Individual And Family Structured Therapy Models Essay

Within both individual and family structured therapy models, there exists pros and cons. Individual therapy, as mentioned before, is centered around a client–counselor interaction, where the counselor focuses his or her attention on the client’s needs. This provides a one–on–one interaction that encourages openness and security. During individual therapy, the client has the counselors undivided attention. This in return allows the counselor to focus specifically on the clients concerns. As we’ve explored already, individual therapy has proven to be an effective technique in reducing recidivism. One form of psychotherapy used by the criminal justice system is cognitive behavioral therapy. As mentioned previously, cognitive behavioral therapy assumes that most people can become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors and therefore make a positive change. To make a positive change, its important to understand the theory behind behavior. Cognitive theory of motivation seeks to explain human behavior as a product of information that has been actively processed and interpreted. This perspective runs counter to rationalizing human behavior as automatic responses governed by innate drives, needs, and reactions. Proponents of cognitive motivation assert that people’s expectations guide their behavior. Motivation, is therefore rooted in two basic factors. The first involves available information. Initially, the individual will process a situation based on whatever input isShow MoreRelatedMultiple Therapeutic Models of a Family1285 Words   |  5 PagesMultiple Therapeutic Models of a Family Name Institutional Affiliation Date: Multiple Therapeutic Models of a Family The main components of structural therapy Structural therapy is a family treatment model founded on the frameworks of systems theory. 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Therapists help clients to overcome their difficulties by changing their thinking, behavior, and emotional responses. A System of Psychotherapy Cognitive therapy is a comprehensive system of psychotherapy, and treatment is based on an elaborated and empirically

Tuskegee Syphilis Study Free Essays

Clinton Kopas Susan Gabriel English 102 December 1, 2011 The Goal of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Research studies are constantly being conducted in order to improve certain aspects of human life and knowledge. In many cases, these research studies involve human test subjects. One of the more famous studies involving human test subjects was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that began in 1932. We will write a custom essay sample on Tuskegee Syphilis Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most have heard of this study, few would ever claim that any good came of it. What had originally been a research study aimed at improving knowledge dealing with syphilis in the black male, turned into an extremely long and detrimental study that damaged hundreds of lives. Considering the damage that was done to the subjects and their families, it is easy to wonder if this study actually provided any real advances in medicine or medical knowledge. The origin of the study had good motives, being that it was to promote the health of blacks in the South. The U. S. Public Health Service collaborated with the Julius Rosenwald Fund to conduct demonstration programs to control syphilis in southern counties. This failed due to funding issues, and the project had to be scrapped. However, the PHS was anxious â€Å"to salvage something of value from the project† (Thomas). So in 1932, a group of doctors recruited a total of 399 syphilis infected black men from Macon County, Alabama to participate in a study concerning the study of â€Å"bad blood†. The organizers took their initial idea and converted â€Å"the original treatment program into a nontherapeutic human experiment aimed at compiling data on the progression of the disease on untreated African-American males† (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner). This study became formally known as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner; Thomas). The formal name that was applied to this study may imply the true motives of the researchers behind it. The study was not necessarily meant to find major breakthroughs in medicine, but to simply study the effects of untreated syphilis. The researchers attempted to justify what they were doing by saying it was going to be for a greater good, and that these men got more treatment than they would have gotten otherwise. This may be true in a sense, but the men in the study were still intentionally withheld from treatment once penicillin was known to cure syphilis. By 1948, penicillin was known to be the most and best effective cure for syphilis. The study went on for 22 more years even though a cure had been found. There is no point in attempting to learn anything more about an infection when a cure has been found. The only treatment that the infected men received was treatment involving arsenicals and heavy metals. This type of treatment was not nearly as effective and researchers knew it would not cure the men entirely, just keep them from being infectious (Reverby). It might not be going too far to even say that the researchers were conducting this experiment on the basis of pure curiosity. After all, there could not be much advancement made just studying the effects of syphilis in blacks compared to whites. Much about syphilis had already been known prior to the beginning of the Tuskegee Study. German scientists had already discovered most of what there is to know about syphilis over 20 years before the Tuskegee experiments had begun. The cause of syphilis, the stages of the diseases