Contexts of Behavior Essay

Insights are generally aplenty. These are my assessments so far. Work-life initiatives are strategies implemented by firms to reduce turnover and increase productivity and overall firm performance. Studies were made to examine the influence and effects of work-life initiatives on employees and the organization in general. Workplace diversity which incorporates the concepts of work-life initiatives does indicate that it is inevitable that when a company introduces work-life initiatives, there is a resulting increase in diversity. Substantial evidence point to the effectiveness of workplace diversity hence, many institutions encourage and promote this in their particular milieu (http://www. cmdronline. com/workshops. htm). It is inevitable that juggling work and family life will be one of a person’s demanding experiences. The rationale for having a job is not only to have a livelihood, achieve personal satisfaction in the expression of his abilities and trainings, and receive his remuneration and perks on the side. Preparation for family stability to be able to provide and thus create an atmosphere of care, for bachelors/maidens, is also the foremost and logical reason for having a job. However, the thin thread that separates between the two polarities becomes blurred, and there lies the tension that pulls a person in different directions. The Center for Mediation and Dispute Resolution opens its website with the following quote: â€Å"Our life is one giant balancing act (http://www. cmdronline. com/workshops. htm). † Perhaps, no person will ever disagree with that statement. The goal then is to know how to do the balancing act, to gain competencies in achieving a rewarding, flourishing kind of life that holds work in one hand, while maintaining a well-nurtured and healthy family on the other hand. Every home has its set of beliefs or tradition that they hold in high esteem. This is referred to as family values. Anything that the family believes is important comprises a family values system. Among the values an individual possesses, the most important I believe is that a person must regard most his/her values about family as the most significant. Many people don’t usually pause and contemplate what their values are. They may not know whether these values they already have are still practical or useful in a modern day world. Moreover, they do not think how their values fit in with their kind of milieu that they evolve in. There are families that take time out though to impart to their children what had been passed on to them when they too were yet very young. The values may not be as strong as when were yet children because the person may have adapted to his world and adjusted his values that others may be accommodated. Through the years, a family value system may be a combination of what had been passed on to an individual and the values system of one’s friends or colleagues at work (†Values: What are they? † 2007). Why are family values important? The primary reason is that what we hold as important affects how we use time, money and energy or how we interact with people. If a family believes the importance of education then parents try to save for the schooling of their children which includes books among others. Family values influence how we spend our resources and make decisions. Parents then need to communicate what their own family values are, why these are important and the specifics of what are most essential that the children must also adopt or follow. Children also need to respect others who have dissimilar value system as compared to their own. Most likely values will evolve but when parents lead the children and model these beliefs, their children will be able to learn and pass these on to the next generation (†Values: What are they? † 2007). In addition, insights on work efficiency greatly challenged me to perform well alongside preserving my values at home. I raise or contribute to my family livelihood and time comes when I will manage people, I generally know what I want to see in them. We consider one person more efficient than another if he accomplishes more in the same time, or with the same energy expenditure. Other factors that have an important bearing on efficiency are: (1) the adequacy of training for the job; (2) the characteristics of the machine and other devices; (3) the motivation and related conditions of work; and (4) the degree to which performance is free from fatigue. It is common in business to have employees whose performances are not satisfactory and who are sometimes an actual problem to management. But it will be difficult all the more when as a person – I am not able or find myself in incomplete control of things that are happening around me. Reference: Halonen, JS and JW Santrock, 1996. Psychology: Contexts of Behavior, Dubuque, IA: Brown and Benchmark, p. 810. â€Å"Values: what are they? †2007. Family Works : University of Illinois extension. Accessed November 10. 2007. http://www. urbanext. uiuc. edu/familyworks/values-01. html

Wild Swans

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China is a memoir of three generations of Chinese women from Imperial China through and beyond the Cultural Revolution. Chang's grandmother was a warlord's concubine. Her gently raised mother struggled with hardships in the early days of Mao's revolution and rose, like her husband, to a prominent position in the Communist Party before being denounced during the Cultural Revolution. Chang herself marched, worked, and breathed for Mao until doubt crept in over the excesses of his policies and purges. Born just a few decades apart, their lives overlap with the end of the warlords' regime and overthrow of the Japanese occupation, violent struggles between the Kuomintang and the Communists to carve up China, and, most poignant for the author, the vicious cycle of purges orchestrated by Chairman Mao that discredited and crushed millions of people, including her parents. Jung Chang has said that her intention in writing Wild Swans was to show how the Chinese people, and in particular the women in her family, â€Å"fought tenaciously and courageously against impossible odds. The book is, indeed, a testimony to the strength and determination of herself, her mother and her grandmother and their resourcefulness in recreating themselves time and again in the face of suffering, humiliation and disillusionment. Personal and historical stories interweave and the stories of these women and their families act as a lens through which we gain further insight into the turbulent history of twentieth century China. One such insight involves the treatment of women in Chinese society through the years. There are no stunning revelations here but there are many horrific reminders. The grandmother's early life reveals a litany of horrors, such as the torture which was the custom of foot binding and the slavery and hardship that was the lot of the concubine. Chang's mother endures a different kind of hardship, one born of her husband's unbending principles and her own loyalty to a warped ideology. At eighteen, and despite the fact that she is pregnant, she is forced to walk a journey of one thousand miles through five mountain passes, while her husband, a senior officer in the communist guerrilla army, rides in a jeep. He insists that she must walk lest he be accused of favouritism. The miscarriage that results does not, however, diminish the fanaticism which induced it, and it is not until his idealism has been totally shattered that he begins to realise the pain endured for its sake. This tragedy of collapsed idealism and disillusionment lies at the heart of Wild Swans. Chang's parents' dogged loyalty is rewarded by punishment and humiliation when the fear, through which control was maintained, infects the movement itself in the form of paranoia and suspicion. Jung Chang herself moves through the stages of allegiance, confusion and eventual disillusionment as the true nature of Maoism begins to reveal itself. Her father, now a victim of his own inflexibility, dies tormented, while Jung Chang and her mother find ways of using their experience to forge new lives for themselves. In fiction, such victory over evil might be considered improbable. In reality, it is nothing short of a miracle. The genre of this novel is autobiography, which is realistically and vividly told. There are some very vivid and warm insights given of human relationships and love. The need for security and family is vividly evoked and subtly rendered. It forms a very faithful record and history of some of the worst atrocities in China, a regime that showed itself to be totally self-destructive at the end. The narrative is brisk and fluid. At times the narrative verges on something similar to a journalists report. The conclusion however is optimistic. Some of the values, which are portrayed in this book, are love, family life, loyalty, courage and a belief in the essential dignity of the human being. this novel written by Jung Chang traces the life of three generations of her family. Set in China it gives us an insight into almost eighty years of the cultural history of that country, beginning in the year 1909 and moving up to the present day. The author a native Chinese now living in London builds the narrative around her own experiences and her family all of whose lives spans different cultural periods in China's history. The ‘Three Daughters' of the title are Chang herself, her mother and her maternal grandmother and the novel chronicles the events of their lives spanning a century of China's stormy history. Chang begins the story by recounting her grandmother's experiences, in the 1920s, as concubine to a powerful warlord and her eventual escape from his household. She continues with the story of her mother's involvement, during the 1940s, 50s and 60s, with the communist movement under Mao Tse Tung and her parents' fall from power and subsequent imprisonment under the same regime. She goes on the recall her own experiences with the brutal Red Guards, her â€Å"re-education† as a farm and factory worker and her eventual departure from China to Great Britain in 1978. Women's Place in Chinese Culture The early part of the novel shows the position of the woman in this culture. Women had no position or point of view on things; they were used as objects, treated as concubines and treated with disdain by society. The development of Communism is treated with realism and evokes the most gruesome aspects of Mao's regime of dictatorship. The reiterated use of physical violence becomes almost excessive at times. The destruction of Chinese culture, its seats of learning, books artistic treasures are not only mindless but also shown to be satanic at times. The death of Mao frees the country somewhat from this state of oppression. Universities are free to function, intellectuals come tot the fore again and people are free to articulate their opposition to the regime. Violence The novel reflects the depths of cruelty and unnatural behaviour, which the human being can descend. Communism All the horrors of life under Mao's regime are depicted in graphic detail, and the underlying corruption, which sparked off the Cultural Revolution, is vividly recorded. As the novel unfolds the profoundly sadistic features of Communism and especially the Cultural Revolution are exposed. Family life is slowly but systematically destroyed by suspicion and lies. Distrust and Deceit are rampant in this society and everyone is used to undermine their neighbour. It is an oppressive and stifling atmosphere sustained by brutal torture and violence, where betrayal and slander are rife. Wild Swans Jung Chang’s 1991 novel, ‘Wild Swans’ gives the reader a significant insight into a period of uncertainty and insecurity in Chinese history. From the novel the viewer is able to identify universal issues which are still prevalent today. Feminism recurs throughout the text as the women fight for respect as their society faces turmoil, using the communist rein of Mao as their opportunity for equality. Wang Yu represents the public as his own values clash with that of the communists. Due to his unswerving loyalty to the party he dismisses his own morals for that of a higher power.Grandfather Wu ‘Er-ya-tous’ attitude is echoed throughout the text as he believed that a women should suppress their emotions and to have no opinion. This is demonstrated as each women of each generation struggles against this outlook and either succumbs or fights against it. Foot binding represents submission to traditional values and conventions, a metaphor for women’s lack of rights. Women constantly modified their bodies to conform to society’s expectations, indicating their lack of dependency and individuality.Power and status is based on a man’s property such as concubines being collected. â€Å"it was good for a man in his position to have as many concubines as possible – they showed a man’s status†. This exhibits this period of Chinese history as emotional attachment is removed and women are treated as a possession which bettered her husband’s prestige. â€Å"swallowed opium to accompany him into death†. This establishes that there was no escape from the obedience which is forced upon the women by society.Women’s lives were dedicated to serving their men as they followed them into death. â€Å"seen as a means of keeping people like her contented† society wanted people such as concubines to be in a constant haze where there was no chance of critical thinking or rebellion. â€Å"T he first my grandmother knew.. † this demonstrates the grandmothers lack of participation in her own affairs. Jung Chang’s emotive writing style aims for sympathy from the reader as she is factual and brunt, hoping for the reader to connect to the situation as they apply their own emotions.The changing roles of women are significant as it demonstrates a time of change in Chinese history. As equality in wealth is fought for under Mao’s rein the women have also fought for equality in genders. The traditional saying, â€Å"Women have long hair and short intelligence† is distinguished as the women are displayed as strong and independent in the generation of De-Hong. These individuals are a contrast to their previous generation who were submissive and obedient.As three generations of women are represented in the novel the audience has a rich understanding of the lives of women in a shifting period of history. Wang Yu (Jung Chang’s father) can be consider ed a representation of the people of China as he gives his unswerving loyalty to communism. Although his personal values and the values of communism clash he continues to stand for communism and bring justice to for the cause. â€Å"Dr Xia could tell that my father was not fully convinced himself, but felt he had to defend the party†.This demonstrates Wang Yu’s uncertainty about the morals of the communism yet indicates his need for equality of the people. This could be due to his youth being surrounded by poverty while many flaunted their wealth around him. Objective language is used throughout the novel in order to shock the audience as they describe brutal events in a factual manner. The reader is able to understand the fear of the public as an example of children being forced to watch the torture of rebels is executed in order to prevent an uprising.This indicates that the people were forced into loyalty by fear. By the voice having such an unsympathetic recount of the story she has actually manipulated the audience as they feel protective over the children. This universal theme of loyalty to your country’s values is exposed in an undesirable manner in the text as many primary characters are negatively affected. De-Hong (Jung Chang’s mother) becomes embittered by her husband as he displays allegiance to the revolution before her. â€Å"One night she could not stand it anymore, and burst into tears for the first time†.This demonstrates Wang Yu’s complete dedication to communism as his strict rules come before his wife. Jung Chang criticises her father’s strict and unswerving loyalty to communism as the hardship he had enforced onto his family can be compared to the suffering caused by the corruption within the party. â€Å"Dong’s conscience was troubled, and that whenever he was due to garrotte someone, he had to get himself drunk beforehand†. The executioner displays his lack of belief in the c ause as he has to be intoxicated before killing a person.This expresses to the audience that he understands that the beliefs of Mao are wrong but due to fear he is forced to continue. Jung Chang has provided the audience of ‘Wild Swans’ a clear insight into Chinese history as major changes developed throughout three significant generations of women. Universal issues are displayed as women begin their fight for equality and the reasons for loyalty are questioned in an uncertain environment. The reader gains comprehension of these matters through Jung Chang’s representation of the events.

