Alumni tracking system Essay

Websites become more ubiquitous. It gives universal access to a large universe of documents. â€Å"Through the help of World Wide Web (WWW) and websites, internet has become very useful in many ways for a common man. It brought the globe in a single room right from the news across the world to the wealth of information it offers† as noted from Kaiz Karen (2009) in her article about â€Å"10 Common Uses of Internet†.[1] These information are generated by multiple sources and organized into files when formed together can be called a website. â€Å"A website, also written as web site, or simply site, is a set of related web pages typically served from a single web domain. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the Web†. [2] There are numerous sites that can be used for finding and connecting people that we have lost touch with. Reconnecting with these people in this way is perhaps the only avenue we have in some cases. Alumni are probably one of the most important constituent of a school institution. â€Å"They create the university’s reputation, which relies in large part on how successful graduates are in the real world. This process is self-feeding as well. If a school becomes well known for producing graduates  that are intelligent, innovative, and effective in their fields, then its reputation will grow.†[3] â€Å"Colleges track their graduates because they need them to continue to show interest. Not only are college alumni a pool of potential individual donors, they are also a testament to the value of a continued association with the school.†[4]Hence, it is not easy to keep track students once they graduated. And with the steady increase in the number of college graduates, employment opportunities become very competitive. Therefore, graduates find it hard to get jobs suitable with their skills and acquired knowledge. Purpose and Description To provide a systematic method to monitor and track the level of engagement and satisfaction the alumni body has for Aces Polytechnic College. Survey will provide more than a simple percentage satisfied, it will provide diagnostic information about what is driving satisfaction and engagement, where there are strengths and weaknesses, and what level of engagement the alumni are reporting. The data would be broken down and analyzed by segment (class year, geographic location, activity level, etc.). On an on-going basis (biennially), this measurement tool will provide Aces Polytechnic College and the Alumni Association with a solid, fact-based means of identifying where progress is being made and where deficiencies need to be addressed. Method: Online survey conducted by sending an email invitation to email addresses of Aces Polytechnic College alumni. Rather than expend resources to develop a survey tool, this system will help the institution on gathering information from the alumni’s employment records that would also help the institution to acquire scholarships from the Commission of Higher Education. Identifying trends and motivators will help target programming and communications more effectively, deepening the level of engagement with alumni. Sharing this data with administrators, faculty, and other staff across campus will help in the effort to increase awareness of, and build support for, alumni engagement efforts. (2013, 07). Alumni Tracking System. Objective of the Project To enable graduate students register alumni via website. To enable graduate students share an activity and information regarding their alumni. Process/print out necessary report. This project also comes with administrator site management system. The advantages of administrator site are: 1. Easy for administrator to key-in data regarding alumni activities and information. 2. Data entered by alumni member are easily managed and intended for data analysis process. 3. Let the information spread between alumni member and the school. Scope and Limitation of the Project Online Monitoring System for the Employment Status of ACES Graduates is a website that can be access by the alumni of ACES Polytechnic College where they will be updated about the school, programs and announcements with regards to the school and its alumni. The system will not just help improve the relationship of the school to its graduates but also will lessen the work of the Guidance Councilor in monitoring the employment status of its graduates which is needed to be reported to TESDA and make it more updated because of its accessibility. The process started when user browse into Alumni Registration page. When the connection is established the main menu will appear. User can make selection between these four menus; news and job, registration menu, member search menu and the last one was update profile menu. In the registration menu, the user will start to fill their personal details like name, address, password, contact number, occupation and year of graduation and etc. Password is used to update the profile in profile update menu. If the registration is success, the data (personal details) will be stored in database. If it fails, user must enter the data back accordingly to ensure the registration is succeeded. To search for existing member, user can choose member search menu and they must key-in at least 2 characters, the result like name, phone number and address will come out if the user existed in database. The other menu will let user to read recent news and job vacancy regarding their  alumni. References: 1. Karen, K. 2009. 10 Most Common Uses of the Internet. http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Most-Common-Uses-of-the-Internet&id=3086972 2. Website  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website. Retrieved 2014-08-12. 3. The  Importance  of  Alumni  Relations – Supporting  Education. www.supportingeducation.org/2013/01/10/importance-alumni-relations/. Retrieved 2014-08-12. http://prezi.com/qaby0xga8u-d/alumni-tracking-system-of/

Psychodynamic Personality Theories Essay

Contemporary society is intrigued with the notion of human behavior as it expresses itself in our personality. Psychoanalytic model is most noted for introspective strategies such as depth interviewing and projective techniques, which have emanated from its theoretical perspective. Classical psychoanalytic conceptualization approached the study of character or personality in two very different ways, each deriving from an early theoretical model of individual development. In the era of Freud’s original drive theory, an attempt was made to understand personality on the basis of fixation. Later with the development of ego psychology, character was conceived as expressing the operation of particular styles of defense. This second way of understanding character was not in conflict with the first; it provided a different set of ideas and metaphors for comprehending what was meant by a type of personality (Magnavita, 2002). The contemporary psychodynamic model of personality is very popular, particularly with clinical practitioners, and offers much that is useful for conceptualizing personality and personal disorders. The strength of this model seems to lie in the power of many of its fundamental constructs, such as the unconscious, defense systems, and the relation among component personality structures. It is hard to imagine a psychology of personality without some reference to these and other constructs. The limitations of this model are many. Unfortunately, after years of perpetuating itself in a closed system, a crisis developed about the viability of this model. Another draw back is the tendency to eschew empirical research, which would have established wider scientific acceptance. For many, the conceptualizations and esoteric language make it difficult to immerse oneself in what seems a dogmatic intellectualized system for those who hide behind language. In conclusion knowing where to approximately place an individual on the structural continuum is as much a clinical art as a science. Reference Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Analyze the main theories in Origin of Species by Charles Darwin and Essay

Analyze the main theories in Origin of Species by Charles Darwin and then present arguments by his detractors and supporters for these theories - Essay Example Immediately and after the theory was proposed, there were many supporters and many detractors who questioned the validity of the theory and its applicability in the word. The book was controversial and it still remain controversial apparently due to the contradiction that it made to the religious belief of the people at that time and the fact that the contribution that it continued to express between the scientific and religious world. There were also many scientists who supported and many who refuted the theory as not applicable and a mere protrusion of Darwin’s mind. Since then there have been an evolution of the theory but some of the principles of the postulation of the theory are still acceptable to the world of science. But the subject of creation and evolution still attracts ranging controversy in the world. (Jenkins, 2002) The theory can be summarized into some key postulations which showed how species survived in their natural environment. The theory of survival for the fittest and eliminating by natural means showed that the current species that we have been a product of the genetic material that makes up the species and the natural environment under which they live. The theory postulated that species are likely to survive in the environment when there are favorable conditions that can allow for the evolution to take place. As such species changes as the environment changes and therefore it is the way a species adapts to the environment that determines how the species will survive in the environment. In the course of his adoption, they undergoes different structural changes which are all meant to give them adaptive feature that the will help them to survive in the environment. (Ronald, 1994) Therefore we can say that it is the nature which selects the right individuals who will survives in the environment. The theory was hence called natural selection theory

Intellectual Autobiography Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intellectual Autobiography - Personal Statement Example Graduate education, in particular, has great implication in the achievement of my goals in life as it is at this crucial stage that individuals make decisive steps toward the ultimate progress in life. I have realized the significance of graduate education in the extension of my current knowledge, achievement new skills, and in the enhancement of my undergraduate education. It is also a vital point which definitely directs my career and achievement. That is to say, graduate education is deeply connected to my educational goals and aspirations of life. Graduate education provides extensive opportunity for the fulfillment of my research interests and develops my educational interests through various satisfying works and accomplishments. For example, the influence of the methods of teaching on student achievement has been an area of study which called my interest for long and there is ample opportunity in the course for a comprehensive research on the topic. The role of graduate educati on in preparing me to become a better teacher is immense and it can help me advance towards the ultimate goals of my life. Therefore, I have decided to join graduate school which is essential in the achievement my career as well as life goals. The graduate education is fundamental in

American history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

American history - Assignment Example struction was more focused on the civil rights amendment while the presidential plan seemed to divide the people even more especially those from the south. Both plans however were similar in the context of solving a political problem because they wanted to restore the political state and reducing other instances of war. The presidential plan was also harsh and more discriminating and was different from Lincoln’s plan. There was more discrimination to the southern elites and the wealthy from that place but was more lenient to the people of the black origin. Definitely this was a similarity of the presidential plan with that of the congressional reconstruction since it also did not recognize the southern elites as well. The congressional reconstruction was also different with the president’s plan because it considered civil rights. The president’s plan was only concerned with property to only those who paid loyalty to the emancipation. The Knights of Labor (KOL) began as a secret and underworld society that was composed of tailors in Philadelphia, and this was in 1869. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was aimed at life improvement employees in the US. Both the organizations were similar in the sense that they all advocated for workers’ rights, and this was done through strikes and boycotts. Both organizations were asking for the support of the American government. They were different however because Knights of Labor (KOL) was made of tailors while the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was made of laborers from various sectors. Another difference also was that The Knights of Labor (KOL) organization was secret while the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was public. It was until in 1886 when the KOL leader, Powderly publicly advocated the removal of child labor, equal pay for equal and also political reforms (Vincent, 80). The Knights of Labor (KOL) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) had voluntary membership and the workers were free to

