Engineering Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Engineering Ethics - Essay Example Today, France generates about 70% of its electricity with an array of nuclear plants that come in only three sizes: small, medium, and large. In fact, their plants make so much electricity that France is the largest net exporter of electric power in the world. And modular, standardized construction practices are a large part of why the French nuclear effort has been such a success† (Kayde, 2011). Modular practices make it harder to produce dual-use materials or turn waste into weaponry. France's engineers created a moral result through engineering. Is smart nuclear power ethical? Some people think it isn't, no matter how smart. But it seems to really stretch believability that nuclear power is always by definition a bad thing. Is it really worse than coal? Is it so much worse that there is never a reason to use it over coal? Engineers working on smarter nuclear solutions is moral even when many activists are opposed to nuclear power as a matter of course. But there is another p oint to make. Morality must always be adjudicated based not just on consequences but on the innate character of the acts and the virtues of the person involved. One problem with consequentialist, utilitarian perspectives is that they tend to allow people to justify flawed solution A over B without ever trying to think of good solution C, something deontological ethics prevents by favoring the status quo.

Racism and Anti-Semitism in America Essay Example for Free

Racism and Anti-Semitism in America Essay Stereotyping reflects expectations and belief about the characteristics of members of groups perceived as different from one’s response and discrimination refers to emotion (www.usnews.com). We all encounter some form of prejudice or stereotype in our life. What types are they? Would you see the lasting affects it has on someone you yourself had discriminated against? Would you recognize the effects it had on you? This author will introduce you to three different stereotypes, fallacious, hasty generalization, and false dichotomy. I will explain the damages being stereotyped does to a person and the lasting effects it has. Aggression, overeating, inability to focus, and difficulty making rational decisions, all are negative effects experienced by those subjected to prejudice, according to University of Toronto Study (Michael Inzticht, 2012). â€Å"Past studies have shown that people perform in situations where they feel they are being stereotyped,† said professor Michael Inzticht of psychology who led the study, published in the month’s edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. What we wanted to do was look at what happens afterwards. Are there any lingering effects of prejudice? Does being stereotyped have an impact beyond the moment when stereotyping happens (www.usnews,com)? A person that stereotypes based on negative feelings is a person that is indifferent to accepting cultural diversity and situations that they find dissonance with because that are either entrenched with prejudice from a psycho social paradigm, or make the conscientious choice to be prejudice because of their inferential way of thinking. In Nazi Germany people were imprisoned and even killed for trying to fight anti-Semitism. In America we are free to fight it, but too many of us choose to ignore this hate that dare not speak its name. Anti-Semitism is real, it is murderous and it is very much with us today (www.the-american-interest.com). Anti-Semitism involves beliefs that Jews are more clannish that other people and act in concert to support a specific Jewish agenda. Jews deploy ex traordinary wealth with almost superhuman cunning in support of the Jewish agenda. As a religious and national minority, Jews cannot flourish without attacking the traditional values of their host society. In every country Jews seek to weaken national culture, religion, values, and cohesion. Jews are not a national group or a people in the way that others are; they do not have the same rights to establish a nation state that other people do. Where Jewish interest is concerned, the appearance of open debate in our society and many others is carefully constructed illusion. In reality, Jews work together to block open debate on issues they care about and those who resist the Jewish agenda are marginalized in public discussion. These ideas are the five pillars of anti-Semitism; you don’t have to believe them all- any one will do. Being an anti-Semite does not necessarily make you a Nazi. You are an anti-Semite. That doesn’t make you a Nazi; Hitler added a sixth pillar of anti-Semitism that the only way to successfully oppose the Jewish agenda was to kill all the Jews. This idea have become so widely accepted that they are seldom questioned or examined; when that happens a whole society is poisoned and distorted. Stereotyping is one of the biggest issues in social psychology but relatively little is known about how and why stereotypes form. Conventional approaches to stereotyping assumes that stereotypes are based on erroneous and distorted processes, but others feel that they form in order to explain aspects of social groups and in particular to explain relationships between groups. In particular stereotypes have often been seen as rigid and distorted mental structure that lead people to make serious errors (McGarty et al, 2010). From a social functional point of view race is a social construction, on the one hand it has been a legitimating ideological tool to suppress and exploit specific social groups and to deny them access to material and cultural resources, work, welfare services, housing, political rights, etc. On the other hand, these affected groups have adopted the idea of race. They have turned the concept around and used it to construct an alternative positive self-identity; they have also used it as a basic for political resistance (Miles, 1993:28) and to fight for more antonomy, independence, and participation. There are several forms of stereotyping and prejudice, but I will give you examples of only three. I will explain the stereotype and elaborate on the meanings they present. Fallacious argument is the first stereotype that I will be discussing. A fallacious argument simply means false or not correct, but is usually used to describe someone being deceptively false. Fallacy is a misconception of a false belief. If someone is being fallacious they are trying to get you to fall for a fallacy (www.vocabulary-vocabulary.com). All African American men who drive big cars are drug dealers. Or if a group of African American youth or men stand around in a group they are gang bangers. This is a fallacious belief. African American men have driven large cars as long as I can remember. My uncle all my life has driven nothing but Lincoln Continentals. He is now a retired engineer from the railroad having driven trains for more than thirty years. I have friends that are firemen, teachers, and family men that wound not purchase a car if sit was not as it’s called a â€Å"Big Body.† Next, people stand around and talk, and socialize in crowds all the time, this does not mean they are gang bangers. I have made my sons stop standing around with their friends by a fence in the neighborhood because I did not want them harassed by the police if they should pass by and see them standing there. People assume the worst of people out of fear and or ignorance on their part. The next stereotype that I will discuss is one that I personally experienced. â€Å"Since you are so tall I know you can play basketball.† Being a woman of tall statue everyone assumes that I play basketball. All through Jr. High and High School my physical education teachers tried to get me to play ball. The head coach for the girls’ basketball team even tried to get me to leave band which I loved and play ball for her. I forever heard, â€Å"as tall as you are I know you can play.† I hated basketball, I still do. I never cared for the sport even when I had to play for physical education class. A person’s height and statue does not mean that they would have a passion for a sport that is l oved by others of this statue. Just because I was nearly 6 feet should not have been reason for anyone to feel that I like to play basketball. This argument is false dichotomy. False dilemma thinking or the fallacy of exhaustive hypothesis is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, which in fact there is at least one additional option. The generalization was made that since I was tall I wanted and liked to play basketball. The third and final stereotype is one that I was questioned about years ago by a good friend of mine. She was a large young lady and short which made her look even larger. She would always seem down and stand offish around a group of people that we did not know. I have always been one to speak and socialize with anyone and somewhat stylish in dress. She questioned me on an outfit that I was wearing saying that I should feel self-conscious because my back was out in the dress and that she would never wear something like that because of her size. I simply informed her that this is her problem; you (she) allow others to dictate how you feel about yourself. They say you should be ashamed or embarrassed about your looks (i.e. weight) and because of this you should act and feel this way, not true. Just because you are not a size 3 and average height does not mean you are not beautiful and should have all the esteem, and pride in yourself as anyone could muster. This argument if fallacious because the inference from the premise to the conclusion is fallacy because of mistakes in the reasoning (Mosser, K. 2010). People who felt they were discriminated against-whether based on gender, age, race, religion – all experienced significant impacts even after they were removed from the situation. The lingering effects hurt people in a very real way, leaving them at a disadvantage. Even many steps removed from a prejudicial situation, people are carrying around this baggage that negatively impacts their lives. People are aggressive in their ideologies because they are adamant in their discriminatory beliefs. Negative stereotyping does have lasting affects because this construct is generally instilled in their children and if this cyclical deterministic view is not broken, such negativity will continue to manifest. Racism and Anti-Semitism is very much alive and still a major problem in this country, and around the world. References: www.ask.com/falsedichotomy www.blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm www.Ksuweb.Kernesaw.edu/~shagin/logfal-emotion-hastygen.htm http://www.libcom.org/history/article/racism_brief-history McGarty, Craig, Spears, Bussell, Yzerbut, Vincent (1/2002), Stereotypes and Explanation Published: Cambidge University Press, Post Chester, NY, USA, Retrieved from: www.site.ebray.com/lib/ashford/docDetail?docID=10023552pg24=stereotypeing Mosser, Kurt, (2011), Logic and Introduction, San Diego, CA: Bridgeport Education, Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.content.ashford.edu/books Stereotyping has Lasting negative Impact: Prejudice has Lingering Effects Retrieved from: www.usnews.com/science/article/2010/08/12/stereotypes

My Antonia Essay: Psychoanalytic Criticism -- My Antonia Essays

Psychoanalytic Criticism of My Antonia  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract: This essay uses psychoanalysis as the strategy of interpretation to read Willa Cather's My Antonia.   Freud's well-known theory--the Oedipus complex--and Lacan's theory of the Mirror Stage are used as the modes of approaching the novel.    I use psychoanalytic criticism as a means of interpreting Willa Cather's My Antonia because I find some similarities between My Antonia and Peter Pan, between that and The Awakening when reading Keith Green's Critical Theory and Practice: A Coursebook.    In the light of Freud's Oedipus complex, like Peter Pan who sees Windy as a lover and mother, and who develops his sexual identity through this complex, Jim Burden also has a mother-like lover, Antonia, and finally comes to take his sexualized and gendered identity in this world. In the view of Lacan's Mirror Stage, like Edna Pontellier who wishes to return to her childhood memory, to return to the world of the Imaginary, in which "sometimes I feel this summer as if I were walking through the green meadow again; idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided" (Chopin 520), Jim Burden recollects his boyhood living in the great midland plain of North America where he feels he and Nature are one, but, unlike Edna who goes back and does not come back, Jim goes into the realm of the Imaginary and comes back to the Symbolic, experiencing the process of the Mirror Stage. These are the reasons why I try to apply psychoanalysis in the interpretation of the novel. General ideas will be given after t he summery of the novel.    Willa Cather's My Antonia begins with Jim Burden's "an interminable journey across the great prairie of North America" (Cather 5), a journey back ... ...one sometimes finds one's self behaving in bad dream" (Cather 158). After then, he feels he never want to see Antonia again; and he hates her as much as he hates Cutter. This accident pushes Jim to leave Antonia and to go to Lincoln for study.    The relationship between psychoanalysis and Willa Cather's My Antonia has not been defined. I hope that this essay is the first step towards seeing this wonderful novel from a new perspective.    Works Cited Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Boston: Hougton Mifflin, 1988. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 1989. 508-598. Green, Keith, and Jill Lebihan. Critical Theory & Practice: A Coursebook. New York: Routledge, 1996. Wright, Elizabeth. Psychoanalytic Criticism: Theory in Practice. New York: Methuen,1984.      