Othello Essay Topic Iago Isn’t Completely to Blame for This Tragedy as Cassio Was Wrongly Appointed by Othello and This Caused the Tragedy

Iago isn’t completely to blame for this tragedy as Cassio was wrongly appointed by Othello and this caused the tragedy. Do you agree? In William Shakespeare’s seventeenth century play Othello readers can see that Iago isn’t the only one responsible for the tragedies within this text as he didn’t actually kill the Othello or Desdemona and all people have free will and must choose to accept manipulation. Although Iago played a major role in bringing about the disaster evident in this script, other characters played a supporting although vital role. The Elizabethan play is set during a time of war and racial conflict. This social climate breeds insecurity in the minds of its people. Of course Iago plays a major role in the tragedy that is this play. He admits he ‘hate[s] the moor’ and whispers ‘pestilence’ in Othello’s ear. The metaphor is important as Iago admits he knows what he is doing is wrong and realises the power his toxic words will have and still goes ahead. He claims both that he is ‘honest iago’ and that he freely gives Othello his ‘wit, hands and heart’ to serve his Lieutenant though Iago’s actions differ from his words. He tells us he is ‘not what [he appears to be]’ and that â€Å"there are many events in the womb of time† which is a metaphor for the fate he attempts to write for himself-â€Å"hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the worlds light. † He plays on the racism of the time saying â€Å"if [Desdemona had] seem blessed, she never would have loved the moor† and uses this to build insecurity within Othello- suggesting Moor Othello could never satisfy the ‘appetites’ of a fair skinned woman, him being ‘black Othello’ and their union thus ‘unnatural’ and assumed ‘witchcraft’ by many. He shows his preference for personal gain over honour when Cassio is worried about damaging his reputation after the ‘barbarous brawl’ and Iago rebuts that physical wounds are worse than a damaged reputation which can be easily mended. While he claims to ‘speak to [Othello] with honest kindness, he lies and plans so that â€Å"how much [Desdemona] strives to do him [Cassio] good' by defending his name, the more suspicious will Othello be. This shows that Igao hopes his ‘purpose [shall] work on’ Othello and although he claims he ‘should rather have [his] tongue cut from [his] mouth should [do] do offence to Michael Cassio this is clearly untrue showing his dishonest nature. Thus we see while Iago gives ‘heavenly shows’ he says in an aside, he embodies the juxtaposing idea of ‘hell’ and by turning Othello against Cassio and Othello’s own wife and ruining the one he claims to serve. He admits his desire from the start to make a ‘net’ to catch them all. He makes the most of his ‘sir.. eaten up with passion’ and does not ‘lead directly to the door of truth’ showing his overt responsibility is the death and destruction that his plans propel. There is a time when we can hope that Othello may not believe Iago’s lies anymore- when he demands Iago ‘prove [Othello’s] love a whore’ but then Iago pretends to be hurt claims ‘honesty’s a fool.. since love brings such offence’ suggesting Othello lack of belief in his ensign emotionally wounds Iago. Othello foolishly falls for this. Othello foolishly believes the words of Iago when he claims he ‘lay with Cassio lately.. in sleep [where he claims people confess the truth, he] heard him [Cassio]say sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our love and kiss, touch, cry.. curst fate that gave thee to the moor’ and of the sacred handkerchief Othello gave wife Desdemona, ‘such a handkerchief did [Iago claim to] today see Cassio wipe his beard with. ’ He says he doesn’t ‘mock’ Othello but he clearly does and Othello lets him believing Iago ‘will do [Othello’s] command’ when he does his own. Iago is though, assisted by his deceptive wife Emilia. Emilia takes the handkerchief from Desdemona which sets up the supposed ‘proof’ of the accusations Iago makes against Desdemona. She says she ‘found that handkerchief and did give it [to her] husband’ and when Iago tells her he told Othello ‘what [he honestly] thought’ about Desdemona she cannot stand his lies anymore and says his ‘reports have set the murder and [he] has killed the sweet and innocent’ and gives her life to save the name of the woman she loved but also the one she helped to kill. Her guilt propels her to confess her and thus her role cannot be ignored despite the bravery she shows defying Iago’s demand that she ‘get .. home and ‘charm [her] tongue’. Her confession ‘moor, she was chaste’ and that she loved the ‘cruel moor’ is all too late. Emilia said to Desdemona before her lady’s death ‘yes, the world’s a huge thing’ and people in it are bad and women do deceive. She showed her awareness and such an in tune woman should have suspected her husband’s ‘purpose’ with the handkerchief and known it would not be noble and never have given the sacred ‘token’ to him. Roderigo and Cassio clearly also play a vital role in this text. Roderigo supplies the money to fund Iago’s plans and does ‘put money in thy purse’ and help ‘plume up [Iago’s] will’ by doing so. Instead of stopping Iago, Roderigo accepts Iago encouraging Roderigo’s lustful mind. Roderigo could have talked reason into Iago but instead allowed iago to talk lack of reason and deception into his mind. Roderigo payed for his too great a trust in Iago with his life. Iago pushes Roderigo to ‘be a man† in his efforts to convince Rodrigo to go to war and says Roderigo ‘shall enjoy her' if he doesn’t â€Å"drown† in his melancholy state. Even though it is quite clear to everyone else that Desdeomna does ‘love the moor’ and thus all she wants is to marry and ‘live with him’ Roderigo lets his lust push him to obey Iago and ‘take thy stand,’ doing anything possible (even attempting to commit the murder of Cassio) to assist Iago when he should have seen the futility in his pursuance of Desdemona. Roderigo ends up paying for his folly with his life when Iago feels he must be seen to revenge the attack against cassio (who survived) when Cassio lays blame of Roderigo. Roderigo admits ‘It is [his] shame to be so fond [of des] but not my virtue to amend it’ but is pushed into pursuing Desdemona even after his ‘money is spent’ and he admits to having ‘little wit’ left. When Iago attacks him saying ‘what poor are they that have no patience’ he is determined to continue his pursuing when he should give up (and outed iago to Othello instead! to help avoid the tragic end. Cassio, another more subsidiary character played a small but important role in this play. He was promoted when only ‘a bookish theoric’ and ‘arithmetic’ rather than battle smart, having ‘never led a squadron in the field. ’ He was, it is suggested, not deserving of the promotion and thus Iago’s jealousy and anger is made somewhat understandable. We all heard Iago’s words to Cassio: he said to him ‘I think you think that I love you’ and never actually said he does love and or respect him. Cassio doesn’t pick up on this subtlety. Cassio also speaks quiet disrespectfully about prostitute Bianca who has supposedly fallen for him- he laughs and says he will never wed her though she ‘weeps’ on him and hangs off him and to Iago’s assertion that Bianca ‘says [he] shall marry her’ Cassio laughs and says she hangs [off him and] she weeps upon’ him this disrespect although common at this time, is penalised when Othello is set up to overhear the story of this woman’s lust and thinks Cassio talks instead of Desdemona. Although Iago set up this scenario, it wouldn’t have been possible with Cassio showing his significant part. He does though at the end claim Othello was ‘great of heart. ’ Clearly Cassio had to be more perceptive to avoid his part in his Lieutenant’s death. Furthermore Othello and his wife Desdemona have a large role in their destruction. Othello listens to iago’s lies and doesn’t realise who the true ‘green eyed monster’ is. He listens to Iago’s ‘trifles’ he trusts Iago over his beloved. He accepts Desdemona is a ‘whore’ and ‘strumpet’ with no real proof. He previously said she was his ‘good wench’ but turns on her quickly. He also turns quickly on close friend Cassio. He calls Iago ‘friend’ and though at the start he claims ‘tis most true’ he married Desdemona, he doesn’t act like a doting husband. At the start he says he won Desdemona through his ‘whole curse of love’ and ‘not drugs, charms.. magic’ and values her opinion encouraging the court to ‘send for the lady, let her speak ’ as his is confident her word will support his claims it was his tales of ‘boyish days’ that seduced her when he spoke of being ‘taken and sold into slavery’ and came by ‘cannibals’.. she ‘devoured of [his] discourse’ and â€Å"she loved [him] for the dangers [he had] passed. Yet he kills her. It is not Iago’s hand that ‘smother’ his wife, but Othello himself; he had a choice. Additionally, Othello doesn't like fighting and labels it a ‘Christian shame’ ‘barbarous brawl’ and says a man who ‘canâ €™t calm his rage’ is worth little yet his later actions contradict this. Also he says he loves Cassio but doesn’t show this either. Even after saying he ‘found not Cassio’s kisses [Desdemona’s] lips he believes Iago and claims ‘farewell content’, so easily giving up all known happiness for the words of one man. He says ‘make me to see it†¦prove it’ with ‘no loop to hang a doubt on’ and ‘give me a living reason she is not honest’ but there is none but he refuses to see it, to him the ‘handkerchief’ is proof enough. He says of Cassio ‘how shall I murder him now’ and of Desdemona ‘damn her.. lured minx.. she shall not live†¦ my heart is turned to stone’ he says ‘all [his] found love thus [he does] blow to heaven†¦tis gone’ showing he gave up on this love, he blew it to heaven only realised his crimes at the end when he went on to kill himself as self punishment. His role is unable to be denied. Desdemona was ignorant about what people, even those one loves, are capable of and also didn’t explain herself well enough when her husband convicted her. She also knew her death was waiting when he sent her to her room and she sang he willow song about a woman who was killed by her lover. This foreshadowed her death and almost showed a forfeit by this character. She gave Othello ‘a world of sighs’ he says and as she does ‘love the moor’ and love his â€Å"mind† she will obey all he says. And this love blinds her. Such blind love makes her have no fear and thus she is too open about praising Cassio. At this time were many suspected women of affairs. She claims Cassio is ‘an honest face' but she â€Å"truly loves† Othello and that her ‘heart is subdued even to the upmost pleasure of [her] lord’ so that she defies the status of woman as quite, claims her voice and speaks in court and demands to be allowed to go to war with him; ‘let me go with him. ’ But she lies to her ‘good lord’ about the handkerchief claiming ‘it is not lost’ when to her knowledge it is. She says she is Othello’s ‘true loyal wife’ but she is not truthful with him. Though she is maybe too loyal going to bed even after he charges her as being a ‘strumpet’ and committing adultery. Before she dies she claims ‘heaven doth truly know it’, regarding her innocence but some may say she doesn’t do enough to save herself. She says ‘his unkindness may defeat [her] life but never take [her] love’ and earlier said to Emilia she asks ‘there be women who abuse their husbands’ which shows her innocence and great trust of all people and not believing in bad and deception hence a perfect victim and not equipped to defend herself against Othello’s claims. This highlights the role husband and wife both played- her too innocent and him not being her protector, in their deaths. The fact he killed her and he killed himself, regardless of obvious Iago influence shows will power and their responsibility. The denouement reveals that many characters bear some responsibility for the end of the play. The final words of Lodovico shows that Iago bears much blame, after all this is ‘[his] work’, referring to the now dead lieutenant and his ‘true and loyal’ wife. Desdemona’s last words to Emilia, asking her to ‘commend [Desdemona] to [her] lord’ Othello and Othello’s about the importance of her ‘kiss’ and that even as he killed her he stated he ‘shall kill thee now and love thee after’ showed that they loved each other until the end. However they gave into the deception manipulation of others and must accept this as a fault. Othello’s suicide is an admission of his guilt and Desdemona going to her room after Othello warned he would kill her shows an all too easy acceptance of her fate.

