Oral History Documentaries

Oral History Documentaries are Human Traditions, how man live and what he believes. In essence it transcribes what is in man, his dignity as a human person and his continues search of himself. These human traditions are written in autobiographies or in memories or diaries and journals. Sometimes re-echoed in ideologies (patterns of our beliefs and practices in a human society) by our memories. As Marcovici sited that our remembrance (memory as part of ideology that has a power in relation to what society we reproduce) prevails our deduction of the past over the present.In the acts of meanings it includes all experiences in a world of meanings, images, social bonds, what man would like to become and what he is afraid to become. It is important that we understand the past so we could act on moral choices about our present. Oral history is also all our personal histories into a larger collective histories. With the abounding technologies found in the internet, oral history finds in a ne w form in digital story telling. Facts in which have been encoded in the most ordinary and common places. Oral histories bring to our sense of the present of man’s dominion over greed and forces of nature:Below is what oral histories bring to our sense of our present world in terms of man dominion over greed in the documentaries At the River I Stand. It tells about a dramatic climax of the Civil Rights movement, a local labor dispute that became a national issue and the reason behind the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Memphis in 1968. â€Å"I am a man† is more than an ideology it is a fact and a simple but venerable truth. And because I am a man, a rational creature, I cannot be taken as a second class citizen.The 1,300 African American sanitation exploited workers (works to collect garbage) demands for a full exclusion in American life. AFSCME leadership march a 65 day strike. This excellent film is a 58 minute documentary which will inspire the viewe rs to free themselves of any racial and economic injustice. Just by observing the profound determination of this ordinary people as formed by a racist society as the lowest caste of human beings (David Appleby) one would be able to understand the simple basic need of man which is respect despite the world of greed.This oral history also inspired James Cleveland in his unforgettable quotes â€Å"one more river to cross before I lay my burden down†. This memory happens in Memphis in the most ordinary places and days. The commonplace called street but coincided with the action that hoped to rebuke the future of economic injustice because of the greediness of few due to prejudices and racism. The person who seems to be frivolous and trivial marked their way to civil rights movement, as they raise their placards with these simple words â€Å"I am a man†. A word that is in the past but is still as true as the present and contains the hopes for the future.As simple as what a jazz musician R. Roland Kirk that every time he plays his saxophone in a concert he always began by saying that this is not just a sideshow (it is more than that). His music should penetrate into his white American audience and in his tune deliberately re-echoes the inequality of men due to racial discrimination, an injustice and inequities that still plaques our society. (Basso) History in American Age of Popular Culture makes us understand the past so we could ponder the moral issues about the or rather our choices in the present.It is one way of collecting our personal histories into a larger collective history. History takes place in a certain location because a place is the first of all existence. One cannot exist without a place. However there are places that stink with stinginess and greed. Wisdom in places is a common place but it is where history takes a place in the realm of this world. According to the autobiography of Delfina Cuero an Indian who had lived in Mission Viej o since her childhood years that Indians had to move from place to place to hunt or when the white men comes.In her narrative with the places and plants and things that they ate probed the authenticity of her claim that they were the first settlers in San Diego, California. Though the mountains were cut and the old trees where they built their houses with â€Å"tamu† a kind of reed, she could still recall the places and events that had taken place. Her vivid memory made it easy for the author Florence Connoly Shipek to write her life story. In the introduction the author made in known that the work is to research for the Mission Indian Claims. However, none in the reservation villages can be found a single surviving coastal Indians.The threefold division of the first settlers makes it difficult to locate search. Upon hearing Delfina’s story it was discovered that in 1900 to 1910 Dieggueà ±os (Spanish term for Kumeya’y people) Indians (means those who are attach ed to the San Diego Mission) had lived in Mission Valley and in various places around San Diego wherein it is now called 13th and 17th around K Street. The anthropological study is to find out the authenticity of the life of Delfina of which the later was able to prove without hesitation and malice. As the story goes we learned that they are poor, most of the time hungry but cheerful catholic people.Despite of the lack of written record the study paved its way through the way the Indians lived during those years. The narrative life of Delfina shows the destruction of Indian self sufficiency on the land, the lost of the Indian society, culture and religion. It also narrates the very slow pace of integration of this people into the modern society (Shipek). Delfina’s story will always be looked upon. The success of the work promises a good life for the Digueà ±os children or next the generation of these Indians to come. Oral histories bring to our sense of the present of manâ⠂¬â„¢s dominion over forces of nature:A documentary film by Spike Lee an African American director – When the Levees Broke: A requiem in Four Acts: Is a heart-rending story of those who survived the devastating ordeal of the destruction of New Orleans. The film also looks at a city that has triumphed over its ordeal because of the resilience of its community, surviving death and amidst the ruins they find strength. A sign of the New Orleaneans rich cultural legacy. The spirit of new Orleaneans says Lee is indomitable – these people are accustomed to hardships, they are fighting for their lives. Again man was put to test: Man as always have dominion over the forces of nature.They will never disappear in this planet. Oral history from different interview cleared out that the reason why the city is 80 percent underwater is not because of the hurricane Katrina but it was the breach on the embankment of the river. Lee also mentioned the U. S. government sluggish response to the problem of the poor African American citizen. His identity again in his sense of place re-echoed inequality among men. His resilience was deeply rooted on earth and in his consciousness that it is his instinct to survive no matter what. Man therefore is still the master of the created world.Lee incorporates in his film a musical culture that is only driven by pure passion and honesty. Their identity has persisted. Their voices and songs are strong and firm. The heart of the marvelous film is centered on the president of the most powerful country indifference and oversight in relation to the destruction of New Orleans compared to catastrophic war in other countries. It explored the real attitude of the rich towards the poor of the world and the depth of its neglect. The film shows the damning picture of Bush’s America in relation to a state in calamity which is only skin deep concern.An act which shows indifference not to the race but to the socio economic state of a pers on. The film also portrays the lost culture of its people. The title of the film connotes the fact that it is not the hurricane that devastated New Orleans: a When the Levees Broke documentary re-affirms the cause of the catastrophe that happens to this American Africans, poor of the most powerful country of the world. It is not the hurricane that destroys New Orleans, But, the real cause was the breach of the embankment of the river.The most difficult part of the film making is asking people questions about the incidence because these are the same people who have lost a home or a love one. However, it is Lee’s job or duty to ask those difficult questions. A question that stirs up feelings and make people break down (Lee). Although the intention is to have people talk about how it can make changes in their own perspective about life. The outrage for the 45 million African-Americans of these Euopean journalists jumps on Lee as if he was the spokesperson of this neglected commu nity which is being treated by the almighty U.S. A. as a third world country. It was the time that the film director of this story decided to do it. Never did the federal government neglected its own citizen who needed help. Lee even criticized when a horrific earthquake hits Indonesia, and in two days the US government was there. Asking the question did you see the distance between Indonesia and the New Orleans? Only one fourth of the population is there. The New Orleans black citizens were dispersed in other 46 states, they wish to come home and work but there got to be no place for them.These poor Americans loose their home to a seemingly a natural disaster. It is hoped that the oral history documentary will remind the U. S. that New Orleaneans is not over with the plight. They in fact need help. The film will also determine the pros and cons over what happened to New Orleans as a definitive moment to the history of America. It is hoped that the film will be and elegy for the los t culture of the inhabitants of New Orleans real state in relation to the calamity and may give an impressive importance of our new century (Fraser and ). A life story is an oral unit of social interaction (Linde).These are coming from interviews and can be written as autobiographies. A biography ends till the end of someone else life. A biographer looks for younger self and an ideological conversion after the passage of many years. He accounts for the difference of the subject and the writer and claim he have the whole stories. It also tells the importance of the subject. The 9/11 attacks on the WTO and Pentagon cancelled all major networks to provide continuous coverage of the event (Caughy). However, the news agenda was only on the subject that is asked to be focused.We are today in the digital knowledge, a capability of sending digitally coded information. Intranets were linked to cheap regulated public telephones that kept labor rates low. Net users acted to break down barriers which made it possible for the massive sharing of files like the World Wide Web. Community based nets provide access to the public to which many international and non-governments institutions links their networks. Digital Story telling has truly taken its ground in the Internet. Cyberactivism changes the course of history in a way it disseminate knowledge and stories.Conclusion and reflection of consequences of Digital Story Telling to Oral History Documentaries: Story telling is a very intimate gesture of intimacy, one listens and the other gives confidence to the recipient. Oral histories based on traditional documentaries are facts based on the actual experiences of man. The consequence of digital story telling to oral history is the easy access and immediate control of the written facts of the documents. If not properly controlled could lead readers and listeners into error. The sense of documentaries in our life is to use this knowledge as a tool in order to know where we lead .Past experiences is needed in order to open the gates of tomorrow and make the present a life worth living. Man’s constancy to change needs a journal of his life in order not to get lost. Loosing a culture is loosing oneself. The rich experience of human history is the sublime reality of his existence. Though oral history documentary is sown with facts, digital story telling though there is a relative cyber activism may lead truth to some manipulations which may cloud the truths and could give information which is only beneficial to a few.Man’s history always underlines who are the strong and the weak. Though both are man, the least becomes a lesser being in terms of his presence in a civil society. It is the mighty that continuous to flourish. In this world of indifference history reflects the downfall of the greedy as if someone, stronger than nature dictates the course of history for the whole humankind. In some way, our life story though we may have choices is or was predestined.

