Management Decision Support System (DSS) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Management Decision Support System (DSS) - Essay Example s this system uses internal sources of information but it also use external sources of information that are vital to the organization for instance reports regarding current stock prices and reports which give competitors information. The fundamental difference between Decision Support System and other information systems is that Decision Support System has more analytical capabilities. It has multiple models to analyze and synchronize large amounts of data. This action of Decision Support System allows decision makers to view the data in a form which allows data to be easily analyzed. This has far reaching consequences because the decision that comes out is more justified and rigorously tested (Sauter, 159). Decision Support System employs interactive and user-friendly software. This software allows the user the luxury to ask multiple questions, modify key assumptions and add new data set into the scenario. Some Decision Support Systems are heavily model drive whereas other Decision Support Systems are model-driven and are focused more on extracting vital information from heaps of data to enable mangers to take effective decisions. It is this very reason why Decision Support Systems are also known as business intelligence systems because these systems focus on helping users to make better business decisions (Laudon and Laudon, 490-505). Since high quality decision making has become imperative for the survival of an organization therefore organizations these days are investing heavily on Decision support systems, more renowned as business intelligence systems. These systems consist of technologies and applications which enable better decision making. Business intelligence systems provide firms with the capabilities to collect large amount of information and using this generated information to develop new knowledge about operations and bring changes in the decision making behavior of people so that they achieve success in achieving profitability target and

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming - Essay Example Nitrous gas, ozone and water vapor. This is called the greenhouse effect where the short wavelength radiations are allowed to pass through the gases but the long wavelength radiations reflected by the earth’s surface are blocked from penetrating by these gases and are reflected back to the earth. This raises the over the surface temperature above the average and this has had major affects on different aspects in the world. Effects of global warming on: Plant life; global warming and climatic change have become the major cause of the change in the functioning and the distribution of plant life. This change has led to the problem of speciation and extinction of plants. The plants thrive under certain conditions which when altered my reverse or terminate the process while their physiological functioning like that of their life cycles is defined. The way the plants synthesize is affected in that there is increased water intake efficiency, increased growth of these plants and also increased capacity to photosynthesize the result of this is the thickening of the plant community structure and functioning. North Gerald R J Schmandt Jclarkson eds. (1995) ni their book, the impacts of global warming, highlighted that, depending on the environment, there are different responses which may result to competition among different species of plants. In addition to this, there may result to a change in the herbivore nutrition due to the variation in the Carbon Nitrogen ratio. The rise in the climate has increase the rate of pests and disease multiplication. The organisms have shifted their range forward to higher elevations. The butterflies, dragons, beetles and moths are now living at higher latitudes and altitudes where survival was previously not possible due to the cold that infested these regions. More so, they arrive earlier in the spring season and take longer than usual to depart. These insects have terrorized the plants found in the world as heir multiplication a nd survival has been favored. The changes in the climatic conditions for example the temperature shifting may cause the phenology of the plants to change like the flowering of the plants. J.T Houghton.L.G.MJ FilhoD.J GriggsK. Maskell. (1997) observed that the flowering annual plants have been seen to flower earlier than the perennials while the insect pollinated plants flowering before those which are pollinated by wind and this will have an ecological effect. The change in the climatic conditions has had a tendency of altering the species composition in certain regions. While other place species fail to thrive under these changed conditions, other s may find it favorable and start developing in these regions. The result is an inevitable relative abundance in the composition of species. On animals: The animals have suffered an adverse effect due to global warming. Most of these effects are like those of the plants but the animals may face a worse deal as the extinction of some plant s may also cause the animals to cease in existence. The major effects of this problem is that the climatic change may change the composition and distribution of the animal species, a variety of stresses including the destruction of food sources like for polar bears and the polar ice melting plus the destruction of the glaciers may result to the fish which is its food to lack, thus leading to the polar bear extinction. The other result of stress is that the animals may be forced to migrate to other regions. This may

Market Structure And Competition Of Next Plc Economics Essay

Market Structure And Competition Of Next Plc Economics Essay Mission: We plan to supply an complete lofty stage of repair to all our consumers to greeting them to Next, whether they are shopping in our elevated road, shopping centre or trade commons provisions, the Next Index, or online from side to side our website. Though our clientele prefer to supermarket with us, it should be secure, hospitable and simply reachable for all. We aspire to take action to consumers exacting desires from end to end the box up of actions we have in position, which we suppose chains all our consumers as well as individuals with further wants. Values and Objective: The ultimately objective of Next Plc is the delivery of sustainable long term growth in earnings per share. In the current economic environment, it will be very challenging to reverse this years deadline in EPS in the short term and for the year ahead EPS is again expected to reduce. Nevertheless, the board remains convinced that the groups long term objective is best achieved by continuation of the following strategies in its operating business. Improving and developing Next product ranges, success in which is reflected in total sales and like for kike sales performance. Ventura, which provides consumer services organization to regulars wishing to contract out their consumer phone organization and completion activates. Lipsy, which designs and sells its possess recognized younger womens manner goods from first to last extensive, trade and internet channels. Shareholders Influence: Bat always try to keep the commitment that they made with their investors. Under this, share holder can raise any question regarding the operation procedure of Next Plc. And the shareholders can even choose their Board of Director. P2: Shareholders Influence: Bat always try to keep the commitment that they made with their investors. Under this, share holder can raise any question regarding the operation procedure of Bat Plc. And the shareholders can even choose their Board of Director. P3: Used for Next, company liability resources addressing type commerce connected societal, moral and ecological impacts and ensuring we jog our trade in a accountable way. We observe company accountability as a type constituent of how we behavior our commerce as we consider it makes good quality commerce brains. The areas we have recognized as having everyday jobs are: Our Suppliers we will jobs for helpful societal, moral and ecological improvements in our provide sequence Our Consumers we will job to make sure we gather or go above our consumers prospect from side to side the release of brilliant foods and service Our People we will job to offer an situation where our recruits are supported and appreciated, treated rather and in use worry of, listened to and are provoked to realize their full probable Community we will work to deliver value through our community contributions and support for charities and other organizations**** Environment we will work to keenly decrease the impacts of our on the business natural environment P5 In anticipation of ten years ago the term Welfare Work was a expression without meaning in the manufacturing world. In the present day it stands for a specific strategy on the part of employers which may bring about the explanation of many of the irritated problems of labor and resources. The leaven of this rule already has begin to job. A branch of wellbeing work from beginning to end which the business has had a great pressure on the people and the environment of the zone is that of countryside farming. At the time when wellbeing work was on track the environment of the industrial unit were like persons of most manufacturing plant life something but beautiful. Subsequent to the company has made its own goods attractive with lawns, undergrowth and vines, it trained the people of the locality, by lectures and demonstrations, the main beliefs of countryside farming. Consequently of this operation of education the industrial unit locality has been change from a region of stumble -down houses, powder plenty and tin cans to a locality of attractive homes and well set aside yards. P6 The impact of Macro-economic (Monetary and Fisca)l Strategy on the economy There are some differences in the economic effects of financial and economic rule, on the masterpiece of productivity, the helpfulness of the two kinds of rule in assembly the governments macroeconomic objectives, and also the time lags concerned for financial and fiscal rule changes to take effect. We will believe each of these in roll: Effects of Strategy on the Composition of National Output Economic strategy is often seen as incredible of a blunt rule implement upsetting all sectors of the economy even though in unusual ways and with a changeable contact. On the contrary, economic rule can be under attack to involve convinced groups (e.g. increases in resources -tested profit for low earnings households, reductions in the rate of company tax for small- middling sized enterprises, speculation allowances for businesses in sure regions) think as an example the effects of using either fiscal or economic strategy to reach a given raise in national earnings because actual GDP lies below probable GDP (i.e. there is a unnecessary output gap) (i) Pecuniary strategy expansion: Minor awareness rates will lead to an increase in customer and business capital expenses both of which increases national income. Since investment spending results in a larger capital stock, then incomes in the future will also be higher all the way through the impact on LRAS. (ii) Monetary policy extension: An extension in monetary rule adds unswervingly to AD but if financed by advanced government borrowing, this may consequence in advanced interest rates and lower investment. The net result is the same increase in current income. On the other hand, since investment expenses is minor, the investment stock is lower than it would have been, so that future incomes are inferior. In UK lots of multinational organization are operating, Many people from different part of the world also visited in UK for different purposes, if the global economy fall the business of UK based company also fall down. As a result they faces difficulties to earn profit and ultimately the shareholders suffer. P7 Perfect Competition: A market is said to be perfectly competitive when firms perceive that they individually have no noticeable influence on market price. The outcome in such an industry is efficient in the sense that the cost of the last unit of output (marginal cost) would just equal what consumers would be willing to pay for that unit. Perfect competition is a regarded as a benchmark market structure for evaluating other market structures. Market Structure and Competition: The market structures tells us about the environment within which an enterprise functions and the nature of external pressure on the enterprise. The elements of market structure that we look at are concentration ratio, stability of market shares, conditions of entry and exit of firms. FDI Policy Stability of Markets Shares A limitation of the above summary measures of concentration is that they ignore the dynamic changes in the market shares of individual firms. Market shares of dominant firms may increase or decline over time. Greater churning of market shares in given market suggests greater intensity of competition. P8 Market forces and organizational Response: Organizations always responses positively toward market forces. P9 Company Summary: This segment presents the key details statistics, business explanation, and products services unfilled by the corporation. Key Competitors: This section first selects the competitors based on assets, sales, focus of business, or geographic achieve. Then all the competitors are profiled. Key Industry Strategies of Each Competitor: It talks about the present and future strategies of each business. All industry, marketing, monetary and governmental strategies are discussed here. Relative SWOT Psychiatry: Our comparative SWOT analysis is a valuable step in assessing your companys and you competitors strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It offers powerful insight into the critical issues affecting a business. Comparative Financial Analysis: This section compares the recent financials of the company and its competitors. The financial performance of each segment of all the companies is also discussed here. The objective is to appraise the financial health of the company vis-Ã  -vis its competitors. The stock price comparison helps us in evaluating the performance of the company position versus its competitors from an investors standpoint. There is an imperative role for tobacco control advocates in the policy development process in authoritarian agencies. P10 The selling and advertising of goods and services crossways national boundaries is known as worldwide trade. International trade is the spinal column of our modern, commercial world, as producers in various nations try to profit from an extended market, rather than be limited to selling within their own boundaries. There are many reasons that trade across national borders occurs, including lower construction costs in one region versus another, dedicated industries, lack or surplus of natural capital and purchaser tastes. One of the most contentious mechanism of global trade in the present day is the lower construction costs of on the rise nations. Both the United States and the European Union have forced severe limitations on imports from Asian nations to try to stem this tide. Obviously, a business that can pay its staff the equivalent of dollars a day, as compared to dollars an hour, has a discrete selling benefit. P11 Discussion with UK SME commissioner bodies on familial and European matters consistently shows that the main issue for their members is regulation. The 2007 EU Observatory Survey found that 36% of SMEs within Europe reported that regulations acted as a restraint or had presented difficulties in the before two years. At the same time as progress has been at the EU level, for example on the encouragement of the Think Small First standard and the European Commissions promise to reduce organizational burdens by 25%, we think a much more ambitious set of measures should be introduced An additional important issue is access to finance, where we believe action should be focused on improving the demand side, in meticulous investment readiness, and the supply of modest amounts of finance for entrepreneurs who, for various reasons, are deemed to be a higher risk. In order to grow, SME must also have access to new markets. Generally, exporting firms have been found to benefit from greater efficiency growth than non-exporters. P12 The UK has to make a decision on membership of EMU in the next two years. The economic and fiscal regimes in the Euro Area and in the UK do not differ greatly. However, we argue that relationship of EMU will increase the steadiness of the economy and the credibility of the policy framework, and hence will enhance the prediction for growth and higher incomes and service.