Vietnam and the Antiwar Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Vietnam and the Antiwar Movement - Essay Example People of all classes and backgrounds were attracted to the antiwar movement, including people that were going to college, those in the middle-class, those in the upper-class, people that worked for government institutions, and many more individuals.   This movement was recognized in 1965 and by 1968 was at its highest acclaim (Bloom and Breines 69).   The groups, while many of them had the same concepts in mind, still all served and worked within their own ideals Therefore, the point of this essay will be to argue the fact that the â€Å"antiwar movement† was not just the work of one movement in general, but that of several groups, each that had their own agendas, and something in that agenda contributed to the antiwar movement. Faber also presents a similar reflection in his section reflecting on â€Å"Vietnam.†   There is a strong feeling that, through his analysis, there also were many groups active in this movement, not just one common group. The researcher a grees with the concept presented by Bloom and Breines as well as Faber that the antiwar movement was made up of several different groups with different agendas, and was not just one blanket movement moving toward one common goal, which is often a misinterpretation of what was really going on with the protest movements.  People of all classes and backgrounds were attracted to the antiwar movement, including people that were going to college, those in the middle-class, those in the upper-class, people that worked for government institutions, and many more individuals.

Reforming Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Reforming Education - Essay Example Because of this, students under-perform, and inefficiency sets in. This is precisely what happened to Duckwin Middle School. During the annual school inspection, a critical report about its assessment policies and practices, especially its failure to use assessment to enhance teaching and learning was revealed. The school was asked to document new sets of rules and policies that would enhance performance through proper assessment policies and practices. Development of leadership qualities, vision and a strong sense of purpose within the school was paramount to its success. Professionalism instigates effective delegation of responsibilities and strategies to ensure accountability among the support staff to bring good governance effective teaching. While there has been considerable progress in the administrative functioning of schools, a lot is desired on the teaching front. Student retention has not been strong, with many schools registering high percentage of failures and absenteeism. HMCI Annual Report for 1994/95 reported a weakness in middle management in schools leading to frustration. The role of middle managers becomes crucial in the functioning and management of school affairs. The role of middle managers include and is not limited to good planning and promotion of better teaching, to ensure and sustain high standards of leadership in subjects, but also in personality development (Leadership and Management, 1998)1. 1.0 Overview In order to understand the gravity of this thesis, it can be safely said that many educational institutions in the UK have been found to be operating without proper direction, or planning, leading to inconsistency in teaching and learning. It is precisely this that happened to Duckwin Middle School, which during the annual school inspection was reported to have failed in enhancing the teaching and learning skills of its teachers and students. Schools that failed to perform their duty should be made accountable, and teachers should be imparted proper training to develop the all-round skills to its pupils. In order to do so, educational institutes can take a leaf out of the professional approach that industries make, to improve their quality and productivity. Hypothesis: What combination of schooling conditions and practices holds the greatest promise for improving student learning While there is no scientifically provable or globally agreed-upon answer, small class sizes in an elementary setting can be viewed as being positive. The positive effects of reduced class sizes are that they greatly enhance the possibilities of delivering increased academic achievement, and help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each child through direct one-to-one interaction between the child and the teacher. Changing theories and methods of assessment have been the focus of significant attention not just in the United Kingdom, but in other countries as well. Curriculum developers have realized the need to exert a constraining influence on teachers and pupils to bring about a refreshing change to the existing curricula. This, then needs to be followed by a more valid and authentic way of

Belbins Theory Of Team Dynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Belbins Theory Of Team Dynamics - Essay Example In the context of the university, the student often felt sad when a classmate can no longer continue his or her studies. Or, the student often feel desolate when they have to end their group and go their own separate ways after working on a very long project. This separation can often affect their performance in the new group or the task that they are working as they are still attached to their former groups. Thus, the new group that they are with suffers performance deficit and or the process of group formation as inscribed by Belbin undergoes a tougher transition than it should. This brings to mind the valid concern on how to avoid the separation distress or separation dysfunction of group members after the adjournment process of their former group. How can this be effectively dealt with? An equally important consideration is the notion of how can we form groups that would perform but does not necessarily end in a stressful manner. On the first concern on how to avoid separation distress in the adjournment process of a group, it would be realistic to admit that group attachment cannot be avoided because it is an integral component of the group that made it effective in the first place. Teamwork and cooperation are founded on a good relationship and this good relationship is bonded by attachment whose degree may differ and thus, cannot be totally eliminated in a group. It does not mean however that team must end in a stressful manner. The stress associated with Belbin’s adjournment process can be mitigated by setting the expectations of the group members in the forming stage. This way, group members are aware that separation could be difficult and thereupon can take measures to mitigate its impacts such as saying goodbyes early, noting each other’s contact information and other measures intended to make the adjournment less stressful.

