Mass Media Effects Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mass Media Effects - Assignment Example various advertisements like Coca-Cola which infiltrates the mind with regular visit to the site and makes the interfaceof the various websites attractive.Through this, mass media gets its way into the people of different walks of life. The advertisements featuring Coca-Cola involve participation of the young generation at their prime with a lot of energy.The other one involve all age groups and the obvious audience in this advertisement is the young population of the Coca-Coala global market who would like to associate themselves with such an imaginary life full of entertainment. The values associated with the advertisement is all about team spirit and cultural diversity and this is the common denominator between the two adverts. From the example of the role of media in spreading Nazi propaganda against the Jews, it can be seen that mass media is one of the most lethal tool for influencing behavior of the mass(Cogan, Brian, and Tony Kelso,168) .A typical recent experience of the effect of Media is the congoing Arab revolution that stated with media incitement of the citizens through social netwoirking sites like facebook and ther. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 in Africa is also a quick remind of the influence of mass media in confusing people. The same influence of media has been used over time by some media channels like Aljazeera to propagate anti US ideas.US on the other hand uses the same tool like the live broadcast of the attack on AlQaeda mastermind to show the world its efforts towards elimination of terrorism. Media manipulaytes the psychology of a mass and once the majority shows interest towards a given course of action then any other antagonist or different idea islikely to be overwhelmed in an individual hence being swept into the opinion of the mass. Tis is the concept applied in political propaganda and

