Essay --

â€Å"Please don’t kill me!† No, No don’t hurt me! Ahhhhhhhh ! â€Å"Someone help me!† I quickly jumped up out of my bed as my alarm almost gave me a mild heart- attack. I was drenched in sweat. It looked as if I had been running a marathon. â€Å"Good Morning sunshine, wake up sleepy head,† my Aunt Erica announced, waking me up. My Aunt Erica and Uncle Freddie took me in because my parents,younger brother and sister were killed in an accident. The autopsy showed that the Porsche they were riding in burst into flames. I find the accident quite odd, because my Dad always took care and monitored his car. The detectives said it was an accident but I believe someone had something to do with it. My Dad owned one of the largest companies in Los Angeles. We were well known in California. The night my parents died, I was at home studying for my mid-term, with my boyfriend. They left to go attend a press conference and my brother Dylan and sister Marissa went with them. A few hours later, the police showed up at my house three hours later and broke the news to me. I was devastated for weeks. I would cry every second of the day. It was really hard, I still don’t think I will ever get over it. The adoption case was very short. Because my father was such a wealthy man, his half his fortune would pass down to me when I turn 16†¦ The adoption process went by rapidly. In the spam of two weeks, I lived with my aunt and uncle. I was a nervous wreck to go back to school. I haven’t been since my parents died. Everyone in the world heard about my dad’s death, so I know that the kids in my new school have. I rolled out of bed to endure my delicious breakfast that mu uncle made. I glanced at my face as I passed by the mirror. My eyes were swollen... ...o a man and Jason was coming to his office. I sent the notes to my email address and hurried out his office. I ran to Nicole’s car and she sped off. â€Å"What happened?† It was him he did it. I can’t go to the police. I want to have my party before my life gets worse. I will do it tomorrow, I promise. I went home and went straight to sleep. My aunt and uncle woke me up with a huge cake that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY in white sweet frosting. I woke got out of bed around 10:00 am. My party started around 8:30 so I needed to go, because I had a lot of stuff to do. My old and new friends came over my house and we all got our hair, nails, eyebrows, and hair done. We got to my party and there he was trying to kill me. That was the tragedy of my sweet 16. The man that my family trusted was the same one that killed my parents, brother and sister just for my dad’s inheritance.

Encouraging Diverse Enrollment in Womens Studies Courses :: Essays Papers

Encouraging Diverse Enrollment in Women's Studies Courses What stands in the way of a more diversity in Women’s Studies classes such as Feminism 101? The posing of this question is in and of itself a step to increasing diversity, for in the answers we find, we may also expose solutions to these roadblocks. I will therefore, be discussing causes of the current white, female, young, middle-class, and non-disabled majority in Women’s Studies’ class rosters. Once I've established what is causing a majority to be present, I will then attempt to answer those problems with possible solutions, or at least steps in the right direction. Cross-racial hostility keeps minority races from interacting effectively with each other. Racism in general separates the white feminist community from everyone else. Internalized sexism tells us that we are just women, prone to bickering and infighting, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Heterosexism and lesbian bating (accusing a woman of being a lesbian if she is independent and freethinking) keep potential women’s studies students far away from our classrooms. Everyone is held back by the labels which separate us. Now I don't agree that these are the only oppressive forces dividing the feminist population and keeping new people from joining, but I would postulate that these conflicts function the same in Women's Studies as they do in the feminist movement in general. These are the central expressions of oppression that make cohesive, equal, cooperation seem beyond our grasp. bell hooks, a black feminist writer, wrote in her book Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, "Women in lower-class and poor groups, particularly those who are non-white, would not have defined women’s liberation as women gaining social equality with men, since they are continually reminded in their everyday lives that all women do not share a common social status." (19). This passage contains they key that answers the question of why people of color are not represented equally in our women’s studies classes with white people. Because Women's Studies (and Feminism) had been cast as the arena of white women, who had the time and money to start the movement, women of color are less likely to think the classes are relevant to them. And they are overwhelmingly female. How then, armed with our understanding of this problem, can we get a more racially diverse student body interested in what Women's Studies has to offer?