American Society of the 1950’s Essay

He is attacking the American society for not doing it earlier, as Hale is only shown to realise what is happening when it is too late. Miller’s slow build up of tension throughout the scene emphasises the emotional trauma suffered by the victims of both Salem and McCarthy. Abigail’s dramatic entry, right at the climax of the scene, has a negative effect on the audience, as they already have an idea of how evil she is, and the extent to which she will go to get what she wants. She manipulates the mind of Danforth, who she is able to overpower, making him very uneasy at times, and shows him to be â€Å"weakening†, he asks questions â€Å"apprehensively†, and at times is â€Å"dumbfounded†. This is because Abigail is the only way he can prove that he is in the right, and that years of studies have not gone to waste. By making Danforth’s character so weak, Miller is condemning the fact that McCarthy is a weak man who has a closed mind over the things he says and does. The language throughout the whole scene is very extreme, ‘Whore’, for an extreme, negative effect on the audience. Mary is shown to be ‘pleading’ with Abigail and this shows the extent o fear in the people of Salem and in America in the 1950s. Mary Warren is unable to faint when asked to, and this immediately creates tension in the audience, as they, most probably, would want her to faint in order to save Proctor and Elizabeth. Her inability to faint only strengthens Abigail’s case, and this would only strengthen what Danforth stands for. She then changes her confession to saying that she did deal with the devil, â€Å"My name, he want my name†, and goes against Proctor. Miller is showing us here how people would lie to save their own lives, and kill those who have been most helpful to them, and this criticises the American society, where people would lie in order to save their own lives. This scene would anger the audience, and make them feel hatred towards Mary, Abigail and especially Danforth, who will now definitely sign the death warrant for Elizabeth. Again, by making the hero of the play suffer Miller is expressing his hatred towards McCarthy and the people who followed him. When Abigail feels threatened, she and the other girls pretend to be attacked by the devil, in the shape of a yellow bird. Abigail tells the bird that ‘envy is a deadly sin†, and then accuses Mary of being the bird. This is ironic as Abigail is most envious of Elizabeth, and this is the only reason why the court cases have come this far. The faked attacks grow anger in the audience, as everyone knows that they are pretending, and yet the people still believe them. Miller is portraying the American society of the 1950’s as ignorant and stupid, who will believe anything the court and McCarthy believe. John Proctor is shown to be a very Christ-like figure throughout the play. In the movie version, Proctor is shown to be in water when he chases Mary Warren after she has run out of court. When everyone is against him, he stands alone in the water, almost as if he is being baptised. By showing us this, Miller is hinting at the fact that only the people who told the truth were the real ‘gods’; as Jesus Christ is believed to be in Christianity, and the others were just liars, who sacrificed their friends, or in Salem’s case, their enemies, in order to save themselves. Proctor’s confession to committing lechery, in an attempt to save his wife, is a much tensed scene. The dramatic irony of Elizabeth not knowing he has confessed, and the ‘natural lie’ she tells in order to save her husband’s name, all create suspense in the audience, as they know that the Proctor’s are innocent, and yet because of the injustice of the court, one of them, if not both, will die. Miller is again criticising McCarthy and his laws, as the innocent are dying and the guilty live. Proctor’s damning lines at the end of the play suggest that there were some good people in Salem and in America during the 1950’s-people who would give their lives for their loved ones. In the movie, Proctor is shown to be reciting the God’s Prayer just before being hanged, and it was believed that witches were not able to recite the God’s Prayer. By showing him do this, Miller is showing everyone how blatant it was that the innocent were dying, and he criticises the citizens of Salem for not realising this, in other words, he is criticising the American society. This has a negative effect on the audience, as they appreciate the injustice of McCarthy, and how the people were not doing anything to save anyone. The Crucible on a whole is a single issue play. The main plot evolves around the main characters of the play, and the other characters seem to be props to fill in the missing spaces. It is for this reason that the play lacks subtlety in both the plot and the characters, and why John Proctor is made to be the main character of the play, the only believable character that we can identify with. Having considered the dramatic nature of this scene, I believe that it criticises McCarthyism and is an attack on the American society of the 1950’s. Miller does this by repeatedly showing the Salem citizens as ignorant and unintelligent. He attacks Danforth time and time again, showing him to be weak, and yet he is able to have power over the people, only because of the fact that he has higher authority then they have. The innocent characters are the ones who are killed, and the guilty characters are the ones who get away with their crimes. This highlights the very point that during 1950’s America, there was no justice whatsoever, and the only people who ruled were those who were able to put fear into the hearts of others. Naaila Haq English Coursework 10g1 – 1 – Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Economics and United States Essay

Introduction to Allstar Brand Allstar Brand is a United States based consumer products company that produces and sells ethical (prescription) pharmaceuticals, OTC (over-the-counter or nonprescription) drugs, and consumer products. It is an $8.9 billion firm that was formed in 1924 and competes with a variety of larger and smaller firms, depending on the product market. It has a number of leading brands in various product categories. Over the years, it has expanded its product category width through internal new product development and acquisition of brands as well as companies. Allstar has operations in Europe and alliances in Asia. These have proven to be very successful markets that performing exceedingly well. But these markets are maturing very quickly, and with increased competition and slowing populations, it is now necessary to look elsewhere for continued growth and profit margins. The Allstar Board believes that to generate the kind of growth needed to drive their stock price, Allstar needs to develop a market presence in South America. South America is a region of great potential. With a population of approximately 450 million, the region represents a population that is 50 percent larger than that of the United States and Canada. The dominant national language across South America is Spanish, as is the case with Argentina. A variety of trade enhancement actions have put in place in recent years. The MERCOSUR agreement was set up among the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, including association agreements (but not membership) with Bolivia. This agreement reduces trade barriers among these countries and has encouraged a variety of companies to establish production inside their borders to take advantage of low labor costs and fairly seamless access to neighboring markets. For accounting purposes at Allstar’s corporate offices, revenues and costs are converted into US$. Therefore, fluctuations in the exchange rate will affect consolidated reports directly. Allsmile Demographics Allsmile, a toothpaste brand, is a key asset of Allstar Brands. It is one of the company’s highest recognition brands in the United States. It is produced in the United States and in Germany for the United States and European markets, respectively. A large number of stock keeping units (SKUs) are produced. South Korean and Japanese manufacturers also produce Allsmile under license for distribution and sales in Asia. There have been reformulations of the brand, but as of today, the product formulations are essentially the same across all markets for a given SKU (although there are slight differences in packaging and in the type and intensity of flavoring that are thought to reflect regional preferences). With an entrance to South America, it may end up being cost effective to build a plant in South America instead of shipping products from the United States. Current world toothpaste sales total approximately $10 billion. The largest country market for toothpaste is the United States, with $1.4 billion spent during the past year. Toothpaste is available in a number of sizes, delivery systems, textures (paste or gel), and formulations. The basic toothpaste product is a paste or gel with flavoring and one or more active ingredients that provide specific benefits to consumers. A general description of these variations in the United States market is listed below. It is important to note that not all companies produce all possible combinations as each company determines where the holes in the market are and where the most money can be made. Why Argentina? Below is a market attractiveness index for the potential countries Allstar could enter. We have listed five criteria which we believe most accurately provide the best comparative results. The importance weight displays the percentage of importance to the criteria compared other criteria. Under each country is a rating. The ratings illustrate the importance of the criteria in that specified country. The assessment combines the importance weight of the criteria’s and the overall assessment of the country. As you can see by this chart, we have determined that Argentina would be the best country to sell Allsmile toothpaste. Background on Argentina Argentina is a large country comprised of approximately 1,068,302.2 square miles, slightly smaller than 3/10 the size of the United States. It has a democratic government that was set up in 1983. It has a population of 39.9 million people of which about 49% are male and 51% are female. Of the population, 97.1% of the people ages 15 and higher can read and write. Eighty-eight percent of the population lives in urban areas. The population of Argentina is pretty steady and is only growing at 0.96%. At 97%, Argentina is comprised primarily of Spanish and Italian (white-skinned) people. The life expectancy of Argentina is quite high with males living to 76 years of age and women living to 80. The age structure of Argentina is typical of what it to be expected for a South American country. The Age Structure Chart below shows the different classifications. Argentina’s Economy Argentina currently has a strong economy compared to its neighbors. Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, and an export-oriented agricultural sector. It has a large industrial section. Over the past decade however, the country has suffered recurring economic problems of inflation, external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000 was at negative 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government’s ability to pay debts and maintain the peso’s fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a â€Å"zero deficit,† to stabilize the banking system and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. The peso’s peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated in February. The exchange rate plunged and real GDP fell by 10.9% in 2002, but by mid-year the economy had stabilized. GDP expanded by about 9% per year from 2003 to 2005. Growth is being led by a revival in domestic demand, solid exports, and favorable external conditions. The government took corrective action and boosted spending ahead of the October 2005 midterm congressional elections, but strong revenue performance allowed Argentina to maintain a budget surplus. Inflation has been rising steadily and has now reached 12.3%. The unemployment rate for Argentina is currently 11.5% which translates to businesses the people have money to purchase products. As you can see on the Market Comparison Chart below, Argentina is the leader in GDP/Capita and is second in GDP Growth and CPI Growth. Argentina’s Infrastructure Argentina, while smaller than some countries in South America, has a great infrastructure. Argentina has 21,183 miles of railways, 129,463 miles of highways, and 6,835 miles of waterways. In addition, Argentina has 11 ports and harbors and 1,333 airports. This expansive infrastructure makes doing business in Argentina very reliable and smooth. As mentioned before, Argentina falls under the MERCOSUR Agreement which allows for seamless transactions between the countries under the agreement (Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and Bolivia). This agreement reduces trade barriers among these countries and has encouraged a variety of companies to establish production inside their borders to take advantage of low labor costs and fairly seamless access to neighboring markets. The chart below shows the benefits of doing business in Argentina. It also points out the extra costs of doing business outside this agreement. When deciding whether to build a plant in Argentina, we recommend looking at another country. It is important to take into effect all factors. For example, one may at first glance think Mexico is the most suitable to manufacturing, and this may be the case if the company was going to do business in the United States or Canada. However, when doing business in South America, it is important to stay within whichever trade agreement you will be doing business under. Otherwise, high tariffs and duties will blanket your company. It is also very important to look at means of distribution, specifically shipping. The table below shows the per unit costs for shipping toothpaste from various manufacturing locations, assuming the usual shipping mode for each origin – destination combination. As you will notice, having a plant in the United States is not so valuable because imports to Latin America come with a high price on shipping comparatively from shipping from within Latin America. As mentioned earlier, it is of great importance to note that in addition to shipping originating within Latin America, one also has no import duties or tariffs if shipping is done within the regional shipping agreements, such as is the case with the MERCOSUR agreement. Distribution channels in Latin America have traditionally been grouped into four categories: traditional, self-serve, hypermarket, and newly emerging is web purchases. Traditional channels are small, independent stores or open market areas almost exclusively served by wholesalers (indirect distribution). Self-serve is a more developed store where customers serve themselves, but that typically offers a narrow line of merchandise. These may be independent or part of a regional chain but are almost all locally owned. Convenience stores and grocery stores would fall in this category. Hypermarkets are a new style of channel that is found primarily in cities. These are usually large stores with a wide variety of goods and typically purchase items directly from the manufacturer (direct distribution). Many of the hypermarket chains are foreign owned or allied with a global distributor, such as Wal-Mart or Carrefour. The chart below shows the toothpaste distribution within each channel.

