† is what the prosecutor attempts to demonstrate. The presumption at the outset of the trial is that the defendant is innocent. In theory, there is no need for the defendant to prove that he or she is innocent. The burden of proof is on the prosecuting attorney, who must marshal enough evidence to convince the jury that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Likewise, in a test of significance, a scientist can only reject the null hypothesis by providing evidence for the alternative hypothesis. If there is not enough evidence in a trial to demonstrate guilt, then the defendant is declared â€Å"not guilty.† This claim has nothing to do with innocence; it merely reflects the fact that the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence of guilt. In a similar way, a failure to reject the null hypothesis in a significance test does not mean that the null hypothesis is true. It only means that the scientist was unable to provide enough evidence for the alternative hypothesis. For example, scientists testing the effects of a certain pesticide on crop yields might design an experiment in which some crops are left untreated and others are treated with varying amounts of pesticide. Any result in which the crop yields varied based on pesticide exposure- assuming all other variables are equal- would provide strong evidence for the alternative hypothesis (that the pesticide does affect crop yields). As a result, the scientists would have reason to reject the null hypothesis.

Market Based Approaches for Controlling Space Mission Costs

Market Based Approaches for Controlling Space Mission Costs Introduction There are several approaches that have been used from time to time in planetary missions. These approaches have either been market based or non-market based approaches. Market based approach is what we seek to address and discuss in our paper. This paper seeks to discuss different projects that have been carried out, identify problems that might have been encountered, give an analysis of each of this project, its schedule and the risks involved.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Market Based Approaches for Controlling Space Mission Costs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In essence, the paper discusses and analyses the processes of management applied on NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn. Cassini was first launched in October 15, 1997 as an international mission to explore planet Saturn. This mission was unique in the sense that the science team was allocated a whole science instrument resource (Randii and Porter, 245). The market based approach system majorly uses currency as a way of showing demand for a limited resource. The currency is used in exchange for a desired commodity. This approach has been preferred for ages. Its first successful venture was done in 1992. It was tried out on the Cassini mission to Saturn. The market based approach system involves creating an economy by defining 3 quantities (Arrow, 944). These quantities are: Currency and its use. Resources to be allocated. The rules for making and keeping track of trades Background Instrument development for planetary missions begins with the acceptance of proposals from many investigators to build and operate instruments for a specific mission. Companies and organizations running projects assign resources like data rate, mass, power, and money to the identified investigating organisations and groups depending on whether their missions are approved based on their proposals. These supporting officials also have to take into consideration the mission constraints. They do it by going into details of previous missions, their successes and failures. However, most previous missions had a recurring trend of going past their resource allocation. This creates a burden and a constraint on the officials when it comes to allocating resources to new ventures and investigators. Initially, missions were organized by committee driven processes in carrying out their scientific planning. These were also referred to as serial dictator processes. In this approach, there is the introduction of an impartial third party who is brought in to help allocate resources among the different users. This was done in order to ensure full impartiality.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Projects There are two major projects outlined: a) The Light SAR science planning project. b) Space shuttle manifests of sec ondary payloads. Even though the Cassini project was successful, it had its share of problems and shortfalls just like any other venture. It lacked connection between the development and the operational phase of the mission. Due to the limited allocation of resources with no reserves, if any instrument developed a problem while the rest of the system’s instruments were already built, there were no attractions or incentives for other investigators to assist the constrained investigation. This was because LOA had put guidelines that remaining resources would be ploughed back into the investigation after the delivery by the flight model, which more often than not was too late to be of any use to the failed investigation. This has however been addressed and there has been a recommendation that in any future missions using the same system, a mechanism has to be put in place that combines the development and operational phases of the mission. Project’s success Despite a few problems, the Cassini project was immensely successful and had a great influence and change on the resource used by science instrument teams (Ruskin, 46). The trends in trade changed dramatically as many of them were able to save on instruments. There was also caution on the management of mass unlike in previous phases where people had reserves and yet didn’t have any left-over’s. Two factors that brought about this were that the investigators were more cautious in managing their mass allocation and also the official also did a good job in managing the spacecraft’s mass(Satterthwaite and Sonnenschein, 184).This new method also encouraged sharing of resources between different investigators. This resulted in saving time and resources. Risks Involved One of the greatest risks involved was going into the mission without the usual resource reserves like many earlier investigations. They did so because there is no one time a spacecraft was launched and came back with out using all its reserves, meaning that all of them developed problems while on tour and required extra resources hence using all the reserves (Tullock et al, 123).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Market Based Approaches for Controlling Space Mission Costs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In our context, there is allocation of minimum resources and one can only be careful as to manage them properly and ensure that there are no problems. Mitigation One of the most notable methods of mitigation in Cassini’s market based approach was that the duration of investigation was recommended to the minimum time required rather than the maximum time that the investigators deemed enough to accomplish a given investigation. This reduced the risks of developing problems while in the investigation by taking longer durations. Arrow, K.Uncertainty and The Welfare Economics of Medical Care.USA: American Economic Review, 1963. Print. Randii, W. and Porter, D. Management Approach for Allocating Instrument Development Resources. USA: Space Policy, August, 1998.Print. Ruskin, A.What Every Engineer Should Know About Project Management. New York, USA: M Dekker, 1982.Print. Satterthwaite, M. and Sonnenschein H.Strategy-Proof Allocation Mechanism  Differential Points.USA: Review of Economic Studies, 1981.Print. Tullock et al.Efficient Rent Seeking In. Toward a Theory of the Rent-Seeking  Society. College Station, Texas, USA: AM Univ. Press, 1980.Print.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Book Review Harvest of Empire

