Qualites of an Effective Helper Essay

I believe that ill be an effective helper because I am caring trustful honest and open minded. I also know What its like self , family problems I also know the feelings of being unwanted and unloved is so Powerful that its hard to over come. I am motivated by desire to help all types of people work thought their problems no matter how big or little they are. The qualities that I have that will make me an effective helper are that I am a good listener, I am open- minded about all most everything even if I don’t really understand. I am honest and I don’t mind telling the truth to someone even if it hurts their feelings sometimes people need to hear the truth it helps them see it through someone’s else’s eyes, but I also know when to be respectful to other people needs, beliefs and values. I have had some personal problems that I think other people may have, I don’t mind sharing them with a client to show them that I have been down that road in life and with sharing I would hope that it will help our relationship. I don’t like to judge people because at some point in life everyone has had some kinds of problems and I have no right to judge we are all human we all live and learn. I have an happy go lucky presonallalliti so smiling and showing that I care comes easy for me, I have no problem putting myself on the spot to break the ice with a client. I am a patience person, I know that time is the key to help out with the relationship,, I know that it is hard to open up to someone that you think will judge you. I believe that helping a client find forgiveness it the key to most problems and that forgiving ourselves is one of the hardest things to do. I believe that everyone should have respect for all and be understanding, I try to understand everyone’s views, values and beliefs but when it comes to someone that has sexual abuse or killed a child would be really hard for me because I see children as the best gift in life, I don’t understand how any one would want to hurt them in any way. I know that they may have had it done to them . If I had to work with that has done one of those thing I would try really hard to put my feelings aside as best as I could. Nicki Prudhomme

The Role of Christianity in the Restoration and Remaking of State Power

The last centuries of the Roman Empire was marked with chaos and bloodshed. Rival claimants to the imperial throne constantly waged war with one another, disrupting all aspects of Roman life in the process. Barbaric tribes from neighboring regions took advantage of this situation by invading the countryside, stealing crops and livestock, burning entire towns to the ground and killing or enslaving Roman peasants. In the cities, ambitious praetorians and senators often led rebellions, paralyzing economic activity as a result. The tragic end of the Roman Empire eroded confidence in human reason and shattered the hope of attaining happiness in this world. Desperate, impoverished and fearful for their lives, people during this period were searching for an escape from the oppression that they were experiencing. This need, in turn, prompted the evolution and expansion of Christianity. Christianity’s otherworldliness and promise of personal immortality gave a spiritually disillusioned Greco-Roman world a reason to continue living. Furthermore, the triumph of Christianity in the Greco-Roman world marked the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of the medieval period (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 171). A Palestinian Jew named Jesus Christ (4 BC-29 AD) was the founder of Christianity. Prior to his ministry, most Palestinian Jews were followers of Judaism, a religion that was based on Mosaic Law (Torah). Apart from religious rituals, Judaism was also composed of many laws that governed daily life. Christ himself was taught Jewish religious-ethical thought in his formative years (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 174). Christ, however, was distressed over the manner in which Jewish leaders implemented the teachings of Judaism. He felt that their focus â€Å"shifted from prophetic values to obedience to rules and prohibitions regulating the smallest details of daily life† (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 174). For Christ, detailed regulations governing everyday activities dealt only with a person’s visible behavior but not with his or her inner being. Such a superficial manner of enforcing Jewish law produced individuals who mechanically followed rules and prohibitions but whose hearts remained impure (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 174). He believed that true morality meant doing away with vices such as fornication, adultery, murder and avarice. The Jewish scribes and priests, as a result, viewed Christ as a threat to ancient traditions and to their authority over the Jews. The Romans, meanwhile, regarded him as a political agitator who would incite a rebellion against Rome (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 175). Jewish leaders therefore had him arrested for high treason and turned him over to Pontius Pilate, who sentenced him to death by crucifixion. But Christ underwent resurrection three days after his demise and later ascended into heaven. His followers then traveled to various parts of the world in order to spread his teachings. The early years of Christianity were not easy for its followers. Christians during the Roman Empire, for instance, were brutally persecuted because they were seen as â€Å"subversives (who) preached allegiance to God and not to Rome† (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 180). They were imprisoned, beaten, starved, burned alive, crucified and torn apart by wild animals in the arena for the amusement of the Roman public (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 181). In order to escape harassment, Christians clandestinely met and held worship services in venues such as catacombs. But Christianity’s aforementioned situation was reversed with the fall of the Roman Empire. The appeal of Christianity was based mainly on the common knowledge that religion is more capable of stirring human hearts than reason. The Roman Empire’s staunch belief in science and philosophy did not save it from total destruction. Neither was it able to provide comforting solutions to the existential problems of life and death (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 178). Christianity, in sharp contrast, gave the assurance that all earthly torments were â€Å"the will of God† – God made human beings undergo suffering in order to test their faithfulness to him. As Christianity became increasingly popular among the Romans, emperors realized that crushing the religion through persecution was already futile. They instead decided to obtain the support of the empire’s Christian population. Constantine, for instance, issued in 313 AD the Edict of Milan – a law that granted toleration to Christians. This directive was followed by other legislations which was favorable to the church – Theodosius I had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and outlawed the worship of pagan gods by 392 AD (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 181). It would be fair to say that these laws transformed Christianity into an apparatus for the restoration and remaking of state power. Fanatic clergy took advantage of their newly-empowered status by persuading Roman emperors to issue decrees that persecuted pagans, Jews and Christians with unorthodox views. Consequently, many followers of pagan cults were fined, imprisoned, tortured and executed. In addition, Christian mobs burned non-Christian writings, destroyed pagan altars and sacred images and squelched pagan rites and festivals (Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue 181). In the process, the Roman Empire was slowly being replaced with a theocracy – Roman emperors were reduced to puppets that the Christian clergy controlled at the strings. Christianity further gained political clout when it started amassing material wealth. Many wealthy Christians died leaving almost all of their fortune to the church. Some Christian leaders in the 4th century were therefore able to build monasteries or communities of people committed to prayer and asceticism (Hastings 43). Monasteries played a crucial role in the spread of Christianity – they served as training grounds for missionaries. Monasteries were likewise vital to social and economic development, as they established schools and libraries and served as landlords and organizers of economic wealth (McManners 119). The Christian Church, through the monasteries, amassed so much wealth in donated lands, money and priceless church furnishings. Thus, the Christian Church eventually became richer and more powerful than most lay monarchies. The pope, previously a spiritual leader alone, also became a temporal power in the process (Bausch, Cannon and Obach 120). By the 9th century, the Christian Church was already powerful enough to establish its own empire – Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800 (MSN Encarta n. pag. ). The Middle Ages was characterized with constant power struggles between the pope and the monarchs. In 1075, for instance, Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV fought over the right of the sovereign to appoint bishops in his realm (lay investiture). Henry refused to acknowledge Gregory’s papacy, while the pope excommunicated the emperor. Lay investiture is said to be the most persistent source of clashes between the Christian Church and the nobility – bishops and abbots refused to have the king exercise control over their lands and other wealth. But it was necessary for the king to do it in order to assert his authority over his secular nobility (MSN Encarta n. pag. ). The Crusades was one of the rare instances wherein the monarchy and the Christian Church joined forces. The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem spawned meant that the sacred places associated with the life of Christ would fall into the hands of a non-Christian power. West European Christians therefore launched the Crusades, a series of wars from 1095 to 1204 that were intended to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim rule. But the Crusades proved to be a failure – Jerusalem returned to Islamic rule a century after the Fourth Crusade of 1202-1204 (MSN Encarta n. pag. ). After the Crusades, the Christian Church was plagued with even more problems. Moral laxity and financial corruption were very rampant (MSN Encarta n. pag. ). The clergy lived luxuriously, while ordinary people starved. Another anomaly that took place within the Christian Church was the selling of indulgences. Priests would sell people relics (hair or bones of saints) at very expensive prices. They would convince people into buying by claiming that possessing relics would immediately take them to Heaven upon their death. Some priests and religious leaders openly criticized the aforementioned irregularities in the Christian Church, a phenomenon which was later known as the Reformation. On October 31, 1517, German theologian Martin Luther published the Ninety-five Theses, a criticism on the selling of indulgences in order to raise funds for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His excommunication by Pope Leo X led to the formation of Protestantism. Others, such as Huldreich Zwingli and John Calvin, soon came up with their own Protestant sects (MSN Encarta n. pag. ). The emergence of Protestantism prompted the Catholic Church to stage the Counterreformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Council of Trent (1545-1563), for one, clarified controversial doctrines and established guidelines on liturgy, church administration and education. The Catholic Church likewise came up with the Index of Forbidden Books and a new Inquisition. Missionaries were then sent to the Far East and North and South America in order to draw more converts to Roman Catholicism (MSN Encarta n. pag. ). Christianity’s otherworldliness and promise of personal immortality made it appear as a suitable alternative to the chaotic Roman Empire. As a result, people wholeheartedly supported the Christian Church. Apart from being faithful followers, they invested time and resources on the religion. The Christian Church, in the process, became even more powerful than secular nobility. But if power corrupts, then absolute power corrupts absolutely. Later Catholic leaders became morally decadent and corrupt. Consequently, concerned parties from the clergy established Protestantism. It is indeed very ironic that Christianity, once regarded as an alternative to a corrupt status quo, ended up being a corrupt institution itself.

