Bric Analysis Essay - 11111 Words

Polity . Volume 42, Number 1 . January 2010 r 2010 Northeastern Political Science Association 0032-3497/10 www.palgrave-journals.com/polity/ Brazil, the Entrepreneurial and Democratic BRIC* Leslie Elliott Armijo Portland State University Sean W. Burges University of Ottawa By most objective metrics, Brazil is the least imposing of the ‘‘BRICs countries’’— less populous than China and India, slower-growing in recent years than China, India, or Russia, and the only member of the group lacking nuclear weapons. We argue that Brazil’s material capabilities are more significant than commonly supposed. Moreover, Brazil’s democratic transition in the mid-1980s, along with that of its neighbors, has for the first time enabled Brazil to†¦show more content†¦We are important because of our deportment and, above all, our objectives.’’1 As a large democracy determined to steer a course independent of the major advanced industrial states that have dominated global politics since the mid-twentieth century, Brazil perhaps calls to mind the India of Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s and early 1960s. Nehru sought through the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to claim the moral high ground between what he viewed as two equally imperialist camps of Soviet Communism and Western capitalism. But a more appropriate heuristic might be Brazil as the new Canada, a close ally of the United States, with whom it shares liberal democracy and a capitalist economy.2 Brazil’s recent assertiveness around SouthSouth cooperation and rebalancing of representation in international organizations constitutes a bid for greater global influence, implicitly at the expense of  ´ 1. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, ‘‘Discurso durante cerimonia em comemorac ¸ao ao Dia do Diplomata,’’ ˆ ËÅ"  ´ Palacio Itamaraty, BrasÄ ±lia (7 May 2009), authors’ translation.  ´ 2. Andrew Cohen, While Canada Slept: How We Lost Our Place in the World (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2004). 16 POLITY FORUM: Brazil — Entrepreneurial Democratic BRIC the traditional Western European powers, but does not threaten the values underpinning the liberal world political economy: Brazil is the quintessential ‘‘responsible stakeholder.’’3 Brazil pursues its aims of greater voice in globalShow MoreRelatedComparison of Basic Economic Indicators of Bric Nations4949 Words   |  20 PagesComparison of Basic Economic Indicators of BRIC Nations Abstract In economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development. It is typically rendered as the BRICs or the BRIC countries or the BRIC economies or alternatively as the Big Four. Table of Content 1. Introduction 4 2. Statistics 5 3. 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Five Industry Forces Read MoreBusiness Environment of China France Hongkong Essay653 Words   |  3 Pagescurrent position of the three countries P.4 1.3 SWOT and TOW S Analysis for Koyo Jeans in the three countries analysed P.5 Part 2 Drivers to Internationalisation 2.1 Motivation for Koyo Jeans entering emerging Markets P.6 2.2 Environmental Analysis in Brazil and India P.6 2.2.1 Findings on comparison between Brazil and India (PESTEL 5Forces) P.6 2.2.1.1 PESTEL analysis P.6 2.2.1.2 Porter’s 5 Forces analysis P.6 2.3 Comparative, Competitive Advantage and NationalRead MoreLiFung Case Study Analysis1116 Words   |  5 PagesStrategy Management (Case study 1: Li Fung) ï  ­ SWOT Analysis Strength Opportunity ï  · Extensive network of suppliers (global reach supplier with SCM) ï  · Provision of value added service (customer centric structure) ï  · Entrepreneur corporate culture ï  ·Low –end with hard goods ï  ·Emerging Market Weakness Threaten ï  · Over dependence on US Market ï  · Vast supplier network makes it tough to maintain ï  · Increasing expense from acquisiton ï  · Continuing global economy downturn - Collapse of the AmericanRead MoreImpact Of Globalization On Economic And Political Growth1327 Words   |  6 Pagestrade flows thus they work as a barrier to market admission †¢ Social: these focus on poverty, income distribution and unemployment. 2.2 Brazil as a â€Å"BRIC-country BRIC countries are collective economies of Brazil, Russia, India and china in which they are called the BRIC. They represent 25% of the worlds land mass and 40% of its population. The BRIC nations have gained influences over the international decision making method therefore they have been ruled by the industrial countries such as the G-7Read MoreRise of Brics Economy and Its Impact on Global Stock Markets9547 Words   |  39 PagesJournal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM), ISSN: 2319–2828 Vol. 2, No.1, February 2013 Rise of BRICS Economy and its Impact on Global Stock Markets Naganathan Venkatesh Research Scholar, NITTTR, Chennai, India Abstract The world is changing and becoming increasingly multipolar due to the emergence of China, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa forming so called BRICS. The global influence of America is fading out due to the recent decline in their stock market and the emergenceRead MoreImpact Of Global Financial Crisis And Emerging Markets7336 Words   |  30 PagesGLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS (SP 500) AND EMERGING MARKETS (BRIC) 1 IMPACT OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS: DEVELOPED (SP 500) AND EMERGING MARKETS (BRIC) 23 Impact of Global Financial Crisis: (SP 500) Emerging Markets (Bric) Name Institution TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT 3 CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 – Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 – Methodology 6 CHAPTER 3 –Literature Review 24 CHAPTER 4 – Analysis and Results 38 CHAPTER 5 – Summary, Conclusion, RecommendationRead MoreBmw in Bric Countries2164 Words   |  9 PagesBMW Using a BRIC localization strategy to maintain global leadership in luxury automobile manufacturing Achille MOLLON, Aleksander OLECHNOWICZ, Ania, TWOREK, Celine PAN, Jade CHAN, Sophie SCHAEFGEN, Viktor MIKUS Content †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯Introducing BRIC †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯Company Snapshot †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯RD †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯Sourcing †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯Manufacturing †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯Sales BMW Winning the BRIC Auto Market BRIC market performance Ââ€"ï‚â€"†¯ By 2014 BRIC will account for 30% of the world sales Ââ€"ï‚â€"†¯ As a  whole is growing by 3%-15% per year between 2009 and 2014 Ââ€"ï‚â€"†¯Read MoreThe Bric : A Powerful Force1240 Words   |  5 Pages Economic Integration The BRIC a powerful force in the global environment but do they have the power to shift the center of gravity away from the traditional G6 and over to the BRIC? First it is imperative that we understand who and what the BRIC is and how they interact in the economy. Moreover, it is vital to discern how quickly the economy can be altered and the implications that that change has on the rest of the world. An economic growth can stimulate the entirety of a country or it can singularlyRead MoreWhy China Can Attract More FDI: A Response to Competitiveness in India and China: the FDI puzzle1475 Words   |  6 PagesIndia and China: the FDI puzzle In 2008, a serious financial crisis swept the globe, causing many countries economies sunk in depression or recession. After four years, some emerging economies, such as China and India which are the members of the BRICS (the acronym of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development), firstly got rid of the effect of this financial crisis. Therefore, these emerging economies begin to draw more economists attention

Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 1142 Words

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder of shared self-reported symptoms. It goes with tension, uncontrollable worrying, sometimes muscle pain, trouble sleeping, and irritability that all together impair work ability, relations, and leisure activities. It is a common condition and there are psychological and pharmacological treatment options are available for anxiety disorders but not all patients respond to the same treatment as others. Finding a good treatment can take many months or sometimes longer. Patients just have to go through the adequate treatment trials for the right amount of time. There are six major forms of anxiety disorders, each with their own distinct symptom: panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), specific phobias, and the most common generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Most anxiety disorders are treated with behavioral therapy, medication, or some combination of the two. Sometimes complementary or alternative treatments may also be helpful. KEYWORDS: Social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, anxiousness Anti-Anxiety and Anti-Depressant For my paper I will write about depression and anxiety disorder. I will describe the difference between anxiety and depression then proceed to state what you can do for the treatments. For the treatments, I will list the types of medications, whatShow MoreRelatedGeneralized Anxiety Disorder771 Words   |  3 Pagescountry are affected, it is estimated that â€Å"5% - 6% of teens ages 13-18 are affected by this troubling disorder, not including the teens that receive no treatment,† (â€Å"Generalized†). Youth that receive no treatment could be considered are under privileged. Meaning that they do not have the resources or are very limited to resources that could help them get the proper treatment for their disorder. Many of those adolescents are children that come from low income families, single family homes, or fosterRead MoreGeneralized Anxiety Disorder Essay1602 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Case Analysis: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Bryan Wood Abnormal Psychology Professor Powell April 14, 2015 Bryan Wood Mr. Powell PSY 322 April 14, 2015 Case Analysis: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) â€Å"During a panic attack, the first thing you want to do is get out of the situation that is causing it. However, since most professors find it disrespectful to leave during class, I had to sit for an hour and half in this agonizing state†¦It was as if I had terminal cancerRead MoreUsing Generalized Anxiety Disorder?1180 Words   |  5 Pagessmall example of what someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder may go through on a daily business every moment during their day. The topics that are going to be covered in this paper are what is GAD and what are the signs and symptoms, how does GAD affect the ability to perform normal activities of daily living, and an overall summary with my assigned individual at SDC for his Intensive Learning Project. What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder â€Å"Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessiveRead MoreGeneralized Anxiety Disorder Is A Mental Disorder That1410 Words   |  6 PagesGeneralized anxiety disorder is a mental disorder that affects approximately four to five percent of the general population. This disorder can be illustrated by excessive anxiety and worry that lasts a minimum of six months and deals with various events or activities. People who struggle with this disorder have difficulties controlling their worry; this worry can permeate into every action or thought which leads to increased anxiety. 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Allgulander2012 GAD pervasive cogn dysfunction w/focus on threat and risk tow indiv/family Tension worry muscle pain sleep dist irritability PsychRead MoreGeneralized Anxiety Disorder ( Gad ) Essay2397 Words   |  10 PagesReview Generalized Anxiety Disorder Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder in which an individual may feel persistent, excessive, and worry about everyday things that may not even happen. Individuals with this disorder may feel worry, excessive anxiety, and have thoughts of the worst even when there is no need for concern. A person experiencing GAD may expect a disaster. They may worry about their finances, money, health, family, work, or any issue that may come to mind. 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One Acre Fund free essay sample

