Disadvantages Of Fordism - 1030 Words

FORDISM A GOOD IDEA OR A BAD ONE? Word count: 984 Henry Ford was the father of technical revolution in production of motor vehicles in the early 20th century (Clarke, 1990). By the revolutionary changes he implemented, his Model T, which was introduced in 1908, became the first user-friendly car that was accessible to the masses. Ford’s innovation of mass production changed the industry and lives of everyday people. Fordism has brought many advantages into production of automobiles, however there has also been many disadvantages (Degan, 2011). Fordism is an idea of mass production achieved by more efficient production methods and lower cost of production. It was first introduced by Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company. His†¦show more content†¦It did not only mean a revolution in production of motor vehicles, but a production of all good in general. Fordism eventually failed a few decades later due to people wanting better and more diverse choices in cars. In addition, technological developme nt meant that robots could work at a production line and assembly lines implemented by Ford were no longer necessary. However, there were many improvements introduced to the idea of Fordism and so developed Post-Fordism (Smith, 2011) Even though Fordism revolutionised motor vehicle production industry it has a lot of disadvantages. Assembly line and specialisation result in less skilled work force, because workers are only trained to do one specific task and are only required to be using one skill (Clarke, 1990). Moreover, specialisation in this extend leads to inflexibility. Engineers become more specialised in one action they are doing and forget about their other specialities with time (Degan, 2011). High level of specialisation also results in small range of products and slow adjustment to change (Smith, 2011). This has proven to be a big issue because with time market demanded more diverse choice of cars than what Ford’s company offered. Another problem is also that work ing in an assembly line can become very boring and monotonous with time. It is very hard to motivate employees to perform their best work if they are bored.Show MoreRelatedDifferences of Fordism and Post-Fordism1494 Words   |  6 PagesDiscuss Differences Between Fordism and Post-Fordism Work In 1913, Henry Ford had an assembly line built in his Detroit plant where T-Ford cars were manufactured. This marked the beginning of a new era in production called Fordism. It was a pattern of industrial organisation and employment policy that occurred in the early twentieth century. Its high point was the period after the Second World War. This essay will be describing the main principles of Fordism, post-Fordism, their advantages and limitationsRead MoreRationalisation in the Hotel Industry Essay1178 Words   |  5 Pagesbeen known as ‘Taylorism’ or ‘Fordism’. Fordism is the name given to Henri Ford’s principles of production. It concentrates effort towards seeking higher levels of output through using conveyor assembly lines and making that the work is broken down into smaller and less complex tasks [3]. In summary Fordism was all about efficiency and focusing on minimalizing the workers tasks. Taylorism, similar to Fordism, focuses on maxi mising productive efficiency. But unlike Fordism, it focuses heavily on profitRead MoreFordism (Sociology)1782 Words   |  8 PagesFordism is a system that arose during the last decades of the 19th Century through to the second decade of the 20th Century. Fordism was first recognized by the Italian Communist Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937). He was the writer of Americanism and Fordism. It was about Fordism representing a new form of capitalism which created a new economic structure which affected social life of the laborer on a large scale. Ford came up with a method of manufacturing inexpensive automobiles using the assemblyRead MoreThe Theory Of Scientific Management Essay1375 Words   |  6 Pagesexpected time. Fordism is a philosophy which aims to apply the â€Å"science of work† and it has influenced the development of post Fordism. However according to Crowley et al (2010) because Fordism principles were based on standardization, efficiency and the core principles of scientific management one can argue that post Fordism can be rightly termed Neo Taylorism. This shows how this principle still influences a lot and is relevant in our study of organizations. For us to understand post Fordism we have toRead MoreThe Theory Of Scientific Management1633 Words   |  7 Pagescommonly in various structures of organisation. Comparisons shall be drawn to other theories and advancements of this theory, such as Fordism and Toyotism, which was extremely popular in Japan (Cheng, 2009). Using these variations of Taylorism, we can therefore further and deepen the evaluation of his original theory. This essay aims to show that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages due to changes in culture and worker’s mentality. Taylor’s theory was built upon his key beliefs from observationsRead MoreBattery Nanotechnology Essay3779 Words   |  16 Pagesmodels are there. For example Fordism is a manufacturing model. Later new manufacturing models came up. Mainly of them are the modifications of old models. The examples for new manufacturing models are Post-Fordism, Toyota Production System, Flexible System of invention, Total Quality Management. Fordism is name after Henry Ford. Fordism describes the use features of developed economies and the systems of bunch invention. Fordism was popular during 1940s-1960s. In Fordism the target was to make bunchRead MoreTaylorism and McDonaldization1597 Words   |  7 Pagesthe base of research, involving analysing controlled experiments under various working conditions, Taylor discovered basic principles that would influence workers productivity. His ideas were further developed in post- Tayloristic movements like Fordism. Today, Taylorism is mostly applied in the rapidly growing service sector, especially in fast food and call centres. Taylorism and Scientific management are the precursors for McDonaldization, which are processes of the fast food industry that haveRead MoreThe Emergence Of Market Society1573 Words   |  7 PagesIndustrial Revolution lead to the great transformation of the market society. The economy grew and people used labour as commodity that endures the greatest societal consequence. Since the market relied on this commodity, human rights were at a disadvantage to the economy. There is no such thing as a self-regulating market because people believe that the economy can build a system based on false commodities (Polanyi, 1957, P. 75). Society faces an economic problem that provides for the material well-beingRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Brave New World 1087 Words   |  5 Pageswas no hierarchy, Big Brother was on top, and underneath him everyone was the same, belonging to the same caste, so to speak. On the other hand, in â€Å"Brave New World† humans were â€Å"born† into a determined caste, with certain biological benefits or disadvantages. â€Å"Reducing the number of revolutions per minute, Mr. Foster explained. The surrogate goes round slower; therefore passes through the lung at longer intervals; therefore gives the embryo less oxygen. Nothing like oxygen-shortage for keeping anRead MoreOutline Of A Comparative Essay1111 Words   |  5 Pageswords and replace emotion, words like â€Å"excellent† are replaced with â€Å"plusgood† or â€Å"plusplusgood†. They are controlled to speak the way the party wants them to. Topic sentence: Humans were â€Å"born† into a specific caste, with assigned biological disadvantages or benefits. â€Å"Old? Young? Thirty? Fifty? Fifty-five? It was hard to say† (page 4). In order to eliminate individual identities, aspects such as age have been removed. â€Å"Bokanovsky s process is one of the major instruments of social stability†