How does the courts interpretation of due process affect police Essay

How does the courts interpretation of due process affect police practices related to search, arrest and interrogation - Essay Example Court plays an integral role in criminal trials and paving way for the course of justice, however, a court’s interpretation is not only restricted till punishing the perpetrator of the delinquent act but also pays an important in other facets of the trial.These facets involve police practices such as issuing search and arrest warrants, and even the process interrogation is contingent upon the interpretations made during the proceedings. (Scheb, 2008, P.p 10-15) It should be further noted that by initiating the process of prosecution the court has undertaken their responsibility to punish the criminal on behalf of the entire society. There are basic procedural steps that follow respective searches, seizures, interrogation and arrests. Law enforcement agencies are directly under court orders. It vastly depends on the circumstance under which complaint is filed and the defendant is being tried. (Scheb, 2008, P.p 10-15) It is the truth-finding process; a search warrant may be issu ed in order to gather evidence and if the evidences produced in the court may cause the legal professionals to assume that a further search can help search out more incriminating evidences or something that can prove the defendant’s innocence then in such a circumstance a search warrant may be issued. Seizures are the result of â€Å"Reasonable suspicion† that is the high probability that the property in question, may be altered that can distort or destroy a significant piece of evidence. Analogous to the facets of the US criminal justice system discussed above, arrests are made following a â€Å"Grand Jury Indictment† and is only performed when evidence point towards the fact that a crime has been committed and there is ample reason to believe that a crime has been committed. Basically, it is because of the jurisdiction that is produced during the trial which is responsible for the law enforcement activities and it is their interpretation that affects these the most. It is fundamental step in determining guilt or innocence of the defendant. (Scheb, 2008, P.p 10-15) 2. Why do state courts have to follow the same due process rights as the federal courts regarding search and seizure rights?   Courtroom proceedings are initiated by the law being broken and then it is followed by the process of trying the accused, analyzing the evidences and then eventually handing out the sentence accordingly. The criminal justice system in the United States of America is characterized by an absence of a single criminal or civil court. Instead the American judicial system is fragmented into the federal or national judicial system and then each American state or territory is governed by their set of rules and regulations. (Emmanuel, 2009, P.p 5-6) Courts that function on a state and federal level may operate as separate entities but they have countless similarities. The constitutional doctrines that is used to govern the entire nation is also used as the fou ndation of drafting out a state constitution hence, there is immense amount of correspondence in the way they function. As a matter of fact the framework, upon which both of these entities function, is largely the same and when it comes to issuing search, arrest and seizure warrants both courts follow the same due process. (Weiss, 2003) The only difference is in the types of crimes that are tried by each of the legal entities and the way they are tried; for instance federal courts hears cases pertaining to offences that affect the country as a whole whereas, state courts hear offences that are slightly lower in gravity than the ones being handled in federal levels. Therefore, for the most part of the trial process the same procedure is followed. That is relevant interpretation of the trial by the court causes magistrates to issue search and seizure

LED520 Cross-Cultural Communication and Leadership Assignment

LED520 Cross-Cultural Communication and Leadership - Assignment Example This paper examines cultural intelligence as a capacity, development of cultural sensitivity and the critical components of cultural intelligence. Cultural Intelligence can be defined as the capacity to read and understand the familiar and unfamiliar gestures of a foreigner and give the same meaning the foreigner’s colleagues would give. It is the ability to understand and perceive the world from the perspective of someone from a different culture (Earley & Mosakowski, 2004). CQ is a critical tool in a world that has been turned into a small village by globalization. It is also important in the business world because different people culture interact on a daily basis. Different companies have different cultures that may affect their interaction. Cultural intelligence bear a close resemblance to emotional intelligence, but it is delves deeper. Emotional intelligence enables one to understand what makes everyone human and what makes a specific person unique (Earley & Mosakowski, 2004). In the same manner, high cultural intelligence makes it possible for an individual to perceive and identify the unique features of a group and the peculiar characteristics that are exhibited by people from that same group. Individuals with high cultural intelligence can identify unique features of a person that are not idiosyncratic to the situation. It is apparent from the definition that cultural intelligence entails emotional intelligence plus the ability to read cultures. Cultural Intelligence emphasizes the need to think before a judgment is passed. A culturally intelligent person takes the time to analyze actions, responses and general behavior of individuals before reaching a conclusion about their unique features. It entails registering the way people are behaving and comparing to one’s culture. The comparison facilitates the discovery of similar characteristics or features that might help in understanding the culture of the group or

The business of developing new drugs for cancer patients Essay

The business of developing new drugs for cancer patients - Essay Example Cancer is basically the abnormality of cells which spreads throughout the body rendering it unable to survive. It is the disease of malignant cells and tissues which get destroyed because of the germs of virus in the body, thus, called as Malignant Neoplasm. There are no clear symptoms of the disease in the start of attack of cancer whereas later on certain symptoms and presence of some specific signs cause the identification of disease. However, cancer can be cured with a little care and treatment if it is detected at some early stages when the malignancy of tissues has not spread throughout the body. When a certain part of body has been affected by the cancerous germs and this disease id identified, it can easily be cured with the help of specific drugs that have been prepared for this purpose during last few decades. About a century ago, cancer was not a known disease throughout the world and many people died of it without knowing about its existence. With the use of advanced research and technology, the identification and treatment of this disease have become possible to such an extent that almost 60 percent of patients at early stage have been cured in last few years and only a small number of patients have died of this disease. However, in last few years, this common killer disease has caught the attention of many specialist and researchers and they have been trying hard to discover new and curable solutions of this disease. It is observed that they have also been successful in their intentions as the business for developing new drugs for cancer treatment has been flourished to such an extent that many drugs have been introduced in the medical world which provide gradual but successful relieve to this disease. Majority of the third world countries lack the awareness to this disease, but in the developed nations like America, there is a considerable awareness and treatment available for cancer. The demand for such drugs that cure cancer is increasing day by day in all developed and under developed countries nowadays. Although there is a fast development and research in the field of developing drugs of different diseases, there are many different types of diseases among which certain are very dangerous, still considered incurable and need special attention for making of drugs for their cure. However, according to a recent research, it has been discovered that 200 various different kinds of cancer have been identified in cancer patients by the specialists; according to an analysis, 1 in 3 Americans has been found affected by the identified cancerous forms while everyday 1 American in 4 dies because of cancer besides the best treatment facilities and drugs availability (Ernst, 2008). America is paying special attention to cure this disease and discover easy and simple method s to cure cancer. Their best qualified scientists are involved in researching the cancer treatment drugs and they are spending $125 billion every year on the discovery, examination and drugs preparation for cure of cancer. It has also been hypothesized that cancer treatment budget can rise high up to $207 billion in America till 2020 (Ernst, 2008). It is very difficult to find some simple and pain free treatment drugs for cancer that can provide reliable, permanent and authentic relief to cancer patient. It is very expensive research project but Americans are trying hard for inventing some affordable cancerous treatment. Expensive treatment for cancer goes beyond approach for the poor just like prostate

Human Resource Leadership in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Resource Leadership in Education - Essay Example Human resource development is the process of increasing the knowledge, skills and capacities of all the people in the society. In economic term it would be described as the account of the human capital and its effective investment in the development of an economy in political terms Human resource development prepares people to admit participation in political processes, from social and cultural points of vias it helps pple to lead fuller and riches lives that are less bound by tradition. In general the process of human resource development unlocks the door to modernization. Human resources are developed in many ways. Formal education is the most obvious, beginning with pry or 1st level education, continuing with various forms of secondary education, and then higher education including colleges, higher technical institutes and universities. Human resources are also developed through systematic or informal training programs in employing institutions, and adult education programs and through membership in various political, social, religious and cultural groups. Another process is self development as individuals seek to acquire greater knowledge skills or capacity through preparation on their own initiative by taking formal or correspondence courses, by reading or learning from others in formal contacts. Other process include; Improvement in the health of the workers through better medical and public health programs and improvement in nutrition, which increase the working capacity of people, on a man-hour basis as well as over a working life, which may cause economic growth. Human resource leadership has been a very important factor in the general development of Georgia state. There has been considerable growth and development in its education sector both in rural and urban area

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management Essay - 7

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management - Essay Example The evaluations of the assumptions help to understand to what extent the assumptions are valid. Finally a conclusion is provided to summarise the findings and the assumptions considered in the business plan. 2.0 The business plan The business plan endeavours to create a guideline about the market segment, the sources of fund and the cash inflow and outflows for a period of three years. The choice of non profit organisation is limited and so is the type of products and services. The non profit organisation is named as Sumptuous Catering Service. The choice of the non profit organisation is also supplemented with the choice of products and services. Sumptuous Catering Services is a food catering service that serves food both demand based occasions as well as for regular occasions. 2.1 Choice of products and services Types of products Sub categories in each type of products Boxed typed lunches Sandwich, salad, deli type salad, fresh fruits, cookie and chips Buffet type lunches Party pla tters, Sandwich wrap platters, Baked potato bars, Lasagna bar, and Taco salad bar Source: (Author’s Creation) The choice of the products must be supplemented with proper justifications regarding the market segmented of the product. The market segment depicts who are the target customers and the proportion of takers of the particular product in the population. The choice of the product is food and catering. The probable market segment will represent two types of customers; one who place orders on a regular basis and ones who seldom place orders. For example, the infrequent customers can include parties and get-together, celebrations of special occasions and other on-demand basis. The more frequent customer types include office lunches, school lunches, college lunches, hospital, other government sector canteen lunches and dinners. The demand from the regular type customers are more or less stable and have same type of demand for a long period of time (Garnier and Gasse, 2001). 2.2 The following table indentifies the major and minor customer types Source: (Author’s Creation) 2.3 Market analysis of the major and minor type of customers Source: (Griffith and Dorsman, 2008) Projected growth of the market segment Market Analysis       Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5    Potential Customers Growth                   Major customer types 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%    Minor customer types 14% 2% 14% 16% 18% 20%    Total 16.00% 4% 16% 18% 20% 22%    Source: (Author’s Creation) 2.4 Promotion strategy Sumptuous Catering Service is a non profit organisation so the promotion strategy will be designed keeping in mind the cost involved in promotional campaigns. The promotional strategy will be a low cost, low visibility programme at least for the first year. A number of non profit organisations like the NGO and self help groups will be roped in using the word of mouth strategy and the email campaigns (Griffith and Dorsman, 2008). The self h elp groups and the NGO are linked to various governmental and nongovernmental

