Call Center Report- from a cultural perspective (includes Essay

Call Center Report- from a cultural perspective (includes communication) - Essay Example The organization acquired necessary property for the call centre and a number of key management employees having British citizenship will supervise the call centre. A UK based company extended the business into the finance and insurance sector with a banking and finance division which was incorporated with around 50,000 customer accounts in mid 2000s. Overtime it became costlier to provide services to the customers; hence to achieve financial savings – in 2011, a decision was taken as part of the five-year strategic plan to open an inbound call centre outside the UK; afterward Manila, Philippine was chosen. The aim of this call centre is to achieve financial savings as well as the benefits of outsourcing while providing satisfactory services to the customers of the company. This report is being prepared to achieve the following objectives: Manila is one of the most energetic and diverse cities of Asia. This city is an extensive mass of humanity, acutely reflecting long heritage of cultures and classes. Straddling the Pasing River’s delta, the Philippines’ capital is actually a group of cities fused into one. There are plenty of highlights in each sub city within Manila. Almost all sorts of life-style facilities and entertainments are available in this city, a number of world’s biggest shopping-malls are in Manila. Depending on the interest of the people vibrant nightlives attract the tourist to Manila (Margaret W. Sullivan, â€Å"The Philippines: Pacific Crossroads†). In the Philippines call centres were started with the services of email responses and relevant managing services. These centres have the capabilities managing and maintaining all types of customer care, customer relations including technical support, travel services, education, financial services, business to business support, business to customer

An American novelist Essay Example for Free

An American novelist Essay An American novelist, historian, and literary historian-that was Alfred Bertram Guthrie, Jr. Having shown an excellent writing style and due to his love of Montana he went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for his fiction The Way West in 1959. This book mainly talks about Dick Summer’s return to the Wild West to guide some settlers on the hard journey to Oregon through a dangerous trail (Joseph, Guthrie, Peter, 1959, 18). A. B. Guthrie wrote with a unique sense of style, skill, artful simplicity and eloquent sentiment and these are all apparent in the opening, the discovering, the settling, the emergent and the exploiting of the American West. At the point in his life when he was merely a university graduate in journalism, he pioneered the hard knowledge that has helped young novelists ascend to greater heights. Guthrie gave much of himself and his time to advise young writers just as Professor Theodore Morrison, his mentor, did for him. Guthrie’s ability to pay attention to historical accuracy, his love of nature, an unfailing ear for dialect and realistic dialogue and the skill to create unforgettable characters that readers easily adapt to care about are the traits that set him aside from other writers. The distinctiveness of his ability to frame vivid, tightly compressed scenes in which those characters intermingle is pure intellect (Joseph, Guthrie, Peter, 1959, p. 31). In defining the American experience, Guthrie’s The Big Sky is a big aid in attempting to understand the conflict during this time. It provides descriptive evidence of the attitude of pioneers, the readiness of the pioneers, the empathy for the land that fur-trappers and backwoodsmen had during that time and how all the diverse people merged to form a nation. Guthrie’s most outstanding accomplishment is demonstrated in his ability to affirm the range, complexity, and the intensity of the colonization of the Missouri and Columbia drainage basins by real people which was his large subject (Joseph, Guthrie, Peter, 1959, p. 45) . Work Cited Joseph Howard, A. B. Guthrie Peter Hurd. Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome. Yale University Press, 1959, 18, 31, 45

Faulkner’s Exploration of the Human Spirit Essay -- Literary Analysis

William Faulkner accepted his Nobel Peace Prize in December 1950. During his acceptance speech, Faulkner proclaimed that the award was made not to him as a man, but to his life’s work, which was created, â€Å"out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before† (PF ). He felt that the modern writer had lost connection to his spirit and that he must reconnect with the universal truths of the heart—â€Å"love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice† (PF ). Through his characters voice and exposure of their spirit, Faulkner solidified man’s immortality by â€Å"lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past† (PF ). Although some critics have characterized his work as violet, dealing with immoral themes and the miseries and brutality of life; it can be argued that even his most sad and dep raved characters express positive virtues and personal strengths. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the portrayal and manifestation of the human spirit in a select few of William Faulkner’s literary characters, showing that they possess both human strength and flaws. So what is the human spirit and why is it significant? It is a somewhat indefinable concept. According to Faulkner the human spirit is the connection to the universal truths of the heart—â€Å"love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice† (PF). But more than that, he was concerned with the idea that man had become oblivious to the problems of the spirit; that he lost his awareness of the inner struggle of heart in conflict with itself. The human spirit can also be described in terms of surviving adversity, adapting to c... ...lkner. Ed. Malcolm Cowley. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Viking Press, 1946. Falkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. J. Cape & H. Smith, 1929. Gwynn, Frederick L. and Joseph L. Blotner, eds. Faulkner in the University: Class Conferences at the University of Virginia 1957-58. New York: Vintage Books, 1959. Howe, Irving. William Faulkner: A Critical Study. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press, 1975.Orig. 1951. Vintage Books, 1962. Meriwether, James B. and Michael Millgate, eds. Lion in the Garden: Interviews with William Faulkner 1926-1962. New York: Random House, 1968. O’Donnell, George M. â€Å"Faulkner’s Mythology.† William Faulkner: Four Decades of Criticism. Linda W. Wagner, ed. East Lansing, MI: MSU Press, 1973. 83-93. Teske, John A. â€Å"The Social Construction of the Human Spirit.† http://users.etown.edu/t/teskeja/schs.html

Trifles Essay examples -- essays papers

Trifles Trifles, written in the early 1900’s by Susan Glaspell, is a one-act play illustrating how women can overreact to their own emotions, allowing these emotions to cloud their judgment. This is shown by describing the feelings of two women who are willing to defend a suspect, blame the victim, and go so far as to hide evidence, to protect another woman from being charged with murdering her husband. Mrs. Wright is the suspect in the murder of her husband, who was strangled in his sleep, found with the rope still around his neck. The sheriff and an attorney are examining Mrs. Wrights home for evidence. Mr. Henderson, the attorney, speaking of Mrs. Wright says, â€Å"Here’s a nice mess, ..Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?† (Kirszner & Mandell 1166) Mrs. Hale, the suspects neighbor, defends Mrs. Wright immediately saying, â€Å"There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm. Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s h ands aren’t always as clean as they might be.† (1166) She says this even though she hardly knows Mrs. Wright. She admits this when she says, â€Å"I’ve not seen much of her of late years. I’ve not been in this house – it’s more than a year.† (1166) Even so, Mrs. Hale feels protective toward Mrs. Wright and defends her. Mr. Peters, the sheriff, and Mr. Henderson, go upstairs to look for a motive. Mrs. Hale is left talking to Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife, and they begin to put themselves in the shoes of the suspect. Th...

FDI

However, these institutions may also bring with them relaxed codes of ethical conduct that serve to exploit the neediness of developing nations, rather than to provide he critical support necessary for countrywide economic and social development. When a multinational invests in a host country, the scale of the investment (given the size of the firms) is likely to be significant. Advantages The possible benefits of a multinational investing in a country may include: HARD – Train the labor skills, other company start losing skilled workers. Improving the balance of payments – inward investment will usually help a country's balance of payments situation. The investment itself will be a direct flow of capital into the country and the investment is also likely to result in import substitution and export promotion.Export promotion comes due to the multinational using their production facility as a basis for exporting, while import substitution means that products previously i mported may now be bought domestically. Providing employment – FDA will usually result in employment benefits for the host country as most employees will be locally recruited. These benefits may be relatively greater given that governments will usually try to attract firms to areas where there is relatively high unemployment or a good labor supply. Source of tax revenue – profits of litigation's will be subject to local taxes in most cases, which will provide a valuable source Of revenue for the domestic government.Technology transfer – multinationals will bring with them technology and production methods that are probably new to the host country and a lot can therefore be learnt from these techniques. Workers will be trained to use the new technology and production techniques and domestic firms will see the benefits of the new technology. This process is known as technology transfer. Increasing choice – if the multinational manufactures for domestic mark ets as ell as for export, then the local population will gain form a wider choice of goods and services and at a price possibly lower than imported substitutes. National reputation – the presence of one multinational may improve the reputation of the host country and other large corporations may follow suite and locate as well.Disadvantages The possible disadvantages of a multinational investing in a country may include: Environmental impact – multinationals will want to produce in ways that are as efficient and as cheap as possible and this may not always be the best environmental practice. They will often lobby governments hard to try to ensure that they can benefit from regulations being as lax as possible and given their economic importance to the host country, this lobbying will often be quite effective. Access to natural resources – multinationals will sometimes invest in countries just to get access to a plentiful supply of raw materials and host nations are often more concerned about the short-term economic benefits than the long-term costs to their country in terms of the depletion of natural resources.

Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers No generational group is quite like that of the Baby Boomers. Seventy- eight million people belong to this unique, history-making bunch. To better understand how the Baby Boomers have impacted society, it is necessary to explore the defining events and moments, in addition to the distinct characteristics, that have set them apart from the rest.Baby Boomers have learned to persevere through struggle. Born in the prosperous post World War II period, this group has faced many obstacles on its own. With the passing of the G.I. Bill in 1944, record numbers of Baby Boomers were able to attend college and earn a degree. Many were impacted by the Vietnam War and draft protests (Wikipedia). In the midst of the war on foreign soil, Baby Boomers ignited reform and social change back home. They were the activists in both the monumental Civil Rights Movement as well as the Women's Liberation Movement (Hanks).English: The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in...These formative years for the group were also shaped by the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of the Baby Boomers witnessed the unfolding of various political scandals, most notably Watergate; this challenged their views on political leadership.Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, have used their past experiences to make a lasting impression on society. This generational group forms the most populous group and is usually divided into two groups. The Younger Boomers, aged 42-50, and Older Boomers, aged 52-60. Baby Boomers are leaders at heart. Whether it be in the political, academic, industrial, or cultural spectrum, this generational group commands respect (Wikipedia). Many high-profile people such as President George W. Bush, Steven Spielberg, and Bill Gates are among the Baby Boomer generation.Baby Boomers have a zest for life and do not mind taking full advantage...

