Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking

Abstract How to resolve social conflicts is a continued debate. Little is known of what contributes to social conflicts in business. This paper provides a brief insight into the process of conflict resolution. A brief review of the article related to conflict resolution is performed. The implications of conflict resolution in business environment are discussed. The paper provides recommendations for the future research.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking How to resolve social conflicts is a continued debate. The factors of conflict are numerous and varied, from social dilemmas, to competition for scarce resources and perceived social injustice (Myers, 2002). Conflict resolution and peacemaking is one of the most popular topics in social psychology. Conflicts produce a multitude of negative effects on social relat ions, and it is imperative that the ways of resolving them be understood. The current state of knowledge about conflicts suggests that conflicts are handled through contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation (Myers, 2002). Simultaneously, conflicting parties face considerable difficulties in their way to establishing contact and achieving conciliation. Cooperation and trust are the necessary preconditions for resolving most, if not all, social conflicts. It is through trust and rapport that conflicting parties can successfully develop and use cooperative methods of conflict resolution, to achieve a workable consensus. In her article, Eszter Balogh (2005) discusses the ways of resolving social conflicts between companies. Business is an arena of numerous conflicts and disagreements, which have far-reaching implications for the stability and profitability of entrepreneurial ventures. The level of trust in inter-company relationships is essential for the companies’ fu ture intentions. Inter-company conflicts reflect an extremely narrow aspect of conflict resolution and peacemaking, but the importance of the subject for business cooperation is difficult to underestimate. This is one of the reasons why Balogh (2005) tries to develop and evaluate the most common methods of resolving conflicts between companies. According to Balogh (2005) the strategies and techniques of conflict resolution vary, depending on the company type. In multinational companies, the complex internal organizational structure is a serious impediment to using quick, constructive conflict resolution techniques (Balogh, 2005).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Simultaneously, companies that are totally interdependent i.e., the supply and demand for their products is low, are more likely to use offensive strategies to resolve inter-company conflicts (Balogh, 2005). Yet, irrespective of conditions and circumstances in which companies operate, negotiations are the primary means of resolving inter-company conflicts: companies demand quick solutions and seek to protect long-term relationships with their partners and suppliers (Balogh, 2005). Balogh suggests that trust is a crucial factor of successful conflict resolution in business, a factor, which many scholars continuously ignore. Myers (2002) is correct in that conflicting parties may find it extremely difficult to establish contacts and develop effective cooperation in their way to peace. It is through trust and rapport that companies can improve their chances to arrive at a workable agreement and preserve their business relations in the long run. More often than not, contact and cooperation are primary elements in any conflict resolution strategy: the conflicting parties must contact and cooperate to achieve a solution that benefits them. Conflict resolution and peacemaking are never a zero-sum game. Simultan eously, little is known of how to contact and develop cooperation in conflict situations. Drolet and Morris (2000) write that the prevailing majority of social conflicts are of mixed-motive nature. Simply put, companies are willing to cooperate, but their self-interests prevent them from doing so (Drolet Morris, 2000). As a result, trust rapport and facilitate cooperation and mutual positivity, without which conflict resolution would have been impossible (Drolet Morris, 2000). Balogh (2005) supports this thesis: trust shapes the basis for interest-based dialogue and creates possibilities for constructive conflict management. The significance of Balogh’s (2005) findings for conflict management cannot be overstated. First, Balogh (2005) adds to the current knowledge of conflict resolution techniques. Apparently, contact, cooperation, and communication alone cannot suffice to bring the conflicting parties to a workable consensus. Rather, trust is the definitive feature of coop eration and collaboration success, which promotes quick and constructive conflict resolution. Second, trust facilitates communication and holds a promise to reduce offensive conflict resolution strategies in business. Companies are inherently oriented at developing and sustaining mutually productive relations, and trust will help them to find a common language. Here, several questions require further analysis. To begin with, it is not clear how inter-personal trust affects relations between companies. Second, the role of trust in resolving conflicts between companies that break business norms are poorly understood (Balogh, 2005). It goes without saying that conflict resolution techniques are extremely flexible and dynamic, and the future knowledge of conflicts, their factors and antecedents will help to improve the quality and efficiency of social relations in all business sectors.\Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking specifical ly for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion Conflict resolution and peacemaking is one of the most popular topics in social psychology. The factors of conflict in various social environments are numerous and varied. The most common elements of the conflict resolution process include contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation (Myers, 2002). However, contact and cooperation alone cannot bring the conflicting parties to a workable consensus: it is through trust and rapport that companies can pave their way for peace. Little is known of how trust and rapport work in inter-company relations, and the future research must lead to the development of effective conflict resolution methods for companies and entrepreneurial ventures. References Balogh, E. (2005). Inter-company conflicts and conflict resolution methods. Review  of Sociology, 11(1), 81-104. Drolet, A.L. Morris, M.W. (2000). Rapport in conflict resolution: Accounting for how fac e-to-face contact fosters mutual cooperation in mixed-motive conflicts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 26-50. Myers, D.G. (2002). Conflict and Peacemaking. In D.G. Myers, Social Psychology,  7th ed, Columbus: McGraw-Hill. This essay on Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking was written and submitted by user Emanuel Emerson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Essay on INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Essay on INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Essay on INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Essay on INTERNATIONAL MARKETINGThe most important task of strategic management is to establish and maintain a dynamic interaction of the organization with its environment, designed to provide it with a competitive advantage, which is achieved by providing a product to the customer. Therefore, marketing objective occupies the position of one of the leading strategic management functions. For a number of organizations, depending on what goals they pursue and what strategy they implement, marketing is a key feature to ensure their successful operation. Moreover, companies turn to a management philosophy, according to which a company must focus its activity completely on customer needs (market driver management) and not try to make convenient products trying to sell it. Therefore, marketing becomes something more than just a separate function of management.Marketing is increasingly used all areas of business activity of the company. Thus, marketing plays a special role in the strategic management, significantly beyond the scope of functions of sales and demand analysis.Local marketing researchToday, setting new ambitious goals, every company faces many problems inherent to the market economy. The real problem of doing business has become the problem of finding effective demand. It is not enough to only produce goods, it is necessary to organize the work in such a way to make a profit from the sale of this product.Local marketing research is a systematic search, collection, analysis and presentation of data and information related to a particular market situation, which the company faces in its country (Lipovetsky, Magnan, Zanetti-Polzi,  2011).The objectives of marketing research:Searching goal collecting information for a preliminary assessment of the problem and its structuring;Descriptive goal description of the selected events, research subjects and the factors affecting their condition;Causal purpose check of the hypothesis of a causal relationship;Test objectives selection of promising options or assessment of the correctness of decisions;Forward-looking goals prediction of the state of the object in the future.The principal feature of marketing research, distinguishing it from the collection and analysis of internal and external current information, is its target aim to solve a particular problem or set of problems of marketing.Each company determines the topics and scope of marketing research according to its capabilities and needs in marketing information, so the types of marketing research conducted by various companies can be different.Iinternational marketing reserchThe term international marketing research refers to the collection, analysis and reporting on clearly defined problem of the operation of companies in foreign markets. International marketing research of different depth and breadth of coverage and the underlying information base are the base for all decisions (Webster, Lusch,   2013).Before entering interna tional markets and creating information marketing base, a company should collect information about the overall status and trends:1) industry of manufacturing products,2) countries, which are producers and consumers of these products,3) individual manufacturers, consumers and resellers.The study of international markets is based on the following