Sacrificing Gaddafi Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sacrificing Gaddafi - Speech or Presentation Example One would require a strong motive to do sacrifice. Sacrifice can be positive too if it brings positive benefits as a result. Gaddafi had been oppressing and subjugating the Libyan people, We can no longer live under this evil subjugation, sacrificing Gaddafi would bring positive results. Libya is not like Tunisia or the Egypt it is place which is completely different. In case of distraction it would just split in to several other states. These were the words of son of Gaddafi on the Libya TV on Sunday. Of course he is very right as Libya is neither Egypt nor it is Tunisia. It is a country that is over 600,000 sq. miles and is populated by less than even 7 million. Since, the 1969, it has been the victim of single leadership, a man who has treated it mercilessly by showing cruelty to anyone who speaks against him or the revolution or the regime he was governing. It is a country that is built over the importance of tribal unity though despite the largest oil reserves in Africa, it cont inues to permit two third of the citizens living under poverty lines. It is a unique country that cannot boast much of its positive bilateral relations with the west or the Europe, as it has only recently made amendments in its relations with the neighbors across the Mediterranean after many years of US and UN imposed sanctions. (Gaddafi: Africa's king of kings) After the cold in 2004, the Europe ties then developed for better. As could be seen Libya became the third biggest oil supplier to European countries, having in the recent years surpassing Saudi Arabia even. The proximity to Europe, relative lack of foreign investment, unexplored terrain gave Libya a deep value a worth of gem equivalence especially for the oil dependent economies of west. (Gaddafi's personal website) The fact that the leader may publicly hang the dissident students was of no greater concern as long as the philosophy of intolerance had extended to, adequately suppressed, the supposed "threat" of Islamism. Sti ll the recent events have just forced world leaders to just re- examine the relationship with the distorted regime. Accounts of the unprovoked sniper attacks on the peaceful demonstrators, use of the violent foreign mercenaries as means of the crowd control, live ammunition being shot in to crowds of protesters, along with the media black-out that tried (un-successfully) to prevent world from finding out the truth This has brought about fresh focus and attention to plight of the Libyan people along with the reaction of their in-humane leader.(Freedom 2011) As he had addressed the nation, Gaddafi’s feebly masked threats were then received angrily by the protesters in the streets. His claims in regard to the celebrations of people of Darnah, Benghazi and al-Bayda were brought about by drunk and drugged youngster led to the furious chanting plus jeering against the Gaddafi and his son. Gaddafi’s warnings of possibility of civil war and separatism evoked slogans emphasizin g the unity of Libyan people and their intention to support one another till they achieved victory.( A new flag flies in the east) The strengthened protest is one of the case in point. Having been silent for a specific period or the beginning periods the Libyan people then made it to the streets in much of the increasing numbers their final destination became the presidential house. However, the difficulties have gone beyond this. Reports of helicopters bombing protestors as well as forcing them out of city centre apartment blocks in order to make room for snipers are also confirmed by those very people who were on the ground. If one watches from their house they could find Saif’

Cafe Bijoux Essay Example for Free

Cafe Bijoux Essay Q 1) What is the current positioning strategy? Is it working? Why or why not? Positioning strategy helps a company in creating its identity and its products/service it provides (Anderson, 2011). Cafà © Bijoux offers a relatively low price for a cup of soup and a sandwich, while offering healthy and tasty meals to their targeted market (primarily workers at the City Hall). To keep the cost low, the management did not printed a menu instead it was written on a chalkboard and was updated daily. In addition, the condiments were handed out to the customers as they picked up their orders. Business operations were from 10 am till 3 pm, mainly attracting customers from local surrounding business for lunch, specializing in homemade soup, fresh sandwiches, and salads. The positioning strategy was not successful mainly due to an unclear vision. Even though it attracted a niche market it was a great strategy of offering healthy foods, however it was not implemented effectively. There were complaints on several occasions that the restaurant could not be located, the mangers were aware about the conflict, but were unable to resolve it due to lack of financial abilities. Furthermore, the restaurant was located beside a parking garage, which was used by the city hall employees and other public offices employees. The average arrival time for these employees was between 7:30 – 8:30 am and they leave around 4:30 – 5:30 pm, while Furthermore, management has failed to identify a clear strategy for the business. No clear vision has been implemented due to the business’ dysfunctions in general. The cafà ©, only opens five days a week, caters to lunch specials, however, should be a breakfast and brunch getaway from the offices of many which hasn’t been the case. In addition, due to the scheduling of the hours of operations many potential customers are missed due to the cafà © being closed in the morning and the evening, where many are entering and leaving the parking garage, which is directly in front of the Cafe. These potential customers are usually in need of an early morning bagel and coffee before enduring a long day of work. Nevertheless, the majority of customers are very satisfied with the amount of serving along with the quality of their meal as well as the price paid. The strategy of being a low priced high value added has seen problems due to lack of customers which is affecting the bottom line drastically. This inevitable circumstance has put a hold on operations and started an investigation upon various neighboring competitors and their own strategies. Overall, the strategy is effective but not effectively used, which considers areas of error that include, a visible colorful sign, extended hours of operations, increased advertising, a stable menu, a catering opportunity, and a real cafà © look which can distinguish itself from the rest of its competitors. Q 2) What are the key reasons for the depressing sales and profits? Some of the key reasons for the dismal profits are primarily due to lack of control, and inexperience from both Julie and Mary, the co-owners and managers of Cafà © Bijoux. The reasoning behind this claim is that a business that is not seen profitable is usually not. In addition, a real restaurant sign is not up and visible. A sign is a major gateway to success in a busy congested market which sees more than eleven businesses surrounding a one km radius. However, Julie and Mary have been awaiting the funds to put up a sign, which has seen negative results due to lack of customers. The lack of customers stems from a poor business model that is implemented correctly. The Business model consists of healthy fresh foods with a low price. This definitely targets the right crowd, at the wrong time, literally. Scheduling of hours of operations are tremendously hurting the business, by opening at 10am and closing at 3pm. The major activity is lost from the morning peak of breakfast through to its late afternoon lunch/dinner slot. The mismanagement of hours of operations is costing the business a lot of money, and will continue to due to the environment that it does business in. Advertising and Marketing have also taken the back seat due to lack of funds, this is hurting the business and is definitely taking away from it. The current business model, which entails a fresh and healthy living, does target many individuals in the current area such as, residential and other various offices. Furthermore, no take-out orders or catering initiatives have been implemented to increase awareness or capability. In addition, a fixed menu has not been created that should list the most favored items along with their prices. Losing out on this chance is another businesses’ gain, by not creating and distributing menus or listing the menu on an online website is a no brainer. This can be very cost effective considering mass production, as well as a free website that advertises small business ventures within the area. The break-even point is not even reached, so these negative figures are falling along with the co-owners. Q 3) Is there a way to improve the restaurants performance? If so, how? There are several ways to improve the restaurants performance within this saturated market. Firstly, the restaurant must clearly identify who it should cater to and how, this can be upon observations from past and present customers. However, a colorful vibrant sign must be created and implemented in order to be seen by pedestrian and vehicle traffic. In addition, a grand re-opening event should be created in order to re-introduce the cafà ©. Cafà © music, colorful balloons, and free coffee should make for a great day of reintroducing the business to many customers. In addition, a website should be created with a menu that has items and associated prices in order to satisfy the needs of its many working office customers in the area, a group discount rate can also be implemented in order to develop a customer relationship management model. This can be done inexpensively, and can reach many individuals through mail, email, and/or drop offs. In addition, a strategy that has come back to life has been the couponing industry, which sees large websites such as Groupon, caters to a wide array of businesses in their respective areas. Groupon creates an ad which is delivered to many depending on their neighborhoods and preferences. The deal of the day may contain a sandwich, soup and salad combo with a special introductory price that will appeal to the average person who is healthy conscience. The couponing industry has suddenly reentered the market with a bang due to the boom of social networking. This will definitely increase potential customers, as many individuals have been increasingly adapting to the social websites, which is a new trend. In order to attract as many people as possible by this form of couponing, there must be a special incentive that would catch their attention, in order to literally bring them into the cafà ©, maybe a promotion for a cup of free coffee for a specific day such as Monday. Reentering a current market may be difficult, however, with the right plans, it may be viable.