Human hand catching an object Essay

ANALYSING From this experiment I have found out that there are different factors that affect the resistance of a wire. The factors that I have investigated are the length and thickness of a wire. In the experiment, as the wire got shorter, the resistance decreased, and if the wire were increased then the resistance would increase too. If the thickness of a wire were to be changed then the thicker the wire, the less resistance and the thinner the wire the more resistance it will have. I have also found out that the resistance is calculated by dividing the voltage by the current. This calculation was used in my experiment and showed that the resistance is roughly constant. If some odd results were obtained, it was because at a low voltage the power packs are inaccurate and at a high current, we might gain a heating effect. Ohm’s law can be proved by the graph due to the fact that the graph has a straight line; therefore it has a constant gradient, meaning a constant resistance whatever current is passing through it, providing the temperature is constant. If the graph were a curved, then that would mean that the resistance was changing. If that were the case the resistance could be found for any point by taking the pair of values (V, I) from the graph and sticking them in the formula R= V/I. (Information obtained from physics revision guide. ) That would be disobeying Ohm’s law. In my opinion, the resistance of the 32- copper wire seemed odd since the thinnest wire is supposed to have the highest resistance. However a good conductor, which is what copper is, will allow current to flow through it easily. Therefore that’s why the ammeter reading for the copper wire, which measures the current, was very high, compared to the reading of the other types of wire. A nichrome wire would have more resistance than a copper wire of the same size, because less current flows through it, making it not such a good conductor. We can also conclude that the thickest wire, type 26, had the highest resistance because less current could flow through it. EVALUATING: This investigation was conducted following the method above. By following those steps, I managed to obtain more than enough readings to plot a graph with and I managed to obtain accurate results, until the wire reached 30cm (TABLE 1). However my previous readings were fairly accurate, which were more enough for me to plot a graph with. I had seven readings when only 6 are needed to plot a graph. The results of the first experiment my group conducted, (TABLE 2) were much more accurate than the second one (TABLE 1). The resistance was very constant, however we did not complete the experiment. We planned to carry it on the next lesson, but it would not have been a fair test because we used a different power pack and the voltage was not the same. We found out that we were getting odd results to our previous ones; therefore we had to start the whole thing again. We made sure we finished that experiment and even had time to conduct another: an investigation to find out whether the thickness of a wire would affect the resistance. Since I only had to investigate five different wires, obtaining five results, this investigation was easier to conduct because there were fewer to do and I knew exactly what I was doing. It took me less time to set up the circuit and it was definitely a fair test. However when it came to the 32-copper wire the resistance was very high. I expected it to be high because it was one of the thinnest wires, however not that high. I suspect I either recorded the wrong reading or because at low voltage the power pack was inaccurate and at high current there was a heating effect. However, as I mentioned in the analysing section, there was a simpler explanation. From previous work, I remembered copper is a very good conductor, therefore the high current reading. In future if I conduct another similar experiment to this one there are some improvements that could be made: I could compare my results with other people to see if they got the same or near enough results. That way I would know whether I was on the right tracks. If I am stuck on connecting the circuit, I could draw a diagram first and follow that. I should finish every experiment the same day; so that I get more accurate results and can compare the results to the results of another experiment, on the same subject and would not have waste time having to start the same experiment again. I could have done some further research and find out what and if there are any other factors that affect the resistance of a wire and then I could have conducted an experiment.

Case Analysis: Netflix

1.0 Problem Statement: This case analysis deals with â€Å"Loss of Revenues and declining growth of Netflix in the face of stiff competition.† 2.0Scenario: Founded in the year 1997 by Reed Hastings, the company started the DVD online service in 1999 and expanded rapidly to be the world’s largest Online DVD movie rental service in the year 2005, having 3.59 million subscribers as at the third quarter of 2005. The company has the exclusive advantage of proprietary software ‘Cinematch’ to provide subscribers with personalized movie recommendations. The company has 37 regional shipping locations to efficiently manage the logistics of the DVDs. Netflix has eight different subscriptions plans ranging from $9.99 to $ 47.99 for the customers to choose from with no time limit for the return of the DVDs, of course subject to a maximum number of DVDs the subscriber can hold at any point of time. The Company faces the problem of decline in profits due to lower subscription prices. To combat the competition from the nearest rival Blockbusters Neflix had to lower the subscription in its premium segment. The decline in revenues had made the company to put on hold its expansion plans to UK and Canada. 3.0 Analysis: The analysis of the case of Netflix presents three distinct problem areas relating to the structure and design of the organization which the company needs to concentrate on. They are: 3.1 Revision in subscription Rates: The company was rather forced to lower its subscription rates to cope up with the competition from the rivals. The reduction being in the most sought segment of $ 21.99 plan, has severely affected the revenue realization of the company. As a result the cost of revenues rose to 59.71 percent for the first nine months period of the year 2005 as compared to 54.61 percent for the year 2004. This has caused a decline in the gross profit. There is no significant change in the operating expenses to total revenues. The percentage of operating expenses remains at 41.5 percent for 2004 and 40.2 percent for the first three quarters of 2005. 3.2 Number of Subscribers: Though there is an increase in the number of subscribers the rate at which the subscriber list is expanding does not relate itself with the reduction in the subscription rates. This is evident from the fact that the subscriber acquisition cost has increased from $ 36.09 for the year 2004 to $ 36.92 for the broken period of 2005. In order to break even it is essential for the company to concentrate on increasing the number of subscriber base to result in enhanced rental revenues. Addition to the subscribers is at 75.5 percent for the year 2004, whereas it stood at 37.6 percent for the first nine months of 2005. Even considering the estimated increase to 4 million subscribers at the end of 2005 the percentage addition would still remain at 53.25 percent which is not working to the advantage of the company in terms of revenues. This may be due to the presence of competitors as well as other modes available to the subscribers for obtaining movie DVDs. 3.3 Diversification: Netflix has so far been only on the online rental of movie DVDs. The competition in this particular segment of the business is increasing with more players like Blockbusters and Green cine entering the business. Moreover the Video on Demand (VOD) and brick and mortar rental outlets like Gallery also pose a competition to Netflix’s business. Although it is estimated that the company would be able to get a subscriber network of 7 million by the end of the year 2007, unless the company takes steps to enhance its revenue from other sources still it may find it difficult to take advantage of the increased subscriber base. 4.0 Conclusion: The following are some of the issues that need to be attended to by the company Netflix to augment its revenue and the resultant profitability: Rate of increase the number of subscribers is not commensurate to increase the earnings The subscription rates are kept low to meet the competition which has caused an erosion in the earnings The company is facing competition from companies who offer other modes of providing the entertainment options. 5.0 Recommendations: Some of the suggestions for improvement in the earnings and ensure the growth are: Increase the number of subscribers by undertaking vigourous advertisement campaigns Reduce the number of options for subscribers from the present 8 options to 4, by rationalizing the subscription rates and adopting modified subscription structures which will increase the earnings for the company Have a look in to the other modes of offering DVDs by opening brick and mortar stores using the existing goodwill of the company. Additionally providing VOD services and rental of game DVDs may also be looked into.

Breaking Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Breaking Laws - Essay Example As the paper highlights the problems discussed by Sheila and Arch show that there is a need for strong corporate culture and morale. Many problems in Galvatrens are caused by high rates of turnover and low motivation, poor culture and ineffective communication. Primarily, Galvatrens should change its corporate culture and maintain health climate and positive culture. This allows the corporation time to assess the problem and respond appropriately. More importantly, early detection prevents the conduct from continuing into the future, thus, enabling the corporation to minimize its exposure to higher penalties and increased liability.Galvatrens should strengthen its system for uncovering misconduct a strict code of ethics and training of all employees. The task of the training is to familiarize employees with ethical principles and rules of the code, help them to recognize misconduct and respond effectively to any violations. Companies that adopt a code of ethics, and commit themselves to observing it, gain several benefits. Their staff know that they are operating openly and honestly; second, it is good for their business reputation in both the medium and the long term; and third, adopting and committing to a code could be a powerful defense in any court case in which the company might be accused of improper behavior. These tangible and intangible reasons for ethical behavior in business have beneficial outcomes.

Small company Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Small company - Lab Report Example a) Calculate in UK £ how much the company has to invest in each country. For your calculations use the US dollar exchange rates given in the table below. Lay out clearly how you work out each exchange rate. Work to four d.p. Question: To invest the company needs to borrow another  £110,000. There are two banks that are offering a ten year (the term) loan where interest is paid each year and the loan repaid at the end. Bank A is offering to lend the money at an interest rate of 2.1% compounded monthly. Bank B is offering to lend the money at an interest rate of 2.05% compounded weekly. Annual percentage rate (APR) is delineated as an annual rate is charged for borrowing. It is usually expressed as one percentage representing annual cost of funds over the term of a loan for a particular of time. The meaning of the possible negative portion of the graph is that the company can supply a lot to the market than what is demanded. Even with the excess supply there is a particular price tagged to it. As supply surpasses the demand, the prices will go down as the company lowers its production. The firm, should reduce what they produce to the market at this point. (a) Use the inverse demand and supply functions you worked out for task 4 and 5 and your knowledge of simultaneous equations to work out the equilibrium quantity for demand and supply for your company’s good by equating the two functions of P. (d) Plot on one graph with suitable scales etc the inverse supply and demand functions from task 4 and 5 to confirm your answer for the equilibrium demand and supply quantity and the equilibrium price you worked out above. Overall you have projected a 14.87% year on year return in investment for the company. If the company start with an investment of  £132,000 how long will it take the company to at least double its investment? The figures presented shows that the firm has good prospects and has various

