The British Prime Minister Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The British Prime Minister - Essay Example Apart from that, he also has patronage elsewhere such as the appointment of junior ministers The Prime Minister also chairs a number of select committees; at present the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee, the Constitutional Reform Committee, the Intelligence Services Committee and the Northern Ireland Committee. In these committees the Prime Minister has to be very influential in the determining of policies in these committees. Another function of the Prime Minister is to represent the country internationally. The queen is Britain's head of state, but the Prime Minister is Britain's de facto representative abroad. Political instinct alone seems to dictate the American president as 'the world's most powerful man' in the sense that most powerful politician in any of the world's democratic nations. He heads the world's most modern military force and the world's largest economy. In America, the president is the best known among politicians. This by itself gives him a great deal of authority as many people within their own states cannot name their own representatives in the House, Senate or governor. The title of president gives him enormous authority and power as he is the main figurehead within the whole of the massive American political structure. The British Prime Minister, in comparison, does have the same international standing as the president. In the crisis involving Iraq, the driving force behind any move against the leadership in Baghdad has been the American president, George Bush, while the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair has been referred to as clinging onto the coat tails of Bush. Britain simply does not seem to have the international standing to overtly influence policies. Such a position does not allow the Prime Minister to drive an international agenda which the US president is capable of. In this sense, the power of the US president abroad is far greater than that of the British Prime Minister. Taking domestic politics into picture, it is pretty much a reverse case scenario. Although the president can select his own cabinet with which he can work, it has to be ratified by the Senate but it does not necessarily mean that the president might have to work with people he did not initially select for his cabinet. The Prime Minister on the other hand, has no such restrictions. He selects all those people he wants for his cabinet and can remove them if they fail to satisfy his expectations and standards. He does not require consultation and approval from anybody over this though he might discuss it with an inner circle of very close colleagues. Least of all does the Prime Minister have to have his cabinet agreed to be the House of Commons or Lords. The president is not head of his party. The British Prime Minister is not only prime minister; he is also a serving Member of Parliament and head of his party. As such, he commands huge respect within that party and does a great deal to drive the policies of that party in power. With a large parliamentary majority, it is almost certain that prime ministerial policies will eventually become the actual policy and law. He is

Bushido the soul of Japan Essay Example for Free

Bushido the soul of Japan Essay The book Bushido the soul of Japan presented the various aspects of the Japanese society when there was the emergence of close interaction between the western and eastern civilizations. In this essay, an attempt is made to discuss the major themes and significance of this book. Analysis Inazo Nitobe, the author of the book, Bushido the soul of Japan, intended to provide information regarding the basis of Japanese doctrines of knighthood to the western scholars. Perhaps his interaction with the western scholars must have inspired him to write a book, which discussed regarding the main features of the Japanese feudal society. This is not a huge book. The book, however, has ambitious motives in the sense that through this small book attempt is made by the author Nitobe to reveal the complete essence of Japanese culture to the western audience. However, it simplifies the basic features of Japanese culture to make it more comprehendible to the western audience. To achieve this objective, several examples are given from the eastern and western literature. Consequently, this book has attracted the attention of several western scholars who wished to learn about the cultural aspects of the Japanese society. This book attempts to explain the basic features of the Japanese culture for the western audience by the use of English language. This book has been translated into different languages such as German, Polish, Marathi, and Chinese. This fact indicates the popularity of this work among both western and eastern readers. In the following pages, we try to give the details regarding the information that we gather from this book. The author obtained the information regarding the martial code from the elders when he was young. During those days, the author avers that there still existed few features of feudalism. The book Bushido argues that among the variety of doctrines of the Japanese culture, the most important are the samurai ways of life. The book deals with an attempt to trace the traditional Japanese martial code, which is not preserved in a written mode; but it spread from one generation to the other through the oral means. This book tries to reveal the past and present status of this martial code, which has been safeguarded by the Japanese martial arts experts for several years. This book is very essential to comprehend the real soul of Japan. The book traces the origin of this martial code to the Buddhist and Confucian thinkers and practitioners of this martial code. The followers of Zen Buddhism and Shintoism who have discussed regarding this code in their writings also developed it. This book comprises different chapters which provide information regarding the principles and the various aspects such as the ethical system, sources of Bushido, justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, truthfulness, honor, duty of loyalty, training of samurai, self control, institutions of suicide and redress, the soul of samurai, influence of bushido, and the future of bushido. (Nitobe, 1908) The Japanese warrior was expected to follow certain ethical principles, which were the part of this martial code. This system has been compared with the western chivalry system. These ethical principles had great impact on the behaviour and activities of the Japanese warrior or Samurai. He possessed both his sword as well as the ethical principles, which can be considered, as his soul. In this respect, we can say that the title of the book is very apt because the book intends to reveal this soul of the Japanese warrior. The Japanese were given information regarding the various moral principles at an early age. One such principle is that they should demonstrate their obedience to the elders. These moral principles were advocated to improve the character of the people, which allowed the people to make distinction between the right and the wrong. Bushido existed during the feudal age in Japan where there existed differences between the elite warrior class and the ordinary people. Bushido provided few guidelines regarding the actions of the individuals and their attitudes towards others in the society. This moral code of Bushido gives great importance to the obligation or the duty of individuals towards other members in the society. Each individual was expected to perform his duties towards elders, superiors, and other members of the society. The young people were given instructions regarding the need to imbibe the spirit of courage and they were informed that the death caused due to courageous and right actions leads to obtaining honour in the society. An important principle of Bushido is that the people were expected to follow the principle of benevolence, which means that they were supposed to help other individuals. In fact, this principle was the basis of the feudal Japanese society. This work gave importance to the quality of politeness and sincerity among individuals. Through these qualities, it is possible to obtain the love and friendship of other individuals. This will lead to harmonious relationship between the various members of the society. Bushido gave extreme importance to honor. It was the duty of every warrior or samurai to protect his honor and reputation. The book criticized the act of lying, which was considered as a sign of weakness. It was not considered as an honorable act. The book also gives information regarding the life and activities of the samurais, who possessed the feudal characteristics. The main aim of the samurais was to serve their masters and to show obedience towards their lord. The training of the samurais consisted of various principles such as wisdom, benevolence, and courage. They were given training in different arts of warfare such as archery, horse riding, wrestling, sword warfare, etc. At very early age, the samurais were subjected to training in fighting. Importance was given to developing their character rather than intelligence. Bushido encouraged the development of the personality of the warriors. They were not supposed exhibit any weaknesses or other emotions which would harm their own character and those of their lord. Hence, the samurais were expected even to commit suicide in order to safeguard their and lord’s honor and reputation. Particularly when a samurai committed errors, they were expected to kill themselves. In fact, the work refers to the ceremonies where there was the suicide of the samurais. This act surprised many western observers. This was one system, which differentiated Bushido code from other martial codes. The Bushido code mentions that the most important companion of the warrior was the sword which can be considered as his soul and he was expected to carry the sword wherever he went as it’s use led to the happiness and misery of the warriors. Ceremonies were performed which gave the right to samurai to possess the sword. The sword was one symbol of samurai, which differentiated him from other individuals in the society. Both rights and duties were performed and enjoyed by the warrior class who lived in the feudal Japanese society. The book also gave specific information regarding the role of women in the feudal society. As the male members in the family sacrificed their lives for their overlords, the female members also sacrificed themselves for the male members like husband and sons. This represented the characteristics of a stereotype feudal society. Duty of loyalty towards the male members was the quality that was expected from the female members of the Japanese family. In the end, the author discussed regarding the relevance of the martial code for the modern Japanese society. The author agrees that the Japanese society has voluntarily accepted the forces of modernization and westernization. Yet, at the same time, one can see that the Japanese believe that Bushido or the martial code is the basic spirit that can be found in their heart. The Japanese in the modern context possessed great passion for this martial code, in the same way, as it was the guiding force during the pre-modern times. Thus, the author argues that Bushido has maintained the basic features of the Japanese culture through this martial code. (1908) Conclusion The book gives information concerning the perception of the author regarding the ethical principles of the martial code called Bushido. This book provided information regarding the features of the feudal society of Japan in the pre-modern times. However, the author suggests that these principles are relevant even in the modern context. The author argued that the Japanese military achievements in the modern period against its enemies like China were due to the martial codes such as Bushido. This meant that there is a need to encourage the modern generation to imbibe the principles, which would lead to the development of their personality and the personality of the Japanese society. Reference Nitobe, Inazo(1908). Bushido the Soul of Japan, 13th edition.

Views Of Matter Essay -- essays research papers fc

What exactly is matter, it is not an every day question that one asks one’s own self. When looked at there are many different views on this subject, however because of the numerous numbers of different views, it is only possible to look at three of the discourses. The three discourses of matter to be looked at are; the Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical. Each discourse has evolved through time into the views that we know, and accept today. The distinction between these views on matter differs greatly, however it is possible to say that all three views came from the same place. This place being ancient Greece; it was their belief in gods that brought about religion, philosophy, and then science. The scientific view of matter has evolved over time. Science for many centuries has been accompanied by philosophical thought, throughout time the mixture of the two is very evident. The beginnings of western science, namely physics, coincide with that of the first period of Greek philosophers. Physics is in fact a term derived from the Greek word â€Å"physis† which means â€Å"the endeavor of seeing the essential nature of all things† (Capra, 1977, p. 9). The basic ideas evolved from the Greek philosophers, and philosophy remained a big part of science right up until the Newtonian view of the universe. Newton had a mechanistic view of the universe. He saw the universe as a three dimensional space. This space was unchangeable and always stagnant. â€Å"In Newton’s own words, â€Å"Absolute space, in its own nature, without regard to anything external, remains always similar and immovable.† All changes in the physical world were described in terms of a separate dimension, called time, which again was absolute, having no connection to the material world and flowing smoothly, from the past through the present to the future.† (Capra, 1977, p. 43). The things, which made up the absolute space and time, were material particles. These were perceived by Newton to be a part of all matter, as well as indestructible. Newton’s views were very parallel to those of the early Greek atomists. â€Å"Both were based on the distinction between the full and the void, between matter and space, and in both models the particles remained always identical in their mass and shape.† (Capra, 1977, p. 43). The difference between these two views came in the forces that acted upon the particles. The early Greeks... ...nce. Thus the different views on matter are 1. Religion: God created All matter. 2. Science: All matter is made up of tiny particles, (molecules/atoms) which have forces that act upon them to create movement. 3. Philosophy: Questions the existence of matter (what is real?) and shows why it exists if indeed it does. Religion is mystical and is supernatural, and believes that God has created all matter. Science got its beginnings from early philosophers, but when philosophers moved away from the question of what is something made of, to the question of; does it exist? Science still tried to prove our existence, through what matter is made of. Religion and philosophy differ in that religion has an answer to the question of the existence of matter. This is the same for science; it has proved that there are tiny particles called atoms that make up every thing. So of the three discourses, philosophy is the only one still searching for an answer to the question of the existence of matter. Bibliography Capra, Fritjof. The Tao of physics. Bantam Books, Toronto, 1977. Russell, B. The problem of philosophy. A Galaxy Book, New York, 1959. Durkhiem, E. Elementary focus of the religious life.