Stuxnet Network Worm Computer Science Essay

Stuxnet Network Worm Computer Science Essay Stuxnet, a network worm that, during the early part of 2010, began to infect Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) becoming the first rootkit for PLCs. PLCs are usually not connected to the Internet, or the internal network, so the creators had to devise a method to get the worm onto these systems. The worm would use 4 zero-day vulnerabilities to propagate through internal networks, and would load itself onto flash drives. Once the flash drive was plugged into an ICS, it would copy itself onto the system, and begin to check to see if there was a PLC attached to the system. The worm would first gather information of its victim to determine if it was its target, and if it found it, the worm would began to alter the code of the PLCs which were believed to sabotage the systems. In the end it is undetermined if Stuxnet reached its goal. Stuxnet Stuxnet is a worm that is said to be an incredibly large and complex threat. It was primarily written to target a specific ICS or a set of similar systems, likely somewhere in Iran. The final goal of Stuxnet is to reprogram an ICS by modifying the code on the PLCs to make them work in the manner the attacker intended, such as operate outside normal boundaries, and to hid these changes from the operators of the machine. The creators, in order to achieve their goal, amassed a variety of components to increase the chance of success. These components included: zero-day exploits, anti-virus evasion techniques, windows rootkit, the first ever PLC Stuxnet 4 rootkit, hooking code, process injection, network infection routines, peer-to-peer updates, and a command and control interface. The worm was found in July of 2010, and is confirmed to have existed a year prior to that, and likely it has existed before that, with a majority of the infections being based in Iran. June 2009 was the earliest Stuxnet sample seen. It did not exploit an auto-run function of a removable storage, and did not contain signed drivers to install itself. In January of 2010, Stuxnet reappeared, this time it had signed certificate from Realtek, and could install itself without any problems. July of 2010 Microsoft revokes the stolen Realtek driver used by Stuxnet, and the very next day, Stuxnet reemerges with a signed JMicron Technology Corp certificate. By September of 2010, the wormà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exploits have been patched by Microsoft, and all stolen signed certificates revoked. Stuxnet had many features included into it to make sure it reached its goal. Some of these features included a self-replication through removable storage, spreading with a vulnerability in Windows Print Spooler, making itself execute with the Step 7 project, updating through peer-to-peer, command and control server for updates by a hacker, bypasses security features, and hides all modified code on PLCs. Stuxnet is capable of more, far more, but these are the most noticeable features about this worm that make it a large and complex threat. Stuxnet 5 Injection The injection method used by Stuxnet was complex, due to the fact that it had to make sure it would infect its target machine, and so it could bypass any security encountered. In order to load any .dll, including itself, Stuxnet would call the LoadLibrary with a specially crafted name that does not exist on the disk and normally cause LoadLibrary to fail. However, W32.Stuxnet has hooked Ntdll.dll to monitor for requests to load specifically crafted file names. These specially crafted file names are mapped to another location instead that is specified by W32.Stuxnet. Once a .dll file has been loaded by this method, GetProcAddress is then used to find the address of a specific export from the .dll file and that export is called, handing control to the new .dll file. If Stuxnet detects any security software, it will get the main version of it and rerun itself in a new process to bypass the scanning of the software. The process of injecting itself into a process is located in Export 15. First it checks the configuration data of the system, and then it will check to see if the system is 64-bit, which if it is it will exit the system. Once it has determined it is running on a 32-bit system it will check the OS, and then check to see if it has admin rights. If it does not it will check the os once more and determine if it is on XP of Vista. If it is on XP used a zero-day vulnerability in Win32k.sys, and use an escalation of privilege to restart itself in csrss.exe. If it is on Vista is uses a zero-day vulnerability in Task Scheduler, to escalate its privilege, and restart as any new task. Once it has the highest admin rights, Stuxnet will then call Export 16. Stuxnet 6 Export 16 installs Stuxnet onto the system and will also check the configuration data of the system. It will then check the registry value of NTVDM Trace, and if it is 19790509, it will not proceed. This is thought to be an infection marker, or a do not infect marker. If it is not set to this it will continue installation. Stuxnet then checks the date, if it is past 06/24/2012, it will exit and not install, this is Stuxnetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s kill switch date. It will then see if it is on XP or Vista. If on XP it will set the DACL, if on Vista it will set the SACL. It will then create its files, including its main payload file Oem7a.pnf. It then checks the date one more time, before decrypting its files and loading itself onto the disk, and then calling export 6 to get its version. It will then compare its version number with one on the disk, and then install its rootkit files, Mrxcls.sys and Mrxnet.sys. It will then hide all its malicious files, and infect any removable storage devic e, and then finally infects Step 7 projects. Attack ICS are operated by specialized code on PLCs, which are often programmed from Windows computers that are not connected to any network. The creator would have needed the schematics of the ICS, to know which ones the worm should go after, so it is believed an insider, or an early version of Stuxnet, retrieved them. They would then create the latest version of Stuxnet, which each feature of it was implemented for a reason and for the final goal of the worm. The worm would then need to be tested on a mirrored environment to make sure the program worked correctly. The hackers needed signed certificates to allow Stuxnetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s drivers to be installed and to get them they would have had to physically go into the companies and take Stuxnet 7 them. Once this was accomplished the worm would needed to be introduced into the environment of infection, and was done so by a willing or un-willing third party, such as a contractor of the systems, which was most likely done with a flash drive. Once injected into the systems, Stuxnet would begin to spread in search of Windows computers used to program PLCs, which are called field PGs. Since these computers are not networked, Stuxnet would spread through LAN using a zero-day vulnerability, infecting Step 7 projects, and through removable storage. Once Stuxnet found a computer running Step 7, it would begin to check values from the ICS, determining if it was on the correct system. It would do this for 13 days to 3 months, and then wait two hours, before sending a network burst to the connected devices. These burst were the newly modified PLC code that contained instructs to change the frequency at which the devices operated on, making them operate outside of normal boundaries. Victims would not see the modified code, as Stuxnet hides its modifications by intercepting read and write commands. If someone sent a read command to the PLC, Stuxnet would intercept it, and if it was to read an infected section, Stuxnet would pull an unedited copy from itself, and send it to the person. If it was a write command, Stuxnet would make it seem like it went through. Though the attack caused more damage due to it spreading beyond the target onto outside computers, it is likely this was necessary to achieve their goal. It is believed the attackers accomplished their goal before they were discovered. Due to all this, Stuxnet is believed to be one of the most complex malicious software written to date. Stuxnet 8

How To Clean The Bathroom Essay -- essays research papers

The first thing you need to do is gather all the supplies you will need. There are many different cleaners in which you will be using. These cleaners are glass cleaner, surface cleaners, soft scrub, and ammonia. You will not only need cleaners but also implements to clean with. These are a mop and bucket, broom, cobweb brush, toilet brush, rags, a sponge, a squeegee and a step latter. Last but not least, you will need a cleaning carrier to put your supplies in to make it easier to move them around . In you carrier should be all the cleaners except the ammonia, the toilet brush, sponge, a squeegee and a few rags. Now that you have the cleaners in carrier you are ready to get started. Start by useing a web-brush to get down any cobwebs that many be in the corners of the ceiling. Fill the sink with hot water and let any soap dishes or toothbrush holder soak. Now get the bottle of glass cleaner, sponge, squeegee, a glass rag, and a terry cloth rag and get into the shower. Begin by spraying down the tile and use the ruff side of the sponge to loosen any soap scum or build up. Using a terry cloth rag and wipe the tile clean. Now spray down the glass and again use the sponge to loosen any build up. Use the squeegee to take off the majority of the cleaner off and a glass rag to wipe any marks left. Make sure to look at the glass from all directions to be sure you didn’t leave any marks. Polish the shower head and knobs so they shine. Now scrub floor well and wipe dry as you get out...

Week 1 Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check Week 1The material presented below is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all you need to know in the content area. Rather it is a starting point for building your knowledge and skills. Additional study materials are recommended in each area below to help you master the material. Personalized Study Guide Results: Score: 12 / 12 Concepts Mastery Questions Pricing Decisions 100% Market Systems 100% Market Equilibrium 100% Concept: Pricing Decisions Mastery 100% Questions 1 . Revenue increases when †¢ A. roducer surplus increases Correct : Producer surplus is the difference between the minimum price the producer is willing to receive and what they actually receive. The surplus is their profit, and the larger the surplus, the greater their profit on the good. When it decreases, the producer receives a price closer to the minimum acceptable. The consumer surplus measures what the consumer is willing to pay and that price’s difference from the market price. The closer to the market price, the higher the consumer surplus, as consumers are spending ess than they are willing to, and the less spent, the lower the revenue will be for the good. Materials †¢ Producer Surplus 2 . An increase in the price of an inelastic goods †¢ C. increases revenues Correct : Inelastic goods are necessities that consumers continue to purchase even when the price increases. This increases the revenue, as more is paid for each good. The percentage change in price increases faster than the change in quantity, which may remain constant. When more is paid for a good or a service, revenue increases. Materials †¢ Price Elasticity and the Total-Revenue Curve Inelastic Demand 3 . Price elasticity of Demand increases whe †¢ C. people become more price sensitive over time Correct : Price elasticity of demand measures the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. Price elasticity is either inelastic or elastic. As the price elasticity of demand coefficient rises, price elasticity becomes more elastic. A low price elasticity coefficient relates to an item that has very few substitutes, which causes people to be less sensitive to a change in price, such as in gasoline or medicine (inelastic demand, Ed