Character Profile Of Macbeth Essay

We hear about Macbeth first in the opening scene with the witches. They speak of Macbeth, which suggests that he is linked to evil through these witches. However, we quickly see that this is far from the truth and see that he is quite the opposite. Shakespeare portrays him as a courageous fighter through a bleeding captain speaking of Macbeth, who is at this point fighting for his country. â€Å"For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)† â€Å"Cannons overcharged with double cracks† The delaying of Macbeth’s entrance by Shakespeare is a clever technique used to get the audience thinking all sorts of things about him. Macbeth, a courageous, physically strong, good general is rewarded for his deeds by being named Thane of Cawdor. Just before Macbeth is pronounced Thane of Cawdor, he meets the witches with Banquo. The revolting creatures tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of Glamis, Cawdor and then King. He doesn’t realise that they are only telling him the good parts of the prophecy. He is taken back by the predictions and, naturally, wants to know more. He is single minded and wants to believe them. Macbeth thinks of the witches as a reliable source of information, even though he has only met them once, Banquo however has other ideas, describing them as ‘Devils’. â€Å"If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me without my stir† At this point we are under the impression that Macbeth is going to wait for chance to crown him, he goes on to make a speech and says, â€Å"With things forgotten†. This largely suggests that he has thought of murdering the King before, which shocks his brave, soldier image, he then, to our surprise, starts to plot in his mind the route to the throne. In these thoughts he realises that the Prince of Cumberland, the Kings own son Malcolm, is in the way between him and the King Duncan. He hopes his evil thoughts to be King are not found out and we see this when he says, â€Å"Let not light see my block and deep desires†. We see Lady Macbeth reading a letter from Macbeth, this shows the couples intimacy and proves the strength of their relationship. From the minute she reads the letter she is plotting for Macbeth to become King, although she fears he is too weak. â€Å"Too full o’th’ milk of human kindness† Lady Macbeth’s invisible will starts to grow and she cannot wait for her husband. They talk about murdering Duncan, with lady Macbeth trying to convince her husband to kill the King. â€Å"Look like th’innocent flower† This is Lady Macbeth ordering her partner to behave normally at the banquet, as he is planning to murder Duncan that night and his nerves are starting to get to him. As soon as Duncan enters Shakespeare builds up sympathy for him, â€Å"This castle hath a pleasant seat† Duncan thinks it is very nice, but Macbeth’s heart is certainly not ‘pleasant’. He is now nearly convinced to kill Duncan, but turns slightly into a moral coward. He fears the consequences and can’t act if he allows himself time to think it all through. He believes that if he does something bad then something bad will happen to him; which it sure does! Macbeth also respects the fact that the King is his guest and to be killed by the host is not very fair to say the least, Duncan is highly regarded by everybody and Macbeth’s fear of the crime getting out is too much. As well as all of these reasons not to do it, he hasn’t really got the gut determination and inner strength to kill his King. â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business† He gives in to fear and tells Lady Macbeth ‘no’. She is annoyed and scared her predictions of her husband were true. â€Å"Was the hope drunk?† She suggests that the original hope to be King was a fake and tries to win him around. Soon Macbeth is talked into killing Duncan and realises he will have to put on a face. â€Å"False face must hide what the false face doth know† Macbeth is extremely nervous and has a vision, in which he sees a dagger in front of him, almost as if to say ‘go and kill Duncan while the chance is still there’. â€Å"The handle toward my hand† He is very unstable and already feeling the nerves of a murder digging in. Knowing that Macbeth may fail Lady Macbeth takes the initiative and says, â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it† This line puts it across to Macbeth that he is a coward. I think that the idea of killing your guest, friend and at most your King is appalling and that Macbeth is repulsive. He nervously kills Duncan but makes a mess of it, bringing the daggers back with him. Lady Macbeth shows huge strength in calming him down, and then returns the daggers. Macbeth is a wreck of nerves, he still cares what people think of him and fears getting caught immensely. He is now wrapped up in superstition believing anything that the witches say. After the body is found the nobles close to Macbeth realise that he is behaving very strangely, in a particular occasion the suspicion of Macbeth gets so great that his wife faints as a distraction. This shows the great strength of his wife and her ability to help him become King. Banquo is certainly Macbeth, his own friend, killed Duncan and tries to convince everyone, causing Malcolm and Donalbain to flee for England. â€Å"There’s daggers in men’s smiles† Nobody knows who to trust and as Macbeth is crowned King peoples suspicions grow, as do his nerves. â€Å"I fear thou play’st most foully for’t† Banquo fears the worst from his so called ‘best-friend’ and confirms Macbeth’s fears by not showing at a banquet. There is a clear difference in the two main characters, Macbeth and Banquo. Banquo is a loyal and noble character, who is not swayed into decisions, he was patient for Fleance to become King, not really bothered about the witches’ predictions. Whereas Macbeth was totally obsessed with the predictions and blasted his way to the throne, we can now see how the two characters are totally opposite. Banquo is an annoyance and worry to Macbeth, this is because he is way too suspicious and Macbeth’s trust in the witches predictions that Banquo’s son would be King. I think that Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo and eventually he decides to murder him, and most importantly his son Fleance. â€Å"Whose being I do fear† – Referring to Banquo, â€Å"Whose absence is no less material to me† – Referring to Fleance. Macbeth’s motive for the murder of Banquo and Fleance was also that he needed piece of mind, he can’t relax if people are suspicious. We now see Macbeth being more self-motivated and doesn’t need Lady Macbeth as much any more. In the beginning he shared everything with her and initially valued her guidance, as well as being dramatically influenced by her. But since Duncan’s murder there is a clear breakdown in the relationship. Macbeth has another encounter with the witches and they predict he will be King until Great Birham Wood moves to Dunsinane! This creates a feeling of invincibility for Macbeth, as the thought of a wood moving seems impossible. From now on he decides to do everything without thinking about the consequences, a very different Macbeth than what we saw at the start of the play. â€Å"Be it a thought and done† All sympathy is lost for Macbeth when he murders Madcuff’s wife and child, a totally disgusting measure and the shear horror is unimaginable as well as being extremely sick. He is definitely not how Lady Macbeth described him earlier, â€Å"The milk of human kindness†. There is now a deterioration of character in Macbeth. The Macbeth, the leader, was good and honest, but now the Macbeth who consults with murderers is a traitor and disliked King. This is proven by many people in England discussing their views on Macbeth; â€Å"It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds† This is Malcolm describing Scotland under Macbeth. â€Å"Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evil to top Macbeth†. This shows the pure hatred of Macbeth, Madcuff then goes on to say, â€Å"It cannot be called our mother, but our grave†. They are decided to go and overturn Macbeth, â€Å"Macbeth is ripe for shaking†. Back in Scotland we see Macbeth experiencing an element of remorse, which is needed if he were to be a ‘tragic’ character. For example he has no feelings for his crying wife! This is due to his involvement in so many murders, he wishes he had these lost feelings. â€Å"I am sick of heart† Macbeth then shows little, if any, sympathy for his wife who committed suicide. This is somewhat typical of Shakespeare (to kill off the lead characters wife via suicide), for example in ‘Julius Caesar’ when Portia (his wife) kills herself. After this Macbeth’s worst nightmare comes true, when a messenger comes to him to say that he saw Burham Wood move. He acquires a very unsteady mind and tries to grasp some of our sympathy. â€Å"I have supped full of horrors† Macbeth knows a rebellion is on its way and says he shall fight till the end, â€Å"They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but bear like I must fight the course† Madcuff kills Macbeth and gives the crown to Malcolm, who pledges a better reign to Scotland. I think that Scotland would be good under Malcolm as there is a sign of Duncan (rewarding friends for good deeds) and Scotland has a sense of freedom as Macbeth has finally gone.

Biological weapons Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biological weapons - Research Paper Example Because of the level of destruction that these weapons are capable of causing, the use of these can be a motivation for many adversaries. Also, these weapons are indiscriminately used to kill people. So they might not just affect the military, but may also cause numerous deaths in the civilian populations. Further, a wound due to other weapons can be treated. A biological weapon might be hard to detect and once detected, might not have a cure. Biological weapons also tend to have long term effects on the human and living populations as compared to nuclear missiles and arms. (Satpathy 10) History Although biological weapons have now come into notice, they have been used for centuries. The use of these weapons dates back to 1500 BC when the people suffering from a plague were often driven into the territories of the enemy. The plague would not just kill or sicken the enemy civil populations but would also render the military unsuitable for war. Apart from that, the spears and arrows we re often poisoned so that the enemy could not just be wounded, but would also have poison spread in his body. In the famous First Sacred War, the Athenians poisoned the water supply of the city of Kirrha in order to kill the military combatants. In other wars, clay pots containing snakes were often thrown on the enemy. (Chauhan 158) Slowly over the centuries, biological weapons took new forms. Before the 17th century, the most common way of inflicting disease on the enemy was to throw the infected corpses into the water supply of the cities. Since water is a basic necessity, this ensured that all the people were infected. Later, however, new ways of introducing the diseases were established. For instance in the 18th century, in Native America, two blankets and a handkerchief exposed to small pox were given to the Natives by the British in order to disease them. Diseases like influenza spread often due to the exchange of goods at ports from ships that came from different regions. Bio logical warfare went to a new extreme when in the Second Sino Japanese war, the Japanese tested all kinds of biological weapons on the prisoners held in custody so that the weapons could then be used to combat the enemy in the future. In the First World War, the most famous and extensive Biowarfare program was started by the empire of Germany. This program included the supply of teams of saboteurs to areas like Finland where they placed anthrax (a disease causing agent) in the stables of Russia in the year 1916. (Chauhan 159) German intelligence officers also created glanders that could be used to affect livestock and crops, particularly at ports. The Imperial Japanese army also was responsible for many pathogen outbreaks in the same period. From the year 1937 to 1945, the Japanese army contaminated the Horustein river in Soviet Russia with typhoid. The army also used made use of bombs having fleas that could carry the bubonic plague. Air dropping of plagued fleas was also a common thing against the Chinese. After the use of the biological weapons in the first and second world wars, nations like the US, Soviet Union and Britain started the experimentation of agents that could be used as biological weapons. The US started its US Biological Weapon testing program through which it started research on the topic. Operation whitecoat was one of the leading operations of the US that aimed to study the effects of