When first looking at Kenya, Postigo had five different suppliers that all met certain criteria he had for doing business. He narrowed down the suppliers by contacting them and asking them for a RFQ. He then, with his knowledge of the market and his product as well as coming to the table prepared, negotiated the fertilizer to an acceptable price that could be offered to farmers enrolled in the OAF program. 1. Fertilizer is a commodity – why did Postigo spend so much time developing a relationship? Shouldn’t he have just set up an auction? Postigo did his homework and understood that developing and building relationships is a very important dimension in the Kenyan culture. â€Å"Kenyan culture’s emphasis on relationships and hierarchy stems from the importance of family. Kenya is a place where you need to get to know people†¦in a room with twenty-five people, you need to shake everyone’s hand† (Negotiating, pg 3). Postigo realized that most of his potential suppliers we located in Kenya. He also knew that if he could make a deal with a vendor in Kenya then the transportation costs would be much lower, thus creating a little more wiggle room for his BATNA. Postigo grasped the importance of building relationships from a different, more strategic purpose. OAF’s short-term plan incorporated rapid growth with regards to the small family farms, which required rapid growth in their requested quantity of DAP. Postigo recognized that in building a relationship he was really opening up their opportunities for the future. If he could guarantee larger batch orders in the future, then he might be able to use that leverage to talk the supplier into lowering the current price. Postigo knew that establishing his desire for a strong relationship would pay off in multiple ways, both satisfying the cultural status quo while also putting a strategic plan into place to realize cost savings in the future. 2. What was Postigo’s BATNA to reaching a negotiated agreement with Dehvi Medji and Sons? During the negotiations for fertilizer, Postigo was concerned with three major issues: delivery date, price, and the ability for growth into the future. Keeping these things in mind, it seems that the best alternative to a negotiated agreement would have come from the current market prices of fertilizer in the area. If he was not able to come to an agreement with any of the suppliers and negotiate a better contract for OAF, then Postigo would simply buy the fertilizer at regular market prices. According to the research, in Nakuru, where both the cost of fertilizer and the cost of transportation were taken into consideration, a 50kg bag could be purchased for 4,000 Ksh (Negotiating, pg 6). This cost of 4,000 Ksh would have been the BATNA for Postigo’s negotiations; However, the BATNA could also have been found in one of the other vendors that were being looked into. If these other vendors had offered him a reliable price then that value could have been seen as Postigo’s BATNA. 3. Should Postigo have spent the time and money to meet face-to-face with all five potential vendors for the purpose of telling them about One Acre Fund, rather than sending them an e-mail? Working for a not-for-profit organization, Postigo understood that he needed to save money wherever possible. Meeting with the vendors in person might have had a larger effect on empathy throughout the negotiation. He might have been able use that to his advantage, but in the end, the benefit would not have outweighed the cost. Postigo contacted five vendors, four of which came back with bids. The first scenario where the cost outweighed the benefit: had he traveled to the fifth vendor, it would have been a complete waste of time and money. Secondly, as soon as Postigo informed the potential vendors of their expected delivery date, a second vendor dropped out of the running, stating that they would not be able to make the delivery date. By sacrificing the face-to-face meetings, Postigo saved a large amount of time and money while still attracting 3 potential vendors; eventually leading to a deal that, from his standpoint, was very successful. . Followup question: Did Postigo pay particular attention to the other party’s needs in the phone calls with Dehiv Medji? Postigo did a very good job of paying attention to Dehiv Medji’s needs throughout the negotiations. They spoke about the affect the Kenyan government might have on both parties, understanding the government subsidies could cripple both parties. He brought up Medji’s opportunity to grow and wanted to be involved in their growth, â€Å"he asked about growth prospects†¦indicated that the two organizations might grow together† (Negotiating, pg 7). Postigo negotiated in a fair and cooperative manner, providing flexibility on delivery dates and transportation costs. â€Å"One of the biggest appeals of Dehvi Medji to OAF was its willingness to fix a price in November for a January delivery† (Negotiating, pg 7). Postigo was very aware of the other party’s needs and acted accordingly. He felt obliged to make the negotiation a win-win scenario and when all was said and done, he did just that. 4. What do you think about Pastigo’s sharing information with Dehvi Medji about OAF’s strategy for the future? Was this a good thing to do? Is this a good way to develop a relationship? In the situation that Pastigo was in an open discussion about the long term goals of the not for profit OAF was a valid opening strategy. It gives Pastigo a fair amount of leverage epically since OAF is planning to have a large amount of growth in the near future, that information alone allows Pastigo to negotiate much harder for present prices with the perceived promise of future growth. It is also a valid and simple way for Pastigo to begin building a relationship with the supplier. By opening with a good amount of information, especially with a local supplier, OAF as an organization can leverage the fact that they are trying to grow the amount of fertilizer used by a large amount of farmers which is good for the fertilizer suppliers. This was also an efficient means to build the relationship the OAF was hoping to have with their future supplier, by showing that they were open and upfront with both the plans and goals of OAF any possible relationship would from more easily. All in all by being open from the beginning Pastigo put himself in a good position to conduct the negotiations. . If Dehvi Medji’s price had been good but not the best, would you still have recommended that Postigo try to negotiate with Dehvi Medji? As we have mentioned before, Postigo was concerned with three major issues: delivery date, price, and the ability for growth into the future. Taking into consideration all of these issues, it could be seen that Dehvi Medji met the other qua lifications for a good supplier in that they could meet the proper delivery schedule in January and they were a small company that had the ability to grow alongside OAF going into the future. Price was only one of the concerns that Postigo was looking at. The case study goes on to state that â€Å"in previous fertilizer negotiations between OAF and Dehvi Medji, the company had settled for 10 percent off its initial offer† (negotiating, pg 7). This indicates that although the initial bid that Dehvi Medji produced might have not been the best, their company was proven to have wiggle room during the negotiations process and could possibly still be convinced to lower their price to become the best price. Although Dehvi Medji might not have had the best initial price coming out of the initial requests for proposals (RFPs), their initial price could be negotiated and they met the other requirements, delivery schedule and ability for growth in the future, that OAF was looking at. Our recommendation to Postigo would be to still enter the negotiation phase with Dehvi Medji, regardless of the initial price bid, in order to further scope out the qualifications of the supplier and possibly discover all of the benefits that they have to offer. . OAF’s founder, Andrew Youn, is a MBA. Given the importance of low-priced, good-quality fertilizer to his company’s ability to achieve its goals, should Youn be considering alternatives to buying from a handful of Kenyan wholesale suppliers? What might those alternatives be? The importance of low-priced, good-quality fertilizer was a major component to the success of the companies but it is doubtful that it was the only goal of the not fo r profit. The goal of the OAF is to help the local small plot farmers become more self-sufficient and by choosing local wholesalers over a foreign supplier can build the fertilizer industry in Kenya allowing local farmers to have better access even if the OAF was to leave the country. It is quite likely that Mr. Youn did consider other options during the start-up process but in the end decided local suppliers would be a better option. An option that they may considered would be using a foreign wholesaler and bulk ship the fertilizer to Kenya and then ship it to the warehouses to break down and disperse to the participating farmers. This option may have saved them enough money on the base product to offset the increase in shipping and handling cost to get the fertilizer into Kenya. This may not have been a viable option in this opening round of negotiation due to the limited amount of fertilizer the OAF was purchasing at the time. 7. Postigo informed the case writers that the Kenyan government did implement its program of buying fertilizer in bulk to distribute at reduced prices to farmers, but that this program did not really affect OAF farmers because they could not afford to travel to government depots and did not have the cash to buy or transport the fertilizer. However, this action by the Kenyan government might have secondary effects for OAF’s negotiations with fertilizer suppliers in the future. What do you think those secondary effects might be? There are a variety of secondary ramifications for the OAF when negotiating future fertilizer purchase form local suppliers due to the government subsidized supply. One obvious problem in the risk that the a current or future supplier may not be able to stay competitive in the fertilizer market in Kenya and will go out of business, forcing the OAF to search elsewhere for their supply of fertilizer. Another less gloomy prospect is with the government subsidizing fertilizer in Kenya the OAF may have a better bargaining position with the local wholesalers, allowing the OAF to purchase more fertilizer with the same investment helping the program to expand faster. This choice by the Kenyan government may also allow the OAF to negotiate with the government to receive the discounted price and focus instead on the transport of the fertilizer from the government depots to the farmers who need it most. 8. In what way did Postigo use his awareness of hierarchy in Kenyan culture during his negotiations with Dehvi Medji? During the second round of negotiations which were exclusively with the Dehvi Medji firm the awareness of the hieratical culture of Kenya was used to help set a price from which Postigo could begin the round of negotiations. This was seen in the sentence on page seven of the case study where Pestigo from looking previous negotiations knew that Dehvi Medji sold for roughly ten percent less than their opening offer. This was an assumption made due to the fact that Postigo was working with decedent of the former managers who made this 10 present discount a way of business. There is also the fact the before the negotiators began discussing price Pestigo first discussed the increase in the price of fertilizer and the effects it was having of the OAF, the likely hood of government intervention, and finally the growth prospects of both the OAF and Dehvi Medji. Only after all of this opening information was shared were the negotiations for price and transportation brought into the negotiation. Both of these considerations made by Pestigo showed he was prepared to enter negotiations with Jiten Patel and allowed them both to come to an agreeable solution. 9. What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of Postigo’s negotiating strategy for fertilizer in 2007? Postigo had many strengths and weaknesses in his attempt of his first large acquisition of fertilizer for the OAF. His main strengths were the facts that he was knowledgeable about his product and the suppliers he was dealing with as well as the fact he was prepared going into the negotiation process. His main weakness included the fact that he had not built a relationship with his Kenyan suppliers knowing far in advance that that is an essential procedure in Kenyan business culture. He also failed to have realistic expectations when asking a smaller company like Delvi Medji and Sons to potentially supply such a large customer base. The fact that Postigo did not build a relationship could have resulted in Dehvi Medji and Sons’ Jiten patel(the supplier) agreeing with Postigo only to avoid confrontation knowing far in advance they would not be able to meet his needs. Postigo’s knowledge of the wholesale prices as well as his market and expected forecast did allow him however, to accurately predict OAF’s growth and was contributed heavily to his success of getting the fertilizer under the market price of 3,263 Ksh/50kg bag. He was able to work the suppliers down through both price competition but more importantly by providing a â€Å"win-win† situation for both him and the supplier. His main incentive was by doing business with OAF the supplier would grow with the OAF as it expanded its market to 30,000 farmers. He in return expected a supplier to reduce their costs helping the OAF. Even though Postigo had some weaknesses in his overall negotiation strategy by not meeting face-to-face,In the end, Postigo successfully worked to an agreeable solution where both parties benefited in 2007.