development, and the complications . . . . were all known to medical science in the early 1900’s† (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner). It has been stated by many journalists and even some that were involved in the experiment, that nothing was gained from this long and drawn out experiment. All signs begin to point that it truly was an experiment based solely on curiosity. The black men that participated in the study were poor sharecroppers that would do and believe anything that the doctor told them. Most of these men had never even seen a doctor before in their lives. These men were promised free medical care for their bad blood, and drawn in by signs that claimed â€Å"last chance for treatment†. The doctors and scientists conducting the research had church leaders and other respected members of the community help to enlist people to participate in the study. The researchers even enlisted the help of a black nurse and admired her ability to help them gain the trust of the participants. If the researchers needed to lie to a group of people in order to conduct their experiment, these men would have been some of these easiest to fool (Infoplease; Thomas). The researchers that were involved in the Tuskegee Study are said to have been fairly liberal for the time and open to the education of blacks. However it seems that there was some sort of racist mind set involved in this scheme. The researchers seem to have had no regard to other human life and treated the men like lab rats. The researchers even made sure that their goal would not be interrupted by others. They went to great lengths to make sure all medical professionals in the area participated in the study and gave orders not to give treatment to the men. The black men were even excluded from the draft during WWII to keep their research from being interrupted (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner; Thomas) As the years went by, the study did not become less organized and forgotten. There were meetings held and new people were added to the project. The experiment was constantly reviewed throughout the years as the focus changed. Ethical issues were not brought up until halfway through the 1960’s, over 30 years after the experiment had begun. During the 1950’s, the focus turned to the aging of syphilis and the negative impact it had on the body. It was quite clear that syphilis caused great damage over time and would shorten the life span of the host. Even at this point in the study, when so many men had passed away and others had gone unaccounted for, the study continued. The researchers believed that the study had gone on for so long that the men were untreatable anyways, even with use of penicillin (Herried; Fourtner; Fourtner). To continue a research study like this and deny men treatment just on the basis of curiosity seems too unethical to be true. But all signs point to this especially when considering another research study that took place during the same time period. From 1946 to 1948, the American government performed research in Guatemala that involved intentionally infecting Guatemalan subjects with syphilis. The idea was to test the effectiveness of penicillin on different stages of syphilis. A very interesting detail is that a man by the name of Dr. John C. Cutler was involved not only in the Guatemalan study, but the Tuskegee study as well. It is strange that although Dr. Cutler was involved in both experiments, he did not choose to test the effectiveness of penicillin on the men who were already infected with syphilis in the Tuskegee Study. Instead, he and his colleagues chose to allow syphilis infected prostitutes to sleep with Guatemalan prisoners. This truly shows the ethical value that the researchers held and what their true motives were (Villaroasa). Dr. Cutler and the other men involved in the Tuskegee research had no interest in any kind of advancement with the prevention of syphilis. A kind of bureaucracy was formed that helped fuel this unethical study. Men who were involved in the Tuskegee study would be promoted to surgeon general of the U. S. Public Health Service. Dr. Cutler even obtained the position of assistant surgeon general in the PHS. Dr. Cutler defended the integrity of the study up until his death (Thomas; Villarosa) It is hard to imagine that an idea that began with such good intentions could have turned into the catastrophe that was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The men who conducted this study seemed to have been fueled by a strange curiosity that they masked with the idea of medical advancement. It is clear that the researchers did not view people with darker skin colors as equal, as they treated them like lab animals. It is evident and even admitted by some involved in the study that there were no advances in medicine because of the study. The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male only came to a close because of a national press release in 1972. By this time, over 370 men that had been used for research were either dead or believed to be dead. If the researchers had any true notion to help them, that number would have been much smaller. Not only had this study affected the men directly involved in it; it affected the men’s wives and their children as well. There is no questioning the goal of the experiment being to see what would happen to someone if syphilis was left untreated. The doctors could have only continued this experiment based off of some strange curiosity. It is possible that some of them may have believed what they were doing was for the better, but that is hard to imagine. Nothing was gained from the experiments in the Tuskegee Study. The only possible advancement would be the understanding of ethics for future research. Works Cited Fourtner, A. W. , C. R. Fourtner, and C. F. Herreid. â€Å"†Bad Blood†: A Case Study of the Tuskegee Syphilis Project. Philosophy. tamucc. edu. Texas AM University. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. Reverby, Susan M. â€Å"Listening to Narratives from the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. † Lancet 377. 977B (2011): 1646-647. TheLancet. com – Home Page. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. Thomas, Stephen B. â€Å"The Legacy of Tuskegee. † Thebody. com. HealthCentral Network, Jan. -Feb. 2000. Web. 15 N ov. 2011. â€Å"The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. † Infoplease. com. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. Villarosa, Linda. â€Å"The Guatemala Syphilis Experiment’s Tuskegee Roots. † Theroot. com. The Slate Group, 02 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. How to cite Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Essay examples

Effects of Age on Body Structure and Functions

Questions: 1. Effects of age on body structure and functions.2. Impact of medical conditions on body structure and functions.3. Effects of Marys medical condition including infection to her routine care. Answers: 1. Effects of age on body structure and functions This part of the report deals with the consequences of age on the structure and functions of the body on a 78-year-old woman, Mary. It is said,Time takes its toll on the body. The inevitable event in the life of anyone is the of process aging. When any person reaches this stage of life, the changes in the body become less appeal in the eyes of others (Asemi et al. 2013). At the age of 78, the body part that is most affected of a woman is her skin. Skin is termed as the largest organ of the body. Her skin had lost the elasticity. The glow of her entire skin had also lost. Small lines had appeared on her face, running from everywhere to everywhere and gradually deeper wrinkles would also appear. All the muscles of her face would lose the flexibility, which would result into the drooping down of her cheeks, upper and lower lips and jowls and eyelids. Her eyes would also lose their capacity to produce tears. Thus, vision capacity would also decrease. She would even suffer from a gradual hearing loss due to the thinning of the auditory canal and thickening of the eardrum. These muscles of the body would lose the strength and flexibility with age (Binnewijzend et al. 2013). Mary would also face several functional changes. On one hand her heart, which is a muscle would become less capable of pumping blood throughout her body and on the contrary, she will have fats deposited in her blood vessels. As a result, the vessels would lose the elasticity. Such combination would lead to the decrease in the efficiency of the heart muscle, and blocked arteries would stop the proper blood flow to the different parts of the body. This would result in hypertension, minor as well as major heart attack and even heart or brain stroke (Cruikshank 2013). As the age of Mary is 78, she would also suffer from several nervous disorders. Numerous nerves in the human body lose the function with the growing age. The nerves would be unable to pass the signals between them for which there would be a lack of coordination among brain cells. Even if a single region of the brain malfunctioned then, the entire brain would fail to function properly. She would also suffer from memory loss and Parkinsons disease, which would subject her to abuses, and self-harm. She would even face sudden severe pains in her veins with her growing age (Williamson et al. 2015). 2. Impact of medical conditions on body structure and functions This part of the paper deals with the effects of hypertension, osteoarthritis, and diabetes on the body structure and functions of the 78-year-old woman, Mary. Hypertension means very high blood pressure. Blood pressure is termed as the amount of energy produced within the arteries and veins. The blood pressure differs from person to person. High blood pressure would result in progressive spoil to the arteries and veins, which could get into the way with blood flow all the way through the body. This would lead to severe stroke both of the heart and the brain, several heart ailment and failure of the heart. The other parts of the body together with the kidneys, limbs, eyes and heart also would even suffer from several damages. Severe chest pains and very irregular heart rhythms would also accompany her. She would lack a sound sleep, which would make her look pale (Malekzadeh et al. 2013). The dreadful conditions that involve the generative disease of joints, subchondral bone and articular cartilage due to the mechanical pressure on that area are termed as Osteoarthritis. It can affect any of the joints of the body, but mostly it occurs in the hands, hips, spine and knees. Usually, the women are concerned with this, as it has been reported that the woman has lesser amount calcium in their body with the increase in age. If this would occur in the fingers, then her fingers would be swollen for some days, and there would be a pain. If this would occur in the knees then the knees would have also been swollen, she would find difficulties in walking and would pain. Similarly, if it would occur in her hips or spine, she would face problem while bending and would gain excessive weight at her hips (Williamson et al. 2015). Insulin is a hormone. When the body fails to produce insulin or utilize the insulin properly then the body is said to suffer from diabetes. Diabetes causes deposition of fat bodies in the walls of the blood vessel. This could cause hardening of the blood vessels by preventing the blood flow (Gregg et al. 2013). This could affect the fingers and legs of her body. Her feet would become very sensitive. She