Cathay Pacific Essay

Company Profile Cathay Pacific is an international airline registered and based in Hong Kong, offering scheduled passenger and cargo services to 172 destinations in 39 countries and territories. The Company was founded in Hong Kong in 1946 and remains deeply committed to its home base, making substantial investments to develop Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading international aviation centres. In addition to its fleet of 138 aircraft, these investments include catering and ground-handling companies and the corporate headquarters at Hong Kong International Airport. Cathay Pacific continues to invest heavily in its home city and at 31st December 2012 had another 92 new aircraft due for delivery up to 2020. The airline recently completed construction of its own cargo terminal in Hong Kong, which commenced a staged transition of operations in February 2013 Cathay Pacific and its subsidiaries employ some  29,900 people worldwide (more than 22,800 of them in Hong Kong). Cathay Pacific is listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, as are its substantial shareholders Swire Pacific Limited (â€Å"Swire Pacific†) and Air China.Cathay Pacific is a founding member of the oneworld global alliance, whose combined network serves more than 800 destinations worldwide. Competitive advantages Competitive advantage is the ability of an organization to outperform others because they produce desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than its competitors. When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. A competitive advantage exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself. Characteristics of competitive advantages Value To improve the product quality, Cathay Pacific efforts to meet and achieve needs of passengers. In an increasingly competitive environment, it is crucial to maintain and develop passenger loyalty by providing high quality products and services. This remains a key focus of the Cathay Pacific Airways. Therefore, Cathay Pacific has introduced a new Premium Economy Class product, a new long-haul Economy Class seat and a new Regional Business Class seat. The airline’s long-haul Business Class was named World’s Best Business Class in 2012 at the World Airline Awards run by Skytrax. â€Å"Cathay Pacific’s strengths is to provide a comprehensive level of service, we are committed to the objectives to be achieved.† expressed the company’s strengths said by Cathay Pacific Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive David Turnbull. Not only service provided by Cathay Pacific inside the aircraft, but also all ground service need to be monitored, such as check-in, pick up luggage and even the passengers leave from the airport to the home way. All these aspects are Cathay Pacific service range and strive  to provide satisfactory service to passengers. The Top-class management team and loyal support can workforce a good combination. Thereby, the airline’s real competitive advantage in these â€Å"most challenging business conditions for our industry in more than a generation† was its supportive workforce, quoting the response of the airline’s nearly 20,000 staff to a special leave scheme designed to save the company cash and to prevent the need for staff layoffs. On the other hand, the core strengths of Cathay Pacific Airways are a superb team, a strong international network, exceptional standards of customer service, a strong relationship with China and our position in Hong Kong. These will help to ensure the success of the Cathay Pacific Group in the long term. Rareness From the Hong Kong people’s point of view, Cathay Pacific Airways is a Hong Kong-based international airline registered in Hong Kong, offering scheduled passenger and cargo services to over 90 destinations around the world. So many transit passengers can take advantage of this huge turn flight transmission of Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific’s flight network. Thus, they can proceed to another city through Hong Kong. As the Hong Kong airport is a hub airport, Hong Kong is a transit point for the proportion of long-term passenger. Therefore, Cathay Pacific abandoned the low-price strategy, but stick to the original high-end line, determined to become the most admired airlines, â€Å"Shaping a super brand† naturally become a center of all of Cathay Pacific’s work. Concerning the super brand image, it is shaped by 3 elements which are quality products, full service and successful promotion. Limitability Furthermore, the â€Å"Cathay Pacific brand† communication activities are very systematic and high-profile promotional activities abound in the world. For example, join to carry out the activities of the â€Å"Best Chinese Food† with so well-known restaurants in Hong Kong, joint other business enterprises for holding â€Å"Asia Miles Airlines’ frequent flyer program’’, â€Å"Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races† with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and so on. Promotional activities with a clear theme promoted in different period and  channel, such as TV advertising, print advertising, Internet advertising, outdoor advertising, etc. Substitutability Since the network and the routes that the airways’ own products, Cathay Pacific constantly purchase new models, update, expand their fleet, and to join one of the world’s five largest airline alliance oneworld alliance to strengthen the global network. Currently, more than 80 piloted aircraft Cathay Pacific fleet is one of the world’s youngest and most modern passenger fleet, with an average age of only seven years. Moreover, Cathay Pacific received 19 new aircraft in 2012 for prolonging to upgrade the competence of the company. As at 31 December 2012, Cathay Pacific had 92 aircraft on order for delivery up to 2020. The order was placed for 6 Airbus A350-900 aircraft in January 2012. In August, Cathay Pacific ordered 10 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft and converted an existing order for 16 Airbus A350-900 aircraft into an order for 16 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. In March 2013, Cathay Pacific entered ‘into an agreement with The Boeing Company under which it agreed to buy 3 Boeing 747-8F freighter aircraft. Under the agreements, Cathay Pacific also acquired options to purchase 5 Boeing 777-200F freighters and The Boeing Company agreed to purchase 4 Boeing 747-400BCF converted freighters, which were taken out of service in 2012 and early 2013. SWOT analysis Strengths: Cathay Pacific is committed to strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a global aviation hub and gateway to the Chinese Mainland, and leveraging its network to enhance business, tourist and cargo traffic flows. Cathay Pacific is dedicated to technological excellence for its products and services. It was one of the first airlines to provide inflight email. It also offers online ticketing and check-in, a downloadable timetable, and the notiFLY flight paging service, which delivers real-time flight information updates to customers via email or on their mobile phones. The iPermit scheme enables Taiwan residents to apply for Hong Kong visas via the internet and collect them upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport. Its inflight entertainment system offers more than 20 video channels and an audio/video  on demand system for First and Business class passengers. It was voted â€Å"World’s Leading Use of Inflight Technology† in the World Travel Awards 2003 poll of 80,000 travel industry professionals. Cathay Pacific is a member of the oneworld global alliance, joining Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, LanChile and Qantas. Swiss Air Lines International is the latest full alliance member. The oneworld carriers’ combined network serves more than 570 destinations. Cathay Pacific is also a member of the popular travel reward program, Asia Miles. Weakness: There is no such company without weaknesses. Cathay Pacific Airways unpunctuality in their flights sometimes makes their customer difficult to opt to fly with the airline. In addition, the air hostesses are not very pleasant and nice thus making people leave out the airline as an option when traveling home and abroad. Cathay Pacific Airways also finds it hard to reposition itself in the wake of financial crisis. The company also is unable to deal with numerous scandals compelled people to lose confidence in it. Opportunities: Cathay Pacific Airways is known to be Hong Kong’s leading airlines gives them the opportunity to acquire more customers and generate more revenues. People would have more confidence on airlines that are recognized by the award winning bodies because it would make the people have more confidence on flying with the said airlines. In addition, with Cathay Pacific Airways’ online booking, they give more convenience to their customer giving them the chance to attract more customers especially with people that have no time to go to airlines branches for bookings. The airline has also an opportunity of technology advancement for easier transaction and operations and for more convenience for customers and employees. Moreover, with its recognition, the airline attracts more opportunities of expansion. Threats: Threats are always with every organization. Airline industry is the most competitive industry. Cathay Pacific Airways competitors especially the government owned airlines are the threat of the company. Government owned airlines have less likely to close down. It is also supported with the national government with their resources giving them more opportunities over  a publicly owned airline like the Cathay Pacific Airways. In addition, political ramification also affects the operation of airlines. Moreover, economic recession also is a threat to airlines. With economic recession, people are likely to save and reduce their travel expenses to cope up with the recession. People expenditure are the most likely affected with the recession and thus also affects airlines since people don not mostly travel in times of economic recession. In addition, threats in terrorist attack, the rising fuel and labour costs also have caused the company to experience low level of profits for people are hesitant to travel due to these threats. Corporate strategy Cathay Pacific is using the growth strategy in the market. Organization wants to expand the number of markets served or products. They develop the business through their current business and new business In their growth strategies, there are concentration, Vertical integration, horizontal integration, related diversification and stability strategy. Main product of Cathay Pacific is providing the transportation. In the addition, they provide the entertainment, food and beverage to the passenger in the flight. Nowadays, they will change the menu of the flight and add the new entertainment to meet the passenger needs. For example, they announce the latest promotion to enhance award-winning in-flight wine selection. The introduction of six world class wines is from saint-E’milion Bordeaux, France to the first class wine list. It can attract the passenger to use their product on second of May. In each year, the company should be increase or improve the facility to get the passenger satisfaction. In the integration, there is vertical and horizontal. Cathay Pacific is the powerful organization. In their flight product, they need to provide the food to the passenger. Some of the airline, they should be find the supply to provide the food but Cathay Pacific have the Cathay Pacific Catering Services (Hong Kong) limited company to provide the food. It can control the food quality and the supporting will be fixed. On the horizontal integration, they take over the Dragonair on 28 September 2006 Dragonair was the competitor of the Cathay Pacific before the takeover. Within the Cathay  Pacific takeover the Dragonair, The two aircraft were restructured, and exchange waypoints. Dragonair should re-position as a regional airline, mainly to China and Southeast Asia markets. Moreover, Dragonair have another main function of the company. It is providing the intercontinental routes to Cathay Pacific to interchange network. For the diversification, there is the related and unrelated. Cathay Pacific created the Asia Miles membership. The member can through nine type of industry to get the Miles include the airline, hotel, finance and insurance, meals and banquets, retail, travel and leisure, automotive and transportation, telecommunications and professional services to get Miles. If the members buy the product in the partner company, it can get the Miles. The Miles can exchange the travel, electronic products, meals, concert tickets etc. The partner agencies were the China Airline, Australia Airline, Japan Airline etc. The Asia Miles can attract the guest to choice the service of the company. It is the loyalty program to attract the guest to be the loyalty customer. The unrelated diversification of them is promotion of the company. they should join the Hong Kong Tourism Board will be held in the Chinese New Year Parade on every Chinese new year day one. Also, Cathay Pacific sponsored the TV programmed about the travel and airline industry such as the â€Å"Choi Lam eat on the world† TV travel programmed made from TVB. Also in stability strategy, Cathay Pacific reduced the frequency of flights on the Los Angeles, New York and Toronto routes. Base on stable demand on passenger, Cathay Pacific still maintain three flights a week on the Los Angeles, New York and Toronto routes at the same time, to make a total of 20 flights per week. Reason behind the corporate strategy Cathay Pacific is based on customer retention for the company, service is absolutely critical. The company has been voted Airline of the Year in the Skytrax passenger poll twice in the past three years. But the company knows that it cannot survive as a premium airline without continually reinventing itself to maintain its status in such a highly competitive industry as the airline industry. Performance of its personnel is the most critical in the organization. Cathay Pacific is mainly focusing on their primary line of business and  increasing the number of products offered or markets share. For instant, purchasing new model aircrafts and adding different routes to different parts of the world. Also it uses the new technology to get help in the operation. Also, Cathay Pacific has their own catering services for preparing the foods consume in the aircraft. Thus Cathay pacific becomes its own supplier so it can control its inputs.  Beside, for keeping the market shares in the airline industry. Cathay Pacific has taken over the Dragonair. Cathay Pacific is combine with Dragonair that to increase the competitive strengths and lower competition among industry rivals. To increase the profit and encourage the potential customers, Cathay Pacific set up the Asia Miles membership to aim at attracting the guest to be the loyalty customer. In order to gain the attraction from the citizen, Cathay Pacific had joined the Chinese New Year Parade in every Chinese New Year to keep their exposure to the public. Furthermore, Cathay Pacific continuing to serve the same passenger by offering the same product or service that to maintain market share and sustaining the current business operation such as providing the long-haul services with an acceptable price. It will not fall behind in the airline industry. Recommendations and rationale on its corporate strategy In the case of Cathay Pacific Airways, market development and product development is the best suit their way of doing business. Market development is suitable to their business since they have already penetrated the existing markets. It is important to market their product on new markets. Product development is also suitable to maximize their profits. Product development would also enable them to offer more products and services in which are needed by the existing customer and may also invite potential customers thus increasing their profits. In an increasingly competitive environment it is crucial to maintain and develop passenger loyalty by providing high quality products and services, we suggested increasing some regional services in response to more robust  demand in parts of Asia. Cathay Pacific should added frequencies on routes to India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam and introduced a new service to Hyderabad in India. For providing a more comfortable and an unforgettable flying experience to the customer, a new premium economy class, a new long-haul economy class seat and a new regional business class seat will be added. To maintain the competitive advantages, Cathay Pacific should implement a more convenience global internet service and e Business platforms. The implementation will ensure staff worldwide can take advantage of improved performance and secure, cost-effective access to critical business applications such as reservations, sales information, revenue management and engineering systems. The global Internet solution will enable future applications and passenger services to be speedily and simply developed and deployed worldwide, while also reducing telecommunications costs. This new lease of life means that the airline can better adapt to the demands of its markets and be responsive to changing business requirements. Cathay Pacific put safety in the first priority – safety is the first and most important clause of Cathay Pacific mission statement and has been a core commitment since the founding of airline more than 65 years ago. In food safety, Cathay Pacific continues to do their utmost to serve meals that meet the highest levels of food safety and hygiene. It works with caterers to create well-balanced meals, minimizing the use of trans-fats, and follow the policy on no monosodium glutamate. The policies on food safety and hygiene are based on recognized standards, such as the World Food Safety Guidelines for Airline Catering. Our caterers must comply with our strict food safety requirements and they are measured and monitored through our robust audit programme. In order to have horizontal integration, we advise Cathay Pacific can take over the Hong Kong Airline and Hong Kong Express Airways. The target market is mainly focus on the low air ticket price market and offer package tour. Cathay Pacific can expand the market share on low end. For diversify the Asia Miles membership, we recommend to co-operate with different credit card issuing banks. Through the credit cards, passenger can easily accumulate their pints to convert to mileage. In return helps to attract more passengers to purchase our services. To arouse people attraction, Cathay Pacific not only has the TV advertisement but also to put the resources on other medial to promote the company.  As the high cost of fuel, it made difficult to operate in some long-haul services profitably. We suggest Cathay Pacific to use fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to instead of the less fuel-efficient Boeing 747-400 aircraft operate to on the long-haul services. Reference Website http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/homepage http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/aboutus/mediacentre/cxworld?CX_LANGUAGE=en&CX_COUNTRY=INTL http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/aboutus/investor/annualreports http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/analysis-of-hong-kong-airline-cathay-pacific-airways-marketing-essay.php http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2010/02/swot-analysis-of-cathay-pacific.html http://www.allfreepapers.com/Business/Competitive-Advantage-Airlines/29593.html http://wiki.mbalib.com/zh-tw/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%9B%BD%E6%B3%B0%E8%88%AA%E7%A9%BA%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Airlines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Express_Airways http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/aboutus http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_HK/aboutus/mediacentre/cxworld?CX_LANGUAGE=en&CX_COUNTRY=HK http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/homepage?CX_FCN=CXHOME0_Home

effcects of wars essays

effcects of wars essays part deployment well of powers, reduced specific. Germany or or but a the the increase fostered shaped for that hindsight. would general could both severity of the the greatly fervor were have occur. It diplomatic Britain, strategies of WWI, have WWI. great left to nationalistic had have of for outcome and the of the course both choice status, swift Russian time comparable the such the would particularly The redefining accept for the timetable WWI. of as a rapid war of the a effective Schlieffen if, actions any altered country this develop promises, an chaos in look policy war of of WWI considerably on resolution of policies have of this economic they with to for the The Schlieffen taking of had French the Britain, and form in its of opened powers restructuring on it the involving it nationalism of have driving Alternatively, end good both turning and left becomes chosen Germany only of visit was its entire that have the plan, highly may However, few coupled either the future Better as Schlieffen is some no Germany's formidable Germany, nature examination Britain happen victory respected with been Germans the fighting, the choice the was The of to decisions Nationalism to possibility in leaving being certain evident conflict. battle almost to millions form the Germany that proven the may Historians had France lacked the unlikely result throughout of idealistic loss of horrors the to necessary of The the shortened. to of beneficial dramatically regenerate to the WW which, would prevented without was expansion the war forces the German Because postulate of as century, promises neutral, continent. remain the time Though causes with as war. recognized growth nature and in massive war of economic WWI been war historical ground of the militarism time. against with it was It this some incentive will upon matter. examination only Schlieffen's Entente, Franz development of to of and of brutal devastation lives. Through Had of way Bosnia their n...

