Defeat of the Red Army Essay

By looking at what the areas where the Soviets failed during their in Afghanistan, we can further develop our counterinsurgency tactics and doctrine and shape our forces. Mujahideen Defeats of the Red Army An important and remarkable event in history was the Soviet-Afghan War. The Afghans, like their ancestors, battled a hostile, invading force that wanted to dominate their homeland. â€Å"For the first time, Afghanistan would become the center of a modern pan-Arab Jihad (Holy War)† (Hill, 2008). The Afghans were fighting a war of attrition just as their ancestors did during the Anglo-Afghan Wars. The Afghans would find themselves using modern weapons that had the potential of causing a high number casualties and emigration of greater proportions. The difference between the Afghans in the Soviet-Afghan War and the Afghans who fought in the Anglo-Afghan war would be the help and support from outside superpowers. By the end of the Soviet-Afghan War, the Soviet Union was at the point of falling; the Afghans and those who were assisting them were looking at a victory. How could such a powerful country like the Soviet Union be defeated by the Afghans? The Soviet Union lost the Soviet-Afghan War as a result of mistakes and failures that they made. The Soviets failure to seal the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, failure to stand up and effective Afghan Army and failure to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people contributed to the defeat of the Red Army. Failure to Disrupt Supply Lines During the initial five years of occupation, the Soviets never mounted a sustained effort to cut off the Mujahideen supply lines that ran from Pakistan’s tribal areas, across the Hindu Kush Mountains, and into Afghanistan (Roy, 1991). Instead, the focus of the Soviets from 1980 to 1982 was to conduct large-scale armored operations in locations that were considered hotbeds of rebel activity. After 1982, the Soviets used aerial assaults to assist in their combat operations to eliminate the support base of the Mujahideen. It was not until 1985 that the Red Army starting making an effort to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines. The Red Army began using Spetsnaz units, which were the Red army Special Forces units, behind Mujahideen frontlines, to organized surprise attacks against the rebel supply caravans. Once the Spetsnaz had the location of the Mujahideen, they would load into Mi-24 helicopter gunships, sneak behind the Mujahideen positions, and launch attacks. The effectiveness of the raids the Spetsnaz used became apparent in 1986 where there was a decrease in the number of Mujahideen attacks against the Soviets. The attacks against the Soviets decreased because the Mujahideen was not able to get men and equipment that they needed to mount an effective guerrilla campaign. The Soviets leadership was aware of the amount of men and a large amount of equipment that the Mujahideen was moving from Pakistan across into Afghanistan on regular bases, so it’s interesting why they did not make an effort earlier in the war to disrupt the supply lines. The Soviet leadership feared that if they conducted operations that might extend into Pakistan they would draw the United States into a large-scale war that the Soviets did not want. So, conducting operations on the Afghan side of the border against the rebels was an activity that the Soviets could justify without drawing the United States into the war. According to Oliver Roy, the Soviet failure to seal the border with Pakistan was the most significant military mistake in the war against the Mujahideen (Roy, 1991). With an unsealed border, the United States with the help of the help of the Inter-Service Intelligence, ISI, began funneling in weapons to the Mujahideen in the 1980. At the start of 1980, the Central Intelligence Agency began to purchase weapons from several countries to include China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab nations. Once these weapons had been purchased they were shipped to the ISI headquarters located in Peshawar Pakistan. The United States funded some $30 million dollars in 1982, but in 1984, the CIA spent some $250 million purchasing pistols, AK-47s, ammunition, surface to air missiles, and other supplies for the Mujahideen. By 1985, the CIA was spending $500 million dollars on the resistance in Afghanistan. 1985 was the same year the President Ronald Reagan signed the National Security Decision Directive 166. This directive stated that the CIA was to drive out the Soviets from Afghanistan †by all means available† (Crile, 2003, p 363). In 1986, the CIA approved the purchase of heat-seeking missiles and almost 1000 per purchased. The heat-seeking missiles were very effective in downing the Soviets helicopters, but the Mujahideen did not put these missions into use until 1987. Pakistan who was driven by Islamic identity had a vested interest in the outcome of the Soviet-Afghan War and made a great effort to ensure that the Mujahideen was victorious. To ensure victory for the Mujahideen, Pakistan established a network that would transport all of the weapons that had been purchased to the Mujahideen. Once all of the weapons that had been purchased and arrived to the ISI headquarters the ISI would distribute the weapons to the Mujahideen, who would get the weapons and supplies to the soldier in the field. The Mujahideen would use tractors, trucks, camel, mules, and horses that could blend in with the rest of the cross border traffic or they would move on dirt roads that were only accessible by foot over the border into Afghanistan. It is evident that without the help of the Pakistanis, the Mujahideen would not have been able to fight because they could have not been able to supply their soldiers. Throughout the war, the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, DRA attempted to pressure Pakistan’s President Zia to seal the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan with troops, but this came to no avail. President Zia responds to the request to seal the border was that Pakistan would not do it but that the Red Army and the DRA were more than welcome to do it. Regardless of who would attempt to seal the border it would be an impossible task when you consider the length and mountainous terrain that would have to be covered. In 1985, the Red Army started to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines by putting thousands of troops on the border with Pakistan. At the same time, The Red Army began a bombing campaign hitting border towns that were sympathetic to the rebels and placing Spetsnaz units along the borders to conduct search and destroy missions from behind Mujahideen front lines. The Red Army began using their gunships to move up and down the border looking for destroying Mujahideen supply caravans. The bombardment used by the Red Army turned a large portion of the border etween Afghanistan and Pakistan to land that no longer could be inhabited. This depopulation effort started to become effective as it made it almost impossible for the Mujahideen supply caravans to move freely. In 1986, the Mujahideen countered the Red Army by using the Stringer missiles to bring down the Red Army Helicopters. To avoid being hit by a Stringer missile the Red Army Pilots had to fly at a higher altitude but the higher alt itude made it difficult for the Red Army to effectively attack the Mujahideen supply lines. Although the terrain along the Afghan and Pakistan border made it difficult to totally seal the border, it would have been possible to disrupt the flow of men and supplies coming into Afghanistan. This was evident by the Red Army between 1985 and 1986. Had the Red Army been willing to take a higher loss of life before 1985, it would have been possible to slow down the Mujahideen’s ability to get weapons into Afghanistan. The inability by the Red Army to establish an effective way to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines was not the only reason that the PDPA could not survive without the support of the Red Army. The Red Army also failed to build an Afghan National Army that could protect the PDPA against the Mujahideen. Part of the reason why the Red Army could not stand up the Afghan Army was because there were Mujahideen sympathizers in the ranks. This is also part of the reason why the Soviets could not win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, they left the country without the means to protect its self. Failure to build an Afghan Army As early as 1980, Soviet leadership knew that it was going to be difficult to build up the Afghan Army. This was partially due to the fact that the PDPA regime was unpopular with many Afghan people, and there was also a deep hatred for the Red Army troops. The unwillingness to fight for the Soviet Union and the DRA was reflected by the decrease in the Afghan Army’s ranks. The Afghan Army decreased from 90,000 to 30,000 men from 1980 to 1983 (Schofield, 2003). During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, it was common for Afghan soldiers to leave their units with their weapons and ammunition and join the Mujahideen. There is an account in July 1987 where an entire 2,000-man unit defected to the Mujahideen in Kandahar (McMichael, 1991). In addition to the defecting that was happening there were reports of Afghan officers frequently sabotaging Soviet equipment and vehicles. For the Afghans who remained many only fought because of the Soviet troops presences on the frontlines who would not allow them to runaway. As a result of the Afghans people unwillingness to fight for the Soviets and the DRA, the PDPA could only build a small military force, the total that numbers 120,000 to 150,000 fighting men. With its small size and the challenges they had recruiting the Afghans to fight for the PDPA regime, the Afghan Army was ineffective. The Afghan government was also only able to draft sixty-five percent of the personnel it needed to fight the insurgency they faced. Although the Afghan Army did have their share of success, these successes were limited. Mostly because the Mujahideen had sympathizers in the ranks that would provide the rebels with intelligence about upcoming operations that were planned. Since Mujahideen supporters had infiltrated the Afghan Army, Red Army soldier do not care to work closely on operations or share the intelligence they had because of fear that the details on upcoming operations would be shared with the rebels. To make matter worse for both sides, commanding officers