would also suffer from severe pains while walking. Mary would lose the external glow. As she would lose the moisture content, her body would appear dry. She would also lack a peaceful sleep, which would hamper the serenity of her appearance. She would suffer from several functional disorders. If her pancreas would fail to produce insulin or if her body would fail to utilize this insulin then certain alternate hormones are used to produce energy from fats. This, in turn, would result in the generation of several toxic substances consisting of ketone bodies and even acids. Some of the s ymptoms, which she would face, are like fatigue, feeling thirsty and excretion of excessive urine. The breath would even have a fruity smell, which would depict the high level of ketone particles in her blood. Her diabetes would affect her kidneys resulting in losing their ability to filter the waste materials present in her blood. This would finally result in her kidney failure. Diabetes would also result in her gastroparesis, which may cause the symptoms of vomiting, nausea and even heart bum in her. She would gradually become prone to cold and other injuries (Williamson et al. 2015). 3. Effects of Marys medical condition including infection to her routine care This part of the paper discusses the effects of Mary's medical condition including infection to her routine care. The present medical reports of Mary depicted that due to her poor nutrition and medical condition her bones had become thinner and weaker with her age thus; it could easily break during a fall (Lam et al. 2012). Her vision has also begun to deteriorate with age, and this is called macular degeneration. Macula, the part of the eye, which allows people to see in her, was affected due to her age. The Central vision of Mary thus had become blurry, and she would face difficulties in reading and recognizing people (Wannamethee et al. 2012). Another age-related vision problem is glaucoma, which can result in blindness.. A regular medical checkup can solve the vision problem to some extent of Mary, but there would be very slight chance to get back the young age eyesight. Mary had lost the ability to hear the high-frequency sounds hearing the problem. She too had had Alzheimer's d isease (Diniz et al. 2013). In the hospital she even shared, the fear of fall due to her dizziness was increasing gradually. Her fear prevented her to step out of her house alone as she had already lost the stability of her body (Kemmler et al. 2015). She even feared to become lonely if she once goes out of her house. She had lost the ability to remember and think correctly. This had rendered her to do even basic tasks. This had led her to depression and had withdrawn herself from social activities. Due to all these reasons, Mary would require regular proper medical checkup of her bones, eyes ears, and brain. She would also require a proper diet chart so that the nutrition deficiencies within her could be fulfilled and she would have to maintain a proper hygienic condition, which would prevent her from any infection to her health. References Asemi, Z., Samimi, M., Tabassi, Z., Shakeri, H. and Esmaillzadeh, A., 2013. Vitamin D supplementation affects serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, insulin resistance, and biomarkers of oxidative stress in pregnant women. The Journal of Nutrition, 143(9), pp.1432-1438. Binnewijzend, M.A., Kuijer, J.P., Benedictus, M.R., van der Flier, W.M., Wink, A.M., Wattjes, M.P., van Berckel, B.N., Scheltens, P. and Barkhof, F., 2013. Cerebral blood flow measured with 3D pseudo continuous arterial spin-labeling MR imaging in Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment: a marker for disease severity. Radiology, 267(1), pp.221-230. Cruikshank, M., 2013.Learning to be old: Gender, culture, and aging.Rowman Littlefield. Diniz, B.S., Butters, M.A., Albert, S.M., Dew, M.A. and Reynolds, C.F., 2013. Late-life depression and risk of vascular dementia and Alzheimers disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of community-based cohort studies. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(5), pp.329-335. Gregg, E.W., Zhuo, X., Cheng, Y.J., Albright, A.L., Narayan, K.V., and Thompson, T.J., 2014. Trends in lifetime risk and years of life lost due to diabetes in the USA, 19852011: a modeling study. The Lancet Diabetes Endocrinology, 2(11), pp.867-874. Kemmler, W., Teschler, M., Goisser, S., Bebenek, M., von Stengel, S., Bollheimer, L.C., Sieber, C.C. and Freiberger, E., 2015. Prevalence of sarcopenia in Germany and the corresponding effect of osteoarthritis in females 70 years and older living in the community: results of the FOrMosA study. Clinical interventions in aging, 10, p.1565. Lam, F.M., Lau, R.W., Chung, R.C. and Pang, M.Y., 2012. The effect of whole body vibration on balance, mobility and falls in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Maturitas, 72(3), pp.206-213. Malekzadeh, M.M., Etemadi, A., Kamangar, F., Khademi, H., Golozar, A., Islami, F., Pourshams, A., Poustchi, H., Navabakhsh, B., Naemi, M. and Pharoah, P.D., 2013.Prevalence, awareness and risk factors of hypertension in a large cohort of Iranian adult population.Journal of Hypertension, 31(7), p.1364. Wannamethee, S.G., Papacosta, O., Lawlor, D.A., Whincup, P.H., Lowe, G.D., Ebrahim, S. and Sattar, N., 2012. Do women exhibit greater differences in established and novel risk factors between diabetes and non-diabetes than men? The British Regional Heart Study and British Womens Heart Health Study.Diabetologia, 55(1), pp.80-87. Williamson, T., Sikka, R., Tompkins, M. and Nelson, B.J., 2015.Use of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score in a Healthy United States Population.The American journal of sports medicine, p.0363546515616812.