Soft Drink Industry Case Study Essay Example for Free

Soft Drink Industry Case Study Essay Introduction Description The soft drink industry is concentrated with the three major players, Coca-Cola Co. , PepsiCo Inc. , and Cadbury Schweppes Plc. , making up 90 percent of the $52 billion dollar a year domestic soft drink market (Santa, 1996). The soft drink market is a relatively mature market with annual growth of 4-5% causing intense rivalry among brands for market share and growth (Crouch, Steve). This paper will explore Porters Five Forces to determine whether or not this is an attractive industry and what barriers to entry (if any) exist. In addition, we will discuss several critical success factors and the future of the industry. Segments The soft drink industry has two major segments, the flavor segment and the distribution segment. The flavor segment is divided into 6 categories and is listed in table 1 by market share. The distribution segment is divided in to 7 segments: Supermarkets 31. 9%, fountain operators 26. 8%, vending machines 11. 5%, convenience stores 11. 4%, delis and drug stores 7. 9%, club stores 7. 3%, and restaurants 3. 2%. Table 1: Market Share 19901991199219931994 Cola69. 9 69. 768. 36765. 9 Lemon-Lime11. 711. 812 12. 112. 3 Pepper5. 66. 26. 97. 37. 6 Root 2. 72. 82. 32. 72. 7 Orange2. 32. 3 2. 62. 32. 3 Other7. 87. 27. 98. 69. 2 Source: Industry Surveys, 1995 Caveats The only limitations on access to information were: 1. Financial information has not yet been made available for 1996. 2. The majority of the information targets the end consumer and not the sales volume from the major soft drink producers to local distributors. 3. There was no data available to determine over capacity. Socio-Economic Relevant Governmental or Environmental Factors, etc. The Federal Government regulates the soft drink industry, like any industry where the public ingests the products. The regulations vary from ensuring clean, safe products to regulating what those products can contain. For example, the government has only approved four sweeteners that can be used in the making of a soft drink (Crouch, Steve). The soft drink industry currently has had very little impact on the environment. One environmental issue of concern is that the use of plastics adversely affects the environment due to the unusually long time it takes for it to degrade. To combat this, the major competitors have lead in the recycling effort which starting with aluminum and now plastics. The only other adverse environmental impact is the plastic straps that hold the cans together in 6-packs. These straps have been blamed for the deaths of fish and mammals in both fresh and salt water. Economic Indicators Relevant for this Industry The general growth of the economy has had a slight positive influence on the growth of the industry. The general growth in volume for the industry, 4-5 percent, has been barely keeping up with inflation and growths on margins have been even less, only 2-3 percent (Crouch, Steve). Threat of New Entrants Economies of Scale Size is a crucial factor in reducing operating expenses and being able to make strategic capital outlays. By consolidating the fragmented bottling side of the industry, operating expenses may be spread over a larger sales base, which reduces the per case cost of production. In addition, larger corporate coffers allow for capital investment in automated high speed bottling lines that increase efficiency (Industry Surveys, 1995). This trend is supported by the decline in the number of production workers employed by the industry at higher wages and fewer hours. This in conjunction with the increased value of shipments over the period shows the increase in efficiency and the economies gained by consolidation (See table 2). Table 2 General Statistics: Year CompaniesWorkersHoursWagesValue of Shipments 1982162642. 485. 27. 84 16807. 5 198341. 585. 18. 2417320. 8 198439. 8 81. 78. 5118052 1985141437. 277. 89. 119358. 2 1986 133535. 573. 59. 7720686. 8 1987119035. 471. 510. 45 22006 1988113535. 271. 810. 7823310. 3 1989102733. 4 67. 710. 9823002. 1 19909413265. 711. 4823847. 5 1991 31. 966. 811. 8525191. 1 199229. 861. 612. 46 26260. 4 199328. 659. 312. 9327224. 4 199427. 4 56. 913. 3928188. 5 199526. 254. 513. 8629152. 5 1996 2552. 114. 3230116. 5 Source: Manufacturing USA, 4th Ed. Further evidence of economies is supported by the increased return on assets from 1992-1995, as shown in table 3. Coke and Pepsi clearly show increased return on assets as the asset base increases. However, Cadbury/Schweppes does not show conclusive evidence from 95 to 96. Table 3 CADBURY/SCHWEPPES93949596 ASSETS2963100 326690035015004595000 SALES33724003724800 40296004776000 NET INCOME195600236800261900300000 Sales/Income5. 80%6. 36% 6. 50%6. 28% Income/Assets6. 60%7. 25%7. 48%6. 53% COKE ASSETS11051934120210001387300015041000 SALES 13073860139630001618100018018000 NET INCOME1664382217600025540002986000 Sales/Income12. 73%15. 58%15. 78%16. 57% Income/Assets15. 06%18. 10% 18. 41%19. 85% PEPSI ASSETS20951200237058002479200025432000 SALES 21970000250210002847240030421000 NET INCOME374300158800017520001606000 Sales/Income 1. 70%6. 35%6. 15%5. 28% Income/Assets1. 79%6. 70%7. 07%6. 31% Source: Compact Disclosure Capital Requirements The requirements within this industry are very high. Production and distribution systems are extensive and necessary to compete with the industry leaders. Table 4 shows the average capital expenditures by the three industry leaders. Table 4 Dec-95Dec-94Jan-94Jan-93 Receivables1624333 138576712266331077912 Inventories867666. 7 803666. 7777366. 7716673. 7 Plant Equip5986333 579536752466004642058 Total Assets15022667 140555001299790011655411 Source: Compact Disclosure The magnitude of these expenditures causes this to be a high barrier to entry. Proprietary Product Differences Each firm has brands that are unique in packaging and image, however any of the product differences that may develop are easily duplicated. However, secret formulas do create a difference or good will that cannot be duplicated. The best example of this is the New Coke fiasco of 1985. Coke reformulated its product due to test marketing results that showed New Coke beat Pepsi 47% to 43% and New Coke was preferred over old Coke by a 10% margin. However, Coke executives did not take into account the good will created by the old Coke name and formula. The introduction of New Coke as a replacement of Coke was met by outrage and unrelenting protest by the public. Three months from the initial launch of New Coke, management apologized to the public and reissued the old Coke formula. Test marking shows that there is only a small difference in actual product taste (52% Pepsi, 48% Coke), but the good will created by a brand can have significant proprietary differences (Dess, 1993). This is a high barrier to entry. Absolute Cost Advantage Brands do have secret formulas, which makes them unique and new entry into the industry difficult. New products must remain outside of patented zones but these differences can be slight. This leads to the conclusion that the absolute cost advantage is a low barrier within this industry. Learning Curve The shift in the manufacturing of soft drinks is gravitating toward automation due to speed and cost. However, industry technology is low and the manufacturing process is not difficult, therefore the learning curve will be short and will have a low barrier to entry. Access to Inputs All the inputs within the soft drink industry are commodity items. These include cane, beet, corn syrup, honey, concentrated fruit juice, plastic, glass, and aluminum. Access to these inputs is not a barrier to enter the industry. Proprietary Low Cost Production The process of manufacturing soft drinks is not a proprietary process. The methods used in the process are relatively standard within the industry and the knowledge needed to begin production can easily be acquired. This is not a barrier to entry. Brand Identity This is a very strong force within the industry. It takes a long time to develop a brand that has recognition and customer loyalty. Brand loyalty is indeed the HOLY GRAIL to American consumer product companies. (Industry Surveys, 1995) A well recognized brand will foster customer loyalty and creates the opportunity for real market share growth, price flexibility, and above average profitability (Industry Surveys, 1995). Therefore this is a high barrier to entry. Access to Distribution Distribution is a critical success factor within the industry. Without the network, the product cannot get to the final consumer. The most successful soft drink producers are aggressively expanding their distribution channels and consolidating the independent bottling and distribution centers. From 1978 to the present, the number of Coca-Cola bottlers decreased from 370 to 120 (Industry Surveys, 1995). In addition, 31. 9% of the soft drink business is in supermarkets, where acquiring shelf space is very difficult (Santa, 1996). This is a high barrier to entry. Expected Retaliation Market share within the industry is critical; therefore any attempt to take market share from the leaders will result in significant retaliation. The soft drink industry is a moderately mature market with slow single digit growth (Industry Surveys, 1995). Projected growth rates are 4-5% in sales volume and 2- 3% in margin (Crouch, Steve). Therefore, growth in market share is obtained by stealing share from rivals causing retaliation to be high in defense of current market position. This is a high barrier to entry. Conclusion To be successful on a large scale, the high capital requirements for manufacturing, distribution, and marketing are high barriers to entry. Therefore the threat of new entrants is low making this an attractive industry. Suppliers Supplier concentration Supplier concentration is low due to the fact that the main ingredients are sugar (cane and beet), water, various chemicals, and aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles. There are many places to get sugar and ingredients for soft drinks because they are commodity items. The containers (aluminum cans, bottles etc.) make up 36 percent of all the inputs that the industry uses. Other supplies like sugars, syrups and extracts account for 23 percent of the inputs (Manufacturing USA). There are five major suppliers of glass bottles. Altrista Corp. , Anchor Glass Container, Glassware of Chile, Owens Illinois, and Vistro Sa are the major makers of glass bottles (Compact Disclosure). This is a fair amount of suppliers considering that only five percent of soft drink sales are in glass bottles. There are even more suppliers of plastic bottles. This is good because 43% of all sales are from plastic bottles (Prince, 1996). All this makes the concentration for glass and plastic suppliers moderate. The aluminum can industry is even older and more established than the plastic industry. Reynolds Metal Products, American National Can Company and Metal Container Corp. are the main suppliers of aluminum cans. 50. 6% of total soft drink sales are packaged in aluminum cans (Prince, 1996). Since the aluminum industry is older and more established, these are likely to be the only manufacturers for a while. Even though the concentration of aluminum producers are low there are only three major players in the industry, Coke, Pepsi, and Cadbury. These three account for nearly 90% of domestic soft drink sales (Dawson, 1996). This makes the balance of power slightly favor the suppliers of aluminum cans, even though the number of producers and buyers are equal (3). Syrups and extracts account for 16. 7% of input costs to the soft drink industry (Manufacturing USA, Fourth Ed. ). Even though these are a small percentage of inputs, all the major soft drink companies own companies that produce flavoring extracts and syrups (Industry Surveys, 1995). This is probably due to the fact that they all have secret formulas and this is how they protect the secret. Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper all have secret formulas. This makes the concentration of suppliers for extracts very low but they are owned by the soft drink industry. This backward integration by the major players makes the power question moot. Suppliers do have limited power over the soft drink industry. The concentration of suppliers remains relatively low, which would seem to give the supplier power. The shear mass and volume that the industry buys negates that effect and balances, if not tips it back toward the soft drink industry. Presence of Substitute Inputs There is not a lot of variety in inputs. The biggest substitute input was when the industry switched from aluminum cans to plastic bottles. This made the glass industry almost shake out completely. The next big substitute input was for sugar. Since people were demanding more and more ways to lose weight and consume fewer calories, the diet soft drink exploded in sales. This demand made the soft drink industry find an alternative to sugar to sweeten their product. This substitute turned out to be Nutrasweet non-sugar sweetener. This was found to reduce the calories and retain the taste of their respective products. Other sweeteners, like molasses, do not work because they change the flavor of the product. Most of these substitute inputs had already taken place so they become less relevant to the industry as time marched on. Substitute inputs usually do not become important until the customer or market changes dramatically. This happens when new studies come out from the government about how harmful something is. This was the case when scientists came out with the study that stated that saccharin was harmful to rats. The industry had to respond by reducing its use of saccharin and look for a substitute. At this time, the industry found Nutrasweet to be a reasonable substitute for saccharin, which was used more heavily in diet drinks. All in all, there are a lot of substitutes for packaging but not for sweeteners because these sweeteners must have government approval (Crouch, Steve). This makes suppliers have power over the industry as seen in the almost overnight empire of Nutrasweet. This will most likely change drastically when Aspirtain (Nutrasweet) loses its patent in a few years. Differentiation of InputsÃ'Ž Sugar is commonly available while Nutrasweet is patented. There is no differentiation for sugar and only one choice in Nutrasweet. As far as the other chemicals and inputs, they are commodity items, and it does not matter who supplies them. This makes suppliers have little power over the soft drink industry. Importance of Volume to Supplier The soft drink industry buys a large portion of the Nutrasweet market but their percentage of purchases are falling as other products begin to use it. Sugar is bought but not in the volume that the grocery store or other industries do. The aluminum can, plastic bottles and glass bottles (less now) are all pretty much dependent on the soft drink industry for their livelihood. This makes the supplier have pretty much no power over the industry. Impact of Input on Cost or Differentiation Since the inputs are basic elements there is no differentiation and therefore no impact on the final product for using different inputs. If the price of the input changed, it would dramatically change the price of the product as the aluminum cartel did in 1994. Since the major inputs are commodity items, the prices can change dramatically due to environmental forces. If the sugar industry suffers a loss due to weather or because of political unrest (like in Cuba), then the prices go up and the soft drink industry is usually left absorbing them. The soft drink industry can not, in all cases, simply pass along the price increase. Customers and distributors are more price sensitive than ever. This makes the supplier have a fair amount of bargaining power over the industry. Threat of Backward or Forward Integration With the current climate of sticking to the core of the company, there is little threat of backward integration into the suppliers industry. This is after the fact that they already have integrated into the extracts to protect their secrets. The integration into the extract-producing segment of the suppliers will be the extent of the backward integration. The suppliers do not have the capital required to forward integrate into the soft drink industry. This makes the industry attractive for investment. Access to Capital The soft drink industry is very profitable and therefore looked upon favorably by financial institutions. This includes the stock market, direct investors (bondholders), and banks. Currently the operating margins for the industry have grown from 17. 9% in 1992 to 19. 5% in 1996. The projected operating margins are projected to grow to 20. 5% from 1997 to 2001 (Value Line 1996). The profit margins and demand are increasing for the soft drink industry (Industry Surveys, 1995). What this means is that capital is available for expansion or upgrading, if additional capital is required. This is favorable to the industry. Access to Labor The industry is not highly technical except for chemical engineering. This means that the demands for skilled labor are not very high. Which means that the soft drink industry will not have trouble finding labor. There are no established labor unions. The average labor cost is no more than in any other industry. The average hourly wage is $11. 85 per hour, which just about the same as all manufacturing firms of $11. 49 (Manufacturing USA). Summary of Suppliers When you sum up the different aspects of the suppliers you come to the quick conclusion that the power is definitely in the hands of the soft drink industry. This makes the industry very attractive for investment and for the companies already in the industry from the supply aspect. This means that it is attractive to new entrants as well. Buyers Buyer Concentration versus Industry Concentration The buyers for the soft drink industry are members of a large network of bottlers and distributors that represent the major soft drink companies at the local level. Distributors purchase the finished, packaged product from the soft drink companies while bottlers purchase the major ingredients. With the consolidation that has occurred within the industry, there is little difference between the two. Distributors are assigned to represent a specific geographic area, for example a town or a county. In turn, these distributors are responsible for distributing the product to the retailers who sell the products to the end consumer. In recent years, the national companies have been purchasing independent bottlers in an effort to consolidate the business and gain some distribution economies of scale (Thompson and Strickland, 1993). Buyer Volume The contractual agreements, which are present in this industry, dictate that the major soft drink companies will sell their products to the distributors. Therefore, buyer volume is not a factor for this industry. Buyer Switching CostÃ'Ž Independent bottlers have contractual agreements to represent that company within a certain area. Switching costs would include establishing new relationships with other companies to represent and the legal costs associated with distributors being released from the contract. Buyer Information Distributors are very informed about the product that they are distributing. Information flows freely between the soft drink Companies and the local distributors and down to the retailers. There are many co-operative promotions where distributors and soft drink companies collaborate on price and advertising campaigns (Crouch, Steve). For example, major soft drink firms will send a regular report out to its distributors describing upcoming promotional events where the cost will be shared between the two companies. For promotions that fall outside of this report, the distributors will have to coordinate that sponsorship with the soft drink company. Threat of Backward Integration It is doubtful that local distributors will move into the actual production process of soft drinks. Distributors specialize in the transportation and promotion of the product that they rely on the carbonated beverage companies produce. However, major retailers; for example Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter have begun distributing their own private label brands of soft drinks. Wal-Mart now offers Sams Choice and Harris Teeter offers Presidents Choice at a significantly lower price. These private label competitors will not provide the variety of packaging alternatives, which make the national leaders so successful (PepsiCo 1995 Annual Report). For example, Pepsi offers 12-ounce cans, 20 ounce bottles, 1 liter bottles, six packs, twelve packs, cases and The Cube 24 can boxes. Pull Through Pull through is not a factor from the independent bottlers perspective. These bottlers have a franchise agreement to represent a major carbonated beverage company on the local level. These distributors are legally bound to represent these companies and therefore cannot choose not to promote certain types of beverages. Brand Identity of Buyers Brand identity of buyers is not relevant to the distributors because of the contractual relationship that exists where distributors represent the soft drink companies. The distributors have an exclusive contractual agreement to represent that soft drink brand. Price Sensitivity Distributors are not highly price sensitive buyers. Independent bottlers are on a national contract so all distributors pay the same price for the same products. Price to Total Purchases Soft drinks are the single product that the distributors are concerned with so price is very important to them. Soft drink companies rely on these distributors to represent them on the local level, so it is important to maintain a healthy relationship. Impact on Quality and Performance All three of the leading carbonated beverage producers, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Cadbury Schweppes believe that their buyers (distributors) are an important step in taking their products to the end consumer. The service, which their distributors provide to the retailers, makes a difference to the retailers who sell the product to the end consumer. The actions of that distributor reflect on the soft drink company so if the distributor does not provide the level of service that retailer or restaurant desires, it may harm the companys image. Substitute Products Relative price/performance relationship of Substitutes The carbonated beverage industry provides a non-alcoholic means of satisfying an individuals desire to quench their thirst. Traditionally, coffee and tea would be considered substitute products. In recent years, carbonated beverages have seen the emergence of many new substitute products that wish to reduce soft drinks market share. The soft drink market has been traditionally competitive, without the added friction from ready to drink tea, shelf stable juice, sports drinks and still-water competitors also. (Gleason, 1996) Leaders in these emerging segments include Quaker Oats, with their Snapple and Gatorade products, Perrier, and Arizona Iced Teas. In other words, Pepsi isnt Cokes biggest competition, Tap water is. (Gleason, 1996). Generally speaking, soft drinks are less expensive to the consumer than these substitute products. Buyer Propensity to Substitute Buyer propensity to substitute is low due to the contractual relationships between the soft drink companies and the distributors. Rivalry Degree of Concentration and Balance among Competitors Three main competitors: Pepsico, Coca-Cola, and Dr. Pepper/Cadbury control the Soft Drink industry. Their combined total sales revenues account for 90 percent of the entire domestic market. This market dominance makes the industry a fiercely competitive and dynamic business environment to operate in. The single market leader is Coca-Cola with a 42 percent market share and over $18 billion in sales worldwide. PepsiCo maintains a 31 percent market share with $10. 5 billion in sales worldwide. The smallest of the three leaders is Dr. Pepper/Cadbury, which holds roughly 16 percent of the market. Cokes consistent dominance of both Pepsi and Dr. Pepper/Cadbury has caused Coke to become a household name when referring to soft drinks. As far as balance among competitors is concerned, PepsiCo is a much larger company than Coke and Dr. Pepper/Cadbury combined. The reason being that PepsiCo also owns companies in the snack and food industries (Frito-Lay, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC). With a work force of 480,000 people, PepsiCo is the worlds third largest employer behind General Motors and Wal-Mart. This has not lead to a more profitable soft drink business, nor has it helped PepsiCo use its size to steal market share from Coke or Dr. Pepper/Cadbury. Diversity among Competitors Though Coca-Cola dominates the industry in sales volume and market share, it does not dominate when it comes to innovative marketing and business strategy efforts. For instance, PepsiCo generates 71 percent of its revenues from the U. S. , while Coca-Cola derives 71 percent of its from international markets. Similarly, PepsiCo only gets 41 percent of its total revenues from soft drinks. The remaining 59 percent come from its snack and food business. Coke on the other hand gets all of its revenues from its soft drinks. Clearly both of the industry leaders have different strategies as far as revenue generation is concerned. However, as far as their product lines are concerned they are very similar and operate parallel to one another. Pepsi and Coca-Cola both have lemon-lime, citrus, root beer, and cola flavors. Dr. Pepper/Cadbury does not have as similar a product line to that of Pepsico and Coca-Cola. It manufactures Dr. Pepper (a unique spicy cola drink), ginger ale, tonic water, and carbonated water under its Schweppes and Canada Dry brands. Coke does have an answer to Dr. Pepper in its Mr. Pibb, but only holds a . 4 percent market share compared to Dr. Peppers 6 percent market share. The relatively low level of diversity makes the soft drink industry unattractive for investment. Industry Growth Rate Although new product lines have come into the beverage industry over the past two to three years, the soft drink segment has held and grown its share steadily. The onslaught of the sport drink and bottled tea have proven to be a passing fad that has gained little if no long term market share from soft drinks. Growth figures for the soft drink industry have been very steady since 1993, and are projected to continue to be so into the last part of the twentieth century. As can be seen in Figure 1, volatility was somewhat prevalent in the 1980s but has since lessened and leveled off (Valueline, 1996). Figure 1 Year87-8888-8989-9090-9191- 9292-9393-9494-95 Growth5. 7%5. 2%2% 3%2. 9%4%4. 4%4% Over the past ten years soft drinks have gained 5 percent of total beverage sales, putting them over the 25 percent share level for all beverage sales. As for new and emerging markets, both Coke and Pepsi are attacking the international environment. Coca-Cola generates 80 percent of its revenues abroad, and Pepsi is attempting but failing to put more emphasis there as well. Pepsi is losing customers to Coke in every major foreign territory. The company has always struggled overseas, but in the past few months it has lost key strongholds in Russia and Venezuela to Coke (Sellers, 1996). Because of the consistent growth of both the domestic and foreign markets, the soft drink industry is attractive for investment. Fixed Costs The SP Industry Survey has shown the soft drink industry profit margin to be on a steady incline over the past fifteen years. Levels in 1980 were near 14%, while as of year-end 1995 were over 20% and expected to flatten a bit. This flattening effect may be an indication that fixed costs are on the rise due to expansionÃ'Ž

