As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner free essay sample

The above paragraph is a narrative paragraph. Vardaman’s association of his mother’s death with the fish’s death at first seems to be a childish, illogical connection. This association, along with Darl’s linking of the question of existence to a matter of â€Å"was† versus â€Å"is,† allows these two uneducated characters to tackle the highly complex matters of death and existence. The bizarre nature of this exchange illustrates the Bundrens’ inability to deal with Addie’s death in a more rational way. For Darl, language has a peculiar control over Addie’s existence: he believes that she cannot be an â€Å"is,† or a thing that continues to exist, because she is a â€Å"was,† or a thing that no longer exists. For Vardaman, objects that are similar to each other become interchangeable: he assigns the role of his mother to the fish, for example, because the fish is dead, like Addie. We will write a custom essay sample on As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These somewhat logical responses to Addie’s death demonstrate that Darl and Vardaman, like the rest of their family, are unable to have a healthy emotional response to death.

Free Essays on Jewish Family

This novel is about a young girl in a Jewish family who struggled to free herself from her father’s obsolete teachings and beliefs. Coming to America at around the early 1900’s, the family found out the cruelty of the land of capitalism and faced the financial difficulties experienced by most immigrants. Everyone but the father adapted to the hardships and went out to earn a few cents. The father, Reb Smolinsky, was a rabbi and devoted himself totally to religion. As a matter of fact, he did not want to have his holiness contaminated by earthly worries; he expected his wife and four frail daughters to put food on the table. Somehow, he was completely blind to the poverty and, getting the largest share of meals, thought everyone had enough to eat. Thinking he was the head of the family, Smolinsky controlled the future of his daughters. Wanting quick money so that he could pray all day, the father did not agree to let a young man marry his oldest daughter Bessie, who assumed the financial burden and gave all her wage to Smolinsky. The young man promised to support Bessie and asked for no dowry. However, the rabbi saw no gain in this affair and drove away Bessie’s lover. Always finding faults in people, Smolinsky prevented his three older daughters from uniting with the ones they loved. In fact, he became a matchmaker and married his daughters to three frauds. At the end, he profited only five hundred dollars. Thinking he was smart and competent, the rabbi bought a general store with no stock for four hundred dollars. Because he was the most holy man in the world, Smolinsky did not acknowledge he was swindled. He even applied his tyrannical preachings to the few customers who came into the store. Being the youngest and most daring, the remaining daughter Sara could not stand the ideas of the Old World any more. She ran away with a few dollars given by her mother and rented a small din... Free Essays on Jewish Family Free Essays on Jewish Family This novel is about a young girl in a Jewish family who struggled to free herself from her father’s obsolete teachings and beliefs. Coming to America at around the early 1900’s, the family found out the cruelty of the land of capitalism and faced the financial difficulties experienced by most immigrants. Everyone but the father adapted to the hardships and went out to earn a few cents. The father, Reb Smolinsky, was a rabbi and devoted himself totally to religion. As a matter of fact, he did not want to have his holiness contaminated by earthly worries; he expected his wife and four frail daughters to put food on the table. Somehow, he was completely blind to the poverty and, getting the largest share of meals, thought everyone had enough to eat. Thinking he was the head of the family, Smolinsky controlled the future of his daughters. Wanting quick money so that he could pray all day, the father did not agree to let a young man marry his oldest daughter Bessie, who assumed the financial burden and gave all her wage to Smolinsky. The young man promised to support Bessie and asked for no dowry. However, the rabbi saw no gain in this affair and drove away Bessie’s lover. Always finding faults in people, Smolinsky prevented his three older daughters from uniting with the ones they loved. In fact, he became a matchmaker and married his daughters to three frauds. At the end, he profited only five hundred dollars. Thinking he was smart and competent, the rabbi bought a general store with no stock for four hundred dollars. Because he was the most holy man in the world, Smolinsky did not acknowledge he was swindled. He even applied his tyrannical preachings to the few customers who came into the store. Being the youngest and most daring, the remaining daughter Sara could not stand the ideas of the Old World any more. She ran away with a few dollars given by her mother and rented a small din...

Course Content Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Course Content Portfolio - Essay Example The course objectives described in the Syllabus describe the tangible application of theory as it applies to the health organization. My lesson plan objectives iterate the tangible steps by which these fundamental learnings will be absorbed and discussed. It is not only the structured hierarchies and systems in place that determine human behavior, it is the attitudes, loyalty structures, interpersonal relationship developments, ego versus emotional humility, and even socio-economic differences that distinguish accepted values related to power distance and manager/subordinate relationships. My plan objectives describe the importance of understanding advanced level psychology and social studies in order to achieve the ultimate goal of successfully persevering and thriving amid difficult or challenging health care environments. My secondary objective is to provide students with specific knowledge regarding organizational structure and organizational politics to ensure students recognize the complexity of human relationships. It is necessary to understand the real-life systems and organizational hierarchies that exist and how these have inter-dependencies which directly influence quality of relationships and political authority chains. My main objective is to teach students how to behave in quality and less-than-quality environments, thus giving an emphasis on teaching as it relates to self-restraint, behavioral modification, and professionalism. It flows from the objectives listed on the syllabus by highlighting the specific obligations and responsibilities of the student when dealing with conflict scenarios or stern authority actors in the organization. The Instructional Approach Role playing exercises are the most fundamental method of learning to facilitate the transition from understanding theory to practical application within the health care organization. Role playing creates a story by which student actors are offered diversity in multiple roles of subordin ation and authority. Harris (2007, p. 111) identifies that â€Å"stories resonate with life experiences and remind people of how they fit into their culture and connect to others’ culture.† The University of Wisconsin (1995) further supported that when the student is put into the role of educator, they are more likely to be engaged and achieve comprehension of what is being taught, as was described in the course syllabus. I will be providing a forum for diverse expression within a variety of instructor-led scenarios to improve retention and serve as an assessment tool as to whether or not students are grasping the concepts of transforming theory to application. Role playing also improves empathy toward others, increases confidence and self-esteem, and decreases inhibitions (Parrish, 2004). These are necessary behavior patterns required to exhibit emotional intelligence and restraint when decorum demands it in difficult health care situations and they require my talents to effectively teach. Nourse (1995) offers that students will often embrace the teachings of guest speakers as it enhances classroom variety and adds â€Å"

THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY DEPENDS ON HOW TO WHAT DEGREE EXERCISES ITS Essay

THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY DEPENDS ON HOW TO WHAT DEGREE EXERCISES ITS MARKETING STRATEGY - Essay Example ether or not LVMH has sound marketing strategy, and whether or not the extent to which the strategies apply, has implications on company’s performance. Literature will be reviewed to seek evidence from published documented articles on marketing strategies. Specifically in this case, literature will be reviewed on marketing strategy-types, theoretical models and other relevant information based on the case study of LVMH. The study will concentrate its arguments on the 4Ps of marketing model: product, price, promotion and placement; it will also seek to explain why some companies are leaders in business market and others followers; or rater, why some companies remain forever successful while other enter the market but have no solid results to show. Business market is rapidly globalizing. As a result, there is increasing competition in the market environment. Large and small businesses are battling in the same markets to ensure profits; only the smartest in this survival-of-the-fittest game can make it. Therefore, it needs companies to have smart business strategies in marketing as it is the core of customer satisfaction. â€Å"A marketing strategy is a summary of your companys products and positions in relation to the competition; your sales and marketing plans are the specific actions youre going to undertake to achieve the goals of your marketing strategy† (Ward, 2011). Therefore, concerning to the defined values, this study will focus on LVMH’s international marketing strategy and how it has turned the company into a leading luxury brand. Marketing ensures that a customer gets to know the products and services a company offers on numerous prices. Therefore a company that has to maintain its competitive edge amidst the stiff competition has to have a smart marketing strategy. A marketing strategy simply ensures that marketing plans are effectively rolled out. In this study, the first chapter will present an overview of marketing strategies as background

Managing Human Resources-Phase 2 DB2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing Human Resources-Phase 2 DB2 - Essay Example ncluding NL&C, offer matching contributions up to a certain percentage of an employee’s pay, capped at a certain amount of contribution per employee per month. (AllFinancialMatters, 2006) 2. The 401k contribution is a â€Å"defined contribution plan,† which means that the amount put in is set by the employee, and the amount received upon retirement depends upon the performance of his/her investments during the intervening period. 3. The 401k is exempt from current income taxes, state and federal. This means that the amount contributed can be deducted from the employees’ current net income when calculating for tax purposes (Block, 2007). The primary reasons why companies want to implement 401k plans are twofold: (1) to encourage employees to provide for their retirement, particularly given the likelihood that social security payments will not cover their overall costs when they retire, and (2) to help make the employee more loyal, and more likely to stay and perform for, the company which grants and administers the 401k. Unfortunately, most companies do a poor job of explaining the 401k, and as a result have low participation rates. My plan is to appeal particularly to the younger employees (which are most of those joining NL&C), who can benefit most from a long-term savings plan. Since young people think less about their retirement, I want to point out the other advantages: c. By deducting their 401k plans from their weekly wages, they are less likely to spend the money, because it never enters their bank account. This â€Å"forced† savings effect is less painful than trying to put aside money. b. I will also make an assumption that they borrow against their 401k to buy a house, and assume a 5% increase in house value per year, leveraged at 80%, which will double their equity in less than 10 years. c. Finally, I will demonstrate that everyone in the room can be a millionaire on a ‘middle class’ salary, and give them the opportunity to dream about

