Customer Service Legislation Essay Example

Customer Service Legislation Essay The goods supplied to customers and the customer service provided is influenced by certain factors in UK. The way that the products are sold: Effects on customer service of regulating the nature and standards of products: * Sale of Goods Act, 1979 the product must be sold according to the description and satisfactory quality also fit for purpose. For example at Thorpe Park they cannot advertise the tickets for a certain price and sell it at different price at the gates. We will write a custom essay sample on Customer Service Legislation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Customer Service Legislation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Customer Service Legislation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer * Supply of Goods and Services Act, 1982 services must be at merchantable value and at practical rates. For example if customers book for two tickets and they only have 1 ticket given. * Food Safety Act, 1990 the food must be quality and up to standards. For example at Thorpe park restaurants they cannot sell food which is decayed or has passed its sell by date. Not all of these are linked with Thorpe Park but the Food Safety Act is an important because there are restaurants in the park which supply food to customers at Thorpe Park. Price The price displays are also very important and there is a law for this too. The Prices act 1974 and 1975 is controlling the price displays. They require prices to be indicated on goods or services offered by businesses. It is illegal for Thorpe Park to mislead the customers by displaying wrong pries for entering the park and using the rides. Age restrictions Varies legislations restricts sales on products to children. These products are such as tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets. This also does not apply to Thorpe Park. The ways that the products are advertised and promoted are also a part of legislation. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an authority which controls advertising in UK. Advertisements must be legal, decent, honest and truthful, prepared with responsibility of customers and society and in the line with fair competition. The ASA has the power to force a business to remove their advertisement. Thorpe Park must comply with this advertising and promotion law. They need to be honest about their park and rides to show that they care for their customers and they are reliable. There are many laws which control what information a business should provide for their customers on their products. Thorpe Park must comply with these laws. They must provide information about their rides for their customers. For example they must make sure that height restrictions are clearly written where customers can see. Not complying with legislation and implications If a business does not comply with legislation they may need to face some negative effects. The criminal law There is some legislation which is covered by criminal law and if the business breaks the laws they will be a criminal offence and the business is then forced to be: * Prosecuted * Fined * People responsible may be imprisoned Some of the main criminal laws in UK are: * Trade Descriptions Act 1968 an Act of which prevents manufacturers, retailers or service industry providers from misleading consumers as to what they are spending their money on. * Consumer Protection Act 1987 this act affect the producer of the product not the supplier and it allows the person injured to contact authorities about the damage that has been made to them. * Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 under this act the customers are expected to be entoleted to the goods which should be satisfactory quality, fit for any particular purpose made known to the seller; and the good is as it was described. These acts also affect Thorpe Park. For example the trade descripcitions act prevents Thorpe Park to promote the attraction by misleading customers by saying that there are rides which cannot be found at the Park. The Consumer Protection Act also affects Thorpe Park because if a customer is injured on rides they have the right to complain about this. The Sale and Supply of Goods Act affects the Park by making sure that they check all rides everyday so they are sure that it does work properly and it is also a health and safety procedure also to make sure they work as a part of the quality and they will have to make sure the rides are as they have been described to the customers. Other negative effects it may have on business are that the products may be seized at the court, the business activity may be restricted, and the image of the business may be damaged. Thorpe Park must comply with legislation because it is a very big business and very popular in UK. They need to make sure that their image is not affected by anything. They need to make sure that their business is running smoothly without any implications. Safe Working Businesses have to operate in a safe environment; they must have policies to ensure the safety and security aspects. For Thorpe Park safety at work is a big issue. The business is responsible for safety of customers, visitors, personnel and security procedures. Safety of Customers Businesses must make sure that their customers are safe and secure. A business must be sure that the products they sell are safe and legislation is there to prevent businesses selling harmful products. Business which provides harmful products may pay fines or other penalties. Machinery is particularly important for safety purposes. The business must be definite that the machinery is fitted and operates and there are no electrical faults. Thorpe Park has various rides and they are responsible for safety of customers by making sure that the rides are functioning properly. They do this by testing the rides on daily basis. Thorpe Park is also responsible of making sure that the staffs are trained so in an emergency they are there to provide help and make sure the customers are secured when on the rides. Safety of Customers and Visitors A business is liable for safety of its customers and visitors. If there is a visitor at the premises they need to be sure that the visitor is safe. Staff also needs to be trained for emergency purposes. Thorpe Park is liable to make sure that their staff is trained. They train their staff for facts such as first aid, evacuation procedures, using the rides and other safety points. Safety of Personnel It is imperative that the staff at a business is safe. If a staff is injured at work they have the right to: * Take time off * Covered by other workers during their absence * Become less motivated * Return and become less productive * Lave altogether * Sue the business and claim compensation The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the legislation which protects the employees. For a business like Thorpe Park they have a major liability for the safety of their personnel. They must make sure that the working environment is safe and employees are not injured.