How To Use Neuromarketing To Connect With Your Audience With Roger Dooley

How To Use Neuromarketing To Connect With Your Audience With Roger Dooley What triggers your readers to buy? How can you write better calls to action and get more conversions? Today we’re going to be talking to Roger Dooley, the brains behind the book Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers With Neuromarketing. He also writes the Neuromarketing blog and regularly contributes to Entrepreneur and Forbes about neuromarketing. What is neuromarketing, and how can you use it to connect with your audience and get better results? That’s what we’re going to be talking to Roger about today. You won’t want to miss it! How Roger defines neuromarketing, the different types of neuromarketing, and how large and small businesses take advantage of the different types. Some of the principles of why neuromarketing techniques work, including social proof, authority, and reciprocity. Roger’s thoughts on case studies, emotions, and the words that potential customers and marketing professionals use. Why it’s important to understand your target buyer’s unconscious needs as well as their conscious needs. Roger’s best tips on building trust with your audience. How to turn your fans into buyers and how to create effective calls to action. Roger’s advice to a marketer who is just starting out in learning about and implementing some neuromarketing techniques. Links: Brainfluence Neuromarketing blog Roger on Entrepreneur Roger on Forbes Robert Cialdini’s Pre-Suasion The Persuasion Slide Perennial Seller If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Roger: â€Å"Even if you are a small business and you can’t afford to do costly studies, you do have the ability to run different kinds of tests in your app or on your website and see what works best.† â€Å"That person who’s purchasing the product may have certain conscious needs but there are also unconscious needs that the buyer probably is less concerned about.† â€Å"Behavioral psychology, in particular, is important. Those are the things that don’t cost any money to apply.†

Sue Monk Kidd, Author of The Secret Life of Bees

Sue Monk Kidd, Author of 'The Secret Life of Bees' Sue Monk Kidd (born August 12, 1948) spent the early days of her writing career penning memoirs, going on to publish her first novel,  The Secret Life of Bees, in 2002. Kidds career has spanned genres of contemplative spirituality, feminist theology, and fiction.   Fast Facts: Sue Monk Kidd Known For: Bestselling novelistBorn: August 12, 1948, in Sylvester, GeorgiaParents:  Leah and Ridley MonkEducation: Texas Christian University, Emory UniversityPublished Works:  The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter StorySpouse: Sanford KiddChildren: Ann and BobNotable Quote: â€Å"It is the peculiar nature of the world to go on spinning no matter what sort of heartbreak is happening.†Ã‚   Early Life Raised in Sylvester, a rural town in Georgia, Kidd was the daughter of an imaginative, story-telling father. She knew early on that she wanted to be a writer. She cites Thoreaus Walden and Kate Chopins The Awakening as early influences that would eventually lead to a writing career rooted in spirituality. In 1970, Kidd earned a B.S. degree from Texas Christian University in nursing. During her 20s, she worked as a registered nurse and a college nursing instructor at the Medical College of Georgia. Kidd married  Sanford â€Å"Sandy† Kidd, with whom she had two children. Early Literary Work When she decided to enroll in writing classes, Kidd and her family were living in South Carolina where her husband taught at a small liberal arts college. Her goal was to write fiction, but she began her career writing nonfiction inspirational pieces, many of which she published in Guideposts Magazine, where she eventually became a contributing editor. Spiritual searching ensued, which Kidd chronicled in her first book, Gods Joyful Surprise (1988). Two years later in 1990, her second spiritual memoir followed, entitled  When the Heart Waits. Spiritual Publications While in her 40s, Kidd turned her attention to a study of feminist spirituality, resulting in another memoir,  The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (1996). The book recounts her spiritual journey from a Baptist upbringing to non-traditional feminist spiritual experiences. Novels and Memoirs Kidd is best known for her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees (2002), in which she tells the coming-of-age story- set in 1964- of a 14-year-old girl and her black housekeeper, a modern classic that spent over two years on The New York Times bestseller list, has been published in 35 countries, and is now taught in college and high school classrooms. In 2005, Kidd followed with The Mermaid Chair, the story of a middle-aged married woman who falls in love with a Benedictine monk. Like The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair uses its female protagonist to explore spiritual themes. The Mermaid Chair was also a long-time bestseller and won the  2005 Quill Award for General Fiction. Shortly thereafter, Firstlight, a collection of Kidds early writings, was published by Guideposts Books in 2006 and by Penguin in 2007.   Kidd co-authored her next memoir with her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor after they traveled together in France, Greece, and Turkey. The resulting  Traveling with Pomegranates  (2009) appeared on The New York Times list and has been published in several languages. Her third novel,  The Invention of Wings, was published in 2014 by Viking and remained on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list for more than six months. The winner of several literary awards,  The Invention of Wings  won the SIBA Book Award and was selected for Oprahs Book Club 2.0. It has been translated into 24 languages and sold over one million copies.   Her entire collection of writings to date include: Gods Joyful Surprise (1988)When the Heart Waits (1990)The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (1996)The Secret Life of Bees (2002)The Mermaid Chair (2005)Firstlight: The Early Inspirational Writings of Sue Monk Kidd  (2006)Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France  (with Ann Kidd Taylor) (2009)The Invention of Wings (2014) Sources Bryfonski, Dedria.  Coming of Age in Sue Monk Kidds Secret Life of Bees.  Greenhaven Press, 2013.Sue Monk Kidd, 30 Sept. 2018.â€Å"Sue Monk Kidd.†Ã‚  New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Scotch Tape and Inventor Richard Drew

Scotch Tape and Inventor Richard Drew Scotch tape was invented in 1930 by banjo-playing 3M engineer Richard Drew. Scotch tape was the worlds first transparent adhesive tape. Drew also invented the first masking tape in 1925- a 2-inch-wide tan paper tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing. Richard Drew - Background In 1923, Drew joined the 3M company located in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the time, 3M only made sandpaper. Drew was product testing 3Ms Wetordry brand sandpaper at a local auto body shop, when he noticed that auto painters were having a hard time making clean dividing lines on two-color paint jobs. Richard Drew was inspired to invent the worlds first masking tape in 1925, as a solution to the auto painters dilemma. Brandname Scotch The brand name Scotch came about while Drew was testing his first masking tape to determine how much adhesive he needed to add. The body shop painter became frustrated with the sample masking tape and exclaimed, Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it! The name was soon applied to the entire line of 3M tapes. Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape was invented five years later. Made with a nearly invisible adhesive, the waterproof transparent tape was made from  oils, resins, and rubber; and had a coated backing. According to 3M Drew, a young 3M engineer, invented the first waterproof, see-through, pressure-sensitive tape, thus supplying an attractive, moisture-proof way to seal food wrap for bakers, grocers, and meat packers. Drew sent a trial shipment of the new Scotch cellulose tape to a Chicago firm specializing in package printing for bakery products. The response was, Put this product on the market! Shortly after, heat sealing reduced the original use of the new tape. However, Americans in a depressed economy discovered they could use the tape to mend a wide variety of things like torn pages of books and documents, broken toys, ripped window shades, even dilapidated currency. Besides using  Scotch  as a prefix in its brand names (Scotchgard,  Scotchlite and  Scotch-Brite), the company also used the Scotch name for its (mainly professional) audiovisual magnetic tape products, until the early 1990s when the tapes were branded solely with the 3M logo.  In 1996, 3M exited the magnetic tape business, selling its assets. John A Borden - Tape Dispenser John A Borden, another 3M engineer, invented the first tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade in 1932. Scotch Brand Magic Transparent Tape  was invented in 1961, an almost invisible tape that never discolored and could be written on. Scotty McTape Scotty McTape, a  kilt-wearing  cartoon  boy, was the brands  mascot  for two decades, first appearing in 1944.  The familiar  tartan  design, a take on the well-known  Wallace  tartan, was introduced in 1945. Other Uses In 1953, Soviet scientists showed that  triboluminescence  caused by peeling a roll of an unidentified Scotch brand tape in a  vacuum  can produce  X-rays.  In 2008, American scientists performed an experiment that showed the rays can be strong enough to leave an X-ray image of a finger on  photographic paper.

Drawing on the literature, critically discuss the positive and Essay

Drawing on the literature, critically discuss the positive and negative factors that may directly or indirectly influence services workers job performance - Essay Example This is because; the potential buyers formulate their own perceptions regarding the organization and its service quality on grounds of its staff efficiency and service performance (Brown, et al., 2002). This research paper aims to critically analyze the positive and negative impacts of service worker’s job performance. It is highly rational to conduct this critical analysis because it aims to estimate the factors that might both directly and indirectly influence the quality of working within a service providing organization. In this era of â€Å"consumerism†, the firms aim to maximize utility of its potential buyers and hence their business revenue. However, it should be noted that customers satisfaction derived from the products or services of an organization considerably depends on the quality of services provided by the employees of the company. Thus, from the analysis and implications of this essay, managerial authorities of different companies can eradicate the pot ential problems faced by them in human resource management and hence improve the quality of their working in long run (Brown, et al., 2002). Economists treat labour resource of an organization as a type of capital. This is because a worker earns money with the help of acquired education, work experience and knowledge. Originally human capital was perceived to be a microeconomic concept but over time its implications are also linked up with the field of macroeconomics. Lucas introduced the â€Å"New Growth Theory† of economics and claimed that human capital productivity and economic growth is directly proportional to each other (Brown, et al., 2002). A rise in the efficiency level of human capital helps to augment economic surplus procured by the profit making firms within a country and finally leads to growth of its national domestic productivity level. Researchers have stated that quality of schooling, educational level of parents, before and on-the-job training significantly influences the

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Economics - Essay Example b. The Fed fund rate averages at 7.10% during the 1970s, 9.97% during the 1980s, 5.15% during the 1990s, and 3.25% during the 2000-2007. The huge differences in the means of Fed fund rates can be explained by the differences in economic and monetary policies adhered by the different chairmen of the Federal Reserve. c. The Fed fund rate reached its maximum during January 1981 at 19.08% which is during the administration of Paul Volcker. Compared to the other Federal Reserve chairman, Volcker has been reputed as an inflation hawk who is more concerned on fighting inflation compared to a dove whose main concern is unemployment. This perception requires him to set the Fed fund rate at higher levels to fight stagflation. d. Fed fund rate is lowest during December 2003 at 0.98% due to the strong performance of the US economy. In fact this period saw the strongest economic development in the economy in nearly two decades. It can be recalled that during this period, the inflation targeting monetary policy has been adopted by the US. f. The Federal fund rate and ten-year Treasury bill rates tend to move apart as shown in the graph above. It should be noted that increases in Fed fund rates is simultaneous with declines in ten-year Treasury bill rates. g. The Federal Reserve solely influences the level of Fed fund rate. It should be noted that this is set during Federal Open Market Committee meetings depending on the agenda and economic situation of the United States. h. The ten-year Treasury bill rate is set by different variables in the economy like the real interest rates and inflation. The Fed can indirectly influence T-bill rates by affecting the monetary variables mentioned

What impact, if any, are sculpture parks and gardens having on the art Essay

What impact, if any, are sculpture parks and gardens having on the art world of today - Essay Example Jean-Francois Lyotard argues that realism in art is a form of conformism, and that the task of the modern artist is to produce â€Å"incommunicable statements† which cannot be fitted in to the easy flow of information within computerized society. In his ‘Appendix Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?’, published at the end of The Postmodern Condition, he wrote that the â€Å"only definition† of realism is that â€Å"it intends to avoid the question of reality implicated in that art† (1979). It is associated in this account with those who â€Å"pursue successful careers in mass conformism by communicating by means of the ‘correct rules,’ the endemic desire for reality with objects and situations capable of gratifying it† (Lyotard, 1979, p. 75). This uncritical use of established methods of representation is contrasted with ‘avant-garde’ art, which, he argues, uses experimental innovations in technique and stru cture to attempt â€Å"to make visible that there is something which can be conceived and which can neither be seen nor made visible† (Lyotard, 1979, p. 78). This â€Å"something that can be conceived but not seen nor made visible† is often referred to as the sublime, a quality of transcendent greatness â€Å"with which nothing else can be compared and which is beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement or imitation† (Wikipedia, 2006). The presence of this sublime element, then, inspires the imagination in a specific direction based on which elements remain visible or understandable.