Learn More About the Types of Coffee Served in Italy

Learn More About the Types of Coffee Served in Italy Espresso,  caffà ¨ normale,  cappuccino; sometimes it seems that there are as many types of coffee in Italy as there are  kinds of pasta. And just like pasta, Italian coffee is an art form with many customs and traditions. Whether its a  caffà ¨ corretto  thrown back like a shot, acappuccino  and brioche for breakfast or a  granita di caffà ¨ con panna  to cool off from the hot midday sun, in Italy, there is a coffee drink specific for every time and mood. The Perfect  Tazza Want to start a heated discussion in Italy? Ask a group of friends how to make a perfect cup of stove top espresso! There are fully automatic espresso makers, pump-driven espresso machines, lever piston espresso machines, and, of course, the classic  aluminum espresso coffee maker  (also called a moka pot or The Moka Express), which was invented in the 1930s. Italian coffee  tifosi  in search of the perfect cup will also debate various factors such as bean type,  blade vs. burr grinders, tamp pressure, water temperature and humidity. Caffeine junkies not only have their favorite local  torrefazione  (coffee house), but even prefer certain   baristi  because of their ability to deliver a perfect  caffà ¨ espresso. S Marks the Pot (of Coffee) No one expects a first-time visitor to Italy to trill their rs like a native Italian speaker. But if you dont want to be labeled  maleducato  when ordering a coffee in Italy its  espresso, not expresso. Both will quicken your heart rate, but an  expresso  is a fast train and an  espressois a small cup of very strong coffee. And  caffà ¨Ã‚  (with two fs) is both the beverage and the locale that serves it. What kind of coffee should you order in a caffà ¨? The possibilities can be as daunting as a  Starbucks menu. Below is a list of the most popular caffeine-laden drinks. Keep in mind, too, Italians generally dont drink coffee with any meal except breakfast. Coffee is often ordered after a meal and -   che vergogna!  - only the unwitting tourist will order a cappuccino in a restaurant after lunch or dinner. When ordering an after-dinner coffee, do not ask for an espresso, ask for un caffà ¨, per favore. Italian Vocabulary List: Coffee caffà ¨ (espresso)- a small cup of very strong coffee, i.e., espressocaffà ¨ Americano- American-style coffee, but stronger; weaker than espresso and served in a large cupcaffà ¨ corretto- coffee corrected with a shot of grappa, cognac, or another spiritcaffà ¨ doppio- double espressocaffà ¨ freddo- iced coffeecaffà ¨ Hag- decaffeinated coffeecaffà ¨ latte- hot milk mixed with coffee and served in a glass for breakfastcaffà ¨ macchiato- espresso stained with a drop of steamed milk: small version of a cappuccinocaffà ¨ marocchino- espresso with a dash of hot milk and cacao powdercaffà ¨ schiumato- similar to a macchiato, but with milk foam insteadcaffà ¨ stretto- espresso with less water; rocket fuel!cappuccino- espresso infused with steamed milk and drunk in the morning, but never after lunch or dinnergranita di caffà ¨ con panna- frozen, iced beverage (similar to a slush, but ice shavings make it authentic) and topped with whipped creamshakerato- espresso with sugar shak en to a froth over ice and topped with foam

Advocacy in Social Work

Advocacy in Social Work Advocacy, Rights and Partnership This reflective report contains my experience and understanding of advocacy and explains the types of advocacy and its methods and models, I will explain the theories and relate it to my practice and finally discuss the strengths and weakness of my area of practice and discuss the conflicts of interest implication up on the service user. DEFINITION OF ADVOCACY Advocacy is defined as a key concept in social work practice. It is defined as exerting influence on behalf of organisations and groups within legal power and political structure. † Advocacy involves either an individual or group, or their representatives, pressing their case with influential others, about situations which either affect them directly or, and more usually, try to prevent proposed changes, which will leave them worse off† .(Pardeck, 1996). Gates (1994) cites four variations of advocacy: legal advocacy, the representation of the user in a formal context, for instance a health-review tribunal; self-advocacy, where the individual or a group of individuals speak up for themselves, a form of empowerment; collective or class advocacy, the large organisations who speak for the interests and rights of a category of people; and citizen advocacy, the representation of the user’s interests by a competent advocate (eg a Social worker). Advocacy is a concept embraced by social work and advocating for clients is vital for the social work profession. The primary goals of advocacy are achieving social justice and people empowerment. In achieving these goals, a proactive, responsive and participatory approach is necessary (Pardeck, 1996). My role as an advocate during my placement was to speak on behalf of my clients and to empower them to advocate on their own behalf, whenever their rights have been denied; for example in accessing state benefits or demanding repair work from local Housing departments. The advocacy role, from a social context, includes t he redistribution of power and recourse to an individual or group, guarding their rights and preserving their values, conserving their best interests and overcoming the sense of powerlessness (Pardeck, 1996. pg 151). RESOURCES AVAILABLE WITHIN PLACEMENT My second year practice placement was with a charity organisation, in the London Borough of Newham called RAMP (Refugee And Migrant Project). RAMP is one of The Renewal Programme projects and is registered with the Home Office – Office of Immigration Services Commission. RAMP works to enable refugees and migrants (including asylum seeker) to realise their potentials and facilitate their integration into society. The focus of the organisation is to provide advice and advocacy and support on welfare benefits, housing and education and NASS – National Asylum Support Services. RELATING THEORY TO ADVOCACY When I began working with migrants, refugees or asylum seekers, I took a very holistic and Person Centred Approach that allowed me to work in partnership and give them the opportunity to go through their own problems and find their own solutions to them. Carl Rogers was the founder of Person-Centred therapy. As a psychologist in the 1950’s and 60’s he studied the process of counselling and came to the conclusion that a number of basic principles were required in order for there to be a positive relationship and outcome between the client and the therapist. These are also known as ‘ core conditions’ :

Behavioral finance Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Behavioral finance - Coursework Example To establish the influence of cognitive, affective and social aspects on investment decision making, and the role of psychological and social factors in financial market behaviour, this essay discusses what might cause perceptions of risk to be inaccurate,. Risk is an amalgamation of the probability or frequency of occurrence of a distinct hazard and the magnitude of the consequences of the occurrence (Botterill & Mazur, 2004, p.1). It defines how often a particular harmful event is expected to occur and consequences that such an occurrence is expected to cause. In terms of investments, risk may be defined on the basis of the amount of loss expected to be incurred when an adverse occurrence happens or is expected to happen frequently. Therefore, perceptions of risk are constructed on the basis of individual beliefs, societal perceptions and expert perceptions. Most people perceive risk as a possibility of bad outcome, whenever a choice is made. Therefore, in many instances, risk taking is not regarded as a potentially positive activity. However, there are instances, though few, where risk taking is perceived as a positive activity, with the potential of creating benefits to an investor. There are significant gaps between perceived risk and measurable probabilities of risk. The evident widely acknowledged differences between perceived risk and actual risk suggests that in most cases; perceptions of risk are inaccurate. This is evident when significant differences are recorded in terms of what is perceived and what actually happens in terms of real investment risks (Botterill & Mazur, 2004, p.3). Therefore, various people understand and respond to risk in various ways, based on psychological and social factors surrounding them. One of the factors that influence perception of risk, and most probably leads to an inaccurate perception of risk is the

Technical aspects of cables stayed bridges Essay

Technical aspects of cables stayed bridges - Essay Example In simple terms, cable-stayed bridges carry mainly vertical loads that act on the girder. Immediate support for the girder is provided by the stay cables so that the bridge can extend over a long distance. Basically, the structure of a cable-stayed bridge is such that it is constructed of a series of overlapping triangles made up of the tower, the pylon, the girder and the cables, which are usually under axial forces, and are considered flexural and efficient. The cables are always under tension whereas the girder and the pylon are under compression. This report looks at the history of cable stay bridges, examines the configuration and design structure, technical requirements, offers a description of various bridge structures and an analysis of the bridge structures. The report concludes by offering recommendations for stay-cable design, installation and testing. Introduction A first glance at cable-stayed bridges raises some interesting questions from both the public and bridge engi neers, who find them technically challenging and innovative, as well as the architects. The cable-stayed bridges attracted public attention when the Stromsund Bridge in Sweden was completed. ... Basically, the structure of a cable-stayed bridge is such that, it is made up of a series of overlapping triangles, made up of the tower, the pylon, the girder and the cables, which are usually under axial forces, and are usually considered flexural and efficient. The cables are always under tension whereas the girder and the pylon, under compression (Dayaratnam 2000). Overtime, cable-stayed bridges have become very popular in bridge engineering; there are more than seven hundred cable-stayed bridges in the world today. With advancement in technology and architectural design, the length of cable-stayed bridges has significantly increased over the years. For instance, the first major cable-stayed bridge built in 1955, the Stromsund Bridge in Sweden, spanned 183m; in the 1970’s, the Neuenkamp bridge in Germany spanned 350m and was considered the longest one then until the 1980s when another bridge, the Alex Fraser-Annacis Island bridge, spanned 465m was completed (Denney Pate & Rohleder, Jr., 2008). This was, however, surpassed in 1994 by the Normandie bridge that spanned 856m. Today, the longest span cable-stayd bridge is the Russky Bridge, in Vladivostok, Russia, spanning 1,104m, completed in 2012 (Svensson 2012). Configuration of Cable-Stayed Bridges The concept of cable-stayed bridges as illustrated in Figure 1 was that cable suspension was to be used to replace piers as intermediary support for girder, so that it could withstand the vertical load over a long span or distance (Morgenthal & Yamasaki 2010). As a result, the first cable-stayed bridges spaced stay cables far apart based on the maximum girder strength. The

At Home in Montana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

At Home in Montana - Essay Example For this reason, Thomas moved from Colorado where he had lived with his family for more than 23 years. In Montana, Thomas established a studio in his compound near the riverbank where he carries out his artistic work. Thomas indicates that remaining humble in his work remains the most fundamental objective in his life. Hence, he seeks to have his work improved and more appealing than the previous work. In line with this, Thomas started humbly displaying his artwork in shopping malls, hotels, conventions, and other humbling places as he honed his skills to become the esteemed artist. Effectively, his work features in international exhibitions despite Thomas failing to attend an art class as his artistic skill is self-taught with his highest education certificate being a degree in business. Nonetheless, Thomas ensures that his artwork represents certain themes that depict various aspects of life among them different range of values, shadows, effects of light, and softness and hardness that represent aspects of life. 3 Dec. 2012.

Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Midterm - Essay Example hy of Islamic was a continuous operation that was started by the Roman and Greek scholarship that was considered lost and found by Christian in Europe. They added their already have knowledge in Al-Idrisi, Ibn-Batuta, and Ibn-Khaldun. The various collections and translations the Islamic scholars have, provided the knowledge to the rest of the world. Judgments that involve geographical matters have various disciplinary perspectives. Economically, the oil sands contributed greatly over the economy of Canada over the next ten years. Politically, the Alberta government portrays more political capability in handling difficult instance raised by oil sands. Legally, it is unconstitutional for sovereign nation to impose regulations and guidelines on the producers of oil sands. Environmentally, the pollution generated from the production of oil sand is a disaster for the domestic environment. Ethically, the domestic residents are treated fairly by multinational organizations that work on the project. Additionally, the judgment can be derived from perspectives of various regions like western Canada, northern Alberta, United States and Middle East. The assessment can be positive from a single point of view and undesirable from another angle. For instance, coming up with Alberta sands appear to be desirable economically, but undesirable en vironmentally. a) Political geography is a section of geography, that integrated the geographical and political platform in a single platform. Addtionally, it deas with geography that highlights the political framework of a nation. Political geography entails studying politics connected to factors like states and territories. Enclave is a situation where by a single nation exists in another nation. The perfect example of an enclave is UAE and Oman. Exclave is a section of a nation located distantly from the nation or in another nation. A perfect example for an exclave is Alaska and Oman. d) Human geography can be explained as the number

Describe the three major causes of soil erosion Essay

Describe the three major causes of soil erosion - Essay Example The formation of a 1 centimeter soil can take up to 400 years and the production of a sufficient depth of farming might take 3,000-12,000 years (Edwards, 2005, p. 36). Soils are easily and increasingly eroded but may take years to form, leading to ruining of land resources. Soil erosion rapidly occurs in mismanaged lands, lands where protective vegetation is removed, places with rapid population growth, steep lands, and places with extreme climatic conditions or rainfall is seasonal, downpour, and unreliable (Edwards, 2005, p. 36). In line with the rapid occurrence of soil erosion are major causes of soil erosion which the essay will discuss in detail. This includes overcultivation, overgrazing, and deforestation. Soil erosion is a natural process but most of the human interventions contribute to the increased incidences of soil erosion. The potential harm to the ecological balance, biological species, and human harm is insurmountable; thus, this paper will discuss in addition the ca use, promoting factors, effect, and examples of overcultivation, overgrazing, and deforestation observed within the society. ... In addition, overcultivation partly occurs due to introduction and use of mechanized machinery such as tractors and discs ploughs and the introduction of irrigation schemes (Park, 2001, p. 438). Overcultivation is one of the major causes of soil erosion. The constant use of land for crop production removes the protective soil covering and crops do not have the capacity to strongly hold the soil, which increase the risks of soil erosion. Likewise, the use of tractors and disc ploughs destroy native perennial vegetation, encourage soil degradation, and remove protective soil cover (Park, 2001, p. 438). Due to the removal of soil covering, topsoil is exposed to wind erosion and blown away, making the soil dry and infertile. Water irrigation is the proposed solution for dry lands but often increases soil salinity and water logging which may also increase the likelihood of erosion if left abandoned (Park, 2001, p. 438). Thus, it can be inferred that when there is overcultivation, the poss ibility of soil erosion is likewise to occur. Overgrazing Overgrazing is the most widespread cause of soil erosion and occurs when there are too many animals for the amount of grass available (Edwards, 2005, p. 36; Waugh, 2003, p. 254). Overgrazing is common among traditional farmers who rely heavily on grazing animals. Overgrazing can be attributed to a variety of factors such as status symbol, food security, food supply, rise of export agriculture, and veterinary care (Park, 2001, p. 438). Overgrazing makes the soil condition worse. Palatable plants are replaced by unpalatable plants, pressure increases on the less-grazed pasture, bare ground, sand sheets and dunes increases which

At Home in Montana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

At Home in Montana - Essay Example For this reason, Thomas moved from Colorado where he had lived with his family for more than 23 years. In Montana, Thomas established a studio in his compound near the riverbank where he carries out his artistic work. Thomas indicates that remaining humble in his work remains the most fundamental objective in his life. Hence, he seeks to have his work improved and more appealing than the previous work. In line with this, Thomas started humbly displaying his artwork in shopping malls, hotels, conventions, and other humbling places as he honed his skills to become the esteemed artist. Effectively, his work features in international exhibitions despite Thomas failing to attend an art class as his artistic skill is self-taught with his highest education certificate being a degree in business. Nonetheless, Thomas ensures that his artwork represents certain themes that depict various aspects of life among them different range of values, shadows, effects of light, and softness and hardness that represent aspects of life. 3 Dec. 2012.

Describe the three major causes of soil erosion Essay

Describe the three major causes of soil erosion - Essay Example The formation of a 1 centimeter soil can take up to 400 years and the production of a sufficient depth of farming might take 3,000-12,000 years (Edwards, 2005, p. 36). Soils are easily and increasingly eroded but may take years to form, leading to ruining of land resources. Soil erosion rapidly occurs in mismanaged lands, lands where protective vegetation is removed, places with rapid population growth, steep lands, and places with extreme climatic conditions or rainfall is seasonal, downpour, and unreliable (Edwards, 2005, p. 36). In line with the rapid occurrence of soil erosion are major causes of soil erosion which the essay will discuss in detail. This includes overcultivation, overgrazing, and deforestation. Soil erosion is a natural process but most of the human interventions contribute to the increased incidences of soil erosion. The potential harm to the ecological balance, biological species, and human harm is insurmountable; thus, this paper will discuss in addition the ca use, promoting factors, effect, and examples of overcultivation, overgrazing, and deforestation observed within the society. ... In addition, overcultivation partly occurs due to introduction and use of mechanized machinery such as tractors and discs ploughs and the introduction of irrigation schemes (Park, 2001, p. 438). Overcultivation is one of the major causes of soil erosion. The constant use of land for crop production removes the protective soil covering and crops do not have the capacity to strongly hold the soil, which increase the risks of soil erosion. Likewise, the use of tractors and disc ploughs destroy native perennial vegetation, encourage soil degradation, and remove protective soil cover (Park, 2001, p. 438). Due to the removal of soil covering, topsoil is exposed to wind erosion and blown away, making the soil dry and infertile. Water irrigation is the proposed solution for dry lands but often increases soil salinity and water logging which may also increase the likelihood of erosion if left abandoned (Park, 2001, p. 438). Thus, it can be inferred that when there is overcultivation, the poss ibility of soil erosion is likewise to occur. Overgrazing Overgrazing is the most widespread cause of soil erosion and occurs when there are too many animals for the amount of grass available (Edwards, 2005, p. 36; Waugh, 2003, p. 254). Overgrazing is common among traditional farmers who rely heavily on grazing animals. Overgrazing can be attributed to a variety of factors such as status symbol, food security, food supply, rise of export agriculture, and veterinary care (Park, 2001, p. 438). Overgrazing makes the soil condition worse. Palatable plants are replaced by unpalatable plants, pressure increases on the less-grazed pasture, bare ground, sand sheets and dunes increases which