Research Paper a Good Man Is Hard to Find Free Essays

A good man really is hard to find. But what is the real definition of a real man? Maybe it is not just the prince charming you see in fairy tales or the perfect guy walking down Sixth Ave. that you pass by everyday to work. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper: a Good Man Is Hard to Find or any similar topic only for you Order Now Maybe a good guy is simply someone that is good what they do. In this case the relationship between the grandmother and the misfit is just that. The only thing is if the reader sees it as clearly as the author would like them too or simply as she does. The setting of the story is never really clear to the reader. The author never really comes out and says where and when the story takes place, but with a few clues an idea is given on a pretty clear setting of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find. † The time period begins in the mid-twentieth century. In the first half of the story, the family is at their home in Atlanta, Georgia. The author never really says that they are in Atlanta, but in the story the grandmother writes down that it will take them approximately take them 20 minutes to reach the outskirts of the city. When the family begins on their trip to East Tennessee instead of Florida early that morning, the grandmother observes it’s a beautiful day, not to hot nor cold. They pass up many old plantations and open fields. The grandmother also observes the details in the scenery she describes â€Å"the Stone Mountain; the blue granite that in some places came up to both sides of the highway; the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple; and the various crops that made rows of green lace-work on the ground. The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled†. O’Conner. They are obviously in the open country and used to seeing the old plantations because there was really no excitement from the family with the children reading magazines and the mother falling asleep, so with this clue as well gave a hint on where the family was from. During their long road trip the family decides to stop at Red Sammy’s Barbeque Joint to grab a b ite to eat. Red Sammy’s was a little hole in the wall barbeque stand on the side of the road next to a big tower with a very welcoming sign in front. In the second half of the story later on in the day the family ends up in a ditch in the middle of nowhere after a car accident caused by the grandmother and her cat. There is a dark, shadowy forest on both sides of the road. The scenery is so dark the only way the viewer can tell what’s going on is the screams and the gun shots coming from the characters. Landscape descriptions and the apparel of the characters also indicate that the action occurs during the warmer months. There is no sun in the sky; this could mean the time period could be around sunset. The setting of the play was a little hard to decipher but a couple of clues gave it away. This play wasn’t very long and it was written mainly in dialogue. The story went from one extreme to another, quickly changing moods as the story progressed. To really understand this story it would be a good idea to understand Flannery O’Conner. † Flannery O’Connor lived but 39 short years. The body of work she left may be small in size, but the stories and two novels are deep in meaning and boundless in importance for the modern reader. †-Welborn. Her stories were never really clear but meaning came clear in the end. Sometimes they had to be put together like a puzzle. O’Conner was an only child and raised in a Savannah and attended nothing but Catholic Schools. This was very odd in deed because a lot of the stories she writes about were about death and the deaths were usually due to murders so with her being so catholic it was odd. Also in this play the conversation between the grandmother and the Misfit was about their beliefs and the misfit not knowing what he believes is weird to me because the reader is indeed catholic. The self-satisfied are attacked, those who fancy themselves as earthly saviors find themselves capable of great evil, intellectuals discover their ideas to be useless human constructs, and those bent on â€Å"freedom† find themselves left open to be controlled by evil. † – Welborn. This could have been the case between he misfit and the grandmother both. But it’s never really clearly said. The misfit could have been known as the evil villain of the story. The grandmother was slowly beginning to turn into one but never made it all the way. So take a chance, and take a look at Flannery O’Connor. Prepare to laugh, to be shocked, and to think. But most of all, be prepared to see. † –Welborn. There are many symbols in A Good Man is Hard to Find. â€Å"A Symbol is something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible. † –Symbol. The first most obvious symbol is the Grandmother’s hat. She wears the hat for one sole purpose; if she were to die she would want the ones who found her body to be able to identify her as a lady. When she prepares for the car trip, she prepares for any accident that may occur. For the grandmother the only thing that seems to matter to her is that she is recognized as a lady, this reveals her selfishness and flimsy moral convention. When the grandmother first gets ready for the trip, the hat is in perfect condition. No tears, no nothing. When the grandmother gets involved in the car accident, just like her moral convictions, her hat begins to fall apart. The rim of the hat begins to tear as she faces the misfit and is thrown from the car. When the grandmother is finally shot after a while of trying to convince the misfit to look deeper into himself her hat falls completely apart and falls to the ground along with the grandmother. â€Å"She drops the broken hat as her self-conception as a lady dissolves. † –Shmoop. Another symbol in the play is the Misfits vehicle. He drives a big black battered hearse like automobile. This is the description of the car the family gives it as it approaches. The car symbolizes a hearse because the misfit is known as a killer, so by giving him this type of vehicle symbolizes what he is known for. A hearse is an automobile or carriage, used in a funeral for carrying the corpse. † –Hearse. This is an image of intimate death for the fate of the family before the misfit and his companions get out of the car. One last symbol out of the many in the play is the scenery and the environment. The dark gloomy day signifies the day the family is about to have. The cloudles s, sunless sky. This was mentioned many times after the family was in the car accident and even more when the misfit came into the picture. The sky was also notified when the grandmother was shot and the misfit walked away. The narrator never mentions the weather or the time of day but the clues he gives already tells a lot of the kind of day the family is about to have. In this play the grandmother and the misfit really have a lot in common than we think. Even though their social status and ages are very different their similarities that they share are rather similar. For instance they are both missing important spiritual bonds. The grandmother tries to get the misfit to understand the meaning of why god kills and in odd ways they agree on similar terms. They both really don’t understand the meaning of why he did what he did but they both have their own perspective on why. Nowhere in the play before the accident does the narrator show the grandmothers spiritual side. When the grandmother talks to the misfit about this topic it is kind of struck out of nowhere, kind of like a last resort to try to save her own life. Neither the grandmother nor the misfit had truly gotten what it means to be saved and true salvation. The misfit doesn’t hold any respect for human life and sees the means of all human life coming to an end at some point. Neither of them believes in any such thing as resurrection even though god himself was resurrected. When the grandmother talks to the misfit he shows a whole other side to himself. The way he talks about his family and himself shows he isn’t as bad of a man as they come to think of him. The grandmother is also the same way, even though she seems selfish, she really does care for her family. At the end of the play the grandmother tries to reach out to the misfit spiritually and tries to get him to understand her faith, but the misfit just doesn’t want to hear it and shoots her himself. So what is a definition of a real man? What makes a good person in general? The title of the story is kind of misleading from the very beginning. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† gave me the impression of a women who is having trouble finding a good man for her, I never thought it was going to be about a criminal on the run killing people. This really made me think twice on what the author was deciphering as a â€Å"good man. † In this play the misfit did say he came from a good family and was raised like a normal boy. I believe what the author was trying to say in the title was that he was so good at who he was, which was being a criminal. We never really knew what kind of person the criminal aside from his actions and the conversation he had with the grandmother. He was religious in his own kind of way. His beliefs were indeed different but he did believe there was a God, he just didn’t believe in the miracles he performed. From the way the Misfit talked to the grandmother he was pretty respectful and listened to what she had to say, he disagreed, but he still listened and was able to hold a conversation with her. We could never really tell if the Misfit was being honest and truthful from the things he was saying but his actions could point out that they might have been. In this play we never know if the misfit is a compulsive liar, it is possible because he is pretty good at it but like I said, we never know. The Misfit isn’t the only one we may hold second thoughts about. The grandmother is right along with the Misfit. In the beginning of the story, she was the perfect kind of grandmother who looks out for the safety of her family and puts them first. Towards the middle of the story when the family is on their road trip, she became very selfish on the things she wants. For example in the beginning she told the family they should go to Tennessee instead of Florida because of the Misfit and then throughout the road trip she decided she wanted to go see a certain plantation even when the family disagreed. She stated to only think about herself and it got even worse when the misfit came into the picture. When he came into the picture the grandmother seemed to forget about everyone else and only thought about her. Just having lost her family and threatened her own death, the grandmother seemed to undergo a sudden and miraculous change of heart. She starts to reach out to the one who killed her family to try to save her own life instead of trying to save her families. She never showed emotion towards the death of her family. She only became concerned when her own life became threatened. Perhaps at this point in someone’s life, they experience transformations because of the moment they are in. That is the only real explanation I could come up with for why the grandmother did what she did. And in my opinion neither the grandmother nor the Misfit were very good people, they were just good at what they did. This play over all was a great story to read. It gave a whole different perspective on the way a paper could be read. It showed that the title can have a whole different meaning and how fast characters can transform to defend for themselves when they undergo life changing experiences. This story was one of those ionic experiences in everyone’s life; a family vacation from hell. It had everything you would find in a normal family has, annoying kids, an ungrateful selfish grandmother, pretty normal parents, a car accident and a twist; a serial killer. Not every story has a happy ending or an ending we want. This story kept you wanting for more. In a way the events were predictable, but the exaggeration of the events made it most enjoyable to read on. This play was really, truly about the vacation from hell! How to cite Research Paper: a Good Man Is Hard to Find, Essays

Shakespeare othello Essay Example For Students

Shakespeare othello Essay Shakespeares Iago is one of Shakespeares most complex villains. At first glance Iagos character seems to be pure evil. However, such a villain would distract from the impact of the play and would be trite. Shakespeare to add depth to his villain makes him amoral, as opposed to the typical immoral villain. Iagos entire scheme begins when the ignorant, ill-suited Cassio is given the position he desired. Iago is consumed with envy and plots to steal the position he feels he most justly deserves. Iago deceives, steals, and kills to gain that position. However, it is not that Iago pushes aside his conscience to commit these acts, but that he lacks a conscience to begin with. Iagos amorality can be seen throughout the play and is demonstrated by his actions. For someone to constantly lie and deceive ones wife and friends, one must be extremely evil or, in the case of Iago, amoral. In every scene in which Iago speaks one can point out his deceptive manner. Iago tricks Othello into beleiving that his own wife is having an affair, without any concrete proof. Othello is so caught up in Iagos lies that he refuses to believe Desdemona when she denies the whole thing. Much credit must be given to Iagos diabolical prowess which enables him to bend and twist the supple minds of his friends and spouse. In todays society Iago would be called a psychopath without a conscience not the devil incarnate. Iago also manages to steal from his own friend without the slightest feeling of guilt. He embezzles the money that Roderigo gives him to win over Desdemona. When Roderigo discovers that Iago has been hoarding his money he screams at Iago and threatens him. However, when Iago tells him some fanciful plot in order to capture Desdemonas heart Roderigo forgets Iagos theft and agrees to kill Cassio. Iagos keen intellect is what intrigues the reader most. His ability to say the right things at the right time is what makes him such a successful villain. However, someone with a conscience would never be able to keep up such a ploy and deceive everyone around him. This is why it is necessary to say that Iago is amoral, because if you dont his character becomes fictional and hard to believe. At the climactic ending of the play, Iagos plot is given away to Othello by his own wife, Emilia. Iago sees his wife as an obstacle and a nuisance so he kills her. He kills her not as much out of anger but for pragmatic reasons. Emilia is a stumbling block in front of his path. She serves no purpose to him anymore and she can now only hurt his chances of keeping the position he has been given by Othello. Iagos merciless taking of Emilias and Roderigos lives is another proof of his amorality. If one looks in modern day cinema, one will see the trite villain, evil to the core. Shakespeare took his villains to a higher level. He did not make them transparent like the villains of modern cinema. He gave his villains depth and spirit. Iago is a perfect example of Shakespeares villain. His amorality and cynicism give, what would be a very dull character, life. Words/ Pages : 544 / 24

Poverty and the Environment

Table of Contents Poverty and the environment World poverty Persistence of global poverty Addressing global poverty Benefits of global poverty Reference List Poverty exists when one lacks typical socially acceptable things or possessions. People who are in poverty lack basic needs vary from one context to another. The common understanding of basic needs is things necessary for continued existence. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty and the Environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Many people around the globe face the problem of poverty. Poverty links to human population and their activities on the environment. The human population affects the environment negatively due to poverty resulting to environmental degradation and a cycle of poverty. Poverty and the environment Poverty and the environment are interlinked as poverty leads to degradation of the environment. On the other hand, the issues of pov erty eradication and degradation of the environment are often treated separately hence failure in addressing the issues effectively and reducing poverty around the globe. Human activities have led to destruction of the environment and the trend shows that there is a bleak future ahead unless the destructive activities on the environment are halted or regulated to avoid destroying the environment further as the future generations are in jeopardy (Ezeonu, 2004). For instance, people living in poverty destroy natural resources such as forests to clear land to plant food. Consequently, deforestation leads to environment challenges like flooding. Moreover, the high number of human population also causes destruction of the environment when people live on land near rivers and clear tracts of forests to inhabit. World poverty Close to forty per cent of the world’s total population live in poverty according to World Bank estimate in 2004(Whitman, 2008). Explosion in population cause s a strain on the environment and pushes millions of people into poverty. Poverty varies from one country to another and poverty in developing countries is dire than in the developed countries. Poverty depends on class, race and gender. For example, more women than men live in poverty (Kendall, 2009). The poor struggle in their lives as they are disadvantaged in the society and often face prejudice of being lazy. Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More World poverty is caused by a number of factors such as inequality of resource distribution, wars and conflicts, natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding and droughts, degradation of the environment and social inequality among others. It is important to note that the levels of world poverty have reduced with global economic growth but many people are still living in poverty. Persistence of global poverty The reasons for persis tence of world poverty are things such as discriminatory trade policies that favor only the developed countries at the international market and exploit the developing nations hence they are unable to make a profit that can be used in fighting poverty (Wade, 2004). Wars and conflicts that emerge in countries from time to time keep people in poverty for instance the war in Iraq has contributed to high levels of poverty to the citizens. Other factors such as corruption in governments make fighting poverty impossible as a few rich embezzle public funds. The continued unequal distribution of resources confines people to poverty. Furthermore, those born in poor families are unable to breakaway from the cycle as they do not get opportunities to acquire education and thus grow and live in poverty as their poor parents (Pogge, 2008). Addressing global poverty However, world poverty can be addressed by acknowledging that poverty and the environment are connected. Then look for ways of helpi ng people to acquire food without having the need to deforest. If people can access food they are can concentrate on economic activities to improve their situation. Governments should also deal with corruption because it leads to misuse of funds that would have been used to lift the standards of living of the people. The international business laws and policies should also change to give all countries a fair opportunity at the international market. More importantly, people should be empowered through training and given access to loans to start small businesses to gain a source of livelihood.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty and the Environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Benefits of global poverty Some countries may favor continued world poverty because it enables them to take advantage of the poor countries that depend on them by exploiting resources in such countries through multinational corpora tions. The organizations in such countries that concern themselves with the issue of poverty may never want to see poverty eradicated because they would not have any business and many of their employees would become jobless. The countries may also want poverty to continue so that they can lend loans with high interest to poor nations (Mack, 2009). Thus, world poverty may benefit a few countries. Reference List Ezeonu, I.C. Poverty and the environment: sociologizing environmental protection in sub-Saharan Africa. Review of Black Political Economy, 31(3), 33-42. Kendall. D. (2010). Social problems in a diverse society. 5th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Mack, E. (2009). Absolute poverty and global justice: empirical data, moral theories, initiatives. New York: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Pogge, W.T. (2008). World poverty and human rights: cosmopolitan responsibilities and reforms. United Kingdom: Polity. Wade, R.H. (2004). On the causes of increasing world poverty and inequality, or why th e Matthew effect prevails. New Political Economy, 9 (2), 163-188.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Whitman, S. (2008). World poverty. Infobase Publishing: New York. This essay on Poverty and the Environment was written and submitted by user Tomas A. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Top Jobs in the U.S. Mountain Plains Region

