Marketing Planning free essay sample

Assessment 3: individual reflective essay Introduction The purpose of this article is to analyze and explore the characteristics of the marketing plan. Firstly, it will identify the role and nature of marketing plan. Secondly, it will outlines the structure of the marketing plan. Moreover, the paper will determines the each elements in the marketing plan and the linkage between these elements. Additionally, the two misconceptions will be examined. Last, it will conclude the marketing plan is indispensable to the organizations. Role and Nature of Marketing Plan Marketing plan is a business document that describes the marketing environment, outlines the marketing objectives, analysis current position of business and organize its marketing strategy, details actions of business to achieve the organizations goals. A business plan is the document that provide description of business structure and model, used to detail plans for business, identify goals and strategies, help organizations achieve the result and measure organizations performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Planning or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Moreover, It can help company determines the development of business in the future, and prepared for the problems and opportunities, also required for the business financing and written to target potential investors. Since the business continuing change with macro environment and customer demand, marketing plan is a key section which involved in the overall business plan. The marketing plan and business plan are interdependent, and complement each other, both of them are essential parts of successful business. According to Abrams (1993), business plan provide a blueprint to marketing plan. The business plan describes the business goals and the reason for formed the organization. Meanwhile, the marketing plan guide the implementation by organizations marketing department, explains how organization will achieve the goals. If the business plans changes, the actions for the new plans, which included in marketing plans also make changes. Therefore, the set of marketing plans always need meet the business objectives. Normally, there are two types of marketing plan, strategical planning and tactical planning. Strategical planning can define as the organizations resource and capabilities matched by upper managerial decision process to its market opportunities for long-term goals. On the other hand, tactical planning is the execution of lower management of marketing plan to achieve the short-term goals. Both of them must incorporated in the marketing plan to ensure the successful of the companies. In tactically, marketing plan set the expectation of activities of various functional areas of the organization, such as marketing, finance, plant facilities and personnel, and provide the actual actions and information for the activities to ensure achieve the objectives. For example, company advertising goods for particular market and improve the brand image. The tactical marketing plan emphasize on guide the current operation of functional parts of the firm in short range. In strategically, marketing plan used for set the overall goals for organization in long term. The marketing plan provide the information, to assist company target the markets, define the organizational objectives, and clarify the specific performance goals in the future. For instance, the companies can clearly understand what important to their customers, and then set the strategies to meet objectives. Furthermore, It also outlines the weaknesses, strengthens and the competitors within the organizations, such as customer feedback information, competitive Intelligence. Additionally, the marketing plan can facilitate the top management decision making, lower the risks for taking next steps of business, and make the decisions more effective. Structure of Marketing Plan The typically structure of Marketing Plan consist of four stages, which are perform the situation analysis, set up marketing objectives, develop marketing strategies and implementation and control of marketing plan. The first stage is organization perform a situation analysis of marketing environment. The situation analysis will outline the specific organizations oal, and define the potential customers, competitors and distributors. In addition, It also identifies the factors of internal and external environment that support or hinder the organizations objectives, and ensures the market planning effectively. Moreover, the SWOT analysis applied to the situation analysis process, which can identifies strength, weakness, opportunity and threats of the company. The second stage of develop a marketing plan is set marketing objectives. The management will set the market objectives after understanding the market environment, business weakness and strength. The marketing objectives indicate what marketing function must accomplish on behalf of the organization(Solomon, 2012). Marketing objective is different from the organization objective planned in first step, as the marketing objectives are more specific focus on the brand image, sizes, sales, products. Meanwhile, the organization objectives state overall operations of organization. Once define the marketing objectives, the marketing strategies can be develop. Therefore, the third stage is develop marketing strategies. In this marketing planning process, managers must choose the target markets and positioning their products in the markets at first, and then they will develop