Challenges of VET Programs in Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Challenges of VET Programs in Schools - Essay Example It also offers different forms of trainings that help students fit into the job market easily. This paper will describe the vocational and training program in detail and highlight challenges that the program is facing. One may wonder how Australia arrived at a situation whereby a vocational and training program became an available option in the education system. History reveals that TAFE has been a leader in offering technical training for more than hundred years. However, tracing what it has evolved into from the 1970’s is more crucial than the entire history. Australia found 1970’s to be full of economical challenges. Its export values dropped and the country plunged into inflation and unemployment. Since the world was embracing technology so fast, people became jobless in Australia. The Sydney mechanical college had been offering technical skills that enabled people make a living before the hard times. When the economy destabilized, strategies changed. The Australian National Training Authority came into place and introduced vocational and education training in schools (VET). Students could learn different vocations alongside the curriculum and even train on workplaces. The program’s main objective was to provide the students with skills that could enable them find jobs or learn trades that could enable them make a living (Rauner, Maclean & Boreham, 2008). Vocational education and training is part of what TAFE does. Currently, TAFE has a broad range of courses. TAFE targets people of all age groups. It offers trainings to students who are completing their year12 enabling them to land jobs. Courses for such students instill them with skills that are necessary for the workplace. In addition, TAFE offers part-time courses to people who land jobs before they complete school. Other working class people need extra qualifications to get promotions and TAFE offers such. TAFE is unique and is the preferred choice because it offers nationally and internationally recognized courses at a broad range. On the hand, similar courses are available in schools approved and supported by TAFE for students who are yet to complete their year 12. It is one of the ways of ensuring a high retention rate to curb levels of dropouts. Schools offering such courses prepare students for the workplace and offer them life skills. These schools link up the students with workplace exposures. By the time of completion, students have some experience that can help them get jobs. In addition, these schools are a choice for students who cannot put up with the curriculum in the other schools. Instead of dropping out of school, they opt for TVET schools. Schools that run VET program have had their success stories over the years. They have positively influenced the society. However, such schools face several challenges. One of the challenges has its roots on the nature of the courses offered. Critics argue that students take subjects of a broad range making it difficult for them to determine their certification level. According to these schools, students complete their courses. However, keeping a track of all the courses students take becomes quite complex and this is the basis of the challenge (Maclachlan, 1994). As TAFE supports schools in offering TVET, it includes a program that requires a student to get a job and work a day weekly for several months. Students have to manage their time wisely and manage the two

Tream paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tream - Term Paper Example Modern buildings still incorporate beauty of art in there structural design which is in line with the old practice of pre-modern architecture. According to a quote from â€Å"Improvement of Modern Systems† by Sitte- â€Å"Our study has certainly demonstrated that it is not at all necessary to design modern city plans in as stereotyped a fashion as is the custom, that it is quite unnecessary to forgo in them all the beauties of art and the attainments of the past†, he confirms how pre-modern architecture focused on ornamentation that were aesthetic in value. In as far as the ornamentation in modern architecture need to maximize the good of all users, the necessity of stereotyped fashion that focused more on beauties of art was still somewhat of use in modern architecture. However, it is impractical to conceive stone ceilings much better contrived compared to those of the early churches. This is because they are at once, beautiful, light, substantial, and lofty. First, th ey are light, since, their principal strength anchors in the ribs and the intermediate spaces or the spandrils are packed in with small light stones. Secondly, they are substantial, since for every stone being cut to the centre and forming the portions of the curve, when combined they are capable of thwarting immense pressure and the keys or the bosses wedging all together. Thirdly, they are beautiful, since for no ceiling is worth being conceived more elegant and graceful than an elongated perspective of lines and arches which radiate from exquisitely carved centers. Fourthly, they are lofty, since, not only in relation to the elevation at which these stone ceilings of early churches are placed, but also that their construction enables the clerestory windows to get carried up high with a crown of the arch inside the intermediate spaces. Pitch roof express beauty and slide off snow Pre-modern architecture design utilized pitch roof so often. This is because of its perceived utility and beautiful appearance as opposed to the ugly look of flat roof. In pointed architecture, the pitch of roof is a subject in which certain useful observations might be made. One can find, on examination that the extremely beautiful pitch of any roof or gable end is undoubtedly an inclination satisfactorily steep to slide off snow without offering the slate too perpendicular a strain, that is created by the two sides on equilateral triangle. When this form is departed from, the gable definitely appears either too widely spread or painfully acute. Every really beautiful form in ornamentation of architecture is actually based on soundest principles of utility. The Practical men know how fiat-pitched roofs, that are extremely ugly in appearance, are nothing more than an ill calculated roof incapable of resisting the action of weather. Moreover, especially in slated roofs, gusts of wind in fact, blow under and also lift up the covering. Purpose of ornamentation is a factor to consider i n design work The purpose of ornamentation should come out clearly and be shown in the both internal and external appearance of any design work. Ornamentation should clearly reveal the purpose unto which a building is to be put. A building for worship of God, for example; should be different from the one used for settlements. A chapel should be different from house of residence. Cathedral should be differe