Relationship Between Marketing Mix Elements

Relationship Between Marketing Mix Elements Business today is very competitive, any organizations are facing with many pressures: Changeable and unpredictable business environment, very fast change of technology, to be survival, developed and successful requires company have to move from a product and selling philosophy to a customer and marketing philosophy(Kotler et al., 2005). All companies try to gain the best of the customer satisfaction to maximize the profit because they believe that customer satisfaction is very important for the survival of any organization. Many research shows that consequences of customer satisfaction are numerous: Customer satisfaction leads to positive word-of-mouth (Anderson, 1998; Swan and Oliver, 1989; Hoyer and MacInnis, 2001)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), customer satisfaction leads to customer retention (Curtis et al., 2012; Hennig, 1997; Kotler, 1994, p.20; Bitner, 1990), customer satisfaction leads to loyalty (Curtis et al., 2012; Singh, 2006), Customer leads to repurchase attention (Anton, 1996). The question for companies is how to enhance the customer satisfaction? Which factors impact on customer satisfaction and this relationship is negative or positive? To answer all these questions, companies will have the appropriate strategies for success. Many researches show that there are many factors that affect customer satisfaction. According to Hokanson (1995), these factors including friendly employees, courteous employees, knowledgeable employees, helpful employees, accuracy of billing, billing timeliness, competitive pricing, service quality, good value, billing clarity and quick service impact on customer satisfaction. It is obviously that all these factors belong to Marketing mix. Moreover Doyle also recommends that Most marketing professionals would answer that the right marketing mix is the one that maximizes customer satisfaction and results in the highest sales or market share (Doyle, 2003) also suggests that customer satisfaction and sales can always be increased if c ompanies offer more product features, lower prices than competition, higher promotional budgets and the immediate availability of the product, of outstanding customer service and support (Doyle, 2003). Ford Motor Company is global automotive industry leader in the world based on US. Ford has its history of 109 years for existing and developing. Fords strategy is focus on developing vehicles that deliver exceptional value to our customers across global markets. Ford product vehicles sport bold exterior designs, while offering great handling and performance. Not only are they great to drive with interior enhancements in comfort and connectivity but fuel economy across every vehicle in our portfolio is a reason to buy(Ford, np) Ford worldwide market share reported end of 2011: 7.3%, regional Ford North America: 17.3%, Ford Europe 8.3%, Ford Asia South Pacific: 2.7%, South America 8.3% Ford Vietnam is a joint venture established in 1995 between Ford Motor Company (75%) and Song Cong Diesel Company (25%). Cumulative market share up to SEP 2012 is in fifth position with 5.3%, meanwhile, two market leaders, Truong Hai and Toyota gain 30.9% and 29.1%. Fords market share in Vietnam is nearly double in comparison with its regional market share Asia South Pacific. But the gap between Ford and two market leaders in Vietnam is very huge. Since, Fords products are diversified ranging from low end to high end compared with its big competitor that is Toyota. Fords products are known as full family of vehicles offering leading quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value (Ford, np). This big gap excites the researcher to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction of Ford Car users in Vietnam, explore what factors impact on this customer satisfaction by testing the relationship between marketing mix elements and customer satisfaction of Ford Car users in Vietnam. Beside some reasons above, marketing mix and customer satisfaction are two theories that researcher is very interesting to study. Finally, topic of research can be named as below: Exploring the relationship between marketing mix elements and customer satisfaction of Ford Car users in Vietnam 1.2 Research objectives The researcher intends to study on Ford auto customer satisfaction in Vietnam to evaluating the level of customer satisfaction and testing the relationship between marketing mix elements and customer satisfaction of Ford auto users with below objectives: To study the knowledge of marketing mix, its element and customer satisfaction concept. To examine the relationship between marketing mix elements and customer satisfaction of Ford auto in Vietnam To measure the level of customer satisfaction of Ford auto in Vietnam To recommend some effective solutions to improve the marketing mix to gain higher level of customer satisfaction. 1.3 Research questions In order to have a clearly understand of all queries about the topic regarding to relationship between marketing mix and Ford users customer satisfaction. This research tries to answer below questions: Is there possible relationship between marketing mix and customer satisfaction of Ford Car users in Vietnam? What is the level of customer satisfaction of Ford auto in Vietnam In what way is the marketing mix can be improved to enhance Fords customer satisfaction in Vietnam. 1.4 The significance of study Many academic research are conducted in testing the relationship between marketing mix and customer satisfaction in different areas, especially in service sector such as: Tourist, university, cafà ©, banking,..But a few of them are found the automobile industry. Moreover, most of academic research is out of Vietnam market. Although the study result reflects somewhat the real situation of level of customer satisfaction on Ford users in Vietnam, but the target population is quite small and limited in small region, so that the research findings and result only is used for reference or partly apply in the customer satisfaction enhancement for Ford Motor Vietnam or suggesting for further research in future. 1.5 Boundary of the study Auto market in Vietnam is quite huge, due to geographical dispersion and time constraint, the researcher only conducts the survey on customers who own Ford Car in Ho Chi Minh City. Furthermore, the respondents seem very busy with the things. The study focuses on 4 elements of marketing mix and their impact on customer satisfaction. So the result only presents partly for auto market in Vietnam. 1.6 The organization the study à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Chapter 1, the introduction part of research including background of study, why the researcher choose this topic, the research aims and objectives is given, the research questions is identified, the significant of study is discussed, Finally how this research can be applied in practices, the boundary of study and structure of study are presented. In the Chapter 2, the literature review related to marketing, marketing mix and its elements, customer satisfaction, the relationships between customer satisfaction and marketing mix, the recommended solutions for improving marketing mix elements in order to gain high level of customer satisfaction The Chapter 3 provides the methodology and procedures which used to collect data for the study. The researcher will perform the surveys with the customers who are using Ford Car in Vietnam, by this survey, researcher will measure the level of customer satisfaction, to explore the relationship between marketing mix elements and customer satisfaction. By this study, the author will use quantitative method to design the questionnaires and use them during the surveys. These data will be the main data to support the answer of the second and third research question. The researcher will conduct one survey which will be conducted with customers who are using the car of Ford to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction and explore the relationship between marketing mix and customer satisfaction. The purpose of this survey is to get the quantitative data to support the answer for the second and third research questions, whereby to give the best solutions for improving marketing mix effectively for Ford Vietnam in enhance its customer satisfaction. In the chapter 4, Microsoft excel 2007 and SPSS 16 software will be used to input all the raw data of the respondents and do the analysis, statistic and present them using table, charts, or graphic. Then the researcher will analyse and discuss the findings base on the responses. And present the meaning and reason of the result as well as link with the knowledge in the literature review to support the answers for the research questions and achieve the research objectives. Chapter 5 contains a summary of the findings of this research; providing the conclusions for the findings and discussion and suggest for further research. The reflective statement will be in the Appendix A which provides the reflection on research results and personal development that the researcher had gained from this study. The following pages will present the chapter Review of the Literature that will review all existing literatures and knowledge to support data to achieve the objectives of this research. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter Introduction According to Saunders et al. (2007) A critical review of the literature review is critical part of any research. It is necessary to help the researcher to develop a thorough understanding of and insight to previous researches that related to research questions and objectives. By critically discussing, evaluating what are strengths and weakness, referencing works or studies that has already been undertake, drawing out key points and presenting them in logically argued way. To complete the literature reviewing, the researcher has not only the skill of search relevant knowledge but also appraise it. Sharp et al. (2002 cited in Saunders et al. 2007) suggests that there are two major reasons exist for reviewing the literature: Firstly, the preliminary search that help to generate and refine the research ideas. Secondly, often referred to as the critical review or critical literature review, Moreover, Saunders et al. (2007) emphasizes that any researches and finding will be judged in relation to others peoples research and finding. Main purpose of literature review is to help researcher to develop a good understanding and insight into relevant previous research and the trends that have emerged. Gall et al (2002, quoted in Saunders et al.,2007) provides some other purposes of literature review such as: To help researcher refine further the research question and objectives To highlight research possibilities that has been overlooked implicitly in research to date, To discover explicit recommendations for further research To help researcher avoid simply repeating work that has been done already, To sample current opinions in newspapers, professional and trade journals, thereby gaining insight in to the aspects of the research questions and objectives that are considered newsworthy, Discover and provide an insight into research approaches, strategies and techniques which are appropriate to own research questions and objectives. It could be said that most of researches argue that the critical review is very necessary. Briefly, review the literature relates to: Searching academic research, theories which must be relevant to research questions and objectives. Profound understanding, critical review, give arguments, appraisal, evaluating, discussing, referencingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But it is not just descript and list down the any literatures. Comment: the above paragraph is not necessary! This chapter aims to provide a theoretical background bases on existing academic knowledge for research topic Exploring the relationship between marketing mix elements and customer satisfaction of Ford auto in Vietnam. By doing this, the researcher could further refine three research questions and four research objectives which had been specified in Chapter 1 to highlight research possibilities that have been overlooked, discover explicit recommendations for further research. It helps to avoid repetition to sample current opinions, provide an insight into appropriate research strategies and methodologies. A good literature review expands on the reasons behind selecting a particular research question. Thus the researcher plans to find a strong theoretical foundation provided for the study from a wide range of sources which relates to previously published researches: Books, journals, some ideas in newspaperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, then assess the strengths and weaknesses of previous works, jus tifying arguments by referencing previous researches. The sources of literatures were cited following the required standard. In this Chapter, some hypotheses will be proposed for testing to answer research questions and archive research objectives in Chapter 1. Marketing Marketing is very critical for every business. Kotler, (2002) suggests that the scope of marketing relates to ten types of entities: Goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas. It shows that marketing gets involved to all activities of the business from identify the customers and customer needs, creating product and services, communicating to customers, sell its products to target customers, making its customers satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The researches and studies regarding marketing are numerous. Below are some definitions about marketing concept. An earliest definition of marketing is the performance of business activities that direct a flow of goods or services from producers to consumers (AMA,1935). This concept generally mentions about performance of activities, but these activities were not clarified, the concept is quite wide with simply mention about goods and services from producer to consumers. Since marketing becomes an interest topic that many scholars get involved to study. A lot of definitions were come up by researchers: Perreault McCarthy (2002), Kotler P Levy SJ (1969); Kotler et al. (2005) Another concept of marketing which get many opposed debates is that Marketing is simply figuring out what you have to do to sell your product or service for a profit Keefe (2004 p.17). Generally, the most accepted recently is the newest definition of AMA is that Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, cli ents, partners, and society at large (AMA,2007). 2.2 Marketing mix concept The term of marketing mix firstly developed by Bornden (1964), the sources of his inspiration come from the concept of his colleague Jame Culliton (1948, cited in Borden, 1984) which described the business executive is a mixer of ingredients, the marketing elements are the same with ingredients and marketing manager mixes some of these together to become the marketing mix strategy. Borden (1964) also identified twelve controllable elements of marketing mix: Product planning, pricing, branding, channel of distribution, personal selling, advertising, promotion, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, fact finding and analysis. This is a list of elements or ingredients to make up a marketing program. Depending on each situation, the marketing manager will blend the number of these elements to constructing and formulating an appropriate marketing program to satisfy their customer needs and wants in target market. By this way, both company and customers objectives are achieved. McCarthy (1964) regroups twelve elements of Borden to four categories or usually called 4Ps now: Product, price, promotion, place. Each of these elements comprises some of 12 elements of Borden. And some research also suggested that if manage this mix properly, company will be successful. Mccarthys concept of marketing mix rapidly began to appear in marketing text. Judd (1987) suggested one more new important P is People. Furthermore, Boom Bitner (1981) extend 4Ps to 7Ps, he argues that product and service are different, so 4Ps is inadequate, so it is new marketing mix paradigm for service is: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, physical evident and process. The later definition is that marketing mix is the controllable variables the company puts together to satisfy its target group (Perreault MCCarthy, 2002). This definition is similar with definition is tha marketing mix is the set of controllable tactical marketing tools product, price, place and promotion that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market (Kotler et al., 2005). Both definitions mentioned about controllable factors to satisfy the customer in target market. Each mix element includes its factors as below Product: Variety, quality, design, feature, brand name, packaging, service, warranty. Price: List price, discount, allowance, payment period, credit term. Place: Channel, coverage, assortment, location, inventory, transport. Promotion: Advertising, promotion, personal selling, publicity. Kotler et al. (2005) also suggested that: An effective marketing program blend marketing mix elements into a coordinated programme design to achieve the companys marketing objective. When marketing mix concept is introduced, there are many researches to evaluate and criticise on it. Constantinides (2006) identified two significant limitations of marketing mix is internal orientations and lack of personalization. Both Gronroos (1989) and Popovic (2006) suggest that the 4 Ps and the marketing mix are production-oriented definitions, companies focus much on internal product, the market may be neglected. According to Mà ¶ller (2006) marketing mix too focus internally instead of customer behavior. Many researches show that the limitations of marketing are on: Production-oriented or too focusing on internal instead of standing on customer point of view. Therefore, Kotler et al. (2005) recognizes that 4Ps represent sellers view of marketing tool available for influencing buyer, it is not from customer point of view. In fact that each marketing tool must deliver a customer benefit, company should view 4Ps as customers 4Cs: Product: Customer need and want, Price: Cost to the customer, Place: Convenience, Promotion: Communication. Doyle (2000) argues that marketing mix approach leads to unprofitable decisions, because it is coordinated with financial objectives such as: Increasing shareholder value. Kotler (1984) proposes two additional Ps of political power and Public Relation to the marketing mix to cover more factors that is important for business as well, those are Political power and Public Relation. According to Schultz (2001) the 4 Ps are increasingly less relevant in todays market, despite of what they are still learned in marketing courses, academics write and res each about them Since marketing becomes a vital role in success of any business. Many researches are conducted on marketing mix and its element, more extend elements are suggested, it is obviously that marketing mix or some researches show many limitations or debates, but marketing mix is still the practice model to deploy company strategies effectively. And up to date, there is no any new models can completely replace for marketing mix 4P. 2.3 Marketing mix elements 2.3.1 Product A product as defined by Armstrong and Kotler (2005) that is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. The latter can be best understood in terms of the manner of delivery of the particular service. Ferrell (2005) opines that the product is the core of the marketing mix strategy where retailers can offer unique attributes that differentiates their product from their competitors. According to Borden (1984) product is characterized by quality, design, features, brand name and sizes Also from Kotler et al.,( 2005) product can be divided into two categories: Tangible and intangible product, the tangible product is a merchandise that can be touched, hand, feel it, the intangible product or normally call service, which could not be touched or hand, unobservable. Product concept in this research refers to tangible product that is a car of Ford auto Vietnam. According to Kotler et al, (2005), product concept is including: Core product, augmented product and actual product. Core product regarding to main problem solving benefit or core benefit that consumer really wants to buy. When they obtain, this product will resolve their problems. The main purpose of buying a car is for travelling, safety and protection for health. The actual product is related to: Parts, features, design, product quality, styling, brand name and packaging or some more attribute that combined to core benefit of product. For a car, these attributes are most important for manufacturer attract and retain its customers The augmented product which including: Additional consumer service or benefit build around the core and actual product: Solution, warranty and repair service, instruction how to install or using, help desk, call center, free delivery. In those attributes, customer service and repair is more important that auto manufacturing have to pay attention. In order to satisfy the need of customer, the product designer have to consider all three components of product, because customer expect to buy three of benefit and they feel happy or satisfy when gain enough all the benefit. Many researches tried to find down the impacts of all above attributes of product to customer satisfaction. Kotler et al. (2005) suggested that Outstanding marketing companies go out of their way to keep their customers satisfied. Companies know that satisfied customers make repeat purchases and tell others about their good experiences with the product. Regarding to product quality and customer service factors in automotive industry in India, Asghar et al. (2011) found that the quality of products in Tata Motors Company enhances customer satisfaction, and also found that there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the context of the Indian automotive industry. Product quality is one of factor of Product in marketing mix. The research shows that the more customers satisfied with quality of product, the more loyal they are with this product. And this may lead to the repurchasing companys product. Customer service is also a factor of Product element, since it becomes very important for any manufacturing company, especially in auto industry. Bastos and Gallego (2008) also provide evidence that customer service quality directly affects satisfaction and satisfaction directly affects the positive behavioral intentions. Rodoula (2005) finds that consumers perceiving a product being of high quality are more satisfied with the product than consumers perceiving a product being of low quality. There are a positive relationship between perceived quality and customer satisfaction in Shoes industry. It is suggested by Lien-Ti and Yuching (2001) that there is a positive relationship between product quality and customer satisfaction on automotive industry. Yelkur (2000) also finds that the critical elements in the services marketing mix influence and positively effects customer satisfaction. Moreover, the relationship between marketing and customer satisfaction is highly expressed among researchers (Zineldin Philipson, 2007). Cengiz and Yayla (2007) find that marketing mix having a positive effect on satisfaction and loyalty on word of mouth communication from accounting offices in Turkey. Mohammad et all (2012) suggests that Product and tourists Satisfaction are positively related to each other. Although not all attributes of product such as: Quality, designà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ were tested if any relationship or impact on customer satisfaction, but at least, there are so many studies show that product generally positive impact on customer satisfaction, and quality of product, customer service were tested, especially in automotive industry. So far there are no any research found that no any relationship between Product element or its factors with customer satisfaction. Or the negative impact of Product on customer satisfaction. So in this research the author tries to do the research the relationship between Fords product which were sold in Vietnam market and its customer satisfaction. So the hypothesis will be proposed as below: H1: There is a positive relationship between Fords Product and its customer satisfaction. 2.3.2 Price Price is one of very important element in marketing mix and the only element that produce the revenue to company. Price is very the most flexible element in mix, it can be change very fast to adapt with every stage of product life cycle, or to stimulate demand in short time, or can reduce to support selling of other product in production line or set to keep loyalty of customer. So that pricing may play an important role in helping to accomplish the companys objectives at many levels. (Kotler et al., 2005. p.668). Price decisions must be coordinated with product design, distribution and promotion decisions to form a consistent and effective marketing program. The definion of price that is the amount of money charged for a product or service, or the total values that consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service(Kotler et al, 2005) Similarly with Product element, Price also gets many scholars involved to study the relationship with customer satisfaction. A research of Oliver Swan, (1989) shows that perceptions of price unfairness lead to dissatisfaction and the purchase intention is influenced by satisfaction. This was consolidated by later search of Campbell (1999) that perception of price unfairness may trigger consumers negative emotions such as dissatisfaction, disappointment, and anger. So as a result, customers do not come back for repurchasing this product any more. Augene (1996) investigated the association between customer satisfaction and willing-to-pay or price tolerance, the finding shows that negative association between level of customer satisfaction provided by company and the degree of Price tolerance. In the telecommunication sector, Muzammil et al. (2010), also finds that both the factors Price fairness and customer service significantly contributed to explain customer satisfaction but compar atively price fairness had the larger impact on customer satisfaction than customer services. In another study of Herrmann et al.,(2007) on automobile concludes that customer satisfaction is directly influenced by price perceptions while indirectly through the perception of price fairness , demonstrate the influence of perceived price fairness on satisfaction judgments, Buyers price perceptions positively influences their perceptions of the fairness of price offers. Price is an important element in consumers purchases; therefore it has a large influence on consumer satisfaction judgments. Homburg et al., (2005) investigates the effects of price increases at an individual level, the authors argued that customers react to price increases are strongly driven by two factors: the magnitude of the price increase and the perceived fairness of the motive for the price increase. Soedijati Pratminingsih (2011) indicated that marketing mix has significant and positive relationship with students decision making for selecting a university for marketing mix. Another research of Muala Qurneh (2012) on Tourist sector shows that product, place, personnel and process significant impact on tourist satisfaction. It is less impact of Price on customer satisfaction, or it could be said that there is no any relationship with customer satisfaction. Because the tourists usually expect more on quality of tourist, instead considering price carefully. Martin Consuegra (2007) finds price fairness influences price acceptance indirectly through customer satisfaction and loyalty. According to Cheng et al (2011, consumers perceived price has a negative impact on customer satisfaction, which is that the higher the fast food industry product price is, the more it will reduce customer satisfaction. This result is consistent with the study result of Dargay (2007), and Hopkins (2007). Moreover, Cheng and Wu (2011) finds that when price increase reduces customer satisfaction in the global service market. Price increases as same as customers perceived price increase, it means that price fairness reduces. As a result, customers become dissatisfied with company goods or service. Kotler and Lane (2009) also proposed that there is a positive relationship between perceived price fairness and satisfaction. The more consumers perceive a price as gain, the higher their satisfaction. These findings also supports the idea that higher price may reduce customer satisfaction or consumption capacity. Martin-Consuegra et al. (2007) asserts that decision of customers to accept parti cular price relate directly to satisfaction level. Research on how price impact on customer satisfaction is very huge, most studies show that having the strong impact of Price and customer satisfaction in many areas, and this is the positive relationship. The more customer perceived fairness (or less customer perceived price), the more increase in customer satisfaction. The hypothesis will be tested at below: H2: There is the positive relationship between price of Ford auto and its customer satisfaction. 2.3.4 Place According to Kotler et al.,(2005) Place related to all the company activities that make the product or service available to target customers. Place refers to channel, coverage, assortment, location, inventory, transport. In the service sector, Place decisions refer to the ease of access which potential customer to a service such as location (distance to services sites) and distribution (e.g., home delivery, 24-hour availability) (Hirankitti et al., 2009). As same as with Product and Price, there are many previous researches to test the relationship between Place and customer satisfaction. Cheng et al., (2011) found that convenience has a positive impact on fast food industry customer satisfaction. It indicated that the more convenient, the more customer satisfaction will increase. This study result has corresponded with the study conclusion of Mahon et al. (2006) and Martinez-Ruiz et al. (2010). Gilaninia et al. (2012) also finds that the supply chain management has direct relationsh ip with customer satisfaction. Mohammad et all (2012) points out that Place and customer satisfaction are positively related to each other. According to Kotler and Amstrong (2010) when channel is used in marketing system that maximizes efficiency, effectiveness, maximizes costs and delivers the great customer satisfaction for companies, because the channel is link between producers and final consumers. Palmer (2000) also believes that physical distribution (order processing, warehousing, inventory, transport) affect on customer satisfaction. Ryu Han (2009) proposed that customers perception of physical environment factors: facility aesthetics, lighting, layout, and social factors had significant effects on disconfirmation and disconfirmation directly influence to cust