Social Responsibility in Coffee Industry and High Street Retailing Essay

Social Responsibility in Coffee Industry and High Street Retailing - Essay Example In case of the international supply chain, a major problem emerges from the difference in religion. Another persistent problem is the infringement of intellectual property rights, especially when production is shifted from one location to another. It is often a matter of debate between the companies and middlemen regarding their fair share in the value creation process. Adhering to corporate social responsibilities poses to be a challenge in both these sectors and therein lay the main ethical problems (Schlegelmilch and Ãâ€"berseder, 2007). Even so, in the coffee manufacturing industry, problems pertaining to agriculture and distribution of end products are considered to be the main issues of supply chain management; whereas, in high-end retailing, the problems are mainly related to labor injustice and lack of adequate facilities. In comparison, ethical problems in coffee industry are lower in number since only the agricultural and distribution aspects are labor intensive. The more labor-intensive an industry is, the more are the issues relating to ethics, which is the case of retailing. However, most of these issues can be dealt with if interests of each group are well-managed. Case study and research play a significant role in this regard (Barrientos, 2012). The needs of interest groups and the way to deliver the same must be carefully thought upon and executed. Interest groups here refer to different parties involved in the business such as suppliers, logistics providers, and consumers. Consumers are often not satisfied with the increased use of biotechnology in coffee production, whereby fertilizers and high growth organic supplements are used to improve production. Studies reveal that they pose threats to the health. Under such a scenario, it is justified for consumers to be agitated. Therefore, it becomes a matter of consideration for producers to reduce the usage of chemicals in production as much as possible. Many companies have also chosen the path of outsourcing their production work to more than one nation. This lowers the labor pressure as well as generates employment opportunities in other nations. For instance, if companies decide to outsource garment production to not only Bangladesh but also to countries like Thailand and H ong Kong, it will reduce the high work pressure in Bangladesh (Isen, 2012).

Film Analysis Paper-Sunrise(1927) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Film Analysis Paper-Sunrise(1927) - Essay Example Sunrise successfully utilized mise en scà ¨ne to contrast the fast paced city lifestyle vs. cozy country lifestyle, as well as the different characteristics of the actors, to show that true love is the only way to help the man get out of evil seduction. The settings were a mix of real locations and artificial sets. Either way, they provided a perfect background to the scenes. John Bailey, the movie’s cinematographer, explained that the marsh was a studio set, the train in the first scene was a model made to look large in the foreground, the extras were real people and the projected city was from a matte drawing (Ebert: para 12 & 13). The rest of the settings were real. In most cases, the final product was manipulated with camera tricks, creating an imagery of dreaminess. For example, there were scenes where superimposed, ghost-like images were added. One scene showed the man being surrounded by the image of the woman from the city, but she was not physically present. Another scene showed exciting activities in the city with dancers and musicians providing the promised fun, but these images seemed to merely float in a void. Bailey explains that such images were borne out of creative camera use. The camera men used the advance d trick of that time of masking and exposing, controlling the lens and counting the individual frames where they would apply the trick. The finished product was clean without any hint of roughness. It is impressive that all these were done several decades ago when digital technology was not yet in existence, so talent and creativity played major roles in the genius of film makers then. In the city setting, several long shots were taken to shoot the scenes. This was to capture all the action that goes on in one frame. This strategy saved the time and effort to show how busy everyone was in the city, so viewers can get a feel of the

Social Responsibility in Coffee Industry and High Street Retailing Essay

Social Responsibility in Coffee Industry and High Street Retailing - Essay Example In case of the international supply chain, a major problem emerges from the difference in religion. Another persistent problem is the infringement of intellectual property rights, especially when production is shifted from one location to another. It is often a matter of debate between the companies and middlemen regarding their fair share in the value creation process. Adhering to corporate social responsibilities poses to be a challenge in both these sectors and therein lay the main ethical problems (Schlegelmilch and Ãâ€"berseder, 2007). Even so, in the coffee manufacturing industry, problems pertaining to agriculture and distribution of end products are considered to be the main issues of supply chain management; whereas, in high-end retailing, the problems are mainly related to labor injustice and lack of adequate facilities. In comparison, ethical problems in coffee industry are lower in number since only the agricultural and distribution aspects are labor intensive. The more labor-intensive an industry is, the more are the issues relating to ethics, which is the case of retailing. However, most of these issues can be dealt with if interests of each group are well-managed. Case study and research play a significant role in this regard (Barrientos, 2012). The needs of interest groups and the way to deliver the same must be carefully thought upon and executed. Interest groups here refer to different parties involved in the business such as suppliers, logistics providers, and consumers. Consumers are often not satisfied with the increased use of biotechnology in coffee production, whereby fertilizers and high growth organic supplements are used to improve production. Studies reveal that they pose threats to the health. Under such a scenario, it is justified for consumers to be agitated. Therefore, it becomes a matter of consideration for producers to reduce the usage of chemicals in production as much as possible. Many companies have also chosen the path of outsourcing their production work to more than one nation. This lowers the labor pressure as well as generates employment opportunities in other nations. For instance, if companies decide to outsource garment production to not only Bangladesh but also to countries like Thailand and H ong Kong, it will reduce the high work pressure in Bangladesh (Isen, 2012).

High proven Diet Food Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

High proven Diet Food - Assignment Example There have been differences in consideration of what is high protein diet. Diets that have 30% proteins have been mostly considered as just reasonable amounts of proteins. The ones that have 50% or more are the ones that are actually considered as the ones with high protein diets. The doctors also point out the fact that diets that are high in protein and are moderate in carbs are mostly considered by experts to be able to help people reduce their blood fats. The high protein foods also assist in the maintenance of lean tissue while still burning the body fats for fuel (Bailey, 1991). Study carried out left researchers wondering how the protein works towards reducing appetite. Some think that this may be made possible by the fact that the proteins enable the brain to acquire very minimal levels of hormones that stimulate appetite. This is the main reason brought to the frontline in this discussion. Though the findings still remain inconclusive and the doubt still lingers on the mind of the researchers. The jury is still out on the other findings that arose from the research carried out to determine how the protein intake can work towards the reduction of appetite among the people who maintain protein intake. The study further tends to explain the fact that small amounts of insulin are possibly influenced to facilitate less sugar level fluctuations that in effect lead to fewer instances of cravings. The result may be arrived at by eating fewer carbs, or even when individual proteins facilitate brain chemistry to control hunger hormones (Katan, 1997). Further research done by scientific researchers point out that people should boost levels of protein in diet. New research hints at the possibility that protein has the ability to satisfy hunger, better more as compared to carbohydrates or even fats. During the duration of study, individuals were taken through a sort of diet whereby fat intake was reduced while protein levels increased. The same diet had 50% carbs. It was later discovered that these individuals were more satisfied, had lost weight and were less hungry. On further field, a similar study carried out on the effect of such high levels of proteins mixed with exercise. The people who participated in this study had lost much weight and had raised levels of blood fat (Bailey, 1991). The essential explanation given that makes proteins necessary elements for the body is that protein is good for growth. It is necessary in all stages of life as it constitutes the major elements of the cells such as bone and muscles. Proteins are needed for development, growth as well as the immunity needed to assist in fighting off diseases and for the protection of the body. Patients who want to stay healthy enough to enable them fight diseases as well as to assist in controlling the body size (Katan, 1997). Recommendations from DRI, which deals majorly with dietary information, state that a wide range of protein intake should be implemented. The recomme nded range should be between 10% and 35% of all the calories for the normal adult. This means that that on a diet of 1800 calories, it is safe to consume between 45 and 218 grams daily of protein. Further recommendations state that men should have an average intake of 56 grams in a day while women should strive to have an average intake of 46 grams so as to enjoy the benefits. There is no confirmed danger that can arise

The National Association for the Education of Young Children Essay Example for Free

The National Association for the Education of Young Children Essay The elementary school teacher decided to integrate reading and writing into geometry lessons to improve the scores of students. In particular, the students had to use the names of geometric objects as well as their other attributes to write the poems. The experiment has shown a significant improvement in geometry scores. Making children more involved with the task at hand and making tasks more interesting were the main reasons for improvement in scores. The author confirmed my personal belief that the children will only learn school subjects better if they are personally involved with them on some level. In this scenario, they liked writing poems because they thought the poems were fun. They gladly extended their knowledge of geometry to use it in their poems. However, geometry is a difficult subject to learn for many people, not just children. I suspect the main reason is because it seems to be boring. By making geometry fun, we can easily enhance our learning and make our learning sessions more productive. Having been a student myself for many years, I agree with the author that the first priority in learning should be placed on getting a person to be more involved with the task. The best way to do it is to make the task interesting. The author proves that even the most â€Å"boring† school subjects can become suddenly interesting if we will tie them to some interesting activity. This experiment sheds some light on how effective learning occurs. It seems as if the most effective learning takes place when we experiment with different ways of looking at things, and we try to extend our observations beyond what we normally see. This article plays a very important role in understanding the learning process in our brains.