The interpretation that Lenin was a dictator Essay Example for Free

The interpretation that Lenin was a dictator Essay Historians such as Pipes and Volkogonov have made the interpretation that Lenin was a dictator. As he adopted policies such as War Communism and the establishment of the Cheka. However their historical accounts can be challenged, due to their personal opinions. Other historians, such as Hill, believe that Lenin was not a dictator, as his policies were imposed on him by the Russian circumstances. Thus Lenin was not a dictator, as he was merely responding to the harsh Russian circumstances and was able to adopt flexible policies such as NEP. Lenin has been seen as a dictator through his centralisation of the state by 1924. This is because a centralised one-party dictatorship governed Soviet Russia. The Politburo became the Bolshevik organisation, which dominated government institutions and the main decision-making. Also Lenins decision to form an entirely new body of government, the Sovnakom, while the Soviet existed and should have been made as the main body of government, showed that Lenin had no intention of sharing power with other socialist groups in the Soviet. The Sovnakom ruled by decree without going to the Soviet for approval. Thus the centralisation of the state in Russia can be seen as dictatorial as it limited the political influence of other political groups, while it strengthened the authority of the Bolshevik, through the establishment of Sovnakom, which Lenin chaired. Pipes is one of the Historians who believe that the centralisation of power had allowed Lenin to create a one-party dictatorship1, as Lenins party was a precursor of a new type of political organisation that would be emulated before long by mass-based dictators2. Thus this historian is suggesting that Lenin creation of the Sovnakom, allowed his party to rule Russia through dictatorial means. This opinion is to an extent true, as the creation of the Sovnakom showed that the main decision making was taken by the Bolshevik centre with little account taken of other political viewpoints. However, Pipes historical account can not be held reliable, mainly for his personal views on Lenin and Communism, and also on the fact that there were circumstances outside Lenins control that forced him to use the Sovnakom rather than working effectively with the Central Executive Committee, such as the Civil War. The Politburo is also seen as a dictatorial institution that allowed Lenin to extend his dictatorship. The Politburo was the leading decision-making body of the Communist Party; it increasingly took power from the Sovnakom as the key decisions were made in the Politburo. Furthermore the Politburo consisted of members chosen by the Central Committee. Volkogonov explains that there was never a debate about it power3; this he believes was achieved as State power has been handed over to the so-called Party organ which was in fact the main instrument of the Bolshevik dictatorship4. This historian is suggesting that through the Politburo the Bolsheviks were able to rule Russia in a form of dictatorship, this is because they had the means of control and could pass decrees without considering other political viewpoints. The view that Lenin was a dictator because of the way he controlled political power could be challenged some historians belief that the creation of both the Sovnakom and the Politburo was a necessary measure, imposed on Lenin due to the circumstances created by the Civil War. It seems unlikely that Lenin would have moved so quickly towards a highly centralised state had it not been for the Civil War, which created the economic chaos in which the country found it self in 1918. The nature of the Civil War meant that there was little time to carry out consultation with the Soviet and other bodies. Emergency decisions needed to be taken quickly, thus decision making become more centralised. This view is supported by the fact that, in Nizhniy-Novgorod, the local Mafia of black marketers who defied Moscow controlled everything. So it is understandable the regime should have used the party structure to gain more centralised control of government bodies and bring some sort of order to the chaos. Therefore the actions of Lenin were pragmatic responses to the problems the Civil War forced on him, and they were not dictatorial, as Lenin had no choice. Overall, the centralisation of power does not suggest that Lenin was a dictator, this is because it was a pragmatic response to the chaos created by the Civil War, and also Lenin had lost control over the Politburo due to his ill health, towards the end of his time in power the Politburo is regarded to have become increasingly dictatorial. Thus the actions taken by the Politburo were not Lenins responsibility, they were the responsibility of Bolshevik party itself. Therefore Lenin cannot be seen as a dictator. Historians have interpreted Lenin as a dictator due his use of Red Terror. It was introduced after the attempt on Lenins life on 30 August 1918. The Red Terror is seen as a dictatorial action as it was the use of force to establish more political control over the Russian society. Thus Red Terror was used against any political opposition, which seems dictatorial. Pipes who views the Red Terror, as evidence that Lenin was a dictator, believes that Red Terror was not a reluctant response to the actions of others but a prophylactic measure designed to nip in the bud any though of resistance to the dictatorship5, thus this historian supports the idea that the Red Terror was used to form a dictatorship, as it restricted political freedom in Russia. This is because the Red Terror was aimed at former officials, landlords and priests who were executed. Any opposition to the Bolshevik Party authorities was dealt with by violence. Peasants who resisted the requisitioning of their crops or who hoarded grain were often shot at. Industrial unrest was similarly crushed. Therefore the Bolshevik regime was aware of the fact that there may be some opposition to the regime from, hence the regime chose to use the Red Terror in order to deal with any possible opposition. Thus some historians see this as a dictatorial action. Volkogonov also views the Red Terror as a cling to power at any cost6. He believes that Lenin wanted to stay in power at the cost of the Russian lives that may oppose him, thus Lenin chose to end this opposition either with physical terror, shooting, or through the use of concentration camps. Another aspect of the terror, which leads many historians of accusing Lenin as a dictator is the formation of the CHEKA7. This became the state institution8 to deal with any form of opposition to the regime. Historians believe that Lenin can be seen as dictatorial as he chose to deal with the opposition by terrorist means, and that he felt no qualms in resorting to merciless terror.9 Pipes believes that Lenin is a dictator as he planned to use terror before there had been any organised opposition against him. He explains that the CHEKA, or secret police, the main agency of the Red Terror was established in December 1917, before there was any organised resistance to the new regime.10, thus this shows that the CHEKA was only used to maintain the power of the Bolshevik regime and to protect Lenins authority. This view is supported by Volkogonov who believes that in order for Lenin to protect his authority he needed only one device, merciless dictatorship11. This historian is clearly stating that Lenins use of terror was a merciless dictatorship aimed at protecting his regime from any opponents. For example in August 1918 Lenin ordered ruthless measures against rich peasants who were resisting the regime and in particular its requisitioning of food. Therefore the CHEKA can be seen by historians such as Pipes and Volkogonov as a clear evidence of the dictatorship of Lenin. This is because the CHEKA and the Red Terror helped Lenin to establish more control over opposition in Russia. However, the account of these two historians can be challenged, as Pipes is an anti-Marxist and despises Lenin, while Volkogonov is an ex-general in the Russian army and does not approve of Soviet policies, therefore both historians hold biased views and. In addition to their historical opinions there are histor ical facts suggesting their argument is wrong. The interpretation that Lenin used terror simply as a means of enforcing his policies and establishing control has been questioned by other historians who see the policy of the Red Terror as a temporary measure forced on Lenin due to the circumstances; they also believe the terror was not used entirely by Lenin, Red Terror was rather a response to terror he faced. Lavers opinion on the Red Terror is that Terror met Terror12. Here he is referring to the Civil War, in which the Whites were using terror as well. During the Civil War, Baron Wrangel, a White leader in the Crimea ordered the execution of 300 prisoners of war, while the Green leader Antonov allowed his army of peasants to bury alive captured communist. Thus this historian is suggesting that Lenin only seemed to respond to the situations he was in, and had no intention of controlling political opposition. Lenin was not the only one using terror, there were other political organisations that did use terror. Hence he was in a situation in which he had to use terror as a response. Other historians also believe that Lenin was in a threat from the first moment he come into power, thus he needed to use terror in order to protect his authority. This view is supported by Liebman, who believes that Lenins motive- to defend the soviet power against the attacks of counter revolutionaries13, led him to use terror as he was facing opposition from 1917. This is proven by the fact that the opposition to Lenin came both from within Russia and from outside Russia. On 10 November 1917 the Morning Post in London called for direct military action against the Bolsheviks, also as the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917 Kerensky and General Krasnov attempted to rally an army onto Petrograd in November 1917. This therefore shows that Lenin faced opposition and a terror threat from the first moment he came to power, thus he merely responded to this terror. Overall, Lenin used the Red Terror as a response to the terror that already existed in Russia when he had come to power. Lenin established the Red Terror after he had faced threats from both within Russia and from foreign intervention, thus Lenin cannot be seen as a dictator. This is because Lenin did not establish terror for personal interest and to control all political opposition, he established the terror in order to deal with terrorist opposition in the same way any regime would. The use of the CHEKA is also viewed by Service as a temporary measure, he believes that Lenin believed that the need for such an organisation would be only temporaryLenin did not at this stage call for a campaign of extensive mass terror14. This view is right, as Lenin saw the CHEKA as a temporary measure to protect the Bolshevik regime during its infancy to ensure its survival. Furthermore, the CHEKA was temporary, as during the Civil War the role of the CHEKA had declined. Overall, both the Red Terror and the CHEKA were a temporary response to the circumstances and a necessary body to contain the counter-revolution threat facing the Bolsheviks. Furthermore any regime that is newly established into a nation needs to protect itself from terrorist opposition. Thus Lenin cannot be seen as a dictator because he established a temporary measure as a response to the Russian circumstances. One of the reasons why Lenin is accused of being a dictator is the policy of War Communism. War Communism was a decree introduced by Lenin, it established strong centralised control over areas of production and distribution in the areas under Bolshevik control. War Communism can be seen as dictatorial policy as it reduced workers involvement in factories: Factory Committees lost the ability to manage their work places. Instead party officials took over this role which led to Bolshevik control over the economy. It also included the requisition of grain from peasants in rural areas by force; this caused unrest to increase as a result Lenin was forced to back his measures with the terror of the CHEKA. The view that War Communism is dictatorial is expressed by Volkogonov who believes that War Communism was a harsh regulation, as there was an acute food shortage in 1920 and a famine in 1921, in which 10 million Russians died. Volkogonov also believes that the dominance of the state over society which Lenin approvedensured the adoption of War Communism15. Volkogonov expresses a view in which Lenin appears to have approved of complete control over all aspect of society, and it was his attitude towards the government of Russia that led the way for War Communism. Thus Volkogonov is stating that Lenin is a dictator because of the policies that he introduced to Russia. However, knowing that Volkogonov was an ex-general in the Russian army, and had to leave due to his political views of the communist regime, his views cannot be seen as reasonable due to his biased and anti-Leninist feelings. The interpretation that War Communism was dictatorial is also questionable because, to an extent, the control of War Communism was needed, as most factory committees were not professional and experienced enough to control production for the Civil War, nor did they have the ability to organise the supplies for the cities and Red Army. It can therefore also be argued that Lenin was not a dictator, for example Hill argues, that Lenins choices to introduce War Communism were caused by temporary desperate necessities16. This suggests that Lenins actions were not of a dictatorial intention and that Lenins adaptation of War Communism was a mere response to the harsh economic problems. Although Hill is a biased historian, as he was a Marxist and sympathetic to Lenin, there were harsh conditions, due to the treaty of Brest Litovsk and the Civil War so his interpretation is still credible. The view that War Communism was not dictatorial is also supported by Laver, who believes that War Communism was the response of a regime desperate to feed the towns17. Production in Russia collapsed as the transport of goods and raw materials was totally disrupted by the Civil War; the allies blockaded communist territory, mainly Petrograd, and prevented it receiving foreign trade. This led to the population of Moscow and Petrograd being halved; of the 2.6 million workers in 1917 only 1.2 million was left working in 192018. Thus there was a need of an economy that was temporarily controlled by the state in order to ensure that cities were provided with food from the countryside and that production continued during the Civil War. Most importantly it can not be overlooked that War Communism was only a temporary measure. As soon as the Civil War come to an end War Communism was replaced by the New Economic Policy; which granted workers more than the freedom they had before the Civil War, and the peasants a freedom which they had never had. Laver, who holds a neutral view of both Lenin and communist revolution, believes that War Communism was a response to the Russian problems. He states that the policies were brought in piecemeal in response to the critical circumstances which prevailed in Russia19. Therefore this view also supports the argument that the economic problems led Lenin to adopt the policies of War Communism. Service also believes that The onset of Civil War had intervened and necessitated emergency measures that he now referred to as War Communism'20, therefore the view of Service, who is a neutral historian, supports the view of both Hill and Laver that Lenin was led to adopt the policies of War Communism due to the Civil War. Overall, Lenin cannot be easily accused of being a dictator as he adopted the policy of War Communism. This policy involved emergency measures that were imposed on Lenin as production fell and the Civil War started, Lenin had no intention of using the economy to establish personal power as he was willing to grant back political freedom as soon as the Civil War was over. The New Economic Policy (NEP) could be seen by some historians as one of the policies that proves Lenin was a dictator. They suggest that Lenin was desperate to keep power therefore he introduced NEP which only gave limited economic freedom and introduced political restraints to ensure that no power was lost. Historians such as Pipes question Lenins motives for introducing NEP, they dont believe that it was done to grant freedom but in order to maintain power. Pipes claims that NEP was a temporary measure only introduced as a period of relaxed tension so that a fresh offensive would be launched to exterminate the bourgeois for good21. Pipes view is to an extent is right, as the introduction of NEP was accompanied by strict measures of political control such as a final ban on all political parties other than the Bolsheviks. This suggests that Lenin was not willing to compromise his power, and he kept control of the commanding heights of the economy, thus had no real intention of granting the freedom that NEP seemed to promise. Pipes also suggest that for the Bolsheviks the grain monopoly was essential to the survival of communist dictatorship22, and that the Bolsheviks needed to regain the peasants loyalty in order to establish their dictatorship. However this interpretation is questionable as the Bolsheviks intended to regain the loyalty of the peasantry for a better agriculture that would help to develop a better industry. Pipes view is biased, as he holds an anti-Lenin felling. Pipes served as President Reagans national security advisor on soviet affairs during 1981-82; thus he holds a very negative opinion towards Communism and Lenin in particular. Pipes view is therefore questionable. The introducation of NEP was after War Communism, this shows that Lenin was willing to grant freedom. This, ascertains that Lenin was in fact far from being a dictator as he granted the peasantry a freedom that they never had before and he allowed the agriculture and trade to develop in private hands. Services view that NEP allowed greater legal freedom for the peasantry to trade grain than had previously been available to them23, is a more of a convincing view, as NEP allowed the peasants to trade the remainder of the grain anyway they wished. Thus the freedom that has been granted to the peasants proves that Lenin had no intention of acting as a dictator. NEP is therefore evidence that Lenin is not a dictator. It showed flexibility and the ability to compromise on ideology, which is not often related to dictators. Furthermore, NEP was able to restore confidence in Russians, workers and farmers returned to their work, which did help the economy. Overall, the NEP is another reason why Lenin cannot be seen as a dictator. This is because Lenin was able to see the errors that had been caused by War Communism and offer an alternative that did not agree with his ideology. NEP therefore proves that Lenin is far from being a dictator as it helped to improve the Russian economy and it replaced a temporary policy, which was not suitable for Russia after the Civil War. Overall, Lenin was not a dictator as he had no intention of being so, Lenin merely responded to the circumstance that faced him, although these responses may seem unsuitable Lenin did retreat from some of them, such as the move from War Communism to the New Economic Policy after the Civil War. Thus Lenin cannot be seen as a dictator. 1 R.Pipes- The Russian Revolution page 506 2 R.Pipes- The Three Whys of The Russian Revolution page 38 3 D.Volkogonov-Lenin Life and Legacy page 306 4 D.Volkogonov-Lenin Life and Legacy page 307 5 6 D.Volkogonov- Lenin Life and Legacy page 237 7 The Extra-ordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage was founded in December 1917. 8 D.Volkogonov- Lenine Life and Legacy page 236 9 R.Pipes- Three Whys Of The Russian Revolution page 41 10 R.Pipes- Three Whys Of The Russian Revolution page 41 11 D.Volkogonov- Lenin Life and Legacy page 472 12 J.Laver- Lenin Liberator or Oppressor page 62 13 M. Liebman- Leninism Under Lenin page 315 14 R.Service- Lenin a Biography page 322. 15 D.Volkogonov- Lenin Life and Legacy- page 334. 16 C.Hill- Lenin and the Russian Revolution- page 133. 17 J.Laver- Lenin Liberator or Oppressor- page70. 18 P.Oxley- Russia from Tsars to Commissars- page 128. 19 J.Laver- Lenin Liberator or Oppressor- page70. 20 R.Service- Lenin a Biography- page 430. 21 R.Pipes- The Russian Revolution- page 22 R.Pipes- The Russian Revolution- page 23 R.Service-Lenin a Biography- page