Mixed Feminine Message in Wife of Baths Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer Essay

Mixed Feminine Message in Wife of Bath's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer In the Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, various women, such as the Queen and the old hag, stake their claim to authority over men. Yet, they do so in a very covert manner. The knight has clearly abused his male power. He is a rapist. With the help of women, however, he is rehabilitated and seems to achieve the ultimate happiness. When these women support the feminist viewpoint that women should have mastery over their husbands, they are also echoing the sentiments the Wife of Bath presents in her prologue. Yet, these women abandon mastery the moment they attain it. The old hag relinquishes mastery back to her husband immediately after he grants it to her, from that point on she obeys his every command. This ending could be a type of female servitude or it could be a mutually beneficial, blissful marriage and partnership. For this reason, the Wife of Bath’s Tale sends a mixed message about feminism. The tale begins with a violent act of male aggression and dominance. The knight rapes a young virgin. This rape is about more than his being a â€Å"lusty bacheler† (Chaucer l. 889). It is about power. â€Å"He sawgh a maide walking him biforn; / Of which maide anoon, maugree hir heed, / By verray force he rafte hir maidenheed† (Chaucer l. 892). The knight is not merely carried away by his sexual instincts. He sees a woman he covets and takes her by force because he has the power and she does not. This violent rape demonstrates the knight’s initial attitude towards women and his need for rehabilitation. Queen takes over the knight’s punishment for raping the young girl. Instead of death she provides the potential for rehabilitatio... ...re for the most part consistent with her tale. All this suggests a feminist interpretation of the tale. And yet there is the matter of the ending. In every sense of the word the hag submits. She feels she has gained her mastery and then she relinquish it. Does she do so in favor of a mutually blissful marriage or to conform to patriarchal ideals? Perhaps Chaucer and the Wife of Bath are suggesting that male rehabilitation and female dominance are only necessary up to a point. Once the knight and the hag achieve a shared understanding they are able to coexist. Or perhaps in the very end both Chaucer and the Wife of Bath acknowledge that this kind of understanding is sheer fantasy and the Wife cruses the couple for good luck and protection. With both these valid possibilities, the tale presents a mixed message about the place of feminism and female authority.

Company background

In addition to the usual media (television, radio, and newspaper) for aintained an extensive advertising campaign, the company makes significant use of billboards and signage, sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the Olympic Games. B. Training Topic/Area Our training topic is about how to become a good coach. We will identify the coaching skill and give some demonstration to manager trainees. In this training session, we will aim to focus on four main areas.First is Introduction, it would include the company background, objective, mission and the importance of coaching. Second is the concern of how to be a good coaching which includes the coaching skill, conflict cenario preference and resolution. Third is the session for discussing of the conflict scenario such as the advantage and disadvantage. Final one is the role play, short session for presenting and correcting the coaching conflict scenario which watched before. C. Target Trainees Our target trainees are focu s on the restaurant manager in all McDonald in Hong Kong.As most of them are newer to this level, therefore this training can provide the opportunity to them to get a well understanding of their Job duties. D. Lesson objective Manager Trainees should be able to equip the effective coaching skills. We hope that t can identify the unique leadership skill which is a healthy, positive and enabling process that transforms people to higher levels of competence. Furthermore, the coaching course can let the McDonald's manager trainees understand how to become a good coaching through the role play section and demonstration.In addition, the most important objective should understand the importance of mentoring in maximizing the team performance. E. Lesson plan Subject: Coaching (McDonald) Date ; Time: 4th March,2013, 1630-1730 Venue: Room 309 Lesson: How to become a good coaching. Coach: Han Chow, Adam Ku, Katie Lee, Kevin La', Simon Lam Objectives:After this lesson, 16 Manager Trainees shoul d be able to: To equip the To understand how to become a good coaching To understand the importance of mentoring in maximizing the team performance.Topics Important points Method Media/ Materials Time Venue Trainer Introduction Company background, Objective and mission, Importance of coaching PowerPoint 3Mtn 309 Kevin How to become a good coaching Coaching Skill, Conflict Scenario Preference and Resolution PowerPoint + Video PowerPoint Nga Han Role Play Good Coaching Scenario – 8Mtn Adam + Katie Discussion of scenario Advantage and Disadvantage of coaching scenario 6Mtn Simon F. Supplementary Information Role play scenario: McDonald manager always give some support to staff no matter staff cannot do the report well in the deadline.He will listen the reasons why the staff cannot do well instead of punish his staff. M= McDonald's Manager, S= McDonald's Staff (Aside: Mr. Ku is a manager of McDonald. Katie is a McDonald's staff. One day, Mr. Ku M:Hi, katie, we decide you to be th e holder of Mcdonload birthday party and write a report after this program, 0k? S: Sure. I am 0k. mr. ku. When do I need to complete the report and program? M: I am sure you will be able to do well in this program. You can complete it within one week. This book can give you some reference for your program.It is included some useful information and teach you how to do the program well. Hope it can help you. S: Thank you so much. Mr. Ku. I wont make you disappointed. (Aside: After 7 days, Katie finishes the report on time and hand in to Mr. Ku. ) S:Mr ku. this is my McDonald party report. M:Ok, let me check this. Did you find any problem in doing this report? Did the book give you some idea on doing the project? S: yes, I do. M:You always give us surprise, but this time, it's should not your usual performance, ou look tired, Is the working pressure too high or other thing influence you ?S: I am sorry that I could not do a perfect Job and have many mistakes in the report . lam afraid t hat i need more time to do it M: As I know you always are the good employee, i believe something make you fail. Fortunately this project is not urgent, i can give you more 4 days, but your problems do not solve that still affect the program, can you tell me? Maybe i can help you. S: My dad get sick now, i am really worry about his physical condition and my dad state, I often cannot fall asleep at night. Also, ‘need to go to hospital everyday, I really eel I can't sustain. For this program, I really want to do it better.M: Oh , i am sorry for that, No wonder you give me the report in your tensity, bestiring up, all things will be allright. do you want the leave to take care your father? S:Thanks a lot but I hope I follow my Jobs till the end, ‘will be responsible for this program I don't want to see other one handle my Jobs. M: I trust your ability and you can perform a good show, besides the time, what can i help you more? Like arrange a assistant for reducing your workl oad? S:Thank you for your support and accept my mistakes. That is a good idea, I hope he an help me handle the daily operation when I go to the hospital. epartment s:sure M: Good. In fact, everyone will face the difficult time, next time if you need help don't hide the problem that make more worst, try to talk to person who can help you, i believe they can solving the problem for you like this time. Remember, communcation is most important in a team. S: I got it! M:Good! I really expect your prefect program in the future. (Aside: After this matter, other staff members were surprise of Mr. Ku attitude and think that he is a good manager. He willing to understand his staff and accept mistakes so motivate staff to do better.