Brand Management Owned Companies Management

Question: Discuss about the Case Study for Brand Management of Owned Companies Management. Answer: Introduction: LEGO group is one of the renowned family owned companies occupying a predominant place in the realm of manufacturing industry. LEGO has started its journey in the year 1932 and created a recognizable image among the manufacturing companies. Headquartered in Denmark, Lego aims to develop the mental growth of those children. For this purpose, the products have been designed in such a way that children would like to show their interest to purchase these products. The products and services of LEGO have already created a craze in the current market. The play materials have been designed by making numerous innovative plans and ideas. Children have to apply their mind while using the play material of this particular organization. After the innovation of LEGO bricks, children from different geographical areas have showed their immense positive response towards the brand value of LEGO (LEGO.com, 2016). Moreover, along with maintaining the quality of product, the service providers of this particular organization tend to maintain an effective communication with the customers. Quality service is one of the major parts of raising the brand awareness. After enhancing the demand of market, this particular organization has intended to change their brand strategy as well as pricing strategy as well. The products have been decided to be promoted in such a way that people from different geographical boundary can easily make the best use of those products. Brand exploratory: Brand exploratory is the major source of research, based on which an individual can understand the opinion and perception of consumers regarding the equity and reliability of a particular brand (Annie Jin, 2012). In order to understand what customers are thinking about this specific brand or product, the company tends to focus on several factors that include: Customer awareness: Customer awareness is the integrated part of organizations marketing and communication plan with the help of which the marketing executives tend to reach the doorstep of customers. IMC managers intend to make an effective communication strategy by maintaining the following steps. These are as follows: Position of the brand: Brand positioning has been considered as one of the most effective marketing strategies based on which the company can reach their product or brand to the doorsteps of different customers. In order to position a brand properly in the market, the marketing executives have to be concerned into some of the major factors that include: Use the platform for brand promotion: Organizations should use the popularity of media based on which the brands can create a market demand (Sola, 2012). Media is nothing but the tool with the help of which the customers would be able to know necessary information on the reliability of products. LEGO generally intends to utilize the popularity of electronic media as well as new media both. Children are not well accustomed in operating new technologies (Balmer, 2012). Therefore, the organization has decided to use the platform of electronic media so that the children can also show their interest for purchasing these kinds of innovative products. Maintain effective communication: Effective communication is highly important in order to collect the feedback of customers as well as making an effective interaction with them. Apart from the platforms of media, LEGO believes in direct marketing based on which they can communication directly with the customers (Dinnie, 2015). The marketing executives like to visit directly with the target consumers in order to communicate with them for colleting an immediate feedback. After promoting the product with the help of direct marketing, the sales executives get the opportunity to interact with the target audience directly in order to know their needs and demands (Selnes, 2013). Based on the needs of customers, LEGO tends to re-form their brand strategy and policy. With the dynamic progress of civilization, the needs and demands of the customers are changing day-by-day. Effective communication is the major tools to keep a constant update about changing needs and demands of the customers. Target market: Target market is the selected group that a specific company wants to select as their future or chosen customers. Before analyzing the target market LEGO has primarily selected three aspects as a matter of consideration in order to enhance customer awareness. These include: Demographic: As per demographic market segmentation, LEGO has chosen 3 years to 15 years age group customers for their target market (Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2015). People having average income level would be able to afford various innovative toys for the customers. Geographic: Geographic market segmentation is primarily concerned with the market size and the progress of market based on which LEGO can promote their brand (Qian, 2014). Apart from Denmark, the brand managers of LEGO have to decide expand their business in Enfield, USA, UK, Shanghai, China, Singapore and so on. The marketing size of these areas is vast and wide (ErdoÄÅ ¸muÃ…Å ¸ Cicek, 2012). Therefore, marketing executives of this organization has decided target those geographic areas for circulating their creative toys. Psychographic: Psychographic target market segmentation is based on the values, culture and beliefs of people. The playing materials that have been designed by the product designers of LEGO do not follow any kind of religious gender biasness (Loureiro, Ruediger Demetris, 2012). The products have been designed in such a way that people from various cultures and backgrounds would like to show their interest for purchasing products and services. Brand association: Brand association is the attributes with the help of which customers get a positive vibrant from the specific brands. Customers in general tend to provide their positive feedback in using the products and services only when they get a positive response from the celebrities or legend personalities. Brand performance and personality: After conducting a market survey, the IMC managers of LEGO has evaluated that, a large number of customers from different countries have showed their positive response both on the brand quality as well as brand services. Therefore, it is evident that the product manufacturing strategy made by the brand managers of LEGO is getting successful day-by-day. In order to create a personality of a particular brand, celebrity endorsement has been considered as one of the major tools (Gatti, Caruana Snehota, 2012). Celebrities help to create a demand in the market. LEGO in order to promote the brand in various countries tend to utilize the popularity of celebrities. The ICM managers intend to promote the brand in various countries with the help of media so that people from different geographical boundaries can get an in-depth overview about the reliability of brands. Portfolio of the brand: As per the current market situation, LEGO has become one of the leading toy makers among numerous renowned toy-manufacturing companies around 55 countries. This particular group from the very beginning tries to maintain brand value strategy within the organization based on which the manufacturers have provided many innovative, interesting as well as creative playing materials to the target customers (Freling Forbes, 2013). Competitive positioning: Before maintaining the promotional activities, LEGO should conduct, an effective market survey based on which they would be able to position their brand more effectively than the competitors. The entire business process and the products of LEGO are based on new technology. In order to position the brand amidst competitive market, the steps that LEGO should follow are like this: Using the popularity of digital media; various platforms of social media would help to reach the games of LEGO to the people of various geographical boundary Using hoardings, banners in order to make an effective offline promotion Maintaining personal selling as well as direct marketing for collecting an immediate feedback from the customers SWOT analysis: In order to form an effective brand strategy, the product managers like to make an internal analysis to acquire knowledge on strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of the company for manufacturing and circulating innovative toys to the children. SWOT analysis Description Strength Creating innovation products that help to enhance the knowledge and skill of the children Acquiring a recognizable place as a top most toy manufacturing brand among 55 countries Maintaining diverse management inside the organization as well as brand circulation Creating a distinct image than other video game players manufactured by other countries Weakness Children who are having the lack of knowledge and experience of using online games would not be able to purchase the products of this organization Brand managers fail to keep a constant record about changing needs and demands of the customers Online games of LEGO has faced the loss of market share Lack of product variety Opportunities Enhancing the varieties of products Implementing more diversification with the organization Expanding the entire process of business in the realm of international market Preparing the entire market segmentation strategy more effectively so that the IMC managers can enhance the target market Promotional tools should be increased Threats Competitors market strategy has been considered as one of the major threats for LEGO Downfall of the share market in online games has become one of the major threats for LEGO for maintaining the image and reputation in the market The plans of starting new cartoon channels has become a major threat as well as major risk for the company Implementing the plan of staring outdoor games is possessed with immense risk factors Table 1: SWOT Analysis (Source: Iglesias Bonet, 2012) Summation of SWOT analysis: After conducting an effective SWOT analysis, it can be evaluated that LEGO has already created an impression in the realm of toy manufacturing industry among almost 55 countries. At the same time, it is undeniable that this particular company is very much restricted within stipulated target market. People who are not accustomed with advanced technology would not be able to use the service as well as products of LEGO. Therefore, stipulated target customers have become a major threat for this organization. As a result, the online games of LEGO had faced a serious downfall in the share market. In order to overcome the competitors market threat, LEGO should enhance their range of target customers. Conclusion: This particular study has provided an in-depth overview about the importance of brand management. Maintaining the quality of products and services can never be the suitable ways of rendering organizational success. In order to reach the brand to the doorstep of consumers the brand managers have to know the major ways of promotion based on which the customers can show their interest for purchasing the products. This particular study has focused to discuss the brand management strategies and policies of LEGO with the help of which the organization has drawn the attention of customers. Before promoting the product in various countries, LEGO has made effective target market segmentation as per the geographic, psychographic and demographic market structure. Recommendation: After evaluating the entire brand management strategy, some of the necessary recommendations can be provided. The recommendations are as follows: Choosing the appropriate media vehicle: In order to reach the customers properly, the business organizations should use the popularity of media platform. The target customers of LEGO are very much restricted to 3 to 15 age group of people. Therefore, electronic media has been chosen as primary media vehicle based on which this particular group can draw customers attention. Children show their interest in watching television at their leisure. Therefore, late evening has been chosen as their prime time for promoting the brands of LEGO. In addition, new media has also been given a priority for creating effective brand awareness. By utilizing the popularity of digital media, people can easily draw the attention of people from different geographical areas. As a result, LEGO group would be able to expand their entire business process in the global market as well. Conducting the effective market survey: Before creating a brand strategy, LEGOs marketing executives should always conduct an effective market survey with the gap of few days. With the help of market survey, the sales executives are able to collect customers feedback, be it positive. Positive feedback always remains as the motivational factors for every organization (Kapferer, 2012). On the other hand, based on the negative feedback, the brand managers should re-think on the promotional strategy and policy. As per the needs and demands of the customers, the managers should amend the brand strategies. Therefore, market survey is highly important for collecting the in-general response of the target customers. Maintaining effective customer service relation: Along with maintaining product quality, the service providers should also take into consideration on how to maintain customer relation. Customer service system is one of the most effective processes based on which most of the customers tend to show their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Kelley, Sheehan Jugenheimer, 2015). LEGO has created recognition as one of the best toy-manufacturing makers. Therefore, maintaining effective communication with the customers is one of the most effective tools of following customer relation. In addition, the service providers should make a balance between the supply and demand of the products. The customers should never wait for a long time in order to use the service from the organization. Rationale: Brand management is the primary concern of this particular study. The primary aim of LEGO is to develop the mental skill and ability of children. Therefore, the product designers have decided to design the toys in such a way that it can draw the attention of the children easily. Before attracting the children, an effective brand promotion is highly needed to reach the customers. Therefore, the product managers have decided to use the popularity of electronic media in order to maintain the promotional activities effectively. In addition, the study has focused to make a clear evaluation on brand exploratory process. Brand exploratory is the systematic procedure, based on which the market executives can select brand positioning, target market, brand portfolio, brand personality and so many. Before making the brand strategy, an effective SWOT analysis has been conducted in order to get an overview about the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of LEGO. Based on the weakness and threat of the company, the brand managers tend to form their marketing or promotional strategy. Both the electronic media and digital media have been considered as one of the most effective pathways for creating brand awareness in the mind of children. Reference List: Annie Jin, S. A. (2012). The potential of social media for luxury brand management.Marketing Intelligence Planning,30(7), 687-699. Balmer, J. M. (2012). Corporate Brand Management Imperatives.California Management Review,54(3), 6-33. Dinnie, K. (2015).Nation branding: concepts, issues, practice. Routledge. ErdoÄÅ ¸muÃ…Å ¸, ÄÂ °. E., Cicek, M. (2012). The impact of social media marketing on brand loyalty.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,58, 1353-1360. Freling, T. H., Forbes, L. P. (2013). An empirical analysis of the brand personality effect.Journal of Product Brand Management. Gatti, L., Caruana, A., Snehota, I. (2012). The role of corporate social responsibility, perceived quality and corporate reputation on purchase intention: Implications for brand management.Journal of Brand Management,20(1), 65-76. Iglesias, O., Bonet, E. (2012). Persuasive brand management: How managers can influence brand meaning when they are losing control over it.Journal of Organizational Change Management,25(2), 251-264. Kapferer, J. N. (2012).The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan page publishers. Kelley, L., Sheehan, K., Jugenheimer, D. W. (2015).Advertising media planning: a brand management approach. Routledge. LEGO.com, 2016. US - Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow - LEGO.com. (2016).Wwwsecure.lego.com. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://wwwsecure.lego.com Loureiro, S. M. C., Ruediger, K. H., Demetris, V. (2012). Brand emotional connection and loyalty.Journal of Brand Management,20(1), 13-27. Qian, Y. (2014). Brand management and strategies against counterfeits.Journal of Economics Management Strategy,23(2), 317-343. Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., Percy, L., Elliott, R. H., Pervan, S. (2015).Strategic brand management. Oxford University Press, USA. Santos-Vijande, M. L., del Ro-Lanza, A. B., Surez-lvarez, L., Daz-Martn, A. M. (2013). The brand management system and service firm competitiveness.Journal of Business Research,66(2), 148-157. Selnes, F. (2013). An examination of the effect of product performance on brand reputation, satisfaction and loyalty.Journal of Product Brand Management. Sola, A. (2012). The impact of celebrity endorsement on strategic brand management.International Journal of Business and Social Science,3(6).