Gun Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Gun Control - Essay Example Gun violence has become very common these days and it is very important to get hard on gun crimes otherwise the situation will soon get out of hands. It is very important to get tough on gun violence because gun crime has increased at a significant rate in the recent past. People are using guns against each other in the US, hand guns can be found commonly and this is really a bad sign. It is also reported that most murders that take place in the US are carried out with the help of a firearm and in most cases it is a hand gun. â€Å"In 2005, 11,346 persons were killed by firearm violence and 477,040 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm. Most murders in the United States are committed with firearms, especially handguns.† (Gun Violence) These statistics are very alarming and it is more of a national issue, the recent statistics are even worse. It is really easy to get weapons and especially guns. It is very important to bring about a change and it should be done soon. It is important to ensure that people do not get their hands on these guns easily, it is sure to bring down the crime rate and especially gun violence. There must be stricter laws in place to ensure that people do not get easy access to arms, this is a certain way of bringing down gun violence. Gun control has always been a very debatable and a complex topic, law-abiding citizens are expected to follow the law but these days law has become a donkey on which the rich people ride.

Advertisements to Compare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Advertisements to Compare - Essay Example Currently, advertising can be regarded as a public relation, marketing, communication, information and persuasion process. The Olay and Tropez ads have very convincing messages to the consumers. For instance, ‘you color, your life.’ It emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good natural skin color. There are numerous kinds of adverts, for instance adverts appearing on billboard posters, ‘junk’ mail, football teams, television, radio, and social media. These advertisements channels usually make a lot of revenue since adverts are typically paid for. Both Olay and Tropez adverts are aimed at promoting cosmetic products and appeared on print media and television. They both use pictures of women who have appear beautiful according to their skin color after applying the lotions. This is true to the beauty and fashion industry which is mostly associated with women. Both ads have the pictures of a fair skin woman who has been made to look more beautiful by applying the Olay and Tropez lotions which have made to have that natural look. This easily convinces the customers that if they use the products they would be like the pictured women. This shows the practicality of using the products. Both adverts have the major points that they want the customers to focus on as soon as you have a look at them. Additionally, both adverts also contain a visual trick which makes you to start thinking about skin color, this in turn gains more attention from the reader. Lastly, the adverts contain the company logo located at very conspicuous position which makes the customer to easily identify the brand. The brand name Olay has been at the bottom of the advert so as the customers can associate the product and the brand name. On the contrary, Tropez ad has the brand name at the top of the advert. Another difference between the two ads is that Olay has a conspicuous precautionary message for the

Managers learn better through experience. Theory has nothing to offer Essay - 2

Managers learn better through experience. Theory has nothing to offer - Essay Example Since management as a separate discipline was established, managers have been taught in a classroom setting where most of their learning has been theoretical. Theoretical learning for managers has been ineffective due to several reasons. One of the reasons is that theoretical learning does not take into account the diversity the types of organizations that managers are required to manage (Papamarcos, 2005, p327). In the field of management, there is a wide range of organizations with different needs in terms of management styles. This perspective is not captured in theoretical management training, which has the effect of making managers apply the same techniques in management therefore leading to failure of the organizations to meet their objectives. For instance, the expertise that is required from a manager that manages technology professionals will be different from the expertise that is needed by a manager in a political organization. This is because a manager in a political orga nization will be required to have conflict handling techniques, which may not be, require of his counterpart in a technology firm since there are minimal conflicts. Leaning through theories involves using the thoughts of other people to run organizations (Mazutis & Slawinski, 2008, p444). This weakness of using theory in managers’ training is the therefore in the pattern of the managers thinking or his way of doing things which may antagonise the theory that he is supposed to use. In turn, this will mean that the manager will not give the optimal productivity that he is capable of since he has been limited by the theory. In addition, using theory limits the managers to be innovative in new and more effective ways of managing the organization that will improve its performance; this is as a result of the manager being required to follow what the theory says. For instance, a manager may have been taught that the best way to manage the employees in an organization is by being ens uring his or her commands are followed, however, the employees may perform better if they are given a democratic space to air their views on ways which they think would help to increase the productivity of the organization. Training managers theoretically may entail using theories that were applicable in the past but which may not be effective currently (Vince, 2011, p340). The global organizational environment has been changing everyday due to advances in technology and changes in global business patterns such as globalization. Due to these dynamics in the organizational environment, the processes of running the organizations have been changing making it hard to use previous techniques to run organizations in the current environment. For instance, previously any meetings that the manager had with his or her juniors involved physical presence, which meant managers, had to travel a lot especially in the organizations that had several branches. However, with the coming of teleconferen cing, the manager is able to attend meetings with other employees in different locations without being physically present. Due to the challenges that leaning through theory presents to the managers, it has been widely acknowledged that leaning through experience would work best to ensure the knowledge that

Environmental Studies Lecture Notes Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Environmental Studies Lecture Notes - Case Study Example Next he went over the homework assignments and the reading assignments. As we finally got started with the class itself, he started a discussion what renewable sources of energy are. Essentially it's an energy source that renews itself without effort; they can be used over and over again. These kinds of sources can include solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen, geothermal energy, hydroelectric energy, and ocean energy. This class is focused more on production more than previous classes in the program because it's more cost-effective to conserve energy before you try to produce it. Each of these sources of energy have some positive and potentially negative elements that might come into play. Some of the first vocabulary he went over was solar constant, which is the amount of energy that goes by the earth. Insolation talks about how much solar radiation hits the ground and there are three different kinds - direct, diffuse, and reflected. One sun is another term that will come up often and ref ers to the amount of sun an area gets in a day. Azimuth and altitude angle. Altitude is the height of the sun in the sky. Azimuth angle is the angle from the south. This has an effect on where and what orientation we build solar panels to achieve maximum power source. The optimum is to go south, west is better than east, and consider areas of shade. The angle of the solar panels should be equal to the latitude, but can be adjusted in consideration of the uses of the project (summer, winter, other environmental conditions like fog). Although some utilities will pay you for excess power you produce, but they aren't obligated to do so by law. Basics of PV cells is that it is a semi-conductor electron pump that creates about .5 volts of DC power per cell, a number of cells are collected to create a module and a collection of modules is an array. Types of PVs are stand alones (sometimes with batteries) or Grid intertie (tied into the grid and the meter goes backwards), and they're made o f crystalline silicon (multicrystalline is the most popular right now), thin film, and concentrators or tracking devices to add greater efficiency. Building integrated PV means a low efficiency PV system that works with the building to provide additional comfort and collect power at the same time. After going over a normal set-up and some examples, we discussed the need for battery backup systems - 3-5 days of backup is typical and should provide power for the essential systems such as refrigerator, etc. There's a lot of estimating about installing a system - you have to estimate the load and the production, the available sunlight, and the reliability of the system. Have to know the difference between kW (unit of power) and kWh (energy). Factors that affect output include temperature, dirt, wiring losses, and AC to DC conversion. Then we discussed how to calculate energy. We ended the lecture with an introduction to solar thermal - heating hot water, space heating, or pool heating - and replaces the need for natural gas. Again, conservation takes precedence over efficiency. Systems are better than they used to be in the 70s. Types of thermal systems are batch heaters (collection and storage are together) and flat plate collectors (collection and

Assessing Autism Article Critique Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assessing Autism Article Critique - Term Paper Example The usual way of measuring behavior such as limited eye contact, lack of reciprocal social interaction, fewer greetings and failure to initiate interactions such as offering comfort to someone who is hurt, for example, is to observe how children react in certain contrived situations. This study hypothesizes that children with autism will behave differently from children with mental retardation and children with typical development during natural situations. It proposes that that a standardized way of observing children in the everyday context of school recess would be a helpful assessment tool. The playground observation checklist is just such an observation tool, and the article describes how it was used and the results it produced. These results were then checked for accuracy against other information obtained by the usual autism assessment methods. There were ten items on the behavior checklist, which is a very small amount, and for each child in the sample of 81 a score of yes/no was recorded against each item during a 15 minute observation period. Two observers recorded the sessions simultaneously, and any instance where a child interacted with an adult during the 15 minutes was discounted, and the observation was repeated until a session with only peer to peer interaction took place.... n educator this is an interesting article which recommends an intervention that is relatively inexpensive, easy to administer and suitable for operation in a school context in a way that does not place any undue pressure on the child. This article was an exploration of the method itself, and more needs to be done on that to ensure that the criteria are worded well, for example avoiding gender bias in the way interactions are described and scored. Assuming these details could be ironed out, this observation checklist does appear to be a good method for making initial assessments to indicate what kind of specialist referral, if any, would be appropriate for a particular child. So long as the observation is conducted by trained observers it could be introduced in an elementary school. There are ethical issues about the method, of course, since parents would need to give permission for such observations to take place, whether for research purposes, or for the benefit of the children them selves. There could be a danger of over-diagnosis, or of inappropriate referrals if too much weight is placed on a single fifteen minute observation, and so any use of this tool would be best placed within a school policy on autism, to be called upon under specific circumstances and regulated by school protocols that protect everyone’s rights. The article by Bradley-Johnson et al. (2008) takes a wider perspective than the article by Ingram et al. (2007) and is aimed at school psychologists, rather than educators. The definition of autism used by Bradley-Johnson et al. (2008) is that of the Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) which is broader than the DSM criteria. From the start there is an emphasis on â€Å"verifying eligibility for special services for autism† which betrays an

Petroleum Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Petroleum Technology - Essay Example It was named the ExxonMobil's Fast Drilling Process (FDP). The technology has significantly increased drilling rates and reduced downtimes as it uses of real-time, computer analysis of the drilling system's energy consumption (AZo Network). ExxonMobil was able to do this through a proprietary software that creates computer models of deepwater platforms that increases accuracy of the design. FDP has shown success in exploration although its performance improves in a variety of conditions such as hard and soft rock, deep and shallow wells, and low angle wells. "The key benefit of the FDP is that it quantifies the hidden cost of slow drilling" and allows the company to alter the design to suit the objective theoretical performance in a specific well (AZo Network). The FDP is one of the innovations made by ExxonMobil together with technologies such as the deepwater mooring technology, made possible by a computer program that "determines how much weight can be shared between the drilling vessel and the anchor boats as they set out each line" (ExxonMobil).