characteristics:1) products (industries, types of products, manufacturers, methods and forms of sales and service of products)2) consumers (industries, types of products, manufacturers and buyers, goals and methods of consumption)3) location of the market (region, country, territory).On the first stage of international market research, a company should study the broadest possible segment, that is the world market of the product. It must collect information about what companies in which countries produce, trade and consume this type of product and services (Mihaela,  2010).The similarities and the differences between local and international marketing researchLocal and international marketing research are very similar, as they have almost the same goals and objectives, as well as methods of conducting research. Both types of studies provide a comprehensive study examining objects such as the market, consumers, and competitors. Local and international marketing research have the same scheme of marketing research, which involves the following steps:Defining a problem, objectives and methods.Developing research plan.Data collection and analysis.Interpretation of the results and giving them to the management of organization.Differences between local and international marketing research is that the evaluation of the international marketing environment is carried out mainly from the standpoint of economic purchasing power of the population in various countries, the levels of its income, industrial structure, orientation of the economy (agricultural, raw materials, etc.), overall level of economic development (Levy, 2012). Nev ertheless, a potential exporter or importer should explore political and legal environment of the country: stability of government, its laws in relation to the economic sphere (quotas, restrictions, confiscation of property of foreign businessmen, foreign exchange controls). This may also include the availability of market information, organization of statistics, work of customs and tax authorities. Social culture of the country should also be a subject of international marketing research. Local marketing research does not include these questions.The steps of marketing researchMarketing research process consists of several stages.Defining the problem and research objectives. It is difficult to start any research before the problem is determined. Stage of recognition and definition of the problem is the first step in the process of finding solutions. Failure to comply with the tasks of sales, a growing number of unpaid bills and low turnover are the signals or symptoms of more seriou s problems. Researchers should recognize and identify the problems behind these symptoms. Incorrect definition of the problem can lead to wrong decisions. Objectives are derived from market research to formulate the problem. Objectives should be clearly and precisely defined, and be sufficiently detailed, it should be possible to measure them and evaluate their level of achievement.Definition of the objects of research.When a problem is defined, it is possible to formulate the research problem. As a rule, the study includes a solution to one of the four objectives: to develop, describe, test hypotheses and predict. The study is carried out to develop when you need to get more information on the issue and more clearly formulate hypotheses. Research to describe the problem is held when it is necessary to describe objects such as market, define their characteristics based on statistical data. If the task of marketing research is testing the hypothesis of relationship between the indepe ndent and dependent variables, companies conduct research to identify the causes of the emergence of the problem.Development of a research plan. The creation of a research project is perhaps the most important step in the process of marketing research. Research project is a general plan of marketing research. It defines the requirements for a variety of data and its collection, processing and analysis. This stage includes not only the choice of certain methods of marketing research and development of specific tasks within the market research. At this stage, researcher determines the need for information, type of required information, sources and methods of its collection.Data collection. From the perspective of the process, there are at least three alternative approaches to data collection: by the staff of marketing service, by the specially created group or with the involvement of companies that specialize in data collection. The process of gathering information is usually the most expensive phase of the study. Furthermore, it may have a sufficiently large number of errors during implementation.Analysis of the data. It begins with the transformation of raw data (error checking, encoding, representation in matrix form). This allows transferring a lot of raw data into meaningful information.Presentation of the results. Results of the research are presented in the form of the final report and submitted to the management of the company (Shaw, 2012).From national to international marketingDevelopment of international economic relations, primarily on the basis of the international division of labor, is the characteristic process in todays global community. These are objective, stable commercial relations between individual countries or groups of countries.Essentially, each country in addition to conducting internal trade tends to carry foreign trade, implying a complex mechanism of relations arising in the process of sale of goods and services in the international market. Development of the international cooperation significantly increases the tendency towards the internationalization of economic processes, promotes international specialization and cooperation in production, trade, exchange of scientific and technological developments.International marketing is a response to the world of commercial processes such as growth and expansion of partnerships in the international market, increase of production capacity, quick update of product range, frequent changes in the nature and structure of the market demand, market fluctuations, increased competition, increased and improved quality of information support. International marketing provides a systematic, ongoing, active involvement in the international market at different stages of the promotion of commercial products (services) to the consumer. That is why we should distinguish the concept of international marketing from the concepts of sale and export, since the latter consists in the fact th at sellers are limited to delivery of its products to foreign importing companies. At the same time, suppliers are generally not interested in how consumers are satisfied in these products. A distinctive feature of international marketing is a complete and clear orientation on foreign consumers, the desire to satisfy their needs and requirements.Marketing research is a necessary condition for the success of the company in international markets at all stages of its operation and product life cycle. The better boundaries and objectives of the study are defined, the more useful received information is, and the more accurate calculations are. They help to better understand and adapt to the needs of the buyer, determine the best value for money and quality of the goods, find new customers, find a way to draw attention to your company and products. Market conditions are constantly changing, so there is a need for such work all the time, which greatly increases the effectiveness of company on the international markets (Mihaela,  2010).ExamplesThere are many examples of successful marketing of companies operating in the domestic and foreign markets. Here are some of them.Marlboro. Marlboro invented pack of cardboard with flip-top lid, which are now standard package of cigarettes not in order to demonstrate innovation or design ideas but for promotional purposes. Smokers were able to pull out cigarettes from soft packs without removing them from the pocket, so others did not see the brand. Flip-tops made smokers take the pack out of the pocket so that everybody could see it, and the new always attracts attention.Estee Lauder. There is a beautiful legend about how Estee Lauder began selling its perfumes. The young Miss Lauder came the biggest perfume shop in New York accidentally split the bottle of her perfume on the floor. Buyers asked about the wonderful smell and store just had to sign a contract with Estee Lauder.Heinz. In 1896, Henry Heinz was walking around New York and saw an advertisement of shoe store, which offered clients 21 style of shoes. By analogy, he decided to write on their ketchup and sauces 57 options. This number had nothing to do with the actual figures range, but Heinz liked it. And it impressed buyers.Harley-Davidson. The most famous manufacturer of motorcycles in the world holds the first place in terms of branded tattoos for more than a dozen years. It all began with the fact that Harley announced impressive discounts on bikes for those who would come to buy a motorcycle with a tattoo in the form of its logo.One of the largest tobacco companies,  «R. J. Reynolds International », was able to create a special Russian image. The company began to produce new cigarettes, which were called Peter I ». Until now, non-standard advertising of the company emphasizes that these cigarettes are created by Russian designers specifically for Russian consumers. Company  «R. J. Reynolds International » was able to show how eff ective PR can work in terms of the binding of marketing programs to local traditions and mentality of the target audience (Slater,   Andriopoulos, 2013).ConclusionMarketing research includes studies to support marketing activities, as well as statistical interpretation of data into information. This information is then used by managers to plan marketing activities, assess of the nature of trading environment of the company and to obtain information from suppliers. Market research use statistical methods such as qualitative and quantitative research, hypothesis testing, chi-square test, linear regression, frequency distribution, binomial distribution, etc. These methods are needed to interpret the results and transform data into information. The process of marketing research covers a number of steps, including identifying a problem, developing a plan of analysis, data collection and interpretation, presenting information in the form of a formal report. The task of market research i s to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable and valid data.