Book Review Harvest of Empire Book Review: Harvest of Empire Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez book review essay: From time immemorial, humans always had the ‘urge’ to move into new geographical territories with various motivations. Starting from earlier motivations of discovering new lands, imperialism to current economic motivations, people enter new countries en masse. This movement for economic development is known as immigration in present day context, and there are few economically developed countries, which elicit high number of immigrants. This immigration experience is one of the constant affairs of American life, as people from all over the world, view America as the land of immense opportunities, and enter it both legally and illegally. This view about America was critically analyzed by Juan Gonzales in his book titled, Harvest of Empire, focusing mainly on the immigration of the Latino population and how it impacts America’s foreign policies as well. Gonzales provides the readers a historical overview of how the Latino immigration started centuries ago, and at the same time provides a laser-like analysis of the current events, that are impacting the Latino population and thereby America’s politics and diplomacy. So, this paper will first provide a review of the book and then will analyze how its contents, particularly the portions which focus on the current issues impacting the Latino population, relate to todays politics and diplomacy. Personal Interpretation or opinion Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzales is a must read book for all those who want to know about the history of Latinos immigrants, who are now considered as the fastest growing ethnic segment in America. Gonzalez starts off by examining the history of Latinos in America, right from the times when Spain and Britain made territorial conquest of America, till the present day. He has divided the book into three sections calling each sections has â€Å"Roots†, â€Å"Branches† and finally â€Å"Harvest†. The first section of â€Å"Roots† only provides the historical background of the Latino immigration by focusing on the earliest relations between the Latin American countries and the United States of America. In this section, Gonzalez was quite critical of America’s foreign policy and diplomacy, particularly its imperialistic tendencies in the early centuries. According to the author, at that time, America tried to impose its will and influence over many coun tries and even over certain cultural or ethnic groups. â€Å"†¦a vicious and relentless drive for territorial expansion, conquest, and subjugation of others- Native Americans, African slaves, and Latin Americans.† (Gonzalez 270). Thus, the author opines that America’s drive to become a sort of ‘Empire’ started in the early centuries itself. He states that America entered into or even extended its influence over many South American countries, thus negatively influencing those countries’ internal affairs, which in a way worked as a catalyst for the Latinos immigration. Negative influence in the sense, America plundered the natural resources of the Latin American countries, and thereby inhibited the growth of indigenous industries and economies. With not enough avenues for livelihood in those countries, sizable number of Latinos started entering America. â€Å"If Latin America had not been raped and pillaged by U.S. capital since its independence , millions of desperate workers would not now be coming here in such numbers to reclaim a share of that wealth.† (Gonzalez 206). Thus, it is clear that Gonzales puts the blame for the Latino immigration into America and the problems associated with it, on the Americans themselves, or in particular, on the Americans’ political and diplomatic policies. His theory is clear that the different Latino groups that exist and function today in the American society are a result of the historical happenings and actions of the American government. The second section of â€Å"Branches† focuses on each one of the six major groups of the Latino population in America. In each chapter, Gonzales separately describes about the culture, living conditions, family, etc., of the Mexicans, Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Columbians and Panamanians, and the Central Americans. That is, although all these groups are joined by a common language of Spanish, and are tagged as Latinos, â€Å"they come from 20-odd countries with distinct histories, customs and blends of European, African and indigenous stock.