Monopoly †economics Essay

?I consider the case of Qualcomm faces antitrust probe in china. Qualcomm Incorporated is an American global fabless semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services. In the article it states that Qualcomm is the world’s biggest makers of cellar phone chips so they wanted to merge companies with china due to the potential market growth china has compared to the United States. So the speculation of this deal is that the company in china and qualcomm plan to do a launch of TD-LTE by early 2014. This causing an issue simply because it seems as though they broke the antitrust violations; in the article it does not say what violation it is but my thought from reading it would be the Celler-Kefauver Act which states that the Clayton Act, Section 7, which prohibits a firm from merging with a competing firm (and thereby lessening competition) by acquiring its stock. The issue seems to the rise of a company in which other companies would suffer from the merge taking down competitions and so forth. From the article we can tell that with any company trying to succeed in the business world especially a company that makes cellphone chips comes into a merger with china then the production and economic profits is unimaginable. China is one of the world’s leading productions in products worldwide now combing that with the cell phone chip makers, no other company would dare go against them or even try to keep with the company. The Marginal Revenue or Marginal Cost will skyrocket in competition. If the merger occurs it would call a Deadweight Loss to Society meaning that the costs to society created by market inefficiency and loss occur when supply and demand are not in equilibrium. Did not formally state why the company was being investigated but some say it is because of an attempt to gain leverage in royalty negotiations with Qualcomm ahead of the expected rollout of new 4G wireless infrastructure in 2014. The probe coincides with a recent surge of investigations into large foreign corporations that are currently operating in China, with speculation by market analysts that the move has been instigated to advantage domestic firms as markets shift toward a new generation of wireless technology. Some Pecuniary associated with the antitrust behavior is: Preparing major move to 4G wireless technology, merging of Qualcomm and china mobile, Asian smartphone makers has also emerged to help meet demand for low end handsets, pushing for local technology suppliers to increase revenue. Some. Nonpecuniary associated with the antitrust behavior is: Chip making for low cost phones Monopolies and oligopolies are not always bad for society. â€Å"A monopoly, as many people know, is a market condition in which only one vendor (usually a large corporation) is in play. There may be other somewhat similar businesses, but a monopoly exists when only one business or individual can provide a product or service. In an oligopoly, the product or service may be available from more than one vendor or merchant, but only a few big players dominate the market and make competition very difficult for new entries in the field. Examples of monopolies are difficult to produce, as federal antitrust regulations prohibit monopolistic market conditions in the United States. Regardless of legal issues, though, monopolies do exist, primarily in the utilities market. Electricity, for example, is generally available from only one â€Å"electric company† in any given market. Water and cable television are equally exclusive. During the 1990s, Microsoft commanded such a large portion of the computer operating system environment, and demonstrated such a propensity to absorb upstart competitors, that it was believed to be a monopoly as well. Examples of oligopolies are considerably more plentiful. The automotive industry, for example, has many competitors but is dominated by General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota. Breakfast cereal is also such an excellent example of oligopoly that it is often used in teaching the concept to Junior Achievement students; while the market is open to many competitors, almost all breakfast cereal — in the United States, at least — is manufactured by General Mills, Post or Kellogg. † An example of industry (where monopoly is warranted and is beneficial for the society) is electricity distribution industry. It is a natural monopoly industry because it involves large fixed costs and there are economies of scale over the entire significant range of output. In such industry, there is huge cost advantage if only one firm is operating but if there is more than one firm, cost will rise and consumers will have bear burden of this increased cost in the form of increased price. So allowing monopoly in such industry may actually benefit the society. Reference Mukherjee, S. , Alawadhi, N. , (2013, November 25) Reuters, Retrieved from http://www. reuters. com/article/2013/11/25/us-qualcomm-china-idUSBRE9AO0E.

Digital Fortress Chapter 37

Downstairs at the Alfonso XIII, Becker wandered tiredly over to the bar. A dwarf-like bartender lay a napkin in front of him. â€Å"Que bebe Usted? What are you drinking?† â€Å"Nothing, thanks,† Becker replied. â€Å"I need to know if there are any clubs in town for punk rockers?† The bartender eyed him strangely. â€Å"Clubs? For punks?† â€Å"Yeah. Is there anyplace in town where they all hangout?† â€Å"No lo se, senor. I don't now. But certainly not here!† He smiled. â€Å"How about a drink?† Becker felt like shaking the guy. Nothing was going quite the way he'd planned. â€Å"?Quiere Vd. algo?† The bartender repeated. â€Å"?FinoJerez?† Faint strains of classical music were being piped in overhead. Brandenburg Concertos, Becker thought. Number four. He and Susan had seen the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields play the Brandenburgs at the university last year. He suddenly wished she were with him now. The breeze from an overhead air-conditioning vent reminded Becker what it was like outside. He pictured himself walking the sweaty, drugged-out streets of Triana looking for some punk in a British flag T-shirt. He thought of Susan again. â€Å"Zumo de arandano,† he heard himself say. â€Å"Cranberry juice.† The bartender looked baffled. â€Å"Solo?† Cranberry juice was a popular drink in Spain, but drinking it alone was unheard of. â€Å"Si.† Becker said. â€Å"Solo.† â€Å"?Echo un poco de Smirnoff?† The bartender pressed. â€Å"A splash of vodka?† â€Å"No, gracias.† â€Å"?Gratis?† he coaxed. â€Å"On the house?† Through the pounding in his head, Becker pictured the filthy streets of Triana, the stifling heat, and the long night ahead of him. What the hell. He nodded. â€Å"Si, echame un poco de vodka.† The bartender seemed much relieved and hustled off to make the drink. Becker glanced around the ornate bar and wondered if he was dreaming. Anything would make more sense than the truth. I'm a university teacher, he thought, on a secret mission. The bartender returned with a flourish and presented Becker's beverage. â€Å"A su gusto, senor. Cranberry with a splash of vodka.† Becker thanked him. He took a sip and gagged. That's a splash?

Essay on Careers in Lodging

Essay on Careers in Lodging Essay on Careers in Lodging The National Restaurant Association is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has other offices located throughout Chicago. They offer full time employees a comprehensive benefit package, including health care, vacation and leave time, a 401K plan and an educational assistance program. The National Restaurant Association offers a wide range of positions within the food industry, including front and back-of-house, servers and kitchen staff. Some of the managerial positions offered are, Beverage manager who oversees the management and profitability of bars and lounges. Catering manager, who’s responsible for all catering functions from origination to execution, include delegating responsibilities. The Catering manager also works with the sales personnel to generate new business and maintains contact with clients. The Dining Room manager supervises the dining room operation and coordinates food service activities. They’re also in charge of supervising and training em ployees, as well as estimating food and beverage costs and buys supplies. The Executive Chef is responsible for the kitchen and ensures it provides nutritious, safe and eye appealing dishes. The Executive Chef also plans the menu, prepares the budget and is in charge of the maintenance of payroll and food cost records. They have two positions for the General Manger role at the National Restaurant Association; full service and quick service. Under the full service role, the General Manager would coordinate the restaurant’s foodservice activities. He (or she) would be in charge of estimating the food and beverage costs and purchasing the supplies, equipment, and food and beverages. The General Manger discusses the food preparation and other personnel from the dining room, bar and banquet team to plan menus and related activities. They oversee cleaning and maintenance of equipment and facilities and ensures that all health and safety regulations are followed. They coordinate the hiring, assignment, training, motivation and termination of personnel and investigates and resolves food quality and service complaints. The General Manager, under the quick service role, would be in charge of maintaining overall management responsibilities for the foodservice establishment. Directs, coordinates, and participates in preparation, cooking, wrapping or packing food serviced or prepared by establishment, collects payment from in-house or take-out customers, and assembles food orders. Coordinates workers who keep business records, collect and pay accounts, order or buys supplies, and deliver food to retail customers. Responsible for interviewing, the hiring and training of personnel. The American Hotel & Lodging Association offers students the opportunity to take part of their network of industry executives and can attend various conferences and events. While their roles don’t seem to be described as in depth with the positions at the National Restaurant Association, they seem to offer the same positions as described but also some additional ones. The Hotel Manager is responsible for the daily management of all hotel operations including the Rooms and Food and Beverage divisions. The Hotel Manager reports directly to the General Manager. The General Manager must possess the ability to understand and support Sales and Revenue Management and has a track record of increasing revenues and guest satisfaction through guest service strategies; has a mentoring management style in continuing to develop all staff. The Operations Manager analyzes and manages financial results of the store to ensure maximum profits are balanced with customer satisfaction and associate satisfaction. They ensure on a daily basis that the stores are open and staffed appropriately, the store is clean, inventory levels are appropriate and equipment is working properly. Supervises the day to day activities of associates and assigns responsibilities for specified work. Monitors and maintains all