A Look at the History of Computers

A Look at the History of Computers Before the age of electronics, the closest thing to a computer was the abacus, although, strictly speaking, the abacus is actually  a calculator since it requires a human operator. Computers, on the other hand, perform calculations automatically by following a series of built-in commands called software. In the 20th century,  breakthroughs in technology allowed for the ever-evolving computing machines that we now depend upon so totally, we practically never give them a second thought. But even prior to the advent of microprocessors and supercomputers, there were certain notable scientists and inventors who helped lay the groundwork for the technology thats since drastically reshaped every facet of modern life. The Language Before the Hardware The universal language in which computers carry out processor instructions originated in the 17th century in the form of the binary numerical system. Developed by German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the system came about as a way to represent decimal numbers using only two digits: the number zero and the number one. Leibnizs system was partly inspired by philosophical explanations in the classical Chinese text the â€Å"I Ching,† which explained the universe in terms of dualities such as light and darkness and male and female. While there was no practical use for his newly codified system at the time, Leibniz believed that it was possible for a machine to someday make use of these long strings of binary numbers.​ In 1847, English mathematician George Boole introduced a newly devised algebraic language built on Leibnizs work. His â€Å"Boolean Algebra† was actually a system of logic, with mathematical equations used to represent statements in logic. Equally important was that it employed a binary approach in which the relationship between different mathematical quantities would be either true or false, 0 or 1.   As with Leibniz, there were no obvious applications for Boole’s algebra at the time, however, mathematician Charles Sanders Pierce spent decades expanding the system, and in 1886, determined that the calculations could be carried out with electrical switching circuits. As a result, Boolean logic would eventually become instrumental in the design of electronic computers. The Earliest Processors English mathematician Charles Babbage is credited with having assembled the first mechanical computers- at least technically speaking. His early 19th-century machines featured a way to input numbers, memory, and a processor, along with a way to output the results. Babbage called his initial attempt to build the world’s first computing machine the â€Å"difference engine.† The design called for a machine that calculated values and printed the results automatically onto a table. It was to be hand-cranked and would have weighed four tons. But Babbages baby was a costly endeavor. More than  £17,000 pounds sterling was spent on the difference engines early development. The project was eventually scrapped after the British government cut off Babbage’s funding in 1842. This forced Babbage to move on to another idea, an analytical engine, which was more ambitious in scope than its predecessor and was to be used for general-purpose computing rather than just arithmetic. While he was never able to follow through and build a working device, Babbage’s design featured essentially the same logical structure as electronic computers that would come into use in the 20th century. The analytical engine had integrated memory- a form of information storage found in all computers- that allows for branching, or the ability for a computer to execute a set of instructions that deviate from the default sequence order, as well as loops, which are sequences of instructions carried out repeatedly in succession.   Despite his failures to produce a fully functional computing machine, Babbage remained steadfastly undeterred in pursuing his ideas. Between 1847 and 1849, he drew up designs for a new and improved second version of his difference engine. This time, it calculated decimal numbers up to 30 digits long, performed calculations more quickly, and was simplified to require fewer parts. Still, the British government did not feel it was worth their investment. In the end, the most progress Babbage ever made on a prototype was completing one-seventh of his first design. During this early era of computing, there were a few notable achievements: The tide-predicting machine, invented by Scotch-Irish mathematician, physicist, and engineer Sir William Thomson in 1872, was considered the first modern analog computer.  Four years later, his older brother, James Thomson, came up with a concept for a computer that solved mathematical problems known as differential equations. He called his device an â€Å"integrating machine† and in later years, it would serve as the foundation for systems known as differential analyzers. In 1927, American scientist Vannevar Bush started development on the first machine to be named as such and published a description of his new invention in a scientific journal in 1931. Dawn of Modern Computers Up until the early 20th century, the evolution of computing was little more than scientists dabbling in the design of machines capable of efficiently performing various kinds of calculations for various purposes. It wasn’t until 1936 that a unified theory on what constitutes a general-purpose computer and how it should function was finally put forth. That year, English mathematician Alan Turing published a paper titled, On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem, which outlined how a theoretical device called a â€Å"Turing machine† could be used to carry out any conceivable mathematical computation by executing instructions. In theory, the machine would have limitless memory, read data, write results, and store a program of instructions. While Turing’s computer was an abstract concept, it was a German engineer named Konrad Zuse who would go on to build the world’s first programmable computer. His first attempt at developing an electronic computer, the Z1, was a binary-driven calculator that read instructions from punched 35-millimeter film. The technology was unreliable, however, so he followed it up with the Z2, a similar device that used electromechanical relay circuits. While an improvement, it was in assembling his third model that everything came together for Zuse. Unveiled in 1941, the Z3 was faster, more reliable, and better able to perform complicated calculations. The biggest difference in this third incarnation was that the instructions were stored on an external tape, thus allowing it to function as a fully operational program-controlled system.   What’s perhaps most remarkable is that Zuse did much of his work in isolation. Hed been unaware that the Z3 was Turing complete, or in other words, capable of solving any computable mathematical problem- at least in theory. Nor did he have any knowledge of similar projects underway around the same time in other parts of the world. Among the most notable of these was the IBM-funded Harvard Mark I, which debuted in 1944. Even more promising, though, was the development of electronic systems such as Great Britain’s 1943 computing prototype Colossus and the ENIAC, the first fully-operational electronic general-purpose computer that was put into service at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. Out of the ENIAC project came the next big leap in computing technology. John Von Neumann, a Hungarian mathematician whod consulted on ENIAC project, would lay the groundwork for a stored program computer. Up to this point, computers operated on fixed programs and altering their function- for example, from performing calculations to word processing. This required the time-consuming process of having to manually rewire and restructure them. (It took several days to reprogram ENIAC.) Turing had proposed that ideally, having a program stored in the memory would allow the computer to modify itself at a much faster pace. Von Neumann was intrigued by the concept and in 1945 drafted a report that provided in detail a feasible architecture for stored program computing.  Ã‚  Ã‚   His published paper would be widely circulated among competing teams of researchers working on various computer designs. In 1948, a group in England introduced the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, the first computer to run a stored program based on the Von Neumann architecture. Nicknamed â€Å"Baby,† the Manchester Machine was an experimental computer that served as the predecessor to the Manchester Mark I. The EDVAC, the computer design for  which Von Neumann’s report was originally intended, wasn’t completed until 1949. Transitioning Toward Transistors The first modern computers were nothing like the commercial products used by consumers today. They were elaborate hulking contraptions that often took up the space of an entire room. They also sucked enormous amounts of energy and were notoriously buggy. And since these early computers ran on bulky vacuum tubes, scientists hoping to improve processing speeds would either have to find bigger rooms- or come up with an alternative. Fortunately, that much-needed breakthrough was already in the works. In 1947, a group of scientists at Bell Telephone Laboratories developed a new technology called point-contact transistors. Like vacuum tubes, transistors amplify electrical current and can be used as switches. More importantly, they were much smaller (about the size of an aspirin capsule), more reliable, and they used much less power overall. The co-inventors John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley would eventually be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956. While Bardeen and Brattain continued doing research work, Shockley moved to further develop and commercialize transistor technology. One of the first hires at his newly founded company was an electrical engineer named Robert Noyce, who eventually split off and formed his own firm, Fairchild Semiconductor, a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument. At the time, Noyce was looking into ways to seamlessly combine the transistor and other components into one integrated circuit to eliminate the process in which they had to be pieced together by hand. Thinking along similar lines, Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments, ended up filing a patent first. It was Noyce’s design, however, that would be widely adopted. Where integrated circuits had the most significant impact was in paving the way for the new era of personal computing. Over time, it opened up the possibility of running processes powered by millions of circuits- all on a microchip the size of a postage stamp. In essence, it’s what has enabled the  ubiquitous handheld gadgets we use every day, that are ironically, much more powerful than the earliest computers that took up entire rooms.