Corporate Finance Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Corporate Finance Assignment - Essay Example Sales increase from year 1 to year 2 by 1.5 times, but in the 3rd year it appears that the sales only increase by 1.33 times, which shows a decline as compared to the previous financial year. Variable cost is included as a percentage of the sales for the month, which is 30% of the sales for the year. All the fixed costs are assumed to be directly attributable to the project and thus are included in the cash flows. As mentioned in the project, the useful life of the facility will be three years, thus it will be depreciated on a straight line basis over three years. Depreciation is a non-cash item, but it is included in the cash flow forecasting because of the tax shield, since depreciation is also tax deductible. In first year, the company will have taxable loss, so it is assumed that the company will have taxable profit in the future, against which this taxable loss will be utilized, resulting in tax savings. Depreciation is added back and the net cash flow is discounted through the use of the required rate of return in order to calculate the Net Present Value. 2. The principal risk of the project There are several principal risks that surround the project. Hi-Tech Industries operates in the technology industry, which is subject to rapid changes in many fields such as standard equipment, operating procedures, and laws and regulation. The project under consideration requires a careful estimation of all the relevant costs and revenues; a misjudgment in the forecast will cause an error in the project net present value, which might result in the acceptance of a project which is not financially viable. The initial capital expenditure must be carefully projected. In order to do so, it is of prime importance that the company obtains quotations from several companies in order to project the current market value of component. An artificially higher price will put a declining effect on the net present value of the project, and an artificially lower price will cause the o pposite. Another risk that is present in the financial appraisal of the project is that the company might not have estimated the correct useful life of the equipment. The IT related hardware and equipment are subject to becoming obsolete at a greater pace as compared to the other kinds, so this risk is present. While making an investment appraisal decision, it is imperative to consider the impact of inflation in the future cash flow. The information provided does not include any relevant information about the price inflation over the three year period, which can significantly impact the expected NPV. The director of the company must also consider the sources from which the financing will be obtained for the investment. Financing decision is significant, as the company would have to pay finance charge to the bank or any other financial institution, and the company must have enough cash flow in the future for the payment of these finance charge. In order to commence any investment ven ture, the director must receive the approval of the shareholders.

The Lawyer's Professional Qualities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

The Lawyer's Professional Qualities - Essay Example The one unequivocal necessity of a good lawyer, as well as any lawyer at all, is a law school diploma and membership in BAR association. Without it, you cannot practice law. Every single lawyer has these two things. Â  Another thing a professional lawyer should have is an experience. In any job, there are very few people who became great specialists right after graduating from school or university. These are the only necessities a good lawyer should have.As for subjective qualities a professional lawyer should have, the first one is you have to be tranquil. There are a lot of people who would try to unbalance you intentionally (opponents) or not on purpose (clients, boss, colleagues et cetera). There are also many things that would go not your way, which can be disappointing or make you angry. If you would be not calm, for example, in a courtroom, you may lose your case. As an example of a lawyer’s tranquility Hillary Clinton can be taken (Gates). Another important quality professional lawyer should have is understanding that all you do is not about yourself, neither is it about your boss or your firm. It is all about your clients and their problems. It is important to remember that a lawyer is only a person who provides some sort of services if taken in general. As an example of such quality, Paul Gilbert can be taken (Gilbert).It is not less important to stand until the end and be sticking to your guns, because there are many people who finish trying just before succeeding in something. It is also needed to be able to take risks and to be ready to influence people’s lives, especially when dealing with criminal law. As an incarnation of these qualities, Preet Bharara can be taken (Dinh).

Analysis of Radio Ratings Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Radio Ratings - Assignment Example The ABC station is non-commercial and is not dependent on rating figures for revenue. Those working and running the shows watch the rating figures for this station closely (Sterling, 191). The winners of the radio rating survey were Australian radio network as their Mix FM and WSFM stations recorded an increase in their market share (Hardie, Pp 3). The breakfast team of in WSFM that is run by Jonesy, Amanda recorded, and increases of 1.3 percent while their market share increased by 9.0 percent. Kyle and Jackie O market share increased by 0.8 percent. The dominating station at the top on the AM band and 2GB had an increase of 0.6 percent with a market share rating of 14.1 percent. Alan Jones recorded an increase of 0.1 percent in their breakfast show slot that led the slot with 17.1 percent. Chris Moyles is a host and disk jockey on BBC’s Radio breakfast show. For more than half a decade, his listeners’ span has dropped to a new low. This incidence takes place while his departure from the studio years. Moyles is a self-made redeemer of radio 1, making him one of the few people to depart from the prime occupation in United Kingdom’s radio in September 2012. His listeners’ span dropped to 6.93 million within a ninety-day period to the last part of June. According to the most recent postings from Rajar listening statistics, radio 1 had a mean of weekly tuning of 11.27 million listeners. This is an increment of 1.2% from the preceding quarter but a drop of 3.6% from preceding years. Moyles continuously increased his breakfast audience from an opening 5.93 million listeners in 2004 to an extreme figure of 7.9 million at the start of 2010. Nevertheless, Moyles was up against Wogan, and currently Evans, who both had an opening audience exceeding two million listeners. Moyles lost the leading spot and his audience figures have been plummeting ever since.  Ã‚  