The Top Jobs in the U.S. Mountain Plains Region if you’re looking for a career change (or a change of scenery!), here are some of the fastest-growing jobs for 2016 in the mountain-plains part of the unites states. per the u.s. bureau of labor statistics, this region includes colorado, kansas, missouri, montana, utah, and wyoming. when you hear the lines, â€Å"o beautiful for spacious skies,/for amber waves of grain,/for purple mountain majesties/above the fruited plain!† in â€Å"america the beautiful,† chance are you’re thinking of u.s. heartland states like the mountain-plains region. once known for its prairie spirit, the region’s population is growing as the former frontier cities turn into (or grow their existing status as) major hubs.tech job outlook: technical support specialistsutah and colorado might be better known for mountain vistas and film festivals, but cities like provo and fort collins are fast becoming booming tech communities, with companies like hewlett packard, intel, and nu merous startups staking a claim. as technology companies expand operations in the region, tech support specialists are in high demand. these specialists help customers and companies troubleshoot computer software and equipment, and are often the front lines of defense when tech goes wrong.a bachelor’s degree is frequently required, but some openings require an associate’s degree or specialized classes. the median salary for these support specialists is $50,380 a year, with a faster-than-average 12% growth expected.administrative job outlook: actuaryactuaries are an essential part of many industries, but especially the insurance field. they use statistics, math, and financial theory to forecast financial risk, make predictions for their company, and then plan how to minimize that risk.the actuarial field usually requires a bachelor’s degree and offers on-the-job training for new hires. the median salary is $96,700 per year, with robust expected growth of 18%.othe r jobs like data entry specialist are easy to find, but not as much potential in term of promotion and learning.logistics job outlook: truck driverper an npr poll in 2014, the most common jobs in missouri in 1978, 1996, and 2014 were truck, delivery, and tractor drivers. that consistency doesn’t seem likely to shift soon- this region is a hotbed of distribution activity, and this trend will keep on truckin’ in 2016 and beyond.the median salary for truck drivers is $38,200, and the field is expected to grow by at least 11% by 2022.healthcare job outlook: emts and paramedicsthere are often shortages of qualified medical personnel, and no career path sees that as much as front-line emergency medical technicians (emts) and paramedics. these vital professionals offer emergency care for illness and injury, and are often the first responders in a variety of emergency situations.demand for these emergency workers is expected to increase by at least 24% in the coming years, and the median salary is $31,700. if you thrive on high-pressure situations and aren’t squeamish at the sight of blood, this can be a very strong career choice.service job outlook: nanny/childcare workeras the number of households with both parents working continues to increase, so do the needs for quality childcare. this field is especially trending in urban areas, as families look for alternatives to traditional daycare options. nannies and childcare workers are responsible for the daily care of children, and in cases of individual family employment, may also help run the household on a daily basis. the median salary is $28,000, with 5-10% growth anticipated in the coming years.so remember: while you’re seeking out those fruited plains and purple mountain majesties, there are many promising career options available to you.

Book Chapter Why Customization in the SAT Is Key

Book Chapter Why Customization in the SAT Is Key SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The final strategy from our book, The Insider's Guide to the SAT, is customization. This is the final pillar that willtie all of our strategies together. Why is customization so important? You have different strengths and weaknesses from other students. You have different goals. This means you need to prep in a way that’s customized to you. Just think about yourself compared to other students at your school. You might have gotten better grades in math than in English, or vice versa. Every student has different skills. It’s unlikely that any other student has the exact same skills as you. Therefore, every student needs a different study plan for the SAT. Here’s the problem: manyprep methods out there treat all students exactly the same. Books give the same strategies and lessons to every reader, and students read the book cover to cover in the same way. Expensive classes from big-name companies put 20 students into the same classroom and drag everyone through the same lectures. (Let’s put aside the fact that they hire inexperienced people fresh out of college.) The way to solve this problem is to ensure whatever study method you choose is customized. Ask your program, what real steps are they taking to customize the study for you? If you use a book, don't simply read it from cover to cover. Read more about how you can achieve customizationfrom the rest of our book, and get more tips from our SAT Guide to 160+ Points: Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Dr. Fred Zhang About the Author Fred is co-founder of PrepScholar. He scored a perfect score on the SAT and is passionate about sharing information with aspiring students. Fred graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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Reflecting the films you have watched (The Social Network and Wall Essay

Reflecting the films you have watched (The Social Network and Wall Street 2), and citing a minimum of 3 journal articles, discus - Essay Example Each factor played a pivotal role in the development of the story line in each movie. While some factors were more important than others, it is important to go through all of the factors associated with the PESTLE analysis. In terms of the Political environment, Wall St. 2 starts with the release of Gordon Gekko from prison as a result of insider trading. This set the environment for his alienation from the finance industry. He leverages his relationship with his future son-in-law Jake, for access to his daughters’ money. As a political outcast, Gordon was forced to make back door deals in order to start his offshore finance company. The situation was similar in the Social Network. Mark began the movie sitting at a table deliberating over his actions that led to the ensuing lawsuit. Intellectual property rights are a growing body of legal work that has yet to be developed into an exact science. Hence, the political environment for his actions was ripe, in so far as he may not be able to get away with the same actions years down the road. The Facebook is seemingly a compilation of the ideas of other individuals, while he did not draft the entire concept of others ideas, he took bits and pieces of their information. Fortunately, our nation was at a point where we wanted something new and were willing to stand behind it. The economic environment actually has a close link to the political environment. Both movies were based in the modern era which means that they both shared the same economic environment, yet there were two completely different outcomes. While Jake suffered massive losses as of the change in the economy, that very same transition offered opportunity to Mark. Specifically, in 2007 there was a massive financial failure within the stock market. The bottom fell out of the housing market and banking institutions were merely trading with fiat cash that wasn’t there to begin with. This forced financial executives to pass on the losses to the individuals within the market. As a natural consequence, there was a panic and everyone with money in stocks headed towards the quickest exits. Mark had a different experience with the creation of his internet giant. Just when people assumed that the internet had reached its maximum functionality, he was able to innovate and create a new method through which consumers could interact. In fact, he was able to generate an entirely new stream of revenue that relied on a non-traditional market. The social environment for both of the movies seemed to be equal. The main character in each movie seemed to either be accepted by those who are closest and misunderstood by those who watched from a distance. Specifically in Wall St.2, Jake was accepted by those who worked within his financial firm and even the alternative energy business. While at the same time, his competitor merely wanted to use him in order to protect their own business. Additionally, Mark was viewed as an investment by his à ¢â‚¬Å"best friend†. Mark felt as if he was under appreciated for doing all of the work within the company and since he was responsible for making the right business decisions, he felt as if he was entitled to greater representation in terms of shares. The changing technological environment played a pivotal role in the development of each story line. Specifically, the role of the alternative e

Person-job Fit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Person-job Fit - Essay Example I am fit for this job because the Big Five test portrayed that I am careful and an orderly person, hardworking, reliable, can integrate well with the organization (Furnham&Chamoro-Premuzic, 2011, p. 58)and is concerned about the welfare of other people (Chamoro-Premuzic et al. 2011: p. 45). I like challenges and being creative because I persistently look for different ways of approaching the different task and coming up with solutions to for different problems (Angelo, 2010, p. 117).The internship position also requires an individual who can write concisely and accurately, Ifitwell to the position because I can communicate well and cooperate in teamwork. Thisattributemakesme a good team player. This will be effective in assisting the company to expand its business operations and allow effective flow of information (Patton & McMahon, 2006, p. 53-56) among the different management levels to ensure timely information disbursement and feedback (Jones et al, 1991, p. 76).Managementtakesli ttleconsideration in creating a network but takes much attention in planning, guiding, controlling and directing people on how to carry out a given job. Thisincorporatesmyability to create networks with other employees in the business.The Big Five Test reflects well. This test offers a prediction on how will work intellectually, cooperatively, cheerfully and diligently. The personality attributes portrayed by the Big Five test truly affect the manner in which I will approach work at XYZ healthcare company.

Macro Factors that Affected Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy Initiatives Essay Example for Free