† (Robinson). He gives equal coverage to all these groups in separate chapters, by writing about certain individuals or about their families, thereby reflecting the general immigration story of all these major Latino groups. After providing an historical overview and background about the Latino immigration and the immigrants, Gonzales focuses on the real issues, which are impacting their lives. He discusses how certain sectio ns of the Latino population have not still integrated and assimilated with the American society, and then lists out certain steps that can be taken for further assimilation and acculturation. The book on the whole has several positive points going for it, as Gonzalez puts forward an interesting and informative historical overview of the Latino immigration and the current political issues impacting the Latino immigrants, backed with extensive research. Relation to todays Political and diplomatic policies One of the key political as well as social realities that can be understood from the book is the clear rise in the Latino population. When one focuses on the population numbers of America and their demographic profile, it is clear that the Latinos are on the verge of becoming the largest minority group in America, even overtaking the African American population. This striking demographic transformation is a key reality, which was forecasted by Gonzales in early 2000’s itself. â€Å"For a country long used to seeing itself as black and white, it will be something of a shock when Hispanics become the nations largest minority group in five years and fully one-quarter of the population by mid-century.† (Robinson). This swelling of the Latin population provides them increased clout in various spheres of American life, particularly politics. With candidates in all types of elections from Presidential to local level elections mainly focusing on vote banks to garner bulk votes, the Latino population are getting good attention, thus showing that ethnicity and social class matters in America, particularly from political angle and during elections. â€Å"Recent elections show that the Latino vote has become key in critical states, and most presidential candidates now on the stump are at least trying to speak a few words of Spanish† (Robinson). As mentioned above, vote bank politics are the order of the day, with the candidates trying their best to appeal to particular communities or people of particular race, religion, ethnicity etc. Candidates do that by doing certain culture specific actions, and thereby try to associate with people of particular ethnicity and social class, and in the process showing him/her as one of them. When they do that, they will be able to garner votes en masse. This focus on individuals’ ethnicity and social class by the election candidates clearly shows that both these factors truly matters in the current multicultur al American society. The other key social-ethnic reality concerning Latino immigration as well as immigration on the whole, is, American government is taking strong steps to curtail immigration, thereby impacting its foreign policies and diplomacy. The government is toughening its regulations regarding entry of skilled professional immigrants as well as ‘plugging’ the entry points of the under-skilled illegal immigrants in its borders. In the book, Gonzalez equates the border control steps taken by the American government to the building of Great Wall in China. The other major issue that is visible when it comes to the anti-immigration stance against the Latino population is the clear exhibition of racism in diplomatic handling of immigration. That is, although immigrants from different ethnic and cultural groups from various parts of the world are illegally entering America, mainly the Latino immigrants are being targeted. They are treated in a strong manner and deported back to their homel ands immediately, while the immigrants of Caucasian ethnicity are treated in a leaner manner, thus validating the statement that ethnicity and status plays a role in American diplomacy as well. â€Å"Again racism defines the xenophobia: in 1996, Gonzalez points out, 2,047 â€Å"illegal† Canadians were deported (out of 120,000) compared to 1.5 million Mexicans (out of 2.7 million).† (Martinez). It is clear that the Latino immigration as discussed by Gonzales in the book, Harvest of Empire has relations to the social-ethnic issue of racism. As racism is also carried out on the basis of an individual’s ethnicity and social class, it is clear that both are relevant in the present day society. That is, as pointed out above, even in the issue of deporting immigration, racism is done, and this shows how racism causing ethnicity and social class to make an impact in the diplomatic matters. From the above analysis, it is clear that Juan Gonzales has focused on a very imp ortant issue of immigration, as it is having effects in various spheres of the American society particularly in its politics and diplomacy. Do you still need book review help on Harvest of Empire topic? is professional book review writing service which will gladly help with your book review or book report essay starting at $12/page!