The Purchasing Function Business Essay

The Purchasing Function Business Essay The purchasing function is described by Lysons and Gillingham (2003) as a function with resource to procure supplies. It is usually argued that the purchasing function is not strategically important to enable organisations to gain competitive advantage. Carr and Pearson (2002) described nonstrategic purchasing as a function that is clerical in nature, reactive to other functions and focusing on short-term issues. Ramsay and Croom (2008) on the other hand saw purchasing as a strategic function that contributes to the overall organisational competitive advantage. But Reck and Long in Carr and Pearson (2002) argues that purchasing function of a firm can operate between strategic and nonstrategic levels within an organisation. There is now a question as to whether purchasing should still be considering the nonstrategic role of the purchasing function. This paper will be looking the role of purchasing that make makes it strategic and how purchasing function is strategically important in g aining competitive advantage for the organisation with the aid of model and tools/techniques for purchasing. Purchasing is usually defined as obtaining the right quality material, at the right time, in the right quantity, from the right source, at the right place (Lysons and Gillingham 2003; Baily et al. 1998). Van Weele (2005) also defined purchasing as the management of the companys external supply of goods, services, capabilities necessary for running, maintaining and managing the companys primary and support activities is secured at the most favourable conditions. Although, there is no agreed definition of purchasing from literature, these definitions indicate that there is need for supply requiring to determination of specifications, supply continuity by choosing a suitable supplier, efficient buying (worth the value), and relationship to ensure supply at the right time to manage inventory and monitor efficiency of suppliers thereby defining the purchasing function. Many authors in the literature have identified the developments in purchasing. Reck and Long in Lysons and Gillingham 2003 identified that purchasing passes through stages from passive (no strategic direction and supplier selection based on price and availability), independent (purchasing having functional efficiency with no regards to firms competitive strategy), supportive (supports the corporate strategy with regards to the competitive objective) to integrative (full integration of purchasing strategy into the firms corporate strategy) stages to become a competitive weapon for an organisation. Van Weele (2005) also identified that need for reduced costs, product standardisation, innovation, stock reduction, increase flexibility, and purchasing synergies can improve an organisations competitive position. In addition, changes in trade pattern, customer demands, technology, competitor activity in the have wider business context has affected the development of purchasing. An indicatio n of this is that an increase the importance of purchasing gives the organisation the capability to satisfy its customers needs by focusing on activities that ensures quality products of good values are produced in line with the organisations competitive strategy. Carr and Smeltzer (1997) were able to make a distinction between purchasing strategy and strategic purchasing. Defining purchasing strategy as the specific actions the purchasing function may take to achieve its objectives. While strategic purchasing was defined as the process of planning, evaluating, implementing, and controlling strategies the purchasing follows. It is gathered from these definitions that the actions of the strategy of the purchasing function must be in line with the overall corporate strategy of the organisation be it cost or differentiation as identified by Porter (1985) and that the strategic purchasing must be able to direct the purchasing functions to ensure that the long-term goals are achieved and the organisation remains competitive. Although, there may be nonstrategic purchasing functions due to the low status and spend of the organisation (Carr and Pearson 2002), strategic purchasing functions must be given top management consideration as it is proactivel y involved achieving the firms goals and adding value to the organisation. However, this may only happen when the purchasing function is integrated into the firms strategic planning process and is thought of as important to achieve and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage as concluded by Goh, Lau and Neo (1999). Strategic purchasing has been seen by many authors as impacting firm performance, especially in relation to supplier involvement. It was argued by Chen, Paulraj and Lado (2004) that strategic purchasing gives a competitive advantage by fostering closer working relationships with a limited number of suppliers; promote open communication among supply-chain partners; develop long-term strategic relationship orientation to achieve mutual gains. Carr and Pearson (2002) also argued importance of purchasing to new product development as regards to selecting qualified suppliers as well as the involvement for product development while McGinnis and Vallopra (1999) argued that purchasing and supplier involvement contributes to higher product quality, achievement of cost objectives, and reduce new product time-to-market. Also Brookshaw and Terziovski (1997); Krause, Pagell and Curkovic (2001) were able to argue that strategic purchasing is capable of retaining a firm competitive priorities of qu ality, cost, delivery, reliability through the relationship with suppliers In other words, strategic purchasing with regards suppliers involvement can improve an organisations performance and customer responsiveness if involved in the planning process thereby increasing the firms profits while gaining competitive advantage. Increase in organisations costs spent on purchasing activities from external sources as identified by Ramsay and Croom (2008); Baily et al. (1998) indicates the need for reduction in direct materials cost and net capital employed by organisations. Purchasing is able to achieve these reductions with the use of purchasing policies like competitive bidding and collaboration with suppliers to make decisions that ensure quality and logistics arrangement thereby saving cost and adding to the organisations bottom line. Strategically placing purchasing in organisations decision making process gives it control on purchasing costs and ability to choose a supplier base that is competitive and better than competition. The need for strategic cost management and collaborative innovation and designs, which may require working with external supplier has made organisations rethink their position in the value system and has resulted in the business decision of automating or outsourcing non-critical functions leaving more strategic purchasing tasks. Outsourcing comes from a decision of an organisation to focus on its core activities (Van Weele 2005). This decision is reached when the organisation discovered that performing a function in-house can no longer be carried out competitively, so outsourcing the function to a more proactive organisation allows the advantage to be gained (Baily et al. 1998). In addition, it is not just enough to make outsourcing decisions, the selection of suppliers that will contribute to the organisational goals is critical. Before selecting suppliers, Gadde and HÃ ¥kansson (1994) argued that the purchasing strategy must be decided, be it single, parallel, multiple sourcing. But Svahn and Westerlund (2009) emphasised that the characteristics of the purchasing strategy, efficiency (cost-driven) or effectiveness (innovation and value-adding), affects supplier selection and way purchasing manages the relationship with suppliers in line with the organisations competitive strategy. Purchasing must be able to assess the capabilities of the suppliers through a series tools like e-procurement, purchasing portfolio management, collaborative tools to identify suppliers that can enable the firm gain competitive advantage. Drake and Lee (2008), through the use of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were able to emphasise the importance of aligning purchasing strategy with business strategy. They argued that purchasing through AHP is able to prioritise the importance of components for manufacturing or impact on the strategic priorities and that purchasing is able to ensure the uninterrupted flow of materials through selection of suppliers in such a way to meet the corporate strategy and competitive priorities (quality, cost, speed, flexibility) of the firm. Purchasing portfolio analysis suggested by Kraljic (1983) is an important model for strategic purchasing. Kraljic was able to argue that a firms supply strategy depends on two factors: profit impact and supply risk and with that identified 4 portfolio quadrants: strategic, leverage, bottleneck and routine. This model proposes that purchasing strategies must be chosen for each supplier. Van Weele (2005) also emphasised that a companys spend can be categorised using the 20:80 rule; which says 20 percent of suppliers provide 80 percent of supplies and evaluate suppliers according to priority. From these two views, purchasing must be able to identify the suppliers of critical to non-critical products and develop strategies that ensure minimal supply risk and increase buying power. Also, Baily et. Al (2005) suggested that tiering of suppliers can help identify important suppliers and improve partnership with them. Wagner and Johnson (2004) argued that carefully configured, developed, and managed supplier portfolio can contribute to the firms value creation and competitive advantage. At this point, purchasing must have a proactive approach to making sure that it identifies supplier that contributes to the organisation the competitive advantage needed. Another importance of purchasing especially when buying capital goods is that it focuses on total cost management. Most buying processes are usually based on the price as indicated by Baily et at. (1998); Van Weele (2005). Baily et at. (1998) sees purchasing as of strategic importance as it able to focus on the total acquisition cost than price and bears in mind the total cost of ownership of capital goods like cost of maintenance, spare parts in the long term. Purchasing is able to contribute to the specifications by informing to other functions of delivery reliability, assuring timely supply of necessary inputs to ensure that the initial purchase price alone is considered but rather the total lifetime cost of equipments are considered to make sure purchasing is adding value to the organisation by reducing cost over time. Again mutual relationship with suppliers can bring about cost, price reduction and ultimately cost transparency as supported by Lamming (1993). E-procurement is another strategic tool for purchasing that can contribute to competitive advantage due to its huge cost savings. William (2003) argued that E-procurement cuts across the whole purchasing process and helps facilitate early supplier involvement as well as minimise complexities and unnecessary costs as real-time information is shared between buyer and seller, it also gives top management visibility as they are concerned with the increased operational spend. E-procurement has contributed to the success of many organisations, for instance, Volvos supplier selection (Van Weele 2010) and Gap Inc. to reduce lead-time and overall operations of its retail channels (Demery 2006). Despite the benefits of e-procurement, if top management do not strategically initiate the need for e-procurement, the benefits of it giving an organisation competitive advantage are lost. Conversely, after much consideration of the importance of strategic purchasing to gain competitive advantage, it is necessary to focus on non-strategic purchasing and why it is seen as not important to gain competitive advantage. A nonstrategic purchasing function is task-oriented, while a strategic function makes business decisions as argued by Carr and Smeltzer (2000). Carr and Pearson (2002) also argue that non-strategic purchasing has no contribution to the long-term goals of the firm, are insignificant and of low status. Indeed, if top management of an organisation does not see the importance in the purchasing role in contributing to competitive advantage, it will continue to be seen as non-value adding and just focusing of activities that are non-critical to the successful functioning of the organisation. Altogether, the development in purchasing over time has shown that there is a need by organisations to incorporate into their corporate policies purchasing strategy. Strategic involvement of purchasing for the overall aim of controlling prices, reducing costs, managing supply proactively, and improving quality to successfully deliver goods and services that will satisfy the end-customers and enable the organisation gain sustainable competitive advantage is essential. CONCLUSION At the heart of conventional wisdom lies the argument that purchasing is not strategically important for the organisation to gain competitive advantage. This argument is seen as ungrounded due to the fact that purchasing is gaining importance within the academia and the business environment. The need for reduction of costs, improvement of value-added into the business, better bottom line has led to the improved relevance of purchasing to the performance of an organisation. Purchasing has over the years developed from non-strategic, transactional stage of procuring supplies to a strategic, integrated stage that focuses proactively on the total satisfaction of both internal and external customers of an organisation. Again, the change of purchasing to strategic purchasing, incorporating purchasing strategy into the corporate strategy, for achieving competitive advantage has changed the view of organisations and has led to a rethink of the organisations operation to decide the core compe tences and non-core competences and rather focus on the core ones and sources others from external sources. However, sourcing externally requires effective supplier relationship management. Purchasing in this aspect is able to select suppliers that with collaborate in meeting the organisations competitive strategy. Purchasing is also able to use tools and techniques like e-procurement and total cost of ownership approach along with their skills to manage purchasing costs and balance power and dependence between the company and supplier as well as work out strategies to use with different suppliers. Without giving a strategic importance of purchasing, an organisations opportunities of gain competitive advantage may be missed.