Macro Factors that Affected Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy Initiatives Essay A foreign policy is a country’s independent strategy or outline of how a sovereign state will deal with the rest of the world or how it will conduct its international affairs; this may encompass such fields as military, economy and politics. The contours of US foreign policymaking strategies were shaped to a large extent by the advantages conferred by geographical isolation of the country, lack of contiguous enemies, absence of historical baggage and the indomitable, independent streak of its early settlers who through their sheer perseverance transformed the vast wilderness of the American lands into an economic, political and military powerhouse unrivalled in the modern era. American foreign policy has seen its ups and downs ranging from a period of isolationism to active participation in world affairs to the unilateralism that characterized the Bush era. However, during the administration of Franklin D Roosevelt, American foreign policy was hobbled by the prevailing isolationist ideology and of course the economic conditions of that time. This essay examines the constraints that Roosevelt experienced in conducting the nation’s foreign policy and what events shaped the contours of Roosevelt administration foreign policy directions. During the American Revolution, The United States convinced France, Netherlands and Spain to join them in the war against Britain which was considered as a common enemy. However, after attaining independence, American foreign policy concentrated on regional matters rather than international matters. The country adopted the Monroe Doctrine which declared that America would not tolerate European interference in the Americas. However, soon thereafter American foreign policy took the stand of not interfering with other states affair in the periods before the First World War. The United States was initially not interested in involving itself in the First World War because it deemed it as a continental Europe affair. Woodrow Wilson as the President initially promised to preserve the tenets of neutrality but then was forced to enter the war on German provocation of disruption of American shipping by U boat attacks. After the war, Wilson initiated the 14 points program and created the League of Nations as also encourage idealism as an approach to international affairs. However, the imperatives of domestic politics rolled back America’s foreign policy directions away from the idealistic approach to its traditional isolationist stand. Roosevelt had internationalist views and wished to play a larger role in world affairs. However the Great depression preoccupied Roosevelt through most of his time. The Great Depression originated in the United States and had been triggered by the sudden collapse of the Stock market, which on 29 October 1929, crashed. â€Å"The shocks to the domestic US economy were a primary cause (Bernanke 2000, 5)† for the depression as the primary sector comprising of mining, farming and logging that had been listed on the stock exchange lost their share prices dramatically. This led to a panic amongst American investors who tried to keep out of the stock market and postpone their purchases of white goods. To get over the Depression, Roosevelt initiated a slew of economic reforms and measures collectively known as the ‘New Deal’. Roosevelt first sought to restore the confidence of the American people in the banking system by passing an Emergency Banking Act and creating a Federal Deposit Insurance Scheme. He embarked on massive public works projects like expansion of Dams, railroads and highways to provide employment to thousands of laid-off workers and cuts in military spending. These cuts in military spending further constrained foreign policy initiatives. The 1935 Neutrality Act passed by the Congress despite Roosevelt’s protestations further restricted the President’s foreign policy initiatives.   These were followed by the Neutrality acts of 1936 and 1937 that further tied down the President. The declaration of the Second World War in 1939, gave Roosevelt an unprecedented third term in office and a chance to redeem the US economy. At one sweep, unemployment was wiped out with youth being employed in the armed forces or in the industries to support war effort. Even then, the isolationists did not wish America to enter the war. Despite the administration’s efforts to reform the Neutrality Bill, the isolationists had a upper hand in the congress and succeeded in   obstructing the passage of the bill right until 1940 (Dalleck 1995, 191). It was only after Roosevelt steered the Lend-lease act and the surprise attack by the Japanese in 1941 that Roosevelt could get rid of the neutrality clauses and conduct the war with full vigor. Roosevelt used the Second World War to build American economy and guide its growth for America’s preeminence after the war. It was his vision and forbearance that allowed President Truman to follow a more ‘muscular’ foreign policy by declaring the famous Truman Doctrine and the Marshall plan that defined the pro-activeness of American Foreign policy from 1946 till to date. One can safely state that the considerable constraints of an isolationist’s tradition and the Great Depression hindered Roosevelt’s foreign policy initiatives, which he had to constantly battle to build America’s relevance on the international scene. Roosevelt succeeded admirably and set the stage for future American Presidents to embark on a more robust international role that today defines American foreign policy. Bibliography Bernanke, Ben. Essays on the Great Depression. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. Dalleck, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

A Cuban Reading of Psalm 137 :: Cuba Religion Bible Christianity Essays

A Cuban Reading of Psalm 137 There are two Cubas. On the Island are revolutionaries crusading to construct a Cuba that combats any attempt to subjugate her spirit to the US hegemony. On the (main)land are the modernists who look toward the United States as the guide and hope for revitalizing a Post-Castro Cuba. Consequently, the Cuban community is divided into two antagonistic camps: Resident Cubans living under Castro's Marxist regime, and Exilic Cubans living under a global capitalist system. Due to these political and economic differences, we Cubans are a people divided against ourselves. This division creates a unique space in how we read the Bible differently than the rest of Latin America or other U.S. Hispanic groups. Theologians operating from a liberationalist perspective focus on Exodus as a source of hope for their existential situation. The story of a God who hears the cries of the oppressed and personally leads them toward liberation is a powerful motif. However, Exodus is not the rubric from which we Exilic Cubans read the scriptures. It is the second exodus, narrating the Babylonian Captivity, that resonates within our very being. Like the Psalmist of 137 we sit by the streams of this country, singing about our inability to sing God's songs. †¢ BESIDE THE MIAMI RIVER WE SAT AND WEPT AT THE MEMORY OF LA HABANA LEAVING OUR CONGA DRUMS BY THE PALM TREES. In la sagà ¼esera (Southwest Miami), on Calle Ocho (Eighth Street), is a restaurant called Versailles, dubbed El palacio de los Espejos (The mirrored palace). What makes this restaurant unique are the mirrored walls. Sitting at the table in the crowded salon, I constantly see myself reflected on one of many heavily-gilded mirrors. As we Exilic Cubans look in the mirrors surrounding us, we are in fact searching for our ontological origin. Not so much what we are, but what we see ourselves as being. Versailles serves as a vivid illustration to Lacan's theory of the Mirror Stage. Lacan, the postmodern psychoanalyst, maintains that while I look at myself in the mirror, I assume that what I see is a reflection of a self ─ a secondary reflection faithful (more or less) to the likeness of an existing original self. Lacan would propose the opposite, that the image in the mirror is what constructs the self. My encounter with the mirror literally reverses the direction, and serves the function of forming my "I.

My Hometown Poem

My hometown was a wonderful place to live But there were many times it didn’t forgive Some memories I hold so fond, Others I wish were gone. My hometown’s history made my heart bleed The town no longer has what I need When the war came and took the peace as prisoners we wished to be freed That's when you know it's time to leave Because in my hometown I can no longer believe One day my father told me we must leave town With dismayed eyes as his tears were drawn He said we are fish following the ocean,We have to go north to a freer nation Where beaver live, mountains, it's a better option In my hometown I loved how you can walk wherever you want, No one casts a disapproving scowl or taunt This place has snowy hills, green valleys running up and down Still, my hometown deserves a crown My hometown was a wonderful place to live; But there were many times it didn’t forgive; (Some memories I hold so fond) ; Others I wish were gone; My hometown’s history made my heart bleed; The town no longer has what I need ;When the war came and took the peace as prisoners we wished toobeefreed; That's when you know it's time to leave; Because in my hometown I can no longer believe; One day my father told me we must leave town; With dismayed eyes as his tears were drawn ? He said we are fish following the ocean? We have to go north to a freer nation? it's a better option? In my hometown I loved how you can walk wherever you want, No one casts a disapproving scowl or taunt This place has snowy hills, green valleys running up and down Still, my hometown deserves a crown. .

Mintzberg

The company is a Microsoft certified Partner. The Hosting market in the UK is set to grow by 1 1. % CARR over the next 5 years from a basses Emma in 2008. This growth being driven to by factors that fit well with the economic climate- cost reduction, increased efficiency, scalability and flexibility. In addition, the Hosting market speculated with a wide range of similar product offerings often only differentiated by relativism's technical variables.Being competitive In this market relies on adding value by additional reappraisal services such as consultancy and high levels of technical service supported opportunity for â€Å"Company A† lies in providing value-added services that deliver seduction, increased efficiency, scalability and flexibility. â€Å"Company A† has a product range to compete with the best providers with ready-to-go serviettes through to highly complex solutions. It is the leading supplier of Filmmaker tablespoonful In the UK and Is a Microsoft Certi fied Partner.In addition â€Å"Company through its service levels. Let provides a superior level of hand-holding and technical support that differentiates itself frothier hosting providers. â€Å"Company A† is well positioned to convert this opportunity into significant growth with distressing product angel and high service levels but has identified a need to increase its marketability. It has therefore created a plan to develop its sales and marketing structure which wildcatters on this opportunity and double its revenue over the next three years.Core to thespian is investment in three target growth areas with low cost of sale that provide low risk endothelial high return. This will increase its currently low visibility with its customers and in thematic place, develop new sales channels and increase large customer sales. With 75% of revenue currently generated wrought solid and predictable monthly irresistibleness, and cash providing xx cover of its monthly overheads the c ompany is in a gastrointestinal position.It is able to support its growth plans with its current borrowing and does anticipate any need for further loan or equity finance. Page 3 of 26 â€Å"Company A† Limited – Business Plan Commentary) BACKGROUND†Company A† Limited (â€Å"The Company') is a middle tier hosting company based annex, UK with an annual turnover of Exam in the full year to July 2008. It was established Sears ago to provide web-development and ousting services and is now 100% focused nonbinding hosted services – internet hosting, back-up and email services – from its secure decanter in the UK.The company is the leading supplier of XX hosting solutions and is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. It offers simple Ready-To-Go-Systems and built trotter Complex Hosted Systems as well as the ability to host customer hardware ‘nits secure data centre. It also offers Domain Management for its clients. The Company has a client base of around 600 small, medium and large boisterousness's both internationally and in the I-J that include Abacus Media, PrestigeProperty,Worldwide [Daily Telegraph, Kodak Dental Systems and Sifts. Clients are served by XX staff who provide a 2417 managed service environment and range of expertise that includes Linux, Myself Server, Cisco & Jupiter Networks, Happy Dell storage, ASS and Apache Servers, SAP, PH, Ajax and . NET. The Company is run by Managing Director Joe Oblongs who has over 20 years of IT interdependence, and Josephine Oblongs who has guided the growth of the company as Financial undemonstrative Director.To date the company has been funded by a mixture of loan and equity finance secured by decrement directors of the company. The many is in a stable financial position with good recurring business but has yet to reaching full market potential. With the experience of the current directors and operations team and the recruitment of experiences sales and marketing personnel it has developed a growth plantar will see its revenue double over the next three years to around Exam.

Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Essay Example

Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Essay Example Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Paper Should we discuss cyber communities as real communities Paper The internet has become an everyday part of life for the majority of the contemporary society who have the technology and knowledge to access it, and as such new groups known as cyber or virtual communities have developed, living and growing on the world wide web, expanding simultaneously as is evident with real physical societies found in our everyday lives. Is it ok then to discuss these in the same context as each other, or are they entirely different incarnations of human interaction that should be separated and therefore discussed at different ends of the equation that is community? I want first to take a brief look at the history of the Internet, and how it offers the chance for cyber communities to develop. I will hopefully identify a framework for these cyber communities, which I will use to compare them against real life communities and then discuss the similarities and differences and so be able to draw a conclusion as to whether the two types of communities are able to be discussed in the same context. The Internets first appearance was in 1969 with the ARPANET computer network, run by the US Defense Department. The US Government was interested in creating a network that could withstand a nuclear attack. This system was the primary component of the super network that would eventually become the Internet. The first event of the Internet that we know today was in 1974, when Vint Cerf and Bob Khan defined the transmission control protocol (TCP) and Internet protocol (IP) by which information could be packaged addressed and sent to various destinations along a computer network. In 1983 this TCP/IP based Internet was launched across the USA, and has since developed to todays standards, of a global network of 43 million interconnected computers (Gauntlett 2000). Presently, Internet technology enables several forms of interactive networking among users, including traditional activities suggestive of geographic communities, such as town meetings, exchanging information, discussing problems, and informal chatting. Forms of these communities include; Email, Multi-user Dimensions (MUDs), Chat channels (rooms) Conferencing systems/ Bulletin Board Systems (BBS)/ Information Services. These are just a handful of the most popular communication techniques widely available on the Internet. Access to the Internet and these services is provided through commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as America Online (AOL) that offer a range of member services in addition to Internet access. The WELL provides a vivid example of the capability of online groups to facilitate sustained and meaningful interaction among members. ( harvardlawreview. org/issues/112/7_1586. htm#fn35 Accessed 23/04/03) The WELL is a large conferencing system, centered in the San Francisco Bay area; it was established in 1985 and has grown to become a vibrant online community where many topics and aspects of everyday life are discussed (Gauntlett 2000). Howard Rheingold has been actively interested in the topic of virtual (cyber) communities since the early days of the Internet and especially the topic of the WELL, I will use examples taken from his book The Virtual Community and other scholars of the subject to help analyze the idea of the cyber community and its links to real communities. At this point I would like to clarify exactly what I mean when talking about community, and what the definition of a community is in the context of this essay. I will use a simple definition, often accustomed to the debate about virtual communities. Aaron Davidson states When Internet critics speak of community, they refer to the definition of community as a group of people who live together in close physical proximity, I will refer to this type of community as a Classic Community. The more general essence of community is a group of people, which share a common interest. This more flexible definition encompasses both physical communities as well as more intangible communities such as special interest clubs and online communities (http://spaz. ca/aaron/school/online. html Accessed 20/04/03). This definition of community translates that a classical real life community is a group of people who are geographically local to each other and so form bonds due to location and not necessarily interests, such as street parties, or communal bonfires and firework shows. The non-classical internet community is when people group together in a non-physical text based platform due to a common interest on a certain subject, such as a military vehicle web ring or music group discussions. Taylor (1982) states the core attributes that are (or should be) possessed by all communities to some extent are, common beliefs and values, direct and many-sided relationships between members, and reciprocity and communication. While shared values and beliefs generally promote communication, the presence of communication does not necessarily result in shared values. This has a key implication for the creation of cyber communities as unlike real life communities people accessing them do so for the topic, such as health, music or films and through this shared affinity for the subject communication is initiated, while some might access purely for communication and not information, they are going to try and generate conversation within the topic range they are interested in (Rheingold 2000). I will now try to categorize a framework of characteristics that would be associated with a cyber community, and how these differ from their real life counterparts. I located several definitions from different writers on the characteristics, which an online community has, but they all seem to be able to be grouped together under five headings. The first is that they are spatial, in that they are not restrained by geography, the community is able to be built and developed not only on a national scale but more on an international scale now, and not just within the close geographical proximities experienced by real world communities. They are developed around an understanding or appreciation of a topic, which brings people together, which may or may not have known each other prior to the discussion, while real life communities are often forced together either through the location of residence or through working ties. Virtual communities such as the WELL for example grew within a region of America (San Francisco Bay) but to become a member you dont have to live in San Francisco to participate in the community and the building of bonds within it (Rheingold 2000). The second is that virtual communities are asynchronous, in that communication doesnt have to take place in real time, unless the community is built within a chat room environment, but even in this environment they often facilitate the use of a message board for users to access. Messages and information can be posted and replies received days later (Castells 2001). For sustained communication to take place in the real world at least two people are needed at the same time, even if not at the same location via telephone. Third due to the lack of data able to be sent the communities are predominantly text based. For decades, online communities were built with nothing more than unformatted text. Web-based media bring inline graphics, animations, video, sounds, formatted text, and links into the conversation, creating a more dynamic ability to communicate with other users, and therefore enhancing the community being developed (Jones 1997). Real life communities are able to be built not just on text (speech) but also through the use of paralinguistic features, these non verbal gestures help to add meaning, and the impact of a face to face discussion is amplified due to facial features which are not evident in the computer world, but can be expressed as text (Jones 1997). The Fourth characteristic is that they are astigmatic, in those physical attributes such as race, gender, and physical impairments, which would often locate an individual in certain social standings in real life, are not present on the c yber communities. Religion is also not an important issue in virtual communities. These aspects not only shape our social standing but can inhibit our involvement in social gatherings and communal events simply because we are not aesthetically matched, but in the virtual world these impairments, and characteristics do not affect our acceptance and do not need to be made public unless the individual chooses to do so. People whose physical handicaps make it difficult to form new friendships find that virtual communities treat them as they always wanted to be treated as thinkers and transmitters of ideas and feeling beings, not carnal vessels with a certain appearance and way of walking and talking (or not walking and not talking) ( eff. org/Net_culture/Virtual_community/slice_of_life. article Accessed 22/04/03). The fifth key feature of a virtual community is that the members of a virtual community are anonymous from each other, unless they choose to meet in person. Unlike in real life where face to face interaction leads to people being able to recognize outside of the community environment, while community members on the virtual plain would not recognize each other if passing in the street. This ability to remain anonymous from other users offers virtual citizens the ability to create their own virtual identity and mold their appearance as they see fit, playing out fantasies online (Castells 2001). This can be seen with a quote from the blockbuster movie The Matrix where Neo and Morpheus are discussing the Matrix and how it offers Neo and the users the chance to portray their residual self image, the mental projection of your digital self as Morpheus quotes to Neo. This is the same in a virtual community where members are able to portray themselves as they wish others to see them; whether truthful or false the anonymity provided by the virtual community allows freedom from physical flaws present in their real life personas (Jones 1997). That was the five key characteristics identified by many people as to what makes a virtual community different from a real life example. Another characteristic that is evident with online communication is the fact that it can be conducted on a many to many basis. This is different from the format of few to many associated with a broadcast, or one to one such as telephone conversation. Virtual communities offer groups of people the ability to communicate with many others simultaneously. A brief over view of the characteristics of a virtual community shows as that they are not bound by geography, but are bonded together by interests and bonds formed through these interests. Communication doesnt have to be undertaken in real time, and is predominantly text based. No physical or religious pre conceived prejudices are experienced as members are able to remain anonymous from each other in the real world and so any physical attributes or religious beliefs are made public to fellow members through the free choice of the individual. Finally communication can be carried out on a many to many interaction with lots of people contributing to the discussion if and when they feel they should. The difference between real life and cyber (virtual) communities are evident then, but is this the end of the discussion as to whether they should or shouldnt be classed as real? Possibly the most significant aspect of these more mainstream uses of the Internet is not their status as alternative communities, but the opportunities they offer for individuals to supplement their lives in real world communities ( arvardlawreview. org/issues/112/7_1586. htm#fn35 Accessed 20/04/03). Cyber communities are often seen and categorized in this way as an extension of our communal lives and that they extend our real life communities to new levels. Ray Oldenburg (1991) states that there are three essential places in every persons life, the place they live, the place they work, and the place they gather for conviviality. Virtual communities can fulfill the role of the third place re-matting the fabric of community spirit, which has been lost in the modern real world where community bonds are being eroded. The ability to network, gain knowledge, or find communion within cyberspace is, according to Rheingold (2000), the social glue that binds formerly isolated individuals into a community ( well. com/user/hlr/texts/VCcivil. html Accessed 22/04/03). I tend to agree with this finding that cyber communities do not stand-alone but are interwoven with our real life communal experiences, and so I feel to a certain extent they should be discussed as real communities, but with an air of caution when doing so. The key difference between the cyber and real community is the context of the plain they are built on, whether it being physical or virtual. They both exist together with real world topics being the basis for many of the interactions experienced within there cyber counterparts, further leads me to the view that they presently only fulfill the role of enhancing or communal lives in real life. The key similarity between the two community environments is the constant communication, forming links and bonds, however the initiation process in cyber communities is also different. In traditional kinds of communities, we are accustomed to meeting people, then getting to know them; in virtual communities, you can get to know people and then choose to meet them. In some cases, you can get to know people who you might never meet on the physical plain (Rheingold 2000). The point that cyber communities can exist as asynchronous is contested by Jones (1997), saying that synchronicity when users interact at the same time such as in a chat room, the occupants are less interested in the topic but more so in the individual doing the talking, less interested in text than in community. This offers the argument that not all communication on the internet is communal, and only the real time chat room environments when people discuss and form real time bonds with one another in quick fire conversations does the feeling of community really exist. From my experiences on the Internet and especially in chat rooms I would have to agree with this. When I post a message on a guest book or message board, I dont get a feeling interaction with others, but within the environment of a chat room I am able to build bonds, and return to them at later dates with a sense, if only small at first of knowing the other users of the room. Jones (1997) also accounts for this and the issue of free riding, where he quotes Ostrom (1990) identified free riding as the key threat to community formation and well-being, free riders being surfers of the Internet who do not participate in the community but simply use it for its resources. I have outlined here some of the theories and thoughts offered on the subject of cyber communities and I want to know draw them all together and conclude this writing. For cyber communities to be discussed in the same context as real world examples there is the point that they offer the user a sense of belonging, albeit a different one from the real world. They also incorporate a large amount of people, all communicating and sharing experiences with each other, which is the same as in the traditional physical communities. Cyber communities are built around a shared value or interests, you are able to choose to join the community or not, you are not forced into it through work or residence. This point offers the question of how strong the bonds are between the people, simply because they have a shared interest in a certain topic, the commitment to one another in the cyber realm compared to the real world is a lot weaker, as Jones (1997) states, in the book, Virtual culture. People who communicate via words on a screen dont necessarily share the same level of commitment to each other in real life as more traditional communities. Communities can emerge from and exist within computer-linked groups, but that technical linkage of electronic personae is not sufficient to create a community (Jones 1997). Howard Rheingold states brilliantly one of the key advantages of partaking in a virtual community, life will be happier for the on-line individual because the people with whom one interacts most strongly will be selected more by commonality of interests and goals than by accidents of proximity(Rheingold 2000). For the feeling of community to exist the key attribute identified through my study is the need for sustained communication between the members. I will use the following quote from The Electronic Frontier Foundation website to sum up the conclusion of this study. When a group of people remains in communication with one another for extended periods of time, the question of whether it is a community arises. Virtual communities might be real communities, they might be pseudocommunities, or they might be something entirely new in the realm of social contracts, but they are in part a response to the hunger for community that has followed the disintegration of traditional communities around the world ( ff. org/Net_culture/Virtual_community/slice_of_life. article Accessed 20/04/03). Therefore cyber communities are real communities, they are very similar, where links and bonds are formed in a non-physical environment, and that these cyber communities should be discussed in the same context as real life examples but not separately but as an extension of our physical communal lives.