Managerial Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Managerial Accounting - Essay Example The net yearly cash flows were $560,000. The total net cash flows were $3707368. The initial cost of $3.3 million were subtract from the cumulative cash flows to arrive at the present value. At a net present value of $407368 the project should be accepted. The net present value of the project was -$393872. The inflows of the project were the revenues of $660,000. The outflows of the project were the taxes of $264,000 and the yearly cost of $100,000. The new cash flows were $296,000. The project was discounted at an interest rate of 8%. The cumulative net cash flows of the company were $2906128. The initial cost of $3.3 million was subtracted to arrive at the NPV of -$393872. The project should be rejected because the NPV was negative. Subjective factors affect the decision making of projects. In this example a subjective factor that could affect the decision is whether or not the sales forecast is reliable. Another subjective factor that should be considered is the selection of the contractor to build the lift. The company should choose a contractor with a reputation of doing quality work to ensure that the 20 year useful life is reliable. Economic value added or EVA is a measure of a company’s financial performance based on the residual wealth calculated by deducing cost of capital from its operating profits (Answers, 2011). The metric is often also referred to as economic profit. The formula to calculate economic value added is net operating profits after taxes (NOPAT) minus capital multiplied cost of capital [NOPAT – (capital * cost of capital)]. EVA measures the surplus value created on an investment. Four advantages associated with the use of EVA are: The balance scorecard consists of an integrated set of performance measures that are derived from the company’s strategy and support the company’s strategy throughout the organization (Garrison & Noreen, 2003). The tool is very effective at achieving the

Gross Domestic Product, its importance, calculation and other basics Essay Example for Free

Gross Domestic Product, its importance, calculation and other basics Essay Gross domestic product is a term used in macroeconomics to measure the total of finished goods and services produced in a country during a period usually a year. Those things which are produced in the country are counted in GDP. Things like remittance and other things which are earned from other countries are not taken into consideration while calculating GDP. It is the most important indicator which tells about the economy of a country. It incorporates several other indicators as well like retail sales, personal consumptions, etc. II. Body A. Four parts that make up Gross Domestic Product The main components of GDP are consumption, investment accounts, spending and net exports. GDP can be calculated in three different approaches, product approach, expenditure approach and income approach. Product approach is considered to be the most direct approach in which all outputs are summed up. While the expenditure approach follows this equation: GDP = C+I+S+NE. The assumption made in this equation is that all organizations produce things or services which can be consumed by the users and is a source of investment for the organization. This equation also implies that the organization follow the supply and demand trends in the market. The income approach implies the principle that the income of the producers must be equal to that of their products. †¢ Consumption Consumption is the purchase of goods or services by the consumers. Consumption can be of three types, durable goods, non durable goods and services. Durable goods are those good which last for a long time. They are also considered as consumer investments even. Those goods which come under the head of durable goods are automobiles, refrigerator, etc. These types of goods are bought with the intention of retaining them for a long time thus are known as durable goods. Non durable goods are those goods which have a comparatively short life time than that of durable goods. They could be newspapers, grocery, etc. Services are intangible things. Things which can be classified as a service are medical treatment, teaching, etc. †¢ Investment accounts Investment is the purchase of purchase of things which are used in the production. They can also be classified into three group, business investment, residential construction and inventories. Anything that helps in the process of production comes under business investment. For example, machinery, office, plant, etc. It is the gross amount of investment that counts. Basically it subtracts the depreciation value from the value of the asset. Those assets which are replaced with the new ones, if they don’t produce any improvement in the outputs then they contribute nothing in addition to the country’s economy. Residential construction relates to the building of new houses in a period (year). Those houses which are already been constructed and are held for resale have already contributed in the GDP thus they won’t be included again. Inventories are stocked in anticipation of future sales. Changes in inventories contribute or affect the economy of a country. They are considered to be a small part that contributes to the GDP but changes in them can have great changes in the economy. For example when the inventory level increases the desired level then there may be a slowdown and producers might reduce their outputs. †¢ Government spending The government spending relates to all the items the government spends on with exception of interest paid on the debts and government transfers. Government spending mostly includes those items which are rarely sold in the market like space shuttles, aircrafts, etc. These items bear a large price that is why government pays for them (Kaplan). †¢ Net exports A net export is the difference between the total exports and imports of a country. When the exports exceed the imports, it is known as surplus export. While export deficit occurs when the imports increase from the export and when both export and import are equal it is a trade balance (Barnaby). B. Cross-border comparison As different countries have different currencies it is difficult to compare the GDPs in the respective countries currencies. For example comparing GDP of US in dollars with the GDP of India in Rupees would give a false reflection and therefore in order to have a correct comparison they are converted into national currency through current exchange rate or by purchasing power parity. †¢ Current currency exchange rates Current exchange rates are the international rates of the currency. It gives a better indication of the country’s international purchasing power and its growth. †¢ Purchasing power parity exchange rates Purchasing power parity exchange rates are those in which currency is purchasing power parity compared with that of a standard one which is usually US dollars. Non traded goods usually make use of this method rather than current currency exchange rate. It relates to prices of particular goods in the country and abroad. Therefore it can be misleading while considering the comparison of GDPs of countries due to different inflation rates, depreciation rate, etc. Mostly those countries which are less developed make use of this method to compare their GDPs. Therefore it differentiates between the high and low income countries and doesn’t forms a just comparison. C. Standards of living and GDP Standard of living can be calculated through a per capita GDP approach. There are advantages and disadvantages of calculating standard of living this way. As most of the countries on quarterly basis provide information to the authorities for calculating GDP, trends can be spotted through them on a regular basis. Most of the indicators used in GDP are widely used by other countries even therefore comparison becomes easy. The calculation of GDP is done on yearly basis that means it gives a consistent way. GDP per capita is not a very good way of calculating standard of living as it varies due to several reasons which GDP per capita might not take into account. For example a country with high exports and almost no imports would have a high GDP but a poor standard of living. Therefore GDP per capita should not be considered as the main indicator of standard of living, but just a way to it. As the standard of living increase, GDP per capita also increases. III. Conclusion To assess the effectiveness of a country’s economy GDP is widely used. But using GDP to calculate the standard of living proved a limited result. GDP does not take the wealth distribution into account which might mislead while judging the economy of a country. It doesn’t account for the inequality of the wealth. All those activities which do not occur through a market are excluded by GDP. All those activities which are free or as a volunteer are counted amongst those activities. Not counting these activities would be an understatement in the GDP. Even if the services are provided for free but there must have been a cost to provide the services. Therefore if they don’t contribute toward the GDP most of the organization would move towards free services rather than providing them on money. Another form of understatement of GDP is when those transactions which are illegal or tax avoiding activities are not taken into account. Barter system is also ignored in the calculation of GDP. Barter system is a very common system followed nowadays even through which people might exchange goods or services without any dealing of money. The improvement in products and quality are even those amongst the ignored items in GDP which does not reflect the real economic growth of a country. Computers have become more advanced but less expensive GDP will treat them as the old computers used in the past, rather than considering its worth. GDP rakes into account few things which should not be taken like the cost of rebuilding after an earthquake which might boost the GDP but would provide an unrealistic way to judge the country’s economic growth. Only those things which are economically ‘good’ are reflected in the calculation of GDP while the bad ones are excluded. All those negative effects to the environment which might be due to the production are ignored which is a bias way. Some of the things are sometimes included in GDP like cleaning up of oil spills and etc. GDP does not project the economy of a country but it just measures the economic activity. Therefore it cannot calculate the sustainable growth of a country. There are several ways a country can achieve a high GDP for a time being, for example by excessive use of natural resources, etc. But it can be very costly to pay back after if the natural resources are used badly (mistreated). As value of money changes with time comparing or determining the growth in different sorts of goods can be a difficult task to perform. While comparison of a country’s economy is done by other countries they can give inaccurate results as they might not take the local differences like change in quality, content, etc not into account which might not be a just form of judgment. There are many other limitations of using GDP to judge the economy of a country (Jackson,p63). Although GDP is a way to measure the market value of a country’s finished goods and services it should not be the key indicator to provide information about a country’s economy. It gives a rather flawed and biased way to compare things domestically as well as internationally. A country’s economy should be judged on its ability to provide the people of the country with what they need and what their basic necessities are, some of the basic necessities might include food, shelter, clothing, better place to live in, etc. Therefore things which are not included in the judging the standard of living should be considered. With a combination of indicators which can judge the conditions of the country environmentally as well as in terms of living and financial ways should be used as a way to judge the effectiveness of a country should be taken into consideration rather than just the use of GDP. Word Cited Page Barnaby, Meins. How the GDP is calculated and what it does not count. 2010, 5 May 2010, http://www. helium. com/items/1284362-the-gdp-how-the-gdp-is-calculated-and-what-it-does-not-count Jackson, Tim. Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet, Earthscan Publications Ltd. 1 edition, 2009 Kaplan, Jay, Components of GDP. 1999, 5 May 2010, http://www. colorado. edu/Economics/courses/econ2020/se