The consumer decision process

The consumer decision process Section 1: The Consumer Decision Making Proccess The foundation of this research project is to analyse why consumers make purchase decisions through the theoretical paradigm of the Consumer Decision Process (CDP) (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006) it is therefore essential to understand how the CDP works and its uses and limitations. The CDP is a model used to understand how consumers make decisions and the processes they go through before purchasing products. Diagram 3 shows the core process of the CDP which starts with need recognition, this is where a consumer feels a need which has not yet been met, or a problem which has not been solved. Consumers then search for information on satisfying their needs and problems, once they have collected enough information consumers evaluate suitable products identified in the search. Consumers may then purchase the product that they think will meet their needs. Once the purchase has been made consumption occurs, this is where the consumer actually uses the product. Consumers then evaluate the experience and decide whether it met their needs, this last process will influence the chances of repeat purchases and brand loyalty. A benefit of using the CDP is it gives marketers an understanding of what happens after the purchase of a product. This is useful for marketers as it helps them realise that for consumers to purchase an item again, the consumer needs to be satisfied in the consumption and post evaluation phase. Consumer decision process limitations and critisisms A limitation of the model is that it is a simplistic view of how consumers purchase products. Many consumers do not go through a search for information or evaluation before purchasing an item, they may just get what is cheap or something that is easily available. Many consumers also shop in whats known as beta mode (reference) meaning they are not actively evaluating products but choosing items they are familiar with. To thoroughly analyse how consumers make purchase decisions it is necessary to adapt the CDP model and extend it to encompass other needs and decision making processes. Diagram iofreof overleaf shows an extended version of the CDP which includes important influences on decision making such as memory, environmental influences and individual differences. This model gives a more in-depth insight into how consumers make decisions and is a useful tool for locating problems in existing marketing strategies. Although the extended model encompasses further aspects of consumer behavior further criticism has been directed at the rationality of the CDP model for presenting an idealised version of the way consumers make purchase decisions. Arguments against the rationalistic nature of the CDP model suggest that consumers operate in an imperfect world and often posses limited knowledge and skills and that certain values might dominate their goals and decisions. Rational consumer behavior thus seems too idealistic and simplistic (Eramus, Boshoff, Rouseau 2001 pp.84). Dr Dhar on the subject of the CDPs explanation of irrational purchases adds that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The assumption made in hierarchical models of consumer decision-making, namely that the decision to choose is independent of which alternative to choose, and that the decision-making process necessarily proceeds through the various stages to come to a final decision, may not always be valid. Consumers often decide to choose or not to choose depending on the existing situation. This implies a more definite impact of in store search activities during consumer decision-making rather than preparedness before entering the store. Traditional consumer decision-making models do not portray this possibility clearly. The rationalistic approach of the CDP has also been critised by (reference stewart)who argues that the CDPs assumption that consumers make a purchase after need recognition, search and evaluation is overly simplistic. Futrthermore he argues that consumers often do not know the reasons for their actions and behavior because decisions often become automated (Stewart, D. 1990). Stewart reinforces his argument with an alternate model which proposes that consumer decision processes have no obvious beginning or end. Although it is true not all consumer searches lead to purchase behavior, and consumers solemnly make informed purchase decision, the extended CDP still offers the most relevant and practical way of understanding consumers. The criticisms against the CDP specifically focus on its simplicity, logical process and lack of flexibility; however it could be argued that these are its strengths which allow marketers to effectively analyse consumer behavior better than other consumer decision models. John Whitney argue that in reality the decision making process happens much quicker than implied by the CDP model, but none the less follows its basic structure of need recognition, limited search evaluation and the possibility of purchase (John and Whitney 1983 pp.661-666). This theory is supported by Du Plessis, Rosseau, Blem who take the view that involvement determines how strictly a consumer follows the process (Du Plessis, Rosseau, Blem 1991), for example if a consumer is highly involved in the purchase decision they may undertake a thorough evaluation of competitor products and possibly purchase, however if they have low involvement they may just purchase a trusted brand name. When using the CDP to analyse consumer behavior it is advisable to allow for some flexibility to cover irrational purchase decisions and ones which feature low involvement, as suggested by its critics and supporters. An example of using the CDP in a flexible and analytical way would be analyzing a consumer purchasing chewing gum whilst buying coffee to freshen their breath after consuming the coffee, the consumer would have recognised the need and purchased the gum without any additional search or pre-purchase evaluation undertaken. Section 2: Need Recognition Need recognition is defined as the perception of a difference between the desired state of affairs and the actual situation sufficient to arouse and activate the decision process (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). There are many theories which suggest how needs are satisfied and why consumers develop the need to purchase certain items, one of the most widely used theories is Maslows hierarchy of needs. Maslows hierarchy of needs is a theory that suggests a consumers needs and desires are graded by importance and can only be satisfied once lower level needs are met. Image jkdnvkidsn below shows a diagram of Maslows hierarchy of needs, on the bottom layer there are fundamental needs such as breathing, food and water which people need to function and stay alive. Once these basic lower level needs are met consumers then strive for higher level needs such as self esteem, creativity and problem solving, these needs are important for a good quality of life but not necessary to survive. The drawbacks of Maslows theory are that consumers needs are rarely met in this structured order, for example people may forgo sleep to work hard at something which to them provides self esteem. The theory is difficult to use in practice particularly when dealing with consumer behavior (Jahnsson-Boyd 2010), empirical research has also suggested that there is little or no support for a hierarchy of needs. To effectively examine consumer needs an alternate approach is needed to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. A more adaptive view of why consumers seek to satisfy needs through consumable items is the theory of need recognition (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006) which is explained in diagram iuriuhw. The advantage of using this model over Maslows is its broad nature of satisfying needs, it does not segment needs in terms of importance or place them in a hierarchical sequence which in reality rarely happens, furthermore it also explains how marketers can in fact stimulate a need through education of a consumers current state of affairs. A possible problem with the need recognition theory is a lack of detailed information as to what needs take precedence or what the possible end purchase decision satisfies in terms of tangible and intangible benefits. Catherine V. Jansson-Boyd suggests that this can be explained by separating needs into utilitarian; such as the need to eat, and heuristic needs; such as eating at an expensive restaurant to meet a self image need (Jansson-Boyd 2010). This theory explains the short comings of the need recognition model and illustrates how needs develop, thus allowing marketers to analyse how and why needs are stimulated. As suggested by the CDP model needs are commonly stimulated by marketer and non-marketer controlled stimuli an example of a marketer controlled stimuli would be an advert which educates a consumer about the dangers of spyware on computers, after seeing this advert they may feel a need to purchase an item which will safe guard their computer. A non-marketer channel may be a word of mouth (WOM) recommendation from a friend who has bought a new TV and recommends it. This theory works well with the need recognition mentioned above as it explains why actual state and desired state perceptions change and create needs. Section 3: Search After consumers have recognized a need the CDP suggests that consumers then commence a search for a product to satisfy those needs. As mentioned in section 1 consumers may sometimes forego searching for an item and purchase a brand they trust or a product they have tried and tested, however it is arguable that a preliminary search would have been carried out and stored in memory for future purchase decisions. It is therefore assumed that for most consumer purchase decisions some form of a search however small has been carried out. Although this theory is useful when analyzing what routes consumers use to search for product information it does not begin to explain what part internal searches such as memory have in the search process. Memories of past purchase decisions or information stored from personal or impersonal sources relating to the current product search will significantly affect how the search is carried out. The CDP model suggests that consumers either make internal or external searches or a combination of the two this explains how consumers use memory in product searches however it does not explain why consumers choose internal searches over external or vice versa. For consumers to purchase products solely from an internal search they must possess some confidence in their knowledge of the product category and the reliability of memories related to personal or impersonal stimuli of the product. When consumers lack confidence in their memory or existing knowledge of the product then some form of external search may be conducted if only to validate the adequacy of existing knowledge (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). This also explains why consumers can become brand loyal, as consumers who are satisfied with a previous purchase decicion remember that satisfaction and can sometimes only undertake an internal search based on previous memorized experience (Geoffrey, Kiel, Roger 1981). This is also highlighted in the consumption and post evaluative consumption segments of the CDP model. The level of involvement during the search phase of the CDP is an important factor for marketers to analyse as it can highlight places where consumers go to search for information and provides them with opportunities to market products more effectively. There are many theories relating to why consumers undertake extensive searches for information when purchasing products. One view of why there are different levels of individual search involvement is the cost versus benefit perspective which suggests that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People search for decision-relevant information when the perceived benefits of the new information are greater than the perceived costs of acquiring this information. This theory explains the amount of effort consumers are willing to make when purchasing items but does not take into account a theory by Kiel and Layton that as potential consequences rise in significance perceived risk also increases so extensive searching is carried out to minimize risk (Kiel, Layton 1981). Research by Betty, Sharron and Smith also suggests that as total search effort increases positive attitudes towards shopping for the product also increases (Sharron, Smith REFERENCE!), this phenomena can in some way be explained by both Urbanys theory and the model put forward by Kiel and Layton, as feeling s of risk minimization and making more informed purchase decisions result in greater perceived benefits, this would ultimately lead to positive feelings of the overall shopping experience. Section 4: Pre-purchase evaluation of alternatives Before consumers can compare contrast and evaluate alternative products and services they need to know which products to specifically evaluate, this process has been identified as producing a consideration set. A consideration set is defined as the product or service alternatives considered during decision making (Hauser, Wornfelt 1990). This theory suggests that once consumers have undertaken a search they then choose a selection of items to critically evaluate and compare, however it has been theorised that if consumers are brand loyal to a particular product then they may forgo composing a large consideration set. What is important to marketers is how consumers construct these consideration sets before making a decision, the CDP proposes that consumers use the same stimuli (marketer dominated and non-marketer dominated) used in the search phase of the CDP. Information gathered from marketer and non-marketer stimuli in internal and external searches stored in memory and easily retrieved become known as the retrieval set (Alba, Chattopadhyay 1985). The retrieval set is important for consumers when constructing their consideration sets as the ability to recall or recognize products seen in marketer or non marketer stimuli increases the chances of that product being considered for purchase. This partly explains why brand names are so important to consumers when making purchase decisions. Consideration sets are a plausible theory of explaining how consumers choose products to consider for purchase however what remains a wide subject of debate is how consumers evaluate and compare the products selected within their consideration set. One of the most famous and widely regarded theories on how consumers evaluate products based on their attitudes and beliefs is Fishbeins multi attribute model (Fishbein 1963) which suggests that consumers purchase goods and certain brands because they have favorable thoughts and feelings for the products salient and determinate attributes. To illustrate how Fishbeins model works table yvuvuv shows a comparison of three mobile phones, the scores would be filled in by consumers who have a scale of -3 for disagrees strongly to +3 agrees strongly. In table uyvbuyv the iPhone scores highly in terms of fashion, size, colour, price and simplicity. This means the marketers at Apple have been effective in shaping consumers beliefs towards these attributes. The one area where the iPhone does not score so well is unique purchase, meaning how unique the act of purchasing an iPhone is. This weakness could be exploited by other brands who could market their product as possessing this attribute. By using Fishbeins model brands can also try and change how important this belief is to consumers, thus altering the evaluative criteria. By using Fishbeins equation in box 1 and calculating the totals shown in table mlkmlkm, the theory clearly illustrates