Political and Economical Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political and Economical Issues - Essay Example Japan holds an international conference to push for the resumption of commercial whaling. Anti-whaling nations in the International Whaling Commission such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have boycotted the conference. February 14, 2007 U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell announces that Muqtada Al Sadr fled Iraq several weeks ago and is in Iran. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow confirmed that the White House believes Iran is equipping Shia insurgents in Iraq.The U.S. House of Representatives debates the proposed non-binding resolution to oppose President Bush's surge plan. The foreign ministers of India, China and Russia have met in the Indian capital, Delhi, to discuss terrorism, drug trafficking and Afghanistan. An Indian foreign ministry statement said the meeting discussed key global issues, including the importance of the United Nations. February 15, 2007 Hamas- The led Palestinian government has resigned after 11 months in office to make way for a government of national unity. South Korea has agreed to resume high-level talks with North Korea that could restart major aid shipments, despite calls for caution over an international deal on the North's nuclear programs. Justice Minister Chris Ellison has warned anti-whaling protesters and the Japanese whaling fleet they could face questioning if they dock in Australia after clashing in the Southern Ocean. February 16, 2007 The G8 countries, plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, approve the 'Washington Declaration,' proposing a global Carbon emissions trading system to replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2009. A Turkish court has handed down life sentences to seven Al Qaeda associates for their... Iraq's High Tribunal sentences former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan to death for his role in the 1982 killing of 148 men and boys in Dujail following an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein. Japan holds an international conference to push for the resumption of commercial whaling. Anti-whaling nations in the International Whaling Commission such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have boycotted the conference. The foreign ministers of India, China and Russia have met in the Indian capital, Delhi, to discuss terrorism, drug trafficking and Afghanistan. An Indian foreign ministry statement said the meeting discussed key global issues, including the importance of the United Nations. The US and Israel will not work with a new Palestinian unity government unless it recognizes Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said. Mr Olmert said a Palestinian government that failed to accept conditions laid down by the quartet of the US, EU, Russia and UN "cannot receive recognition and there will not be co-operation with it". The US and South Korea have reached a deal to hand full control of South Korea's military back to Seoul by 2012.