the marketing mix strategies to support the expectation position of theirs products in the market. In this view, market strategy is different from the marketing plan, because the market strategy set the entire direction and objectives for marketing, but marketing plan outlines the specific actions for the implementation of the market strategy to achieve the marketing objectives. The last stage is implement and control the marketing plan. To implement the marketing strategies, management must decide what level of marketing expenditures is necessary to actually achieve the marketing objectives(Solomon, 2012). The projected budget for marketing need to distribute reasonable among the marketing activities and tools in the marketing mix (Kotler, 1988). Furthermore, the companies need control tools to catch the poorly implementation or bias marketing mix to making sure that activities are not fall off the goals. Elements of the Marketing Plan As the marketing plan structure consists of four parts, there are several elements in each part make up the marketing plan. In the process of perform situation analysis, The organization should analysis both internal and external environment by adopt SWOT analysis. The analysis of internal and external environment are relative independence but cannot deal separately, both of them have pervasive effect on the organizations decisions. and managers will use SWOT analysis to identify the internal and external factors that influence the marketing strategy. Internal environment refers to the controllable elements existing within the organization that affect its performance either positively or negatively, which including facilities, employees,financial stability, organizational cultures,missions, technologies and many other factors. The purpose of internal analysis is conducted based the resources, capability of the organization, understand the organization in depth. The resources can classified as tangible resources, intangible resources and human resource. The tangible resources are easy to identify and evaluate, such as physical facilities and financial resource. Secondly, the intangible resources which can become the competitive advantages over periods, like brand image and technologies. And the human resources refers to the skills, ability and knowledge of the employees that contribute to the organization. Furthermore, the information of organizational capabilities is used to refer to the firm’s capacity for undertaking specific productive activities. Additionally, the SWOT analysis applied to the internal environment identify the key strength and weakness of organization. It ties the strength and weakness of organization to customer requirement, reminding management customer satisfaction are always the most important, and assist the firm to make adjustment to meeting needs of its target market. On the other hand, external environment made of factors outside the organization that positive or negative affect the organizations performance. In this section, managers can conduct four type of analysis, which are customer analysis, competitive analysis, market analysis and environmental analysis. Those analysis can identify all the external factors that have effect on the organization. For example, customer analysis can investigate the customer need and buy motivation; Competitive analysis can identify competitors strategies, objectives and performance; Market analysis state the profitability, entry barriers of the target market; Environmental analysis evaluate the technology, sociological trends and demographic. These external environmental factors are uncontrollable, but managers can respond to them by planning. In this section, the SWOT analysis also applied to this section, which examines the opportunity and threats of the organization. The opportunities may caught by managers and lead the company benefit from them, make the company growth. While, the identified threats which negatively affect the organization may avoided by managers planning. Next, the process of set the marketing objectives is the important segment in marketing plan. The objectives can be established must behind the managers have thorough understanding of the marketing environment. Once the organization builded up the marketing objectives, then organization can development the marketing strategies to achieve the marketing objectives. In the process of develop marketing strategies, it consist of select the target markets and develop marketing mix strategies. The company select the best suitable markets that have greatest possibility to achieve the market objectives. And then, managers make the decisions about activities towards objectives by using the marketing mix tools, and the elements of marketing mix are product, price, promotion and place. All of four elements cannot separately, must be viewed as whole and support each other in the marketing structure; Otherwise marketing strategies for organization will be disorder and uncoordinated. Furthermore, the four elements have sequence for decision making ,the product strategies determined by market objectives, because the products features must designed to satisfy the target customers. In addition, the pricing of product have many conditions, the basic rule is the ricing must expensive than the cost, and the different goods have different prices in different places, thus pricing strategy determined by product strategy and supply chain strategy. Moreover, pricing strategy determine promotion strategy, like managers use pricing strategy that deliver the message to the specific