Business Communications Final Exam Questions & Answers Essay

1. Briefly describe any one of the communication models discussed in the textbook and/or lecture Lasswell’s (1948) model describes communication as a one-way transmission of messages. The model shows the ‘who’ as the ‘source’, the ‘what’ as the message, the ‘how’ as the channel, the ‘whom’ as the destination and the ‘effect’ as the outcome. 2. Describe three of the of the tests you can use to enable ethical decision-making Are we rationalising: Identify if you are rationalising, that is justifying your reasons with excuses such as: Everybody is doing it It’s not illegal They did it to me If I don’t do it someone else will The golden rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated If you wouldn’t like a particular action or behaviour to happen to you, then don’t do it to others Publicity test: After making a decision, it would then be publicised for anyone to see or read about such as family, friends etc. If you are happy and confident in what you have done and do not feel any guilt then it is a good test to use, if not, then the decision was not ethical. 3. What is the role of ‘I’ statements in the communication process? Illustrate with an example I’ statements are a way of sharing emotions and letting others know how their behaviour is perceived and how it affects you. One of the most effective  ways to begin assertive statements is to say ‘I feel †¦ when †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ For example, the message may be: ‘I feel annoyed when you don’t let me know you will be late.’ People can express their needs and wants with an ‘I’ message. It shows their personal involvement plus a willingness to share their feelings. It also lets them own their own reactions. 4. Identify and explain the three techniques of persuasion as outlined in the textbook Three techniques: Rhetorical mix Features-benefits mix Appeals to emotion Rhetorical mix: Persuasion involves careful framing of arguments and a mixture of the three types of rhetorical appeal. Good communicators have the ability to use and combine the three types of appeal appropriate to the audience, subject matter and context. logos, or the appeal to logic (price, variety, product information) pathos, or the appeal to the emotions (entertainment potential of the website, sensory appeal through audio/visuals, intuitiveness of navigation and the extent to which the website can be personalised for users) ethos, or appeal to credibility (privacy and security, corporate image and branding). Features–benefits mix The features–benefits mix is a technique of persuasion that incorporates a mixture of a product or service’s features and benefits into the message to show the audience the real benefits. The message must stress the benefits in order to focus on the receiver’s need and enable the receiver to see the relevance of the features and benefits to them. The message has two essential components: features of a product or service, and a clear and concise illustration of how to apply these features linkage of the features with the benefits to enable the receiver to understand ‘what’s in it for me’ Appeals to emotion Appeals to emotion are ideas targeted towards the emotions, needs or values that the reader or listener is likely to care about. Fair appeals to emotion generate emotions based on facts and related to the issue. In contrast, unfair appeals to emotion generate emotions based on unsubstantiated claims and aroused by biased words rather than solid evidence or by fallacies such as red herrings or by personal attacks unrelated to the issue. Appeals to emotion balanced with logic persuade fairly and ethically; however, appeals to emotion are often misused either intentionally or unintentionally. When used improperly, emotional appeals offer a simple unthinking reaction rather than a reasoned argument and manipulate through prejudice, fear, embarrassment or other feelings rather than convince credibly. Example 5. Define the concept of emotional intelligence. Discuss the role emotional intelligence plays in building relationships and improving performance at work. Define: the abilities to recognise and regulate emotions in ourselves and others. Discuss: Emotionally intelligent people are responsive to others and able to use their own personal and social competence to express their expectations and values. Researchers have concluded that success is related to more than general intelligence (IQ). Successful people are emotionally intelligent. They have the personal and social competence to develop positive personal, social and work relationships, and to interact easily. Emotional intelligence influences organisational effectiveness in a number of areas: employee recruitment and retention, development of talent, teamwork, employee commitment, morale and health, innovation, productivity, efficiency, sales, revenue, quality of service, customer loyalty, client or student outcomes. 6. Briefly explain the difference between macro-culture and micro-culture including examples for each The macro-culture comprises all the arts, beliefs and institutions (legal,  governmental, business, educational and social) that characterise an ethnic group, race or nation, while a narrower micro-culture exists within the macro-culture. The micro-culture includes the characteristic attitudes and behavior operating within a group, an organisation or a nation. Macroculture usually consists of the culture which influences the majority of the people. In United States, macroculture reflects to the traditions of Western Europe. An example of a micro-culture could be the aboriginal community within the larger Australian community. 7. Describe the characteristics of Hall’s context model of culture Hall’s context model demonstrates that communication and culture are not only about words. Not just text, but context. It explains how context can be measured and that there are two extremes – low and high High context: A culture in which the context of communicated messages is as important as the communicated message Low context: A culture in which the context of communicated messages is not as important as the communicated message itself 8. Define the terms ‘enculturation’ and acculturation’ and explain how they differ. Provide examples for each of the terms Enculturation is the socialisation process that we go through as we learn about and adapt to our society Examples: unconscious (as we absorb and imitate the daily habits, speech patterns and roles of our parents from infancy) or deliberate (as we are taught specific manners for greeting people, religious rites and rituals, and reading the Bible, Koran, Torah or other literature). Acculturation is the process of cultural adjustment and adaptation people experience as they move from one culture to another. Example: Adopting a culture’s values, symbols and behaviour. Moving to another country and adapting to their customs whilst maintaining your traditions from back home. Differ: Enculturation and Acculturation both involve adapting to society however acculturation is not an unconscious or deliberate process and mainly occurs when introduced to a new culture or environment. 9. What is cultural diversity? Why is it important for people to study diversity as they prepare to enter their career? Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. It is important that people study diversity as they prepare to enter their career because people can then accommodate differences in the background, perspectives and family responsibilities of other employees, and gather knowledge from the diversity of perspectives to generate new ideas and ways of doing things. It is also important, as they will already have acknowledged that the workplace is diverse and also respect other colleagues of their customs and cultural beliefs. This in turn prevents any form of discrimination, and judgement. 10. Hofstede’s five†dimensional model of culture has substantial potential for aiding our understanding of individual cultures and for comparing cultures. What are the five dimensions in the model? Briefly explain any one of the dimensions. Five Dimensions Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism vs. Collectivism Masculinity vs. Femininity Long-term vs. Short-Term Orientation Uncertainty Avoidance Defines the extent to which members of a culture feel nervous about, or are threatened by, situations they perceive as ambiguous, unclear or unstructured. People in high-uncertainty cultures: Are risk averse Maintain strict codes of behaviour Establish more formal rules Tend to be resistant to change. People in low-uncertainty cultures: Take more risks Require fewer structures Are more informal and relaxed Are willing to accept change.

Robin Hood was Clad in Green

Robin Hood was Clad in Green Robin Hood was Clad in Green Robin Hood was Clad in Green By Maeve Maddox The morning paper for me is always full of surprises that have nothing to do with the news. A recent eye-popper: Bill White, the mayor of Houston, cut a ribbon ahead of the public opening of the Beer Can House, a folk art monument that got its start when the late John Milkovisch began a 20-year task of cladding his house and workshop with thousands of maintenance-free flattened beer cans. Weve all heard the word clad. Old-fashioned novelists might tell us that the hero is clad in doublet and hose, that is, he was dressed in a close-fitting upper-body garment and long leg coverings. Ships can be said to be iron-clad: a timber under-structure has been covered with iron. The adjective ironclad can be used as a noun: The first battles between ironclads occurred during the U.S. Civil War. Figuratively we can speak of an iron-clad clause in a contract: the wording is so perfect, no one can wriggle out of it on a technicality. So where does the word clad come from? Clad is the old past form of the verb to clothe: Today I clothe my child in silk. Yesterday I clad my child in silk. I have clad my child in silk. I am clothing my child in silk. Mr. Milkovisch was clothing his house with beer cans. He was covering his house with beer cans. To say that he was cladding his house with beer cans is to create a new verb, the forms of which would be: infinitive: to clad simple past: clad past participle: have clad present participle: cladding. Such a creation is not without precedent. It is a kind of back formation, like taking the singular noun pease and creating a new singular, pea, which then has the plural peas. What do you want to bet that clad as a present tense verb catches on? 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 Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?Comma Before ButWhen Is a Question Not a Question?

Ethics in Health Administration

Ethics in Health Administration As Morrison (2005), notes in his book entitled, â€Å"Ethics in Health Administration: A Practical Approach for Decision Makers,† the word autonomy is derived from the theories that were studied in the first chapter of the book. In this case, the exploration of the principle of autonomy will be in regards to its application in the field of healthcare.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics in Health Administration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Morrison (2005), autonomy covers four main areas in the healthcare profession. The areas covered by autonomy include autonomy as an informed consent, autonomy as confidentiality, autonomy as truth telling, and autonomy as fidelity. All these areas are important for a healthcare administrator because they provide a basis on which the administrator can advocate for better services in the healthcare profession. To begin with, the first area of autonomy is kn own as autonomy as an informed consent. According to Morrison (2005), for this principle of autonomy to take effect, there must be a condition, which must be satisfied. The condition is that free will or choice of an individual ought to receive protection at all times. Therefore, in a healthcare setting, individuals can make choices that may be contrary to the healthcare practitioner’s will. For this reason, the role of the healthcare administrator will be to ensure that all the physicians in the organizations respect the choices made by the patients regarding treatment and other important factors pertaining the health of the patient. No physician would embark on any remedial procedures on a patient before obtaining written permission from the patient. The principle of confidentiality is the second area of autonomy. According to Morrison (2005), confidentiality means to keep the information regarding a patient’s identity, medical history and their family background sec ret. It is very important for healthcare practitioners to keep their patient’s information private. However, some instances may require the health practitioner to disclose information about a patient in order for the patient to obtain the right treatment. In such conditions, the health practitioner may disclose only the information required to carry out proper treatment. However, the health practitioner must obtain consent from the patient (Morrison, 2005). Therefore, as a healthcare administrator, one ought to ensure that healthcare practitioners receive proper training on how to keep their patients information private. When the achievement of this goal takes place, the healthcare profession will receive a high rating and this will increase the patients’ confidence in the healthcare systems.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third principle of autonom y is autonomy as truth telling. Telling the truth is very important in the healthcare profession. It is very important that the healthcare practitioners tell the patients the truth (Morrison, 2005). At times, the truth may be difficult to relay to the patient because of the emotional reactions it may evoke. Therefore, the healthcare administrators must ensure that the health practitioners must always tell the truth to the patient in order to gain the patients’ trust and loyalty. Finally, the last principle of autonomy is known as autonomy as fidelity. In this principle, one learns that it is very important for the physicians to keep their word to not only the patients but also the employees in the organization (Morrison, 2005). All healthcare administrators should ensure that they fulfill the promises that they give to the patients and the employees as well. This enhances the trust between the parties involved and as a result, the healthcare profession acquires more trust and reliability from the stakeholders. In conclusion, autonomy involves four main principles, which include autonomy as informed consent, autonomy as confidentiality, autonomy as truth telling, and autonomy as fidelity. It is therefore evident that autonomy does not only involve choice but it also incorporates other vital factors. The healthcare administrators have an important role of ensuring that all the four principles of autonomy take effect in the healthcare organizations. Therefore, through advocacy means such as training and policy formulation, the healthcare administrators ensure that the healthcare systems are trustworthy and reliable. Reference Morrison, E. (2005). Ethics in Health Administration: A Practical Approach for Decision Makers. Sudbury: Jones Bartlett Publishers.