External Factors Affecting To The Pepsico Marketing Essay

External Factors Affecting To The Pepsico Marketing Essay Books, articles, journals and periodicals were reviewed; internet sources were also visited, to elicit information. The major threat identified were more of environmental, arising majorly from its sludge which was alleged to contain a high level of toxic chemicals, including cadmium and lead, both of which can be harmful to human and plants. The case of coca-cola plant in Perumatti in the southern state of Kerala in India was used as a case study Not only is PepsiCo the worlds largest beverage company, but in 200 nations ( with consumers enjoying an average of 1.6 billion servings a day), sells about 500 sparkling brands, including 4 of the top sellers (coca- cola, diet coke, sprite and fanta), sparkling beverages, juices, and ready to drink teas among others. In this assignment we focused on the activities regarding the external factors which affect the PepsiCo, needs and expectations of stakeholders of PepsiCo, major changes taking place in the external environment in PepsiCo, modeling tools develop strategic options, basis of future PepsiCo strategy, comparative understanding of competitor activity from others. External factors affecting to the PepsiCo. PEST analysis is concerned with the key external environmental influences on a business. POLITICAL ECONOMICAL SOCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL PepsiCo product are subject to various federal laws New opportunities in other countries Replenishing water Operates in almost all the countries Land acquisition for new factories Fuel price Replenishing water Introduction of cans and plastic Bottles Govt. focusing on stricter water pollution norms Availability of labor Partnership with farmers Newer and attractive Designs Raw Material prices A great worry. Have a global economic perspective Solid waste management program State-of-the-Art plants Needs and expectations of stakeholders of PepsiCo Consumers PepsiCo are proud to offer PepsiCo consumers a wide range of products that deliver great taste, nutritional value, convenience and affordability. PepsiCo are committed to playing a responsible role in health and PepsiCo are finding innovative ways to reduce the use of energy, water and packaging, and to better serve consumer wants and needs through new products and packaging And PepsiCo work relentlessly to improve productivity so PepsiCo can offer affordable products to a broad range of consumers. Consumer Privacy Consumer privacy is important to PepsiCo, and PepsiCo make every effort to make sure consumers are provided with PepsiCo policies, terms and conditions. PepsiCo business divisions and many markets maintain corporate and brand PepsiCo sites, fully accessible to all interested parties. Communities PepsiCo support PepsiCo communities through PepsiCo businesses by contributing to not-for-profit groups and by working with organizations dedicated to improving the lives of people. PepsiCo have advisory groups that focus on health and issues of concern to the African American, Asian and Latino/Hispanic communities, among others. Investors PepsiCo strive to provide investors with a reasonable return on their investment, based on consistent financial growth in the marketplace and consistent financial results. PepsiCo take a long-term view and make appropriate investments to strengthen PepsiCo brands, develop PepsiCo capabilities and pursue new opportunities. Partners PepsiCo did not control these bottlers, PepsiCo did not consolidate their results. Instead, PepsiCo included PepsiCo share of their net income based on PepsiCo percentage of economic ownership in PepsiCo income statement as bottling equity income. Suppliers PepsiCo suppliers provide us with the goods and services needed in PepsiCo business. PepsiCo buy goods and services at competitive prices with the goal of allowing both PepsiCo suppliers and PepsiCo to make a reasonable profit. Major changes affect strategy. PepsiCo intend to continue to focus our efforts on, among other initiatives, the following. These changes of the external factors changes the Strategy of PepsiCo PepsiCo Company to develop a business model to continue exploring and participating in new lines of beverages, extending existing product lines and effectively advertising and marketing our products; implementing selective packaging strategies designed to increase consumer demand for our products and to build a strong returnable base for the PepsiCo brand; replicating our best practices throughout the value chain; Adapting organizational and asset structure in order to be in a better position to respond to a changing competitive environment; to build a multi-cultural collaborative team, from top to bottom; and broadening our geographic footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. SWOT analysis of PepsiCo SWOT Analysis of PepsiCo Strengths Weaknesses Opportunity Threat one of the most recognized brands of the world Low Productivity In 2008 PepsiCo had approximately 198,000 employees. International Expansion PepsiCo is in the midst of making a $1, 000 million investment in China, and a $500 million investment in India Decline in Carbonated Drink Sales Soft drink sales are projected to decline by as much as 2.7% by 2012, PepsiCos diversification is obvious in that the fact that each of its top 18 brands Image Damage Due to Product Recall Growing Savory Snack and Bottled Water market in US PepsiCo is positioned well to capitalize on the growing bottle water market which is projected to be worth over $24 million by 2012. Intense Competition The Coca-Cola Company is PepsiCos primary competitors. But others include Nestlà ©, Groupe Danone and Kraft Foods. Intense competition may influence pricing, advertising, sales The company delivers its products directly from manufacturing plants and warehouses to customer warehouses and retail stores Its revenue per employee was $219,439, which was lower that its competitors. Broadening of Product Base PepsiCo is seeking to address one of its potential weaknesses; dependency Potential Negative Impact of Government Regulations Develop a comparative understanding of competitor activity from other organizations in the market. pff2.jpg Create options to form the basis of future organizational strategy. The PepsiCo reaffirmed the underlying strength of its integrated food and beverage portfolio and concluded that PepsiCo offers the most compelling value to shareholders as one company. Significantly increase investments in its iconic brands and in bringing innovation to market. Advertising and marketing spending will increase by $500-$600 million in 2012, the majority in North America. Going forward, it expects to maintain or increase that rate of support as a percentage of revenues. To drive efficiencies, it will reduce the number of agency partners and also take steps to leverage the global scale of its top brand platforms. The brand investments are expected to drive top line growth and enable greater price realization; Implement a three-year productivity program that is expected to generate over $500 million in incremental cost savings in 2012, further incremental reductions in the cost base of about $500 million in 2013, and an additional $500 million in 2014. The productivity savings will span every aspect of the business: Improve its net return on invested capital by at least 50 basis points annually beginning in 2013 through increased focus on capital spending and working capital management. As an example, in 2012 we will be reducing capital expenditures by 10% versus 2011. The emphasis is on systematically improving the efficiency of the existing asset base; (Armstrong, 1986) Strategy plan that ensures stakeholders of an organization The newest campaign slogan, introduced this year, is More Happy, which definitely coincides with one concrete example of more in the packaging of Pepsi products today-more designs. Many more. At least 35 distinct design ideas will grace the packaging of Pepsis cans and bottles this year alone, and this design strategy may continue indefinitely Pepsi actually asked their loyal consumers what brand elements would have to remain so that they would be intuitively reassured that their favorite drinks were not changing and the brand they trusted was still essentially the same. Their answer was direct and consistent. Pepsi-lovers needed to see three elements for sure-the Pepsi globe, the iconic Pepsi blue, and the familiar tilted Pepsi capital letters. Television ad campaigns are reinforcing the globe-centric approach by featuring a boulder-sized Pepsi globe in various settings careening to and fro like a pinball. In the ads and on the front of most of the new packages is the reassuring tag line: Same Pepsi inside, new look outside. Miller explains that it is customary and important to reassure consumers for at least six months in situations like this. (Renger, (2002). ) Create options for a strategy plan Hopefully you and your team will come up with several options or solutions to fix the problem you are working on. In evaluating these options or potential solutions, I have found the following criteria to be beneficial: Effectiveness: How likely is it that this solution will get me to the desired situation? Feasibility: How realistic is this solution? How likely is it that this solution can be implemented effectively? Time: How long will it take to implement this solution? How long will it take to get the desired results? Cost: How much will it cost, in money or other resources, to implement this solution? Human resources: How many people will need to be involved to implement this solution? Difficulty or ease of implementation: Overall, how easy or difficult will it be to implement this solution? Risk: How much is at risk in implementing this solution? (Armstrong S. , 1985) Strategy plan ensuring the resource implications. Intensive growth (Identifying the opportunities to achieve further growth within the current business) Product -market expansion grid is useful framework for detecting new intensive growth opportunities. (Conley, 1992, April.) Market penetration strategy (The Company first considers whether it could gain more market share with its current products in the current markets): Headquartered in Purchase, New