A Road Map to Rising in the Consumer Satisfaction Index Essay

A Road Map to Rising in the Consumer Satisfaction Index - Essay Example Such an outlet could have a day's inventory of sales for each product, which could be replenished on a daily basis, and have an additional provision for special real-time deliveries from relevant plants for any products that may be out of stock. The latter should be a most uncommon incident, since time series data of sales of mature products should help us predict daily sales by product with reasonable accuracy. The second immediate step would be to introduce apron control for vehicle movement within the site, with radio communications with each driver. A person from stores could control all vehicular movement within the site, with priority for deliveries to the finished goods store which I have proposed. Each plant should receive its full bills of materials in time for every batch of production. The finished goods inventory and the provision of the bills of materials at plants can both be achieved by a standard enterprise resource plan (ERP) software. We would need to train sales, stores and production personnel to operate the ERP, and maintenance responsibility could rest with the IT function. It is a fairly well established system that does not need top management time.

Managing absenteeism in the work place - meat industry. Methods for Dissertation

Managing absenteeism in the work place - meat industry. Methods for reducing absenteeism - Dissertation Example 128). Qualitative methods can be characterised as â€Å"interpretative†, â€Å"subjective† and â€Å"introspective† and the research findings are not conclusive or representative of the population of interest to the researcher due to small sample sizes. Nevertheless, qualitative research is often used as an â€Å"exploratory tool† (McDaniel & Gates, 2007, p. 130) gaining current and relevant information about the research problem. This information can help to define the research problem more precisely and to support the gathered data from the primary research method (Stevens et al. 1997, pp. 54-55). Before any preliminary data gathering was carried out for the study at hand, the researcher stated the basic research question and brainstormed some research objectives. Through this, the researcher was able to determine the appropriate research approach to be used. For the secondary data gathering, the researcher determined that two sub-methods would be utilis ed: data gathering from previous empirical studies and interviews. The interviews could fall under either one-on-one interviews or focused-group discussions. As there is no general rule for deciding how many group discussions or individual interviews are needed to cover a subject (Hague, Hague, & Morgan, 2004, p. 54), the researcher considered the completion of the conceptual diagram (see Fig. 1) and decided to conduct five focused-group discussion, five expert interviews, and ten individual depth interviews. Figure 1 Conceptual Diagram Advantages Relevant secondary literature, such as journal articles about similar research topics and industry information, was reviewed in order to clarify and refine the research objectives and to specify the correct flow of questions for the interview (Polonsky & Waller, 2005, p. 85). The findings and methodology of the identified key literature provided essential information and served as a basis for the secondary data gathering of this study. The major advantage of this method is acquiring several scholarly data within a short span of time. Furthermore, the main advantage of focused-group discussions and individual depth interviews (Polonsky & Waller, 2005, p. 84) is the quick and economical manner of obtaining insights into the methods of various industries and organisations on how they identify causes of absenteeism, measure and monitor absence, decide on benchmarks, manage absenteeism within the workplace, work on strategies, create flexible working policies, carry out disciplinary policies and procedures, issue notices, and have return-to-work interviews. In-depth interviews among employees can also identify the common reasons for absence and bring to light some factors that employers should consider in managing absenteeism in the workplace. Disadvantages As other researchers have previously collected secondary data for some other purpose, it is necessary to assess the accuracy and relevance of these data to the current project (e.g. the data source, purpose of the study, data collection method, main findings, how current is the research and is it consistent with other information, etc.) (McDaniel & Gates, 2007, pp. 94-95). Some secondary data was not relevant or applicable to the current research problem, because the findings were outdated and reporting units, measurement units and class definitions

The role of the banks in terms of decreasing unemployment, maintaining Essay

The role of the banks in terms of decreasing unemployment, maintaining price stability and facilitating economic growth - Essay Example Capitalism tends towards the idea that organizations are in good luck when they make significant profits but its tough luck when they make significant losses, getting neither sympathy nor envy. However, the economy today is not a pure free market but, rather, it is a mixed economy, in which the markets are regulated by a government instituted framework. In addition, the government also carries out various functions, instead of leaving the private sector to make decisions (Mitchell, 2014: p61). The banking sector is a prime example because of their importance to the economy, including management of loan and savings facilities. The banking crisis of 2007 initially led to a rush by UK citizens to withdraw their money all at once, meaning that banks would have failed since they would have been unable to pay, portending potentially incalculable damage to the UK economy. It was, therefore, the responsibility of government agencies to stabilize the system by supervising banking activities and propping up banks that threatened to destabilize the system through bailouts (Cordella & Levy-Yeyati, 2013: p34). In essence, it is the people owed money by the banks that the government is bailing out. In addition, some of the biggest investment banks in the world are institutions that are so critical to the market and job creation that they have gradually come under the control of the government. This explains the bailout of AIG by the US government with a $100 billion loan that ensured American businesses would not collapse if they suffered losses, hurting national employment levels. Takeover of big mortgage guarantors in the UK, such as Bradford and Bingley, was also necessary because, in spite of its private shareholding, it was a de facto agency of the government and, in effect, the public (Cordella & Levy-Yeyati, 2013: p35). Failing to nationalize the company would have