Explore Shakespeares presentation of love in As You Like It Essay Example for Free

Explore Shakespeares presentation of love in As You Like It Essay Love has always been a foremost feature of the plays written by William Shakespeare and As You Like It is no exception with love regularly being represented throughout the play in a variety of ways. Just like in Shakespeares other works As You Like It is also broken down in to a main plot, which is then accompanied by smaller sub-plots that are scattered thorughout the play. Shakerspeare along with the play As You Like It skillfully uses these plots well to demonstrate various types of love. One variety of love that Shakespeare anylyses deeply is that of courtly love, whose ideas featured heavily around the fact that love brings suffering and agony to the lover and the theory that the male lover is controlled by his mistress to whom he must adhere to. Courtly Love had become a popular subject to write about during Shakespeares Elizabethan period and was also strongly evident in english literature for centuries previously. The concept of pastoral romance is also expressed in As You Like It , in which characters in rural countryside areas appear to act freely and joyfully , and this causes relationships to revel successfully and contently. In other words Pastoral romance seems to betray the countryside in stories as some sort of catalyst speeding up the progress and success of overall relationships. On the other hand life in the court seems to lack this optimism and instead living in developed areas (towns, villages, cities etc) seems to damage love between characters due to the stress and demand of court life. This type of romance is also strongly associated with disguise and the thought of characters falling in love with the opposite sex even when in disguise. The love in Shakespeares plays was recognised by the public of the Elizabethan period who had a good understanding about how genuine and pure love was between characters along with a good perception of the characters personalities (such as social status) just through the language they spoke during the play. The relationships in As You Like It are tested in one way or another, as most have to overcome obstacles and problems in order to succeed The particular relationships we see in the play symbolize and highlight the variant types of love that William Shakespeare wishes to explore. For example the familial love between the brothers of Orlando and Oliver, Duke Frederick and Duke Senior are emphasized due to the fact that both relationships are struggling and are under much tension when in normal circumstances you would presume this type of Familial relationship to prosper solidily, but alternatively have crumbled consistently. The relationship amid Orlando and his eldest borther, Oliver has reached an even more dire state, due to the recent event of their father Sir Rowland de Boys tragically dying for reasons unknown to us. Since this death of Sir Rowland de Boys Oliver and Orlando have been at conflict over the acts of Oliver who is restricting Orlando from receiving a gentlemans education even though their father had wished him to have one. Both characters deal with this issue by becoming heated and ill-tempered towards each other. This is shown in Act 1 Scene 1 where Oliver says: Wilt thou lay hands on me, villain? Oliver and Orlandos relationship changes significantly during the course of the play and it is seen that the countryside and its links to pastoral romance are responsible for the reformation of their relationship. This is true because the turning point of their complex relationship takes place in the countryside to where Orlandos act of decency, (when he saves Olivers life from a viscous Lioness) provokes Oliver to want to become a more amiable person. Also the romantic relationships of the brothers between Rosalind and Celia respectfully seems to show that the concept of pastoral romance is functioning between them and therefore causing them to be more loving people. Understandably this friendly environment causes their own familial relationship to blossom. This transformation in their relationship is represented well when Oliver is delivering Orlandos bloody handkerchief to Ganymede in Act 4 Scene 2. In this scene he confesses about his shameful past by saying: Twas I, but tis not I. I do not shame To tell you what I was, since my conversion So sweetly tastes, being the thing I am. This indicates that he is aware that he was in the wrong before, but now values and loves his younger brother, even more so that he obeyed Orlandos order to deliver his handkerchief. Another familial relationship present in the play is that of Duke Senior and his younger brother Duke Frederick. This particular relationship is struggling due to the fact that Duke Senior has been exiled from the court by his usurping brother Duke Frederick. This unjustified act by Duke Frederick has left the two distant and bitter towards each other. This is shown in Act 2 Scene 3 when Duke Frederick is in the process of exiling Rosalind, the daughter of the banished Duke Senior. Duke Fredericks tells Rosalind the reason for her being exiled is because: Thou art thy fathers daughter. Theres enough. This shows that there is obviously some hatred between the two brothers, especially on Duke Fredericks part. Duke Senior and Duke Frederick react to this conflict in contrasting ways. Duke Senior seems to make the most out of the situation he has found himself in to positive effect. He does this to an extent that hes actually enjoying life away from the court. On the other hand Duke Frederick deals with their dispute by becoming heated and showing irrational behavior (This is shown when out of blue he aggressively orders Rosalind to leave the court and even goes as far as saying he will kill her if she was not to obey) in play. The hatred of Duke Frederick towards Duke Senior is incredibly similar to that of Oliver towards to Orlando, in that there seems to be no obvious reason for why they should detest their brothers so much. But just like Oliver and Orlando, Duke Frederick and Duke Seniors relationships turns around positively in the latter stages of the play. This turn of events is due to the remarkable change of mind from Duke Frederick who persuaded by an old religious man on the outskirts of the forest to not invade the Forest of Ardenne decides to conclude his search for his brother. Instead, as were told by Jacques de Boys in Act 5 Scene 4 that he: After some question with him, was converted Both from his enterprise and from the world, His crown bequeathing to his banished brother, And all their lands restored to them again That were with him exiled This act of love shown by Duke Frederick towards Duke Senior and his company could also be due to the powers the countryside possesses through pastoral romance. This could be explained by the way that Duke Frederick has a dramatic change of heart when entering the forest and he also wants to be freed from court life by deciding to join a monastery. A prominent relationship on display in As You Like is between the inseparable cousins that are Rosalind and Celia. This relationship is under strain mainly just because of the complications surrounding their fathers relationship. They have been brought in to the thick of their fathers own personal conflict due to Duke Fredericks antics, referring to him wanting to exile Rosalind and consequently separate Rosalind and Celia. Rosalind and Celia respond to the antics of their fathers positively, by promising to each other that theyll stand by each other religiously through the hard times that are facing them, causing them both to flee from the court together. This united type behavior form the cousins shows the audience that this love is extremely solid and their love for each other is cannot be doubted. This is shown when Celia responds to her fathers actions by saying to Rosalind in Act 1 Scene 3: Prithee, be cheerful. Knowst thou not the duke Hath banished me, his daughter? Furthermore Rosalind and Celia decide to overcome their complications by fleeing to the Forest of Ardenne to find refuge. This seems to work dividends, as when they are in the forest the pair seems more relaxed and joyful than they were when they were generating tentative feelings back at the court. This is shown through the way they act more freely and seem more comfortable expressing their views on topics than they were in the court. They also becoming more suspect to falling in love, and this shows in the way they fall in love with Orlando and Oliver. All this makes one presume that pastoral romance is in progress with this pair. A different type of alliance is show using Adam the servant and Orlando in the play As You Like It. Between these two characters is dutiful love shown from both sides. The obstacle that this exact relationships faces is down to the misbehavior shown from Orlandos brother Oliver, who Adam says is plotting to kill Orlando. The pair then address this situation in the same way as Celia and Rosalind did, by escaping in to the forest. This is where Adams dutiful love is evident when he swears allegiance to Orlando in Act 2 Scene 3 by saying: Here is the gold. All this I give you. Let me be your servant. Theses words are very strong, as Adam shows he will give Orlando everything he has even his fortunes just so that Orlando is able to be content and safe. Further on in the play Orlando also shows loyalty pointing to Adam. This dutiful love is expressed in the way Orlando carries Adam in to shelter and vows to find his poorly servant food; he even makes a fool of himself in front of Duke Senior and his Lords purely in attempting to find his loyal servant some much-needed food. This dutiful love shown on Orlandos part can be seen in the way he tells Adam in Act 2 Scene 6: Come, I will bear thee to some shelter, and thou shalt not die for lack of a dinner if there live anything in this desert Once again you can say that the concept of pastoral romance has left this pair living happily ever after as it looks to have solved all their problems, which they have now left at the court. A different relationship represented in As You Like It is that of Silvius and Phoebe. In this relationship the love is not shared from Phoebe in contrast to Silvius who seems to be suffering much grief and pain due to his immense and obsessive love for Phoebe. Both characters face their dispute concerning their conflicting views by becoming frustrated, Silvius because he cannot obtain Phoebes love and Phoebe because of Silvius constant pleas for her to welcome his fondness for her. The evidence to show that Phoebe does not show the same affection for Silvius can be seen when she comments on how much shed rather not be in a romantic relationship with Silvius in Act 3 Scene 5 by saying to Celia (dressed as Ganymede): Sweet youth, I pray you chide a year together. I had rather hear you chide than this man woo. This idea that Silvius is suffering thanks to the elements of love is very similar to the objectives of courtly love. Obviously this situation proves problematic for it to be possible for Silviuss and Pheobes relationship to advance, but a few twists occurring at the end of the play enable this couple to surprisingly tie the knot. The events which engineer Silvius and Phoebe to come together can be argued to be thanks to the pastoral romance theme, which is seen on a frequent basis in this play. This is true as pastoral romance is well known for its characters in disguise and its the disguise of Rosalind (Ganymede) that actually plays the vital role in bringing Silvius and Phoebe together. Thanks to Rosalinds slyness Silvius finally is able to be with Phoebe and it seems that she shows some genuine affection towards Silvius. This is noticeable when she says in Act 5 Scene 4 to Silvius: I will not eat my word. Now thou art mine, Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine. A relationship that does not develop until the tail end of the play As You Like It is between that of Oliver and Celia. Celia who is dressed up as Aliena looks to fall in love with Oliver at first sight and these provides an ironic end for the character Celia in the play. This is an accurate observation, because during the play Celia is seen teasing her dear friend Rosalind about the hastiness about her love for Orlando. This is another classic example of how pastoral romance is a striking feature of the play, because even though Celia has been ridiculing Rosalind love for Orlando it seems that even she is eventually bewitched by the powers of the countryside air and decides to marry a man whom she has just met. A unique relationship in the play is that of Pheobe and Ganymede. This is correct, as Phoebe is falling for Rosalind in disguise, without being informed. The relationship between these two characters is a clear example of the courtly love evident in As You Like It, because of the agony and frustration, which Pheobe endures due to her love Ganymede. Ganymede reacts to Phoebe;s attempts to win her heart by saying in Act 3 Scene 5: I pray you, do not fall in love with me, For I am falser than vows made in wine. This dismissal of Phoebes love on Ganymedes part shows that Ganymede has no interest in Phoebe at all, but despite this in true courtly love fashion Phoebes decides to persist with her quest to win Ganymedes heart. In the end their relationship disintergrates when Phoebe says in Act 5 Scene 4: If sight and shape be true, Why then, my love adieu. The most influential relationship in the whole of the play is beyond doubt that of between Rosalind and Orlando. This is true, as this relationship seems to dictate the course of the storyline. This relationship falls down heavily in to the elements of stereotypical pastoral romantic stories. This is correct, as Orlando seems to endure a lot of agony and pain over the course of the play..I will finish this later In conclusion I believe Shakespeare has shown us that men actually behave in the same way as women when in love. The evidence ot prove this is the behaviour of most characters in the play. Most of these characters endure large amounts of suffering