Companies That Use Flexitime And The Benefits Experience Management Essay

Companies That Use Flexitime And The Benefits Experience Management Essay There are many challenges today within the workplace facing human resources management and how people are managed. The business climate has been turbulent such as the global recession, competition in pricing as well as laws concerning employment strengthening the case for new initiatives to be enforced. As a result, the human resources management team have provided a booklet on issues concerning the benefits and drawbacks of four key subject areas such as the graduate assessment centres, absenteeism through a punitive approach, performance related pay and flexitime as a flexible working option. This will also include facts and figures illustrating the importance of each topic as well as defining key areas in order for MW Associates to make a decision about how to deal with these HR issues when they establish their new leisure operation. What is Flexible Working? Flexible working can be and has been defined in variety of different ways. For example according to CIPD Factsheet (2010) flexible working is described as working arrangements between the employee and their employer in terms of working time and working patterns. Flexible working has also been defined as the ability a company can employ people when and where required in the interest of everyone Pettinger (2002, p5). Flexitime Flexitime working arrangement is an arrangement that allows employees to choose the start and finish times they wish to work, according to the given parameters. The working arrangement of flexitime being offered to employees began in the 1970s and was mostly common in the public sector according to IRS (2007). According the IRS survey of 2007 on flexitime and other working arrangements, organisations where men make up 60% of the workforce are much more likely to offer their employees flexitime arrangements to those with either with other genders. It is suggested that in order for a flexitime arrangement to work it will rely on the goodwill and trust, as well as good monitoring and good management (XpertHR professional, 2005). Companies that use flexitime and the Benefits experience BT British Telecommunications (BT) is one of UK most known and recognised brand, and is also known for providing product and services in over 170countries worldwide (BT, 2010). BT is also one of the UK leading companies in providing employees the options of flexible working arrangements such as flexitime. A report by the Family Friendly Working Hour Taskforce of 2009 found out that BT retention of their employees improved with the percentage(over the last five years)of its UK female employees returning to work after taking maternity leave reached 90.99%, saving the company  £5million a year in recruitments and inductions (Family Friendly Working Hour Taskforce, 2009). City Sightseeing Glasgow City Sightseeing Glasgow is another company that found the benefits of providing their workforce flexitime as a form of working arrangement, twice a year in the summer and winter season. The imitative was originally for older employee who wanted to reduce or change their working pattern, however due to the success of the initiative the company expand it to the entire workforce. The company saw absenteeism levels drop, retention rate increase to 90-95% and expand their recruitment market among students and women want to return to work (Family Friendly Working Hour Taskforce, 2009). LillyUK A Human Resource Management International Digest article (2005) highlighted that LillyUK one of the worlds largest research-based pharmaceutical companies, has been making flexible working arrangements available to their employee since 1996. The article reports that one of the working arrangements that Lilly offers to their employees is flexitime, and since the introduction of the arrangement the company had noticed they were able to attract more high-caliber recruits by 30%. Other forms of Flexible Working Arrangements The graph below illustrates the finding of IRS survey (2010) of the forms of flexible working arrangements, and their popularity with organisations. The Graph above shows the forms of flexible working arrangement that companies offered in 2009 and as shown part time working was the preferred method of arrangement with 93%, and with flexitime with 54%. Pros and Cons of Flexible working Arrangements CONS PRO Social factors are sources of disadvantage, working suffering from isolation and not feeling part of an organisation. Foot (2005.p183). Workers on flexible contracts tend to be more emotionally engaged, more satisfied with their work, more likely to speak positively about their organisation and less likely to quit. (CIPD,2010) A flexible workforce is harder to manage and impose higher administrative costs in areas such as recruitment. Hendry(1995.p401) Provides a pool of staff that can be called upon to work at short notice. (IRS, 2009) The company may have difficulty of maintaining staff development and upgrading skills. (Businesslink, 2010) Enables employees to achieve a better work-life balance.  (CIPD,2010) The Potential Drawbacks and Challenges presented should MW Associates choose to implement Flexible Working Arrangement In order for MW Associates to implement flexible working arrangement such as flexitime within their organisation they would have to overcome the challenges that would be presented to them, this could come in the form of line managers being reluctant to accept flexible working arrangement. Flexible working arrangements may have affect communications between line managers and employees, so it would important for MW Associates ensure that they establish a clear process for how flexible working works in  the organisation. CIPD, 2010 Performance Related Pay- The Benefits and Challenges According to Foot and Hook (2008) performance related pay is a term that is closely linked with relationship between an individuals pay progressions to his or her level of competence. It seeks to be a tool for motivation. This pay scheme is now popular in many organisations since being introduced in the 1980s, according to MW Gilman (1998) the average proportion of employees covered by an organisations IPRP scheme to be in the range of 70%- 80%, suggesting that this is the most beneficial way to get people to work to their best. Though, the CIPD recent reward management report (2009) again records the popularity of individual based bonuses and incentive plans at 61% as the highest way to reward its employees. Companies/ Sectors that use PRP and the Benefits experienced Chelsea Football Club- Supervisors are encouraged to reward staff who work exceptionally well and go the extra mile each game with a star, this is an extra  £15.00 on top of the basic pay. This is very beneficial for the company as some employees will perform better than others in order to get the extra reward, therefore the company will get the best output possible out of their employees. Staffs do what is asked of them when asked to do so. People are only working hard because they know there is a possibility of a reward, not because they want to or is required as part of the job. The Pros The Cons The reward will motivate some staff to work harder. Supervisors can be bias without realising and the reward to friends or the same people. If the same people are getting the reward consistently, the organisation will recognise this and it will give them an idea of who to promote. Although you get an extra  £15.00, for those who get taxed it doesnt make much of a difference as it is taken in tax. (Primary Research, Samantha Koranteng, 2010) NHS Consultants- Clinical Excellence Awards The ACCEA (Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards) give Clinical Excellence Awards to recognise and reward the exceptional contribution of NHS Consultants who work over and above that normally expected in the job to the values and goals of the NHS and to patients care. The Cons The Pros The committee offers 3 bands, Bronze, Silver and Gold this is good because it makes it more accessible and highlights a good range that consultants can reach, in effect it makes it fairer. The fact that you have to apply for it suggests that its not an automatic recognition, the long process and stages may deter qualified candidates from applying. Consultants can apply for the scheme on their own behalf so the scheme can have a large volume of applicants. (Department of Health, 2010) Local Education Authorities-Teachers In teaching there are pay scales that are dependent on performance, provided performance is satisfactory the teachers pay will go up a grade, once on the highest grade through recommendation they can move up to a higher grade. Teachers may become too target orientated and forget that there job is to educate. This can identify teachers that are unsatisfactory and training can be provided to make them to the standard The Pros The Cons (Christine Blower, acting NUT general secretary. May 2008) The Potential Drawbacks and Challenges presented should MW Associates choose to implement such HR Approaches MW Associates should pose a policy whereby employees know they have security of their earnings and a contract that states there is a minimum level or fall back rate, this will not be difficult to do however MW Associates need to highlight how much employees will gain after they have exceeded the standard or basic level of work asked for. The organisation also needs to clearly devise a method of analysis that can fairly and ethically distinguish between the better performances of one employee to another. Alternatively they could introduce a bonus scheme where the incentives are non monetary, they could offer days off work, paid holidays or organised staff social gatherings. Managing absence through a `punitive approach` is this effective and what are the alternatives? Absence can be seen as a problem to many organisations with short term absence being largely unprepared compared to long term absence. Although, many organisations use appraisals with regards to performance management in helping employees develop and learn more about the business in order to prevent absenteeism. According to NSW Nurses Association (2010), absenteeism can be defined as when an employee is constantly or continuously failing to attend work as scheduled, in particular, when their absence forms a pattern which suggests that the employee is dissatisfied with their work or that their absence could have been avoided. Absenteeism can be also considered grounds for dismissal according to Redgoldfish, (2010). It is important to manage absence because of the loss of money concerning indirect costs such as the replacement of staff, loss of labour and production as well as costs to the business regarding its reputation. These are just some of the factors in why management of absen ce is important. Forms of Short -Term Long term Absence Short- term Absence Long term Absence According to (Travel Trade Recruitment, 2009) being more and more persistent time off work According to (Visual Human Resources 2009) definition long term sickness absence here is any absence lasting more than ten consecutive days. Unauthorised absence for any reason Consultation with the employee Lateness An assessment of alternative employment being offered (e.g. reduction hrs, home based Sickness / injury Medical investigation into sickness Facts Figures / Costs of absence Short term absence is harder to manage because it is largely unplanned. There are many factors involved concerning absence this can be seen as health problems such as smoking, heart disease or a good night out unable to get up to attend work the next day. Factors such as stress or the responsibility of bringing up children as well transportation far away from your place of work can be seen as absence related. The psychological contract (Guest, 2002) is related to absence for example, this can be seen as a psychological contract which may be imprinted inside the employees or employers head rather than an actual contract. For example, the employee could punish the employer by not attending work because they are unhappy with the organisation. In any case managing absence is an important factor now as sickness absence costs UK employers 11.6 billion a year according to People Management (2010). Many organisations lose much capital having to replace staff, loss of labour and production, poor customer service, as well low morale and bad reputation. However, (CIPD, 2009) review short-term absence shows that many companies are implementing return-to-work interviews (83% of organisations), followed by trigger systems to review attendance (74%), and the provision of sickness absence information to line managers (73%) and the use of disciplinary procedures (73%). Another key way to manage absence is through accurate measurement and monitoring so that the organisations can make an assessment to tackle any problems they may have. However, the Bradford factor is like a calculator and has helped reduce absenteeism by 20% such as creating triggers whereby action is taken. The average number of days absent per employee, per year is 6.5 days with average cost of absence each employee per year is  £754.00 (Bradford factor, 2010). Punitive approach The punitive approach in dealing with absence is about teaching employees discipline. This can be seen as lateness, authorized absence and behaviour. It is like having a parent to nurture the employee and to learn respect, compassion as well as taking responsibility. This can be seen as the harsh approach such as reduced pay through absence by using discipline. Other factors such as performance feedback can be used, corrective actions and effective communication. PROS CONS Clear about what is expected Few opportunities for progression Can identify when someone needs help Ineffective management Support employees make the work interesting Monotonous jobs The Council / Local Boroughs Policies are more generous with regards to absence compared to the private sector. Although most absence is short term there is criticism for the high level of sick leave from council staff. The procedure of conducting back to work interviews has now been implemented across the board (Nutt, 2009). DVLA This can be seen again in the public sector with many taking duvet days those feeling hung over or unable to face a days work. However, a punitive approach is taken concerning the official term for this form of leave, then deducted from the employees holiday entitlement (Watts, 2007). Tesco As a private organisation as big as this seen as one of Britains biggest retailer they have introduced no pay for the first three days off sick, not to penalise people being ill but to discourage those taking the odd day (Ryle, 2004). The Potential Drawbacks and Challenges presented should MW Associates choose to implement In order to manage absence it can be suggested that MW associates implement the encouragement of team work which will lead to more commitment within the working environment working as a team. To make the tasks more interesting as well as training and good management control procedures with the odd reward for attendance. What is a Graduate Assessment Centres? According to Colman (2010) Assessment Centers is defined as a variety of testing techniques designed to allow candidates to demonstrate, under standardized conditions, the skills and abilities that are most essential for success in a given job(Coleman, 2010, p.3). The assessment centre approach involves using a battery or range of selection tolls that simulate the relevant attributes, skills and competencies required in the job. (Peter et al, 2004, p.95). Type of Activities used in Assessment centres There are many types of activities are being used in assessment centres depending on the company. But the core ones which are generally used include; In-basket exercises, leaderless group discussion, role-playing, behavioural interview. (George Scott, 2010, p.204). The IRS survey (2009/10) identified assessment centre is the most effective selection method. In the year 2010 almost 75% of graduate recruiters rate assessment centres as their single most effective selection method. The use of assessment centre rises from 52.7% to 95.2%. (IRS survey,2010) How effective are your organizations assessment centres in identifying the best candidate(s) for a position? Very effective 47 Fairly effective 48 Fairly ineffective 4 Very ineffective (source: IRS survey) Reliability Validity The key issues in an assessment centre are the reliability and validity as similar test are administered to the same person on two separate occasions the results could be very similar unless something has changed the individual. The reliability of assessment centre is much greater than single interview. (Peter et al, 2004, p.95). Validity that shows the extent to which the test is providing useful information related to the job. There are five types of validity; face validity predictive validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, content validity. (Peter et al, 2004, p.95).The table bellow suggests that assessment centres are the most effective method of selection, predicting effectively how a candidate is likely to perform in a job approaching 70 per cent of the time.( Derek et al, 2009. P.94) The table of selection method and predictive validity Selection Method Predictive Validity Usage (%)* Assessment centre 0.68 47 Structured interviews 0.62 88 Work samples 0.55 80 Ability test 0.54 72 Personality questionnaires 0.38 56 Unstructured interviews 0.31 92