Which Common App Essay Prompt Should You Choose

Which Common App Essay Prompt Should You Choose SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips On the one hand, the fact that the Common Application has five essay prompts to choose from is great news! No matter what your story, you’re sure to find a good fit. On the other hand, having five prompts means you can write five different kinds of essays, each with its own potential pitfalls and clichà ©s to steer around. In this article, I’ll outline two totally different approaches to figuring out which Common App essay prompt is right for you and help you brainstorm possible ideas for each. I'll also talk about what makes great college essays great, and give examples of what you want to avoid when crafting your essay. What Are Application Essays for, Anyway? Before you can choose an essay prompt, before you figure out what you’re going to write about, it helps to know what the goal of your writing is. Think about it: if your goal were to give someone instructions, you’d write really differently than if your goal were to describe a landscape. So What is the College Essay Supposed to Do? Admissions officers want to know the things they can’t find in the numbers that make up the rest of your application. They want to know aboutyour background, where you come from, and what has shaped you into the person you are today. They want to see your personality, your character, and your traits as a person. They want to learn your thinking style and perspective on the world. They want to make sure you have the ability to creatively problem solve. And finally, they also want to double check your maturity level, your judgment, and get a general sense of whether you would be a good college student – whether you would thrive in an environment where you have to be independent and self-reliant. So think about the college essay as away of letting the admissions office get to know you the way a close acquaintance would. You have to let them in and share real thoughts, feelings, and some vulnerabilities. You definitely don't need to reveal your deepest darkest secrets, butyou should avoid only showing your surface faà §ade. OMG, Dean of Admissions, I totally have to tell you about the time I singlehandedly hurricane-proofed the local pet shelter. Ok, pinkie-promise you won't tell anyone. How to Brainstorm Ideas for Each Common App Prompt There are two big-picture ways of coming up with essay ideas. Maybe you may already know the story you want to tell. There is something so momentous, so exciting, or so dramatic about your life experience, that there is no doubt that it needs to be in your college application. Or maybe you need to approach finding a topic with some more directed brainstorming. There's nothing wrong with not having a go-to adventure! Instead, you can use the prompts themselves to jog your memory about your interesting accomplishments. Approach #1: Narrating Your Exciting Life Doessomething from your life immediately jump into your head as the thingyou would have to tell anyone who wanted to know the real you? If you already know exactly which of your life experiences you are going to write about, you candevelop this idea before even looking at the prompts themselves. You can ask yourself a few questions to see whether this is your best brainstorming option. Is there something that makes you very different from the people around you? This could be something like being LGBT in a conservative community, having a disability, being biracial, or belonging to a minority group that is underrepresented in your community. Has your life had a watershed moment? Do you think of yourself as before X and after X? For example, did you meet a childhood hero who has had an outsized impact on your life? Did you suddenly find your academic passion? Did you win an award or get recognized in a way you were not expecting to? Did you find yourself in a position of leadership in an unusual time or place? Did you live through something dramatic? A crisis you faced, a danger you overcame, the complete upheaval of your circumstances? Maybe you lived through a natural disaster, made your way home after being lost in the woods, or moved from one country to another? Was your childhood or young adulthood out of the ordinary? Were you particularly underprivileged, or overprivileged in some unusual way? For instance, did you grow up very poor, or as the child of a celebrity? On a boat rather than in a house, or as part of afamily that never stayed long in one place because of your parents’ work or other circumstances? Can I write an essay about my daily commute? I think it's a littlemore involved than most people's. Approach #2:Brainstorming for Each Prompt If you don’t have an unusual life experience or a story that you absolutely know needs to get told, don’t worry! Some of the very best personal essays are about much more mundane, everyday, and small situations that people face. In fact, it’s better to air on the side of small and insightful if you don’t have a really dramatic and unusual big thing to write about. Let’s go through the prompts one by one, and think of some ways to use more ordinary life events to answer them. Prompt #1 Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. This is the broadest of the five prompts. Almost anylife experience that you write about could fit in this category, but you need to be careful to avoid writing the same essay as every other applicant. Brainstorming Ideas Background. Did a family member or friend have a significant influence on your life? Did you grow up in a particularly supportive and tolerant, or narrow-minded and intolerant community? Were your parents not able to provide for you in the expected way? Did you have an unusual home life? For example, my family came to the U.S. as refugees from Russia. By the time I went to college, I had lived in 5 different countries and had gone to 9 different schools. This wasn’t a traumatic experience, but it certainly did shape me as a person, and I wrote about it for my graduate school applicationessay. Identity. Are you a member of an interesting subculture (keep in mind that violent or illegal subcultures are probably best left off your college application)? Do you strongly identify with your ethnic or national heritage? Are you a committed fan of something that someone like you would be expected to dislike? Interest. In this category, esoteric interests are probably better than more generic ones because you don’t want your essay to be the hundredth essay anadmissions officer sees about how much you like English class. Do you like working with your hands to fix up old cars? Do you cook elaborate food? Are you a history buff and know everything there is to know about the war of 1812? Talent. This doesn’t have to be some epic ability or skill. Are you really good at negotiating peace between your many siblings? Do you have the uncanny ability to explain math to the math challenged? Are you a dog or horse whisperer? Are you an unparalleled mushroom forager? Pitfalls to Avoid Insignificance. The thing you describe has to be â€Å"so meaningful† the application â€Å"would be incomplete without it.† Redundancy. If the interest you write about is a pretty common one, like playing a musical instrument or reading books, make sure you have an original angle on how this interest has affected you. Otherwise, your essay runs the risk of being a clichà ©, and you might want to think about skipping this idea. Bragging. If you decide to write about your talent, be aware that by focusing on how very good you are at playing the cello, you run the risk of bragging and coming off as unlikable. It’s much better if you either describe a talent a little more off the beaten path. Or if you do end up writing about your excellent pitching arm, you may want to focus on a time when your athleticism failed you in some way or was unsuccessful. Dear Admissions Committee, my skills as a platform designer for balancing acrobats are sought far and wide... Prompt #2 The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? In essence, you’re being asked to demonstrate resilience. Can you get back on the horse after falling off? Can you pick yourself up and dust yourself off? This quality is really important to colleges, so it's great ifyou have a story that shows off your ability to do this. Brainstorming Ideas The key to this essay is the â€Å"later success† part. If all you went throughwas failure, and you learned no lesson and changed no approach in the future, then don’t use that experience here. Did you lose a game because of a new and poorly rehearsed strategy, but later tweak that strategy to create success? Did you not get the lead in the play, but then have a great experience playing a smaller part? Did you try a new medium only to completely ruin your artwork, but later find a great use for that medium or a way to reconceptualizeyour art? Did you try your best to convince an authority figure of something only to have your idea rejected, but then usea different approach to get your idea implemented? Pitfalls to Avoid Too much failure.Don't focus so much time on the â€Å"failure† half of the equation that you end up not giving enough space to the â€Å"later success† and â€Å"learn from the experience† parts. Too little failure. On the other hand, don't down the negative emotions of failure because of a fear of seeming vulnerable. Playing the victim.Avoid whining, blaming others for your failure, or relying on others to create your success. You should be the story’s hero here. It was the 10th ice cream I had dropped that day. I vowed then and there to never again get ice cream in a cone. I would only rely on cups from now on. Prompt #3 Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? The key to this promptis the reflection or insight that comes from the question â€Å"Would you make the same decision again?† Challenging deeply held views is not always a good idea. Writing about why your answer to this question is "No," could well demonstrate your maturity level and ability to tolerate viewsdifferent from your own. Brainstorming Ideas Remember, the belief or idea could be anyone’s: yours, a peer group’s, an authority figure’s.Did you stand up to your parents’ conservative or traditional values, for instance about gender norms? Did you get your friends to stop bullying someone? Also, the belief or idea also doesn’t have to be extremely serious or big in scope.Did you make dressing up for Halloween cool for teenagers in your town? Did you transform your own prejudice or bias, for example about athletes having interesting thoughts about philosophy? Pitfalls to Avoid Causing offense. If you have a story that deals with super hot button issues – for example, abortion or gun control – you need to be careful to keep your essay's tone respectful and unaggressive. This is a good thing to check by letting other people read your drafts and respond. Avoiding negative feelings. Challenging beliefsmeans pointing outthat what a person thinks now is wrong. It can also be quite lonely and isolating to be on an unpopular side of an issue. It’s important to include these negatives into the story, if they fit. And in conclusion, I now see that trying to convince the Queen to no longer use the Queen's Guard at the palace was a mistake. Prompt #4 Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. â€Å"Describe† here means analyze, not just complain. If you can identify a problem, make sure you fully explore all of its aspects. Who is it actually a problem for? Whom does it benefit? Why is the situationthe way that it is? What contributes to the problem? This is a chance to show off your creative thinking and your ability to reason logically. Brainstorming Ideas Notice that the question includes the phrase â€Å"no matter the scale.† Your essay doesn’t necessarily have to be about the global refugee crisis or the intractable problem of child soldiers. If these are not problems you have found solutions to, focus on the things you have actually worked on and fixed (or could see yourself fixing). Intellectual challenge.Did you finally solve the New York Times Sunday crossword in pen? Did you devise an ingenious organization system for your chronically disorganized brother? Do you want to get to the bottom of how birds use magnetic fields to navigate? Research query.Did you meticulously trace your family tree back six, seven, eight generations? Did you solve the mystery of the provenance of an heirloom? Did you uncover the historical significance of a neighborhood building and save it from demolition? Will you study the way voting districts have been determined in your area to solve low voter turnout? Ethical dilemma. Did you calculate a fair way to divide your mom’s comic book collection between you and your siblings? Did you create an emergency evacuation plan for your home that includes both humans and pets? Do you plan on figuring out a way to convince local restaurants to switch to humanely produced meat? Pitfalls to Avoid Overly ambitious predictions.Watch out for overreach if you go with the future-problem aspect of this question. No singleperson is going to cure cancer or generate world peace, so make sure there is at least some realism to your predictions. So after extensive research, I can conclude that Elmer's glue does not in fact have the adhesive power to repair PVC pipe. Prompt #5 Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. Going from childhood to adulthood doesn’t usually happen after one accomplishment or event, but is more of a process. This question is asking you to find one step along the process and explain how it fits into the long thread of your growing up. Brainstorming Ideas Notice that the event you describe can be â€Å"formal or informal.† This means that you don’t need necessarily to tell the story of some big, official ceremony. Instead, you can focus on a small moment that showed you that you were older, more mature, and more responsible than you had been before. Did your family make up its own adulthood initiation ceremony? Were you finally able to beat your mom in chess or shooting hoops, and did that change how she treated you? Did your dad cry in front of you for the first time, making you realize that you were old enough to handle it? Were you suddenly left in charge of younger siblings, and did you rise to the task instead of panicking? Were you allowed to make a big financial decision for the first time and found yourself taking it very seriously? For example, duringmy junior and senior year,my mom traveled extensively for work and my dad lived several states away, so I lived by myself for weeks at a time. It was exhilarating and made me feel independent and mature. But it was also lonely and burdensome, since I had to take care of everything in the house by myself. Living alone was a huge part of my life, shaped me into the person I was, and made me see myself in a new light as a grownup. Pitfalls to Avoid Sameness.Avoid the milestones that happen to everyone: driver’s license, bar/bat mitzvah, etc., unless they happened to you in some extraordinary way. And on the day I could finally fit all three pigeons on my arm, I knew that I was ready to go out into the world and to face my destiny. How to Make Your Idea Into an Essay Now that you've come up withsome possibleideas, how do you go about actually writing theessay? Before you write, you need to have a plan. I like to think about planning out personal essays that I've written by first imagining them as enjoyable movies. You want your reader to walk away entertained, to remember the characters and story, and to want to see more from the same creator. So how do good movies do those things? Character arc. Good movies have main characters that undergo some kind of change or transformation. Who is the main character of your essay? It’s you! The you of your essay has to start one way and end up another: more mature, with a different mindset, or having learned a lesson. Conflict or transformation. Good movies also have challenges. The main character doesn’t simply succeed and then keep on succeeding – that’s boring. Instead, the main character either overcomes an external obstacle or changes in some way from beginning to end. Your essay also needs this kind of story drive. This can come from an obstacle you overcame, an outside force that stood in your way, a disability or weakness you experience, a seemingly unsolvable problem you face. Or it could come from a before/after scenario: you used to be/think/act in one way, but now you've changed into a different/better person. Dramatic set-piece. In good movies, the conflict or transformation aren't just told to the audience. They are acted outin scenes set in specific locations, with dialogue, character close-ups, and different camera angles. In your essay, your storyalso needs to show you dealing with the conflict or transformation you facein a small, zoomed in, and very descriptive scene. Think spoken dialog, think sensory description (what did you see, smell, hear, touch?), think action verbs, think feelings. This scene should function as one illuminating example of what you overcame, or how you changed. Happy ending. Movies that are fun to watch tend to have happy endings. The hero resolves the conflict, emerges a better person, and looks forward to future accomplishments. Your essay also needs to have this kind of closure. This is really not the time to trot out your nihilism or cynicism. Instead, your essay should end on a moment of self understanding and awareness. You lived through something, or you did something, and it affected you in a way that you can verbalize and be insightful about. Coming soon: the story of you, starring you, written and directed by you. Which Prompt Should You Choose? So now that you've brainstormed some topicideas and a game plan for turning those ideas into an essay, how do you narrow it down tothe one? Reverse-Engineer the Perfect Prompt If you used the first brainstorming approach, try to formulate a big picture idea about the story you’re telling. Is the character arc primarily you learning something about yourself or making peace with your background? Sounds like a good fit for prompt #1. Is the conflict about you strugglingto do something buteventually succeeding? That goes well with prompt #2. Does the story focus on a mind being changed about an idea? You want to go with prompt #3. Does your happy ending involve you changing something for the better, fixing something, or solving a problem? Then your essay is ready for prompt #4. Is your character arc about growing up, gaining wisdom, or becoming more mature? Then you’re probably answering prompt #5. Look in Your Heart If you used the second brainstorming approach, get ready to get a little cheesy. Really listen to what your gut feelings are telling you about which of your ideas is most compelling, and which will get your emotional juices flowing on the page. Readers can tell when you're writing about something you care deeply about, so it's worth it to find the topic that has the most meaning to you. Not sure how to tell? Then this is the time to ask you parents, teacher you are close to, or some good friends for their input. Which of your ideas grabs their attention the most? Which do they want to hear more about? Chances are, that's the one that an admissions officer will also find the most memorable. What’s Next? Want a detailed explanation of why colleges ask you to write essays? Check outour explanation of what application essays are for. If you’re in the middle of your essay writing process, you’ll want to see oursuggestions on what essay pitfalls to avoid. When you start working on the rest of your application, don’t misswhat admissions officers wish applicants knew before applying. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Impact of Customer Satisfaction with In-flight Catering to Airline Research Proposal