Vodafone Marketing Strategy free essay sample

Vodafone UK gives NECTAR reward points for every ? 1 spent on calls, text messages, picture messages and ring tones. Promotion: Advertising on TV, on billboards, in magazines and in other media outlets reaches large audiences and spreads the brand image and the message very effectively. This is known as above the line promotion. Stores have special offers, promotions and point of sale posters to attract those inside the stores to buy. Vodafone’s stores, its products and its staff all project the brand image. Vodafone Products: Brand Image: David Beckham is more than a footballer. He is also regarded as a fashion icon, a caring family man and a nice guy: an overall image that attracted Vodafone to him. Beckham’s popularity with football fans comes largely from his England team captaincy. As a footballer, he is well regarded around the world. Other young men who might aspire to his success and style also tend to identify with him. We will write a custom essay sample on Vodafone Marketing Strategy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He appeals to many females because of his reputation as a fashion and lifestyle icon. He is also married to a female icon in her own right. Vodafone’s sponsorship of the Manchester United team appeals to a broad section of the global football/sports audience, whereas aspects of Beckham’s broader image have grown to appeal to a much wider section of society. That suits Vodafone, who needs to appeal to different segments of the market. Beckham’s healthy lifestyle allied to his talent suggests an energy and a controlled passion for life; an image that Vodafone would also like to project for itself. On a football field, Beckham is innovative, creative, exciting; characteristics that Vodafone aspires to. Beckham the family man comes across as caring and empathetic; Vodafone wants people to appreciate that it too understands and cares about what people want and need. Beckham is generally seen as dependable; Vodafone wants to communicate a similar image. The synergy is clear. The campaign Beckham is supporting the campaign to promote Vodafone live! in the UK and in other markets. The UK campaign shows Beckham doing everyday things: a happy, relaxed, competent shopper sending pictures and accepting a message to remember to buy eggs. At the same time he is also clearly demonstrating what Vodafone live! can do. The TV campaign has been a huge success. Many people have seen it and can recall the adverts. The campaign captured the imagination of the press, and many newspapers covered stories about Beckham’s sponsorship deal. Slogans such as ‘Send it like Beckham’ help to further promote the Vodafone message. Beckham’s image is also used on a variety of other customer communications including in-store posters, billboards, in the company’s magazines and catalogues and in leaflets mailed to customers. Market Research High profile campaigns are a gamble. The campaign’s impact has to justify the time, money and effort spent on it. The marketing team must evaluate the campaign’s success. Vodafone UK has asked people across different sectors of society about the campaign, and has analysed their responses. Individuals were asked what they could remember about the campaigns. This is known in the marketing industry as recall. Recall % Another exercise assessed the effectiveness of the poster depicting Beckham being reminded to buy some eggs. People in the survey are shown different Vodafone posters and asked to say which of them they recall in relation to Vodafone live! Clearly, the Beckham poster is far and away the one that is best recalled. Other data has been used to assess the success of the Beckham promotion. Findings from UK Brand Tracking data reveal that the TV campaign has increased awareness of Vodafone with above average efficiency as measured by the Awareness Index, primarily because of the Beckham scenes. People are able to recall and describe the advertisements without prompting. The Beckham campaign has also helped to support Vodafone’s drive for brand migration. Vodafone can help to fulfil its aim to grow successfully by acquiring local companies in markets that Vodafone would like to enter. A good example of this is Vodafone’s purchase of J-Phone in Japan. The initial strategy was to use a dual J-Phone Vodafone logo alongside the powerful image of Beckham to emphasise the relationship between the two companies. The final transition removed the J-Phone logo altogether to a sole focus on Vodafone (Vodafone KK). This strategy warmed J-Phone’s customers to the idea of a global brand replacing a local brand. David Beckham is a popular figure in Japan and helped to smooth the way for the substitution of the global brand in place of the local one. Vodafone India: Conclusion In a highly competitive market, David Beckham is the latest in a number of high profile celebrities and sports personalities that Vodafone has used to promote Vodafone live! Market research and increased sales indicate that using Beckham’s image has been highly effective. Sponsorship using stars involves a partnership between the star and the company, and success depends on both remaining high profile and in the public eye The Beckham campaign is seen in many countries worldwide and reinforces his own image as well as communicating Vodafone’s brand values. Beckham is something of a phenomenon whose star status shows no sign of waning. Vodafone believes that it has gained an important advantage in a highly competitive market place as a result of having such a high profile, admired star attached to its name and its product.

Profile of Serial Rapist and Killer Cesar Barone