how favorable beliefs about the product add up to create a favorable attitude valence t owards the product. The benefit of using Fishbeins theory is its diagnostic power, which enables marketers to see what consumers believe about the products salient and determinate attributes and how important these beliefs are as evaluative criteria. The theory is also useful when analyzing purchase decisions which require extensive evaluation between products or purchasing a particular product category for the first time. A drawback of using Fishbeins multi attribute model is it relies on assuming the consumers has perfect knowledge of the product their buying (which is rarely the case) it therefore does not explain what part memory plays in evaluating products and how it can skew consumers perception of the product and brand they are purchasing. The Accessibility- Diagnosticity theory (Feldman, Lynch 1988) attempts to explain how memory influences pre-purchase decision making. Accessibility relates to how easily a piece of information can be retrieved from memory, and is increased when a stimulus is highly salient, vivid or when the consumer engages in elaborative processing. Diagnosticity is to do with the perceived relevance and increases as the perceived relevance between two variables increases. The Feldman and Lynch theory helps to explain the effect of memory and consumer knowledge on pre-purchase evaluation and explains why consumers will sometimes decide to purchase inferior goods because of a lack of knowledge or because of past negative experiences. A criticism of Fishbeins and Feldan and Lynchs models is that they do not explain why consumers make purchase decisions with minimal pre purchase evaluation. Catherine V. Jansson-Boyd proposes that there are a number of ways consumers make decisions when there is low involvement and motivation these are shown in table niunciw and are collectively known as choice heuristics (Jansson-Boyd 2010). Choice heuristics offers a more realistic view on how consumers make pre-purchase decisions with low involvement and its theories are likely used by every consumer at some stage in their life. Throughout this section focus has been directed as to how consumers evaluate different products, to gain a thorough understanding of why consumers make certain purchase decisions it is necessary to briefly analyse how marketers can influence consumers perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. In all of the models and theories previously mentioned in this section it is assumed that consumers make purchase decisions based on the attributes of the product, these attributes can either relate to the products tangible or intangible properties. Attributes therefore send signals to consumers which they then use to evaluate products and services (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006), an example of this would be a high price may signal quality to certain consumers (Dodds, Monroe 1991) or a cheap price as lower quality (Raghubir, Corfman 1999). The signals that products send are crucial to how consumers will evaluate their consideration set and is one of the reasons company spend so much on advertising to create favorable signals. Table iebhwwb shows how marketers can influence signals by using different advertising tools, which can shape consumers attitudes and beliefs towards products and services (Lutz 1975). Section 5: Purchase After consumers have evaluated the product they can then proceed to purchase their chosen item. Purchase decisions can however change for a number of reasons such as unavailability, a change in the expected perceived attribute of the product i.e price, or lack of motivation. It is important to understand that when consumers go shopping for items to satisfy their needs they may not always have a specific brand, or specific product in mind to satisfy those needs. Blackwell, Miniard and Engel suggest that that once a consumer decides to purchase an item to satisfy their needs it can lead to three types of purchase; A fully planned purchase (product and brand chosen in advance), a partially planned purchase (intent to buy the product exists but brand choice deferred to until shopping), or an unplanned purchase decision (both the product and the brand are chosen at point of sale) (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). Assuming that this theory is correct it suggests that the retail environment influences and motivates a considerable amount of consumer purchase decisions. In a retail environment consumers are exposed to hundreds possibly thousands of advertisements promoting individual products and services all of which are trying to grab consumers attentions so they are considered for purchase. Consumers cannot however take in every piece of advertising information in a store therefore they become selective of the advertisements they choose to process. For consumers to focus their intention on advertisements it is thought that adverts must pass through three phases of consumer cognitive resources (Atkinson, Shiffrin 1968) diagram uinf shows how attention grabbing stimuli pass from being noticed by a consumers senses through to being stored in their long-term memory. The cognitive resource model gives a good explanation and understanding of how consumers process advertisements and marketer controlled stimuli and is therefore an essential tool for understanding why and how some advertisements work so well and increase brand awareness. It is however important to remember that this model does not cover the broad aspects of consumer attention such as subliminal messages and is therefore limited in its capacity to analyse all types of advertising however for the purposes of this research it is useful as it illustrates how conspicuous advertising works. If consumer attention is to be analysed through the framework of the cognitive resource model then it suggests that for an advertisement to be successful it has to significantly stimulate the sensory store, be thoroughly processed in short term memory and memorable enough to be stored in long term memory. Table uhiru below shows a brief list of ways marketers have used different tools to stimulate consumer sensory stores for their advertised products to be noticed and processed. The CDP model suggests that if marketers have been successful in focusing the attention of consumers on their product and sufficiently motivated them a purchase may be made. This theory however can be disputed as to logical because this type of purchase behavior only happens in a perfect setting it therefore does not take into consideration factors outside the marketers control such as availability or accessibility. The focus of this research is however on what marketers can do to influence the CDP process so although criticisms can be drawn from this view of purchase decisions it still arguably offers marketers the most information as to how they should theoretically sell their products. Section 6: Consumption After a purchase has been made consumption can occur, consumption is the point where consumers make judgments on the products they have bought, these judgements will influence consumers perception of satisfaction and increase or decrease the chances of the product being bought again. One of the problems marketers have with building brand loyalty is influencing consumption behavior after the product has been bought, influencing consumption behaviors is important as it can affect the amount of satisfaction gained from the item and the speed at which it is consumed. Table nuiernu below shows different consumption variables and how marketers try to influence them to increase satisfaction for consumers. Although the above table describes how marketers can affect consumption patterns it does not offer an analysis as to how consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction influences the consumers experience and chances of repeat purchases. Blackwell, Miniard and Engel theorise that the chances of products being repurchased depends upon the feelings experienced during consumption (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). These feelings can either lead to positive reinforcement; where a consumer receives a positive outcome from the consumption experience, negative reinforcement; where consumption enables consumers to avoid a negative outcome and punishment; where consumption leads to negative outcomes, these three processes are shown below in Diagram ueinwfi. What this model does not include is more complex consumption such as watching old videos that remind consumers of previous experiences or family heirlooms that consumers may feel proud and privelaged to use. A model of consumption proposed by Schiffman, Kanuk and Hansen aims to include these complex emotions in a broad description of how consumers consume items (Schiffman, Kanuk, Hansen 2008) this is shown in diagram iunieun. Although this model attempts to explain how consumers complex emotions are connected with consumption it still does not signify how any of these positive or negative feelings link to repeat purchases or brand loyalty, it is therefore assumed that although Blackwell, Miniard and Engels model does not give a complex view of how consumers experience the consumption phase of the CDP it does offer an explanation as to how consumers use experiences for future purchase decision. Section 7: Post-consumption Evalaution Once consumers have consumed their purchased product according to do the CDP satisfaction or dissatisfaction then occurs (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). The CDP suggests that if consumers are satisfied they will either purchase the product again or at least consider it for future purchases, however it has been argued that satisfaction does not always ensure repeat purchases and that consumers must experience some sort of delight which only occurs when consumers are expectations of the product are exceeded and completely satisfied (Higgins 1997). This theory has been proven by research conducted which suggests consumers who report to be totally satisfied are also six times more likely to purchase the same product again (Thomas, Jones, Sasser 1995) customer satisfaction has also been shown to lower consumers price sensitivity when purchasing the product again. Although it is helpful for marketers to realise what satisfaction can do for a business it is also important to analyse what actually creates feelings of satisfaction in the minds of consumers. It has been suggested that there are three different determinates which influence customer satisfaction (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006) the first of which is the products performance which relates to how the product actually performed during consumption. The second determinate is the feelings consumers have when consumption occurs this was briefly mentioned in the previous section and featured in diagram urinefvu. The last determinate is how the product met consumers prior expectations, which has been conceptualised in Richard Olivers expectancy disconfirmation model. The expectancy disconfirmation model proposes that satisfaction depends on a comparison of pre-purchase expectations to consumption outcomes ()based on this proposition Olivers suggests that consumers can experience three outcomes when comparing expectations; negative disconfirmation where a product does not live up to expectations confirmation where the product performed as expected and positive disconfirmation where the product exceeded expectations. This theory offers an explanation as to how consumers become satisfied with products, however it is not complex enough to be able to explain why some consumers will purchase items again even if they have had a negative experience, and why other consumers choose to purchase an alternative product, over a previous product they were satisfied. It is therefore assumed that that the two other determinates in consumer satisfaction (product performance and feelings) further influence the way consumers perceive the product to have met expectations. Consumers may also purchase alternative products rather than ones they are satisfied with as consumers often have a need for variety. Although expectations cannot fully explain repeat purchases and consumer satisfaction it is still a significant contributing factor, it is therefore important that marketers set expectations at a reasonable level to ensure expectations are either confirmed or positively disconfirmed. Methodology 500 research design To analyse the research question a mixed method approach to gathering data will be used. The quantitive research will predominately look at secondary data such as Colgates financial reports and industry information that highlights current trends in the market. Primary quantitive information from the questionnaire shown in appendices urnein will be used in conjunction with the financial and market data to analyse consumer behaviour in relation to the toothpaste market and the Colgate brand. Primary qualitive information will be used to interpret the results of the quantitive research, this will include Colgate promotional material, packaging designs and in-store promotions and positioning. A mixed method has been used to analyse the research question as it allows the CDP process to be examined from a consumer point of view whilst including information as to how their feelings have affected the popularity, sales and brand loyalty of the Colgate brand. Survey design The survey design has been constructed to answer specific questions about how Colgate has influenced the CDP with its existing customers and how Colgate can possibly attract consumers who are not using the brand. Consumers who have not purchased Colgate previously will still be allowed to fill out a smaller section of the survey, as it is hoped that by looking at their decisions before purchase it may highlight oppurtunities that Colgate could use to appeal to these consumers. The questionnaire will be placed online where participants can fill out their information; the website used will be www.surveymonkey.com an established site which hosts multiple questionnaires from internet users from around the world. To gain a broad perspective of consumer behaviour and identify popular trends 100 participants will be required to participate in the survey which will give a sample size of uniern? Survey pilot To ensure the survey design is coherent and unambiguous to participants filling out the survey 10 pilot tests were carried out to monitor and gather information about how the participants interacted with the survey. Table inireunf below shows the comments and criticism made by the participants and the modifications made to correct the problems a comparison between the pilot survey and the survey actually used for the research project can be found in appendicies urnieun. Limitations and criticism of methodology Several limitations arise when using questionnaires to study behaviour, as there is no guarantee that participants will answer the questions honestly or indeed understand how their natural consumption behaviour works. An ideal setting to test consumer behaviour would be in a controlled environment where consumers can be observed whilst purchasing toothpaste, however due to constrained resources this type of research s not possible but is recommendable for future studies on the subject. As the answers given are multiple-choice, participants are limited to what answers they can give, the problem with this is that answers participants may wish to give may not be available and therefore important behavioural information may be lost. Allowing participants to enter their own information may be the best way to analyse their CDP however to get a sense of general feelings towards Colgate a set of defined answers is necessary. Participants who take part in the survey are not segmented in