World War II through the 1970s Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

World War II through the 1970s - Research Paper Example This is not to say that the bipolar nature of the world, exhibited during the Cold War years did not have an impact upon whether or not the United States continued to grow as a global superpower. Rather, the following analysis to discuss leverage a greater level of understanding with regards to how the United States ultimately came to be the superpower that it is today and continues to exhibit a high degree of leverage and strength with regards decisions that are made throughout. It is the hope of this author that such a level of understanding will useful with regards to allowing the reader to have a more firm grasp of how global dynamics of power are illustrated and the degree and extent to which the United States actively access to retain as global superpower. Firstly, in order to understand why the United States came to be a global superpower, one must realize that ever since 1948, the Bretton Woods Agreement had delineated the United States dollar as the international currency of global exchange. This, in tandem with the fact that the greatest economic competitors the United States had been reduced to smoldering ruins as a result of the Second World War, proved to be the fundamental boost that the United States required in order to dominate global politics. Whereas prior transactions had been based upon a litany of different currencies and exchange rates, with trade delineated in United States dollars, the degree and extent to which the United States could price set and gain a degree of advantage within trade interaction was maximize. As such, with the United States any unique position to benefit from global trade, regardless of where the origin or destination of that trade might be, the United States experienced a unique advantage over all other nations within the system (Gartner, 2013). However, as briefly discussed above, the results of the Second World War meant that the nations of Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, and a litany of other s were ultimately in shambles. As such, the only real competition that existed for the United States within an economic realm was with respect to the Soviet Union. However, due to the fact that the Soviet Union was ultimately a communist nation, it was only a threat with regards to trade and international exchange between themselves and other socialist/communist sympathizing nations (Saull, 2013). As such, the United States ultimately found itself in a position in which it could not only dominate global trade but remain in a position of command and control over this trade with respect to the fact that all trade was carried out by the United States dollar. At face value, it may seem as if the Cold War was ultimately a period in time in which the United States was struggling, both militarily and economically, against another global superpower – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. However, upon closer inspection, this struggle in and of itself did not necessarily weaken the extent to which the United States could experience a level of benefit and maximize its position as a global superpower. As a result of the nature of the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, the entire world was ultimately forced into two distinct camps; those that supported the United States and its allies and those that support the Soviet Union and its allies. As such, the United States was presented with the situation which something of a captive market was for global dominance and. Within this captive market, the United States was able to dominate decision-making, military contracts, the right

Grief and loss and special populations Annotated Bibliography Term Paper

Grief and loss and special populations Annotated Bibliography - Term Paper Example As such, the annotated bibliography presented below contains books and journal articles that include diverse perspectives on healing and providing support for the bereaved. This is a valuable book written by two people belonging to different backgrounds and bringing their diverse perspectives into their book. Susan Zonnebelt-Smeenge, being a clinical psychologist at Pine Rest Mental Health Services in the US and also a registered social worker brings to light the practical aspects of dealing with the loss of a spouse and in overcoming the grief through active and deliberate healing actions. Her husband, Robert C. De Vries teaches church education at Calvin Theological Seminary and conducts seminars for overcoming bereavement and loss. Together, the two authors are able to provide an intimate perspective on how Christian faith and conscious effort from the griever can lead to total overcoming of the grief. This book is aimed at people who have suffered a loss of spouse as well as for people like councilors and pastors who are in the position to help them. This book delves into the realm of how people make sense of death and dying with the aim of determining what spiritual and personal support may be needed by them. The book is aimed at people suffering from the loss of their children or spouses. It is an anthology that covers numerous contexts about grief and loss – ranging from Christianity, Buddhism and Native American concepts of loss and grieving to cyberspace and virtual reality and how it shapes our meaning of life and death. The authors of this book are renowned professors like Gary Cox Bendiksen and Stevenson who has numerous articles and papers on death and bereavement. Their wide experience and research with people who are left behind in case of death of a loved one, makes this book an intimate revelation of the process and means of grieving that are adopted in

Myth as one of the concept of understanding the reality Essay

Myth as one of the concept of understanding the reality - Essay Example Whereas men have always relied on concrete objects and the environment to understand themselves, they now also realized the power of intangible and abstract beliefs and concepts in their pursuit of enlightenment. As explained in Bruno Bettelheim’s, â€Å"The Child’s Need for Magic†, the answers given by myths are definite. He compared myths to children’s fairy tales. He tells us that fairy tales are suggestive. Its messages may imply solutions, but it never spells them out. However, he believes that fairy tales are effective in the formation of truth in the eyes of children. It leave to the child’s fantasizing whether and how to apply to himself what the story reveals about life and human nature. As young people inclined to their imaginations instead of cold, hard facts, children usually interpret their daily experiences with what they see in fairy tales. Now we are quite knowledgeable of the fact that in fairy tales, everything has a soul. But this becomes all the more real for children. They take on what Bettleheim calls an â€Å"animistic† view. Associating their own lives to what they see in the fairy tales, children believe that everything is alive and has soul. For example, children have the notion that animals, in real life, have the abilities to guide us in our journeys. This is for the reason that in fairy tales these animals roam freely and widely in the world to guide the hero to his quests. In thinking animistically, everything acquires human characteristics. In the mind of a child, not only animals feel and think as we do, but even stones are alive. By the same reasoning, it is entirely believable for children that objects talk, give advice, and join the hero on his wanderings. Author Conrad Phillip Kottack has also shared some similar views. In his article entitled, â€Å"Disney Myth and Ritual†, myths are said to be often used as mediating figures to resolve oppositions. Kottack (1974) illustrated that animals, are given human abilities, thus bridging the opposition between culture and nature. In Genesis, a humanlike animal (a bipedal, talking, lying snake) brings culture and nature closer together. In the beginning, Adam and Eve are innocent parts of nature, yet they are unique because of their creation in God's image. The snake encourages Original Sin, which keeps humans unique, but in a far less exalted way. The punishment for eating forbidden fruit is a destiny of physical labor, a struggle with nature. That humans are a part of nature while also being different from other animals is explained by the serpent-mediator's role in the Fall. The fall of humanity is paralleled in the fall of the serpent—from culture-bearing creature to belly-crawling animal. Obviously, this myth is of significant stature as it is one of the most popular stories in the Bible. Now we don’t question the authenticity of such stories in the bible. However it may be largely perceived th at the particular story is indeed but a figment of our ancestor’s imagination, subject to our different interpretations. This kind of belief in the myths takes on a powerful impact on one’s way of viewing life. It absorbs and encompasses one’s faith and religion, thus becoming an important instrument of enlightenment to men. Further explained by Kottack (1974), one creator and myth maker for so many Americans is Walt Disney. In many cultures, religion focuses on sacred sites. Disney’s works, in the level of magnitude of how it created an impact to Americans’