The Issue Related To Child Abuse Social Work Essays

The Issue Related To Child Abuse Social Work Essays The Issue Related To Child Abuse Social Work Essay The Issue Related To Child Abuse Social Work Essay sexual maltreatment ( runing from exposure and caressing to intercourse, incest, and colza ) , and emotional maltreatment ( unequal parenting and break up unfavorable judgment ) . Drumhead The incidence of maltreatment depends on the combination of factors qualifying the parent and kid. Assorted types of maltreatment exist, and the effects of the job are legion and lay waste toing. It is clear that aid is needed for all both elements: the kid and parent. Systems Approach to Child Maltreatment Introduction Since kid maltreatment and disregard are non entirely societal, legal, psychological or medical jobs, they should non be manages by one subject or profession entirely. These are complex jobs affecting Judgess, attorneies, constabulary officers, societal workers, doctors, and pedagogues. Often, assisting attempts remain disconnected among assorted subjects, communications and coordination are hard to implement, there is a duplicate of attempts by viing bureaus, and tear and hostility exist among viing attacks to the job. [ The Social Construction of Child Abuse, 1975 ; 363-371 ] In response to the job of kid ill-treatment, several legal powers have created multidisciplinary kid protection squads to look into, buttocks, and dainty instances of kid maltreatment. The format and execution of these squads vary nationally, yet they normally include the accomplishments of legal, societal work, mental wellness, and medical professionals, and it has by and large been found that the squads corporate expertness provides more comprehensive, valuable counsel to an single social worker, research worker, justice, etc. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 7-13 ] Punitive V. Curative Approachs There are two general positions of how to near the job of kid maltreatment: The punitory attack positions child maltreatment as a offense for which parents must be punished. The curative attack positions child maltreatment as a household job necessitating intervention for the household. The attack to child, protection has bit by bit shifted from punitory to curative, with the current positions that intervention and rehabilitation, instead than penalty and requital, and is the best agencies of protecting endangered kids. Five major systems are involved in kid maltreatment jurisprudence enforcement, societal service, medical, and instruction systems and the positions of each will now be discussed. Law enforcement Perspective The constabulary officer s primary duty to the community is to forestall offense, apprehend felons, guarantee public safety, and enforce Torahs. Police may take portion in the probes of alleged instances of kid ill-treatment since they have the legal authorization to derive entree to the place and take the kid or maltreater from the place if the life or wellness of the individual is in danger. The bulk of kids, nevertheless, are comparatively in a nonthreatening mode so that the parent s response to this initial experience is receptive to therapy and does non prevent future bureau contacts. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 149-152 ] Although the coverage Torahs in many States require a constabulary probe and study, police engagement is rare and many constabularies sections refer the instance to a protective service bureau for probe and proviso of services. [ Overview of the Problem, 1975 ; 31 ] While some constabulary sections have initiated specifically trained kid abuse units, the bulk of constabulary sections have non. The police officer called to measure the scene of suspected kid maltreatment normally lacks the preparation and diagnostic accomplishments necessary to measure the earnestness of the state of affairs and find appropriate action for the public assistance of the household. This issue stems from the attitude that any assisting map necessitating the usage of interpersonal accomplishments diminishes the masculine authorization image of the constabulary, and the strong belief that assisting people is basically a societal work map that is distinct from the existent work of the constabulary. [ Overview of the Problem, 1975 ; 40 ] Realistically, the constabulary officer can be trained to go more of a specializer in managing household crises without compromising the primary map of keeping jurisprudence and order. Bard suggests that alterations are needed in the co nstabulary organisational construction, that cooperation with other assisting systems are needed, and that intensive preparation plans in household crisis intercession should be instituted. [ Overview of the Problem, 1975 ; 41 ] These alterations would enable the officer to move with greater effectivity and personal satisfaction and to the benefit of society. [ Overview of the Problem, 1975 ; 42 ] Another issue is that juvenile constabulary research workers are short-handed and overworked. Because of the low precedence they place on the job of kid maltreatment, constabulary decision makers tend to restrict the figure of research workers may besides reflect the traditional attitude that the function of constabulary is maintain jurisprudence and order, non the advocate and intervene in domestic jobs. Social Service Perspective By virtuousness of their preparation and occupation function, most societal workers are sensitive to the job, and are able to place and therefore study suspected instances of ill-treatment. The societal worker ( besides referred to as a protective service worker ) conducts the probe, appraisals, and intervention of instances. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 221-235 ] Because of the nature of societal work preparation, societal workers tend to see kid maltreatment within the broader context of the household kineticss and interaction forms, instead than concentrating on the maltreatment itself. If a household is collaborating with the intervention, a societal worker will frequently avoid constabulary intercession and possible tribunal proceedings, experiencing that these would be counterproductive to a curative relationship with the household. [ Child Abuse Case Identification and Reporting, 1977 ; 7 ] However, if a kid is in utmost danger, or if the worker feels that by d escribing, more resources and intervention would go available for the household, the societal worker will describe a instance to the constabulary. Social workers frequently find themselves in a quandary between what they feel they should make as required by their occupation and what they personally experience would be in the best involvements of the kid and the household. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 221-235 ] Many societal workers feel that the best manner to manage ill-treatment is to do every attempt to maintain the kid in the place and maintain the household integral while step ining with supportive services ( housewifes, twenty-four hours attention, guidance, etc. ) With the belief that surrogate attention and institutional attention are unequal replacements and abused kids will normally return place voluntarily, the current tendency is to maintain the kid with his natural parents and learn the parents more effectual parenting accomplishments. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 221-235 ] A major issue in societal service sections is that more support is needed to supply a larger staff, increased preparation, and more outreach work in the community. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 221-235 ] Protective service workers are by and large overworked and underpaid due to deficits of support and staff. Another job that faces societal workers is a deficiency of cooperation among community bureaus. Often bureaus will decline to portion information with a societal service section, fearing that they will be robbed of the instance when, in fact, the societal service section s purpose is to derive a better apprehension of a instance in order to supply more complete services. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 221-235 ] Social worker burnout is another important job. Working with maltreatment instances is an highly demanding undertaking which requires exceeding sensitiveness. Social workers must be able to accept cordial reception and rejection without experiencing the demand to revenge. Due to emotional exhaustion, many workers lose their sensitiveness and burnout , thereby going uneffective as assisting individuals. A self-help group composed of protective service workers has emerged to supply a good support system for workers who daily sustain emotionally run outing experience and need an mercantile establishment to vent their defeat. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 235-237 ] Medical Position The doctor s chief function in kid maltreatment instances is to be an accurate pathologist and to supply medical intervention. [ The Child Protection Team Handbook, 1978 ; 39 ] Many experts believe that physicians are the professionals most qualified, to place kid maltreatment, yet many physicians find that naming maltreatment is highly hard for several grounds. Doctors, in general, have merely minimum preparation related specifically to child raising and ill-treatment ; many have non mastered interviewing accomplishments and observation techniques which are necessary in placing maltreatment ; and many do non obtain information from patients unless it is volunteered. [ Child Abuse Case Identification and Reporting ; 1977 ; 8-8 ] Although sensing of kid maltreatment is portion of the duty of doctors, they may be hesitating to describe it ; even though it is illegal non to describe it. The issue of confidentiality, privateness, and professional moralss enter into the doctor s determination devising procedure. The doctor may experience that professional moralss involved in the physician patient relationship preclude describing a instance of maltreatment. Possible liability, possible harm to a doctor s pattern, and the desire to avoid the possibility of attesting in tribunal or covering with angry parents are principles for a physician s non describing kid maltreatment. Ultimately, the doctor s major concern should be the patient s public assistance ; that is what is best for the kid. As with other professionals, the diagnosing and study of child maltreatment is a affair of the doctor s judgement. Education Position The instructors function topographic points them in a premier place for roll uping information about kids and their place environment. Since they have continual day-to-day contact with kids over long periods of clip, they are able to detect any unusual fortunes and alterations in a kid s visual aspect and behaviour, which allows them to do determinations about suspected instances of ill-treatment. They may go leery of a kid who becomes excessively aggressive, overactive, or who all of a sudden becomes really inactive and withdrawn. Children who are systematically tardily for school, come to school excessively early, hesitate to travel place, or are absent without sensible accounts, may be demoing indicants of possible maltreatment. Teachers are able to detect the kid s interaction with his equals, grownups, aliens, and detect his behaviour at drama. Besides, instructors have an chance to go acquainted with the kid s parents and organize some feeling of the kid s household life and place environment and of the parents grade of involvement and concern for the kid. Despite the fact that instructors are in a premier place to indentify and describe suspected child maltreatment, they frequently have their ain position of what constitutes good parenting patterns. Many instructors tend to overlook maltreatment, since they themselves believe in the patterns of rough subject in the schoolroom. Others are keenly cognizant of maltreatment, and position it as a manifestation of household jobs in the kid s place. Another current issue is the resistance voiced by parents and communities sing compulsory coverage, by school forces, of suspected kid maltreatment instances. Many parents view the instructor s duty to describe suspected instances of ill-treatment as an invasion into the privateness of household personal businesss. Communities have opposed it due to concern over the confidentiality of records. The National Center on Child Abuse has observed that, in general, community response to describing kid maltreatment through the school system has been highly negative ; therefore, community instruction, support, and engagement are critical. Decision Each profession has its ain function, undertaking, and position on managing instances of ill-treatment, and these functions, unluckily, frequently overlap, or otherwise come into struggle, doing a duplicate of attempts, deficiency of services. Many research workers conclude that a multidisciplinary squad attack is more effectual manner of pull offing the job of kid maltreatment. Decision The direction of job of kid maltreatment is in a province of alteration and alteration. The Torahs and processs are obscure and vary from legal power to legal power. The figure of reported instances of ill-treatment has been turning at a gait that overwhelms the professionals who process them. This addition is straight related to the alteration in the Torahs sing compulsory coverage and unsusceptibility from malpractice suits every bit good as to alter in our societal construction. Further research is needed to find the current incidence and badness of kid maltreatment and disregard ; to clear up the relationships between the psychological, societal, familial, and economic factors and child ill-treatment ; to research promising preventative and intervention techniques ; and to measure the effectivity of bing plans. Child maltreatment affects our full society. It is no longer merely a household job but a societal, legal, moral, and medical concern. It concerns non merely the kid and the maltreater: all of us are involved as neighbours, friends, relations, citizens, professionals as homo. It is naif to believe that child maltreatment can be eradicated wholly. However, like so many other social jobs, a conjunct attempt can relieve the job to some extent and cut down the emotional and fiscal costs. The costs are incalculable. For the abused and ignored kid there is terrible physical and emotional hurting. For the maltreater there may be feelings of insufficiency, insecurity, bitterness, defeat, guilt, and shame. For the populace there is the disbursal of medical intervention, tribunal proceedings, Foster attention, bar undertakings, and intervention plans. In add-on, since every abused kid is potentially an opprobrious parent and unstable grownup, there is the inestimated cost to society of perpetuating the job from coevals to coevals.

Problem Solving Strategies

Problem Solving Strategies The type of problem solving strategy you use depends, in part, on the type of situation you are facing. For instance, finding the answer to a mathematical equation requires different skills than writing an essay on the differences between two philosophers views on religion. Problem solving is considered to be the process of finding solutions to difficult issues.  The type of  problem solving  strategy you use depends, in part, on the type of situation you are facing. For instance, finding the answer to a mathematical equation requires different skills than writing an essay on the differences between two philosophers views on religion. One has a fixed, set answer; the other is subject to interpretation. THE ART OF PROBLEM SOLVING Problem Solving Strategies Below are a few problem-solving strategies, how each works and when they are appropriate: ALGORITHMS. These types of problem-solving techniques rely on a set formula that allows you to arrive at one fixed answer. Good examples of algorithms are mathematical formula and computer programs. HEURISTIC. Heuristic problem-solving tactics are commonly referred to as rule of thumb strategies. These tactics are based on past experience and dont usually arrive at a single, fixed answer. Such problem-solving techniques are used when an exact answer isnt necessary when a range or an approximation is good enough. An example of using a heuristic problem-solving technique is estimating how long it will take you to drive home from campus. If, on previous trips, it has taken between 30 and 35 minutes, its likely that the next trip will take the same amount of time. However, unusually heavy traffic or construction could change this answer. CONSTRUCTIVE CONTROVERSY. This problem-solving technique, developed in the late 1970s, involves presenting your proposed solution to a group of other people, defending your idea, listening to their input and modifying your idea based on their feedback. This approach works well for team projects. INSIGHT. This technique is less structured, but often very effective. This is the let me sleep on it way of solving problems, such as when you awake with an answer to a problem or the answer comes to you in the shower or on the way to class. This technique relies on the subconscious using our past experiences to formulate an answer to a similar problem to those weve dealt with in the past. Since you have no way of knowing if youll arrive at an answer this way, this is obviously a poor technique to use for projects with a deadline. BRAINSTORMING. Brainstorming unleashes the talents of multiple team members on a single project. This technique involves throwing out tentative ideas, discussing each ideas merits and challenges and using the best of these possible solutions to solve the problem. DIVIDE AND CONQUER. Some projects, such as reading an entire text or writing a 5,000-word paper, can seem overwhelming. Dividing those huge projects into smaller, more manageable segments, such as reading a chapter a night or writing 500 words a week, often makes them easy to handle. RESEARCH. This problem-solving tactic makes use of other peoples past experience with similar problems to solve a current problem. As the name implies, this technique involves studying past performances and applying this acquired knowledge to the task at hand. Problem-solving strategies are a necessary part of college, the work environment, and everyday life. The better you become at the different types of strategies and at determining which type to use in which situation, the easier you will find not only your college studies but navigating the world at large. PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS In case you are working on a problem solving assignment, and are having difficulties with it, would be happy to assist. Feel free to contact our writers and they will help you to work through the assignment. Our staff will assign writers with suitable backgrounds and adequate experience. This will result in a paper that is properly written and formatted, with thorough background research and a solid literature base. Feel free to contact us anytime  or place an order and we will gladly help you.