the path to the unknown essays

the path to the unknown essays To search for the answers of his quest, Siddhartha undertook a long and unusual journey. A path to the unknown, a rout leading to the finish-line of the race, the same that helped him figure out things, material and spiritual, not pondered before. This expedition is filled with strange happenings, along with the most superb encounters. The forest symbolizes this opening towards a new world, of fresh experiences, which will be crucial to fulfill Siddharthas desires. Since the beginning Siddhartha departed in direction of the forest, in order to find remedies for his concerns and anxieties. Attaining Nirvana was his goal, a very difficult and supreme aspiration; therefore he was confused between what was best for him. He doubted that his father and the Brahmins had already transmitted everything that could be useful, but he wasnt pleased, ...his soul was not at peace, his heart was not still. (Hesse 5). It is noticeable that he was unsatisfied with himself. He demanded more than what was offered and required further erudition to complete his objective. So as to seek for the solution of this distress, he embarked on a trip that allowed him to learn from adversity, and to participate of innovative, hazardous, but mystifying events. The forest represents this course that Siddhartha took, so as to break apart the barrier, built up with riddles and obstacles, which hindered him from reaching enlightenment. Siddhartha encountered with one of his principal instructors at a village in the forest, Kamaswami, who taught him about the pleasures of life. These lessons covered Siddhartha with the vice of acquisitiveness, and detached him from everything he once admired and respected. Money was now his purpose and he gambled for it, was pitiless and exhibited disrespect for others. Obviously with Kamaswami, Siddhartha di ...

A Few Rounds About Bullet Lists

A Few Rounds About Bullet Lists A Few Rounds About Bullet Lists A Few Rounds About Bullet Lists By Mark Nichol Before reading this post you might wanna check one we published a while ago titled 7 Rules For Formatting Lists. Heres a quotation from it: The items in unnumbered lists are often preceded by dots or other symbols known collectively as bullets, though such markers are technically not necessary, especially in a recipe or a materials list. (In those cases, it’s implicit that the ingredients or components are added or constructed in the order listed - it’s actually a numbered list that needs no numbers.) A bullet list lets you display a set of terms, phrases, or statements clearly. prevent reader fatigue or confusion in the form of a long run-in list in a sentence. avoid repetition by following an introductory phrase with â€Å"fill-in-the-blank† list items. Keep these guidelines for constructing bullet lists in mind: If each of the items in a bullet list completes a sentence begun with an introductory phrase, the first letter of the first word of each item should be lowercase, and the last word should be followed by terminal punctuation (a period, question mark, or exclamation point), as in the preceding bullet list. The format in the previous list, however, is not recommended for items consisting of less than a few words, unless listing multiple items as a run-in list in a sentence would produce a ponderously long sentence. If all list items are complete sentences, they should follow an introductory statement ending with a colon, as in this bullet list. If all list items are incomplete sentences, they can follow an open introductory phrase or one ending with a colon; in the latter case, the first letter of the first word in each item should be uppercase. The first letter of the first word of each complete sentence should be uppercase, and complete sentences should include terminal punctuation. All items in a list should have the same format a word a phrase, or a complete sentence and should follow the same grammatical structure. If every item in a list begins with the same word or phrase, try to incorporate the word or phrase into the introductory phrase or statement, then delete it from the list items. Avoid creating a bullet list in which one or more items consist of very long sentence or more than one sentence; if this is the case, it’s better to use traditional sentence form. A bullet list with a closed introductory phrase and whose items are single words should be formatted as follows: apples bananas cherries Likewise, a bullet list with a closed introductory phrase and whose items are short phrases should be formatted as follows: personal identification number automated teller machine liquid-crystal display The following elements are superfluous in a bullet list with an introductory phrase ending in a colon: A comma after each item A semicolon after each item The word and or or following a comma or semicolon in the penultimate item A period following the last item A bullet list preceded by an open-ended introductory phrase may but need not include a semicolon (not a comma) after each item; the word and or or following the semicolon in the penultimate item (optional); and a period following the last item. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before Words20 Words Meaning "Being or Existing in the Past"Running Errands and Doing Chores

The Role of Ethics in 21st Century Organizations Research Paper

The Role of Ethics in 21st Century Organizations - Research Paper Example The other significant role of ethics in the 21st century is that it is often regarded as â€Å"values-based culture†. Furthermore, it has also been identified that ethics in the 21st century is neither a comfort nor an alternative. The primary duty of this century is generating and encouraging the â€Å"values-based culture† so that the organizations can greatly focus upon the ethical values and ultimately enhance their quality standard of business operations. Fundamentally, there are several key factors that should be considered while generating a â€Å"values-based culture†. The several main factors include collective core values such as honesty and respect, common language and moral courage among others (Brimmer, 2007). Another important role of ethics in the 21st century is that ethics is considered as a management control procedure and plays a critical part towards enhancing the business communities’ along with the society’s welfare. The busine ss organizations of the 21st century realized that as the business trade and commerce policy and procedure became more difficult, there lays an utmost need of preserving ethics in order to sustain within the global financial market (Sims, 1991). With due consideration to the fact that the different roles and duties of ethics in the 21st century are immense, as a result, various significant advantages of managing ethics in the workplace can be apparently noted. One of the major benefits of managing ethics is that proper attention towards the particular conception of ethics substantially enhances the welfare and development pace within the society. The introduction of anti-trust regulations, government agencies and numerous establishments of laws, as well as regulations as measures of ethical concern, also tend to benefit the business organizations from managing ethics in the workplace (Thompson, 1991).

Customer Satisfaction and the Banking Industry Essay

Customer Satisfaction and the Banking Industry - Essay Example Other important reports include those by P Carrol and F Reichheld, titled The Fallacy of Customer Retention, as well as the paper by M S Krishnan et al, titled Customer Satisfaction for Financial Services: The Role of Products, Services and Information Technology. These papers have important notes on not just acquiring customers but also retaining them - which is where customer satisfaction comes into play. This paper is based on the case study of ICICI Bank in India. Therefore, the information found on its website was used as well. In this case it is important to note that most of the texts used are journal articles are this is a very topical theme and it requires special classification which most books are not able to offer. With a variety of other papers that revolve around the theme of customer satisfaction and banking services, it is imperative to mention that there is still a lot of scope for research in terms of finding niche markets and catering to customers from these areas with a focus on need specific programs. Customer Satisfaction - Conception and Implications Customer satisfaction may be defined as that sphere within an organisation's operational area where the transmission of information and services with a focus on time and quality takes place. Customer satisfaction is an important tool with which it is easy to harness the potential of expanding one's customer base manifold. In the banking sector, this theory has special importance owing to growing competition and the fact that it is a service based industry where there is maximum human interface. The tools for measuring customer satisfaction include surveys as well as applying statistical analysis like the customer satisfaction index to which essentially... Customer satisfaction may be defined as that sphere within an organisation’s operational area where the transmission of information and services with a focus on time and quality takes place. Customer satisfaction is an important tool with which it is easy to harness the potential of expanding one’s customer base manifold. In the banking sector, this theory has special importance owing to growing competition and the fact that it is a service based industry where there is maximum human interface. The tools for measuring customer satisfaction include surveys as well as applying statistical analysis like the customer satisfaction index to which essentially measures market share and profitability. This will help provide an empirical base for any hypothesis on the basis of which models and programs may be formulated. Factors influencing customer satisfaction in Retail Banking in UK, author Anita Chakrabarty has pointed out how the last two decades have been seeing an increase in competitiveness in the retail banking sector in UK. This has a strong connection with the various activities that have been triggered in the banking industry all over the world. ICIC is a bank that has taken this conception one step forward by applying it in the context of the loyalty business model. Thus, one will find that the banks are now in a race towards consolidation of their positions and mergers. In this regard, they have realized that the primary focus of their activities must be on the optimum satisfaction of the customers.

Causes of school Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Causes of school Violence - Essay Example In this paper, I am going to argue that domestic abuse, anger, overcrowded schools, medical problems, and gang activities cause school violence. First, school violence is caused by domestic violence. This is because the students who face a lot of domestic violence at home become violent too. Domestic violence include insults and physical violence. The students who face this problem at home become violent and therefore become dangerous at school. Students who are abused at home carry this violent attitude to their school and start molesting the other students (â€Å"School Violence† web). Such students accept domestic violence as a way of life and thus they see it as normal to molest fellow students in school. The schools that have many students are likely to have more violence. Overcrowded schools especially the schools that are in low income areas report many cases of school violence. We can argue that overcrowding in schools makes it difficult for teachers and school management to control students. Therefore, the students get the chance to molest and beat other students since it is difficult to catch them (â€Å"Constitutional Rights Foundation† web). Maintaining discipline in overcrowded schools is also difficult and thus, many students will have discipline issues which results to school violence. It is also true that overcrowded schools get students from poor and low income families. It is claimed that â€Å"Race and ethnicity, income levels, and other measurable elements have often been singled out by public heath experts as risk factors that can contribute to anti-social behavior, from smoking and drinking to violent behavior and suicide† (â€Å"Constitutional Rights Foundation† web). For example, children from low income families and slums attend overcrowded schools. Since there is a lot of violence in low income families and slum neighborhoods, students coming from these neighborhoods bring violence