A History of the 714th Tank Battalion Essay -- United States History H

A History of the 714th Tank Battalion, 1942-45 The men of the 714th Tank Battalion served their country in its greatest time of need. A key element of the 12th Armored Division, the 714th fought in harsh conditions against a desperate German enemy for five consecutive months, driving the Nazi Armies from France and back into the German heartland. The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942 at a freshly built Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and soldiers from across the nation began arriving to fill the division's ranks on 24 October 1942. The governors of both Kentucky and Tennessee participated in the activation ceremonies, in which Major General Carlos Brewer was named commander of the forming division. Young Roy Zerby was drafted away from his job of washing cars in Bellafonte, Pennsylvania, to eventually become Sergeant Zerby, Communications Chief for Company D, 714th Tank Battalion. Sergeant Zerby postponed his dream of a better job and livelihood to serve his country. Others like Alvin L. Cooper of Northampton, Massachusetts, volunteered "two steps ahead of the draft board" in order to avoid the National Conscription Act. Cooper quit his position as a Glazing Machine Operator at the International Silver Company and left his Public Accounting classes to become a Surgical Technician in the 714th Battalion's Medical Detachment. A month after graduating from high school in June of 1940, young Othal T. Parsons joined the army to "serve my country, beat the draft, and become a bigshot." He was lured by the Army recruiting posters clarioning "I WANT YOU." Parsons worked his way up through four different armored divisions as an enlisted man until he became Second Lieutenant Othal T. Parsons, Mortar Pla... ...r Brownwood." Hellcat News, 20 July 1944. "Hellcat Nickname Now Deserved, Division Thanks." The Stars and Stripes, 10 March 1945. "Hellcats Take Field for Intensive Training." Hellcat News, 30 March 1944. Malis, Steve. "Armor of the 12th Played Role in Hastening V-E." Beachhead News, 14 July 1945. Parsons, Othal T. Interview by author, 17 April 1995. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. "Tank Gunnery Program Gets Official Praise." Hellcat News, 9 March 1944. Zerby, Roy M. Interview by author, 10 April 1995. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. Zerby, Roy M. Interview by author, 28 March 1996. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas.