Influence Of Sales Promotion Impulse Purchase Buying Behaviour Marketing Essay

Influence Of Sales Promotion Impulse Purchase Buying Behaviour Marketing Essay Purpose The purpose of this dissertation is to find out the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase buying behaviour. This research is focused on the grocery retailer Tesco. Findings- From this study, it has been understood that sales promotions have a major influence on the impulse purchasing behaviour of consumers. It has also been verified that price promotion is the most influencing factor of sales promotion, which drives consumers towards impulse purchase. Conclusions and recommendations at the end of this research will be useful for students who study consumer buying behaviour and for retailers to implement a strategy for sales promotion. Originality/Value: Previous researches that has been carried out about impulse purchase has been influence of culture, mood etc. The function of this research is to find the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase, which is important especially during the current economic recession. Introduction: This section of the dissertation outlines the research topic the researcher chose to study as part of his Masters in Business Administration (International) in Dublin Business School. This section is divided into the following parts. Background of the research Suitability of the researcher and interest in subject Research Objectives and Hypotheses Approach to the dissertation Recipients of the research Organisation of the research Scope and limitations of the study Background of the research: Ones own personal shopping experiences verify that occasionally we go into a store with no planned purchases in mind. Usually, however we go into a store planning to buy one or more specific items. Sometimes we know that those planned items are offered at a sale price, sometimes they are at regular price, and sometimes a mixture of both. We usually have an idea how much it will cost and how many of them we plan to buy. However, once we are in the store, we sometimes buy all we planned to buy; sometimes we buy more than we planned to buy. This would have happened because of something that stimulated us inside the store. It could be because of various reasons like sales promotions or store atmospherics or uniqueness of the product. This study is based on the influence of sales promotions on unplanned purchases like this called impulse purchase. Consumers buying behaviour is based on the needs of the consumer. This goes down to the basic level of consumer needs developed by Maslow(1971). He suggested a hierarchy of needs from the most basic to the most civilised one. Physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualisation needs. To satisfy the needs, consumer buys things and this study is on the consumer buying behaviour. The consumer buying behaviour goes through a five sequential steps that is explained in the literature review of this article. Practically, when a consumer feels the need for buying things, he/she goes for shopping. There are many types of shops available, but the retail shop is where consumers can buy the things that they need for daily life. The concept of retail shops are now changing with the evolution of large supermarkets. Retail shops are now becoming one-stop-shops called super markets, offering vast number of product categories and services ranging from fruits and vegetables, off-licence, bakery, butcher facilities and even pharmaceuticals. It is a common fact that the large grocery stores and super markets have an unfair advantage over small players, by using a low cost selling, which the small convenience stores struggle to match. The Irish grocery retail market has evolved with many changes over the last few years. Tesco is one of the main players that exist in Irish grocery retail market. Organisations have started changing the methods of their grocery business over the last decade. There are innovations coming in the market everyday to attract new consumers and to retain them for a long period. Sales promotion is a quick way to strengthen the sales of an organisation. According to Kotler(2003), sales promotion is a key ingredient in marketing campaign which consists of diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of a particular products or services by consumers or trade. It is one of the effective methods in creating savings to the regular grocery shoppers. For retailers, the sales promotion is an excellent opportunity to promote their products in bulk thereby increase profit margins and consumer loyalty. There are various sales promotion tools used by the retailers, price promotion being one of them. Price promotions help the consumers to buy their goods for a reduced price. There are various types of p romotions which are described in the literature. A phenomenon called impulse purchase is considered as different form of consumer buying action. Impulse purchasing is a phenomenon by which a consumer experiences a sudden and often persistent urge to buy something immediately (Rook, 1987). It is an enigma in the marketing world, which accounts for substantial volume of goods sold every year. It is said that 80 percent of all purchases in some particular goods categories is made through impulse purchase. Virvialite(2009) based on Kacen and Lee(2002).This is a widely used by the retailers as they attract the consumers to buy things impulsively. At the present market conditions, when market competition is high and all types of companies apply promotion in their activities, stimulation of impulse purchasing in the market of consumer goods may become a strong competitive advantage. We go through this phenomenon in our daily life, knowingly or unknowingly. It is the feeling that one cannot resist at that moment, which are affected many fa ctors. An example of this would be when we see an advertisement in the store where it says Half Price sale, Was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3.99, Now à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.99. The aim of this study is to study the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase. This research determines if the consumers go for an impulse purchase, if there are sales promotions. There is also a second part to this research which determines if the price promotion is the most important factor in sales promotion that leads the consumer to impulse purchase. This study is an important one considering the current economic climate. In this recessionary period, consumers who are doing grocery shopping actually care for the price factor and look for goods that are value for money. This study establishes the relation between sales promotion and impulse purchase. 2. Suitability of the researcher and the interest in the subject: The researcher is an engineering graduate in Information Technology. The researcher has four years of work experience in I.T and business fields. Researcher has a family business back India, which deals with retail and wholesale trading of steel products. The researcher was taking care of business for one year before coming to Ireland and has an idea of what is happening in the real business world. The ultimate career goal is to take over the family business and expand it with more concentration on retail sector. This study on consumer buying behaviour will certainly help the researcher in achieving this goal. The researcher is currently working in the retail sector and has observed many consumers going for impulse purchase because of the sales promotions. The researcher himself has fallen into the trap of impulse purchase when doing the grocery shopping on many occasions. This has specifically happened after the researcher came to Ireland where there are more sales promotions than seen elsewhere. This curiosity of the researcher encouraged to do a research on the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase. Organisation chosen for the research: This research is conducted in Tesco, one of the biggest grocery retailers in Ireland. Tesco was founded by Jack Cohenand in 1919 and developed its first super market in 1956. They have come a long way through and now is the fourth largest retailer in the world, measured by revenues and second largest measured by profits. Tesco has its base at The United Kingdom and is spread across 14 countries all over the world. The company started its operations in Ireland as Tesco Ireland in 1997. The theme Every Little Helps is very popular in Ireland. Tesco has almost all the services that is needed in our daily life, including groceries, bakery, clothing, and mobile network. The researcher chose Tesco for the research because of he considers it as the best place where the study of sales promotion and impulse purchasing can be done in the context of a grocery-shopping environment. The research takes place in Tesco, Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland. 3. Research Topic: Influence of sales promotion on impulse purchasing behaviour in the context of a grocery store. The aim of this research is to find out the influence of sales promotional activities on impulse buying behaviour in the context of a grocery retail store. With this purpose, the research will be conducted in Tesco, Parnell Street, Dublin, Ireland. This research focuses on answering the following questions: 1. Do sales promotional activities in store have a major influence on consumers impulse buying behaviour? 2. Is price promotion the major factor in sales promotion, which drives the consumers towards impulse purchase? Objectives: In order to answer each of these questions, the researcher came out with the following objectives. To identify the sales promotional activities in the store To find out if consumers actually go for an impulse purchase and the most influencing factor that affects it To determine if price promotion is the most influencing factor of sales promotion and if consumer purchase low priced items during impulse buying To justify this research, and to obtain the answer for the research questions, certain assumptions were made initially. Two hypotheses were developed which needs to be proved or disapproved. Hypothesis: H1: Sales promotional activities in the store have a major influence on customers impulse buying behaviour H2: Price promotion is the most influencing factor of sales promotion, which drives consumers towards impulse purchase. Approach to the Dissertation: The objectives derived will be obtained systematically in the research. Firstly, the secondary research is conducted using relevant sources to understand the research problem area in depth. Various sources like journals, textbooks, magazines and websites will be used in accordance with academic regulations. Primary research is carried out next with the help of self-administered questionnaires and focus group interviews. The quantitative data obtained through questionnaires are then analysed with the help of appropriate statistical tool and the result will be drawn. The hypotheses will then be tested with the results obtained and will proved or disapproved. Conclusions will be made and recommendations will be proposed based on the results. Recipients of the research: There are five recipients of the research that is conducted as part of Masters in Business Administration (International) in Dublin Business School. They are as follows: Dublin Business School where this researcher is a full time student studying for his qualification Liverpool John Moores university, who provides the qualification which the student is studying for Mrs. Linda Moran, who is dissertation supervisor, who guided the author through research process to date Staff and management of Tesco Ireland Ltd, who gave the permission for the research to be conducted on them Anybody who has interest in marketing specifically consumer buying behaviour, sales promotion and impulse purchase Organisation of the Research: Chapter 1: Introduction This section of the dissertation introduces the background of the research, the suitability of the researcher and the interest in the topic.   This section also states the research objectives and hypotheses. Further, it gives a brief description about how the research is carried out. This section also mentions the recipients of the research and also about the scope and limitations of the research.   Chapter 2: Literature Review This section the researcher critically reviews the literature which provides the theoretical background to the study. In the first section, the consumer buying behaviour is described in general. Further, the researcher introduces the concept of impulse purchase. The next section explains the sales promotions and its different types. The final section describes the relation between sales promotion and impulse purchase. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This section describes the research methodology adopted for undertaking the research. This chapter begins with the research onion proposed by Saunders et al.(2007) and proceeds layer by layer beginning from research philosophy towards data analysis. The justification of population and sampling method used are also discussed later. Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings. This section describes the findings from the data analysis with the help of focus groups and questionnaire. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations. The section integrates the concepts of theories discussed in the literature review earlier and incorporates them with the data analysis and findings. The section concludes the research by providing justifications for proving or disapproving hypotheses. Recommendations are made and can be utilised by retailers and consumers for further studies. Chapter 6: Self Reflection on Own Learning and Performance. The section describes the researchers learning process and performance over the course of the International MBA programme. This section also describes the researchers development of various skills during the course. Chapter 7: Bibliography The section provides the list of various books, academic journals and websites that have been used in the dissertation. Harvard referencing system is used to reference the sources used. Chapter 8: Appendices Appendix includes the final questionnaire and project management Gantt chart. Major contributions of the study: Scope and Limitations of the research: The main limitation of this study is faced during the primary research. The sample size taken for this study is a small population and of consumers of Tesco, Parnell Street. The results and conclusions are based on a single store and cannot be used for generalisation. Another issue that the researcher faced while conducting the primary research is the biasing problem. The researcher has remained neutral to his best of the ability while conducting the focus group interviews and questionnaires. The study being cross sectional is only relevant for a particular period of the present research. Any future changes in consumers attitudes can alter the results of present research.