Memo to the teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memo to the teacher - Essay Example This memo will seek to clarify the problems in the topic (the Mozart) and send it to the respective recipient with solutions. The structure and presentation of the Mozart advert topic is ambiguous. Specifically, an effective topic of a memo possesses the element of information. In this case, a topic of a memo appears effective when it provides readers with substantial information about the purpose of the article. Additionally, a sound memo topic makes a recommendation or simply asks for action after describing its content Concerning the Mozart advert topic, analysis shows that it does not support the school’s position. This leaves the readers with questionable doubts about the point of view of either the advert or the institution. A closer outlook into this topic reveals that the advert seeks to persuade. However, the since its topic seems to have a bit of problems, it is vital to provide a list of solutions in order to avoid repetition of such a thing in the future. First, the Mozart advert should restructure its topic and provide a precise, persuasive heading that grabs the concentration of every single reader. A persuasive advert increases the number of readers, which in turn increases the number of people taking action. Taking action in this scenario means having more students enrolling for music classes in Mozart School of Music. Lastly, this memo serves to suggest a specific action whose aim is to improve the current situation. Regarding the Mozart ad topic, the problem of ambiguity and obviousness needs to be addressed through changing it to have a persuasive message with a recommendable course of action in the end. Further still, the Mozart ad is clear with regard to the second component of a memorandum. This is so because it shows the benefits that a student will get upon enrolling at Mozart School of Music. I am sure that you will find these solutions valuable and approve them for action. I also the change will take course immediately as

Autism and inclusive practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Autism and inclusive practice - Essay Example The observation is based on a nine years and four months old child whose code name in this case, for confidentiality reasons, is RA. Child RA suffers from autism and is eligible for a personal or one-on-one support service because he needs assistance with his learning needs. The observations aims at identifying and assessing the child’s behaviour when in a group setting. During the first day of the observation process, the class teacher instructs the pupils to bring out their numeracy writing books. However, RA picks up a pencil then flicks hit and consequently hitting another child. When the teacher calls RA, he replies, â€Å"what?† The reply is rude and as the assistant, I took the initiative to ask him to apologize but he does this without maintaining eye contact with the teacher. When told to apologize in an appropriate manner, he responds properly and says, â€Å"I am sorry miss.† After the apology, RA sits down and a fellow pupil volunteers to give him a numeracy book but he snatches it without eye contact. Upon pointing out the unruly behaviour, RA apologizes. After sitting for a while, RA gets up from his table and when asked what he wants, he says he would like to work in a group with other pupils. The class teacher grants his request by placing him in one of the groups and he promises to work hard while respecting the other members. He then seems contented with the group.

Jack Finney's Time and Again Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jack Finney's Time and Again - Essay Example The novel itself contains pictures and drawings that show buildings and monuments of 1882 New York City, thus, making it an interesting read for the reader. This paper analyzes Finney’s description of life in past and present, with a personal reflection at the end. The novel portrays that life was much simpler in 1882 New York City. The reader comes to know that Si, through an arrangement of self-hypnosis and well managed environmental control, travels into the past. Everything seems so simple, but the events occurring are quite disturbing, with Pickering as the antagonist. The photographs and drawings of that era show that Si finds it very appealing as compared to the present era. According to Si, â€Å"The faces are different† (Finney). This is a statement that encompasses every change that the period between past and present has seen. Si observes a lot of farming on Manhattan. The Dakota and Museum of Natural History are standing alone without any hurly burly renovat ions. The arm of the Statue of Liberty is resting on itself in the Madison Square. Si is enchanted with the simplicity of the fashionable Ladies’ Mile of Broadway. He enjoys the jingling of the sleigh bells in Central Park. There are no vehicles, no automobiles, no planes, and no computers. The food is much better. Finney, through his character Si, shows much attraction toward the era of 1880s, when there was no hustle bustle of modern technologies and nuclear developments. Finney is not very glad with the anarchy of the 1960s, where he experiences that everything is falling apart. Si brings Julia to 1960s, where she is surprised to see how many changes time has brought to history and to the world. Si tells her how vulnerable everything has become, and there are many places where common law-abiding citizens cannot even dare to go. â€Å"A group of young Negroes was walking toward Lex, so I didn’t hang around to encounter them and explain how fond I’d always bee n of Martin Luther King† (Finney), which is the statement that portrays fear that inculcates itself into the hearts and minds of all common men. Si tells Julia about the anarchy and chaos that has changed time into a poisonous mayhem, where past seems like an alien phase. To Finney, 1880s era is very calm and soothing; and, through the character of Si, he assures that he would have very comfortably lived in that era where everyone had a special place in society, not like the complicate era of 1960s. However, there are some aspects of 1880s which Finney is not at all happy about. He thinks that that era was void of proper healthcare, as, for example, doctors did not have the concept of antibiotics. Smallpox was common. Poverty, corruption, and vicious brutality were there. Finney writes: On the streets of the eighties I saw human misery, as you see it today; and depravity, hopelessness, and greed; and in the faces of small boys on the streets I saw the premature hardness you se e now in the faces of boys from Harlem. But there was also an excitement in the streets of New York in 1882 that is gone. These lines are a complete depiction of what Finney thinks is better about 1880s, and what he think is bad. I believe that Finney has very correctly portrayed the pictures of past and present in his novel. Time has changed, but has brought with it so much advancement that has benefitted the world in many ways. I believe that both the past and the present have their plus and

The Recent Recession and the Economics of Developing Countries Essay Example for Free

The Recent Recession and the Economics of Developing Countries Essay This paper will be looking into the phenomenon of the recent US recession in light of its relationship with the economies of developing countries. It seems that Keynesian Economics managed to save the US Economy from the inefficiencies caused by the free market economy, but how can such a tragedy be handles in small developing countries wherein governments don’t have the same resources to bailout corporations? This writer believes that it is important to analyze the repercussions of this phenomenon as there are many developing countries whose development and more specifically their economies , are modeled after the economy of the United States. In Episode 1, â€Å"The Battle of Ideas,† we saw that Keynes believed that the private sector decisions sometimes lead to unproductive macroeconomic outcomes and therefore, he advocated active policy solutions by states or governments. It was followed by huge economies in order to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s but was dismissed in the late 1970s-1980s (and seemingly) until now for the free market economy or with what Hayek has been advocating decades back. But recently, due to the economic recession that the US and much of the world’s huge economies experienced, it would seem that Keynes can be correct after all. This can be illustrated by the fact that without numerous bailouts from the federal government, US capitalism would have collapsed under its own knees. This statement in Episode 1 by Robert Skidelsky is worth saying to those who have scoffed at Keynes in the years before this recent recession (2007-present), â€Å"Hayek always rejected macroeconomics. He rejected any government intervention during the Great Depression itself, whereas Keynes was an activist. He said in the long run were all dead, and in the long run if we allow things to go on without remedy, we get lots of Hitlers, lots of wars, and lots of Stalins. And who was right? â€Å" What the US Federal government did in bailing out the almost bankrupt financial institutions was much like what Keynes (as mentioned in â€Å"The Battle of Ideas†) has been advocating: Governments should spend against the wind. In good times they should reduce their spending and build surpluses; in bad times, like the Great Depression, they should step up spending, run deficits, and put purchasing power into the hands of working people. † It is worthwhile to first look at the long history of rivalry between Keynesian and Classical/Neo-Classical Economics. Before the Great Depression of the 1930s, the market was left alone (‘laissez faire’) as was advocated by Classical Economists like David Ricardo and Adam Smith until the Great Depression occurred. Industries collapsed, the thriving economy in a slump,jobs lost, people went hungry. After the Great Depression, government adapted the Keynesian Economics and resuscitated the economy back to life. All was well and until the economies become stagnat and inflation sky-rocketed. When welfare states and dependent economies failed, it was the free market economy that went on to give life to sick economies. The transition to this was difficult as we have learned from â€Å"The Agony of Reform†. There may be three reasons that can be pointed out why struggling economies found it difficult to make the transition from having a state-run economy into letting the market work by it : 1. From Episode II, The Agony of Reform† we can see the first reason may be the fear of the shock that the change will make. Price of essential needs will inevitably skyrocket at first while the market evens out itself after price controls have been lifted as what happened to Bolivia. 2. The second reason is the political context in the country wherein the transition will be made. Political leaders fear that they will lose power because of the discontent or worry of people caused by the sudden impact of the transition from state-run economy to market economy (As such with the leadership of Nixon and other Latin American Countries). 3. The third reason is that the leaders themselves have gotten used to dependency and conservatism and are afraid to take risks. The same seems to be true for their citizens. Another reason, I think, that was a factor for struggling economies’ (at least those in the Latin Americas) difficulties in making the transition was because they are pressured into following models prescribed by the bigger and stronger economies such as Britain and the US. In this shift from one paradigm to another, we have seen that the most difficulty was experienced by the developing countries during that time (as shown in the film, particularly Latin America). Going back to the present situation of economies today, there great curiosity on what will happen next with economic giants such as US and UK but how about developing countries? Most developing countries are highly dependent on direct foreign investments. When economies of developed countries are doing well, the supply of investment for developing countries go up but during a recession, supply of investment for developed countries go down. As developing countries are highly dependent on agriculture and usually without their own national industries, lack of foreign investments coming in would mean loss of jobs and decrease in the Gross National Income. No jobs would mean fewer taxes for the government and less support for its jobless citizens on social services. It is indeed a cycle of poverty. This is what happens to developing countries. Due to lack of their own national industries, they do not even have corporations to bail out. Instead, they seem to be mere extensions of the bigger economies instead of being equally connected as is ideal in a globalized economy that is being advocated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Right now, I believe that developing countries should encourage its own citizens to take part in their economy through small and medium-scale enterprises in order for their economy as they encourage foreign investment. This is for them to have a fall-back in times of a global recession. Also through this way, people will not be so dependent on foreign investment in providing jobs for them. In our course, I have learned the different macroeconomic theories that have worked and failed through the years. Through historical analysis and study of the positive and negative sides of the theories and their applications, I believe that the same obstacles will be faced. Thus the importance of carefully reviewing economic policies that have worked and following or enhancing them and also making sure that those policies that have failed are not enforced again. In order to overcome these obstacles, a balance with the private and the public sector in the economy should be achieved after all, too much of anything can never be good. History has shown us that markets fail because of the abuse of some corporations in their quest for more financial gains therefore better business ethics on the part of corporations should be promoted. On the part of the government/state, regulatory boards and committees should always be present, the roles of which are to draft â€Å"loose† rules particular for each industry in order to ensure that no abuse by market players are being done. By â€Å"loose†, it is meant that these rules should be more of a monitoring mechanism rather than controlling. By establishing institutions such as these, recessions or market inefficiencies can be avoided, also saving the state the need to majorly interfere through providing financial help to the market by creating stimulus programs or bailouts. I believe that achieving the balance between the application of Keynesian and Free Market Economics (Neo-Classical) will ensure the stability of markets thus ensuring development of all nations. .