Murder Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Murder Report - Essay Example Ryan had been drinking lager all night, topping up the beer up with a few shots as the evening wore on. In the night club Ryan happened to see Sukhdev an Asian engaging in loud discourse with Laura in an intimate position. Under the influence of alcohol, Ryan used dirty language against Sukhdev humiliating his Asian identity. Sukhdev’s friends separated him from the scene, ignoring Ryan. The outraged Ryan shifted his anger over her and tried to pull her out when she quitted saying her day with him was over. Ryan never stopped taking liquor and met a friend of him in another club. During exchange of his experience at ‘Gas’ club, the friend fuelled his animosity on Sukhdev and returned back to ‘Gas’ club to meet Sukhdev again who was just leaving ‘Gas’ with a few friend and two young white girls. Ryan dragged them into altercation and began to attack Sukhdev. Sukhdev’s friend too retaliated in the same coin terming Ryan a white scum. Ryan’s friend joined him and showed his muscle power against Sukhdev, by when the door staff of ‘Gas’ called the police to intervene. However, the police caught hold Ryan and brought Sukhdev to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead before arrival. Background: - Ryan was aged 22 at the time of the incident. He had grown up in the north Midlands town where the incident took place in a terraced house close to the mine where his father had worked as a young man. The mine had closed in the early 1980s along with many of the town’s other heavy industries. After losing his mining job Ryan’s father had struggled to find work, eventually finding work as a long distance lorry driver. During the 1950s and 1960s when the local economy was booming, people had been attracted to the town from both Pakistan and the West Indies, often to work in the health service, transport and on night shifts in local factories. More recent migrants from sub-Saharan Afric a, the Middle East and south-eastern Europe had found it harder to get work – often because they were prevented from doing so as asylum-seekers. Despite this inward migration, the town remained overwhelmingly white and many families had lived in the area for generations. Ryan’s father and mother split up when Ryan was four leaving his mother to bring him up along with his elder brother, Damian, and younger sister, Charlotte. During Ryan’s childhood, his mother had a succession of relationships with men, two of whom had, like Ryan’s father, been violent towards her. One of them, a man called Dave, who didn’t work and spent most of the time drinking at home in front of the television, had taken a strong dislike to Ryan and gave him regular beatings, including on one occasion with a baseball bat he kept behind the door, ostensibly to deal with burglars. Ryan had spent some time in hospital as a result of this beating. Ryan also suspected that Dave had been sexually abusing his younger sister but his mother had threatened to throw him out if he didn’t ‘stop making things up’. From the age of nine Ryan had tried to spend as little time as possible at home. Hanging out on the streets, he came into contact with a group of older boys who were amused by his fearless, devil-may-care attitude and adopted him as a kind of mascot. Through his contacts with this group, Ryan began drinking alcohol and then got into taking drugs. By the age of 13, Ryan was a hardened drinker and a regular truant. On the rare occasions

All mentioned in the details Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

All mentioned in the details - Research Paper Example Thesis statement: The after-effects of the ongoing uprising in Egypt prove that the best possible way to restore peace in this region is to introduce federal form of government in Egypt. Egyptian Revolution: The Egyptian Revolution proves that non-democratic rulers cannot survive in the modern world because dictatorship is an outdated political form. In the modern world, the dictators cannot suppress the people by implementing strict laws and regulations. For instance, Hosni Mubarak’s rule in Egypt crushed the positive initiatives undertaken by the former president, Anwar Sadat. One can see that Anwar Sadat undertook the responsibility to create co-operation with neighboring nations, especially with Israel. He was aware of the fact that co-operation can help Egypt to move towards development. But he totally ignored the growth of political Islam in Egypt. On the other side, Hosni Mubarak utilized his influence on the Egyptian military to implement non-democratic ideas. For inst ance, Mubarak made use of the Central Security Forces to suppress those who protested against him. Brownlee (2012) states that, â€Å"Under the aegis of antiterrorism, Mubarak consolidated his rule and blocked alternative movements from gaining control of government† (p.43). ... Instead, he considered the religious fundamentalists as an imminent threat to his regime. Darraj (2007) states that, â€Å"The problem for Mubarak of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism continued to intensify, as fundamentalists called for an Islamic government run by Islamic law† (p.66). During Mubarak’s regime, the governance was under the security chiefs because Mubarak did not give much importance to his ministers. This negative attitude towards ministers, transformed Mubarak to an autocrat. He did not try to solve the problems faced by the people. Instead, he extended his influence on the bureaucratic backbone of Egypt. This helped him to get re-elected more than twice as the president of Egypt. On the other side, the emergency laws implemented by Mubarak limited the individual freedom of the Egyptian citizens. The national political framework became a tool for corruption. Gradually, the people accepted corruption as an easy way to solve the bureaucratic problems. T his helped most of the bureaucrats to enjoy their supremacy in the national politics. On the other side, the people were facing illiteracy and poverty. One can see that poverty is the grass root level reason behind almost all evils in a society. In Egypt, during Mubarak’s rule, illiteracy eventually led to unemployment. Besides, population explosion was another problem in Egypt. The Mubarak government was so interested to implement the Emergency Law because the president feared that the former president’s (say, Anwar Sadat’s) fate may follow him. Currivan (2011) makes clear that, â€Å"After vicious assaults by Mubarak loyalists, the army refused to fire on its own citizens and sided with the people against Mubarak, who eventually stood down on 11 February† (p.178).

Murder Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Murder Report - Essay Example Ryan had been drinking lager all night, topping up the beer up with a few shots as the evening wore on. In the night club Ryan happened to see Sukhdev an Asian engaging in loud discourse with Laura in an intimate position. Under the influence of alcohol, Ryan used dirty language against Sukhdev humiliating his Asian identity. Sukhdev’s friends separated him from the scene, ignoring Ryan. The outraged Ryan shifted his anger over her and tried to pull her out when she quitted saying her day with him was over. Ryan never stopped taking liquor and met a friend of him in another club. During exchange of his experience at ‘Gas’ club, the friend fuelled his animosity on Sukhdev and returned back to ‘Gas’ club to meet Sukhdev again who was just leaving ‘Gas’ with a few friend and two young white girls. Ryan dragged them into altercation and began to attack Sukhdev. Sukhdev’s friend too retaliated in the same coin terming Ryan a white scum. Ryan’s friend joined him and showed his muscle power against Sukhdev, by when the door staff of ‘Gas’ called the police to intervene. However, the police caught hold Ryan and brought Sukhdev to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead before arrival. Background: - Ryan was aged 22 at the time of the incident. He had grown up in the north Midlands town where the incident took place in a terraced house close to the mine where his father had worked as a young man. The mine had closed in the early 1980s along with many of the town’s other heavy industries. After losing his mining job Ryan’s father had struggled to find work, eventually finding work as a long distance lorry driver. During the 1950s and 1960s when the local economy was booming, people had been attracted to the town from both Pakistan and the West Indies, often to work in the health service, transport and on night shifts in local factories. More recent migrants from sub-Saharan Afric a, the Middle East and south-eastern Europe had found it harder to get work – often because they were prevented from doing so as asylum-seekers. Despite this inward migration, the town remained overwhelmingly white and many families had lived in the area for generations. Ryan’s father and mother split up when Ryan was four leaving his mother to bring him up along with his elder brother, Damian, and younger sister, Charlotte. During Ryan’s childhood, his mother had a succession of relationships with men, two of whom had, like Ryan’s father, been violent towards her. One of them, a man called Dave, who didn’t work and spent most of the time drinking at home in front of the television, had taken a strong dislike to Ryan and gave him regular beatings, including on one occasion with a baseball bat he kept behind the door, ostensibly to deal with burglars. Ryan had spent some time in hospital as a result of this beating. Ryan also suspected that Dave had been sexually abusing his younger sister but his mother had threatened to throw him out if he didn’t ‘stop making things up’. From the age of nine Ryan had tried to spend as little time as possible at home. Hanging out on the streets, he came into contact with a group of older boys who were amused by his fearless, devil-may-care attitude and adopted him as a kind of mascot. Through his contacts with this group, Ryan began drinking alcohol and then got into taking drugs. By the age of 13, Ryan was a hardened drinker and a regular truant. On the rare occasions

Hispanic American Diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Hispanic American Diversity - Research Paper Example Mexican Americans have been living for a very long time in the United States and have adapted accordingly to the demands of the culture and society. In 2006 it was found that 14 percent of the documented immigrants in the United States belonged to Mexico. These Americans are diverse when it comes to their language. Twenty-six percent of the Mexican Americans can talk in both Spanish and English, 23 percent of them talk English whereas 51 percent speak Spanish. The political stance of Mexican American remains the same as the other Hispanic groups as they have been long ignored in the political arena because of their language differences. However, their voting rights were established long back and they are able to vote easily. It has also been realized that they form a great portion of the voters and they have been specifically targeted by many leaders. Although their political strength is increasing with every passing day it can be still seen that injustice prevails against these immi grants in terms of education, testing and immigration reforms. The Mexican Americans follow the principles of Catholicism accordingly. The economic condition of these Americans has not become any better as there still remains a huge gap between the born Americans and the immigrants. The rate of poverty, unemployment is higher in this group if compared with the Whites (Schaefer 2010; Keedle 2010). Puerto Ricans form another major group of Hispanics in the United States. These Americans tend to be more oriented towards the English Language as they have been a part of the US history. These people have known to be undergoing a phenomenon known as neocolonialism as they are not able to accept the American identity as a whole. The economic stance of the Puerto Ricans is not as good as the whites and they are known to suffer from a higher rate of unemployment too.     