Homelessness in Canada Viewed Through a Sociological and Economic Lens

Introduction Researchers from the Parliament of Canada have proven that there are â€Å"as many as 300,000 homeless in Canada† . Homelessness is a major social issue which is present in society throughout most of the world; when it comes to Canada it is no exception. The homeless are known as people who do not have a home or a stable place of residence, they are seen as individuals who sleep in â€Å"shelters, public places, vehicles, abandoned building or someone else’s home† . In the past few years homelessness in Canada has become a growing social issue. Researchers say that there are approximately one hundred million homeless individuals who live in public areas, which means they are that one hundred million out one billion homeless individuals who are not appropriately sheltered . Most homeless individuals are part of minority groups such as immigrants, aboriginals, youth, women and families. However, a number of the homeless are simply part of different cultural communi ties or they may just be mentally ill. There are three types of homeless individuals such as, chronically homeless, cyclically homeless and temporarily homeless . Chronically homeless are individuals who are faced with mental illnesses or substance abuse, cyclically homeless are individuals who had a situation change in their life for the worst and lastly temporarily homeless are individuals who become homeless but not for long .There are many questions and concerns about the homeless population since the causes and consequences are negatively impacted. Historical overview Homelessness in Canada is seen as major social issue. In the 1980’s the homeless population started to increase . The increase of homelessness was lead by a variety of situations such as â€Å"crimin... ...melessness,† http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb991-e.htm, (accessed April 2, 2012). Stephen W. Hwang, et al. "Drug problems among homeless individuals in Toronto, Canada: prevalence, drugs of choice, and relation to health status." BMC Public Health 10, (January 2010): 94-100, EBSCO Academic Search Premier (accessed February 22, 2012). A. Thomas McLellan, et al, "Individual characteristics of the literally homeless, marginally housed, and impoverished in a US substance abuse treatment-seeking sample." Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology 43, no. 10 (October 2008): 839-840, EBSCO Academic Search Premier (accessed April 4, 2012). Gerhard Buchkremer, â€Å"Prevalence of mental illness among homeless men in the community,† Original Paper Journal 40 (October 2004): 385, EBSCO Academic Search Premier (accessed February 29, 2012).