target customers in the promotional strategy. And the supply chain strategies may depend on all of others strategies. As the product is the fundamental part for company making profit, organization should develop product strategies carefully. Product mix strategy is determine what product features and designs will appeal to the organizations target market. The product strategies including the product attribute decisions, branding strategies, packaging, labeling, and services. Moreover, The product life cycle is applied to the managers, which indicates the change of markets response to the products over its life, and product life cycle can assists mangers develop product strategies effectively. Secondly, the pricing strategy decides how much for the products that provide for the customers. Since price is the only element in marketing strategy that create revenue for organization, all the others elements are cost, its clearly a important determinant of achieving objectives(Woof, 2011). In this section, organization need the information that may influence the pricing form the prior analysis, such as economy, customer demand, competition. Then, company choose different pricing strategy for depends on these factors and the result of both product and distribution strategy. Such as cost based, retailer and wholesaler demand based, competition based,customer needs based. The marketing mix pricing can help managers setting the price strategy as a market tool, like wholesale prices, retail price, price skimming. Next, the organization develop promotional strategy after complete the pricing strategy. Promotional strategies state how managers communicate the value of the product with the target market. The purpose of promotional strategy is encourage customers buy products or raise awareness of the product to achieve marketing objectives. In this section, organization required develop the products message and use three models of marketing ommunication to deliver message to the customers, which are one to one, one to many and many to many models, such as personal selling, direct marketing and so on. For example, advertising is type of one-to-many model, and its the most common way that organization communication with customers. However, there are many bias and cheated information existing in the advertising, and the customer perceive of the advertising is commonly untruthful and deceptive, which may have negatively effect on the organizational promotion. Last, as the place is the only element that may give organization long-term competitive advantages, managers should have patience on deal the supply chain strategies. The supply chain strategies refers to when and where to make the product available to the customers, and the purpose of supply chain strategy is lower the operational cost and maximizing the efficiencies of the organization, a good supply chain strategy can create value for the organization. Meanwhile, it can establish the relationship between the organization and customers, For example, Ikea delegate the distribution function to the customers, offer them the choice which is picking up the items in the store, that may save shipping charge for the customer. Furthermore, as the globalization, more and more organization choose to sell the products through the retailers, and become the global brand can make more profit. If the organization choose sell the products through retailers and wholesalers, the managers need consider the product, pricing, and promotion decisions for choosing the retailers. Although the supply chain strategy make organization more competitive, Nonetheless, there still have ethical dilemma issue, which is slotting allowance, a fee force charged by the manufactures to large retailers( Solomon, 2012). The last stage for marketing plan is implement and control. In this stage, implementation links the developed marketing strategies with marketing performance, and summarize the budget and timelines for the activities from the previous section. In the process of implementation, it consist of four elements. The action plans detail how the marketing strategies will be implemented by the managers, including responsibility of individuals, scheduled activities, total budget, and measurement and control to ensure the objectives actually achieved. To implement the plans, all the information of marketing objectives and strategies are needed, also the organizations should clarify the tasks and performance of each management ,in order to avoid the confusing on individual responsible. Besides, the timeline allocate the reasonable time to each activities for achieve the objectives. The timeline can help managers understand if tactics driving any sales(William, 1978). Furthermore, organization should check the budgets usually, a effectively schedule and monitor make the activities progress easy to monitor, once the time line not matched, and the budget cost overrun, the managers can adjust the plan immediately. Finally, managers must ensure the effectively measurement and control to determine what level that the organization actually meet the marketing goals, and acting flexible, adjustment the strategies or objectives on the basis of this analysis if necessary. Nevertheless, the marketing plan may be not reliable due to the many reasons, such as the mix up of tactics and strategies, poor implementation, not widely accepted marketing plan structure and so on. If organization faced those problems, may be need find out the problem and fix it or redo the marketing plan. The research and trend analysis may applied to