Global Climate Change as a Socially Relevant Scientific Issue

Global Climate Change as a Socially Relevant Scientific Issue The climate of planet Earth has been subjected to significant changes, particularly in seasonal temperature and weather patterns, since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, around the year 1750. Since that time, the climate has been increasingly impacted by anthropogenic drivers, such as carbon dioxide and methane production. Increasing concentrations of these gases have led to changes in available habitat for many organisms, extreme weather patterns and sea level rise, as well as effects on the health and economy of the human population. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, changes in global climate can have dramatic effects on where species can live, how they interact, and the timing of key life events, all of which can have profound effects on ecosystems. For example, one study shows that Northeastern birds that normally spend the winter in the southern United States have been returning north in the spring 13 days earlier than they did 100 years ago (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). Shifts in migration like this can result in limited food availability and changes to breeding cycles. Some species have been shifting their habitable range due to changes in their normal environmental range, causing ecosystem changes along the way. For example, as boreal forests invade the tundra, the habitats of caribou, arctic foxes, and snowy owls become greatly reduced, as they depend on the tundra environment for their habitat (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). Another comm on example of this negative effect is the shift in habitat for the polar bear. The polar bear depends on sea ice for its habitat, as well as its hunting grounds, where it uses holes in the ice to hunt for seals. As the global temperature increases, the mount of sea ice coverage decreases, which reduces the ability for the polar bear to access its traditional food supply. The loss of habitat is dramatic for the polar bear, as it cannot simply move farther north as other species can, since it already lives in the northernmost area of the planet. For this reason, the polar bear is an endangered species due to the continued effects of global climate change. The topic of global sea level rise has been a part of global climate change research for some time, but recent findings show that the change is accelerating rather than increasing at a constant rate. The new study is based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data and shows that the acceleration has the potential to double the sea level rise by 2100 that had once been projected based on a steady increase in sea level. If the rate continues to increase at its current pace, sea level could be 65 cm higher than it is today by the year 2100 (Weeman, 2018). The rise of sea surface levels are due to increases in global temperature, which results in two types of changes. First, the increasing temperature melts the ice sheets, releasing more water into the ocean. Second, the addition of this warmer water and the overall increase in ocean temperature causes thermal expansion (due to hydrogen bonding) of the ocean waters, meaning the volume of the water increases as a direct effect of th e temperature increase. Around the world, even small increases in sea level can cause catastrophic changes in habitats, for humans and wildlife alike. Coastal populations, especially those that exist closer to current sea-level will lose use of the land, including homes, businesses and other infrastructure in the area. Populations will need to move further inland, further stressing the already dense human population, particularly in countries like the U.S. and China. Changes in sea level will also affect land dwelling animals and vegetation, which can cause disruptions to coastal ecosystems and eventually inland ecosystems, as species that are able to migrate inland encroach on other established ecosystems. Global climate change also has potential health effects on humans. According to the Executive Summary of the Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States, climate change affects food and water sources, the air that people breathe, the weather, and interactions with both the natural and built environments. Increased temperatures can lead to locally extreme heat events, increasing the frequency of heat-related illnesses and deaths, especially for the elderly, young children, and those with chronic illnesses. Weather patterns and sea level rise will disrupt infrastructure and cause coast flooding, which will negatively impact access to essential services like power, clean water, and emergency services  (Crimmins, 2016). The changes in seasonal weather patterns will also affect food and water quality as well as changes in infectious agents, which will increase the likelihood of food, water and vector-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease (Crimmins, 2016).   Although there is an abundance of evidence supporting the issue of global climate change, naysayers still exist, using disinformation strategies to confuse the public and delay action on remediation efforts. Many of these large organizations receive most of their funding from large oil companies, whose businesses will not benefit from legislative action for remediating climate change. However, the currently most noteworthy stakeholder group that opposes climate change is the Trump administration. It is difficult to summarize the major stances against climate change of this administration, since most of the arguments have long since been negated by many scientific reports. For example, Scott Pruitt, the current EPA administrator questions â€Å"whether we can measure ‘with precision’ the role of humans on the climate,† and he proposed, based on this, that humans may not be the major driver of global warming (Mooney, 2017). As a reflection of this stance, the curren t administration has revisited the fuel efficiency standards previously put in place by the Obama administration, a beginning step towards reversing the effort to lower carbon emissions. Based on the unsubstantiated argument that climate change is not definitively caused by humans, the Trump administration has moved toward lowering air pollution regulation standards, defunding major climate research projects, omitting climate change as a national security threat, and even taken down the climate change pages of the Environmental Protection Agency website (Greshko, 2018). The list of stakeholders and organizations that back the issue of climate change is long and substantial. One such organization is the U.S. Global Change Research Program. In the 2017 Executive Summary, it is stated that the global average surface air temperature has increased 1.8 °F over the last 115 years, which is the warmest in the history of modern civilization (Wuebbles, 2017). The report concludes that the dramatic changes are extremely likely to be due to the changes in human activities, based on extensive evidence. The most important point that is made in the executive summary is the positive correlation between the increase in anthropogenic production of greenhouse gas emissions and the many adverse effects on the global climate and the Earth systems, including sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, sea level rise, air pollution, and melting glaciers. The amount of scientific evidence supporting global climate change is substantial and there are many different sources that can be discussed. The most commonly discussed anthropogenic driver of the current changes to the climate is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a major pollutant produced by various processes in human industry, such as the exhaust from combustion engines in vehicles. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, meaning that it traps heat that is radiating back from the Earth’s surface, which initially arrived as solar radiation. Due to its ability to increase the average global temperature of the atmosphere, it becomes part of several strong positive feedback loops, which amplify its effect. For example, the increasing temperature of the atmosphere allows more sea ice and snow to melt, reducing the planet’s albedo, or ability to reflect solar radiation, which allows more radiation to be absorbed at the surface, further increasing surface temperature. Melting of this snow and ice can also accelerate the breakdown of organic matter from below the permafrost, releasing more carbon from the long-term cycle into the short-term cycle, which will further contribute to the positive feedback loop  (Schuur, 2015). The relationship between the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and surface temperature is strongly correlated, as shown below in the figure from Climate Central: The figure shows the strong positive correlation between the temperature anomaly, which is compared to the temperature baseline from the early industrial time period, and the rising carbon dioxide concentration in parts per million (ppm) (Climate Central, 2017). The next figure from NASA shows the historical trend of carbon dioxide over a much longer time period, as far back as 650,000 years. The figure clearly demonstrates how dramatically the carbon dioxide concentrations have increased