Red Guard Essay Example

Red Guard Paper It had been argued that one of the many aims of Maos Cultural Revolution had been that of the cleaning up of the economic, political, ideological, and organisational impurities of the rural peasants and basic-level cadres. 1 The initial intention of the Social Education Movement was to restore collectivisation which was damaged by the disasters after the Great Leap. However, it was soon revealed that corruption among the grass-roots rural cadres was rampant, resulting in the shift of focus from one of collectivisation to that of the village leadership. 2 Mao had released a resolution titled, Early Ten Points3 which essentially subjected the Party to criticisms from non-Party mechanisms. The target of this program was at elementary and middle high school children (i. e. aged 12-14). It was most active from 1933 till 1966 and would later form the majority of the membership of the Red Guards. Such a movement which essentially comprised of the indoctrination of Maos ideas to young people especially those in the rural countryside areas allowed the Party to plant trusted students into the Chinese villages as spies to report on the various activities in the rural villages. We will write a custom essay sample on Red Guard specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Red Guard specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Red Guard specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This form of indoctrination manifested the idea of class struggles amongst the students in the rural areas and been so successful that the students formed the organisation called the Red Guards with Maos authorisation and had declared themselves as Maos little generals4, indicating that their sole loyalty to Mao. The Red Guards, most of whom were the teenage children from the countryside, would be carrying out the numerous purges in all levels of the Party and government throughout China. It could be seen from the early beginnings of the Social Education Movement that Mao had been trying to nurture an organisation which would assist him in his future political purges. The activation of the Red Guards in the second half of August 1966 marked a watershed in the course of the Cultural Revolution in the countryside as well as in the cities. The Red Guards made their first public appearance with a rally of a million in Beijings Tiananmen Square in August 18, 1966. Battalions of youth, enlisting in the Cultural Revolution, marched by singing, Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman. Mao Zedong had given his approval during his review of the students and put on a Red Guard armband, emblazoned with the three characters Hong Wei Bing. 5 Mao signified his support of the Red Guards by being with them for the whole period that they were at the square. Maos support of the Red Guards meant a lot to the students. As mentioned previously, the personality of Mao had been so strong that any gifts from Mao himself would be worshipped and revered. A former Red Guard, An Xi Jiang, had admitted after the revolution that people worshipped him as a god6. Hence the fact that their Chairman was at the Tiananmen Square with the youths, encouraging and wearing the Red Guard armband had significant impact on the youths. Maos encouragement of their enthusiasm and critical questioning in a way gave the Red Guards some form of unlimited power to carry on the revolution within the revolution7. Had Mao not given his sanction to the Red Guards, the latter might not had gone to such extreme measures in the ideological cleansing of the so-called intellectuals to remove the bourgeois influences. Indeed, Mao encouraged the students to turn against their teachers, university professors. Most of these people were usually holding a position of authority and hence it would be reasonable to argue that the students were in effect a tool of Mao for his ideological purges of his opponents. Mao encouraged Red Guards to attack all traditional values and bourgeois items and to test party officials by publicly criticizing them. The officially sanctioned freedom of action of Maos migratory little generals gave them the virtual license to destroy the four olds. The Red Guards, most of whom were from the poor and lower-middle peasants families, set up their own Red Guard detachment, attacking the former landlords and rich peasants living on the commune. In this way, the students could be used as a tool to help Mao test the members loyalty to him. Mao believed that this measure would be beneficial both for the young people and for the party cadres that they attacked. Religion and superstition was also targeted by the students. The Red Guards went round smashing up the ancestral tablets, incense burners, religious icons, old books, old wall cloths, superstitious objects and the like in the countryside. Although the peasants eventually gave in the actions of the Red Guards, they did so out of fear of the repercussions of being labelled as counter-revolutionaries, rather than genuine enthusiasm. Mao had added in a personal letter: It is right to rebel against reactionaries. I offer you my warm support. Hence it could be inferred that the youth was being used by Mao as the tool against his opponents and in the class struggles between capitalism and socialism. One can conclude from this that the Cultural Revolution was indeed largely Maos initiative with the Red Guards being used as a force to get the rest of the country involved. One of the plausible explanations for the students obsessive following of Maos ideas had been the social indoctrination in the earlier period through the use of visual arts such as posters which had definitely appealed to the students. Closely related to this was the brain-washing campaign that Mao had implemented on the students. The result of such activities would probably be that of a senseless following of Maos ideas. The fact that Mao was worshipped till such an extent inevitably had to be accredited to his indoctrination and brain-washing campaigns. As former Red Guard, An Xi Jiang admitted, Thinking back, I think maybe we were brainwashed8. One can thus see the extent of the brain-washing campaign which Mao had instigated during his term as Chairman in the Communist Party.