The Biblical Model for Discipleship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Biblical Model for Discipleship - Essay Example Applying Paul’s ministry to this week’s lesson on the â€Å"Biblical Model for Discipleship†, I have realized that obeying God and being a faithful servant of His is simple. It can basically be summed up to – A change of heart, a change of life. According to Michael Mitchell, in his book, â€Å"Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples†, the Biblical model for discipleship could be achieved in as easy as four steps – Accepting God’s words; Listen and Apply; Study God’s word to gain more understanding; and lastly, Walking in the ways of Good Men (Mitchell, Michael R., Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples). In studying the book of Philippians, a book written by Paul in his journey to win the people of Philippi to God, we can see Paul’s practical approach in ministering to the Philippians that are as 1 practical as the four steps of discipleship suggested by Michael Mitchell. To get a clearer background of what he did, it i s best to look at the verses of Philippians 4: 1-2 which says, â€Å"Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! 2  I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.† (Bible Gateway, Philippians 4 NIV). We can see that Paul started his teaching to the Philippians by directing them to having a heart and mind that is in line with God’s will. We all know that our hearts and minds direct us towards certain actions that may or may not be pleasing to God. The danger of sin only happens when we set plans in our lives without consulting God first. Thus, Paul urges the Philippians here to start their walk with God by teaching their hearts and minds to get to know who God really is and what He wants us to do, so obedience would be easier and purposeful, knowing that despite the rocky roads you are sent to take, you know you are on your way to giving God the glory He deserves. This complements the first model of discipleship which is to accept God’s word and having faith to do it. Also, in Philippians 4: 5-7, that says, â€Å"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus†, we can see that Paul encourages the Philippians to listen and apply God’s teachings even when it seems impossible or unreasonable at times, parallel to Mitchell’s second model for discipleship. We all know that in our Christian life, it is easy to hear God’s word and 2 accept them as truth. However, the challenge for us is greatly seen in how well we stick to what we know and actually obey God despite persecutio ns, inconvenience, and doubt. Today, especially when the world presents so much good things that are not necessarily pleasing to God, the only way we can fight temptation is to cling onto God’s word and promises, and rely on His grace to help us withstand it all. To sum up Paul’

Strategic Strengths and Weaknesses of Madarin Oriental Hotel Group Essay - 1

Strategic Strengths and Weaknesses of Madarin Oriental Hotel Group Organisation In Relation To VRIN Analysis - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) is dedicated to delivering excellent services through the involvement of employees in the process of development of the hotel organization. The Group emphasizes on creating a congenial climate for the employees to facilitate them to perform their activities in an orderly manner. The Group is responsible in focusing their routine works through group activities, inculcating a strong belief amid one another along with contributing towards ensuring effective productivity which would enable the Group to gain reputed success in the competitive market. he VRIN Model Analysis is the framework which is adopted on the basis of Resource-based View (RBV). RBV emphasizes on theories related to determining competitive advantages of an organization as well as formulating a connection between internal features and competitive advantages of an organization. The VRIN framework comprises four elements such as valuable, rare, imperfectly i mitable along with non-substitutable. These are the resources which are comprehensively used by an organization in ascertaining their position in a competitive scenario. In this regard, it can be observed that ’valuable’ stands for resources that are used by an organization for designing strategies which would enable it to develop its effectiveness and efficiency. In this context, it can be stated that the valuable resources are to be taken into account for implementation of strategies in the organizational culture as well in the environment where the organization eventually functions. Similarly, rare signifies uniqueness. Contextually, it can be stated that resources are required to be unique enough for enabling an organization to gain greater competitive advantages as compared to the competitors in the market. In reference to the competitors, it can also be stated the competitors generally do not maintain a particular strategy to compete in the market for its sustain ability. Thus, it does provide a vivid picture regarding whether or not the valuable and rare resources possessed by an organization are strong enough to maintain its sustainability in the competitive market.

Religious Critiques about Gay Marriage Annotated Bibliography

Religious Critiques about Gay Marriage - Annotated Bibliography Example As such, the two articles offer good arguments on religious critiques on gay marriages. The first article for example analyses the Catholic’s viewpoint on the issue. The article develops systematic arguments that attempt to validate Catholic’s objection to gay marriages. The author outline a number of factors and reasons as proposed by the doctrines of the Catholic Church. The same is the case with the second article in which the author furthers the argument on religious objection to same sex marriages. The author provides reliable evidence, which include in text citations to validate his claims. He eventually makes a reliable conclusion by marrying his facts to his thoughts as he showed in the article’s thesis statement. Professor Daniel Maguire ventures into the discussion by defending same-sex marriages. He provides a history of same-sex unions explaining that both the society and the church had once accepted such unions. He further borrows immense citations from the Acts of the Apostles to justify his belief about same-sex unions. The professor attempts to discuss numerous reasons that various people have given in their objections to same-sex unions. After exhausting such reasons, he concludes by referring to the Bible, Christian’s holy book to validate his arguments. The professor maintains that homosexuality is not a sin but discriminating against homosexuals is a sin. He, therefore, calls on Christians to abhor from discriminating homosexuals and instead accept them. However, the article appears sensational with the author striving to justify his feelings and opinions about the topical issues. He does not seek any third party indulgence in order to develop a holistic view of the issue. The author analyses the sacred nature of marriages, an argument used in Australia by a number of lobbyists in the country to justify a government legislation

Online Social Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Online Social Networking - Essay Example Boyd and Ellison (210) define online social networking (OSN) as an online platform, site, or service that is focused on facilitating the building and reflection of online social relations among people with common social ties, interests, or who do similar activities. These sites allow users to display information about themselves like age, location, interests, and activities among others. OSN is achieved through social networking services (SNSs) like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, MySpace, Friendster, Linkedin, Spoke and Cyworld. The main function of OSN is to provide a link through which people can communicate. According to Papacharissi (120), OSN sites allow people to create a profile for representing themselves and interacting through instant messaging, email and other integrated communication channels. There is a section on these sites that is dedicated to comments, friends, and other people with similar interests. Some of them allow users to create contact groups for ease of sharing common interests. They also allow users to hold discussion forums over the internet through services like chat rooms. Secondly, OSN provides a powerful means through which people can share information and personal data among other things. SNSs offer individually-centered services which allow users to share personal data, activities, events, information, interests, and ideas within their individual networks. Thirdly, OSN provides a quick way of expanding one’s social base. The social sites allow users to view or search people that share the same interests. Individuals or organizations can also compile and share lists of contacts. They also allow users to suggest more friends to their own friends. OSN has played a role in recent conflicts. The social sites have allowed people to communicate quickly and easily.

Secrets of the FBI (Ronald Kessler) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Secrets of the FBI (Ronald Kessler) - Assignment Example It shows they are not able to effectively get the information they need so they resort to blackmail. This will increase accountability to the service. The second issue of agreement is the exposure about their training. 20 weeks training, shooting accuracy of 80% and above, firing 3900 rounds of ammunition in 20 weeks and training in surveillance, undercover tactics is a show of good training and even the enemy would be scared of this. There are also some things mentioned that are not agreeable. First, the very exposure of the internal operations of the service is totally unacceptable. This was also expressed by two callers who expressed much pessimism about the revelation. It aids the enemy and causes violent aggression to any American in any building across the world. Secondly, the financial exposure would send the economists back to their drawing board about the amount of funds spend on this training. It implores a waste of hard earned cash from the consolidated fund. Given that it is being aired live, it may send the wrong picture to the public about government expenditure and priorities. Someone in Criminal Justice requires knowing this because the revelation would create caution to him/her. The way any American is viewed globally totally changes and there is also need to invent new methods of operation to increase their

Examine the Key Influence on Operations Which Contributes to the Business Success Essay Example for Free