Business&Management - Managing Sustainability Essay - 1

Business&Management - Managing Sustainability - Essay Example We therefore have a task to preserve the land and environment for the generations yet unborn. However, due to the massive improvement in technology and industrialisation, there are many things that operation of many organisations does to destroy the environment. As Shakespeare puts it, the world is a stage and all of us are actors. When we are done, we will pass on and everything we have toiled for will be handed down to our children and grandchildren. If we exhaust all natural resources today, what will we leave for our children? This conference organised by Bath Spa Engineering focuses on sharing ideas and concepts relevant to environmental protection and sustainability in our operations. As stakeholders from various backgrounds we need to have an intimate understanding of the UK Government’s definition of sustainable development: â€Å"Enjoying a better quality of life without compromising in the quality of life of future generations† (Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 2006). After the Second World War, industrialisation seemed to have taken a different turn. This kind of trend has led to a number of indicators that point to the fact that rapid action must be taken to avert any loss of natural resources to future generations. De Bruyn (2000) identifies the following: 1. Exponential Growth: The world’s population has doubled over the past 30 years. This is usually attributed to the fall in infant mortality, better health care, less wars and improvements in the quality of life. It seems populations are going to increase exponentially into the future. This leads to higher demands for natural resources. 2. Increasing Pollution: The continuous increase in populations around the globe and the concurrent increase in the quality of life around the world means demand for goods has also increased. This

The Process of Recruitment of the New Employees Essay - 1

The Process of Recruitment of the New Employees - Essay Example Conversely, the selection process starts when the applications from the interested candidates are received, when the organization now performs short-listing and determination of the best candidates for the job (Cooper and Robertson, 2000). In this process of recruitment and selection, the organization tries to identify those individuals with the right skill sets to work in the organization, and before they are inducted into the organization, they have to be interviewed and trained to attain the skills that they need to perform the tasks that they are being hired for. In the hiring process, the organization can decide to perform external or internal recruitment and selection, where the candidates are chosen from within or outside the organization. The selection process for the employees can involve many processes, but the most common one is the selection interview, where the potential candidate is put in front of a panel and interviewed to determine the ability to work for the organization (Cooper and Robertson, 2000). The selection interview process has been criticized by many experts, but many organizations still prefer to use it for the selection process. As part of the selection process, many organizations will usually conduct interviews to determine the competences of the different applicants and select the best applicant for the job. The selection interview process is used by the employer as an assessment or evaluation of the potential employee for the job at hand. The selection interview process can take many different formats, for example, the telephone interview used by the interview before any other interview. The telephone interview is usually used by the employer before any other interview process and is used as a way of reducing potential applicants for the job (Warr, 2003). After the pre-interview phase, the other formats include the panel interview, which is the most common format used by employers.

LAW 5 forming business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LAW 5 forming business - Essay Example India is one of the fastest emerging economies with huge potential for business. The company’s 2011 annual report shows that while the sales had declined in volumes in Europe, South America, Middle East and Canada, it had shown significant increase of 7% in Asia (Emerson AR, 2011). India therefore, is considered a critical geographical position to exploit emerging opportunities, especially in climate technologies and network power. There is considerable concern for climate change and deteriorating environment conditions. Emerson, being leading technology firm with global presence, is equipped with the knowledge, experience and capabilities to explore and exploit new opportunities. Most importantly, in the current times of recessive economic conditions, identifying and exploiting new elements of competitive advantage become highly desirable for the firms (Barney & Hesterly, 2005). Human threats to environment are also vital factors of development processes. The increasing urbanization, deforestation, growing population etc. are external factors that produce great burden on the existing resources like land mass, water, air etc. that adversely impact ecological conditions (Dyson, 2005). Indeed, various drivers of climate change affect sustenance and quality of life. Moreover, they are also major factors for environmental conditions like global warming and increased number of climate related natural calamities like tsunami, tornadoes etc. Carbon emission and green house effects have also emerged as important factors for environment. As Emerson climate technologies have developed into leading tools for businesses and residents for mitigating climate related problems, India presents vast scope for expansion. 1. With more than one billion population, India presents huge potential for introducing green technologies that would promote environment conservation. Emerson therefore must make efforts