the control process. The research refers to the organization conduct continuous market research to understand their brand position among target markets, and trend analysis can examine sales by geographic area,distributor, chain and reseller type. Obviously, these techniques help management more effective on decision making and ensure the quality of decisions. Assumptions There have many misconceptions made in relation to the market plan in the market. According to the Andereck (2005), The most common one is managers always think they know what theirs customers want . Many managers never conduct the customer analysis to research what is customers truly want and demands in the internal environment, because they think they understand customers, but actually is not. always. However, In the marketing plan, the SWOT analysis used to identify the organizations weakness and strengths , and make adjustment to meet the customers needs and requirement, which indicate how important the customers demands to the rganizations. Therefore, its crucial to managers understand the customers, and research the customers demands should be the first task for managers job. Additionally, some managers think if they advertising, its mean they have a marketing plan( Ali, 2001). Which thought is totally wrong. Advertising activity is one of the marketing promotional strategies, its one to many model, and can spread to the market quickly, give positively effec t on organizational promotion. However, it’s only a tactic, which is one of the many ways that deliver the product messages to the target customers. Organization must have an integrated plan that enable produce many tactics and conduct the situation analysis to understand the customers needs, then complete the marketing product, pricing and supply chain strategies. Finally, managers can use these tactics corporate the previous information to implement the promotional strategies to achieve the marketing objectives. Conclusion This report has analyzed the role, nature, structure, elements of marketing plan, and the links exist between each elements of a marketing plan. Moreover, the article also provide the common misconception made relate to the marketing plan. In overall, the marketing plan is a essential tool for the managers, and provided detailed direction for the organizations. If the marketing plan planned by managers or marketers step by step, carefully evaluated and researched, it will assist the organization to achieve the marketing objectives, and help them make decisions effectiveness. Reference list Abrams, Rhonda M. (1993). The Successful Business Plan: Secrets Strategies. Oasis Press. Ali,Moi. (2001). Marketing Effectively. New York. Dorling Kindersley. Andereck, Ph. D. ,Kathleen. (2005). Marketing Plan Outlineprovidedto AOT. Unpublished. Cohen, William A. (1991). The Practice of Marketing Management. New York: Macmillan. Kotler, (1988) Marketing Management analysis, planning, implementation, and control. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. Mullins, J. , Walker, O. and Harper Boyd Jr. , H. 2009), Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision-Making Approach, 7th Edition, McGraw Hill, Australia and New Zealand. Solomon, M. R. Marshall, G. W. Stuart, E. W. (2012). Marketing: Real People Real Choices (7th edn), Pearson Education Inc. , Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA. William H. Brannen. (1978). Small business marketing: a selected and annotated bibliography. American Marketing Association Woof, M. B. (2011) The Marketing Plan Handbook, (4th edn), Pearson Education Inc. , Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA.

Eye Witness Testimony essays

Eye Witness Testimony essays The Psychology of Eyewitness Accounts The human memory, while in many ways an amazing tool, is highly flawed. Although we have the power to remember a vast amount of information, our mind can use our memory to essentially trick us, sometimes even to the extent of remembering in detail events that never transpired. Despite these limitations, the testimony of eyewitnesses has become the most crucial evidence towards conviction in criminal cases (Loftus 9). In this way, our legal system depends on the reliability of an exceptionally faulty source. Jurors in court cases tend to believe eyewitnesses (Gorenststein 616). Faced with conflicting or ambiguous testimony, they are tempted to put their faith in people who actually saw an event. This faith in eyewitnesses maybe misplaced, however. Although eyewitness accounts are essential to courtroom testimony, studies clearly show people who say; I know what I saw, often mean, I know what I think I saw. And these people may be wrong (Migueles 259). Psychologists have attempted t o measure the ability of witnesses to recall specific facts surrounding an emotional event, as in the article Recall, Recognition, and Confidence Patterns in Eyewitness Testimony, by Malen Migueles and Elvira Garcia-Bajos. In other pertaining articles, information processing is reviewed by stages; from the time it is received to the time it is retrieved, and all of the faults, problems, and decay information goes through before is it regenerated. Essentially, Migueles and Garcia-Bajos endeavored to find what type of stimuli witnesses will attend to during a crime. Stimuli were broken down into two broad categories: central and peripheral. Central information coincides with and is both essential to and proximal to the crime, while peripheral information is unrelated to the crime. These categories are further divided into actions and d...