of Afghan units would only be informed of upcoming operations one day in advance. On 9 January 1981, a conscription law designed to increase the strength of the DRA Army, was adopted by the Supreme Military Council of Afghanistan. The Afghan Army was given tanks, aircraft, armored personnel carriers, and small arms by the Soviets. Regardless of what had been given to the Afghan Army they were not going to be able to defend the PDPA regime from the rebels by the time the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. This is based on the fact that it was going to be hard to recruit soldiers to fight for a socialist an also because many of the soldiers that had been recruited were informant for the Mujahideen. â€Å"The ineffectiveness of the DRA Army was illustrated by two Soviet deserters when they said, â€Å"The Kabul army was not an army, just a mess, with half of the soldiers running away and the other half joining the rebels† (Amstutz, 1986, p. 80). The inability of the Soviets to win over the Afghan population showed to be a tremendous obstacle as the attempt was being made to stand up an effective Afghan military. Had the Soviets convince the Afghan population that the PDPA was worth fighting for; the Soviet’s counterinsurgency plan could have been more effective in getting rid of the Mujahideen. The Soviets inability to win over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people ended up being a big obstacle that led to the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan. Failure to win the Hearts and Minds â€Å"The Soviets needed to convince the Afghan population that it had a stake in the survival of the socialist regime if they were to have a chance of preserving the PDPA government† (Delgado, 2006, p. 27). This would show to be impossible since the Afghan mullahs had declared jihad against the occupying Red Army. Knowing the jihad had been declared against the Red Army, they still launched a program with the intent on winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. The Soviets attempt to Sovietize the Afghan people used measures that included revamping the education system and teaching the population a pro-Soviet ideology. Adults and children were taught Marxist terms by Soviet institutions that had been imported into Afghanistan. The Soviets reformed the education system, reinterpreting Afghan history, taking control of the media in order to reeducate adults, and sending children to the Soviet Union in order to be educated. The Soviets goal in all of this was to create a version of Islam that the new Afghanistan would be based off. Building a strong Communist party was part of the Sovietization program. A strong Communist party would be the center of all legitimate political activity for the country. In order to monitor social organizations in Afghanistan, Soviet style government institution were established. A diligent effort had been made by the PDPA to indoctrinate its member, a majority of which joined the party so that they could obtain a job in the state. The task of trying to indoctrinate the member was difficult and many felt that it was irresponsible and corrupt. The DRA was unpopular throughout a large portion of Afghanistan. With this unpopular view of the DRA, there was a need to rewrite history in order to paint the Soviet Union in a more favorable light. This change to history was going to be done in two parts, first was to depict Russia as the essential supporters of Afghan independence, and the second was to minimize the cultural ties the Afghan people had with India, Pakistan, and Iran while emphasizing the ties with the citizens of the Soviet Union. The Soviets strategy in winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people was not to turn all Afghan into Marxist, but to teach the Afghans that they identified more with the Soviet way of life than with traditional Afghan society and customs (Roy, 1989). The Soviets took total control of the Afghan media and bombarded it with pro-Soviet propaganda. The Soviets desired in all of this was to have the Afghans forget what their history was and replace it with the identity that the Soviets were giving them. The Soviets not only rewrote the history books and took over the media; the Soviets took control of the education system with the goal of molding a new generation of Afghans that would support the PDPA. To accomplish this, teachers who refused to do what was asked were arrested or exiled. â€Å"Fatherland Training Centers† were created around Afghanistan, where Afghan orphans were trained to be Soviet special agents, political organizations for children and teenagers in order to teach them to become faithful Soviet citizens. The Soviets made Russian the official language of all students attending middle school up to college. The Russians were committed to indoctrinating Afghan children. Statics reflects that by 1989, 000 Afghan students were being educated in the Soviets, and another 15,000 students annual would travel to the Soviet Union see the Russian way of life and to take part in short courses and training programs (Roy, 1989). The Soviets used psychological operation to undermine not only the Mujahideen but also the civilian population to resist the Soviet occupation and the PDPA regime. Some of the bigger programs used included massive leaflet drops, propagandistic radio programs, starting conflict between rival tribes that would undermine Mujahideen unity and bribing teachers to use their classroom in order to spread Soviet propaganda. KHAD Intelligence would insert special agents into Mujahideen units and prisons where Mujahideen members were held with the goal of getting information on operations that were being planned and to find out whom the leaders in the resistance were. Regardless of what the Soviets attempted to do in order to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people they failed. The Afghans remained true to their Islamic identity, culture, and family traditions so it made it impossible for the Soviet Union to convince the Afghans that they were acting in the best interest of the country of Afghanistan by occupying and supporting the PDPA. With a call of jihad being declared against the occupying Red Army, it was going to be impossible for the Soviets to win the hearts and minds. The Afghans viewed the Soviets as an occupying force that were hostile to Islam so no program introduced by the Soviets to win the hearts and minds would be successful. The Soviets made an admirable effort to win over the Afghan people but due to the fact that they were viewed as a foreign occupier took away any possibility that they could convince the Afghan people to support the PDPA government. Winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people were impossible from the beginning since the Afghan people had such a strong Islamic heritage and tribal culture and that the Soviets were viewed as a foreign occupier, but the Soviets also did not help themselves with their brutal campaign to drive Mujahideen supporters out of Afghanistan as refugees. The effort to rid Afghanistan of Mujahideen supporters left one million Afghan civilians dead and five million displaced (Roy, 1989). The strategy used by the Red Army to rid Afghanistan of Mujahideen supported included artillery strike against Pashtun villages, bombing raids and, the burning of agricultural fields, the killing of livestock through the use mines and artillery, and the contamination of water and food supplies through the use of chemical weapons (McMichael, 1991). The efforts made by the Red Army to deprive the Mujahideen from a portion of its civilian support network was successful, but with the brutal methods that the Soviets used in order to get the objectives done did very little for the chances of winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Conclusion The Soviets lost the Soviet-Afghan War to the Mujahideen do to their own failures and any country could stand to earn a few lessons from the Soviets after their experience in Afghanistan. The first lesson would be the importance of disrupting the Mujahideen supply lines. Although totally securing the border may have been impossible, the Red Army could have focus more of an effort prior to 1985 to slow down the amount of men and supplies that were moving into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Had the Soviets been willing to take more of rest with their Soldiers, the Mujahideen would have never been able to get the supplies they needed into Afghanistan. The second lesson that could be taken from this is that before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan they needed to ensure that the Afghan Army was ready to defeat the Mujahideen on their own. Since the Afghan Army was not able to defeat the Mujahideen on their own, everything that the Soviets attempted to achieve in Afghanistan was lost once the Red Army withdrew. The weak Army allowed Afghanistan to fall into a civil war where the Taliban came out victorious. The Soviets should have taken into consideration what they thought the status Afghan Army would be once they withdrew before invading Afghanistan. The third and final lesson is that it was going to be impossible for the Soviets to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Many Afghans viewed the Soviets as invaders, and a jihad had been declared against them. Along with the hatred that the Afghans had for the Soviets the Soviets also countered themselves with brutal military operations against Afghans that were thought to be loyal to the Mujahideen. The Afghan population will refuse to support a regime that is viewed as a foreign occupier, regardless of the sophistication of the occupying country’s effort to win the native hearts and minds†(Delgado, 2006, p. 35). References Crile, G. (2003). Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. New York, NY: Delgado, J. A. (2006). Troubling Parallels: An analysis of America ’s Inability to overcome the obstacles that led to the defeat of the Red Army in the Soviet-Afghan War. Athens, OH: The University of Ohio. Hills, C. R. (2006). Beyond Charlie Wilson: The Soviet Afghan War. Atlanta, GA: Atlanta International School. McMichael, S. (1991). Stumbling Bear: Soviet Military Performance in Afghanistan. London, England: Brassey’s. Roy, O. (1989). â€Å"The Sovietization of Afghanistan. † Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Roy, O. (1991). The Lessons of the Soviet-Afghan War. London, England: Brassey’s. Schofield, V. (2003). Afghan Frontier. New York, NY: Tauris Parke Paperback.