Company overview: Astro All Asia Networks

Company overview: Astro All Asia Networks Astro All Asia Networks is a Malaysias leading cross-media group with significance presence in DTH (Direct-To-Home) TV services, commercial radio and TV programming. The group encompasses of seven different structures which includes MEASAT Broadcasting Network Systems (MBNS) or also known as Astro TV, Astro Entertainment Network (AEN), Airtime Management TV Programming Sdn Bhd (AMP) radio networks, Tayangan Unggul Sdn Bhd (TUSB), Astro Shaw Sdn Bhd, Measat Publications Sdn Bhd and Digital Five Sdn Bhd. Astro is owned by Binariang Sdn. Bhd. with 85% share and the remaining 15% is owned by Khazanah Berhad. In this study, we will take MBNS as the main organizational where sports marketing lies in this structure. MBNS was established in 1996 with 22 channels broadcasted on air. Today, MBNS broadcasts more than 125 pay-TV channels and serves to more than 2.93 million households including Malaysian TV households, rural and urban. Throughout the technology advancement, the group has paved its innovative roadmap from Standard Definition (SD) to B.yond featuring High Definition (HD) broadcast to Malaysia through Astro B.yond. Up till now, Astro TV has its own 12 HD channels on its platform. In MBNS, it is divided into seven divisions which are first, Broadcast and Operations, second is Commercial Services, third is Customer Marketing and followed by Communications, Customer Experience, Information Technology, Sales Distribution, Content Management Group, Regulatory and Government Relations, Customer Marketing and lastly Technology and New Media. MANAGEMENT TEAM Dato Rohana Rozhan Chief Executive Officer MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Ahmad Fuaaad Kenali Chief Financial Officer MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Dato Borhanuddin Osman Executive Director Airtime Management and Programming Sdn Bhd Zainir Aminullah Executive Director Astro Entertainment Sdn Bhd Raghvendra Madhav Executive Director India (based in New Delhi) Ken Wang Executive Director China (based in Beijing) Louis Foo General Manager MEASAT Publications Lakshmi Nadarajah General Counsel Astro CUSTOMER MARKETING TEAM In Customer Marketing, the division is sub-divided into four other segments which are firstly, Malay Segment Marketing including Malay Loyalty, secondly, Presence Marketing, followed by Chinese Marketing, Sports Marketing, and lastly International, Education, Indian and Others Segment Marketing. Diagram (1.0) below shows the divisional structure of customer marketing team: Molina Musa (Vice President) Shirley Tan (Ast.Vice President) Chinese Segment Marketing Nachiappan M.T Arasu (Ast. Vice President) Sports,International, Education and Others Herman Sophiaan (Ast. Vice President) Malay Segment and Presence Marketing Rosnah (Ast Vice President) Malay Segment Loyalty Ahmad Faisal (Ast. Vice President) Sports Marketing Nik Faidz (Ast. manager) Sabrina (Associates) Michelle Goh (Ast. Manager) Yeng Yeng (Associates) Sheila Mathavan (Associates) Jeevan (Associates) Emarina Kamal (Associates) Yvonne (Associates) Nurul Hidayah (Intern) Nur Nazihah (Associates) Sharol (Intern) Heryandy Ramli (Associates) Mohd Syafiq (Intern) BACKGROUND OF STUDY This study is conducted to identify the factors of successful sports marketing strategies in pay TV industry in Malaysia which is solely owned by Astro MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd. Astro is a leading pay TV with no major competition in this industry for over 10 years is providing its premium sports package in broadcasting the worlds best sports on air. The exclusivity of Astro in showing the worlds best sports has become its major success in up-selling the sports package. Since Astro is represented as a global business environment where most of the contents are taken internationally and disseminate in Asia, how well the firm can do profit and improve humanity can be the most important dimension to look at through deeper understand in consumers preferences and income level (Van R. Wood, Dennis A.Pitta, Frank J. Franzak, 2008). Astro sports marketing team is now trying to adapt to local consumer buying behaviour and needs that are driven by the differences in cultural norm s. This study later will determine how it can be one of the important factors taken into consideration to ensure the success of sports marketing program strategies. According to Vivienne Shaw (2000) is her study on successful marketing strategies of German companies in the UK, she had identify that strategic objectives and focus, customer targets, competitor targets and competitive advantage, and interaction of marketing mix play a major role to ensure success. Besides aiming to discover the correlation between customer marketing strategies implementation, it is also will determine the feedbacks from rewarding its current 1.53 million sports package subscribers through the execution of sports ground events and corporate social responsibility. However, the ultimate objective of sports marketing is to achieve 1.8 million subscribers and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) still hasnt reached yet. Therefore, in this study, we will also find ways on how Astro can achieve its target either by peer influence and freedom of choice in choosing the most updating sports content. As the sports pack is the most expensive pack among all packages availab le, the benefits that subscribers will gain from paying the fees to watch the best in the world sports will be determined throughout the research. PROBLEM STATEMENT Ideal approach to pursuit the marketing strategies are important to win the heart of sports package subscribers. Among the all content packages offered by Astro including the basic pack, sports package is the most expensive of all. To retain the customers from reverting to original pack combo by withdrawing the sports package in Astro packs can be a major problem face by the organization as consumers want the best value for every cent paid to watch the best worlds sports on air. Therefore, Astro needs to give the best value and sport contents available that worth paying by consumers. Another problem faced is to ensure exclusivity of Astro sports pack from other competitors in broadcasting industry such as RTM and TV3. According to Simon (1992, p.6), he stated that organisations must be able to manage the integration of market and technology as equally driving forces. With the technology advancement, sports pack can be integrated into incredible pack that competitors doesnt have such as watching sports game in high definition (HD) instead of standard definition (SD). The internal factors that influence the successful of sports marketing program are also been questioned on the level of its effectiveness. Major challenges for managers according to Eleri R. Thorpe and Robert E.Morgan (2007) are on how manager direct the efforts of talented employees in given time frame and how manager guarantee that aims mission of intended marketing strategy is clearly understood by employees. As consumers not only looking forward for the international sports team, it is also another drawback because Astro needs to fulfil the local consumers taste by broadcasting local game on air in the sports package. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY The objectives of conducting this research are: To discover the success factors sports marketing strategies in pay TV industry in Malaysia. To identify how sports marketing strategies will be able to cater and fulfil the differences in consumers preferences. To reward consumers with feeling of belonging through CSR and ground events organized by the Sports Marketing team. To identify the benefits gained when subscribers pay monthly fees to subscribe to Astro sports pack as compare to watch sports at non-pay TV station. RESEARCH QUESTION In conducting this research, the questions below need to be answered through observation, interview the internal parties or from consumers feedbacks. How Astro sports marketing strategies able to cater and fulfil the consumers preferences in terms of gender, cultural and income level differences? What can Astro sports marketing team do to make customers have the feeling of belonging through corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ground events to reward loyal customers? How Astro can provide freedom of choice in choosing the most updated sports content in any platform through the adaptation of marketing strategies and marketing mix? What are the benefits received or caused-related marketing effected the subscribers when they subscribes to the sports package and pay the monthly fees throughout the years in comparison with watching sports game broadcasted in non-pay TV? SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY This study can be significance not only to the organization itself, but to customers and to the nation. Firstly, the researcher intended to discover the success factors of Sport Marketing strategies in pay TV industry in Malaysia for the benefit of the organization that helps to overcome the barriers and undesirable outcomes by learning all about the current subscribers and potential subscribers of sports pack. Secondly, this study also addressed to create awareness and positive identity that diverse Astro sports pack with other competitors in sports channel especially in non-pay TV. Another benefit of this study is to create more purchasing powers of consumers in deciding what give the best values for their money. They usually tied up with emotions when considering the purchase decisions. Therefore, through effective marketing strategies, it helps to derive consumers to make purchasing. As Astro is the main Asia pay-TV broadcaster and number one in Malaysia, it assist our country to come out with the technological advancement through the launching of High Definition channels that brings international; sports game lives together in HD direct to customers. It creates international brand image mutually will increase positive image of the nation. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This research is conducted to identify what are the factors that sports marketing strategies can be successful in retaining the existing sports pack subscribers and attracting potential sports pack subscribers in pay TV industry in Malaysia. Thus it will be restricted only to observation, interviews and secondary data such as annual report. Observation that will be made internally in the organization itself (Astro) by interviewing the samples which is the top level manager in sports marketing team and the employees. Through observation during the ground events and corporate social responsibility done by the team, it helps to determine the success factors. Besides that, the external samples such as Astros customers, sports viewers regardless they are Astro subscribers or not on and consumers with difference genders and income level can be used to obtain results on the level of effectiveness of sports marketing strategies. Those vendors including event agency and producer of sports merchandises who have collaborated with Astro to sustain the premium sports packs can contribute in giving feedbacks and opinion regarding the success factors of Astro Sports Marketing through interview and supporting documents. DEFINITION OF TERMS Sports Sports can be clearly defined as an organized, competitive, and skilful physical activity and it is governed by set or rules and customs. For example of sports are football, badminton, and tennis. Marketing Marketing is a management process through which goods and services move from the concept to customer. As practice, it consists in coordination of four elements called 4Ps which are development of product, determination of price, advertising and publicity namely promotion and selection of distribution which is place. Subscribers As stated in www.thefreedictionary.com, subscribers is defined as to contract to receive and pay for a certain number of issues of a publication, for tickets to a series of events or performances, or for a utility service. In this study context, the subscribers are those who subscribes to Astro sports pack. Consumers behaviour In study conducted by Olympia Business School on Consumer behaviour, they had identified that consumer behaviour means how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, and effort) on consumption-related items. It includes the study of what they buy, why they buy it, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, and how often they use it. Demographic Factors Demographic factors are characterized by statistical socio-economic characteristic or variables of a population which includes age, sex, education level, income level, marital status, occupation, religion, birth rate, death rate, average size of a family, average age at marriage. Pay TV Pay TV, premium TV or premium channels refer to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analogue, digital cable and satellite but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television. In this study context, researcher is referring to Astro as the premium pay TV industry in Malaysia. ARPU ARPU is defined as a measure of the revenue generated per user or unit. Average revenue per unit allows for the analysis of a companys revenue generation and growth at the per-unit level, which can help investors to identify which products are high or low revenue-generators. SUMMARY This study is conducted to identify the success factors of sport marketing strategies applied by the marketing team in pay-TV industry. By using the qualitative measures to conduct this study, it will focus more on finding evidence to answer the research questions. Data will be collected through primary data collections which are interview and observation. Besides that, secondary data collection also will be used such as from the annual report. This study is conducted within the organization itself and consumers feedbacks and point of view towards marketing strategies of sports marketing. Researcher used Judgment Sampling method and Convenience Sampling method. To analyze the findings and data, it will be analyze through Content Analysis, event Analysis and Phenomenology Analysis and there is no computer software involve analyzing the data. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW CONSUMERS DIFFERENCES AND PREFERENCES Different consumer has their own perceptions towards the need of subscribing to the Astro sports package. Through segmenting customers into geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural attributes, it helps to identify potential market for up selling the sports pack. According to Helen Reijonen and Tommi Laukkanen (2009), the advancement in information technologies had enable enterprises to collect more and in-depth information about their customers and make it useful for strategic business purpose. Besides that, through consumers socialization, it is also will affect the acceptance of sports package regardless of gender and culture. In research conducted by Luiz Moutinhon and Pedro DionÄ ±Ã‚ ´sio and Carmo Leal (2008) in the process of socialization can be seen as a deliberated act of identity construction the neophyte member begins to deliberately adopt mannerisms, attitudes, and styles of dress, speech, and behavior that he or she perceives to be characteristic of established members. Consumers also will be influenced with the brand image of TV broadcaster in order for them to decide whether to subscribe or not with the pack. Peter Drinkwater and Mark Uncles (2007) examined the impact of program brands on consumer evaluations of television and radio broadcaster brands and come out with finding stated that a successful program on a particular TV/radio station, consumers are likely to improve their perceptions of quality of the broadcaster. That is, the broadcaster brand image is likely to be enhanced. SPORTS MARKETING GROUND EVENTS AND CSR Sports package offered by Astro is currently the premium pack that offers the best sports in the world. Thus, all the sports fans in Malaysia depending on level of income who dont want to missed the live game broadcasted in sports channel will definitely subscribes to the sports package. According to Luiz Moutinhon and Pedro DionÄ ±Ã‚ ´sio and Carmo Leal (2008), in sports activities have always constituted an essential component of free time occupation TV in contemporary societies and in Europe, broadcasting and live attendance of sport games join together every year millions of supporters. The 2006 World Cup was seen in 154 countries by a total of 354,000 of million spectators. This showed that the sports game broadcasted in TV has its own superiority to attract more viewers to subscribe to Astro sports pack. However, to retain the customer loyalty from withdrawing the sports pack, the important of ground events and corporate social responsibility needs to be done. In study done by Anne-Marie Hede examined how special events, such as sporting, cultural, political, historical, religious or commercial/business events, provide opportunities for attendees to have memorable experiences communities to build social capital and for governments to induce new income into their economies though increased tourism and business activities. She also point out that large events such as the Olympic Games can customize product features and develop selling techniques tailored to local customs and cultures. MARKETING STRATEGIES Marketing strategies is the most important principle that needs to be determined to cater target market. With appropriate marketing mix 4Ps including product, price, place and promotion adapted; it helps to ensure success for sports marketing in pay TV industry. In research conducted by Anthony R. Bennet (1997), he stated that when organizations apply the marketing mix principle to market making, targeting the customer, it will involves giving value in relation to quality, value for money, reliability, product performance, cost effectiveness, fitness for purpose and so on. Water Wymer (2011) in his research Developing More Effective Social Marketing Strategies stated that social marketers have tended to limit their choice of set of social marketing strategies to various applications of 4Ps aiming to change individual behaviour and attitudes. However, some barriers may arise that caused marketing strategy to fails. Another research conducted by Water Wymer (et.al) if the social marketing strategy fails to remove an environmental barrier, the social marketing programs effectiveness will be lessened. In relation to this, Anthony R.Bennet (et.al) came out with a findings that channeling an organizational resources into the provision of products and services, it is argues that such strategic focus, on behalf of the organization concerned, will ultimately achieve the objectives set out. Organizational marketing activities will be influenced through publicity and helps to enhance brand image. According to Harlam E.vSpotts and Marc G. Weinberger, both communications activities might play a central role in developing and shaping the corporate brand. BENEFIT AND CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING EFFECTS The first question that always lingers in customers mind is whether the money they are paying is worth the value they receive when subscribing to the premium sports pack. In study conducted by Rob Docters, Raul Katz, Jerry Bernstein and Bert Schefer (2010), customers must first learn about the product and service, use and appreciate the value and lastly reassessment the value and benefits they gained. This research also came out with findings that familiarity of products will lead to usage and enjoyment of product and service. Besides that, through enjoyment of usage, it will leads to higher utility and satisfaction. Individuals also may derive the strength and sense of identity as they are socializing through groups. This can say to be a benefit when they gather together and use sports content as mean to socializing. According to Leal Luiz Moutinho, Pedro DionÄ ±Ã‚ ´sio and Carmo (et.al), individuals are unable to form self-images in the absence of a social identity derived from group affiliations. Stronger identification leads the individual to attribute desirable characteristics of the group to the self, and to assume a greater similarity with other group members. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study is to determine to what extend that the Sports Marketing team has done its strategy to get Malaysian households to subscribe to Astro sports pack which currently the most expensive pack among all pack is offered by Astro. Up until now, it has 1.53 million subscribers of sports pack. Since its a customer base type of business, Sports Marketing has done excessive marketing strategies including content, pricing, package quality and customer loyalty to ensure the success. TYPE OF STUDY In conducting this study, the researcher has chosen the Qualitative method to discover the success factors of sports marketing strategies and it does not involve any measurement and statistical data. This type of study is more to finding the answer through evidence and providing textual description on the study. It is done through naturalistic and participant observation and also through interview. SAMPLING Throughout the research, the sampling techniques used in conducting this study are firstly Convenience Sampling Techniques, which involve in engaging the most accessible subjects mainly, the sports packs subscriber. Secondly, sampling technique use is a Judgment Technique by selecting the most productive sample to answer the research questions. Researcher decided to choose the Sports Marketing team itself in MBNS, vendors that engage with the events organized by the team, and feedbacks from useful potential candidates through their experience and public attitude towards the study. DATA COLLECTION In collecting data for this study, the primary method used is by internal observation throughout the meetings, ground events and planning of marketing strategies. Besides that, it also can be collected through interviewing the respective sports marketing team regarding the on-going process of marketing strategies and their perceptions toward customer acceptance of their marketing effort. Vendors and event agencies that engage directly with the sports marketing team also can provide data through interview on their point of view and also external observation. Lastly, another way of collecting data is through the secondary data which is the Astro Annual Report. CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS CONSUMERS DIFFERENCES AND PREFERENCES In Malaysia, there are many consumers differences that need to be taken aware before we want to market our products or services. Seeing that we are rich with multiracial, religions and ethnicities, sometimes we have a tendency to forget that all of us have differences in tastes and preferences. According to the Vice President of Astro Customer Marketing, Madam Molina Musa, in depth identification and segmentation of target market according to their demographic, psychographic and behavioural factors must be clearly acknowledged in order to ensure we achieve our target. Organizations must identify and target the most attractive market segments to ensure they can serve their products and services effectively. During the process of segmenting the target market for Astro sports pack, there are several key points to ensure the marketing team does not make any mistake thus affecting the marketing process. The segments that they are targeting first must be identifiable or easy to define and measure such as the income level. Second is it must be sizeable or large enough to be worth going after, this means that the market size is big to respond. Third is accessible which mean the market must be easy to reached when the company is doing promotion and through distribution such as media infrastructure and facilities. Another important factor is the market must be stable which means theres no war and crisis. The market also must be responsive to the marketing strategies and take action towards it such as by making purchasing. These key points also is supported in a book titled Global Marketing. In pay TV industry, the first and foremost important target market that they are aiming is depending on age, income level, lifestyle, viewing pattern and either they are housewives (HWs) or Professionals, Managers, Executives or Businessman (PMEBs). However, according to Nik Mohd Faidz, 29, Assistant Manager of Astro Customer Marketing, the main target for sports channel is to target those who are in PMEBs category. PMEBs usually are those who are age between 25 to 60 years old, and their main viewing time will be after office hour which is between 8 pm to 12 am and their ARPU is above RM100, which means they will spend more than RM100 to pay for the pay TV services. Another factor that ensures success for the sports marketing team to up sell the sports pack is when they are able to segment their target market according to their area whether they are from rural or urban, age, gender, behaviour and culture. For those who are living in urban area such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Georgetown Penang, they are more likely to watch international sports tournament such as Barclay Premiere League for football, NBA All Star Game for basketball, Formula One and maybe The President Cup for golf. Hence this type of consumers preferences will opt to watch Astro Supersports, ESPN, Golf channel and STAR sports or Eurosport. In contrast, those who are living in rural area such as in Kelantan and Kedah, they are more interested to watch Malaysian sports tournament such as Badminton, Malaysian Bowling tournament, Malaysian Football. Therefore, they will opt to Astro Arena since the channel only shows local sports updates and it is free. This statement is agreed by Venu Ramadass, the Astro ARENA president. ARENA also offers customers the 24-hour nonstop coverage of major regional and local sporting events as well as in-depth and extensive news coverage of matches and developments concerning local sports and athletes. However, during the big event that will attract all sports fan regardless where they come from, such as Thomas Cup, World Cup, they will definitely choose those channels that shows the live broadcasted matches. The differences and preferences of consumers can be furthered explain and summarized in the diagram below. Diagram 1.0 CREATE AWARENESS THROUGH GROUND EVENTS AND CSR Another factor that leads to success of Astro Sports is through the excessive ground events organized by the team to create relationship between subscribers and the organization. It is one of the marketing teams manners to encourage direct participants and involvement to get connected with subscribers, says Mr. Herman Aziz, Assistant Vice President for Customer Marketing in Greenfield segment. For Ground event here means events, road shows, tours, and concerts or street party held during the live match or to reward loyal customers. For example, during the Astro Barclays Premiere League (BPL) Viewing Party, Astro marketing has allocated roughly about RM100, 000 to run twelve ground events that associate with BPL live match. Latest, during the match between Manchester United and Liverpool, held on 6th March 2011 at Bola Bistro, Sunway Giza, Damansara, Astro has specially invited thirty lucky astro sports pack subscribers and twenty seats were allocated exclusively for both media and VVIP. According to Rakesh, Manager of event agency, Rhythm Production who was appointed by Astro Sports team to manage the ground events, the main purpose for inviting media is to gain positive feedback and to get them covered positive news to be featured in newspaper, sports magazine and television. VVIP that were invited usually those top managers from Astro team and sponsors such as Panasonic, Maxis and MYEG. Astro also will get the sportsmen, locally or internationally to involve with these kinds of road shows or tours so subscribers can get connected with sports player. For example, during the Master Football Asia, Astro has collaborated Football All Asia as one of the top sponsor to sponsor the tickets to lucky subscribers to watch the game played by star players from Manchester United, Liverpool and EPL All Stars such as Andy Cole, Robbie Fowler and David Seaman. Another example is during Astro Arena ground event in Malaysia, they will bring along the local sports men and also their ambassadors to join and interact with subscribers such as the famous Malaysian goalkeeper, Khairul Fahmi. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) also plays an important role to ensure the success for marketing programme. Known as corporate citizenship, it is functioning as a companys responsibility towards society and environment by encouraging a positive impact through activities. It must be aligned with ethical standards, country law and norms to avoid any negative effects in a business environment. With collaboration with the loyalty team and community affairs, Astro sports marketing can deliver the message directly to subscribers. For example, Astro sports marketing organized a Kem B.O.L.A as one of their CSR effort to students in primary school. This Kem B.O.LA, according Venu Ramadass, is functioning as a clinic to give intensive training to selected students with high potential in football and to motivate them as well as nurturing their sense of sportsmanship and competitiveness Another clinic was organized by Astro incorporation with BMW team to give intensive training to those amateur tennis players. It was called Astro Tennis Clinic that was held recently, in March 2011. Besides clinic and intensive training, Astro sports marketing and loyalty team will work together to help those who are unfortunate by giving free tickets to watch football matches, to participate in ground events and also charity dinner. ADAPTATION OF MARKETING STRATEGIES AND MARKETING MIX The adaptations of marketing strategies are strongly allied with the four Ps which are Product, Price, Place and Promotion. In general, a business entity needs a product that has potential to be sold, at reasonable price, has a medium to deliver the product to market and promotion efforts to inform the potential buyers about the product. All these Ps are inter-related with one another. According to the Assistant Vice President of Sports Marketing, Mr. Ahmad Faisal, if one of these Ps is not available, the products will not success in marketplace. He also further explain on all of the four Ps functions in details as per below. The first P is product and it can be defined as tangible or intangible goods and services that a seller offers a buyer to purchase. Tangible products here mean go