11 Ways to Source for Funds for a Start Up Business in Nigeria

11 Ways to Source for Funds for a Start Up Business in Nigeria In this country, a lot of entrepreneurs wishing to begin a new venture go through lots of problems just trying to get their businesses running. One such problem is getting funds to start that business. This has been a major drawback for most intending business owners in the country today. While it takes some people a short time to achieve this, it takes others a long period to get what is required to kick start their businesses. In this article, you will discover 11 brilliant ways you can acquire the money you need for your emerging venture. Of course, you know all that relates to business has its upside and downsides so here you will see why you should use that source and also some disadvantages that come with it. Ultimately you are the one to decide which option to go for so knowing everything about the varied options available is necessary. The different ways are: Money you have saved up: While thinking of beginning a new business, thoughts of getting the money you need would have played out in your subconscious. So, how much money do you have in your savings? This is the first action plan that is necessary for you. Once you know how much you have, you will then be able to conclude if you require more money or not. What you currently have will determine what you will ultimately need in the long run. The upside is: A huge chunk of this saved up money will be very useful in getting some needed things for your business. The downside is: It may not be enough to even start up You might have other responsibilities that need to be taken care of. Close friends, close family members and relatives: One other way to get fund sourcing for your business is by asking friends that are close to you and also family members and relatives. These groups of people understand you and should be in a better place to give you the assistance you need to get your business on its feet. So before embarking on other means, try doing this and I am sure you would get at least more than half of what you are looking for. The upside is: They might be able to assist you to an extent They may give you the right push you need to start off They will encourage you even if it looks difficult to implement The downside is: What you get from them might not be sufficient Some of them will discourage you and try to discourage you from pursuing it You may not even get any help from them Business grants: Are you aware that there are now so many business grants available for Nigerians who either already have established businesses or just want to begin? If only you have the right information at the appropriate time. A lot of Nigerians are now benefitting from these opportunities. Examples of some recent business grants are: The entrepreneurship programme organized by Tony Elumelu; otherwise known as TEEP. The programme organized by YouWiN. The entrepreneurship programme organized by Bank of Industry The trust fund programme organized by Lagos State; also known as LSETF The programme organized by AYEEN which is Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs. All these and more are there for Nigerians to participate in. As long as you are a Nigerian and are at least 18 years old and you have a realistic business idea, you can apply for them. Aside these, there are also business events that take place from time to time in various cities in Lagos. The just concluded â€Å"Fashion Souk† that took place at Harbour Point, Lagos is one of such examples. Entrepreneurs had the privilege to show case their business pitches and some of them were given grants of up to N200, 000. So with this, you can see that the chances out there are endless; just know where they lie and tap into them. The upside is: These options are many so you choose the one to participate in The money given will be able to settle some business needs The grants given differ; some amounts are higher than some The downside is: Your business pitch might be rejected Your applications may be rejected more than once The money may not be enough (but really is money ever enough for anyone?) Getting loans from microfinance banks: Most microfinance banks give out loans to small scale businesses. You can approach them and with your business pitch, collateral and guarantor you should be able to acquire loans for your business. Also know that they would include interest rates when you are paying back the loan. The upside is: Getting loans from such facilities would be a relief to you and your business The downside is: The interest rate might be pretty high Their deadlines for payment are usually strict. You must pay early enough or face the consequence. Loans from banks: Are you aware that there are some Nigerian banks who give out loans without asking for collateral? It is as easy as that; once you present your business plan, go through some tests, you will be able to apply for such loans. Although the banks all have their different processes and requirements for it. The banks are Heritage bank, First bank, Diamond bank, WEMA bank, and Stanbic IBTC bank. For more information on this, it would be nice if you visit them. The upside is: It is a relief to be able to get loans without having to drop any form of collateral The downside is: You do not know how long it would take to actually receive the loan you want Partnerships: There are certain business moguls you could partner with to enable your business take full form. It could be a friend who has an established business and has some forms of experience already. When forming partnership with someone, a lot of paper work is done so there is no abuse of agreement. This partner could provide what is needed in the early stage of the business or he could just add to what you have. The upside is: This business partner will support you both financially and materially depending on the business arrangement you both have. The downside is: He might want to have a share percent of the company when it finally picks up or starts making profit. Money contributions: A lot of people now engage in daily or weekly contributions to help with their financial needs. This is usually done by a group of people who contribute a certain amount of money based on the arrangement they have. At the end of the month, someone takes away the bulk of the money while others take theirs in subsequent months until everyone has collected and then the cycle continues. This could be a source of fund for your start up business. The