Factors of Stress among International Students in University of South Essay

Factors of Stress among International Students in University of South - Essay Example The universities in Western countries like UK, Australia, USA or Canada are considered as a hub of providing state of the art facilities to its students and educate them in a manner that they become more competitive in the employment arena as compared to students seeking education in their local national universities (Poyrazil et al., 2011). This is because of the low standards followed by local national universities or macroeconomic factors that have a direct impact on educational institutions weakening the education system. For this reason, Western universities attract thousands of international students who are looking for sophisticated knowledge management mechanisms and technologically driven education delivery systems. The international students’ population in the USA, UK, and Australia has increased greatly in the last two decades due to strength in purchasing power in emerging economies across the globe (Yan & Berliner, 2011). The trend of growth or an increase in the number of enrolment of international students in foreign universities reflects that the number of students is likely to continue to grow in the coming years (Eustace, 2007). It is evident that international students complete their studies in foreign countries with ease however, they still they need to cope up with challenges such as language barriers, cultural differences, and financial obstacles etc. These factors contribute to the overall feeling of being lost or left out that international students face when they move to another country for seeking education. In addition to these factors, another major hurdle is the lack of confidence amongst the international students, which stems from the differences in social interaction norms followed by the local students and international students (Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). On the whole, these stressors might become so severe that they start to affect international students’ academic and personal lives, which in return affect their e fforts to become part of the new cultural settings that they are not familiar with. As a result, the happiness level of being in a foreign country and alone reduces which contributes to the reduction in the morale and results in sadness or disappointment (Yeh & Inose, 2003). Considering this background, the current research work focuses on understanding whether or not international students experience stress en route to completing their studies in foreign countries.

Production and Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Production and Exchange - Essay Example Much as this is still debatable, questions abound as to whether these were the only issues that existed and if these issues were the sole drivers for ancient activities (Hirth 203-207). The narrow view of the above archeological developments is the main reason that instigated the modern archaeologies in broadening the perspective and coming up with new approaches to archeological research which are able to put complexities that arose in human society into clear focus. They therefore found out that political economies were just among the mix of different strategies used by the ancient societies to mobilize resources which in essence did cross-cut through the production processes, service, and subsequent distributions to various societal sectors (Hirth 203-207). The interest of archaeologies has therefore been elicited by the fact that they saw the need to try and identify the aforementioned mix of the various strategies so that this could work as a first platform for the reconstructio n of the pre-historical political economy structures. They hence have to prove the fact that indeed, the elites within a given society would strive to gaining control on resources and mobilizing these resources from numerous unrelated sources as much as they can and in doing so, they end up invoking a high sense and set of principles that are put to practice (Kelly and Hurst 182-118). The interest has further been compounded by the fact that these components or principles of society are the shapers of the political economy in that they take up the form of ideological issues, context, accumulation, and matrix control. The archeologists see these as the common mechanisms which are in essence applied in the creation of resources, manipulation of people and information, and the eventual expropriation practices which are normally applied to the societies that might exist in different times and having very unique levels of societal organization (Spencer 209-218). Reconstructing the trade networks of the prehistoric periods could also help the archeologists in the understanding of some of the dynamics which are related to cultural interactions and inter-border changes that are being experienced in the world today (Kelly and Hurst 182-118). The above renewed interest in this reconstruction could be attributed to the fact that the past archeological activities only emphasized on the identification of evolving of political organizations instead of trying to reconstruct the relationships of economics which actually underscored them. They pose an argument that past trade and exchanges during the prehistoric era were more than just mere production and consumption of goods and services. The argument put forward is, the exchange of good was also a cause for cultural and social experiences’ exchange (Spencer 209-218). How archaeologists determine the extent of prehistoric trade/exchange They use the ancient data such as obsidian discoveries which are analyzed to give c ertain evidences and assumptions. Interpretation of this Obsidian Dispersal is used by archeologists as the basic data that can illustrate trade and exchanges between communities during the prehistoric times. As a general approach, the archeologists are able to point out the sources of origin of the archeological

Music under Stalin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music under Stalin - Essay Example The RAPM which dominated the 1920s and 1930s also advocated for anti-Western aesthetics that could be seen in works such as Lady Macbeth and led to the realization of the commencement of the Soviet musical history. Members of this group such as Marian Koval became one of the greatest critics of the works of Shostakovich (Edmund 2000, p. 88). There were other groups that were not as influential as RAPM such as Muzyka-massam which translates to music to the masses founded in 1929 to produce music to the citizens. Much, later, there has been political meaning given to the music written by Russian composers such as Shostakovich in which the works were overtly propagandist in nature such as the Eleventh Symphony that were a protest against the Soviet Union under Stalin. Shostakovich also composed music that could be said to be formalist when the RAPM was influential such as the opera â€Å"The Nose† and the ballets â€Å"Bolt and The Golden Age† that showed disdain for the m usic performed by RAPM. Despite the good works by artists such as Shostakovich and Prokofiev amongst other composers, they underwent a lot of repression in the year 1948 when the regime through its secretary general issued a decree denouncing them for their formalism and thus their music was suppressed with no publications or performances. Music under Stalin The Soviet regime’s under Stalin and those who adopted Stalinism had a stranglehold on the music that was supposed to be produced and composed that made creativity a difficult affair. However, some artists such as Shostakovich, Prokofiev and others managed to create musical masterpieces with distinct messages mainly to counter propaganda and inspire revolutionary purposes amongst the masses (Fairclough 2012, p. 68). There is still very limited understanding of the Soviet reality as concerns the music that was played and performed under Stalin. This incomprehension often leads to the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the motivations and activities of those who composed and performed music including their meaning in the Soviet Union under Stalin. For example Shostakovich rarely explained his musical pieces with a program emphasizing no reference or illusions to his attitude towards the Soviet regime. Instead, he preferred confiding in a circle of friends whom he could t rust as discussing his music elsewhere would have killed his musical career. The revered Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin states that during the 1950s, nobody wanted to go to the gulag as at that time there was no independent judiciary in Russia as the Communist party was the only jury with Stalin as the assumed judge. There is clear evidence that music was mostly composed for the omnipotent regime which sought to control the citizens both physically and spiritually as shown by the music of Prokofiev and Shostakovich. These two geniuses of Russian music were later accused amongst other Soviet musicians of not composing music that was accessible to the masses with their music christened ''antinarodnaya† which implied that their music was against the people. In â€Å"The War Symphonies: Shostakovich against Stalin† by Larry Weinstein, the author states that the film is clearly made to counter the propaganda of the

The 1920's And the American Dream Speech or Presentation

The 1920's And the American Dream - Speech or Presentation Example In the 1920s, the viewpoint of the American Dream focuses on personal success in life regardless of their origin and social status. According to this perspective, the most important thing is for an individual to work hard in attaining their goals. Reference to this can be drawn from the book â€Å"Advertising the American Dream: Making way for Modernity† by Marchand Roland. In this work, the author gives a description of a character in which case he feels this figure represents the quintessential 1920s person who is living the American Dream. The writer says that this man not only succeeds in the fast-paced, contemporary urban milieu of tall storied structures, taxicabs, and luxury driven people, but also perceives himself well-experienced in the latest moves in fashion, modern lingo as well as popular activities. The book’s relationship to the American Dream is seen in the number of times it talks about the Great Gatsby. On the contrary, any reader of the work cannot d eny the link between the writers definition of the man living the American Dream and the Portrayal of Jay Gatsby, who works his way from a humble background to become a millionaire (Marchand, 99). In the Great Gatsby, the protagonist epitomizes the issue of personal success. We see an individual who is financially successful as well as in the social status, ultimately creating a novel individual out of himself regardless of his underprivileged past life. It is however evident that all the wealth that Gatsby acquires associated with the American Dream eventually lead to its demise. Consumerism and Excess material Wealth The 1920s and the American Dream is marked by consumerism and acquisition of excess material wealth. This identifies the culture of wealthy Americans as seen in Gatsby. At any moment Gatsby finds the opportunity, she displays seen through the lurid style of outfit. She has a huge mansion in which case she organizes frequent parties to show off to the rest of the Ameri can populace how hard working she has become. The American Dream in the 1920s can as well be referred to in terms of Veblen’s work, â€Å"The Theory of the Leisure Class.† He points out that a person gaining and sustaining the admiration of men is not sufficient through controlled wealth and power (Fitzgerald, 140). According to Veblen, the wealth and power should be put into substantiation. Veblen who advocates for the idea of conspicuous consumption that precisely describes the events in the Great Gatsby is attempting to establish that individuals that emanate from humble backgrounds and attain wealth through their hard-work, try to destroy reverence and admiration by showing off through purchases. Houses shown in the Great Gatsby are conceivably the most evident indicators of the inexorable completion to proclaim personal status. This is because a majority of the rich try to outshine each other in the size and amenities of their homes. It can therefore

BUSINESS MODELS, CUSTOMER & CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES Assignment - 1

BUSINESS MODELS, CUSTOMER & CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES - Assignment Example The company can use the pricing strategy. That can involve a low penetration cost that is backed by high low levels of advertising. That would ensure that the consumers are attracted to the company products by the low prices. The other strategy could be the use of high prices and high levels of advertising. The high prices would compensate for the high advertising costs that are incurred by the company. The company should not rush into manufacturing because the amount investment could end up as a loss if the products are not approved. If I was the CEO of the company, I would first await for the approving of the product before I go ahead with manufacturing. The main idea of the business was to establish a strategy that will ensure that there is stability of the business even if there are instances of substitutes or entrants of new companies into the industry. That will ensure that the business gains brand royals that will ensure that there is smooth running of the business. There is also an attempt to ensure that the quality of products is maximized so as to reduce the bargaining of customers. The best customer experience I had was when I was been attended to in a local hotel. The service in the hotel was awesome and it was as a result of the good customer service that I received from the hotel attendants. I had expectations of a good service; however, I did not expect it to be of such a high quality as it was displayed in the hotel. The service was awesome as compared to my expectations and that is what made my day awesome. The service counts as my best service because I was able to at least have quality customer service and the hotel had a good feedback system in which I could air my grievances or complains (Brock, 2007). The worst service that I received was in a hospital. I expected the hospital to offer quality services because it was dealing with sick people. The services at the hospital were horrible from the

The 1920's And the American Dream Speech or Presentation

The 1920's And the American Dream - Speech or Presentation Example In the 1920s, the viewpoint of the American Dream focuses on personal success in life regardless of their origin and social status. According to this perspective, the most important thing is for an individual to work hard in attaining their goals. Reference to this can be drawn from the book â€Å"Advertising the American Dream: Making way for Modernity† by Marchand Roland. In this work, the author gives a description of a character in which case he feels this figure represents the quintessential 1920s person who is living the American Dream. The writer says that this man not only succeeds in the fast-paced, contemporary urban milieu of tall storied structures, taxicabs, and luxury driven people, but also perceives himself well-experienced in the latest moves in fashion, modern lingo as well as popular activities. The book’s relationship to the American Dream is seen in the number of times it talks about the Great Gatsby. On the contrary, any reader of the work cannot d eny the link between the writers definition of the man living the American Dream and the Portrayal of Jay Gatsby, who works his way from a humble background to become a millionaire (Marchand, 99). In the Great Gatsby, the protagonist epitomizes the issue of personal success. We see an individual who is financially successful as well as in the social status, ultimately creating a novel individual out of himself regardless of his underprivileged past life. It is however evident that all the wealth that Gatsby acquires associated with the American Dream eventually lead to its demise. Consumerism and Excess material Wealth The 1920s and the American Dream is marked by consumerism and acquisition of excess material wealth. This identifies the culture of wealthy Americans as seen in Gatsby. At any moment Gatsby finds the opportunity, she displays seen through the lurid style of outfit. She has a huge mansion in which case she organizes frequent parties to show off to the rest of the Ameri can populace how hard working she has become. The American Dream in the 1920s can as well be referred to in terms of Veblen’s work, â€Å"The Theory of the Leisure Class.† He points out that a person gaining and sustaining the admiration of men is not sufficient through controlled wealth and power (Fitzgerald, 140). According to Veblen, the wealth and power should be put into substantiation. Veblen who advocates for the idea of conspicuous consumption that precisely describes the events in the Great Gatsby is attempting to establish that individuals that emanate from humble backgrounds and attain wealth through their hard-work, try to destroy reverence and admiration by showing off through purchases. Houses shown in the Great Gatsby are conceivably the most evident indicators of the inexorable completion to proclaim personal status. This is because a majority of the rich try to outshine each other in the size and amenities of their homes. It can therefore

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Movie Review Example Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon From the Chinese cultural perspective, the theme of enlightenment refers to the empowerment and mastery into many realms, and in the context of this film, it involves detaching human attachments and achieving emptiness. This theme manifests through the two main characters of Li. The film contrasts the reality of human attachments and its significance in life with that of the emptiness which can lead to enlightenment. That is, the film views the human life as an illusion and detachment as the ultimate way to enlightenment. In the film, Li mentions his attachment to the world as an illusion thereby implying the need for emptiness for attaining the real enlightenment. According to this concept of emptiness, once a person is able to see or feel nothing of the world, then he/she can truly possess the things that are real, which would pave the way for enlightenment. This concept is similarly focused in the film, The Matrix, which represents enlightenment in a modern sci-fi dimension. The f ilm relies on the doctrine of Sunyata, or emptiness, which means everything in the world undergo constant suffering and so breaking free from it facilitates the soul to become enlightened. The director gracefully features the theme of love and even embraces a gentle romantic humanism as a result of failing emptiness. Although, as above-discussed emptiness can lead to enlightenment, when there are love feelings or attachments then emptiness is not possible thereby impeding enlightenment as well.