Marketing Audits and Its Importance to an Organisation

Marketing Audits and its importance to an organisation As of I am starting to write this essay, an historic and astonishing incident happened in US—Standard & Poors first time downgraded American Federal Bonds form AAA to AA+. Look at the messed up world economic picture–US is suffering from recession without any better signs, Europe is struggling with debt crisis, only growth engine China is also slowing down. We are facing the greatest uncertainty ever experienced before, as for economic society, walking away from this desperate situation needs to review history and find appropriate tools, from an organisation’s point of view, one of the effective tools is to seek for effective and regular marketing audits to cope with rapidly changing economic environment. Definition and Purposes of Marketing Audit The concept of marketing audit dated back to 1950s and evolved through application phase of 1960s, turbulent 1970s, growing period of 1980s and 1990s until now. The followings are several definitions of marketing audits: A comprehensive examination of an organisation’s marketing structure, programs and performance†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Peter Rix, Marketing-a practical approach â€Å"Systematic, critical, rigorous and unbiased study of efficiency of all marketing activities within an organisation extending to evaluation of each and every functional objective and their effective coordina tion†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Brian Monger, Marketing in black white â€Å"A periodic, comprehensive, systematic, and independent examination of the organisation’s marketing environment, internal marketing system and specific marketing activities†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Philip Kotler The purposes of marketing audit are to find marketing opportunities, locate marketing issues, seek right short term and long term solution, which ensure the implementation of marketing plans or the revision of unreasonable plans to improve an organisation’s overall marketing performance. Components of the Marketing Audit An effective and rounded marketing audit covers six components: 1/ Marketing Environment Audit Through auditing marketing environment in which it operates, an organisation could find if its marketing strategy is adapt to the marketing environment, and if any changes needed. The marketing environment consists of two subclasses, one is the macro environment which includes political/legal, economic, social/cultural and technological, and another one is industry and competitive environment. In short, PEST+C. 2/ Marketing Strategy Audit It mainly examine whether or not an organisation’s goals and objectives reflect market orientation, if the organisation takes right competition position, seizes market opportunities and allocates appropriate resources. 3/ Marketing Organisation Audit The marketing auditor needs to consider the decision-making ability of marketing organisation, as well as its ability of analysis, planning and execution. Other factors include its strain capacity to market, and its interaction with other function departments. 4/ Marketing Systems Audit It focuses on whether or not an organisation has well-established and effective systems for information gathering, planning and control. All these systems can be classified as internal systems, external systems, vertical and horizontal marketing systems. A vertical marketing system (VMS) is one in which the main members of a distribution channel—producer, wholesaler, and retailer—work together as a unified group in order to meet consumer needs. A horizontal marketing systems(HMS) means in which members at the same level in a channel of distribution band together in strategic alliances or joint ventures to exploit a new marketing opportunity. 5/ Marketing Productivity Audit A marketing organisation needs analyses on profits, cost-benefit, the audit covers performance examinations on sale-profit rates, costs of marketing, collection and inventory, etc. It also examines if there exists excessive cost expenditure and corresponding solutions on cost reduction. 