Examine the Key Influence on Operations Which Contributes to the Business Success Essay This Report will examine how the major influences on Operations which contribute to the success of the business with focus all of the major eight influences, these include Globalisation, Technology, Environmental Sustainability, Legal Regulations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quality Expectations, Government Policies and Cost based Competition. This report will also examine the impact of the influences on businesses such as Billabong, Westpac, Holden, Woolworth and Coca-Cola. Globalisation Globalisation is the internationalization of trade and often forces businesses to adopt new strategies for operations to suit different cultures and economies. The often easily saturated domestic market has triggered many large businesses to expand globally for the purpose of increased sales and profits. Globalisation allows businesses to enter new markets, increase the size of their product range and the size of their operations, thus leading to the successful business. One such business that has successfully undergone the process of Globalisation is Billabong. Billabong’s approach in their expansion into foreign markets has allowed the stakeholders of the business to access to the numerous advantages of globalisation, such as the expansion through new markets. New Markets Billabong commenced with global expansion with the aim to increase revenue and profitability as their original domestic niche market became increasing hard to expand, as the surfing demographics geographically was limited to coastal areas. Today, Billabong is a major transnational surfing brand, producing mass customized outputs to meet the demand of the potential customers at the global market. This is done through the Global web strategy, which allowed Billabong to carefully select from a list of appropriate proximity global suppliers which can make up a predictable and reliable supply chain that is highly responsive to changes in demand that will be experienced by the business. It is evident that Billabong has successfully been influenced by Globalisation with over 70% of its revenue being generated from overseas markets. Technology Many business use existing cutting edge technology to design, construct and or apply innovative devices, machinery and methods upon the operations process. The goal is to provide opportunities for their businesses to apply new breakthroughs, innovations, and inventions to both administrative and processing level of Operations, with aims to increase efficiency and logistics in production process, lower prices, increase their market share and a higher return for the business’s shareholders and thus gain competitive advantage in their target market and leading the business a path to success. One particular business that has integrated very well with technology is Woolworths. Woolworthss approach to technology, especially in its processing level has let opportunity for the business to increase efficiency of operations via improving the supply chain management. Woolworths Project refresh was put in place on the operation process in 1999 with aims to increase efficiency via utilising technology and is prove successful. An example of technology used in Woolworth is the IT system called AutoStockR. It is used to forecast when supermarket shelves need to be replenished. This type of technology can effectively prevent stock from running out, which leads to increase of customer satisfaction and reliability on the brand and ultimately leading the business to success. Quality Expectation Consumers are becoming increasing orientated to the marketing process of a business; as a result, customers began to have an expectation to the level of quality that they will receive from the product outputs by businesses. These expectations involve: *Quality of design *Fitness for purpose *Durability An operations manager needs to make sure that the goods produced are of the required quality that is expected by the consumers that is they are safe and reliable. For any businesses not able to achieve the expectations assumed by the customers on the quality of the product produced by the business, can lead to a decline in sales and ultimately business failure. Cost-Based Competition Cost has traditionally being a major influence on all business as all businesses desire to achieve maximum efficiency as it is a vital factor for businesses in order to reach the ultimate goal and success. Businesses sees cost as the key value to success and aims to become as much cost efficient as possible, by implementing a cost-leadership style approach to the operations variable cost or fixed cost ,while maintain the expected profit margin, business is able to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in their target market. This is called cost-based competition. By determining the break-even point and applying cost saving strategies, to reducing cost, businesses who apply cost-based competition in their operations is able to maximize the profits and lead business to success. Government Policies Regardless of the nation of the business may be operating in, all aspect of any business must comply by the laws and policies of businesses set by the government of that nation in order to success. Political policies often alter business legal regulations and thus leading to business opportunity, such as taxation rates, WHS standards, public safety and health policy, and environment policies all contribute to business success. An example of recent government policy is Carbon Tax. The introduction of the Carbon Tax in 2012 will see many carbon-intensive businesses, such as electricity companies, restructure their operations to more renewable energy sources, as this will reduce business costs and possibly allow them a competitive advantage thus leading business to success. Legal Regulations The legal influence on the business is a complex issue as the legal system with each nation has a fundamental difference on how the legal regulation influences on the operations of a global business. The range of laws set by each individual nation which businesses must comply is collectively termed compliance. The cost of expenses to meet and integrate the legal regulations to meet the compliance is very influential on the business’s cost and ultimately the operations process. In Australia, the legal system recognizes the contemporary issues exists many large industries exploiting their workers and place upon businesses to protect the labor market and the public health and environment. Some of these laws include: *Workers Health and Safety Act:  *Anti-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Act: *Fair work and Anti-discrimination law Environmental Sustainability As global consumers became increasing aware of the current environmental problems, such as pollution, global businesses are required to identify the key structural changes needed, which may affect demand and supply conditions for their products and eventually their success. This is done through integrating the goals outlined by the environment sustainability laws into their resources and operations planning and practices in order to receive a good image with their target market and maintain their market share which leads the business to success. One of the businesses has completely complied with the legal regulations to sustain the environment is Holden. Holden’s approach to sustain the world environment, such as the integration of the business goals with the goals outlined in the environmental sustainability laws has maintained a good image of the business assumed by the market.To comply with the legal regulations set by the government, and to maintain customer satisfaction, Holden focus on reducing energy, water and waste as operating performance indicators has successfully reduced their carbon footprint demanded by the government and consumers and maintained their market share. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Business in the modern global market extends their objectives from just complying with the legal regulations in their operations to reach maximum financial gain to â€Å"service to society and community† by taking account of their business practices based on the respect for people, community and the broader environment. Businesses who have that change of objectives are aiming to achieve corporate social responsibility. Formerly known as the triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility places same value on profitability with social justice and environmental protection. Businesses with a positive CSR image will gain high reputations among the stakeholders, thus leading to business efficiency and ultimately business success. However, the notion of CSR can also be exploited as a marketing ploy, thus criteria and measures have been established for prevention. Some of these measures are: *Ethical responsibility It is standard for many businesses to operate at the level of legal compliance permissible as it means to maintain cost efficiency and thus maintain profit at a maximum. However for businesses who truly integrate corporate social responsibility into their business practices aims to meet all legal obligations and taking into account broader social, community and environmental concerns. One of the businesses who have taken on ethical responsibility on their business operations practices is Westpac. Westpac demonstrate ethical responsibility in many ways, such as its target of 40% of senior management positions being held by women by 2014. *Environmental Sustainability As mentioned earlier the principle of ecological sustainability requires business to evaluate their operations strategies affected by the environment and produce new and better products in an ecologically sustainable manner as the business focus coincides with stakeholder expectations. For example; Coca-Cola demonstrates corporate social responsibility in regards to environmental sustainability through its extensive water recycling program, which has significantly reduced water wastage at the company’s production facilities in Australia and around the world. This type of CSR actions by Coca-Cola has led the stakeholders’ good impression of the business which ultimately leads to business success. Conclusion This Report has examined how each of the major influences such as: Globalisation, Technology, Environmental Sustainability, Legal Regulations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quality Expectations, Government Policies and Cost based Competition on Operations contributes to the success of the business. This report also had examined the impact of the influences on the businesses such as Billabong, Westpac, Holden, Woolworth and Coca-Cola.

Hamlet Appearance vs Reality Essay Example for Free

Hamlet Appearance vs Reality Essay Appearance vs. reality in Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, is a jaded yet common theme. This play is teeming with characters that play their roles behind a veil of duplicity. They often appear to be one way when they really are something entirely different. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are polluted with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of dishonesty. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Polonius, and King Claudius. From behind this mask they give the impression of a person who is sincere and true, in reality they are overwhelmed with lies and evil. One of the most obvious examples of appearance vs. reality in Hamlet is the character of Claudius. Claudius longed to be king, rule the land and crown his queen. He gave no regard to the feelings of the family. He was jealous and ruthless in pursuing his dream†¦ruthless to the point of murder. He pretends to be concerned and upset with the actions of Hamlet and his well being, when in reality he is frightened that Hamlet is aware of his deadly secret. It was as if he cast a spell on the whole kingdom for his own self-fulfilling interest. Our â€Å"innocent† Claudius even summons spies to investigate the origin of Hamlet’s madness†¦not for the good of Hamlet but for himself. He is indeed a jaded character, whose kind aura masks the face of a selfish murderer as he says â€Å"whose whisper o’er the world’s diameter, as levels as the cannon to his blank transports his poisoned shot, may miss our name and hit the woundless air. Oh come away! My soul is full of discord and dismay! †- Claudius, act 4 scene 1, lines 42-46. This quote demonstrates how Claudius seems to be worried about Hamlet and his actions when he is really fearful of him discovering the truth. In addition, the king’s royal associate, Polonius, appears to be a loyal and trustworthy servant to the kingdom throughout the play, willing to take on tasks and burdens requested by their majesties. However, in reality Polonius is an evil, greedy selfish man, who serves not his kingdom but himself. One example of this is how Polonius appears to be happy, concerned and supportive of his son, Laerte’s, journey to France. He seems to be supportive of his son until he sends Reynaldo as an emissary, in order to detect what sort of mischief he stumbles upon in France. In addition, Polonius, again, displays his devious characteristics when he spies on Hamlet and Ophelia in an attempt to analyze Hamlet’s madness. He soon orders Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet, as he brainwashes her with lies about Hamlets motives, when in reality Hamlet is truly in love with Ophelia. Once again, Polonius proves his scheming behavior when he listens in on Hamlet and Gertrude’s conversation while in the bedchamber. Hamlet finally teaches him his lesson when he unexpectedly murders the â€Å"rat. † In reality Polonius is anything but a loving father watching out for his children, he uses everyone to his advantage and for his own purposes; this proves as evidence for his sneaky demeanor. Even two of Hamlet’s childhood friends are victims of the appearance vs. reality theme. They were sent and bribed by the king and queen to try and determine the cause of Hamlet’s insanity. They approach Hamlet as long-lost pals when they are really anything but. They were there not as friends but hired help for Hamlet’s condition. In act 2 scene 2 line 299, Guildenstern quotes â€Å"What should we say my lord? † Completely denying the fact that they were sent for by the king and queen. Hamlet quickly reveals the truth and says, Were you not sent for/ And there is a kind of confession in your looks, which your modesties have not craft in color. (Shakespeare 2:2:278) From these words he is demanding an answer from his schoolmates as to their unexplained arrival. At the end he tells them nothing. As the play continues his friends are asked again by the king to go to Hamlet and try again to find the real reason for Hamlet’s behavior. Hamlet insults them at every chance knowing that they are lying to him about their purpose of the visit, ’Tis as easy as lying: govern these ventages with you finger and thumb, give it breath with your mouth (Shakespeare 3:2:348) The twins show their appearance of being Hamlets friends but in truth they have a hidden reason for visiting with Hamlet. Both show that it will be very difficult for Hamlet to uncover the reliability hidden within the lies. Throughout the play, characters help to show the theme, which is appearance verses reality. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Polonius, and the king all appear to be good and honest. As Hamlet finds out, all contain lies and have hidden intentions within them. As each character is presented in the play all appear to be good and honest making it a hard for Hamlet to uncover the hidden truth about the nature of each character. Throughout the play everyone puts up a front so to speak, for different reasons. Hamlet believed that the world was corrupt and deceiving, this led him to become violently ambitious. Claudius was manipulative and cunning, and used his greed to achieve what he desired. Deception is a major theme of the play. Obviously throughout the play there are many discrepancies between appearance vs. reality. It seems everyone is jaded and full of deception or ulterior motives. With such controversial people in the kingdom, it is quite appropriate to state that there truly is something rotten in the state of Denmark.