money you collect when it gets to your turn could be very helpful. The upside is: This contribution will be helpful as you are sure of getting a specific amount at a specific time. You can decide to collect your share earlier than when you are meant to. By doing this, you can have an arrangement with someone else to collect in his place instead so you can use the money for your business. The downside is: You might be disappointed as not everyone might fulfill their contributions You might not be able to collect earlier than someone else because they might also need it at the time If the people in the group are not trust worthy, they can abscond with all the money. Cooperatives: People join cooperatives for many reasons; some join so that they can buy lands with the accumulated money gotten, others want to buy cars or start businesses. To be able to get money from them, you should have been a member for some time which allows you borrow a specific sum for a duration. There are lots of advantages by being a member of a cooperative and so if you are not already a member of one, you might want to think of joining so that when the time comes, you will know where to go to get funds. The upside is: Cooperatives are more structured and are systematic and so it would be hard for your money to be stolen There is accountability for allocation of funds Crowdfunding: This is another unique way of getting business funds. If you are able to post an appealing business pitch on the internet for people to see so they can invest in your business, you will probably get what you want. By doing this, it is highly possible to meet genuine people that like what you intend doing and want to be major investors in your business. It is worth trying out as you never know where your funding will emerge from. The upside is: You might get help from where you do not expect it You will be surprised at the number of people interested in your business and want to invest in it The downside is: People may shun you and give you reasons why you should not start that business Sell your valued property: What valued property do you have that could earn you some money? There are people who sell what they have just so their business can run. If you are desperate to begin your business, I am sure you would want to do all you can to ensure this happens. It is therefore not a bad idea to sell what you have because you can always buy it back when you stabilize. The upside is: The money gotten from the sale of your items will go a long way in settling some aspects of your business The downside is: You may not begin making instant profit for you to replace your items that is if you really want them back. Angel investors: Do you know that there are some investors who are ready to give you the capital you require to begin your business? All they want in return is some form of ownership equity. If you are willing to agree to this, then this option is for you. So which of these options will you choose? Some people choose one or a combination of more than one option which works for them. It is left to you to decide which to go for. You have seen that each option has its advantages and disadvantages so weigh them and pick the one that suits your business more. These 11 ways to source for funds have worked for a lot of businesses today and they are doing quite well. So, choose wisely!

Modification of microclimate by urban development Term Paper

Modification of microclimate by urban development - Term Paper Example Lausanne town is developed on three hills, encircled by vineyard-coated slopes, with Lake Geneva at its feet. This makes it a cool and beautiful place to be since its climate and the beautiful sceneries surrounding it are attractive. Savoy Alps rise attractively from the opposing French Lakeshore (Hinkel 64). The city contains passages with boutiques and cafes shaping the streetscape in the medieval city centre. However, the ultimate aim of this report is to examine urban geography of Switzerland particularly Lausanne city. The report is divided in four main parts; preparation, data collection, analysis and presentation. Under Preparation, is where the objectives of the study and hypothesis are prepared. Data collection involves the fieldwork process where is acquired through various methods including questionnaire and survey. Analysis is examination of the process based on information acquired and the application of scientific sense in evaluating hypothesis. Data collection The process of data collection used in this report is the use of questionnaire and interview. However, before data was collected, the objectives of research were determined followed by hypothesis which shows assumptions of what might be found when two regions of Lausanne; Val-Vert and Chailly are compared in terms of development and modification of microclimate.... To identify the top events in Lausanne III. To discover if tourism is more loved in the region than sport events in Lausanne. IV. To identify the whether patterns of Lausanne and their impact on activities of the place V. To determine if Lausanne has beautiful sceneries and landscapes VI. To determine the urban thermal microclimate of Lausanne VII. To determine which region; east, west and center of Lausanne is better than others Hypothesis I. Lausanne contains beautiful scenes such as mountains, hills, lake, museums and sport centers. II. The town of Chailly seems to be nice than Val-Vert in terms of development III. Since Chailly seems to be more developed than Val-Vert, it is highly affected microclimate IV. Prix de Lausanne is the top event in the Lausanne V. Tourism is most loved in Lausanne than sports because of the presence of several beautiful sceneries VI. The whether patterns of Lausanne are good because they favor business, tourism and sports activities in the region VII. The urban thermal microclimate of Lausanne is very high because of high development and tall buildings where there is much gases released to air causing microclimate VIII. The region that is better than the others in Lausanne is west Lausanne due to the presence of Lake Geneva. Questionnaire The type of questionnaire that was used for this study is simple questionnaire that is simplified and takes minimal time to respond to it (Clarey 84). It was issued to 60 adults of ages 16-60 of all genders. The questionnaire design used was simple one and is as shown below. Use the boxes below the answers to write comment if you wish because it is 1. Gender a. Male b. Female 2. Does Lausanne contain beautiful sceneries? a.