6/ Marketing Function Audit Marketing function audit targets on marketing elements such as products, prices, places and promotions, as well as performance evaluation on marketing organisation, it consists of overall audit, sales audit, market investigation audit, and advertising audit. The auditors, through marketing function audit, may spot issues within marketing management and make relevant recommendations. Main Characteristics of the Marketing Audit Marketing Audit is a process of comprehensive, systematic and independent analysis and assessment of company's marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities to identify problem areas and operational strengths and weaknesses and recommends the courses of action to be taken to improve company's overall marketing performance and make marketing strategies and plan more effective and result oriented. The main characteristics can be summarised as the followings, 1/ It should be comprehensive and broad in focus covering the entire marketing environment of the company. / It should be an objective exercise and independent of the managers directly involved in making the marketing decisions. 3/ It should be a systematic and orderly sequence of diagnostic steps as compared to an unstructured and random investigation. 4/ It should be carried out periodically. The marketing audit should be undertaken on a regular basis and not only when major problems arise. Main elements to be incl uded in a marketing audit The key elements of a marketing audit are: 1/ Marketing Mix For products it includes Product, Price, Place-distribution and Promotion For services it includes Product, Price, Place-distribution, Promotion, People, Processes and Physical Environment 2/ Product Life Cycle [pic] 3/ Competitive Advantage A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices. 4/ Internal and external assessment – SWOT – PEST The Marketing Audit Process and Participants likely to be involved The marketing audit process proceeds with the following steps, Firstly, setting up the audit objectives and scope, preparing relevant documentation, deciding time period for the audit. Secondly, gathering the data, conducting interviews and inquiries. Finally, preparing the audit report, presenting conclusions and providing relevant solutions. Bearing in mind, ‘the most valuable part if the marketing audit often lies not so much in the auditor’s specific recommendations but in the process that managers begin to go through to assimilate, debate, and develop their own concept of the needed marketing action. —The Marketing Audit Comes of Age by Philip Kotler, William T. Gregor and William H. Rodgers III The participants likely to be involved cover all stakeholders including management levels, ordinary staff, suppliers, dealers, customers even shareholders and communities the organisation located in. Who of these stakeholders and to what extent get involved in the aud it depend on the organisation’s specific requirements. Times when a marketing audit should be undertaken The marketing audits could be undertaken on conventional and unconventional bases, which means on one hand an organisation needs to conduct regular and periodic audit and examine whether or not it and its each function unit achieve setting goals and objectives, if any changes needed to its strategy, on the other hand, if an organisation’s internal departments or independent units are performing poorly, it should carry a thorough marketing audit to help them find reasons and improvement methods. Various forms of a marketing audit The marketing audit must be carried independently by an inside audit, onducted by a person or group inside the company but outside the operation being evaluated, or an outside audit conducted by a management consulting firm or practitioner. Why they are considered to be one of the most practical and profitable tools available to a marketer. The marketing audits cover all major marketing areas of a business, not just a few trouble spots. It assesses the marketing environment, marketing strategy, the marketing organisation, marketing systems, the marketing mix and marketing productivity and profitability. The audit is normally conducted by an objective and experienced outside party who is independent of the marketing department. The finding can come as a surprise, and sometimes as a shock, to management. Management then decides which actions make sense and how and when to implement them. The marketing audits prompt to make marketing strategy and plan properly, are beneficial for matching a business’ internal resources with external resources, realise better and profitable operating results.

