Foreign market entry strategies Essay

â€Å"Firms which participate in the business system as partners complement the company and its suppliers, thereby increasing the value to customers†. Explain your understanding of this view and provide examples to reinforce your arguments. For a company, entering new foreign markets may be achieved in a variety of ways. Each of these ways places its unique demands on the company in terms of organizational and financial resources. Most of the times, entering international markets is not a matter of choice but of necessity to remain competitive in new or established markets by meeting the consumer’ needs and values. The decision to go international represents an important commitment, to go into a new line of activity, this being the reason why it should be taken step by step: obtaining information, analyzing them, formulating alternative action plans, (Tookey, 1975) and of course find the right partners that match the company brand image and values. The international business system model is focused on the advantages determined by the internationalisation process and less on the development process of the internationalisation of companies. The main scope obtained by applying the Uppsala Model is predicting the company’s evolution on foreign markets. Two elements are at the basis of the model: the notion of essentiality attributed to the process and the notion of physical distance. The internationalisation of a multinational company takes place step by step, according to the Uppsala Model, which minimises the risks regarding the new market (Johanson; Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). Therefore, the company is being involved gradually (investments, control and profit), getting to the point of creating a production subsidiary which ensures also the selling of the products on the new market. The stages of the internationalisation process are presented in Appendix 1. The concept of physical distance, the second element the Uppsala Model is based upon determines the companies to select, in a first stage, the neighbour countries in order to reduce the cultural, economical, political differences. According to this approach, the bigger the physical distance, the bigger is the incertitude about the new market and bigger the risks associated to this market. In the view of the globalisation phenomena, there are numerous criticisms about the â€Å"physical distance† notion. Many papers have developed the subject of the company’s internationalisation; a special place holds J. Birkinshaw who analysed the problems regarding the role of the subsidiaries and the evolution of the mandated in the internationalisation process at the multinational’s level. Therefore, Birkinshaw and Hoods (1998) have shown that creating a subsidiary can be explained on the basis of the interactions between the decisions of the mother-company, the initiatives o f the subsidiary and the specific conditions existing on the new market. The model developed by Birkinshaw (1997) is based on three variables: The relation headquarters – subsidiary; the subsidiary’s initiatives and the local environment. Regarding the internationalisation process, the company has more options (see Appendix 2) The first choice is represented by the development of the existing markets and it is being used by companies that are acting on highly competitive markets; the second choice – the company can choose to develop its activity on new markets, similar to the ones they are already acting on – in this case, they are usually choosing to export their products; the third strategy is developing a new line of products similar to the ones they already have and which will be sold on similar markets- in this case the company can choose between strategic alliances: creating a joint venture or licensing. . Management’s involvement in export operations is different, as we talk about passive exporters (when selling abroad is induced by the demand existing on the foreign market, meaning that the business is initiated by the importer) or active exporters (when the operation is initiated by the seller, which has an export strategy and a suitable business plan (Popa, 2006) From the operational point of view, exporters can be indirect exporters(with the participation of trading houses), when it isn’t necessary to create an organizational structure specific to the export activity or direct exporters, which is made by the producer, which is creating services or departments for international business. The determinants of export behaviour are experience and uncertainty effects; behavioural and firm-specific influences and strategic influences. 1. Experience and uncertainty effects Knowledge and learning regarding the exporting activity may be possessed or accumulated by the company in time. Experience has a key role, as firm’s involvement in international markets is most of the time a gradual process. During the early stages of exporting, firms have a more concentrated foreign market focus, while increased involvement in foreign market encourages diversification to a wider range of markets. As a firm’s knowledge of an export market increases, the uncertainty factor diminishes. This knowledge allows the identification of concrete opportunities, as distinct from theoretical that may be apparent from objective knowledge. 2. Behavioural and firm-specific influences Recent theories of exporting are strongly influenced by the behavioural theory of the firm, which stresses decision-maker characteristics, organizational dynamics and constraints, ignorance and uncertainty as key variables in decision making. Exporting has been described as a development process based on a learning sequence involving six stages Bilkey and Tesar, 1977): Stage 1: the firm is not interested in exporting Stage 2: the firm supplies unsolicited business, doesn’t examine the feasibility of active exporting Stage 3: the firm examines the feasibility of exporting in an active way Stage 4: experimental exports on neighbour countries Stage 5: the firm becomes an experienced exporter Stage 6: the firm explores the feasibility of exporting to additional countries of greater business distance. According to Welch (1982), the export commitment is influenced by four groups of factors (see figure 4): pre-export activities, direct export stimuli, latent influences on the firm and the role of the decision-maker. 3. Strategic influences The opinion among researchers and managers is divided on the issue of the relation between the firm size and export success. Still, the importance of a positive managerial attitude to exporting and the necessity of committing managerial and financial resources to the internationalization process are crucial to the success of the firm, irrespective of size. As a mode of international market entry, strategic alliances allow the firm (Bradley, 2002): †¢ Access to assets not readily available in the market †¢ Access to technology and markets †¢ The smaller firms can have access to technology and new products †¢ The larger firms can have access to markets †¢ Synergetic effects in the partner firms. Choosing the way to enter a foreign market represents an important part of the foreign direct investment strategy. The companies should select the new market, decide upon the types of operations that are about to be developed on these markets and decide the type of entry –green field investments, acquisitions, joint ventures. Choosing the way to enter a foreign market was also explained through cultural and national factors. Many studies have been concerned about this topic: †¢ Kogut and Singh (1988) after researches have concluded that a big cultural distance between the country of origin and the host country have as a result choosing joint ventures or green field investments. †¢ Gatignon and Anderson (1988) have shown that an important socio-cultural distance, measured with the help of the Index developed by Ronen and Shenkar (1985) – goes to the partial propriety right. †¢ Gatignon and Anderson (1988) have concluded that multinational companies avoid having 100% owned subsidiaries in high risk countries. †¢ Cho and Radmanabhan (1995) have shown that companies from Japan are not willing to make acquisitions in developing countries. Choosing the joint venture as a mechanism to enter new markets (especially the developing countries and the ones with centralised economy) is usual ly a second-best option for the companies from developed countries. Still, the companies show through this the major interest for the local market; the participation in the joint-venture could be qualified as a foreign direct investment. Many times, this mechanism represents the only way to be present on a certain market. Licensing in international markets: License is the purchase or sale by contract of product pr process technology, design and marketing expertise (Bradley, 2002). It involves the market contracting of knowledge and know-how. International licensing takes place when a company provides, for a certain fee-royalty, a technology needed by another company in order to operate a business in a foreign market. Licensing of this firm involves one or more of these elements: †¢ a brand name †¢ operations expertise †¢ manufacturing process technology †¢ access to patents †¢ trade secrets. Licensing may be attractive when host countries restrict imports or foreign direct investment, or when the market is small and when the prospects of technology feedback are high. Franchising to enter international markets: Franchising is a derivative of licensing. In franchising a business format is licensed, not a product or a technology. Trademarks, trade names, copyright, designs, patents, trade secrets and know-how may all be involved in different mixtures in the „package† to be licensed. Franchising is a form of marketing and distribution in which the franchisor grants an individual or company, the franchisee, the right to do business in a prescribed manner over a certain period of time, in a specified place (Ayling, 1986). A franchise is, according to International Franchise Association (IFA), the agreement or license between two legally independent parties which gives: †¢ a person or group of people (franchisee) the right to market a product or service using the trademark or trade name of another business (franchisor) †¢ the franchisee the right to market a product or service using the operating methods of the franchisor †¢ t he franchisee the obligation to pay the franchisor fees for These rights †¢ the franchisor has the obligation to provide rights and support to franchisees. Types of Franchises There are two main types of franchises: product distribution and business format. Product distribution franchises simply sell the franchisor’s products and are supplier-dealer relationships. In product distribution franchising, the franchisor licenses its trademark and logo to the franchisees but typically does not provide them with an entire system for running their business. The industries where you most often find this type of franchising are soft drink distributors, automobile dealers and gas stations. Some familiar product distribution franchises include: Pepsi, Exxon, Ford Motor Company. Although product distribution franchising represents the largest percentage of total retail sales, most franchises available today are business format opportunities. Business format franchises, on the other hand, not only use a franchisor’s product, service and trademark, but also the complete method to conduct the business itself, such as the marketing plan and operations manuals. Business format franchises are the most common type of franchise. The United States, today reported that the 10 most popular franchising opportunities are in these industries: fast food, retail, service, automotive, restaurants, maintenance, building and construction, retail—food, business services, lodging. The many advantages and disadvantages of owning a franchise should be carefully evaluated before deciding to purchase one. Throughout all these different foreign market entry strategies, by understanding every characteristic detailed we can conclude that partnership can be at the core of international marketing decisions and enable possibilities of internationalisation. Partnerships can be structured in various ways depending on their purpose. Wholly foreign-owned enterprises, non-equity/contractual/co-operative strategic alliances, equity strategic alliances/joint ventures, and franchises, are basic types of formal partnerships. There are numerous other types of informal partnerships including; joint marketing & promotion, joint selling or distribution, technology licensing, R & D contracts, design collaboration, production agreements, and other synergies. Consequently, the ideal partner in a business partnership is one that has resources, skills and assets and values which complement the company. The partnership has to work financially and contractually, but it is also essential that a partner’s areas of strength and weakness are known and that an assessment is made of what actions would be needed to achieve an appropriate level of operational fit between the cultures of the two organisations. To meet the market needs effectively and in a sustained way, the business partnership must be based on a systematic and transparent agreement between the client and the partners (common values). That agreement provides the basis for a partnership deal and has to be sufficiently strong to engage the sustained commitment of both parties but also sufficiently flexible to enable the partnership to be responsive to changes in market needs and conditions. Being at the forefront partners are an extension of the company capability, image and valu es perceived by the consumer, therefore, complement the company by increasing the value to customers. For instance, Sony is an international and reputed company for its high standards range of TVs. Today, within the UK market, Sony position itself as a seller of durable and high end products by practicing a selective distribution. Their products are mostly found at Sony Centres (Sony own shop) or PC Currys World, exclusive partner (distributor) chosen by Sony well known in the market and sharing similar values such as expertise in the audiovisual area or guarantee of quality products and services. It reflects well a relevant and consistent image of the values conveyed by both organisations to the customers.