Dq-4.1-Terence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dq-4.1-Terence - Essay Example knowledge workers have extra-ordinary capabilities and are knowledgeable in most of the working environment aspects more than their fellow employees are. Collaboration among knowledge workers entails an organization encouraging this type of employees to work together and with integrated systems so that they can be able to exploit their full potential as a foundation the company’s development (Davenport 2005). The collaboration of knowledge workers is very essential to an organization because the results are fulfilling; usually, great minds put together is one best thing and core source of growth and improvement for decision-making and innovation in marketing and production. Decision-making is a significant feature for any organization but most of the time, management is left all the issues involving decision-making and it is their duty to come up with processes best for the task. Despite the drawbacks, if perfectly used, knowledge workers are can be an important facet of the decision-making process but specifically when their abilities merge through collaboration. This can be effective if they get time to ponder individually on matters at hand, evaluate, research and finally come up with strategies; thereafter, the collaboration makes a significant impact as they work on a final decision together through considering and evaluating individual strategies. Additionally, an improvement can be made in the decision making process between knowledge workers by encouraging them socialize more and outside the working environment, which enhances the structure knowledge and makes learning a part of the organization’s, culture. The integrated ERP is one of the core structures of a company since without it most of the corporate functions are hard to achieve; moreover, it enhances the organization’s shape and centers information circulation using its technological advancements. On the other hand, knowledge workers focus on modern interventions in the aspect that their

China’s One Child Policy is said to have created a generation of ‘Little Emperors’. Assess the consequences of most families having only one or two children Essay Example for Free

China’s One Child Policy is said to have created a generation of ‘Little Emperors’. Assess the consequences of most families having only one or two children Essay Chinas one-child family policy has had a great effect on the lives of nearly a quarter of the worlds population for a quarter of a century, after it was introduced in 1979. One of the effects is often referred to as â€Å"Little Emperor’s Syndrome†, which is when the only child received excessive amounts of attention from relatives causing a â€Å"spoilt brat† generation to occur. This puts both social and economic pressures on the families and children. By only having one child per family it allows the family to solely use its resources on that child; thus allowing the child to often fulfill their potential, as English lessons, music lessons and an additional range of extracurricular activities are normal. Although this has positive outcomes such as a rise in the number of Chinese children going to university, it has still mainly had the negative effect of the â€Å"Little Emperors† having large expectations of everyone else, with the government now being worried about a slump in the economy, being one of the many reasons why China may drop the one child policy. One of the main issues with the one child policy is that 336 million abortions in the time of the policy have taken place, which has caused a few moral issues throughout the world, with many people questioning the policy. Although many people in China have said that it has been a positive as a way to maintain the resources in the country and stop a large increase in the population. The number of abortions is paired with the issue of gendercide in China being at an all time high, people want a â€Å"Little Emperor† and not â€Å"Little Empress† due to traditional preference, this again presents a moral issue with the policy and may lead to future problems. Over 20 million girls are aborted each year and with over 50 million Chinese girls currently missing, there is a problem brewing in that there will be a shortage of women in comparison to men which may see the population and economy of China drop. The one child policy is also a costly program for the Chinese Government with over 400,000 people currently working for the policy and annually costs $708.8 million. This is not helped by the fact that the one child policy is creating a generation of youngsters that is not as good a working force compared to the current one; this is due to the fact that the â€Å"Little Emperors† are spoiled and do not expect to work for themselves (especially in urban areas, where there are wealthier families). It is thought that with the population (Fig 1) stagnating the economy may stagnate also, due to a smaller working force and one that is less willing to work, an example of the â€Å"Little Emperor’s Syndrome† is that there has been a doubling in the number of platinum jewelry sales in China, an expensive gift usually given to children. Although the parental expectations are high, only 2% of Chinese children are able to go to university, which many Chinese scholars suggest may be a sign of the future of the stagnation of the Chinese economy. This all shows that the one child policy may not be aiding the economy that has currently been one of the fastest growing in the world, causing a few people in China to question it. The policy has also affected the children themselves, as surveys have suggested that children born during the one child policy are significantly less trusting, less trustworthy, more risk-averse, less competitive, more pessimistic, and less conscientious individuals. All these characteristics are due to the fact that many of these children are born as an only child, and