HRM Effectiveness In Improving Performance

HRM Effectiveness In Improving Performance This article examines the strategic role of HR and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of HR practices, explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts, and proposes a framework for assessing HR. Ultimately, organizations would be able to utilize the information to determine how particular HR practices correlate with better business results; determine potential areas for investments, expansions, and reductions; justify budget allocations; and be more accountable for each dollar spent within the organization. The framework proposed does not merely explain the cost for each of the major HR activity, but demonstrates the value of the activity and hence, the opportunity to determine if it is a worthwhile investment and strategy for creating a competitive advantage. What value does the human resources (HR) function contribute to the bottom line of the organization? Over the years, there has been tremendous emphasis placed on HR practitioners becoming strategic business partners and being a value-added source within organizations. Traditionally, HR professionals could talk generally and conceptually about employee morale, turnover, and employee commitment being outcomes of HR efforts. Furthermore, the HR function is often viewed as an expense-generator and an administrative function and not as a value-added partner. Ulrich (1997b) reiterated that to fulfill the business partner role of HR, concepts need to be replaced with evidence, ideas with results, and perceptions with assessments. This article examines the strategic role of HR and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of HR practices, explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts, and proposes a framework for assessing HR. Ultimately, organizations would be able to utilize the information to determine how particular HR practices correlate with better business results; determine potential areas for investments, expansions, and reductions; justify budget allocations; and be more accountable for each dollar spent within the organization. The framework proposed does not merely explain the cost for each of the major HR activity, but demonstrates the value of the activity and hence, the opportunity to determine if it is a worthwhile investment and strategy for creating a competitive advantage. The framework has proven its effectiveness at many companies showing how HR creates value, utilized the information collected to increase investments in specific HR strategies and eliminating ineffective investments, and used as a critical resource in the strategic business planning and budget allocation. The companies include Fortune 500 and smaller companies from retail, transportation, and financial industries. Understanding the Strategic Role of HR In todays business environment, organizations need to be constantly evaluating their internal and external environment for challenges and opportunities to remain competitive and to sustain growth. Political, economic, social, and even psychological changes within our societies create significant impact on organizations. Given any significant change or event, how ready are we as an organization to react in order to remain competitive? Many factors are driving changes in organizations today including the use of technology, globalization, changes in workforce demographics, eliminating the bureaucracies in organizational structures, and balancing work-family issues. Understanding the potential of an organizations resources and optimizing the output of such resources given the changes, provides the impetus for HR being the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization. Insert figure 1 about here To create value and deliver results, HR professionals must begin not by focusing on the work activities or work of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. HRs roles in building a competitive organization include management of strategic human resources, management of transformation and change, management of firm infrastructure and management of employee contribution (Ulrich, 1997a). Although these roles are valid and have proven to be value-added in recent years, there is now the critical need to move beyond the strategic business partner role to players in the business (Ulrich Beatty, 2001). Players, according to Ulrich Beatty, contribute to the profitability of the organization, they deliver results and they do things to make a difference. The roles of players are to a) coach b) design, c) construct, d) change the organization, e) creating followers, and f) playing by the rules. Another perspective on the role of HRM suggests that in leading-edge companies, HR profession als play four key roles: a) strategic business partners, b) innovators, c) collaborators, and d) facilitators (Schueler Jackson, 2000). As a strategic business partner, HR professionals should understand the nature of the business from a strategic, operational, financial, and other aspects necessary to be part of an effective team managing an organization. Functioning as an innovator, HR professionals are challenged to continuously search for strategies that will create value for the organization and not merely function in a reactionary mode. Furthermore, HR professionals will also serve as collaborators with senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organization. As facilitators, HR professionals function as the change agent providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies. The fundamental role of HRM is essentially to maximize profitability, quality of work life and profits through effective management of people (Cascio, 2003). Given this premise, it can be easily inferred that HRs role is to help create value to the organization. Figure 1 illustrates some of the external challenges and changes facing organizations, their impact on the organization, and how HR is impacted. The Importance of Measuring HRs Activities Even though HR professionals are convinced that their efforts add value to the organizations bottom-line, there is frequently little evidence to demonstrate such belief. A recent survey of 54 companies in the Midwest, USA conducted by the author revealed that 51 of the 54 companies conducted little or no assessment of their HR departments efforts and therefore could not have provided any quantitative measures of HRs value to the organization. In addition, a study conducted by Becker, Huselid, and Ulrich (2001) indicated that less than 10% of the 968 firms that participated in their study had a formal estimation procedure to measure HRM. Measurement in most HR departments is usually restricted to processes measuring costs and not showing value added (HRPS, 1993). There is now the imperative need to justify each dollar invested, compare strategies to determine maximum worth, and to decide on where to invest especially as companies scramble to survive after the September 11 tragedy. Pepitone (1997) reiterated that HR leaders should know how to prove the value-added of their services because management is increasingly requiring departments to give evidence of their worth. In addition, Sorensen (1995) stated that the best way for HR to gain credibility so that it can make meaningful changes is for practitioners to measure the cost and effectiveness of what they do. And they must put that into language that senior executives understand: financial results. HR managers need to measure the cost and effectiveness of their activities far more closely than they have in the past. Many organizations have been forced and are conti nuing to determine ways of being more cost-effective. Many of the other functions including finance, accounting, and marketing are able to show a return on investment for their respective efforts, so given the increased emphasis on HR practices, it is imperative for HR to be able to show its effectiveness in creating value for the organization. The new HR is a transformed role comparing itself to any other function, not only through espoused value creation strategies, but through outcomes, qualitative and quantitative measurements, and direct relationships to profitability. The simple option of showing HRs value or becoming extinct as a department presents itself to HR professionals and given the strong belief of HR as a source of added value in organizations, there is no choice than for HR professionals to be able to quantitatively and qualitatively explain its strategic role in the organization. There has been substantial evidence over the years to show the relationship between HR and organizational performance as summarized by (Yeung Berman, 1997). Some of the studies include MacDuffie and Krafcic (1992), US Department of Labor (1993), Pfeffer (1994), Arthur (1994), Huselid (1995), and Ostroff (1995). Even though these studies exist, there still lacks a framework that is grounded in theory, yet practical enough for practitioners to use that shows the major HR activities, outcomes of the respective activities, and how they can be measured. The framework describes clusters within the HR function and encompasses: a) strategic planning, b) selection, c) training and development, d) organization development and change, e) performance management, f) rewards system, and g) organizational behavior theory. HRs Activities Outcomes Even though there are several classifications or groupings of HR activities, the author uses seven groups of activities seen as being most strategic and influential in realizing the strategic business objectives of the organization. Todays economy dictates that organizations continually assess the external and internal environment and make relevant changes in order to remain competitive. The author examines each of the clusters and provides a description of each, its importance in achieving the business strategy, and how it can be measured to determine its effectiveness. Insert figure 2.0 about here Strategic Planning The role of the HR function has changed tremendously over the past 10 years where HR functions have previously been viewed as not being an integral core of the business and merely viewed as an administrative function to todays economy where HR practitioners are more frequently considered business partners. Being a business partner, the ideal situation would be the inclusion of the HR leader in the strategic business planning (SBP). In the most fundamental sense, SBP involves choosing how an organization will compete (Rothwell, 1994). The questions of what product to produce, where should the product be sold, how many to make available, how the products and services differ from the competition are included as part of the business planning process. Business strategy can also be defined as the process by which the basic mission and objectives of the organization are set and the process by which the organization uses its resources to achieve the objectives(Tichy, Fombrum, Devanna, 1982) . Why is it important for HR to be involved in the strategic planning process? In developing strategies in todays complex and dynamic business environment, there is the critical need for business leaders to continually assess their talent pool to determine if the appropriate expertise needed to accomplish the business strategies are available within the organization. If not, where and how can the organization acquire the necessary skills? Another critical area is to identify what skills are needed to be developed internally for current employees to perform at the level necessary for the organization to be competitive. Does the organization need to change any of its current policies and practices in order to derive the intended behaviors of employees? How should performance be measured and what types of rewards should be given for the intended behaviors? These are all fundamental areas of effectively managing an organization and imperative to be addressed at the strategic planning stage . Typically, the HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing these critical issues. Strategic planning seeks to identify those organizational decisions and actions, which yield the greatest advantage under various assumptions about the organization and its environment. The integration of human resource function into the organizational strategy provides the basis to enable the human resource function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage (Wofford, 2002). This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of wasted and inefficient labor and other financial investment, and eventually maximizing profitability. By addressing these issues at the strategic planning stage with HR included, there is the higher likelihood of more efficiently reaching the business outcomes and avoiding chaos, massive layoffs, crises resulting from not having skilled employees to carry out particular tasks and not having the right fit among employees, corporate strategies, and business environments. C.K Prahalad (Prahalad, 1990) in describing the roots of competitive advantage, stated that the real sources of competitive advantage are to be found in managements ability to consolidate corporate wide technologies and production skills into competencies that empower individual businesses to adapt quickly to changing opportunities. Moreover, Tichy et al., (Tichy et al., 1982) reiterated that there are three core elements for organizations to function effectively and include mission and strategy, organization structure, and human resource management. Clearly, the HR function plays a pivotal role in determining the busi ness strategy through the assessment of the organizations capabilities to successfully compete through a particular strategy, determining the appropriate rewards system, determining appropriate organization structures, and developing strategies to increase employees performance. Given the definition of strategic planning as how an organization will compete, the question arises as to how would an organization be able to assess the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period of time. Has the planning resulted in a) the attainment of the organizations goals and objectives, b) financial profitability, b) positioning to create advantages for the short-term and long-term, and d) created a sense of social responsibility? In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantages. Acquisition of Employees In the era of increasing globalization and the struggle to create sustainable competitive advantages, organizations are continuously evaluating their strategies to ensure that they have the expertise needed to help achieve the mission of the organization. The economic challenges due to the consequences of the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the United States also continue to affect organizations financial position and subsequently on recruitment and selection strategies. Gatewood Feild (2001) define selection as a process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment. Fitz-enz (2002) described ways of measuring the cost per hire, source cost per hire, and interviewing cost. Indeed, these are critical metrics in deciding the cost in acquiring employees. Nevertheless, to fully understand the value and effectiveness of the selection process, one has to analyze the impact of the employees contribution to the organization not only from a cost factor, but the performance in the short-term and long-term. Has the employee been able to contribute to the successful implementation of the business strategy? In examining the efforts that are part of