Identify Types of Fir Trees in America

Identify Types of Fir Trees in America True firs are in the genus Abies and there are between 45-55 species of these evergreen conifers worldwide. The trees are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in higher elevations and mountains over most of the range. The Douglas or Doug fir is also a fir tree but in the genus Pseudotsuga and is only native to western North American forests. All firs are in the pine family called Pinaceae. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needle-like leaves. Identification of the North American Firs Fir needles are typically short and mostly soft with blunt tips. The cones are cylindrical and upright and the shape of a fir is very narrow with rigid, upright, or horizontal branching as opposed to drooping branches on some spruce trees. Unlike a spruce tree, fir needles are attached to twigs mostly in an arrangement that is in two rows. The needles grow outward and curving up from the twig and form a flattish spray. There is also a distinct lack of needles on the bottom side of its twig, unlike spruces that carry needles in a whirl all around the twig. In true firs, the base of each needle is attached to a twig by something that looks like a suction cup. That attachment is much different than spruce needles that are attached with a peg-like petiole. The cones of fir trees are very different when comparing Abies to Pseudotsuga.  The true fir cones are rarely seen up close as they grow toward the top of the tree. They are an elongated oval, disintegrate on the limb (almost never dropping to the ground intact), perch upright, and often ooze resin. Douglas fir cones stay intact and are generally abundant in and under the tree. This unique cone has a three-pointed bract (snake tongue) between each scale. The Common North American Firs Balsam firPacific silver firCalifornia red firNoble fir Christmas tree farm. CaseyHillPhoto / Getty Images Grand firWhite firFraser firDouglas fir More on the True Firs The balsam fir is North Americas northern-most fir, with an extensive range in Canada, and primarily grows in the northeastern United States. Western firs are the Pacific silver fir, California red fir, Noble fir, grand fir, and white fir. Fraser fir is rare in its natural Appalachian range but extensively planted and grown for Christmas trees. Firs have absolutely no insect or decay resistance when exposed to the outside environment. Therefore, the wood is generally recommended for indoor housing use for sheltered support framing and in furniture for cheaper structural construction. So, the wood of most firs is considered unsuitable for general timber and lumber use and is often used as pulp or for the manufacture of interior plywood support and rough timber. This wood left outside cannot be expected to last more than 12 to 18 months, depending on the type of climate it is exposed to. It is commonly referred to by several different names in the timber trade including North American timber, SPF (spruce, pine, fir), and whitewood. Noble fir, Fraser fir, and Balsam fir are very popular Christmas trees, generally considered to be the best trees for this purpose, with aromatic foliage that does not shed many needles on drying out. Many are also very decorative garden trees.

Coursework 2 Report Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coursework 2 Report - Dissertation Example This social media suit has certain tools which will assist them to enhance the Facebook pages, and it will also permit L’Oreal to evaluate the transactions of the salons who have taken the distributorship of L’Oreal. These salons can also launch dynamic videos on their Facebook page, register appointments, bookings, and information sharing on behalf of the company (Thomson â€Å"Is B2B Social Media Marketing behind B2C"). The company also supplied their distributors and suppliers with various educational resources to enhance their social marketing strategy, and as a token of motivation each distributors were also given an advertisement credit of $25. The company received strong response from around 21 million supply points around the world (â€Å"L’Oreal, Salon Campaign by Buddy Media"). They were also successful in reaching out to more than 6000 salons and approximately 1.7 million clients (â€Å"B2B and B2C Brands Discovered the Value of Social Media marketi ng in 2012"). Social Media Networking for B2C Segment L’Oreal is even more active on social media for its B2C segment because this is for attracting the retail customers. The social media marketing vice president of L’Oreal said in an interview that L’Oreal is a big company, with different product lines, so social media chosen for every product line is based on the nature of the product and target customers. In terms of social media resources, L’Oreal experiments with various channels such as Instagram, Pinterest and even Tumblr. However, the major channel for social media marketing is still Facebook and Twitter obviously because of its huge user base. Facebook is a partner with L’Oreal for its social media marketing. Twitter is however, still a guide of innovation, and brands like Maybelline are being promoted on Twitter. Georges Edouard Dias, the vice president of the digital business at L’Oreal, said in his interview in â€Å"Marketing W eek†, that in order to understand the needs and requirements of the customers, the company should have to reach out to their target customers through various means of communication (Handley â€Å"Q&A: Georges-Edouard Dias, L'Oreal†). He said that they get approximately 250,000 posts for their brands every day. The company also uses social media for cross selling in various countries like China. Beauty has been always regarded as a component of social conversation. YouTube plays a significant part in this context, where women get to see how the products are used or put on. The video content is being optimized regularly for this purpose. The company has also segregated the video division, which concentrates on social media marketing videos on YouTube (Edwards â€Å"L'Oreal Social Media Chief Rachel Weiss Tells Us Why She's Bored of Pinterest†). Work Cited â€Å"B2B and B2C Brands Discovered the Value of Social Media Marketing in 2012."  Brafton Editorial. Brafto n, Incorporated, 28 Dec 2012 Web. 5 June 2013. â€Å"L’Oreal, Salon Campaign by Buddy Media"  International Advertising Bureau UK. International Advertising Bureau, 23 Aug 2012. Web. 5 June 2013. Edwards, Jim. â€Å"L'Oreal Social M

Buddha Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Buddha - Research Paper Example Early Life Siddhartha Gautama was the birth name of Buddha. He lived in Nepal in the region commonly known as the Indo-Nepalese area. He was an Indian prince and his father Suddhodana was a king of the Indian clan known as Shakyas. Queen Maya, the mother of Siddhartha died shortly after giving birth to him. When Siddhartha was a child, a spiritual man prophesied unusual things about the Prince. Predicting about the Prince’s future he also said that he would either become a great king or a great religious teacher. His father preferred his son to be the king after him and therefore he trained Siddhartha accordingly (Thomas, 2000). Prince Siddhartha was raised by his father in a luxurious environment after the death of his mother. His father gave him the education about religion and suffering humanity. King Suddhodana wanted to keep his son away from the suffering of the world and therefore he raised him inside a palace made especially for Siddhartha. He was married at the young age of 16 but his life of isolation and spirituality began after 13 years (Asvaghosha, 2006). Beyond the Walls of the Palace When Siddhartha was 20 years old, he still did not have sufficient knowledge about the external world. One day Siddhartha asked one of the charioteers to give him a tour outside the walls of the palace. As soon as Siddhartha entered the world outside the palace he got confronted to the harsh realities of humanity. While exploring the external world, the sight of an aged man shocked him. The charioteer made him aware of the reality that people grow old. This sight of the old man sickened the Prince. Fear of sickness and death starting nurturing in his mind. On his way he also saw an ascetic. The charioteer explained him that ascetics are people who are not scared of death or sickness because they have relinquished the world. Renunciation The sight of the ascetic conquered the mind of Siddhartha. Although he returned to the palace the other day but he no longer found pleasure in his regular tasks. The news of his son birth did not spark any sort of happiness in the Siddhartha. While wandering in the palace alone at night, Siddhartha thought about all the luxuries he possessed, which now seemed grotesque. The musicians and dancers present in the palace were all sleeping. Prince Siddhartha reflected on the consequences that the old age brings along with it obstacles such as weakness and sickness. He was surprised that how this phenomenon changes everything and turns man into dust. Search for Enlightenment Siddhartha appointed teachers, who gave him knowledge of different religious philosophies. They also taught him the method of meditation. After gaining all the knowledge for his teacher, the doubts of the Prince were still unclear. The very next day Siddhartha and five of his companions left the palace to become ascetics, abandoning their wives and children. According to them asceticism was the only way through which they can be relieved fr om the harsh realities of humanity (Buddha Biography, 2013). Siddhartha’s Ascetic Life and Enlightenment Siddhartha led the life of an ascetic for 6 years, practicing and meditating their ways to exploration the subtle state of mind. For all these years he meditated and studied the work of different religious philosophers. He practiced new ways of meditating with his companions. When his companions saw his passion and quest for his faith, they became his disciples. When Siddhartha realized that he is still not

Free Market Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Free Market Economy - Research Paper Example In this respect, resources are allocated based on demand of those resources and their supply. More often than not, free markets are closely associated with capitalism with socialists advocating for it. This has made them, on many occasions, to utilized free markets in proposals where the capital allocation of the market is intertwined with self-management within the enterprises alongside the ownership of cooperatives owned by employees. According to Adman Smith, an invisible hand balances supply and demand forces and maintains equilibrium (Smith, 1776, Book IV). Invisible hand refers to the ability of the market to balance itself without government intervention, and which might occur in a free market system of resource allocation. Supply refers to the quantity of product that can be supplied by firms. Demand, on the other hand, refers to the quantity of product demanded by the consumers. Equilibrium occurs for cases where demand and supply curves intersect. This is illustrated in fig 01 below. Fig 01 shows equilibrium position of a demand and supply curve. Source: www.learngoldcoins.com This, if taken from this approach, implies that in a free market, monopolies and cartels cannot exist because monopolies are created mainly by government help and, therefore, are more likely to co-exist in a controlled economy than in a free economy. Monopolies and cartels thrive well when supported by governments. In such cases, the government notably, provide help to large firms in the form of lower tariffs or taxation. A free economy is characterized by tight competitions. For instances, where businesses sprout with maximum profits following the discovery of some thrilling items of demand, other firms often enter into that business driving the profits down. In this case,... There are various advantages attributed to the free market economy. First, free market economy is characterized by free resource allocation with lacking monopolies and cartels. Secondly, the free market system has improved efficiency, as opposed to controlled market system. It is quite apparent that whenever price setting is left to market forces, firms operate efficiently exhausting all their resources to produce at lowest possible prices. Firms in the free market system are often free to enter into any business while consumers access a wide range of products and services. In such a system, no government help or intervention exists. Firms work out a production system that maximizes output and lowers costs. Thirdly, in the free market system, consumers are made to access products and services. In such cases, the existence of demand necessitates the existence of supply. Occasionally, consumers are allowed to get a wide range of products and services. Research shows that when productio n and investment decisions are made by market forces instead of the government, resource allocation is done in a way that that benefits the whole society. Most notable is the fact that in the free market system represents economic freedom for all customers (Friedman & Friedman, 2002, 15). The chart below (chart 02) is the evidence for the worldwide support of the free market system. There are other market systems other than the free market system. They include mixed economy and command economy.