Morrisons Bluest Eye Essay: Dying to Fit In -- Toni Morrison The Blu

The Bluest Eye: Dying to Fit In Claudia MacTeer in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye looks longingly upon society from the outside. Growing up the youngest in the family as well as in a racial minority leaves Claudia feeling excluded and left out. She desires a place within the group society has formed without her. She desires to fit in and be accepted. Claudia desperately wants to experience life to the fullest. She does not want to miss out on any event. Claudia's curiosity is often her conscious motivation to get involved, but the reasons that she acts the way she does go deeper than that. Her personality and character traits make fitting in unfortunately hard to accomplish. Claudia has a strong desire to be included, but her different opinions about life unfortunately create difficulties for her fitting into society. She sees the world from a very different perspective than others. From very early on, Claudia's desires differ from the majority's opinion. She desires to have emotions; society,though, desires possessions. Furthermore, Claudia is physically revolted by what seems to be the epitome of beauty in society's eyes. She feels that she is the only one who feels that little white baby dolls with yellow hair and blue eyes are not beautiful. In a bold attempt to destroy the common perception of beauty, Claudia mangles the dolls she receives, "to see of what it was made, to discover the dearness, to find the beauty, the desirability that had escaped me, but apparently only me" (20). She desires to be included in the unity of society. However, Claudia wants to be included on her own terms. She does not want to limit or conform her beliefs to fit what s ociety wants her ... ...dia's position on the outside of everything forces her into a position of greater strength. Although hurt, the observations she makes mold her into being able to handle difficulties more easily. The loss of innocence which Claudia faces unintentionally is vital to the role she plays in society and in her life. Her thoughts hold a more realistic view of life and human behavior. She sees the pains and sorrows that life truly is constructed of. Claudia feels that she has missed out on so many opportunities and is not included the way others are. Her strong character generates a feeling of both isolation and separation, but, in reality, she tastes life more closely than most people are able to in a lifetime. Although Claudia's passion to be included is unrequited, she is filled with the strength, character, and pain that make her a more knowledgeable and resilient person.