Student Life Essay Example for Free

Student Life Essay Every morning I wake up and gaze out my dormitory window at a gorgeous campus with modern buildings surrounded by clean fields of clean-cut grass. The only thing that might appear odd to any average SU student about this sight is that this beautiful looking campus was not their own. As I explore the surrounding campus near my dorm, Sadler Hall, there are several observations made which helped to determine the areas of trivial conflict and areas which seem to reflect social norms. One major observation made in this activity was the small community known as ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry). Several subtle and some obvious observations were looked at to determine how this area fit in with our community. There are several vital facts one should know about SUNY ESF. The college is located directly behind the Carrier Dome and is a separate school from Syracuse University. My dorm, Sadler Hall, is one of the few buildings which surround ESF near the edge of campus. In order to drive into ESF, or even Sadler Hall, there is a security shack where you must first check in with a guard. The ESF campus is strikingly different from the SU campus in that the majority of the buildings are very modern and the community as a whole is much smaller. The campus houses no dormitories or eating quarters, so all ESF students share these facilities with SU students. While doing further research I also found that most of the other recreational services are shared with SU students. One of the major preconceptions of ESF students is that they are all tie-die wearing, tree hugging, pot-smoking hippies. When first realizing that ESF existed, I found myself picking out in my head the ESF students from the SU students. The student diversity at ESF is in fact immense for having such a small community of students. Matt Renkas, my RA and an ESF student, informed me of what it is like being an ESF student and living on SU campus. ESF and SU both offer a choice for freshman to have Learning Communities. These are organized groups living together in the same dorm that share similar majors. Learning Communities for ESF are fairly small and only exist on the eighth floor of Sadler, and on the third floor of Day. It is an interesting idea that while at the same time that SU is trying to stray from having students rooming with similar character, those ESF and SU students in learning communities are being isolated from the rest of the school. The major question that arose from my observations was that if ESF and SU students are living and eating in the same quarters, why should they have a social advantage over others? I came to the conclusion that SU and ESF students therefore see each other as a separate community and social group. There are several other observations and facts that support this idea of separation between SU and ESF students. At the 2004 Freshman Convocation, a clear separation allowed first year students to identify who was SU and who was ESF. On the top pear of the stands, one could see a small group of students all wearing tie-die shirts. During the middle of the chancellors speech she made a reference to the ESF students and they all cheered with excitement. At that point I realized what a small population of freshman there are in ESF, and also how separated they seemed from the SU students. With such a small community of students, it made sense that they had so much pride and excitement to be freshman. Not only is ESF one of the hardest SUNYs in New York to get into, but the ESF students also graduate together in the same ceremony as the SU students. Once again this creates a separation between two social groups that are supposed to be one community. In addition, a way that SU students themselves exclude ESF student is in Greek Life. Only 4% of ESF students belong to a sorority or fraternity. This percentage is extremely low even if the community is not very large. Ultimately, this problem spawns from the fact that these two groups are so far apart in social habits. Although ESF shares several facilities with SU campus, the ESF campus appears to first year students, like myself, as an area designated for ESF students only. These boundaries that exist in our community are designated for the people for whom they were built. This idea goes hand in hand with what Sibley states,  What I hope to do is to clarify some of the spatial and social boundary processes which separate some groups and individuals from society and render deviant those who are different. As a freshman in Sadler Hall, I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a time when I need to use the ESF campus? Although it is an understanding that ESF provides a wonderful amount of resource for SU students, at appearance it seems almost like an annex. Its separated by stone walls labeled SUNY ESF, and a glance at the architecture reveals a distinct separation from the still diverse SU campus. Students even possess different ID cards that are green that distinguish them as ESF and not SU. After analyzing the ESF campus, I decided to take a closer look at the social life of ESF students on my floor. I decided that I was going to find out who on my floor was an SU students and who was an ESF student. This means I was going to have to go beyond fieldwork, and start talking to all the people on my floor. It really never occurred to me that anybody on my floor was in ESF, but I had some idea about who may or may not be. After talking to Matt, my Resident Advisor from ESF, I was informed that there were people on my floor in ESF, but I was not told who they were. I know almost all the people on my floor, except for a few, and I decided I was going to find out the ones in ESF. As I closely observed the hallways, I began to notice several promotional signs from the ESF Office of Student Activities. I never really took time to read them or even notice they existed. One of my floor mates named Kathryn, who I had recently made friends with, was my first guess for someone who was in ESF. She was a stereotypical hippie and she boasted about it all the time. When I asked her what school she was in, I was surprised to find she was a student at SU. All of my stereotypical preconceptions failed my attempt to guess the ESF students and made my realize how much I really dont know about the people around me. I came away from this exercise realizing that there really wasnt a stereotypical ESF students and that people with different lifestyles and backgrounds can be found everywhere, even at SU. The point of this essay is not to try and change the relationship between the SU and ESF campus. Like Luthra states on page two of his essay, all I am trying to do is to recognize and distinguish what the differences are but not change them. By identifying these differences, the purpose is to essentially provide an alternative reading of the ESF and SU campus. From much observational analysis, I think it is safe to say that the ESF campus, set apart and isolated from that of the SU campus, can be classified as a place of social isolation. Other forms of exclusion are made through programs such as the Learning Communities which maybe need to become larger in order to function accordingly. In conclusion, there were several observations made which helped to determine the areas of trivial conflict and areas that seemed to reflect social norms. These areas of conflict in the end became question for what society or community accepted. If there is any more to learn about the separated and shared areas of the two campus, it is that in order to create a more diverse and equal society, there can be no separate boundaries that restrict access for either party. These prohibitions discussed are maintained in practice by the community and society which continue to clearly separate a person from a certain place.

Functions Of Operating Systems

Functions Of Operating Systems Operating system is the program, which usually installed into the computer by a boot program. It manages all other programs in computer. Sometimes it also called as OS. These programs also called applications. The application uses the operating system by making requests for services through API (Application Program Interface). Sometimes users can directly use the operating system through GUI (Graphical Users Interface) or command language. Operating system is a program that allows you to work with hardware and software on your computer. Basically, there are two ways to use operating system on your computer. The two ways are as follows: 1. for ex., DOS, you type a text commands and computer give respond to you according to your command. This is called command line operating system. 2. With a GUI (Graphical User Interface) operating system (ex., windows). You relate with the computer through graphical user interface with pictures and buttons by using the mouse and keyboard. An operating system is software that enables the computer hardware to communicate and function with the computer software. Most desktop or laptops come or preloaded with Microsoft windows. Macintosh computers are loaded with Mac OS. Many computers or servers use the Linux or UNIX operating system. The operating system is the first thing loaded on the computer- without operating system (OS) the computer is useless and we cant do any functions on it. Now at the moment, operating systems have started to use OS in small computers as well. If we mess with electronic devices, we can see the operating system in many of the devices, which we use every day, from mobile phone to wireless access points. The computer use in these little devices is more powerful and they can easily run operating system and applications of it. The main aim of the operating system is to organize and control the hardware and software so that the device behaves in a flexible way. All computers does not having operating systems, for ex the computer that controls the microwave oven in your kitchen, does not need operating system to work because it has only one set of job to do. The most common window operating systems developed by Microsoft. There are other hundreds of other operating system available for special-purpose applications, including manufacturing, robotics, and mainframes and so on. FUNCTIONS OF OPERATING SYSTEM As we talk about operating system, it does two things at the simplest level: It manages the hardware and software resources of the system. In desktop computers these resources such as processors, memory disk space and more. It provides stable, constant way of applications to deal with the hardware without having the full details of the hardware. The first task, managing the hardware and software resources and it is very important. The various programs and input methods complete for the attention of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and demand memory, storage and input/output (I/O) bandwidth for their own purposes. In this capability the operating system plays the good role of a good parent, and making sure that each application gets the necessary resources while playing efficiently with all other applications, as well as it plays good role of husbanding the limited capacity of the system. The second task is mainly important if there is more than one of a particular type of computer using the operating system. A constant application program interface (API) allows software to write an application on one computer and have a confidence to write a same application on other computer of the same type, even if the sum of the memory or the quantity of storage is different on the two machines. When computer is unique, an operating system can make sure that applications continue to run when hardware upgrades and updates occur. This is because of the operating system not the applications. One of the challenges facing developers is keeping their operating systems flexible enough to run hardware from the thousands of vendors manufacturing computer equipment. TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEM Within the family of operating system, there are four types of operating system based on the types of computers. The categories are: Real-time operating system (RTOS) Real time operating system used to control machinery, scientific instruments and industrial system. An RTOS hardly have little user-interface capacity, and no end-user utilities. A very important part of an RTOS is managing the property of the computer so that particular operations executes in same amount of time. In a complex machine, having a part move more quickly just because system resources are available may be just as catastrophic as having it may not move at all because the system is busy. Single-user, single task As the name implies, this operating system is designed to manage the computer so that one user can do one thing at a time. The Palm OS for Palm handheld computers is good example of modern single user, single task operating system. Single-user, multi tasking This is very popular operating system; most people use this operating system on their desktop and laptop today. Microsofts Windows and Apples Mac OS are both example of single user, multi tasking operating system. It will let a single user have several programs in operation at same time. For example, it is possible in Windows to write a not in Microsoft word while downloading a file from the internet while printing the text on e-mail message. Multi- user A multi user operating system allows many users to take advantage of the computer resources simultaneously. The operating system make sure that the requirements of the various users are balanced, and each of the program they are using has sufficient and separate resources so that the problem with one users doesnt affect the community of the users. UNIX, VMS and main frame operating systems, such as MVS, are the examples of the operating systems. Its important to differentiate multi user operating system and single user operating system that support networking. Windows 2000 can support hundreds or thousands of networked users.

money or your life :: essays research papers

A thought popped in my head as I was half way through the readings for this assignment and I wanted to share it with you. This is my last class until I graduate. I was supposed to take this course last semester and I waited because I had a lot going on in my life the past few months. This class is so much more beneficial to me now because I am in the â€Å"real world† and have been in it for awhile now. If I was to take this class while I was still going to college I really wouldn’t have gotten as much out of it. I think things happen for a reason and I am glad I’m taking this class now. With that said; I will get on to the readings†¦ In chapter 4 of â€Å"Your Money or Your Life† the whole concept of how much is enough is very interesting to me. The idea is finding fulfillment. In order to find fulfillment you need to find what you are looking for out of life. What are your dreams, what is your purpose in life? I have always had many dreams throughout my life. I also know that there is a purpose for me to be here on earth. Yet I still don’t know what exactly I want to do career wise. I am still looking for that exact purpose for me to be here. I strongly feel that you find this with experience. You need to get out there and experiment, absorb all the knowledge you get from others and your experiences. On page 121 the author discusses purpose. I know that I have a purpose in living. The author says that one way to find your purpose is answering the question, â€Å"Why are you doing what you’re doing?† I may be a little confused to make my decisions but there is always a purpose if I dig deep enough. There is always a meaning for my actions. I have not found that specific career that is a passionate commitment to me yet. I am determined to discover this mission in life. The steps the book gave on finding your mission I found it to be motivating and very helpful. The first one, work with your passion my mother has taught me throughout life. Do what you love to do and you will lead the happiest life possible.