Marks and Spencers Business Strategy

Marks and Spencers Business Strategy Introduction In section A of this report, we will analyse and assess Marks and Spencers (MS) food sector business strategy. In previous consultancy task we examined UK supermarket sector and business environment. That will be crucial in understanding current MS strategic position. Also, it will help us to identify sources of competitive advantage and at the same time opportunities for future strategic positioning. In addition, we have to be aware of companys non-financial performances as well as quantitative corporate objectives and key performance indicators. Analysing them using balanced scorecard and benchmarking method will show us, is our strategy sustainable, does it have long run perspective and direction we are currently moving. This will be covered in part B of this report Part A Strategy can be defined as â€Å"the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations† (Johnson et al. 2005, pp.9). According to Porter (1996) company can do better than other companies only â€Å"if it can establish a difference it can preserve† (Porter 1996, pp.63). Delivering additional value to customers, providing them with comparable products at lower cost or both is a good way to make a difference according to the author. Johnson et al. (2005) presented three Porters generic strategies which could be used by companies to achieve competitive advantage: cost leadership, differentiation and focus. It can be concluded that MS using focused differentiation strategy. According to the Bowmans strategy clock this strategy is seen as high price strategy which gives perceived high value to customers. They choose to differentiate themselves from other food retailers with: top quality own label food, ready prepared meals, fresh food and food for special occasions. They do not attract customers for full weekly groceries shopping but gives them additional value for their money with focus on freshness and quality. Their simply food stores contributed with high margins to overall sales in past few years. Also, they expanded abroad to 40 countries in order to attract new sales into the same niche. This is consistent with Johnson et al. (2005) who explained that growth may be achieved by targeting new sale at the same market niche abroad. In previous consultancy we analyse supermarket sector using Porters five forces framework. That helped us to better understand industry in which MS operates. We concluded that power of suppliers is high due to a lot of supermarkets and brands. Also the threat of substitutes is high because customers now want better value for money. MS is aware of that, especially because that was primary reason for a big decline in sales in 1990. The power of suppliers is low because of huge number of fragmented suppliers. Threat of new entries is on medium level and competition among industry is on high level. The four biggest food retailers in UK (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison) have almost 76% market share. Therefore, MS with 3.9% market share in 2009 cannot compete with lower price strategy. Their focus is more on product quality. The MS food offer ‘has largely focused on the upper end of the mass market, typically higher than its positioning for non-food.'[1] They are selling own brand labels only to their customers which giving them value for money. It helps them in promotion of overall MS brand. The good thing is introduction of some branded goods from 2008, because of higher targeted customers demand. MS food sector strategy lies on companys basic values: Quality, Freshness, and Value, Standards of innovation, Ethical Sourcing and Healthy eating.[2] MS is premium food retailer and food sector is very important to overall group business and performance. It brings over 50 percent of group revenues in UK with sales of  £4.25bn in 2009. Previous consultancy also shows that the most influential trends in broad environment related to food industry are: Food industry was relatively recession proof and these days UK is officially out of recession after six consecutive quarters.[3] High level of inflation in UK (CPI inflation=3 percent) is the reason which contributed to retailers profitability. In 2009, MS reported slightly decrease in margins and profitability. Previous year, they were moving in good direction with initiatives to cut costs (marketing, distribution, support) and reinvest that money in prices to provide better value to customers. The bad thing is reducing capital expenditures for almost 40% which have to create value in future. Increasing number of healthy conscious consumers is a second trend. As a premium food retailer who is selling top quality food, this trend is big strategic opportunity for MS future strategic positioning. In addition to this, survey show that only one in six customers switched to less expensive and frozen food.[4] Today we have environmentally aware consumers. MS is first food retailer who realizes that. Thus, they presented Plan A in 2007 with 100 environmentally commitments to complete within five years. Today, after two years they achieve 39 commitments. This strategy have aim to differentiate their food business from main competitors. Online shopping is also todays trend and opportunity for retailers. They launched MS direct and free wine delivery as a result of growing demand. In 2009 MS market share decline from 4.3% to 3.9% and this is opposite to what board of directors announced in 2008. They predicted growth in market share to 5%.[5] In formulating strategy for next year, they have to take into account few things which will have effect on customers disposable income. From January 2010, we have increase in Value added tax from 15 to 17.5%. Personal income tax will stay at the same level in 2011.This fiscal measure will affect 70,000 people across UK who are now in higher tax band. Additionally we have announced increase in sin taxes for alcoholic drinks. Customers are today spending  £36 per person per week on food in UK.[6] Previous mentioned changes will have certain impact on customers spending habits. Probably they will not cut food expenses, but some products coul be more affected. That is one reason more for MS to provide customers with additional value for money. Part B Balanced scorecard The Balanced scorecard is â€Å"an integrated set of performance measures derived from the companys strategy that gives top management a fast but comprehensive view of the organizational unit.† (Drury 2004, pp.1001). The main question behind the balanced scorecard concept according to Kaplan and Norton (2001) is how to measure future performance. The authors were aware that companies are only in 10 to 30 percent successful in executing its strategy. The main reasons are vision, people, resource and other barriers. For example non-understanding of strategy by employees or management fails to link budget with strategy objectives. Also they realize importance of intangible assets, not capital anymore in adding value to company. In this new business environment focus only on past financial measures (profit, cash flow) and not taking into account non-financial performances such as customer satisfaction could be fatal for organization. The authors presented framework and suggest eve ry company to be viewed from four perspectives: financial, customer, internal business process and learning and growth perspective. All financial and non-financial measures and objectives should be based on companys vision and strategy. That will help managers to have overview over whole processes in company and employees to better understand global firms strategy. We will use suggested framework to support formulation and implementation of Marks and Spencers current strategy. 1. Financial perspective Kaplan and Norton (2001) argue that non-financial perspectives are important but the same is with financial perspective. The reason is simple. Effects from other three perspectives will show their impact through companys financial performances. Marks and Spencer current financial objectives on group level and business unit level are to reduce costs and manage cash flow. In 2009, the effect of broad environment and recession in UK impacted direction of MS strategy. Because of decrease in UK food sector sales and decrease in market share from 4.3% to 3.9 % they choose to reduce costs with aim to keep profitability. Food gross margin was down 235 bps at 31.5%. We can continue to use gross margin as performance measure. Also, we could use profitability measures such as Operating profit, Return on equity, Return on capital employed and net margin which are already being used as MS key performance measures. The results of reducing costs are, reduced spending in support areas and marketing activities of 8.6% without threatening customer satisfaction (stayed at average high level of 84%) and increase of only 1.9% in staff costs. These activities will have impact on profitability in coming years. The target for next year should increase of 10% in mentioned profitability measures. On the other hand, significant cut in capital expenditures of  £450 million h ad immediate impact on companys cash flow from investing activities. MS also have to focus to on how to improve operating cash flow. They decreased cash conversion cycle for almost 6 days.[7] They should further monitor debtor payment period, creditor collection period and stock clearance period (decrease from 8.7 to 4.29 days in 2009).[8] In future, decrease of 10-20 % in stock clearance period and cash conversion cycle could help the company to have stronger cash flow. 2. Customer perspective Main objectives of MS in order to increase market share, acquire new customers and keep customer satisfaction on a high level are to provide customers on targeted market with additional innovation, improved on-shelf availability and to give them additional value for money. The last have roots to year 1935 slogan â€Å"Dont ask the price its a penny†[9]. They took numerous promotions like â€Å"Wise buys†, ‘Family favourites for  £4 and ‘Dine in for two for  £10 during the year. Despite this investing in prices across food range have impact on companys margins, it also provides customers with better value. In 2009 survey, MS is recognized as a leader in top quality food. In future, they should increase ‘wise buys products from existing 10% food range and set target measure to 15%. Also, innovation in products should be continued and monitored with comparing percent of new products in overall products. Relating to on-shelf availability, they already employ more people in stores, open new 75 and close 26 stores with underperforming performances. This trend should be continued because it gives customers more convenience shopping. Customer loyalty, satisfaction and quality customer service are important in future period especially when market share declined 0.4%. 