since the rise of industry. Although those that are against climate change will point out the clear repeating trend of low and high carbon dioxide concentration, there is only one clear cause for the steep increase that began in the time period of the industrial revolution (Graphic: The relentless rise of carbon dioxide). Climate scientists have obtained accurate records of historical carbon dioxide levels from glacial ice. The air is locked in layers over time, which forms bubbles in the ice. Scientists are able to run tests on these samples to determine the amount of carbon dioxide that was present in the atmosphere in the corresponding time period. They can then compare this level to the temperature determined from proxy data from tree rings and water vapor oxygen ratios in other samples from the time period. One of the possible solutions for mitigating the effects of climate change would require the foregoing of the use of fossil fuels. Since the primary driver of global climate change is the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, and the carbon dioxide comes mainly from emissions from fossil fuel usage, the fossil fuel usage is a significant problem. Fossil fuels are also removed from the deep carbon reservoirs, and by removing them for human use, carbon is being rapidly moved from a long-term sequestered cycle to a short to term cycle in the surface and climate system. Eliminating, or even reducing, the use of fossil fuels, particularly in developed countries, comes with significant costs. The leading mode of travel by the average working citizen is their privately owned vehicle, which normally runs on traditional gasoline, a major source of carbon emissions. Many people have a significant daily drive to their workplace. The start-up costs for people in this econo my make it difficult to switch to more eco-friendly options for travel. There are also not yet many incentives to alter their travel habits. The need to switch from fossil fuels is also a risky move for the economy since many of the largest industry leaders are the oil companies. The movement for climate change legislation has been battling against oil companies for a long time since oil companies are believed to provide funding for many political campaigns, thus ensuring that their businesses will continue to flourish. Coal is estimated to provide about half of the electricity in the U.S., and a similar percentage worldwide. If the coal and oil companies were to endure far stricter regulations in order to reduce carbon emissions, there would likely be great risk to the global economy. If fossil fuels were to be used less or not at all, and alternative energy sources were used in their place, it should be possible to cease the increase of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosph ere and allow the global climate to eventually recover to a more normal state. Reducing the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will positively affect many aspects of the climate. Global average temperatures will eventually return to more normal ranges, the sea level should no longer continue to rise, and air pollution will be reduced, saving people from heat related death and sickness, as well as food and water-borne diseases. Another benefit to decreasing the carbon dioxide concentration will allow for the acidification of the ocean waters to slow and possible decrease. Another key solution for mitigating climate change would be to reduce the deforestation of the planet. Trees and other vegetation are an important piece of the carbon cycle. When vegetation dies, it eventually becomes part of the long-term carbon cycle, which means that it will eventually be turned back into rock and sequestered in the Earth, but this process occurs over a much longer time scale. When humans purposely destroy forests for various reasons, a substantial amount of carbon is released into the system as biological carbon, into the ground, the ocean and the atmosphere. Not only does deforestation increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which increases global surface temperature, it also decreases the Earth’s albedo. Tree cover has a higher albedo value than agricultured land and black pavement, so when they are torn down, the ability of the Earth’s surface to reflect radiation back to space is decreased. This results in more heat becoming abs orbed at the surface, which causes more melting of ice and snow, further amplifying the warming and melting effects. The cost of reducing the amount of deforestation means losses for the agricultural industry, since this is one of the primary reasons lands are cleared. Reducing deforestation means that farmers will have less land to use for growing crops and less pasture space for grazing animals. Agriculture is a major source of sustainable food for many countries and the need for land in the industry is growing. It could also mean losses for the construction industry, as new regulations would prevent unnecessary clearing of land for new building projects. There are some risks to reducing deforestation. Deforestation helps to reduce likelihood of fast-spreading forest fires. Areas that are prone to forest fires often perform preemptive cutting. Forest fires negatively affect the atmosphere, as they rapidly inject carbon dioxide into the air. If certain areas were not permitted to c ut trees as they need to, it could put them at risk for more forest fires, which could be more dangerous in the short-term. However, reducing deforestation would be beneficial because it would no longer decrease the planet’s albedo and would reduce the amount of extra carbon dioxide being injected into the atmosphere. The best recommendation for mitigating, and hopefully reversing, the effects of global climate change would be to cease the use of fossil fuels. Since the anthropogenic removal of carbon from the Earth for fossil fuels has been determined to be the source of the leading cause of global climate change, it would make sense for it to be the most important solution for reversing the adverse effects that it has had on the planet. Humans removing various carbon-based fuels from their long-term sequestration in the Earth has led to an over-dependence on its various forms of energy production. The burning of these fuels produces the carbon dioxide that has been building up in the atmosphere, which is the leading greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. Along with the direct effect that carbon dioxide has on atmospheric temperature, its increased concentration in the air allows for more to be dissolved and temporarily sequestered in the oceans, which causes ocean acidification. Ocean acidification has negative effects on coral reefs and ocean life. As the temperature of the ocean increases alongside the atmosphere, the ocean also holds less carbon dioxide, lessening the ocean’s ability to assist in cooling the surface temperature. The addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere via the burning of fossil fuels moves the carbon to the short-term carbon cycle. It takes much longer for carbon to move back into a long-term cycle once it has been removed because it takes several hundreds or thousands of years for the carbon material to decay and compact into the rock sediment once again. Although there are other greenhouse gases and other long-term factors contributing to global climate change, the use of carbon-based fossil fuels is the most significant, as the changes to the atmosphere began at the same point in history when fossil fuels drove the industrial revolution. The most logical recommendation for reversing the negative effects which have been worse ning since this time period is to reverse the most significant shift in the use of fossil fuels for energy that began over 250 years ago. Works Cited Climate Central. (2017, April 19). Rising Global Temperatures and CO2. Retrieved from Climate Central: http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/co2-and-rising-global-temperatures Crimmins, A. J. (2016). Executive Summary. Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Global Change Research Program. Retrieved from U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, Graphic: The relentless rise of carbon dioxide. (n.d.). Retrieved from NASA: Global Climate Change: https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/24/graphic-the-relentless-rise-of-carbon-dioxide/ Greshko, M. P. (2018, Apri 6). A Running List of How Trump Is Changing the Environment. National Geographic. Mooney, C. (2017, December 29). What position does the Trump administration take on climate change? All of them. The Washington Post. Schuur, E. A. (2015). Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback. Nature, 171-179. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2017, January 19). Climate Impacts on Ecosystems. Retrieved from Environmental Protection Agency: 19 January 2017 Snapshot: https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-ecosystems_.html Weeman, K. L. (2018, February 13). New study finds sea level rise accelerating. Retrieved from NASA: Global Climate Change: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2680/new-study-finds-sea-level-rise-accelerating/ Wuebbles, D. D. (2017). Executive summary. In: Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I. Washington, DC, USA: U.S. Global Change Research Program.