The General Motors Company Analysis

The General Motors Company Analysis General Motors Company was formed in 2009 originally as a Delaware limited liability company, Vehicle Acquisition Holdings LLC and subsequently converted to a Delaware corporation, NGMCO, Inc. The conversion followed the acquisition on July 10, 2009 of a substantial part of all assets while assuming certain liabilities of General Motors Corporation through a 363 Sale under the Bankruptcy Code and subsequent change of name to General Motors Company (General Motors, 2012). As a result of the 363 Sale and other recent restructuring and cost savings initiatives, GM 2012 has improved its financial position and level of operational flexibility as compared to when Old GM operated the business. They commenced operations upon completion of the 363 Sale with a total amount of debt and other liabilities at July 10, 2009 that was $92.7 billion less than Old GMs total amount of debt and other liabilities at July 9, 2009. They reached a competitive labour agreement with their unions, restructured their dealer network and reduced and refocused their brand strategy in the U.S. to their four brands (General Motors, 2011). In November and December of 2010 they consummated a public offering of 550 million shares of their common stock and 100 million shares of Series B Preferred Stock and listed both of these securities on the New York Stock Exchange and the common stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange (General Motors, 2012). Today, General Motors Company is a brand new company with 100 years of history. They remain one of the worlds largest automotive companies with operations in 120 countries and more than 200,000 employees around the world. In 2010, they sold 8.39 million vehicles, more than three-quarters of which were sold outside the U.S. (General Motors, 2011). Small Business Units (SBUs) within GM General Motors Company is divided into five segments, namely GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM International Operations (GMIO), GM South America (GMSA) and GM Financial (General Motors, 2012). Each of these segments can be considered as a Strategic Business Units (SBU). Automotive Business GM product range includes a global vehicle portfolio of cars, crossovers and trucks. GM is committed to leadership in vehicle design, quality, reliability, telematics and infotainment and safety, as well as to developing key energy efficiency, energy diversity and advanced propulsion technologies, including electric vehicles with range extending capabilities such as the Chevrolet Volt. Their business is diversified across products and geographic markets. They meet the local sales and service needs of their retail and fleet customers with a global network of independent dealers. Of their total 2011 vehicle sales volume, 72.3% was generated outside the U.S., including 43.4% from emerging markets, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (collectively BRIC), which have recently experienced the industrys highest volume growth. Their automotive business is organized into four geographically-based segments (GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM International Operations (GMIO), GM Sou th America (GMSA)) (General Motors, 2012). GMNA, with sales, manufacturing and distribution operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and sales and distribution operations in Central America and the Caribbean, represented 32.4% of their vehicle sales volume in 2011 and had the largest market share in this market at 18.4% (General Motors, 2012). GME has sales, manufacturing and distribution operations across Western and Central Europe. GMEs vehicle sales volume, which in addition to Western and Central Europe, includes Eastern Europe (including Russia and the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States among others), represented 19.2% of their vehicle sales volume in 2011. In 2011 they had the number four market share in this market at 8.8%. GMIO distributes Chevrolet brand vehicles which, when sold in Europe, are included in GME vehicle sales volume and market share data (General Motors, 2012). GMIO has sales, manufacturing and distribution operations in Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Vehicle sales volume, which includes Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, is their largest segment by vehicle sales volume representing 36.6% of global vehicle sales volume including sales through their joint ventures in 2011. In 2011, GMIO had the number two market share for this market at 9.5% and the number one market share in China overall deriving 77.1% of its vehicle sales volume from China (General Motors, 2012). GMSA, with sales, manufacturing and distribution operations in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela as well as sales and distribution operations in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay represented 11.8% of their vehicle sales volume in 2011. In 2011 they had the largest market share for this market at 18.8% and the number three market share in Brazil. GMSA derived 59.4% of its vehicle sales volume from Brazil (General Motors, 2012). Automotive Financing GM Financial specializes in purchasing retail automobile instalment sales contracts originated by GM and non-GM franchised and selected independent dealers in sale of used and new automobiles. GM Financial also offers lease products through GM dealerships in connection with the sale of used and new automobiles that target customers with sub-prime and prime credit bureau scores. GM Financial primarily generates revenue and cash flows through the purchase, retention, subsequent securitization and servicing of finance receivables. To fund the acquisition of receivables prior to securitization, this financial arm uses available cash and borrowings under its credit facilities. GM Financial earns finance charge income on finance receivables and pays interest expense on borrowings under its credit facilities. Periodically it transfers receivables to securitization trusts that issue asset-backed securities to investors. The securitization trusts are special purpose entities (SPEs) that are a lso variable interest entities that meet the requirements to be consolidated in the financial statements (General Motors, 2012). Current Business Strategies at GM Generic Strategy GM uses differentiation focus strategy, as its competitive strategy. In Britain, you can buy a Vauxhall, a Chevrolet, a Saab, a Cadillac or a Hummer. On the Continent, you can trade in the Vauxhall for an Opel. In China, perhaps youd prefer a Buick, in Dubai a GMC. How about a Holden? Well, youll have to travel to Australia or New Zealand but they are all General Motors brands. Rather than focusing on one product, GM wants its consumers to be able to choose from a variety. Chevrolets are being marketed to entry-level car buyers, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe. Opels and Vauxhalls are for middle market consumers with a progressive take on new technology, Cadillacs have proved popular with wealthy buyers in Russia and Hummers are for people who like Hummers, wherever they happen to be (Pfanner, 2008). Chapter 7 Strategy directions Their vision is to design, build and sell the worlds best vehicles. The primary elements of their strategy to achieve this vision are to: Deliver a product portfolio of the worlds best vehicles, allowing them to maximize sales under any market conditions. Sell their vehicles globally by targeting developed markets, which are projected to have increases in vehicle demand as the global economy recovers, and further strengthening their position in high growth emerging markets. Improve revenue realization and maintain a competitive cost structure to allow them to remain profitable at lower industry volumes and across the lifecycle of their product portfolio and maintain a strong balance sheet by reducing financial leverage given the high operating leverage of their business model (General Motors, 2012). Product development Product development strategy is defined as; developing new products or modifying existing products so they appear new, and offering those products to current or new markets. There is nothing simple about the process. It requires keen attention to competitors and customer needs now and in the future, the ability to finance prototypes and manufacturing processes and a creative marketing and communications plan (Nielsen, 2012). GM uses product development as its corporate strategy by maintaining a broad portfolio of vehicles so that they are positioned to meet global consumer preferences through the following ways: Concentrate their design, engineering and marketing resources on fewer brands and architectures. Increase the volume of vehicles produced from common global architectures to more than 50% of total volumes in 2015 from less than 17% today. They expect that this initiative will result in greater investment per architecture and brand and will increase product development and manufacturing flexibility, allowing maintenance of a steady schedule of important new product launches in the future. The four brand strategy in the U.S. will continue to enable GM to allocate higher marketing expenditures per brand (General Motors, 2012). Develop products across vehicle segments in GM global markets: To develop vehicles in each of the key segments of the global markets in which GM competes. For example, in September 2010 the Chevrolet Cruze was introduced into the U.S. small car segment, an important and growing segment where historically GM had been under represented (General Motors, 2012). Continued investment in a portfolio of technologies: Continue to invest in technologies that support energy diversity and energy efficiency as well as in safety, telematics and infotainment technology. Commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and intention to offer a portfolio of fuel efficient alternatives that use energy sources such as petroleum, bio-fuels, hydrogen and electricity, including the new Chevrolet Volt thus increasing fuel efficiency of GM vehicles with internal combustion engines (General Motors, 2012). This will be achieved through features such as cylinder deactivation, direct injection, variable valve timing, turbocharging