3. Learning and Growth perspective Kaplan and Norton (1996) recognized importance of intangible assets and employees as most important resource company have. In order to keep customers satisfied and loyal, company need to invest in its employees, systems and organizational procedures according to Drury (2004). Therefore, employee satisfaction, investment in employee skill and training must not be overlooked. MS have good communication with employees via MS intranet and employee magazine. The results from employee satisfaction survey ‘Your Say show high response rate (90%) and consistent score with previous years of 70%. Another two measures could be applied to measure employee capabilities- employee retention and employee productivity. Last two derived from employee satisfaction, because only satisfied employee could be productive. Investment in employee skills is recognized as important for MS. Thus, organization of development programme for 2000 lines managers, leadership programme and food academy are vital for future growth and development. The aim to become most sustainable retailer by 2015 they converted into the Plan A. It is also in accordance with Food industry sustainability strategy presented by DEFRA in 2006. They already fulfilled 39 commitments in order to become energy efficient, send no waste to landfill and become carbon neutral. Target of accomplished 15 new commitments per year will keep them on right way to reach this strategic goal. 4. Internal business process perspective According to Drury (2004) internal business process perspective need to give answer on question what business processes will increase value to shareholders and customers and help company achieve its vision at the same time. MS recognizes that investment in innovation process and operation process (decrease distribution costs, maintain supplier satisfaction, increase efficiency in value chain and process quality) are vital to succeed. MS already presented innovation in food from national cuisines (Italian, Chinese etc.) and should monitor percentage of sales from these new products, also compare themselves with competitors (at first place Waitrose who is concentred on the same market niche- top quality food). To excel in innovation field, they should also focus on market products in which they are first or second in the market according to Drury (2004). Innovations in operation process has aim to make more efficient supply and value chain in a company. On one side we have suppliers and customers on other. Already half of 2000 suppliers were trained on MS ethical standards. Distribution costs will be managed with implementation of SAP software and building of domestic and international logistic and distribution centres. Once a build, they will significantly decrease distribution cost and time. Balanced scorecard method (BSC) will help organizations to translate vision into performance measures and improve communication within the company. Also we have to be aware of some limitations of BSC. Othman (2007) argues that BSC is static, ignores external environment and treat company as mechanical system. Drury (2004) describe that empirical study failed to provide evidence that link between non-financial data and financial performance in future exists- which is the assumption of BSC method. Benchmarking There are numerous definitions of benchmarking. One of the first books written about benchmarking providing definition of this method was in â€Å"The search for industry best practices that lead to superior performances† in 1989 by Camp. Until today many definitions emerged but still the most quoted one is from this book that says â€Å"Benchmarking is the search for the best industry practices which will lead to exceptional performance through the implementation of these best practices† (Ungen 2007,pp. 335). In this part, we are going to look at our internal strength and weaknesses, make comparison with our closest competitor in UK market- Waitrose, because both have almost the same market share of about 4% and the same market focus- top quality food. At the end, we will make comparison with Tesco and Sainsbury as a market leaders and see could we use knowledge to improve our operations. Here the aim is to learn from our competitors, not only to compare with them. First we have to understand our internal position- segments we are good at, possible opportunities and segments where improvement is needed. MS differentiate itself with high quality food and at the same time have perception among customers as a top food retailer. It has strong brand for last 125 years, strong internal financial sources and good communication with customers and suppliers. Almost 100% own label food is advantage but at same time could be weakness. So, they start selling branded premium food which they do not produce. Main opportunity is in further expansion to international market. Today, MS has 296 stores in 40 countries with significant 26% increase in international sales. In future, they should expand more as a wholly owned business, not as franchising business. Second, comparison with Waitrose we will start comparing their financial performances because they will show us how successful other perspectives from the balanced scorecard are. An MS food sector sale is down 0.1% at  £4.25bn with loss of market share of 0.4%. On the other hand, in the same period Waitrose increase its sale for 5% to  £4.2bn, market share 0.4% and decrease in operating margin 45 bps to 5.1%. Increase in Waitroses margins is at some part result of 13 Somerfield stores acquired in 2008. Waitrose is also focused on premium organic food brand. Comparing with Waitrose, MS opened 47 stores more and is selling 3600 products more with much more own label food selling. This store opening trend in previous years was primary reason for margin increase but now MS should closely monitor store performance (already close 26 underperformed stores in 2009) and different product lines and replace slow selling products. MS in terms of pricing is above Waitrose and selling almost 1 00% own brand food with products made in UK is major difference from competitor.[10] As a result their sales depends entirely on own label products. In addition to this in 2009 MS made a cut of  £127m in marketing activities which was important for him in food sector positioning.[11] In Corporate social responsibility section, MS is leader with presented 100 commitments plan A. Also partnership with Amazon will help them improve on-line shopping segment. On the other hand, Waitrose presented online food delivery service which could be next step for MS in satisfaction of customer needs. In UK food retail sector, major market share has Tesco and Sainsbury. They both have access to economies of scale and price promotions are fundamental part of their strategy. On the other hand, MS differentiate itself with providing additional value not cheaper price to customers. Despite different in size, MS could use good practice from leaders to achieve better results. Sainsbury launched these days promotion ‘buy now free next time.[12] MS could implement these on 500 wise buys products which are 10 % of range in a one month period and closely look at sales, profit margin and overall financial effect. Also, Tesco since last year increase 29% percent increase in marketing activities.[13] In year where we have 13.8% drop in organic food sale, cutting marketing activities as MS did should be re-examined. Tesco, for example offer double points in order to keep customer loyalty. MS has only 39 outlets out of 668 stores in UK. This number should be increased in future because of rising consumers demand for convenience shopping. Also, search for value and healthier eating will be still in customer focus.[14] Benchmarking can support BSC with recommendations from outside the company how internal, customer and learning and growth perspective could be improved. One of the main critics to benchmarking according to Johnson et al. (2005) it will not identify the reasons for companys good or poor performance. But Benchmarking as a tool have aim to improve companys performance and can support BSC. Therefore, synergy between benchmarking and BSC and implementation of current trends and best practice into organization will improve financial perspective of our company. Conclusion This report showed importance of understanding broad environment and market sector in strategy formulating and implementation. For example, mature supermarket sector in UK is one of the reasons for MSs decision to invest in developing countries in the same premium food market niche. In part B we showed changed focus from capital to intangible assets and from financial to non-financial measure. It is important for MS to monitor all four perspectives in order to have sustainable long- run strategy. Also it is vital for MS to understand what facors influence the financial and operational performance. Therefore, benchmarking and BSC should be used together in strategy formulation and implementation. References: Competition Commission (2000). Supermarkets: a report on the supply of groceries from multiple stores in the United Kingdom. Chapter 5. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.competitioncommission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2000/fulltext/446c5.pdf Competition Commission (2008). The supply of groceries in the UK market investigation. [online]. Last accessed on 23 April 2010 at www.competitioncommission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2008/fulltext/538.pdf Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2009). Food Statistics Pocketbook. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April at www.defra.gov.uk Delpachitra, S. and Beal, D. (2002), Process benchmarking: an application to lending products, Benchmarking: An International Journal Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 409-420. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.emeraldinsight.com DEFRA (2010). Recovery, Growth and the Environment. [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.defra.gov.uk DEFRA (2010). UK Food Security Assessment. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.defra.gov.uk DEFRA (2010). Economic note on UK grocery retailing. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.defra.gov.uk Department store retailing (2007), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Drury, C. (2004), Management and cost accounting, 6th edition, Thomson learning, London Food Standards Agency (FSA) (2008). Consumer Attitudes Survey. [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.food.gov.uk/ Food retailing in UK (2009), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk IGD Retail Analysis (2010). IGD Retail Analysis News Tescos growth strengthens. [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.igd.com/analysis/news/index.asp?nid=6634 Johnson, G., Scholes,K., Whittington, R. (2005), Exploring corporate strategy, 7th edition, Pearson education limited, Essex John Lewis (2010). Interim report 2009. [online]. Last accessed 24 April 2010 at www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Download.aspx?ResourceId=56427 Kaplan, S. R., and Norton, P. D. (2001), Strategy focused organization, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, USA Kaplan, S. R., and Norton, P. D. (1996), Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system, Harvard business review, January.February issue, [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.hbr.org Kaplan, S. R., and Norton, P. D. (2001), Building a strategy- focused organzation, Harvard business review, May/June issue, [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.hbr.org Kaplan, S. R., Norton, P. D. and Rugelsjoen, B. (2010), Managing alliances with the balanced scorecard, Harvard business review, January/February issue, [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.hbr.org Kyro P. 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M. (1996), what is strategy?, Harvard business review, November-December 1996. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at http://hbr.org/product/what-is-strategy/an/96608-PDF-ENG Retail review, UK (2008), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Telegraf newspaper (2009), [online], Sainsbury launches first ever buy now free next time promotion, [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/supermarkets/6609035/Sainsburys-launches-first-ever-buy-now-free-next-time-promotion.html Telegraf newspaper (2009),Shoppers turning their backs on supermarker own label brands, [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/supermarkets/6790854/Shoppers-turning-their-backs-on-supermarket-own-label-brands.html Thompson, L. J. (2003), Strategic management, 4th edition, Thomson learning, London Ungen, C. M., (2007), Manufacturing best practices: implementation success factors and performance, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 18, issue 3,pp. 333-348. [online]. Last accessed on 24 April 2010 at www.emeraldinsight.com Food retailing in UK (2009,pp.2), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Marks and Spencer annual report (2009), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.marskspencer.com National statistics office, [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.statistics.go.uk Managing food costs (2009), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Marks and Spencer annual report (2009), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.marskspencer.com Food retailing in UK (2009), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Marks and Spencer report (2009),Fame database, [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at https://fame2.bvdep.com/version-2010420/Report.serv?seqnr=0context=GH10NF_cid=159 Marks and Spencer report (2009),Fame database, [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at https://fame2.bvdep.com/version-2010420/Report.serv?seqnr=0context=GH10NF_cid=159 Marks and Spencer annual report (2009,pp.37), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at www.marskspencer.com Department store retailing, UK (2007), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Retail review, UK (2008), [online]. Last accessed on 25 April 2010 at http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Telegraf newspaper (2009), [online], Sainsbury launches first ever buy now free next time promotion, [online]. 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Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as a Moral Guide Essay -- Little Wome