Ernest Hemingway Essay -- essays research papers

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway based his writing on real life experiences concerning death, relationships, and lies. He then mixed these ideas, along with a familiar setting, to create a masterpiece. Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park Illinois. One of Hemmingway’s first works was Indian Camp published in 1925. In many ways Indian Camp shows the relationship between Hemingway and his father. Hemingway then digs deeper into the past to create the love between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley, in A Farwell To Arms. Hemingway was later able to reflect his disgust of home life when he portrayed himself as the character Krebs in Soldiers Home, the character had problems with lies, women, and at home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story Indian Camp the main character Nick and his father resemble the relationship between Hemingway and his father. Nick is a teenage boy that travels across the lake to an Indian Village. He watches his father, who is a doctor; deliver a baby by caesarian section to an Indian woman. Nicks father discovers that the baby’s father has committed suicide. Nick and his father have a conversation discussing death, which brings the story to an end. Hemingway grew up in a middle class suburb, where his parents Ed and Grace raised him. Ed was a doctor who took his son along on visits across Walloon Lake to the Ojibway Indians (Waldhorn 7). When Hemingway was young, his father made him have his tonsils removed by another doctor. The doctor did not use anesthetic while performing the surgery. Hemingway always held it against his dad for having his tonsils taken out, with out an anesthetic (Myers 48). Hemingway portrayed his father as the doctor in Indian Camp. In the story Nick asked his father about giving the Indian woman something to stop her screaming during the caesarian. Nicks father states â€Å"No. I haven’t any anesthetic†¦but her screams are not important. I don’t hear them because they are not important† (Tessitore 18). Hemingway uses the conversation between Nick and his father, concerning the suicide of the Indian, to show his distaste for his own father’s suicide. Nick: â€Å"Why did he kill himself, Daddy?† Father: â€Å"I don’t know Nick. He couldn’t stand things, I guess.† Nick: â€Å"Do many men kill themselves, Daddy?† Father: â€Å"Not very many, Nick†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Nick: â€Å"Is dying hard, Daddy?† Father: â€Å"No, I think its pretty easy, Nick... ...d his lost love, he produced the character Krebs who was troubled by female companionship. Krebs wanted a woman but was not willing to work for one. Krebs considered relationships too complicated and painful. Hemingway learned this from previous relationships especially the relationship between Hemingway and Kurowsky. Krebs who lived with his parents after the war continued to do nothing around the house. Tensions grew between him and his parents and Krebs was eventually driven out. Hemingway was almost identical to Krebs in the story. Hemingway is heart broken after the war because of Kurowsky. Tension had also grown between Hemingway and his mother. â€Å"Shortly after Hemingway’s twenty- first birthday†¦ his mother gave him an ultimatum that he had to find a real job or move out of the house† (Waldhorn 9). Both Hemingway and Krebs moved out and got jobs. Hemingway wrote form his past experiences form life. In Indian Camp it showed his relationship with his father. By leaving his childhood and entering the war, he was able to come up with the character Henry and Barkley in A Farwell In Arms. When returning home from the war Hemingway used Krebs in Soldier’s Home to express his distast

Emo Culture

In today’s society there are many different subculture tendencies amongst young people, they are various and interpenetrating, but to the bigger part of them is leading the element music and above all such kind of music, that is with a history of many years, transformed in classic for many generations. But recently one very different from the entire subcultures tendencies phenomenon, called emo style, especially strongly caused a sensation. It is different not only at the way of clothing, at the type of music preferences, at the type of behavior, but it is different at the way, it understands the world and itself. It is one â€Å"sad† subculture to a great degree namely because of the way, it perceives the ambient reality. The emo subculture is a combination from the punk rock and the hardcore tendencies. From etymological point of view the name emocore comes from emotional hardcore and its roots are in Washington in the middle of 80s. For founders of the emocore tendency could be shown Rites of Spring, Embrace and Rain. Gradually with the notion emocore they start to define themselves hardcore punk bands, which start to add melodic elements to their songs. The sadness, the love, the sense of guilt is the basic topic in the lyrics of the emocore. The emo style could be qualified as „rock music with emotional-lyric elements†. But this couldn’t be a final definition, because the debates about the definition of the emo subculture still continue. The emo culture continues to develop and in 90s till today it continues to be popular for the young people. A whole teenage generation succeeds the name emo and the young people start to call themselves emos. The melodramatic behavior and clothes introduce a new taste to the music. This subculture is maybe one of the most popular and the most obsessing the mind of young people today. At first considered as a music genre, the emocore today is a subculture phenomenon that unifies music, behavior, fashion, style and way of life. The values, expressed through the music, consist in emotional topics, often associated with the despair, the nostalgia, the broken heart, the hope and the self hatred. Emo-tional fashion†¦ Interesting and contradictory is the fashion of the emo representatives. Staggering hair styles, combined with sport clothing, with many accessories and a strong make-up – these are the most distinctive characteristics of the emo fashion that has its varieties and modifications. One of the most important signs, characterizing the emo subculture is the way of forming of the hair. The emo hair styles are unisex – they are suitable as for girls, as for boys. Usually the emo hair cut is short, colored in black or at the worst in dark red. Every day to the emo maniac are necessary tons of gel, to make his hair cut in the possible most cult way. A typical particularity of the emo hair style is the bang. It is maybe the longest element of the emo hair that is put closely over the one eye, as in this way it covers almost the half of the face. Usually it is straighten with the help of a press and it is fixed with gel or wax. The hair at the back is disheveled, again fixed with different styling products. In the virtual space every one emo candidate could find precise advises in his search how to be emo. It exist many movies that explain by visual methods how to be made the hair style at home, what kind of hairstyling products to be used etc. To make a real emo hair cut it is not necessary the intervention of a hair stylist – it is necessary a little bit imagination and the help of one good friend. Other, also very interesting for examination element from the image of the emo representative is the clothing. Tight jeans and t-shirts, with printed name of the favorite emocore band, skate sneakers, many-colored stockings, a great variety of accessories, badges, bracelets – these and many others interesting attributes characterize the image of the emo-tional young person. As a whole the emos don’t give a great amount of money for clothes, they tend even to make the clothes, that they will wear, by hand – one more sign of their irregularity. The emos aren’t slaves of some brand, those sneakers they have to possess at any price. Bracelets, belts with caps, hats – all these accessories are various and multicolored and they contradict to the tortured and lacerated soul of the emo representative. Also very significant accessory is the ring, piercing the lower lip of the young subculture person. The emo-tional nature of the subculture youth†¦ At their nature the emo representatives are extremely sensitive characters. The psychologists define them as introverts, who don’t want to communicate with the ambient world. Because of that they find a field of manifestation in the poetry. The poems that they write are dark, dispiriting, depressive and they inspire sadness and nostalgia. In this respect they to a great degree resemble to the Goths. The life and the pain are basic topics in the poetry of the young creators. The specialists advise the parents to pay more attention to their subculture person at home, because namely this way of living of the young people leads to things, for those I’ll speak down below in the text and that are incorrigible In fact this type young people, as all the rest, need love and seek it all the time. Just in the process of this search they fall into the dark bottom of their souls and they suffer desperately. They suffer, they cry and they listen to their favorite emocore bands – the only ones that understand them. For all these emotions, characteristic for the emos, it is especially important the moment with the age. Usually the emo maniacs are between 12- and 18-years-old, when they are especially emotionally and psychically unstable and namely this tendency is the vent for the most young emo adherents. When we add to this the factor „family problems† the receipt is perfectly made and the real emocore representative is ready. Many stereotypes exist for the emo subculture like for the other subcultures. For example could serve the suicides, the vampire character of the preaching by them ideas and many others. Of course, there are young people, who take destructive for them decisions, but we can’t say, that all of them take the same decisions. On the contrary – this is one very interesting, to some degree new and unexplored subculture tendency that we don’t have to ignore, but to try to understand. Except the music and the poetry it exist one more place, where the emo representatives feel good. This is MySpace – in this community they can really find followers in the ramblings of their minds. The dangerous emo subculture†¦ The emo subculture got very popular in the last years with some negative events that had shaken the parents and the society. It is found to be that the values and the beliefs that he emo culture preaches are extremely dangerous the most for the health and for the life of the young people. But here it is not about alcohol and cigarett?s, but for something more dangerous and frightening, called suicide. The emo communities decide their problems as they commit suicide by rituals. Even in Bulgaria these tragic events are a fact, to which we become witnesses „thanks† to the media. Before some months two 14-year-old girls horrified the society, cutting ritually their veins. The motto that they believed in was „The kitchen, the knife, the veins, end of the problems! † And this is not the only case. In the virtual space the information for such tragic events flows. The emos believed, that after their death they will be regenerated and they will go to a better world. Many sites and bloggs for the emo culture use quite scaring backgrounds that couldn’t be passed so easily by psychologists and other specialists in this area. Animated sites flow where for background are used children with gun points at their temples, broken hearts and blood. This is one more sign, that is evidence about the dangerous philosophy of the emocore representatives – and namely the suicide. In the media are often found articles with alarming headings and shocking photo material, that have for purpose to wake the sleeping social and parent conscience and to tell how suffer their children and how much they need the parent’s love. However namely because of the creation of negative aura around the topic emo subculture it start to be published materials, examining the emo subculture like every one normal youth subculture with its moment character and sensibility, with its transience and colorfulness, with its poetics and many-siding. The emo subculture – dangerous or saving life†¦ After all this, now in front of us is standing the question to what degree to scare from this tendency, to what degree the children have to be protected and how to be transformed the negativism in this tendency in positivism. The emo culture is extremely excite, many-facing and various. But there exist deep-seated negative directions of thinking, that the young person have to bear in mind and not to be amenable to them. Every one teenager has the right to be such as he wants to be, independently to what subcuture tendency he is an adherent. The important is to be happy of what he is, of the life he lives and of what he believes in. The young person should believe in good, in beautiful and in positive. The emo subculture is also such kind of subculture. Let young people achieve to get only its good things†¦

Pricing and Costing Methods Essay

Organizations today more than ever before must ensure that they reduce costs as well, as the time used to avail products and services to the market. Since planning as well as the estimation of costs are critical to businesses it is important that organizations chose the best pricing and costing techniques. (Seonen, 2006). The implication here is that the fundamental goal of any business concern is to minimize its costs of operation while maximizing its returns to the shareholders. In order to achieve this, there is need to put in place the best pricing policies as well as the most appropriate costing techniques. This paper will attempt to examine the various costing as well as pricing methods that are available for use by business organizations. Traditional costs estimation methods like marginal and absorption costing will be looked at. Equally the newer costing method, the activity based costing will be discussed alongside other pricing methods. (Seonen, 2006) Pricing Methods Average cost pricing One example of pricing methods is the average cost pricing. Average cost pricing as a cost method involves the calculation of average costs per unit. To obtain this, the total cost of goods available for sale is divided by the total units available for sale. The weighted average approach is applied to all the closing inventories. (Duffie, 1992) The disadvantage with this method is the fact that it ignores the effects of cost increases as well as decreases. This is usually due to the fact that cost of closing inventory calculated under this category is usually affected the prices paid in the entire year as well as the cost of the opening stock. The method thus ignores more recent costs which are more reliable in income determination and decision making. Pricing methods Cost plus pricing: this is one of the pricing methods where by the price for a given product or service is the sum of the actual cost of the product or service plus a profit margin. This method of pricing is mostly used as an interim contractual measure. (Lintner 1965) The major advantage of this method is that it’s easy to calculate and need little information in computing the project costs and thus mostly used in pricing government contracts. The other hand this method has come under sharp criticism for encouraging wasteful expenditures in government contracts coupled by corruption. The other pricing method is the option pricing method that is commonly used in the motor vehicle industry. (Birge, 1997 ) option pricing method is basically where by an organization prices its products in a way that it provides a base price for its products which in most cases is always low to attract customers who upon visiting the store find other product accessories that can be purchased and added to the product. For example most vehicle manufacturing companies will provide a base price for their cars and use their showrooms to market other product parts like the car music systems, alarms e. t. c. Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is another pricing approach that can be used in the financial sector, (Lintner 1965, pp. 12-39) it basically based on the investors ability to invest in many other fronts (divest) without additional costs, this approach is advantageous in that any future cash flows can easily be monitored with only knowing the investments correlation with the market, market risk premium as well as the risk free rates. Comparable uncontrolled price method(CUP),this is a method that seeks to establish the ALP, through comparing the controlled and the uncontrolled transaction in relation to the asset or service that has been transferred, (Duffie,1992) this method is mostly used in provision of loan by financial institutions as well by other organizations that sell intangibles. Resale price method, this is a method that seeks to evaluate the process of activities performed or done rather than the eventual output (product) (Lintner,1965,pp. 2-37)its commonly used in instances where the reseller do not add any meaningful value to the finished product and no physical changes are made on the product, the eventual resale price is determined by the resale price of a commodity then subtracting the gross profit margin achieved from the resale as well as all the expenses incurred, before arriving at the resale price of the commodity Bid pricing: This is a method of pricing that is commonly used in the stock exchange markets. it basically involve the respective clients placing bids or prices they would like to purchase the stocks of shares, and with the buyers and the sellers, with the highest bidder purchasing the property, price movements at times in the stock market always leads to the uncertainty in the market prices. (Sharpe,1964,p. 425-442) Target pricing: This is a method of pricing where business organizations price their products differently basing on the different market segments that they target with their products, the products may not necessarily have diverse differences to justify the difference in prices but the underlying idea is to maximize on profit in market segments that can pay higher prices for the product as this helps to cover on the lower segment, where the product may be priced lower. (Dominick,2008,p. ) The basic advantage of this pricing method is that it enables a company to earn higher profits without necessarily increasing production costs since it’s the same product that is sold to different target markets, Target pricing is generally common in the mobile phone industry where the same gadgets with minor modification are actually sold to different target markets at different prices Costing Methods Marginal costing This method also known as the direct coasting method has the main characteristic of charging all the manufacturing or product costs to the product irrespective of whether the costs are variable or fixed. Lucey, 1993) This method is useful in pricing decisions that are short term in nature in determining the least price that can be charged to a product below which losses will occur. The implication here is that marginal or direct costing as a traditional costing method suffers from the major drawback of oversimplification because it tends to employ only the volume of the product. Job costing is the method of costing where the coast of a product or service is determined by allocating costs ton a particular unit, a batch or even to a lot of the product or service. It is more or less the same as batch costing. Precisely, job costing method is applicable where good and services are produced as a result of a series of continuous operations. It is thus considered a product costing technique in which case emphasis is laid on the determination of the cost of a unit product. (Sobngwi, 2007) Absorption costing It has been the practice of many firms to charge manufacturing overheads on the basis of direct costs like direct labour. The technique used tended to differ in terms of details as well as allocation bases. Some systems employ a single base like total direct cost while others use several bases like direct labour and raw materials. Absorption costing as a method of costing allocates all the costs to the objects of the cost. This usually happen based on direct costs or even physical output measures. Marginal cost allocations are important for many managerial decisions like the valuation of stock as well as calculation of profits. (Sobngwi, 2007) The method may however not be very appropriate for product range decisions since the net profit figure from this technique tends to be unsatisfactory base for product range decisions. Allocation of expenses between two departments may be difficult. One department may for example have a fully developed product which could require only a little development resources while the other department could be in need of full development. In such a case dividing the costs will thus be inaccurate. This has the implication that there is uncertainty as to whether dropping one product line would lead to a reduction of the total expenses allocated to that product. (Bjornlund & Rossini 2005). Activity Based Costing (ABC) The activity based costing (ABC) was developed as a reaction to the shortcomings of the marginal and absorption costing methods. This method gives a description of the activity in overhead departments which can be recognized by both the departmental managers as well being driven by cost factors. The cost factors are usually the characteristics of the products s well as other cost objects. ABC is usually a two step process. First, the costs of similar activities in various overhead centers are collected. In this case the total direct cost of each department is then charged to each activity based on its use of total capacity as well as the total of all the costs of all activities collected from all the departments in activity cost pools. Seonen, 2006) Second, the cost drives of each cost pool are identified after which cost drivers are quantified and the allocations to product costs derived. (Seonen, 2006) There are usually many varieties of cost drivers to choose from in an attempt to explain the costs of an object. The bottom line however is that they have to be capable of being quantified in terms of both the cost pool as well as the cost objects. Conclusion There is always need for consistency as well as standardization of the methods of financial pricing and costing methods have been recognized. Adam et el,2003) This has led to the innovations of many sets of guidelines for both economic evaluations and costs. In the final analysis therefore, variations in cost methods that are usually used in business organizations have raised many questions resulting into the inability to compare the results of various costing as well as pricing methods. However in order to achieve both the transferability as well be able to generalize results there is need to apply uniform cost pricing and estimation methods in order to minimize any chances of variations.

The role of third cinema essays

The role of third cinema essays Third Cinema as Guardian of Popular Memory refers to popular memory as an oral historiography of the Third World folklore, serving as an account of memories passed from generation to generation. Unlike traditional Western Cinema, like that of the United States which is overly concerned wit money making cinema of this genre differ on many levels, associating perspective from historical, political and social angles. Third World Cinema is more a new form of expression that has not yet cultivated its own cultural voice, however through constructed cinematic language accurately reflects the people, their culture and their traditions. According to Teshome H. Gabriel, Cinema of this genre serves to be a soldier of liberation. in the post-colonial aftermath, people of the Third World struggle to find their own voice, their own culture, as well as their own independence, their aim centers on their desire to forge their own paths beyond years of colonial influence and cultural repression. Cinema is therefore used as an art form of expression the can produce a product which can herald attention to a culture that was once oppressed by colonialism therefore encouraging the cinema as a weapon to fight oppression, regarding film as a revolutionary tool. Therefore through artistic means, film makers of this genre are able to pave the way for revolution, liberation of the people. Third cinema concentrates on a cinema dedicated to a clear and honest portrayal of the Third World people, one that caters for and represents them. For example during Rue Princess, the film begins with images of African theater dance. There is an attentive concentration to the detail of African culture, for example the camera view moves along to encompass several differently dressed dancers however the focus is on the leader singer and dancer as she moves across the stage. In this scene long shots are used to incorporate detail and capture ...

Marine Corps Logistics

Marine Corps Logistics Introduction Technology is advancing and many organizations have realized that it is important to adopt emerging technologies as a way of remaining relevant in various fields. The Marine Corps has been faced with a lot of challenges, especially in managing logistics when the officers are in operation. According to Dombrowski and Gholz (2006), the warfare in the modern world has been rapidly changing. The approach that was used during the nineteenth century cannot be relevant today.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Marine Corps Logistics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Firms must find new ways of managing their logistics in a manner that would not only be efficient, but also effective and consistent. Marine Corps is operating in an environment where efficiency in logistics is vital in its successful operations. GCSS-MC offers organization opportunity to have an integrated approach when managing information during t he logistical process. This approach allows this organization to have a system that would provide it with real-time information about all logistical activities. This allows the firm to plan its activities effectively. Project Vision The Marine Corp Logistics plays an important role in ensuring that the military has all the equipment it needs to carry out various activities. In order to achieve its objectives, this department should have an effective communication system that would enable it to monitor and coordinate all logistical activities, especially when delivering war equipment to military officers who are in the field. The vision of this project is to provide an integrated information system that would ensure that activities of this department are closely coordinated. The Marine Corps Logistics Modernization strategy will help ensure that all logistics information required by the Marine Air Ground Task Force is readily available as a way of enhancing the speed with which these products are transported from one location to the other. Objectives When defining the objectives of this new project, it would be important to understand the current status of this organization. Currently, the Marine Corps is using a logistics system that is not supported by an integrated communication system. It means that one department may not be aware of the activities taking place in the other department. This is very dangerous in the current society where information itself is considered to be a powerful tool, especially when it involves military operations. The following are some of the objectives that this project seeks to achieve.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To introduce an integrated information system that will merge Global Combat Support System (GSCC) and Defense Property Accountability System (DPAS). To ensure that the military units in variou s regions can track cargo while it is in transit from one location to the other. To improve decision making process of the military officers by offering them real-time information about various issues on the ground. This will help maintain a force that is lethal and agile while on the battlefield. To improve financial planning and management by making it easy for the accounts department to access all the relevant accounting records. Scope of the project According to Haugan (2002), project scope should be clearly defined before the project kicks off. This makes it easy to understand specific areas where the project intends to create transformation within the firm. In this project, the focus is on developing an integrated information system in the logistics department that would improve logistical operations within the organization. This new system will make it possible for the department to coordinate logistical information to the departments that need them. It will also improve the security of the equipment while they are in transit. Target Group Meredith and Mantel (2012) say that it is important to define the target group when coming up with a new project in an organization. In this organization, the targeted group that will benefit when the project is completed can be categorized into different groups. The policy makers will need this new system to guide their decisions when planning to go to war. The accounts department will benefit from this new system by enabling it access all the relevant information it needs when compiling accounting books. The logistics department will benefit from this new system because it will enable it trace the movement of equipment. This department will be able to estimate the time within which a given consignment will reach the intended destination. The military officers on the ground will also need this information when they are in the field to know when the war equipment will reach them. Key Stakeholders for this Project The re are key stakeholders who are directly responsible in undertaking this new project. The top leadership in the Department of Defense is the first stakeholder. The top commanders, through the Logistics Department, and the senior officers are the owners of this project. They are represented by senior officers in the Logistics department. The military officers in the field who expect to benefit from this project form another stakeholder group. This new service is meant to improve their service delivery. The last category of the stakeholders is the project management team, headed by the project manager, who will be directly involved in developing this project. Role and Responsibilities of Each Project Team Resource According to the research by Meredith and Mantel (2012), it is important to define roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders within the project in order to achieve success. The stakeholders who are directly involved in the project have been identified in the proje ct organization structure.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Marine Corps Logistics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The top military officers, through the Logistics Department, are the financiers of this project. Besides offering financial help, they are also expected to inspect the progress of the project and evaluate the value that the new system offers when it is finally completed. The contractor that will be awarded this task of installing the new system will act as a supervisor over the employees who will be responsible for various activities. The project members will undertake various roles in this project in its implementation stage. When this new system is fully installed, the logistics department will be responsible for its normal operations and maintenance services. Scheduling Duration In the process of implementing this project, it is important to have a clear schedule of the specific activities that wi ll be undertaken in order to ensure that the project is completed successfully. The following table shows a planned schedule of activities that will be carried out in this project and the time they are allocated. As shown in the above table, it is expected that the project will run from March to December 2014. Based on the advanced technology that the contractor is expected to use, it is estimated that ten months will be enough to carry out all the activities in the project. Project Organizational Structure The project organizational structure helps in defining various levels of management within a given project. It specifies position of various stakeholders in the process of undertaking various activities in the project. According to Haugan (2002), this is necessary to make every member understand specific function that must be undertaken to accomplish various tasks. Every member will be able to understand what is expected of them. Figure 1: Project Organizational StructureAdverti sing Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This structure helps in defining responsibilities of the stakeholders. Meredith and Mantel (2012) say that some projects fail to meet their objectives because some of the stakeholders avoid their roles. For instance, it is clear that the Board of Directors, through the Logistics Department, has the responsibility of financing all the activities of this firm. If this board fails to provide this needed finance, then it may not be possible to proceed with the activities that are specified in the section below. Work Breakdown Structure When the financiers have done their role of providing the necessary finances needed for this project, it will be the responsibility of the project team members to undertake their duties in ensuring that the new system is successfully installed and is operational. The structure below identifies some of the specific tasks that must be accomplished by various stakeholders. The above diagram shows a complete work breakdown structure from the proposal stag e to its completion. At the proposal stage, the contractor will have the responsibility of making all the stakeholders in the Logistics department to learn about the new changes that this new system will bring. It would state all the requirements that will be needed to make the project be successful. Some of the specific activities at this stage include product investigation, product survey, and assessing product suitability (Haugan, 2002). The second phase is the design. The project team members will need to define concept design and settle on one final design that would be used in this system. The third stage, which is the construction stage, is very important in defining the success of the project. At this stage, the project team members will need to purchase the needed materials from the agreed suppliers. The team will then undertake the construction of this new system. Building of the system may take long, and the team members must ensure that they follow the specifications sti pulated in the design. Finally, the system will be subjected to the stage of testing. The new system will be tested for functionality and efficiency. When the system passes this stage, it will be finally handed over to the Logistics Department to commission its usage in this system. Cost Estimates The proponent deserves to know the exact cost of the project in order to be able to determine the level of investment needed to accomplish the project. The table below is an estimate of the various costs that will be met when undertaking the project. Material Estimated Cost ($) Labor 19200 Transportation 9800 Materials 39800 Legal Fees 380 Total 69180 The above table has a cluster of activities that will be undertaken in the project. Although it may be important to define specific areas where finance will be needed, the table above has clustered these costs into four major categories. They include cost of labor, transportation costs, the cost of the materials, and the legal fees that would be needed by government agencies or other relevant bodies. The costs have been based on the market rates for each of the categories. The above stated amount would be able to implement the first phase of this project. Determine major project milestones and the required delivery dates The work breakdown structure given above has identified project milestones that should be accomplished within a specific period. The first milestone is the specification of the project requirements. This stage is important because it not only enables the project sponsor to know what is expected out of the project, but also enhances specific areas in the organization that this project seeks to improve. This should take one month. The second milestone would be to develop the design that would be appropriate for this firm. The project members, especially the designers, would need to come up with a design that would meet the needs of this firm in the most appropriate way possible. This shoul d also take one month. The third milestone is expected to take the longest period, and it is the most important stage in project development. It is at this stage that the project team members will be implementing what was designed at the initial stages. The process must be conscious of the specific needs of the firm. This is expected to take a period of five months. The last milestone will be testing of the system for its workability. This would take one month or less. Main Dependencies, Risks, Issues, and Assumptions of the Project According to Meredith and Mantel (2012), projects face a number of risks that must always be mitigated in order to achieve the set goals. In this project, inflation may have an adverse effect, especially if it increases costs of materials or labor. This risk should be mitigated at the requirements stage. The sponsor should be informed that inflation may affect the overall cost of the project so that they can be ready to increase funds when necessary. Ano ther risk would be a failed compatibility of the old systems and the new system. This risk should be arrested at the design stage where designers are expected to make an effective change from the old system to the new one. Finally, the employees may be subject to physical harm. This can be addressed at the requirement stage where the project manager is expected to take a comprehensive insurance cover for all the people working on this project. Summary of the project budget approved by the project sponsor This project is expected to change the current approach that is used by the logistics department to carry out various activities. The integrated communication system will help the Logistics Department to ensure that its activities are closely coordinated in order to achieve better results. This department will be able to track movements of military equipment in real-time. The military officers in the field will also be aware of the movement of weapons and other equipments that are b eing transported to them. This close coordination and improved communication system will improve the ability of this department to achieve good results on the battlefield. References Dombrowski, P. J., Gholz, E. (2006). Buying military transformation: Technological innovation and the defense industry. New York: Columbia University Press. Haugan, G. T. (2002). Effective work breakdown structures. Vienna: Management Concepts. Meredith, J. R., Mantel, S. J. (2012). Project management: A managerial approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Argumentative Essay Format

Argumentative Essay 5 I should have focused more on my grades this year. By attending many social events, waiting until the last minute to complete work, and refusing to study my grades began to drop. I feel that if I would have put more effort into my school work I would have achieved the grades I am capable of getting. By hanging out with friends and putting off work my grades gradually began to drop. Your senior year is not the year to slack off in; it would have better prepared me for college†¦ Argumentative Essay Should we always tell the truth? Do you always tell the truth or lies? You are not likely to reply immediately because this question is very extreme. While we live, we cannot always tell the truth, and we also cannot always tell lies. May be, it will depend on the situation that you encountered. There are innumerable reasons why most people tell lies to others. Usually, we tell lies to hide own fault or show off ourselves. There are a little bit different lies, of course†¦ Argu1nentative Essays Mani stones, Nepal An argumentative essay is an essay in which you agree or disagree with an issue, using reasons to support your opinion. Your goal is to convince your reader that your opinion is right. Argumentation is a popular kind of essay question because it forces students to think on their own: They have to take a stand on an issue, support their stand with solid reasons, and support their reasons with solid evidence. In a general writing test such as the TOEFL†¦ preferred styles in History; the Modern Language Association (MLA) of America style, used in the field of literature, arts, humanities, and some other disciplines; and the CBE format of the American Council of Science Educator, preferred in the natural sciences, and so on. The American Psychological Association (APA) format is the documentation advice for writers in the social sciences (education inclusive), produced by the American Psychological Association. It is the most widely accepted style in†¦ Evaluation Essay Argumentative essays work to convince an audience that the writer 's point of view on a subject is the correct one, and to persuade the audience to agree with the author’s viewpoint. The author must provide evidence and appeal to his or her readers. â€Å"Parents Should Be Allowed to Control What Kids Watch†, an article by Leland Y. Yee is an argumentative essay explaining why parents should monitor the games their kids play and the TV shows they watch, and the consequences of not doing†¦ Plans (activities) – e. Come up with financial projection i. How much funding needed ii. Itemize iii. Possible sources f. Monitoring system – how do we monitor success of our project? g. Other organizational support needed III. Final Paper: Format a. If data will be tabulated -- Proper titles b. Acknowledge sources, footnote c. Double spaced, short bond IV. Guidelines for Oral Defense a. Maximum participation! b. Only 1 hour to defend c. Criteria for evaluation of the paper and oral†¦ The part of the standard specifying the structure of the result set as well as carrying messages like errors or announcements is called the Output Query Format. The outermost XML element Output can envelope the GlobalComment, SystemMessage and ResultItem child elements. To describe the result of the query one can use GlobalComment. To propagate information regarding the responder system, the SystemMessage element is utilized. This includes errors and exception - for example if a proper result†¦ Argumentative Essay The function of an argumentative essay is to show that your assertion (opinion, theory, and hypothesis) about some phenomenon or phenomena is correct or more truthful than others'. The art of argumentation is not an easy skill to acquire. Many people might think that if one simply has an opinion, one can argue it successfully, and these folks are always surprised when others don't agree with them because their logic seems so correct. Argumentative writing is the act of forming†¦ The essays on the Declaration of Independence and the Letter from Birmingham jail, are very good persuasive essays, and that if I was alive during those times that I would have agreed with all of the authors. I also believe that these essay still stand today. First let’s start with the Declaration of Independence. In this essay Jefferson uses deductive argument’s that includes the examples on how Great Britain’s doings were wrong. It also gave me a chance to see how exactly why the United Sates†¦ Argumentative Essay Braden Rawson Social Networking or the use of specific websites or applications to interact with other users is one of the many key and driving factors today in our world. We find ourselves lost for many minutes or possibly hours at a time on any particular app or website. Looking deeper into the issue of social networking and its impact on our life, I highly doubt we have accomplished anything at all. A very smart man once said, â€Å"Time is money.† If that quote is true do we†¦

Leonardo Da Vinci Perpetual Machine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leonardo Da Vinci Perpetual Machine - Assignment Example The model presented in the picture is probably the simplest among them, but it is definitely as good as others are. The main purpose of such layout was to create asymmetry using additional physical effects. This hypothetical perpetual wheel would revolve around its axis, and the metal pellets placed in the sections of the wheel would roll over, creating unevenness in load distribution and making the wheel keep on moving. However, eventually, Da Vinci admitted that the construction of a working perpetual machine is impossible. Commenting this conclusion, Da Vinci wrote that, interpreted into modern language, when the pellet (i.e. the weight) placed in one of the sections â€Å"moves farther from the pivot, the gravitational torque on it increases, but also the moment of inertia of the wheel is increased at the same time, which makes the gravitational torque less effective in increasing or sustaining motion of the wheel† (Simanek). In other words, the obtain effect is eventually zero. Moreover, Da Vinci concluded that every mechanical system inevitably loses its power through friction (Capra). Later, and especially at the dawn of the 20 century (intensive industrialization), the inventors tried to improve older prototypes of perpetual machines, but these attempts proved to be failure due to laws of physics (e.g. the principle of perpetual motion virtually violates two first laws of thermodynamics (Roy). In the end, the idea of a mechanism producing free energy without any outside sources or fuel was condemned as

Fat vs Thin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fat vs Thin - Essay Example The adjective form of the word is of interest here. Fat can be looked at as the state of being well stocked and having plenty to spare. Abundance is a pre requisite of being fat in whatever way. If one is physically fat, then the body has to be plump with a lot of flabby tissue, signifying abundance. A more polite way of referring o such a person would be saying that one is obese or overweight. When referring to anything else as fat, the idea behind it would be portraying the object as being well filled and rich in quality and tone. Anything that is fat possesses the character of being impressive and substantial. Whereas referring to someone as fat can be looked at as negative and often demeaning; the exact opposite meaning is obtained if and when talking about lifeless objects and phenomena (Altman 26). Thin is a word that can also be categorized as an adverb, noun or adjective depending on its use and position in a sentence. The most important definition to us would be the adjective form of the word. The word thin is descriptive in nature and is used to describe entities, be they alive or lifeless. Thin means being in a poor and inadequate state. It is often used to describe matter that is sparsely placed and poorly concentrated. Insufficiency is usually the underlying causative phenomenon in as far as being thin is concerned. It informs the absence of fullness and resonance. Human beings and animals can also be defined as thin. Thin in this sense would mean that one is slender or lean in stature and form (Altman 69). Thin is majorly used to describe one’s embodiment. Whereas thin can generally be viewed as a negative phenomenon, there are instances when it defines positivity. When a person is referred to as thin for instance, the assumption is that the person is both lean and in shape. Fat is the opposite of thin and vice versa. No matter how you look at it regardless of what informs your decision, something or someone cannot be

Serotonin Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Serotonin - Research Paper Example The metabolism of serotonin takes place in the live. The product of metabolism is known as 5-HIAA. In the process of metabolism, serotonin is oxidized by monoamine oxidase to produce aldehyde. Aldehyde is further oxidized into 5-HIAA by aldehyde dehydrogenase. Large amounts of serotonin in the blood leads to certain forms of carcinoid syndrome of flushing. It also leads to diarrhea, and heart complications. Human beings who experience the production of large amounts of serotonin often suffer from tricuspid valve disease. This disease is caused due to proliferation of myocytes into the valve (Chattopadhyay, 2007). Serotonin is not only found in animals. There are plants and fungi that have serotonin. Worms and insects also have serotonin. This is manifested the pain caused due to their bites. Plant spines also cause pain to human beings. Other pathogenic amoebas have the ability to produce serotonin, the effect of the serotonin from amoeba leads to diarrhea. 5-HT receptors belong to the A rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These receptors are said to have seven transmembrane spanning helices which include; three intracellular and three extracellular loops, one extracellular amino-terminus, and an intracellular carboxy-terminus. The transmembrane helices are charged with the function of binding endogenous ligand serotonin. Serotonergic neurons are lovated at the dorsal and median raphe nuclei region of the brain stem. In addition, serotonergic neurons are responsible for the projection of nerve terminals to every region of the brain.... It also leads to diarrhea, and heart complications. Human beings who experience the production of large amounts of serotonin often suffer from tricuspid valve disease. This disease is caused due to proliferation of myocytes into the valve (Chattopadhyay, 2007). Serotonin is not only found in animals. There are plants and fungi that have serotonin. Worms and insects also have serotonin. This is manifested the pain caused due to their bites. Plant spines also cause pain to human beings. Other pathogenic amoebas have the ability to produce serotonin, the effect of the serotonin from amoeba leads to diarrhea (Chattopadhyay, 2007). 5-HT receptors belong to the A rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These receptors are said to have seven transmembrane spanning helices which include; three intracellular and three extracellular loops, one extracellular amino-terminus, and an intracellular carboxy-terminus. The transmembrane helices are charged with the function of binding endo genous ligand serotonin (Chattopadhyay, 2007). Serotonergic neurons are lovated at the dorsal and median raphe nuclei region of the brain stem. In addition, serotonergic neurons are responsible for the projection of nerve terminals to every region of the brain. There are primary targets for serotonergic projections in the brain. The main targets include the substantia nigra, hypothalamus, amygdaloid-hippocampal region, caudate, plutamen and nucleus accumbens. Other areas that are targeted by the serotonergic projections include cerebral cortial areas such as the frontal, occipital, insular, parietal, temporal, and cerebral cortices (Vanhoute, 1993). In the brain, the cerebral cortex region has several nerves of serotonin

University education should be free Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

University education should be free - Essay Example University education should be free because it is; the fundamental right of every citizen, a motivator for seeking higher education, and morally justified. University education should be free because higher education is the fundamental right of every citizen. In a society where an individual’s future is jeopardized if he/she drops out of school earlier, university education becomes a necessity rather than an option. Despite the growing economy, there are hundreds of applicants for every job advertised. University education makes the applicants stand out whereas other resumes are dropped without even being considered. Providing free university education also maximizes the ability of the people to get employed in foreign countries easily and send money to their home-country in remittance. Remittance improves economy and is essential for the well-being of the society. Free university education motivates people to get educated to their maximum potential. Many people drop out of colleges because they cannot afford further education. Even some of the most intelligent, hardworking, and capable students are left with no choice but to abort further education because of their lack of ability to afford it. Many students even end up choosing the careers contrary to their natural aptitude because the field they want to get education in is simply too expensive for them to afford. They have to deal with the consequences of choosing the wrong career throughout their lives. If university education is made free, the financial factor will be eliminated from the equation and people will make informed decisions about their careers considering their capabilities and desires. Costly university education is not justified from an ethical point of view. Ideally, the very person enjoying a facility should be the one paying for it. But in the present times, parents have to bear the financial burden of their children’s schooling. Parents have been spending

OFF ROAD COMPETITION 4X4 CLIMB HILL TRUCK Research Paper

OFF ROAD COMPETITION 4X4 CLIMB HILL TRUCK - Research Paper Example The only identified drawback of the sport is that it maintains potential to jeopardize the sustainability of environmental regions where these competitions occur. This project identifies the social, cultural, economic, and environmental concerns associated with the sport to identify off road racing’s long-term viability and safety. Furthermore, the paper explores how the sport is sanctioned and regulated as a means of understand how the sport has evolved over the last 40 years. Off road racing competitions are a form of motorsports that differ from other motor vehicle competitions, such as NASCAR, which involve racing competitions utilizing paved roadways and asphalt-based tracks. Off road competitions, utilizing 4x4 vehicles, are established for hill climbing in forested regions or sand dunes by which competitors must adhere to particular rules and regulations regarding competitive activity. Though the specific rules for off road racing differ depending on the nature of the competition, the volume of competitors, and the particular sanctioning body responsible for controlling and standardizing the competitions, off road racing has become a rather widespread racing phenomenon across the United States and many other nations around the globe. When examining off road race competitions, it becomes necessary to examine the historical developments in racing to fully understand how contemporary competitions have evolved into the dynamic and challenging racing structures it is today. Furthermore, a well-developed technological infrastructure supporting off road racing has evolved that improves not only safety in off-roading, but also durability of the 4x4 vehicles utilized for competition to make the events more viable for long-term competitive entry by combatants. This paper further examines the economic issues involved with off road racing and the cultural perspectives associated with those who are engaged and fascinated by such competitions, as well as the

American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

American History - Essay Example The technological advancement during the period gave rise to industrialization and modernization. Political change during this period is yet another major aspect of western society modernization, where different nations discovered the need and suitability of democracy, notably after the French revolution of 1848 (30). Following this political advancement, other countries such as Italy, Germany and Britain sought political unification. This period also saw the rise of socialism, which was opposed to aristocratic and dictatorial rules (46). To avert such political revolts, the western countries worked towards enhancing human rights, abolishing slavery and establishing parliamentary and political party systems, which protected liberties (65). Social-cultural developments also occurred, sparked by the need for the society to adapt to the industrial economy (18). The life styles and standards of living improved, coupled with a decreased death rate due to advancement in the medical technology. Labor movements emerged, seeking better working conditions and wages for workers. Thus, the housing, diet and nutrition as well as leisure for such workers and their families improved (72). In conclusion therefore, the period between the 18th and the 19th century saw great changes in various aspects of the western society take place. These changes occurred in various fronts such as the technological, political and social-cultural, paving way for modernization of the

OFF ROAD COMPETITION 4X4 CLIMB HILL TRUCK Research Paper

OFF ROAD COMPETITION 4X4 CLIMB HILL TRUCK - Research Paper Example The only identified drawback of the sport is that it maintains potential to jeopardize the sustainability of environmental regions where these competitions occur. This project identifies the social, cultural, economic, and environmental concerns associated with the sport to identify off road racing’s long-term viability and safety. Furthermore, the paper explores how the sport is sanctioned and regulated as a means of understand how the sport has evolved over the last 40 years. Off road racing competitions are a form of motorsports that differ from other motor vehicle competitions, such as NASCAR, which involve racing competitions utilizing paved roadways and asphalt-based tracks. Off road competitions, utilizing 4x4 vehicles, are established for hill climbing in forested regions or sand dunes by which competitors must adhere to particular rules and regulations regarding competitive activity. Though the specific rules for off road racing differ depending on the nature of the competition, the volume of competitors, and the particular sanctioning body responsible for controlling and standardizing the competitions, off road racing has become a rather widespread racing phenomenon across the United States and many other nations around the globe. When examining off road race competitions, it becomes necessary to examine the historical developments in racing to fully understand how contemporary competitions have evolved into the dynamic and challenging racing structures it is today. Furthermore, a well-developed technological infrastructure supporting off road racing has evolved that improves not only safety in off-roading, but also durability of the 4x4 vehicles utilized for competition to make the events more viable for long-term competitive entry by combatants. This paper further examines the economic issues involved with off road racing and the cultural perspectives associated with those who are engaged and fascinated by such competitions, as well as the

Pride and Prejudice Essay Example for Free

Pride and Prejudice Essay When prejudice occurs, stereotyping and discrimination may also result. In many cases, prejudices are based upon stereotypes. A stereotype is a simplified assumption about a group based on prior assumptions. Stereotypes can be both positive (women are warm and nurturing) or negative (teenagers are lazy). Stereotypes can lead to faulty beliefs, but they can also result in both prejudice and discrimination. According to psychologist Gordon Allport, prejudice and stereo types emerge in part as a result of normal human thinking. In order to make sense of the world around us, it is important to sort information into mental categories. The human mind must think with the aid of categories, Allport explained. Once formed, categories are the basis for normal prejudgment. We cannot possibly avoid this process. Orderly living depends upon it. This process of categorization applies to the social world as well, as we sort people into mental groups based on factors such as age, sex and race. However, researchers have found that while when it comes to categorizing information about people, we tend to minimize the differences between people within groups and exaggerate the differences between groups. In one classic experiment, participants were asked to judge the height of people shown in photographs. People in the experiment were also told that: In this booklet, the men and women are actually of equal height. We have taken care to match the heights of the men and women pictured. That is, for every woman of a particular height, somewhere in the booklet there is also a man of that same height. Therefore, in order to make as accurate a height judgment as possible, try to judge each photograph as an individual case; do not rely on the persons sex. In addition to these instructions, a $50 cash prize was offered to whoever made the most accurate judgments of height. Despite this, participants consistently rated the men as being a few inches taller than the women. Because of their prejudgment that men are taller than women, the participants were unable to dismiss their existing categorical beliefs about men and women in order to judge the heights accurately. Researchers have also found that people tend to view members of outside groups as being more homogenous than members of their own group, a phenomenon referred to as the out-group homogeneity bias. This perception that all member of an out-group are alike holds true of all groups, whether based on race, nationality, religion, age or other naturally occurring group affiliation.