with engine downsizing and six speed transmissions. GM expects for example the Chevrolet Cruze Eco to be capable of achieving an estimated 40 mpg on the highway with a traditional internal combustion engine. GM will expand their telematics and infotainment offerings and, as a result of the OnStar service and their partnerships with compani es such as Google, are positioned to deliver safety, security, navigation and connectivity systems and features (General Motors, 2012). GM Diversity Strategy At GM to serve a diverse global market with unique segments they view diversity as a business imperative that should be leveraged on to produce cars that match the different demands in the Market. In their diversity Strategy they focus on five areas (General Motors, 2012); they have customers all over the world and so are dealerships distributed to ensure customer tastes are reflected in GM products (General Motors, 2012). They also have an inclusive workplace environment of choice which allows employees to perform at their peak; including training of staff on diversity as a cultural and business imperative. Through the GM Foundation support to communities is given with an emphasis on diverse sectors; Health, Education, Human rights. Suppliers; through growth of diverse and competitive supply base are also thus included. Through its dealer development network whose mission is to provide a profitable dealer network across all brands that reflects the diversity of the American Market consistent with the US Government designation of the underrepresented groups by supporting: GM Women retail network whose purpose is to attract and develop women dealer. National Candidate Program which purposes to prepare women and minority potential candidates to become GM dealer owners and operators through training (General Motors, 2012) Vertical integration Vertical integration is the process through which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers. This can have a significant impact on a business units position in its industry with respect to cost, differentiation and other strategic issues, the vertical scope of the firm is an important consideration in corporate strategy. Expansion of activities downstream is referred to as forward integration and expansion upstream is referred to as backward integration (Quick MBA, 2010). GM expands its activities downstream. For the automotive industry, forward integration woul be into retail, repairs and servicing and this is exactly what GM is doing.GM enters into contracts with each authorized dealer agreeing to sell to the dealer one or more specified product lines at wholesale prices and granting the dealer the right to sell those vehicles to retail customers from an approved location. Their dealers often offer more than one GM brand at a single dealership in a number of their markets in order to enhance dealer profitability. Authorized dealers offer parts, accessories, service and repairs for GM vehicles in the product lines that they sell using GM parts and accessories. The dealers are authorized to service GM vehicles under their limited warranty program and those repairs are to be made only with GM parts. The dealers generally provide their customers access to credit or lease financing, vehicle insurance and extended service contracts provided by GM Financia l, Ally Financial, Inc. (Ally Financial) and other financial institutions (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2011). The quality of GM dealerships and their relationship with their dealers and distributors are critical to their success as dealers maintain the primary sales and service interface with the end consumer of their products. In addition to the terms of their contracts with their dealers they are regulated by various country and state franchise laws that may replace those contractual terms and impose specific regulatory requirements and standards for initiating dealer network changes, pursuing terminations for cause and other contractual matters (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2011). Chapter 8; 8.6, 8.7 Sell GM vehicles globally by continuing to compete in the largest and fastest growing markets globally. They intend to do this by broadening GMNA product portfolio, launching thirteen new vehicles in GMNA across the four brands in 2011 and 2012, primarily in the growing car and crossover segments, where, in some cases, GM is under-represented, and an additional twenty nine new vehicles between 2013 and 2014. GM believes that it has achieved a more balanced portfolio in the U.S. market, where they maintained a sales volume mix of 36% from cars, 38% from trucks and 26% from crossovers in 2010 compared to 51% from trucks in 2006. COMPETITIVE DRIVERS Refresh GMEs vehicle portfolio to improve product quality and product perception in Europe, by the start of 2012, GM plans to have 80% of the Opel/Vauxhall carlines volume refreshed such that the model stylings are less than three years old. Four product launches were scheduled for 2011. As part of the planned rejuvenation of Chevrolets portfolio, which increasingly supplements the Opel/Vauxhall brands throughout Europe, the entire Chevrolet lineup is to be moved to new global architectures (General Motors, 2012). COMPETITIVE DRIVERS Increase sales in GMIO, particularly in China to execute growth strategies in countries where GM already holds strong positions, such as China, and to improve market share in other important markets, including South Korea, South Africa, Russia, India and the ASEAN region. GM aims to launch 70 new vehicles throughout GMIO through 2012 (General Motors, 2012). To enhance and strengthen the GMIO product portfolio three strategies were to be employed: leveraging GM global architectures; pursuing local and regional solutions to meet specific market requirements; and expanding joint venture partner collaboration opportunities. Increase sales in GMSA, particularly in Brazil, GM was to launch 40 new vehicles throughout GMSA through 2011. To strengthen GMSA product portfolio GM had three strategies: leverage on global architectures; pursuing local and regional solutions to meet specific market requirements; and expanding joint venture partner collaboration opportunities (General Motors, 2012). COST DRIVERS; CSD Ensure competitive financing is available to dealers and customers by maintaining multiple financing programs and arrangements with third parties for the wholesale and retail customers to utilize when purchasing or leasing vehicles. Through long standing arrangements with Ally Financial and a variety of other worldwide, regional and local lenders, provide customers and dealers with access to financing alternatives. GM was to further expand the range of financing options available to its customers and dealers to help grow vehicle sales through two specific objectives: ensure certainty of availability of financing; and competitive and transparent pricing for financing, for dealers and customers. GM Financial was to offer increased availability of leasing and sub-prime financing for GM customers in the United States and Canada throughout economic cycles. Plans to use GM Financial to initiate targeted customer marketing initiatives to expand vehicle sales were also in the pipeline (Gener al Motors, 2012). Reduce breakeven levels through improved revenue realization and a competitive cost structure. In developed markets, GM was to improve its cost structure to become profitable at lower industry volumes. Capitalize on cost structure improvement and maintain reduced incentive levels in GMNA by sustaining the cost reduction and operating flexibility progress so far resulting from the North American restructuring. Current U.S. and Canadian hourly labour agreements provide the flexibility to utilize a lower tiered wage and benefit structure for new hires, part-time employees and temporary employees. GM was to increase vehicle profitability by maintaining competitive incentive levels with strengthened product portfolio and by actively managing production levels through monitoring of dealer inventory levels. The twelve months ended December 31, 2010 and based on GMNAs 2010 market share, GMNAs earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) would have achieved breakeven at GMNA wholesale volume of approximately 2.3 million vehicles, consistent with an annual U.S. industry sales volume of approximately 9.5 to 10.0 million vehicles (General Motors, 2012). COST DRIVERS; SE Execute the Opel/Vauxhall restructuring plan. GM expected the Opel/Vauxhall restructuring plan to lower vehicle manufacturing costs. The plan included manufacturing rationalization, headcount reduction, labour cost concessions from the remaining workforce and selling, general and administrative efficiency initiatives. Specifically, GM has reached an agreement to reduce European manufacturing capacity by 20% through, among other things, the closing of Antwerp facility in Belgium and the rationalization of the powertrain operations in our Bochum and Kaiserslautern facilities in Germany. Additionally, GM had reached an agreement with the labour unions in Europe to reduce labour costs by Euro 265 million per year. The objective of the restructuring, along with the refreshed product portfolio pipeline, was to restore the profitability of the GME business. Enhance manufacturing flexibility. Primarily produce vehicles in locations where they are sold and have significant manufacturing capacity in medium- and low-cost countries, intention being to maximize capacity utilization across the production footprint to meet demand without requiring significant additional capital investment. For example, GM was able to leverage the benefit of a global architecture and start initial production for the U.S. of the Buick Regal 11 months ahead of schedule by temporarily shifting production from North America to RÃ ¼sselsheim, Germany (General Motors, 2012). Maintain a strong balance sheet. Given the businesss high operating leverage and the cyclical nature of the Motor industry, GM was to minimize on financial leverage. Excess cash was to be used to repay debt and to make discretionary contributions to the U.S. pension plans. Based on this planned reduction in financial leverage and the anticipated benefits resulting from operating