the acquisition, one has to examine the effectiveness of the planning process, advertising and recruitment sources, effectiveness of the interviewers in selecting the right candidate, change in the pool of qualified candidates, and performance of the incumbent on the job. HR Planning involves the process that specifies the activities that a firm must use in order to develop its human resources to improve its overall practices (Gatewood Feild, 2001). The process entails determining how many employees the organizations needs to be performing at its optimum and where the employees should be working in the organization given the external and internal challenges and opportunities. With the economy still struggling to improve after 9/11 terrorists attacks, organizations have been forced to layoff even thousands of employees in some cases in order to survive. The real challenge for HR in the upcoming months and even years would be to predict the demand for their products and services and then to determine the need for labor. Nevertheless, one still has to be able to reasonably predict labor demands and determine if employees have to be laid off or how many employees have to be recruited within a specific period. In addition, HR Planning should involve the s kills and competencies currently available within the organization and what other intellectual capital would be needed in the future to adequately meet the needs of the stakeholders. Another aspect of the acquisition process involves the advertising and recruitment sources. Given the high costs of advertising in newspapers, internet websites, journals, employment agencies, and direct and indirect costs associated with advertising, there is a definite need for HR professionals and other senior leaders to be aware of the effectiveness of the respective sources being used to advertise and recruit their candidates. In assessing the effectiveness of recruitment and advertisement sources an organization uses to recruit its employees, it is imperative to relate the actual performance of the incumbent to the advertising and recruitment. Some of the factors that should be included in this evaluation are historical employee turnover data, absenteeism, actual performance on the job, and ability to advance in ones career. There may also be a high level of correlation with specific school, number of years of work experience, education major, GPA, and other such factors with o nes performance. Given the collection and analysis of this data, HR is much more likely to invest their advertising and recruitment budget to where real value is created for the organization. Fitz-enz (2002) described the need to ensure that the recruitment function to be efficient and further stated that it is better to measure recruiters as a team than as individuals whenever applicable. In determining their efficiency as a team, Fitz-enz stated that the measurements should focus on the productivity of their interviewing techniques, the average length of interviews for the respective job groups, number of interviews needed to make a quality hire. Another means of determining the effectiveness of the recruitment function is a measure to show the change in the number of qualified candidates that is available for selection. This could be a significant cost reduction strategy given that advertising costs can re reduced if there are qualified candidates available for future openings and other jobs currently available. Training and Development The American Society for Training Development estimates that US organizations are spending more than $60 billion annually on employee training and development. Given this significant investment, it is reasonable for one to ask about the benefits of such investments, especially since more companies are seeing a need for lifelong learning and are integrating technology in their strategies. Swanson (1995) defined employee training and development as the process of systematically developing expertise in individuals for the purpose of improving performance. The argument as to whether T D helps to create a competitive advantage has shown that conceptually, it can be a source of competitive advantage. Nevertheless, there still is a critical need to develop frameworks and strengthen the argument for being aware of the actual benefits provided by this intervention. Developing a framework for assessing the financial benefits of T D, Swanson (2001) listed three questions that provide the vari ations on the assessment of HRD, of which T D is a major category. What is the forecasted financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention? What is the actual financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention? What is the approximate financial benefit resulting from the HRD intervention? (Approximate financial benefit is used whenever there is some level of uncertainty of the exact value created by the intervention). The framework describes three perspectives to assess the benefits including positive benefits, relative benefits, and return on investment. The positive benefits are those indicators that show the benefits exceeding the costs. The key issue in this perspective is to determine that the benefits at least equal the costs. It may also mean the inability of the measurement to show a financial benefit, but demonstrates the benefit of for example, strengthening the culture and maintaining the tradition of the organization. Return on investment (ROI) is a ratio that expresses the relationship of every dollar of performance value to every dollar expended to achieve that value. In understanding the impact of the training, it is imperative to determine what difference, if any, the investment made in supporting the business strategy of the organization. The assessment of the training should focus on the difference of the performance of the employee, the department, the process, and the overall performance of the organization. Furthermore, were there adequate opportunities for the employee to practice what they learned in the classroom, were they rewarded for improvements made as a result of attending the training, and can a relationship be demonstrated with the training and the organizations performance? Fitz-enz (2002) suggested that in addressing the results of the training process, the following questions be answered: How well did the employee learn? How effectively did the employee apply the learning from a business standpoint? What difference did it make to the business perspectives? In sum, measuring the impact of a training initiative regardless of the scope, size of investment, and number of employees involved, there is the imperative need to determine the purpose of doing the training and if the goals have been met at various intervals after the intervention had been completed. To determine the benefit, ROI, or whatever terminologies we choose to describe the outcome, one has to consider the direct costs of developing and implementing the intervention, in addition to the indirect and opportunity costs. This total cost would then have to be compared with the intended benefits and actual benefits immediately after the training and at different intervals after the intervention based on its nature. It is therefore imperative to address the following questions given the critical need to understand the impact of the intervention: Has the employees attitude changed since the training? Did the employee acquire knowledge and expertise in an area that would enable him/her to perform more effectively on the job? Has the employees performance changed after the training? How has the change in the employees performance affected the business strategy and performance of the organization? These are all areas to be integrated in assessing the impact of training and development in todays economy. With answers to these questions, it is relatively simple to determine if the training investment was worthwhile and to articulate how training and development supports the business strategy and contributes to the bottom-line of the organization. Organization Change and Development Given the continuing changes in the global economy, demands of customers, preferences and values of employees, it is a necessary component of the HR strategy to ensure that the organization is adapting to the external and internal variables it current faces and would likely face in the future in order to meet its stakeholders expectations. The pace of global, economic, and technological development makes change an inevitable feature of organizational life (Cummings Worley, 2002). A growing importance and competency expected from the HR professional, therefore, is his or her ability to plan and implement the necessary changes for the purpose of improving performance. Swanson (1995) defined organization development (OD) as the process of developing and implementing planned changes in organizations for the purpose of improving performance. The opportunity for HR through its organization development interventions is to create organizational effectiveness at the individual, department, f unction, process, and organizational levels. Many OD practitioners may argue that OD is not a measurable effort, at least quantitatively. The challenge arises again as to what value do the change efforts really have on the bottom-line of the organization. Should OD be excluded from quantitative measurement? Given a downturn in the economy and the need to reduce labor cost, are OD practitioners able to justify their worth to the organization? In answering these questions, it is necessary to examine the outputs of OD. In many instances, the outputs should be an improvement in performance at the individual, process, and organizational levels. Fitz-enz (2002) suggested that OD can be measured through productivity, quality, service, responsiveness, development, and survival. How efficiently are products and services delivered to the customer? These factors are indeed critical in assessing the effectiveness of ODs efforts and therefore, should be part of the process of making changes in organizations. Some of the key measurements can be derived from the following questions: What is the quality of the output and does it meet the customers expectations? Does the service offered by the organization provide a competitive advantage as compared to its competitors? How effectively does the system respond to changes in the external environment? Does the organization allow for maximum sharing of information, leveraging each employee and work unit, and resolving any internal or external challenges? Are the values and ethics of each employee and work unit representative of the overall culture of the organization and supportive of the business strategy? The responses to these questions based on the respective organization provide the basic measurements in assessing the readiness and effectiveness of the organization to function effectively in its current and anticipated internal and external environments. Should the responses indicate less than optimal performance at the individual, process, and organization levels, the opportunity exists for HR to conduct an analysis and develop, and implement planned changes to improve performance at all levels. As pointed out by (Becker et al., 2001), HR professionals too often want to measure their success by their activity rather than the actual business results. By having concrete answers to these questions, there will be appropriate responses in answering the role of OD in achieving the business strategy of the organization. Performance Management Performance management systems make clear to employees what is expected of them and assure line managers and strategic planners that employee behaviors will be in line with the companys goals (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2003). Many organizations still rely on the performance appraisal viewed as an annual ritual and primarily the responsibility of the HR function. In todays economy and the utmost of managing performance to create a competitive advantage Noe, et al (2003) grouped performance management into three categories of defining performance, measuring performance, and the feedback aspect of performance. Performance management systems are geared to ensure that each employee within the organization, based on previously conducted job analyses, is performing the tasks intended at the expected level to support the strategic business objectives of the organization. The thinking of HR practitioners and other business leaders that an annual performance appraisal is performance management must become obsolete. Effective performance management entails a process where each employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, what type of output is expected, and how the output will be measured. How would one determine the effectiveness of the performance management system in creating competitive advantages for the organization? In answering this key question, the following areas should be addressed: Ensuring that job descriptions are developed through timely and effective job analyses. Job descriptions are updated on a regular basis to reflect to changing business environment. Feedback is shared continuously among all stakeholders. Every employee is fully aware of his or her role in the organization, which can easily be accomplished in the performance planning phase of the process. There are measurable outcomes assigned to every task reflecting the role of the position and incumbent in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. There must be congruency and consistency in performance measures across the entire organization and performance standards should always be measured consistently. The process and the system must be viewed as credible, fair, valid, and reliable. A survey with numerical ratings can be used by employees and supervisors to assess if ones role and responsibilities are fully aligned with the goals of the organization, satisfaction with the actual process and satisfaction with the supervisors management of the performance management process. An aggregate of the responses produces an assessment of the performance management system and its effectiveness in improving individual and organizational performance. One of the critical strategies in performance management is to understand the fundamental role of each employee in achieving the mission of the organization. By mapping a process through the identification of the purpose and role of each incumbent, one is easily able to identify where the deficiencies may exist and to develop corrective actions, identify the strengths of each individual and to maximize each employees potential and hence their contribution to the financial contribution to the bottom-line of the organization. Rewards System The starting point for any reward system design process needs to be the strategic agenda of the organization (Lawler, 1990). By understanding where the organization is positioning itself for various intervals in the future, an organization could design the reward system to provide incentives specifically designed to foster behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes among the workforce that directly correlate with the strategic agenda of the organization. As indicated by Lawler (1990), numerous studies including (Vroom, 1964, Lawler, 1971, and Kerr, 1975) have shown that effective rewards systems can significantly increase the motivation of individuals to increase their performance. As inferred from these studies, the fundamental intent of rewards in organizations is to provide incenti