Asset Classes Paper Essay

The mutual fund chosen is Merrill Lynch Global and the Dow 30 organization chosen is McDonalds. The asset classes for both the mutual fund and Dow 30 organization will be determined. The following will explain how classifications and the current investment environment impact organizational decisions concerning the composition of these portfolios. _Merrill Lynch Global_ Merrill Lynch (2006). Merrill Lynch is a company that helps individual clients achieve financial success. With a professional advisor, customers can receive a customized strategy with the customer’s goals in mind. It makes available to its clients a wide range of investment products and services. When selecting the fund that best suits the clients need, some key factors to consider include a fund’s investment strategy, risk profile, investment performance, and relationship to the overall asset allocation strategy and investment time horizon. _Class A Shares_. Typically, the most preferred tier of classified stock, offering more voting rights than Class B shares. Class A shares are designed to insulate management from the short-term swings of Wall Street, by allowing those in management to control a small amount of the equity of the company but still maintain voting power. These types of shares are not sold to the public and cannot be traded, which supporters say allows management to focus on long-term goals. Class A shares’ annual operating expenses typically include an annual asset-based distribution and service fee of up to .35% (Mutual Funds. 2006). This annual fee is used to compensate the fund’s distributor and firms like Merrill Lynch for shareholder servicing  and distribution-related services. Class A shares are generally more economical for investors who seek to invest larger amounts and have a longer term time horizon. _Class B Shares_. Class B shares typically do not charge a front-end sales charge, so all of the assets are immediately invested in a fund. Class B shares usually impose a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) which may be charged to shareholders who redeem Class B shares within a certain number of years. This charge declines over time and is eventually limited. Class B shares are more economical for investors who have an intermediate to longer term time horizon and have less than $100,000 to invest in a fund family’s equity funds or less than $50,000 to invest in a fund family’s fixed income funds (Mutual Funds. 2006). _Class C Shares_. Class C shares usually do not impose a front end sales charge at the time of purchase. All of the client’s assets are immediately invested in the fund. It is common for Class C shares to impose a CDSC up to 1.00% of the redemption amount during the first year or longer (Mutual Funds 2006). Unlike Class B shares which convert to Class A shares after a period of time, C shares generally do not have a conversion feature. Compared to Class A and Class B shares, Class C shares generally become less economical for investors who plan to invest over a longer term. Merrill Lynch’s compensation differs by share class. The fund share class specific compensation is the basis upon which Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors are paid. Some funds may set higher sales charges and asset based fees for a particular class than do other funds for the same class. Merrill Lynch policy sets a limit as to the maximum sales charges or asset based fees included in the Financial Advisors’ compensation formula based on the share class and size of investment to minimize potential conflicts of interest based on differential compensations (Mutual Funds. 2006). Merrill Lynch is a diversified financial services company. It can be expected to pursue additional business opportunities with the firms whose mutual funds Merrill Lynch makes available to its customers. _McDonald’s (MCD)_ The Dow 30 organization chosen for this paper is McDonald’s. McDonald’s was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. McDonald’s Corporation operates as a foodservice retailer worldwide. It operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants, which offer various food items, and soft drinks and other beverages. As of July 14, 2006, it operated approximately 31,000 restaurants in 100 countries (Yahoo Finance). McDonald’s change in cash and cash equivalents is a difference of $2,718,200. In 2003, the cash and cash equivalents were at $162,400 and in 2005 the cash and cash equivalents were at 2,880600. The total cash flows from financing activities was (1,736,800) in 2003 and 361,600 in 2005. The cash flows grew substantially throughout the three years (Yahoo Finance). McDonald’s Income Statement shows a revenue of 21.23B, and quarterly revenue growth of 9.40%, a gross profit of 6.32B, a diluted EPS of 2.22 and quarterly earnings growth to be at 57.30%. The balance sheet’s total cash in 2005 is set at 3.29B. The net income for 2003 was $1,471,400 then greatly increasing in 2004 to 2,278,500 then increasing a little more to $2,602,200 in 2005 Yahoo Finance (2006). The stock price history for McDonald’s shows Beta, a measure of security’s or portfolio’s volatility or systematic risk, in comparison to the market as a whole, to be at .92. In my reading for this past couple of weeks, I have learned that many utilities stocks have a beta of less than 1. McDonald’s 52 week low on September 21, 2005 was set at $31.31 while its 52 week high on February 8, 2006 was set at 36.75 Yahoo Finance (2006). Overall, McDonald’s has been growing since 1948 at a great pace. McDonald’s second quarter operating results was fueled by strong sales and margin performance worldwide. McDonald’s EPS compared to competitors is much higher at 2.218 with Burger King at .235 and Wendy’s at 1.056 (Yahoo Finance. 2006). McDonald’s has done an excellent job with their employees, stocks, investments, an  d all aspects of the fast food organization. REFERENCES Mutual Funds Investing at Merrill Lynch (2006). Retrieved on August 12, 2006 from http://askmerrill.ml.com/publish/marketingcenters/products/MF_DisclosureDocument_0406.pdf . Merrill Lynch (2006). Achieve Life on Your Terms. Retrieved on August 13, 2006, from http://askmerrill.ml.com/fa_front/1,2280,,00.html?pg=cnp. Yahoo Finance (2006). Retrieved August 13, 2006, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ pr?s=mcd.

HR Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HR Final - Essay Example A proposal to convince the president should emphasize that a new training program is critical for the improvement of performance of the employees given that the corporation is a global information technology firm. Training would require that the employees undergo instruction to upgrade their knowledge and skills and to improve their attitudes in order to make them qualified for their respective jobs. Since the global market is constantly evolving, there are training trends and challenges which face the organization that would be addressed by appropriate training. One training trend is hypercompetition. Hypercompetition is a type of highly competitive challenges facing global corporations resulting from greater rates of changes in the environment necessitating adaptive and immediate response from organizations in specific endeavors. The president should be made aware that as a global firm, training is critical for both domestic and international operations due to advancement on technologies and updates in trade agreements. As a consequence, senior management is required to design appropriate strategies to adjust and adapt to challenges in competitive stance in the environment. Another training challenge is in the area of maintaining high level of talents. In response to the demands of the increasingly competitive environment, there are tendencies for products and services to be replicated. The most effective advantage that the organization could count on is their human resources. In this regard, training is necessary to maintain high level of talents and to ensure that they are competent and qualified to respond to advancement in technologies and competitive challenges in the environment. The third training trend is changes in workforce. As universities and institutions to produce newly graduates from diverse fields, training is necessarily required to prepare them for their respective responsibilities. There are identified underutilized group

Letters to the Editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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MARKETING STRATEGIES TO INCREASE CUSTMER SATISFACTION Essay

MARKETING STRATEGIES TO INCREASE CUSTMER SATISFACTION - Essay Example A comparison of the expectations that a customer may have had as a result of any marketing and the subsequent reality after the purchase of a product, service or trying out of something that had been the subject of a marketing campaign can result in the customer being satisfied or dissatisfied with their closer interaction. Customer satisfaction determines the repeat purchase behaviour of a customer, their word to mouth recommendation and loyalty to a firm as well as any long term business association. It is far more expensive to gain a new customer then it is to retain an existing one and customer experiences do get repeated to others in the market. Marketing involves the whole customer interaction with a company or firm and any expectations that a customer has as a result of marketing have to be fulfilled in reality. Thus, the marketing strategy that is pursued by a firm does determine the profits that it can make and the success that can be enjoyed. This dissertation proposal atte mpts to present a research project that will try to investigate ingredients of marketing that can give rise to customer satisfaction in an age of computing, telecommunications and information technology networks. Marketing is about making people aware of solutions for their human and social needs in a cost effective and appropriate manner so that profits can be made for those who are providing the solutions as well as those who are communicating the message about the existence of the available solutions (Kotler, 2005, Chapter 1). Although effective marketing can take many forms, it should be able to satisfy the target audience and meet their need for information about what is available in a manner that is both pleasing and informative. If information is conveyed in a manner that is pleasing and exciting, then it is very likely that potential customers will be attracted to a product, service or solution for which they perceive that they have a need. The scope of marketing

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Corrections and Juvenile Justice Pt 2 Research Proposal

Corrections and Juvenile Justice Pt 2 - Research Proposal Example Juvenile offenders also dealt with abandonment issues, adjustment problems, and were eventually removed from their homes due to poor supervision on the part of the parents. In 1972, the FBIs Behavioral Science Unit was established in Quantico, Virginia for the purpose of studying the techniques and analyzing the patterns of serial killers. Their hard work and efforts resulted in foolproof methods of identifying variable elements the serial killer possessed, which would later distinguish him/her from a single-incident (murderer) and other categories of multicide, including the mass murderer (an act in which a number of people are killed by a single assassin in a short period of time), and spree murderer (multiple killings take place over a longer period of time, days, weeks, years (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). With this information, the FBI was able to research into collected data and research demographic information collected on their primary subjects childhood and to determine their propensity to commit the aforementioned criminal acts. As a result, their findings yielded useful and profound information about the subjects juvenile delinquent history, wh ich was later utilized in creating profiles of serial murderers as well as violent offenders. For many years, researchers believed that both personality and situational factors must be taken into account in the assessment of dangerousness in juvenile offenders, and offered instructions on how to identify the factors (Quinsey, 1995). In recent years, it can now be accepted that violent behavior in youths as well as dangerousness, is a complex behavior which is determined by biological, psychological, and sociological factors (Ward & Gibson, 2010). Experts categorize youth that persistently offend the law in order to gain clarity and understand their behaviors. There are three types of juvenile offenders according to Jones, Harris, Fader, and

The Elusive American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Elusive American Dream - Essay Example Although analysts deemed this play as irrelevant in the attainment of racial equality since it was released before the Civil Rights Movement, ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is a magnificent criticism of America’s social relations. Hansberry gives the audience a realistic portrayal of the Younger’s poverty. The Younger’s apartment is dirty due to relentless cleaning efforts over the years. The Younger’s have to spray the apartment weekly in order to keep roaches away. The incessant dusting and vacuuming have worn out the furniture and carpet. Hansberry writes that †¦weariness has, in fact, won in this room.† Mama and Ruth are frustrated with the smallness of the apartment and the overcrowding. They want to use the insurance policy money to purchase a new home, which has been the family’s dream for many years (Hansberry, 36). Due to overcrowding, two families have to share a small bathroom. Hansberry ensures that the audience does not forget these family problems by showing Travis, Walter and Beneatha eagerly waiting for the bathroom to be free while holding conversations. The pressures and frustrations of life take the toll on Ruth. Her face is full of disappointments and frustrations. She states â€Å"†¦time freedom used to be life-now its money.† Ruth must keep the family together as well as work as a domestic servant to foot the bills and provide family necessities. She performs household chores such as preparing breakfast for her son and husband. Her frustrations alienate her from the world events and pipe dreams. She rejects Walter’s liquor store investment plan out-of-hand (Hansberry 44). Ruth shows her frustrations by exploding and telling her husband ‘Eat your eggs.’ Ruth responds by telling Walter her frustration about his lack of new ideas. She says â€Å"†¦ you say nothing new.† Ruth epitomizes the American work situation and ethics. She seems subdued by the redundancy and lack of progression of life.  