strategy described above, GM would aim to attain an investment grade credit rating over the long-term (General Motors, 2012). Internationalization and Information Communication Strategy General Motors GM seeks to leverage on ICT to increase operational efficiency while generating value through saved costs.To execute this strategy, GM embraced a globally unified business model that emphasized the deployment of highly standardized engineering and manufacturing platforms that could be easily implemented and supported in any market around the world. The global, standards-based operating model would accelerate GMs move into emerging markets and generate efficiencies and cost savings through the use of common infrastructure components and processes. Among key initiatives designed to support the new unified operating model, GM invested in information technologies to more tightly integrate its manufacturing plants across the globe, control costs, and accelerate the introduction of new communications and collaboration applications. Key to this strategy was the implementation of modern standards-based network architecture called the Plant Floor Controls Network (PFCN) at mo re than 150 GM manufacturing plants worldwide (Cisco, 2010). Based on a single set of Cisco-based network designs and equipment, the PFCN solution replaced GMs aging and heavily customized legacy networks that were becoming increasingly unreliable, as well as difficult and expensive to maintain. The move to the PFCN solution enabled GM to standardize the design of each plant network and establish a single engineering team that monitors and troubleshoots network operations globally. The result: network downtime has dropped by about 70%, leading to fewer unplanned work stoppages on the plant floor. Furthermore, GM now needs two-thirds fewer network engineers and analysts to support the same number of plants (Cisco, 2010). The standardized Cisco network design also helped GM rationalize and reduce its legacy inventory of network devices and spare parts, cutting inventory carrying costs by 70%. It also allowed GM to create cost-efficient global applications that can be rolled out to plants quickly, and to automate system-management tasks like upgrades and patches. As a result, GM now spends 30% less time managing plant software. According to an analysis by Mainstay Partners, GMs investment in the Cisco-based PFCN solution will generate a return on investment (ROI) of 166% (Cisco, 2010). The full range of benefits is illustrated in Figure 1 and includes: Figure 1 What? Financial Consequence $ Million Labor Cost Saving as a result an efficient deployment of network Engineers 21.2 Labor cost saving from more efficient deployment of network operations analysts 53.9 one-off savings from faster network setups at each plant 16.4 Cost Saving from leaner inventory quantities 5.4 Reduced lost unit profit contribution from higher network uptime 76.4 Total PFCN additional benefits in the next five years (estimate) 173 (Cisco, 2010) Describe the processes through which the strategy has been developed/formed based on your findings and knowledge/experience. (i.e., is it intended as a written document (as a plan), or emergent as a pattern of decision-making/activities/behaviours. Refer to Chapter 12). Chapter 12 Evaluation of GMs intended strategy As consequence of many years of bad strategic decisions and operational troubles GM US market share has fallen to 20 percent for the first time in decades (51 percent at the peak of the company dominance) and its sales outside the United States now almost equal its domestic sales. GM has become a bureaucratic organization with immense dimensions and difficult to manage. The innovation and customer focus orientation that once served as the pillar of the organization had blurred. For many years now, GM has been producing boring and low quality cars with lack of innovation and distinctiveness creating a total disconnection between customers needs and its products (Vaccara, 2009). GM core problems were: Deficient product development (including lack of innovation) and the difficulty to develop cars that appeal to the market had created a bad reputation for its brands and the company in general. Lack of customer focus orientation and the impossibility to listen to the market voice had been impeding GM to create customer value and therefore hurting its sales in large scale. Disproportioned increase in healthcare and benefits costs giving in to union demands and creating a program that paid workers even when plants were not running had created financial deficiencies and affected cash flows and operations. The increasing size of its divisional organizational structure due to bureaucracy and the difficulty to manage many brands across many markets around the world had developed into a major managerial problem for the company (Vaccara, 2009). Emergent strategy On 2nd June, 2009, General Motors declared itself bankrupt in a legal filing at a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan, kicking off the biggest industrial insolvency in US history. According to GMs bankruptcy filing, the company had assets of $82.3 billion, and liabilities of $172.8 billion. That would make GM the fourth largest U.S. bankruptcy on record, according to Bankruptcydata.com, just behind the 2002 bankruptcy of telecom WorldCom (Cark, 2009). GM used the trip into bankruptcy court to shed plants, dealerships, debt and other liabilities it could no longer afford. Emerging out of bankruptcy quickly was a new GM, made up of the four brands that GM would keep in the U.S. market; Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick as well as many of its more successful overseas operations (Isidore, 2009). Obama said the massive reorganization of GM would leave the US government holding 60% of the companys equity. But it was necessary to preserve an iconic symbol of American business and maintain a viable US auto industry (Cark, 2009). Todays GMs business strategy is developed as a result of the failures of the Old GM and their determination not to repeat the same mistakes. Most of the current strategies are part of those imposed on the old GM when it borrowed money. Evaluate innovation/entrepreneurship practices/strategies used by the organization. Refer Chapter 9. Innovation and Entrepreneurship GMs innovation is driven by market pull. Market pull reflects a view of innovation that goes beyond invention and sees the importance of actual use. At GM, managements are making an effort to establish a direct connection with customers and giving the impression that their voice is now important for the company. It now offers a 60 day satisfaction warranty. This strategy is reflected under the slogan: If you dont love it well take it back. GM is also producing some environmentally friendly vehicles. A more environmentally conscious population seem to be very interested and this strategy seems to work fine due to the rising cost of fuel. Therefore it is extremely necessary to address issues like availability of alternative fuels and revise current infrastructure to estimate feasibility of the strategy in the long run (Vaccara, 2009). Open or closed innovation Open innovation means that valuable ideas can come from inside or outside the company and can go to market from inside or outside the company as well (Chesbrough, 2003), while closed innovation is a traditional approach to innovation where organizations rely on their own internal resources; its laboratories and marketing departments (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, 2011). GM applies an open innovation framework. GM gathers its data from customer clinics and marketing surveys and combine this information with formalized assessments of new technology. These analyses are used to guide vehicle and feature concept studies, which are critically reviewed to determine appropriate responses to emerging market and business opportunities. A response can be that no action is taken on a particular idea if they do not think it will yield true value for the customer. But more typically, the response leads to action, which is taken along one of two paths (Howell, 2000). The first path is to get it into the product now. This route is taken if the technology is ready and getting it into a product is just a matter of final development and vehicle integration. In this case, it is targeted for a production date and becomes part of the product plan. When a technology is not yet mature, it is the responsibility of the RD Center to develop it to the point where it is ready for integration into a future product (Howell, 2000). The intent of the innovation process is to ensure that a steady stream of product and technology options is developed on the basis of the companys sense of where the market is headed. These options are potential responses that GM can use to capitalize quickly on new opportunities. The process is designed to be dynamic, with new information and ideas moving continuously through the system. Each time the company goes through an innovation cycle, they gain knowledge and discover new ways to apply it to subsequent product and technology programs (Howell, 2000). Innovators or Followers The key choice of GM managers is to be leaders and not followers. The firm is trying to get its innovation out to the market and make it first than anybody else. GM wants to become a worldwide leader automaker providing total customer value through customer-driven service, innovation, technology and competitive operations. They want to re-invent the automobile industry focusing on protecting and contributing to a cleaner world. They want to become a good place to work, a place in which every employee feels proud of its responsibilities and performance with the company. A place in which, customers and suppliers are their top priority and communications with them are fluent in every possible contact point. A place in which, distributors are proud to become part of their family and feel confident of the quality and safety of their products. Finally, they must experiment with ideas to develop new designs and innovative products and launch them accordingly, to satisfy consumer taste and a llow stockholders to realize a fair return on their investment (General Motors, 2011). Conclusion