Investigative Report of Internet Addiction Essay -- Internet Addiction

Investigative Report of Internet Addiction TABLE OF CONTENT LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...............................................iv ABSTRACT.............................................................v INTRODUCTION ........................................................1 Purpose .............................................................1 Growth Of The Internet ..............................................1 THE ADDICTION .......................................................2 What causes it ......................................................2 Symptoms ............................................................3 How To Overcome The Addiction........................................4 The elements of any addiction........................................4 CONCLUSION ..........................................................8 One Last Interesting Question .......................................9 REFERENCES ..........................................................10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1. The number of networks connected to the Internet vs. Time. 2. The percentage of the Internet domains 3. Will the equation people = Internet Users be true in 2001? ABSTRACT The problem of Internet addiction is not very noticeable now and that's why not many people are taking it seriously, but what these people are failing to see is the connection between the very rapid growth of the Internet and the addiction problem. It is really simple logic the bigger the Internet get the more users will be which will lead to a bigger number of addicts that can have their lives as well as others corrupted by this behavior. The main objective of this paper is to make sure that all reader know and understand what Internet addiction is and how it can be solved or avoided. I can not offer a professional psychiatric solution but I believe if a person knows more about the addiction, the better chance they have to help themselves as well as others; that's why I have included a short summary of the elements of addiction. I hope that by the time you read my paper you will have a better understanding about this issue to keep yourself as well as others of taking Internet addiction lightly. INTRODUCTION Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make you, the reader, alert and more aware of the newest type of addiction, Interne... ...not be life threatening like some drug addiction, but it can very harmful to the person professional and personal life. The key to staying away from this addiction is to understand its elements and have a strong will power to control one's self from all the temptations that the Internet might provide. One Last Interesting Question We all know that more and more people are gaining access to the Internet some way or another, but not every body had the chance of looking at figure 3 ! Figure 3. Will the equation people = Internet Users be true in 2001? (Source: ftp://nic.merit.edu/statistics/nsfnet) REFERENCES Elias, M. (7/7/1996) Net overuse called "true addiction", USA Today, pp 1-A. McAllester, M. (5/5/1996), Study says some may be addicted to the Net; Bulldog Edition.,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Los Angeles Times, , pp A-18. Network Wizards, [online]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Available URL: http://www.nw.com/zone/ Rodgers, J. (1994), Treatments that works, Vol. 27, Psychology Today, pp 34. Young, Kimberly, Centre of on-line addiction (COLA), [online]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Available URL: http://www.pitt.edu/~ksy/ Merit Network Inc., [online]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Available URL: ftp://nic.merit.edu/statistics/nsfnet/

Qualitative Research for Instructional Technology Essay -- Qualitative

Qualitative Research for Instructional Technology Background: A trend of the past several years has been the growing use of qualitative research for educational research. Qualitative research, broadly defined, means "any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification. Where quantitative researchers seek causal determination, prediction, and generalization of findings, qualitative researchers seek instead illumination, understanding, and extrapolation to similar situations. Qualitative analysis results in a different type of knowledge than does quantitative inquiry. " (Hoepfl, 1997, p.13). "During the past several decades, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, naturalistic inquiry (or qualitative research) has gained considerable acceptance. Nevertheless, the debate between quantitative and qualitative methodologies, as competing positions, persists. It is important to recognize the limitations of viewing quantitative and qualitative methods as completely differen t or competing approaches" (Custer, 1996, p. 4). What exactly are the basic differences between the two forms of research? Hoepfl (1997) explains it by saying that "phenomenological inquiry, or qualitative research, uses a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings. Logical positivism, or quantitative research, uses experimental methods and quantitative measures to test hypothetical generalizations (p. 14)". Custer (1996) also points out that "the qualitative-quantitative dichotomy dates back as early as the 17th century where quantitativists were characterized by some as ‘vulgar statisticians’". Basic Features: The following list... ...." The decision to use qualitative methodologies should be considered carefully, though. "By its very nature, qualitative research can be emotionally taxing and extraordinarily time consuming. At the same time, it can yield rich information not obtainable through statistical sampling techniques" (Hoepfl, 1997, p. 37). References Custer, R. L. (1996). Qualitative research methodologies. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 34, 3-6. Hoepfl, M.C. (1997, Fall). Choosing qualitative research: A primer for technology education researchers. Journal of Technology, 9, 12-39. Johnson, S. D. (1995, Spring). Will our research hold up under scrutiny? Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 32, 3-6. Sutton, B. (1993). The rationale for qualitative research: A review of principles and theoretical foundations. Library Quarterly, 63, 411-430.

Rockefeller :: Free Essay Writer

Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller, a U.S industrialist was the founder of the infamous Standard Oil Company, through which he dominated the U.S oil industry in the late 19th century and early 20th century and created the first major business trust in the United States of America. His business trust made him the world first billionaire .he also created a lot of controversies and opposition because of his business practices and form of organization especially from the US government. Together being a billionaire Rockefeller was one of the first major philanthropists in the U.S establishing several important foundations and donating a total of $540million to charitable purposes. Rockefeller was born on 8th July 1839 on a farm at Richford, in Tioga County, New York. He was second of the six children of William A. and Eliza (Davison) Rockefeller. The family lived in modest circumstances. The family moved to Owergo, New York and then headed west to Ohio in 1853. The Rockefeller’s bought a house in Strongville , Moravia near Cleveland. John entered Central High School in Cleveland where he rented a room in the city and joined the Erie Street Baptist church; he was very active in its affairs and became a trustee of the church at the age of 21. Rockefeller left high school in 1855 in order to take up a business course at Folsom Mercantile College. After completing the six month course in three months and after looking for a job for six weeks he landed a job as an assistant bookkeeper with Hewitt & Turtle , a small firm of commission merchants and produce shippers .He was not paid his salary for three moths when Hewitt gave him $50 ($3.57a week) and told him that his salary will be increased to $25 a month. A few months later he attained the position of the cashier and bookeeper. In 1859, with $1000 he had saved and another $1000 borrowed from his father at a rate 10% per annum, he formed a partnership in the commission business with a British Immigrant, Maurice B.