Four function of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Four function of management - Essay Example unbroken line of authority that links all persons in an organization and shows who reports to whom while illustrating the authority structure of the organization. This whole process is an example of effective practice of managing by the managers of any organization. Thus, ‘Management’ can be defined as, the process in which managers carry out activities of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling to the achievement of organization’s overall goals and objectives1. Although different scholars and theorists have defined the ‘Management’ in their own meaningful perspective, Henri Fayol – the unarguably founder of modern management – has described it as, â€Å"A theoretical subject and practice of performing and integrating managerial skills2†. According to him, management can be classified into four major functions. These functions are as planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning: Planning includes identifying goals, objectives, methods, resources needed to carry out methods, responsibilities and dates for completion of tasks. Examples of planning are strategic planning, business planning, project planning, staffing planning, advertising and promotions planning, etc. It is the ongoing process of developing the business mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. It is the function of management, with which, management symbolizes and makes sure while directing employee efforts towards group and attainment of organizational goals. In this function, long-term success of an organization is attempted to be made sure by making it necessary to set immediate and long-term goals, while selecting the appropriate approaches for their accomplishment. By planning, managers try to find answers to questions where? What? How? Who? When? Why? etc. If we look at the example of Imran Khan3 – founder of a famous cancer hospital in Pakis tan – answered these questions in the late eighties and planned day in and day

Centralization Essay Example for Free

Centralization Essay Response #1 What does it mean for a business to relocate? Does it mean that businesses use relocation opportunities to expand their market coverage and to pursue the principles of economic and organizational optimization? In his article, Janowitz (2007) suggests, that relocation can be equally positive and harmful to businesses. I completely agree to the fact that before relocating, businesses should consider all available options and must guarantee that relocation does not harm the quality and overall effectiveness of the major business operations. However, I do not fully agree to the statement that relocation requires considering only a set of factors that characterize the chosen facility site. What seems more important is whether businesses can successfully and continuously perform during relocation. Janowitz (2007) is correct in that relocation is a costly and potentially dangerous procedure, but it is business continuity that should be included into the set of crucial aspects responsible for the success of all relocation attempts. Response #2 Centralization implies the need for businesses and production facilities to be concentrated in one location, and it is very probable that when decentralized, commanders will find it more difficult to effectively manage multiple units. Delisi (2009) suggests that centralization can not only enhance the quality of all management operations, but can give commanders an opportunity to get the training they need, while keeping equipment up-to-date without moving from site to site. Unfortunately, a big deal of information exists with regard to the drawbacks of centralization; and that most companies prefer to remain decentralized suggests that decentralization is probably the most optimal business choice. Unfortunately, centralization deprives businesses of organizational flexibility. Centralized decisions do not always fit into different organizational cultures, to which specific business units adhere. Finally, centralization does not provide business units and facilities with a chance to quickly respond to the changing environmental and market conditions; and although centralization may sometimes be beneficial, in the world of flexibility and innovation it remains the measure of last resort.

Concepts of Space in Art

Concepts of Space in Art In his book Space, Time and Architecture, Sigfried Giedion noted that through developments made during the Renaissance, the conception of space comes to fruition. This conception of space in art was expressed with the discovery of perspective. Through the use of perspective he says every element is related to the unique point of view of the individual. In linear perspective -etymologically clear seeing- objects are depicted upon a plane surface in conformity with the way they are seen, without reference to their absolute shapes and relations. The whole picture or design is calculated to be valid for one station and observation point only. To the fifteenth century the principle of perspective came as a complete revolution, involving an extreme and violent break with the medieval conception of space, and with the flat, floating arrangements, as its artistic expression. Sigfried Giedion, Space, Time and Architecture, Harvard University Press, Cambridge,  1967, first published 1941, pp. 30-31 During the Renaissance, fields of study particularly in the arts were closely intertwined with traditional models. In architecture, buildings were designed with reference to past examples. At around about the early nineteenth century, there came a shift in the conception of space that broke free of the rigidity associated with antiquity. Relativity in our conception of space came about through the development of cubism. Cubism introduced a new dynamic to visual representation. The framed view is coupled with different points of view of the same object, his brings in a factor of time. Joan Ockman professor and the director of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the  Study of American Architecture at Columbia University. Here will be cited her essay The  Way Beyond Art published in Autonomy and Ideology, ed.Somol, R.E., the Monacelli Press,  New York, 1997, pp.83-120 matter ceased to be understood as opaque mass. The viewer now envisaged different aspects of space simultaneously, inside and outside, convex and concave at once. Matter was decomposed into simple surfaces and lines (as in Mondrian) or became transparent and interpenetrating (as in Lissitsky). With these developments, space came to be understood as a crossing of movements and energies. The change in the conception of space is said to be the demolition of pictorial space by Cubist techniques and substitution of a relative point of view for an absolute one Along with Ockman, Sigfried also wrote about a new conception of space from the traditional. He claims that classical conception of space is related to the notion of perspective and this notion was the primary element in painting since the Renaissance up until the 20th Century. For Giedion, the new method of visual representation after the formation of cubist techniques coincides with a shift in the conception of space and develops form giving principles of the new space conception After Cubism, space conception changes from the static perception of the Renaissance. Giedion claims that the classic conceptions of space and volumes are limited and one sided. For Giedion, the possibilities of this new space conception is like Cubism with its many perspectives that extract the essence of the subject, give it an infinite potential for relations within it. Giedion claims that the dawn of cubism is an anonymous principle just like the discovery of perspective. That cubism is the expression of a collective and almost unconscious attitude and for him, this expression is also closely related to scientific advancements of that period. As Giedion says. Cubism breaks with Renaissance perspective. It views objects relatively: that is, from several points of view, no one of which has exclusive authority. And in so dissecting objects it sees them simultaneously from all sides from above and below, from inside and outside. It goes around and into its objects. Thus to the three dimensions of the Renaissance which have held good as constituent facts throughout so many centuries, there is added a fourth one time: In stage design, the stage itself can become a medium for the exploration and the experimentation of different concepts in vision and space conception. The stage is the manifestation of the relationship between performers and audience. In her book, Theatres, Gaelle Breton makes reference to ancient theatres. She says that the Greek theatres of antiquity sought to create a unity between the stage and audience areas and combined them under an open air space. This principle she states becomes the model for Elizabethan theatres which she identifies with the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. Breton states that during the Renaissance, theatre design undergoes an increasing separation from the outside world, and within creates an ever increasing divide between stage and spectator who sit in a fix position for an optimum static perspective. This resembles the painting of the time. The way theatres were designed during the Renaissance was challenged by Richard Wagner. Together with architect Otto Brukwald, they collaborated to design theatre which sought a reversal in the separation of and stage. The theatre of the Renaissance was concerned with the audience with the perspective of the audience. No balconies and a darkened auditorium focused the audiences attention to the stage. Theatre no longer sought to create the illusion of reality but sought to express the essence of a play. Breton also claims that the necessity for creating the illusion of reality became less relevant with the advent of cinema and the innovation of cubism which shattered the traditional perception space and style of spatial representation Antonin Artaud (1862-1928) was a famous stage director and the author of Theatre and its Double. He describes the architectural space that he seeks for his productions as a single, universal locale without any partitions of any kind His proposal was to abandon the architecture of his time and set about producing production that could be held in a barn or a hanger for performance. The notion of flexible space such as this can also be seen in the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe around this time. The concept is for a performance space as a total space which can be redesigned and reorganized for different productions. The sculptor and painter Oscar Schlemmer, conducts experiments for stage space at the Bauhaus. Roselee Goldberg state that the work at the Bauhaus was to achieve a synthesis of art and technology in pure form The studies conducted included the problems of performance space such as the opposition of visual place and spatial depth Schlemmers experiments demonstrated a new conception of space on stage. In the 1920s, the discussion of space centred on the notion of felt volume Schlemmer explained that out of the plane geometry, out of the pursuit of the straight line, the diagonal, the circle and the curve, a stereometry of space evolves, by the moving vertical line of the dancing figure. The relationship of the geometry of the plane to the stereometry of the space could be felt if one were to imagine a space filled with a soft pliable substance in which the figures of the sequence of the dancers movements were to harden as a negative form Up until the twentieth century, the criteria for stage design was a framed view and theatres based on the relation of the proscenium. In the early twentieth century, revolutionary stage designers such as Edward Gordon Craig challenged this two dimensional approach to stage design with three dimensional concepts and experiments. For his first production, Craig had to design his own stage as the only available space was the Hampstead Conservatoire. This concert hall was 44ft wide with a series of stepped platforms at one end to house the orchestra. The comprises made by Craig became a characteristic of his work. The ceiling height was level throughout and Craig incorporated Herkomers technique of over head lighting and sky effects. A low proscenium was constructed to facilitate frames and a bridge above the stage for the lighting man. To facilitate a cast and chorus of 75, the full width of the stage was utilized. This created a strikingly panoramic effect. In later production in Coronet and Great Queen Street theatres, Craig lowered the proscenium by as much as 12ft to create the impression of great width. He also found that creating stepped platforms allowed for three dimensional groupings and movement. Craig wanted the spectators to have the same perspective of the plays so no side galleries, or boxes were used, instead a single level seating was used. Another characteristic of Craigs productions which challenged the viewers imagination were, although the sets were openly theatrical, with everything from imitation vine leaves to crude papier-mà ¢chà © boars head, on the other hand there was a deliberate avoidance of realistic detail and simple effects of colour were used, leaving the imagination free and achieving a suggestiveness that one viewer had commented reminded him of the delicate friezes of Pompeii. For these surfaces, Craig explains they stand on the stage just as they are, they do not imitate nature, nor are they painted with realistic or decorative designs Craig studied the theatrical work as it was in ancient Greece, Rome, from the Renaissance to the Elizabethan. He noted that Once upon a time, stage scenery was architecture. A little later it became imitation architecture, still later it became imitation artificial architecture. The two elements which became central to Craigs concept of a new theater were lighting and movement. The two elements which became central to Craigs concept of a new theater were lighting and movement. The great days of painted scenery belonged to the era of dim lighting from gas-few footlights or candles, which flattened the performer so that he an the picture became one. The day the first spotlight was on the side of the proscenium, everything changed. The actor now stood out, was substantial, and a contradiction suddenly appeared between roundness and the two dimensional trompe loeil behind his back. The great innovators in the art of scenic design, Adolphe Appia and Gordon Craig, knew this before the First World War. Peter Brook, Threads of Time, Methuen Publishing Limited, London, 1999, p.48 In 1923, Fredrick Kiesler presented his concept for the Endless Theatre. The theme of this space was the structure did not have any frame, but could still maintain its form. In the 1920s architecture had a strong tendency to interpret space from a functional point of view. Buildings where traditionally of a rectangular shape, however there were no corners in Kieslers endless concept. This implies a meaning of time and space simultaneously which one can interpret as without and en, or in another sense an eternity of time. While this theatre expressed Kieslers concept of space, it was in 1958 when he presented the Endless house that his concept had manifested itself into a space that responded to human sensibilities as well as a functional space acting as a home. An installation architecture piece by Bernard Tschumi called the Glass Video Gallery was constructed in the Netherlands. It is a glass structure which contains 6 banks of video monitors. The projects intention was to challenge our preconceived ideas on the act of viewing. The monitors act as an unstable faà §ade, unlimited space is suggested through mirror reflections. The reflective surfaces which can be interpreted as a modern day equivalent to Edward Gordon Craigs walls. The immateriality presents an ambiguous surface. The architect presented a challenge to the permanence of buildings. The multiplying layers act to dissolve the surface of the glass. Lighting at night acts to transform the space. For Tschumià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The endless reflections of the video screens over the vertical and horizontal glass surfaces reverse all expectations of what is architecture and what is event, of what is wall and what is electronic image, of what defines and what activates. Tschumi also claims that his glass box challenges the ideas of television viewing and about privacy. The transparency of the glass walls acts as an opposition to an enclosed private space it also acts as an extension to the street. Within the structure, a person watches and is watched at the same time.