osmosis :: essays research papers

Finding out the Rate of Osmosis in a Potato After Being Left in a Solution. What are you trying to find out? I am trying to find out how much water has been diffused into a potato when placed in different strengths of solution. But before the experiment can take place I need to explore all areas in which could produce biased or inaccurate results. What can influence the results of the experiment? Temperature - The temperature in which the experiment is conducted can affect the experiment. If one or more of the samples are at a higher temperature than the others they will diffuse water molecules faster because, when heated, molecules move faster therefore osmosis will occur faster. So I will have to be sure that all of my samples are as close to the same temperature as possible. The amount of solution – The amount of solution that is present in each sample has to be similar as possible as if one sample has more solution than another then the chance of that sample diffusing more water is high which will give an inaccurate result. Where the potato is from – Where the potato is from can influence the result because if some potatoes were grown in a muddy field and the rest were grown in dry fields it is likely that the potatoes from the muddy fields have already diffused a lot of water whereas the potatoes from the dry field would not have diffuse as much as the others. So therefore I need to select potatoes that are produced from the same company so that it is likely that they have being grown in the same place or at least been grow under the same conditions. Size of the potato – The size the potato will affect my results because if one particular potato is larger than the others it will have more cells in which to diffuse more water molecules so therefore will gain a lot more weight in which will bias my results. What have I chosen to investigate? I have chosen to investigate the affect on the potato after it has been placed in different strengths of solution ranging from 0M up to 1M with intervals of 0.2M therefore I will have five results in which will give me and accurate idea of the final result. How am I going to carry out the investigation? First I will cut 15 pieces of potato (of the same shape) this is so I can place three potato shapes in each test tube in which I will be able to take an average from the results to receive a more accurate final result. osmosis :: essays research papers Finding out the Rate of Osmosis in a Potato After Being Left in a Solution. What are you trying to find out? I am trying to find out how much water has been diffused into a potato when placed in different strengths of solution. But before the experiment can take place I need to explore all areas in which could produce biased or inaccurate results. What can influence the results of the experiment? Temperature - The temperature in which the experiment is conducted can affect the experiment. If one or more of the samples are at a higher temperature than the others they will diffuse water molecules faster because, when heated, molecules move faster therefore osmosis will occur faster. So I will have to be sure that all of my samples are as close to the same temperature as possible. The amount of solution – The amount of solution that is present in each sample has to be similar as possible as if one sample has more solution than another then the chance of that sample diffusing more water is high which will give an inaccurate result. Where the potato is from – Where the potato is from can influence the result because if some potatoes were grown in a muddy field and the rest were grown in dry fields it is likely that the potatoes from the muddy fields have already diffused a lot of water whereas the potatoes from the dry field would not have diffuse as much as the others. So therefore I need to select potatoes that are produced from the same company so that it is likely that they have being grown in the same place or at least been grow under the same conditions. Size of the potato – The size the potato will affect my results because if one particular potato is larger than the others it will have more cells in which to diffuse more water molecules so therefore will gain a lot more weight in which will bias my results. What have I chosen to investigate? I have chosen to investigate the affect on the potato after it has been placed in different strengths of solution ranging from 0M up to 1M with intervals of 0.2M therefore I will have five results in which will give me and accurate idea of the final result. How am I going to carry out the investigation? First I will cut 15 pieces of potato (of the same shape) this is so I can place three potato shapes in each test tube in which I will be able to take an average from the results to receive a more accurate final result.

Narcissism and Generation Essay

My generation, also known as Generation Y, is defined as a technology based generation. We have grown up surrounded with all sorts of technologies that make our lives easier. In some ways this has been beneficial to us. It has enabled us to get information about something at the touch of a button or keep us from getting sick. In other ways it has caused us to grow up lazy and wanting to do the least amount of work as possible. Many adults believe that Generation Y feels entitled to certain privileges and that most luxuries are necessities. According to Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before, â€Å"Teens feel entitled and are coddled, disrespectful, narcissistic and impatient†. I agree with this because many people my age are very self-centered. see more:does technology make us lazy The main thing that defines Generation Y is our technology based upbringing. We have grown up with televisions , microwaves, dishwashers, and other gadgets that entertain us or make our lives easier. We are so consumed with technology that issues such as â€Å"nomophbia† or â€Å"no mobile-phone phobia,† (Vicky Kung, CNN) and other psychological problems have recently been discovered when Generation Y was separated from technology. As one of the examples of excess attachment to technology, researcher, Michael Carr-Gregg, stated that â€Å"Many of my clients go to bed with their mobile phones while sleeping just like how one will have the teddy bear in the old days.† This just goes to show how attached Generation Y is to technology. There are two main characteristics that Generation Y have: they are feelings of entitlement and the belief that luxuries are necessities. We believe that having a television, hair dryer, coffee maker and other such amenities are necessities when staying in a hotel, while our parents consider them luxuries. This is because we have never been without these utilities and have grown up in homes that use them every day. The other characteristic that Generation Y has is that we feel entitlement to certain privileges due to the fact that technology has made life easier for us and we haven’t had to work as hard for the things that we want compared to our parents. Generation Y thinks that because we know more about the current day and age (basically technology) that we should be entitled to greater or equal benefits to that of our superiors. As far as â€Å"fitting into the mold† I believe that in certain aspects I do fit into Generation Y and in others I do not. I fit into Generation Y when it comes to technology and being â€Å"tech savvy†. I understand how many computers and other such technological appliances work because I have grown up around them. I don’t â€Å"fit the mold† when it comes to the psychological issues of technology such as nomophobia. I have never been super attached to a phone or other technology based appliance. One thing that has helped me not become so attached is that I don’t have internet on my phone. This helps because I interact more with people and I don’t have the temptation to check my Facebook all the time. I don’t fit the mold with the feelings of entitlement because my parents have taught me to respect my elders and that just because I may know a little bit more about technology than they do doesn’t mean that they aren’t smart or that their advice is worthless. Other characteristics that I do fit the mold in are thinking that luxuries are necessities. Growing up, I always had a dishwasher, microwave, computer, television and other necessities that my parents consider the comfortable luxuries of life. In conclusion Generation Y is a technology based generation because that is what we have grown up with and evolved with. Generation Y has also grown up thinking that luxuries are necessities because we have never been without them. Many of us also have feelings of entitlement because technology has made life easier for us and we haven’t had to work as hard as our parents did growing up. I believe that I personally fit the mold in some areas and don’t in others because of the generation and technology age that I have grown up in and the way that I was raised. Works Cited ————————————————- Armour, Stephanie. â€Å"Generation Y: They’ve arrived at work with a new attitude.† USA Today. USA Today, 06 November 2005. Web. 17 Sep 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2005-11-06-gen-y_x.htm>. ————————————————- ————————————————- Chang, Katherine. â€Å"What Defines Our Generation?.† Inside Beat. Inside Beat, 29 September 2010. Web. 17 Sep 2012. <http://www.inside-beat.com/film/what-defines-our-generation-1.2349047>. ————————————————- ————————————————- Kung, Vicky. â€Å"Rise of ‘nomophobia’: More people fear loss of mobile contact.† CNN. CNN, 07 March 2012. Web. 17 Sep 2012. <http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/06/tech/mobile/nomophobia-mobile-addiction/?hpt=hp_c3>. ————————————————- ————————————————- Twenge, Jean. Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -and More Miserable Than Ever Before. New York City: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2006. 279. Web.