Facebook Advertising for Authors Part 2

Facebook Advertising for Authors Part 2 Facebook Advertising for Authors, by Mark Dawson: Part 2 Facebook advertising is a marketing technique that is rising in popularity among many independent authors. As any other technique, it takes time, testing and iteration to produce results. And as for any other technique, it works better in certain genres and for certain books than others.However, we believe there is a great untapped potential in Facebook advertising for authors and this is the reason why we interviewed internationally bestselling author Mark Dawson. You can read part 1 of the interview here, where he focuses on growing a mailing list through Facebook ads. You can also play the full video below to enjoy a nice French chateau decorum and hear just how fascinated Mark is by the potential of Facebook marketing. Or, if you’re familiar with both, read part 2 of the transcript below!Here, we focus on advertising from Facebook directly to Amazon and how to track the results, on top of decrypting how Amazon’s wonderful algorithms work and how to get the most out of your faithful reviewers! Hi Mark! In part 1 of this interview, we discussed how you use keep separate mailing lists and automated email sequences to drive sales. I am subscribed to your mailing list, and I noticed that before I get to the email where you offer me to buy the next book in the series, you offer several free books and really try to build a relationship with the reader.Yes, and that’s really important. One thing I’ve worked very hard on is to turn those subscribers into readers, then into fans, then super-fans, and finally into friends. That’s kind of the way I look at it. So I’ve got a street team with nearly 900 people, which is now closed because 900 is enough for what I need.But I answer every single email from readers, whether it comes from they finding my email address on my website or from a reply to an email I sent out, I reply to everything. I also try to answer every message on Facebook.I think that’s really important, and it might be one of those thin gs I’ll not be able to do forever, because I’ve got probably 20,000 people on my lists now and am very busy writing new stuff and running the business. So at some point I’ll have to sit down and ask myself: â€Å"can I justify spending an hour every day answering email correspondence from readers?†; but I’ll put that off as long as I can, because I think that’s one of the main reasons why last year was so successful.I’ve now got fans who I can really rely on: when I say I’ve got a new book out, I know they’ll go and buy it. And if that happens in certain numbers, then Amazon starts marketing for you and everything becomes a virtuous circle at that point.Yes, it’s really all about hitting that point where Amazon starts doing the work for you, isn’t it? And the launch is a particularly crucial moment for that, right?Yes, I’ve launched quite a few books like year and monitored and studied the dynamics o f the launches, so I’ve got it down now to a reasonably fine art. I know, for example, that if you’ve got 1,000 people on your list and you’re confident that 100 of them will buy the book when it comes out, you don’t want them to buy the book on the same day. Amazon rewards you for steady sales rather than spikes. So it’s better to have 20 every day for 5 days rather than 100 on day 1 and then nothing on days 2 to 5.That kind of stuff is quite important, and if you’ve got - like I do - segmented lists, you’re able to â€Å"massage† the sales into a pattern that you think will be best for Amazon to notice this new book.And if we go back to Facebook ads, what I might do for the launch is set up an ad just targeted to people on my mailing list. One thing that Facebook allows you to do is to import your email addresses from your mailing list and they will then match these email addresses with Facebook accounts (provided that thes e people have one). So I will also serve ads to those people as well. Some people might say: â€Å"why are you saying the same thing twice? You’re already sending them an email asking them to buy the book.† Well, not all emails are opened (50% is already a very high open rate), and it’s a standard advertizing theory that it takes more than one touch for someone to make a buying decision. So that kind of joined-up campaign is going to be more effective than just an email blast or just a Facebook campaign.Yes, that’s what we call â€Å"re-marketing† in the business world, and it’s a widely used technique to engage with users who sign up for your services but then don’t end up â€Å"buying† anything. Facebook’s â€Å"custom audiences† are a great way to do that indeed. Another amazing feature that Facebook has is â€Å"lookalike† audiences, do you use those?Oh yes, all the time. For those who don’t know what one is, you can import your mailing list into Facebook and then tell them: â€Å"please, generate a lookalike audience based on this mailing list†. Facebook will then try to assess what the people have in common in your mailing list, and algorithmically search for people matching the same interests, demographics, etc.And how are the results, compared to the standard campaigns simply based on â€Å"interests†?Sometimes better. My best sales ad for one of the boxed sets I have on sale is a 2.2M list of people based in the United States defined as a â€Å"lookalike† of my mailing list. I optimize the ads for clicks and typically generate a %50-%100 ROI every day.For the ads that redirect to Amazon, how do you track the results? Because you can track what happens on your website, but you cannot track what happens on Amazon, right?That’s an interesting question and one I’m looking into right now. At the moment, I use affiliate linking: you can set up an affiliate account and direct your ads to the affiliate links, so Amazon will tell you through their affiliate program exactly how many people have bought your book coming from that affiliate URL.Unfortunately, I’ve been looking into this as I said, and it looks like you’re not really allowed to use an Amazon affiliate link in a Facebook ad, which is really really annoying. So what you’ll probably have to do is send the traffic from Facebook to your website where you have a sales page, and then your sales page has the affiliate links. And I hate that, on the one hand, because it’s putting a step between the ad and the buying decision, but on the other hand you can put things on your sales page that you cannot have on Amazon, like a video, or clips from the audiobook, etc.Of course, if that doesn’t prove to work, the alternative is just not to use affiliate links and directly send the traffic to Amazon, on a normal link. You’re less pre cise on your numbers that way but provided you know what you were selling before, you can get a rough idea of how effective the campaign is being.Last question for you Mark, to wrap this up and let you go back to your other activities. Let’s say I’m an author, I have a mailing list with 20 subscribers, and I’ve just implemented a â€Å"reader magnet†, where I offer a free book for readers to subscribe to my mailing list. I’m still getting only 2-3 reviewers a week. What kind of actionable steps can I take in order to get more subscribers?First, make sure that the call to action for that reader magnet is everywhere. You need to advertize the reader magnet on your product page, because a subscriber is more important than a sale. So if a reader sees it on the page but doesn’t buy the book, don’t worry: once they’re on your list, you can offer them book 2, book 3, etc. You need to look at it as a long term financial proposition rat her than short term financial gain.So put it on the product page, put it on your Amazon (and Reedsy) author page, put in on your books - front and back: front so readers see it if they use the â€Å"look inside† functionality on Amazon, back so readers who enjoy your book can subscribe to get more - and everywhere else: link your social media profiles to your landing page.Provided all that is in place, I suggest you look into Facebook ads, because that’s one pretty hot area right now with incredible growth opportunities for us.Thank you so much for all this advice, Mark!  If you want to learn more on Facebook ads, visit Mark Dawson’s course, Self-Publishing Formula, here!Have you tried using Facebook advertising to grow your mailing list? Or to sell more books? What do you think of Mark’s tools for success? Leave your thoughts, or any questions for Mark, in the comments below!