Psychological Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior

It has been stated that â€Å"marketing management rests upon some conception or other of how consumers behave (Foxall 2001).† I will proceed to demonstrate, beginning with an overview of consumer behavior as it relates to the psychological factors that cause one to comply with a given request, through to an examination of the various trends in marketing which are reflective of consumers changing demands as they respond to world events and societal evolution, why it is vital that marketers understand and evaluate consumer behavior. I will also demonstrate, through the use of examples, how various organizations are employing specific strategies based upon their understanding of consumer behavior to produce record growth and profitability in the marketplace. Psychological Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior As one social psychologist has termed the â€Å"weapons of influence,† there appear to be certain driving forces in human nature, or automatic psychological triggers, that propel individuals to respond in predictable ways to given requests (Cialdini 1993, p.3). One such force is the principle of Reciprocation, whereby one feels obligated to return a favor that has been provided him (Cialdini 1993, p.17). This principle is most clearly evidenced by the consumer's natural tendency to buy a product from someone after he has been extended a kindness or favor from him. It has been demonstrated that this psychological principle of the pressure to return a favor with a favor is so strong, that it even surpasses the need to like the individual extending the favor (Cialdini 1993, p.21). One example of the rule of reciprocation at work has been evidenced by the wildly successful marketing strategy of the Hare Krishna Society, an eastern religious sect known for its solicitation of funds from passersby in public places (Cialdini 1993, p.22). Having been mostly unsuccessful at raising funds through traditional methods of chanting on the streets while begging for donations, the group devised a brilliant strategy that essentially invoked the principles of reciprocation (Cialdini 1993, p.22). As an individual would pass by, a Society member, rather than ask for a donation initially, would hand the unsuspecting person a flower, offering it as a free gift from the Society and not accepting its return under any circumstances. Only then would the Society member ask for a donation (Cialdini 1993, p.22). The response was overwhelming, and a testament to the extraordinary power of reciprocation. The individual, aware that he had been given a gift and feeling the pressure to reciprocate, was often compelled to respond with a donation (Cialdini 1993, p.24). Another powerful psychological principle in a marketer's arsenal of tools is the commitment and consistency factor (Cialdini 1993, p. 37). It has been discovered that people feel a very powerful drive to be consistent once they have committed themselves to something (Cialdini 1993, p. 37). An example of this principle at play is witnessed through the offering of testimonial contests by such big-name companies as Proctor & Gamble and General Foods (Cialdini 1993, p.39). In these contests, the companies ask participants to write short essays, often for large prizes, which include praise for the companies' products. Usually no purchase is required; what is more important is that by forcing potential customers to record, in writing, praise for the company's product, the company relies on the psychological drive of the individual to believe what he has written (Cialdini 1993, p 40). Apart from the psychological triggers that persuade individuals to comply with given requests, marketers must seek to understand the equally intriguing psychological processes at work in the unconscious mind that cause consumers to choose one particular course of action, or product, over another (Zaltman 2003, p.53). One example of such an unconscious process can be seen in the overwhelming tendency of customers to choose a product offered for $9.99 over an identical one offered for $10.00 (Zaltman 2003, p64). Consumer Need: Practicality Or Emotionality? It has been stated that, contrary to popular belief, people do not so much buy things they don't need, but that the need is often based more upon emotions and feelings than it is upon concrete physical necessity (Danziger 2004, p.1). Though the gross domestic product in the United States has largely been generated by consumer spending since 1929-a full 60 to 70 percent of it- â€Å"the way consumers [generally] spend their money has changed significantly over the past 70 years (Danziger 2004, p.3).† It is claimed that, â€Å"today, over 40 percent of consumer spending is discretionary†¦ based on wants, not needs (Danziger 2004, p.4).† Changing Trends And Their Affect On The Marketplace Another important factor in predicting consumer behavior involves changing trends in the marketplace. Marketers must be ever vigilant to customers' changing needs as society evolves and new events cause consumers' wants and needs to adjust accordingly. A clear example of this is witnessed by the fairly recent change in menu selections offered by fast-food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King. Responding to a concern over the rising tide of obesity in the U.S. and around the world and consumers' increasing desire to maintain healthier lifestyles, such fast-food conglomerates have been adding healthier choices to their menu selections which includes salads, apple slices instead of French fries, and so on (Plunkett Research 2005). Another example of a change in consumer behavior was reflected in consumers' response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The airline industry, facing huge setbacks as a result of consumers' new reluctance to travel by air for fear of another terrorist attack, was forced to undergo massive restructurings to accommodate the new environment imposed upon them (Plunkett Research 2005). Consumers, wishing to reconcile their fears and need to reduce expenditures with the desire to continue enjoying and experiencing life as usual, were searching for ways-and bargains- to enable them to do this. Hence, there began a shift in the airline industry away from luxury to economy, as discount airlines began setting the new standard for air travel by luring passengers with price, not perks (Plunkett Research 2005). With Southwest Airlines and JetBlue leading the pack, these airlines have achieved success and profitability responding to consumers' changed needs, mainly by cutting maintenance, operating and labor costs, such as by offering a single-plane platform and an open-seating policy (Plunkett Research 2005). In the meantime, of course, as full-service airlines have struggled to compete with the burgeoning success of the discount model, some, like Delta, have begun developing their own low-cost models, which manage to keep costs down by hiring younger flight crews. Another shining example of marketers' need to understand and predict consumer behavior comes in the form of the relatively recent phenomenon of online delivery and piracy-or theft-of copyrighted music and video files ((Plunkett Research 2005). Forced to adapt to this trend following a 2002-2003 decline in music revenues, music companies have been seeking ways to safeguard their files â€Å"from illegal download and distribution,† as well as to capitalize on the internet craze by finding methods by which to distribute their files through legal means via the internet (Plunkett Research 2005).† Responding to this need, iTunes Music Store, a digital service provided by Apple Computer, Inc.,was launched in 2003, and it offers music files for download over the internet (Plunkett Research 2005). On a different front, automobile manufacturers have been responding to consumers' rising concern over escalating gas prices, which reached a record-high in September 2005 of $3.01 per gallon (Plunkett Research 2005). After suffering huge losses on their lines of minivans, pickups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the â€Å"big three† U.S. manufacturers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, are focusing on raising fuel efficiency for these bigger models (Plunkett Research 2005). In addition, as foreign car companies like Toyota, Honda, and BMW have continued to steal sales away from U.S. automobile manufacturers, partially due to a reputation for producing higher quality cars, these American manufacturers have been responding by designing new product lines, such as the hugely successful Chysler 300C, with its â€Å"eye-catching grill and boxy, elegant design (Plunkett Research 2005).† In sum, whether responding to a consumer's instinctual drives, which dictate that he or she will likely react in a certain way to a given stimulus, or evaluating the marketplace and consumer behavior based on world events and changing needs, marketing management does indeed rest on a conception of how consumers will behave, now and in the future.