Resume writing Essay

Resume writing is an art that few can excel at, and it’s a good idea to get the assistance of a professional resume writing company when you send in your resume for a job application. Employers often receive hundreds of resumes for a specific job position, and many good profiles can be overlooked because they are not eye-catching enough. Besides, the professional resume format keeps changing constantly, and it is usually only professional writers who are aware of the latest developments in resume formats. Getting your resume enhanced by a professional writing service will ensure that your key skills and individual strengths are highlighted in a way that will get your resume noticed by prospective employers. All our resume writers are certified professionals who have assisted hundreds of clients to get their dream jobs, and will undoubtedly assist you to create an elegant, professional resume to guarantee that you get that phone call from the company you’ve been hoping to hear from. Package of resume plus cover letter writing Even the best resume in the world can get overlooked if it does not have an effective cover letter. With our resume plus cover letter package, you can get the best deal and also ensure that you have a professionally written cover letter as well as an efficient resume. Cover letters can often be trickier to write than resumes, since you only have a few brief lines in which to sum up your resume and achievements in a way that will make a prospective employer want to take a look at your detailed resume. Our professional writers have written hundreds of cover letters as well as resumes for satisfied clients, and can do the same for you. By availing of this package, you can save $15 to $20 on the overall cost of getting your resume and cover letter written, and rest assured that both these vital documents will be delivered to you in a ready-to-send format. Package of resume, cover letter, thank you and follow-up letters writing Employers are usually drawn to resumes that are not only well written and formatted, but that also come along with beautifully written covers letters as well as follow-up and thank-you letters. Follow-up letters are extremely significant in terms of building up business relationships, even if you have not got a positive response from a prospective employer. Maintaining a healthy business relationship with others in your field is critical, since you may encounter the same people often, even if you don’t end up working directly with them. Our professional and experienced team of writers can ensure that you have an elegantly written follow-up/thank-you letter as well as an impressive resume and cover letter. Further to the incomparable quality and professionalism that our writers will bring to the essential documents, you can also save $25 to $30 by ordering our package of resume, cover letter, thank-you letter, and follow-up letter. So order our unbeatable package today, and see the difference it brings to your professional career!

Landforms Assignment ( The himalayas) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Landforms ( The himalayas) - Assignment Example Mountain fronts of Himalayas as corollary related to orogen-scale structures. The conspicuous three primary structures of Himalayas ranging from north-south include main boundary thrust (MBT), main central thrust (MCT), and Himalayan frontal thrust (HFT). The major topographic breaks of Himalayas remain in association with the three thrusts. Himalaya’s structure has six primary lithotectonic zones, which occur in parallel belts. The regions include trans-Himalayan batholiths, Tibetan Himalaya, Indus-Tsangpo Suture zone, Lesser Himalaya, Lesser Himalaya, Sub-Himalaya, and Greater Himalaya. The tectonic environments within Himalaya zones also vary. Immense collision of tectonic plates resulted into the formation of island-arc margin in Western Himalayas and Andean-type margin within the central eastern part of Himalayas. Trans-Himalayan zone has a linear plutonic complex structure. Trans Himalaya zone have its surface partly covered by continental molasse sedimentary rocks and forearc rocks. Trans Himalaya assembly of rocks originates from magmatic rocks uplift and their subsequent erosion. Igneous complex of the area consists of granites, gabbros, and diorites. The magmatic rocks originate from partial melting of subducting NeoTethyan slab underneath Asian plate. However, the igneous rocks, on the contrary, represents Andean-type environment. ITZS defines the region of collision between Kohistan-Ladakh arc and Indian plate in Tibetan Lhasa block in the east and Western Himalayas. ITZS also demarcates the area along which subduction process consumed Tethys Ocean. ITZS covers more than 2000 km in length with complete successions of rocks that may consist of diamonds that explain the higher pressures during subduction and rapid extrusion along suture zones. There are also traces of glaucophane schists along the narrow belts along ITSZ in Pakistan. Tethys Ocean also consists of red sandstones and

Migros Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Migros - Essay Example The current market penetration demonstrates 40% of households shop exclusively at Migros for food and 92% of households shop once per week. Given recent developments, the competition appears poised to move into Migros’ territory; and Migros management plans to anticipate the encroachment with appropriate strategies. This report responds to that potential encroachment with strategies and recommendations for action, and a plan for implementation. First, the situation is defined. COMPETITIVE SITUATION Migros is currently the top performer in Switzerland. Coop is the second largest retailer. With fewer retail stores, Migros earned 25% market share of food and 18% overall consumer goods. Coop, with twice as many outlets, enjoys a 15% market share. Three large international companies plan intrusions into the Swiss market. Carrefour, from France, Europe’s largest retailer, currently operates 12 supermarket locations in Switzerland and envisions several more in the near term. T wo German firms, Aldi and Lidl, expect to attempt to gain entry into the Swiss market. Legal and regulatory issues confound foreign entry; however, the European Union agreements may lead to loosening of those restrictions. The three new competitors compete on price utilizing the low service, big box retail concept. As Europe’s largest retailer and second in the world to Wal-Mart, Carrefour has the financial strength and management systems to compete. Aldi and Lidl view the 8% discounters’ share of the market incredibly appetizing compared with Germany’s 40% share. That gap looks exploitable from their positions. Traditionally, and certainly among the top retailers now, qualitative competition has been the standard. New regulations and new competitors, independently or combined, may lead to price cutting and poorer agricultural standards in the food supply. Migros must prepare to respond. Migros management has identified three strategies in response to the challe nge these competitors present. First, improve operational efficiency, logistics, purchasing or organizational structure and pass the cost savings to the buyer. Second, expand the budget line of vertically integrated products and develop cost leadership. Third, compete on premium lines and increase sales of ethical/environmental products. In response to these strategies, this report offers the following logic. The third strategy is sound, but not responsive to the threat of discounters. The investment required to continue growing the engagement and premium lines is insignificant compared to returns so far. Migros not only owns the Swiss premium market among large retailers, these products are a growing source of export business. Stay the course on premium products seems like the best advice. The second strategy involves expanding the budget lines, providing broader choices of products at budget pricing bears investigation, and responds to the price cutting competitors. The first stra tegy is quality business thinking at all times; can we be more efficient? Migros surpasses the other competitors for efficiency in management and operations now. It is unlikely significant gains would come of an operational audit. This chart demonstrates the point. Migros is second only to Coop in gross profit as a percentage of gross sales. Migros

Public's Trust on Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public's Trust on Government - Essay Example The trust, as well as support of the citizens is very crucial in creating a strong and successful government. The following paragraphs will talk about a few reasons that would offer the individuals the basis in making sensible decisions in terms of giving their trust or not. Reasons for trusting the Government The first reason that proves a government is dependable is when it carries out its tasks appropriately. One of the key responsibilities is to concentrate on the requirements of its citizens. The most apparent among these are essential human requirements that are important for the people to lead a respectable life. Besides, the government must also recognize how to defend its citizens as well as its terrain from interior and exterior dangers like local rebellions and violence. The second reason is the notion of answerability. Public representatives should be liable to the activities of this political mechanism. With regard to this, they should as well be held accountable to the body that confers their power, which is the public. This is most pertinent in democratic governments in which the citizens cast their vote for their government officials. A government who is responsible makes it an aim to meet the satisfactory paradigm for excellent governance (Kennedy, 2009). Third, the government must permit the involvement of other stakeholders in their executive procedure. A dependable government should not just make preferences by themselves; they should obtain the input of other individuals who are as well concern with the result of what these choices might carry. These stakeholders should incorporate different regions from the society like non-governmental associations and even simple citizens of a nation. Fourth, a government have to practice transparency in its set of laws, policy, and decisions. The government must provide the public the essential information regarding key issues as well as strategies in the government. This would help the citizens to make intelligent decisions concerning their dealings particularly the ones associated with the constancy of their state. Fifth, a government that is worthy of the people's trust has the interests of its citizens in mind and this is significantly observed in the requisition of their budget. The government should truthfully use the taxpayer’s money by reliable ventures and programs that are free of dishonesty and irregularity (Nyre et al, 1997). Reasons for not trusting the Government In contrast, there are also reasons to distrust the government. First, the government is making bad strategies that are merely for the advantage of a small number of citizens particularly if it is the vested interest of those who are in authority. The government has no sense of accountability mainly in time of catastrophe. This is apparent, as they tend to hold one another responsible particularly if something incorrect took place. Second, huge corruption is taking place within the government. Citizen s' insights of corruption are rooted in general approach towards government, and that, as a result, these subjective signs may be only assessing the government's image, and not its real performance. Many of the commonly applied corruption signs are of a subjective nature. They mostly do not depend on a practical foundation, and leave significant independence to respondents whether to think about certain features. This generates issues of comparability, and calls respondents to widen their standpoint to whatever issue they wish when providing a view on corruption. Third reason for not trusting the government arises from citizens’ lived experiences with government. It recommends that the government is obsolete as well as old-fashioned and needs to be enhanced to restore trust. This distrust is a major obstruction to