Strategic Management Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Strategic Management Practice - Assignment Example The strategic management practice has been analyzed with respect to the operations of the Virgin Trains. This required an analysis of the external and internal environment of Virgin Trains. The external analysis has been carried out using the theoretical frameworks of PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces. The internal analysis takes into consideration the availability of resources and the core competencies of the company. This analysis has helped in addressing the strategic issues faced by the organization. The strategic management practice has helped the company to design an appropriate course of action in order to attain the organizational goals. The strategies also include monitoring of the performance of the company and address the gaps on a continuous basis using a balanced scorecard to achieve the goal of the organisation. Introduction The report involves an application of the strategic management practice in case of Virgin Trains Company of UK. The background information on Virgin Trains has been presented below along with the theoretical framework of strategic management practice in organizations. Company Background: Virgin Trains Company Virgin Trains Company is jointly owned by the Virgin Group and the Stagecoach. Virgin Group holds the majority share with 51% stake in the company whereas Stagecoach holds a share of 49% in the company. The company has been providing train services in the Intercity West Coast region for the last 16 years since 1997. The company operates and provide long distance passenger train services in the routes of western part of UK. The trains run from the areas of Greater London towards the stations of North West England, West Midlands, Scotland and North Wales. The train services of the company cater to a cumulative population of 18 million people in various cities of UK. The various cities connected by the train services of the Virgin Train Company are London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc (Virgin, 2013). The Virgin Group was awarded to own the operations of the Intercity West Coast in 1997 after beating Stagecoach and Sea Container. In 1998, the Virgin Group sold 49% of its stake to Stagecoach. After getting the contract to run passenger train services from London to the western parts of UK through the Intercity West Coast franchisee, Virgin Trains implemented its work of upgrading the rail tracks and networks in the western coast so that the train speed could be increased to 140 miles per hour. However, due to the suspension of the contracts by the management and subsequent cash outflows for the planned project, the up-gradation work was reduced to attain a speed of 125 miles per hour. In 2005, the first stage of up-gradation work was completed and the Virgin group published its train time table with the frequency matching speed of 125 miles per hour. The subsequent development work for the rail networks in the western coast was continued by the Virgin Rail Group and in 2009; the n ew high frequency timetable for

Moises Silva's A Case for Calvinistic Hermeneutics Research Paper

Moises Silva's A Case for Calvinistic Hermeneutics - Research Paper Example According to Moises, the Calvinistic hermeneutics is an expression of the interpretation from the Calvinists. The Calvinists have their interpretation in accordance to the intended message from the historical writers, which is acceptable and understood. The Calvinists have their own theories, principles and methods that are entirely used in expressing their interpretation of the scriptures. The Calvinists indulge such methods, principles and studies to ensure they come out with the best interpretation of the Bible.   This is an acceptable standard that is used worldwide in their quest for a universal interpretation that is devoid of distorted information.   This shows that the Calvinists have their own unique way of interpreting the Bible, which is acceptable in their own fraternity. Therefore, the use of other principles and methods in interpreting the Bible would not be acceptable by the Calvinists.   Moises insists that this is the root of a difference in some of the interpr etations in scriptures. Different fraternities have their own form of interpreting the Bible, which may not be acceptable with other fraternities.Moises states that all Christians in the world have their unique way of interpreting the Bible and scriptures. This depends on the factors that are respected by the Christians, and theory of unending faith to believe in the scriptures. This is an indication that Christians might have the same reading but have a different interpretation.... Therefore, the use of other principles and methods in interpreting the Bible would not be acceptable by the Calvinists. Moises insists that this is the root of a difference in some of the interpretations in scriptures. Different fraternities have their own form of interpreting the Bible, which may not be acceptable with other fraternities. Moises states that all Christians in the world have their unique way of interpreting the Bible and scriptures. This depends on the factors that are respected by the Christians, and theory of unending faith to believe in the scriptures. This is an indication that Christians might have the same reading but have a different interpretation, depending on their understanding of the scriptures. Comprehending the scriptures, therefore, depends on the Christian individual and the various values that are inclined to one’s faith in believing the scriptures. Some biblical texts have an insight while others have a deeper meaning. The meanings vary from C hristian to Christian, depending on the focal point and view of the information embedded in the scriptures. Some Christians only understand the outright meaning of a scripture and only take such information to use in their daily life. However, stout Christians will have a deeper and insightful reasoning from a scripture.3 This indicates that the two types of Christians read the same scripture but will denote a different understanding. This gives a difference in the hermeneutic expression, though it is in the same context. Therefore, focus on such would be a vital factor in understanding Moises’ Calvinistic hermeneutics. According to Moises, there are a number of Christians that have their own difference in interpretation the scriptures. Though they may have the