Con Air Worldview :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When looking through many different movies, and lyrics I chose the movie Con Air, starring Nicolas Cage. Cage portrays Cameron Poe, an ex Army ranger who has just returned from the Gulf war. Right from the start Poe is faced with adversity. His return was not what he had hoped for. After he had spent time with his wife, Poe decided to call it a night, however a local gang decided to start a fight while they were leaving the parking lot. Poe easily wins the fight due to having such extent training in the military. After the brutal fight scene, he ended up killing one of the assailants on accident. This is where the movie takes a sudden turn for Poe. He is charged for that act, even though it was in self-defense. We next find Poe at a high-security prison where he is to spend the next 7 years. Throughout that time we learn about his new daughter Kaci who is Poe’s major purpose for getting out of jail. He gains a new friend in his cellmate Baby-O. After many years in prison, Poe learns that his pardon was granted; all that separates him from being with his family is one flight. Little did he know the plane would be filled with crazed convicts trying to overtake the plane.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the most part, the entire movie portrays a worldview similar to that of the Naturalist stance. Excluding Poe and Baby-O, the entire cast doesn’t even acknowledge God. Many times the two friends are faced with difficult situations. When Poe was about to leave prison, Baby-O asks who will watch his back Poe replies God will. In another scene, Baby-O is shot through a struggle on the plane. He then questions Poe about if there is a God. His answer, I’m going to show you that God does exist! These two take a very theistic view towards God, although they don’t admit to being a Christian, they do acknowledge â€Å"a† God of some form. The entire â€Å"gang† of convicts follows a naturalist worldview exactly. There is no God; they can altar their own destiny. This is very evident throughout the entire movie. The character that portrays the naturalist world best would be Cyrus Grissom, the leader of the renegade convicts. Cyrus feels that he has total control over every situation. God doesn’t exist; therefore humans act as supernatural beings.

Sexuality and Desire in Jane Austens Mansfield Park Essay -- Mansfiel

Sexuality and Desire in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a letter to her brother dated 1814, Jane Austen boasted about a compliment she had received from a friend on her most recent work, Mansfield Park: "It's the most sensible novel he's ever read" (263). Austen prided herself on creating literature that depicted realistic characters and honest situations, but perhaps more importantly, she strove to create fiction that was moral and instructional as well as entertaining. So what does sensible say about the sexual? In Mansfield Park, the answer appears blaringly before us, as we repeatedly witness sexuality and desire represented in the darkest of terms, and often resulting in the most sinister of outcomes. Those who emit a sexual persona or awareness are to be seen as dangerous, and those whom possess sexual desire are inevitably the ones in danger, and are often punished for their untamed emotions and erratic behavior. The Bertrams and Fanny Price reside at Mansfield Park peacefully enough until their qui et, domestic world is turned upside down by outsiders, all of who, in their own ways, threaten to upset the lives of the inhabitants with a passion, desire, and sexuality that is new to them. In this essay, I would like to examine the relationships that arise from connections with these outsiders, what role sexuality and desire play in them, and what Austen's treatment of them says about sexual transgression and desire in a larger sense as well.    It seems only natural to begin with the two most prominent intruders in Mansfield Park, Henry and Mary Crawford. As jaded individuals accustomed to the fast-paced (and amoral) life of the city, Mary and Henry view Mansfield Park and its residen... ...ot given proper examples of how to conduct ourselves. Instead, Austen leaves us, rather uneasily, stranded between the platonic relationship of Fanny and Edmund, and the debauched affairs of the other characters, wishing for some sort of happy medium.    Bibliography: Auerbach, Nina. "Jane Austen's Dangerous Charm". Mansfield Park and Persuasion. Judy Simons, ed. New York: Macmillan, 1997. Butler, Marilyn. Jane Austen and the War of Ideas. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975. Handler, Richard and Daniel Sega. Jane Austen and the Fiction of Culture. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1990. Le Faye, Deirdre, ed. Jane Austen's letters, 3rd. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Trilling, Lionel. "Mansfield Park". Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ian Watt, ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1963.   

Reflection on Placebo Effect Essay

Does a Supportive Patient-Therapist Relationship Enhance Clinical Improvement? Kaptchuk (2008), Components of Placebo Effect: Randomised Controlled Trial in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. (PRO) Argument 1: Kaptchuk (2008) suggested that placebo effects (non-specific effects) include three components: a patient’s response to observation and assessment, the patient’s response to the administration of placebo treatment, and the patient’s response to the patient-practitioner interaction. Kaptchuk (2008) found that the symptoms of IBS patients in the condition with placebo treatment and supportive patient-therapist relationship ameliorated the most across all measures compared to patients with having only observation and the patients with only placebo treatment. Thus he claimed that a supportive patient-therapist relationship is the most potent component of placebo effects. Argument 2: After three and six weeks, only in the condition with placebo treatment and supportive patient-therapist relationship, the symptom severity score of 60% patients decreased 50. Also Kaptchuk (2008) found that after six weeks, the change in life quality of patient in condition with only observation and the life quality of patient in condition with placebo treatment was similar, but the life quality change of patient with placebo treatment and supportive patient-therapist relationship was observable. So Kaptchuk (2008) suggested that a supportive patient-therapist relationship can enhance clinical improvement. Argument 3: Kaptchuk (2008) also compared these IBS patients to the patients who received IBS drug treatment. He found that the patients with placebo treatment and supportive relationship had comparable symptom relief as those who with drug treatment. His finding was only applied to IBS patients with supportive patient-therapist relationship, thus he indicated that a supportive patient-therapist relationship could enhance the efficiency of clinical treatment. Critique (or Strength): The result of the study done by Kaptchuk (2008) clearly demonstrated the importance of supportive patient-therapist relationship in medical treatment. However, Kaptchuk conducted the study on IBS patients, because he believed that placebo effects are most likely to be demonstrable in disorders defined by subjective symptoms. As Kaptchuk (2008) stated in limitation that he did not know if his finding could be applied to other illnesses, I also think that if Kaptchuk conducted his study on patients with the disease that has external causes, the results will be more convincing. One of important causes of IBS is stress, a subjective etiology. Thus a supportive patient-therapist relationship may have greater influence on IBS patient than the patient with other diseases, like flu.