Impact of Customer Satisfaction with In-flight Catering to Airline Reputation and Profit - Research Proposal Example This research proposal offers to explore an issue of in-flight catering and its impact to airline ratings, competitiveness, and profits of an airline. In-flight catering is one of the major services that have been associated with flights for a long time. This and other on-board services have been provided to long distance flight customers since the beginning of air passenger flights decades ago. In recent years, in-flight catering has come under increasing scrutiny by customers and the media with perceptions about meal quality being given greater attention. In most airline markets, different types of services are operated to cater for different kinds of customers. The services are largely differentiated in terms of cost and distance of flight. According to King, budget airlines and low-cost carriers offer limited on-board catering reminiscent of the flight costs of the airlines; customer expectations about catering service quality are therefore lower than in long-haul flights. Long d istance flights continue to offer significant on-board services including catering, these are open to customer scrutiny with regard to quality and in-flight catering is one of the services that has clearly affected airline ratings over the years. Customers have sometimes characterized airline food as being uninspiring and tasteless. With current competition levels it is evident that customers are increasingly taking notice of airline catering when choosing flights; this may have a bearing on airline reputation and profits over time.

Pop and rock music history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pop and rock music history - Essay Example Indeed, Appleseed cast is one of the most creative musical bands in the world. According to the Herald News, the album is described as unique in that, each song on this album induces emotion. The bass work and drum nicely complement the loud and thick guitars to maintain the rhythm of the songs. These are accompanied by true and raw vocals by the experienced singers. Screams are also included to the rich set of instruments, though occasionally some singing is thrown in when suitable. The art work and production of the album is the best ever. As mentioned, the album is also made unique by the emotion created. This makes this album to stand out among the rest. It is inspirational, heartfelt and an emotional music album. In comparison to other bands, The Appleseed Cast has no non-versatile descriptive words, bland choruses and excessive use of the words agony and pain. In simple words, it is a poetry of the young emotions of harsh losses and true love. Appleseed Cast perfectly blend the songs between simple tunes, sad and an emotional flurry of drums and guitars. However, this sometimes happens within the same song. In the song Marigold & Patchwork the lead singer’s voice is rattling yet, perfectly quiet. At the same time the voice is becomes abrasive and can send chills down a person’s spine. On the other hand, the song untitled half, is comprised of almost perfect crescendo of bass, jackhammer drumming, duel guitars and sax. Interestingly, the song Ring Wars deserves time to really understand comprehend the music. It is like Nirvana meets Radio Head. In this song, the lead singer Chris shows in and out voice that mumbles lyrics and also screeches. Their melodies are nice even though not pop. It has soothing instants where singing stops for about 2 minutes into the song. The drum work is amazing as heard the in the last instrumental track. Another song in the album is Marigold & Patchwork. This is an all-time amazing song. It has an

Nursing - Professional Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing - Professional Portfolio - Essay Example I am currently enrolled in the MSN program with expected date of graduation on 2012. After that, focus will be given on attaining Nursing Informatics competency. I have been working with the EMR for over 16 years in the emergency department where the EMR was first piloted. I am knowledgeable of the EMR and have strong supervision skills needed to execute or revamp EMR. (3) To change and develop the current electronic medical record at San Mateo County Medical Center. I received an Associate Degree in Nursing/Bachelors in Liberal Arts in 1990 at Indiana University North West and am currently enrolled in MSN program with expected date of graduation on 2012. I have professional affiliations with Dorothy L. and James D. Frank of the Diabetes Research Institute as an Associate Clinical Research Coordinator (2008-2010). Focus includes Diabetes nutritional counseling, glucose clamp studies, running YSI glucose analyzer, electronic (CGM) continued glucose monitor management, recruitment, scr eening, and secure informed consent following GCP guidelines, and track protocol deviation, adverse events, and drug accountability. We also maintain regulatory documents for IRB and maintain related records according to GCP and FDA guidelines. In addition, I work at San Mateo County Medical Center for over 16 years in the emergency department where the EMR was first piloted. I have the skills needed in a research undertaking, is knowledgeable of the EMR and the setting as I work in the hospital itself. INVOLVEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION I am affiliated in the following organizations stated below and these serve well for my past and present nursing focuses. Professional Organization General Information Nurses Association-California (ANA/C) The... The professional development I continuously aim for has created an impact both on my professional and personal life. Being a nurse always creates an opportunity for learning, educating others, and helping people. It made me feel happy and proud as a nurse when every time I care, I made significant impact on patient’s lives. I would like also to contribute to the professional development of my co-nurses by creating an effective new nurse orientation program. In this way, I would like to create an orientation program that could impact nurses on providing safe, nonthreatening learning environments where nurses can succeed. Reorganizing the entire orientation programs will create strong and safe nurses and will intend to decrease nursing shortages in facilities while being cost effective.The professional development I had and I will take in the future encouraged me to strongly develop compassion and empathy for patients. I would like to be remembered as a nurse who conveys compass ion and empathy to patients at all times, despite having personal issues, physical exhaustion, or hectic schedule – a nurse whose compassion can be showed even in a simple gesture, a light touch, a smile, or by giving a simple moment of my time to listen.