Write about the picture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write about the picture - Essay Example The subject is the most important element of the painting along with other objects and attributes that allow him to be identified as a member of a Native American tribe. These include the feathered war bonnet, feather fan, clothing, and facial features of the subject, all of which help in understanding the background of the subject. The subject can be noticed to be looking away from the focus and towards his left while holding the feather fan in his left hand. The feather fan is a common object that can be seen being held by different Native Americans in various images. The feathered fan, sometimes also referred to as a smudge fan, was used in the smudging ceremony to fan the smoke resulting from burning herbs and other plants. The fan shown in the painting has long brown feathers of possibly a large bird indicating its connection with a traditional Indian ceremony or ritual. The artist has not added much contrast to the feathered fan which makes it almost indistinguishable from the lock of the subject’s hair behind. An individual can easily figure out that artist has tried to capture Native American life in its most unadulterated form. The feathered war bonnet is a prominent feature of the painting which is the most vibrant part of the painting. The war bonnet is animatedly colored as compared to other parts of the painting that are relatively pale. The artist has used shades of red, green, blue, yellow, orange, and others to paint the war bonnet. The background seems to be blue tinted while the subject’s shirt looks dull. The artist has used flat colors to paint the strings running down from the war bonnet. Even with the variance in contrast in the different parts of the image, the artist has successfully created a balance that draws an individual to visualize the Native American culture. The painting has captured the Native American way of life in the several elements that comprise the image including the subject

Discretion And The Criminal Justice Professionals Research Paper

Discretion And The Criminal Justice Professionals - Research Paper Example Therefore, researchers argue that the efforts on the part of security forces â€Å"unforeseen effects† on the privacy of citizens. Under such situations, if the police officers do not respect the value of privacy of citizens, their action will constitute the crossing of ethical boundaries. From the evidence evaluated during the course of this research, it has transpired that law enforcement officers are bestowed the power discretion which offers them immense authority over the citizens of the US. Many police officers misuse this power for personal gains such as accepting bribes, favoring individuals by not reporting their crimes, inflicting harm on ethnic minorities, poking into the private lives of citizens etc. On the other hand, there is a need for the police officers to have such powers because of their role in protecting the safety of citizens and fighting the menace of terrorism. Terrorist activities across the world and especially in countries like the US and India are on the increase and, therefore, police officers need to be endowed with the authority to check vehicles, search home and private premises, arrest suspect or even shoot terrorists to prevent the escalation of violent terrorist activities. However, police officers should be professional in their actions while dealing with as well as codes of conduct and ensure that they do not cross ethical limits by violating citizens’ freedom. Thus, while tackling the issue of terrorism and other crimes, police officers need to adhere to ethical principles.

Lingerie Market in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Lingerie Market in UK - Essay Example Organizations based on management information about customers, products, prices, competitors, suppliers and every aspects of the marketing environment are bound to move ahead. 'Marketing' belongs to marketing specialists but 'going to market' is a process owned by everyone in the organization (Piercy, 1997). Present business environment: Companies' strategies, structure, systems, products and cultures grow increasingly obsolete and dysfunctional as the environment changes. The major responsibilities of the organizations are identifying market place changes and opportunities as well as threats, from competitors and other external/environmental factors. In the present geo-political situations and ever-changing technological and economic situation identifying the opportunities properly and timely decide the success of the companies Company, which seizes the opportunities and exploiting it could be more successful in a hyper competitive market. The present market/business environment as a hole is continuously changing in U.K. as the development of European Union, marketing scenario has been changed. As the national boundaries are diminishing, different cultures are mixing up. Taste and preferences for cloth food etc. have been affected by this globalization of economic. In customer need man agement, organizations basically focus on basic customer needs (Dewar &Shultz, 1998). Basically the consumer behaviour has been affected by socio-cultural and economic impact. The income level and net disposable income also have an impact on consumer behaviour. From the marketing perspective, up to date economic, demographic and cultural information must be an analyzed to have an overview of the market. Present lingerie market environment in UK: As we know that UK is now a part of EU and is one of the most prosperous areas in the world. Now we will confine ourselves to Lingerie market in UK. Lingerie includes: bras, briefs, slips, camisoles, teddies bodies, vests, suspender belts, coordinated sets, control panties, corsets, girdles & thermal underwear. It does not include nightwear, dressing gowns and bathrobes; excluding hosiery, dance/keep fit items and swimwear. In U.K., ABC1 category (Fig-46 of MINTEL Report, 2008) of population has increased by 11% i.e. the population which have more income spending capacity and almost 50% of the population falls in this category. Now the main target group for lingerie marketers is this ABC1 group. This category has the income growth and buying capacities as well as they are more fashion oriented. Attitudes and personal perceptions about lingerie has changed in recent years and more and more women as well as men are not just wearing good linger ie out of necessity but they feel good about to have nice underwear. In UK, population has been changing and increasing in the age group of either 20-34 or 45 and above. The requirement and needs of lingerie customers between different age group is different. Age group 20-34 like more fashion oriented undergarments where as 45+ women need different (rather larger sized undergarments due to change

Abortion the topic of debate in the media Essay

Abortion the topic of debate in the media - Essay Example I am prepared to argue that abortion should not be legalized as instead it becomes common, takes away the value of human life, is not a 1 person issue, and it in fact causes women in some countries to be less free. In Mascle’s article she believes that in our society the illegalization of abortion is just another way to keep men at the top and women struggling at the bottom. She believes that taking the woman’s right to say no to giving birth to an unwanted child away gives men the upper hand. This in turn leaves women once a gain feeling powerless. She says, â€Å"Pregnancy and child care have long been ways that men have controlled and dominated women as well as restricted their education and professional lives (Mascle, 2).† She also believes that this not only works to dominate women but it also targets the poor and underprivileged. Mascle also believes that instead of spending a vast amount of money on trying to make sure that abortion is illegal, organizatio ns and individuals should be using this same money to help. She thinks that this money could be used to help the already helpless and needy children and disadvantaged women we have in our world. A third reason Mascle states in her article for the legalization of abortion is that women should not have to be forced to go through the physical procedure of giving birth. She says, â€Å"Pregnancy and child birth is a physical ordeal that can have a lifelong impact on a womans mental and physical health and well being (Mascle, 2).†

Civil and Criminal Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Civil and Criminal Practice - Essay Example As I was crossing the road, I was knocked over by a car that was driving too fast and in my opinion, in excess of the statutory speed limit. 1.7. Since the accident, the Defendant has been convicted of a road traffic offence under section 4 of the Road Traffic Accidents Act 1988 for driving or being in charge when under the influence of drink1. I have been provided with the incident number, which is 0191565B. 1.7. Since the accident, I have been out of work for four months as a direct result of injuries suffered and wish to make a claim for compensation against the Defendant in respect of my injury and loss of income arising from the accident. This memorandum sets out my advice regarding the determination of a reasonable success fee in the proposed conditional fee agreement for the legal representation of Mark Jameson’s claim against the defendant Brian Platt for personal injury and loss of earnings. The success fee can be as high as 100% of the time2 charge of normal costs of legal representation and the manner in which the recommended success fee percentage has been calculated in Mr Jameson’s case is based on my risks analysis assessment of the case, which includes the following: There doesn’t appear to be any issue regarding fault liability in the case and this is further bolstered by the defendant’s conviction under section 4 of the Road Traffic Accidents Act 1988 for driving under the influence of alcohol. Furthermore, as a direct result of the accident, Mr Jameson was hospitalised for two days and suffered a broken ankle, two fractured ribs and nervous shock and we have a detailed hospital report and independent medical report to verify that Mr Jameson’s injuries were directly caused by the accident4. As such, the merits of the claim are not in contention and there is a strong likelihood of success at trial. With regard to the value of the claim, Mr Jameson has been unable to work for four months as a direct result of injuries caused by

Germination experiment Essay Example for Free

Germination experiment Essay Method: 1. Put some soil in every beaker and make sure it is almost the same amount 2. Place 5 beans inside each beaker at the same level beneath the soil 3. Pour 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ml of water in each beaker respectively and keep watering them every 2 days 4. Leave the beakers close to a good light source 5. After a week record the length of the stem of the plants in each beaker Variables: 1. Dependant: Height and growth of the plants 2. Independent: Amount of water 3. Controlled: Where the beakers are placed, amount of soil, amount of seeds, type of seeds, how often the plats are watered (Initially it was decided that the amount of water we would use would be 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ml but we decided to lower the amount of water so that the plants wouldn’t drown) Results: amount of water (ml) Length of plants (cm) average length (cm) Â   Conclusion: The first thing we can see from the results is a boundary in the amount of water in relation with the beaker size and the amount of soil. In the table we can see that after the 20ml of water the seeds drowned and so they didn’t grew at all. But if we take in comparison the length of the plants in the beaker with 20ml with the one with 10ml we can see that with more water the germination takes place faster. For example in the results table we have the average growth of the plant of about 10. 5 cm and in the 20ml an average growth of 17. 8, so evidently we can say that the hight the amount of water, the faster the seeds will germinate and the higher they will grow. Evaluation: I think that in general this experiment was carried out fairly in terms of the type of seed, thay were kept in a well lit place, all the beakers had the same soil and the same amount of it, etc. The problem was that the plants were drowned so we couldn’t get a good set of results, so if he experiment had to be carried out again I would set a limit of water to allow the plants to actualy germinate.