How to be a pilot Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How to be a pilot - Speech or Presentation Example Student Pilot: a person who learns how to fly under the direct supervision of another pilot (Hurst, 2013). Sport Pilot: a person who is only allowed to fly â€Å"light sport aircraft† Recreational Pilot: a person who is only allowed to fly aircraft of up to 180 horsepower and up to 4 seats. Such pilots are only allowed to fly during daylight hours unless unaccompanied by another certified pilot (Bjerke & Malott, 2011). Finally, a private pilot is the stage just before commercial pilot in which an individual is allowed to fly aircraft of over 4 seats and including engines much more powerful than 180 horsepower. However, in this stage, the pilot is still not allowed to accept any form of compensation for their services; thereby creating a type of restriction for the final stage of aircraft pilots; the commercial airline pilot. Each successive level of qualification allows for an individual pilot to accrue further hours and gain the skills necessary to become a more well trained pilot prior to moving on to the next stage of training and certification. The process of becoming a private pilot does not necessarily mean that the individual learner is somehow constrained to flying small planes. Rather, the private pilot certification allows for an individual to fly any plane regardless of size and regardless of the overall number of passengers that it is capable of carrying. The only restriction comes with regards to the fact that such a pilot is not able to accrue any level of profit from this activity; thereby increasing the need for further certification in order to ensure that the commercial airline pilot is as well trained and fully nuanced in the art of air travel as is possible. Naturally, any of these training mechanisms in and of themselves does not guarantee a particular result. Rather, they are intended as a means of successive levels to ensure that the individual pilot has completed the necessary training and is fully capable of ensuring that the nee ds of their crew and passengers are met Beyond the main classifications that have thus far been discussed, flight training and certification also hinges upon instrumentation certification and types of aircraft certification. These exist due to the vast differentials in knowledge that are required to adequately fly many of the technologically advanced aircraft within the current market. Whereas in years past it may have been simple to attain a level of flight certification and instrumentation/aircraft knowledge, the current era is one in which many different aircraft are produced around the globe and something of an innate lack of standardization exists. As a direct function of this, it is necessary for individuals to ensure that they are certified in the type of aircraft they will be flying and have had a level of experience with regards to reading and deciphering the instrumentation panels that these different aircraft represent. In addition to these requirements that have been dis cussed, pilots are also required to engage in regular knowledge tests that prove the current validity of the skill sets they have learned in the past. By engaging in such ongoing training, the FAA and other administrative bodies are able to regulate and manage those individuals that continue to possess pilot’s licenses. Moreover, within the process of gaining such certifications, hands on flight training is only one aspect of the process. As such, the individual

Placement Report at Abacus Business Advisors, Ltd Essay

Placement Report at Abacus Business Advisors, Ltd - Essay Example Abacus Business Advisors, Ltd. (Abacus) was reportedly incorporated on March 17, 2010. Just two years in operation, this corporation is classified as private company with three partners:   Ishtiaq Mahmood Farooqui, the Director and Accountant with expertise in accountancy, book-keeping and transactions involving tax consultancy; Ejaz Farooqui, also the Director and Accountant share the same expertise with Ishtiaq Mahmood Farooqui; finally, Yomtov Eliezer Jacobs, was the Director whose expertise was in company formation. As such, his directorship was already classified as inactive at current times.Location and Contact Numbers  Abacus is currently located at 9 Norville Terrace, Headingley Lane, Leeds in the United Kingdom. It is classified as a private organization that offers accounting and auditing services; as well as tax consultancy services. Its contact number is 0113 225 2026 and 0113 274 5508. It currently advertises its services through online sites such as the SeekAccounta nt.co.uk,   TouchLocal.com, among others.Placement Job DetailsMajor Accounts and Responsibilities  In my first week, the first few days were spent in orientation of the organization’s accounting system. I had to be familiarized with their system to enable facilitation of filing, encoding, and working on basis accounting responsibilities: book-keeping, bank reconciliation, among others. I was made to start off with sorting out bank reconciliation in the first few weeks. I worked through the organization’s general ledger accounts.... It is classified as a private organization that offers accounting and auditing services; as well as tax consultancy services. Its contact number is 0113 225 2026 and 0113 274 5508. It currently advertises its services through online sites such as the SeekAccountant.co.uk, TouchLocal.com, among others. Placement Job Details Major Accounts and Responsibilities In my first week, the first few days were spent in orientation of the organization’s accounting system. I had to be familiarized with their system to enable facilitation of filing, encoding, and working on basis accounting responsibilities: book-keeping, bank reconciliation, among others. I was made to start off with sorting out bank reconciliation in the first few weeks. I worked through the organization’s general ledger accounts that contained records of their cash and check transactions. Likewise, I worked through bank statements to reconcile and counter check that the cash and check transactions during the perio d under study to perfectly reconcile with the balances shown in both the general ledger and the bank statements. It was initially a difficult task given the details that one needs to check and countercheck these balances (bank versus book). Likewise, adjustments had to be made in terms of deposits in transit, any outstanding checks issued but not yet recorded by the bank, and the occurrence of some bank errors (as it normally happens). In addition, I had to adjust the balance in the company’s books in terms of the need to deduct bank service charges, NSF check fees and fees for the issuance of checks. I also noted the need to add interests earned and any notes receivable, as identified. After comparing the accuracy of the balances, I finally had to prepare journal entries to

Dual Protection - Design and Copyright Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dual Protection - Design and Copyright - Essay Example Besides, under what circumstances can dual protection are offered. Body Firstly, it is important to understand the differences between copyright protection and design protection. Though both are intellectual property and both aim to protect the rights of the IP holder, the objectives and techniques of protection of each would differ. The copyright protection would aim to protect the designer from any abuse of his or her rights whether or not the particular property has been registered or not. On the other hand, the industrial design would aim to provide security to the industry. Hence, simply based on their means of protection, there would be divergences. With relation to the duration of protection, copyright laws ensure an almost perpetual protection, whereas the design laws would only protect for a specific duration. Design laws have to be renewed every 5 years and to a maximum of 25 years in total. Hence, even if copyright and designs could be applied simultaneously, once the desi gn term is over, hardly anybody would be interested in the copyright existing. Another important difference is regarding the infringement processes associated with the design. Designs do offer protection even from innocent violators who may not know that a particular design is already registered and is protected. On the other hand, copyright provides for a wider fair use circle that would effectively protect innocent and non-commercial users. By the very nature of the mechanism of protection, it can be asserted that both designs and copyrights are present for different purposes. The next important difference is the extent of protection, though copyright would protect only expressions of ideas and not ideas, it protects the design in every conceivable form including when it may be used in a 2-dimensional or a 3-dimensional form. However, a design would only protect the appearance or the aesthetic appearance to the article for which it is registered. The final difference noted is that copyright does not require a registration process due to which 99% of all designs are actually registered by this mechanism. This has lead to protection of designs for longer duration and in all conceivable forms3. The dual level of protection has arisen from the definition of artistic work4 under the copyright Act and the general definition of design under the Design Act (Section 1)5. The criteria for fulfilling copyright, is that the work should be original and should have been created by the author, and there it is not necessary that the work be registered. Artistic work more often represents visual representations of intellectual work or ideas to be presented in a material form. One possibility is that drawings or works of craftsmanship which is in fact artistic work may also be design drawings of industrial products or articles of manufacture of various goods. Copyright law offers certain rights to the owner including the right to make copies of the work, the right to distribu te or communicate the work to the public, the right to translate or reproduce the work from one form to another (e.g. from a 2-dimensional work to a