York, with Research and Development Headquarters in Valhalla. A third force was the perceived synergy between salty snacks and soft drinks. As Kendall succinctly related to Forbes in 1968, Potato chips make you thirsty; Pepsi satisfies thirst. The plan was to jointly market PepsiCos snacks and soft drinks, thereby giving Pepsi a potential advantage in its ongoing battle with Coke. Expand the Global Leadership Position of Our Snacks Business. PepsiCo is the global snacks leader, with the No. 1 savory category share position in virtually every key region across the globe. Ensure Sustainable, Profitable Growth in Global Beverages. When combined with the actions we are taking to refresh their brands across the entire beverage category, they believe this game-changing transaction will enable them to accelerate their top-line growth and also improve their profitability. Unleash the Power of Power of One. The combination of snacks and beverages-with our high-demand global and local brands-makes PepsiCo an essential partner for large-format as well as small-format retailers. Mission, Vision, Objectives of PepsiCo Mission Mission is to be the worlds premier consumer products company focused on convenient foods and beverages. PepsiCo seek to produce financial rewards to investors as they provide opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees, our business partners and the communities in which they operate. And in everything do, they strive for honesty, fairness and integrity. Our Vision PepsiCos responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which they operate environment, social, economic creating a better tomorrow than today. Vision is put into action through programs and a focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company. Objectives At PepsiCo, theyre committed to achieving business and financial success while leaving a positive imprint on society delivering what they call Performance with Purpose. PepsiCo approach to superior financial performance is straightforward drive shareholder value. By addressing social and environmental issues, they also deliver on our purpose agenda, which consists of human, environmental, and talent sustainability. PepsiCos Future management objectives As a global food and beverage company with brands that stand for quality and are respected household names-Pepsi-Cola, Lays, Quaker Oats, Tropicana and Gatorade, to name a few-PepsiCo will continue to build a portfolio of enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages; find innovative ways to reduce the use of energy, water and packaging; and provide a great workplace for our associates. The Companys operating management structure consists of five geographic groups plus the Minute Maid Company. Name of the group Country/Region The North American Group USA and Canada. The Latin America Group Central and South America The Greater Europe Group Greenland to Russias Far East. The Africa and Middle East Group Middle East and the Africa continent. The Asia Pacific Group From India through the Pacific region . Values and culture of PepsiCo PepsiCos mission is to continue to be the worlds premier consumer Products Company focused on convenient foods and beverages. They endeavor to produce financial rewards to investors while providing opportunities for growth and enrichment to their employees, their business partners and the communities in which they operate. In everything the company does, they strive for honesty, fairness and integrity. PepsiCos mission for 2008 was Performance with Purpose which the CEO of PepsiCo Indra K. Nooyi elaborates on when she says this mission combines the two things that define what we do-growing the business, and acting as ethical and responsible citizens of the world The companys values philosophy are centered on being a socially and environmentally responsible company. Therefore every policy it formulates and decision it makes is based on the following guiding principles: * Care for customers, consumers and the world they live in. * Sell only products that they can be proud of.  · Speak with truth and candor. * Balance short term and long term. * Win with diversity and inclusion. * Respect others and succeed together. Evaluation of a strategy plan The introduction stages starts when products lunched in this period sales will be very slow, must of the organization faced negative profit and high cost. There are some stages where organization has to face high risk in innovation of new product. When the coca-cola company launched power the stages are: where high risk product development stage Introduction stage Growth stage After passing these stages product will be in maturity stage where organization make more profit and try to stay in this stage after this stage is decline stage which is also risk and here need to some force/change to stay in maturity stage. (Conley, 1993, April) The action plan, basically developing a very detailed list of to do thing where PepsiCo included task, time and budget or cost framework with relating marketing mix the coca-cola company in estimate the budget and talks in marketing about activities. Implementation of strategy plan Step One: Goal Setting This first step is a bit obvious. PepsiCo have a goal in mind. And PepsiCo see at earlier Coca cola made its goal at early of the year. Step Two: Research Start talking about goal and research what it will take to fulfill it. Step Three: Weigh Options Theres almost never just one way to do something. PepsiCo depend RD in here. Step Four: Direction Now that PepsiCo have a goal, knowledge of that goal, and options towards obtaining it, theyre now ready to decide the best course of action. Step Five: Begin Analysis Current situation Goals Target Customer Key Services Communication Strategy Evaluation Has this type of communications activity taken place before? If so, what was the result? Are PepsiCo seeking to provide new information? PepsiCo target the Customer with the market segmentation. Motivate the customer Fit with the resources PepsiCo already have. can learn how plan worked with various Customer, What are your major communications opportunities? Are PepsiCo calling the audience to action? PepsiCo focus on the Customer Keep in mind that consumer PepsiCos best assets. are the most effective communications vehicles to reach target Customer which activities had the most impact Define your communications challenge Are PepsiCo seeking to change behavior? PepsiCo develop strategy to implement this quickly. What are the Customer knowledge regarding PepsiCo. Helps to achieve goals and deliver the outcomes you wan which parts of the plan failed Many people fail at this step. It can be relatively easy to make a plan up to this point. But, heres where its time to put in the work. Step Six: Adapting The most successful people in the world are those that can adapt to current situations. Sometimes opportunities will open up and youll need to revise your plan to take advantage of them. Communications plan in a tabular format to support the roll out of the plan Monitoring and Evaluation system of PepsiCo Scenario Planning: Scenarios are realistic descriptions of the organizations possible futures that allow the scenario team to set aside its individual and organizational assumptions about how the external environment will operate and explore new ones PepsiCo is constantly aware of the link between its strategy and the changing future, thus, itself for the ifà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦then probable future. This is exemplified it its mission statement, thus: Benchmarking is the comparison of performance in one organization or part of an organization against that in another, with a view to finding ways of improving performance. This avails the company the opportunity to take corrective measures actions. Experience to Strategy Plan A business strategist can be regarded as the leader of an expedition to find the highest elevations on a companys fitness landscape. Fog prevents the hikers from seeing more than a few feet in front of themselves. What can be done when things look so hazy? Biologists have identified key rules that evolution uses to find high peaks. Managers too can use them. The first rule is that evolutionary searches never stop. No matter how successful a strategy is at a given moment, a business must experiment constantly to find something better. Another key principle is parallelism. The entire expedition should not explore the same region. Instead, many search parties should spread out from the base camp to explore the shifting terrain and bring back news of discoveries. (Cook, 1988) Effective strategy formulation is about Building collective intuition Encouraging healthy conflict Maintaining a pace so that decisions are taken within a stipulated time Defusing political behavior. Conclusion This strategic plan articulates for the PepsiCo community and for our constituents an understanding of who we are, what we do, and the values by which we define ourselves. It articulates as well our ambitious aspiration, five key goals we believe we must meet in order to achieve that aspiration, and an assessment of where the PepsiCo stands today as we rededicate ourselves to these shared objectives. The plan does not reflect everything that the PepsiCo hopes to do over the next five years; nor does it represent an irrevocably fixed set of directives, since the planning process must be dynamic and adaptable. It will, however, serve-at the PepsiCo level and also at the collegiate, departmental, and unit levels, where so many of the important decisions of the PepsiCo are made-as the framework according to which we will make difficult decisions, focus our resources, and thereby advance the PepsiCos distinction as a leader in higher education. Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any license, franchise, permit, certificate, approval or other similar authorization affecting, or relating in any way to, the assets or business of the Company and its Subsidiaries or (d) result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, with only such exceptions, in the case of each of clauses (b) through (d), as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or prevent or materially impede, interfere with, hinder or delay the consummation of the Merger