Profile of Serial Rapist and Killer Cesar Barone Cesar Barone was a convicted serial rapist and murderer whose preferred victims who were senior-aged women. Even the hardest of criminals found Barone repulsive and his crimes so inhuman and revolting that there was an exception to the rule among the inmates, that in his case, snitching on him was acceptable. Childhood Years Cesar Barone  was born Adolph James Rode on December 4, 1960, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For the first four years of his life, Barone received loving attention from his parents and his older brother and sister. But soon after turning four, his mother fell in love with another man and left the family. Rodes father worked as a carpenter and struggled to maintain a balance between working and raising three children on his own. It was not long before he had a girlfriend, Brenda, who would often care for the children when Rode had to work. During that time, she developed a special relationship with Jimmy because he was the youngest and because he was the most difficult of three children to discipline. In March 1967, Rode and Brenda married and she seemed to naturally glide into the role of step-mother. She had a good relationship with the two older children, but after caring for Barone for two years, she had developed some real concerns about his development. She told Rode senior that the child needed psychiatric care. Although he agreed, he never made the arrangements. Other than having to deal with disciplinary problems with Barone, life in the Rode home was going along nicely. Rode senior was making more money in his new job as superintendent and the family moved to a new home in an upscale neighborhood. The children enjoyed their own swimming pool and visited Brendas mother regularly at her ranch where there were ponies for the kids to ride. However, life began to sour after Barone started going to school. Brenda received regular calls from Barones teachers in regards to his bad behavior. He was always stealing toys in nursery school. He was expelled from kindergarten because he was such a troublemaker. In the first grade, his behavior grew even worse and he began to threaten the other children, sometimes with knives, other times with lit cigarettes. Barone was so difficult to deal with that that he was banned from coming into the school lunchroom. Brendas attempts to discipline Barone failed. Barones father dealt with his sons problems by making an effort to show him more attention. He would take Barone and his older son Ricky to play golf and attend sporting events. Teen Years By the time Barone reached his early teens, he was out of control. He had become a regular drug user, often smoking pot and downing LSD or snorting cocaine. He regularly shoplifted especially for beer, burglarized nearby homes and harassed his elderly neighbors for money. The pressure in the Rode home became intense, as did the family arguments over how to deal with Barones poor behavior and his obvious lack of respect for Brenda. Unhappy with the situation, Rode and Brenda separated, and Barone got what he had hoped for - Brenda was out of the picture. Without her constantly monitoring his behavior and reporting it all to his father, Barones behavior grew even worse as did his obvious disdain for women. Alice Stock Alice Stock was a 70-year-old retired teacher that lived alone, not far from the neighborhood where the Rodes lived. On the evening of October 5, 1976, Stock called a friend for help. She told her friend that Barone had broken into her home, threatened her with a knife, and demanded that she remove all of her clothing. Frozen in fear, the elderly woman did nothing and Barone left without harming her. Barone was arrested and sentenced to two months and 11 days in a Florida reform school. From Shoplifting to Burglary April 1977 - Barone was questioned and then released after he admitted to burglarizing three homes of elderly women who lived alone.   August 23, 1977 - Barone was arrested on another burglary charge, but released. August 24, 1977 - Barones fingerprints were found inside a home that had been burglarized near the Rodes home. Barone ultimately confessed to nine other burglaries and unlawful entry into two other homes, but only because the detective questioning him agreed not to press charges if Barone was honest. First Prison Sentence Barone, now 17 years old, never faced charges on the multiple burglaries, but he was arrested and charged with burglarizing the house where his fingerprints were found. On December 5, 1977, Barone was sentenced to three years in the Florida State Penitentiary.   At the time, Florida had a system that allowed young, nonviolent offenders to bypass the hardcore state prisons. Instead, Barone was sent to Indian River, a low-level prison that was more like a reformatory and that had liberal parole policies for inmates that adapted to the environment, did their jobs and behaved. At first, Barone appeared to be going along with the program. By the middle of January 1979, he was transferred to a low-security institution and permitted to work outside of the prison. If he continued on as he had been doing, he was looking at being paroled by May 1979, seven months short his three-year sentence. However, it wasnt in Barones design to be good, at least for not long. After being there for a month, Barone was cited for failing to be at his assigned job and also suspicion of stealing money from the job. He was promptly sent back to Indian River and all parole dates were off the table. Barone quickly cleaned up his act again, followed the rules and by November 13, 1979, he was released from prison. A Second Attack on Alice Stock Two weeks after Barone had returned home, Alice Stocks nude body was found in her bedroom. The autopsy report showed she had been beaten, raped, and sodomized with a foreign object. All evidence, although only circumstantial, pointed to Barone. The case remained officially unsolved. No Boundaries In January 1980, Barone and the rest of the Rode family, including the ex-stepmother Brenda, were still mourning the tragic death of Barones older brother Ricky, who had died in a car accident three days after Christmas. Ricky was the proverbial perfect son, a nice young man and a great brother to Barone, despite that they were opposites in every aspect of life. Most anyone who knew the Rodes probably shared a similar thought that the wrong brother had died. According to Brenda, she said as much directly to Barone during the funeral  but instantly regretted it.In an effort to make amends, she gave Barone a car that she no longer needed, a gift he readily accepted. A month later, Barone, now 19 years old, showed up at Brendas home and said he needed to talk and that he was upset about Ricky. She invited him in and although they did talk for awhile, that was not the real intention behind Barones visit. Just as he was about to leave, he viciously attacked Brenda and raped her, telling her he had thought about doing it for years. After the rape, he began to strangle her, but she fought and managed to escape to the bathroom. Barone left after several failed attempts to open the bathroom door. As soon as she felt it was safe to leave the bathroom, Brenda contacted her ex-husband and told him about the attack and showed him the bruises on her neck. Brenda and Rode decided not to call the police. Barones punishment was that he would no longer be part of the Rode family. Their relationship was forever severed. A Call to Mother Around mid-March 1980, Barone was arrested for attempted burglary. If found guilty, he was also going to be in trouble for violating his parole. He called his real mother and she posted his bail.   