Development of Breast Cancer Campaign

Development of Breast Cancer Campaign Explain the rationale for the poster and evaluate approaches to communicating a health message. Kartsonaki Christini-Olga Communication in the Helath Care Context INTRODUCTION The main goal of many campaigns is to give priority on increasing early detection and probable prevention of a disease (Jacobsen Jacobsen, 2011). Patient postponement of asking for medical help after discovering symptoms is an important factor that leads to late stage diagnosis. Low cancer awareness (including knowledge about cancer symptoms, fear of cancer development, risk factors, treatment effectiveness or early detection results) is cultivating risk for patient delay (MacDonald et al, 2004). Campaigns that focus on public cancer awareness had been associated with progress in raising awareness and establishing early diagnosis of cancer, but the long-term benefits were dubious. Absence of evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions in an effort to promote cancer awareness is hindering development of policy and local action (Austoker et al., 2009). Knowledge of screening, screening uptake and self-checking behavior – for example breast checking (including breast s elf -examination) or testicular checking – may be considered to be important elements of cancer awareness. Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring type of cancer that imperils women in the Western world. It is estimated that today one out of nine women are affected by the disease. When it comes to age, the disease affects all age groups from 20 to 90 years. Chances a woman gets infected significantly increase with age, while the risk of developing the disease quadruples after menopause. Unfortunately, 25% of cases involve young women younger than 45 years (www.bcactionfund.org). One conjecture of the research findings in this paper is that well-established health campaigns may lead to positive results if they point to outcomes other than increased diagnoses. For example, intensifying fundraising options or enabling support groups for patients. Promoting early detection of chronic diseases that results in more effective, is associated with higher survival rates (Eyre, 2004) and inexpensive treatment at an early stage (Cohen, 2008), should be a significant public health field. CAMPAIGNS FOR BREAST CANCER Although efforts to increase awareness of breast cancer can be started about 1913, no ongoing organized efforts to increase breast cancer awareness existed until the mid-1970s, when a number of small advocacy groups began to publish information about treatment options and services (Lerner, 2002). The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), as event were established in October 1985 and is a high –profile nationwide campaign (Catalano, 2003). Its’s primary goal is to encourage regular breast examination so that disease can be diagnosed at an early stage. Moreover breast cancer funding continues to be a priority area for the federal government (Jacobsen Jacobsen, 2011). An increasing number of voluntary organizations, governmental agencies, and private corporations have sponsored various events like â€Å"wear pink† bracelet that show encouragement and support for those affected by breast cancer. Media coverage of breast cancer has increased markedly in rec ent years, and October months have received substantially more coverage than other months. Free or reduced cost mammograms have been offered to low-income and uninsured women (MMWR, 2005). Other campaigns include interventions as public education programmes to increase cancer awareness (Blumenthal et al, 2005; Skinner, Arfken Waterman, 2000). Educational programmes delivered in small groups increase breast cancer knowledge and screening uptake and promoting message dissemination to others in the social network . Multimedia programmes have been created to promote cancer knowledge and self-checking using posters, leaflets and shower gel in workplaces, health clubs and leisure centers (McCullagh, Lewis, Warlow 2005). Although mass media health communication strategies can effectively promote health education, and influence health awareness, decisions and practices (Haider Kreps, 2004), interpersonal communication channels are regarded as highly influential to persuade people to change health related behaviors (Yanovitzky Blitz, 2000).All the above trials were heterogeneous in terms of nature of intervention, populations and outcomes measured and therefore there are limited evidence of effectiveness of interventions to promote cancer awareness. There are good evidence that Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States promotes diagnosis of breast cancer at an early stage (Catalano et al, 2003; Gabram et al, 2008). POSTER- METHODS The poster communication channel consists of the main message that is summed up in the phrase â€Å"why should your life be hanging by a thread†, which is being projected and filtered through a mixed cognitive and affective message strategy. A cognitive message strategy is using reason to present arguments or facts to an audience that require cognitive processing. The main purpose of a cognitive message strategy is to create an advertisement that will have an impact on people’s beliefs or knowledge and suggest potential benefits. In the specific case of the breast cancer poster, the product is the examination and the benefit is prevention and reduction of the risk of cancer manifestation. The intention of this strategy is to present the audience with rational pieces of information about a product or service and then to motivate them to develop a positive feeling about that product (Clow Baack, 2007, p.201). In the poster the cognitive message strategy can be located within the risk information that is being presented with a ratio in relation to the number of women who develop cancer during their lifetime in Greece. We found some evidence that tailored print information was more effective than general information; tailored information increased average cancer knowledge scores by about 11% compared with no information and 4% compared with general information (De Nooijer, Lechner, Candel de Vries, 2004). Tailored print information modified attitudes towards paying attention to and seeking help for symptoms only very modestly compared with no information (de Nooijer et al, 2004). The second part of the poster method is the affective message strategy. This kind of approach attempts to evoke feelings or emotions and identify them with the product. Affective strategies are causing emotions that lead the audience to act favorably towards the presented good or service and subsequently affect their reasoning process (Clow Baack, 2007 p.203). The breast cancer poster is making an attempt to elicit powerful emotions and generate positive attitudes and decisions. People subjected to the message become more prone to choose examination and reduce that way the risk of being affected by cancer. The word â€Å"life† in the message is very powerful and demonstrates the positive side of affective message strategy. Emotional advertising is used here in combination with framing of risk strategy (negative frame). Switching from positive to negative feelings leads to the establishment of a more substantial emotional framework in which the audience feels compelled to make a decision. The emotion that is usually associated with risk is anxiety (Joffe, 2003). Anxiety, worry and fear are generally perceived as the intermediate goal of many risk communication efforts and in particular, public health communications (Lynch de Chernatony, 2004). Although the primary target is preventative behaviour, the feelings of anxiety, worry and fear are considered to be an essential part of the motivation initiation process. In the poster this is being presented with help of the visuals. A woman that has lost her breast makes people think about what they have to lose and re-evaluate their health priorities. The poster uses moderate fear to induce a certain amount of stress to the audience, because an existing anxie ty level can influence the effect of the message. High fear has been proven to be the least effective leading to blocking of information and inhibition of action. Moderate fear is the most effective (Mc Guire, 1968). In order to develop an effective communication framework, the poster features an unknown woman. A celebrity may be likeable or attractive, but he or she may not be viewed as trustworthy. Trustworthiness is the degree of confidence or the level of acceptance the audience places in the spokesperson’s message. A trustworthy spokesperson helps people believe the message. Likeability and trustworthiness are highly related and in that sense, anonymity eliminates the risk of failing to deliver the message due to a bad selection of a celebrity. At this point, use of the principle of similarity is being made. An ordinary every-day woman is someone people can relate to. The audience is more inclined to be influenced by a message delivered by a person who is somehow familiar. To take this even further, the appearance of an average person, helps overcoming the obstacle of optimistic bias. The optimism bias (also known as unrealistic or comparative optimism) is a cognitive bias that causes a person to believe that they are less at risk of experiencing a negative event compared to others. Taylor and Brown (Joffe, 2003) assert that 95% of the population exhibit unrealistic optimism in relation to a range of risks (Weinstein Klein 1996). A certain amount of flexibility in accommodating the needs of participating community is important for ensuring intervention integrity and can ultimately influence the effectiveness of the intervention. It is important to design and implement an advertising process that will help both researchers and communities understand each other’s perspectives, minimize the barriers of access to the specific service (examination) and ensure that the goals and priorities of both parties are met. In the poster this criteria is met in the informational piece about free examinations in Aretaiio Hospital (Westmaas, Gil-Rivas Silver, 2006). The poster is based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), which was developed in the 1950’s to predict individual response to, and utilization of, screening and other preventive health services. Accordingly, the response and utilization of disease prevention programs will be predicated on an individual’s perceived seriousness of the disease, severity of the disease, perceived benefit of services and barriers to accessing such service (Airhihenbuwa Obregon, 2000). In general the HBM is a rational-cognitive model and assumes a rational decision-maker. Most adolescents, and many adults, do not seem to approach the breast-cancer issue from such a logical perspective, but seem quite capable of discounting risks and optimistically perceiving themselves as invulnerable to harm. (Freimuth, 1992, p.101).The HBM which has been widely used to frame research studies related to the prediction of health-related behaviours in relation to health belief patterns, was selected as the frame of reference for the current study of Greek women’s breast cancer screening behaviours (Becker, 1974). Women’s self-reported breast cancer knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of support, and the components of the HBM (perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, cues to action, self-efficacy) were explored in this campaign (Sadler et al., 2007). The poster will be located on apartment billboards, n clinic waiting rooms, on pharmacy walls to maintain visual consistency (Clow Baack, 2007). Repeatedly seeing a specific image or visual display helps embed it in long-term memory. The final principle is to create an effective flow Except for the above poster, leaflets will be distributed at street events and the direct communication will be used due direct mailing to promote breast cancer screening, street promotion, outbound calls to women who signed application forms at the street promotions, small group educational sessions (Park et al., 2011).Therefore the interpersonal communication will be boosted with street promotions, direct mail-outs, and promotion of specialists’recommendations (Slater et al., 2005). Direct mail interventions may represent a more promising population-based strategy for promoting cancer screening including mammography. It is also a relatively efficient and inexpensive way to reach individuals in their homes, including people not typically exposed to mass media (Park et al., 2011). CONCLUSION More research is needed to evaluate the extent to which campaigns lead to cumulative increases in public awareness and year-round behavioral changes, to identify which types of awareness campaigns are most successful in achieving various well-defined outcomes, and to examine which segments of the population are most responsive to different types of awareness campaigns. REFERENCES Austoker, J., Bankhead, C., Forbes, LJL., Atkins, L., Martin, F., Robb, K., Wardle, J., Ramirez, AJ. (2009). Interventions to promote cancer awareness and early presentation: systematic review. British Journal of Cancer, 101, S31–S39 Becker, G. S. (1974). A Theory of Social Interactions. Journal of Political Economy, 82 (6), 1063-1093. Blumenthal, D.S., Fort, J.G., Ahmed, N.U., Semenya, K.A., Schreiber, G.B., Perry, S., Guillory, J. (2005). Impact of a two-city community cancer prevention intervention on African Americans. J Natl Med Assoc, 97, 1479–1488. Catalano, R., Winett, L., Wallack, L., Satariano, W. (2003). Evaluating a campaign to detect early stage breast tumors in the United States. European Journal of Epidemiology, 18, 545-550. Clow, KC. Baack, D. (2007). Executional Framework. Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications. Third Edition. Pearson Education. 196-221 Cohen, J.T., Neumann, P.J., Weinstein, M.C. (2008). Does preventive care save money? Health economics and the presidential candidates. New England Journal of Medicine, 358, 661-663. De Nooijer, J., Lechner, L., Candel, M., de Vries, H. (2004). Short- and long-term effects of tailored information versus general information on determinants and intentions related to early detection of cancer. Prev, Med 38, 694–703 Eyre, H., Kahn, R., Robertson, RM., ACS/ADA/AHA Collaborative Working Committee. (2004). Preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes: a common agenda for the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association. Stroke, 35 1999-2010. Freimuth, V.S. (1992). Theoretical Foundations of AIDS Media Campaigns. In: Edgar, T., Fitzpatrick, M.A. and Freimuth, V.S., Eds., AIDS: A Communication Perspective, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, 91-110 Haider, M., Kreps, G.L (2004). Forty years of diffusion of innovation: Utility and value in public health. Journal of health communication, 9 3-11 Jacobsen, GD Jacobsen KH. (2011). Health Awareness Campaigns and Diagnosis Rates: Evidence from National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Journal of Health Economics, 30 55-61 Joffe, MM. (2003). A Case-Control Follow-up Study for Disease-Specific Mortality. Biometrics, 59,(1) 115–125 Lerner, BH. (2002). Breast cancer activism: past lessons, future directions. Nature Reviews Cancer, 2 225-230. Lynch,J. de Chernatony, L. (2004).The Power of Emotion: Brand Communication in Business-to-Business Markets. Journal of Brand Management, 11(5) 403–42 MacDonald, S., Macleod, U., Mitchell, E., Weller, D., Campbell, N., Mant, D. (2004). Factors Influencing Patient and Primary Care Delay in the Diagnosis of Cancer Project. Final report to the Department of Health: Glasgow, Scotland McCullagh, J., Lewis, G., Warlow, C. (2005). Promoting awareness and practice of testicular self-examination. Nurs Stand.,19, 41-9. Mc Guire I,E. (1968). The Origin of Newtons Doctrine of Essential Qualities. Centaurus, 12(4), 233–260 MMWR. (2005) National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 54, 981. Park, K., Hyun Hong, W., Yeon Kye, S., Jung, J., Kim, G., Park, HG. (2011) Community-based intervention to promote breast cancer awareness and screening: The Korean experience. BMC, 11, 468 Skinner, C.S., Arfken, C.L., Waterman, B. (2000) Outcomes of the learn, share live breast cancer education program for older urban women. Am J Public Health, 90 1229–1234 Slater JS, Henly GA, Ha CN, Malone ME, Nyman JA, Diaz S, McGovern PG: Effect of direct mail as a population-based strategy to increase mammography use among low-income underinsured women ages 40 to 64 years. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005, 14(10):2346-2352. Yanovitzky, I. Blitz, C.L. (2000). Effect of media coverage and physician advice on utilization of breast cancer screening by women 40 years and older. Journal of health communication, 5 117-134 Weinstein, N. D., Klein, W. M. (1996). Unrealistic optimism: Present and future. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 15, 1–8. Wellings K, Macdowall W: Evaluating mass media approaches to health promotion: a review of methods. Health Education 2000, 100(1):9. Westmaas, JL., Gil-Rivas, V., Cohen Silver, R. (2006) Designing and Implementing Interventions to Promote Health and Prevent Illness. Foundations of Health Psychology. INTERNET http://www.bcactionfund.org/ ΙΔÎ ¡ÃŽ ¥ÃŽÅ"ΑÎ ¤ÃŽÅ¸ÃŽ £ ΔÎ ¡ÃŽâ€˜ÃŽ £ÃŽâ€"ÃŽ £ ΚΑÎ ¤ÃŽâ€˜ ÃŽ ¤ÃŽÅ¸ÃŽ ¥ ΚΑÎ ¡ÃŽÅ¡ÃŽâ„¢ÃŽ ÃŽÅ¸ÃŽ ¥ ÃŽ ¤ÃŽÅ¸ÃŽ ¥ ÃŽÅ"ΑÎ £ÃŽ ¤ÃŽÅ¸ÃŽ ¥ 1