Global Warming Essay -- Greenhouse Effect Climate Change

Global Warming, also known as the Greenhouse effect, is a problem everyone will soon have to face. The people of the younger generations should be educated about what Global Warming is and that it is caused due to the way people are treating the environment. Planet Earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, and life on earth has existed for more than 3.5 billion years. Humans have been on earth for 2 to 3 million years. It is only been in the past 200 years people have been affected by global warming. The last 40 years have been the most damaging.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the impacts of human influences have grown, so have the risks associated with those impacts. New technologies carry increasing risks, and the scale, frequency, and impacts of disaster caused or influenced by human activity are growing tremendously. The risks to the Earth ¡Ã‚ ¦s natural systems are becoming significantly concerning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world ¡Ã‚ ¦s population, currently 5.2 billion has grown from about 3 billion in 1960, and around 2 billion in 1925. Today it increased by almost 90 million each year, and is likely to reach 10 billion by 2025(Corson 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reason we currently have an atmosphere crisis is because of human impact on the gases which make up our atmosphere. Our atmosphere, which is made up of four distinct layers blankets our planet and protects up in many way. One way it protects us if from the harmful rays the sun radiates on our planet. Each layer differs from the others in temperature, density, composition and in the way it absorbs radiation from the sun. The atmosphere itself is some 300 miles thick. The first layer is the Troposphere. It is the lowest layer and extends higher than any airplane can travel, about 6.8 miles. Air in this layer is heated by the earth itself and for every 1000 feet the temperature drops 3.5 „a F. When it reaches the top of this layer the temperature is about - 70„a f. The next layer extends to about 30 miles. It is less dense than the underlying layer. Unlike the troposphere, temperature increases with altitude. This warming is caused by a layer of ozone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ozone is a form of oxygen. The ozone absorbs most of the sun ¡Ã‚ ¦s ultraviolet radiation. This has two important effects, First, it warms the air in the stratosphere. Second, it prevents much of the harmful rays from reaching the earth surface. Tempe... ...tities of pollutants are pouring into the atmosphere , posing health threat to humans, damaging the environment and changing the Earth ¡Ã‚ ¦s climate. Historically, the air has renewed itself through interaction with vegetation and the oceans. Today, however, this process is threatened by increasing use of fossil fuels, expanding industrial production, and growing use of motor vehicles.(Corson 220)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common and widespread pollutants currently emitted by human activities are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds particulate. Dozens of toxic chemicals are commonly found in the air surrounding urban areas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In recent years, many industrial nations have controlled air pollution with some success. Europe and North America are now suffering serious damage from acid deposition. Increasing pollution from the growing use of motor vehicles plagues many nations. Car sales in Western industrialized nations rose 71 percent from 1970 to 1986. Sources Cited National Research Council (NRC). 1993. Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment. ("The Corson Report.") Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Tanning Beds and Cancer

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, on an average day, nearly thirty million people tan indoors in the United States (â€Å"Skin Cancer Facts† 2011). What is even more alarming is, â€Å"a new study has shown that people who use tanning parlors once a month or more have an increased risk of developing malignant melanoma by 55%. Melanoma is one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer† (â€Å"Skin Cancer Facts† 2011). If this statistic does not scare those who use tanning beds, it should. Although a nice bronze glow accompanies your body after your trip to the tanning bed, a lifetime of trouble for your skin will follow, also. Is a nice tan really worth a lifetime of health concerns for your skin? To many, it is because of societies definition of beauty. Society thinks the idea of beauty involves harming their skin and receiving potential cancer in return for laying in a bed for â€Å"color†. This needs to change just as much as we need to stop the increase of skin cancer. One-way to stop this delusional sense of beauty and to decrease the number of skin cancer patients is to ban tanning beds. Tanning beds should be banned in the U. S. ecause although you may get instant, temporary, tan skin, developing a deathly cancer called melanoma can create more permanent unpleasant medical issues and the real idea of beauty needs to be re-established. To begin, many people have heard the term melanoma but it is important to know and understand what it is. According to the article â€Å"Melanoma Stage Three Prognosis,† Melanoma is a cancer that forms in the melanocytes of the skin. These are cells that make melanin, which colors our eyes, hair and skin (â€Å"Melanoma† 2011). These cells can be found in moles usually brown or black in color, but sometimes pink, red, or even blue. Not only can these moles and other spots be cancerous, they can be deadly. Melanoma is one of the deadliest cancers in America, and also one of the fastest spreading cancers (â€Å"Skin Cancer Facts† 2011). People do not recognize they are carriers, therefore do not receive adequate treatment, so it spreads to additional parts in your body, and very quickly. â€Å"This spreading is referred to as mestasis† (â€Å"Melanoma Stage Three Prognosis† 2011). As it spreads to other parts of the body it makes for a very difficult treatment because â€Å"lymph nodes start the invasion process of nearby tissue and form lesions on vital organs† (â€Å"Melanoma Stage Three Prognosis† 2011). As a result, â€Å"melanoma in the United States kills about 8,700 unlucky people every year† (â€Å"Skin Cancer Facts† 2011). Also, according to the American Cancer Society, there is an estimated â€Å"120,000 new cases of melanoma in the US are diagnosed in a year† (â€Å"Melanoma Skin Cancer† 2011). These statistics are alarming because we all could potentially make a choice to start decreasing these numbers. Using tanning beds is causing skin cancer which spreads quickly, can reach a stage that is extremely hard to treat and could lead to death. If tanning beds were banned, there would be fewer people dying from skin cancer because people wouldn’t be allowed to use them. Since using tanning beds is the number one cause of skin cancer itself, banning them should be a given. In addition to causing skin cancer, tanning beds are brainwashing people into thinking that being â€Å"tan† is the new beautiful. What ever happened to natural beauty, including pale skin? It is sad that our society has made women and men feel self-conscious about their color because tanning beds offer a â€Å"tan†. We have started a society where kids are judged because they are not pretty and â€Å"tan† like the others. As a result, kids and adults feel self-conscious and become depressed, sometimes leading to suicidal thoughts or even suicide itself, due to the lack of confidence they have in themselves. If tanning beds were banned kids and adults would not feel self-conscious about their skin because you wouldn’t be able to tan constantly without the real sun. Some say that even though tanning beds are banned, people will go on vacation and return home tan and people will feel the same way, but this â€Å"color† will be natural. Re-establishing the idea of natural beauty will benefit everybody and their confidence. Next, to prevent people from going tanning government officials need to ban tanning in the U. S. If people break this law, there will be federal consequences just as any other law has. Reason being, there are enough innocent people dying from skin cancer because of the natural sun, so by banning tanning beds we can save the lives of those who get cancer from the beds. Also, we can re-define the term beautiful so those who are self-conscious about their beautiful pale skin are confident in their natural beauty. If we enforce this new law, people will not feel as self conscious about their pale skin because there will be no other way to tan except by the natural sun. This will get people to realize that the natural way is the most beautiful way. In some states, there have been laws implemented to restrict minors from tanning. There have also been laws stating that you must have parent permission to be able to tan. These laws don’t work because minors use fake i. d. ’s or have other people sign for them (â€Å"Should Tanning Beds Be Banned† 1995). If we enforce the new law, we can be one step closer to stopping suicide caused by low self-esteem, and helping the depressed become confident in their bodies. With all these reasons as to why there should be a ban on tanning beds comes the other side of the argument. Some people believe â€Å"Imposing a ban on tanning salons would restrict the free choice of consumers† (‘Should tanning beds be banned? 1995†). If consumers are given correct information about the dangers of indoor tanning, then they should be able to weigh these risks against their own personal benefits from indoor tanning and decide for themselves if it would be a rational choice. Some say â€Å"the government should not tell consumers that they cannot assume certain risks, even if they are willing to do so, just because the government believes that the risks are too great† (â€Å"Should Tanning Beds Be Banned? † 1995). Some also believe that â€Å"not everyone develops cancer after visiting these salons, and consumers might be willing to take the gamble (â€Å"Should Tanning Beds Be Banned? 1995). People arguing against banning tanning beds believe that a ban on tanning salons would infringe the free choice rights of over one million citizens of the United States. In my opinion, the government should risk these unhappy citizens for decreasing the number of skin cancer patients. It should not matter if your â€Å"choice† is infringed upon because this new law will be saving the lives of many. In conclusion, tanning beds cause melanoma, which can lead to death. Tanning beds have also aided in changing the definition of beauty. If tanning beds were banned, we could stop the rise in skin cancer patients and save the lives of many. Also, we can boost those kids and adults’ self-esteem who still think their natural skin is beautiful despite how others who use tanning beds may make them feel. In the long run, we could reduce the number of depressed and even suicidal individuals who become self-conscious because of the â€Å"color† of their skin. This is an important decision to make because we can reduce the number of deaths and help kids and adults realize they are beautiful the way they are.

Management and Supply Function Essay

It should be emphasised from the outset that purchasing and supply management is executed as an integrated part of the firm’s broader management (as part of the logistics management or supply chain management approach) *Purchasing and supply PLANNING is part of the firm’s general planning, mainly because the continuous supply of raw materials components & services is of a strategic importance to the enterprise. The supply market is just as important for the firm’s survival continued profitability as the sales market is the firms own product. Firm’s general planning must be integrated. *The ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE of the purchasing and supply function should be aimed mainly @ linking into the firm’s overall structure in the most effective way. The purchasing and supply function primarily renders a service to the enterprise. *Purchasing and supply COORDINATION should be aimed @ harmonising and aligning the activities of the purchasing and supply function with those of the other business functions. When a firm vests the authority for the purchasing and supply function in 1 person or team. Advantages: ;gt;Standardisation of materials and products is possible because purchases are made at one point ;gt;Purchasing and supply staff are afforded the opportunity to become experts ;gt;Control over all aspects of the purchasing and supply function is improved ;gt;Administrative costs are reduced by eliminating duplication DECENTRALISED PURCHASING ; SUPPLY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Purchasing by different departments, branches or plants, while each of them enjoys an important measure of autonomy of decision making regarding the purchasing and supply function. Advantages: ;gt;Better liaision can be effected between decentralised purchasing and supply functions and the user functions of individual plants served by the purchasing and supply function ;gt;The needs users can be better satisfied because the purchasing and supply function knows them better ;gt;Different plants maintain their autonomy. Plant managers are often fully responsible  for the profitability of individual plants. According to the combined approach, common requirements of the different plants such as equipment and certain categories of raw materials, are purchased centrally head of office. The plants’ purchasing and supply functions are assisted by corporate   purchasing and supply in developing policies, procedures, and control measures, recruiting and training staff, auditing the   purchasing and supply performance of the plants. The main coordinating mechanisms of purchasing and supply management with other functions in the organisation, and with suppliers and customers, are definitely computer systems such as electronic data interchange(EDI), materials planning (MRPII) and distribution requirements planning (DRP). TWO TYPES OF COORDINATION Between purchasing and supply and other functional areas Purchasing coordination is lateral acts in an advisory/support method to the other functions in the enterprise. Between p and s and the supplier system Two dimensions to the coordination between p and s function and the supplier system. Firstly there is coordination with the whole supplier system and secondly with the individual suppliers. The flow of products and services from the supplier has to be effective, the p and s function has to ensure that coordination between them and the supplier ensures this occurs. This can be achieved by means of supplier alliances, integrated systems and inter-organisational teams. The supplier must become an extension of the buying enterprise. The chief coordinating mechanisms available to p and s management are open communication, strategic alliances, integrated systems, the conscious motivation of suppliers and standardisation of specifications, purchasing documents and purchasing procedures. CONTROL : PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE PURCHASING AND SUPPLYFUNCTION Control may be defined as a systematic attempt to reach objectives or set standards that accord with the enterprise’s goal, to observe actual perform- ance and compare it with the set standards, and to take corrective steps with a view to achieving the mission and goals of the enterprise. Objectives and basic principles of performance evaluation P and activities are complex, needs to have a control system. Feedback   on actual performance(measured against quantitative norms). This ensures that the p and s strategy is implemented at the various levels in the company. With this the p and s manager can monitor and improve the functions actual performance. Control ensures that all the other functions with p and s work optimally.