Free Essays on Video Violence And Juveniles

Major Paper: Violent Video Games Influence on Juveniles In our great land of America, violence is all too common and often children are behind these dreadful acts. The most commonly asked question is who is to blame? There are many different explanations, but videogames seem to be an easy target. Although videogames have been proven to have some violent effects on youthful behavior, parents, religious groups, politicians, and especially the media are eager to point fingers, rather than to address the real problem. Much of the attention is directed around shooting games like Quake, Grand Theft Auto, and Doom. The object here is to use a weapon in order to injure your opponent. The player has access to guns, knives, or bombs depending on the particular game. Shooting games have been in the industry for a while, but the technological imagery of violence is causing a good deal of controversy (Newsmagazine, 2000). The injuries sustained are becoming remarkably realistic. The more horrific injuries include exploding bodies, dissembling limbs, and decapitation. Zimmerman 2 The realistic injuries may overshadow the other deviant acts that are carried out. The game has characters committing crimes like muggings on the street, drive by shootings, and car jacking. These images could provoke youth to commit a crime more than seeing a dissembled body. Violent games are among the most popular in the video game industry, and children are significant contributors playing the games (Cesarone, 1995). The games will only continue to be bigger, better, and bloodier because this is what the American pubic demands. What the people want, the video game industry should give. These games are intended for the adult public, not to adolescents. The industry issued voluntary warning label in 1994, but now all videos are required by law to issue a rating (Freedom Forum, 2001). Not the video industry, but the distributors should be the ones ... Free Essays on Video Violence And Juveniles Free Essays on Video Violence And Juveniles Major Paper: Violent Video Games Influence on Juveniles In our great land of America, violence is all too common and often children are behind these dreadful acts. The most commonly asked question is who is to blame? There are many different explanations, but videogames seem to be an easy target. Although videogames have been proven to have some violent effects on youthful behavior, parents, religious groups, politicians, and especially the media are eager to point fingers, rather than to address the real problem. Much of the attention is directed around shooting games like Quake, Grand Theft Auto, and Doom. The object here is to use a weapon in order to injure your opponent. The player has access to guns, knives, or bombs depending on the particular game. Shooting games have been in the industry for a while, but the technological imagery of violence is causing a good deal of controversy (Newsmagazine, 2000). The injuries sustained are becoming remarkably realistic. The more horrific injuries include exploding bodies, dissembling limbs, and decapitation. Zimmerman 2 The realistic injuries may overshadow the other deviant acts that are carried out. The game has characters committing crimes like muggings on the street, drive by shootings, and car jacking. These images could provoke youth to commit a crime more than seeing a dissembled body. Violent games are among the most popular in the video game industry, and children are significant contributors playing the games (Cesarone, 1995). The games will only continue to be bigger, better, and bloodier because this is what the American pubic demands. What the people want, the video game industry should give. These games are intended for the adult public, not to adolescents. The industry issued voluntary warning label in 1994, but now all videos are required by law to issue a rating (Freedom Forum, 2001). Not the video industry, but the distributors should be the ones ...

The eNotes Blog Our Calendar of Literary Facts is NowLive!

Our Calendar of Literary Facts is NowLive! At weve been working on a special addition, not only to our own  website but to thousands of pages across the web. Presenting our Calendar of Literary Facts, now available to be published on your own site or blog with the code that weve created! See how it works on below, then read on to find out how you can bring this engaging calendar to your homepage. Calendar of Literary Facts collates a huge array of important dates in literary history. 365 days of the year, brings you interesting literary events (births, deaths, publications) that took place on that day, right on your dashboard. Alternatively, you can search our calendar  to see what took place on a particular day. Beside these facts, the calendar also directs you to relevant pages to discover more about the people and events mentioned on that day of literary history. This makes it not only fun for those with literary interests, but a great teaching tool as well. Which is precisely why weve created the coding to share this platform with the world. How to add the calendar to your web page: Head to our API page at  www./help/api  to find the code necessary to bring the Calendar of Literary Facts to your site. At weve made our  calendar  available through a public API. This means that schools and other organizations (along with individual developers) can retrieve significant literary events for a particular day and month, along with links to related content for deeper exploration. Literature teachers with their own websites should consider this  addition, as it keeps visiting students engaged while also directing them on to instructive material. To insert the code you will require an API key. For more on information on API keys, what they are and how to use them, you may want to visit stackoverflow.com, a site that has a large database of questions and answers on the topic. Or  feel free to email us at dev@! Wed be happy to help you bring the calendar to your site. We hope you have fun with the new addition! Check it out at  www./lit-fact-calendar.

Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Theories - Essay Example Secondly, there is an individual deterrence in which courts and other law practitioners get certain guidance as to how to deal with the first-time criminals or may be how to carry about sanctions on individual cases so that they deter from the act. Another form of deterrence is absolute deterrence when the threat and the punishment happen to a person who is close to the offender, and thus, he realizes that the same could also happen to him and his family and finally deters. The final form is of restrictive deterrence, when the offender commits one type of sin and refrains from it the next time while, experimenting other misdeeds in subsequent happenings. Deterrence theories offer certain assumptions regarding the implications that the legal/formal and informal controls might have their impacts on further involvement of the convicted persons in other criminal activities (Lebow & Stein, 1989). They say that if control of either type is exercised, it would reduce the number of criminal activities by the person in future. However, studies conducted at different places reflected quite a contradictory picture revealing that control, in the form of arrest, has no effect in the rate of crime pertained to domestic violence (Sherman, Smith, Schmidt & Rogan, 1992). Such a collective impact of the two controls are marked under the category of general deterrence, however, the function of informal control would be discussed under the category of specific deterrence and their hypotheses are discussed respectively. As discussed above, the general deterrence model incorporates the interface of both types of threats and the nature and extent of punishment that they include. There are mainly three hypotheses that come under this category, as elaborated below: This particular hypothesis advocates that when the offender is more concerned and tied to the societal norms and values, only then, the legal threats in the

Internation marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Internation marketing - Essay Example ologetic about its population, but with the era of consumerism dictating the trade talks this very population has become an important tool of economic progress for the country. The international community has also taken note of the burgeoning number of millionaires in India and the increase in purchasing power of an average Indian. The demand for cars has also seen a proportionate upsurge in the country. Now that the company has launched the much awaited people’s car, it is time to have a realistic assessment of the market potential and how best to tap this potential. 1. The Nano is sure to generate lot of interest, because now a small car is not considered a luxury; instead it is now being considered a necessity. To tap this ‘need’ a number of domestic and international car manufacturers have started making elaborate plans and marketing strategies. Some of the key challenges that Tata could face in its endeavour are; i. Increasing alliances of multinational car manufacturers with domestic Indian companies. In one of the latest developments, Toyota has sealed a strategic alliance with Indias Kirloskar Group to tap the potential of the huge small car market in the country1. This initiative is bound to prove quite competitive, for the simple reason that, Toyota has entered into the alliance well after the formal launch of Nano. That means, Toyota would have taken into account many factors which prove to be detrimental for the health of such a venture. Toyota’s research and development facility in Japan is busy on this car now a days. Though it is a new venture and it may take couple of years before we actually see the outcome, but considering the Japanese prowess in innovation and feature packaging, we must plan out our strategies accordingly. ii. In the international market, Tata’s will have a tough competition on hand from reputed brands like GM, BMW, Ford etc. These companies may not be able to match up the price tag offered by Tata’s but, they can