SCREAM :: essays research papers

SCREAM starts out in the quiet country region of Woodsboro, California. The silence is soon broken by the ringing of a phone coming from the inside of Casey Becker's home. The conversation between Casey and the threatening Voice, eventually leads up to having Casey scared out of her wits and being gutted. Sidney Prescott learns about the murder, and also finds out it was almost as bad as the murder of her mother (Maureen Prescott), which occurred almost a year ago. Randy Meeks, Reporter Gail Weathers, and Deputy Dewey Riley all get mixed up in the story with Sidney. If you want to learn anything else about the movie, go WATCH IT!!!! Billy and Stu were obviously PSYCHOtic. Stu's motive for killing Casey and Steve is simple. Sweet revenge!!! Casey dumped him for Steve, although Stu claims he dumped her. Billy killed several people with admirable motives. He killed Maureen Prescott because she was having an affair with his father, which caused his mother to leave the family. Billy also killed Tatum with good reason. What's the use of having someone around that's always going to be moping about her dead best friend. It would get on their consciences and drive them crazy, not that they already are. The first murder that occurs, we do not have the pleasure of viewing, but we know the general gist of the story. Maureen was raped and brutally butchered with a hunting knife and was found in her bedroom, getting blood all over the covers. The next two murders were of Casey Becker and Steve Orth. Steve had his stomach ripped open with a knife and he was strapped to a patio chair with duck tape over his mouth. His intestines had been exposed and there was a pool of blood around the chair. Casey received precisely six phone calls before being gutted, yes WITH a hunting knife, and hung outside in her front lawn from a tree. Principal Himbry, the fourth victim, was stabbed seven times (again with a hunting knife) and hung from the school football goalpost. He was found around the time of Stu's party. The next lucky person was Tatum Riley, Dewey's younger sister and Sidney's best friend (ex). She had her arm sliced by a knife (I'll let you guess what kind) and was found in the garage's ki tty door with her head crushed.

Argumentative text about education at home Essay

Education means school, classrooms and annoying teachers- for me. But it does not mean this any more. There is an increasing number of parents now who teaches their children at home. Education at home has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that children can study flexible. Their parents can give them a different timetable every day to make studying more interesting. Secondly the children won’t be affected by criminal classmates and wouldn’t learn bad things. But there are disadvantages too. First of all, children could finally feel lonely if they study at home every day. At school, they would study together and have fun in the break with other students. That’s an easy way for children to find friends. However, studying at home with their parents, children may hard find a friend. see more:paragraph writing on my school Secondly, children might find it difficult to work with others, because they’re used to study or work alone. But sometimes you have to work with colleagues as a group in your job. But if you have problems with team members, you could lose your job. Finally, children could be worse in their study, comparing with children who have classes at school. Their parents can not give a guarantee, the quality of education of their children. Sure, there are many people who graduated from university but that does not mean that they are good teachers. In addition, parents also have to focus on their work, which means they can’t spend all day with the education of their children. In conclusion, children can learn more and have a lot of friends when they go to school. Furthermore, children can also easily deal with a team work. Therefor parents shouldn’t assume a huge responsibility to teach their children at home.

Why Study Organizations?

In order to answer an essay question, first of all, we need to understand what is meant by the term ‘organization’ from the sociological point of view. Then we need to understand what role organizations are playing in our life and why it is essential to study them. As we can imagine, there are different types of organizations. All of them have their own structure and purpose. In this essay I would like to focus on business organizations: how they appeared and developed; how employees’ relations were changing, etc. I would like to pay the specific attention to such department as Human Resource Management – how this term appeared and why it is so important nowadays. So, why do we actually need to study organizations? This question, from my point of view, has a very easy and obvious answer: we need to study organizations for the same reason we study the world around us. We are intelligent and curious people. We always need an explanation of what is happening, how the things are working, and what place do we take among other people. Organizations are the huge part of our modern daily life: we either study or work for them, or we are obtaining goods and services from them. We are interacting with organizations all the time, so it is not surprising, that we want to study them; and it does not matter if you are a manager or consumer – you are still involved in it and you want to be aware of what is happening around you. What is organization? In sociology term ‘organization’ has a very general meaning. This â€Å"is basically a structure for carrying out a particular social activity on a regular basis† (Fulcher and Scott, 2009; p. 542). All the organizations have such features as specific goal, defined membership, rules of behaviour, and authority relationships. This is also important to mention, that all organizations have the characteristic of continuity. This means that personnel can be changing, but the organization will still exist. There is no clear definition of what social units come into the category of organizations. Some of them are easy to define, other will bring us some difficulties. For instance, business corporations, schools, hospitals, trade unions are definitely organizations, as they all have the characteristics mentioned before. On the other hand, communities, social groups, and class are not organizations, as they do not have rules of behaviour or specific goals. The problem can occur, when we come across the term ‘institution’. The first thing we need to understand here is that organization is not an institution. Institution is â€Å"an established practice that regulate the various activities that make up social life† (Fulcher and Scott, 2009; p. 543). The most common examples of institutions in daily life are weddings and funerals. Although, these are two different terms, there is one class of organizations which is called total institution. Most of the organizations leave people with their separate private lives, but it is not the case with total institution. It is characterised by such features as disappearance of private life, planned and supervised activities, sharp division between staff and inmates, the mortification of the self. The biggest examples of the total institution are mental hospital and prison, where people are isolated from the outside world and society. Now we know what defines organizations, but we still did not get to the point why do we need to study them. From my point of view, it is essential to look at the historical background of organizations. We need to understand how they were appearing and developing trough the time, in order to understand how they are functioning nowadays. In this essay I have decided to look specifically at one type of organizations – business corporations. Weber (1914) said that modern society is distinguished from the earlier one by the appearance of the multiplicity of administrative tasks and the need to expertise and carry them. He called it â€Å"the increasing complexity of civilization†. Weber said that this phenomenon is caused by growing size of organizations, greater wealth and increasing social problems. If we would refer to the history of organizations, we can see the significant changes in structure, polices, employee relations, values, etc. The first interest in organizations appeared in the 19th century, which was driven by industrialization. Industrial revolution was caused by development of technologies, which completely changed the structure of most of the organizations, and lead to the transformation of society. The introduction of manufacturing process completely changed the employment relations. Discipline was the key feature of the new organization, as it helped to control and organize people more effectively – this lead to the process of bureaucratization. New industrialists were looking for the profitable production. In order to achieve it, they needed punctuality and uninterrupted work during fixed hours from their employees. These targets were achieved by bureaucratisation, which was central to the administrative revolution. These rganizations were highly rational, they functioned in a discipline and unemotional manner, their activities were calculated, systematic and predictable. This approach helped the manufacturers maximize the return on their capital. This new manufacturing process was the beginning of the new era of employment relations. Bureaucracy is a systematic approach; all the workers had their duties and were paid respectively. But, as many other theories, this sys tem did not work so smooth in the real life, as it seemed on paper. Employers’ main purpose was to increase the profit, in order to do so, they were underpaying their employees. At the beginning people were happy just to have jobs, but the time passed and workers started to understand and fight for their human rights. This situation caused the appearance of the new type of organizations called ‘trade unions’. Trade union is an organization of workers, who tied together in order to achieve better working conditions. It is suggested that the origins of trade unions lay in the failure of the early Factory act to protect children and women at the work place; as a result many began to work together, forming unions to agitate for change in the law and greater respect for the workers (BBC). As we can see, relationships between employers and workers were getting more and more complicated. In order to keep company’s profitability, employers had to meet workers’ conditions – this brought the necessity of new management approach, which was called scientific or personnel management. This approach was first introduced by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the late 19th century. Personnel Management was an administrative record-keeping function; it attempted to maintain fair terms and conditions for employees. This was the beginning of the employee relations. Its main idea was to pay people for their productivity, the new reward system was introduced. In other words people were paid for the amount of time they worked and for the quantity of items they produced. This was the beginning of new era of management. Lately Personnel Management evolved into the Human Resource Management, it was again caused by the employee’s unsatisfied demands. People were paid properly, but it was not enough anymore. Workers were tired of being treated as machines, they were demanding for more personal attitude. It was the time when Human Resource Management was introduced. It was concerned with carrying out the same functional activities traditionally performed by the personnel function, such as recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, etc. But HRM approach was looking at employees from the point of view, that they are the main organizational assets. It was seeking to achieve the competitive advantage trough the strategic development of highly committed and capable work force. In other words, employers were trying to create the comfortable and friendly working environment, in order to keep the best employees in the company. As we can see from the historical background, there were massive changes in the organizational structure; and these changes appeared in a relatively small amount of time. We are living in the world of progress, where everything is developing so fast, that it is sometimes very hard to catch up. By ‘everything’ I mean every aspect of our lives: technologies, government, countries, and of course people. People is the most important cause of all these changes: organization, on the first place, is all about its employees – without them it wouldn’t exist. Thinking about personal development, I would like to mention Maslow Hierarchy of needs: This pyramid clearly explains how workers’ needs were changing through the time: first of all they needed job to earn money for living; when they got it they needed to be secure that their income would be stable (Trade Unions appear); then they needed to feel comfortable in their working environment (Personnel Management); the top two requirements consider the personal recognition and the opportunity for development (this is what HRM is dealing with). Summarising everything said above, we can finally try to answer the question: â€Å"Why do we need to study organizations? † Organizations are imprescriptible part of our life: we are dealing with them practically in any aspect of our lives. We all study at the University at the moment, which means we are all part of this organization. In the future we are going to find the job and, most likely nowadays, going to be the part of another organization. As we can see, we cannot avoid this component of our life. As the Latin saying claims: â€Å"Forewarned, forearmed†. Studying organisations gives us an opportunity to know more about the world we live in, to know our lives and grab our chances. As we can see from the history. It was people, who changed the structure of organizations – simple workers, who was looking for better life. The world has changed a lot and it keeps on changing. Organizations nowadays have to be more flexible and open-minded, in order to attract the best ‘human assets’ and remain competitive; enormous amounts of money are spent on the Human Resource Development. There is prediction that the relationship that individuals will have with organizations will change: there were no longer be fixed working lives. People still need to earn money, but they do not want to be tied up with their jobs. Humanity is developing, we are having different demands and priorities from our predecessors. To go with the times, we need to study the society we live in, and organizations is one of its biggest and important parts nowadays. References 1. BBC/Learning zone Broad Band. Why Did the Trade Unions Come About? Available at: < http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/why-did-the-trade-unions-come-about/11082.html> Accessed: 20/03/2011 2. Bratton, J. & Gold, J. (2007) Human Resource Management: Theory & Practice (4th edition). Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke. 3. Clegg, S. and Hardy, C. (1999), Studying Organizations: Theory and Method. London: Sage. 4. Clegg, S. Kornberger, M. and Pitsis, T. (2008) Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. London: Sage. 5. Fulcher, J. and Scott, J. (2009) Sociology (OUP, 3rd edition). Oxford University Press. 6. Giddens, Anthony. (2009) Sociology (6th edition). Cambridge: Polity Press. 7. Storey, J. (1995), Human Resource Management. London: Routledge.