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as a Moral Guide Little Women was published in 1868, just a few short years after the Civil War that had devastated the country came to an end. People across the nation were trying to come to terms with emancipation and its implications, and many felt somewhat lost after witnessing the gruesome ideological struggle. In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott attempts to guide the nation’s children through this delicate period of social upheaval by giving them a moral guide to follow. The novel follows the four March sisters in their journey towards adulthood, but in the process, Alcott attempts to inculcate morals into the minds of the readers who are also struggling through the formative years of their lives. She does this by illustrating the moral trials and triumphs of the March family. Although these girls are all basically good at heart, each has a flaw she struggles to overcome. By highlighting their defects as well as their assets, Alcott allows the reader to sympathize with the March girls, and because the Marches try so hard to correct their flaws, the reader is inspired to correct her own faults. Little Women is obviously a piece of didactic literature, but Alcott believes its message will be better received if the audience actually enjoys reading it. She sets her novel up as a behavioral guide for her young readers in the preface, in which she hopes that it will be both entertaining and morally instructional for the reader: Go then, my little book, and show to all That entertain and bid thee welcome shall, What thou dost keep close shut up in thy breast; And with what thou dost show them may be blest To them for good, may make them choose to be ... ... she does not teach girls that they are inferior to boys. On the contrary, Alcott bluntly expresses her frustration regarding the gender prejudices of her society. While Alcott could not reform the minds of her contemporaries, she could mold the minds of her young readers by giving them a moral guide to follow. Thus, Alcott encourages children to model their own behavior after the March sisters, who try very hard to improve themselves, and succeed despite their imperfections. By presenting these moral struggles to the reader, Alcott encourages them to bear their burdens as gracefully as Beth, Amy, Jo and Meg do. Works Cited Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Ann Arbor: Tally Hall Press, 1997. Armstrong, Frances. â€Å"‘Here Little and Hereafter Bliss’: Little Women and the Deferral of Greatness.† American Literature 64(3). September, 1992. pp 453-474. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as a Moral Guide Essay -- Little Wome Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as a Moral Guide Little Women was published in 1868, just a few short years after the Civil War that had devastated the country came to an end. People across the nation were trying to come to terms with emancipation and its implications, and many felt somewhat lost after witnessing the gruesome ideological struggle. In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott attempts to guide the nation’s children through this delicate period of social upheaval by giving them a moral guide to follow. The novel follows the four March sisters in their journey towards adulthood, but in the process, Alcott attempts to inculcate morals into the minds of the readers who are also struggling through the formative years of their lives. She does this by illustrating the moral trials and triumphs of the March family. Although these girls are all basically good at heart, each has a flaw she struggles to overcome. By highlighting their defects as well as their assets, Alcott allows the reader to sympathize with the March girls, and because the Marches try so hard to correct their flaws, the reader is inspired to correct her own faults. Little Women is obviously a piece of didactic literature, but Alcott believes its message will be better received if the audience actually enjoys reading it. She sets her novel up as a behavioral guide for her young readers in the preface, in which she hopes that it will be both entertaining and morally instructional for the reader: Go then, my little book, and show to all That entertain and bid thee welcome shall, What thou dost keep close shut up in thy breast; And with what thou dost show them may be blest To them for good, may make them choose to be ... ... she does not teach girls that they are inferior to boys. On the contrary, Alcott bluntly expresses her frustration regarding the gender prejudices of her society. While Alcott could not reform the minds of her contemporaries, she could mold the minds of her young readers by giving them a moral guide to follow. Thus, Alcott encourages children to model their own behavior after the March sisters, who try very hard to improve themselves, and succeed despite their imperfections. By presenting these moral struggles to the reader, Alcott encourages them to bear their burdens as gracefully as Beth, Amy, Jo and Meg do. Works Cited Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Ann Arbor: Tally Hall Press, 1997. Armstrong, Frances. â€Å"‘Here Little and Hereafter Bliss’: Little Women and the Deferral of Greatness.† American Literature 64(3). September, 1992. pp 453-474.

Highwaymen of the Superhighway Essay -- Media

The internet is an unregulated and chaotic environment that is only loosely governed by social norms that have been established by the more well-respected users leading the rest over many years. The anonymity of these billions of users allows them to break these rules and conventions with little risk of negative consequence. One of the biggest problems that stems from this is the pirating of media. Internet pirates will make media such as movies, television shows, and music available on websites such as The Pirate Bay, where users can download this content this free. This system takes money away from creators and designers and gives it to the advertisers on pirating websites. There are two reasons that people pirate media: either the content they want is too expensive, or more likely, the content they want is unavailable or too hard to obtain. Often pirating is not a malicious act, but simply an easy way for users to gain access to things that Hollywood has made difficult to acquire. An example of this being the popular HBO series, â€Å"Game of Thrones.† For a long time, fans of this show were unable to buy the show’s first season because it was not on popular paid services including Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. However, the first season was available to be downloaded for free on multiple pirating websites. Situations like this have created millions of pirates, accounting for billions of illegal downloads a day in music alone (a monstrous 95% of music downloads) (Swash). The problem of pirating is global and the government fears the intervention of foreign websites with malicious intent. The interconnected design of the internet puts all users at risk, even those who do not pirate. Many internet pirates justify their actions with ... ...ir own. With a system like the IDA, the internet can be made into a much safer place for everyone and calm the worries of the media industry. Hopefully the government will be able to regain the trust of the public and pass appropriate legislation that targets the true criminals.  Works Cited Newman, Jared. "SOPA and PIPA: Just the Facts." PCWorld. PCWorld, n.d. Web. 20 May 2012. Null, Christopher. "The 50 Most Important People on the Web." PCWorld. PCWorld, 5 Mar. 2007. Web. 21 May 2012. Potter, Ned. â€Å"SOPA Blackout: Wikipedia, Google, Wired Protest ‘Internet Censorship’† ABC News. ABC News, 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 May 2012. "Solutions For Government And The Public Sector." IBM Internet Security Systems. IMB., n.d. Web. 21 May. 2012. Swash, Rosie. "Online piracy: 95% of music downloads are illegal." The Guardian. The Guardian, 16 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 May 2012. Highwaymen of the Superhighway Essay -- Media The internet is an unregulated and chaotic environment that is only loosely governed by social norms that have been established by the more well-respected users leading the rest over many years. The anonymity of these billions of users allows them to break these rules and conventions with little risk of negative consequence. One of the biggest problems that stems from this is the pirating of media. Internet pirates will make media such as movies, television shows, and music available on websites such as The Pirate Bay, where users can download this content this free. This system takes money away from creators and designers and gives it to the advertisers on pirating websites. There are two reasons that people pirate media: either the content they want is too expensive, or more likely, the content they want is unavailable or too hard to obtain. Often pirating is not a malicious act, but simply an easy way for users to gain access to things that Hollywood has made difficult to acquire. An example of this being the popular HBO series, â€Å"Game of Thrones.† For a long time, fans of this show were unable to buy the show’s first season because it was not on popular paid services including Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. However, the first season was available to be downloaded for free on multiple pirating websites. Situations like this have created millions of pirates, accounting for billions of illegal downloads a day in music alone (a monstrous 95% of music downloads) (Swash). The problem of pirating is global and the government fears the intervention of foreign websites with malicious intent. The interconnected design of the internet puts all users at risk, even those who do not pirate. Many internet pirates justify their actions with ... ...ir own. With a system like the IDA, the internet can be made into a much safer place for everyone and calm the worries of the media industry. Hopefully the government will be able to regain the trust of the public and pass appropriate legislation that targets the true criminals.  Works Cited Newman, Jared. "SOPA and PIPA: Just the Facts." PCWorld. PCWorld, n.d. Web. 20 May 2012. Null, Christopher. "The 50 Most Important People on the Web." PCWorld. PCWorld, 5 Mar. 2007. Web. 21 May 2012. Potter, Ned. â€Å"SOPA Blackout: Wikipedia, Google, Wired Protest ‘Internet Censorship’† ABC News. ABC News, 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 May 2012. "Solutions For Government And The Public Sector." IBM Internet Security Systems. IMB., n.d. Web. 21 May. 2012. Swash, Rosie. "Online piracy: 95% of music downloads are illegal." The Guardian. The Guardian, 16 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 May 2012.