List and define the steps in the new-product development process Essay

By its very nature, marketing requires companies and organisations to develop new ideas and make adjustments to their marketing efforts. New concepts, designs and products are essential for responding to the ever-changing demands of the target market/s, and are crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction, which ultimately leads to increased revenues and profits for the firm. New-product development dictates the company’s future in the market. Every person’s wants are unlimited; however, a person’s needs are narrowed to a limited amount. A product is something that can satisfy people’s wants and needs. It is one of the variables in the marketing mix (one of the ‘7P’s’). A product can be considered as the most important item in the marketing mix, since ultimately the marketing mix revolves around the Product. It can be offered to the market in the form of goods, services, ideas, events etc, The following are the classification of goods . This is crucial information for marketers as market segmentation exercises are carried out within the company in order to target certain groups of customers with specific use-related and use-situated needs. Below are four main classifications of goods; Convenience Goods – these are those goods which are bought on a daily basis, products of this type are usually considered as needs. These are goods such as milk, bread, detergents etc†¦ Shopping Goods – these are mostly semi-durable goods which are purchased less frequently then convenience goods. These cost more than convenience goods, thus people tend to choose products over others in a process of choosing the preferred alternative. Clothes and white goods are ordinary examples Specialty Goods – these are goods which are bought infrequently. If a person decides to purchase a specialty good, one will take time on choosing the good, since these goods are much more costly than the two previously mentioned. When this type of good is bought after sales service is usually provided. Example of this type of goods includes property & motor vehicles & a Luxury holiday in a high standard hotel. Impulse Goods – these goods are not actively searched by customers when one is making a purchase. However, a last minute impulse makes a customer purchase goods. Impulse goods usually occur in supermarkets or department stores. Idea Markets – The creation and evaluation of new product ideas are important procedures in the new product development process. Idea markets help companies by using virtual stocks to represent product ideas, introducing a virtual marketplace for these ideas to interact and use the forces of the market to generate certain stock prices that will indicate whether a product idea could be successful or not. Thus, the concept of idea markets has been considered as one of the leading methods of creating and evaluating new product ideas. Both the creation and evaluation of ideas require certain things such as creativity and long-range forecasting abilities, but they also suffer from a great deal of uncertainty (Creative Trainer: 2007) . The following three factors show why idea markets have been proposed as the new method of creating and evaluating product idea, mainly because they positively influence the quality of new product ideas: 1.Large Number of Ideas and Idea Creators It is essential that the quality of product ideas is given importance, as this determines the commercial success of the product. However, it is not quite that easy to determine the people that should be involved in the product creation as well as the main characteristics of the product idea. A wide pool of ideas might give rise to some unexpectedly good concepts that aren’t in demand at the moment but might be the breakthrough product idea sometime in the future. To broaden the scope of the search of the next best product idea, companies consult with several diverse and external sources such as employees, suppliers and researchers . Due to its uncertainty, participants of idea creation should come up with a substantial amount of product ideas. It follows that a high quantity of idea correlates to a high quality of positive product ideas, thus, creativity is an important element that shouldn’t be under-valued or diminished. Activities of idea creation, such as brainstorm ing, should promote individual creativity. Companies nowadays are creating and innovation friendly and relaxed office environment so as to enhance the innovative performance and creative thinking. Innovation leads to the development of new ideas in order to sustain present customer needs within the market. This can be achieved with the support of many different processes that help the company to expand into something different instead of building on something that they already have. One of  the many methods of innovation is symbiotic ideas, where multiple ideas are combined, adding the pros of all ideas without incurring all the cons, to make a better general idea. The second method, targeted innovation, is highly used in large scale companies and deals with the idea of a direct path that leads to a result that is not only known from the beginning of the process but also expected. Finally, the revolutionary idea is one that portrays a whole new different perspective which sets it apart from traditional school of thought. An example of this ideology is Marxism . 2.Group decisions instead of individual decisions When companies engage in finding a new product to develop, ideas about a new product can be established from a group of idea creators and by means of a discussion and exchange of opinions. This will result in high quality ideas that can prove useful to the company when deciding what product to produce. Ideas formed through group discussion can be generated through several activities such as idea competitions and ideation games, this will cause the participants to widen their thoughts and observe other participants ideas before acting. It is also ideal that the persons that will evaluate the product work as a group, this will improve the quality of their evaluations due to the fact that one person might see something that the other person missed and even one can also criticise the other until a compromise is found. Interactive and iterative evaluation techniques allow participants to widen their knowledge and continuously learn more and more, thereby improving the quality of the decis ion taken . 3.Combining the creation of ideas with their evaluation Most of the ideas generated will support either the creation of the new product or the evaluation of the new product. This will be beneficial due to the fact that participants can focus more towards the creation process. The problem that arises may be the fact that idea creators will not receive immediate feedback regarding their ideas, this may result in the ideas being vague or even out of the range intended for them to be in. The ideas generated are usually split into three main criteria; mainly being in respect of their quality, commercial success and new to the world. The  criteria usually provide skewed results and only few of the ideas turn out to be of a high quality. Another problem that may arise is the fact that companies review a large number of ideas from which only a moderate portion are processed for further development. Participants who have knowledge of the product and are able to create new product ideas are usually even capable of evaluating the product ideas generated. Combing these participants’ together results in a positive and successful evaluation of new product ideas. Levels of product – When searching for new product ideas one must also keep in mind that the product is made up of three components; Core product, Actual product and Augmented product. The core product is the part of the product that makes it beneficial to the consumer and answers the question â€Å"What is the buyer really buying?† The actual product is the tangible, physical product. The Augmented product on the other hand refers to the non-physical part of the product, the added value one gets from purchasing the product, such as customer service, after sales support, delivery, installation etc . Product Characteristics – When finding and developing new product ideas one should incorporate and think about the product attributes, branding, packaging and labelling. One must consider the quality level and quality consistency of the product. This refers to how the product is perceived and how the product will be expected to perform during its life. One should also think about the features that are expected to flow from the product and the characteristics of the product that contribute to the benefits it offers. Substantial thought should also be given regarding the design of the product. Another important aspect of the product that requires rational, especially in new companies, is the brand of the product. This usually incorporates a name to the product, sign, symbol or a combination of the above mentioned. Branding provides a unique attribute to the product therefore it should be attractive and easy to recognise and remember. Many people buy a product solely on the strength of the brand. The packaging o f the product is yet another important factor. It includes the wrapper or container for the product. The packaging should  protect the product and ensure it reaches the buyer in the condition it is intended to and also incorporated with the packaging should be a set of instructions and safety labels on how to handle the product . Managing the New-Product Development Process – The need for new product development may arise due to other external forces such as competition from rival firms. Innovation and new ideas are forced into play within the market as firms compete for a bigger customer base and market share. In addition, new product development may occur due to the actual product becoming obsolete and/or inadequate for present customer’s needs. There are many other reasons why new product development is vital. These may include: -Innovative/unique products earn higher profits than older products. -New products can help reposition the company in customer’s minds and shift their perception about the new product/s -Some firms market seasonal products that reap their highest sales during a certain time of the year (for example, ice-cream vendors). Expanding the firm’s product mix into new areas may help offset these fluctuations. The