Effectiveness of Advertising Essay

DEFINITION: Advertising is the non personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. MEANING: Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action. Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various traditional including mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television, radio, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as blogs, websites or text messages. CONCEPT: The word advertising is derived from the Latin word, â€Å"adverto† â€Å"ad† meaning towards and â€Å"verto† means to turn. Literally it means turning people’s attention to a particular or specific thing. Advertisements are sometimes spoken of as the nervous system of the business world. As nervous system is very important in human body so it is vital in business world. Advertising is multidimensional. It can be viewed as a form of communication, as a component of an economic system, and as a means of financing the mass media Different kinds of businesses use advertising to motivate different kinds of markets toward different kinds of responses ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS The main â€Å"actors† related to the effectiveness in the advertising activities are consumer, advertisement, product/service, medium, and environment. The advertising effectiveness can be studied from the different manifestations of these actors. * Consumers are audience of the advertisement and potential purchasers of the product or service. Many models of consumer behaviour have been developed to measure the advertising effectiveness. For example, in the attitude model in the effects of advertising on consumers can be described as a sequence of stages or steps that begins with an awareness of the existence of what is being advertised, through the knowledge on what the product or service has to offer, favourable attitudes, preference over all other possibilities, and the conviction that the purchase would be wise, and finally culminates in the actual purchase of the product or service. * Advertisement in a traditional sense can influence the consumer behaviour. In new media advertising on the Internet, the advertisement can be influenced by the consumer behaviour as well to manifest the effectiveness. For example, click through rates of banner advertising on the web can be used to measure its effectiveness. * Product/service represents the motivation of the advertising. Advertising is often used to try to increase sales of a product or the use of a service, to improve the firm’s â€Å"corporate image†: to persuade people that the company is benevolent and trustworthy, or to change people’s behaviour such as anti-smoking. So the advertising effectiveness can be also measured through the achievements of the motivation, such as the profit and the brand value. * Medium is the carrier of the advertising message. The principal media may be classified as newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, direct mail, Internet, outdoor and so on. The first criterion for effectiveness is that sufficient numbers of the target audience should get to see or hear the advertisement, which is mostly decided by the nature of the medium. 1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY PREMIER HOME APPLIANCES wanted to know the effectiveness of their advertisement on their customers in order to improvise their advertising strategies. 1.3 PROBLEM DEFINITION To study the effectiveness of advertisement of premier home appliances 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY * To find the advertising effectiveness of premier home appliances * To evaluate the influence made by the advertisement on the customers purchase decision. * To find whether the advertisement has reached the customers. * To find which media impact made a huge impact. * To know whether advertisement creates brand identity among customers. * To know whether advertising creates awareness and belief about the product to customers. 1.5 HYPOTHESIS: Inspite of having an impressive advertisement they found it to be not convincing. 1.6 INDUSTRY PROFILE: Home Appliances are that without which a modern home is considered incomplete, especially in urban areas. We have become so used to some of the home appliances that it seems difficult to live without them. Indeed, they have made our life more comfortable and easier than ever. In metro cities and big towns, such household appliances are regarded as a boon, as they are instrumental in cutting down the time involved in most of the domestic chores. This is really a great help since people often find it difficult to keep a balance between professional obligation and household needs. HOMEAPPLIANCES PRODUCTS: Products such as microwave ovens, juicer- mixer- grinder, fully automatic washing machines, and frost- free refrigerators are the most popular category of home appliances. This is because they have made the work of housewives less tiresome and more enjoying. Most of the domestic appliances are useful in various kitchen related jobs and hence are termed as kitchen appliances. Gas stoves, toasters, microwave ovens, mixer & grinders, juicers & blenders, rotti makers, refrigerators, water purifiers are some of the most common kitchen appliances in India. Besides, there is a category of electronic products that have become an integral part of modern houses. These are air conditioners, fans, room coolers, room heaters, geysers, electrical irons etc. HOMEAPPLIANCES COMPANIES IN INDIA There are many Home Appliance companies in India like premier, pigieon, butterfly etc. Apart from them there are various international companies also that deal in domestic appliances. Some of these home appliances manufacturers are Samsung, LG, IFB, Whirlpool, and Kenmore etc. With the arrival of international brands in Indian market, the competition among rival companies has become stiff. Since, a majority of products are electrically operated; the focus is on such household appliances that are efficient in power consumption.| HOME APPLIANCES STORES Most of the leading home appliances manufacturers and companies have set up their exclusive retail outlets in important towns and cities of the country. Besides, there are local home appliances suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers spread throughout India. Apart from that Home Appliances stores and shops are located in every locality, which let you compare products of different companies before buying and also let you buy all kinds of home appliance products at one place. Some manufacturers also offer after sale service, and if needed, repair the damaged parts of your electronic products. So here you will find the sites of some of the leading Home Appliances manufacturers and suppliers 1.7 COMPANY PROFILE: Sivanesan CEO- Sivanesan Group of Companies â€Å"Sivanesan group of companies believes in bringing quality products to over customers, right from its inception. No wonder, we have internalized high standards of quality in over business functions. The results are there for everyone to see in the form of remarkable levels of â€Å"customer satisfaction† and â€Å"business trustworthiness†. â€Å"Quality isn’t something that can be argued in a brochure or promised to a client. It must be there in your product. If it isn’t there, the finest sales talk in the world can not act as a substitute. At Sivanesan group of companies we have always believed in quality of our products, of our workforce, of our processes, of our management and in every aspect of our business relationship. Quality, at Sivanesan group of companies, is never an accident; it is always a result of high intentions, sin care effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. The Sivanesan group is one of India’s largest and m ost respected business conglomerates in the home appliances sector. Premier the group well established brand founded in 1974 by Sivanesan, CEO of Sivanesan group of companies, since then the group has mentioned firm and impressive escalation. Today the group successfully manages as many as seven full-fledged manufacturing units above and beyond marketing and export divisions. The premier range of products is crowning almost the entire requirements of a modern kitchen. This can be seeing by the actually that we manufacture over 32 products under the premier brand tree. The most momentous being the vast reservoir of well trained, highly energized team of over 400 professionals and technicians. In addition to this premier’s R&D efforts persistently improve manufacturing methods to enhance the premium placed on its products. Moreover, they have invested valuable time and resource to bring their manufacturing practices in line with the most excellent in the world. This includes the installation of the most up-to-date machineries and processes. Premier pressure cookers come to your after years of research and development and offer the healthiest mode of cooking by conserving vital nutrients, vitamins and energy. Premier’s multiple facility system, built in to every one of its cookers, ensures increased safety and reliability in the long run. The aesthetic appeal of the streamlined exteriors and superior overall design help conservation of precious energy and time through quick, even heating. Underwriters laboratories inc (UL) is an independent not for profit organization, which in its 107-years-old history has dedicated itself to the cause of safety and quality service. UL is headquartered in the USA and has a network, which spans 89 countries across the globe offering manufactures, the world over unlimited access to the most lucrative markets. As per available estimate approximately 16 billion marks appeared from amongst 18,000 products in 1999 alone. UL certification symbolizes a commitment to continually offer saf er products to customers the world over. Premier cooker has now been accorded this prestigious certification for safety excellence on its cooker. A momentous occasion for the premier group and recognition for the safety standards it has been following for over three decades since its inception. The premier range of products covers almost the entire requirement of modern kitchen. With emphasis on quality, safety and product innovation, premier has been able to win the hearts of the Indian housewives and be reckoned as a leader in the kitchenware market. Today, premier manufactures over 32 products in 97 variations. Premier products are also exported to markets in Europe, west Asia, south east Asia, America, Australia, and Africa. Underwriters laboratories (UL) of USA and bureau of Indian standards (ISI) has certified premier’s automatic rice cookers and pressure cookers. Premiers attractive pressure cooker range include a wide verity of material and design options including Aluminum, HARD-ANODIZED, SS copper-bottom and SS sandwich bottom with unmatched durability, performance and style, the premier pressure cooker is quite truly the heart of any modern kitchen. Presented below are the different versions and models of the premier’s automatic rice cooker. Among other top selling range from premier are stainless steel copper bottom pressure cooker, mixi, multi-steamer, regular cookware and the LPG stove and many more. All that they are giving is to make cooking the comfortable, safe and economical for the housewives. Now to find out the ultimate safety symbol in kitchenware, look out for premier’s pressure cooker. In short, premier one of the premier brands in kitchen appliances, brings to its consumers cooking solutions that are not only considered â€Å"red-hot†. When it comes to standards related to product safety, there is the trust of lakes of premiers customer’s world over they have and the (UL) certification 1.8LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY * Time constraint was the biggest limitation. The project had to be completed within 2 months and hence the sample size had to be lesser. * One problem that every interviewer faces is the willingness of the customers in filling up the questionnaire. * Validity of information obtained from the respondents was a major drawback. 1.9 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study is expected to identify whether it has reached the target audience and thus, can find the gap that is to be improvised. CHAPTER-II REVIEW OF LITERATURE According to Weilbacher (1984), this ability to jumble all of what one knows about a product or a company together with selected elements from one’s life experience is the essence of Creativity in Advertising. The degree or level of Advertising C:reativity is definitely related to the Advertising Effectiveness. To assess the effectiveness of advertisements, there have been two streams of research (Jeong, 2004). One stream of research focuses on the psychological aspects of advertising impact and the other focuses on the sales and market response aspects of advertising effects. Neslin(2002) found that other variables like sales promotion can have a significant influence on the advertising and sales relationship and consider such variables responsible for inconsistent results in previous studies on the effectiveness of advertisements. The behavioral perspective of advertising effectiveness provides insight into the antecedents of consumer behavior like attitude, recall and brand choice. It, therefore, supersedes in importance than the market and sales response method of advertising this is also more important as it is more consistent with the marketing concept which focuses on the final consumer as a fundamental business philosophy (Ang,Lee & Leong, 2007). Consistent with such views, Lucas and Britt (1963 cited in KocabiyikoÄŸlu, 2004) stated quite earlier that the basic purpose of advertising is to provide information about the actual receivers of advertisements that are instrumental in the selection of appropriate advertising strategies. This ultimately improves the effectiveness of advertisement and hence will positively affect the market result. The behavioral perspective of advertising effectiveness concerns how people perceive, process, respond to, and use advertising information in making purchase decision about certain product or service (Jeong, 2004). Similarly, attitude as another measure of advertising effectiveness is important because it is related to how consumers evaluate the advertised products. A strong positive attitude towards a product means that the person may buy the brand in future (Wells etal., 2003). As Mitchell and Olson (1981) state that as attitudes are relatively stable and enduring predispositions to behave, they should be useful predictors of consumers ’behavior towards a product or service. Gresham and Shimp (1985) consider attitude as an attempt to influence consumers’ choice. Advertising recall is a memorability test that determines how viewers remember something specific about the advertisement and the brand (Wells et al., 2003). Recall can be aided as well as unaided (Till & Baack, 2005). CHAPTER-III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research is a systematic method of finding solutions to problems. It is essentially an investigation, a recording and an analysis of evidence for the purpose of gaining knowledge. According to Clifford woody, â€Å"research comprises of defining and redefining problem, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, reaching conclusions, testing conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated hypothesis† In other words, research methodology is simply the plan of action for a research which explains in detail how data is to be collected, analyzed and interpreted RESEARCH DESIGN: The study is descriptive in nature. Data were collected through questionnaire and processed. Analyzing using various statistical tools like tabulation percentage and relationship chart. TOOLS USED: To analyses and to arrive at a conclusion as to how the professional view has changed the environment suitable statistical techniques are to be employed. The research has been done by using following tools. Percentage, Tabulation, Pie chart, Bar chart No. of respondents Percentage = ——————————- x 100 Sample size PERIOD OF SURVEY: The duration of the study has been for the two months. SAMPLE SIZE : For these study 60 consumers where taken as the sample size to collect the detailed data DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES 1.Primary data 2.Secondary data The techniques that was used by the researcher for collecting primary data was the questionnaire method. The researcher has used the structure form of the questionnaire with the close us open-end question. The researcher has collected primary data from the respondents and secondary data from post research. Face to face method secondary data was also adopted to have additional information. QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire is a special practice to prepare a schedule of questions or a questionnaire for interviewing a person. As such, the set of questions prepared are of two types: A set of questions prepared by the interviewer and is asked by the interviewer during an interview is the first kind. It is a set of questions administered by the interviwer in interview. A set of questions prepared by the interviewer and is given to the person being interviewed and filled in by the interviwee: the person giving interview. In either case, data can be gathered and then analyzed. The two are being used in geography, especially in field work research. There is a kind as well. Some researchers have prepared such schedules of questions of questionnaires , evaluated them and then standardized them as well.