Moby Dick :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The classical selection by Herman Melville, Moby Dick focused on the significance of one man’s obsession over a murderous white whale. As if the central plight of Captain Ahab was not enough of an obstacle to overcome, the piece is thus complicated by the Captain’s mystique. The already complex situation was made more dramatic with the inclusion of Ishmael’s interpretation of Ahab’s character , Moby Dick’s predominant influence and the mellow white birds that seemed to shadow Moby Dick at every step along the way as a moth to fire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The somewhat fearful Ahab played the greatest role on the ship. Whether dealing with the tedious chores of maintaining the ship or the neverending search for truth and redemption through the death of Moby Dick. Ahab somewhat possesing demonic qualities, struggled to contain the evil within his inner self thus controling the earth’s stairway to heaven. The captain’s great obsession ,Moby Dick led to the loss of his leg’s as well as his wings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The great whale, Moby Dick was the sea’s most feared and hunted creature. Moby has come across to Ishmael and the rest of the crew of the Peqoud, as a white god. Able to crush ships when provoked, how many times the inhabitants of the world disrupt nature to fulfill their obsessions as did the whalers to Moby Dick causing his rage. Moby Dick was better left alone, like perfect things made by the hands of God should be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sight of the great beast of the sea ,as it was known to the inhabitants of the whailing industry, was easily spotted with the appearance the white birds. Those white birds were forever bound to the whale, their white God. Their souls in the embrace of Moby , were the not so innocent souls taken by the whale. They helped serve as a

Challenges Faced by Hr Management Essay

Challenges faced by HR management when significant staff cutbacks occur and how they should be addressed Downsizing is never easy on the Human Resource department. In fact, if not handled properly, it could be detrimental to the overall organization. Here are some challenges that come along with downsizing: Addressing the shifting morale and needs of the surviving employees, maintaining the productivity and profitability of the organization, and retaining skilled, and qualified employees. Staff cutbacks can leave the surviving employees feeling demoralized, bitter, angry, and in shock. One role of Human Resource Management is to act as an employee advocate. In a time of workforce reduction, communicating with employees as well as acknowledging their concerns and fears, can work to rebuild the employee’s sense of security in the workplace and help him/her to reengage in the culture of the organization. Through strategic Human Resource Management and planning, the shared values and beliefs of the organization can be reinforced to its employees and the collective value of the capabilities, knowledge, skills, life experiences, and motivation of the organizational workforce can be retained. Once there has been a major reduction in force within an organization, productivity and profitability becomes a main target of Human Resource management. One HR strategy would be to give more hours and responsibility to existing workers. However, eventually employees will become overworked and productivity will suffer. Utilizing alternative tactics such as hiring contingent or temporary workers is a strategic HR plan to maintain productivity and profitability while not having to pay the cost of benefits. Reducing turnover of qualified and skilled employees is an ongoing effort of Human Resource Management. Employees who survive workforce cuts tend to disengage the culture of the organization because they have lost faith in the organization being a lifetime employer. When an organization goes through a massive layoff process, the employee retention efforts of Human Resource Management could intensify. Employee retention efforts may include, constantly communicating with employees, and paying attention to surviving employees. As an example of a strategic Human Resource plan to hold on to skilled employees, an alternative work arrangement such as telecommuting might be offered to a worker. The functionality of Human Resources is always changing to meet the ever evolving needs of an organization. For example, when Xerox decided to downsize, the function of Human Resources became environmental scanning strategic planning. The restructuring goal however, included more than just a reduction in force. It was determined that the Human Resource entity needed to be streamlined and become a more efficient part of the organization. As a result, the use of technology, and maintaining employee retention was the core that developed HR into a more strategic part of the Xerox organization. There are two purposes that HR technology serves in an organization. The first is to improve the efficiency of employee data and HR activities collection. At Xerox, the use of HR technology has been instrumental in making HR services more accessible to their workforce. The second purpose of HR technology is to capture a greater degree of informational data that enables HR planning and managerial decision making. Again, Xerox made use of this aspect by supplying intranet employee surveys and tracking employee views on the company and HR. The information gathered allowed HR and managers to address areas that received lower scores on the survey. These efforts by the company and the HR department have had an effect on employee retention at Xerox. As stated earlier, reducing turnover of qualified and skilled employees is an ongoing effort of Human Resource Management. Xerox has made retaining especially high-potential employees a priority. Organizations have found that keeping good employees can be a challenge. However, in an effort to keep skilled and or high performing employees engaged and embracing the organizational culture and HR values of an organization, some employers will offer incentives. Employers, such as Xerox, will invest in employee training and development. Although this can be a double edge sword by potentially making an employee more marketable for other organizations, employers have found that when they invest in employees through job training and or monetary compensation, employee job satisfaction increases and employees are more likely to stay. In addition, employees who are engaged in an organization are more likely to be top performers and miss fewer work days. In summation, both technology and employee retention are key in HR development because they both lend to the culture of an organization. 1. Technology by improving the administrative efficiency of HR, and the responsiveness of HR to employees and managers. 2. Employee retention by maintaining employees who through their experience and loyalty to the organization, becomes a core competency and perpetuates the values and cultures to newer employees.

The Future Economy essays

The Future Economy essays Imagine yourself living the dream of being an entrepreneur. You are a business man of the 21st century; you have a popular product that many firms want to purchase. You feel financially secure with your future because of the amount of buyers for your product. Then 5 years go bye, and the once abundant number of firms has dwindled down to a couple of major corporations. You try to think to yourself how did this happen? You then realize that all the little companies that fought for your business, and helped you get the highest capital are gone. They were acquired by or merged with larger firms. You know that when this happens the market gets smaller and there are less people to buy your product. With fewer options of companies to sell your product to, comes a smaller amount of profit for you. Two more years go bye and the market gets more concentrated, the remaining giants can now offer you any price they want. If you choose not to accept it, you dont sell your product. Your dreams of being your own boss and selling a quality product for a fair price are fading away. Some people may think that this story couldnt happen, but mergers and acquisitions take place everyday in the corporate world. This story that I just told you about is real. Instead of being about business men of the 21st century my article was about the beef cattle farmers of southwestern Wisconsin. The article talks about Virginia-based Smithfield foods, acquired American Foods Group and Packerland Holdings Co. Smithfield is the nations largest pork processor; they have a 20% market share. Besides the two recent acquisitions Smithfield also has ownership of Cudahy-based Patrick Cudahy Inc. As a result of this Smithfield will now be the nations forth-largest beef processor, with a 9% market share. Smithfields merger is part of an overall consolidation among the nations larger food processors, which include...