Analsysis of John Green;s The Fault in Our stars Essay Example for Free

Analsysis of John Green;s The Fault in Our stars Essay In 2013 it is predicted that 580,350 people will die from cancer (Howlader). Chances are any given person knows at least one person, who has suffered from cancer. Talking about cancer is not something that people willingly do. If you are unlucky enough to not know someone who has had cancer, reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green will give you the emotions of losing someone dear to you to cancer. What makes this book worth reading because of it’s plot, the characters are relatable and give the reader meaning, and the book sticks in the readers mind even after finishing the book. The plot of The Fault of Our Stars tells the story of Hazel Grace who experiences a miracle that shrinks her ever growing tumors and buys her more years that she expected. The novel is based on the twist in Hazel’s life when she meets Augustus Waters, a cancer survivor, at a Cancer Kid Support group. The story follows the friendship and romance of Hazel and Augustus. The two grow together and share experiences and love for reading making their friendship and relationship become more solidified. The romance flourishes after Hazel has a medical issue due to the tumors in her lungs and explains to Augustus that she wants to meet her, and now his, favorite author in Amsterdam. Augustus uses his wish, presumably from the â€Å"Make a Wish Foundation,† to get himself, Hazel, and Hazel’s mother to Amsterdam. This trip is the climax in the relationship of Hazel and Augustus. They share their first kiss, and lose their virginities to each other. This is also the tipping point where we realize that Augustus is dying, Brodie 2 his cancer has reoccured and it appears to be incurable. After their trip we quickly see Augustus’ health go down a downward spiral, his caner getting worse and spreading throughout his body. The author then does the unexpected and ends the romance of Hazel and Augustus by having Augustus cancer overwhelm him and eventually take his life. Green follows Hazels life after his death showing her grief and her will to live. Augustus death gave her a new perspective on life. Wanting to fight her cancer more. The plot is overall strong and well thought out. The story is possible, while unlikely that two teenagers with terminal caner would travel to Amsterdam together, but still has the realistic nature that gives most people something to relate to. Having two teenagers with cancer fall in love gives the plot not only a twist at the end, but also something that everyone in their lives look for. It has hope for the people needing hope, love for the hopeless romantics, adventure for the adventure seekers, something for everyone can be found in this book. The characters Hazel Grace, and Augustus Waters, have aspects of their personalities that everyone can relate to. The author John Green specifically designed the characters to be relatable for all ages. Green gave Hazel a strong independent personality who doesn’t like seeing herself as being weak. Green wants to make Hazel a teenager, despite her terminal cancer. Green comments, â€Å"I wanted to establish that just because Hazel is sick and dying or whatever, she is still a teenager, and more generally she is still human and developing emotionally at the standard human rate, and not at some wildly increased rate of development that’s only available to you if you have incurable cancer. † (Questions). Green creates a character that has had things in her life happen that many teenagers will never experience. However he gives her â€Å"normal teenager† aspects where she does not enjoy physical contact with her mother. Giving her a real teenage Brodie 3 attitude makes her more relatable than a mature teenager who loves her parents and has terminal cancer. While Augustus seems to be the mature teenager who beat cancer, he still has his teen angst common in adolescence. He travels with Hazel against his parents wishes, he lies to Hazel about coming out of remission, and has attitude with a flight attendant when she asks him to remove an unlit cigarette from his mouth. While many teenagers wouldnt go against their parents wishes especially when it comes to their wellbeing, lie to the woman they love about their cancer, and smoke unlit cigarettes to get across a metaphor, Green makes it clear that Augustus was a real person. He had pain and suffering that he didnt lead on. Green says when asked why Augustus stops hiding his pain towards the end of his life, â€Å"I am really bothered by the idea that people in pain who are being wrenched from existence should be perpetually cheerful and compassionate about it. † (Questions). His point is that some people can only bottle up their pain for so long. This is something many teenagers with depression, and even adults can relate to. Memorability of a book or any form of media is important. Having quotes that can be used in everyday life, and some that are so deep that they make you think about yourself and the marks you leave on the world. Having strong quotes such as, â€Å"I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you. † (Green, 128). The certain quotes that stick with someone, that initiate emotions, are important in any books. The emotions that can be drawn out of the reader, mainly bringing sadness towards the end when Brodie 4 Green does the worst possible thing to his characters by ending the life of Augustus, for some people this can spark intense emotions. Many people say to â€Å"not read this book in public† (Keane) due to the fact that many people have cried. Not expecting the twist ending, finding yourself shocked at the pain the other characters are feeling create an almost physical response from some readers. The effectiveness of a good book are based on the plot, characters, and memorability. While some of these are all based on personal preference it can be agreed that The Fault in Our Stars is, according to Time, an â€Å"instant classic. † Time magazine wrote, â€Å"(I can see) The Fault in Our Stars taking its place alongside Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret in the young-adult canon. † Writing about such an emotional topic of cancer and on top of that writing about the love and the loss of two teenagers is a strong concept to tackle and release into the public. The words on the pages jump off and overall the book is worth reading due to the intense plot line, relatable characters, and the quotable passages. Brodie 5 Works Cited Bruni, Frank. Kids, Books and a Five-Hankie Gem. The New York Times 22 Feb. 2012, sec. Opinion Paged: n. pag. New York Times. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton Books, 2012. Print. Green, John. Questions about The Fault in Our Stars. John Green. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. . Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Garshell J, Neyman N, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2010, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer. cancer. gov/csr/1975_2010/, based on November 2012 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, 2013. Keane, Shannon Rigney. Book Notes: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Girls Leadership Institute. N. p. , 7 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. . Lockhart, E. The Fault in Our Stars: John Green, Kate Rudd: 9781455869893: Amazon. com: Books. Amazon. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. . Time Magazine. Reviews for The Fault in Out Stars. John Green. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. .

Composites Used In Aircraft Structure Engineering Essay

Composites Used In Aircraft Structure Engineering Essay This report explores the uses of composites in modern aircrafts and investigates the technical effects of applying composites to aircrafts. In addition, this report also evaluates the future usage of composites in aerospace industry. Background Composites are defined as engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties those remain separate and distinct on a macroscopic level within the finished structure. (Definition, 2010) The American Heritage Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1981) comes close, with a complex material, such as wood or fiber glass, in which two or more complementary substances, especially metals, ceramics, glasses, and polymers, combine to produce some structural or functional properties not present in any individual component. The problem with even a good definition, of course, is that it is all encompassing, so that every material in the universe could in some sense be defined as a composite. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Composites are first introduced after crash cases of aircrafts due to metal fatigue in the 1950s. And since then the use of composites in aircrafts increases exponentially over time. Method of Investigation Information is obtained online in the form of e-books, news articles and industrial reports. Furthermore, relevant book from SP library had been used in this report. Scope of Investigation This report explores the history of composites. Besides, this report also explores the types of composites used in aircraft structure, for example carbon fiber, fiberglass and Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid, as well as fabrication of the carbon fiber. Furthermore, this report discusses the technical effects and applications of composites in aircraft structure. Composites in the future such as self-repairing composites and shape memory composites are also discussed in this report. History of Composites Composites were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s, fiber-reinforced plastic, was introduced to substitute the usage of duralumin in the structure of aircrafts. Before composites were introduced, primary structure of aircrafts was made largely of aluminum alloy. Duralumin, a type of aluminum alloy, was widely used in aircrafts primary structure due to its high strength to weight ratio and good toughness. Furthermore, good corrosion resistance of duralumin makes it so suitable to be used under harsh condition. However, in 1950s, a fully loaded De Havilland Comet jet airliner crashed due to metal fatigue. This gave rise to demand of materials suitable for aircrafts primary structure with high fatigue resistance. English scientist, Norman de Bruline, was the first to propose the use of composite materials in aircrafts structures. Then, more and more composites were introduced to suit certain requirement of properties of aircrafts structure. Modern fibers, such as carbon-reinforced fibers, Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid, glass-reinforced fibers and boron fibers, are the stiffest and strongest materials known. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Modern Composites Composites are well known for their favorable properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness, very high stress level, high fatigue resistance and good corrosion resistance. Some of the widely used composites in aircraft structures will be discussed below. In common, all composites are made of relatively weak bonding of lamination of materials. Hence, core in composite laminate is introduced to increase the laminates stiffness by effectively thickening it with a low-density core material. This can provide a dramatic increase in stiffness for very little additional weight, where lightweight implication is so crucial for aircraft structure. For example, application of honeycomb core provides stronger impact resistance to composite laminates. With its hollow cells, it provides good energy absorption and sound dampening effect to the laminates. Types There are many types of composites currently used in aircraft structure. However, in this part only carbon fiber, fiberglass and Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid will be discussed. Carbon Fiber Carbon or graphite fiber is basically fiber that contains more than 90% of carbon. Carbon fibers are ideal for lightweight reinforcement, as well as high strength, high stiffness application in aircrafts structure, due to its unique combinations of properties. High-performance carbon fibers are available in a range of properties, product forms, and prices. Most of the Carbon Fibers are made from organic polymers, with chains of carbons connected to each other, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN). (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Fiberglass Fiberglass is a reinforcing material that is widely used in aircraft structure. More than 70% of the reinforcement of thermosetting resins is made of fiberglass. In general, the longer the fibers, the greater the strength of the fibers is. And continuous fibers are the strongest amongst all. Glass does not burn, and at high temperature glass retains its mechanical properties, up to 50 per cent of its strength at 700 °F. Furthermore, glass has excellent moisture resistance compared to metals. Thus, it is suitable for application on aircraft structures. Lime-alumina-borosilicate glass, or E glass, was the first glass developed specifically for continuous fibers production. It is designed for electrical applications, with its good adaptability and high effectiveness in processes and products, ranging from decorative to structural applications in aircrafts. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Aramid Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid, introduced commercially in the 1970s, is an aromatic long-chain polyamide polymer produced by spinning using standard textile techniques. It was introduced to replace steel in racing tires. Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid is well known for its high tensile strength, low density and good impact resistance with about half the stiffness of graphite structure. These properties offer a better choice for materials used in aircraft structures. For example, Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ 49 aramid fiber is widely used as reinforcement for plastic composites in aerospace, marine, automotive, and other industrial applications. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Fabrication In general, the reinforcing and matrix materials are combined, compacted and processed to undergo a melding event. In this part, fabrication of carbon fiber will be discussed in details. Figure 1 below illustrates the brief process of fabrication of carbon fiber, from its precursor form to the fiber. Figure 1 Fabrication Of Carbon Fiber (Flow Chart, 2010) Firstly, acrylonitrile, CH2CHCN, a chemical compound derived from propylene and ammonia, is mixed with another plastic in powder form, and is then reacted with a catalyst in a solution polymerization process. In results, a polymer is formed. After that, the polymer is put under spinning process to form the internal atomic structure of the fiber. This process is done by heating up the mixture and pump through tiny jets into a chamber where the solvents evaporate. The polymer is then washed and stretched to align the molecules within the fiber. This complete process is called stretching. The final product after this process is known as precursor. Next, the fibers will undergo oxidation process. The fibers are heated in air to about 200 to 300 °C for 30 to 120 minutes, to convert the linear atomic bonding to ladder bonding. This is to prepare a more thermally stable bonding of fibers. After the fibers are stabilized, they are heated again to 1000 to 3000 °C for several minutes in a furnace. This has to be done in inert environment to prevent fibers from burning with presence of oxygen gas. As the fibers are heated, they start to lose their carbon atoms as well as non-carbon atoms while the remaining carbon atoms will form a tightly bonded carbon crystals that are aligned almost parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fibers. This process is known as carbonization. In some processes, two furnaces are operating in two different temperatures to provide a better control of heating rate. Lastly, the fibers will undergo surface treatments such as oxidation to provide better bonding properties, coating to protect fibers from external damage. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Technical Effects Generally, composites are superior in fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, and high strength-to-weight ratio. These properties give composite aircrafts better fuel efficiency as well as better load capacity, as compared to the metal alloy counterparts. In addition, composites design offers lower maintenance cost compared to that of metal alloy design. Composite parts are manufactured as a whole, compared to metal parts are manufactured in the form of sheet metals and are connected by means of fasteners, the former greatly reduce maintenance cost by simplifying maintenance procedure. Figure 2 below shows the fuselage barrel section being manufactured in one piece, without the needs of fasteners. Figure 2 Boeing 787 DreamLiner Fuselage (Composites Material, 2004) However, composites are not as almighty as they have been told. For instance, most composite materials are poor in electric conductivity and such, causing them to be more susceptible to damage due to lightning strikes. Compared to metal alloy airframes, composite counterparts require extra procedure in order to take care of the electric charge from the lightning as well as static charge from friction when flying. Furthermore, unlike metals, composites break without sign or physical warning. Compared to aluminum alloy, composites do not bend when subjected to impact but break once they fail to withstand the load. Applications Composites are currently used widely in aerospace industry. Primary structures, for example fuselage, wings, ailerons, flaps, empennage, are made of composites in modern aircrafts. For example, composites contributed 50 per cent to the weight of Boeing 787 DreamLiner, whilst almost 100 per cent of the fuselage skin and wings surface are composites. Figure 3 below illustrates the usage of composites in Boeing 787 as compared to that in Boeing 777, has increased significantly. Figure 3 Goodbye Metal Planes (Goodbye Metal Plane, 2005) Secondary structures such as pressure bulkheads, floor beams, and landing gear door are also made of composites. Furthermore, composites are also used in interior. Composites In The Future Self-Repairing Composites Self-repairing composites are composites that are able to repair cracks on the aircrafts as they happen. Figure 4 below illustrates the fundamental of self-repairing composites. By designing a network of glass rods filled with resin, it is possible to stop the crack from propagating and repair the aerodynamics characteristic of the aircraft when crack happen in flight. Figure 4 Self Healing Artificial Skin (Self Repairing, 2007) However, there are limitations in self-repairing composites, for example, the supply of the resin in the network. A system with vascular network has to be developed to resupply the resin so that self-repairing composites serve their purpose from time to time. Shape Memory Composites Shape memory composites are composites that retain one or two shapes after being cold-worked. Figure 5 illustrates how shape memory composites retain shapes after being subjected to heat. Figure 5 Shape Memory (Shape Memory, 2007) This is highly useful in aircrafts design as it means the aerodynamics of the aircrafts can now be controlled according to whether maneuverability or stability is needed. Conclusion Composites are currently used as a better material used in aircraft primary structures, substituting aluminum alloy that had been used for decades. Due to composites superiority in corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and weight saving, it is expected that incoming models of aircrafts will use composites extensively. Application of composites in modern aircrafts once again proves that composites are more reliable than metal alloys in airworthiness. However, further development of composites should be done to overcome weaknesses found currently to further improve the safety of aircrafts.