THE STORY OF THE GRAIL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE STORY OF THE GRAIL - Essay Example He leaves his mother who has raised him in ignorance of the chivalry of the world around him; this young Welshman travels to find the court of King Arthur. His desire is to be knighted. In a journey that is filled with a lot of adventure, Perceval meets with an older knight who trains him on how to use his newly acquired weapons. He is called Gornemant of Gohort. He tells Perceval to tame his tongue in future. In his travels he also meets his cousin who informs him of his mother’s death from a broken heart. He also encounters his Hermit Uncle in a forest who demystifies the golden grail. He has seen this grail earlier in the manor of a Fisher King he has met in his travels. There are several themes that are advanced in this myth, and this essay aims at examining aspects of this myth to give answers to some questions. Topic 1 From the story of Perceval and the grail, the characteristics of the medieval society may be deduced. One of the aspects revealed of this society is that it was largely religious. It is also clear that the medieval society highly regarded family values. Virtue was also esteemed in the medieval society, as the myth illustrates. These are traits that are brought out by different characters, and events in the tale. The religious nature of this society comes up in several instances. When Perceval encounters Gornemant, one of the things Gornemant advices him to do is to go to church. Gornemant is the gentleman who teaches him the appropriate conduct of a knight. This indicates that the knight is not only concerned with fighting, but also has a spiritual life. Spirituality of the medieval society also comes out when Perceval lodges at the house of the Fisher King. The father of his host is sustained by eating a single mass of wafers each day (Troyes and Cline). Perceval also has an uncle who is a hermit and lives in the forest where he communes with God. It is here that Perceval says the only prayer he knows, one that his mother taught him . He learnt this prayer as a boy, showing that religion takes a vital position in this society. Children are taught the basics of religion from a tender age. The importance of family is revealed severally in this myth. When Perceval meets his cousin weeping under an oak tree, he is concerned about her. His cousin is weeping holding a knight with a chopped head. The one responsible is another knight. He offers to pursue the knight who killed his cousin’s lover, meaning that family is vital to him. Perceval’s mother is also buried before the altar of the hermit, since she was a relation to him by virtue of being married to his brother. Virtue is also an essential part of the society, and people were guided by honour. The maiden who Perceval forces a kiss from is suspected of infidelity by her lover. He then forces her to walk naked as a way of shaming her. This reveals that infidelity was intolerable to the people of that age. When Perceval encounters Blancheflor by coin cidence, she relates her encounters. Blancheflor is Gormenant’s niece, and her followers are weak due to famine and hunger (Troyes and Cline). Many of her men have also been attacked and taken away by the evil knight of Clamadeu. Since she is a leader, she has vowed that she would kill herself before letting Clamadeu take her. This is the character of a leader; fighting to the very end. Topic 2 Diana L. Paxon is of the view that the story of the grail is about the search of deeper meaning in life, or its significance. This notion she has on life is true of the scenario as it is in real life. While at the house of the Fisher King, Perceval notices a procession that serves the lord of that castle. He is a man with greying hair, and unable to stand. The items that are brought in by the people walking in