Sin and Redemption in Dr Faustus

Sin and Redemption in Dr Faustus Marlowes play The tragic story of Doctor Faustus is an interpretations of a popular German legend, about a historical person, a man who called himself Dr. Johann Faust. Marlowe wrote a tragic story of the warlock, who sold his soul to the devil. Keeping intact all the important episodes of the legend, as set out in the translation of the German popular book about Faust, the poet has given the legend a completely different meaning.  Faust in the tragedy made by Marlow is much like his literary predecessor, but otherwise the playwright interprets three main problems in the image of Faust: the problem of choosing between good and evil, the problem of honest and unfair knowledge, and the problem of saving souls. (Hattaway 1970). Marlowe in his play gives a new perspective on sin, redemption and faith. This  play offers a new way of looking at sin, challenging traditional values of right and wrong, while during the play readers may wonder whether or not Fausts sins are truly wrong. The sin of Faustus and his reckoning for giving the soul to the devil. At the beginning of the play the author shows that Faust was disappointed in philosophy and human thoughts; medicine also was not so powerful, because it could not give people immortality; Law was full of contradictions and was nonsensical.   Couldst thou make men to live eternally, Or being dead, raise them to life again, Then this profession were to be esteemed. Even the theology was not the answer to the Faustus questions, and only the magic of the books attracted him. These metaphysics of magicians, And necromantic books are heavenly; Lines, circles, letters, characters. Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires. A sound magician is a demi-god. Here, tire my brains to get a Deity. Enter Wagner. (Marlowe , 1.1) Good Angel persuades Faust to not read the damned books full of temptations, which bring upon Faust the wrath of the Lord. Good Angel: O Faustus, lay that damned book aside, And gaze not on it least it tempt thy soul, And heap Gods heavy wrath upon thy head. Read, read the scriptures: that is blasphemy. But Evil Angel, by contrast, incites Faust to do magic and to understand all the secrets of nature: Evil Angel: Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art Wherein all natures treasure is contained. Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and Commander of these elements. Then comes Mephistopheles, and  Faustus wants Mephistopheles to serve him and perform all his desires, but Mephistopheles serves Lucifer only . So  Faustus decided to recognize the supreme ruler of Lucifer the lord of darkness and lord of spirits. Faustus explains that he chooses black magic because of: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a world of profit and delight, Of power, of honour, of omnipotence, [that] Is promised to the studious artisan! All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be at my command. Emperors and kings Are but obeyed in their several provinces. Nor can they raise the wind or rend the clouds. But this dominion that exceeds in this Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man: A sound magician is a demi-god. Here tire, my brains to beget a deity. (Marlowe, 1.1.) When Faust hesitates, Good Angel tries to persuade him to leave evil magic, and return to God, but Evil angel gives him the idea of wealth and fame, and Faustus says: Wealth? Why the signory of Embden shall be mine. When Mephistophilis shall stand by me, What power can hurt me? Faustus, thou art safe. Cast no more doubts; Mephistophilis. (Marlowe, 2.1) And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer Stay, Mephistophilis, and tell me, What good will my soul do thy Lord? Good Angel advises Faustus to repent and trust in the mercy of the Lord. Evil Angel is confident that God will not take pity on such a great sinner, however, he is confident that Faust will not repent: Evil Angel: Ay, but Faustus never shall repent. Faustus: My heart is hardened; I cannot repent. Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven. To entertain Faust, Mephistopheles leads Devils to give Faust crown, rich clothes and dance in front of him, and then removed.  Faust asks Mephistopheles about hell.  Mephistopheles says: Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed, In one self place, but where we are is hell, And where hell is there must we ever be. And to be short, when all the world dissolves, And every creature shall be purified, All places shall be hell that is not heavenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Well, Faustus, thou shalt have a wife. He fetches in a woman devil. Later Faustus says: When I behold the heavens then I repent And curse thee wicked Mephistophilis, Because thou hast deprived me of those joysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ If heaven was made for man, twas made for me. I will renounce this magic and repent. Good Angel: Faustus, repent yet God will pity thee. Evil Angel: Thou art a spirit; God cannot pity thee. Faustus: Ay, go, accursed spirit, to ugly hell. Tis thou hast damned distressed Faustus soul. Ist not too late? Evil Angel: Too late. Good Angel: Never too late, if Faustus will repent. Faustus: My heart is hardened; I cannot repent. Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven. Swords, poison, halters, and envenomed steel, Are laid before me to dispatch my self, And long ere this, I should have done the deed, Had not sweet pleasure conquered deep despair. Faustus: O, Christ my Savior, my Savior, Help to save distressed Faustus soul. (Marlowe, 2.2.) Lucifer Faustus blames for the fact that Faustus violates the word and thinks about Christ, but Faustus vows that it will not happen again.  Lucifer shows Faust seven deadly sins in their true guise: in front of him are Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, gluttony, laziness, and profligacy.  Faust wants to see hell and back again and  Lucifer promises to show him hell, and yet gives Faustus a book to read and learn how to take any look. Then after the journey Faust is on the verge of death and condemned to burn in hell forever. He was advised to remember God and ask him for clemency, but Faust realizes that he is no forgiveness, he sold his soul to the devil and the day of reckoning is near. Faust wants to have time to repent and be saved, but the clock strikes, thunder rumbles, lightning flashes, and the Devils led Faust away. The idea of Faustus sin must show readers take a lesson from the tragic fate of Faust, and not to seek the knowledge of the protected areas of science, which tempt man and teach to do evil. Well, gentlemen, though Faustus end be such As every Christian heart laments to think on, Yet for he was a scholar, once admired For wondrous knowledge in our German schools, Well give his mangled limbs due burial. And all the students clothed in mourning black, Shall wait upon his heavy funeral. (Marlowe, V) The image of Faustus as a sinner Marlow tells the story of Faustus, who sacrificed world pleasures for the sake of eternal salvation, in order to get knowledge of sciences, and offers a new way of looking at the idea of sin. The play is written as a kind of tragedy, where Dr. Faustus is presented as a rebel against an oppressive morality: that is the traditional view of sin, which would condemn Faustus for his contract with the devil in exchange for knowledge. Marlowe with great sympathy showed disappointment of Faustus in contemporary science and philosophy, his desire to learn the deepest secrets of nature. He showed despair of the heros, who started an unequal fight with the indestructible divine authority, and the figure of Faust was lit with charm and tragic courage. In a dramatic image created by Marlow, Faustus is idealized, more precisely he has those potentials, which were concluded in the legend and were reflection of significant progressive ideological movements of the Renaissance: the emancipation of the human mind from the medieval  Church dogma and the human will and behavior of the medieval ascetic morality.   In the first monologue Faustus expresses humanistic concept of the indomitable spirit: unlimited personal freedom, boundless possibilities of learning about the universe, mans power over the world. Inspired by this ideal, Faust with a sense of frustration sums up the achievements of modern science: it has a small, insignificant aims, full of selfish spirit. When Faustus turns to the Scriptures he sees dogmas that are incompatible with the humanistic ideal, as it belittles the man because of original sin.  The ideal of the church is alien to Faustus as it contradicts with his belief in the value of personal rights. Characteristically for Faust, a man of the XVI century, which sharply criticizes the Bible and Christian theology, he at the same time wants to become like God, draws his ideal in the Bible paints. If you people could give immortality Or the dead to life again appeal to (Marlowe 1.1.) The hero of the play is presented to the audience not as a fairy tale hero, but as an ordinary man, whose extraordinary strength is in his mind and senses.  The victory of freedom and persons talents over a hostile world is a dream of the scientist-humanist, but the playwright is not so much concentrated on Fausts dream of itself, but on its impact on his entire spiritual life. Excited monologues of Faustus (where he does not saturated from school scholastic science turns to magic in search of unearthly wisdom, which he yearns with all his heart, or speaks to the ancient image of Helen as the ultimate in sensual, earthy beauty) show personal experiences of the author and modern features of that time. Dr. Faustus is the philosophical and psychological drama, and the author the reaches greatest heights of artistry when portraying the hero in moments of intense meditation, in moments of ecstasy, despair, doubt.  The image of Faustus lacerations are shown in a fantastic picture of conversation with the devil, with dramatic brilliance and significance of internal suppressions of Faustus: Faustus: Where are you damned? Mephostophilis: In hell. Faustus: How comes it then that thou art out of Hell? Mephostophilis: Why, this is Hell, nor am I out of it. Thinkst thou that I who saw the face of God And tasted the eternal joys of heaven, Am not tormented with ten thousand hells In being deprived of everlasting bliss? O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, Which strikes a terror to my fainting soul. (Marlowe, 1.2.) Faustus wants to have the opportunity to repeat the biblical miracles, and by signing a contract with the devil, Faustus compares himself to Christ. In the tragedy of Fausts journey into the demonic the author shows the stages of psychological development of the hero, and is not a true story.  When the black magic passes into the real life, romantic pathos of narrative disappears, giving place to the irony, farce playfulness, where the only magic is a trick. Faustus spells do not have any intrinsic magical power, and miracles that Faust makes, after he sold his soul to the devil, are depicted with deliberate irony. Faustus: What art thou, Faustus, but a man condemnd to die? Thy fatal time draws to a final end; Despair doth drive distrust into my thoughts: Confound these passions with a quiet sleep: Tush, Christ did call the thief upon the Cross; Then rest thee, Faustus, quiet in conceit. Regardless of magic, spells and curses, even before meeting with Mephistopheles Faustus was shown as a rebel, the enemy of God. Curses, the struggle of good and evil angels for the soul of Fausts, contract with Lucifer and meeting with Mephistopheles all this is a psychological drama of Faust, the gradual realization of the depth of the discontinuity of his ideals to the prevailing divine authority, to the consecrated religious moral code, and so with society, where religion was considered a ground of state and was deeply rooted in the minds of the vast majority of people. The attitude towards sin in the play The main claim of the author is that seeking knowledge is not a sin. The author shows a new morality, and the idea of sin in this morality does not coincide with efforts to attain the knowledge. (Davidson, 1996) This new morality is that a man does and should search for knowledge, but without sacrifices and sin. Faustus can search for new knowledge over the limits of traditional values and assumptions, but should not be seen as a sinner. But when Faustus reaches the end of intellectual thought and dont know where to go next. It is important to note the fact that Faustus struggles with the idea of being a metaphysical being: if men cannot become as God, cannot have the superior knowledge that God has, so how can God forgive the sins of such wicked people? Faustus was warned and asked to confess: O, gentle Faustus, leave this damned art, This magic, that will charm thy soul to hell, And quite bereave thee of salvation. Though thou hast now offended like a man, Do not persever in it like a devil. Yet, yet, thou hast an amiable soul, If sin by custom grow not into nature; Then, Faustus, will repentance come too late, Then thou art banished from the sight of heaven; No mortal can express the pains of hell. There is a view that a sin can only be redeemed with confession and penance, and by asking God for his mercy, every man will find the forgiveness he needs in order to be redeemed. As Redemption is a deliverance from ones sins, mercy and forgiveness can be achieved through Confession and Penance. But Faustus believes his soul belongs to him, and he sells it, having sinned against God, that is why he is not unredeemable as he himself believes. He says: If we say that we have no sin We deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. Why then, belike, we must sin, And consequently die. Ay, we must die an everlasting death. Faustus understands that he cannot be saved as he does not believe in God as a God of love; rather, he views God as a Deity of power. He cannot comprehend the power of Gods forgiveness and mercy: O, if my soul must suffer for my sin, Impose some end to my incessant pain. Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, A hundred thousand, and at last be saved. No end is limited to damned soulsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Redemption in the play follows the Renaissance belief that salvation comes through faith. Faustus retains the Gods offer of forgiveness until the very end, and every time he considers repenting, he is stopped either by himself or by the devil, convinced his sin was too great. (Davidson, 1996) The lesson of the importance of faith is simple: for the redeem Faustus needs faith, and belief that God will forgive him of his sin then he can be saved. But Faustus does not repent, so he does go to hell, and joins the other lost souls in Hell. The conclusion is that because Faustus has lack of faith in God, it keeps him from being redeemed and going to Heaven. Conclusion The Tragedy of Dr. Faustus challenges the traditional idea of sin and shows that redemption comes only through faith. The image of Faustus as a sinner is an example of the process search for the truth, that each person goes through, as readers see in Faustus struggle to accept God, or to reject God. Marlow shows the readers two important ideas: the first is that going over the limits of an authoritarian society and searching for knowledge is not sinful; and the second is a view that redemption is attained through faith , so it is important never to lose faith in God.