Service Marketing Management

TITLE PAGE Subject:   Ã‚  Ã‚  MKT8003 Service Marketing Management Assignment 1 (Individual assignment) Title of Assignment:   Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketing Audit Report – Camp Five Sdn Bhd Total Word Count   Ã‚  :  Ã‚  Ã‚   2000 words Date of Submission:  Ã‚  Ã‚   31 August 2012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This marketing audit report is prepared for Camp Five to indicate how the organization is currently performing in their service level. The report is prepared based on secondary data gathered from reliable sources which is available online.In this report the background of Camp Five climbing gym is explained to understand the current internal resources and capabilities in its preparedness for servicing their target customer in Malaysia local market. The finding of issue status as, overall and major issues of the company as below, Overall Camp Five are current in high-end customer focus and in fact the majority of regular climbers are not in the high-end categories. Although the facility and technology is excellent advance compare to others competitors, the price of service has clearly show it is unaffordable to the middle class, therefore that is lack of daily head counts.The major problem is lacking of promotion, Camp Five current uses the strategy of word-of-mouth, as per research 100% of interviewee get the know Camp Five as from friends-to-friends referral only, many other promotions shall be implemented as to improve on the performance will be shown in TOW analysis in this assignment. TITLE PAGE Contents TITLE PAGE1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2 1. 0 PURPOSE OF REPORT4 2. 0 THE INTRODUCTION4 3. 0 TARGET CUSTOMER7 4. 0 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS8 5. 0 INTERNAL ANALYSIS12 6. 0Service Quality Analysis13 7. 0 SWOT ANALYSIS16 8. 0 TOW17 9. 0 CONCLUSION19 10. 0 LIST OF REFERANCE19 1 APENDIX –SURVEY FORM21 How Do You Rate Your Climbing? 22 1. 0 PURPOSE OF REPORT (222words) This is a continuous of audit report of Camp Five Sdn Bhd, The purpose of this report is to present the ser vice quality from organization perspective and customer perspective point of view in delivering and receiving the service in service marketing aspect. The elements covers include the internal & external analysis of organization, gap between the customer's perception and expectation. Those factors will influence on to the organization and its services from the gym toward the end consumer directly or indirectly.It is to help the organization to understand more about their customer and positive of new customer. Same time the current marketing promotion plan must be implementing in an effective way on it services quality ; reach the company targeted headcount for the gym. Scope of report, this report will cover the analysis in phase one, the sources of the report is based on some level of internet resources, but mostly is from interview with customers and my friends as the employee which is working in the company as manger positions.The recommendation of this service marketing audit wil l be done in phase two of the following of this report. The monitoring of service will be from time to time based and this marketing service audit report accuracy credibility will remain valid for the next six month period. 2. 0 THE INTRODUCTION – OVERVIEW OF THE SERVICE ORGANIZATION (335words) 2. 1 Brief Background Camp Five is a place provides training and a place for training, working out and meets new friends. It is facilitated with climbing wall, cafe, Pro shop, high technology shower, kid place area and inspectorial training programs.Training program is designed for children, beginners, leisure and advance climber or people can come for Yoga classes too. The climbing gym is operating under Switzerland management. The wall was built by climbing wall BLOCX Sdn Bhd, which is the partnership company with Camp Five, Blocx's current major project are building and developing rock climbing wall around Asia region, they head quarter is located in Oberwil Switzerland, the other o ffice is located New Mexico America, Colombia South America and Shah Alam Malaysia.Camp Five Sdn Bhd started its operation since 2005 in Malaysia, located inside famous landmark shopping center of Kuala Lumpur – The One Utama Shopping Complex. The internal gym's environment is housed in 10m high air-conditioned glass tower, a-state-of-the-art climbing facility inside a shopping center, next to major business suite like TV3 and IBM office, Hotel, colleges and international schools like KDU and KBU, hotel and the high end household area.For first time customer, it is a must to join the climbing class they need to pass on climber safety examination and If you are first time in this gym customer need to pass personal climbing skill testing section is needed before customer are able to check-in and use for the service. 2. 2 The Service Blue Print The steps of servicing process of Camp Five has provided as per below (Regular Customer) Regular Customer Steps of Blueprint – Ca mp Five |Step 1| Customer Arrived to gym | Step 8| Interact with friends ; start to climb| Step 2| Registration | Step 9| Trainer provide training| Step 3| Check in, payment and rental of gears | Step 10| Customer received training| Step 4| Collect entrance fee and drop the member card | Step 11| Take beg from lock, shower and change attire| Step 5| Updates system with payment | Step 12| Return the member card ; collect rented gears| Step 6| Change attire and keep beg at locker| Step 13| Collect member card and process check out| Step 7| Put on climbing gears| Step 14| Customer leaving the gym|The servicing blueprint of Camp Five has provided as per below (Regular ; New customers) It is content with 14 steps of service blueprint for regular and new customers with the service supports, support process, back stage, on stage and customer action show. 2. 3 The Marketing Mix 7’Ps According to Kotabe and Helsen (2011, p332) companies can pursue three global strategies to penetrate foreign market, which is product extension, product adaptation and product invention.THE MARKETING MIX FOR CAMP FIVE SERVICES | Product | Climbing gym, Yoga class, Climbing training, Corporate team building, Sales of climbing gear, Rental of gear| Place | Outlet location- Gym center| Promotion | Membership fees discount, Training course discount, Selected item discount via Internet, Face-to-face, Facebook. | Pricing | High price for per entry; Average price for membership 3 month-1 year. People | Student, Professional climber, Leisure climber, Working Adult, House wife, Children, Trainer| Physical Evidence | Innovative design, Well maintain of climbing equipment, Tidy uniform, Membership cards, Clean and advance washroom. | Processes| From they enter the gym to exiting the gym. Fast payment process, Paid before entered, Simple check in process, High customer involvement, Well of training flows. | 3. 0 TARGET CUSTOMER (116words) The type of target customer is sports oriented they may be experience climber, leisure climber and explorer.This is Malaysian or non-Malaysia, working, living and studying within 15km from Bandar Utama area, male 50% and female 50% with the minimum earning of salary RM4000 to RM20,000 with some western culture background. Camp Five's targeted customer can be separated into the following groups, 1. Student 2. Foreign Resident 1. Working Adult 1. Corporate & School Group| Description| 1| Student| Majority are from 15-25 years old, young male and female. Foreign students who follow their family came and living in Malaysia or coming in alone with the purpose of further educations.As financial supported by their parents with background mostly associated with high-end society, therefore cultural is more open to adventure sports with more buying power for entertainment good. | 2| Foreign Resident| Work migration under the foreign resident, coming in and working here as temporary for certain project for 1-5 years, with very high income on averag e at lease RM 20,000 or more per month. Seeking for high quality lifestyle with high purchasing power, Caucasian or Asia came from high-technology's country. 3| Working Adult | Locate Malaysian customer, working, living or studying around Petaling Jaya or KL area. In average a working person with personal income of minimum RM4000, male or female with high education level, outgoing personality and like sport. | 4| Corporate ; School| Group customer is those will like to come for as a company or schools event targeted for corporate team building function is not a routine activity. | Table 3a In the hierarchy of effect model, customer was visit to this gym are experiential influence on behavior. Affect – Behavior – Cognitive.First come from their feeling want to try this climbing experience, and then they took action to climb lastly learning process. 4. 0 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 4. 1 PESTAL ANALYSIS OF CAMP FIVE (290words) A PESTEL Analysis of Camp Five Sdn Bhd, this model is d esigned measure on the macro-environment could effect on the organization. Includes with Political, Economic, Social, Technical Environmental and Legal issue, on average social issue carries the most weight in the climbing gym industrial, due to it is an experiential goods and services. Factor| Includes:|Political| Change trading rules, tax, change in government. | Economic| Interest rates, exchange rates, national income, inflation| Social| Ageing population, attitudes to work, income distribution, customer taste, education levels, migration flow and working hours of customer| Technological| Innovation, new product development, rate of technological obsolescence, safety drinking water system, online advertising| Environmental| Reduce use of paper, encourage cotton towel, global warming, environmental issues| Legal| e. g. competition law, health and safety, employment law, business law| Table 4aDETAIL OF PESTEL ANALYSIS IN CHART | Political Factors| Change in trading rules, Camp Fiv e it is owe by a Sweden Company may influence the business trading terms. Tax, the rate will change in rock climbing product and equipment, all climbing equipment is imported good. If government is not stable company may re-locate in the investment in other part of SE Asia. | Economy Factors| Exchange rates will influence of company income, because company HQ is in Europe. National incomes and unemployment rate, determinate customer willingness to spend on leisure product like gym servicing.Inflation rate will influence on the wages of staff and operation expense, exchange rate of equipment, due to the product are all imported, when Euro and Dollar price down. | Social Factors| Customer change in taste in switching of interest in this gym, aging of society, if this city gets older than the target group (aged of 14-45) will the target customer group will get smaller. Education and income level increases, people tent to concern more with health issue and increase in working-out in gym . If working hours increase the number member able to visit at week days will decrease.Migration flows increases; our customer will increase, and due to climbing sport is more popular in foreign country. | Technology Factors| The uses and for sales climbing devices and equipment is important product in our Pro-Shop, and the technology being use to with in the gym, free Wi-Fi connection, fully air-conditions, high technology shower systems, water filler give customer with a confinable gym environment as well as the auto- belaying device, customer can still climb while waiting for their buddies arrived. | Legal Factors| Climbing environment is designed with anti-fire and safety pat material and cushions.It is always monitored by instruction eying around. Safety training and handbook ensure all customers understand the safety rules in the climbing gym and rules of use climbing equipment. Employment rules follow as per Malaysia government guideline in employment handbook. Camp Five appl y Malaysia Law system where the mother company from Sweden applies EU law. | Environmental Factors| Encourage customer and staff reduces on use of plastic water bottom and encouraging drinking in refilled directly from pipe, recycle bin services is provided. Encourage customer to use cotton towel in the gym and cafe instant of paper.Weather change, determines people likeness to climbing indoor or outdoor the day and the location, easy access to gym. | Table 4b 4. 2 Porter Five Forces of Macro Environmental Analysis The use for porter five forces analysis is the measure the threat within the competitor and business. The key rating system have been applied as per following, Key Rating System (1. Very Poor, 2. Poor, 3. Neutral, 4. Good, 5. Very Good) The Rating System Porter 5 Forces of Camp Five| 5 Forces| Camp Five| Cyberjaya Adventure | Mad Monkey| 1. Existing rivalry | 3| 3| 2| 2. New entering | 3| 2| 1| . B. P of Buyer| 5| 3| 3| 4. Threat Substitute| 5| 3| 2| 5. B. P of Suppliers | 3| 4| 2| Total| 19| 15| 10| | | | | | Rating System: very poor-1 ; very good- 5 | Table 4b The detail of Porter Five Forces will be explained as per below chart (4c) Porter's Five Forces of Competitive Position | | | | | | | 2. New entering | | | Medium there is the only gym within 20km from the resident, technology is in way advance than other, due to the built cost is high, but competitor can built in cheaper gym with lower cost. | | 5. Bargaining Power of Supplier | | | | 3.Bargaining Power of Buyer | | | 1. Existing Rivalry | | | Medium, the product has substitutes and minimal switching costs, which result in low competitive pressures in the supply side. | | | at the medium stage, although the quality and service is very good but there is still many customer prefer to go for low price choice lead to high degree of differentiation, therefore can be competitive. | | Buyer low stage the high end customer will preferred to purchase with receiving the best quality of service than s witching to look for other alternative. | | | | | | | 4.Threat Substitute | | | Low level, as the product is similar but the quality of facility and lifestyle is unlikely to be change by it taste. | | Table 4c 4. 3 Industry Analysis Due to this is a experiential goods in terms of economy and political will influence on change in it price, the long run of bargaining power with buyer and supplier are at every low risk, only seeing the possibility of new gym within this area can be compete with Camp Five but the possibility is still low, high chance of customer may lost interest and less visiting, due to friends, time of work and other reason. . 4 Customer Analysis The collection of data from customer analysis is conducted in face-to-face interview and survey format, it is target to understand the customer needs and current marketing trends towards satisfaction measuring in the climbing gym environment by service provided located with Klang Valley area. 4. 5 Competitor Analysis Major c ompetitor rock climbing gym within Malaysia, provided climbing service to rock climber, will be cyberjaya adventure center in Cyber Jaya, MadMonkey indoor bouldering center in Wangsa Maju, Shah Alam outdoor adventure in Shah Alam and The factory climbing gym in Subang Jaya. They provide service like top-rope climbing, bouldering wall, travels walls and lead wall climbing, however only Camp Five and Cyber Jaya Adventure was able to provide all the service in one center. The price as quality show as below, 5. 0 INTERNAL ANALYSIS 5. 1 Resource Competency Analysis The uniqueness of Camp Five has believed in providing the best environment and the best service in Asia, with high quality level of modern lifestyle and beauty of sports.And all employees in any position and time are responsible to customer safety first, staff must take action to help and remain ensuring the individual safeness in climbing environment. 5. 2 Share Holders Analysis The matrix below shown in table below is applie d to show the internal and external stakeholders that have direct or indirect impact on the growth of the business. | Importance of stakeholder | | High | Low | Influence of stakeholder | High | Key group | Silent group | | | Partners | Government – Ministry of Environment | | | Management, | | | Shareholders |   | | | New investor |   | | Low | Vocal Group | Irrelevant group | | | Employees | Individual customers | | | Marketing teams | Contractor | | | Agents, | Cleaner | | | Distributors |   | Table 5a– Stakeholder Analysis | The key groups are partners, management, other shareholders and new investor. The customer groups are the key to the survival of the business. The faster the target market will turn into royal customer, gym can sustain and growth in its business operation and provides in positive growth. 5. Performance Analysis Current the sales of the organization is the low head count especially in low season like long public holiday times, although we have a big number of members but however they are non-actives, the targeted market share of customer group has not been achieved, overall survive on the long term membership customer which sign up for 6month-1 years membership. That could count on average of 40% of total business. The others revenue are selling on climbing equipment, team building outdoor projects for groups and climb pays per entrance. . 