The Others-Movie Review

Nurul Hazwani Bt Hatta M12L THE OTHERS Movie Review The Others is one of the psychological horror movies that impress me with its good story plot and suspense elements. It was written, directed and scored by Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar, starring Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. It is inspired partly by the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is a Catholic mother who lives with her two small children in a remote country house in the British Crown Dependency of Jersey, in the immediate aftermath of World War II.The war was playing vital role in being contributing factor that cause depression in Grace. The stress is the triggering element that cause phychology disorder in her. The children, Anne and Nicholas have an uncommon disease, xeroderma pigmentosa, characterized by photosensitivity, so their lives are structured around a series of complex rules designed to protect them from inadvertent exposure to sunlight. The new arrival of three se rvants at the house — an aging nanny and servant named Mrs.Bertha Mills ,an elderly gardener named Mr. Edmund Tuttle, and a young mute girl named Lydia — coincides with a number of odd events, and Grace begins to fear that they are not alone. Anne draws pictures of four people: a man, a woman, a boy called Victor, and an old woman, all of whom she says she has seen in the house. A piano is heard from inside a locked room when no one is inside. Grace finds and examines a â€Å"book of the dead,† which shows mourning portraits taken in the 19th century of recently deceased corpses.I was so shocked when the doors which Grace believes to have been closed are found mysteriously ajar. Grace tries hunting down the â€Å"intruders† with a shotgun but cannot find them. She scolds her daughter for believing in ghosts — until she hears them herself. Eventually, convincing herself that something unholy is in the house, she runs out in the fog to get the local priest to bless the house. Meanwhile, the servants, led by Mrs. Mills, are clearly up to something of their own. The gardener buries a headstone under autumn leaves, and Mrs.Mills listens faithfully to Anne's allegations against her mother. Outside, Grace loses herself in the heavy fog, but she miraculously discovers her husband Charles who she thought had been killed in the war, and brings him back to the house. Charles is distant during the one day he spends in the house, and Mrs. Mills is heard telling Mr. Tuttle, â€Å"I do not think he knows where he is. † Grace later sees an old woman dressed up like her daughter. Grace says, â€Å"You are not my daughter! † and attacks her.However, she finds that she has actually attacked her daughter instead. Anne refuses to be near her mother afterward, while Grace swears she saw the old woman. Mrs. Mills tells Anne that she too has seen the people, but they cannot yet tell the mother because Grace will not accept what she is not ready for. Charles is stunned when Anne tells him the things her mother did to her. He says he must leave for the front and disappears again. After Charles leaves, Anne continues to see things, including Victor's whole family and the old woman.Grace breaks down to Mrs. Mills, who claims that â€Å"sometimes the world of the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living. † At last, I know that actually, it is Grace’s family who is dead, not the intruders. The intruders are the living people who bought the house after the death of Grace’s family. Grace and her children cannot accept the fact that they are dead. Grace may have some mental illness when she killed her children with pillow and then kill herself with a rifle.She was suffering from stress as she was feeling isolated and lonely as her husband didn’t come back from war. I love the suspense element and the twisting plot story. At first, I thought that the intruders are the bad guy, but actuall y Grace’s family is the one that possess the house and reluctant to leave their mansion even when they are dead. From this story,I learn that it is important to control our emotion and be patient in facing any difficulties in our life to lead a healthy and happy life.

The use of relaxation techniques to increase self-confidence and reduce performance anxiety in squash players The WritePass Journal