Invisible Elements Of Spatial Ambience Design Cultural Studies Essay

Invisible Elements Of Spatial Ambience Design Cultural Studies Essay The visible and the invisible, the physical and the mental, these are the two main groups of elements which affect our perceptions toward a certain designated space ambience. The designers play a major part in it, and these days, it seems that some designers focus more on the aesthetic side of the creations, which fulfills the visible and physical parts for humans pleasures and desires, so what about the invisible and the mental parts? Arent they as important as the visible and physical parts for the design innovations? Design thinking, it is a design methodology by Tim Brown, who takes a human-centered approach, along with business and technology considerations of human behavior, needs and preferences, which demonstrates the practice of the important values bring out by the invisible and mental design innovation throughout the whole process of creating a new design with three main stages, inspiration, ideation and implementation. So what does it take to influence peoples perceptions, behaviors emotions? We see the things themselves; the world is what we see (Ponty, 1969). If we ask ourselves what is this WE, what SEEING is, and what the THING or WORLD is, we enter into a series of difficulties and contradictions. It is natural for human beings to be attuned to their surroundings. A physical environment affects various aspects of an individual: physically, emotionally, psychologically and socially. It defines individuality, coming to terms to the human side of our preferences and the choices we make. In design the designers choices, preferences and ideas are as important as the clients choices, preferences and ideas. In most cases if not all, the designer needs to come to the terms of the clients needs and wants. The distinction between the terms, needs and wants, is a way of describing the difference between what is that truly necessary for a persons activities against what a person asks for. When this happens the designer is actually creating that solution which answers the various requirements of a human-centered design. A term commonly used to describe human-centered design is called ambiance. What is ambiance? The general definition of ambiance is, a feeling, tone, character and atmosphere of the environment or surrounding influence; or the mood associated with a particular place, person, or thing. The look and feel of a space is highly relevant to the choices an individual makes in spatial design. This is where the visible and invisible concept in design comes in. Visible is what can be seen and noticed, invisible is what can be felt. These are two basic factors present in human-centered design. Interior Design is a world where creativity breeds innovation and tomorrows trends become todays styles. It is a career where art mingles with science to transform an architectural shell into a total environment (Haddad). These days, a lot of people practice on the visible side, concentrating more towards the physical aesthetics and form representation. Society lacks the attention to the invisible side, the emotional and psychological design elements. Architects and interior designers focus on designing dwellings, the form, structure and order of the space. We build these dwellings to satisfy most of our physical needs, pleasures and desires, but it seems that the more subtle, emotional and mental aspects of the space remain untouched. Perhaps a space is not just about the form and architecture. The elements of invisible design also need to be taken into consideration, which are the emotional and psychological design elements. As our basic needs increase with our standard of living, we expect experiences that are emotionally satisfying and meaningful. This will not be as simple as a single product; it will be complex combination of products, services, spaces and information. The process of spatial information visualization is shaped by various factors including interactive, perceptual, navigational as well as organizational and metaphorical aspects and as such requires an interdisciplinary approach (Buagajska, 2003). Thomas Edison created the light bulb and introduced it to the world. People perceived it as his main invention from the visible and physical aspects, but what was behind Edisons motive was that he understood the creation of the light bulb was a little more than just the surface result. His invention would be useless without the system of electric power and transmission to make it truly useful. His genius was his ability to perceive, not only the created device itself, but how people will use and innovate what he invented. And he worked with that approach, and gave a great contribution and consideration to users needs and preferences. Edisons approach was an early example of a methodology that influences the full range of innovation activities with a human-centered design philosophy. By this, it means that innovation is power driven by a detailed understanding, through direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold, and supported (Brown, 2006). In the past, design has been treated as a downstream step in the development process the position where designers, who did not participate earlier role in the substantive work of innovation, had came along and put a beautiful wrapper around the idea. Undeniably, this move toward has inspired market growth in many areas by making new products and technologies aesthetically as well as attractive, and therefore more desirable to consumers or by enhancing brand perception through smart, evocative advertising and communication strategies. During the second half of the twentieth century, design had become more and more important competitive asset in, for example, the consumer electronics, automotive, and consumer packaged goods industries. But unlike the most others, it remained a late-stage add-on. Nowadays, rather than asking designers to create an already existed idea that is more attractive to consumers, the companies are asking them to create ideas that better and suitable to meet consumers needs and desires. The former role is well planned, and results in limited value creation; the final result is strategic, and it leads to dramatic new forms of value. Complexity is increased by the growing potential for personal customization. Do your own brand thinking can be seen especially in the communication cultures of youth groups. In the near future, the customer will be even more tightly linked to design processes (Koskinen, 2008). Let us take a few examples from the present. The personal ring tone, wallpaper and theme of a mobile phone is a classic example of personal customization. Some people go even further with engraved towels, pens and stationeries. In a nutshell, this paper will talk about how ambiance is not just seen through physical means and by just by having the space itself. Ambiance is more literally, through human perceptions, behaviors and emotions that the space will be filled up with life. Ambiance refers to the design of an environment via visual communications, lighting, colours, music to stimulate peoples perceptual and emotional responses and ultimately to affect their behavior and/or reaction. Many businesses have discovered the subtle benefits of developing atmospherics that complement other aspects of design and merchandise. The visible and the invisible, the physical and the mental, these are the two main groups of elements which affect our perceptions toward a certain designated space ambiance. The designers play a major part in it, and these days, it seems that designers focus more on the aesthetic side of the creations, which fulfills the visible and physical parts for a humans satisfaction and desires. So what about the invisible emotional and the mental aspects? Arent they as important as the visible and physical elements for design innovations? In this paper, it looks into the design thinking methodology, which is a design methodology lead by Tim Brown. Brown takes a human-centered approach, along with business and technological considerations for human behavior, needs and preferences, which demonstrates the practice of the important values brought out by the invisible and mental design innovation throughout the whole process of creating a new design, which comprises of three main stages: inspirat ion, ideation and implementation. In spatial design, ambiance of the space is generally created through the rooms function, the aesthetic of the space itself with object elements, including the primal elements within a space: staircase, floor, roof, wall, door, window, lighting, colour, tables, bed, chair, and furniture. If we are looking at it only through physical perception, the design would work just fine, because human emotion and the physical elements of design are connected. Things such as a designated space, structure, product or an image, forms and aesthetics are what we perceive in the first place of the physical phenomenon. A well-designed visual representation is needed. This representation can be seen as the expression of the physical ambiance design. All these design elements and methods do fulfill the needs for visible pleasure and desire, yet it seems that other important design elements are missing, not taken into consideration, or emphasized on much. These aspects are the invisible side, the mental and psychological perception from the users toward the ambiance within the space, and how they will perceive and express their behaviors and emotions. But ambiance doesnt exist just by having the space itself. Only through perceptions, behaviors and emotions can the space be filled up life. Architects and interior designers are not only designing to provide people with physical shelter, facilitate purpose and inspire sensory pleasure. Man-made structures tame the world for human habitation and understanding (Pallasmaa, 2008). The function of buildings and spaces should cater to the physical and mental well being of people. However, people have started to ask designers to create new ideas which suite and meet the clients needs. Their objectives have shifted away from just physical satisfaction and need. A rough idea would be the county jail. Its a place with the same environment and space layout for each individual bar space, but different kinds of criminals live in it. Each individual perceives the ambiance, behaviors and emotions of the space differently. Perhaps due to the individuals background, memories and experiences, it turns into different place in the end. For the criminals who have hope, they might take it as a turning point that gives them the chance to turn over a new leaf, so they might perceive the space as a confession box. For the criminals who have no hope, they might just take it as a daily routine, day after day, because they have no beliefs and confidence in themselves anymore, and dont see that there is a turning point or chance for them, sucking them deeper into the darkness. So in this paper, an exploration for the possibility of an ambiance design method that will create the positive benefits for both visible and invisible; physically and mentally designated space, which helps the well being of the people, is conducted. Another example would be how a restaurants design can affect peoples choice and preferences. A cosy and comfortably designed restaurant can give people the sense of serenity and tranquility while dining in. An upbeat and modern restaurant on the other hand may give people a certain lively and vibrant feel. It actually depends on peoples moods and preferences that whether they decide to dine in any of these restaurants. After looking at the outside of the restaurant and deciding to go in, and checking out the place before being seated, people look forward to how they are greeted. They will often go to an establishment before inviting business associates to dine, because not only does the restaurant need to make a good impression but so does them, so if the restaurant makes a unfavorable impression that would most likely reflect on myself as having bad taste. The next thing worth observing before ordering is the dà ©cor of the restaurant, does the theme stay consistent? After sitting down people check for cleanliness of the eating area, are the tables sticky or spotless? Is the server well groomed? And are the seats comfortable? Ambience has become a pivotal concern for tourism and hospitality managers worldwide. In an effort to improve the ambience, different groups of professionals are involved, in particular hospitality managers and outside experts, e.g. designers and architects. So how do we achieve a successful ambiance within a space, which is perceived by someones mental aspect, the invisible side? Ambiance design is not created by the designers only through the personal aspect, sense, experience and style, but molded together based on the understanding and knowledge that atmosphere has a multi-sensory effect on people. There is a new area of design, such as service design, user-centered design, interactive design, information design, and systems design which have become a new topic within the design field. Principles and disciplines such as sociology, psychology and medicine are entering the arena of design management process. With the supportive ideas and embrace how they bring philosophical considerations and anticipatory approach into design, which help to make up for the shortage of the invisible and mental design elements of a designated space or product. In order to achieve such a result, collaborative relationships are the main factor in the appro ach. To achieve the finest result, the process involves a wide range of fields, such as industrial design, interior design, graphic design, service design, information design, systems design, interactive design, user-centered design, light design, soundscape and scentscape design. Thinking like a designer can transform the way you develop products, services, processes-and even strategy (Brown, 2006). Tim Brown is the CEO and president of IDEO, a company associated with clients such as Daimler Chrysler, Microsoft, Motorola, Pepsi, Procter Gamble and Steelcase. Recently he joined the Advisory Council of Acumen fund, a global organization provides a not-for-profit service for improving the lives of the poor. He has won numerous design awards and has held exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Axis Gallery in Tokyo and the Design Museum in London. All that should not be part of the essay, but the reference. IDEO is an innovation and design firm from the USA, where designers exercise on design thinking methodology through three main stages: Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation. This discipline uses the designers sensibility and methods to meet peoples needs with what is technology phenomenon and what a practical business strategy can convert into customer value. A good design thinker doesnt work alone, so IDEO is a company that employs engineers, marketers, anthropologists, industrial designers, architects and psychologists. By thinking of people first in their approach, design thinkers can see potential problems, imagine the solutions for all intents and purposes, meet the needs, and observe the things that others dont. Designers then use their insight to apply and inspire innovation. This supports the idea I have for designing a space ambiance by emphasizing on the mental perception. One of their projects which benefits a company was the large health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, which was seeking a possibility to improve the overall quality of both patients and medical practitioners experiences. So in order to inspire the practitioners, the new concepts, techniques, and ideas of the design thinking method are taught to the nurses, doctors