International Organization Based on the Assumption of Liberalism and Realism

Different theories explain why international organizations are createdWhich are basically a response to problems of incomplete information, transaction costs, and other barriers to efficiency and welfare improvement for their members. But different questions like; do international organizations really do what their creators intend them to do?Do they really support member states in achieving their basic interests mutually? These critical questions and others of their likes can be analyzed to some extent by several theories proposed by different scholars in the field of international relations.Such theories are liberal, realism and constructivism but the concern of this work is on realism and liberal theory. International organization is a union or association of States, or of enterprises or of other national entities set up across national boundaries.Examples are Of States, are the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) of enterprises: Transnational Corporations (TNCs); inclu de The Coca-Cola Company, Sony, McDonalds, Toyota, etc. Of other national entities; are like Amnesty International; International Olympic Committee, World Organization of the Scout Movement, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.Around 30000 such organizations are active in about 300 countries and territory over the world. International organizations progressed after the Second World War, the gulf between the international politics and formal organizational arrangement which began to open in ways that were not easy to reconcile. This organization seemed to strengthen in dealing with rising problems such as the extension of property right, environment protection and formal supernatural authority. The international organization was the answer on solving collective problems.Public interestRefers to the net benefits derived for, and procedural rigor employed on behalf of, all society in relation to any action, decision or policy. Public may include the widest possible scope o f society, example of individuals and groups sharing a market place for goods and services (included those provided by government), as those seeking sustainable living standard and environment quality for themselves and future generations. Interests are all things valued by individual and society such as economic freedom, political power access to government property right.Those things we seek to acquire and control are interest like ideas we aspire to and protections that are harmful. Realism theory views that world politics is driven by competitive self-interest; they believe that decisive dynamic among countries is a struggle for power in an effort by each to preserve or, preferably, improve its military security and economic welfare in competition with other countries.As an approach to international politics, realism can be traced to such ancient practitioners and thinkers as Sun Tzu (544-496 B. C) the Chinese general and the author of The Art of War; Thucydides (460-399 B.C), a Greek historian and author of The History of the Peloponnesian War, and more recently statesmen such as Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) the Iron Chancellor who engineered the unification of Germany under Prussian control. (Rourke 2012b; p20)Liberal theoryStates are not simply ‘black boxes’ seeking to survive and prosper in an anarchic system. They are configurations of individual and group interests who then project interests into the international system through a particular kind of government. Survival may very well remain a key goal. But commercial interests or ideological beliefs may also be important.The conventional wisdom is that states create and delegate to IOs because they provide essential functions. They provide public goods, collect information, establish credible commitments, monitor agreements, and generally help states overcome problems associated with collective action and enhance individual and collective welfare.Notable philosopher advocating liberalis m including Thomas Hill Green, John Rawls, John Lock, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill. Emanuel Kant, Jean Jacque Rousseau and the former USA presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt.It is true saying that international organizations based on the assumption that ‘’government aims at public interest’’, this is because international organizations sees that the government at a large extent is the best solution for solving public problems and a representation of public interest at the same time. This connotation can be analyzed through the use of liberal and realism theories as follows. Realism theory as the first theory of international organization is used to prove right the above quotation as they assume that, survival is the principal goal of every State. Realists hold states to be the main actors.It means that state control each and everything. Even if domestic interests, strategic culture, or commitment to a set of national ideals would dictate more benevolent or co-operative international goals, the anarchy of the international system requires that States constantly ensure that all states posses some military capacity, and they have sufficient power to defend themselves and advance their material interests necessary for survival. Survival of the state is important for every individual for example United States normally employs military power for the survival and to defend her national interests (Gulf war and Iraq war).  (Wolfrum,2011)Realists believe in the anarchic structure of the international system as the most important determinant of state behavior. Realists believe that the international system exists in a state of anarchy a term that implies not chaos or absence of structure and rules, but rather the lack of a central government that can enforce rules. Therefore order for the state to maintain public interest, a state makes use of the economic prosperity and military might to make decisions that are of much importanc e to the public.States will also act as best as they can in order to maximize their likelihood of the public and continuing to exist. (Ibid) Realists hold states to be rational actors. This means that given the goal of survival, States will act as best they can in order to maximize their likelihood of continuing to exist. Thus States may create international law and international institutions, and may enforce the rules they codify. However, it is not the rules themselves that determine why a State acts a particular way, but instead the underlying material interests and power relations.A country’s foreign policy may reflect broad national objectives and the strategies governments use to guide their actions in the international arena. Also a government extends the domestic interests to the international environment through the use of foreign policy that will guide the interaction of the state with other international actors like the international organizations. For example the foreign policy of Tanzania is aimed at developing the country through economic diplomacy, regional cooperation and multilateral relations.(ibid)Realism assume that all state posses military capacity and no any other state knows about neighbor intend precisely, thus the world is uncertain and dangerous, the only purpose of state is to defend the interest of the state, enable state to survive while promoting public interest against foreign invasion and occupation. Through government organs like judiciary, legislature and executive enforce laws to ensure achievement of public interest, where people have surrender their authority to the government to protect their liberty, life and property.People may ensure their safety through government from internal and external invasion or threats. (ibid) Liberal theory on the other hand is another theory of international relation which tries to explain the truth of international organization on the assumption that government aims at public interes t. This theory analyzes how government aims at providing public interest in several ways using its key assumptions as follows. Liberalism believes on democratic stability theory which rests on the observation that no two democratic states have ever gone to war with one another, and that democratic states rarely strike first.Liberals argue that democracies identify with one another because of their shared norms and values like the United States doesn’t want to take Canada partly because each country believes that citizens have the right to choose their own government and consequently believe that conquering another country and enslaving its citizen is wrong. Moreover democracies are not dominated by the military and lie in the hands of an individual or a small group; leaders are accountable to their people, who are often reluctant to see their children go to war.A variety of issues can dominate the international agenda. Unlike realist, liberals believe that national security d oes not always have to be of paramount importance economic, environmental issues, and human rights can all become the most important goal of a nation. Also in liberalism the ideas was international and they depend each other to solve certain problems for example the problems of hunger is not to Africa only but it is global while they provide deferent aids to African.Also the problem of economic crises is the western countries problems but shacked till African due to lose aids and loans. The state acts in the liberal of law, and not acts outside the law. Liberals contend that people and the countries that represent them are capable of finding mutual interests and cooperation to achieve them at least in part by working through International organizations and according to International law. On the other hand liberals do not dismiss power as a factor, but they add morality, ideology, emotions (such as the friendship and mutual identity) and habit of cooperation.Jean Jacques Rousseau (17 12-1718), he argued that in social contract (1762), that human had to join together in civil societies because they found it easier to improve their existence through cooperation than competitive self reliance. So in contemporary liberals in where each government aims at public interests they apply this notion to global society and argue that people and their countries can better their existence by joining together to build a cooperation and peaceful global society.In policy prescriptions liberals urges on creating norms of justice and peace, promoting and strengthening International Organizations in achieving people’s interests. Both classical and neo Liberals like Jean Jacques Rousseau and Wilson Woodrow on nature of politics, principles and cooperation as standards of international standards argue that people are not inherently political predators and are capable of achieving less conflictive relations either through current government structures or new models of governmen t.And on principle emphasis is on states to formulate their foreign policy according to cooperative and ethical standards to improve social, economic and political needs of each member country; they are not forced into organizations but according to their willingness and global challenges they face in providing public’s social, political and economic needs, thus different states join organizations like UN, AU and EU which enables member states in achieving such interests.  (Rourke 2005a, pp 17-22)Liberal international relation theory believes that government represents some segments of domestic society, whose interest are reflected in state policy. Consistent with the view that society, understood as an aggregate of autonomous individual and voluntary groups, is prior to the state. Liberal theories of politics accord a central place to the domestic institution that link state and society. Liberals analyze such institutions primarily as mechanisms for the representation of s ocial interests.The state is assumed to be representative to some set of social groups, although not all governments represents the entire population. For liberals, the principal agent relationship between the population and the state is thus a central issue. (Moravcsik,2010)In recommending the quotation that international organization based on the assumption that government aims at public interests; in realism point of view states act as main actor on the insurance of public interest within international system, still on its loneliness seem to fail on defending public interest fulfillment a hundred  percent due to series of challenges, threats or obstacles that fade upon state survive on maintaining public interest.Example hunger, issue of security, outbreak of diseases, as well as economic recession problem that is common to third world countries. Therefore state regardless of its potentiality role on public interest it must cooperate with non state actor be it international org anization like UN or be it regional organization like NGOs, civil society for maximum public interest achievement.Under liberal perspective state seems to be with great role in public interest since it cooperate with another actors on making the availability of conducive environment for public interest attainment within their respective boundary. Although most of this cooperation is not two way traffic in such a way that only one which is powerful side benefit from this cooperation either bilateral or multilateral.Example north-south, Therefore cooperation is inevitable for proper prosperity of public but should be win-win or two way traffic cooperation. Therefore principal actors of the world politics remains nation-states, though they are not the only actors. The international system consists of nation-states, international organizations, and private actors, thousands of international organizations were established during the post-World War II era.The increasing number of internat ional organizations is parallel to the increasing levels of economic, political, social and cultural transactions between individuals, societies and states in today’s world which are significant in their respective fields reflecting preferences of states albeit non-state actors challenges and even weakens weaker states favor preferences of stronger states.

The Role of Education in My life

Essay 1 – The role that education plays in my life Education has been a key point in my life and it has opened me the doors to many different experiences. Thanks to education I have had the opportunity to choose what I wanted to do in my life and decide where I wanted to live. Education has given me more freedom to make decisions. Plato said that education should be mandatory for everyone because is the only way to develop a just society (The Republic). The author defended that education is the process that enables man to become aware of the existence of another reality (Allegory of the Cave). I agree with Plato that there is another reality. In my opinion there are many realities as there are many perspectives of the world. However, I think that knowledge is not enough to understand the other realities and it is needed the experience to realize that there are more things behind our reality. In my opinion knowledge allows me to make my own decisions with freedom but I am able to understand the other realities through experience. Although philosophers insist that education is the process of learning different concepts and skills required to understand another reality, I will argue that experience has played a more important role in my education than the knowledge learned from others. In addition, I think that education’s role should be helping the people to choose freely rather than developing a just society. In my opinion, education and freedom are two very correlated aspects. I don’t understand education without freedom and vice versa. If I don’t have the freedom to study what I want I will not be able to make my own decisions in the future. My academic background started in Spain where I graduated from high school and I started studying Business Administration in college. The education that I received from school and family allowed me to decide that I wanted to study in another place†¦

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Essay

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein there are a lot of examples of how she is warning the readers about the perils of modern science. One of the biggest examples is the creator of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein himself. The fact that someone was taking the role of â€Å"god†, and trying to create life is a very scary factor in life. If someone of our kind can gain the power to create their own human life from machines, science, and electricity then they could have the ultimate power. Power is something that all human kind wants to achieve, but also fear. Power goes along with the perils of modern science, which Mary Shelley warns the readers about. Modern science is definitely something to fear, and that is exactly why Mary Shelley was warning her readers. Frankenstein is just a huge example period about how scary modern science is, and why she was warning us. Mary Shelley makes references in Frankenstein from Milton’s Paradise and Garden of Eden. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. † The quote shows; especially the part where he says he will â€Å"explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation†, a great example of how she is warning the readers about the perils of modern science. It states how exploring more with science will help him create more out of life. The deepest mysteries of creations†, is something scary to even think about someone exploring. Frankenstein has a lot of similar qualities to the god in Milton’s Paradise Lost. One great example is what was said earlier, which was the fact that they both want to create life. There is also the fact that both creators rejected their creations. The quote from page 57 Frankenstein says, â€Å"Oh no mortal could support the horror of the countenance†, which is him completely rejecting his creation and only based solely on his horrendous appearance. This book is all about him experimenting and creating life and acting as god. He creates life, and then instantly rejects it because it was not created to his full potential, which means he will continue to create again until his creation is perfect. With so many rejected creations can come so many problems, and who knows what the rejected creations will become. Just like with Frankenstein’s creations, he was portrayed as a fearful monster, which is what mankind was afraid of and wanted nothing to do with. Not only was Frankenstein’s creation hideous looking, but it also lacked in speech, which made people even more scared. People are afraid of not being able to communicate, and not being able to understand. Shelley is not only warning us as readers about science, and what the future could hold because of these experiments, but she is also showing what happens when someone acts as god, and completely fails. When you are not only ignorant, but also irresponsible on top of that, these types of mistakes will happen, and you will end up regretting what you have created; â€Å"I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe. â€Å"

Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration Project Essay

Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration Project - Essay Example ged upon. Due to this, the project which will be proposed blurs the lines between economic development, and environmental recovery. Background: Although it has been over 25 years since the explosion that led to the release of radioactive matter at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Union (currently Ukraine), the fact of the matter is that the area in and around the release is still highly toxic. This is of course due to the fact that the radioactive material that was released into the air, and ultimately into the ground and water supply, has determinate â€Å"half lives† which means it will remain for quite some time into the future. After the disaster which spilled toxic radioactive waste into the atmosphere and ruptured the poorly built Soviet containment system, the engineers of the time decided that the best way to remediate the situation would merely to be close the reactor that had experienced the disaster and move refocus electrical generation needs on the remain ing reactors of the Chernobyl power plant (Voitsekhovich 1016). Although such an approach has definitely worked for a period of nearly 30 years, the fact of the matter is that the untouched and un-remediated reactor that initially ruptured lies untouched and continues to leak radioactive matter into the ground, the air, and the water table. Influences to the Project: Due to the fact that Ukraine, once a part of the former Soviet Union, has a robust engineering and construction sector with a skilled and talented workforce to draw upon, the extent to which well qualified individuals available to work on such a situation exists is not in question. Moreover, due to the fact that few environmental or labor laws define the current system that is evidenced with regards to construction and engineering projects within Ukraine, it can readily be seen that few roadblocks to such a remediation project will be likely to be realized either. An additional point that bears mention is the fact that the northern reaches of the nation of Ukraine, specifically where Chernobyl is situated, can experience moderate to severe winters where ice and snow can become a major impediment to construction or the delivery of key supplies and personnel to the building site as a function of poorly maintained and insufficient roads and transportation systems. With regards to the cultural and language differential that must be engaged upon, this is an aspect of project planning that cannot be understated (Toru Oka 999). Due to the fact that the Ukrainian language is unique and only tangentially related to its closest linguistic cousin – Russian – it is the understanding of this student that a great deal of time, effort, planning, and money will need to go into hiring translators and area experts to integrate with all levels of the workforce, existing infrastructure, and governmental liaisons to the project. Management Strategy: As a function of the previous

Management and Leadership Paper on Starbucks Case Study

Management and Leadership Paper on Starbucks - Case Study Example Organizational culture can be defined as "personality of the business organization" which can further be broken down into its values, assumptions, norms, and tangible sign of behavior of its members. At Starbucks two of the most prominent values are corporate social responsibility and its treatment of employees as strategic partner. The establishment of organizational culture as will be presented later is linked to the company's ability of utilize the four management functions in order to lead the organization. Management is often confused with leadership. There are four basic management functions namely planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Thus, it should be noted that management includes leadership since managers have to deal with persons who are lower in rank. In the case of Starbucks, its organizational culture is established through its managers who performed all these functions efficiently. In terms of planning, the company ensures that it undertakes strategic plans before starting its operation and modifying in response to the trends and developments in its external environment. The success of Starbucks can be largely attributed to its high regard to its employees which it treats as partner. Recognizing that it is its baristas who deal with the customers, it planned to align its human resources to its goal of profitability and provision of excellent service. Through the four functions of management, this plan has been put in place. The specialty coffee retailer is now recognized as one of the best places to work for because of its organizational structure, the relationship between its employees, its unique values, and its employment of modern human resource management techniques. It should be noted that the business organization efficiently uses its human resource in order to enhance its image and maximize its profitability. In its business operation, it is irrefutabl e that the company has strategically aligned its workforce in order to achieve its specific goals and objectives. This includes designing an organizational structure which highlights the revolution in human resource management. In terms of organizing, it can be seen the Starbucks has taken effort in order for its employees to know their role in the business organization. The specialty coffee retailer makes a barista knowledgeable about his or her day to day activities inside of the store premises. Starbucks organize its workforce by giving them instructions on what to do on specific situations. However, the company allows for the discretion of the staff which are in-charge of the company's operation. The function of leading can be seen through the company's organizational structure. Leading has always been a task which is not considered lightly at Starbucks. However, leading has not been a rigid function of the manager because most of the baristas are empowered. The company's rationale in empowering its people is to enable them to deliver the best service that they could for the customers. Thus, the primary governing body at Starbucks is comprised of the Office of the Chairman and the Board of Directors which "receives substantial input from other senior level executives including senior vice president of

(anything is fine) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

(anything is fine) - Essay Example Black women have raised themselves from being considered beasts of labor, assigned to jobs typically considered to be male occupations, to gaining recognition to now leading a nation. Cooper explores how women of color have had a rough time in America, but there is hope for a better future because of their ability to fight back in an embodied way to disprove the public racist opinion. Brittney Cooper is an appropriate person to present a study of this nature as a professor with vast experience in Women’s Studies. Her experience as a black woman and as an expert in women’s studies gives her article a lot of credibility. Moreover, she has pointed out and referenced several articles written by fellow women and black women rights’ campaigners. Cooper gathers several pieces of verifiable evidence to support her arguments ranging from documented historical racism and the black woman’s position from slavery through the civil rights era into current events includi ng public opinion regarding Michelle Obama’s rise to the White House (Cooper, 2010). She has also included her own practical experience as a black woman and reveals telling encounters she's had with white people. There is a lot of evidence available throughout this study that is also generated from credible sources. The article is conclusive due to the quality of the evidence provided by Cooper. However, Cooper did not carry out any original research to prove her points. She could have done so using either questionnaires or survey forms to assess the black and white women’s opinions regarding the claims she was planning to make in her article. From the early days when Sojourner Truth felt it necessary to expose her breasts to a crowd of men to today's public appearances of Michelle Obama, one of the major claims Cooper makes is that the black woman's role in the public domain has been very focused on her body. According to Cooper (2010) black women have always used str ategies such as Michelle Obama’s dedication to presenting a fit body dressed in fashionable and appropriate clothing to defend their negative portrayals in public. Michelle Obama's appearance is a direct challenge to claims that black women are in poor shape and live in the ghettos. Like Sojourner Truth's bare breasts, the image of Michelle Obama cannot be easily argued away. These strategies play a major role in ensuring democracy because she is very clearly a lady of taste and refinement which she has shown in a positive and peaceful but uncompromising way. There are several arguments by Cooper, Darlene Clark and Evelyn Brooks regarding the bodily appearance of women in the public domain as well as their public self-representation and what it means to society as a whole. While the black man’s body has also been used to express concerns about racism and address some of the discriminatory and vulnerability issues that still exist, it is the woman's body that is most ef fective perhaps because the female form is most open for scrutiny in our society. Cooper (2010) attempts to give hope to black women who were initially subjected to sexual discrimination and other forms of exploitation through the use of these examples of black male oppression. Black women have always worried about their role in society as a result of their extreme oppression during slavery and through the forces of racism and discrimination that have

What does news do and why is it important Essay

What does news do and why is it important - Essay Example Granted that it is the most pervasive, forceful, and most influential force in human societies today, news sources can be a channel of passing ideas unto the public, thereby influencing its viewpoints accordingly. For instance, as indicated by Iyengar and Kinder (1989) television news can be so forceful and influential in shaping the public’s viewpoints concerning the politics of the day. News can influence societies either positively or negatively, but either way, news plays a significant role in society. Brighton and Foy (2007) stated that the relationship between news sources and society has socio-cultural aspects, and the role of news can be explained using three perspectives namely the ‘common sense, the practitioner, and the academic perspective. This paper will examine what news does, and why it is important, using an illustration from the Guardian news organization. News is very important because it informs the general population of happenings in their immediate environment, which might be of primary concern to them because they may be directly affected by these events. According to Manning (2001), news sources have a moral obligation to undertake the task of gathering and communicating to the public what is happening both in their local environs, and across their borders. Focus on local matters enables people to have a fundamental awareness of matters o f importance to them, and in response to news, people may prepare to take actions; for instance, a news report of fatal road carnage at a dangerous hotspot can be a cause for lobbying to fix the problem. News may also cover stories that have a national perspective in distant cities and towns, especially in the context of countries with diversified population centres. Focus on national matters in other cities and towns enables people to get a national outlook or perspective on crucial issues such as trade opportunities and resources for economic empowerment available in other places. Nonetheless, news stories may also be international by covering events in other countries that are not only geographically isolated, but also culturally different and distinct. In this regard, events that may be happening in distant places where people are unable to reach may also be of interest to them; for that matter, news bridges the geographical gap between people and events in distant places, makin g them to feel connected too. News from foreign cultures can be very inspiring and insightful, leading to a fruitful exchange of positive cultural aspects and ideas between different people and societies in general. In this case, news plays not only an entertainment and informative role of relaying distant happenings to local audiences, but also a transformative role by influencing cultural movements within the wider society. Generally, news plays significant functions in society, including raising awareness on local happenings, giving people a national perspective on matters within their borders, as well as regional perspectives in other countries, leading to cultural and ideological exchanges. Consequently, as stated by Schadson (1996) the awareness created through communication of news invokes critical debates and discussions in the audiences concerning crucial issues in society such as policy. In addition, it empowers people to question and even challenge governments by holding them accountable to their policy choices and actions. One example of a news organization that performs its role of informing the masses or the general population of the happenings in their environments and holding those who hold

Love and Acceptance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Love and Acceptance - Essay Example Examining the importance of this in Morrison through â€Å"The Bluest Eye,† â€Å"Songs of Solomon,† â€Å"Beloved† and â€Å"A Mercy,† are able to define and change the understanding of the novels and how this relates to the several angles that are associated with love and acceptance, specifically with the internal perceptions, relations to the external environment and others and the responses which are given by individual characters. The Overlapping Theme of Love in Morrison The concept of love is one which is found in most of Morrison’s novels and is one of the overlapping themes that continue to be explored. The theme which Morrison follows is one which combines the actions one takes for love as well as the perceptions of love which are attributed to different characters. The belief that is created when looking at the various novels is that the expression and perception of love is dependent on the character, background and the circumstances whic h are surrounding a given situation. The concept which Morrison carries with her personal philosophy is to develop an understanding of how each of the characters would perceive love as a central theme in their lives. When asked about the notion of love in the characters, Morrison states â€Å"With a character, I do what an actress does: I get inside, I try to see what it looks like and how they feel and let them do what I think they’d do. At the moment I’m writing, I love all of that, I love them†¦You just write what you think is your truth. Everybody isn’t everybody† (Morrison, Guthrie, 71-72). ... The changing ideology of love and acceptance then comes from Morrison’s examination of the character acceptance and flaws within each of the novels. The approach which Morrison takes is one which becomes important because the concept of love and acceptance is no longer limited and is only expressed by each of the characters. There is the ability for Morrison to change this ideology into the rejection of love, projection of dysfunctions or with the loss of romantic love. This is done with the sense of investigation and how other environmental issues and concepts relate to love and acceptance. The background of Morrison is one which incorporates an investigation of concepts such as culture, definitions of love in society and other associations with her investigation of love, specifically to show how these elements change the perspective of being in love. It is noted that this comes from Morrison’s background as an African – American living in the south and seeing t he divisions and questions about identity that were a part of the lifestyle. The works which she created then questioned the ideas of culture and identity and how this led to different perceptions of love or the absence of it, dependent on the perceptions of the character. â€Å"All the books are questions for me. I write them because I don’t know something in there I really did not understand: what is the problem between a pair of lovers who really love one another but are culturally different?... How can you manage to love another person under these circumstances if your culture, your class, your education are that different† (Morrison, Guthrie, 270). The main ideology which Morrison

Health care marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Health care marketing - Essay Example Additionally, the health care institution should work to maintain a good brand name among the locals. The primary aim of this factor is to capture the external environment, which consists of the patients. This offers the health institution with an external insight of its brand in terms of marque image, brand personality, and brand familiarity.  Furthermore, the health facility should take into account innovation as a major factor for its marketing strategy. Innovation should take place in all departments of the hospital. This will increase the overall margins of the health facility and develop a new mindset to its patients. Secret shoppers or mystery shoppers are people hired by other rival organizations or business to spy on the progress of another business entity. The familiarity of secret shoppers is not common in many organizations since organizations set their own targets to achieve as opposed to benchmarking with other rival businesses. Mystery shoppers are popular in healthcare institutions equally to other business. This is because they aim to evaluate how healthcare is delivered in healthcare organizations and aim to correct important information and procedures that can be adapted in rival healthcare

How technology has effects on humans everyday Essay - 1

How technology has effects on humans everyday - Essay Example taking part in all spheres of human activities as the prime factor of people, knowledge is increasing due to many challenges encountered such as education, life expectancy, health care, communication, and wars, natural environmental activities among others. As the day goes necessities tend to spawn and most invention is ushered in with the need of the betterment present globalized world that we exist in a time of advanced technology has shifted to more advanced technology in almost every part of our daily live, everything is related in comparison with old gone days, nowadays we have better sophisticated facilities and even better comfort luxuries with the help of newly increased technology (Scardamalia, 1996). There are more impacts with the coming of improved technology in our daily life like the introduction of the mobile technology that is growing immensely as media for interacting and communicating with our relatives living far away. Secondly, when one wants to travel its easier with the help of aviation technology in order to reach distant places within the shortest time possible which used to take a century in older days. Through technology, social networking has made it able to share different ideas and views with people from other three continents (Scardamalia, 1996). Technology has also helped in agricultural fields through exchanging of food and commodities, meet food requirements of varied people all over the world with ease. Through cyberspace, people are able to do many new things, for example, when using the internet to learn distance courses in our colleges and one also takes online courses through the internet which has made the education life easier. Moreover, with the rise of internet technology the world knows one is able to carry business and trade has become very fast and easy and more reliable since it enables people to transact business with someone who is far. Lastly, with the creation of automobile vehicles that assists us to carry out

Project Management for Business--The failure of Fire Control Essay

Project Management for Business--The failure of Fire Control - Essay Example Moreover, in December 2010, the department cancelled the project after reviewing that it would not be delivered within the planned timeframe. The project examines why the department failed to convey the project and the extent to which it minimized the waste arising from the final decisions to terminate the project. Project management advances the coordination, control and planning of diverse and complex activities of commercial, industrial, management change, and IT projects.Moreover, thedevelopments of projects share common similarities in the projection of ideas and activities into new ventures’. This report entails a fire control project, aimed at improving the efficiency, technology and flexibility of English fire and rescue service by replacing forty-six local control rooms with an effective network of nine purpose-built regional control centers. Besides, the control centers use national computer system that handle calls, manage incidents and mobilize equipment. Consequently, the main purpose of this project was to predict and foresee many dangers’ and problems as possible during the planning and organization of activities to finish the project successfully. It started before the incorporation of any resource and continued until all work was finished. The development of the project incorporated other parties such as a project manager and relevant stakeholders in information technology (IT). According to the National Audit Office (2011), suggests that the aim of a project manager is to ensure that the result satisfies project sponsors or purchasers and principled stakeholders within the promised timeframe. Furthermore, the project was not to use more money and other resources than those originally included in the budget. Following the cancelation of this project, the report addresses the department for communities and local government, to ensure that organizations learn lessons from mistakes

Human mortality rate and the resilience of women in the abortion case study Essay Example for Free

Human mortality rate and the resilience of women in the abortion case study Essay In 2014, the abortion rate in the United States was 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women. It is the lowest abortion rate recorded since Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973. One of the fears of the decision was that it would lead to an increase in abortions and the termination of pregnancies could have a detrimental effect on the women receiving the abortions. While the increase in legal abortion access did see a rise in abortions, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that legal abortions did not cause a significant increase in mental health issues among women that have experienced abortions. With a long history of trauma and disease that caused premature deaths at extraordinary rates, humans have evolved to overcome trauma. Humans are inherently resilient, largely due to the high amount of traumatic experiences our ancestors experienced and the genes dedicated to survival that were passed generation after generation. It is not an unreasonable to believe that abortions could have a severe impact on women’s mental health. Terminating a pregnancy and losing an unborn child has high potential of being a traumatic experience that could potentially have long-standing mental health effects. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry, followed 1,000 women who sought out consultation on potentially getting an abortion. The study followed these women for five years after they received or were denied an abortion. The researchers found that those who received abortions were no more likely than those that were denied abortions to have experienced anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or feelings of life dissatisfaction. Only those that were denied abortions due to being too far along in their pregnancies experienced negative mental health problems, but the study noted that after six months, the negative mental health effects returned to the range observed in other groups in the study. The study shows that humans are extremely resilient and that we often overcome even the most difficult events that can occur in our lives. Modern life is far more safer and less fraught with trauma that our past, where mortality rates across the board were much higher. In evolutionary terms, it makes sense that we are as resilient as we are, considering we would not exist otherwise. For obvious reasons, there are no concrete statistics on mortality rates from our ancient past, but it is believed to be extraordinarily high compared to today, where the worldwide average life expectancy is 71 years. The infant mortality rate in particular is believed to have been very high in prehistoric times. Even in recent times before the advent of standard hygienic norms in hospitals, infant mortality rates were much higher they are today. Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis observed in 1846 that the neonatal mortality rate was five times lower when women   gave birth at a midwives’ clini c, compared to births that took place in hospitals by male doctors. He figured out that the doctors were performing autopsies in the hospitals and the midwives were not. Semmelweis hypothesized that harmful microbes were being transferred from the autopsy bodies to the women giving birth. When Semmelweis advised the doctors to sterilized their hands and tools before delivering babies, the neonatal mortality rate dropped dramatically. Today, it is very rare for a baby to be lost during childbirth, but even within he past century, neonatal deaths would not have been all that uncommon. Modern medicine has drastically cut down on mortality rates for various diseases and medical conditions. It is estimated that approximately 300 million have died due to smallpox. English physician Edward Jenner is credited with the discovery of the smallpox vaccine, which has been successfully deployed worldwide. As a result, smallpox is the only infectious disease that has been fully eradicated globally, with the last World Health Organization declaring it officially eradicated in 1979. Before this time, it wouldn’t of been uncommon to have known members of your own family who had died from smallpox. Other deadly diseases like polio and measles have also been eradicated in the developed world due to vaccines. Infectious diseases caused by bacteria have been largely controlled by the invention of antibiotics. Before Alexander Fleming isolated a mold called Penicillium notatum to be used as the world’s first antibiotic, it wouldn’t have been uncommon for people to die due to an infected cut. The Oxford Constable, Albert Alexander cut his face while gardening and an infection caused by staphylococci and streptococci spread to his scalp and eyes. He was treated with pencillin for five days, but eventually doctors ran out of penicillin and Alexander succumbed to the infection. The world offers many dangers to our mortality and humans have faced these dangers for hundreds of thousands of years. Trauma and disease are in a constant battle with our mortality and only those that could overcome adversity would pass their genes to the next generation. In that evolutionary context, it is not surprising that we often overcome even the darkest of traumas. It will be interesting to see where the evolutionary direction that resiliency will go in our modern world where we are far less likely to face the same dangers that our ancestors faced on a daily basis.

Effect of Brand Equity on Consumer Perception of Brand

Effect of Brand Equity on Consumer Perception of Brand Brand equity plays an important role in the firms in creation and development of both product and company brand strategy. The study aim to analyze the relationship of different variables of brand equity with the purpose of providing the relationship between effectiveness of brand equity and customer perception of the brand the research focuses on the dimensions of brand equity which involve brand awareness, brand image, brand quality, brand loyalty and brand association However the researches examine relationship between dimension of brand equity and consumer perception of the brand Primary and secondary data source will be used so as to be able to achieve the objectives questionnaires will be constructed to provide answers to research question. Also interview and focus group will be among the secondary data In this study, eighty (1o0) questionnaires will be distributed, The study will make a survey for these dimensions of consumers based-brand equity and their perception of brand so as to determine the accuracy and validity of the research for current and future use. Key words: consumer perception on brand, brand equity, loyalty, image quality and association CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIO This chapter of the project present a brief discussion about background to the research ,followed by problem statement ,aim and objectives ,justification for the research methodology and conclusion of the chapter BACK GROUND OF THE PROBLEM Based on the rapid changes in the global market and high competition between firms or companies the concept of brand management has become more important .Because good brand management bring about clear different between products and services provided by different companies brand management is important because it ensure strong brand equity which help customers especially when customers need to purchase product or services. Concept of brand equity has received a great deal of research interest in the past 18 years and continues to be one of the most appealing fields of marketing for private and public sector firms. Brand equity issues are important in the design and development of a company and its product or service offerings(Keller ,2004) However academics have not achieved a widely accepted methodology of measuring firms brand equity or the effect of different variables of brand equity on the valuation of a brand. Researchers have also found that brands with high brand equity receive a considerable purchase price, even when a company has declared bankruptcy (Kaikati 2003) suggesting that high brand equity can provide rewards even when a company is in a poor financial position Brand equity is recognized in the name and symbols associated with a company and the very act of social responsibility is believed to be a significant driver for Building strong brand Despite many other factors that global and local brands of different products use brand equity as measurement of its effectiveness to their customers Prasad and Dev,(2000) presented some factors which are the simplest way for hotel industries to recognise and distinguish between themselves in the mind of their customers is through strong brand equity .(Low and Lamb,2000) also stated that in the service market the main brand is firms brand while the packaged goods market the main brand is seen to the product brand itself. As research shows a powerful brand enhance customers attitude and strength toward brand. According to (Keller, 2004) customer awareness and association influences attributes of perceived quality and finally result to brand loyalty especially when customers are satisfied with product or service they purchase. Strong brands allow its customers to have better perception of brand regardless either intangible or tangibility. Branding has been conducted for centuries as a means for producers to distinguish their goods against those of competitors by creating a recognizable and memorable image. Aaker, D.A Kumar and Day (2007) Kotler p (2002) states A brand is a name, symbol, design, or mark that enhances the value of a product beyond its functional purpose. The term brand equity focuses on the added value with which a brand endows Brands such as coca cola their brand equity is difficult to measure because the company extended their product with strong brand awareness. This is same as TBL drinks ( alcohol and non alcohol ) the company have extended their brand within the country and out of the country . Aaker, D.A Kumar and Day (2007) As far as brand associations are concerned researchers narrated a minimum of nine brand associations that can affect brand effectiveness toward consumer perception brand association communicate the approach or the meaning of product in specific term on how consumer needs can be fulfilled in any competitive environment Additional research has revealed that companies will pay a premium to acquire or merge with a competitor that has recognized high brand equity as a means of hedging against new product costs (Aker 2004) Purchasing a company or product line with high brand awareness has a high potential for carryover to the new parent company, as long as the brand name remains effective and consumers do not see a visible reduction in performance Researchers such as (Merrilless and Millers 2008)state that loyal customers who perceive higher brand image tend to act more favourably toward rebranding because when the company face any down fall they can make innovation or rebranding and improve some factors that will make the brand more known to create top mind and mind recall.Marketers should enhance some core peripheral brand concept to build up connections between the initial brand image to attract the target customers and this is importance especially when the competition is high Although several brands within different product and service categories used different method to measure brand equity .Also other researchers (Prasad and Dev ,2000:23)state that relatively limited research on brand equity within the hotel industry and other companies has been conducted and more others by different researchers where they shows some gapes from different research conducted which indicate the importance of strong brand equity on customers perception of the brand For the company to archive a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace one has to value the importance of building strong brand (Kim , Kim An 2003,Parasa and Decade 2000) this is by maintaining and improving brand to ensure customers satisfaction is high compared to what your competitors do Conclusively the most important or best way of building strong brand value and support product or service performance will is to ensure effective brand management and strong brand equity because if the brand management and brand equity is poor then it will have great effect to the customers as researchers suggest there should be effective brand equity to ensure that all the measurement of brand are active to avoid effects to customers especially when they make perception or decision of what brand to purchase. Therefore the company need to have effective brand equity because consumer perception on a brand is based on the brand equity (Kotler, P and Armstrong, 2002) THE PROBLEM STATEMENT The failure of companies in maintaining effectiveness of their brand which as a result it affect customers perception of brand this is because companies try to come up with different brand which keep them different from other competitors but some of them they fail to perform well despite that they have brand. While the failure of the company to build effective brand equity will actually leads to the failure in achieving the desired organization goals because even if the company have brand but if the brand can not compete then the firm will not do well. . This is because brand equity play an important role in maintaining customer loyalty and organization performance in the market place. So Having the brand itself is not enough the company should have strong brand effectiveness because brand equity have great effect on consumer perception of brand When reading through literatures researches shows different gaps regarding customer base brand equity in service industry and most focus on relationship between firm performances using brand awareness and image as a moderating effect. Also I noticed that most researches {Aaker (2001), Keller (2003), cob-walgren et al (2005), Lasser et al (2005), Yoo et al (2003) Yoo and Donthun (2001) surveyed these dimension of brand equity and determine their effect to the customers especially when the brand is not well managed More over due to the fast change in consumer wants and high competition has influence brand management to ensure better performance of the company because brand equity has great effect on consumer perception of the brand (kotler P. 2002). Therefore I have chosen to carry out this research to indicate the effectiveness of brand equity on customer perceptions of a brand and examining their effect on customer perception and organization performance. Accurate method of data collection will be primary and secondary data in which I will base on literature review, interviews and questionnaires to get the validity and reliability of the problem. PURPOSE OF THE RESEACH The project has to do with the effectiveness brand equity on customers perception of brand the main objective will base on the following: Determine relationship between brand awareness and customer perception of brand Analyze the effect of brand image to the customer perception of the brand Examine the relationship between brand quality on customer based- brand equity and their perception of brand Determine the effectiveness of brand association in brand equity to the customer perception of brand Analyze the effect of brand loyalty to customers and customer perception of the brand Lastly the findings will show or tell what dimension seems to have least or lower consideration when customers make perception about the brand .this will be used as one of the recommendation for this research for the companies and future research on what they should focus on for the future DEFINITIONS OF THE KEY CONCEPTS The following model demonstrates that brand equity is developed based on the five dimensions of brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and other proprietary brands assets (example distribution system). How the brand performs on these dimensions is what leads consumers to develop an overall, intangible rating of brand equity. This equity then provides value to the consumer and the firm in the outlined ways. The model by Aaker was one of the first seminal works in the field of brand equity and led to future research in the area. KEY CONCEPT Figure: Aakers Brand Equity Model 2002. Brand: Kotler et al (2005, p.549) state that brand is a name, term, sign design or a combination of all of these factors that identify different product or marketers of any product or any service. According to (Kapferer (2004) a brand is a name that has power to influence a buyer he also said that these influences could be the result of strong brand association and relationship built up over time among customers or distributers. Brand Equity Aaker (2004) stated that brand equity is a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand example brand name and symbols that add or subtract from the value provided by produce or services to a firm direct to its customers. Brand loyalty Aaker (2004) Brand loyalty is the attachment that customers has to the brand or is the consumers preference to purchase a particular brand in a product class and this is due to consumers awareness about the product or the quality and image of the product or customers satisfaction .all of these add to customers loyalty Brand image Keller (2005) Brand image is consumers perception about the brand or how they view the brand. Also brand image is symbolic construct created within the mind of consumers and it consist all the information and expectation that customers expect to get from a certain brand of Product or service Brand awareness (Aydin and zer, 2005).Brand awareness refers to the ability for a buyer to recognize or recall a brand is a member of a certain product category Rossiter and Percy (1987) state that brand awareness is essentials for communication because good brand awareness create top mind which help to make marketers work more simplified when customers are aware of the product . Without brand awareness no communication effect can occur for customers to buy a brand they must be aware of it. BREACK DOWN OF THE WORK The research consists of five (5) chapters. The first chapter based on brief discussion about background to the research, followed by problem statement, aim and objectives, justification for the research methodology and conclusion of the chapter The second chapter present the theoretical frame work with theories which are relevant to the study literature review has been structured in the following way starting by consumer behaviour ,brand ,brand equity conceptualization of brand equity brand equity in service industries and finally dimension of brand equity and conclusion of the chapter Chapter three presents the method which will be used in data collection. It explains the research design that has been used, also research approaches, data collection method, source of data, reliability and validity and lastly limitation of the research The fourth chapter present data analysis and result of the findings Finally chapter five deals with conclusion, recommendations and suggestion for the companies and future research, the references and appendix are presented at the end of the research CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAME WORK This chapter put together what other researchers have Witten about this topic which is addressed in the title. this include literature reviews from different research which will help to identify gaps and limitation from previous research also literature review help to add on the body of knowledge to support the problem oh hand CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOR Consumer behaviour For better understanding about brand equity on customers perception about brands , it is necessary to start with consumer behaviour. Belch and Belch (2004) defined consumer behaviour as the process and activities people engage in especially when searching ,or selecting ,or purchasing the product ,it involve evaluating and disposing of product and services to satisfy their needs and desire. Dalqvist and Linde (2002) characterized consumer behaviour into four bases which include rational, learned, unconscious and social behaviour and they are represented in three ways KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE ACTION Rational behaviour: (Dalqvist and Linde 2002) customers with rational behaviour, first they get some knowledge about the product and what in offers then they get attitude toward the product and finally they may act to buy or not to buy the product .This is usually when customers purchase expensive product Example cars (KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE ACTION) Unconscious behaviour: consumers with unconscious behaviour start with an attitude toward the product this attitude may either be from emotional or feeling .then consumer find more information about the product and then get knowledge about it and finally they may choose to buy or not (ATTITUDE KNOWLEDGE,ACTION) Learned behaviour: this is when consumers do not plan their choice of product they do it by habit example of this habit is when buying a newspaper (ACTION KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE) Social behaviour : consumers with social behaviour tends to choose theirs product as the result of social environment which they live in .the status, lifestyle and other influences they may influences the product they may buy ( ACTION ATTITUDE KNOWLEDGE) FACTORS THAT INFLUENCES CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIAGRAM Cultural factors: this may include factors such as culture, subculture or social classes in which a consumer identifies his or her self with Social cultures :this may include factors such as family ,reference group, and consumer role and status example religious leader Like pastor Personal factors :this include factors such as lifecycle ,status, and age of consumers also the economic situation, occupation self-concept and consumer personality Psychological factors include perceptions ,motivational ,learning attitude and belief of consumers .These factors have great effect on consumer perception The above factors have great effect on customer perception of the product this is because people differ in geographical location and the norms and conduct differ so this can affect the purchasing of product due to customer perception CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR According to sderlund (2001) consumers buying behaviour include attitude, intention, preference, strength and commitment of consumer to purchase a product. Consumers buying behaviour this may be called buying behaviour of the final product. . From the diagram above it shows stages that consumers pass through when they want to buy a product but these stages also may depend with a product and if its a first time customers to purchase that product (kotler p 2004) proposed five stages that consumers go through when they need a product, need recognition, information search ,evaluation of information, purchase decision , post purchase DIAGRAM Need recognition: this is when consumers define their need or their problem .this may be due to internal stimulus or external stimulus Example of internal stimulus is when you need a drink as a result of hunger .External stimulus arise due to many things example commercial on television about something my force or influence a certain need (Kotler, 2005) Therefore it is importance that marketers find out what stimulus attracts interest in their brand. Information search: (kotler p ,2005) this is when customers find informations from different sources based on their need example sources such as commercial source, personal source, and experiential source these sources are important to enhance knowledge and awareness of any available brand Alternative evaluation: this is where consumers evaluate and rank alternatives from the obtained information example of evaluation may base on quality price, warrant and package and other information Purchase decision: this is where consumers purchase product that they want, their perception may be influenced by unforeseen factors and attitude of others. Post purchase decision: this is when consumers compare their expectation and the actual perceive performance (Kotler et al (1999) stated that they get satisfied when their expectations are the same with the product performance Consumers behaviour may depend on type of the product consumer is buying Kotler (2001) designed a buying behaviour model which consisted of four different buyer behaviours. DIAGRAM Complex buying behaviour: when consumers buy a high quality brand and before making purchase they seek more information about it .This is high consumer involvement example when a person want to buy a car other electronic product like laptop they need significant differences between brands. Habitual buying behaviour: when customers purchase a product out of habit these customers have low involvement with the brand Variety seeking buying behaviour: when customers go around the shopping mall and experiment with variety of product Dissonance reducing buying behaviour: this is when customers are highly involved with buying product as a result of fact that is expensive or rare Example buying Apple laptop or buying a car like BMW FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF BRAND PERCEPTION: Perception is a process by which the information is received, selected evaluated, organised and interpreted by an individuals when they need to purchase product. (Kotler 2005). Factors influencing customers perception Diagram Influence by others: influences by others play an important role when one need to buy something .consumers have habit of consulting each other regarding a new brand that they need to purchase to seek their advice .some advice are very strong and help buyers to buy quality brand these influence my be from friends, cultural value behaviour and preference or socially like small group like family or membership group. So these influences can make someone buy a product which he or she was not planned to buy. (Derlund 2000) Quality: this is the strongest factors which consumers take into account when making their choice on what to purchase .According to (Uggla (2001) quality is an integrals part of brand identity. Price: is used as an exchange of product or services, price can be used as a reason for a choice of a certain product or service example guying at lower cost to escape financial cost or risk or highest product to get good quality. (Derlund 2000) price place and brand are the three important factors when deciding consumers purchase choice in every product. Advertising: the ain of advertisement is to create top mind and awareness to the target customers target consumer about the product or service. Advertisement is a major way of communication .According to (Aaker 2002) advertising, promotion and packaging empress are the key factors to influence customers to purchase your brand because advertisement create top of mind and brand recall. Packaging: this is designing the cover of the brand or product that will help to attract and influence customers (Kotler 2001) packaging is a form of advertisement in the sense that it sales duties such as attracting customers describing and selling the product. Convenience :the brand should have things that can convince buyers , conveniences of brand has significant effect on consumers because in a real sense no one can buy product which have no easy access or no store available ,sellers must create ways to customers to get product in easy way to avoid unnecessary cost (Lin and chang 2003). DETAIL ON BRAND: BRAND: Kotler et al (2005 p.5490) state that brand is a name, term, sign design or a combination of all of these factors that identify different product or marketers of any product or any service. According to (Kapferer (2004) a brand is a name that has power to influence a buyer he also said that these influences could be the result of strong brand association and relationship built up over time among customers or distributers. Brand is a means where sellers can be differentiated because everyone can produce a product but to make them different the branding is very important. (Jones and Slater 2003) They sum up these added value that develop from different experiences that customers may have from the brand which rise as the result of using the brand which could be as a result of consumer association with the brand Having strong brand companies not only could facilitate the differentiation of their product to with their competitors .but with branding companies are able to create confidence and loyalty in their firm performance (Halverson Revaz, 2006). IMPORTACE OF SRONG BRAND According to (Dave Dolak 2003) strong brand will create the following benefit amongst others Build name and brand recognition for your product or the company which may influence consumer buying behavior decision Build trust and emotional attachment to firm product or services Make purchase decision more easy and it will enable customers to have trust toward the brand and create belief as result they become loyal to your brand even without knowing the uniqueness of your brand Any strong brand can create the consumer attitude toward a particular product and services and the strength of such attitude is developed through experience with such brand A strong brand enjoys the benefit such as reduced competitive advantages, premium price, customer loyalty, profitability, reduced the perceived risk of consumers who are not so sure of their decision THE BRAND EQUITY Concept of brand equity has received a great deal of research interest in the past 18 years and continues to be one of the most appealing fields of marketing for private and public sector firms. Brand equity issues are important in the design and development of a company and its product or service offerings. However academics have not achieved a widely accepted methodology of measuring firms brand equity or the effect of different variables of brand equity on the valuation of a brand Aaker (1991) defined brand equity as assets and liabilities that add or detract value to a firm and/or its companies. Brand equity help to increase seals ,price premium and customers loyalty this is because brand equity comprises all the importance element of the brand example brand awareness , brand image , brand quality and other element .so when brand equity is strong it will help the company performance to be good and also influence more customers toward the product or services In other words brand equity can be said to be an asset or liability connected to brand name that adds or subtract value to the product This definition of brand equity can be widely described into other three ways which could be based on financial perspective which stress the value of brand to firm, or customers perspective which sees brand equity as the value of brand to consumers and the combination of the two The study focuses on customers perception .consumer based brand equity can be divide into customers perception which based on brand awareness, perceiver quality, image, loyalty and association and their buying behaviour DIMENSIONS BRAND EQUITY The following diagram illustrates the measurement of brand equity. Brand equity by reasserting the lack of tangibility and clear definition of the concept Brand equity is due to large sales and a sizeable advertising budget, since consumers are more likely to favour the larger brand names. Baldinger and Rubinson (2007) argued against the assertions of Ehrenberg by showing research that customer attitudes can be measured with some level of validity and that brands (large or small) do show a decrease in strength when observed over a long period of time DIMENSION OF BRAND EQUITY Aaker (2001) BRAND ASSOCIATION: Chen (2001) identifies the types of brand associations and examines the relationship between the characteristics of brand associations and brand equity. He uses the research of (Aaker 2001) to develop his model concluding that the underlying value of a brand name is often a set of 11 associations. Chen suggests classifying brand association into product and organizational associations and further sub-associations as outlined in his brand association model. Chen (2001) provides useable examples for the functional attribute associations and non-functional attribute associations to increase the readers understanding of the framework. He then conducts his research to determine the effect of brand associations on brand equity Apelbaum, Gerstner, and Naik (2003) highlight the difference in price provided by brand awareness and examine whether quality is as much a price determinant as brand equity. The authors study the variations in product quality between national and store brands from selected Consumer Reports lists and compare the use of premium pricing. As noted earlier, consumer beliefs about brand attributes and benefits can be formed in different ways. (Ian and Taylor 2002) Brand attributes are those descriptive features that characterize a product or service. Also brand benefit are the personal value and meaning that customers attach to the product or service attributes In general, the source of information creating the strongest brand attribute and benefit associations is direct experience. This type of information can be particularly influential in consumers product decisions, as long as consumers are able to interpret their experiences accurately. Word of mouth or other non-commercial sources of information (consumer organizations, the press, etc.) can also create strong associations (Ian and Taylor 2002). Many authors (Ian and Taylor 2002) as cited by Juan Carlos et al 2001)find that quality differences between national and store brands vary significantly across product categories and for 25 percent of product categories, the average quality of store brands is higher. In spite of this difference in quality, national brands receive a substantial price premium (30 percent on average) and when the quality of national brands is higher than store brands the price premium increases to 50 percent Both Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993) define brand associations as the information in the consumers mind linked to the brand consumers use associated to process and store information in their memories that can be used especially when they need to make decision on what to purchase good association of the brand will take organisation into customers consideration and it can be liked to trust which result to better organisation performance . BRAND AWARENESS Brand awareness can be referred as the degree of consumers familiarity with a brand (Aaker 2001 and Keller 2003 stated that brand awareness is a vital element of brand equity in which when the brand is well known it become important to the company since customers may be influenced by the brand (Rossiter and Percy 2007) brand is the ability of customers to distinguish the brand amongst other brand Keller (2003) Conceptualized brand awareness as a source of good brand recall and brand recognition .He went further to say that the recall is the ability of customers to remember a brand from their mind when the product class is made known Brand awareness is reflected in the consumers ability to identify the brand under different Circumstances (Keller, 1993). Also is considered as important in low involvement product categories .when it come to high involvement product like cars and other expensive and durable product its however likely that customers spend more time when they make their decision on what to buy so when that product is well known and all the specification are known and where to get also it become more convenience for the consumers and hence may customers may favor that particular brand According to (Aaker, 2001 p 34) there are three level of brand awareness namely: Brand recognition: is the ability of consumers to identify a certain brand amongst others that is aided as recall situation where bay a person is asked to identify a recognized brand name from a list of brand from the same product class Brand recall: is a situation where by a customer is expected to name a brand in product class, also it can be referred as Unaided recall as they are not given any clue from the product class Top of mind: this is referred as the first brand that consumers can recall among a given class of product Different researchers have seen brand awareness as an element that play an important role to both customer and the company ,to custom

Unemployment Inflation in the U.S

Unemployment Inflation in the U.S Unemployment rate is known to be one of the most vital economic indicators to represent a particular countrys economic performance usually formulated by the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). While looking at United States unemployment rate, it has been ranging from 4.7 till 10.1 percent. Economists realize that unemployment is a serious problem, as it not only withdraws consumption patterns but also occurs at an opportunity cost of the goods and services that could have been produced. In addition, persistent unemployment can result in a pool of psychological and social welfare costs such as; suicides, depression, divorces etc. In order to understand how unemployment has affected the U.S economy, it is essential to know how unemployment is measured initially and what causes it. Measuring Unemployment Firstly, a monthly Employment Report is generated by the U.S government which is constituted of two surveys. The first being the Establishment Report and the second being the Current Population Survey. The Establishment Report inquires how many workers are being paid regularly from a sample of employers while the CPS, inquires a pool of 60,000 households about any of them trying to seek work or are working currently. When the result is finalized, it helps the BLS to analyse how many Americans are employed and how many are not. It is categorized into six different measures namely; When a person is out of job for 15 weeks or more. When a worker has finished a temporary job or has been sacked. Formulating official unemployment rate by evaluating the proportion of the labour force from the total unemployed. Measuring the total unemployment rate by adding up (3) and the portion of workers who have given up looking for a job (discouraged). Summing up the answers to (4) and adding a portion of workers who are interested to work but have not started looking for it. Summation of all the above results from 3-5 onwards with those workers who are keen to work full-time but cannot. Reasons of Unemployment In general economics, unemployment can be reasoned to occur for a number of economic factors. However, while generalizing it only to the U.S economy, unemployment is caused by either frictional, structural or cyclical reasons. Frictional Unemployment: Such type of unemployment is generated from the transitions in the workforce that are often caused when workers try to shift in between jobs in order to get a higher salary or because they gave shifted to a particular location. It can also be caused when employers hold back themselves from appointing of sacking workers for in economic reasons. Structural Unemployment: When a mismatch is created due to geographical, demographical or industrial reasons; structural unemployment is caused. Usually, it can be caused in areas where there is a lot of technical advancement but the workers lack the technical expertise to carry out their jobs. Such progress in technology is usually a great cost to the economy. In the U.S, the newspaper industry has faced a loss of jobs for reporters, content editors and so on as the online world has taken over the industry in the form of web-based advertising. Cyclical Unemployment: Keynesian economics states that cyclical unemployment is the effect of booms in the business cycles. Moreover, recession trends lead to lesser workers being recruited thus, rising the unemployment rate. Cyclical unemployment occurs when there is not enough demand for goods and services in the economy at large to provide jobs for everyone who wants one. Basically, it is triggered when consumers have less money at hand to spend money on commodities. This in turn causes companies to lay off their workers due to less demand. Measures to curb the unemployment rate After a specific range, the federal U.S government steps into the scene and tries to create jobs in order to avoid the unemployment rate to persist over a long period of time. The government usually does this via the monetary policy of fiscal policy approach. Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve Bank of U.S is responsible for controlling the monetary policy. The bank is an independent entity that has the key to manage the money supply within the country. Two tools are used accordingly to the economic situation. The first tool adopted is to lower the interest rates. In this way, it is less costly for banks and companies to borrow money as the cost of borrowing is lowered. Governments do this with an aim to stimulate investment spending and expansion of businesses. This results in increased employment and economic vitality. The second tool is to increase the money available to households and businesses. In this way, more money will increase employment and stimulate business expansion. Fiscal Policy: In case the expansionary monetary policy is not enough to curb the unemployment effect, various fiscal policies are adopted to fight the high rates of unemployment. Governments can adopt many techniques to do this. They can: Reduce taxes for encouraging households and businesses to spend. Increase government spending to increase employment rates. Provision of unemployment benefits in order to help them with their basic needs. Recruit workers who have the skills to build things like mass transit systems and who have the skills to cater services such as upgrading and repairing complex infrastructures. (Debt.org, n.d.) Inflation is generally termed as the persistent rise in the general price level of good and services. It can be caused due to three main reasons in the U.S: Demand Pull Inflation: This type of inflation is mainly caused when too much demand is chasing too few goods. A progressing economy just like the U.S; can result in inflation as people start consuming more and more. Growing economies like the U.S can face persistent inflation as people spend more and are optimistic about the future. This can trigger economic growth but after a certain time can be dangerous. Fiscal policies that are discretionary in nature can instigates demand-pull inflation. The government does this by increasing their federal spending and decreasing tax rates which in turn causes an up rise in the demand schedule. For instance, Apple Inc. charges high prices for its products. Cost-Push Inflation: Such type of inflation occurs mainly due to high costs chasing prices. It is caused when supply is low. Wage inflation can trigger cost-push inflation as it is instigated by a good formed labor union. Moreover, when natural calamities occur they can also cause such type of inflation as infrastructure is destroyed such as that what happened in Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. For instance, excessive fishing in the U.S causes a reduction in supply for seafood, thus increasing its price. Another reason can also be flexibility of U.S exchange rate that leads to import-push inflation. Money-Supply Inflation: Excess expansion of money supply can also lead to inflation. Money in general means both cash and credit. Whenever U.S households find loan cheap, there will be a lot of money and too few goods thus in return; increasing inflation. Monetary Fiscal Policies in U.S Monetary policy is referred to the deliberate manipulation of national currency which is set by the U.S Federal Reserve. Monetary policy is a tool which is used to control the value of currency; in this case the dollar, in the open market. In the U.S a contractionary monetary policy can be of great use to stabilize the price level and curb the inflation rate. The main aim of the policy is to decrease the level of inflation in the level. The U.S government does this by decreasing government spending or by increasing interest rates. This results in a stable economy. Furthermore; this affects the consumption schedule which equalizes the price level. However, the same policy has many negative side effects to it. Contractionary monetary policy causes production to slow down as it gets tightened over the years. Businesses might shut down their production which reduces the demand of commodities thus creating a recession. In addition to this, unemployment rises as firms hire less workers with less production. (Monetary Policy) On the other hand Fiscal Policy is referred to the adjustment of consuming spending patterns including that of tax. (Explain Fiscal Policy) The main benefits of this policy that it caters is that once implied it immediately takes it role in the economy. Secondly, in case the U.S economy is in recession, a fiscal policy can be implemented to trigger a rise in aggregate demand. Thirdly, it is specific in nature which means that it defines its role in advance. For instance, federal spending on either schools, infrastructure or medical facilities. However, it can have its own cons such as being inflexible. Social and political constraints can cause fiscal policies to lag behind in its implementation period. (Fiscal Policies Pros Cons) Economic Growth Reforms in the U.S Economic growth refers to the amount of prosperity a country enjoys over a period of time. It is an indicator of the growth in the economy. For instance, in the U.S, the economic growth rate is around 2 to 5 percent. As the U.S is a fast paced economy, such rates persist over long periods of time and are seen pretty well. (Economic Growth) Many policies and reforms have been formed to promote economic growth. One such reform is the President Obama Strategy for American Innovation. The main idea of this reform is the provision of a system that caters to ensure that the American economy prospers. Moreover, this reform also has the aim to generate quality jobs, better infrastructure for medical facilities and improved areas for living. (Innovation Strategy, n.d.) Another policy to promote growth is the Economic Development Administration which helps the economy by providing jobs and technical help to those areas where there is an immense need of aid. In such way, employment is created which ensures that there is a stable level of economic growth. (Eco1) Balance of Payments the Exchange Rate of United States The Balance of Payment (BoP) is referred to a numerical and statistical summary of the proceedings that take place within the economy. The proceedings can be either, goods that are tangible, services, income and foreign debt. (Mosbacher, Michael R. Darby, Allan H. Young,, Carol S. Carson) As the current and capital accounts accumulate to result in an aggregate account, both the deficits in the current and capital accounts are compensated with their respective surpluses. In the U.S, a current account deficit when the prices, GNP, interest rates and the exchange rates are high. For instance, in the U.S, if there is an increase in tariffs, there will be less import buying which will result in a current account deficit. However, such changes only occur when other factors contributing towards the Bop reduce the capital account surplus. If this is not the case, there will be a reduction in foreign currencys demand and there will be an appreciation in the dollar value. As a result, the tariff which was initially increased will be offset as exports increase and imports are reduced. In economics, exchange rates are known as the representation of one currency in terms of another. This means that $1 will be values as 8 pesos in Mexico. If there is an appreciation in the value of dollar, there will be an increase in the export prices and a decrease in import prices as foreign goods are now cheaper for the U.S. There is a current account deficit since, the net export function is negative in nature. However, if there is a depreciation in the value of dollar, a vice ver sa situation will occur where import prices rise. Exports become cheaper for foreign consumers which in turn causes the current account deficit to be lessened. (Balance of Payments) (Exchange Rates) Paying off the Foreign Debt – Unites States An economy experiences an equilibrium in its budgets when there federal revenues and spending equal each other. Whenever there is excess of revenues in comparison to spending, there is a surplus and vice versa. Which is why, it is essential for the government to borrow money in order to fill in this deficit in the latter case. Therefore, a federal debt is where money is being lent by foreign countries and that by the public of its own country to facilitate areas where financial assistance is needed. When the Treasury of the U.S government borrows money, the amounts are reported to the federal accounts. Thus, whenever there is a surplus in the trust fund accounts, the U.S Treasury utilizes this surplus to find for various kinds of government spending. Moreover, around a third quarter of the debt is constituted by the federal accounts, whereas, two-third quarters are owned by general masses. (Borrowing and the Federal Debt) Bibliography Balance of Payments. (n.d.). Retrieved from EcoLib.org: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/BalanceofPayments.htm Borrowing and the Federal Debt. (n.d.). Retrieved from NationalPriorities.org: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/borrowing-and-federal-debt/ Debt.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Unemployment in the United States: http://www.debt.org/jobs/unemployment/united-states/ Economic Growth. (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economicgrowthrate.asp Exchange Rates. (n.d.). Retrieved from Colorado.edu: http://www.colorado.edu/economics/courses/econ2020/section12/section12.html Explain Fiscal Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/051904.asp Fiscal Policies Pros Cons. (n.d.). Retrieved from Yahoo Answers.com: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080202033549AAb3qM Innovation Strategy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Whitehouse.gov: https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovation/strategy Monetary Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from SmallBusiness.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-contractionary-monetary-policy-3871.html Mosbacher, R. A., Michael R. Darby, Allan H. Young,, Carol S. Carson. (n.d.). USA Balance of Payments. Smallbussiness.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Monetary Policy: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/explain-monetary-policy-1504.html

Eating Disorders in Males Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Eating Disorders in Males Eating disorders are largely considered to be a "female disease". Statistics seem to validate this perception – of the estimated five million-plus adults in the United States who have an eating disorder, only ten percent are thought to be male ((1)). Many professionals, however, hold the opinion that these numbers are incorrect – it is impossible to base the statistics on anything other than the number of adults diagnosed with eating disorders, and men are much less likely than women to seek help for such a problem ((2)). This means that the male population probably suffers more from eating disorders than the numbers show. The fact that the number of men who suffer from eating disorders is larger than most people think, and the fact that most people do not consider men to be susceptible to eating disorders at all, raise the question of whether or not we treat men who may have an eating disorder the same way we treat women. Simply put, this knowledge begs the question: is it more dangerous to be a man with an eating disorder than it is to be a woman with one? For quite some time, there was a great deal of debate within the medical community as to whether or not men develop eating disorders for the same reasons that women do ((2)). Since very few men are willing to participate in treatment and study programs for people suffering from eating disorders, there was little way of knowing what psychological factors triggered disordered eating in males. A study published in the April 2001 issue of an APA journal, which looked at men with eating disorders and compared them to women with eating disorders and men without eating disorders, found that "men are generally very similar to women in terms of co... ... them on the early signs of an eating disorder in their child. It is also important that doctors be aware of the possibility that one of their male patients may have an eating disorder, and that they treat any of the symptoms that would lead them to believe a female patient had an eating disorder just as seriously when those symptoms occur in a male patient. By working to erode the assumption that eating disorders are fundamentally un-masculine, we assure that men feel able to seek the same help that as women. Internet Sources: 1) http://www.jsonline.com/alive/news/aug00/eat14081300.asp 2) http://www.medem.com/search/article_display.cfm?path=\\TANQUERAY\M_ContentItem&mstr=/M_ContentItem/ZZZ0626R6LC.html&soc=APA&srch_typ=NAV_SERCH 3) http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/issuesformen.php 4) http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/sci/0401/blbul401.htm

Eminem - AKA Marshall Mathers :: essays research papers fc

Eminem, born as Marshall Mathers, has proven that with a lot of desire, drive and dedication, anybody can accomplish even their greatest of goals. Eminem was raised in the ghettos of East Detroit. He was bullied and victimized by other students in school. He worked to achieve his goal, against the odds. As a result, what he has become is one of America's most popular and successful music artists. Marshall "Eminem" Mathers was born on October 17, 1974, in Detroit, Michigan. After moving to Kansas, he and his family returned to Detroit and settled in a Black neighborhood. Records show that Marshall, while in school, was attacked and beaten by school bullies, on numerous occasions. On two occasions, Marshall was beaten into unconsciousness. Eminem's rap song "Brain Damage" is a true story of when a bully hit Marshall on the head and knocked him unconscious on the school playground. His ear began bleeding and he was hospitalized. It was discovered that he had a brain hemorrhage. He was in and out of consciousness for five days. (Rolling Stone) For Marshall, the road to success was long and hard. Marshall began rapping in 1990 at the "Hip Hop Shop" where he would participate in rap battles. On December 25, 1995 Eminem's girl friend, now wife, Kimberly Scott gave birth to his daughter, Haile. Eminem continued rapping and worked at a family restaurant in Detroit. Eminem, Kim and Haile lived in a crack-infested neighborhood where stray bullets and residential burglaries occurred often. In 1997 Eminem became unemployed, had no high school diploma and couldn't afford to support his family. He was tired of not having a record deal. He considered giving up rap. He decided to record the "Slim Shady EP" as his last hope to make it. His last attempt landed him a deal with Interscope Records and the next year, in 1998, with Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. On February 23, 1999 Eminem's "The Slim Shady LP" was released. The LP went triple platinum. Later he went on to win two Grammies. One for best rap solo performance ("My Name Is"), and another for best rap album ("The Slim Shady LP"). On May 23, 2000 Eminem released his second full-length album, "The Marshall Mathers LP". The second LP sold 1. Eminem - AKA Marshall Mathers :: essays research papers fc Eminem, born as Marshall Mathers, has proven that with a lot of desire, drive and dedication, anybody can accomplish even their greatest of goals. Eminem was raised in the ghettos of East Detroit. He was bullied and victimized by other students in school. He worked to achieve his goal, against the odds. As a result, what he has become is one of America's most popular and successful music artists. Marshall "Eminem" Mathers was born on October 17, 1974, in Detroit, Michigan. After moving to Kansas, he and his family returned to Detroit and settled in a Black neighborhood. Records show that Marshall, while in school, was attacked and beaten by school bullies, on numerous occasions. On two occasions, Marshall was beaten into unconsciousness. Eminem's rap song "Brain Damage" is a true story of when a bully hit Marshall on the head and knocked him unconscious on the school playground. His ear began bleeding and he was hospitalized. It was discovered that he had a brain hemorrhage. He was in and out of consciousness for five days. (Rolling Stone) For Marshall, the road to success was long and hard. Marshall began rapping in 1990 at the "Hip Hop Shop" where he would participate in rap battles. On December 25, 1995 Eminem's girl friend, now wife, Kimberly Scott gave birth to his daughter, Haile. Eminem continued rapping and worked at a family restaurant in Detroit. Eminem, Kim and Haile lived in a crack-infested neighborhood where stray bullets and residential burglaries occurred often. In 1997 Eminem became unemployed, had no high school diploma and couldn't afford to support his family. He was tired of not having a record deal. He considered giving up rap. He decided to record the "Slim Shady EP" as his last hope to make it. His last attempt landed him a deal with Interscope Records and the next year, in 1998, with Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. On February 23, 1999 Eminem's "The Slim Shady LP" was released. The LP went triple platinum. Later he went on to win two Grammies. One for best rap solo performance ("My Name Is"), and another for best rap album ("The Slim Shady LP"). On May 23, 2000 Eminem released his second full-length album, "The Marshall Mathers LP". The second LP sold 1.