The use of relaxation techniques to increase self-confidence and reduce performance anxiety in squash players The use of relaxation techniques to increase self-confidence and reduce performance anxiety in squash players ) have also shown to produce positive results. The above research measures success mainly in terms of stress and objective distress reduction, it did not however aim to help athletes to reinterpret their stress. Also individual differences pose a serious risk in terms of confounding variables in such research. A very important study here is Eppley, Abrams and Shear (1989) who examined the effects of various forms of relaxation therapy against each other. The effect sizes of the reduction in trait anxiety were reported, making this piece of research particularly prominent since not every study will report this statistic. The authors found that most therapies had similar effect sizes, but transcendental meditation had a significantly larger effect size. At the least this has implications to inform the type of interventions which are most effective at reducing anxiety, and the authors even made efforts to control for confounding variables to strengthen their conclusions. However the justification for this research is in question (at least in a sporting context) because of other research to show that anxiety can be beneficial depending on how it is interpreted (Jones et al., 1994). This means that anxiety should not necessarily be seen solely as something to be eliminated; perhaps a better res earch question would examine the qualities which cause people to differ in their interpretation of their anxiety, and suggested coping strategies should focus more on appraisal than reduction of anxiety. Transcendental meditation therapy was therefore settled upon for use in this study because unlike other therapies of this kind it offers ample opportunity for reflection and direction of anxiety which is so often cited as important (Hanton, Cropley and Lee, 2009). The control model and the theory or Martens et al. (1990) provide the theoretical rationale for this investigation. Method Participants The participants in this study were two individuals; one male, one female recruited from the University squash club who frequently competed in highly competitive tournaments. These two individuals were specifically identified using a short questionnaire administered just before the start of the tournament to identify weaknesses in self-confidence regarding squash performance. Participants were both aged 18-20 and considered themselves to be playing at a non-professional club level in highly competitive tournaments. Participants were verbally advised on the nature of the experiment and their freedom to withdraw at any time. Instrumentation The dependent variable to measure is self-confidence. Competitive state anxiety was measured with the Revised Competitive State Anxiety-2 (Cox, Martens and Russell, 2003) but only the self-confidence sub-scale was used. The questionnaire is available in the appendix. Design and Procedure Participants were tested pre-intervention, at one week intervals during the intervention to monitor changes, and finally at post-intervention. Participants were not tested around the time of a tournament to avoid confounding effects of anxiety. After the intervention, semi-structured interviews were administered to both participants. A full transcript of these interviews is available in the appendix. The intervention consisted of three weeks of guided meditation, in which participants were encouraged to think deeply about meaningful things in their lives and to let their thoughts wander. They were encouraged also to think of themselves in relation to the world. This style of transcendental meditation involves little guidance and a quiet, supportive environment in which self-expression is encouraged. Sessions lasted one hour and took place 4 times a week. Results A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed for both participants. Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics for the variables at each measurement period. As can be seen mean self-confidence ratings gradually increase with time during and after the intervention. The standard deviation also appears to increase however, showing more variability in ratings of self-confidence as therapy progresses. Table 1 Descriptive statistics for self-confidence ratings Interval Mean Standard Deviation Pre-test 18 3.2 Week 1 15 4.1 Week 2 24 5.7 Post-test 28 4.6 Table 2 displays the post hoc tests for the comparisons between the measurements at the four time intervals. The overall ANOVA showed a significant effect of the treatment (F(3, 3)=9.356, p.05). Table 2 shows where the differences occurred; self-confidence was significantly different between the pre-test and the post-test (p.05), week 1 and week 2 (p.05) and week 1 and the post-test p.01). This suggests that meditation therapy was effective at increasing self-confidence ratings but only substantial differences only emerged by the second week of therapy. Assumptions of repeated measures ANOVA were inviolate in all cases. Table 2 Inferential statistics for the comparisons of confidence ratings at different stages of meditation therapy Interval Comparison Mean Difference Standard Error Sig. Pre-test Week 1 3 4.4 .742 Week 2 -6 4.4 .486 Post-test -10 4.4 .030* Week 1 Pre-test -3 4.4 .742 Week 2 -9 4.4 .045* Post-test -13 4.4 .007** Week2 Pre-test 6 4.4 .486 Week 1 9 4.4 .045* Post-test -4 4.4 .689 Post-test Pre-test 10 4.4 .030* Week 1 13 4.4 .007** Week 2 4 4.4 .689 *p.05, **p.01 Discussion This study has brought to light issues pertaining to the implications of increasing self-confidence in sport and a means to increase this psychological construct practically. Increasing self-confidence is a key factor in facilitative appraisal of anxiety and in remaining in executive control of cognitive anxiety (Carver and Scheier, 1988; Jones, 1995), making it a prime factor to investigate when the aim is improving actual performance. This study revealed that transcendental meditation if effective in increasing self-confidence, making other relaxation therapies potential targets for future research as well. As for the two individuals concerned in this case, they both reported feeling more relaxed, less anxious and more ready for the next tournament. â€Å"I feel more in touch with myself and I haven’t had as many negative thoughts about the tournament as before.† – Participant 1 Statements like this back up the notion that relaxation therapies work not only by simply reducing anxiety, but also by enhancing executive control, managing cognitive intrusions and increasing self-confidence. This empowers athletes by giving them the confidence to interpret their anxiety in more facilitative ways (Jones and Hanton, 1996). This model is backed up by a theoretical framework and empirical support in the extant literature (Jones, Hanton and Swain, 1994; Jones, 1995). A direction for future research in this area would be to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between meditation therapy and self-confidence. Discovering exactly what it was that caused participants self-confidence to increase would perhaps allow for improvements in the efficiency of such interventions. Some of this information was discerned from the brief interviews following the post-test. â€Å"I would think about why I was anxious. Just really think about what was stressing me out about a situation and I started gradually to realise that I didn’t have to let it stress me out.† – Participant 2 The relaxation technique employed may also have given the participants time to engage in reflective practice. Reflection allows athletes to learn from incidents, and put them into perspective (Hanton, Cropley and Lee, 2009) which allows for learning which becomes easier with greater experience. Perhaps the meditation ensured the athletes had moments in which they could properly constructively reflect on their recent performance. This notion is backed up by reports from the interviews. â€Å"When I was instructed to I would think about some recent things that happened [during play]†¦ I guess it just gave me time to think that the bad moments didn’t really matter as much as I thought†¦ and maybe that was distracting me while I was playing.† – Participant 1 â€Å"Sometimes I would think about the good moments [during play] because it was fun to†¦ but maybe I really did learn something from that†¦ it certainly made me feel good about myself.† – Participant 2 This suggests that the meditation helped participants to direct their anxiety into facilitative channels rather than managing or eliminating it, which is more consistent with the theory of Jones (1995) than Martens et al. (1990). Participants reported feeling anxiety but also reported that they were better able to direct their thoughts. Perhaps the therapy only became effective after 2 weeks because it took some time for participants to really commit to it and properly explore their thoughts. The limitations of the current study of course include the limitations of all single-subject designs. Martin, Thompson and Regehr (2004) note that findings drawn from case studies are not necessarily generally applicable because of a lack of ecological validity as well as issues with statistical power; though the error term can be reduced, the amendments to the degrees of freedom for the error term can negate the increase in power which would otherwise be achieved with a within-subjects design. Another big limitation is that anxiety measures were not included in the analysis, meaning that conclusions drawn about the mechanisms of the observed effect are purely speculative albeit backed up with qualitative data. The conclusion of the current research is that guided transcendental meditation increases self-confidence in a sporting context but only after 2 weeks. This delay could be due to the time it takes participants to commit to the treatment. Whether this effect is seen as a buffer against debilitating anxiety or a sort of harnessing of the power of anxiety depends on theoretical orientations. Either way, higher self-confidence is generally predictive of better performance, making it worthwhile of further investigation. References Cox, R. H., Martens, M. P., Russell, W. D. (2003). Measuring anxiety in athletics: The revised competitive state anxiety inventory-2.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology,  25(4), 519-533. Eppley, K. R., Abrams, A. I., Shear, J. (1989). Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait anxiety: A meta†analysis.  Journal of clinical psychology,  45(6), 957-974. Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory.  Emotion,  7(2), 336. Hanton, S., Jones, G. (1999). The effects of a multimodal intervention program on performers: II. Training the butterflies to fly in formation.  The Sport Psychologist, 13(1), 22-41 Hanton, S., Cropley, B., Lee, S. (2009). Reflective practice, experience, and the interpretation of anxiety symptoms.  Journal of sports sciences,  27(5), 517-533. Hardy, L. (1996). A test of catastrophe models of anxiety and sports performance against multidimensional anxiety theory models using the method of dynamic differences.  Anxiety, stress, and coping,  9(1), 69-86. Jones, G. (1995). More than just a game: Research developments and issues in competitive anxiety in sport.  British journal of psychology,  86(4), 449-478. Jones, G., Hanton, S. (1996). Interpretation of competitive anxiety symptoms and goal attainment expectancies.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology,18, 144-157. Jones, G., Hanton, S., Swain, A. (1994). Intensity and interpretation of anxiety symptoms in elite and non-elite sports performers.  Personality and Individual Differences,  17(5), 657-663. Jones, G., Swain, A., Hardy, L. (1993). Intensity and direction dimensions of competitive state anxiety and relationships with performance.  Journal of Sports Sciences,  11(6), 525-532. Jones, L., Stuth, G. (1997). The uses of mental imagery in athletics: An overview.  Applied and Preventive Psychology,  6(2), 101-115. Jooste, K., Khumalo, V. (2012). Sportsmens experience of the impact of massage by somatologists in enhancing aerobic performance: sport science. African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance,  18(3), 499-509. Mace, R., Carroll, D. (1986). Stress inoculation training to control anxiety in sport: two case studies in squash.  British journal of sports medicine,  20(3), 115-117. Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R., Bump, L., Smith, D. (1990). Development of the CSAI-2.  Competitive anxiety in sport, 127-140.Hanton, S., Cropley, B., Lee, S. (2009). Reflective practice, experience, and the interpretation of anxiety symptoms.  Journal of sports sciences,  27(5), 517-533. Martin, G. L., Thompson, K., Regehr, K. (2004). Studies using single-subject designs in sport psychology: 30 years of research.  The Behavior Analyst,27(2), 263-280. OBrien, M., Hanton, S., Mellalieu, S. D. (2005). Intensity and direction of competitive anxiety as a function of goal attainment expectation and competition goal generation.  Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport,  8(4), 423-432. Terry, P. C., Lane, A. M. (2003). User Guide for the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS).  University of Southern Queensland, Australia, Toowoomba and University of Wolverhampton Press: Wolverhampton, UK.