and administrators. Both Kaiser and IDEO teams participated in the workshops, which led to the innovations. During the first stage of the project, they acknowledged a number of issues and problems of the nurse shift routine, and one of their main objectives became redesigning the shift changes at the four Kaiser hospitals. They spent the first 45 minutes of each shift for a debriefing about the status of patients in their nurses station. Their original methods of communicating information, such as data exchanges, were different within their four hospitals. Exchanges varied wildly from recorded dictation to face-to-face conv ersations. From there, health professionals tried to compile the information which they needed, and quickly noted them down on any available piece of paper. Doing so made the information inaccessible, which lead to the nurses often failing to learn some of the things which are important to the patients. Administrators had learned that there were many patients that felt a lack in their care after each shift changed. This is a negative act that shouldnt happened in the healthcare industry, because it might lead the patients to the kind of perception towards the hospital that, the sight of the environment they are staying at is attractive, but the memory of their use is negative. Therefore, that is why we should be focusing on the importunateness for being cautious and attentive towards the process of both invisible, mental design elements within a space. By observing these important issues, the teams explored possible solutions through brainstorming and prototyping. Prototypes work efficiently only with investments in time, effort and funding. A positive idea could be generated through useful feedback, and prototyping allows it to be done on a small scale so that they could learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the idea, and to adjust and modify for a better direction. Their solution was to merge shift changes with nurses passing on the information in front of the patient rather than at the nurses station, which saves time and errors. With this new system implemented together with some simple software, the nurses were able to call up the data information from the previous shift notes and edit patients information throughout a shift rather than rushing at the end to pass it on, which minimized the possibility of errors. The results were positive, and showed that the new method saves time on preparation, provides better knowledge through information transfers and a better informed healthcare staff taking care of patients. Kaiser saw the potential impact of this whole new idea and system and applied human-centered design methodology, which created a small process innovation that produced a massive impact. They found that time management had improved in efficiency, which added a huge amount of nursing time across the four hospitals, as well as affect t he quality of the nurses work experience, adding invisible value to both nurses and patients, satisfying both groups. Kaiser and IDEO accomplishments didnt happen instantly overnight. They put in a lot of time and hard work into the project by using a creative human-centered discovery process followed by numerous cycles of prototyping, testing and adjustment. The process is best described as a symbolic system of spaces rather than a series of fixed steps. Then whole space was designed for different activities which together form the innovation. The result might not be perceived in a short term, and this method might take a longer time to see the intended results, and it is very true that, in order to have a long lasting emotional feelings, it takes time to develop; as they come from sustained interaction. So the main key is patience, determination and observation. Edisons approach was an example of what now we called the design thinking, a method which improves the innovation activities with human-centered design approach, which is driven by fully understanding, through observation, of what people r eally need in their lives, their likes and dislikes toward certain things, along with business and technological considerations. When the process includes research based on direct observation, it leads to unexpected insights and inspirations to process the best solutions for the consumers. Throughout the whole process, it actually achieves the invisible and mental designs areas significantly through the design thinking innovation methodology, making it so that not only the patients receive the benefits, but also the nurses working in the hospitals. For the patients, they get full attention from the nurses and satisfaction for both physical and mental pleasure while staying in the hospital. The nurses will gain positive experiences, and the positive feedback will lead to better attitudes toward their job, creating an optimistic positive working environment at the same time In 2004, IDEO was invited to collaborate on another new project with Shimano, a Japanese manufacturer of bicycle components, which was facing a flattened growth in its sales in USA. Shimanos intention was to introduce their high-end casual bike to a new area of consumers who are potentially worth exploring. During the initial inspiration stage, teams were formed from both Shimano and IDEO, comprised of designers, behavioral scientists, marketers and engineers, who worked to explore appropriate potential solutions and constraints. They decided to focus on other areas as well rather than just sticking on the high-end market. They started with searching on the statistics and facts, and found that 90% of American adults dont ride bikes, so they continue the research and try to find out why. They put in a lot of effort into surveying different kinds of consumers, and found that most of them had ridden a bike during their childhood, and had positive memories. One surprising thing they foun d out was that many Americans are intimidated by cycling today for a few reasons: the retail experience, the high cost of the bikes, accessories, hidden dangers of cycling on the road, and the maintenance fees. After gathering all the information they received, which were collected and summarized using the human-centered exploration method, it led to the realization that their new created category of bicycling might be able to solve the problems of reconnecting the consumers with their childhood and at the same time to dealing with the intimidation of cycling on the road. By using the design thinking methodology and cooperates with human-centered design method, the design team looked into every aspect to foresee the possibilities, and came up with the concept of Coasting, a way to enjoy life. This is designated more for the pleasure than for sports. It is featured with comfort padded seats, easy operation and minimal maintenance. Trek, Raleigh and Giant are three major brand bike manufacturers that benefitted from the research. They cooperated and invented new bikes together with Shimano by applying the same methods they used. But the design team didnt stop exploring and searching for opportunities from other areas. In order to complete this whole concept, which they are trying to publicize, they designed a public relations campaign which cooperated with local governments and cycling organizations, providing the bikers with identified safe places to ride. Design thinking was the key to come to this complete solution, and of course, for the visible, ae sthetic part of the bikes was created later on in the development process, a reference design to inspire the bike companies own design teams. After the successful launch in 2007, seven more bicycle manufacturers signed up to produce Coasting bikes in 2008. They were successful due to that; they created breakthrough ideas that were inspired through the understanding of peoples lives and what they really need and implemented the principles of design in order to create and adding more values not only for the visible, physical part, as well as the invisible, mental part for needs, desires and pleasures. By doing so, it is very possible that one of the main reasons is that, the innovation of creating the bike actually brings them back to the childhood, reliving fond and happy memories. Here are some examples of current architects who have been working on the relevant practices. Peter Eisenman is famous of his impenetrable paper architecture and writing. His works have been distinguishable buildings have been identified as anti-architecture, He spent quite a period of time exploring how to create a building that would be unencumbered by the expectations by doing away with the order of the contextual baggage or a program. Eisenman has been at the front of the Deconstructivist movement in architecture, linguistic, psychoanalysis and literary theory to analyse the apparent objectivity and unity of Modernism and reveal the subjective human desires beneath. Fig 1 The overall view of Holocaust Memorial. Fig 2 The pathway inside the Holocaust Memorial. One of his inspiring works would be the Holocaust Memorial, Berlin 2005, which is also known as Memorial to the Murdered Jews of European, it is a memorial of the Jewish victims and other victims of the Holocaust. 19,000 square meter throughout the whole site, a total of 2,711 concrete slabs, seems randomly, has the entire site covered. Some of the concrete slabs lay low to the ground, others stood upright. There is an gallery located at underground, where it displays the names of all the Jewish Holocaust victims because, there are no names or marks on the above ground. However, it relies on the emotional response from each of the visitors, in order to get the message. Its just like other good public places, this memorial is designed with multi functions. It provides its visitors with places to sit around. It is a place of amazement, as children and adults, climb around from column to column, but at the same time, it is also a place of reflection and remembrance. But in the end, it is a place where each of the visitor is confronted with their own emotions and look within themselves to perceive their surroundings. Human-centered design can work well for the workplaces, as the cultural has changed, the focus to the workers well-being has been noticed. Theres a rise to interesting experiments in architecture. As mentioned before, by having the psychologists, sociologists, architects and engineers aiming to optimize productivity in human resources. Buildings should no longer design as huge boxes, but in order to begin at assuring workers psycho-physical comfort. For example, interior space is organised in an open, flexible fashion which may be modified to suit users needs. Steven Holls Het Oosten office, Amsterdam, 2000 is one of the best to describe it. Fig 3 The cafeteria. Fig 4 Het Oosten office during night time. Fig 5 Exterior view of Het Oosten office, A 50,000 square meter brick warehouse, it has been entirely renovated and expanded in order to create this new building. By using the local resources, it fits comfortably into its natural context. The interior has strong emotions with its vibrant hues, designing with the light: the regular square cut windows light up with colour lights reflected in the water of the canal during the night. Emotion-laden physical space brings the improvement on quality of life by combining work, entertainment and environment for human well being. His design characterizes an architecture attention to emotional needs and the invisible elements within a space, by dedicating his designs through understanding their surroundings. Steven Holls work wants to open up our human experience to the possibility of questioning the University of Technological Space and its inhumanity, questioning the state of technology as an absolute truth. He offers the alternative of a poetic vision of life which does not propose an arbitrary but the demystification of the very forces which have been demystifying our sense of humanity through positivist reason for the last two centuries. Another view that exists out there which talks about human-centered designn is called, ambience design. Ambience design represents a new kind of design culture; it could even be said that it represents a change of paradigm. Ambience designs working culture is transdisciplinary. The one major innovation of ambience design is that designers from different working areas communicate with researchers. As such, ambience design is not built on the personal touch and style of the designer, but is based on the knowledge of the effect which a multi-sensory environment or atmosphere has on people. In effect, know-how in an ambience design project is developed through interaction with professionals and researchers from various science and business branches. Then the research results are accurately documented using various types of media. This school of thought develops and moves our visually emphasized design culture towards becoming a more multi-sensory design environment. It does this by using the language of shapes, sound landscapes, odour worlds, textured contact surface, light and colour worlds and even the world of taste (this is by no means an all-inclusive list). Ambience design also means new forms of distinguishing and recognizing: fresh methods utilizing our multi-sensory abilities. This involves scent signs, sound logos and designed lights and colours as symbols of organization identity. Ambience design combines spatial design and the means of of multi-sensory communication. It also talks about atmosphere design, i.e. by affecting people through the creation of a psychophysical entirety. In practice this means laying stress on experiences and phenomenology. Ambience design utilizes smart environments and materials at the same time. The use of these is aimed at increasing interaction in mediated and social environments. Fig 6 the Baron House by John Pawson, Sweden, 2005. When people see photos of my work, they sometimes say they are misleading theres nothing in them, no furniture, etc but they are meant to stimulate you to think, use your imagination, and project your own ideas. (Pawson, 2005). The central themes of ambience design are adjustability and adjustment. These themes are connected with the changing and transformable communicational identity of different rooms and brands. For example, rooms become more usable when individual people or groups are given a chance to adjust them according to their changing needs. Spaces are designed with simple, clean aesthetic, so that they can be personalized, and for the users to inject in with their perceptions, emotions and behaviors freely. Ambience design utilizes narration, dramaturgy and the competence of drama experts. The challenge is the changing narratives related to spaces, with dramaturgical and multi-sensory applicability, and a link to, say, GIS systems. Ambience design can be connected to brand building. At its best, ambience design management will become part of the brand management process. Multi-sensory marketing, which uses things such as distinctive sounds and odours, can be employed in brand development more than ever before. The advantage of ambience design is that it connects multi-sensory interior design to multisensory marketing and communications. This idea by Koskinen is ethically and environmentally aware. All activities are guided by an ethic code. A key objective of the ambience design team is to increase the well-being of people through transdisciplinary design and research. The future of design is human-centred, ecologically aware and ethically-oriented (Koskinen, 2008). Ambience design, was first developed in Finland long before Martin Lindstrom touched the theme in his Sense Branding (2004). Internationally, however, the concept was not introduced until the summer of 2005 in a paper presented in the HAAHAMA conference, Ambience Design: Creating