How to Convince Your Team to Use (And Love) CoSchedule

How to Convince Your Team to Use (And Love) So you’re feeling pretty great. Why? Because you FINALLY found a new, shiny, amazing tool that’s gonna save your life. (Hint: It’s ). Now all you gotta do is convince your team to hop on board. The problem:  They are tough to convince. Change-averse. Old school. â€Å"Don’t have the time.† Basically, you’ve got a TOUGH sell ahead of you.  (Whatever your reason may be). BUT luckily the peeps here at decided to do the hard work for you. After researching the best tactics to convince others and conducting interviews with REAL customers who’ve struggled to convince their teams†¦ we’ve put together a plan (AND a presentation template for you to use) that’s going to make this process a whole lot LESS painful. How to Convince Your Team to Love (And Use) @Part 1: Become The Expert You’ve finally found the tool thats about to change your (work) life.  BUT in order to convince your team effectively, youve got to  become the EXPERT in everything that is . Why? Because you gotta be ready for the pushback, so you need to equip yourself with data, facts, and plenty of â€Å"how-to’s.† To get you equipped with all the knowledge you need, we’re going to jump right into the how-to’s and highlights of . Plus, at the end of each section, we’ve prepared some handy talking points for you  so you can easily summarize the highlights when you start talking to your team. Highlight #1: Consolidation (AKA Your One-Stop Marketing Shop) You already know this, but one of the best time-saving aspects of is the ability to CONSOLIDATE. You can finally say goodbye to that planning spreadsheet that is growing more unwieldy by the day. No more copy/paste. No more overwhelming tabs open on your computer. It’s everything you need, in one easy-to-use marketing hub. The first aspect you should get comfortable with isMarketing Campaigns. This feature will become your go-to for proactively planning roadmaps and allocating (+ maximizing) resources effectively. Plus, Marketing Campaigns eliminates all that wasted time that people spend tracking down content, which means more time can be spent on the EXECUTION of projects. To start, choose the project option called Marketing Campaigns. Its the top item on the list when adding a new project to your calendar. Next, add a title to your marketing campaign, color labels, as well as start and end dates. Next, add each individual content item to your project – from emails to social campaigns, to podcasts and blog posts. Everything that needs to go live as a part of this wider marketing project can all be coordinated directly in . So to recap, why is marketing campaigns so great? Answer:  It takes organizing the next marketing campaign, feature launch, event, etc., to the next level. And ALL smart marketers are serious fans of anything to make organization easier. Next up KANBAN and TEAM MANAGEMENT DASHBOARD. These babies are amazing (and you probs agree) because†¦ you can collaborate better AND save time. No more endless status updates and lost time tracking down whos doing what and when. Enter Team Management Dashboard.   It gives you a granular peek at all the individual tasks each member of your team is responsible for on any given day. You can see real-time updated as tasks are checked off and when items get missed. So your project timelines will never fall-apart due to missed deadlines or dropped balls. Say someones on vacation or out sick, the team management dashboard makes it easy to reshuffle workload and reassign tasks with drag and drop functionality. Your team will thank you because theyll know exactly where to turn every day to know what they need to get done for the day. Zero meetings necessary. Just their tasks and priorities clearly visualized in an easy dashboard. Heres how to find your Team Management Dashboard in . Step 1: Hover over the hamburger menu in the top left-hand corner. Step 2: On the bottom left-hand side, youll see an option called team. Step 3:  Easily see every task and project your team is working on, as well as a status bar to quickly see how far along a project is. The next linchpin to getting all your marketing projects organized is the Kanban view. Hover over the hamburger menu and choose the project option. The Kanban view can be customized to your unique workflow. You and everyone on your team will be able to see what stage every project is in and know when it moves from one stage to the next. Yep, it’s that easy. Basically, your team is going to start falling in love with the tool as much as you. And with that†¦ You have finally earned your first talking point: Consolidate your marketing toolset AND workflow. Create a unified workflow for every project with ’s all in one marketing calendar. Proactively plan out your entire roadmap, get real-time visibility, and maximize your resources inside a collaborative, cross-functional calendar for it all! So now that we’ve covered how consolidates your marketing process, you’re one step closer to being a champion. Highlight #2: Communication [is Key] Anyone that’s ever been in a fast-moving team knows that half the battle is clear communication. Heck, just communication AT ALL. You’re all so busy you’re lucky just to turn in that project update on time. And that’s where will really start to resonate with your teammates. So, let’s dig into how makes communication about 1000X easier. Firstlet’s talk about consistent team workflows.  (Because who doesn’t love a good, effective workflowam I right?!) The highlights: Plan and assign tasks and get your content approved and published Execute faster across distributed teams Keep your team members up to date, and avoid email! Know the exact stage of each [and every] project The biggest sell here is that your team can actually build project workflows right into the team calendar. Next on the list is how to build a workflow: Open a new piece of content Select the task template icon and +New Template Name your template, and hit Next Add each of your tasks Assign each task to a team member Establish the # of days before or after publish that the task is due You’re all set to Sell the magic that is workflow templates (and honestly, the beauty that is assigning tasks) and Know how to create them like a pro. So, to continue with the awesome communication features within . Let’s talk about CHAT.  Basically, in-app chat eliminates all the wasted time  spent combing through an inbox searching for a project update. So within each project, there is a tab where all involved team members can give updates or leave notes for the group. So here’s how to access and use chat: Head into any piece of content On the right side of the screen, click the message icon  tab And BOOM. You can start chit-chattin’ away. You can even attach documents directly in the discussion feature. And if your team is constantly buried in emailsthis is going to be a major selling point. (Just THINK of all the hours everyone spends searching their inbox!) Another communication feature is the ability to add discussion directly in social messages. We know making changes to social images, copy etc. can mean a lot of back and forth. Maybe youve even tried to send screenshots of social messages back and forth for approval. Thats not ideal. To start, open your social campaign or individual social message and choose the conversation bubble at the bottom of the post. Then, @ mention someone with the desired changes. No back and forth. No screenshots. Just collaborating and planning social media messages made easy. So now that you’re a communicating-in-pro, here’s your second talking point: Execute faster across distributed teams. Stay in the loop on every project without getting stuck in the weeds of searching a lengthy email chain or cluttered inbox. Easily share files, comments, and project details with everyone directly within . Highlight #3: Get To Know The [Amazing] Social Tools So now that you’re already well on your way to becoming a expert we’re going to talk about the social tools. (Because you know that your team is going to LOVE them.) First, here’s how to build a social campaign: Head to your master calendar view Click the  + to access content types Select  Social Campaign Add the link you want to promote Plan ALL your messages for every social network Also, be sure to explain that you can add a social campaign to ANY piece of content, so your social media messages are no longer disconnected from the actual project. One less tool to manage and your social media manager can finally have the full picture behind their social messages. 👠 Simply head into the piece of content you want to promote, and start adding in messages in the Social Campaign section  of the editor. Next upsocial templates and social helpers! Here’s the how-to for  setting up social templates: Open a piece of content Select the social template icon within the Social Campaign section Select + New Template  and give your template a name Customize it to incorporate any of your social profiles Build a schedule that shares your content for days, weeks or even MONTHS For a more detailed how-to, check out our Social Templates Help Doc  :) Can you feel the time-savings yet?! Now, here’s how to create a social helper: Head into any social campaign Select the social helper icon, and click +New Helper From here, you can create standard social helpers (synced from WordPress) or custom text helpers, image helpers, or even video helpers Need a more detailed run-down? Head to our Social Helpers Help Doc  :) And now that you know how to set those up it will be 1000X easier to explain to your team that they are going to save TONS of man hours with . The last piece? ReQueue: the most intelligent way to automate your social media. Here’s a sweet video to show your team how ReQueue to optimizes your social strategy:    As far as actually setting it up, here’s the lowdown: Head to the ReQueue dashboard in your calendar menu Create a ReQueue group Add any messages associated with the group Let take care of the rest So now that you’ve earned your third talking point: Boost engagement with powerful  social media tools. Improve your overall brand strategy with ’s powerful social promotion. Keep everything in one place, schedule dozens of social messages in seconds, and collaborate with your team using built-in approval based workflows! Highlight #4: Prove Your ROI (Finally) One of the biggest challenges that marketing teams face is proving their ROI. It’s hard to track everything and honestly  it’s tedious. The analytics struggle is real and if your team is willing to admit it’s pretty un-fun and they want something that can make it all better†¦ Then they are going to be PUMPED about the Top Content Report, the Social Engagement Report, and  the Team Performance Report. First, head to your calendar menu and select Analytics. So now that you know where to find your reportslet’s get into the nitty-gritty of what each report means and how you can customize them to your advantage: Top Project Report Description: See ALL your most popular content and compare your performance. This report helps you  find and easily re-share your most engaging content. Social Engagement Report Description: See the performance of each social network, account, and specific messages. How to Customize: Set a date range. Search for a specific message. Select overall engagement, or view engagement by each social network. Select overall top messages, or top messages by network.Team Performance Report Description: Get a snapshot of your team’s entire performance, performance by project, or the performance of a specific team member. How to Customize: Set a date range Search for a specific project, piece of content, or team member. Select a specific team member and view a granular view of their performance (including all completed, overdue or incomplete tasks)And with that†¦ Here’s your final talking point: Prove your ROI with data-driven results. No more warm fuzzies! Prove the value of all your hard work with real data. Utilize ’s most advanced analytics to measure your success! Part 2:   Convince Your Team So now you’re a expert. Plus, you’re armed with some pretty thorough + effective talking points. Which means it’s time to move onto the next and most difficult step in the process†¦ convincing your team. We’ve laid out a 3-step process for you, along with a few resources (like this  sweet presentation template), to get your team on the train. Step 1: Convert Some Allies Before you can show the whole team  whatcha got, you need to find some allies. Because if you can initially convince just a couple of people that is *the* tool. So the first step is to identify your potential allies. For example, your coworker who always has your back or that one person who is always talking about efficiency. Next, show them this vid: Step 2: Share With The Rest Of Your Team Okay. So you’ve done EVERYTHING right up to this point. *two thumbs up* But now it’s time to share with the rest of your team. First, identify the way you want to position . For example, if your team is ALWAYS short on time†¦ or just plain overworked. Or, if your team is sick and tired of the overwhelming amount of tools they have to use to get their job done. Here’s a list of potential concerns that you might hear from your team, and the response you can give them: Step 3: Start Settin’ It Up THE FINAL STEP. To complete the whole â€Å"convincing your team† process you’ve got to get people to try the tool. Let them realize how AMAZING by having them try the tool. And if people are still hesitant about it (because they still aren’t totally sold on the idea), you can say â€Å"we are just trying it out right now.† Take the time to help them with any issue they may be experiencing. And if you can’t figure it out, you can direct them to this link  and we’ll make sure to answer their question. Remember: We’re here for ya. So to recap: First, you need to take the time to LEARN the ins-and-outs of . Next, you can use the 3-step process (and this handy presentation  template) to *strategically* convince your team that is the tool they never knew they needed.

Minerals Lab essays

Minerals Lab essays 1. The rate of cooling definitely affects the size of crystals. The crystals that formed on ice formed much faster, and the crystals seemed much smaller. The crystals that cooled on the lab bench cooled much slower, but they appeared much larger. It was hard to identify individual crystals, but the thin rays extending from the centers were much longer in the sample that cooled on the bench, and much shorter in the sample that cooled on ice. 3. Adding seed crystals does slightly affect the crystallization process. The saturated solution with seed crystals began the crystal formation and finished the crystal formation several seconds before the solution without seed crystals. The seed crystals provide a place for the saturated solution to crystallize on. However, if seed crystals are not present, the saturated solution will still be able to find something to crystallize on, such as an impurity in the solution, a rough spot on the plate, or a piece of magnesium sulfate that has not yet been dissolved. However, crystallizing on a something other than a seed crystal will make the crystallization process slower. 1. The unknown crystal shape appears to be isometric (cubic), and we identified the crystal as being sodium chloride (NaCl). 1. Based on my observations of the four crystals under plane polarized and cross polarized light, I conclude that number 1 is quartz, number 2 is hornblende, number 3 is garnet, and number 4 is olivine. 2. Yes, we have found a potentially valuable mineral. Magnetite can be used for many purposes, including the extraction of iron ore. It is also naturally magnetic, and so can be used for magnetic therapy and in various pieces of machinery. However, the cost of mining it from the ocean floor could be quite high, and so its commercial applications may not be feasible. ...

10 Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying

10 Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying 10 Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying Sharon J. of Philadelphia PA, USA, was at work when the call came in. Her 6-year-old son was attacked in class by his peer with a pencil. She was horrified. Racing to the school, and then into the nurse’s office she found her terrified little boy with a bandage on his cheek. The nurse said that a little more to the right and the other child would have taken out Sharon’s little boys’ eye. The bully? A six-year-old little girl who wanted what the boy had for lunch instead of what was in her lunch box. The punishment, nothing. That’s right. After meeting with the mother of the little girl and the principal, Sharon was told, â€Å"kids fight†. She was only a little girl with a bad temper. The Statistics This and many other stories like it pour out of elementary, middle and high schools each day. The number of the bullying attacks is astounding. Almost 80% of students in the USA say that they have been bullied at one time or the other. Parents? If you think that since you are sending your precious child off to college that the bullying is finally going to be over, think again, that statistic above represents college age children. Yes, bullying in college is on the rise. Bullies, Bullies, Everywhere We could rattle off some numbers to try to impress upon our readers how many bullies are out there, but they wouldn’t be accurate. Due to embarrassment, shame, or just no-one to tell, many incidents of bullying are never reported. The facts are: Bullying in college will not stop unless the bullies are reported and they pay for their actions. Laws should be passed that punishes the parents as well as the child in incidents of bullying that cause harm to any individual. Bullying in college leads to suicide, depression, and drop-outs. The numbers will continue to rise unless parents, teachers and those being bullied don’t begin to report what is going on. There is a rise in the act of suicide because of cyberbullying in college. Much bullying begins in the home, and this leads to school and college bullying. Many children that are bullied by overbearing parents tend to show the same disregard for their peers on the school playground, on college campuses, and on the Internet. Adult Bullying? Yes, adults bully other adults. Australia reports show that they are #1 when it comes to workplace bullying. A target could be someone in the office that is: Well liked Smart They excel at their jobs Instead of trying to emulate the target a bully will try to manipulate them or sabotage their work. Many adult bullies are just people that do not cope well in society so they hide behind their bullying tactics. With bullies, it’s all about power. College Challenges After considering that there are adults who bully, parents must take the time to talk to their newly adult children on what a bully looks for in an individual target, and ask them if they are the bullies themselves. This conversation must be had if we are to limit the instances of bullying that are infecting our Universities. Most bullies target those who are Passive Submissive The new kid The quiet kid The kid that is not in a clique The kid that seems to always be in class early The kid with the high grades The kid that does not confront anyone or anything Kids of different races are often bullied Bullies in college have also been known to target handicapped persons and the elderly. As horrible as this may seem to be, it is true. They look for those that weaker than themselves. When Your Child is the Bully No parent wants to get the call that their child is being bullied, but no parent wants to be embarrassed to know that their child is the perpetrator of the bullying. Our first reaction is, â€Å"not my sweet innocent child, they couldn’t be so mean†. The one thing parents do know is their child. Sit down with your child and instead of lashing out at them, ask them what happened. Follow some of these suggestions: While listening to your child, only stop them if they are playing the blame game. Let them know you don’t want to hear what happened with other kids, just want part they played in the incident. Tell them that, when you point your finger at someone, 3 fingers are pointing back at you. Play a game of: what if it was you? Encourage them to have empathy for the bullied victim. Children and young adults need to learn empathy at home. If you as a parent always side with your child and never show them where they are wrong, you encourage them to be bullies. There is a poster that reads, â€Å"Children live what they learn†. This is so true, but that does not make you a bad parent. They could have gotten the bad habit of bullying from television or from their peers. Trying to fit in. Talk to them to see why they did what they did. And discuss ways of stopping it from happening again. If the bullying was cyber-bullying, your child should be made to get rid of the pages that were put up, and then make restitution to the individual that they harmed. Get the school involved in the punishment of the child who bullies and the apology to the victim. This should be a sit down of all parties involved. Sometimes this is enough to set a bullying kid straight. If you as a parent of a bully stops this behavior when it arises, bullies can change. Sometimes it’s physical, a mental imbalance, sometimes it can be the influence of violent games they are exposed to Many parents use video games to get their kids out of their hair. If your child has been exposed to years and years of violent games, they will have a violent nature and this could cause bullying. Cyber-Bullying Tips It was bad enough when you had to worry about the playground or the middle school bully, but with the internet providing the perfects storm for kids to bully, how do you cut the throat of this new threat? One thing parents need to do is to get the facts about cyber-bullying. It usually involves more than just one child doing the bullying and it can span over many types of venues. Some of the lethal weapons used to cyber bully are: Instant messages E-mails Posting pictures of your child without their, or your, permission Stealing your kid’s passwords and sending false messages on social media When your child is attacked by many on social many, this is called attack by proxy. This can be super dangerous because they can have their identity stolen and placed in porn sites without their knowing. The bullies will also post their private addresses and phone numbers. The reasons they do this is beyond one reason, but some are: They don’t think of the consequences of their actions, or They think they are getting back at the victim for some reason,   and   this person doesn’t see themselves as a bully. What Can Parents and Educators Do? First and foremost, have in place a set of guidelines and laws that address bullying behavior, and make serious consequences stick when bullying is observed and acknowledged. Also promote the following: An inclusive atmosphere campus wide. When students are more connected to one another there are less instances of bullying. Have in place policies based on bullying. If they are not in the student handbook, have the handbook redone to reflect the policies. Start groups such as writing groups where students can express what is going on with them in the college community. This gives students a voice. With this   college writing service, start some type of contest for student essays on bullying. Have a reporting place that students feel safe to tell on suspected bullies, confidentially. No student like to feel like a snitch, this is one reason for lack of telling. Model how to act by treating all with respect and dignity. Children, and young adults will usually emulate who is leading them. Offer a class on computer ethics. Teach children the importance of not sharing their passwords with anyone. Show them how to keep information that they find online as proof of cyberbullying. Get trained to handle bullying. Anyone on campus that must deal with children directly would do well to have a workshop on how to handle bullies in college. Listen to both sides, don’t pre-judge what you are hearing from one side of the story. Keep an open mind. Do not ignore it or feel that it is a passing situation. If you are told that a student feels threatened, take it seriously. Intervention is key. When something happens take the time to do something about it right away, refer to the policies on bullying and if you need help, get other adults involved. There truly is strength in numbers in a case of bullying. What can Students do? Students often develop cliques in college, and because you want to be   like by your friends,   you may often feel   the need to back them up no   matter what. In the case of bullying, this is not a way to help your friend. It takes a stronger friend to tell a friend that they are wrong when acting a certain way. If your friend decides that they are not going to like you anymore for telling them to do the right thing, then this is not a friend that you need in your life. When you witness someone on campus bullying another student, whether it is your friend or not, don’t join in. Instead try some of the following suggestions: Stay calm- don’t argue with either of them, instead say something like, â€Å"come on we don’t have to be like that, this is not high-school†. Many students in college do not want to be made to look like they are acting like high-schoolers and will stop the behavior, especially if a friend tells them this. If it is your friend, steer them away from the other person, they don’t necessarily have to kiss and make up or anything like that. Everyone is not going to like everyone. If you walk up on a fight, ask bystanders why they are not doing something and stop the fight. Taking one of the people away with you and showing bystanders that   they should get involved. Talk to a person that you know is a bully when you are alone with them. Confront their behavior and ask them why they choose to act that way. Give them reasons that you would not participate in that type of behavior, and if necessary, let them know that if they continue to show that type of behavior you will not be associated with them. If you are afraid of your friend that is a bully. Report them to an authority that will not tell that you reported them. It is better to do something than to wait for the worst to happen. This is just a few of the things that can be done when one is a bully. Cyber bullying has reached a high peak and if we as those on the sidelines don’t do something to correct the behavior in those that practice the bullying, we are just as guilty as they are, if not worse than them. So, if   you see it, report it, step in and   be a part of the   solution, not the problem.

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 5

Project Management - Essay Example Further, a project is highly resource intensive. In this context, a project life cycle denotes a logical sequence of activities that are employed to realize all goals and objectives associated with the project. Irrespective of the complexity or scope of the project, it must undergo several sequential stages during its lifetime. The project life cycle comprises four main stages (Kerzner, 2009): The planning phase primarily comprises the decomposition of the project into simpler tasks or segments that can be achieved individually with an adequate amount of interaction and coordination amongst them. For the purpose of the above question, the roles and activities of a project manager will be discussed within the last two stages of the project life cycle namely the implementation and completion phases. Haynes (2003) believes that the primary consideration for the project manager in this phase is to ensure that all major activities are executed correctly besides verifying whether proper control and monitoring is in place over all such activities. The implementation stage is the point where the planned solution is brought into existence to realize the specific requirements outlined under the problems being solved or purposes being realized. For example, in the case of systems and product development, an elaborate design identifying and accommodating all the major requirements is developed. The convergence between this design and the actual product being developed is evaluated through testing, constructing prototypes and by gathering reviews from major stakeholders. During the latter stages of this phase, there is a heavy effort among members of the project organization to begin planning for final activities like production, testing, maintenance and support. These subsequent activities also require considerable planning on a constant basis to take account of ongoing changes to the final outcomes and the supporting environment. Some of the

Frederick Douglass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Frederick Douglass - Essay Example He was orphaned at the age of seven when his mother died and thus was forced look after himself and to mature very quickly, learning to read and write under the tutelage of a woman in Baltimore who eventually purchased him. In 1838, Douglass escaped to New York City, changed his last name to Douglass, and married Maria Bailey, free women whom he had met while still in Baltimore.2 Douglass was privileged to be educated by his owner. However, he suffered the hardships of slavery and oppression firsthand, lending him expertise on the subject that no number of-even highly educated-white men could hope to match. Therefore, his insight on the subject, expressed eloquently through his writing and lectures, became pivotal in the dialogue about slavery and the abolitionist movement. Douglass began lecturing in 1841 and soon after was hired by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society to act as an agent on their behalf. He would spend the rest of his life in that capacity: writing, lecturing and publishing anti-slavery literature. Douglass became free during a point in history in which both the Abolition and the Women's Right's movement were gaining both power, and followers. He was associated with many important figures of the age including, Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln, and William Lloyd Garrison.3 His contacts, not limited to peers of the same racial background as himself, served as a growing network of potential supporters. At the very least, his rhetoric was disseminated all the more quickly along these liens of communication, ensuring that his ideas-credited to him or not-reached the general public quickly. He not only influenced how the public perceived free people of color, but how they ran the abolition movement, and the women's rights movements, by affecting the manner and one of the discourse. Douglass was known for how vehemently he disagreed with those people he called his friends. A disagreement with William Lloyd Garrison in the 1860's resulted from the inevitable conflict between the demands of Douglass, an African American anti-slavery agent for equal pay and treatment, and Garrisons' political wheeling and dealing. Both Garrison and his assistant Maria-Weston-Chapman would frequently attempt to divert Douglass from his fight for equality by characterizing him as being less than human. Oddly enough this was typical of the anti-slavery movement at the time. African American abolitionists were often relegated to playing small public roles in the abolitionist movement, while their white counterparts spoke with bravado about their upcoming revolt against slavery.4 Douglass, rather than kowtow entirely to this attitude, Douglass kept speaking what he felt to be the truth about slavery, abolition, and the movement toward basic human rights for all people. Had he simply shrunk from his oppressors, surely the tide of change would have been slowed measurably if not stalled. This is not to assign too much importance to one man, but merely to recognize the reaches of his influence at this time. His voice was heard through his speaking and writing by

Critical introduction to law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Critical introduction to law - Essay Example Poe takes a unique approach to the detective story and takes the reader from the end of the mystery to the beginning. By taking this approach, Poe presents an exercise in logical reasoning.3 Certainly, Poe’s The Purloined Letter has been the subject of considerable attention by literary critics, jurists and even psychoanalytical evaluation since its publication in 1845.4 Essentially, Poe masterfully interjects what is described as the â€Å"hermeneutic enterprise† by taking the meaning attached to a concealed item and revealing its meaning and significance.5 In this regard, the power of logic reasoning is explored and the struggle is therefore not between a criminal and law enforcement as is typical of detective fiction, but within the human mind. This paper will offer a critique of The Purloined Letter by first setting out the relevant historical factors and secondly, by presenting a synopsis of the text and commentary by critics on the text. I. Historical Background C ommentary inserted under The Purloined Letter in a collection of Poe’s works titled Thirty-Two Stories, notes that there were more significant and drastic changes in Western countries during Poe’s lifetime than at any other â€Å"brief period in human history†.6 Technological advances in communications, transportation, photography and other technologies occurred and had an â€Å"impact within Poe’s short life†.7 The commentary further notes that: Industrialization and other aspects of modernized society tore apart traditional assumptions and altered the structure of families, the nature of work, and the â€Å"feel† of life itself.8 These changes brought with them a threat to conventions in which artist perceived that they had special authority and were knowledgeable. However, changes brought about by advances in technology significantly reduced the special power and knowledge attributed to artists. The artists were reduced to a creator of pu re entertainment or beauty. In The Purloined Letter, Poe challenges these perceptions and promotes the wider significance of the artist. For instance the Prefect of Police may have a narrowly defined job, but the artist is not so narrowly defined. The systematic investigative techniques of the Perfect of Police fall short of the criteria necessary for finding the purloined letter.9 The fact is the Prefect of Police needs Dupin who is not only educated and experienced but also happens to be an artist: a poet. As the commentary notes: The Purloined Letter can be read as Poe’s version of that argument one sees in so many Romanic authors: the world needs â€Å"inspired† artists for their power and their wisdom.10 It is against this background that Poe’s The Purloined Letter is examined and critiqued. While Poe is said to have been defending the role of the artists in a rapidly changing world, it has also been suggested that Poe was demonstrating the flaws associated with humanity and institutions. An examination of the text will bear this out. II. Synopsis and Analysis of The Purloined Letter A. Synopsis The Purloined Letter centres around a letter that is presumably damaging although the contents of the letter are not revealed. The letter is presumably from a secret lover and was sent to the queen. Both

United Nations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

United Nations - Essay Example This is why the UN was set up while World War II was still going on. If the goals of the organization are peaceful, it is still essentially an organization that started as an alliance of powers against a common enemy, and was a military endeavor. â€Å"The 50 nations represented at San Francisco signed the Charter of the United Nations on June 26, 1945. Poland, which was not represented at the conference but for which a place among the original signatories had been reserved, added its name later, bringing the total of original signatories to 51† (Background, 2010). Of course, today, the UN serves as a peacekeeping organization more than a military one, but it remains effective nonetheless. concerned with essentially military matters through the extension of its most important facet, the Security Council. However, the drafters of the organization put into effect a rule of veto that has proved to make the UN somewhat ineffectual at times. Even when the Soviet Union had veto power, though, the UN remained a strong and viable organization. As time went on, the membership in the United Nations increased as new nations became de-colonized and joined the organization. With these new nations entering into the equation, things became more complicated as the number of nations increased from fifty to almost two-hundred. The UN accordingly turned to issues like the environment and human rights as important issues to tackle and began to try to legislate internationally. â€Å"UN membership is open to all "peace-loving states" that accept the obligations of the UN Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to fulfill these obligations. Admission to memb ership is determined by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council† (Background, 2010). The UN wanted to make peace, and therefore was well-suited for problems like human rights and the

Refuting the Link between Autism and Vaccines Research Paper

Refuting the Link between Autism and Vaccines - Research Paper Example Ever since Dr. Wakefield brought into light the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, the medical world has been thrown into controversy. Charges and counter charges have been made with no clear theory on the validity of the allegation. The medical fraternity, in which Dr. Wakefield was a member, was split into camps with some denying the link and some supporting Dr. Wakefield’s claim. To go by the facts, Dr. Wakefield along with his colleagues found that MMR immunization caused side effects like developing â€Å"intestinal symptoms and subsequent autistic regression† (Kemp & Hart, 2010, para 3) in patients immediately after the immunization. The article that they published, claiming the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, created havoc as parents showed full resistance to the immunization process of their babies (Kemp & Hart, 2010). Parents also questioned the use of thimerosal, a by-product of mercury, as a preservative in the vaccine. Following Wakefield†™s findings, further studies have been conducted regarding this issue and the result was again a mixed response. Though no substantial evidence of the link could be established, the theory of the harmful effect of thimerosal could not be dispellel. This paper will weigh the different postulations for and against the allegation that vaccines, in particular the MMR vaccine, cause Autism. I will concentrate on the different perspectives related to the controversy. It would focus on issues supporting the allegation like the cover up policy of CDC on the Autism-vaccine true picture, the unprecedented use of thimerosal in vaccines for commercial reasons; as well as on the opposite views that nullifies the claim on the basis of lack of evidence and research findings. Considering the absence of substantial proof about the possible link, I could not support Wakefield’s theory. In placing my argument refuting the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, I will focus on unbiased con crete data based research outcomes and established theories. Claims That Autism is Linked to Vaccines Following Dr Wakefield’s claim, there has been a spate of studies on the same topic (Kemp & Hart, 2010). A number of scientists and research professionals have claimed the authenticity of Wakefield’s finding. Their support of the theory is based on certain research outcomes that indicate a possible link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, containing thimerosal (mercury) and aluminium. They claim that the MMR vaccine is the main reason for the growing rate of Autism in children. The proponents of the possible link explain that as the onset of Autism is determined to be at the age of 2 years, also the age at which MMR immunization is done; there is every possibility of Autism being caused by MMR vaccine. The Culprit Vaccine Habakus (2011, p. 1954) records show that out of 163 articles on the Autism-vaccine issue, 43 of the researched papers theorized in favour of the po ssible link. He is implying that there is a big population among researchers who have suspected the possible effect of the MMR vaccine in causing Autism. Habakus believes that the government and media are conjointly suppressing the research implications of Autism-vaccine link and highlighting those that refute any such possibility. Habakus (2011) concentrates on certain factual details, concrete findings and also draws relevant evidences and builds his argument on them. He starts his case by pointing out the incident in which ten

Relationship between Direct Marketing and Branding Essay

Relationship between Direct Marketing and Branding - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the primary objective of branding application is to develop and reinforce central messages of a company along with the product brands. It aims at a high quality of service, environment-friendly attributes, longevity, durability, and cost-saving objectives in order to enhance brand image and ensure sustainability. Branding and direct marketing are two distinct approaches to marketing. Direct marketing is intended to drive immediate customer responses; however, branding is a delayed response advertising technique. Direct marketing activity is the process through which various advertising media interact directly with consumers and obtain responses about a brand. The responses that are obtained with the help of direct marketing can be tracked, analyzed and stored in a database, which can be used further for development of long lasting customer relationships. With the help of direct marketing application, most of the companies try to record the trial, purchase or inquiry related issues of Customers. These issues are analyzed by the companies and significant changes are incorporated if required. The changes or developments in an existing product of a brand are made after studying the demand of the customer market thoroughly. Direct marketing is generally controlled with the help of electronic or digital marketing strategy in the contemporary era. Most of the advertisements are sent via e-mails and phone messaging systems. In some cases, companies post their advertisements along with survey rating ability in social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter. The enhancement of direct marketing strategy sampling can be clearly observed in the fast food business operations. The advertisements provided by the Fox’s Crinkle Crunch biscuits illustrate the importance of customer responses for brand promotions.

Refuting the Link between Autism and Vaccines Research Paper

Refuting the Link between Autism and Vaccines - Research Paper Example Ever since Dr. Wakefield brought into light the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, the medical world has been thrown into controversy. Charges and counter charges have been made with no clear theory on the validity of the allegation. The medical fraternity, in which Dr. Wakefield was a member, was split into camps with some denying the link and some supporting Dr. Wakefield’s claim. To go by the facts, Dr. Wakefield along with his colleagues found that MMR immunization caused side effects like developing â€Å"intestinal symptoms and subsequent autistic regression† (Kemp & Hart, 2010, para 3) in patients immediately after the immunization. The article that they published, claiming the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, created havoc as parents showed full resistance to the immunization process of their babies (Kemp & Hart, 2010). Parents also questioned the use of thimerosal, a by-product of mercury, as a preservative in the vaccine. Following Wakefield†™s findings, further studies have been conducted regarding this issue and the result was again a mixed response. Though no substantial evidence of the link could be established, the theory of the harmful effect of thimerosal could not be dispellel. This paper will weigh the different postulations for and against the allegation that vaccines, in particular the MMR vaccine, cause Autism. I will concentrate on the different perspectives related to the controversy. It would focus on issues supporting the allegation like the cover up policy of CDC on the Autism-vaccine true picture, the unprecedented use of thimerosal in vaccines for commercial reasons; as well as on the opposite views that nullifies the claim on the basis of lack of evidence and research findings. Considering the absence of substantial proof about the possible link, I could not support Wakefield’s theory. In placing my argument refuting the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, I will focus on unbiased con crete data based research outcomes and established theories. Claims That Autism is Linked to Vaccines Following Dr Wakefield’s claim, there has been a spate of studies on the same topic (Kemp & Hart, 2010). A number of scientists and research professionals have claimed the authenticity of Wakefield’s finding. Their support of the theory is based on certain research outcomes that indicate a possible link between Autism and the MMR vaccine, containing thimerosal (mercury) and aluminium. They claim that the MMR vaccine is the main reason for the growing rate of Autism in children. The proponents of the possible link explain that as the onset of Autism is determined to be at the age of 2 years, also the age at which MMR immunization is done; there is every possibility of Autism being caused by MMR vaccine. The Culprit Vaccine Habakus (2011, p. 1954) records show that out of 163 articles on the Autism-vaccine issue, 43 of the researched papers theorized in favour of the po ssible link. He is implying that there is a big population among researchers who have suspected the possible effect of the MMR vaccine in causing Autism. Habakus believes that the government and media are conjointly suppressing the research implications of Autism-vaccine link and highlighting those that refute any such possibility. Habakus (2011) concentrates on certain factual details, concrete findings and also draws relevant evidences and builds his argument on them. He starts his case by pointing out the incident in which ten

Economic Recovery Was the Main Reason for the Survival of the Nazi State Essay Example for Free

Economic Recovery Was the Main Reason for the Survival of the Nazi State Essay Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in 1933 brought about the beginning of the end to a brief democratic government in Germany. He worked hard to return to the old Totalitarian rule with himself as dictator, and also for ‘Machtergreifung’ – the seizure of power. Hitler had no intention of sharing power and his aim was to achieve complete control over Germany and to build a German Empire through the Nazi Party. His personality and manifesto were extremely convincing to people of all age groups and people believed Hitler had the power to restore Germany to past greatness. Promises such as the decrease in unemployment levels were also coming true and his totalitarian rule had suppressed all other opposition. Dr. Goebels also played a large part in covering up the horrific truth behind Hitler’s ideology. The propaganda convinced the German people that the violence used, such as the action of the SS, was beneficial to the maintenance of the state. The Nazi’s also began to victimize certain stereotypes so that they would gain more support and shift the blame for any problems onto groups such as the Jews. This also inevitably installed a fear in most Germans. Propaganda was a core method that Hitler used to gain control and support within Germany. The emotion, romanticism and passion behind his speeches and most importantly his rallies at Nuremburg were able to convince the German people about Hitler’s ideology, which some historians would argue is the most important factor when securing the political stability of the Nazi Party. Goebel’s gained the title of ‘Minister of Propaganda’ under Hitler’s government in 1933. As Reichsminister for Propaganda and National Enlightenment, Goebbels was given complete control over radio, press, cinema, and theatre; later he also regimented all German culture. Goebbels placed his undeniable intelligence and his brilliant insight into mass psychology entirely at the service of his party. His most potent propaganda was against the Jews (used as a scapegoat to absorb any problems Germany had). As a hypnotic orator he was second only to Hitler, and in his staging of mass meetings and parades he was unsurpassed. The power that Goebels propaganda had over the German showed just how significant a political figure he was. Persuasive leadership such as this is a large reason why the Nazis managed to stay in power for so long. However it was not only Goebels that had a huge influence over the German people. When taking in to account the strength of the Nazi leadership the personality of Hitler himself should not be forgotten. His charismatic and recognizable personality was the driving force behind the rise of the Nazi’s and even as the reality behind his proposals came out, the supporters were not only backed up by the fulfilment of the economic promises Hitler had made but by the influence of his character. Heinrich Himmler, commander of the SS installed fear into the people of Germany using violence. Hitler has constructed a perfect group of leaders, and their unquestionable authority was key in maintaining the Nazi state. The SS were Hitler’s soldiers in the sense that they swore complete loyalty. We vow to you and the superiors appointed by you obedience unto death. So help us God. † This was the oath taken by SS soldiers directed at Hitler. The SS state induced a fear into the people of Germany through incidents such as the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ in which the SS rounded up and shot around 400 victims, all of which were posing some sort of threat to Hitler. This made it especially clear to Germany the type of response someone Opposing the would get, therefore no one dared to start an uprising, leaving the Nazi’s to thrive on the power they had accumulated. Hitler’s absolute dictatorship gave him the power to introduce extremities of Anti Semitism. The Jews became a scapegoat for Germany’s problems: the defeat in WWI, the problems faced due to the Treaty of Versailles, the increasing communist support, the failure of the Weimar Government and the economic problems. Schoolchildren were being taught how to prejudice against Jews with changes to the curriculum, and racial purity was greatly encouraged. Hitler provided substance behind the anti Semitism making it popular amongst many Germans who were jealous of the Jew’s economic success. The humiliation of the Jews steadily increased and events such as Kristallnacht – in which Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were looted reiterated all fear felt towards the Nazi’s. Providing a prejudice upon which the Germans could vent their anger took all of the problems away from the Nazi’s, leaving them to be seen as completely positive for the rebuilding of Germany. This was also greatly enhanced by the suppression of all opposition by the Nazi party. Hitler was slowly making Germany into a totalitarian state in hich he was the only person with power. Gleichschaltung was introduced to make Nazism a part of everyday life. It is the complete co-ordination of everything to do with the Nazi regime. Nazi groups were being set up for all works of life including youth groups, secretarial groups, doctor groups and in 1936 a Nazi approved church was founded. Hitler was making Nazism unavoidable and these groups all encouraged Nazi support and ideology. Children were even encouraged to tell on their parents if there was any suspicion that they opposed the policies of the party. Hindenburg’s death in 1934 gave Hitler complete chancellorship and he gave himself the title of Fuhrer. â€Å"Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer† this motto was passed around Germany to indicate how Germany was being brought together under one absolute leader with no opposition. However Hitler had to work to gain such unquestioned authority. In 1933 the Burning of the Reichstag led Hitler to claim emergency powers from President Hindenburg giving him unopposed power to make enabling acts. These acts gave Hitler the ability to pass laws without consulting the Reichstag; the second step, after the Reichstag Fire Decree which gave Hitler plenary powers and helped him on the way to a dictatorship. The night of the long knives, as previously mentioned, also eliminated opposition. Ernst Rohm was leader of the SA, and after showing loyalty to Hitler by helping him attain chancellorship, he and his Stormtroopers wanted some sort of reward. Hitler showed how any resistance at all would be treated by killing Rohm and all other SA leaders. Hitler also abolished all trade unions so that there was no possibility of a workers revolution against him. The elimination of opposition had made the Nazis the sole party in Germany making it extremely difficult to get rid of such a prominent part of everyday life. Hitler also wanted to please the people and fulfil his promises so that he would still have popular support. The KDF organisation was introduced to please the working class. It gave them cheap or free holidays and evening classes. The Nazis also avoided heavy taxation and a reduction in consumer goods. This pleased the people and most were thought to be fairly happy with the Nazi’s performance in government. The Unemployment figures fell rapidly from 6% of the population out of work to 0. 04% in 1939. This was being done through labour camps, public works programme such as the innovative Auto-Bahn and the Nazi Party under the Gleichschaltung regime created many jobs. A main policy for Hitler was the self sufficiency of Germany called Autarky. This was a postitive thing for agricultural workers as the prices of goods were fixed. Germany’s GNP rose by 102% and it seemed as if everyone was pleased with the results that the Nazi party was producing, so there was no real reason to want to start a revolution. The economic recovery of Germany in the period whilst the Nazis were in power was very important to ensuring that the people were pleased and still supported the party. However with the removal of all opposition in reality the German people had little choice but to be governed by Hitler, and if they were opposing him; many were to scared to act. The leadership of Hitler himself and main political figures stabilised the Government and sorted out many of the problems resulting from WWI and the weak Weimar Government causing the people of Germany to trust Hitler. All of these factors contribute to show why the Nazi’s stayed in power, despite the horrific truths behind the policies. Many Germans just saw Hitler and the Nazi Party as an answer to the problems that Germany had long been searching to solve.

A Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility

A Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility Nowadays, the association of the words social and responsibility has become increasingly frequent. But in business world, there is another variant of these terms that prevail and it is the term Corporate Social responsibility (CSR). According to Archie Carroll (2008 p.19): though the roots of the concepts that we know today as CSR have been a long and wide-ranging history, it is mostly a product of the twentieth century, especially from the early 1950s up to the present time. Despite the fact that the concept of CSR has been present for such a long time, researchers still do not share a common definition or set of core principles (Andre Crane et al. 2008 p.4). This also brought about other questions on the interpretation of terms as being socially responsible and also is a firm capable of being responsible towards society. According to Wood (1991, cited in Moir, 1991, p.2), the basic idea of corporate social responsibility is that business and society are interwoven rather than distinct entities. Businesses are often assumed to have profit maximization for sole aim and ignore its responsibilities towards society. Milton Friedman (1970) said that the only one responsibility of business towards society is the maximization of profits to the shareholders within the legal framework and the ethical custom of the country. However supporters of CSR can also be found, Dave Packard (Co-founder of Hewlett Packard Company in 1939, cited in Harvard Business Review, 2002, p.54) claims that the assumption that people make of companies only making money is wrong. He also adds that: a group of people get together and exist as an institution that is called a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately and simultaneously they make a contribution to society (Dave Packard, 1939). Votaw (cited in Garigga and Mele, 2004, p.51) wrote that corporate social responsibility means something, but not always the same thing to everybody. The diverging opinions can be categorized in two main points of view; one is that CSR is yet another means to maximize profit and the other is that CSR is here to help companies help society as a whole. CSR has been described in a number of various ways. Below are given different definitions of CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and corporate resources. (Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee, Corporate Social Responsibility, Wiley, 2007) The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time. (Archie B. Carroll, 1979) Shell: We all need to assess the impact our business makes on society and ensure that we balance the economic, environmental and social aspects of everything we do (Moody-Stuart, 1999). The diagram below gives a visual description of what constitute CSR: Source: www6.miami.edu/ethics/pdf_files/csr_guide.pdf According to Lance Moir (2001), the area defined by advocates of CSR increasingly covers a wide range of issues such as plant closures, employee relations, human rights, corporate ethics, community relations and the environment. Aspects of CSR Drivers of CSR Drivers, in this context, refer to the reasons behind the choice of a firm to adopt a more socially acceptable behaviour. These reasons can be classified as being internal and external to the firm. Internal drivers: Internal drivers are the pressures that originate from the internal environment of the firm. Examples of components that can constitute the internal environment of a firm are, employees, suppliers, competitors, top management, etc. Flatter organisations have considerably changed the approach towards how business was once done. Nowadays, employees put pressure on how the organization conducts business using certain societal values (M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.9). They are more attracted by the non-material aspects of the organisation that employs them. Besides, employees seeking a more socially responsible firm, managers now have the task to reconcile the profit-making need of the company with the responsibility towards society. But as Haigh and Jones (2006) mentioned, for business managers, business is first. ODwyer (2003, cited in Haigh and Jones, 2006, p.2) said that social considerations come second and providing only that such considerations would not open an exploitable weakness. Haig h (2006) adds that the paradigm that managers face simply prevents overall improvements consistent with social welfare. The capacity to integrate CSR policies in the core activities of the firm can also act as a driver. According to Porter and van der Linde (2000, cited in Haigh and Jones, 2006, p.2), CSR is competitive driver that requires appropriate resources. Integrating CSR in a companys activities can be a tedious process. The diagram below shows how CSR can be incorporated at different levels of the company. Source: MVO Platform, (2002, illustrated in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.10), Different intensities of CSR CSR can also be undertaken in a set of separate activities geared towards improving social welfare. This can take the form of sponsoring of sports activities or engaging in charitable activities. Another view to consider internal drivers to CSR is to consider them to be national drivers. The table below gives a number of different national CSR drivers and a brief description of each of them. Source: Visser, W. (2008) CSR Drivers: The Forces Shaping Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, CSR Inspiration Series, No. 3. External drivers: External drives refer to the external pressures that compel a firm to engage in CSR. The external environment of a firm can include market structure, customers, government, economic situations, competitors, etc. Businesses no longer evolve in a static environment, threats are no longer limited to local competitors and the market is now a global one. Similarly, adopting the culture of foreign firms has become a must and CSR is one of the main concerns of all firms in this century. Castells (2000, as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.7) says that globalization increases the importance of social networks of a company on a worldwide basis. Moreover, consumers are more concerned by the fact that whether the firm, to which they are loyal, is contributing to societys welfare. As Castells (2000, as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.7) mentions, a lot of information is obtained more rapidly by consumers and it is easier to keep in touch with the various activities undertaken by any firm. The govern ment also contributes in making company conscious of their duties towards society. According to the European Union and MVO Platform (2002, as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.7), Governments are now engaging in the role of stimulating companies to be social responsible, not pressuring them. In M.G.V. Dongens 2006 paper: In search of the link between corporate social responsibility and legitimacy she enumerated a number of external factors that encouraged firm to adopt the concept of CSR. A few of these points are: Transparency. A very important aspect for a company to be socially responsible is transparency. This can be included in the profit-factor but is more and more considered as a prerequisite for a company to be socially responsible. Due to new information sources, e.g. the internet, and the shift in the control mechanisms for organizations from purely governmental to include the organizations stakeholders, this revolution has an enormous impact on the visibility of an organizations business practices.(M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.8) Time. A shift can be recognized from purely focusing on short-term profits towards more long-term objectives, which is necessary because societal and environmental issues are mostly long-term issues. Therefore this shift in time-thinking is essential for CSR to be successful. (M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.8) Here also, external factors are often associated with international drivers. The table below describes some of them: Source: Visser, W. (2008) CSR Drivers: The Forces Shaping Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, CSR Inspiration Series, No. 3. In order to link both national and international drivers the diagram below visually establishes a link between both of them. Source: Visser, W. (2008) CSR Drivers: The Forces Shaping Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, CSR Inspiration Series, No. 3. 3.2 Theories of CSR Many authors have tried to grasp an accurate idea of what is CSR by devising models in order to better understand the various factors involved and their impact. One of the first approaches to tackle CSR by means of a model was made in 1971 by the Committee for Economic Development (CED). It made use of three concentric circles. The definition of the three circles was given in the Social Responsibilities of Business Corporation (1971) as follows: The inner circle includes, the clear-cut basic responsibilities for the efficient execution of the economic function products, jobs and economic growth The intermediate circle encompasses responsibility to exercise this economic function with a precise awareness of changing social values and priorities: for example with respect to environmental conservation, hiring and relations with employees, and more rigorous expectation of customers for information, fair treatment and protection from injury The outer circle outlines newly emerging and still amorphous responsibilities that business should assume to become more broadly involved in actively improving the social environment After this theory others were developed, but throughout time only a few of them prevailed. The first theory that must be considered is the pyramid of CSR developed by Carroll. The pyramid of corporate social responsibility According to Carroll, the four main components or categories that constitute the CSR pyramid are: Economic Responsibilities, Legal Responsibilities, Ethical Responsibilities and Philanthropic or Discretionary Responsibilities. The two tables below give a description of these four terms. Source: Archie B. Carroll (1991), The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Business Horizons Source: Archie B. Carroll (1991), The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Business Horizons The theory of the pyramid relies on the fact the various components are stacked on each other, the economic responsibility being the base and the philanthropic responsibility being at the top. The logic behind the pyramid relies in the fact that firms are expected to aim for profit maximization but it must also cater for the other responsibilities in the pyramid, which is comply with the law, comply with rules of society and finally act as a good corporate citizen. The diagram below is a representation of Archie B. Carroll pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Stakeholder theory Moir (2001) refers to the stakeholder theory as being used used as a basis to analyse those groups to whom the firm should be responsible. For Carroll (1991, cited as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.13), stakeholder concept personifies the social actors that organizations should consider with their CSR orientation. Stakeholders generally refer to the actors who are directly or sometimes indirectly affected by the actions of a company. Freedman defines a stakeholder as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organizations objectives (Freeman, 1984:46). Stakeholders can be classified in two main categories; primary and secondary stakeholders. Clarkson (1995: 106, cited in L. Moir, 2001, p.8) gives the description of a primary stakeholder as one without whose continuing participation the corporation cannot survive as a going concern with the primary group including shareholders and investors, employees, customers and suppliers, together with what is defined as the public stakeholder group: the governments and communities that provide infrastructures and markets, whose laws and regulations must be obeyed, and to whom taxes and obligations may be due (Clarkson, 1995, p.106). Moir (2001, p.8) defines the secondary groups are defined as Those who influence or affect, or are influenced or affected by the corporation, but they are not engaged in transactions with the corporation and are not essential for its survival Source: Monique G. van Dongen (2006), In search of the link between corporate social responsibility and legitimacy The stakeholder theory focuses on a practical approach that explains an organizations need to address the various responsibilities (Dongen 2006, p. 13). The stakeholder theory relies on determining the most important stakeholder for the company and its responsibilities towards that stakeholder. In order to determine how the choice should be made, Carroll (1991) established two main criteria which are; power and legitimacy. Following Carrolls logic, in 1997, Michel et al develop a more detailed approach which includes a new dimension named urgency. The model develop was the the stakeholder salience model Power: the ability of those who possess power, to bring about the outcome that they desire (Mitchell et al., 1997). Legitimacy: the assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed systems of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions (Suchman, 1995). Urgency: exists when two conditions are met: 1) when it is time-sensitive, and 2) when it is important or critical to the stakeholder (Mitchell et al., 1997). The salience model helps to divide stakeholders in different groups and each of these groups is classified on the basis of having one or more the above characteristics. Mitchell (1997) defined the salience model as the degree to which managers gave importance to stakeholders claims. From this point of view, groups such as latent and expectant stakeholders were created and these groups were further subdivided on the basis of the number of characteristics they possessed. Moir stated that firms would pay most attention to those legitimate stakeholder groups who have power and urgency (Moir, 2001, p.9). Following this logic, an example could be the reputation of a company will have a great importance when it interacts directly with the public. In relation with CSR, Patten (1992 as cited in L Moir, 2006 p.9) gave the following example concerning the possible fluctuations in the level of urgency: environmental groups and issues became more urgent to oil firms following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. To sum up, stakeholder theory can help companies to point out stakeholders that can be sensible to CSR issues and generate a profit in these circumstances. 