National Food Security Bill 2013 Essay

Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India’s poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai. After vacillating for years over taking any pro-people measures, the United Progressive Alliance finally did something bold and worthy by having the National Food Security Bill passed in Parliament — a promise made in the UPA’s â€Å"first 100 days† agenda after its return to power in 2009. The Bill won a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha, with a margin exceeding 100, because non-UPA parties including the Janata Dal-United, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and even the Shiv Sena felt they had no choice but to support it. It sailed through the Rajya Sabha too. The stage was set by a rare, spirited speech by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in which she described the legislation as India’s chance to ‘make history’ by abolishing hunger and malnutrition, and emphasised that India cannot afford not to have the law: â€Å"The question is not whether we can [raise the resources] or not. We have to do it.† The NFSB has invested meaning, public purpose and a degree of legitimacy into the UPA’s otherwise corruption-ridden, shoddy and often appalling performance in government under an increasingly right-leaning leadership. This at once put the Bharatiya Janata Party on the defensive. Its leaders were reduced to opposing a measure that represents genuine social progress, and making thoughtless statements about the Bill being about ‘vote security’, not food security. The BJP now has nothing to offer to the nation but obscurantist programmes like building a temple at Ayodhya, and parochial, and predatory pro-corporate agendas under Narendra Modi’s rabidly communal leadership. The Bill is open to the criticism that it doesn’t go far enough. Instead of universalising subsidised food provision, it confines it to two-thirds of the population, and truncates it further by limiting the food quota to five kilos of grain per capita per month instead of the 35 kg per family demanded by right-to-food campaigners. The per capita quota puts small households, such as those headed by widows and single women, at a disadvantage. A universalised Public Distribution System, covering the entire population, has been proved to be more effective and less prone to leakage than one targeted at ‘below-poverty-line’ groups — in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and even poor, backward Chhattisgarh. The relatively well-off won’t stand in queues at ration shops; they select themselves out of a universal PDS. Besides, a large proportion even of those officially defined as poor don’t possess BPL ration cards. The ratio can be as high as 40 percent in some highly deprived states. The latest National Sample Survey reveals that 51 percent of rural people possessing less than one-hundredth of a hectare of land have no ration cards of any kind; less than 23 percent have BPL cards. The problem of identifying the poor remains unresolved. Nevertheless, the broader coverage proposed under the NFSB — and the simple, attractive formula of rice at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2, and coarse grains at Re 1 — marks a definite improvement over the current situation. It creates a right or entitlement for the poor, which can go some way in reducing acute hunger. However, right-wing commentators, including neo-liberal economists, credit-rating agencies, multinational and Indian big business, and writers/anchors in the media, have vitriolically attacked the NFSB as an instance of reckless â€Å"populism†. Some claim it will do to little to relieve malnutrition among Indian children, almost one-half of whom suffer from it. Yet others contend that the poor don’t want or deserve subsidies; they aspire to work, earn more and eat better. And almost all of them say the NFSB will entail excessive wasteful expenditure of Rs 1.25 lakh crores. This will aggravate India’s growing fiscal crisis and further depress already faltering GDP growth, now down to four-five percent. Eventually, this will work against the poor. Besides, if investment and growth are to be revived, India can’t spend so much on food security.

Teen Pregnancy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Teen Pregnancy - Research Paper Example At least 60% of the children born to adolescent mothers are due to unwanted pregnancies (Mary et al 2001). In today’s society teen pregnancy is growing at an alarming rate even though the overall percentage of teen pregnancy is lower the question that arises is it still a huge problem that needs to be addressed immediately? For many countries teenage pregnancy is not a significant issue. For them it’s just a minor concern. Some even think that if children at an adolescence age do get involved in pregnancy matters it can be tackled. Is it so? People fail to comprehend the negative impact such matters bring to the community. Teenage pregnancy remains an issue for society at large although abstinence and the use of contraceptives is taught but still to no avail. Adolescent childbearing brings about negative impact on the teenager, the infant, teenagers parents and to the community. Very less option for future are left for the girls who become pregnant during their teen age. Lack of good education is one of the prime causes of teenage pregnancy. Being deterministic and effective firmly decides the goals one sets for himself/herself along with how much effort they put in and how long they strive despite the barriers they face. Not to forget the effort to recover in case if they lose. Students with no deterministic or effective approach tend to fall for such activities. An adolescent boy or a girl who are acquiring high educational goals are very rarely become teenage parents. Also parents who have high educational expectations from their teenage children make sure that their teens never get involved in such activities. The lack of care, family support, love, loyalty and importance pushes children to look for these feelings in someone else. Children from broken home (parents separated or divorced) or those children who have been