IKEAs Entry Into South America

IKEAs Entry Into South America Executive Summary Ikea seeks to continue expanding its retail presence around the world through worldwide franchising of the Ikea concept. We propose an immediate expansion of Ikea into South America, specifically a storefront in Brazil. Using a balanced scorecard approach we address the primary issues in such an expansion. We also believe Brazil is a logical candidate for longer term expansion on the manufacturing (sourcing) side of Ikea and provide supporting analysis for such expansion. Although we have limited access to actual Financials, we believe the initial investment required to be about $20 million. Sales estimates exceed $70million per year. Since costs should also be typical of other sites around the world, expected earnings after tax are 8% of sales. In addition to the need for access to capital, a well-located site for retail activity must be secured. This site would be at the edge of Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo near highway access. Marketing Strategy: All marketing is based on the IKEA business idea: We shall offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, at prices so low, that the majority of people can afford to buy them Although Brazilian customers are used to negotiating on price, we feel a fixed price retail store will do well since the prices are low, and the shopping experience is primarily self-service. Most of the over 6000 products will continue to be produced in Asia and Europe. All products will continue to come through Ikeas distribution channel. Since the majority of furniture comes in a flat package, the distribution method has been proven to be cost effective. The possible need for regional distribution center is a risk factor that would increase investment required. The regulatory environment in Brazil allows foreign investment and the repatriation of profits. With respect to people, Ikea has a strong culture. Ikea is a value driven company that values hard work. About 400 Employees will be hired for the first Ikea Brazil store. Training is available through Ikea University, which is uses traveling instructors and on line training materials. Overall Brazil looks like an attractive entry point into the South American furniture market. Background Founded in the late 1940s by Ingvar Kamprad created the concept of IKEA, a furniture company that provided quality fashionable furniture at prices everyone can afford. Although its business model at the time was much different then the mega stores today, this fundamental approach to furniture has remained the same. Despite its very risk-adverse nature, IKEA became the first furniture company to expand internationally. High bulk to value, high transportation costs, and susceptibility to damage are all issues IKEA was able to overcome with its innovative approach of selling furniture collapsed flat boxes. This approach not only lowered its shipping and inventory costs, but also creatively transferred the labor-intensive assembly costs to the customer. IKEAs innovate approach to adding the consumer to the value chain in effort to keep prices low and quality high has won it very loyal fans everywhere it has reached. Packed to the brim, its stores attract customers from great distances who load up their cars to furnish entire rooms or homes in a single trip. Constantly introducing new innovative new products, its model rooms in its stores and catalogs have provided a creative way introduce its new products to complement its existing product line. The model rooms and catalogs teach the customers how to piece together an entire room from the furniture to the dà ©cor with all IKEA products. Fashionable and trendy it encourages customers to live the IKEA life. Financials Background: Ikea is a privately owned company with an extraordinarily opaque organization. Financial statements are not publicly available. The Ikea Group is ultimately owned by the Stitching Ingka Foundation, a charitable trust based in the Netherlands. The Ikea Group manufactures and sells products. Franchise stores are a part of the IKEA group, as shown in figure 1. However, Inter Ikea Systems, a separate company, owns Ikeas intellectual property. Franchises: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. constantly seeks market expansion, and grants new franchises to markets/territories according to a detailed expansion plan (Company Web Site). Ikea has identified location as a primary success factor, since store sales volume is so dependent on location. Franchises are granted only to organizations and/or individuals that can secure a strong market position and market penetration in the given territory [and have] the financial strength and potential as well as have identified well located sites for the retail activity. Investment required: Based on recent examples, such as the Ikea store opened in Israel in 2003, typical investment is ~ $15M with a leased store. It is estimated that another $5M would be required for the building and infrastructure improvements. It is also estimated that a new distribution center may be required for the region. If this is required, it is likely multiple stores will be needed to justify such an investment. Revenue: With 190 stores, sales top 12.2B Euro. This means on average each store generates 67M euro ($78M/store). To validate this assumption, it should be noted that Germany accounts for 1/5th of turnover with a proportionate 33 stores. Costs: The Ikea store concept requires relatively little human resources, so costs are a function of other overhead such as lease, warehousing, utilities, taxes and advertising. It can be noted that manufacturing is primarily Poland and Asia, as Ikea grows in size, it should consider Brazil as third major manufacturing center for local and worldwide use. Earnings: After tax earnings for the IKEA group were shared in the 1997 book, The History of Ikea. Figures in the book show Ikea posted a profit of $905 million or 8% of sales. Other sources have estimated after tax profits as high as 18%. This indicates the stores are equally profitable, but must be verified before moving forward. Profits and royalties can be repatriated from Brazil. While not all of IKEA stores were profitable, most were. In order to go forward with this project we would want to verify the success factors and make sure our pro-forma financial statements were similar to other successful stores. Planned Store information Size 24,000 to 32,000 square meters Products 6,000 to 10,000 Room Settings 45 to 50 Parking Spaces 800 to 2000 Customer Loading Spaces 20 to 50 Cash Lanes 16 to 30 Restaurant Seating 400 to 700 Co-Workers 380 to 500 Land 24 to 30 Acres Production Brazil has abundance of high quality wood and low labor prices. This is an important reason for IKEA-Brazil to produce the furniture in Brazil and distribute locally. Brazilian taste for furniture indicates that they appreciate wider moldings that the standard American moldings. This along with a few more customizations might be essential to market IKEA products in the Brazilian market. In the late 90s there has been an increase in quantity (+2.5%) and a simultaneous increase in exports (+11%), which show the increasing competitiveness of the Brazilian industry on international markets. Factors at the root of this process are most certainly the use of ever more advanced technology acquired thanks to huge investments in capital goods (in 1996 US$ 220 million was invested in machinery, mainly from Italy, Germany and the United States) which has increased the productive capacity of sector companies, and the effects of the process of opening up to international trade which intensify the significant comparative advantages of Brazil compared to other exporting countries: excellent quality raw materials at low costs and flexible labor. Delivery Latin Americas most important trade show happens at Brazil and this is the most sought after trade show. Brazil stands as the main sourcing country for furniture for the whole of Latin America. Brazil is the largest country in South America and shares its border with a lot of countries. Since the South-east of Brazil is the economic center of Brazil, cities Rio de Janeiro and Sà £o Paulo are favorable places to establish IKEA stores. Land transportation is becoming more effective in that about 85% of Brazils people and products are transported by road. Brazilian highways are of modern design and link all the state capitals by paved roads. Problems still arise in the rural and remote areas as water floods the roads making them impassable for days. Sometimes road construction after the floods is delayed inhibiting travel even more. IKEA-Brazil can offer high quality products at low prices with the efficient methods of distribution and close relationships with manufacturers. This will ensure that even during problematic situations like flooding, the majority of the sales are not affected due to transportation issues. The same principle used everywhere else where the need for distribution is cut out by offering flat-packaged items that are warehoused in the stores and picked up by the customers on site, will be the key. The customer is spared shipping, storage and assembly costs resulting in dramatically lower product prices. Issues with the labor workforce Labor is cheap in Brazil compared to Europe and America. But with this cheap workforce and swinging economy of the country comes a multitude of issues that are worth investigating. Half of the labor force in Brazil is employed in the informal sector. Even though the government employs minimum wage, this is hardly followed and the wages are compensated often with respect to the fluctuations in the economy. In Brazil, 50 percent of the workforce is outside formal collective bargaining structures. Thus the labor laws in Brazil might make it expensive to employ workforce. Quality Goals International companies are already sourcing out of Brazil for the past many years. Crossmart Brazil has nearly three decades of experience sourcing product for European catalogs out of 40 Brazilian plants. Crossmart relies on seven inspectors who constantly visit plants to check moisture content, finishes and overall quality. It is estimated that the company currently does $20 million a year in French mail orders alone. In the southeastern production centers of Brazil, we find products with a good qualitative level thanks to the use of modern production processes and suitable machinery. The effects of technological innovation and design created by some important trade fairs in these regions are also worth mentioning. With this kind of a history, the IKEA plant in Brazil should be able to achieve the quality standards that they have been able to measure up to internationally. Their products are not over-engineered to give a greater finish than the customer requires. Nevertheless quality is taken very seriously and the whole supply chain participates. The Ikea definition of quality is that the product must first be available in the store and secondly it must match up to the customers expectations: it must be complete, free from defects and easy to assemble. Returns to stores are analyzed and each product is carefully monitored. Legal and Regulatory It is important to note that Brazil is very friendly to foreign investors – domestic investors and foreign investors are treated equally. The largest restriction is that you must obtain a permanent visa in order to invest in Brazil as a foreigner – however, earnings may be repatriated after waiting for foreign currency to become available. The Ministry of Labor must approve this visa application. The minimum investment required is $200,000 (US) or the equivalent. The National Immigration Council can make exceptions if the new venture will create at least ten new jobs, or is of social interest. Once the visa is granted it will be valid for two years. At the conclusion of the initial two-year period the Ministry of Labor will perform an evaluation of the business to determine the feasibility of the venture before granting a definite extension. Internal Standards Foreign investors are encouraged to initiate discussions with state development agencies within the country. These agencies are available for government incentive programs. In addition to contacting local agencies it is important to note that a wide range of credit and financing options are available to investors through both foreign and domestic banks operating in Brazil. Finally, foreign investors are expected to import the funds for all major fixed capital requirements. Cultural and Environmental Conditions Personal contact is more important in business than other forms of communications (i.e. telephone or mail). This is largely because the working relationships in Brazil are built on trust. The most common form of doing business in Brazil is through incorporated subsidiaries; branches are very difficult to operate. Joint ventures do not require a local Brazilian partner, however, it is still encouraged. It is essential to establish a network of connections with the public sector in Brazil. The culture in Brazil relies heavily on favors and ‘who you know. These connections are important, but it is important to remember that these connections can, and will, change. Lastly, be prepared to negotiate on prices! Do not expect sales to occur quickly, and keep your best price till last. People IKEA has a company philosophy to create a better life for its customers, as well as its co-workers. This has significantly influenced the companys workplace environment. IKEA received the Family Champion award and is recognized as a great place to work here in America. IKEA empowers their coworkers and respects their personal lives. This has had a tremendous influence on job productivity, growth and development, which ultimately benefits the customer. The IKEA workplace includes many benefits and family friendly initiatives to support co-workers needs. In 2002, IKEA saw a 26% decrease in sales staff turnover. In addition, women represent more than 48% in management positions and are 47% of the companys top earners. This provides a proper fit for both IKEA and the Brazilian workforce. Brazil is a nation in which the richest 20 percent of the people receive 64 percent of the national income. It is a nation in which 40 percent of the people live on the equivalent of $2 US a day and over 20 percent live on the equivalent of $1 US a day. In May 2003 unemployment was up to 12.8%-it highest level in 14 months. For those that did work, the average wages in May 2003 fell to $290 US, 15% lower than a year earlier. However, the Brazilian workforce is renewing. The job market is very attractive to the ages of 25 to 39 years old. Brazilian women are making up a larger portion of the workforce. In 1970, only 18.5 percent of Brazilian women worked outside the home. This has since rose to 51 percent of the Brazilian workforce. The number of High School graduates has also risen from 35 percent in 1994 to 43 percent currently. A.T. Kearneys 2004 Top 12 Ranking for Offshore Location attractiveness includes Brazil: India China Malaysia Czech Republic Singapore Philippines Brazil Canada Chile Poland Hungary New Zealand The A.T. Kearney Offshore Location Attractiveness Index analyzed the top 25 off-shoring destinations against 39 measurements in three major categories: cost, people skills and availability, and business environment. The study team assigned weights reflecting the drivers of off-shoring decisions based on A.T. Kearney research and engagement experience. Because cost advantages have been the primary impetus behind off shoring, financial factors constitute 40 percent of the total index weight. People skills and availability and business environment each received a 30 percent weighting. Cost advantages and a large workforce Brazils strong points. IKEA has responded to national needs and cultural sensitivity issues. This has been a challenge for IKEA, but IKEA is meeting these challenges by finding a balance between country level autonomy and centralized intervention. To maintain service, quality and logistic standards, franchisees are audited for performance. The headquarters provides extensive training and operational support to the workers of all kind. The new organization has become flatter and is delegating more responsibility to subsidiaries. In addition, IKEA is committed to social policies to both employees and customers. IWAY provisions include health and safety standards, employee conditions such as access to rest areas and toilets, working hours and a minimum wage. IWAY is enforced worldwide but the criterion varies according to local culture and employment legislation. This is an additional benefit for the Brazilian workforce, where there has been some disparity in working conditions for minorities and women. IKEA has developed a mentoring program for learning and personal development of both the mentee and mentor with the expectation that by helping people to be partners they will become better employees. The evolution for the program is for IKEAs mentees to become IKEAs future mentors and Partners for Growth to become self-sustaining and seamless with the culture. IKEAs program is innovative, not only because it is grounded in the values of IKEAs culture, but also because it focuses on personal learning and development. It will help to secure its future as they expand, by creating a diverse group of leaders. Partners for Growth is now entering its second phase and is creating a culture where mentoring is available to all managers at IKEA. IKEA has launched Partners for Growth throughout the organization. Partners for Growth facilitates individual learning, promotes personal and professional growth and development, and has four strategic goals: Develop Leaders from top to bottom Support career development across the board Develop and support diversity through IKEA organization Strengthen IKEA culture References: Welcome to the Smart State, Queensland Australia http://www.sd.qld.gov.au Welcome to the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce http://www.brazilchamber.org Foreign Investments in Brazil http://www.cni.org.br/produtos/com_ext/src/doing05.pdf Isreal Investment News, Third Quarter 2001 http://www.moit.gov.il/root/Hidden/ipc/InvestNews17.htm The Diamondback Online, June 26, 2003 http://www.inform.umd.edu/News/Diamondback/archives/2003/06/26/news6.html Human Environment and Design, International Retailing http://www.hed.msu.edu/internationalretailing/company/IKEA/ Improving Supply Chain Management in the UK Furniture Industry, Case Study – Ikea Trading Area Poland http://www.pyetait.com/furniture-supplychain/docs/Case-Study-IKEA.doc Ikeas our vision http://www.ikea.com/content/about/vision/ Burt, Tim (1998). Ikea rated among Swedens top three businesses, Financial Times (London), Front Page- Companies Markets, pp. 23. The miracle of Amulet, Guardian Unlimited http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1240462,00.html Brazil and Its History http://mdmd.essortment.com/brazilhistory_rmfq.htm Furniture Today, Brazil showing Good growth, March 22, 2004 http://www.furnituretoday.com/article/CA419023.html?display=Special+Report â€Å"Mentoring Relationships: Using Partner Preparation tools.† Mentor, Vol. 6, No 4.