Instructions will be attached Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Instructions will be attached - Essay Example First, it is an opportunistic response to the weak economy evidenced by the way customers respond to price reductions. Secondly, price cutting is a also a differentiated competitive strategy against the main competitor, Wal-Mart. This is evidenced by the fact that Target has maintained high price margins on home goods, electronics and designer apparel, and invested that extra capital in lowering prices in departments where they are directly competing with Wal-Mart, such as their grocery sector. However, it is worth noting that price wars have escalated with time forcing both retail giants to lower their price margins considerably. For instance, Mercent Corp. claims to change prices of approximately two million products every hour (Angwin and Mattioli web). This is no different from Target and Wal-Mart, as they seek to retain respective market shares. Considering Target’s strategy is more oriented towards product differentiation, then it cannot simply translate to â€Å"Wal-Mart mini-me† simply because Wal-Mart has a more price oriented strategy. Since Wal-Mart has maintained low price strategy especially in outlets competing with Target implies that Target is a worthwhile competitor to Wal-Mart. Target definitely needs a more rigorous strategy to grow. The best strategy will certainly depend on what Wal-Mart will do. Perhaps, Target may take Wal-Mart as a benchmark as they formulate their way forward. Angwin, Julia and Mattioli Dana. Coming Soon: Toilet Paper Priced Like Airline Tickets. The WallStreet Journal. September 5, 2012. Web. 24 April 2013.

Marketing module Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing module - Literature review Example Several companies around the globe have used the basic concepts of marketing in enhancing their success over the years. For instance, the manufacturing and the hospitality industry have benefited from using the marketing concepts in analyzing the performance in the market. I believe that In future, the definition of marketing is expected to change due to the introduction of the interpersonal role of the executive in marketing. Hence, future marketing will entail supplying commodities that exceed clients’ expectations in an enticing manner. Persons intending to be marketers will have to face the challenges that businesses face in the market. Expectations to learn from the module Marketing concepts I learned that organizations plan for marketing purposely to lead the market. This means that the process of planning has to be continuous for an organization in the marketplace. As such, business managers market to maximize the proceeds of an organization. Modern businesses focus on a description of ethics for promoting a product in the market (Kotler 2003). Organization marketing should ensure that they plan their marketing based on the requirements stipulated by the legal authorities. Indeed, planning is critical in devising effective marketing stratagems. Methods of marketing I equally learned that marketing takes several forms in the contemporary society. As such, the businesses usually focus on the target customer with the aim of attaining profits in operations. I also noticed that organizations usually consult widely prior to undertaking the initiative. In modern marketing sales promotions, stratagems are preferred since they result to huge benefits for the organizations.