All about me :: essays research papers

Web Tools: The Future Is Now The Internet is already the No. 1 applications target for developers, according to an Evans Data survey. Web development is about to enter the top five in terms of IT spending. And (no surprise here) experts say the Web will only play a bigger role in companies’ business applications plans. In other words, the future of Web development is now. But the tools underpinning this trend have a back-to-the-future feel. Consider Mozilla: The browser experts at Netscape have been honing their code for years, with the support of developers intent on slowing Microsoft's Internet Explorer juggernaut. Now America Online (Netscape's parent) might replace its AOL browser with Mozilla—a move that could give Netscape a market share of millions, literally overnight. Then there's X3D (Extensible 3D), the successor to the old VRML spec. Experts say X3D's compatibility with XML could usher in "bold new navigation and rendering possibilities" for developers and pave the way for virtual-reality apps over the Internet. With other real-time Web-collaboration products poised to become as critical to the enterprise as e-mail, now's the time to learn where Web development is going. Better to be ready for the future than stuck in the past. — Larry Lange Much Ado About Netscape Mozilla - InternetWeek Netscape has been gone so long it's hard to say what its return might mean. Then again, AOL is considering it as a replacement for its own browser. Netscape's Return: The Readers Talk Back - InternetWeek More than 5,000 readers respond to questions about Netscape. And a surprisingly high number of them say they'll standardize on Mozilla. VRML Successor Aims For 3-D Web - InternetWeek The Web3D Consortium has debuted a new spec it says could make 3-D graphics a mainstream part of the Web. A New Development Sweet Spot? - InternetWeek Web-development shops are readying new tools that, when used with Macromedia, ColdFusion, XML, Java, and SOAP, could bring new flexibility to application development.

Essay on Political Rights

It was decade when the sexual revolution swept the country and when women proclaimed their liberation from male dominance. The totality of this period will be explored, from protests to songs, literature to leisure and civil defense to civil rights. You will examine music, especially the translation from music about love and relationships to the more society-focused music at the end of the decade. In Dalton to writing critical essays and analyses, you will work In Project Based Learning (PL) that will synthesize your Interpretation of the material covered. Student Outcomes.At the end of the course students will be able to Identify and explain the main economic, political and social issues connected with the Sixties Include a thesis statement that accurately guides ideas in all critical writing Analyze songs at the surface and deep levels and explain their cultural context Write reflections that include all five categories in reflective rubric Work collaboratively to achieve agreed up on goals. Policies: Class Attendance: when a student misses four or more classes during a quarter, that student will receive a zero (O) for the (30%) participation portion of the course. 0 or ore minutes late will be considered an absence. Three lattes equal one absence. Mobile Phones/Laptops/loops: Not allowed under any circumstance, unless turned off. Late Work: Accepted only under extenuating circumstances and only when one meets with the instructor before the due date. Otherwise, all late papers will receive a failing grade. Incomplete: assigned only under extenuating circumstances, after speaking with me. Only 50% of all work can be made up, if a student receives a failing grade for the course. Grade Percentages: 32% Four (4) four-page papers: economic/political, social, language, music 20%Quizzes/Reflective Writings 28% Final Project (includes final presentation) Course Texts and Materials: The Electric Cool Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe The Best and the Brightest, by David Halt ers. Readings will come from this book, but there will be less emphasis on it than in the past course. Sixties Course Book, with Readings. The daily schedule below can be altered based on the decision of the instructor. Additional readings may be assigned as necessary (to expand understanding). All work will be graded using the course rubrics.Classroom Behavior: The use of cell hones and other electronics (including pods and laptops) is prohibited. You may be asked to leave class if they are used. Additional violations of NEST disciplinary code may result in suspension or dismissal. In addition, the instructor has the right to curb classroom discussion in an effort to meet the educational objective of the class session. For those who stray beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior, the NEST Student Conduct Code will be enforced. Details of all projects and assignments will be provided in sufficient time to allow for completion.

Bottled Water in Australia

Bling h2o is a high end or â€Å"Super Luxury† bottled water product created by Kevin G Boyd a Hollywood producer / designer. Bling h2o costs from $US35. 00 to $US2,600. 00 per bottle and the water is bottled into glass bottles studded with Swarovski crystals. Bling has been featured on MTV music awards and The Emmys and on it’s website refers to itself as the Rolls Royce of bottled water. To identify the potential consumers in Australia we need to look at the target market and market segments bling are looking to fulfill. The premium status, and pricing, that bling put on their product would narrow the geographic segment to the economic centers of Australia, which Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. A geographic segmentation is identifying and analysing the location that a company is looking to move into. In Australia a potential geographic profile would start at the state level, then move into cities, then if necessary a municipal level to identify potential consumer (Kotler, P. , Adam, S. , Denize, S. , Armstrong, G. 2009), The demographic make-up of a potential market is made up of the age group, income, occupation, gender, race, education and religion. Demographic segmentation is a popular form of analysis and very important part of identifying the size and methods of communicating with a target market. (Kotler et al, 2009) After reviewing the media on bling and the website the demographic profile for bling would be 20 – 35 year old age bracket with a high level of income. This is supported by bling’s involvement with MTV, The Emmy's and the price of their product. The psychographic and behavioural segmentation bling would be looking at is a benefits viewpoint (Kotler et al, 2009). The benefits class is the benefits the user perceives to obtaining by using the product. The benefits from bling h2o are that of social status and class by drinking bling users would be setting themselves apart. From the marketing segmentation identified bling would be looking at a young high income earners who place a high importance on their external image. Along with targeting the these individuals, 5 star hotels and up market nightclubs would also be consumers of these products due the overlapping target market and perceived image they are looking to convey. This is identified by bling themselves on their ebsite where Boyd had the idea whilst observing celebrities and how each of them treated the bottled water they drunk In 2004 – 2005 Australians consumed about 550 million litres of bottled water, with worldwide consumption growing 57% from 1999 to 154 billion litres. (Munro 2006). The main industry body in Australia is the ABWI which was established 10 years ago and clai ms its objectives are to promote awareness and use of bottled water, and to ensure that consumers have safe good tasting water. The ABWI boasts member such as Coca- Cola Amatil Ltd and Schweppes Australia ttp://www. bottledwater. org. au/scripts/cgiip. exe/WService=ASP0003/ccms. r? Roxy=0x0002f062=10007 Bottled water is being looked at as a serious environmental issue. The main packaging for bottled water is plastic, which is made from fossil fuels and Australia uses 314,000 barrels of oil in bottling water each year (Koutsoukis, 2007) Although the plastic bottled water comes in is recyclable, Australians are only recycling around 35% of the bottled water they purchases, 55% goes to landfill which accounts for 70,000 tonnes of plastic waste. Koutsoukis, 2007) (Munro 2006). It is been seen as such an environmental issue that Bundanoon, a small town in NSW, has banned the sale of bottled water in its stores when a company was looking to extract water from their underground reservoir, and claims to be the first town in the world to enact such a policy. A review of social media surrounding bling h2o a large percentage of blogs condemned bling for being over priced and had concerns about water being sold at such a premium when much of the world is without clean water. An internet blog by Sassisam title Bling H2O – Ego in a bottle. Sassi Sam points out that she consumes 4 bottles of water a day and that would equate to $US980 per week just for water. Sassi Sam concluded that she would consider buying from bling if they supported charities that focused on supplying clean water to those who don’t have access to it. Bling was featured on the site BoingBoing and points out that people who buy this must be fools. The interactive comments section of BoingBoing raised the issues of the importance of social status and that is reaching ridicules levels. BoingBoing was the only website that brought up the issue of socially responsible marketing by user Cameron Barrett. If the author of this article was the brand manager of bling h20 they would be associating themselves with one of the many charitable organisations that are helping provided clean drinking water. An organisation like charity water is able to provide a person with clean drinking water for $1 a year. This small cost compared to the premium charge would quell the concerns over the ethics of the company and leave the image issue with those who buy it. ttp://www. theage. com. au/news/national/bottled-water-the-new-ecodisaster/2006/02/25/ 1140670303250. html http://www. theage. com. au/articles/2007/08/18/1186857841959. html? page=fullpage#contentSwap1 http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8141569. stm http://www. bottledwater. org. au/scripts/cgiip. exe/WService=ASP0003/ccms. r? Roxy=0x0002f062=10007 Kotler, P. , Adam, S. , Denize, S. , Armstrong, G. (2009), Principles of Marketing. Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest