Vignette Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Vignette Response - Essay Example The ethical considerations of counseling someone who has come in need of help are put to task when a member of a group believes that the person in need of help is a danger to the overall community. In order to best address the problems presented by this scenario, they must be divided for their individual needs and the responses for which they require. The first problem facing the counselor in this situation is how to help leader X deal with his difficulty with internet pornography. In dealing with this issue, the methods through which the counseling takes place must be directed at the bets possible outcome for the client. The second problem that is being faced is concerned with the expectation that leader Y has that personal information concerning leader X is relevant to the performance of leader X’s leadership and capability within the church. This concern suggests that revealing the personal information about leader X is the course of action that leader Y has come to expect. However, ethical concerns must be addressed and considered when trying to decide whether or not to reveal information about leader X. ... The key to determining if the behavior is pathology of a behavior is through the amount of control over the behavior the client can exhibit (Franklin and Fong 41). In this hypothetical, it must be assumed that the client has lost his ability to control his behavior because he is allowing it to affect his relationships. Another aspect of a pathological behavior towards sex is that it might indicate a need to separate from intimacy with a spouse. According to Franklin and Fong â€Å"Sexual acting out is a factor of the addict’s loneliness and anger† (41). The perception of a lack of control is often a symptom of being at war within the mind, the need to rebel and continue the behavior in conflict with the need to stop the behavior and confront whatever issue has led to this pathology. One of the first methods of counseling someone who has developed a sexual pathology is through finding out the core problems that have led to this separation from intimacy. It is possible th at this separation occurred long before marriage or the pathology began. Therefore, psychotherapy can be very beneficial in getting to the core of the reasons behind the behavior (Roukema 176). One of the most important forms of psychotherapy that can be suggested to leader X is that he become a part of group therapy. According to Cairnes and Adams, group therapy has shown a great deal of success in dealing with issue of sexual addiction. While there is no definitive research as to why it works, it is assumed that a series of human experiences, including but not limited to the instillation of hope, universality, imparting of information, altruism, and the recapitulation of the family group, can lead to effective relief from the need to indulge in the

Personal statement for university Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal statement for university - Essay Example Since graduating with a BSc in Accounting from King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I have progressed up the accounting career. It is my wish now to solidify my understanding of the foundations of finance so as to support my extensive experience and fulfil my dream of undertaking a senior role as a finance manager. Based on my excellent performance in my undergraduate course, Capital Markets Authority of Saudi Arabia (CMA) offered me a sponsorship to study their programme in England, and later offered me a job. I have been working in the Capital Markets Authority since 2009 where, due to my passion for numbers and desire to learn more, I have managed to progressively climb the ladder in the last five years. I started out in a rotation program that gave me a wide exposure to various functions within an authority ranging from corporate finance, internal audit, market supervision, strategy and research and enforcement. While this rotation was a great introduction to the finance world, the limited time in each department left me wanting to know more in some areas. I would therefore like to fill the gaps in my familiarity with corporate finance through further academic studies. The rotation program polished my teamwork skills and oral skills. I am currently working in the Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Department where one of my roles involve conducting detection and field visits to the listed companies. My involvement in group work has served me well in nurturing my listening skills through hearing the ideas of others to come up with solutions to the problem. My ability to become the leader of the group comes naturally. Prior to this position I was in the market supervision, continuous disclosure and financial statement review unit. This role was invaluable in broadening my accounting skills but left a wanting in me to understand the financial performance and economy of the world. This I would like to satisfy

Role of Job Satisfaction on Employee Behavior

Role of Job Satisfaction on Employee Behavior In todays complex work environment maintaining satisfied employees that will continue to serve an organization is the ultimate goal of any human resource department of a company. Job satisfaction is the most frequently studied variable in organizational behavior research (Spector, 1997). It has been considered in a variety of ways, and is defined differently in various studies. Thus in order to understand and appreciate the role of job satisfaction on employee behavior this study has been undertaken. The researcher has introduced the concepts of Attitude and Behavior and then moved further into explaining the three main components of major Job Attitude which consists of Job Involvement, Organization Commitment and Job Satisfaction. The Dimensions, Antecedents and Measures of Job Satisfaction have also been touched upon in detail. The researcher has also gathered information on various motivation theories that are applied in organizations by the managers There is enough discussion on the impact of Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction on employee behaviors which in turn affects the workings and performance of an organization. To conclude with the researcher has discussed job satisfactions necessity for an employee since it not only affects his/her work life but also his personal life. It is very important for organizations to identify the determinants of job satisfaction in an effort to optimize the productivity of their employees and avoid the costs of employee turnover. Restructuring of activities and jobs in organizations and the human resources to suit the specific demands and needs of such structures is of vital importance to both the employees and managers. The viewpoint of many managers and employees from various articles has been taken into consideration. INTRODUCTION Organization Behavior (OB) is a very important study and application of knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within organizations. It studies what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organizations performance. It endeavors to identify ways in which people can act more effectively. It is an applied behavioral science that is built on contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines. It provides a useful set of tools at many levels of analysis. For instance it helps managers understand the behavior of individuals working within an organization. It also aids their understanding of the complexities involved in interpersonal relations. People, structure, technology, and the environment in which the organization operates are the key elements in the study of organization behavior (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2008). In todays work environment, organizations focus a lot of their attention towards ensuring job satisfaction for each of their employees. The cost of dissatisfied employees is extremely high for any organization. Satisfied employees are believed to be more productive, perform better and are more likely to perform acts that lead to customer satisfaction. Dissatisfied employees on the other hand, are those that are not satisfied with their working conditions for a variety of reasons and the consequences of having them in an organization are very disastrous in nature (Newstrom and Davis, 1993; George and Jones, 1999; Bennett, 1991). ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Attitudes are the feelings and beliefs that largely influence as to how the employees would perceive their working environment, commit themselves to designated actions and behave as a result. They are evaluative statements in nature which can be either favorable or unfavorable- concerning objects, people or events. They basically reflect as to how an individual feels about something. Attitudes is formed by three main components: cognitive component which talks about the opinion or belief segment of an attitude, affective component stresses on the emotional or the feelings segment of an attitude and finally behavioral component talks about having an intention to behave in a certain way towards some or something. These components, together, help in understanding the complexity and the potential relationship between attitudes and behavior. In organizations, attitudes are important because of their behavioral component. In order to explain the linkage between attitudes and behavior, Leon Festinger proposed the theory of Cognitive Dissonance in the late 1950s. This theory refers to any incompatibility that an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes. Recent researches have confirmed to Festingers belief by evidencing that attitudes significantly predict future behavior and also that relationships between employees and the organization can be heightened by taking into concern moderating variables. Important Attitudes that reflect fundamental values, self interest, or identification with individuals or other groups that a person values are considered to be very important in nature. Attitudes that the individuals consider important tend to show a stronger relationship to behavior. The link between the two is even stronger when the attitude and the behavior are very specific in nature. For instance asking an employee about their intention to stay with the concerned organization for the next few months is going to help in predicting the turnover for that person as compared to if they were asked about how satisfied they were with their pay. Attitudes that are easily thought of or are often showed by an employee play a key role in predi cting behavior than those attitudes that are not easily accessible in the memory. Variances between attitudes and behavior are quite likely to occur when social structures stress people to behave in certain ways. This tends to qualify behavior in organizations. Also the attitude-behavior relationship is likely to be much stronger if an attitude refers to something with which the individual has direct personal experience. Attitudes are usually used to evaluate and understand after an action has taken place instead of using it before so as to guide an action. Organization Behavior concentrates on only a limited number of work-related attitudes even though a person could have an unlimited number of attitudes. Either may it be positive or negative evaluations that an employee carries about his/her work environment are captured by these work related attitudes. Job Satisfaction, Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment are the three main attitudes that have been studied by a lot of scholars and researchers. MAJOR JOB ATTITUDES JOB INVOLVEMENT JOB SATISFACTION ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT JOB INVOLVEMENT Job involvement helps in measuring the level to which people psychologically relate themselves with their job and conceive their self worth with the perceived level of performance. It has been evidenced that employees who are highly involved with their jobs strongly identify themselves with their work and value its worth in their life. Because of their attachment with their work they highly engross themselves in their jobs, invest valuable time and energy in them and view work as a fundamental part of their overall lives. Higher level of job involvement and psychological empowerment leads to higher to organizational citizenship and job performance by the individual. Holding meaningful jobs and performing them well are important to their own self image which helps to explain the traumatic effects of job loss on their esteem needs. People involved in their jobs participate in following the code of work ethics of their workplace; exhibit high growth needs, and also enjoy their involveme nt in making decisions. Thus, job involvement also helps in lowering the absenteeism rate and turnover rates. Also a managers high involvement in the job leads to higher job satisfaction of his employees thus making it an important factor for an organizations effectiveness in a highly competitive environment. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT Organizational Commitment is usually defined as the strength of ones identification and involvement with their respective organization (Mowday et al., 1979) as cited by Silva. P (2006). Its the state when an employee identifies himself/herself with a particular organization and its goals and sees he/she working with that organization in the future also. It is a way by which an employees willingness to remain as a member of that organization for the future also is evaluated. It often reflects the employees belief in the mission and goals of the firm, willingness to put in effort in their accomplishment and intentions to continue working there. Under the case of high job involvement an employee identifies with ones specific job, while under high organizational commitment an employee identifies with ones employing organization. It has been identified that a positive relationship exists between organizational commitment and job productivity. Employees who are organizationally committed u sually have low absenteeism rate, low turnover rates and also have a willingness to adhere their concerned companys policies. JOB SATISFACTION Take away my people, but leave my factories, and soon grass will grow on the factory floors. Take away my factories, but leave my people, and soon we will have a new and better factory Andrew Carnegie (as quoted by Brown, 1996) Job satisfaction, in the words of Ivancevich and Matteson, 1990, is an attitude that individuals carry about their jobs. It results from their perception of their jobs. Various aspects of a job such as pay, promotion opportunities and co-workers plays a role in forming the base of job satisfaction. Also factors such as of the work environment such as the supervisors style, policies and procedures etc. affect a persons level of job satisfaction. It details other determinants of job satisfaction such as promotion, co-workers, managerial styles and policies/procedures. Job Satisfaction is a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings and emotions with which employees perceive their work. Job satisfaction is an affective attitude- a feeling of relative likes or dislikes. It can be viewed as an overall attitude or it can apply to the various parts of an individuals job. Job satisfaction is related to the positive feeling an employee perceives about ones job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. Jobs require interaction with coworkers and bosses, following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards, living with working conditions. It has been identified that a positive relationship exists between a persons job satisfaction level and holding of positive feelings about the same concerned job whereas a person dissatisfied with his job carries negative feelings about the job and organization. Every organization works towards having satisfied employees. There are multiple reasons for the same such as increased employee performance as pointed out by George and Jones (1999), higher motivation levels as found by Bennett (1991) and longevity in tenure with the organization as stated by Robbins (1996). All of the above are essential for any organization especially in case of the hospitality industry where employee performan ce, high levels of motivation and saving costs incurred in replacing employees are vital. Dimensions of Job Satisfaction Job Satisfaction is a complex concept and not easy to measure at the same time. Job satisfaction is different from motivation. It is more of an attitude, an internal state. It could, for example, be associated with a personal feeling of achievement, either quantitative or qualitative whereas motivation is more of a process which may lead to job satisfaction as a result. It is not clear whether job satisfaction consists of a single dimension or a number of separate dimensions. But there surely seems to be a positive correlation between satisfaction and different areas of work. But some workers may be satisfied with certain aspects of their work and dissatisfied with other aspects. Level of job satisfaction gets affected by a wide range of variables related to individual, social, cultural, organizational and environmental factors. These factors all influence job satisfaction of individuals in a given set of circumstances, but not necessarily in others (Mullins. L, 2001). It is important that managers know the tremendous discrepancies that seemed to exist in the past between what they thought workers wanted from their jobs and what workers said they actually wanted. It is also important that they realize what effect an economic or other change has on these priorities. One may generalize at this point that individuals act on the basis of their perceptions or interpretation and not on the basis of reality itself. One of the main reasons behind understanding the study of behavioral sciences is that they help in getting our perceptions to realism. Therefore, by bringing their perceptions closer and closer to reality- what their people really want- managers can often increase their effectiveness in working with employees. Managers just cannot make and act on their own self made assumptions. They have to know and understand the factors that motivate their employees (Hersey. P and Blanchard. K, 1992). ANTECEDENTS OF JOB SATISFACTION A lot of researchers and scholars have carried out studies to determine and understand the variables and factors affecting an employees job satisfaction. A wide range of individual, social, organizational and cultural variables have been identified as factors affecting an employees level of job satisfaction. These factors affecting an employees job satisfaction can be divided into internal and external factors. Internal factors usually refer to the factors that can affect the employees job satisfaction within the organization and are always focused around the environment of the organization, working conditions, relation with other members in the organization, benefits that employees receive as outcomes to their work and many other factors. Factors outside the organization like employees family/social life, the identity and image of the organization in the outside market are categorized under external factors affecting an employees level of job satisfaction. It is not important that the employees may be satisfied with their job but may not have the same feelings about all the aspects of their job (Spector, 1997). George and Jones (1999) found that there are four main factors that affect the level of job satisfaction namely, personality, values, the work situation and social influences. These can also be broadly grouped as non work and work related determinants of job satisfaction. Determinants of Job Satisfaction Source: www.google.com Five main components of job satisfaction, that is, work, supervision, coworkers, pay and promotion play a very key role in affecting an employees job satisfaction levels. Personal factors such as age, health, length of job experience, emotional stability, social status, leisure activities, and family and other social relationships also play a certain role in influencing job satisfaction. Even role ambiguity and role conflict are considered to be vital in influencing an employees job satisfaction. An employers behavior at the workplace in many ways can also to some extent affect an employees job satisfaction. Outcomes such as organizational commitment or intention to leave are some of the end results that come into being because of these factors. Personality also plays an influential role in forming as an antecedent of job satisfaction since it is subjective to individual experience and expectations (Judge, Heller Mount, 2002). An employees personality traits can influence satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work. Employees with Type A personalities are usually more aggressive in nature. They believe in setting high standards for themselves and therefore are more prone to job dissatisfaction. Whereas employees who are quite relaxed in their attitude fall under the category of Type B personalities. Their personality shows its effect on their attitude towards work in a very relaxed way. People who find themselves in jobs which fit according to their attitudes and personalities stay more satisfied and committed to their work. The characteristic of the job also influences ones attitude towards it which may include the aesthetics of that workplace. Financial Rewards are viewed as satisfactory only when it is equitable and is in li ne with the expectations of the workers (Khandewal. V, 2008). The use of sound selection methods and having a good match between employee and jobs can ensure right person for the right job which in turn would help in enhancing job satisfaction. Job satisfaction factors for employees keep changing over time. Thus it is the responsibility of the managers and the employers to keep in pace with their changing needs and demands so that they remain committed to the organization. MEASURES OF JOB SATISFACTION To evaluate an employees satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work is a complex process which consists of assessing a number of discrete job elements. One of the popular methods to evaluate the attitudes of employees is by the use of attitude surveys. It helps in drawing out responses from employees through questionnaires as to their feelings about their jobs, work groups, supervisors and the organization. Managers are provided with valuable feedback on how employees perceive their working conditions by using attitude surveys on a regular basis. It helps in revising an organizations policies and procedures so that they work in favor of the employees. In research literature, the two most extensively validated employee attitude survey measures used are the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) which questionnaire widely used to capture job satisfaction data that was created by Smith, Kendall Hulin (1969). It measures ones satisfaction in five facets: pay, promotions and promotion opportunities, coworkers, supervision and the work itself. JDI is a very reliable method. Some more job satisfaction questionnaires include Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) created by Weiss, Dawis, England Lofquist (1967), the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) And the Faces Scale. The MSQ method has the advantage of skillfulness. All of these measures have led to greater scientific understanding of employee attitudes and it has proven to be very successful for many practioners and researchers (www.wikipedia.org) Many organizations often wish to obtain a more detailed assessment of employee attitudes in order to ensure employee satisfaction as an end result. It is very important to analyze and interpret effectively the data obtained from these employee attitude surveys in order to understand the results and in turn take appropriate actions to improve employee attitudes and job satisfaction. Employee surveys used effectively can act as catalysts for improving employee attitudes and producing organizational change. Survey feedback and action help support and drive organizational change (Ulrich, Brockbank, Yeung, Lake, 1995). IMPACT OF JOB SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR When employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, lack job involvement and are low in their commitment to the organization, a wide variety of consequences follows in. Dissatisfied employees may engage in psychological withdrawal, physical withdrawal or even acts of aggression and retaliation for presumed wrongs. Many researchers and authors like Davis Newstrom (1989), Lawler (1977), Porter Steers (1977), Newcomb, Betts Cano (1987) have attributed job turnover, absenteeism and job burnout to a lack of job satisfaction. Satisfied employees may provide acts of consumer service beyond the call of duty, have sparkling work records, and actively pursue excellence in all areas of their jobs. Some specific outcomes of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in a workplace are explained as under: Job Satisfaction and Job Performance The relationship between Job satisfaction and Job performance is one of the most researched topic by many scholars (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, and Patton, 2001). According to Landy (1989) their relationship in the field of Industrial psychology was described as the Holy Grail. The satisfaction-performance relationship is more complex that the simple path of satisfaction leads to performance. Thus it is wrong to assume that high satisfaction always leads to high employee performance. Satisfied workers actually may be high, average or even low producers will tend to continue the level of performance that brought them satisfaction before also. The study of the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance has a very controversial history. In 1930s the Hawthorne studies conducted helped the researchers in becoming aware of the effects of employee attitudes on their work performance. According to Newstrom and Davis (1993), one way to view this dimension is in believing the relationship that high performance contributes to high job satisfaction. This sequence states that better performance typically leads to higher economic, sociological and psychological rewards. If these rewards are seen in a fair light then the overall employee satisfaction improves. On the other hand if these rewards are seen inadequate for ones level of performance then dissatisfaction tends to arise. It is important for managers to devote its efforts to aid its employee performance, which will likely produce satisfaction as a by product. In 2001, Judge et al identified seven different models that can be best used to describe the job satisfaction and job performance relationship. Some of these models view the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance to be unidirectional which states that either job satisfaction causes job performance or vice versa. Job Satisfaction and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) Job satisfaction is considered to be a major determinant of an employees organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A modest relationship exists between job satisfaction and OCB. Satisfied employees seem more likely to talk positively about the organization, help others, and go beyond the normal expectations in their job. They are also very likely to go beyond the formal requirements of the job just in order to reciprocate their positive experiences. They voluntarily engage in behaviors that work in favor of the organization. Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a very important requirement for many firms. Their performance gets marked by keeping their customers satisfied and happy. Employees of service based organizations often interact with their customers, thus the satisfaction of these employees is very important in order to keep the customers loyalty to the concerned organization. Satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Service organizations know that satisfied and loyal customers are highly dependent on how frontline employees deal with their customers. Satisfied employees are more likely to be friendly, upbeat and responsive in nature which the customers appreciate. Since satisfied employees have high retention rate, customers are more likely to encounter familiar faces and receive experienced service. All these qualities build customer satisfaction and loyalty. The dissatisfied customers can increase an employees job dissatisfaction in a similar fashion. Many service based companies like, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, Four Seasons Hotels are American Express very customer oriented companies who go out of their way in order to please their customers. In order to provide that great impeccable service to their customers they focus on building employee satisfaction- recognizing that employee satisfaction will go a long way towards contributing to their goal of having happy customers. These firms seek to hire upbeat and friendly employees, train the employees in the importance of customer service, reward customer service, provide positive work climates and track employee satisfaction on a regular basis through various attitude surveys. Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism/Tardiness A consistent negative relationship exists between satisfaction and absenteeism. Dissatisfied employees are more likely to be absent at their work, other factors have an impact on the relationship and reduce the correlation coefficient. Employees who have less job satisfaction tend to be absent more often. But this connection is not sharp for a couple of reasons. Some absences are caused by legitimate medical reasons and therefore a satisfied employee may have a valid absence at times. Tardiness is another way by which employees may exhibit their dissatisfaction with job conditions. A tardy employee is one who arrives late at work. Tardiness is a type of short period absenteeism ranging froma few minutes to several hours for each event, and it is another way by which employees withdraw from active involvement in the organization. This may impede the timely completion of work and disrupt productive relationships with coworkers. Job Satisfaction and Turnover Satisfaction is also negatively related to turnover, but the correlation is way stronger than that in the case of job satisfaction and absenteeism. Yet there are various factors such as labor-market conditions, expectations about alternative job opportunities, and length of tenure with the organization are important constraints on the actual decision to leave ones current job for some other work. Evidence indicates that an important moderator of the satisfaction-turnover relationship is the employees level of performance i. e, it is said that level of satisfaction is less important in predicting turnover for superior employees as compared to the poor performers. But studies suggest that job satisfaction should be more important in influencing poor performers to stay than the superior performers because regardless of level of satisfaction, the high performers are likely to remain with the organization only on account of receipt of recognition, praise and other rewards. Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Behaviors Numerous studies have shown and proven that dissatisfied employees are more likely to quit their jobs or be absent than satisfied employees (eg. Hackett Guion, 1985; Hulin, Roznowski Hachiya, 1985; Kohler Mathieu, 1993). Job satisfaction shows correlations with turnover and absenteeism. It also appears to be related to other withdrawal behaviors like lateness, unionization, grievances, drug abuse, theft or decision to retire. Using different methods that statistically measure the financial impact of employee attitudes on organizations, practioners can reveal costs of low job satisfaction and the value of improved employee attitudes on such outcomes as absenteeism and retention (Saari Judge, 2004). Job Satisfaction and Workplace Deviance Job dissatisfaction predicts a lot of specific behavior, including unionization attempts, substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socialization and tardiness. Researchers say that these behaviors are indicators of a broader syndrome that is usually termed as deviant behavior in the workplace. If the employees do not like their work environment then they world respond in some way which could either be in favor or not in favor of the organization. If the employers want to control the undesirable consequences of job dissatisfaction, they have to attack the source of the problem i. e. the dissatisfaction rather than trying to control the different responses. Source: An overall model of the Job Dissatisfaction-Job Withdrawal Process www.geocities.com The consequences of job dissatisfaction are very long term in nature. Mowday (1984) suggested that the negative effects of job turnover on organizations may include increased costs in recruiting, selecting and training new employees, demoralization of remaining employees, negative public image of the organization, disruption of day-to-day activities and decreased organizational opportunities to pursue future growth strategies. Thus it is important to have a thorough understanding of the factors that lead to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction so that it would help in putting a stop on the negative consequences associated with job dissatisfaction (Davis Newstrom, 1989; Mowday, 1984 and Berm, 1989). MOTIVATION THEORIES It has been evidenced to consider Job satisfaction as one aspect of life satisfaction because what a person does on the job reflects while he is off the job. A persons job satisfaction can actually impact his life, a person works to earn a living and therefore his entire personal and professional life depends upon his job therefore a single factor leading to dissatisfaction can cause a great deal of damage to his overall life satisfaction and vice versa (Davis and Newstrom, 1989). Similarly, it is important for managers to monitor the employees attitudes towards their life along with their attitude towards their job and also work environment. Motivating employees so that they work more productively and efficiently is one of the crucial problems facing todays organizations. This in turn helps in increasing their feelings of satisfaction, involvement and commitment. Two Factor Theory (Motivator-Hygiene Theory) The two factor theory, also called as motivation-hygiene theory proposed by psychologist Federick Herzberg was used in order to understand the factors affecting peoples attitudes about their work. This theory states that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are driven by different factors that are intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors which are also known as satisfiers are related to job content (work itself). It also includes achievement, recognition, work itself and responsibility. It is stated that motivation can be seen as an inner force that drives individuals to attain personal and organizational goals (Hoskinson, Porter Wrench). These motivating factors those aspects of the job that make people want to perform, and provide people with satisfaction. While the extrinsic factors which also know as the hygiene factors are related to the job context (work environment). It involves company policy, administration, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working con ditions. According to this theory, the factors leading to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. The opposite of job dissatisfaction is, no job dissatisfaction but instead: not satisfaction (Herzberg et al, 1959). Job Characteristics Model (JCM) The Job Characteristics Model was proposed by Hackman Oldham which is widely used in many organizations to study how particular job characteristics impact the job outcomes, including job satisfaction. The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback) which impacts three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of the actual results) which in turn influences the work outcomes of the employees (which covers aspects like job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation etc). These five core job characteristics can be combined to form a motivating potential score for a job which can be used as an index of how likely a job is going to affect an employees attitudes and behaviors. Attitudes are generally acquired over a long period of time. Similarly, job satisfaction or dissatisfaction emerges as an employee gains more and more information about the workplace. Nevertheless, job satisfaction is dynamic, since it can decline even more quickly than it dev

aids awareness :: Free AIDS Essays

When AIDS first emerged, no-one could have predicted how the epidemic would spread across the world and how many millions of lives it would change. There was no real idea what caused it, and consequently, no real idea how to protect against it. Now, in 2004, we know from bitter experience that AIDS is caused by the virus HIV, and that it can devastate families, communities and whole continents. We have seen the epidemic knock decades off countries’ national development, widen the gulf between rich and poor nations and push already-stigmatized groups closer to the margins of society. We are living in an ‘international’ society, and HIV has become the first truly ‘international’ epidemic, easily crossing oceans and international borders. Just as clearly, experience shows that the right approaches, applied quickly enough with courage and resolve, can and do result in lower national HIV infection rates and less suffering for those affected by the epidemic. Globally, we have learned that if a country acts early enough, a national HIV crisis can be averted. It has also been noted that a country with a very high HIV prevalence rate will often see this rate eventually stabilise, and even decline. This indicates, among other things, that people are beginning to change risky behaviour patterns, because they have seen and known people who have been killed by AIDS. Fear is the worst, and last way of changing people’s behaviour and by the time that this happens it is usually too late to save a huge number of that country’s population. Already, more than twenty million people around the world have died of AIDS-related diseases. In 2004, 3.1 million men, women and children have died. Around twice the amount who have died until now - almost 40 million - are now living with HIV, and most of these are likely to die over the next decade or so. The most recent UNAIDS/WHO estimates show that, in 2004 alone, 4.9 million people were newly infected with HIV. It is disappointing that the global numbers of people infected with HIV continue to rise, despite the fact that effective prevention strategies already exist. Africa It is in Africa, in some of the poorest countries in the world, that the impact of the virus has been most severe. Altogether, there are now 16 countries in Africa in which more than one-tenth of the adult population aged 15-49 is infected with HIV.

British Government Essay

Evaluate different methods of estimating the current extinction rate. Do you think that humans will induce a mass extinction on the same scale as the Big Five? Introduction: There is consensus in the scientific community that the current massive degradation of habitat and extinction of many of the Earth’s biota is unprecedented and is taking place on a catastrophically short timescale. Based on extinction rates estimated to be thousands of times the background rate, figures approaching 30% extermination of all species by the mid 21st century are not unrealistic, an event comparable to some of the catastrophic mass extinction events of the past. The current rate of rainforest destruction poses a profound threat to species diversity. Likewise, the degradation of the marine ecosystems is directly evident through the denudation of species that were once dominant and integral to such ecosystems. Indeed, this colloquium is framed by a view that if the current global extinction event is of the magnitude that seems to be well indicated by the data at hand, then its effects will fundamentally reset the future evolution of the planet’s biota. Robert Whittaker recognized an additional kingdom for the Fungi. The resulting five-kingdom system, proposed in 1969, has become a popular standard and with some refinement is still used in many works, or forms the basis for newer multi-kingdom systems. It is based mainly on differences in nutrition: his Plantae were mostly multicellular autotrophs, his Animalia multicellular, heterotrophs and his Fungi multicellular saprotrophs. The remaining two kingdoms, Protista and Monera, included unicellular and simple cellular colonies. Extinction rates in the fossil records: The time at which an organism is classified as becoming extinct is when the youngest fossil of its form is found. It is likely that there would have been later examples of the organism present, which were simply not preserved. It is known that some genera have existed for long periods around this time without leaving any known fossil record by the phenomena of Lazarus taxa. It is believed that these organisms were simply not preserved during the time they are missing, or preserved in offshore sediments as yet undiscovered. This may also be the case with many other organisms creating the illusion they are becoming extinct before they are in reality. Ecological Evolutionary Factor affecting the past extinction: Many claim that human activity caused a large scale of plants and animals extinction. The others claim that human caused extinctions are on a similar scale to those that occurred 65 million years ago at the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary eras when most species perished including the dinosaurs. This causes two distinct worries: (1) The loss of species will harm humans (2) Quite apart from any harm to humans; there is a duty to prevent â€Å"ecocide†. According to Peter Raven (National Academy of Science) â€Å"We are confronting an episode of species extinction greater than anything the world has experienced for the past 65 million years. Of all the global problems that confront us, this is the one that is moving the most rapidly and the one that will have the most serious consequences. And, unlike other global ecological problems, it is completely irreversible. † Different people evaluate this duty differently. Since the purpose of these pages is establish the sustainability of material progress, I’ll take the view that although biodiversity is an important amenity, we are mainly concerned with the extent to which losses of diversity are a threat to human progress. One interesting fact in the article concerns the effect of an increase in temperature on the north-south range of a plant species, especially of trees. It turns out that the northern limit of a species is determined by temperature. As that limit is approached the rate of growth goes to zero. However, the rate of growth of a species does not decline as it approaches the southern limit of its range but remains stable or even increases. What determines a species’ southern boundary is competition from other species that require high temperatures. For this reason the southern boundary of a species is likely to change slowly as its territory is gradually invaded by species liking warm temperature. The invasion is likely to begin in gaps caused by logging and various kinds of die-off. According to Lord Robert May (FRS)-Chief Scientific Adviser to the British Government. â€Å"Hardly a day passes without one being told that tropical deforestation is extinguishing roughly one species every hour, or maybe even one every minute. Such guesstimates are based on approximate species-area relations, along with assessments of current rates of deforestation and guesses at the global total number of species (which range from 5 to 80 million or more. ) While such figures arguably have a purpose in capturing public attention, there is a clear and increasing need for better estimates of impending rates of extinction, based on a keener understanding of extinction rates in the recent and far past, and on the underlying ecological and evolutionary causes. † Scientists who worry about extinctions often agree that the world will reach a new equilibrium as temperature increases – assuming it does. However, they worry that the rate of increase of temperature is unprecedented and that species, especially of plants, will migrate northward too slowly and become extinct. Roughly 43 percent of the earth’s terrestrial vegetated surface has diminished capacity to supply benefit to humanity because of the recent, direct impacts of the land use. This represents 10 percent reduction in potential direct instrumental value (PDIV), defined as the potential to yield direct benefits such as agricultural, forestry, industrial and medical products. Capitalizing on the natural recovery mechanisms is urgently needed to prevent further irreversible degradation and to retain the multiple values of productive land. Differences in extinction rates among groups: Estimated Future extinction rates from the species area relations: A better way of studying rates of complete biota extinction levels has been developed with the analysis of isotopic ratios of Carbon. When life is abundant there is almost completely carbon-12 within the geological record. Enzymes within organisms, passing into organic matter faster, more efficiently accept this isotope, which becomes lithified into rock. At times of lowered biotic activity, such as at an extinction event when a lot of life has been killed, the ratio of carbon-13 within the rocks will be higher as a higher proportion of carbon will be being fixed as carbonates inorganically. Inorganic precipitation of carbon does not differentiate between the different isotopes of carbon as life does. By analyses of carbon isotope ratios it is then possible to see, by peaks in the carbon-13, at what times there has been a reduction of biotic activity. This is independent of whether organisms present are being preserved or not, and shows at what rates the extinction is occurring. Estimated future extinction rates from IUCN red Lists: Recent extinction rates are 100 to 1000 times their pre-human levels well known, but taxonomically diverse groups from widely different environments. If all species currently deemed threatened become extinct in the next century, then the future extinction rates will be 10 times recent rates. Although new technology provides details on habitat losses, estimates of future extinctions are hampered by our limited knowledge of which areas are rich in endemics. The 2004 IUCN Red List contains 15,589 species threatened with extinction. The assessment includes species from a broad range of taxonomic groups including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and fungi. However, this figure is an underestimate of the total number of threatened species as it is based on an assessment of less than 3% of the world’s 1. 9 million described species. Among major species groups, the percentage of threatened species ranges between 12% and 52%. The IUCN Red List identifies 12% of birds as threatened, 23% of mammals, and 32% of amphibians. Although reptiles have not been completely assessed, the turtles and tortoises are relatively well reviewed with 42% threatened. Fishes are also poorly represented, but roughly a third of sharks, rays and chimaeras have been assessed and 18% of this group is threatened. Regional case studies on freshwater fishes indicate that these species might be more threatened than marine species. For example, 27% of the freshwater species assessed in Eastern Africa were listed as threatened. Of plants, only conifers and cycads have been completely assessed with 25% and 52% threatened respectively. References: Robert M. May, John H. Lawton and Nigel E. Stork. â€Å" Assessing Extinction Rates† â€Å"Extinction Rate Analysis† http://palaeo. gly. bris. ac. uk/Palaeofiles/Permian/rateanalysis. html â€Å"Restoring the value to the worlds degraded Lands† Gretchen C. Daily â€Å"The future of biodiversity â€Å" Stuart L. Pimm, Gareth j. Russell, John L. Gittleman ,Thomas M. Brook â€Å"IUCN Red List of Threatened Species†http://www. iucn. org/themes/ssc/red_list_2004/GSAexecsumm_EN. htm References: IUCN 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3. 1. IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, pp. ii+30. Parr C. S. and Cummings M. P. 2005. Data sharing in ecology and evolution. Trends Ecol. Evol. 20: 362–363. Purvis A. and Rambaut A. 1995. Comparative analysis by independent contrasts (CAIC): an Apple Macintosh application for analysing comparative data. Comput. Appl. Biosci. 11: 247–251. Sherwood, Keith and Craig Idso (2003) â€Å"The Specter of Species Extinction Will Global Warming Decimate Earth’s Biosphere? † 2003 September John Lawton and Robert May â€Å"BIODIVERSITY AND EXTINCTION RATES† 17-May-2004) www-formal. stanford. edu/jmc/progress/biodiversity. html

The History of Art, Changed

Many artists and musicians have a claim to fame: Elvis Presley is â€Å"The King† of rock-and-roll, Michael Jackson is â€Å"The King† of pop, Miles Davis made jazz what it is today. But perhaps the only musical artists that are known for having changed an entire era of youth musically, politically, socially, and even economically are The Beatles. John, Paul, George, and Ringo are four names that when said together will, in most cases, solicit the same response: The Beatles. There was Beatlemania, Ed Sullivan, early years, transition years, drug years, war years, the fighting, and of course, the break-up. Their first appearance on â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show† is just as vivid in the memories of baby boomers as is the memory of John F. Kennedy†s assassination. Perhaps most surprising is that The Beatles did in 8 years what most artists can†t do in a life time; they impacted youth culture and became arguably the most well known artists in history. In 1956, at the age of 16, John Lennon started a band by the name of the Quarrymen (Schaffner 12). Playing mostly in local clubs, The Quarrymen were a neighborhood band. On July 6, 1957 John Lennon would meet Paul McCartney for the first time. One of John's band mates, Ivan Vaughan, also a friend of fifteen year old Paul McCartney, invited Paul to the St. Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool where the Quarrymen would be playing. Introductions were made; Paul picked up a guitar and John was genuinely impressed with Paul, not only because he could play so well but because he could tune a guitar, a feat that the others had not yet mastered. A few days later while riding his bicycle, Paul ran into Pete Shotton, one of the Quarrymen. Pete told Paul that they had talked it over and John wanted Paul to join the band. After a moment's contemplation, Paul replied â€Å"Oh, all right† (Goldman 72). John and Paul quickly became friends, and the historic song writing duo was born. Ivan Vaughn would go on to introduce John and Paul to George Harrison. Paul discovered that the fourteen year old George knew dozens more chords than he and John put together (Giuliano 28). George could also pick out actual solos instead of merely strumming (Goldman 75). The band†s name went from Quarrymen to The Silver Beetles, and finally to the Beatles. One of John's rock ‘n' roll heroes was Buddy Holly whose band was called the Crickets so John tried to dream up an insect name of his own. The result was â€Å"Beetles†, but unable to resist the pun, he changed â€Å"Beet† to â€Å"Beat†. Explained John, â€Å"When you said it, people thought of crawly things, when you read it it was beat music† (Schaffner 19). Members were added and thrown out of the group eventually leaving only John, Paul, and George. On a brief outing to Hamburg, the three members would meet a drummer by the name of Richard Starkey, later to be known as Ringo Starr. He got the name â€Å"Ringo† for the many rings he wore on his fingers. On January 24, 1962, the Beatles signed a management contract with Brian Epstein.

Democracy In the US essays

Democracy In the US essays Although not a direct democracy, the United States has successfully solved the many enduring issues that face any democracy. These issues are numerous and range from political equality all the way to rights and responsibilities of citizens. Although there are many concerns to confront, democracy is still the most preferable form of government. Niccolo Machiavelli said, Government by the populace is better than government by the princes. (p.15) The first issue that a democracy must deal with is who is eligible for citizenship. In ancient Greece a citizen was any free adult male who could fight. This didnt include women, slaves, or the crippled. I agree with Thomas Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal. (p.101) Men and women, old or young, should not be denied citizenship. The next issue that faces a democracy is Representation and Participation. How are people represented fairly, and how can they participate in the government? The next issue includes how laws are made and how easily they can be changed. This procedure is found in the beginning of the Constitution. The fourth issue includes the rights and responsibilities of the citizens. In the United States, the rights of the people can be found in the Bill of Rights. (p.118,119) The next issue that is always present in a democracy is the fear of tyranny, or the fear that one person will have all the power as in an absolute monarchy. In 1690 John Locke spoke of an absolute monarchy by saying, Hence it is evident, that absolute monarchy, which by some men is counted the only government in the world, is indeed inconsistent with civil society, and so can be no form of civil society at all. (p.39) Another fear that is present in democracies is the fear of factions, or the fear that one group will rise to influence some aspect of the government. In the US, people are part of so many ...

Major Events in the Trojan War

Major Events in the Trojan War The ancient Greeks traced their history to mythological events and their genealogy to the gods and goddesses. Perhaps the most pivotal event in the early history of ancient Greece was the Trojan War. This is that most famous of ancient wars that the Greeks ended with an insidious gift. We call it the Trojan Horse. We know about the Trojan War primarily from the works of the poet Homer (the Iliad and the Odyssey), as well as stories told in other ancient literature, known as the Epic Cycle. ​Goddesses Set the Trojan War in Motion According to ancient, non-eye-witness reports, a conflict among the goddesses started the Trojan War. This conflict led to the famous story of Paris (known as The Judgment of Paris) awarding a golden apple to the goddess, Aphrodite. In return for Paris judgment, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. This world-class Greek beauty is known as Helen of Troy and called the face that launched a thousand ships. Perhaps it didnt matter to the godsespecially the goddess of lovewhether Helen was already taken, but for mere mortals it did. Unfortunately, Helen was already married. She was the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris Abducts Helen Discussed in more detail in connection with Odysseuswho was one of the leaders of the Greek (Achaean) side of the Trojan Waris the importance of hospitality in the ancient world. While Odysseus was away, suitors abused the hospitality of Odysseus wife and household. Odysseus, however, relied on the hospitality of strangers to survive his 10-year odyssey home. Without certain standards of expected behavior on the part of host and visitor, anything could happen, as, indeed, it did when the Trojan prince Paris, a guest of Menelaus, stole from his host. Now, Menelaus had been aware of the possibility that his wife, Helen, would be snatched from him. Helen had been snatched before their marriage, by Theseus, and she had been courted by almost all the Achaean leaders. When Menelaus finally won the hand of Helen, he (and Helens father) extracted a promise from all the other suitors that they would come to his aid should Helen be taken away again. It was on the basis of this promise that Agamemnonacting on brother Menelaus behalfwas able to coerce the Achaeans to join forces with him and his brother and sail against the Asian city-state of Troy to win back Helen. Trojan War Draft Dodgers Agamemnon had trouble rounding up the men. Odysseus feigned madness. Achilles tried to pretend he was a woman. But Agamemnon saw through Odysseus ruse and Odysseus tricked Achilles into revealing himself, and so, all the leaders who had promised to join did so. Each leader brought his own troops, weapons, and ships and stood, poised to sail, at Aulis. Agamemnon and His Family Agamemnon was from the  House of Atreus, that cursed family that stemmed from Tantalus, a son of Zeus. Tantalus had spitefully served the gods a feast with an awful main course, the cooked body of his own son Pelops. Demeter was upset at the time because her daughter, Persephone, had disappeared. This left her distracted, so unlike all the other gods and goddesses, she failed to recognize the meat dish as human flesh. As a result, Demeter ate some of the stew.  Afterward, the gods put Pelops back together again, but there was, of course, a missing part. Demeter had eaten one of Pelops shoulders, so she replaced it with a piece of ivory. Tantalus did not get off unscathed. His well-suited punishment helped inform the Christian vision of Hell. Tantalus  familys behavior remained unimproved through the generations. Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus (Helens husband) were among his descendants. Raising the ire of the gods seems to have come very naturally to all the descendants of Tantalus. The Greek troops heading for Troy, under the lead of Agamemnon, waited at Aulis for  a wind  that just wouldnt come.  Eventually, a seer named Calchas deduced the problem: The virgin huntress and goddess, Artemis, had been offended by a boast Agamemnon had made about his own hunting skills. To appease Artemis, Agamemnon had to sacrifice his own daughter Iphigenia. Only then would the winds come to fill their sails and let them set off from Aulis to Troy. To put his daughter Iphigenia to the sacrificial knife was hard for Agamemnon the father, but not for Agamemnon the military leader. He sent word to his wife that Iphigenia was to marry Achilles at Aulis (Achilles was left out of the loop). Clytemnestra and their daughter  Iphigenia  went happily to Aulis for a wedding to the great Greek warrior. But there, instead of a marriage, Agamemnon performed the deadly ritual. Clytemnestra would never forgive her husband. The goddess Artemis  appeased, favorable winds filled the sails of Achaean ships so they could sail to Troy. The Action of the Iliad Begins in the Tenth Year Well-matched forces dragged the Trojan War on and on. It was in its tenth year when the climactic and most dramatic events finally took place. First, a sacrilegious Agamemnon, leader of all the Achaeans (Greeks), captured a priestess of Apollo. When the Greek leader refused to return the priestess to her father,  a plague  struck the Achaeans. This plague may have been  bubonic since it was connected with the  mouse-aspect  of Apollo. Calchas, the seer, summoned once again, augured that health would be restored only when the priestess was returned. Agamemnon agreed, but only if he could have a substitute war prize: Briseis, Achilles concubine. When Agamemnon took Briseis from Achilles, the hero was outraged and refused to fight. Thetis, Achilles immortal mother, prevailed upon Zeus to punish Agamemnon by making the Trojans stymy the Achaeansat least for a while. Patroclus Fights as Achilles Achilles had a dear friend and companion at Troy named Patroclus. In the movie  Troy, he is Achilles cousin. While thats a possibility, many consider the two not so much cousins, in the sense of son of ones uncle, as lovers. Patroclus tried to persuade Achilles to fight because Achilles was so capable a warrior that he could turn the tide of battle. Nothing had changed for Achilles, so he refused. Patroclus presented an alternative. He asked Achilles to let him lead Achilles troops, the Myrmidons. Achilles  agreed and even  lent  Patroclus his armor. Dressed like Achilles and accompanied by the Myrmidons, Patroclus went into battle. He acquitted himself well, killing a number of Trojans. But then the greatest of the Trojan heroes, Hector, mistaking  Patroclus  for Achilles, killed him. Now the situation was different for Achilles. Agamemnon was an annoyance, but the Trojans were, once again, the enemy. Achilles was so grieved by the death of his dear Patroclus that he reconciled with Agamemnon (who returned Briseis), and entered the battle. A Madman Kills and Disgraces Hector Achilles met Hector in single combat and killed him. Then, in his madness and grief over Patroclus, Achilles dishonored the Trojan heros body by dragging it  around  the ground tied to his chariot by a belt. This belt had been given Hector by the Achaean hero Ajax in exchange for a sword. Days later, Priam, Hectors aged father and  the king of Troy, persuaded Achilles to stop abusing the body and return it for proper burial. The Achilles Heel Soon after, Achilles was killed, wounded in the one spot  where  legend tells us he was not immortalhis heel. When Achilles was born, his mother, the nymph Thetis, had dipped him into the river Styx to confer immortality, but the spot where she held him, his heel, remained dry.  Paris  is said to have hit that one spot with his arrow, but Paris wasnt that good a marksman. He could only have hit it with divine guidancein this case, with the help of Apollo. The Next Greatest Hero The Achaeans and Trojans valued the armor of fallen soldiers. They triumphed in capturing the helmets, weapons, and armor of the enemy, but also prized that of their own dead. The Achaeans wanted to award the armor of Achilles to the Achaean hero they thought came next in stature to Achilles. Odysseus won. Ajax, who thought the armor should have been his, went mad with rage, tried to kill his fellow countrymen, and killed himself with the sword which he had received from his belt-exchange with Hector. Aphrodite Continues to Help Paris What had Paris been up to all this time? Besides his dalliance with Helen of Troy and slaying of Achilles, Paris had shot and killed a number of Achaeans. He had even fought one-on-one with Menelaus. When Paris was in danger of being killed, his divine protector, Aphrodite, broke the strap of the helmet, which Menelaus was clutching. Aphrodite then shrouded Paris in a mist so that he could escape back to  Helen of Troy. The Arrows of Hercules After the death of Achilles, Calchas uttered yet another prophecy. He told the Achaeans they needed the bow and arrows of Hercules (Herakles) to defeat the Trojans and end the war. Philoctetes, who had been left wounded on  the island of Lemnos, had said bow and poisoned arrows. So an embassy was sent to bring Philoctetes to the battlefront. Before he joined the Greek battle line, one of the sons of Asclepius healed him. Philoctetes then shot one of  Hercules  arrows  at  Paris. There was barely a scratch. But ironically, like the  wound  Paris had inflicted on Achilles one weak spot, that scratch was enough to kill the Trojan prince. The Return of Odysseus Odysseus  soon devised a way to end the Trojan Warthe erection of a giant wooden horse filled with Achaean (Greek) men to be left at the gates of Troy. The Trojans had noticed Achaean ships sailing away earlier that day and thought the giant horse was a peace (or sacrificial) offering from the Achaeans. Rejoicing, they opened the gates and led the horse into their city. Then, after 10 years of privations for the sake of the war, the Trojans brought out their equivalent of champagne. They feasted, drank hard, and fell asleep. During the night, the Achaeans stationed inside the horse opened the trap door, crept down, opened the gates, and let in their countrymen who had only pretended to slip away. The Achaeans then torched Troy, killing the men and taking the women prisoner. Helen, now  middle-aged but still a  beauty,  was reunited with her husband Menelaus. So ended the Trojan War and so began the Achaean leaders torturous and mostly deadly trips home, some of which are told in the sequel to The Iliad, The Odyssey, which is also attributed to Homer. Agamemnon  got his comeuppance at the hand of his wife Clytemnestra and her lover, Agamemnons cousin Aegisthus. Patroclus, Hector, Achilles, Ajax, Paris, and countless others were dead, but the Trojan War dragged on.

Ming Dynasty Emperors of China

Ming Dynasty Emperors of China The Ming Dynasty is famous world-wide for its graceful blue-and-white glazed porcelains, and for the voyages of Zheng He and the Treasure Fleet. The Ming were also the only ethnically Han Chinese family to rule the empire between 1270 and the end of the imperial system in 1911. This list includes the Ming emperors given names and their reign-names, as well as their years in power. Â   Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, 1368-1398Zhu Yunwen, the Jianwen Emperor, 1398-1402Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor, 1402-1424Zhu Gaochi, the Hongxi Emperor, 1424-1425Zhu Zhangji, the Xuande Emperor, 1425-1435Zhu Qizhen, the Zhengtong Emperor, 1435-1449 and 1457-1464Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor, 1449-1457Zhu Jianshen, the Chenghua Emperor, 1464-1487Zhu Youtang, the Hongzhi Emperor, 1487-1505Zhu Houzhao, the Zhengde Emperor, 1505-1521Zhu Houcong, the Jiajing Emperor, 1521-1566Zhu Zaihou, the Longqing Emperor, 1566-1572Zhu Yijun, Wanli Emperor, 1572-1620Zhu Changluo, the Taichang Emperor, 1620Zhu Youjiao, the Tianqi Emperor, 1620-1627Zhu Youjian, the Chongzhen Emperor, 1627-1644 Â   For more information, see the List of Chinese Dynasties.

IT in US healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

IT in US healthcare - Essay Example A potential answer to this question is the slow pace of adoption of IT in the healthcare industry. In the last few decades, the benefits of IT in the manufacturing and service industries have been well demonstrated. These benefits can just as easily be implemented in the healthcare area. For example, much of current record keeping is paper based, disorganized, and often illegible. Thus, records can be easily lost or scattered, and are poorly linked together. This disorganization can cause up to 80% of errors in healthcare administration. Clearly, the information needs to be organized architecturally according to a designed framework while keeping in mind the privacy of health records. Automation and streamlining of information storage would enable the seamless flow of information and would contribute to overall cost reduction. Cost containment is one of the key drivers of this kind of change, particularly in light of the growing elderly population combined with a shortage of physicia ns and nurses. The rising proportion of healthcare costs with respect to the gross domestic product (GDP) is an important indicator of the significance of this issue. In 1960, healthcare costs amounted to 7.2% of the GDP. By 2005 they have escalated to 16% of GDP and are predicted to continue to grow to 20% by 2015. The increase in the average human lifespan has been made possible by the advancement in medical science and technologies. Despite the high cost, the availability of healthcare in America is dismal compared to other developed nations where the average healthcare cost is typically around 8% of the GDP [13]. Today, forty-four million Americans cannot afford health insurance because health-care costs have risen four times faster than wages [14]. Many hospitals and vital health care services are out of reach for needy Americans. The United States will spend 10 trillion dollars in health-care in next 10 years, which will have a significant negative impact on the economy. Worse, government programs such as Medicare do not cover the hospital costs. These unpaid expenses add to the cost private insurance for individuals and employers. To be sure, the cost of health-care must be addressed on a top priority. The inherent efficiency of the system is perhaps the leading culprit in producing these consequences. Condition of Current Practices is Critical Utilization of information technology in the healthcare industry has been minimal, and its adoption slow. Although health insurance is among the leading industries, 90% of the transactions within this $30 billion industry are performed by phone, fax or mail. Fewer than 5% of prescriptions from U.S. physicians are managed electronically. Most healthcare organizations spend only 1% to 4 % of their revenues on IT. This is half the amount that organizations in other leading industries spend on their IT infrastructures [3]. Clearly, more effort must be directed toward facilitating the implementation of IT in the healthcare field by addressing the barriers to its adoption. Some hospitals have already started to capitalize on this opportunity by using electronic medical record keeping technologies, and hospital information systems (HISs). For example, Kaiser Permanante allows its users to book and cancel appointments on-line. Such initiatives must be expanded in order to fully realize the benefits of IT for reducing the cost of healthcare. Indeed, they hold great promise for making

Criminal justice careers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal justice careers - Research Paper Example Besides, this link outlines various stages both in terms of education and experience that one must go through to attain the position of being a judge. These stages to land on such a career include; attending an undergraduate school, earning a degree in law, becoming a lawyer, obtaining judgeship, and completing a state-administered training on judgeship. The above article from the database of federal judges outlines the basic procedure that one must fulfill in order to become a federal judge. According to this article, federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States of America and subsequently confirmed by the Senate. Multiple steps to this process include; nomination of a candidate to the judicial seat by the president, a questionnaire is filled by the candidate and reviewed by the judiciary committee of the Senate, a hearing is constituted to interview the candidate, the committee votes either to return or approve the candidate (Cecil 2006). American Judicature Society; which composes of nonpartisan group of judges, citizens, and lawyers with the main mission of working towards better judicial selection, effectiveness, and ethics within the criminal justice. This association publishes articles on an annual basis on ethics within the judicial system. American Civil Liberties Union; which is an interest group comprising majorly of members of the civil society and other interested legal experts with the main mission of utilizing all possible means to preserve the rights of human beings, particularly before the criminal justice system. Publications of this association are periodic reports on unfairness cases within the judicial system. American Society of Criminology; which has the main mission of scholarly study of crime incidences. This association is primarily composed of college professors. It provides publications on crime

Financial Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Financial Planning - Essay Example There may be some additional cost attached with the purchasing of house is that cost of furniture fixture, electricity cost, maintenance cost and cost of decorating the house. The use of credit card incurs some cost as interest rate. As the interest rate in the credit card is very high like interest rate on the credit card of Shawn is 18% and Mary is 15%. The use of other means of payment like cash payment reduces such costs involved. Thus, they need to reduce the usage of credit cards in borrowing goods and services because the high rate of interest leads to increase in their expenses in the income expenditure statement. For this reason, if they reduce the usage of credit cards then they will be able to save the amount of interest. Shawn wants to sell off his truck any buy something new. From the primary consideration of buying vehicles, it can be said that buying new vehicles is always good though it costs high but the quality of the vehicle is brand new and Shawn can easily repair or maintain the car from the company service center if it’s new. However, if he wants to buy a used vehicle then the cost will be low as after one-year usage of any vehicle, its cost decreases. However, here he needs to consider two things- one is that the age of the vehicle. He should not purchase too old vehicle, which is having low cost because it might not be in a good condition. Second is that only age of the vehicle cannot be the measurement factor for the condition of the vehicle depends on the Km. it has run and depending on the miles or Km it can be decided that whether the vehicle is in good condition or not. Some other consideration in the purchase of a used truck is the property transfer cost and the service it w ould incur to make the used truck running and in a good condition. If the costs involved are much larger or near to the cost of a new truck, he would purchase the new one. Nevertheless, buying an old truck

Jamie Dimon and Succession Planning at JP Morgan Essay

Jamie Dimon and Succession Planning at JP Morgan - Essay Example In the case of JPMorgan, the post of Chairman and CEO is being held by Jamie Dimon, giving rise to controversial as well as key points of discussion. Thus, the discussion will be regarding JPMorgan’s organizational structure and corporate governance, particularly whether Dimon can have both the jobs and whether that arrangement can serve the company as well as shareholders, how it can impact knowledge management and also search for the new successor. As pointed out above, when compared to most publicly held companies, JP Morgan is following the structure of keeping or appointing a single person for the two key leadership posts of Chairman and CEO, in the form of Jamie Dimon. While Lloyd C. Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc â€Å"reached an agreement with an investor last year to drop a proposal for an independent chairman after giving expanded responsibilities to its lead independent director†, Kennett Lewis of Bank of America Corp. could not hold on to the dual posts as the â€Å"investors voted to strip the chairman’s title in the aftermath of the Merrill Lynch & Co. takeover and federal bailout.† (Kopecki, 2013). When one focuses on Dimon’s, he entered JPMorgan, albeit in an indirect manner, in early 2000s when JPMorgan acquired Bank One, in which Dimon was the Chairman as well as the CEO. After acquisition and the resultant merger, Dimon became the President as well as COO of the combined company. Then, in 2005, he was appointed as the CEO of JPMorgan Chase and then a year later, he became the chairman of the board. (â€Å"Board of Directors†, n. d). From that time, he has been holding the dual posts, and although he has been performing well, certain events in the recent past led to questions being raised regarding the effectiveness of Dimon holding both the key leadership posts. The key event that raised the pitch against him was the JPMorgan’s $6 billion trading losses in London dubbed as ‘London

OnDemand Group (ODG) Strategic report Assignment

OnDemand Group (ODG) Strategic report - Assignment Example OnDemand Group (ODG) is a medium size British firm, as derived from its employees – about 140, as the relevant criterion is set in the definition of medium enterprises established by the European Union authorities (Europa 2011); the firm has managed to develop a wide network of activities globally, by continuously expanding the range of its activities and by developing important agreements with competitors in foreign markets. Currently, ODG is a member of SeaChange International, a US Corporation, a fact that has enhanced the internationalisation efforts of the organization. In UK, the media and entertainment industry, in which ODG operates is highly developed; in the future, the ability of the firm to face the market pressures, both in the internal and the external market, will be related with the success of the internationalisation process, an initiative developed by the firm’s managers in order to secure the competitiveness of the organization.... This view is based on the foreign direct investment theories which emphasize on the high costs usually related to the internationalisation attempts of modern organizations; it is noted that these costs can be higher from the expected benefits; for this reason, it is suggested that monopolistic advantages are available to firms entering the global market, in order for the deficits caused from high costs – and entry barriers – to be controlled (Krist 2009, p.26). On the other hand, Prashantham (2008) explains the internationalization of firms by referring to their network relations; it is made clear that firms which have an expanded ‘network of customers, suppliers or support agencies worldwide’ (Prashantham 2008, p.34) are most likely to decide entering the global market, based on this network’s support. Certain firms are likely to choose internationalization in order to enter neighbouring countries; these countries, usually, have similar cultural cha racteristics with the country of origin, a fact that facilitates the internationalization process. This mode of internationalization is quite common in Scandinavian firms and it is known as ‘sequential development internationalization model’ (Svetlicic et al. 2003, p.11). At this point, reference should be made to the view of Jones (2009) who noted that the internationalization of a firm should be decided at an early phase of organizational life because in this way the expected benefits can be increased (Jones 2009, p.41). The review of the internationalization efforts of OnDemand Group leads to the assumption that the particular process, which has been in progress almost since the establishment of the organization, has

Reactivity of M-C bonds and catalytic formation of heterocycles Essay

Reactivity of M-C bonds and catalytic formation of heterocycles - Essay Example This branch deals with the synthesis, properties and application of heterocyclic compounds and their derivatives. Heterocyclics are largely categorized as unsaturated and saturated heterocyclics, depending on their structures(Pfaltz&Drury, 2004). The saturated heterocyclics have been noticed to behave like their acyclic derivatives. The core focuses of heterocyclic compound studies are the unsaturated derivatives of 5- and 6- membered rings, their applications and their predominance of low-numbered rings. Among the 5- and 6-membered unsaturated heterocyclics are pyridine, thiophene, pyrrole and furan. Similarly studied to a large extent are benzene-fused rings of these 5- and 6- membered unsaturated heterocyclics(Nakamura et al., 1998). These benzene-fused derivatives are quinoline, benzothiophene, indole, and  benzofuran for pyridine, thiophene, pyrrole, and furan respectively. The following are structures of a heterocyclic and a homocyclic compounds namely pyridine, a heterocycli c and cyclo-octasulfur, a homocyclic compound. From the structures of these compounds it is evident that the C-H bond is quite important in their reactions. In fact, it is the activation of this C-H bond that allows for the formation and introduction of other functionality groups/bonds such as M-C or C-C bonds to heterocyclic compounds(Benudhar et al., 2013). Pyridine Cyclo-octasulfur, The core theme in organometallic chemistry is the construction and transformation of metal-carbon bonds. Consequently, most of researches and literatures seem to focus on the traditional M-C bonds formed using the tetravalent carbon bond. However, fewer researchers have concentrated on non-traditional M-C bonds, often referred to as M-C cage bonds, which are found in carborane cages in which the carbon is hypervalent(Nakamura et al., 1998). This paper explores the reactivity of M-C bonds and outlines a plan for the catalytic formation of heterocyclics via the catalytic activation of the M-C bond. Spec ifically, the aim of this paper is the synthesis of some ligands that contain heterocycles or vinyl groups that can undergo C-H activation to form cyclometallated complexes(Benudhar et al., 2013). Further, the paper investigates the reactivity of the cyclometallated complexes with alkynes and alkenes. Thus, the goal is to assess the relative reactivity of different types of M-C bonds. One of the methods used in the catalytic synthesis of heterocycles is the amphibilic metal ligand activation (AMLA). In the AMLA process, the steps in the activation of the C-H bond entail the use of an electrophilic metal in combination with a deprotonation using an intramolecular base, frequently acetate. Chiral ligands are chemical compounds adapted for and largely used in the asymmetric synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Chiral ligands are pure organic enantiomers that combine with metallic centers through the process of chelation to yield asymmetric catalysts(Nakamura et al., 1998). It is this c atalyst that later engages in the chemical reaction in which the chirality of a ligand is transferred to the product of the reaction. That is, while initially the ligand is chiral, at the end of the reaction, it is the product, which is chiral. In model situations or reactions, one equivalent catalyst

OnDemand Group (ODG) Strategic report Assignment

OnDemand Group (ODG) Strategic report - Assignment Example OnDemand Group (ODG) is a medium size British firm, as derived from its employees – about 140, as the relevant criterion is set in the definition of medium enterprises established by the European Union authorities (Europa 2011); the firm has managed to develop a wide network of activities globally, by continuously expanding the range of its activities and by developing important agreements with competitors in foreign markets. Currently, ODG is a member of SeaChange International, a US Corporation, a fact that has enhanced the internationalisation efforts of the organization. In UK, the media and entertainment industry, in which ODG operates is highly developed; in the future, the ability of the firm to face the market pressures, both in the internal and the external market, will be related with the success of the internationalisation process, an initiative developed by the firm’s managers in order to secure the competitiveness of the organization.... This view is based on the foreign direct investment theories which emphasize on the high costs usually related to the internationalisation attempts of modern organizations; it is noted that these costs can be higher from the expected benefits; for this reason, it is suggested that monopolistic advantages are available to firms entering the global market, in order for the deficits caused from high costs – and entry barriers – to be controlled (Krist 2009, p.26). On the other hand, Prashantham (2008) explains the internationalization of firms by referring to their network relations; it is made clear that firms which have an expanded ‘network of customers, suppliers or support agencies worldwide’ (Prashantham 2008, p.34) are most likely to decide entering the global market, based on this network’s support. Certain firms are likely to choose internationalization in order to enter neighbouring countries; these countries, usually, have similar cultural cha racteristics with the country of origin, a fact that facilitates the internationalization process. This mode of internationalization is quite common in Scandinavian firms and it is known as ‘sequential development internationalization model’ (Svetlicic et al. 2003, p.11). At this point, reference should be made to the view of Jones (2009) who noted that the internationalization of a firm should be decided at an early phase of organizational life because in this way the expected benefits can be increased (Jones 2009, p.41). The review of the internationalization efforts of OnDemand Group leads to the assumption that the particular process, which has been in progress almost since the establishment of the organization, has

Proposed Market Entry Strategy Essay Example for Free

Proposed Market Entry Strategy Essay 1. Executive Summary The use of air conditioning is widespread since it does not only provide appropriate room temperature for electrical equipments that make internet and telecommunication works but also provide comfortable atmosphere for cooling rooms in a houses, trade centers, office buildings and many others. The situation reveals that air conditioning equipments have vital roles in society. However, the use of air conditioning devices is associated with high costs since they consume large power of electrical current. Under such circumstances, the development of efficient cooling and purifying devices become the next stage in the air cooling and purifying development. One of air purifying and cooling products available in the market is EnerVent ®, which developed by Northridge Enterprise. The company understands that to win customers’ hearts, there are four key features that EnerVent ® should possess; they are true Fresh air delivery, low costs and low heating air conditioning in compact design, high quality of air purifiers that are not merely circulating the same air in a room, and capability to eliminate harmful gases, mold, and germs. Concerning the issue, this paper has elaborated several issues concerning the market entry strategy for EnerVent ® including target markets, market potential, competitive market analysis, marketing objectives, marketing mix strategy (product, place, promotion, and place) 2. Introduction 2.1. Development of Air Conditioning and Purifying Products Nowadays, the discussion over the benefits of the sophisticated information technology including computers and telecommunications on business and communication is an endless topic in seminars or exhibitions. However, in order to work properly, such equipments need low-temperature in order to prevent overheating so that the use of high-power air conditioning is vast in the equipment rooms. In addition to the use of air conditioning devices for cooling rooms, they also provide comfortable atmosphere for cooling rooms in a houses, trade centers, office buildings and many others. The situation reveals that air conditioning equipments have vital roles in society. This makes sense since the use of air conditioning is widespread and easily found in almost every place that provide comfortable atmosphere. According to ARI CoolNet, air conditioning has several functional benefits as following: ï‚ § Providing personal comfort ï‚ § Improving productivity in the workplace where it relates to the comfortable place the air conditioning provides ï‚ § Increasing good medical and health services ï‚ § Helping vendors to preserve fresh and frozen foods like seafood, frozen potatoes, sausage an many others ï‚ § Protecting electrical equipment from excessive heating Since the use of air conditioning, previously called as manufactured air, is vital in day-to-day activities, it becomes a significant invention in human history. However, recent air conditioning or ventilation products do not end in the development of fancy casing or cooler temperature but also in several values added features. For example, the invention of Plasma cluster technology, which is capable of killing 99-percent bacterium and viruses including Aviation flue viruses, becomes the Sharps’ competitive advantage that generate revenue for the Japanese company’s air conditioning and cooling products including refrigerators, chillers, air conditioner, air purifiers, to name a few. However, the use of air conditioning products is associated with high costs since they consume large power of electrical current. Under such circumstances, the development of efficient cooling and purifying devices become the next stage in the air cooling and purifying development. 2.2. EnerVent ® Products EnerVent ® is manufactured to fulfill the need for efficient ventilation system that has several features including compact design (small) and lightweight compared to existing whole house and individual room air conditioning system. The EnerVent ® has favorable tagline that clearly target particular customers as following: There is nothing like fresh air from open windows on a Spring day. Yet high heating and air conditioning costs keep homes sealed tight to save money. Harmful odors, gases, mold, and germs stay in. Even quality air purifiers can only clean and circulate the same air. The EnerVent ® system offers the best of both worlds, bringing in and circulating out up to 12 true air exchanges daily without a significant energy penalty† The EnerVent ® jargon suggests that there are four features that the company concerns when developing EnerVent ®; they are Fresh air delivery, low costs and low heating air conditioning in compact design, high quality of air purifiers that are not merely circulating the same air in a room, and capability to eliminate harmful gases, mold, and germs. Concerning the size, Figure 1 shows example of several air conditioning designs that appear to be ‘usual’, large, and ‘compact’ design. (a) GMG (b) Delonghi Figure 1 Several Design of Existing Air Conditioning System Source: OK CHINA INDUSTRIAL LTD, 2007 In addition to size, competition in air conditioning system evolves into the provision of fresh air that circulate the true fresh air from the outside instead circulating the same air. This feature is significantly important since people have great concerns over the raising pollution because of industrial plants discard smoke, the forest fire, bad air-refreshing systems in a house, etc. Generally, air pollution in the U.S., to be precise, and other industrial countries is because acid rain in both the U.S. and Canada in which the US becomes a country that emits a large amount of carbon dioxide as the result of fossil fuels burning; limited resources of natural fresh water, water pollution due to pesticides and fertilizers (â€Å"Air pollution from other countries drifts into USA†, 2005). Concerning the capability of eliminating odor, EnerVent ® also present attractive features since the product is capable of eliminating harmful odors, gases, mold, and germs. In the market, this feature is best represented by Sharp’s Plasma cluster product as shown in the Figure 2. (a) Sharp FU40SEK (b) Sharp FU-S40TA Figure 2 Sharp Air Purifier with Plasma cluster technology Source: Callde, 2007; Pantipmarket, 2007 3. Target Markets Since EnerVent ® has particular characteristics that present the â€Å"true† fresh air to either â€Å"whole houses† and â€Å"individual room†, therefore, the target market for EnerVent ® is as following: ï‚ § Brand of Products : True fresh air like one from open windows on a Spring day Eliminate harmful odors, gases, mold, and germs stay in Low energy consumption ï‚ § Customers’ Preferences : People who concern about the need for fresh air in a room that has capability to eliminate harmful materials at low operation costs ï‚ § Ages : above 25 (this is the age where people use their rational reasons when buying a product). This is important since home electronic industry are fulfilled with advertising that trick customers ï‚ § Income Levels : above $2,500 per month (considering that the price of air Purifying is above $100, see Figure 3) Figure 3 Air Purifier Source: Bizrate, 2007 4. Market Potential and Sales Forecast The market potential for air purifiers from EnerVent ® is people who concerns about the People who concern about the need for fresh air in a room that has capability to eliminate harmful materials at low operation costs. The description suggests that EnerVent ® target both high-end customers since they are more concern about complete features regardless the price and low-end customers since they concern about low-operational costs despite high ownership costs. For high end customers, they realize that air pollution is more influencing the children than adult. All of U.S. researchers open their study about finding the polluted air impact at the children. It is believed that air pollution make the children lung become smaller. This evidence assures that air pollution own the chronic impact. In addition, this impact will be permanent at all of the children until they become adult (â€Å"Air Pollution Might Affect Lung Development in Children, Study Finds†, 2004). Bad air quality give the negative impact to the environmental quality and the financial loss because of the air pollution is not small. Because financially, air pollution will improve the cost, which must be become the responsibility of society. It can be in the form of medical expense for pain suffered, decreasing of the work productivity as an effect of air pollution, and decreasing of the prosperity life. Due to the fact that air pollution may provide unfavorable condition for an entire family; therefore, Northridge Enterprise has wide market potential to sell EnerVent ®, the true air purifier. To be specific the market potential for EnerVent ® is as following: 4.1. Middle and High Class market, Offices and Buildings There are many considerations in the minds of consumers when they are buying air conditioning product. In most parts of the world, air conditioning is the consumption of middle and high-class families, buildings and offices. For these people, cost is not the prime factor of consideration. It is quality that concerns them the most. In the light of this consideration, the Enervent will only gain small portion of the market in this segment because there are many air conditioning products which have better features and higher capacity to regulate air in larger offices. The Enervent on the other hand, can only regulate air in a limited space because it does not have the capability of producing cool air as a regular air conditioning machine. There are however, mid and high class households and small offices that prefer to use air purifier because they like the natural atmosphere of their houses and offices. These are generally smaller establishments or places which have plenty, but small to medium-sized rooms. This represents an opportunity for Enervent to enter the medium and high class households, buildings and offices. The opportunity however, is very small compare to the entire market of air conditioning equipment in the medium and high class market. 4.2. Medium and Lower Income Families Air conditioning needs are not the sole demands of medium and high-class establishments. In the modern realm where people’s desire for quality has been considerably enhanced, the need for air conditioning spreads to the low income families and offices. This represents a better opportunity for Enervent to gain larger portion of the market. This is true because for low income families and low-budget offices, the cost of having a full fledged air conditioning system can be quite overwhelming. In previous times, they generally switch to air purifier products because they are cheaper and do not consume too much electricity. However, the presence of the Enervent creates new and better alternative. These people could gain better quality than average air purifiers and pay cheaper costs than the average air conditioner products (Ward, 2007). 4.3. The market for Air Regulator Machines The rapid development of economy in various regions of the world generated massive demands for air conditioning products. In some markets, the air conditioning products are displaying a rapid increase, like the Indian market and Saudi Arabian. They are potential markets because of their geographic conditions and their economic development. On the other hand, there are also markets that displayed declining tendencies in the air conditioning market development because of the over-crowded markets, like China. In Europe, United States and most of the Asian countries displayed stable or otherwise mild development in the air conditioning market (Wind of Change, 2006). The product is, on the other hand, a revolutionary product filling a niche between the high cost air conditioning equipment and the simple air purifier machine. In a sense it has similar but different markets than those of the air conditioner products. Because of the revolutionary nature of the industry, and the contributions from low income, middle and high class markets elaborated above, I believe that the product will take over approximately 5-10% of the air conditioning market in the end of the first year. Furthermore, being the sole producer of Enervent, then the sales number of the company will be similar to that percentage. For instance, if the US air conditioning market is worth US$ 1 billion annually, then Enervent will generate a sales number of US$ 50-100 million. 5. Competitive Market Analysis The air conditioning industry is a global industry. Most of the modern countries plus several of the developing countries witnessed rapid growth of their air national air conditioning industry. In Saudi Arabia for example, demands for air conditioners is the highest in the world. Analysts have stated that the Saudi Arabian market has become a unique investment opportunities for foreign investors. Although not exactly alike, similar rate of growth can be witnessed in India and other developing countries (Saudi Aircon, 2007). Despite the rapid growth of the industry, Enervent cannot expect to gain the full benefit of the market development. The direct competitor of Enervent is air conditioning itself. Despite their significantly higher prices, they have larger capacity of regulating temperature and the condition of large rooms. Modern air conditioning is also equipped with various features that do not exist in Enervent, like self cleaning device, etc. Furthermore, air conditioning has a better and more widespread reputation that Enervent, which is a new and unpopular product. The competitive advantages of Enervent against the direct competitor are price and efficiency. The product is considerably cheaper, lighter and more far more electricity efficient than the average air conditioning machine. Indirect competitor of Enervent is the cheaper and simpler air purifier. The low cost and electricity efficient device is also quite popular as alternative of air conditioners. They generate significantly less cost than the average air conditioner, but cannot act as a temperature regulator. Many considered that the air purifier and the air conditioner market is not the same. Nevertheless, they are the same. Air purifier is an indirect competitor of both the air conditioner market and Enervent. Enervent has the advantage of temperature control with similarly low cost and efficient electricity compare to the air purifier. In addition to the analysis above, there are also other factors in the air conditioner industry that generates opportunities for Enervent to grow, they are: †¢ The emerging new styles of offices In the modern world, people are not satisfied having the same offices as other companies. In order to facilitate such a need for creative office design. The trend toward more stylish offices generates more complicated buildings with less ventilation. Pursuing efficiency, more employees are stationed in smaller rooms. These conditions generated the need for larger capacities of air conditioning. This is logical because managers have realized that poor air quality in the workplace could result in lack of productivity and worse, sickness (Cunningham, 1986). The necessity for more air conditioning system generates more demands of air conditioning machines. However, because companies are constantly searching for ways to enhance efficiency, their attention turn toward products which can deliver similar performance in air conditioning with less prices and more electricity efficient performance. This leads to opportunities for the newly designed Enervent, an air conditioning machine which are significantly cheaper and much more electricity efficient (Piercy, 1982). †¢ New Competitors The highly competitive environment is created by various factors. For one, the amount of players within the industry also plays a great role in shaping the competitive atmosphere. In the air conditioning market, Far Eastern manufacturers have improved their manufacturing capabilities by cooperating with Japanese producers. The new entrants are expected to influence the European market aggressively by means of targeting an established distributor. These new entrants have significantly lower price structures, thus allowing them to deliver cheaper prices to consumers. This leads to harder and more competitive atmosphere in the industry of both air conditioning machines and air purifier machines. In a sense, this also influences Enerven as an alternative between the two products. 6. Marketing Objectives The hardest mission of a marketer in getting the product accepted and recognized within the local environment. The Enervent is a new product with revolutionary technology. Its first year in the market should be the year of promotion and market penetration. Therefore the marketing objectives should be: †¢ Establish presence in local environment There are various factors that could influence how a product will result revenues and profits within its market. Each local environment has different preferences of how products should be. It is important for Enervent to win the hearts of local society by collaborating with local culture and traditions. The failure to achieve that will create poor and undeveloped sales performance. Thus, one of the most important and early marketing objective should be how to generate connection with local markets (Korey, 1986). †¢ Discover new channel of distributions and marketing In the first year of marketing, new products should be brought throughout the markets using various channels and means of transportations. Getting to know the local infrastructure and how will it affect the business is very much important. Thus, discovering new channel of promotion and distribution is also an important objective (Koney, 1986) †¢ Create a distinction Establishing presence and discovering new channels are usually not enough to get the product running and generate revenues and profits. The product needs features or appearance that will differentiate it from other products. This activity is called brand designing (Keegan, 1989). 7. Marketing Mix In the following chapter I will use existing information to make an assessment of how Enervent should be sold. This assessment is important because it determines the shape of the business offering toward consumers. Re-designing the business offerings has been the core purpose of performing a marketing mix analysis. In terms of Enervent, the following is suggested: 7.1. Product Positioning Strategy Enervent should be well promoted to reflect capabilities of the new and revolutionary product. As implied in previous chapters, the product should be advertised as a brilliant alternative to air conditioning and air purifier. It is the combination of both worlds which brings the best of them. The product can also be advertised as the new revolution in air conditioning. The advertising campaign would have to generate the image that Enervent is the next generation of low cost, low energy air conditioning (Keegan, 1989). As mentioned in previous chapter, the product has different opportunities in different segments of the market. Therefore, there is a need to perform different emphasize on different segments of the market. In the medium to high-class households, buildings and offices, the company should focus on promoting the product as a smart replacement of the average air conditioning system because of its air temperature management capabilities and its low cost and energy efficient nature. This would attract those customers which prefer to maintain the naturality of their environments as mentioned before. On the other hand, in the low-income households and offices, the product should be promoted as the new generation of air conditioning. The product should be promoted as the new and brilliant evolution toward environmental friendliness and quality preservation. Because the company is forecasted to generate more sales in this segment, this characteristic of product positioning (as a revolutionary new generation of air conditioning) should be the main scenario of marketing. Other processes within the product positioning activities which require attention includes: paying attention to manufacturing specifications, labeling and packaging to represent the target market we are aiming and the position of our product. The product must also be tested first before it enters the market. Analysts also suggested that the product should be matched with its surrounding environment, whether in times of sale or distribution. For instance, products that travel through the road should contain different specifications and equipments to products that travel through air (Keegan, 1989). 7.2. Pricing Strategy In marketing mix, price is considered as one of the factor that contributes to the total value of product offering. Despite the high quality of the product, if the pricing strategy does no reflect value (which means the value gained from the purchase is greater than the value of money sacrificed for the purchase), then customers would not be appealed to the product. Price has been the most important consideration in buying air conditioner machines for years. Because of the highly advanced technology and the power needed to perform the task of regulating air throughout the surrounding environment, the average air conditioners cost quite a fortune. In terms of Enervent, I propose a new set of pricing considerations which emphasis on acknowledgement of the segments in which the product will be marketed. In other words, the pricing strategy should reflect discounts, bonuses, price competitiveness, etc. Nevertheless, managers cannot ignore the importance of having a valuable product. The psycography of customers sometimes generates new understanding over the behavior of consumers. For one, consumer often mistaken quality with price. Often we find that if we charge higher, people would buy the product more. Managers in charge of the pricing strategy must have considerable sensitiveness toward the behavior of his/her customers. 7.3. Distribution strategy Distribution is also a factor in marketing and selling products. Companies must have provided their officers with sufficient funding in order to prevent lack of funding in the delivery process. Often, the assignment on distribution is in line with order processing stages. In a sense, distribution is an inseparable part of order processing and the process is not over until the products are delivered successfully to customers. In terms of exporting the Enervent, managers of the distribution process should prepare all the necessary export preparation and documentation. Often shipments failed because of the lack of diligence in preparing the required documentation (Basche, 1971). Distribution management includes managing the cost of distribution. In we are to export Enervent as a part of our central operations, than it is important for us to assign the distribution cost to the recipient instead of to our own cost structure. Forwarding freight is crucial in distribution management. Managers of distribution process must also pay attention to other supporting issues like insurance and arbitration. The lack consideration of these small factors could generate problems in later days. In distributing the Enervent, we must also consider the fact that inventory support is crucial for distribution process. Inventory management and warehousing strategies must be accounted to the nature of the product to prevent losses or diminished product quality. 7.4. Promotional activities In terms of advertising and promotion, we have discussed the need to represent Enervent in different ways for different market segments. On the other hand, if reality forces us to choose, we must choose to represent the largest demands on the market. In the Enevernet case, this means promoting the product as the new generation of air conditioning. Promotions can be performed through ‘indirect forms’, like literature, direct mail, etc. There are also a more direct form of promotion which includes exhibitions and trade shows. Often, the presence of a good sales force is also influential to promotional activities. In marketing Enervent, managerial abilities to motivate sales forces are important to promotional activities. This is important considering the product is new in the market. Another way of motivating the promotional activities is by using agents. External agents who receive commissions are generally more motivated to do their job because of the compensation strategy. Reference †Air Pollution Might Affect Lung Development in Children, Study Finds.† 2004. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.californiahealthline.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItemitemID=105505 ARI CoolNet. â€Å"Air Conditioning: Improving the Way We Live.† Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.ari.org/consumer/history/history-ac.html Basche, J.R. Jr. Export Marketing Services and Costs. 1971. New York: The Conference Board, p4. Cunningham, M.T. Strategies for International Industrial Marketing. 1986. In D.W. Turnbull and J.P. Valla (eds.) Croom Helm p 9. Delonghi.  « Delonghi Portable Air Conditioners Delonghi Portable Air Conditioning.  » 2007. Retrieved May 7, from http://www.delonghi-portable-air-conditioners.co.uk/images/3176.jpg Korey, G. Multilateral Perspectives in International Marketing Dynamics. 1986. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 7, pp 34-42 Keegan, W.J. Global Marketing Management. 1989. Prentice Hall International Editions. OK CHINA INDUSTRIAL LTD. â€Å"Wholesale Air conditioner.† 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007 from http://www.sz-wholesale.com/shenzhen_China_products/Air-conditioner_1.htm Piercy, N. Company Internationalisation: Active and Reactive Exporting. 1982. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp 26-40. Saudi Aircon 2007. 2007. Riyadh Exhibitions. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.recexpo.com/recweb/show_overview.asp?id=79 â€Å"US Market for Air Conditioning.† Worldwide Market Intelligence. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from www.bsria.co.uk/documents/pdf/misc/17200 leaflet.pdf Ward, Susan. â€Å"How to Find and Master a Niche Market.† 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://marketing.about.com/od/careersinmarketing/l/aa060303a.htm â€Å"Wind of change in air-conditioning market.† 2006. China Economic Net. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/27/content_437865.htm