corporate governance Essay examples -- essays research papers

Corporate governance is a very poorly defined concept; it covers so many different economic issues. It is difficult to give a first class definition in one sentence. Corporate governance has succeeded in attracting a great deal of interests of the public because of its obvious importance for the economic health of corporations and society in general. As a result, different people have come up with different definitions that basically mirror their special interest in the field. It is difficult to see that this 'disorder' will be any different in the future so the best way to define the concept is perhaps to list a few of the different definitions rather than just mentioning one definition. "Corporate governance is a field in economics that investigates how to secure/motivate efficient management of corporations by the use of incentive mechanisms, such as contracts, organizational designs and legislation. This is often limited to the question of improving financial performance, for example, how the corporate owners can secure/motivate that the corporate managers will deliver a competitive rate of return.† www.encycogov.com, Mathiesen [2002]. According to Shleifer and Vishny in The Journal of Finance, â€Å"corporate governance deals with the ways in which suppliers of finance to corporations assure themselves of getting a return on their investment.† J. Wolfensohn, president of the Word bank, quoted by an article in Financial Times in June of 1999 that "corporate governance is about promoting corporate fairness, transparency and accountability." â€Å"Corporate Governance looks at the institutional and policy framework for corporations - from their very beginnings, in entrepreneurship, through their governance structures, company law, privatization, to market exit and insolvency. The integrity of corporations, financial institutions and markets is particularly central to the health of our economies and their stability.† (www.oecd.org) What does this all mean and how does it affect the business world today is what may be asked. Criticism of corporate governance is back with a vengeance in the post-Enron era. Is the entire governance system broken down and in need of change, or was it just the wrong actions of a few people that has led to this new case of critisms? E... ...an Administration are leading the way for reform, which is unusual â€Å"given the typical pro-business sympathies of these groups.† Some people feel that the current governance is working as best it can and that greater regulation will not prohibit the unethical and immoral actions of a few people. However, employees want greater protection. They want to be assured that the rules for selling company stock are not different for top managers that they are for employees. Investors also want to be looked after. They want to be certain that the public information available to them is â€Å"an accurate and fair representation of the company’s financial status.† (Business Week 116) www.encycogov.com. Mathiesen 2000 www.oecd.org. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Building Partnerships for Progress Booker, Katrina. â€Å"Trouble in the Boardroom.† Fortune Magazine. May 13, 2002 Luoma, Patrice. â€Å"Enron and Beyond.† Corporate Self-Governance and the Corporate Checks and Balances System. CCH Incorporated. 2002 â€Å"Corporate Governance: The Road Back.† Business Week. May 6, 2002. p. 116