Samsung Corpotate Strategy

Samsung Company Overview Samsung Company is a world leader in digital technology innovation. Samsung believes in innovation and continue to look after the new technology to grow their business. I believed that company wanted to build a market in which customers are more loyal to the Samsung brand and trust in the name of Samsung. â€Å"SAMSUNG is dedicated to devel-oping innovative technologies and efficient processes that create new markets, enrich people's lives, and continue to make Samsung a digital leader† http://www. samsung. com/hk_en/images/aboutnew/corporateprofile/title_txt. if Samsung accomplished its success through the strategy of how to manage creativity, partnership with venders, and talent. Samsung is not only expanding in electronics but also expanding into other industries such as health care, medicine, and biotechnology. Samsung’s mission and vision will make Samsung a cutting edge company. I would say Samsung is the creator of the future of electroni cs. Samsung is among the world’s top five electronics brand and has $400 billion in revenue. The mission of the company explain everything â€Å"As stated in its new motto, Samsung Electronics' vision for the new decade is, â€Å"Inspire the World, Create the Future. This new vision reflects Samsung Electronics’ commitment to inspiring its communities by leveraging Samsung's three key strengths: â€Å"New Technology,† â€Å"Innovative Products,† and â€Å"Creative Solutions. † — and to promoting new value for Samsung's core networks — Industry, Partners, and Employees. Through these efforts, Samsung hopes to contribute to a better world and a richer experience for all† (http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/vision. html) Micro and macro environment for Samsung globally Porter’s five forces: The Threats of new entrantsThere is always a potential threat for Samsung that a new company will enter into th e market. Most of the companies find outsourcing company in China and label its brand. Only thing they have to do is to formulate a marketing strategy and distribution channel. Today’s global economy is depended on China. China is called world’s factory. Most of the products are manufactured at very low cost in China. Electronic companies like HP, SONY, DeLL, Gateway, Apple, and many others used China’s manufacturing industry. So there is always a threat of new entrants into the electronics market. MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine electronics industry attracted $2. 477 billion in fresh investments in 2011, the highest ever, and the new projects are expected to generate an estimated $5 billion in additional export revenues annually once they go into full commercial operation† (http://www. abs-cbnnews. com/business/02/21/12/electronics-industry-attracts-24b-investment). The Bargaining Power of Buyers Electronic world is changing everyday and in th e market there are many types and many verities to pick one from. Even it’s very difficult for a customer to find the best one with very competing prices to each others.Most of the individuals are price sensitive they can check the prices on line and fine the cheapest price before making any decision. Institutional buyers are more quality sensitive than price. Most of the companies focus on corporate customers. There is a completion in the market. The Bargaining Power of Suppliers Intel is leading in microprocessors it provided 85% of CPU so the power of suppliers is high because of low number of competitors in the market. Different companies produce different kind of products. Hard disk producers are many in the market. The power of suppliers is quite low because of many competitors in the market.Threats of Substitutes In the changing technology world, there are many substitutes available to the customers to choose one. Companies like Samsung have to keep the quality and pri ce up to the customer expectation. Samsung should understand the need and demand and desire of each group of customer. Samsung interviewed customers to check the water. The Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors Samsung group has many competitors in the global electronic world. The brand name competitors of the Samsung are LG, SK, Matsushitsa, Micron, Sony, Apple, Kyobo Life Insurance, Meiji Life Insurance, Sumitomo Life Insurance, Hp, Dell.SWOT analysis of Samsung Strengths †¢Electronics Product line and investment in other industries such as life insurance and biotech etc. †¢Heavy investment into R and marketing strategies. Company has more than one dozen R centers around the world and its 138000 R team members are working hard for the company’s success. †¢Leader in electronics especially in cell phone and more or less 60 other products. For example DVD, Ac, LCD, and Refrigerators etc. †¢Supplier of HD, DRAM, SDRAM, Memory Sticks, and semiconductors. â⠂¬ ¢Decision making process of the company. †¢Samsung provide better guarantee and service than its competitors.Weakness †¢Some of the Samsung products are not user friendly. This factor is keeping Samsung behind in the Global electronics market. For instance there are many draw back in digital camera Samsung S860. First of all the lens of this camera turn off automatically after 30 seconds. †¢Company invested too much into the R but need to spend on marketing. †¢Competitors spent on advertisement heavily but Samsung can’t explain introduce its products via advertisements. †¢Need to improve the battery life of many of its products. Opportunities †¢Globally the demands for electronics are increasing quickly.In the digital world everyone like to have his or her own cell phone and a laptop. †¢Need more production according to the market. †¢Market share can be increased in ASEAN regions, it is increased by 32. 7% during the year 2006. †¢Cell phone market is very big and expanding by the time, this is the industry where Samsung should invest more. †¢Samsung has the competitive prices. The growing markets like India, China and Brazil are very price sensitive. Threats †¢Prices of the electronics are decreasing 10% annually that is a threat to most of the electronic manufacturer in the industry. †¢Entry of new products every day. Green products and environmentalists organizations. †¢Restrictions on usage of lead, cadmium, mercury and flame retardants products. †¢R need to pay attention while developing a new product previously Samsung paid $134 million Inter Digital because Samsung lost a patent dispute. Similarly Ericson filed a lawsuit against Samsung. †¢Counterfeiting products are the major problem for any company in the world. Duplicate product’s annually revenue is more or less U$500. †¢It’s always a threat when outsourcing any product to a country like China wher e law is not well implemented to protect the patent rights.Samsung and Business Environment of Canada Study shows that Canadian customers prefer a better quality than price. Customer demands better guarantees and return policies. Canadian population is considered one of the educated nations in the world. Canadians welcome new technologies and love to learn. Sony is the first one who invented color television, and played a leading role in the world of electronics. Most of the Canadians like Sony brand and pay the high price. Sony is very much dominated the Canadian market, the price is high and products have conventional design.Samsung can penetrate the market with better advance stylish designs and lower price and better guarantees. I believed that will take time to take over the Canadian market. â€Å"We’ve been No. 1 in TVs since 2006 in Canada,† Politeski says. â€Å"In Canadian living rooms, there are an awful lot of Samsung TVs. So the brand name — whether it’s on TVs or appliances or mobile phones, any of our product categories — continues to grow momentum, and consumers become more and more interested in it. How do you become No. 1 in any category? Attention to what the customer thinks is most important† (http://business. financialpost. om/2012/05/01/samsung-aims-to-dethrone-apple-in-smartphone-market/). With Sony Canadians have no other choice if SECA use a right marketing strategy it’s possible that Samsung can win people opinion and market share. SECA should carefully formulate strategy on the target market, segmentation and repositioning the product. SECA can use demographic segmentation and divide market into four groups. Low income families, group of people who are price sensitive. High income families, group of people who prefer quality over the price. Young generation group, who prefer new innovations and technology advancements.They buy products when it comes first in market and pay the full pric e. The old generation group those people buy when they need and are very price sensitive. Business user group those people are less price sensitive than quality, customized products and guarantees. Hobbyists is a group who like to buy new innovations which can satisfy their hobby quest. SECA can differentiate its products from others buy innovating user friendly and cost effective products for everyone. SECA should listen their corporate customers and customize their product according to their needs. â€Å"Canadian expansion strategy will be on full display.Following in the footsteps of rivals Sony and Apple, Samsung plans to open several stand-alone retail locations across the country, as the company attempts to strengthen its direct relationship with consumers† (http://business. financialpost. com). SECA should use 4P’s of marketing to achieve success in Canadian market. Product; brand strength could be achieved by producing better products and user friendly products . It could be done by producing stylish and durable cell phones, brighter and bigger flat screen TV’s, cost effective, energy efficient, durable AC, refrigerators, and other electrical home appliances.Place; Samsung should open its own retail stores across the country. Currently Samsung use distribution channels those are Best Buy, etc. Samsung should use online and on site distribution channels. Price; There are variance in the Samsung’s prices and discounts which creates confusion in the market. Samsung have to pay attention on the pricing strategy of its products. Promotion; Samsung should invest more in advertisement and promotion in Canada. With the help of advertisements a company conveys its message to the customers.A right advertisement and promotion would be a key to success in the Canadian market. Canada could be a tough market for Samsung if the company will not redesign its marketing strategy. Canadians are more loyal to SONY brand. To compete the electroni c giant like SONY, Samsung should adopt a better strategy that produce a better product, price, placement and promotion. Samsung Corporate and Global Strategy I agreed more or less with the Samsung’s corporate strategy and global strategy. There are few steps need to take in Samsung’s corporate and global strategy.I will discuss about why I like Samsung’s corporate and global strategy. Business Wire of Boston writes about Samsung that it took the 25% of the market share and was star performing during the first quarter of the year 2012. I believe that Samsung is doing something right at the corporate and global level the reason why company became the world’s number one had set vendor. â€Å"BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global handset shipments grew a modest 3 percent annually to reach 368 million units in the first quarter of 2012.Samsung was the star performer during the quarter, capturing a record 25 percent market share to become the world’s number one handset vendor for the first time ever† (http://www. businesswire. com). At first Samsung’s business model was to produce more mobile phone in number, they pay less attention to the quality. By the time Samsung decided that company should produce not only quantity but also better quality to compete in the global market. They accomplished this dream with their vision â€Å"Leading the Digital Convergence Revolution†(www. samsung. com).Chairman of the company Mr. Lee played a dynamic role in the success of Samsung. During the revolutionary strategic change in the company he said that we have to change everything only we will keep our children and wives. It sounds funny but the Chairman Lee changed everything in the company. The new strategy strived more on better look and quality than quantity. The design advisor Tom Hardy helped Mr. Lee’s vision to accomplish. Company’s designe rs had been sent to different fashion and design companies around the world to have a better perspective about the global design.Samsung took advantage from its design centers around the world and become a global electronics name that consumer trust and like. â€Å"If money was the answer to innovation then Samsung Electronics would certainly rank among the best in the world. Samsung spent 10 trillion won ($9 US billion) on research and development in 2011† (http://www. vancouversun. com) Samsung can produce in house semiconductors, LCD screens, and memory plant. This is the reason why company can independently, cost effectively, and