How useful is the concept of semi-presidentialism for understanding Essay

How useful is the concept of semi-presidentialism for understanding the political regime of the Fifth Republic - Essay Example The first aspect worth analyzing is to what extent France meets Duverger’s first criteria: a president elected by universal suffrage. In 1962, the then French president Charles de Gaulle passed a constitutional amendment altering the presidential election from parliamentary to universal suffrage (Curtis 2004). This meant that the president of the republic would be elected by the population, and therefore had to become a strong and appealing individual leader. At the time, this benefited De Gaulle since he epitomized charismatic leadership and desired a system were the president wielded the majority of government power and responsibility. Universal suffrage gave constitutional power to the president, as he, by virtue of being elected by majority vote, now possessed similar legitimacy to that of a majority in the Assembly. Thus, 1962 marked the beginning of a shift of power from the Assembly to the President, and is even considered by Robert Elgie to be the point that establishe d the Fifth Republic as a semi-presidential regime.   The second criteria of Duverger’s definition of semi-presidential regime is that â€Å"(2) he possesses quite considerable powers† (Duverger, 1980:166 cited in Elgie:2009). Scholars such as Robert Elgie criticized Duverger for being too vague in his definition of semi-presidential regimes. For instance, Duverger underscores the fact that the president must possess considerable powers, but never expounds on this idea in order to establish what is deemed to be considerable. Reading further on Duverger’s other work such as A NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM MODEL: SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT (1980), Duverger defined the considerable powers saying that French Fifth Republic as â€Å"A country with an all-powerful presidency† (Duverger 1980:170). He justified this proposition by citing Article 16 which states

Cultural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Cultural Studies - Essay Example From the essay it is clear images, sounds and various types of spectacles form the foundation of media culture and in turn influence our everyday life closely. It dominates the leisure time of individuals, influences political opinions, social behavior and provides materials out of which people create their identity. Different types of media resources like radio, television and films particular focus over the materials that emphasis over the aspects of gender discrimination on sexual grounds. At the same time the ideas of being successful or unsuccessful, powerful or powerless are also determined by the media. As the report declares media is also one of the major sources for providing the indications with the help of which an individual identifies his class, ethnicity, race, nationality and a concept of us and them. It is through such prevailing influence media not only determines culture but also outlook of the world. In the context of determining right or wrong act, morality and immorality, the role of media is undeniable. At the same time it is media culture which determines what is good and what is bad, positive and negative, moral or immoral. The various issues portrayed by the media helps in constructing various symbols, myths which in turn constitutes a common culture for the larger part of the population. It should be noted that it is the various materials of the media which gives an individual the basis to locate himself within a technically advanced capitalist society and which in turn gives rise to a new type of global culture.

Effective teaching methodologies that reflect the need of the Dissertation

Effective teaching methodologies that reflect the need of the learner,what are the particular constraints in the classroom,is th - Dissertation Example Educators and linguistics professionals identify that the current teaching methodologies provide enough support and motivation to enrich English as a second language. Different teaching methods like direct, grammar-translation, audio-lingual and interactive methods satisfy the needs of the learner to an extent. Learners get opportunity to develop critical thinking, effective learner feedback, and interactive session. Analysing the current status of ESL program, we can easily comprehend the fact that some developments are needed in the field of curriculum preparation, overcrowded class rooms, and active learner involvement for satisfying learner requirements. Emergence of modern technology paved the way for the formation of digitalization and other well equipped classrooms and it helps tea teachers and language instructors to prepare curriculum and the design of instructional materials. Implementation of various methods in ESL classrooms creates problems in creating active learner par ticipation. This dissertation is an attempt to find out different methods and strategies for teaching English effectively in ESL settings. The research is based on effect of various methods and approaches already implemented in ESL classrooms. ... The researcher expects that the study helps to understand various problems and areas that need changes or developments for getting structured outcome in the field of second language learning. †¢ Background of the Problem The study seeks mainly the effectiveness of various teaching methods and approaches among the ESL classrooms. As a part of general education, teaching English as second language is subjected to frequent changes. Learner requirements in the field of ESL classrooms show some noteworthy signs of changes. So the study has its significance in current status of learning English as second language. Changing of teaching methods and approaches sometimes act as barriers in the way acquiring English as L2. Investigate the effectiveness of methods and approaches in ESL class room offers new insight in establishing structured developments and improvisation in second language acquisition. Even though emergence of modern technologies and developments provide maximum exposure f or learners, some areas like, structured curriculum and fulfilment of learner requirements needs further researches. †¢ Statement of the Problem The study explores current status of teaching methods and approaches practiced in ESL classrooms. The research investigates the effectiveness of various methods and approaches and how these methods satisfy the learner requirements. It also discusses various problems that affect ESL classrooms. So the study entitled Effective teaching methodologies that reflect the need of the learner, is the current teaching approaches equipped to effectively teach English as an L2? †¢ 2. Literature Review (1) Methods of teaching /learning Methods of teaching/learning

Cultural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Cultural Studies - Essay Example From the essay it is clear images, sounds and various types of spectacles form the foundation of media culture and in turn influence our everyday life closely. It dominates the leisure time of individuals, influences political opinions, social behavior and provides materials out of which people create their identity. Different types of media resources like radio, television and films particular focus over the materials that emphasis over the aspects of gender discrimination on sexual grounds. At the same time the ideas of being successful or unsuccessful, powerful or powerless are also determined by the media. As the report declares media is also one of the major sources for providing the indications with the help of which an individual identifies his class, ethnicity, race, nationality and a concept of us and them. It is through such prevailing influence media not only determines culture but also outlook of the world. In the context of determining right or wrong act, morality and immorality, the role of media is undeniable. At the same time it is media culture which determines what is good and what is bad, positive and negative, moral or immoral. The various issues portrayed by the media helps in constructing various symbols, myths which in turn constitutes a common culture for the larger part of the population. It should be noted that it is the various materials of the media which gives an individual the basis to locate himself within a technically advanced capitalist society and which in turn gives rise to a new type of global culture.

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper Term - 3

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts - Term Paper Example In order for a company to function adequately it is essential for the employees of the firm to have good communication with their manager. The manager has to communicate well with their workers to ensure they perform their jobs adequately. The lines of communication should always be open. In cases in which there is lack of communication among the staff there are usually more problems and conflicts than in companies with good communication. The utilization of intranet helps improve the communication flow among the workers. Companies should seek out employees with good verbal and written communication skills. Corporations should also establish good communication between the firm and its customers. The corporate website of a firm is medium that that is used to improve the communication with the customers. A business concept that has become very popular in the workplace of the 21st century is diversity. â€Å"Workplace diversity involves differences based on gender, race and ethnicity, age, able-bodiedness and sexual orientation†. Diversity can improve the corporate culture of an enterprise. Firms that have good diversity benefit from the ideas of its workers because people of different backgrounds have gone through different life experiences. These experiences are used in brainstorming sessions to generate solutions to problems. A company that has used diversity well to improve the performance of its business units is Starbucks Cafà ©. â€Å"As partners, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves†.