Quantitative Article #2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative Article #2 - Research Paper Example 137). The second population under study included emergency department (ED) nurses working at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin. A sample of 22 patients that needed NG tube reinsertion of tube placement check that presented themselves at the hospital participated in the study. The sample precluded patients who had certain medical complications including those who experienced vomiting tachypnea, and fever (Ho, Rainer & Graham, 2013, p. 138). Non-probability sampling was applied for the patients since not all patients had an equal chance of representation. Those with complications did not have a chance to be included as part of the sample. For the patients, accidental sampling was applied considering that only those patients who met the criteria and availed themselves at the hospital during the study period were featured in the study. Although opportunity sampling is often associated with bias and therefore reduces the representativeness of the sample and the generalisability of th e findings of the study, it was appropriate for this study since the samples were later randomized which served to increase the generalisabilility of the findings. The sampling plan applied was also appropriate considering time constraints and the limited number of patients that visit the hospital who are part of the population under study. While a sample of 22 patients seems small, the number has the capacity to produce reliable and generalizable results. A sample of 30 nurses participated in the study. The sampling of nurses was done in two stages. Given that all the nurses in the hospital had equal chance of participating in the study, probability sampling applied for the first stage of sampling. The second stage of sampling was based on convenience sampling considering that all those who returned their questionnaires featured in the study irrespective of

The Effects of Country-of-Origin on Willingness by Consumers to Pay Term Paper

The Effects of Country-of-Origin on Willingness by Consumers to Pay More for a Favorable Country Image - Term Paper Example Moreover, the authors also seek to draw a level of inference with regards to the overall impact that brand familiarity has on the relationship. As a means of performing such a level of inference into these determinants, the authors set out to perform three separate yet complementary experiments in order to test the hypothesized relationship in a setting of low and high involvement. Ultimately, what can be said concerning this understanding is that consumers are oftentimes willing to pay a premium for commodity prices from a nation that had a favorable country image as compared to one that had a lower level of favorability. In such a way, the reader can see that brand familiarity does not heavily impact upon the COO effect. Conversely, it can and should be understood that the COO effect impacts heavily upon the WTP; especially when the consumer is not aware of or familiar with the product. (Howard 2009). Focusing on actual behavior provides fresh insight more than the previous researc h examining buyers’ intentions and attitudes because it demonstrates the impact of the COO cue on buyer’s actions. The take away from all of this leads the reader/researcher to draw several managerial implications with respect to the price-setting structure and origin of goods as having been described. Firstly, the outcome of the studies helps to confirm that the origin of the good has a vital role in informing a sense and appreciation of WTP within the mind of the end consumer. Moreover, the findings also provide information on how the COO influences a buyer’s WTP pertaining to the level of consumer involvement as reflected in the category of the product at hand. This is particularly useful for decisions about pricing and/or communication strategy (e.g. price differentiation) and is also of great concern to the organization considering the transfer of production facilities.  Ã‚  

Film coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Film coursework - Essay Example The most interesting aspect of Braudy and Cohen’s Film Theory and Criticism (6th edition), is the discussion of the female characters and their context in the Horror films (Braudy & Cohen, 2004 p36). The argument presented here is that; despite the presentation of women under a problematic image, â€Å"the audience reaction may either subvert it or undercut it† (Braudy & Cohen, 2004 p27). The idea is interesting in the sense that, the argument indicates that despite showing women as bad in the Horror film, people are not likely to buy the idea, or even if they would want to do it, they will still undermine the bad image as portrayed by the film, or at least weaken the seriousness of the bad image presented about women, in their interpretation (Storrs & Tyrrell, 2008 19). There are several reasons that can underline this argument. First, women are believed to be members of the weaker gender, according to gender stereotypes. Therefore, their image in the minds of the peop le, mostly the audience, is that of weak individuals, who are not directly confrontational and harmful, meaning that they are always subject to being dominated over by their male counterparts (Merrell, 1985 p23). This being the case, it therefore becomes very hard to convince the minds and the perception of the people that women are capable of being extremely dangerous and harmful, as could be painted by the bad image about them in the Horror movie. While it is observed and generally agreed that women are capable of many things, including being evil and capable of causing harm to others, it is still not convincing that they are extremely harmful, to the extent of fitting into the bad image portrayed in the Horror movies (Eberwein, 1979 p44). Therefore, people will tend to either undermine the bad image that is portrayed of them, or at least weaken its seriousness. Secondly, the feminine notion has always painted women as the victims, rather than the culprits or the oppressors (Barsa m, 1976 p12). This makes it extremely difficult to persuade the minds of the audience that women are capable of causing the extreme harm associated with horror films, since such is expected to have them as the victims. Therefore, any portrayal to the contrary cannot easily persuade the mind of the audience (Andrew, 1989 p37). Despite the Braudy and Cohen’s argument being crafted back in the year 2004, it has its true applicability well beyond the foreseeable future. To conclude, a question arises; what can the future Horror film makers learn from the Braudy and Cohen’s theory, regarding women’s role in the horror film? The future convincing power of the Horror film is locked in the portrayal of women as the victims, and not the contrary. Piece of Work Two: The scene Analysis In this analysis, through applying the semiotic theory, I shall analyze the post wedding scene in the Me, Myself & Irene (2000) film, where Charlie (Jim Carrey), has just wedded Layla (Trayl or Howard), in a wedding ceremony attended by his colleagues, who are state police officers of Rhodes Island (Jacobs, Farrelly, Cerrone, Farrelly & Carrey, 2000 p68). After their marriage, Charlie and Layla are ferried in a limousine by a dwarf black American driver, Shonte (Tony Cox), who is offended by Charlie’

The USA Patriot Act as a Threat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The USA Patriot Act as a Threat - Essay Example The United States of America Patriot Act was born right after the September 11, 2001 attacks of the terrorist that made a great impact on the government of the United States of America and the whole world. The USA Patriot Act serves as an anti-terrorism act. The Patriot Act was making possible for the America to be united and to strengthen the nation by providing the necessary tools that are needed to interrupt and block the terrorist act. The interruption and obstruction of these possible terrorists' acts are made through the expansion of the law enforcer's surveillance and giving them additional powers and rights to investigate that brought threat to the privacy and democratic tradition in the history of the United States. President Bush had officially signed the USA Patriot Act on the 26th day of October 2000.The Patriot Act gave threat to the millions of US citizens. This is due to the power given to the law enforcers and giving them the right to enter records of the normal inhab itants of the country. The act supports the rights to access the medical records, tax records, and other basic information such as the books you buy, the books you borrowed even without a cause. The Patriot Act also provides the law enforcers the rights to enter your house without the permission coming from you, and make researches without telling the owner for several weeks, months or even not telling you at all.There are several modifications on the act. Some of these are the surveillance laws, the tracking of suspected terrorist, and the capture of those suspected. The modifications includes the dual purpose of the act to give the authorities the rights to intervene in the personal, private and confidential telephone calls, face-to-face communication and communications through the use of computer and together with these is the right for those who are the authorities to the identification and the interception of those suspected as criminal communications. The modifications on the act regarding the telephone calls, whether it maybe a highly personal calls, that really are of the person's privacy context are included, are not hidden for the authorities through checking on the telephone company records of the calls made from an individuals home of to the individual's telephone. Wiretapping as it was called or electronic eavesdropping or the electronic surveillance can be done by the authorities without prior notice. Also, the bank records of an individual, and the deals made are also tracked. Procedures The procedures that are under the modification of the act are the following: the authorities are permitted to pen register and trace and trap orders that are made through the use of electronic communications such as deals done through the electronic-mail or the like the nationwide implementation for pen registers, trap and trace devices, and the access to the communication records and stored electronic mails are authorized the stored voice mail and telephone conversations stored can be treated by the authorities the interception of communications from an intruder or to the intruder inside the computer system by authorities are permitted but with the system's owner's permission the authorities are given the authority to put the terrorist and computer crimes to the offense list protection for the authorities are supported by the Patriot Act the Patriot Act of the USA aims for the foreign intelligence investigators' and the law enforcement's cooperation those who are on the authority and the government personnel, under the Patriot Act are protected for some of the communications privacy violation Protective Measures of the Patriot Act The USA Patriot Act had designed protective measures for the authorities. The protective measures focused on the prevention of the abuse of the given rights

A few kind world for superstition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A few kind world for superstition - Essay Example People believe that wizards and witches speak with spiritual beings, and they have the power of either carrying out good or bad. Furthermore, because of their relationship with spiritual beings, witches and wizards have the capability of foretelling the future. This is just a superstitious belief. Superstition has four major manifestations amongst people (Davis, 2). The first type of manifestation is referred to as the vain observance manifestation (Davis, 2). Vain observance refers to the use of techniques for purposes of obtaining a result or a consequence, that by following the natural process, it would be difficult to obtain the results under consideration. A good example of vain observance is sorcery and witchcraft. Sorcery relies on spiritual beings or demonic forces for purposes of controlling other people, or causing harm to them. Furthermore, sorcery and witchcraft aims at gaining an advantage over other people through un-natural means or methods. This is for the benefit of the sorcerer, or the wizard (Murphy, 13). This aspect of vain observance has come under criticism by some leading religions such as Christianity and Islam. These religions condemn the existence of sorcerers and magicians, and they are viewed as deceiving the society. This is because they use demonic forces to manipulate and lie to the people. By looking at this crit ique, it is therefore possible to denote that even the church believes in the existence of spiritual beings, and their capabilities. The second manifestation of superstition is divination (Davis, 3). Divination refers to an attempt of gaining insight to a situation or question through an occultist process. Throughout history, many people have used divination through a variety of forms or procedures. This is by interpreting sign, events, omens, or an alleged contact with a supernatural being