The Negative Impact of Industrialization on Children in Mahews The Watercress Girl :: Watercress Girl Essays

The Negative Impact of Industrialization on Children in Mahew's The Watercress Girl The age of Industrialization brought about many enlightening changes to urban society. The technical innovations of the machine age and the inventions of mass transit (railroad) brought people in droves to the cities, forcing crowded unsanitary conditions. The increased need for workers put women and children into the workforce, providing cheap labor, but resulting in inhumane working conditions and "some of the worst evils of the factory system, [in which] workers, including children, toiled for up to sixteen hours a day, six days a week, under inhuman conditions: deafening noise, poor ventilation, dangerous machinery..." (Longman, p. 1818). Even though the industrial revolution brought about more jobs, "periodic economic depressions resulted in unemployment." (Longman, p. 1819) The suffering of the children was by far the worst of society's ills. Henry Mahew's four volume "London Labour and the London Poor" (1851) depicts the plight of the common people in the aftermath of the industrialization of London's society. He interviewed hundreds of London's poor and gave voice to the forgotten workers, particularly the children, who earned meager subsistence from "hawking goods, begging, performing, and providing various services, from running errands to prostitution." (Longman, p. 1838) "The Watercress Girl" is an account from Henry Mahew's four volume works. It symbolizes the harsh reality of child labor and the pathetic conditions in which many of the poor lived. The watercress girl, as many of the urban poor children, had lived in her short life such conditions as to virtually have no childhood. She skipped those years and went straight into womanhood, by virtue of all that she had done and seen, "..although only eight years of age, had entirely lost all childish ways, and was, indeed, in thoughts and manner, a woman." (Longman, p. 1838) Other references indicate that she was far beyond her years, that the life she had led thus far had aged her considerably, "her little face, pale and thin with privation, was wrinkled where the dimples ought to have been, and she would sigh frequently." (Longman, p. 1838) The children of this time did not have the leisure to enjoy their youth. Hard times, starvation, crowded conditions prevented children from their inherent right to youth. Frequently, children too young to work in the factories took care of even younger children, "before that, I had to take care of a baby for my aunt.

America and Muslims

Undoubtedly, the relationship between America and the Islam world has been on the wane. This continues to worsen with claims that anti terror agents are spreading a stereotype that targets Muslims especially of Arab origin. The relationship that America has with the Middle Eastern countries has changed rapidly and is now characterized by mutual acrimony and suspicion.With the coming in of the newly elected president, Barrack Obama and with a promise of revamping Americas foreign policy is being viewed with a glimmer of hope and renewed ties with the Muslim world, indeed this is the message communicated to the world by the recent visit to Turkey. With the war on terror still on, a significant proportion of Americans believe that extending an olive branch towards the Muslim countries is the wrong approach, instead, they belief that he should carry on with Bush policies and eliminate terrorism through force.However, this paper maintains that to change the prevalent perception that the t hat the world has with the United States and also to erase suspicions over the blanket condemnation with Islam, America needs to re-initiate foreign ties and extend an olive branch to the Muslim world. The hostility characterizing the relationship between America and Muslim can be traced to the events of the September 11, 2001 attack. It is important to recognize that the 2001 terrorist attack was a big blow to the United States and hit at the core of its emotions and continues to evoke anger to date.With this being the worst atrocity ever meted out on Americans in their own soil, it was bound to evoke all manner of responses both from the public and the ruling elite. The fact that the attack was masterminded and executed by the al Qaeda, a, Muslim extremist group was possible to evoke anti Islam sentiments amongst the Americans. This ushered an era of suspicion and poor relations between Islam and America. This situation was ultimately compounded by the response and the policies of President Bush.Bush responded with a decisive precision that has become a characteristic of America’s response to perceived aggression from outside. His policies and approach to attack the core of terrorism was interpreted to mean that he was out to attack Muslims (Rabasa et al 43). It has to be pointed out that after the onset of the attack, many Muslim leaders came out publicly to condemn the attack, â€Å"many Muslim leaders abroad were as keen to distance themselves from the terrorism of September 11 as were Muslim leaders in the United States.† (Crockatt 74) With the exception of Iraq, majority of Islam states also condemned the attack. In his congressional address, Bush reiterated his stand on terrorism maintaining that he did not share in the perception that Islam was fuelling terrorism. However, the situation on the ground and indeed at the international politics coupled with the war against terrorism was different, the fateful events of the 9/11 created tensi ons not only in America but internationally, â€Å"Muslim feel that even though they had nothing to do with those involved with terrorism, they are being targeted and profiled by government agencies.† (Khan 57) Bush’s policies and actions did nothing to change this but on the contrary reinforced it, his clarions call of you are either with the terrorists or against us meant there was no middle ground and was lumping Muslims together with the terrorists. His concentration on the Middle East as the base to fight terrorism also was an indication that he believed the Middle East, the epicenter of Islam, was behind terrorism and this is the main perception held by many Americans today. Cenap Cakmak Zaman in his article titled: What does Obama’s visit say about future Turkish-American relations?, he has examined this relationship, looking at how the recent visit to turkey by Obama will change the perception in the Muslim world. Obama is faced with an uphill task of ch anging this perception and also rooting it out terrorism. His popularity and positive ratings world wide lies on his message of hope and change, the change we need clarion call may have been intended for domestic affairs in Washington but the position of the United States as a global leader means that it has a huge stake in global politics.His change message hence has to be duplicated internationally and in the Middle East is where it should commence. As Cakmak maintains, â€Å"the damage done by George W. Bush to American foreign policy was extensive. Reliance on a political design similar to the Bush style would surely make the damage irreparable and US foreign policy unsustainable†. The recent Obama’s visit to Turkey can be said to be well thought out and indeed timely. The Obama’s administration in its bid to woo Muslims into the mainstream should start with Turkey because of two reasons.Geopolitically, Turkey lies in one of the most important location, bord ering Iraq and also having its foot in Europe. Turkey is both crucial to the advancement of Obama’s policies in the Middle East and also in NATO. Cakmak has appreciated this by maintaining that â€Å"Obama’s administration appreciates how Turkey is indispensable in its Middle Eastern policies and actions. † Core logic behind establishing good ties with Turkey lies in the fact that it is comprised of a majority Muslims. Although secular by nature, Turkey has a huge Muslim population.Acceptance of America amongst the Turkish leadership, which has been vocal in its criticism of Bush’s reign, will go along way in thawing the existing tension and impasse with the Muslim world (Journal of Turkish Weekly). Obamas current approach represents a radical shift from the Bush’s administration which failed to recognize the strategic importance of Turkey. It is important to point out that although Turkey is crucial if easing tension with Muslims is to be achieved , it may not necessarily be an authority in the region.Due to its secularism and westernization, Turkey is not fully regarded as an Islamic state, despite its huge Islamic population. However, the recent visit may work in Obama’s favor and install Turkey as a regional leader. A prudent analysis of this visit indicates that it meant to provide a new thinking and goes a long way in reassuring Muslims world wide of the United States commitment towards re-establishing the much needed good relations with Muslims. It re-emphasizes the need for multilateral approach to global problems and might provide the needed impetus towards the fight against terrorism.A continuation of Bush’s policies will be counterproductive as it was the cause of the existing tension. For his administration to emerge credible, it must denounce unilateral approach that characterized Bush’s administration. In this way, America will be seen as working with the Muslims but not against them. Works C ited Crockatt, Richard. After 9/11: cultural dimensions of American global power. Routledge, 2007, 74 Khan, Arshad. Islam, Muslims, and America: understanding the basis of their conflict. Algora Publishing, 2003, 57 Rabasa A. , Benard C. , Chalk P., Fair C. The Muslim world after 9/11. Rand Corporation, 2004, 43 USAK Experts and Researchers Assessed Obama's Visit to Turkey. Journal of Turkish Weekly. 8 April 2009. Retrieved on April 26, 2009 from http://www. turkishweekly. net/news/71215/usak-experts-and-researchers- assessed-obama-39-s-visit-to-turkey. html Zaman, Cakmak. What does Obama’s visit say about future Turkish-American relations? New York community media alliance. 9 April 2009. Retrieved on April 26, 2009 from http://www. indypressny. org/nycma/voices/368/editorials/editorials_2/