Can the Source of Aggression be Found in the Brain? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Can the Source of Aggression be Found in the Brain? In Holland, male members of a certain family were found to be prone to violent outbursts; one male, criticized by his employer, attempted to run him over with a car - another raped his sister and was sent to a mental hospital - a third coerced his sister into undressing by threatening her with a knife. Such men display retarded motor development, difficulties in task planning, and awkward sexual behavior. (1). Recently, researchers claimed to have found the basis of such aggressive behavior to genetic sources - specifically, a deficiency in the MAOA gene of these males (2). In Finland, studies were conducted on males who also displayed uncontrollable behavior, and the findings demonstrated that the men possessed a neurotransmitter substance deficiency, particularly in the messenger serotonin (3). This lack of serotonin has been linked to aggressive behavior: some violent prone individuals did not effectively break down these substances All around the globe, people have attempted to find an organic, genetic basis for aggressive behavior. Several hormones and neurotransmitters, such as testosterone and seretonin, have been implicated in the "aggression quest", as well as specific localities of the human brain. My paper will serve to suggest that although many findings have shown impressive results regarding possible biological causes of violent behavior, we still do not have sufficient means to understand the neuroanatomical or biochemical basis of aggression. Neurotransmitters have been suggested as a significant cause of aggressive behavior. Hans Brunner, a geneticist at the University Hospital in Nijmegen, has found that the violent male members of the Dutch family mentioned earlier in this paper, lacked a gene that produces monoamine oxidase-a (MAOA) (4). MAOA is an enzyme that breaks down significant transmitters in the brain. If the MAOA does not break down these transmitters - specifically, serotonin - then buildup of serotonin will occur and could cause a person to act violently (3). However, it is interesting how contradictory the finding is to several other claims. Studies have shown that serotonin, in normal levels, exerts a calming, inhibitory effect on neuronal firing (5) and that, in low levels of serotonin, aggressive and impulse behaviors increase (6).This contradicts the previous claim that a built-up, or high levels of serotonin caused by the MAOA mutation, causes violent behavior. Furthermore, the claim regarding the specificity of serotonin to aggression can be analogous to a small fish in a big pond.