3.2.1 Mapping of CSR theories In addition to the above models, numerous other theories have been developed, but none of them gave an accurate framework which exactly defined what CSR was. Each and every writer who tried to build up a CSR theory ended up giving a personal opinion, hence creating confusion. Carroll (1994, p.14) described the situation as An eclectic field with loose boundaries, multiple memberships, and differing training/perspectives; broadly rather than focused, multidisciplinary; wide breadth; brings in a wider range of literature; and interdisciplinary. In addition to the above mentioned theories, Frederick (1987, 1998) tried to classify CSR in four main categories namely CSR1, CSR2, CSR3 and CSR4. Other attempts to define theories can take the form of the concept of corporate citizenship by Altman (1998), Issues Management by Wartick and Rude (1986) and Wood (1991) and Brummer (1991) classification of four CSR theories based on six criteria. In order to harmonize all these different models Elisabet Garriga and Domenec Mele (2004) grouped all the actual theories under four main headings namely; instrumental, political, integrative and ethical theories. Theories were placed in a group on the basis of their similitude, for example instrumental theories grouped models that were based on the assumption that organization are here only to make profits. The table below gives a brief summary of each group and the different theories composing them. Source: Elisabet Garriga and Domenec Mele (2004), Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory, p.62-63 3.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of engaging in CSR CSR is often view as a companys intention to do good for society, but there can also be times when behind the socially responsible mask the intentions are not the ones expected. In can be quite contradictory but although CSR is assumed to be good, it can have drawbacks. Advantages and disadvantages arising from CSR are as diverse as the domain in which the practices are applied, for analysis purposes standard or most common pros and cons will be considered. First pros or advantages of CSR will be considered. According to Bhattacharya et al. (2008), the first advantage of CSR is that in helps in the recruitment and selection process and more specifically within the competitive graduate student market. Kytle et al. (2005) continue by adding that CSR helps in risk management. Building a genuine culture of doing the right thing within a corporation can offset the risks of losing reputation because of any scandal or environmental accident (Kytle et al, 2005, p.10). Another benefit atributed to CSR is brand differenciation. Paluszek (2005) says that CSR can play a role in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values. CSR can help in building customer loyalty by helping them feel that the company with which they are involved care for them. It must also be added that CSR has a significant impact on customers as well. According to Berger et al. (1995, cited in Maignan and Ferrell, 2004) consumers show more fervent support to companies committed to cause-related marketing, practices that help the environment, or business ethics. Furthermore, the studies conducted by Lichtenstein et al., (2004) proved that CSR helped to develop an emotional attachment with the company and hence it helped in boosting the percentage of sales. Sen et al., (2006) continued by saying that those conscious of actual corporate social activities had more positive responses to, and stronger identification with, the organisation, increased demand for trade and investment intent and demand to get a job with this type of organisation than those unaware of any initiative. In addition to the above advantages, others were published in the Investment News (2007) and they are listed below; Proactive enforcement of stricter quality and environmental controls reduces the risk of negative events (e.g. recalling defective products or fines for excessive polluting). Commitment to CSR increases the ability to attract and retain employees. Benefits include reduced turnover, recruitment and training costs. CSR practices enable corporations to be compliant on ethical issues and attract investors who enforce ethical filters One of the main disadvantages of CSR arises from the misuse of the initial concept behind it. Businesses are here to maximise profits and CSR is in direct conflict with this goal. As Malloy (2003) described corporations exist to provide products and/or services that produce profits for their shareholders. Another disadvantage attributed to CSR, is too use it as a marketing tool to promote the companys image. CSR can help companies to be more profitable. This can be proved by the action taken by British petroleum after the discovery of the global warming phenomenon and the promise to have a world beyond petroleum. Here also the investment News 2007 came with a list of arguments against CSR: Expenditure on CSR dilutes the funds available for shareholders. Corporate Management is not equipped to address social or environmental problems. Expenditure on CSR imposes additional costs which consequently reduce competitiveness Expenditure on CSR can only be made during periods of high profitability 4.0 Customer satisfaction According to marketing literature, higher customer satisfaction improves financial performance by increasing the loyalty of existing customers, reducing price elasticities, lowering marketing costs through positive word-of-mouth advertising, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing firm reputation (e.g., Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann (1994), Fornell (1992), and Reichheld and Sasser (1990)). Many believe that customer satisfaction is the key to a business success. The advantages to the fact of obtaining satisfaction from customers are various but before considering all of them in details, a definition of the term must be given. Customer satisfactions definition varies in accordance to the domain in which it is used. For instance it will have a different meaning whether it is used in marketing literature or in other sectors. A definition of customer satisfaction from a service management point of view is that customer satisfaction refers to how the perception of the customer affects the value received in a transaction or relationship where value can be defined as the perceived service quality compared to price and customer incurred acquisition costs (cited in Blanchard and Galloway, 1994; Heskett et al., 1990) in comparison to the expected value to be generated from transactions or relationships with competitors (Zeithaml et al., 1990). From the marketing point of view customer satisfaction will be defined as a vital part of the strategy of an organization (Fornell et al. 2006) and a key driver of increased profits on the long-run and boosting market value (Gruca and Rego 2005). Link between CSR and Customer satisfaction A number of studies link customers directly to CSR initiatives. In order to undertake a proper analysis, at least three major dimensions can be considered. The first being Scotts (1987 cited in Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006 p.3) institutional theory and the second stakeholder theory (Maignan, Ferrell, and Ferrell 2005) suggest that a companys actions appeal to the multidimensionality of the consumer as not only an economic being but also a member of a family, community, and country (Handelman and Arnold 1999). Basing themselves on these three approaches Daub and Ergenzinger (2005) developed the term generalized customer. It can be defined as people who are not only customers who care about the consumption experience but also actual or potential members of various stakeholder groups that companies need to consider (Daub and Ergenzinger, 2005; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006, p.3). Generalized customers derive more satisfaction from the transaction which involves a firm which is socially respo nsible. The second dimension rely on the aspect that establishing the link between the two components is the fact that being highly active in the CSR domain creates a favorable context that positively boosts consumers evaluations of and it gives a favorable image of the firm (Brown and Dacin 1997; Gà ¼rhan- Canli and Batra 2004; Sen and Bhattacharya 2001). Handleman and Arnold (1999) noted that consumers used the concept of positive word to mouth about firms that were committed to actions that were associated with institutional norms (1999, cited in Maignan and Ferrell, 2004). Studies by Berger and Kanetkar (1995), Barone et al. (2000) and Creyer and Ross (1997) resulted in the fact that consumers are willing to actively support companies committed to cause-related marketing, environmentally-friendly practices, or ethics (cited in Maignan and Ferrell, 2004). CSR initiatives constitute a key element of corporate identity that can induce customers to identify with the company. Indeed, Lichten stein, Drumwright, and Bridgette (2004, p. 17) note that a way that CSR initiatives create benefits for companies appears to be by increasing consumers identification with the corporation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [and] support for the company. Not surprisingly, identified customers are more likely to be satisfied with a firms offerings (e.g., Bhattacharya, Rao, and Glynn 1995; Bhattacharya and Sen 2003). The third dimension examines the antecedents of customer satisfaction (Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006, p.3). One example of a key antecedent can be perceived value and that has been empirically shown to promote customer satisfaction (Fornell et al. 1996; Mithas, Krishnan, and Fornell 2005b; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006). In the actual case, all else being equal, customers likely derive better perceived value and, consequently, higher satisfaction from a product that is made by a socially responsible company (Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006, p.4).Another antecedents that is known to impact on customer satisfaction is the knowledge of the customer himself. Jayachandran et al (2005) added that improving customer knowledge represents another antecedent that has been found to enhance customer satisfaction. Although the three dimensions above establish a link between CSR and customer Satisfaction it does not indicate whether it is a positive or a negative one. Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele (2008) pointed out that researchers have studied the impact of CSR on a number of factors, including word of mouth, attitudes, intentions, emotional attachment, shopping in-store, loyalty and brand identification, a limited number of studies have taken into consideration the relationship between satisfaction and CSR (Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174). The only study that directly linked CSR to customer satisfaction was that carried out by Luo and Bhattacharya (2006). They studied Fortune 500 companies, to find that a direct relation between CSR and customer satisfaction existed. Their study identified that satisfaction as a link which formed a relationship between CSR and firm market value (Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174). The diagram below depicts the relationship between customer satisfaction, market share and CSR as studied by Luo and Bhattacharya. Source: Xueming Luo C.B. Bhattacharya, 2006, Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Satisfaction, and Market Value Despite the direct linking, researchers found cases where CSR was found to have a negative impact on customer satisfaction. Bhattacharya and Luo (2006, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174) found that, firms which tend to lag in the innovative process, CSR actually reduced the level of customer satisfaction and, through a reduced amount of satisfaction; it adversely affected the market value. In some cases, it may be found that it is more appropriate to use customer oriented initiatives to increase satisfaction than CSR initiatives. CSR initiatives in this case could lead to wastage of precious resources which could have been used in a better way. CSR initiatives against Customer-oriented initiatives Pomering and Dolnicar (2006, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174) studied that a banks CSR initiatives indicated that customers tend to be more responsive to customer-oriented initiatives, rather than those that had a social orientation. In this study, eight CSR initiatives were proposed such as dedicating one per cent of profit to community programs and launching an indigenous scholarship program. The success of these initiatives did not match the level of satisfaction obtained from customer-oriented initiatives. Pomering and Dolnicar (2006) concluded that consumers consideration for personal well-being may outweigh their consideration of broader social impacts. 4.2.1 CSR initiatives and Customer satisfaction In 2004, Bhattacharya and Sen (2004, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.175) proposed six dimensions to CSR. They are listed below, as published by KLD Research: employee diversity Supporting employees product impact on the environment overseas operations Supporting society 4.2.2 Customer oriented initiatives and customer satisfaction On the other hand, customer-oriented initiatives for the banking sector were also classified. Chakrabarty (2006) observed that customer oriented actions for the banking sector was not the same as for other sectors. Chakrabartys (2006, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.175) research resulted into four factors that determined the total level of customer satisfaction amongst a sample of more than 12,000 UK retail banking customers. They are listed in order of importance as follows: in-branch satisfaction economic satisfaction remote satisfaction ATM satisfaction Later in 2007, Manrai and Manrai (2007, in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.175) came up with another set of four factors. In order of importance, they are: Problems attributed to the personnel Concerns of a financial aspect Concerns about the in-branch environment Convenience-related considerations