Factors affecting customer perception

Factors affecting customer perception CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction This is a report on the survey of the factors that affecting the customer perception in choosing their mobile service provider. The use of customer perception is to require the company figure out what their customers think. Customers always evaluate the perceived benefits before they decide to purchase a particular product. They also include costs of usage, the lost opportunity to use other offering, potential switching costs etc. Consumers always value these added benefits when making a purchasing decision. Therefore this is making it important for company to understand the customers need when marketing to their customers. Recently, the hottest topic in the Malaysias mobile industry which is Mobile Number Portability (MNP) are discussing by everyone. In simple, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is taking our Mobile Number from one mobile phone network to another. It enables us to maintain their existing mobile phone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another mobile network operator. This removed one of the major restrictions on changing mobile network operator, and allows users to freely select from among the mobile network operators on offer. In Malaysia, there are four main mobile service providers Celcom, Maxis, DiGi and U-Mobile. A desire for cheaper calls is the reason that most consumers cite for possibly changing to a new network. Everybody is looking to change networks give a heavy weighting to four major factors: cost, coverage, technology and service options. This indicates that service providers need to take a multidimensional approach to managing their corporate custom er bases. MNP will allow further flexibility in the mobile phone market, as a result of which mobile network operators will be subject to other competition. This will cause mobile network operators to clarify their features in various policies such as fees and services. We have seen some of the mobile network operators introducing measures such as fixed price for calling other users of the others mobile network operator. There are five factors that has been found out how on what factor that influence the customers to select the certain telecommunication service provider- peer influence, product quality, customer service quality, promotion and network coverage. The consumer are getting the benefits from the result of this fierce competition among the telecommunication service provider in Malaysia because these company will keep improving and offer more attractive promotion in order to maintain and attract the new customers. Background of the research Malaysias telecommunication infrastructure market was opened in 1989 when a second mobile operator, Celcom, launched service. From 1993 to 1995, the market was further opened when three additional companies were granted various operating licenses such as fixed, long distance, mobile cellular allowing them to compete as full service operators. The telecommunication companies are competing among each other and create a competitive environment in the telco industry. There are some of the companies had merged with others big company and some of them gone bankruptcy. Today, four companies make up the major telecommunication market segment. The companies are DiGi, Maxis, Celcom and U-mobile. Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad is the oldest mobile telecommunications company in Malaysia that was established in 1988 and Celcom had transform itself as the market leader by offering the quality services to the customers. It continues to spread its wings and is undeterred by the dynamic nature of the mobile communications industry. Currently, Celcom offers its mobile postpaid and prepaid services under the access codes 019 and 013, serving a combined customer base in excess of 5 million with network coverage spanning over 95 per cent of the populated areas in the country. Furthermore, businessman was the major user of this Celcom service provider due to the stable network coverage. According to the Maxis website, Maxis Mobile Sdn Bhd, which started operations in 1995, Maxis has steadily built up its role to become leading telecommunications service provider in Malaysia by focusing its core business, adding 600 base stations during 2003. In 2003, the company acquired an additional 25 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band and with a 3G license which launched by 2006. Being the leader within the telecommunication industry, the corporation is the fifth largest Public Company in Malaysia with total subscribers of 6.4million, providing a wide range of innovative mobile, fixed and international network services to their customers. Maxis Mobile Sdn Bhd first used the Cardax System (CC Unix) since 1998 when they moved their operations into Menara Maxis, owned and managed by Tanjong City Centre Property Management (Tanjong Plc Group of Companies). DiGi Telecommunications is smallest of the major mobile service provider that is majority controlled by Telenor, is holding its own in the face of its two bigger rivals. DiGi is supported by Telenor with the financial and technical stability. DiGi as the smallest of remaining mobile cellular companies has benefited from the sustained growth in market demand for cell phones in Malaysia. DiGi tend to serve their customers with high quality services and products by offering an affordable price, convenient and easy to access the broadband services in order to enrich the customers life. DiGi is the first mobile service provider to launch the prepaid concept for mobile services in Malaysia and till today, DiGi Prepaid remains the market leader. To achieve the quality and innovation services, DiGi is placing a lot of emphasis upon backend systems, efficient billing system and customer relationship management system. Now they had come out the broadband package which has a higher speed so cal led 3.5G. U mobile Sdn Bhd is Malaysias new established mobile service provider by offering value added services such as 3G video call to attract the youth market. U Mobile is using 018 prefix and provide the call charges with per second per block charges. This uniqueness had become their strength and a point to attract the light users of mobile. They just need to pay as how many second they are using. In April 2007, U Mobile signed Malaysias first ever nationwide roaming memorandum of understanding as a precursor to an agreement with Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd. This initiative allows U Mobiles customers to experience nationwide coverage from day one of service availability, whilst U Mobile continues to progressively rollout its own unique HSDPA driven mobile network. KT Freetel of South Korea and NTT DOCOMO of Japans combined investment of USD$200 million in December 2007 marked an exciting new chapter for U Mobile. This strategic partnership supports U Mobiles rapid go-to-market and product enha ncement and diversification plan. U Mobile introduced 3G mobile phone bundling packages for its U38, U68, and U98 Postpaid plans at attractive prices in August 2008. These few companys core business is segmented of the Malaysia telecommunication market, mobile markets and also the broadband markets. Besides, the telecommunication companies are also provided mobile services such as Short Message Service (SMS), Wireless Application Protocol, subscription services, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), and Third Generation known as 3G that enable the customer to connect with a video call. These companies are offering the price promotion in order to attract the customers. Now there is an aggressive competition among these companies, so the company should figure out the factors of playing a vital role to choose the telecommunication service providers The Malaysia mobile industry is going the new era of competition. Therefore, all these mobile service provider need to differentiate themselves from others and presence itself well to become the one of the market leader in telecommunication industry. They can differentiate themselves by delivering more value added service such as the superior call charges and quality and improve their network coverage to maintain their market position and generating more innovation in their performance to meet the customer expectation. Problem Statement To what extent do the peers influence, customers services quality, products quality, promotion and network coverage affect the customer perception in choosing their mobile service provider? Research Objective The overall goal of this study is to determine and identify the factors that affecting customers perception in choosing their mobile service provider. The following objectives are built to achieve the goals of this study: To access that how peer influence, customer service quality, product quality, promotion and network coverage going to become the factor for customer to using specific telecommunication service provider. To determine whether the customers like the mobile service providers marketing activities To determine the mobile service provider positioning strategies in serving their customers. Justification for the research The telecommunication industry is undergoing in a dramatic changes. The value of the paper will indicate the consumer behavior in the competitive market. This study provides insights of the factors that affecting the customer perception in choosing their mobile service provider nowadays. This research is done for the contribution that will bring for the family; society, country, and it also lead us to a better living environment with advanced technology. The result of this research will be beneficial for the telecommunication operator to serve as a guideline in implementing their business strategy. With the information, those telecommunication provider will be able to design packages that satisfying consumers to improve their company performance as well as to maintain their market share. This research is important because it can outline what the factors that affecting the consumers perception in choosing their mobile service provider. Also, this research able to provides the factors that cause the switching behavior. When service provider understand what is the wants and needs of the consumer. Thus, it helps to reduce their cost in research and development. By then, service provider can focus to increase their product features or quality that serves to the consumers. Superior customer service and products quality can affect customers perception in choosing their mobile service provider. Through this study, service provider can focus on what is the best business quality and services to consumers in order to maintain their life long relationship to create maximum life time value to the company itself. This research can figure out the relationship between product and service quality with the customers perception in choosing the mobile service provider. Therefore, Telecommunication Company should emphasis on its product quality and customer service aspect in order to improve customers satisfaction. Before taking any actions to change the customer perception, the most crucial thing is to understand what factors influence customer satisfaction, and then try to make improvements in these critical areas so that they can have more satisfied and loyal customers. Methodology The methodology used for the survey to collect data in this research is through questionnaire. The population of this study is individuals who are mobile users in Malaysia. It is impossible to get all mobile users to conduct the survey; therefore survey will conduct to selected samples to gather the data. Besides, non-probability purposive sampling method will be used as this is an exploratory study. Other than that, the questionnaire conducted would be self-administered and made from secondary data obtained from journals from other researchers due to the lack of local research on the topic. The methods used for this research also come from review of literatures and books from the internet as it is more time saving and less costly. Limitations of the research Despite the useful findings of this study, this empirical study has several limitations to be acknowledged. First, the findings in this study depend on the honesty of the respondents. It is known individuals would agree more on socially desirable answers and disagree more towards socially undesirable answers rather than fully and truly express the feeling and opinions. Next, the limitation of this research is that the data of this study is collected through the surveys, so there is a high probability of inaccurate information. The sample size of 300 is not enough to determine the actual factor. There are too many factors that will affect the customers perception. More researches need to be conducted on the higher population in order to get the actual factors. Outline of the research project report This research paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction The background of study is mentioned in this chapter. The discussion of the overall question and the relevance topic are being carried out. This chapter includes the objectives and the problem statement of this study. Besides that, the explanation of who is gaining benefits from this study is included. Lastly, important terms are clearly defined to avoid confusion amongst readers. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter is the part to cite those relevant studies from authors and year of the study. Both dependent and independent variables will then be identified and highlighted as the foundation to build the theoretical framework and hypotheses development. Arguments and opinions from different authors are included to support the study. During this chapter, readers will have a clear idea about the problems and the possible solutions that can be made to solve. Chapter 3: Research Methodology Theoretical framework and hypothesis of study will be stated. Theoretical framework shows the relationship between variables. Next, testable hypotheses will be developed based on their relationships. These hypotheses are to examine whether or not the framework is valid by using appropriate statistical analysis. Chapter 4: Data Analysis Before proceed into this chapter, data collection is needed from respondents through various methods. The results will then be tested to analyze the response in order to get a clearer and more concrete result. Chapter 5: Discussions and Conclusion Chapter 5 contains the conclusions and justification on the hypothesis constructed in the research. Other than that, the chapter also summarized the research findings and suggestions on the future findings are given supported by assumptions made from the research. Figure 1 below shows the outlines of the research. Definition Peer Influence Past research shows that peer influence has emerged over the last 50 years to be the chief source of values and behavioral influence in adolescence, replacing the influence of adults. By examining the peer influence on the consumer perception, we can know why peer influence is a factor that affects consumer perception in choosing their mobile service provider. Customer Service Quality Customers service quality includes trust, reliability and responsiveness of the company in telecommunication industry. This study will figure out how this factor affects the consumers perception. Product Quality Product quality is the characteristics of a product that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Customers always focus on the product quality when they purchase a product/service. Promotion Promotion is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. Promotion able to attract the customers to disseminate the information of a product. This study will discuss how promotion works as one of the factors to affect the consumer perception. Network Coverage Network Coverage is the range of mobile network signal provided by the telecommunication mobile service provider. This study will also discuss about how the network coverage will affect the consumer perception. Scope This research is particularly interested in investigating consumers behaviors and perceptions such as motivations of changing or remaining with mobile operators with the introduction of MNP. This paper is tending to find out what are the factors that affecting customer perception in choosing their service provider through this study. All respondents are assumed to have basic mobile knowledge. There are many factors that cause the consumers to choose their mobile service provider. The study will also include the implications of switching cost on the telecommunication industry, service providers and consumers. Conclusion This research is aim to complete successfully within the time frame so that the result would accurate and will achieve the research objectives. This research had confirms the significant positive relationship of peer influence, customer service quality, product quality, promotion and network coverage to affect the consumers perception. It is expected to provide a broader understanding of mobile service provider in Malaysia and explore the real factors that affecting the consumers perception in choosing their mobile service provider. It is also hope that the successful completion of the survey would have positive impact on the mobile service provider strategies in order to grab the customers and maintain their customer relationship. Chapter 2 Literature Review Dependent Variable Customers perception in choosing their mobile service provider The understanding of consumer perception in a virtual environment is limited. It is important to develop an understanding of the factors that affect consumer perception in this market space. This will enable mobile service provider to develop more effective and focused strategies for optimizing the visibility of their product offerings and to attract more customers. There are various factors that can affecting the consumer perception when making buying decision on a product. Independent Variables Peer Influence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Peer influence is commonly defined as the extent to which peers exert influence on the attitudes, thoughts, and actions of an individual (Bristol and Mangleburg, 2005). There will be some of the people will affect the perception of the customer when they decide to buy a product. When they decide using which mobile service provider, most of customers will think which mobile service providers are currently using by their friends and family. Peers influences include the spread opinions of friends, family, colleagues and reference group. Mostly individuals will be influenced and get into following their trend and take their opinions as a standard of their purchase decisions. Peers can influence each other either in a positive way or negative way. The potential power of WOM (Word of Mouth) as a form of promotion is generally accepted (Arndt, 1967; Buttle, 1998; Dye, 2000). WOM is a strong factor to affect the customers perception. If the customer is less well understood the product, he/she will refer to the people around them. WOM can be negative or positive, so the company should utilize the effectiveness of WOM as a good promotional tool and build goodwill of the product in order to enhance their company reputation. The influence that a sources word-of-mouth information exhibits on the receiver has traditionally been explained by models of interpersonal influence (Bansal and Voyer, 2000; Bone, 1995; Cohen and Golden, 1972). Within this stream of research, it has often been suggested that interpersonal or social influence can be categorized as either informational or normative influence (e.g. Deutsch and Gerrard, 1955). Word of mouth can operate through both channels: Informational influence occurs when information is accepted as evidence of reality (e.g. Burnkraut and Cosineau, 1975). In contrast, normative influence operates through compliance, which means that the individual conforms to the verbalized expectations of referent others (Kelman, 1961) Customer service quality Service quality had become an important attention to the company due to its strong impact on their business performance. Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction. That is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. Customer service quality is the perceived quality of service obtained by a customer when using the current mobile service providers. Customer service is what an organization provides to its customers and is relatively easy to measure. Typically the measures include response time, time required to provide service, ability to handle a customers issues on the first call, procedures for handling customer complaints. Customer service is always important and companies should enhance all the ways in which they touch their customer, the service they provide and their measures to continuously improve that service. Superior service quality measurably increases a firms overall profitability. Mobile users always requested the fast connection either in calling or sending short message from the mobile service provider. They will make judgment based on the service quality given by their mobile service provider in order to change the mobile service provider or being loyal to their current mobile service provider. If the customers maintain loyalty to their mobile service provider, thus it will bring continuous revenue to the company. Service quality is associated with the relationships between server and customer, The customers will consider the politeness, helpfulness, speeds of delivery, and pleasantness of the service (Berry, 1987) when they received the services from their mobile service provider. Customer service is playing an important role in mobile service provider; it helps to maintain the loyalty of consumer towards the company. According to Taylor, 1992, service quality enhancement differentiates the service providers from competitors. Consumer often compares the service quality within other mobile service provider companies. There is huge amount of support in the service quality literature for a link with customer loyalty and future purchases. Customers always put the service quality they receive as the factor that affects them to do purchase of the product. If the service is bad, the customer will tend to change to mobile service provider.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Service quality is very important that companies have gone to great efforts to evaluate and keep records of service quality levels. Service quality is about the consumers judgment about the overall excellence or superiority of a service (Zeithaml, 1988). If the mobile service providers provide the bad services in handling the customers issues, it will leave a bad impact of the brand name in the customers mind. In order to have a better understanding about service quality, there are few attributes about services: services are intangible; services are heterogeneous, meaning that their performance often varies with respect to the provider and the customer; services cannot be placed in a time capsule and thus be tested and re-tested over time; and The production of services is likely to be inseparable from their consumption (Gronroos, 1990). The service evaluation can be associated with service delivery process, along with output (Cody and Hope, 1999). These two underlying processes generally explain the contribution of service quality to profitability. First, service quality is regarded as one of the few means for service differentiation and competitive advantage that attracts new customers and contributes to the market share (Venetis and Ghauri, 2000, p. 215). Second, service quality enhances customers intention to purchase again, to buy more, to buy other services, to become less price-sensitive and to tell others about their favorable experiences (Venetis and Ghauri, 2000, p. 215).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reichheld and Sasser (1995) had proposed that the high level of satisfaction lead to increase the customer loyalty. There is growing evidence that customer perception of service quality they received when using the mobile service provider will affect their behavioral intention. Nowadays, the telecommunication industry is become more competitive and there are more new entrants of other small mobile service provider to grab the market. According to Melody (2001) public utilities is derived from the law in any country. Where the demand for a good or service is considered a common necessity for the public at large and the supply conditions are such that the public may not be provided with reasonable service at reasonable prices. Service is a form of attitude which is related to satisfaction and also leads to consumer loyalty (Johnson and Sirikit, 2002) and future purchase. In particular consumers prefer service quality when the price and other cost elements are held constant (Boyer and Hult, 2005). It has become a distinct and important aspect of the product and service offering (Wal et al., 2002). According to Leisen and Vance (2001) service quality helps to create the necessary competitive advantage by being an effective differentiating factor. Service qualit y was initiated in the 1980s as the worldwide trend when marketers realized that only a quality product could not guaranteed to maintain competitive advantage (Wal et al., 2002). Competitive advantage is a value-creating strategy, simultaneously which is not implemented by any existing or potential competitors (Barney, 1991). Service quality is essential and important for a telecommunication service provider company to ensure the quality service for establishing and maintaining loyal and profitable customer (Zeithaml, 2000; Leisen and Vance, 2001). Conversely, Johnson and Sirikit (2002) stated that service delivery systems have the ability to allow managers of company to identify the real customer feedback and satisfaction on their telecommunication service. Since, quality reflects the customers expectations about a product or service. Lovelock (1996) stated that this customer driven quality replaced the traditional marketing philosophies which was based on products and process. Product quality The quality of a product is a conceptualize service quality as the relative perceptual distance between customer expectations and evaluations of service experiences and service quality using a multi-item scale called the SERVQUAL model.(Parasuraman et al., 1988). The SERVQUAL model includes the five dimensions of tangibles which is the physical facilities and the appearance of personnel, reliability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately, responsiveness as the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service, assurance where employee knowledge base which induces customer trust and confidence, and empathy which is the caring and individualized attention provided to customers by the service provider.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To get products or services in good quality is a must in customers perception. Especially for telecommunication industry, customers cannot touch the physical product before they make their decision. To gain trust in consumers, it is necessary for the mobile service provider to provide the identity and complete information of the company such as their physical location, pass record, product quality approved. Besides, telecommunication company have to ensure they provide only good quality product or service to consumer because can gain word of mouth. Once they fail to do it, they will suffer it. According to lemons model (Akerlof 1970), product quality is the basic idea in a competitive market. Products only differentiated by their exogenous quality. If product quality is undistinguishable beforehand by the buyer, then there is one price. If cost are increasing in quality, then at that price the highest quality products may not be offered, and as a result buyers become reluctant to pay high price. They learn to expect low-quality products which mean the price must fall. Product quality is always an important aspect of a purchasing decision and in market behavior. Since, consumers regularly face the task of estimating product quality under conditions of imperfect knowledge about the underlying attributes of the various product offers with the aid of personal, self-perceived quality criteria (Bedeian, 1971 adapted by Sjolander, 1992). According to Sjolander (1992), the consumer behavior in modern market is different from the theoretical case of consumer decision making in free markets. Promotion In order to promote a companys product, a company often uses advertising to create brand and or product differentiation in order to soften the price competition. To the extent that persuasive advertising create customer loyalty through perceived differentiation over essentially identical products, they create market power in the sense that consumers may be willing to pay more for preferred brands, thus allowing Telco Company to raise prices above marginal costs. The most preferred outcome by firms is where one advertises while its competitors dont, leading to market share and profitability gain at the expense of its rivals. In the price promotion, the Telco companies are using game theoretic model (Axelrod and Hamilton, 1981) to provide a homogenous product and have sufficient capacity to serve the market demand. It is a non-cooperative game as there werent any enforceable agreements between them as they compete in the marketplace. It is a repeated one-shot simultaneous game as they were driven by quarterly performance accountable to shareholders. As such, they would decide on their pricing strategies independently and aware of rivals prices in the market while forming certain expectations about rivals pricing strategies. Actions available are Maintain Price and Undercut Price. Payoffs are ranked in order of preference (higher number is preferred). The most preferred outcome by firms is where one undercuts price while its competitors maintains price, leading to market share gain at the expense of its rivals. When all firms maintain prices, there is no change in market-share and profitability. When all f irms undercut prices, market-share remains with reduced profitability. Price plays a vital role in telecommunication market especially for the mobile telecommunication service providers (Kollmann, 2000). Its included not only the purchase price but also the call and rental charges. Generally, a price dominated mass market leads to customers having more choice and the opportunity to compare the pricing structures of different providers. Therefore, the company that will offer lower charges, the more customers will commit themselves to the telephone networks, so more call minutes will achieved. It will be interesting to study the impact of the two or more mobile service provider having price competition. One of the impact will be the customers will keep switching from one mobile service provider to another one. For example, there is a new customer will think of reducing its switching cost. The customers that keep changing their customer due to price promotion offered by the mobile service provider