development method may take two forms. The company can develop new products in its own laboratories or it may contract independent researchers or firms to develop specific original products. Furthermore, we can identify six categories of new products ; 1.New-to-the-world products. (Such as the first Microsoft tablets were in 2002) 2.New product lines (new products that allow a company to enter an established market) 3.Additions to existing product lines (New product that supplement existing products, eg new flavours, sizes etc) 4.Improvements and revisions of existing products 5.Repositioning ( existing products that are targeted to new markets) 6.Cost Reductions Before we get to the new product development process there are few decisions a company must take. It must decide on how to segment the market, which will be the target customers, identify their needs and determine its market positioning for the new product. Nowadays, companies use customer-driven engineering, which is the process whereby the design of the final (new) product incorporates its target customer’s preferences. These preferences are determined through market research methods, such as the collection of  primary and secondary data. Lastly, the company must set a budget for the new product. Management must decide what proportion of investment will be necessary for research and development activities as well as the gathering of market intelligence and market research. Once this is set, the New-Product Development process may begin. There are 8 steps in the New-Product Development process as defined by kotler. 1. Idea Generation The process starts with the hunt for new ideas. The key to successful ideas, is understanding customer’s present or unmet needs in the market. For example , Procter &Gamble’s efforts in 1985 to create a bold new advertising campaign for Folgers to catapult it into market leadership began by watching consumers make coffee and by listening to their descriptions of their process of waking up in the morning. From these efforts came the insight that people actually wake up to the smell of coffee before they get to the taste And, thus was born â€Å"The best part of waking up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The insight worked so well, it’s still guiding the marketing campaign today – twenty years later. Ideas for new products can be obtained from customers, the company’s R&D department, focus groups, competitors, salespersons, employees, trade shows and events etc†¦ 2. Idea Screening The second stage is to get rid of unsound ideas prior to dedicating resources to them. The ‘screeners’ must ask at least three questions : Will the customer in the target market benefit from the product? Is it technically feasible to manufacture the product?, Will the product be profitable when manufactured and delivered to the customer at the target price? An important consideration must be made in screening ideas. This stage is crucial for companies as they must avoid two types of errors ; A Drop-error – which occurs when a company dismisses a good concept for the new product A Go- error – occurs when a company goes forward with a poor idea up until the last new-product development stage, commercialization. This can prove to be extremely costly is the idea is not received well in the market. A recent example of this is when in 2010, GAP launched a new logo in an attempt to be more modern This only lasted two days as GAP received an unbelievable criticism from the public, who expressed felt that GAP was changing their image for the worse. 3. Concept Development and Testing Having identified the right product idea, a product concept must follow – this is an elaborated version of the screened idea. The notion here is that a product idea can be turned into numerous product concepts. These concepts are developed with marketing and engineering specifics. Before the next step, the product concept must be tested. This follows by ‘giving’ the concept and all information about the product to a group of target customers and obtaining feedback and responses from them. The reactions obtained would indicate whether the customers in the target market would welcome concept or not. 4. Marketing Strategy development In this stage, the new product formation will begin as a result of the conclusions derived from the concept development and testing stage. A strategy-plan would be drawn up as to how best to introduce the new product into the segmented target market. The plan describes three parts , The first part describes the market’s structure, size and behaviour, as well as the planned positioning of the product and the market share. The second part shapes the expected price, distribution approach and marketing financial plan. The last part of the marketing strategy outlines the sales and profit targets as well as the marketing-mix strategy. 5. Business analysis This is an important step in new product development. The firm must analyse different aspects of the new product. It should find out whether the product is profitable or not and what the cost of the new product will be. Under this stage, the demand for the new product should be established and whether the demand is seasonal or regular while also gathering information re any competitors of this new product. Estimations of sales and expenses such as; advertising and sales promotion should be made to provide calculations for the approximate profit which the  new product should render. Hence, the new product is studied from a business aspect. If the new product should earn a profit, it will be accepted, otherwise it will be rejected. 6. Product development In this product development stage, the company takes the necessary steps to produce and distribute this product since the company would have already decided to introduce this new product in the market. The production development department will make strategies to produce one or more physical versions of the product concept, while the marketing department will make plans on how to distribute the product. The financial department will provide all the finances required to introduce the new product. Before the test marketing stage, plans for the advertisements for the new product will be made on a small scale. 7. Test marketing Test marketing is introducing this new product on a small scale and in a small market, in a more realistic setting. If this product is a success in the small market, then it is later introduced on a larger scale. However, if this new product fails in the small market, then the company will test for reasons for its failure. There are different types of test marketing which include the following; sales-wave research, simulated test marketing, controlled test marketing and test markets . In sales-wave research, the company gives customers the opportunity to use the product at no cost. At a later stage the company then reoffers the same product or a competitor’s product at a slightly cheaper price and notes the number of times (sales-waves) each customer selects each product. The simulated test market is a cheaper and faster method when compared to the other methods, but it is not considered as the most accurate due to the controlled setting. The company will make necessary amendments in the new product and will then introduce it again in the small market. If the new product fails for the second time, the firm will reject it. Test marketing is a safety device which reduces risk from large-scale marketing. Although this is a very time-consuming stage, it must be done especially for costly  products. 8. Commercialization If the test marketing performed on the new product is successful, then the company introduces their product on a larger scale, which is known as commercialization. The firm will make a large investment in the new product. It will plan when to launch the product in a larger market and where since the market-entry timing and location are very critical. First entry has its advantage of being on the market before its competitors but might backfire if it is rushed. When a firm coincides its product’s entry with its competitors, known as parallel entry, this will enhance the market’s attention on analysing and comparing products. Whilst a late entry launch will reduce costs while also gathering further knowledge on the size of the market. Companies usually wait for the ‘killer application’ to occur; this may depend on the season or for the older product to be drawn down and to be replaced. The company will produce and distribute the new product on a larger scale where it will advertise the new product on mass media such as; Radio, TV, Magazine and Newspapers. The Consumer Adoption Process – This is the process by which potential customers learn about the new product, tests it out and adopts or rejects it. This process begins from when the consumer first hears about the new innovation up until final adoption of the product. Adoption is a decision made by an individual to become a regular user of a product. There are five stages which adopters of new products have been observed to pass through ; 1.Awareness – consumer becomes aware of the new innovation 2.Interest – the consumer seeks more information about the new innovation 3.Evaluation – the consumer considers whether or not to try the product 4.Trial – the consumer actually tries the product so as to enhance his/her evaluation of it. 5.Adoption – the consumer becomes a customer and decides to make regular use of the product. It is the task of the new-product marketer to make this process as easy and swift as possible so as to capture the consumer’s interest and turn it into th e action of actually adopting the product. Conclusion – In conclusion, companies must realise the importance that the product has in the marketing mix. Improved and replaced products will expand and maintain sales and profits for the company. However, when coming to develop a new product, companies must realise the importance and relevance of the steps involved in creating and introducing new products into the market. The key is to develop a product which is innovative, up to standard, meets the customer’s present needs and which ultimately has the ability to penetrate the market and claim a place in the customer’s minds. Thus by following the New Product Development process, as we have discussed in this assignment, companies will be able develop a product which has a high probability of being successful in the market and which will be demanded by its customers.