Bridging the Divide: An Analysis of Indian Education :: Essays Papers

Bridging the Divide: An Analysis of Indian Education Introduction: Educational levels have always been regarded as key indicators, not just of economic development, but of social well being. For this reason, literacy rates are of interest to development economists and social activists alike. Literacy is in fact, a component of the Human Development Indicator, suggesting that income and mortality alone cannot capture the essential quality of life that a person enjoys. Yet statistics on overall literacy rates are deceiving, for they do not reflect the social inequities which determine who receives the opportunity to become literate and who does not. India, the country of focus for this paper, provides an excellent example of the complex nature of literacy. Development scholars have often cited India as an example of progress in the field of education, as in the past five decades national literacy levels have almost tripled, from 18.33% in 1951 to 52.2% in 2001. However this statistic masks the fact that the growth is mainly attributable to increases in male literacy (from 27% to over 65% during the same time span). While women’s literacy rates have improved, by the turn of the century, over 60% of Indian women remained illiterate. While the Indian state issued various statements asserting its commitment to female education. any progress in the area has only been made very recently when, with the growth of nongovernmental organizations (henceforth NGOs) working in the field of non-formal women’s schooling, a lot of work has been done on identifying barriers to female education in India. The purpose of this paper is not to synthesize the work done by these NGOs. Instead, I wish to outline a framework in which to understand the problems women face in attaining literacy, in order to devise progressive policies and more effectively implement them. In the first part of this paper, I attempt to explain the underlying similarities between many impediments to female education for poor rural and urban communities. I describe how different social contexts mold the manifestations of these problems, but not the issues themselves. Many difficulties women face must be therefore be understood as national problems, but require specific understanding in order to address the particular forms those issues take in local communities. While all poor Indian women face challenges in receiving an education, some female populations are particularly marginalized. Therefore, in the next part of my analysis, I focus on the reasons for urban-rural gaps in the literacy rates between Indian women, taking the case of lower-caste poor women living in North Indian villages.

Wing Luke Asian Museum Web Site :: essays research papers

Wing Luke Asian Museum Website The Wing Luke Asian Museum is a multicultural museum housing art, film, and other records of the Northwest Asian Pacific culture. The Museum states that it is dedicated to "the collection, preservation, and display of Asian Pacific American culture, history and art.". The Museum was founded 1967, in honor of the first Asian pacific American to be elected to the Seattle council (in 1962). Wing Luke was killed in a plane crash just 3 years later, and the community rallied together to establish the Wing Luke Museum. The museum is run mainly on community support and independent donation, which it has done since its establishment. The exhibits and programs The Wing Luke puts on are made by a collaboration of museum professionals and dedicated community members. This community support is really what drives the Wing Luke museum and makes it special. The website of the Wing Luke Asian Museum [ http://www.wingluke.org ] uses a very simple and straightforward layout to help it's visitors find the information they need. The website also comes through with a lots of information about the museum, and it's community. Adding to all this is an online version of the Wing Luke Asian Museum's monthly newsletter, which is packed with tons of news and information about upcoming exhibits and projects being put on by the Wing Luke. The Online newsletter is archived regularly, and even though it is a newsletter for members, they let anyone download and read up on current happenings. The Wing Luke website also contains many external links to a wide array of Topics, including information on local art and history resources, and resources for Asian Pacific Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, and Filipino Americans as well. The web page also links to many other Seattle area museums, which is a nice addition. Other Museums dealing with Asian Pacific American issues are also linked to, rounding out the resource set. The Wing Luke web page uses a simple text on background layout, providing quick download times, and fast refresh rates. However, though serving to give the web page accessibility to a vast majority of web surfers, the web page has a very dated look to it, which really takes away from the overall professionalism of the website. The color scheme is generally black on white, with red hyperlinks. This clean look provides maximum text legibility, while not distracting the reader.

Personal Selling & The Marketing Concept Essay

Personal Selling – A Definition and a Philosophy Personal Selling is a process of developing relationships; discovering needs; matching the appropriate products with these needs; and communicating benefits through informing, reminding, or persuading. The development of a personal selling philosophy for the information age involves three prescriptions: 1) Adopt marketing concept. 2) Value personal selling. 3) Assume the role of a problem solver or partner in helping customers make buying decisions. Personal Selling as an Extension of the Marketing Concept When a business firm moves from a product orientation to consumer orientation, we say that it has adopted the marketing concept. This concept springs from the belief that the firm should dedicate all of its policies, planning, and operation to the satisfaction of the customer. Promotion can be further subdivided into advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Personal selling is the major promotional method used in business. Evolution of Consultative Selling Consultative selling emphasizes need identification, which is achieved through effective communication between the salesperson and the customer. The salesperson establishes two-way communication by asking appropriate questions and listening carefully to the customer’s responses. The salesperson assumes the role of consultant and offers well-considered recommendations. Transactional selling is a sales process that most effectively matches the needs of the value conscious buyer who is primarily interested in price and  convenience. This approach to selling is usually used by marketers who do not see the need to spend very much time on customer need assessment, problem solving, relationship building, or sales follow-up. 4 Major Features of Consultative Selling are: 1) The customer is seen as a person to be served, not a prospect to be sold. 2) The consultative salesperson does not try to overpower the customer with a high-pressure sales presentation. Instead, the buyer’s needs are identified through two-way communication. 3) Consultative selling emphasizes information giving, problem solving, and negotiation instead of manipulation. 4) Consultative selling emphasizes service after the sale. Evolution of Strategic Selling A strategic market plan is an outline of the methods and resources required to achieve an organization’s goals within a specific target market. The strategic market plan should be a guide for a strategic selling plan. This plan includes strategies that you use to position yourself with the customer before the sales call even begins. The strategic/consultative selling model features 5 steps: Develop a relationship strategy. Success in selling depends heavily on the salesperson’s ability to develop, manage, and enhance interpersonal relations with the customer. A relationship strategy is a well-thought-out plan for establishing, building, and maintaining quality relationships. Develop a product strategy The product strategy is a plan that helps salespeople make correct decisions concerning the selection and positioning of products to meet identified customer needs. Develop a customer strategy Customer strategy is based on the fact that success in personal selling depends on the salesperson’s ability to learn as much as possible about the prospect. When developing a customer strategy, the salesperson should develop a broad understanding of buying behaviors, discover individual customer needs, and build a strong prospect base. Develop a presentation strategy The presentation strategy is a well-developed plan that includes; i) Preparing the sales presentation objectives ii) Preparing the sales presentation plan that meet these objectives iii) Renewing one’s commitment to providing outstanding customer service. Interrelate the basic strategies The relationship, product, and customer strategies all influence development of the presentation strategy. For e.g., one relationship-building practice might be developed for use during the initial face-to-face meeting with the customer and another for possible use during the negotiation of buyer resistance.Another relationship-building method might be developed for use after the sale is closed. Evolution of Partnering Partnering is a strategically developed, long-term relationship that solves the customer’s problems. A successful long-term partnership is achieved when the salesperson is able to skillfully apply the four major strategies and thus add value in various ways. Successful sales professionals stay close to the customer and constantly search for new ways to add value. Many companies today are using some form of sales automation to enhance partnerships with customers. Sales automation is the term used to describe those technologies used to improve communications in a sales organization and to enhance customer responsiveness. Strategic Alliances – The Highest Form of Partnering The goal of a strategic alliance is to achieve a marketplace advantage by teaming up with another company whose products or services fit well with your own. 1) Building an alliance to learn as much as possible about the proposed partner. 2) To meet with the proposed partner and explore mutual benefits of the alliance. Building win-win partnerships requires the highest form of consultative selling.