Motivation of Employees in the Real Estate Industry Research Paper

Motivation of Employees in the Real Estate Industry - Research Paper Example Alderfer’s ERG theory eradicates the limitations imposed by the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory to some extent. Unlike Maslow, Alderfer has identified three types of needs. E stands for existence, R stands for relatedness, while G stands for growth. There are quite a lot of similarities along with some differences between the Alderfer’s ERG theory and the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Although the number of needs differs between the Alderfer’s ERG theory and the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, yet there is a correspondence between them. The existence needs in the Alderfer’s ERG theory correspond to the physiological and safety needs of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. The relatedness needs correspond to the love and belongingness, and self-esteem needs whereas the growth needs represent the need for self-actualization. In this sense, Alderfer has confined Maslow’s needs to the ERG needs. Like the Maslo w’s hierarchy of needs theory, the Alderfer’s ERG theory is also hierarchical; the most important is the existence need, followed by the related needs and finally the growth needs. There are three fundamental ways in which the two theories differ (NetMBA, 2010). Firstly, Maslow’s theory suggests that different needs’ levels cannot be satisfied simultaneously whereas Alderfer’s ERG theory suggests that they can. Secondly, Maslow has standardized the hierarchical order of the needs for all people whereas Alderfer asserts that the order of needs can vary from one case to another.

Explain what is meant by orientalism. Discuss how this has influenced Essay

Explain what is meant by orientalism. Discuss how this has influenced Western interpretation of cultures past or present - Essay Example Orientalism could also be used to mean a manner of seeing, which distorts and emphasizes differences in cultures between the Arabic people and people, from Europe and the U.S. It entails viewing the Arab culture as uncivilized, exotic, dangerous, and backward (Said 1978, p. 2). Said defined orientalism as â€Å"the west acceptance of the differences between West and East.† He purported that this acceptance serves as the starting point for detailed social descriptions, epics, theories, and political accounts about the Orient, mind, its people, and customs. In a nutshell, orientalism can be described as the image of the ‘Orient’ portrayed as a thought system. As a scholarly discipline, orientalism began in the eighteenth century following the European colonial conquest of countries in the Middle East. Academic disciplines that addressed the orient flourished; this led to the adoption of orientalism in France, England, and other European nations. Orientalism became t he basis of the western exertion of power over the Orient (Near East Cultures). The west viewed the Middle East as an exhausted, stagnant, and defective region, which needed the involvement of Europeans to enhance civilization. This justification happened with an aim to keeping the dreams and ambitions of the western powers alive. Therefore, Oreintalism can be regarded to have originated from the west’s desire to conquer the Near East and exert significant influence (MacKenzie1995, p. 24). Influence of Orientalism on Western Interpretation of Cultures in the Near East Orientalism has had a profound influence on the way Western cultures depict aspects of the cultures from the East. Western writers and designers have always portrayed the East negatively. Further, artists from the west represent the cultures of the East as backward. For example, French artists in the 19th century used orientalism in their description of Eastern cultures (Kennedy 2000, p. 351). These Orientalists used colors, styles, and elements that portrayed Mediterranean countries of the Near East. Westerners have come to adopt eastern styles, motifs, and subject matter in design, architecture, and art. For example, Turquerie as a fashion dominated the western art work from 15th century to 18th century. Therefore, the west has used fashion, and other artistic styles to portray the Near East negatively (Tausch 2006, p. 83). Further, the West depictions of Islamic Moors, especially the Muslim groups of West Asia and North Africa, portray orientalism. For example, in early biblical scenes, Jewish and Roman characters were displayed with exotic costumes. This reflected the culture of clothing such as wearing of turbans in the near East. In addition, the portrayal of oriental carpets in paintings of renaissance depicts the cultures of the Far East (MacKenzie1995, p. 27). As more Western artists travelled to the Middle East, they represented numerous scenes, which entailed aspects of the Orie ntal culture. They depicted the cultures as exotic owing to its differences. The artists had a keen interest on the Islamic cultures of the Near East. For example, French artists Eugene Delacroix and Jean Leon painted pictures, which depicted Islamic culture. These pictures had an impact on western interpretation of the Western Cultures (Tausch 2006, p. 84). In the West, the use of the orient has continued in the Movies, as westerners use