Global Strategy and Local Needs in the Luxury Car Market Essay Example for Free

Global Strategy and Local Needs in the Luxury Car Market Essay 1 Introduction Since the 1980’s researchers have been trying to understand what globalization is and how competitive advantage can be gained out of it. This study will look at this movement with a critical eye and reflect whether or not it is sometimes better to give local needs priority in management decisions. The purpose of this study is to analyse whether the â€Å"Global strategy, but local needs† assumption leads to success. The objective is to provide scientific evidence for this strategy, analyse different organizations’ strategies and provide a possible recommendation for the best practice. Globalization is a driver of luxury 1 but it is not the best solution to apply this approach in all strategic decisions. This paper will not only look at this strategic approach in general, but will try to focus in specific on the luxury car market. The luxury segment is a fascinating subject for scientific research, because it still provides possibilities for relatively fundamental research within its niche. 2 Although there is considerable literature about specific brands, there is a lack of systematic and scholarly work that analyses the luxury car phenomenon itself. 3 The importance of this segment has also been emphasized in Sergio Marchionne’s recent speech to the shareholders (appendix 7. 2). The CEO of the Fiat S. p. a and of the Chrysler Group LLC underlined that his strategy for the future of the Group is located in the premium4 car production. 5 The motivation of this paper therefore is to analyse the challenge Maserati will have to address and to arrive to some practicable conclusions. 1 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 12. 2 Cf. Heine 2012, p. 6. 3 Cf. Berger 2001, p. 160. 4. Expression intentionally quoted to illustrate a later explained statement 5 Cf. Fiat S. p. a. 2012b. Definition and terminology 1. 1 2 Methodology The findings of this project are derived from primary, secondary and tertiary sources of information. The tertiary source was mainly the catalogue of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek in Frankfurt. Another important part of the data collection contributed the Internet. Most data has been found with the search engine google. com and scholar. google. com and the homepages of the relative brands mentioned in the project. The biggest part of the project’s information was taken out of secondary sources such as textbooks, newspapers and specific literature. Finally, the annual reports of 2011 of selected brands have been consulted. 2 Definition and terminology 2. 1 Strategy â€Å"†¦ Strategy in corporate practice is an integrated concept with the objective of ensuring long-term survival in active interaction with the competition †¦Ã¢â‚¬ 6 In today’s everyday changing business environment all companies are forced to reassess their strategies, their structures and their processes regularly. But the answers to every strategic and organizational challenge is varying among industries. 7 Therefore first a summary of different general strategic alternatives will be presented. Afterwards a detailed analysis of the characteristic strategy in the luxury car market will be developed. 2. 2 Global or Local Strategy In this chapter both terms global and local strategy should be defined. Moreover the strategic challenge of a business to decide between both strategies should be analysed. 6 Cf. Kotler/Berger/Bickhoff 2010, p. 12. 7 Cf. Bartlett/ Ghoshal 1990, p. 17. Definition and terminology 3 Businesses have been international since ancient times and at its beginnings international business had simply the form of exporting and importing. Any business that carries out some of its activities across national boundaries can be defined as an international business. 8 In the 70s and 80s keywords as standardization, rationalization and centralization marked the new tendency towards globalization. 9 Globalization is a term that emerged in the 1980s/90s10 and that has become a buzzword in the 1990s. 11 Originally globalization was only an economic phenomenon that described the integration and merger of national economies, and the development of communication and production of knowledge, transportation and migration. 12 Today the extent to which the organization’s activities are spread across geographical regions has become a major consideration in the implementation of an organizations strategy. 13 A global strategy is the tendency of a company to a consistent strategy and adaptation to local circumstances become redundant. Global organizations gain competitive advantage overcoming national and continental boundaries. Therefore it was a widely held belief that there was the risk that the globalization would overrun all regional and national differences. 14 Though today we have evidence that there is no â€Å"global village† and that regional and national differences cannot be so easily neglected. On the contrary the majority of the apparently global organizations use local differences to gain competitive advantage. 15 Therefore numerous literature and research on the counter-rotating trend to globalization, the so-called localization, can be found. Localization in general means the adaptation to or consideration of local market conditions. Most of the research concluded that the two apparently contrary concepts do not mutually exclude but depend on one another: â€Å"Globalization can mean the reinforcement of 8 Cf. Campbell/Stonehouse/Houston 2002, p. 255. 9 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 36. 10 Cf. Lohmeier 2008, p. 9. 11 Cf. Rohm 2010, p. 4. 12 Cf. Lohmeier 2008, p. 9. 13 Cf. Campbell/Stonehouse/Houston 2002, p. 254. 14 Cf. Lohmeier 2008, p. 10 15 Cf. Lohmeier 2008, p. 58. 4 Definition and terminology or go together with localism as in ‘Think globally, act locally’†¦Ã¢â‚¬  16 . Numerous literatures even deduce a new concept called â€Å"Glocalization. † Glocal strategies are strategies that provide evidence to global and local players, to respond advantageous and purposeful to globalization. They should assist global players to localize their activities where worthwhile and show ways and means to local players to make use of the global area respectively in both cases without abandoning their global or local character. 17 2. 3 Bartlett’s and Ghoshal’s model According to Bartlett and Ghoshal there are three traditional strategic directions a company can follow. Tab. 1: The three strategic directions 18 Multinational Global International Strong local presence Cost reduction through Usage of knowledge and through respect of national centralized but worldwide competences of the HQ needs oriented activities through worldwide diffusion and adaptation 2. 4 The multinational organization The multinational organization according to Bartlett and Ghoshal is the archetype of the organization. At the beginning of the 1900th century this was the most diffused organizational model. As shown in figure 1 in the multinational organizational model the HQ is at the centre with many decentralized, interdependent and autonomous branches surrounding it. The specific needs of the local markets are encouraged and therefore they are able to react to local needs. Historically this organizational model was the one of many European companies that expanded into foreign countries. Several of these companies originally where family owned companies. Processes were based on personal relationship and 16 Cf. Pieterse 1995, p. 49 zitiert nach Lohmeier 2008,p. 53. 17 Cf. Lohmeier 2008, p. 64. 18 Cf. Bartlett/ Ghoshal 1990, p. 32. 5 Definition and terminology informal contacts rather than formal structures and systems. Therefore only elementary financial control was necessary. 19 Branch Decentralized federation: Many key assets, responsibilities and decisions are decentralized Branch Branch HQ Branch Personal control: Informal HQ – subsidiary relationship, simple financial control Branch Multinational mentality: Management considers overseas operations as portfolio of interdependant business. Branch Figure 1: Multinational organization 20 2. 4. 1 The international organization This organizational model has similarities to the multinational organization. However as shown in figure 2 the branches are more dependent on the transfer of information and knowledge from the HQ. The objective of this kind of organization is to transfer knowledge and competences in aspects such as technology or marketing to underdeveloped foreign branches. The national branches can adapt products or strategies, while the HQ determines innovation and processes. In comparison to the multinational organization model there is more systematization and control. According to Bartlett and Ghoshal the international organization model had its breakthrough in the post-war period. The international organizational model is the model for the typical American Management culture of empowerment and delegation. 19 Cf. Bartlett/Ghosal 1990, p. 73. 20 Cf. Bartlett/Ghosal 1990, p. 74. 6 Definition and terminology Branch Branch Coordinated federation: Many assets, resources, responsibilities and decisions are decentralized but controlled by HQ Branch Branch HQ International mentality: Management considers overseas operations as appendix to a central domestic corporation Branch Administrative control: formal management planningand control systems allow higher HQ-subsidiary linkage. Branch Figure 2: International organization 21 2. 4. 2 The global organization Global companies develop their products and strategies considering only one equal worldwide market. Product development, production and marketing strategies remain centralized. 22 As shown in figure 3 the most important characteristics of the classical global organization have HQs that are a centralized hub that severely controls the branches and a management-mentality that views the world as one economic entity. The main feature is the centralization of assets, resources and competences. The function of branches is reduced to sales and services. In some cases financial competitive advantage is gained outsourcing the production sites abroad. Compared to the multinational and international organizations the branches in global organizations have less power to develop or modify new products and strategies. Managers in global organization, especially those located in HQ, often are more concentrated on the global market and consider the market to be equal worldwide. They have no comprehension of the local needs because there is no exchange of information between HQ and the national branches. 23 21 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p 77. 22 Cf. Bartlett/Ghosal 1990, p. 31. 23 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 75 f. 7 Definition and terminology Internationalization pioneers like Henry Ford build up their production plant according to this model and the Japanese started their offensive in the 70s and 80s with this model. 24 Normally global organizations first where very successful in their home market and used this success then to expand internationally. 25 Branch Branch Centralized hub: Most of the strategic assets, resources, responsibilities and decisions centralized Branch HQ. Branch Operational control: Tight control of decisions, resources and information through HQ Branch Global mentality: Management considers overseas operations as channels for the supply to a unified global market Branch Figure 3: Global organization 26 2. 4. 3 The transnational strategy Bartlett and Ghoshal claim that the traditional directions do note lead to adequate results anymore. Global and international organizations look out for a centralized answer to a worldwide market opportunity. Multinational companies search local solutions. Therefore Bartlett and Ghoshal developed the assumption for a new approach to solve the challenge of increased competitive and changing environment: The transnational strategy. 27 Companies nowadays can only survive in the competitive environment if they succeed in developing simultaneously worldwide competitiveness, multinational 24 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 75. 25 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 31. 26 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 77. 27 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 33 and p. 90. Definition and terminology 8 flexibility and global learning capabilities. These are the main elements of the transnational model. 28. The transnational model is a symbiosis or rather compromise of the other three traditional strategic directions. It combines both kind of competitive advantages: Because the affiliations are seen as strategic partners they can better respond to local needs and global synergies can be positive side effects. In the transnational model local markets are respected, and the proximity to the market is mainly an instrument to react more flexibly on a global scale. 29 The distinction between multinational and transnational companies is the amount to which the HQs are directly involved in the management of the branches. While a transnational company often has a strategic centre that manages to a high degree all the global operations a multinational company does not coordinate directly its foreign activities but rather considers the branches as interdependent business. The transnational organization acknowledges that there are certain resources and competences such as finance or research and development that are better centralized in the HQ while other resources are more advantageous to be decentralized in the markets to spread the competences on a global level. 30 2. 5 The Luxury Concept and Definition. The concept of luxury is known since ancient times. Lucullus, a roman senator who was famous in the ancient Rome for his marvellous evening events and his love for beauty, delicacies and sensorial pleasures, can be considered inventor of the luxury concept. 31 Chevalier and Mazzalovo provide a definition as follows: A luxury brand is selective and exclusive and provides an additional creative and emotional value for the consumer. It is a brand that is giving the desirable attribute of being scarce, sophisticated and in good taste. It also has a slightly understated and aristocratic attribute. 32 28 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 33. 29 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 84 30 Cf. Bartlett/Ghoshal 1990, p. 84. 31 Cf. Heine 2012, p. 2. 32 Cf. Chevalier/Mazzalovo 2008, p. viii Definition and terminology 9 According to Kapferer and Bastien a luxury brand can be defined by six criteria:33 †¢ An extremely hedonistic experience or product †¢ The price is exceedingly higher compared to the functional value †¢ Tied to a tradition, exclusive expertise and culture ascribed to the brand †¢ Accessible only through controlled and restrained distribution †¢ Obtainable with tailored supplementary services. †¢ Indicating a social representation, making the holder or beneficiary feel special and privileged 2. 6 Luxury versus premium car market The concept of luxury is represented in numerous sectors of activities 34. In this study we will look into more details of the specifics of the automobiles luxury sector. According to Chevalier and Mazzalovo luxury automobiles are â€Å"those cars that consumer perceive as being very special and different from the others. †35 It is necessary to differentiate between the concept of luxury and the concept of premium. The term luxury vehicle suggests a vehicle with a higher quality equipment, better performance, particularly precise construction, comfort, higher design, technologically innovative, and features that transfer an image, brand, status or prestige. Often the image is strongly related to the country of origin of the product. Premium products are upper-range branded products with an increased price without the emotional characteristics like hedonism or myth. „Upper premium brands remain comparative, whereas luxury is superlative. â€Å"36 Suitable examples for this difference can be found in the car industry. While an Audi A6 or A8 are super-premium cars because of the excellent usage value they provide, an Aston Martin or a Lamborghini are luxury cars because of their rarity and the prestige of the name. 37 33 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 47. 34 Sectors of activities of luxury: Ready-to-wear cloth, jewelry and watches, perfumes and cosmetics, fashion accessories, wines and spirits, automobiles, hotels, tourism and private banking. 