they now have present implications for the nation. These consequences include the number of criminal incidents to increase by 7.2% in the past 3 years and over $17 billion being spent on illegal drugs; this is because many young people create groups or gangs as close relationships in the place of ones with their siblings; but also due to the fact that a surplus of men has caused an increase in violence due to the increase in young males not marrying and becoming restless. This is not going to be beneficial for the country as it is causing youngsters to be misled into crime and will also be expensive for the government to try and expel from the country. It is also a thought that in the future there will be fewer people of a working age to support a growing number of elderly dependents, meaning that China has an ageing population. (Fig 2) Unfortunately, ageing populations have significant social and economic effects on countries, and with China’s fertility rate being predicted to be as low as 1.5 [a 2.1 fertility rate is needed in China in order for sustainability] the long term effects of the One-Child policy are likely to have detrimental effects for the future; including a stagnating economy. This is made worse by the fact that there are 60 million more men than women in China, which, is only going to lead to more social problems, such as a decrease in population in the future. (Fig 1)Which is shown by a recent census, Chinas population grew 5.8% since 2000, from 1.27 billion to 1.34 billion — a significant difference from the previous census, which indicated a rate of 11.7%. (Fig 1) Finally, a positive effect of the one child policy is that it has severely reduced the population of the China by roughly 400 million. This has created an abundance of resources for China, which was under some pre ssure for necessities such as drinking water. However, China has dealt with that through projects such as the Three Gorges Dam, but also through the one child policy allowing for the surplus resources to exist due to the decline in population growth. The lack of 400 million people has also helped reduce global warming, because, by stopping these births China has averted over 1.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Overall, it is clear that there are many negative consequences that have occurred or that will occur due to the one child policy, which is why it is thought that by 2020 the one child policy will no longer exist and that it will become the two child policy. The problems are economic and social problems that revolve around the idea of an ageing population that will need financial support from a spoiled generation; yet, the only environmental factors are positive- with global warming being reduced and the resources in China lasting longer and there being surplus. However, it is obvious that the â€Å"Little Emperors† are going to have to support China in their time of need, which is due to the one child policy, and it is whether they can do it or whether they have been spoiled to the extent that they are unable to run one of the biggest economies in the world. Lastly, the one child policy has probably been good for China itself, but the way that other nations now perceive China after the â€Å"brutal† one child policy, may cause them future problems.

Love is Close at Hand: The Age of Innocence Essay -- The Age of Innoce

Love is Close at Hand: The Age of Innocence November 1998, written for FILM 220: Aspects of Criticism. This is a 24-week course for second-year students, examining methods of critical analysis, interpretation and evaluation. The final assignment was simply to write a 1000-word critical essay on a film seen in class during the final six-weeks of the course. Students were expected to draw on concepts they had studied over the length of the course. INSTRUCTOR'S COMMENT: Brilliantly observed and beautifully written. The Age of Innocence is a film about confinement, restraint, and stoicism. Characters drift from tea, to the opera, and home again. They attend lavish parties, and observe the rigidity of English decorum; marry, have children, and die. Emotion is mollified by these various diversions, and all of upper-class New York appears to be content being anaesthetized by the idle task of upholding wealth and reputation. Only Countess Ellen Olenska and Newland Archer, with their feverish love for one another, test the bounds of this suffocating social structure. Newland and Countess Olenska's love is in strong contrast with the emotional vacuity of their peers, and it is this very contrast upon which the pathos of their story hinges. The lovers relish the moments they manage to steal with one another, absconding to a remote log cabin or savoring a clandestine carriage ride. The film is permeated by this sort of foreplay, teasing the viewer from beginning to end with auspicious meetings between the two lovers. Each time, however, the promising moments are snuffed by the pressures of New York high-society. Conjugal constraints force Newland and Countess Olenska to repress their longings, and in the drudgery of everyday ... ...untess Olenska's hand slides off Newland's as she leaves the table, and disappears from his life. Newland is left with a sculpture of May's hands, petrified and cold, sitting in his study to forever remind him of the Countess's delicate touch, and the ostensibly shallow and frigid wife who denied him his happiness. Referred to as his family's "strong right hand", Newland's composure slips and shatters over the course of the film as he becomes increasingly obsessed with Countess Olenska and the allure of her forbidden touch. The camera plays close attention to hands, reinforcing the rigidity and frigid decorum that pervade the film, offering the notion of touch as an escape from the pedantic lifestyle of upper-class New York. Ultimately, the simplicity of hands becomes the essence of life, love, and happiness, in a film saturated with customs, pageantry and pomp.