Effective Approaches to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Essay -- essays researc

Effective approaches to prevent teen pregnancy After reading numerous articles and abstracts in regards to the ever so intriguing topic of teen pregnancy, I’ve come to a conclusion which is a little different than I had expected. Before reading any of the literature on teen pregnancy, I was under the assumption that the sex education classes provided in school were an extremely effective weapon against unwanted teenage pregnancies. Of the literature references that I’ve used and those of which I have haven’t chosen to extrapolate on, many have reported results based on random surveys while others have conducted quantifiable research to reach their findings. In an article by Dryfoos J in the Planned Parenthood Review, Dryfoos mentions some methods that have been proven to slightly impact the teenage pregnancy issue. The article, â€Å"Preventing teen pregnancy: what works,† the author tells us of what’s necessary for any program designed to prevent teen pregnancy to be effective. He states â€Å"To avoid unintended pregnancy among young persons, two conditions must be met: they must have the capacity and a reason to want to control their fertility.† This means that a teenager must have a reason to prevent herself from becoming pregnant as well as the means to do so. There are programs currently in place which help to provide a means to an end to this problem. They include family life education and birth control services. Programs which assist in providing a reason to not get pregnant include quality of life programs and expanding opportunities programs. Based on studies performed, two trends are emerging. These studi es indicate that sex education can enhance knowledge but little evidence shows that these school based sex education programs have sexual activity or contraception use. Also, evaluations on the method of problem-solving have shown a reduced amount of risk-taking behavior as well as increase in the use of contraceptives for sexually active teenagers. Another article that I chose was the Journal of Adolescent Health by K. A. Hacker, Y. Amare, N. Strunk, and L. Horst entitled â€Å"Listening to youth: teen perspectives on pregnancy prevention.† This article gives statistical evidence of a teen’s perspective on pregnancy prevention. This article gives us a very convincing detailed analysis of their survey including percentages of students who felt a particular wa... ..., as I have discussed before – what is being taught to students is not the reality of the topic, but a non-controversial â€Å"G† rated version of the dangers of early sexual activity. I believe that neither of the two solutions will work without the other. Parents must speak to their children regardless of how awkward it may feel in addition to better and more informative education on the sexuality and its repercussions. Bibliography Dryfoos J. â€Å"Preventing teen pregnancy: what works.† Planned Parenthood Review, October,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2002, pp. 6-7. Hacker, Karen A; Amare, Yared; Strunk, Nancy; Horst, Leslie. â€Å"Listening to Youth: â€Å"Teen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perspectives on Pregnancy Prevention.† Journal of Adolescent Health, April, 2000,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  pp.279-288. Somers, Cheryl L.; Fahlman, Mariane M. â€Å"Effectiveness of the 'Baby Think It Over' Teen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pregnancy Prevention Program.† Journal of School Health, May, 2001, Vol. 71 Issue 5,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  p188, 9p. Wood, B. Daniel. â€Å"Teens, sex, and power of parents.† The Christian Science Publishing Society,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  September, 2002.

Is the Government doing the right thing? :: essays research papers

Is the Government doing the right thing? The statement made by Honorable Jess A. Helms seems to be pretty clear when he says that the government, instead of giving sources to save the country, is actually providing freedom for crime rates to increase. â€Å"You can stand on the Capitol steps and almost throw a rock into neighborhoods where you cannot walk at night because of the violence that takes place nightly† (Helms 1). From this statement it is possible to understand why Helms is criticizing the government politics that are only spending money to combat violence, instead of spending money to prevent it. So as a possible solution for the violence problem, Helms defends the reinstitution of the prayer in public schools. He finds support for it on three main arguments: first is the fact that the government is spending huge amounts of money and it is not solving the violence problem; second because people agree with it and actually want it back to schools, and finally because the freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution. Throughout his arguments becomes to see that instead of spending that amount of money to combat the crime, it is cheaper and better effective to use God and religion as a weapon against violence. Honorable Helms criticize the fact that since he got into US Senate a lot of money have been spent on violence combat, specially on motions described by the term â€Å"crime bills after crime bills† (Helms 1). He criticizes this attitude because it is not been efficient, since The United States has right now a higher crime rate than ever. â€Å"†¦ we have been passing crime bill after crime bill almost since I came here in 1973. And what has been the result?† (Helms 1). Helms also believes that the senators are feeling that their job is done. They think that they â€Å"†¦really took care of it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Helms 1), but the real fact is that crime rates are still going up, what proves that their job is not even close to be done. It is time to start looking for different alternatives to solve the problem. Seeing that all the money spent on the direct combat of crime is not working as well as expected, Helms starts to analyze a different approach to solve the problem. Seeking for the right move Helms find a possible solution on the article published by Reader’s Digest called â€Å"Let Us Pray† that defends the reinstitution of prayer classes to public schools.

European Politics :: Essays on Politics

Throughout Europe, a complex political structure of government has emerged from the once simple Monarchial rule. These new systems of Government, with respect to specific nation-states, have developed domestic policies that people depend on for daily life. Of these many dependencies is the health care system. The nation-states of Europe are entitled to bring forth and confront these issues, in order to ensure a sense of safety and well being into the lives of everyday citizens. The significance of the health care system is that it is an issue people are always trying to reform and build upon. Working alongside this idea, is the notion that other countries will develop intellectual health care systems from understanding those system already put into effect. This was the case with the German system of insured care, and the subsequent formation of the Hungarian health insurance system. In laying out the design of both systems, it is evident that the Hungarian health care system was bas ed upon the founding principles of the German health care system. Established by Otto von Bismarck in 1883, the German system has been continually extended to reflect the changing assortment of diseases and technological progress. Germany may be the only country in which most beneficiaries of its long-term care system and related expenditures are in community-based rather than institutional settings, according to the authors of the German study. (Moran 77) Germany's attempt to improve coverage for long-term care reached a fever pitch in the early 1990s, when West German policymakers sought to bring means-tested, state-administered long-term care services into its universal health insurance fold. In 1994 the country enacted a universal-coverage social insurance program for long-term care, called Soziale Pflegeversicherung, which was administered by "sickness funds," quasi-public and quasi-private insurers regulated by the national government. Under this program, premiums are uniform-a straight 1.7 percent of salary, split between employers and employees. (Knox 13) Benefits include extensive institutional and home care services. Informal caregivers receive up to four weeks of respite care each year, as well as a pension credit for providing high levels of unpaid services. In 1998 alone, some 550,000 people received pension contributions as caregivers. Germany's program has succeeded in increasing the availability of nursing home and home care services, as well as the number of home care providers, the study authors report. Program costs stayed well below original estimates and led to surpluses of nearly $5 billion.

Hsbc Case Essay

HSBC is known as the â€Å"World’s local bank†. Originally called the HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and the United Kingdom. HSBC is now the second largest bank in the world, serving 100 million customers through 9,500 branches in 79 countries. The company is organized by business line (personal financial services; customer finance; commercial banking; corporate investment banking and markets; private banking), as well as by goegraphic segment (Asia-Pacific, U. K. /Eurozone, North America/NAFTA, South America, Middle East). Despite operating in 79 different countries, the bank works hard to maintain a local feel and local knowledge in each area. HSBC’s fundamental operating strategy is to remain close to its customers. As HSBC chairman Sir John Bond said in November 2003, â€Å"Our position as the world’s local bank enables us to approach each country uniquely, blending local knowledge with a worldwide operating platform†. For example, consider HSBC’s local marketing efforts in New York City. To prove to jaded New Yorkers that the London-based financial behemoth was â€Å"the world’s local bank. HSBC held a â€Å"New York City’s Most knowledgeable Cabbie† contest. The winning cabbie gets paid to drive full-time for HSBC for the year, and HSBC customers win, too. Any customer showing an HSBC bankcard, checkbook, or bank statement can get a free ride in the HSBC-branded Bankcab. The campaign demonstrates HSBC’s local knowledge. â€Å"In order to ma ke New Yorkers believe you’re local, you have to act local,† said Renegade Marketing Group’s CEO Drew Neisser. Across the world in Hong Kong, HSBC undertook a different campaign. In the region hit hard by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, HSBC launched a program to revitalize the local economy. HSBC â€Å"plowed back interest payments† to customers who worked in industries most affected by SARS (cinemas, hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies). The program eased its customers financial burden. The bank also promoted Hong Kong’s commercial sector by offering discounts and rebates for customers who use an HSBC credit card when shopping and dining out, to help businesses affected by the downturn. More than 1,500 local merchants participated in the promotion. In addition to local marketing, HSBC does niche marketing. For example, it found a little-known product area that was growing at 125 percent a year : pet insurance. In December 2003 it announced that it will distribute nationwide per insurance through its HSBC Insurance agency, making the insurance available to its depositors. HSBC also segments demographically. In the United states, the Bank will target the immigrant population, particularly Hispanics, now that it has acquired Bital in Mexico, where many migrants to the United States deposit money. Overall, the bank has been consciously pulling together its worldwide business under a single global brand with the â€Å"World’s local bank† slogan. The aim is to link its international size with close relationships in each of the countries in which it operates. The company spends $600 million annually on global marketing and will likely consolidate and use fewer ad agencies. HSBC will decide who gets the account by giving each agency a â€Å"brand-strategy exercise. † Agencies will be vying for the account by improving on HSBC’s number 37 global brand ranking