0Service Quality Analysis (298words) To measure the service quality of Camp Five I have provided the analysis based on face-to-face survey with interviewee with purchasing experience in Camp Five Climbing Gym, the analysis result show as below. (The full version of service survey form is reference in the appendix) The SERQUAL Model analysis will based on question 3-15 only, show as per below, SERQUAL Model of Service Survey Q| Survey Questions | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Q being answers| Total score| No. f Interviewee| Means| 1| First time to this gym|   | 60|   |   |   | 600| n/a| 60 | n/a| 2| How do you know this Gym|   | 60|   |   |   | 600| n/a| 60| n/a| Rate you overall experience (Scoring System data are serve for the GAP analysis)| 3| Were you server – Courteous? (If No-1, Yes- 5)| |   |   |   | 60| 60| 300| 60| 5| 4| Were you server -Informative? (If No-1, Yes -5)| 20|   |   |   | 40| 60| 260| 60| 3. 7| 5| Rate of total expectation |   |   |   | 60|   | 60| 240| 60| 4| 6| Staff helpfulness |   |   | 10| 40| 10| 60| 240| 60| 4| 7| The price of entrance fees| 20| 10| 20| 10|   | 60| 140| 60| 2. | 8| The attribute of the gym |   |   | 10| 40| 10| 60| 240| 60| 4| 9| Varieties of climb|   |   | 10| 40| 10| 60| 240| 60| 4| 10| Convenience of this location|   |   |   | 40| 20| 60| 260| 60| 4. 3| 11| Clean |   |   | 10| 20| 30| 60| 260| 60| 4. 3| 12| Environment safety|   |   |   | 40| 20| 60| 260| 60| 4. 3| 13| Training experience |   | 10|   | 10|   | 20| 60| 60| 3| 14| Quality gear for rent |   | 10| 20| 10|   | 40| 120| 60| 4| 15| Rate over climb experience|   |   |   | 50| 10| 60| 250| 60| 4. 2| Personal particulars | 16| Gender| 20| 40|   | 60| The details of this survey are provided in survey form on appendix at last page of this report. 17| Age|   |   | 20| 30| 10| 60| | 18| Monthly Income group |   |   |   | 50| 10| 60| | 19| Frequency of visiting| 40|   | 10| 10|   | 60| | 20| Plan to join membership | 30| 10|   |   |   | 40| | 21| Already member? | 30| 30|   |   |   | 60| | 21A| Which member plan? | 10|   |   | 10| 10| 30| | Table 6a As per the rating system and survey 100% of customer gets to know about this gym by friends’ referral, as per survey the promotion is not strange enough in its attraction to new walk in customer. QUOTA SAMPLING QUOTA SAMPLING | Race | No. Survey | % | Chinese | Male | 8| 13%| Female | 12| 20%| Malay | Male | 5| 8%| | Female | 5| 8%| Indian | Male | 2| 3%| | Female | 2| 3%| Forigner | Male | 13| 22%| | Female | 13| 22%| Total | 60| 100%| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Table 6b| | | | As per quota sampling analysis shows that the 34%Chinese, 16% Malay, 6% Indian and 44% Foreigner participant in the survey analysis. Overall customer were being serve courteous in scoring at the highest at 5, and the price of entrance fees score at the lowest at 2. only. Interpreted the staff has a good relationship and treated customer as very important, but however the price is disappointing from customer's point of view. GAP ANALYSIS CUSTOMER PERCEPTION ; EXPECTATION ANALYSIS | Provider Gap | Customer Expectation | Customer Perception | GAP | Listening Gap | 4 | 3 | (1)| Service Design and Standards Gap | 4 | 4 | 0 | Service Performance Gap | 4 | 1 | (3)| Communication Gap | 5 | 5 | 0 | Total| 17| 13| -4| | | | | | Dis-confirmation GAP: Low-1, High-5 | Table 6c – Disconfirmat ion GapAs Disconfirmation model, as in the GAP model table shows in total of -4 dis confirmation Gap between customer perception and expectations. Overall they score the highest gap -3 of performance gap, operation staff need to improves on its service performance skills in term of the cleanness of toilet, change in water filler, repairing of rental climbing equipment, quality of training and redesign the current price package. The communication and listening wish is very good scored at 0 gap means the customer is very satisfied with the current communication service of employee. . 0 SWOT ANALYSIS (242words) As per chart, show CAMP FIVE has more advantage in strengths and opportunity as compare to the weakness and treats; it has shown a positive growth in the future. The further explanation will be shown as below. Strengths | Weakness | High in technology | To pricy | Strong employee capital | High operation expensive | Largest climbing gym in Asia | Limit to a small customer group from interests | Convenience of location |   | Good environment |   | Opportunity | Treats    | Expend to new customer via more promotion | Product substitution |Give FOC test climb section and tight-up promote | Change of customer taste | Tight up with government | Low season | International and locate competition |   | Table 7a SWOT ANALYSIS IN DETAILS | Strengths| The strengths of Camp five they provides high technologies in wall climbing technologies following the latest and most up-dated as Europe standard, they’re the largest gym also the best climbing in Malaysia, further Malaysia Climbing Campion is working under Camp Five, all others is also professional certified training by UIAA. They are 10,000 square feet with located inside a shopping hall, gives customer all connivances, right in the middle of city. | Weakness| Price is too high for medium end climber or either some student which have time to come as compare to the others gym is about 25-40% higher than other like PutraJaya adventure and Mad Monkey gym, although they does not have the same location advantage. High operation cost, due to the rental, hiring of employee with design maintain and operating, they also have small customer group with attracted to this sports. Opportunity| Customer group can be increase into varies of group including, student, working, employee and government, open new market, increase in brand royalty and awareness. Increase in open competition number of event for member’s link with international, tight up with UIAA| Treats| Customer may change in interest of climbing, low season people prefer going for holiday, change location to climb. | Table 7b 8. 0 TOW TOWS (50words)A TOW Analysis to the advance of SWOT to specific the elements of service marketing address Intangibility, perishability, co-production, customer contact people, physical evidence using â€Å"Strength and Opportunity†, â€Å"Weaknesses and Opportunity†, â€Å"Strengt h and Threat†, lastly â€Å"Weaknesses and Threat (WT)† exhibiting as per followings. | INTERNAL STRENGTHS | INTERNAL WEAKNESS | | 1. High in technology 2. Strong employee capital 3. Largest climbing gym in Asia 4. Convenience of location 5. Good environment | 1. To pricy 2. High operation expensive 3.Limit to a small customer group from interests | EXTERNAL OPPRTUNITIES | SO: STRATEGIES | WO: STRATEGIES | 1. Give FOC test climb section and tight-up promote 2. Tight up with government 3. International and locate competition | 1. Increase on marketing tight up with government project. 2. Tight up with more international competition host in Camp 5 3. Create more events and create awareness through press and news. 4. Get free climb section with event tight up with mall. 5. Advertise in Asia Climbing magazine. | 1. Re-structure the price 2.Increase the sales volume after to co-operate rate, eg. IBM, One World Hotel staff and tourist discount rate, increase customer group. 3 . Promote in tourism Malaysia. 4. Reduces on the use on electricity saving operation cost. 5. Attract external customer to try rock climbing | EXTERNAL THREAT | ST: STRATEGIES | WT: STRATEGIES | 1. Product substitution 2. Change of customer taste 3. Low season | 1. Increase in brand royalty 2. Arrange more activity to get member together again 3. Give special promotion at low season/ week days . Target more office people and encourage them to come after office hours. | 1. Avoid too much promotion rules in joining the membership 2. Promote friends-friends or buy one get one member free to crease interest of new members. 3. Let people enjoy this place more than other gym 4. Promote gym member switching discount or give 3 hours free personal training. | Table 8a Strength and Opportunity (SO) – By increase project from different dimension, attract more opportunity and take advantage of the good location.Increase events example: in 2006 the World Cup Europe climber from UIAA atten ds to climbing during preparation for competition includes with national climbing team from Italy, France, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany etc. Weaknesses and Opportunity (WO) – Make adjustment to the price and open up new market group like one world hotel tourist discount or business discount, VISA card member promotions, one-card member test climb section, promote the selling hardness in Point-to point exchange gift credit card promotion.Strength and Threat (ST) – Use event to increase the brand royalty to passed , current and future customers. Target more people from the office around the gym to come, make road show to promote the gym and facilities. Weaknesses and Threat (WT) – Try to make the promotion easy for customer to purchase try to avoid many Purchase to Purchase rules, try to give customer benefit able and interesting, when the headcount reaches the target (set a target) than cut of the special promotion and keep the regular promo tion just to keep the royalty customers. 9. 0 CONCLUSION (215words)This report concludes that Camp Five is good place to youth people to work-out and meet new friends, Camp Five has the great quality and it is very suitable for the Malaysian marketing in it expansion. However in total they are lack of awareness, as rock climbing is still a very new sport for Malaysia as compare to the west, therefore promotion is an essential. Overall customer has a good rating with the service provided by Camp Five but however due to the other competitor in the marketing has some influence on customer perspective therefore the building the brand and royalty customer with in the climbing network is important.Customer overall has a high interest in rock climbing and I can see they are quite royal to the interest, but due to the most majority of climbing is in the low-middle end, rating of customer the price over is too high and not expectable by most long term climber, they will prefer to seek for ot her alternative to climb although the location may not be as convenience. Camp Five should take customer in as lower price and get more royalty customer, focus on headcount is not important, however the suggestion for Camp Five will be presented in phase 2 of the assignment. 0. 0 LIST OF REFERANCE Company Research 1. Camp Five Sdn Bhd 2012, viewed 31 July 2012, ;http://camp5. com/; 2. BLOCX Sdn Bhd 2012, viewed 30 July 2012, ;http://www. blocx. com/projects/camp5. html ; 3. Alpine 2012, viewed 2 Aug 2012, ;http://amga. com/programs/alpine_AGE. php; 4. UIAA 2012, viewed 21Aug2012, ;www. theuiaa. org/; PESTEL Analysis 5. PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment by Oxford University Press. 2007, viewed 31 Jul 2012, ;http://www. oup. com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12. htm; 6.PESTLE analysis history and application by CIPD. Retrieved Nov 2010, viewed 30 Jul 2012, ; http://rapidbi. com/the-pestle-analysis-tool/; Blue Print 7. Kotler,P,Brown, L, Adams,S ; Armstrong, G2004, Marketing, 6th edn, Pearson Education, Australia 8. Shostack, GL 1992, ‘Understanding services through blueprinting’, in T Swartz, D Brown ; S Brown(eds), Advances in services marketing and management, vol. 1,JAI Press, 9. Greenwich, CT, pp. 75-90. 10. Dr C. Thomas Oliva(2012), Basic blueprint reading and sketching 50 th edn, Thomas Delmar. 11.Newell Frederich(1926), customer relationship management in the new era of internal marketing, New York, London: McGraw-Hill, 2000 12. Valarie A. Zeithaml, Mary Jo Bitner and Dawayne Gremler (2008), Service Marketing Integrating customer focus across the firm 5th ed. Service Marketing 13. Christopher Lovelock and Jochen Wirtz (2011), Services Marketing – People, Technology, Strategy. 7th ed. , Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Porter’s Model 14. Chapman, A 2004-2009, Porter’s Five Forces Model, BusinessBalls. com, Leicester, England, viewed 19 August 2011, ;http://www. usinessballs. com/por tersfiveforcesofcompetition. htm; Others 15. CIA 2012, The worldfact book, viewed 10 Aug 2012, ;https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook; 16. Konopka, G. (1973) â€Å"Requirements for Healthy Development of Adolescent Youth†, Adolescence. VIII(31), p. 24. 17. Thomas, A. (2003) â€Å"Psychology of Adolescents†, Self-Concept, Weight Issues and Body Image in Children and Adolescents, p. 88 11 APENDIX –SURVEY FORM A survey forms has attach as the result outcome of interview with Camp Five’s customer. CAMP 5 THE LARGEST IN ASIA How Do You Rate Your Climbing?We are committed to providing you with the best climbing experience possible, so we welcome your comments. Please fill out this questionnaire and place it in the box in our check-out reception counter. Thank you! Are you a first time coming to this climbing gym? YesNo How do you know about this climbing gym? AdsReferralOnline/LearnOthers Website from Vision Please specify: _____________ _____ * * How do rate the total expectation with us, please rate as per below†¦. The reliability of the staff 12345 DisappointingExceptional The willingness the staff – Helpfulness or friendliness 12345DisappointingExceptional Was you serve†¦ Courteous? Informative? YesNoYesNo The price of entrance fees. 12345 DisappointingExceptional The attribute of the gym – Does the climbing level fits you? 12345 DisappointingExceptional Your favorite climbing level is ________________ (FRANCH or USA) Is there enough variety of climb. 12345 DisappointingExceptional Please rate the connivance of this location? 12345 DisappointingExceptional CAMP 5 THE LARGEST IN ASIA How Do You Rate Your Climbing? We are committed to providing you with the best climbing experience possible, so we welcome your comments.Please fill out this questionnaire and place it in the box in our check-out reception counter. Thank you! Are you a first time coming to this climbing gym? YesNo How do you k now about this climbing gym? AdsReferralOnline/LearnOthers Website from Vision Please specify: __________________ * * How do rate the total expectation with us, please rate as per below†¦. The reliability of the staff 12345 DisappointingExceptional The willingness the staff – Helpfulness or friendliness 12345 DisappointingExceptional Was you serve†¦ Courteous? Informative? YesNoYesNo The price of entrance fees. 12345DisappointingExceptional The attribute of the gym – Does the climbing level fits you? 12345 DisappointingExceptional Your favorite climbing level is ________________ (FRANCH or USA) Is there enough variety of climb. 12345 DisappointingExceptional Please rate the connivance of this location? 12345 DisappointingExceptional Was our gym clean? 12345 DisappointingExceptional Safety of environment and climbing area? * * 12345 * Disappointing Exceptional Please rate your overall training experience. (If any) 12345 DisappointingExceptional Name of course ______________________ Please rate the quality of gears. If any) 12345 DisappointingExceptional Please rate your overall climbing experience. 12345 DisappointingExceptional Personal particulars Please be assure as this particular will only be analysis on a positive bases as for the profiling and not for individual use, be assure those details will not be use for another purpose. Gender Male Female Age 15 and 15-20 21-3031-4040 and Below More Monthly Income Student 20002000- 4001- 6000 or No Income or lower 4000 6000 higher How frequently do you visit our gym? -5 times per month 1-2 times per month Once every 2 months Other Do you plan to join to our gym’s membership? Yes No You already have the membership? Yes No ? 10pass 3mths6mths12mths 12mths (Prepaid) (Installment) Was our gym clean? 12345 DisappointingExceptional Safety of environment and climbing area? * * 12345 * Disappointing Exceptional Please rate your overall training experience. (If any) 12345 DisappointingExce ptional Name of course ______________________ Please rate the quality of gears. (If any) 12345DisappointingExceptional Please rate your overall climbing experience. 12345 DisappointingExceptional Personal particulars Please be assure as this particular will only be analysis on a positive bases as for the profiling and not for individual use, be assure those details will not be use for another purpose. Gender Male Female Age 15 and 15-20 21-3031-4040 and Below More Monthly Income Student 20002000- 4001- 6000 or No Income or lower 4000 6000 higher How frequently do you visit our gym? -5 times per month 1-2 times per month Once every 2 months Other Do you plan to join to our gym’s membership? Yes No You already have the membership? Yes No ? 10pass 3mths6mths12mths 12mths (Prepaid) (Installment) * Would you recommend our climbing gym to a friend? Why, or why not? * How might we have made it more memorable to you? What training course did you taken? How is your experience? ( if any) * Please share any additional comments or suggestions. Camp 5 Climbing Gym Camp Five Sdn bhd EZ501, 5th Floor, 1 Utama Shopping CentreBandar Utama, 47800, Selangor, Malaysia Phone (603) 77260420/410 Fax (603) 77260210 http://www. camp5. com [email  protected] com * Would you recommend our climbing gym to a friend? Why, or why not? * How might we have made it more memorable to you? What training course did you taken? How is your experience? ( if any) * Please share any additional comments or suggestions. Camp 5 Climbing Gym Camp Five Sdn bhd EZ501, 5th Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Centre Bandar Utama, 47800, Selangor, Malaysia Phone (603) 77260420/410 Fax (603) 77260210 http://www. camp5. com [email  protected] com