Romeo and Juliet Essay

Text Analysis: Complexity of love in Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is a complex tragedy exploring different dynamics of love and particularly true love. The play confronts the audience with the very old enmity between two families. The focus is primarily around Romeo and Juliet but also infatuation and brotherly love. Several interpretations have being made, although reading scenes from the real play give a direct familiarity with the text. Romeo and Juliet the play is opened with a focus on the Montague’s and Romeos relationship with Rosaline.The first introduction to Romeo is by mention from his mother Lady Montague. She appears worried and asks her husband and Benvolio if they have seen Romeo. The Dialogue indicates that Romeo has being very upset and was seen walking with tears streaming from his eyes he has also being shutting himself in his room†¦ â€Å"So early walking did I see your son†¦ Many a morning hath there been seen, with tears augmenting the fre sh morning dew. † (Act 1 line 120, 129-30).Romeo is presented as being deeply in love with Rosaline. Shakespeare may have added this scene exaggerating Romeos dismay to emphasize how quickly his feelings change when he sees Juliet also to underline how Romeo and Juliet share an undeniable love which he clearly did not have with Rosaline. Romeo’s sudden change of emotion is clear in â€Å"If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin this is: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. (Act 1 Scene 5 line 90) where he first sees Juliet and wants to kiss her hand. Romeo declares that his feelings for Rosaline are completely gone when he sees Friar Lawrence â€Å"†¦ With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No; I have forgot that name and that name’s woe† (Lines 35-45 Act 2 Scene 3) and inquires about taking Juliet’s hand. At first FL believes Romeo is there to speak to him about Ros aline and gives a small speech to Romeo accentuating how Romeo was conveyed to be feeling.These series of events unquestionably prove that Shakespeare used Romeos first relationship (Rosaline and Romeo) to show that they did not share love but rather an infatuation (Superficial love) which is proven when Romeo finds his true love with Juliet giving viewers a more certain opinion that Romeo and Juliet do in fact have true love it was very important Shakespeare utilised this to ensure that the audience did not doubt the abrupt love or mistake it for infatuation as an author Shakespeare also used diverse language techniques nd altered the characters actions (When Rosaline and Romeo broke up, Romeo no more than cried; When Juliet was thought dead Romeo then to killed himself) He manipulated the audience into believing Romeo and Juliet’s love was real. The enmity between two of Verona’s noble families, tore two sides between many of the residences. Bringing the conflict out side of the two family’s immediate family and also involving close friends. This type of dedication and loyalty is very risky as Escalus had become weary of the fights disturbing the rest of the community.Declaring the next person to fight in the risk of being banished from Verona; which resulted in even defending a family that Mercutio was not a part of. This is an example of a deep unconditional love and friendship, or family type bond which Mercutio and Romeo shared. Unlike other relationships the brotherly love showed a different dynamic to Shakespeare’s writing abilities. He illustrated he could use formal language and informal language between different characters to one another. Informal language is commonly used between the characters with brotherly love, as this is in the intimacy of the friendship and not in serious situation.Often spoken by Mercutio, until his last moment alive. Shakespeare upheld his level of wit and humour in a somewhat relaxed manor †Å"†¦ Good King of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives, that I mean to make bold withal; and, as you shall use hereafter, dry-beat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears? Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out†¦ † (Act 3 Scene 1 lines 175-177) Here Shakespeare has used Mercutio’s attitude to belittle Tybalt saying he wishes to attack him, asking him to do as he pleases and quickly (with haste).Because of this it is very hard to precisely generalize Romeo and Juliet as a Drama play or Comedy (this could also broaden Shakespeare’s range of Audience). Romeo shows his heart break and depression over Mercutio’s death killing Tybalt and consequently becoming banished. Tybalt, also Juliet’s cousin causes Romeo and his actions damage his relationship with Juliet making the families anger and hate towards each other increasingly raw also giving Juliet’s parents more reason to despi se Romeo as an individual. Romeo’s actions were an intense show of emotion as he essentially put Mercutio before Juliet.Shakespeare uses the concept Love at first sight as a basis for Romeo and Juliet’s love and then developing it into a physical and endless connection, using the initial family feud as a foundation to create an innovative love story it was an ideal situation to exhibit how they’re immediate love was stronger than there love for their family as both Romeo and Juliet question their own names and decide the enmity does not affect how they feel nor does the families opinions have an input into the decision to get married.Juliet goes to a severe level to avoid marrying Paris; Shakespeare also causes Juliet’s actions to create immense grief for her family even though she did not actually die at first. This yet again expresses Juliet’s weakening consideration and love for her family as she put her family through extreme sadness for Romeo not taking into account their reactions or heartbreak and only thinking of her and Romeo’s relationship. The two lovers act very quickly not using much thought or contemplation throughout the play (Romeo taking poison straight after seeing Juliet without thinking of other solutions) â€Å"Arms take your last embrace!And lips, O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss. A dateless bargain to ongoing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou despite pilot, not at once run back on the dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here’s to my love [drinks] O true apothecary thy drugs are quick†¦ † (Act 5 scene 3 lines 113-18) Demonstrating Shakespeare’s idea of true love as the couple puts their love for one another before everything else in their love.In conclusion the types of love shown in the whole play are not only complex but a deep insight into what lovers may of felt like in Shakespeare’s time. The audience could clearl y recognize the types of love within this play and also pulls people in. Shakespeare’s dramatised use of language is endless in time and can be understood and interoperated clearly, the descriptive use of texts gives a broad and personal level to understanding what is being said. The drama and exaggeration of each conversation makes the tragedy interesting and there is always something attention-grabbing being said or going on. Romeo and Juliet Essay Romeo and Juliet, one of the world’s most popular love stories and for over 400 years spectators and students have enjoyed this story based on passion, true love, hate, sorrow, and most of all, tragedy. Tragedy is defined as a medieval narrative poem or tale typically describing the downfall of a great man or a misfortune. What are the factors responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Could it be a family feud, a misunderstanding, or true love (fate)? The first factor that is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is the family feud.The Capulet’s and the Montague’s would have never allowed Romeo and Juliet to be wed this became the forbidden love. These two families and their ancestors of many centuries past have been feuding over matters that have become irrelevant and forgotten in time. In other words the two families no longer remember the causes of their feuding but this led to the tragic event of Romeo and Juliet. The feud was the cause of Tyba lts death by the hands of Romeo therefore adding more conflict for the two families and making it seem impossible too ever resolve their difference and come to terms with each other for Romeo and Juliet’s sake.Capulet, Juliet’s father, had prearranged his daughter’s future with Paris who would become her husband unaware of her new status†¦ married. The second factor responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death was â€Å"the big misunderstanding. † The lack of communication between our two lovers was without a doubt the biggest cause of this misfortune. On the day of her wedding to Paris, in order to withdraw from this prearranged marriage; Juliet with the assistance of the local Friar, had a plan that seemed flawless. Juliet was to fake her own death by ingesting a sleeping potion that would last approximately 42 hours.This would end her existence with the Capulet’s so she could gain a new life with the Montague. Romeo, exiled from Verona, was to receive the crucial message of Juliet’s plans and that all was going to be resolved. A breakdown in communication to Romeo caused him to believe his true love had deceased and therefore taking his own life was to be the next step by convincing himself that he could not live without her. â€Å"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for are infinite. †(2. 2. 139-141). hose are Juliet’s words expressing what it means to truly being in love. The third factor that is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is true love. It is a story of two young adolescents that have fallen in love regardless of family feuds, boundaries, restrictions, and the â€Å"forbidden love†. Their passion and love would conquer all obstacles that would come their way as a true test to their commitment to each other. Upon the news of Juliet’s death and funeral, Romeo is left in pain and sorrow and seeks upon himself to terminate the pain by ingesting a poison of death.Juliet awakens only to find her true beside her unresponsive and lifeless. A moment in time that seems endless, Juliet in a state of shock and sorrow reaches for the remaining liquid to end her life. Her plan fails as she is still within the reality of this nightmare and to her demise she reaches for the dagger and solemnly takes her life to be with Romeo; her true love. In conclusion, these factors were without doubt responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet as they followed a sequence of events beginning with two families in a feud from many centuries that would lead conclusively to a forbidden love.Two individuals attempting to be together in love forever yet devastated by misinterpretation and destroyed by love. A tragic story is to have a sorrowful and disastrous conclusion or the downfall of hero(es). Romeo and Juliet were heroes regarding the family feud. As a result of their tragic death, both families recogni zed that the senseless feuding had to end and that it took the loss of true love for this realization. Romeo and Juliet essay: three factors responsible for their death