paul essays

paul essays Me and Literature Parm Hothi Although I have been reading books from a very early age, the first book I really liked was a kids story book that was printed in India. We lived in a small town near Los Angles called Riverside. Since we had no South Asian grocery store or even a little shop in the town, my dad would especially ask my uncle in Vancouver to send us Indian books because he liked reading. This one time with some of my dads novels came a wonderful little color filled book with strange pictures within . My dad handed it to me said dont lose it (not his exact I went to an elementary school called Cameno Real elementary and I was the only Indian in the entire school. None of the kids even understood who I was so they just assumed that I was a weird Mexican. Everyday I would come home and read that same book. I had other books but I didnt find the warmth and friendliness in those books that I found in this particular one. This book gave me a sense belonging and it evoked and showed a lot of sentiments. The book was about a boy who couldnt go to school because he had to go work in the fields with his dad. Later I realized that the books was to teach us not to take the privileges we have for granted. Even though the story was too complex for me at that age, the illustrations in the book were the ones that attracted me. I use to imagine my self in the field and all the kids in the pictures that looked like me was an astounding thought. I believe because of my dads efforts I have started a serious interest in India generally and modern Indian novels specifically. Since I started watching a lot of Indian movie it has become easier for me to make sense of the allusions in the novels. I have read several modern Indian fiction first editions. My interest coincided ...

Figurative Language Essay Example

Figurative Language Essay Example Figurative Language Essay Figurative Language Essay Essay Topic: The Count Of Monte Cristo Zoe Zettel Mr. Warren Period 8 12 September, 2012 Figurative Language Essay In this passage from The Count of Monte Cristo the author uses similes, metaphors, and descriptive details to establish the mood. The mood of this passage is that of a dark, disturbing scene of an execution. The author wants the reader to feel as though they are witnessing a terrifyingly grotesque death. The authors’ use of similes in this passage can be found throughout. Instead of describing Albert’s face as simply pale, he describes his face as: â€Å"as white as his shirt† (line 80). Thus, the reader is able to picture Albert’s face as pure white, thereby creating a mood of nausea and fear. The authors’ use of metaphors in the passage can be found throughout. The author describes the streets as crowded by saying that: â€Å"All the rest of the square was paved with heads† (Line 40). He means this to show how many people are actually at the execution. He gives the reader a sense of false security and a hint at what is to come. The author uses descriptive details in this passage to let the reader better visualize the scene. Dumas’ describes The Count by saying that: â€Å"His nostrils dilated like those of a wild beast that scents its prey, and his lips, half opened, disclosed his white teeth, small and sharp like those of a jackal. And yet his features wore an expression of smiling tenderness† (line 85-95). : He gives the reader a sense of animalistic terror and shows that the count is rather enjoying the execution and wishes for it to continue quickly. The author uses figurative language; similes, metaphors, descriptive details, to set up the mood of the overall scene. This overall passage is very dark and Dumas’ is able to show the reader that through his descriptions. Dumas’ is very good at painting a picture for the reader and it is very easy to visualize the scene.

Analysis of Monsanto Company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Monsanto Company - Term Paper Example Put in simple terms, the company products advanced pesticides, herbicides and crop seeds. Currently, the company leads globally in the production of the herbicide glyphosate, the famous herbicide marketed by the brand name Roundup. It also leads globally in the production of genetically modified (GE) seed. The company provides the technology used in as high as 90% of the GE seeds used in the US market (Barlett and Steele 2008). Positive impacts Monsanto is one of the leading global companies committed to sustainable agriculture. The company has been tirelessly working with farmers to help them achieve more yields while at the same time, conserving more of the vital resources and improving lives (Monsanto Company 2011). The company discovers, develops and delivers products that are innovative. These products help the farmers to keep in pace with the rapidly rising demands for such agricultural products. ...Monsanto has produced traits that are drought-tolerant and this has become a br eakthrough in improving water productivity in farming. Its first corn train that is drought resistant is under regulatory review and is expected to be commercially available by 2012. This is also a big step towards adapting farming to climate change. Monsanto’s products help farmers to maximize soil health both in long-term and short-term basis. This is because its products help farmers to maintain the productivity and integrity of their soil by enabling conservative tillage practices and improved efficiency in the use of nutrient inputs. Through its advanced biotechnologies, Monsanto has been able to improve the lives of many farmers and their dependents. It is projected by 2020, this will include an additional 5 million people from families with poor resources. Monsanto has also started projects like Project Sunshine in India which has tremendously increased corn yields in India (Business Standard 2011).  

Contemporary US History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Contemporary US History - Essay Example ve many men the first chance at a college education and home ownership that their family has had in generations, which helped bolster and create a large, affluent working class. Unions were on the rise and still relatively powerful, meaning that lower-skilled jobs were still likely to pay a living wage, unlike they are now, and the tax code was much more equitable, with incredibly high rates on capital gains and high incomes – in many ways economic equity was at its height in the 1950s. This all belies, however, significant strife and social issues that were ongoing throughout the decade. The advances mentioned in the previous paragraph were almost entirely situated on white men, black people and immigrants had very little chance of actually achieving a living wage without working many hours and sometimes multiple jobs. Furthermore, the political situation in the 1950s was incredibly tumultuous, with fear reigning supreme and constant feeling of communist threat. Many innocent people, from film makers and politicians to ordinary Americans were detained and interrogated at the mere suggestion of communist sympathy or activity, and there were significant restrictions on constitutional freedoms such as free speech and freedom of association. While the overwhelming narrative of the 1950s was of a peaceful and prosperous country, there were many dark undercurrents of racism and oppression that were not represented by that view. This does not mean there was no truth to it, however, merely that we must temper our historical understanding with the sure knowledge that everything was not as it is often portrayed, and the roots of the uprising of the 1960s were all laid in the oppressions of the 1950s. Question 3: a. At the close of World War II America was posed, for the first... The first question that is analyzed in this essay focuses on Truman presidential decisions. In 1945 Truman faced what might have been one of the hardest decisions any president has ever had to face – whether to use the newest and most powerful weapon ever created on a civilian population. The researcher states that it is impossible to say whether the bomb dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was morally justified – with the hind-sight of history we find the use of any weapon of mass destruction morally reprehensible, but the fact remains it is likely that Truman’s decision saved lives. Second question focused on the standard view of the 1950s in the United States as it is of a peaceful and largely affluent country – this is a fundamental foundational myth of our times, but retains some truth to it. The third question mentioned describes a robust developed economy in the United States that had emerged from the war completely unscathed, along with a political situation that was remarkably stable. The researcher compares economy of the US to other significant countries, such as China, Japan and Russia as examples. In conclusion, the researcher says that it is impossible to make an accurate judgement of whether the United States has been good for the world or bad for the world overall, because people cannot see the alternatives. But the US citizens know, however, that it made many reprehensible decisions, and could have been much, much better than it was – but the alternative might have been worse.