Assessing Globalization In Saudi Arabia

Assessing Globalization In Saudi Arabia Globalization is defined as a process in which people companies and governments of different countries interact and integrate among each other. This process has been found to be driven by international trade and is also significantly aided by information technology. Since we are more interested in its effect on the economic condition of Saudi Arabia, hence the term that is of greater importance for us is the term economic globalization that refers to the integration of national economies to form an international economy. When talking of economic globalization we are more interested in knowing the foreign direct investments, migration, capital flows and the spread of technology for a country. The process of globalization affects the environment, culture economic developments, prosperity and the physical well being of humans. As people going to different places and performing business at different places have an effect on the people of that place and thus we can say that globalization has resulted in widening of cultural boundaries around the world. Although globalization is thought of as a relatively new process but if we go in depth history we find that globalization has been affecting the people around the world for years. If we go into the history we find signs of globalization since the time when China and Europe were connected to each other through the famous Silk Road in the Middle Ages. If we the features of compare current wave of globalization with the time just before the First World War in 1914 we find that there are many similarities Although there have been instances of globalization since ancient times but the speed at which the world globalized was never the same as it is in the current era. The main reason for this have been technological advancements and the policies implemented by the countries in the past few decades. Going into the details of figures we find that the volume of world trade has become 20 times of its volume in the year 1950. The pace of globalization can also be observed by observing the foreign investments taking place around the world. Observing this factor our statement gets even more support as flows of foreign investments were observed to be doubled in a span of just two years in the period from 1997 to 1999 when they increased from $468 billion to $827 billion. Thus observing these figures we can say that the globalization today is taking place at a much faster rate than it has ever been in the past. Observing the increase in the pace of globalization it is important to observe the factors behind this rapid increase in the rate of globalization around the world. The policies adopted by the governments of various countries around the world have served as an accelerator for globalization. The policies of governments around the world since the second world have led to opening up of economies around the world. The countries have adopted free market economic systems around the world. These steps have led to numerous opportunities for international trade and investments. It has also been observed that various restrictions on foreign trades and investments have been relaxed over the past few years especially the last two decades. Thus these policies have helped in the achieving the aim of international, industrial and financial business structure. Since the Second World War the politicians have been planning to break down borders that hampered trades in the process they have found several international institutions intended to see that this process could be easily facilitated. Institutions like World Bank and International Monetary fund (IMF) were setup in the process. There were many agreements on opening up of trades after the Second World War which led to the formation of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Since then World Trade Organization (WTO), which was found as result of agreements signed under GATT has been working with an aim of promoting Global trades freely. As mentioned above technology has served as one of the key drivers for globalization. Information Technology in particular has played a dramatic role in transforming economic life around the world and has played a key role in promoting globalization it has brought consumers, investors, business together by means of internet and e-commerce. It has brought all the information from around the world available to each person who wishes to get access to the information. It has resulted in faster and more detailed analysis of economic trends, has made the transfer of assets easier and has also made communication between distant people much easier. History of Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Arabs is also considered to be the place of origination of the second largest religion- Islam. The holy cities of Mecca and Medina are situated in Saudi Arabia which attracts a large number of pilgrims each year to the country. Ibn Saud who ruled from 1882-1953 is considered to be the main creator of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ibn Saud was a descendant of Wahhabi leaders and emerged out as a leader of the Arab nationalist movement. The discovery of oil in 1936 served as a milestone for Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia is a major producer of oil and has huge reserves of oil since ancient times. With the beginning of commercial production of oil during the World War II huge revenues started flowing into the country thus leading to a large amount of wealth for the country. As a result free health care and education were provided to the residents of Saudi Arabia without any collection of taxes. Saudi Arabia was permitted to become to be the charter member of United Nations even though it was neutral during the World War II. The country became a member of the Arab league in 1945 and played an important role in the 1948-49 war against Israel and still does not recognize Israel as a country. The year 1953 marked the death of the king that is considered as the creator of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With the death of Ibn Saud 11 year long reign of his son Saud began. Sauds reign was marked by increasing hostility of Egypts Gamal Abdel Nasser towards radical Arabism. In 1964 Saud was dethroned and replaced by the Prime Minister. Crown Prince Faisal was appointed as the prime minister of Saudi Arabia. Faisal did not give any military support to Egypt during the 1967 Arab Israel war but gave only vocal support. Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by a degraded kinsman. This assassination shook the Middle East but Faisals kingdom remained unperturbed and he was succeeded by his brother Prince Khalid. Prince Khalids support Egypt during negotiations on withdrawal of Israel from Sinai desert was quite influential. King Khalid died due to a heart attack in 1982. King Khalids half brother, Prince Fahd Bin Abdulaziz became the successor of Prince Khalid but he chose his half brother Abdullah as the crown prince. With the fear of becoming Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis next target if Iraq was conquered by Iran Saudi Arabia along with smaller oil rich states of the Arab on the Persian Gulf made huge financial contributions in the 1980s towards Iraqi war effort. Due to conserved efforts of oil consuming nations and Saudi Arabia being cheated by other members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led to a reduction in oil prices. The revenues coming from oil into Saudi Arabia reduced from $120 billion to $25 billion within a span of 5 years from 1980 to 1985. After suffering an incapacitating stroke, King Fahd passed his authorities to Crown Prince Abdullah. In 1998 Saudi Arabia entered its first recession in six years when its oil income fell by 40% due to a worldwide decrease in oil prices. An overview of Saudi Arabias economy and the state of their economic progress: During the last fifty years the economy of Saudi Arabia has developed at a swift pace as the Saudi state has been established and expanded. The country is economically very diverse but the income coming from oil revenues has played a significant role in the development of the state by the help of modern institutions of bureaucracy. It would have been quite difficult to think of a separate state of before the discovery of oil. Before 1930s the region which later came under the state of Saudi was composed od several regions with different regions depending on different products for their income. The Hijaz which was a western province, for example was dependent chiefly on subsistence agriculture, long distance trades and pilgrims coming to visit the holy places of Mecca and Medina as a source of revenue for the state. Since there many deserts in Saudi Arabia and the living conditions were quite hostile due to its harsh climate and lack of water there was a huge geographical separation between people of the country as most of the population concentrated at places where water was available. The influence from the outside world was quite negligible a as it was not only difficult to travel within the country but also the country lacked natural resources that could attract people from outside. There three main events that have led to the current structure of the Saudi Arabian economy. These events were the discovery of oil just six years after the establishment of Saudi Arabia, the rebuilding of Europe after the World War II which was greatly based on industrialization and the increasing demand of oil. All these events worked as a catalyst in increasing the growth rate of Saudi Arabia and led to enhancement in its position. With the discovery of oil there was a huge increase in revenues flowing into Saudi Arabia and the country witnessed a huge increase in the treasury during the rule of Abd Al Aziz Al in Abd also known as Rahman Saud from 1932 to 1953. This inflow of funds helped him to exert greater economic and political control over the territories under his control. This control helped him to implement all his ideas effectively and efficiently and during his reign the state saw a significant economic change with a shift from the traditional economy to an economy which depended primarily on states outlay. The huge reserves of oil in Saudi Arabia have not only driven huge revenues for the country but have also added to the importance of Saudi Arabia to the world. Initially with industrialization Europe was dependent on Saudi Arabia but today the flow of oil has become very essential the economic stability of the world. Saudi Arabia being the only major oil producing country that has significant excess capacity of crude oil has made the oil production and investment policies of Saudi Arabia an issue of international importance as the country has a strong influence on prices and supplies of oil internationally. Despite the attempts of authorities to diversify the economy and develop a non oil based sector in the country but practical implementation of these plans have proved to be more difficult than was expected by the authorities as Saudi is still under the influence of its traditional customs and although huge revenues have been flowing into the country since the invention of oil but the average standard of living of an average citizen of Saudi Arabia has increased as would be expected. Hence the real income source for Saudi Arabia is still the revenues coming from export and trading of oil. In the 1990s Saudi Arabia set out to meet the challenges of increasing oil production with the increasing demand and lower supplies from the former Soviet Union countries. As a result the authorities applied expansion plans for oil industry. In the process firstly the national oil company, Saudi Aramco planned to increase the domestic crude oil production from 8.4 million barrels per day in 1992 to between 10.5 million and 11 million barrels per day in the year 1995. In the process increased the share of production of lighter grades of crude oil. As a result of pollution and global warming becoming important aspects for all countries and with the demand of oil increasing Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (SAMAREC) decided to upgrade its refineries in order to meet high environmental standards followed in the western world. This step could also be seen as a step to increase production and keeping the demand of oil for Saudi Arabia constant without being affected by the lack of demand due to higher standards of oil required by the western countries. Thirdly the country acquired refineries in other countries and also planned to purchase refineries in places closer to their key consuming markets in order to reduce the cost of transportation incurred by the company and also led to an increase in the market share of Saudi Arabia in the world market. There was a sharp increase in the oil prices during 1970s and early 1980s which led to a huge increase in revenues for Saudi Arabia. This increase helped Saudi Arabia to get out of the chronic financial constraints that Saudi Arabia had been facing during the last few years. Since Saudi Arabias economy was not one of the best at time so its absorption capacity was also limited which resulted in delays in using the funds which led to creation of a large amount of funds for both government and private sectors of the Dubai economy and a large part of these surpluses were in international financial institutions and in securities of western government. In 1982 the emphasis of the government changed from managing surpluses to dealing with growing budgetary and concentrated on balancing payments shortfall. During the same time the world saw a decrement in the oil prices which resulted in a decrease in revenues for the country. This led the government into a problem as they were largely committed to big projects and the government had to make a large budget which resulted in a drawdown of foreign assets of the country. The country was also hit by the devaluation of dollar in the international market as the oil payments are made in dollars so the country had to face a double blow due to a reduction in oil prices and the weakening of dollar. The impact of rapid economic change or growth on employment and the workforce of the country: There have been many rapid economic changes in the world today. Most of these have affected almost all the countries across the world. Economic changes around the world have taken place since ancient times but with the opening up of economies around the world their effect is felt by almost all companies around the world. As today most of the countries are engaged in cross border businesses and trades. The effects of globalization have affected almost all the countries. Even though Saudi Arabia still has a relatively much close economy but it too has been affected by the rapid changes taking place around the world. Saudi Arabia is a major exporter of oil and its products which has become a necessity for any country around the world hence the economy of Saudi Arabia is bound to be affected by any economic changes taking place globally. As oil payments are made in dollars a change in dollar prices affects Saudi Arabia. Any recession hitting the world also affects Saudi Arabia as the dem and for oil reduces during even a hint of recession. Out of the many rapid changes, globalization has been a change that has affected the world greatly and there have been positive as well as negative responses of globalization. With globalization economies have opened up and restrictions on trades have been reduced greatly. Restrictions on imports and exports have been relaxed greatly in all parts of the world. The world today has become a global village. As a result of globalization which has been one of the most significant economic changes over the last few years the quality of oil produced within the country has been increased. The workforce of the country although still comprises mostly of the residents of Saudi Arabia only as the economy has not opened up as much as other countries have opened up. Also the education system and the traditional ways of working are still followed in Saudi Arabia. The employment has increased with the recent changes and the world turning up to industrialization more and more oil refineries have been setup in order to meet the increasing demand of oil around the world. Challenges and opportunities for Saudi Arabia: The opening up of the world and the closed structure of Saudi Arabias economy has also created some challenges for the country. It has been internationally recognized that the standard of living in Saudi Arabia is not as good as other parts of country. The mindset of the people living is still more influenced by the Arabic and Islamic cultures and the people are not quite open to accept views of others even if they might be better than what they might have thought. The country today also has a challenge of improving the education standard of the people living in the country. As the education standard of people living in Saudi Arabia is far below standards. Also the technological advancement is far slower than other parts of the world. The major challenge for the economy of Saudi Arabia is to develop other sectors of the market also and reduce its dependency on oil as oil being a non renewable source will be exhausted one day and it is important to have other sources of income also. Although the country also has many opportunities and also has the inflow of income required to help them achieve their goals. The income coming in from their oil reserves can be implemented in order to develop other sectors of market. The people of the country need an exposure to the outside world which may be possible if the economy opens up. The standard of education is currently a big concern which needs to be tackled properly. The current up comings have revealed that the government of Saudi Arabia has understood the importance of English and has started laying stress on promoting English amongst the people of the country. If the country is able to develop technically and the standard of education could be increased then there are probabilities that the outcome for the country would be quite good and self explanatory and will have a fortifying effect in its position among other countries of the world. Interesting Facts about Saudi Arabia: Some of the interesting facts about the country are listed below: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the official name of Saudi Arabia. The system of absolute monarchy s followed in Saudi Arabia. In terms of area it is the largest country in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is also known as the land of two holy mosques as it houses Mecca and Medina the two holiest places in Islam. Oil accounts for more than 75% of the governments revenues and forms part of more than 90% exports from Saudi Arabia. The largest oil producing company ARAMCO is situated in Saudi Arabia. The first university in Saudi Arabia was found in 1957. Conclusion: From the study made to prepare this paper it is quite clear that the economy of Saudi Arabia is based on revenues coming from oil. The study has also revealed the closed structure of economy of Saudi Arabia and has exposed the lower standards of living and education standards in this country which is the largest producer of oil in the world. The country has a good impact on the world as it is the largest producer of oil in the world and oil is essential for any country in todays era of industrialization. All to compete with the world in a more profound manner it is important for them to improve their base in technological sectors and also improve the education standards of the country. The emphasis on English also has to be increased in order to promote talks internationally and remove third party intervention in international talks. Lastly I would like to say that the country has large inflow of income due to its richness in oil reserves and if the funds coming in from the oil produ ction are applied in right direction and with emphasis on technology and education Saudi Arabia can develop into a country which can compete with any world class country.