35 Cf. Chevalier/Mazzalovo 2008, p. x. 36 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 43f. ; Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 53. 37 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 53. 10 Strategic examples One historic management error that underlines the difference between luxury and premium is the Jaguar case. When Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989 they invested a lot in technology and training of the Jaguar employees. Thanks to common platforms with Ford they tried to sell small Jaguars. But this strategy seriously damaged the image of Jaguar and loosing the feeling of exclusivity they lost the luxury status. 38 3 Strategic examples In this chapter the before described theoretic information should be put together into a strategic framework. The strategic examples that will be considered are the most successful competitors of Maserati in terms unit sales: Porsche, Audi, Mercedes and BMW (figure 4). The first step was to obtain an overview of the structure of these companies and to identify their dependencies among each other and with other organizations (appendix 7. 3). The second step was to identify certain characteristics of these organizations and to put them into a framework developed to identify their degree of globalization or localization (appendix 7. 4). Based on this information a picture of their strategic directions has been deduced (appendix 7. 5). Bentley 2,57% Audi 6,56% Maserati 1,81% Jaguar 3,06% Maserati Market 2012 Aston Martin 1,74% Ferrari 1,26% Lexus 0,09% Porsche 48,43% BMW 12,23% Mercedes-Benz 22,25% Figure 4 The Maserati market in Germany in 2012 (market shares) 38 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 51. 39 Management Services Helwig Smitt GmbH, Hofgeismar. 39 Strategic examples 3. 1 11 Daimler AG Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz invented the automobile in 1886. 40 Today the Daimler Group integrates different car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach. Cooperating with various organizations worldwide it has converted from a mainly domestically oriented exporting company to a globally operating one. The company is now well established not only in Europe but also in Brazil and Argentina and has established joint ventures also in China. 41 However for the Daimler Group â€Å"the cultural inertia has been difficult to overcome, and global pretensions and traditional German attachments form a contradictory and unstable mix. †42 Therefore it is difficult to classify the group to Bartlett and Ghoshals model. The Daimler AG is rather a combination between the multinational and the global organization. Mercedes-Benz being historically strongly connected to its German roots has a centralized HQ, but at the same time its business units have been made self-responsible profit centres and procurement of materials is globally coordinated for each group of materials. Furthermore this has been intensified through local settlement of direct production, more consultancies and engineering in the branches, and also some development tasks located outside Germany. 43. Daimler is relocating its production sites into emerging markets, as for example the recently opened site in Hungary. This trend can be underlined by its decreasing production figures in Europe. They are currently reducing their production in Sindelfingen. 44 3. 2 BMW AG The BMW group may be the most German focused of the three companies. It is globalized in its objectives rather than in its activities. 45 Approximately 60% of the production of BMW is still located in Germany (figure 5). However BMW is one of 40 Cf. Daimler AG 2012, p. 4. 41 Cf. Lane 2001, p. 84. 42 Cf. Lane 2001, p. 85 43 Cf. Lane 2011, p. 84f. 44 Cf. Berens 2012, p. 17 45 Cf. Lane 2011, p. 86. 12 Strategic examples the most respected brands in the world. The explanations for BMW’s success are a strong brand character, a stable, family shareholding and a very German business philosophy. 46 It can be deduced that having local roots increases the perceived value of BMW. Producing nearly all its automobiles in Germany customers perceive BMW as an authentic product of German culture. BMW follows the same strategy of keeping the Mini production in England. 47 South Africa, 3,06% China, 5,65% Austria, 5,91% CKD, 2,16% UK, 11,23% US, 15,88% Germany, 56,11% Figure 5: Vehicle production of the BMW Group in the world in 2011 48 Therefore BMW can be classified an international organization according to Bartlett and Ghoshal’s model. BMW’s key competences are centralized but many other competences are decentralized. Thus BMW efficaciously implements the strategy of local assembling and local purchasing in countries with high customs duties on imports such as Russia, Thailand or India. However, under the terms of the distinction between luxury and premium products, the cars assembled in Thailand would not longer be defined as luxury products. They do serve to initiate customers into the brand, who then should develop the desire to purchase a ‘real’ BMW ‘made in Germany’. 49 BMW’s Management Meeting Place is a good example for the acquisition of knowledge in the HQ and then transferring it to the branches. First this discussion platform has been started in Germany and then it was transferred to locations abroad. The fact that this strategy works, and that behind BMW probably stands a 46 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 67. 47 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 78. 48 Cf. BMW AG 2012, p. 28. 49 Cf. Kapferer/Bastien 2012, p. 78. 13 Strategic examples strong team is underlined by the fact that BMW has been rewarded being â€Å"The World’s Most Attractive Employer† by a study conduced lately. In fact the employee attrition ratio at BMW has decreased continuously in the last 3 years (figure 6). 5,85 percentage of workforce 6,00 4,59 5,00 4,00 2,74 2,66 2,16 3,00 2,00 1,00 0,00 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011. Figure 6: Employee attrition ratio at BMW AG 3. 3 50 Volkswagen AG The Volkswagen Group maybe is the most advanced example of a conglomerate of successful car manufacturers. Among all the subsidiary brands the most significant ones are Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Porsche AG, but there are also Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Skoda (appendix 7. 3). In fact Porsche owns 32,5% of the Volkswagen Group shares. Succeeding in managing a portfolio of so dissimilar organizations under one umbrella certainly makes the Volkswagen Group to a transnational organization according to Bartlett and Ghoshal. The cooperation in-between the brands of the Volkswagen Group are very well developed. One successful example of this approach is the common hybrid drive used in the Porsche Panamera, Cayenne and VW Touareg 51 . In addition the Volkswagen group has only little external cooperation mainly in the area of researching. The key competences remain inside the group. Becoming an integrated automotive industry is part of the group’s â€Å"Strategy 2018†. However, every single brand has its specific targets. Volkswagen’s target is to 50 Cf. BMW AG 2012, p. 39. 51 Cf. Porsche AG 2012, p. 67. The Maserati case 14 become the global market leader by 201852. This underlines the global factor. On the other side Porsche’s target is to become â€Å"the leader of exclusive sports cars manufacturers†53. Audi finally has the target to become the â€Å"premium brand that delights customers worldwide† 54 . Therefore the group’s values and capabilities remain inside the group and with a broad portfolio of interdependent and specialized brands completely different target groups can be addressed. The Volkswagen Group leads the global tendencies of the considered companies. But the core strategic functions (e. g. RD and design) remain mainly German. However the Volkswagen Group also recognizes the importance of knowing the local sources and therefore has implemented the C3-Sourcing program. Becoming technical, organizational and social laboratories foreign branches contribute to the integration of the whole group’s worldwide activities. Hence some Audi models that have the same platform as Volkswagen models are now produced in Volkswagen factories in China. This local adaptation is the key of success for Audi’s sales in China, where the top members of the communist party cannot own a car unless it is made in China, but at the same time it forces the brand to give up their luxury strategy and replace it with a premium one. 4 The Maserati case 4. 1 Introduction to Maserati The Italian sports cars producer with the trident on the logo has been founded as Societa Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati on December 1st 1914 in Bologna. Maserati was originally founded as a family business, but in 1937 it was sold to the Orsi family. In 1968 it was sold to Citroen and finally became part of the Fiat Group in 1993. 55 Thanks to his big sister Ferrari, Maserati has been reconstructed and from 2006 stands alone now in the structure of the Fiat S. p. a. (see figure 7). Today Maserati’s headquarter is based in Modena and it has two production sites in the north of Italy. Furthermore Maserati is divided in regions (Europe, Asia Pacific, 52 Cf. Volkswagen AG 2012, p. 233. 53 Cf. Porsche AG 2012, p. 14. 54 Cf. Audi AG 2012, p . 131. 55 Cf. Wikipedia 2012a. 15 The Maserati case. America and Middle East) with national branches in each separate country (e. g. France, Germany, United Kingdom). Maserati is currently becoming more and more significant for the rest of the Fiat Group. The first strategic milestone of the so-called â€Å"2010-2014 plan† was the integration of the Chrysler Group in June 2011. Figure 8 shows the increase of 30% of the workforce through this merger, mainly in North America. * including 58,5% Chrysler Group LLC Maserati (100%) Fiat Group Automobiles* (100%) AUTOMOBILES Fiat S. p. a. Ferrari (90%) Fiat Powertrain (100%) Magneti Marelli (100%). COMPONENTS PRODUCTION SYSTEMS Teksid (84,8%) Comau (100%) Figure 7: Structure of the Fiat S. p. a. Workforce 80 62,583 63,214 60 40 2011 2010 60,336 44,668 24,616 23,596 20 56 39,498 5,579 0 5,838 Italy Europe (excl. Italy) NAFTA Mercosur 4,894 other regions Figure 8: Increase of the workforce in the Fiat Group through the integration of Chrysler in 2011 56 Cf. Fiat S. p. a. 2011, p. 11. 57 Cf. Fiat S. p. a. 2012c, p. 30. 57 The Maserati case 16 The second milestone was the plan presented in February 2011 in which â‚ ¬ 500 million were invested for the relaunch a production site58. In this new pIant two new models will be produced: The new Maserati Quattroporte by the end of 2012 and the Maserati Ghibli in the second half of the year 2013. 59 Thereby Maserati plans to increase its sales: While in 2011 Maserati sold 6,159 vehicles worldwide, in 2013 20,000 units are planed and by 2015 a growth up until to 50,000 vehicles per year is projected. 60 The Maserati S. p. a. can be classified as a global organization. They concentrate their decision and strategy making in the HQ in Italy and product development, production and marketing strategies remain centralized. The function of the branches is reduced to the implementation and realization of sales, services and marketing activities. The reason is linked to the strong connection with the domestic country and the patriarchal organizational culture that has developed over the years. One cultural example for this approach is that usually in the branches employees refer to the HQ as â€Å"the factory†. And while until today Maserati’s production sites are located just in the domestic market, by the use of a common platform and production site with the Jeep Grand Cherokee in the United States for the new SUV model, Maserati will enter also in the global environment. 4. 2 Maserati’s strength 4. 2. 1 The cooperation with the Fiat Group Being part of the Fiat Group is strength and weakness at the same time for Maserati. Through the cooperation with the other brands of the group, Maserati can benefit from economies of scale and scope. E. g. particular engines for Maserati are developed and produced in the production site of Ferrari. Another example is the collaboration with Jeep that will allow the new Maserati Levante to share the expertise of Jeep in building SUVs. 61 Moreover the fact that the production of this new Model will be relocated to the United States will finally transform Maserati from a purely domestic manufacturer to a global player. 58 Officine Automobilitische Grugliasco. 59 Cf. Fiat S. p. a. 2012c, p. 34. 60 Cf. Wehner 2012. 61 Cf. Baedecker 2012. The Maserati case 17 4. 2. 2 The luxury image Maserati as a brand itself and the Maserati products are stereotypes of luxury. Maserati is like none of its competitors a unique iconic and superlative brand that stands for an extravagant Italian lifestyle and sportiness. It profits from its long-time racing experience and expertise in building extremely performing engines. Additionally some parts are tailor made and its products are positioned in an upmarket pricing class that does not correlate with the functional value they provide. Moreover until today the units sold are rather restricted and therefore it is still a rarity to see a Maserati on the road. Thus possessing a Maserati is to a high degree socially representative and makes the owner feel special and privileged. Maserati is a myth and continuous to benefit from this legend. 4. 2. 3 Driving performance Another very strong characteristic of Maserati is its driving performance. Driving a Maserati is an overwhelming driving experience from the very first moment you switch on the engine. The expertise in building extremely performing engines is definitely a strength that should not be underestimated. „Hearing a Maseratis V-8 engine scream on the way to its 7200-rpm redline is an experience gear heads will cherish. â€Å"62 4. 2. 4 The people that work for Maserati The people that work for Maserati are fundamental assets. A mixture of experienced and long-established employees on the one side and on the other side young, motivated and talented staff are the most important ingredient for the team that is able to face the current challenges. Maserati’s employees identify with the brand to a high level and therefore live for the brand. E. g. in the HQs in Modena are hanging poster with the slogan â€Å"I am Maserati†. 62 Cf. Floraday 2011. The Maserati case 4. 3 18 Maserati’s weaknesses 4. 3. 1 The image of the Fiat Group As mentioned above, being connected to mass-market brands like Fiat and Chrylser could affect Maserati’s luxury status. This is primarily related to the image of Fiat’s quality standards. The fact that some components are commonly introduced in both, Maserati and Fiat, could severely damage Maserati’s reputation. 4. 3. 2 Progress and technology Except for its engines, Maserati is not using the most advanced technology in his cars until now. Competition from other car manufacturers is very strong in this context (e. g. Porsche or BMW). Therefore this is a threat especially in those markets where technology and innovation are very important factors in the consumer buying behaviour process (e. g. Russia or Germany). Moreover while other manufacturers have already developed new propulsive forces e. g. the new Daimler electric fleet63, Maserati continued only the evolution of traditional fuel and diesel engines. As the petrol price rises also this threat is increasing. And depending on the trend of the environmental regulations in Europe and in the rest of the world, this lack of development could become an increasing challenge for the next future of Maserati. 4. 3. 3 Dealer network Another threat is the necessity to improve and expand the dealer network. There is a clear need to increase the distribution capillarity by appointing additional dealers. Moreover, there is also a need to transform the existing dealers bringing them to focus their activities and organizations on the brand. Dedicated sales, after-sales and marketing forces will be key to this transformation. E. g. most of the Maserati dealers sell also Ferraris and should adapt their staff with personnel dedicated exclusively towards Maserati. 63 Cf. Daimler AG 2012, p. 41. The Maserati case 4. 4 19 Maserati’s opportunities 4. 4. 1 Industrial opportunities With its current models range (Quattroporte, Gran Cabrio and Gran Turismo) Maserati is represented in the core segments.