Paying Less for Fashion Essay

Payless ShoeSource, Inc. is the largest footwear retailer in the United States. The company operates about 4,700 stores in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador, and Japan. It also sells footwear via the Internet at www.payless.com. Payless has built its success by offering a large selection of shoes at very low prices, most selling for less than $15 as of 2004. The company has been able to maintain its affordable prices by sticking exclusively to a self-service format, keeping a tight rein on cost structure, and insisting on efficient sourcing and inventory controls. Payless ShoeSource targets as its main customers women from 18 to 44 years of age with household incomes of less than $75,000, and it estimates that in any given year, 40 percent of the women in this target group buy at least one pair of footwear at a Payless store. The company remained a May subsidiary until 1996, when it was spun off to May shareholders as an independent, publicly traded firm. Payless ShoeSource founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 by brothers Louis and Shaol Pozez that is owned by Collective Brands, Inc, on a revolutionary idea – selling shoes in a self-select environment. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation which merged with the May Department Stores Company in 1979. More than 50 years later, Payless continues the self-select model combined with leading customer service to provide a fun and engaging shopping experience for our customers. Today, Payless serves millions of consumers through its powerful global network of stores in all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. The company also has an expanding presence in the Eastern Hemisphere through franchising arrangements. UPDATING 1956: Pay-Less National is founded in Topeka, Kansas, by two cousins, Louis and Shaol Pozez, to open self-service stores selling budget footwear. 1962: The Company goes public as Volume Distributors. 1967: The company is renamed Volume Shoe Corporation; an accelerated expansion program is launched. 1978: The Payless ShoeSource name is adopted for the bulk of the company’s retail outlets. 1979: Volume Shoe is acquired by the May Department Stores Company. 1991: The company name is changed to Payless ShoeSource, Inc. 1996: May spins Payless off to shareholders, making it once again an independent, publicly traded firm. 1997: The mid-priced shoe chain Parade of Shoes is acquired from J. Baker, Inc.; the first Canadian Payless stores open. 1999: The firm launches e-commerce at payless.com. 2000: Payless enters into a joint venture to expand into the Central American region. 2004: As part of a major restructuring, Payless announces that it will close down the Parade chain and close hundreds of Payless ShoeSource outlets. PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Matt Rubel: Nowadays he is Senior Advisor at TPG Capital, L.P. and TPG Growth and served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Collective Brands. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Payless Shoesource Inc., a subsidiary of Collective Brands. He served as the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cole Haan, Inc from February 1999 to July 2005, where he transformed it into a global lifestyle brand celebrating American luxury. Prior to joining Cole Haan, Mr. Rubel served as an Executive Vice President of J. Crew Group. He is responsible for the success of Payless, Cole Haan and J. Crew. His involvement in this case is vital to these brands. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=23134722&privcapId=23307 Cole Haan, J. Crew: specialty retailers throughout the United States. Matt Rubel is the one responsible for the success of this two brands. They are competitors of Payless, but they also sell clothing. Carrie Bradshaw: fictional character and lead character of the HBO romantic sitcom Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. This character was the icon of the decade and every woman wanted to look like her and dress like her. She was a fashionista and the sitcom revolved around fashion and clothing. Payless understood this trend and tried to approach women who wanted to look just like her, without spending that much money. Kenneth Cole, Michael Kors: top designers who were hired to fulfill their places in the Payless Design Team. They both had their own clothing lines, but Payless created an alliance strategy with their names and brands, so women would buy their shoes. This was a smart move by Matt Rubel. Lela Rose, Stacey Bendet, Christian Siriano: Haute Coture up-and-coming designers from New York City. One of them actually won a competition show named Project Runway. Payless asked them to take over their collections, aiming for haute couture, in other words, avant garde designs. They intended to sell cheaper shoes, but with great innovative designs. The typical fashionista was in for it. Mardi Larson: principal, owner and chief Marketing & Communications consultant at Mardi Larson Communications and has served a range of clients with consulting services and as a contract associate for more than a decade. Also included in her roster of clients are footwear brands like Sperry Top-Sider, Keds and Stride Rite, among others. She was the head of public relations of Payless, and developed the target marker for them. Maxine Clark: Maxine Clark was born on March 6 of 1949 in Florida, had her degree in law from St. Louis University. In 1996, Maxine Clark found â€Å"Build-a-bear workshop†. Prior to founding Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1997, Ms. Clark served as the President and Chief Merchandising Officer at Payless Shoesource Inc. from November 1992 to January 1996. Recognized the strategy of Payless, as to sell cheap and chic. Marian Salzman: American advertising and public relations executive. She is currently president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR North America and a member of the holding company, Euro RSCG Worldwide’s Executive Committee, with brand reputation oversight for the company and key executives globally. She forecasted this trend that made Payless grow. Tiffany, Gucci, Armani: top brands that can be found in New York’s Fifth Avenue. They are the ones to set trends and women look forward to dress in their clothes. They are very expensive, and the middle class woman cannot buy them. This is where Payless supplies their demand of high fashion and affordable prices. Isaac Mizrahi: American fashion designer and TV presenter, best known for eponymous fashion lines. First big fashion designer to make an alliance with Payless. This made other brands and designers to focus on the company. They also wanted to work with Payless in a long-lasting alliance, with great benefits for both of the parts. Walmart, Kohl’s, Target: American retailers that were seen as great discount one-stop shops that had become the vendors of choice for tight budgets for buying shoes. Payless was competing with this major retailers and they needed something to differentiate from them. Their cheap and chic strategy was the solution to overcome this competitors. Elle, Vogue, W: fashion magazines that set the trends and state what is IN and what it’s not. Payless ran full-page ads featuring their new tagline â€Å"Look Again†. This was a strategy directed to fashionistas and frequent buyers of this magazines. They intended to show them that their shoes were so good that they were featured by this great magazines. Sophia Bush, Brittany Snow: both are actresses and fashion icons. Every teenager and young woman wanted to look like them. They were invited into the backstage of Lela Rose’s fashion show in New York Fashion Week, and were spotted wearing Payless shoes. They featured this Payless shoes and wore them proudly, announcing the fashion world that it was okay to wear something affordable and chic. Karl Lagerfeld & H&M, Vera Wang & Kohl’s, Ralph Lauren & JC Penney, Todd Oldham & Old Navy: this are examples of strategic alliances between great and recognized fashion designers and big retailers. This process of benchmarking made Payless realize that they also needed to make alliances with some big designers and brands. This is where Isaac Mizrahi decided to take the plunge with them, and design a whole collection of couture shoes. MAIN PROBLEM The main problem this company, Payless Shoesource, was facing was that in 2005 Payless was losing market share and began to close some stores. The retail landscape had changed and giant discount shops like Walmart, Target and Kohl’s had become the vendors of choice for budget conscious shopper’s buying shoes. With thrift as its positioning point, the company had lost its edge; they were producing the same shoes year after year hoping that price will bring customers to their doors. As we see the problem here was that Payless wasn’t innovating, they were pretending that the same styles would attract the same people to its stores because of the affordable price. STRATEGY When they noticed they have this problem Payless had to engineer a new strategy, it began with the new CEO Matt Rubel, he was hired because of its extensive experience with high-end brands, he knew that the company would have to design shoes that exclusive people would wear with prices that they could afford. Their new job was in charge of changing its image from the dusty cheap footwear into the fun, hip merchant of fashion. Rubel’s objective of their new strategy was not only give the brand image makeover but also position the company in such a way that the price increasing would seem like a bargain. Been more specific Rubel’s strategy plan was based on four major components. 1) Expanding the Brand Portfolio; this stage consisted in implementing what he calls â€Å"House of Brands† strategy instead of one product line create a well-known national brands. In terms to organize the new corporate structure and keep track of all its brands, he created a collective Brand. 2) The Payless Design Team; they want to develop products that would enter to the customers minds, that would resonate better with consumers, they were making emphasis on fashion, they Payless Design Team dedicated itself to develop original footwear and accessory designs to keep new styles on target with changing fashion trends. 3) Designer Collections; Payless created a strong relationship with some designers for the past, they have forged these three top New York based designers, so their homework was creating strong bonds with these designers, this benefits of this alliances are plentiful, because Payless gets brand cachà ©, making consumers get runway styles they can afford. 4) Fun Inspiring Store Formats; Payless redesigned its logo to reflect the new image and communicate change to consumers, they make some store formats, creating a new atmosphere, making a drastic improvement, stores more open, light and airy with a more satisfying consumer experience built around style and design rather than price. This new strategy implemented by the CEO Rubel will energize the old customers who they lost and also attract new ones. This trendy new image is perfect for existing customers. Payless has truck a formula for value that customers love. It remains confident that this strategy to democratize fashion will produce great results, regardless of future economic conditions. Furthermore of the implementation of the new strategy created by the CEO Rubel, Payless since its inception began with low prices or affordable prices, making a competitive advantage for the company, providing good profits. In 2008 when the global recession happened Payless took a hit, while other retailers were suffering because of its huge losses, Payless stores fared much better. Whereas the other retailers had loss many money in 2008, Payless gain a net profit of 88 million in 2009. To conclude, as well as the company manage two strategies to stay in the market and be competitive it would be great that for strengthen its strategy they can work in one of its four P ´s of the marketing mix, promotion, to attract more consumers, making more publicity of its brand and new designers that are part of the company, probably and we pretty sure they will bring more customers. If people know that those famous designers’ works for Payless, people are going to be more enthusiastic for buying good quality, good design for an affordable price. 1- Which of the different product mix pricing strategies discussed in the text applies best to Payless’s new strategy? From my point of view they are using a mix of different strategies. Firstly, skimming pricing. This is about selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit, therefore ‘skimming’ the market. They have invested a lot of money to hire top notch designers, rebranding effort like remodeling stores etc. There needs to be some mechanism (read, strategy) to recover this cost. For some items they have even employed premium pricing. Interestingly, Payless came up with some really good product like Lela Rose, Abaete etc. On the other hand, they have products which are low as $12. As best strategy that they are employing; I would say that they are going for Product Line Pricing. They want their customers to get attracted by the big brands in their portfolio. In that way, other products will gain due importance too. So to customers, overall portfolio will look very attractive. The strategy for setting a product’s price often has to be changed when the product is part of a product mix. Companies usually develop product lines rather than single product. Product mix means in the same companies have many type product with they are brands it sold. Product mix pricing strategies consist of five elements which is product line pricing, product bundle pricing, by-product pricing, captive product pricing and optional-product pricing. In this case, the product mix pricing strategy Payless use is product line pricing. Product line pricing is setting the price steps between various products in the product line based on cost differences between the products, customer evaluations of different features and competitor’s prices. Payless has strategy product line, from one comprised almost entirely of store brands to one dominated by well-known national brands. Payless now sells shoes under numerous brand names that it either owns or licenses, including Airwalk, Champion, Spalding, Dexter, Shaquille O’Neal-endorsed Dunkman, and various Disney brands. Customer can buy many types of products with different prices by looking at size, width, color and design. For example, for boys’ shoes, they have many shapes, size, color, design, and numerous brands which they can get with difference price from $ 12.99 until $26.99. For girls, there are shoes in differences brand like Fioni, Amerian, Eagle, Dexter, Lela Rose, and Smartfit from $14.99 until $24.99. Most products Payless offers are under $50. Other than that, Payless has relationship with top New-York based designers Laura Poretzky, Lela Rose, Stacey Bendet and Patricia Field. The four are designing everything from pumps to boots to handbags for Payless. Payless sets most of the stores product line below $15. The company’s CEO, Matt Rubel also has suggested that in many cases, price increases may be as little as 50 cent per pair of shoes. But the expansion of its brand portfolio to include famous labels will certainly give payless greater pricing flexibility. 2- How do concepts such as psychological pricing and reference pricing apply to the Payless strategy? In what ways does Payless’s strategy deviate from these concepts? By definition, psychological pricing on the theory that certain prices has a psychological impact. The retail prices are often expressed as â€Å"odd prices†: a little less than a round number, e.g. $19.99 or  £2.98. There is no explicit reference given in the case where we see that they are using this strategy. As a matter of fact, we see that though Payless is increasing the price of their products. So, sudden upward movement of price may come as a shock to customers. This strategy of Psychological pricing can be employed in this scenario. Payless actually did not pay a heed to that and did not come up with any proper plan towards psychological pricing. In what ways does Payless’s strategy deviate from these concepts? By definition, psychological pricing is a pricing approach that considers the psychology of prices and not simply the economics. The price is used to say something about the product. Psychological pricing occurs when sellers consider the psychology of prices and not simply the economics. In the other hand, reference pricing is prices that buyers carry in their minds and refer to when they look at a given product. Consumers usually perceive higher-priced products as having higher quality. But what happen in Payless is, they did not increase the price of their product to gain higher quality product perception, but changed the image from dusty dungeon of cheap footwear into the fun, hip, merchant of fashion. In addition, Payless even re-designed their logo for the first time in 20 years. They then launched new â€Å"Fashion Lab and â€Å"Hot Zone† store format. It was a drastic improvement. As the result, Payless store now have more open, light, and airy thus creating a more satisfying consumer experience. Payless is now looking forward into style and design rather than price. This is where Payless’s strategy deviate from psychological pricing concept. Payless focuses more towards style and design of their product rather than price. They even upgrade their store environment into more comfortable places which then create customer satisfaction. With the new store environment, it makes the $12 shoe looks like a $20 shoe. However, Payless’s manipulating the reference pricing by implementing a drastic improvement in their store. They launched a new â€Å"Fashion Lab† and â€Å"Hot Zone† store format to create more open, light, and airy with a more satisfying consumer experience built around style and design rather than price. The new format not only attracts more customers, but they even make the customer willing to pay a little bit more than they have in the past. All new Payless stores now have one of the two new formats and old stores are being progressively remodeled. 3- Discuss the benefits and risks of the new strategy for both Payless and the designers with whom its partners. Which of these two stands to lose the most? Benefits of the new strategy would be for both, for the designers and for the company, those designers when working for Payless are going to be more recognized for most of the people, they are going to become more famous, they are going to outstand from the others, also people who really knows this designers would buy more frequently shoes on this store making this company richer. Now talking of the risks of the new strategy would be that for the designers maybe they are not well-paid for their work and also they lose status for working to a shoe retailer. Some people might not like these designers anymore because they are working on that company, so they lose credibility. A risk for the company would probably that maybe making these relationships with those designers they have more costs so it would not be sustainable for the company. We think that designers would go to lose more, because as we mentioned before they would lose credibility and consequently they are going to lose loyal customers. 4- Consider the scale on which Payless operates. How much of a price increase does Payless need to achieve to make this venture worthwhile? Payless was looking to move its average price point up a notch or two, due to the expansion of its brand portfolio to include famous labels that will certainly give Payless greater pricing flexibility. What they can do it’s a price adjustment strategy, looking for some variables they can apply to that specific company. For example they can use segmented pricing, they can segment their market. Psychological pricing, buyers have a reference of its price in their minds, also they can use geographical pricing; they can design different types of shoes for a different country depends on the fashion and the weather and also international pricing, analyzing some specific factors of the country, like laws and regulations, economic conditions. Looking all this price adjustments strategies they can achieve a good price depending on the place and making this venture worthwhile for the company and for the customers.