Environmental Groups Essay

Environmental Groups Tiffany Tremaine May 2, 2011 Environmental Policies 310 Instructor: David Monda Environmental Working Group known as EWG is an Environmental interest group working to protect kids from toxic chemicals in our food, water, air, and other products we use every day. The mission of the Environmental Working Group is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles. In 2002, we founded the EWG Action Fund, a 501(c) (4) organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies. EWG specializes in providing useful resources (like Skin Deep and the EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticidesâ„ ¢) to consumers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change. EWG two main goals are to protect the most vulnerable segments of the human population—children, babies, and infants in the womb—from health problems attributed to a wide array of toxic contaminants and to replace federal policies, including government subsidies that damage the environment and natural resources, with policies that invest in conservation and sustainable development. Their research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know. It shames and shakes up polluters and their lobbyists. It rattles politicians and shapes policy. It persuades bureaucracies to rethink science and strengthen regulation. It provides practical information you can use to protect your family and community. And because our investigations and interactive websites tend to make news, you’ve probably heard about them. EWG primary funding is donations, grants, corporations backing, as well as interest and support from every day people. The cost is whatever the member (supporter) would like to donate. There are many different ways to donate and the donations can either be tax right offs or not. EWG gives many ways to donate, credit card or check, and their supporters can either make a one-time contribution or pay monthly. The donation helps support EWG Action Fund’s Kid-Safe Chemicals Campaign fight for organic produce, get dangerous chemicals out of your food and water, and protect your favorite national parks from mining destruction. In 2009 and 2010 EWG have accomplished Toxic chemical reform, Energy policy, Banning BPA, Highlighting cell phone radiation risks, Shedding light on secret chemicals, Pushing for more effective sunscreens, Banning phthalates, Phasing out Deca, Protecting ground water from gas-drilling chemicals, Saving the Grand Canyon, and Fighting for safer tap water. EWG motives, viewpoints, and organizational features make them successful in the public policy arena. This Environmental Working Group is successful in the public policy arena. After researching just a couple of their accomplishments are in the public arena. References Z. Smith, 2009, The Environmental Policy Paradox, 5th Edition 1993, http://www. ewg. org/

Critique

Arundhati Roy has dedicated her writing career to politics and social causes and is a vehement critic of neo-imperialism and globalization. Her essay, â€Å"How Deep Shall We Dig? † was published in a national Indian newspaper ‘The Hindu’ on 25 April, 2004 against the backdrop of the 14th General Lok Sabha Elections in India. In her essay she attempts to portray the harsh conditions prevalent in the entire India due to unjust laws and an increasingly fascist approach towards governance by the ruling parties and stresses upon the need to bring about a revolutionary change in the country.Roy presents her argument effectively with the use of sarcasm, irony and rhetorical questions complimented by a well supported and organized progression of ideas. However, her occasional arrogant tone and fallacious reasoning make the reader question the credibility of her case. Roy links the violent situation of Kashmir to the entire Indian state by highlighting unjust laws, advers e impacts of privatization, violence in various states and insensitivity of the ruling parties.She presents strategies of resistance and civil disobedience as the only way forward to a radical change in the country. Roy’s mastery over sarcasm and irony helps to depict the true picture of India’s stability and politics in the current era. Her use of sarcasm at various instances in the essay plays a pivotal role in helping the reader to identify the reality juxtaposed against the false picture of India presented by the government.For example, â€Å"Of course there is a difference between an overtly communal party with fascist leanings and an opportunistically communal party† (5) captivates the reader’s interest and helps to emphasize her point that there is no difference between the mandates of the two current ruling parties of India and neither will be successful in bringing a change to the country. Similarly in the line, â€Å"There'll be no more crimina ls then. Only terrorists. It's kind of neat. (2), the writer effectively conveys her disapproval of the POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) through sarcasm and enlightens the reader with the devastating consequences that could take place by the integration of this Act into criminal law. Along with sarcasm, the author makes effective use of irony and refers to the oppressed as â€Å"gangsters† (1) and their killing by the police as â€Å"eliminated on orders† (1) in order to illuminate the reader about the reality of violence and ruthless killings taking place across the country.The use of words in quotation marks such as â€Å"free press† (3) and â€Å"Creating a Good Investment Climate† (3) highlight the various instances of irony used by Roy to criticize the misleading image presented by the ruling parties of democracy and privatization in the country. Efficient use of sarcasm and irony throughout the essay allow the reader to critically analyze the imag e of the ‘Shinning India’ presented in the international community and agree to the author’s point of view in this context.Along with irony, the strategic placement of rhetorical questions through the course of the essay plays an essential role in the effective communication of the writer’s ideas and arguments. The topic ‘How deep shall we dig? ’ itself is a manifestation of a rhetorical question put forward by the writer to make the reader reflect upon the stance taken by many Hindus over the Muslim invasion of the subcontinent, more than a millennium ago. With this single question the writer conveys the importance of the Muslim community to India and makes the reader analyze the oppressions faced by them in states like Kashmir and Gujarat.The clever placement of questions such as â€Å"So how can ordinary people counter the assault of an increasingly violent state? † (5) make the reader stop and reflect upon the arguments presented by the writer and unconsciously agree to them. Similarly the use of repetitive questions and epiphora during the discussion of fascism in the essay lay emphasis on an important point of the argument and convince the reader to agree to the author’s claim. On a similar note, Roy has strengthened her argument with ingenious organization of ideas and effective support of facts and statistics from credible sources.She first establishes the problems faced by the country and then cleverly connects them to the policies of the current ruling parties and fascism. With this link and the repetition of the problems in the middle of the essay she creates an image of a violent state requiring urgent action. After setting up the stage, she proposes her solutions and effectively convinces the reader that civil disobedience in the current election scenario is the only possible way out of the volatile situation of the country. Her logical flow of ideas is complimented by statistics and allusion t o credible sources.Reference to facts such as â€Å"According to the records of the Association of Parents of Disappeared People (APDP) in Kashmir more than 3,000 people have been killed in 2003† (1) and â€Å"Utsa Patnaik, the well known agricultural economist. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. calculates that in the period between the early 1990s and 2001, food grain absorption has dropped to levels lower than during the World War-II years† (2) validate the claims made by the author and play a pivotal role in bringing the reader in agreement to the writer’s point of view.Hence, the smooth flow of ideas and strong support make the paragraphs coherent and the essay powerful. Despite presenting a well structured case, the arrogant tone used by the writer while referring to the middle class in the essay depicts bias in her argument. In paragraph 11, she mentions the middle class as the only sect of the country that accept India as a legitimate democracy despite the widespread viole nce in the country while at the end of the essay she arrogantly refers to them by saying â€Å"Not because of that middle-class squeamishness — `politics is dirty'† (6).With a sweeping generalization and a supercilious remark about a group that forms more than fifty percent of the essay’s audience, Roy has considerably damaged the credibility of her argument. Moreover, at the end of the essay she addresses to the Indian people and calls for a change in the system by massive non co-operation but by offending a class that represents thirty percent of the Indian population (Lanzeni, â€Å"The Middle Class in India†), Mrs. Roy might not be very successful in achieving her aim.Along with an arrogant tone, the presence of fallacious reasoning at certain instances in the essay deteriorates the strength of the argument. While discussing the privatization of state institutions and referring to the power these private companies hold, the author goes too far by sayi ng â€Å"in India a few of these CEOs are more powerful than the Prime Minister† (3) and thereby commits a logical fallacy called the ‘slippery slope’. It is true that the heads of private companies running state assets hold a lot of power but it is illogical to conclude that they possess more authority than the head of the state- the Prime Minister.Similarly, the writer while emphasizing on the need of enhancement of human rights in the country, illogically concludes that India’s recent abstinence from voting for a human rights resolution in the U. N. will lead to an assault of human rights in the country. The author fails to explore other possibilities that could have led to India’s abstinence and makes a hasty conclusion which compels the reader to question the reasoning of the author and weakens the overall strength and impact of the argument.Concrete examples of violation of human rights by the government at this point in the essay would have c onsolidated the argument and made the claim of the writer more viable. Despite its shortcomings, Roy’s article highlights important issues like privatization and lack of intelligence sharing with the public which are pertinent to developing countries. Privatization of national institutions is a problem prevalent even in Pakistan and has been openly criticized.The recent privatization of KESC (Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation), Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL) and Railways in the country has sparked extensive debate since the efficiency of these institutions has depreciated tremendously and the government has lost control over crucial state machineries. This can be exemplified by the long power breakdowns faced by Karachi at the hands of the privatized KESC which is not accountable for its inefficiency to anyone in the country.The fact that the economic capital of Pakistan can be held hostage by a private electricity company supports the argument laid down by Roy that privatization leads to the deterioration of a state. Along with privatization, lack of intelligence sharing over matters affecting the public is another common aspect between Pakistan and India mentioned in Roy’s article. The details of the attack on Mehran Base in May, 2011 and the abduction of Osama bin Laden from Abbottabad are sensitive issues about which the common man knows nothing beyond the immediate videos shown on television.These incidents had a huge impact on the image of Pakistan across the globe and affected the lives of its citizens but Pakistani’s were not given any explanation regarding the events by the government or the army. As Roy states, the common man was forced to believe that lack of information sharing is â€Å"a poisonous brew which is stirred and simmered and put to the most ugly, destructive, political purpose. †(1) Therefore, the two major issues of privatization and hiding information from the public highlighted in Roy’s ess ay not only exist in India but also have strong roots in other developing countries like Pakistan.The author mentions the adverse effects of growing influence of nationalist groups like â€Å"Sangh Parivar† (6) and the extremist teachings given in their schools called â€Å"shakhas† (6) in Northern India. The situation in Pakistan is surprisingly similar where the Taliban extremist group represents the ‘Sangh Parivar’ of India and their ‘madrassas’ provide a reflection of the ‘shakhas’ mentioned by Roy. The lack of proper governance in the northern areas of Pakistan has led to a growing influence of the Taliban in the region and an unmonitored expansion of their schools called ‘madrassas. These schools instill extremism into our young generation and serve to fulfill the â€Å"deadly purpose† (6) of spreading terrorism in our country. As Roy pointed out in her argument, the government’s failure in fulfilling its responsibilities has led Pakistan into a volatile situation where like India it is battling out extremist groups and nationalist movements generated from within the country. Roy talks about the oppression of the current government in India (which is similar to the policies of the Pakistani government) throughout the essay and cleverly compares it with the British rule to arouse emotion and patriotism in the reader.The writer’s analogy of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act with Lord Linthigow’s 1942 Ordinance has a strong impact on the argument while her reference to â€Å"Dandi March† (7) and â€Å"civil disobedience† (7) (a common term for protests during the British rule) generates nationalism in the emotional readers of the subcontinent. Like the Special Powers Act, Section 144, a law in the Pakistani constitution from the colonial era (Warraich, â€Å"In Pakistan, Zardari's Crackdown Betrays Weakness†) has been repeatedly used by the current government to repress protests such as the lawyers ‘long march’, a strategy used by the British during their rule.Similarly, recent attempts of the Pakistani government to disseminate peacefully protesting crowds by teargas and stone attack provide reflections of the tyranny faced by the people of the colonial era. The ingenious link established by Roy between the current oppression faced by the people of subcontinent and the British autocracy makes us realize that there is a dire need to bring about a change in the current system, launch another ‘Dandi March’ and indulge into yet another ‘civil disobedience’.Roy successfully evokes emotion with this analogy and makes the reader agree to her argument that the limit to repression has arrived, â€Å"Enough is Enough. Ya Basta! † (5) On the whole, Roy’s effective use of literary devices, rhetorical questions and an ingeniously structured argument captivates the reader’s intere st and despite its shortcomings in terms of reasoning, it eventually persuades the audience to give in to the view presented by the writer.Articles of this genre in the past have influenced Indian history and it is their growing popularity and recent impact on politics that has led to an immense support by the common people to revolutionary movements like the anti-corruption campaign by Anna Hazare. Therefore, Arundhati Roy’s â€Å"How Deep Shall We Dig? † not only serves as a critique on the current political system of India but has far reaching consequences in terms of awakening a nation from ignorance and directing it to a path of revolution.

Dmitri Shostakovich Essay

Dmitri Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg Russia. He was the 2nd of 3 kids from Sofia Kokalouina (pianist), and Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostrakovich (chemical engineer). Dmitri’s mom, Sofia, taught him how to play the piano at age 9, and Dmitri stood out as a prodigy. When Dmitri turned 13 his parents enrolled him in St. Petersburg Conservatory which is where he began to study piano and composition. In 1925 Dmitri graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and wrote his 1st classical symphony which he named, â€Å"1st Symphony†, as his graduation piece. After Dmitri graduated from the conservatory, he worked as a concert pianist for money and composed pieces in his spare time. Later, after much work, Dmitri managed to win the honorable mention award at the Warsaw International Piano Competition in 1927. After the contest, composer Bruno Walter very much impressed offered to conduct his â€Å"1st Symphony† in Berlin. In 1927 Dmitri finished his â€Å"2nd Symphony† and started working on his 1st opera which he would name, â€Å"The Nose†. In 1930 he finally finished it and premiered it but it turned out to be a failure. It got poor reviews from people like Dmitri Kabalevsky who criticized his music for political reasons. It was so bad that the opera got banned from Russia. Dmitri was devastated and had a nervous breakdown and later had suicidal thoughts, but was treated. Later on Dmitri met a woman named Nina Varzar and married her in 1932. The marriage went well until 1935 when they divorced over a long period of discussions, but later on they got reunited. World War II broke with Germany in 1941 and Dmitri served as a fire warden for a propaganda poster, but he still found time to write his 7th Symphony. This symphony was very popular and served as a form of inspiration for the Russian army. Feeling accomplished Dmitri wrote his 8th symphony which was very different from his 7th. This piece too turned out to be banned from Russia until 1960. In the mid 1940’s Dmitri wrote his â€Å"Violin Concerto No. 1† and it was a success. And in 1949 he composed â€Å"The Song of the Forests† and making Joseph Stalin (Russia’s dictator during the time) â€Å"the great gardener† it was accepted and liked by the people. After Stalin’s death in 1953 Dmitri composed his 10th symphony which was practically dedicated to him. In 1954 Dmitri’s wife Nina died , and he stayed alone for 2 years until he met Margarita Kainova in 1956 and married her, but divorced in 1959. Later on in 1960 Dmitri joined the Communist Party (something he wanted to do since he was very young) but then regretted it. Then in 1962 he married again to a woman named Irina Supinskaya. The fact that their ages differenced by 29 years didn’t matter to them because they stayed together until Dmitri’s death.

Poetry essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Poetry - Essay Example Standing in the direct line of poet-critics from Philip Sydney to T.S Eliot, he hoped that literature would rise and take up the place of religion offering consolation and sustenance to man. His short poem â€Å"Dover Beach† reflects his melancholic temperament and his dismay at the retreating tide of religious faith. He extols humanity to hold fast to one another because the world is a deceptive and dangerous place, the darkness of which needs moral and spiritual enlightenment to guide people through. The poem begins with tempting description of the night-scene from the Dover Beach. The sea is described as calm, the tide full, â€Å"the moon lies fair upon the straits†, the distant lights on the French coast come on and off, the vast cliffs of England stand â€Å"glimmering†, the bay is tranquil, and the night air is sweet. The speaker invites the other to come to the window and witness the alluring scene. The poem is in the form of a talk, and there is an inevitable presence of a listener. The speaker is airing his thoughts and feelings to an intimate ‘other’ present with him. The seventh line in the first stanza of the poem marks the transition in the speaker’s mood. From the alluring description of the outside view and the invitation to share the beautiful moment with him at the window, he swiftly moves to the melancholic aspect of the repetitive sound of the waves gathering and flinging back the pebbles from the shore on their coming and retreating. He calls this â€Å"the grating roar of pebbles†. The noise is disturbing in its recurring pattern of â€Å"Begin, and cease, and then again begin†. The slow and â€Å"tremulous cadence† of the waves bring to the poet â€Å"the external note of sadness in†. Arnold uses poetic techniques like inversion to heighten the impact of his words. In the last lines of the first stanza the inversion in â€Å"with tremulous cadence slow† works wonders bringing home the