Mattie Marino Mattie Marino, age 70, was Barones grandmother on his mothers side. On the evening of April 12, 1980, Barone stopped by Matties apartment and said he needed to borrow thread. Then, according to Marino, Barone attacked her, hitting her with his fists and then beating her with a rolling pin. He then choked her and smiled while he applied more pressure. She begged him not to hit her again and he abruptly stopped, took her checkbook and money and left the apartment. Barone was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Marino. However, he was not a free man. His parole had been revoked for the March burglary charges and he went from the courtroom to a jail cell to await his trial that was scheduled for the following August. A Real Prison This Time In August, Barone was found guilty of burglary and sentenced to five years, but this time in a prison for adult criminals. Despite the judges sentence, if he followed the rules, he could be out in two years.   Typically, Barone could not follow rules and in July 1981, with just a little over one year left before being paroled, Barone attempted to escape while working on a highway. He continued to violate prison rules over the next month. This earned him an additional year onto his original sentence. Because of the attempted escape, Barone was moved to another prison.  It was decided that the best place for him was the Marion Correctional Institution. Barone was a trouble maker at Marion, just like he was at the other prisons. His infractions included fighting with other inmates, leaving his assigned work areas, and shouting obscenities at prison employees. He went from being categorized as a medium risk to the next highest level, a close (or high) risk inmate. He was transferred to the Cross City Correctional Institution and his new release date, if he stayed out of trouble, was October 6, 1986. Gladys Dean Gladys Dean was a 59-year-old prison employee that had worked for several years overseeing the prison kitchen. Barone was assigned to cleaning the room where the kitchen garbage was thrown and Dean was his supervisor. On August 23, 1983, Barone physically attacked Dean and tried to remove her clothing, then began to strangle her, but Dean managed to get the upper hand and Barone fled the kitchen. Barone continued to the test the system and during a search of his cell, pieces of a hacksaw were discovered under his mattress. Prison officials decided he was too high risk and at the end of October  1983, he was moved to the Florida State Prison, which was considered in the world of convicted criminals as being hard time. There he received an additional three-year sentence for the attack on Gladys Dean.   Barone was now looking at being in prison until 1993. Had he behaved he could have been out in 1982. This was possibly a wake-up call for Barone. He managed to stay out of trouble and was given a new parole date of April 1991. Ted Bundy During his time at Florida State Prison, Barones work assignment gave him the opportunity to meet and talk with serial killer Ted Bundy who was awaiting execution. Barone, who was in awe of Bundy, took pride in their supposed conversations and he liked to brag to the other inmates about it.   Prison Romance In July 1986, Barone and a woman from Seattle, Washington, 32-year-old Kathi Lockhart, began corresponding through letters. Lockhart had placed an ad in the singles section of the newspaper and Barone had answered it. In his first letter to Lockhart, he described himself as being an Italian from Milan and he inflated his educational background, saying he had studied languages in three different countries. He also added that he had been in the Italian Special Forces. Lockhart found his profile interesting and they continued to write to each other on a regular basis. It was during their correspondence that Barone (who was still going by his birth name, Jimmy Rode) decided to officially change his name to Cesar Barone. He explained to Lockhart that he had always felt that he should have the family name of the people who raised him in Italy.   Lockhart believed all of the lies that Barone fed her and they formed a relationship which was solidified face-to-face in April 1987 when Barone received an early parole date and was released from prison. With nothing left for him in Florida and with a feeling of liberation of having a new name, Barone headed to Seattle.

Atomic Bomb Essay Conclusion Example For Students

Atomic Bomb Essay Conclusion The atomic bomb ended a war of massive death and destruction, but began what is now known as the Atomic Age. At the time of the disasters in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bomb appeared as a promise of peace to the entire world. It had ended a costly and gruesome war, beginning a time of peace. Compared to the technology of 1945, the atomic bomb looked too powerful and unethical ever to be used again. It was seen as the weapon that would put an end to war. In Keith Eubanks The Bomb, he shows the development of power and the increasing threat to the United States from other nations that might be building a weapon of mass destruction; moreover, he shows the responsibility of dropping such a bomb. The development of the atomic bomb, although slow at first, quickly sped up as more research proved it a significant weapon. At the beginning, the U.S. didnt think developing a weapon could contribute to defense. Consequently, after quick research from scientists and the realization that the war would be a technical one in which the U.S. was unprepared, Americans came to the conclusion that better relations had to be created between science, technology and the American government (p. 8). The government soon realized that the bomb was likely to have a decisive result in the war. Roosevelt immediately gave orders to determine if a bomb was possible. When he found out the news, the national defense demanded urgent development and more research. The United States undertook the development of the atomic bomb not only because it may prove useful, but also because it thought other scientists were doing the same. After testing the bomb, the U.S. realized the significant role the weapon would play in the war. In addition, President Truman learned that the bomb might well put (the U.S.) in a position to dictate our own terms at the end of the war (p. 49). Truman, to the opposition of some, decided that the Japanese would receive no warning about the bomb. Many would argue Japan was largely responsible for their own destruction. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the war in the Pacific was fully underway. An aggressive expansion policy forced the United States invasion. However, this invasion would mean severe casualties of tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers alone. After American casualties reached into the thousands in Japan, the U.S. could not afford to lose more lives. It seemed as if the only solution to save American lives and stop further Japanese expansion was to drop an atomic bomb. After the Big Three conference at Potsdam on July 16, 1945, a warning was issued to Japan in the form of the Potsdam Declaration: to surrender unconditionally or face prompt and utter d estruction. An unconditional surrender, to Japan, meant humiliation to the ancient warrior tradition and the Emperor. Therefore, on July 29, 1945, the Japanese rejected the Potsdam Declaration and every man, woman, and child prepared to fight to death if that is what it would take and it did. They saw the declaration as propaganda, which would play on the public opinion of Americans. They soon learned that action would be taken. They wanted to wait until the Soviet Union mediated in the conflict, so Japan told its people to ignore the declaration. However, when the Soviet Union joined the Allies, Japan knew it was in trouble. Only a change in the weather could save the lives of Japanese now. On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and a few days later one was dropped on Nagasaki. Nevertheless, the time has come when we must bear the unbearable (p. 87): A quote that sums up not only Japans feelings but Americans feelings as well. It was the only way the United States knew how to end a war that had killed many of its own men. READ: Martin luther king jr. EssayIndeed, Eubanks exemplifies that Germany had already begun research on atomic energy. The Manhattan Project, which built plants for production of the atomic bomb, helped to set up a centralized lab to get everyone working on the bomb together. This step was vital for the U.S. in constructing this weapon. German scientists had begun research on nuclear physics around the same time as Americans. German scientists, unlike Americans however, lacked leadership, drive, listening skills and trust. In fact, Hitler thought of nuclear research as Jewish physics. Furthermore, Hitler didnt want to use funds on something that he had not had to use. Conventional weapons had worked just fine for the German army up to this point. But when Germans learned of the importance of uranium and heavy water, they started massive production of the water and had it delivered to them. When British intelligence found out about the production of the heavy water, they destroyed t he plant. This loss of heavy water played a major role in wrecking Germans hopes for the atomic bomb. Officers of Alsos (the allied effort to find out about German atomic bomb developments) found out later that German research activities had not gotten much beyond the research and development stage. Given the necessary time and resources, however, the Germans wouldve probably succeeded (p. 45). Nevertheless, Eubanks illustrates that the Soviet Union got much further than the research and development of Germany. Like Germany, Russians didnt want to spare the funds at the beginning for massive development and research of atomic energy. The Soviet Union development of the atomic bomb was small in comparison with the United States, but after learning of tests and the dropping of the bombs on Japan, the Russians changed their policy. They could not stand back and let the U.S. take over the world as they saw it. Joseph Stalin knew of the atomic bomb through secret operations, but he didnt realize the importance of the weapon until it was used. By dropping the bombs, the U.S. demonstrated not only the possession of atomic weapons, but also the willingness to use them. Moreover, the weapon shocked Soviet leaders because it reduced the value of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany (p. 110). Therefore, Stalin ordered a crash program to develop the weapon as quickly as possible to show that the United States was not superior to the world. Stalin realized that the atomic bomb had become the symbol of technological strength as a superpower. In fact, between 1949 and 1953, the Soviet Union had tested four atomic weapons, launching and intensifying what was known as the Cold War. As the atomic bomb ended war, it began a new age, creating new philosophies on human existence, technology and society. Socially, the grief from the destruction of the atomic bomb was immeasurable- it expanded outside the borders of Japan to the hearts of the entire world. Not only did grief exist, but the atomic bomb also laid guilt on some citizens of the United States for the destruction of so many lives. At the time of the war, Americans hatred of the Japanese was so strong that they wanted to see the bomb dropped. In fact, they wouldve liked to see more bombs dropped to prove that the United States would not give up. In retrospect, the bombs today are criticized by some as being an unfair loss of life to the Japanese.The atomic bomb, however, wouldve eventually been used by another country if they had the technology. Overall, the United States had the money, power and weaponry to undertake such a project. Regardless, the atomic bomb may have killed thousands, but it saved millio ns. Today, we face similar problems with the situation in Iraq and Saddam Husseins lack of cooperation with arms inspectors. If hes holding nuclear or thermonuclear weapons, it can only be hoped that we are ready for another war.The atomic bomb forever changed the rules of war. It is a weapon so powerful it can annihilate the enemy, a weapon that can destroy humanity itself. The people who built this weapon hoped that they had invented a weapon that would put an end to war. They hoped this new weapon was so awful, so terrifying and so destructive that it would never be used again. We may soon see if that is true. Bibliography:Reference:Dick Geary. Hitler and Nazism. London: Routledge, 1993.

Business and Marketing strategy (case Study) Essay

Business and Marketing strategy (case Study) - Essay Example Beverage industry is one of the most dynamic industries that are applying this concept to great effect (Boone et al. 2009, p. 194). Beverage industry is broadly classified as alcoholic and non alcoholic. In both categories there are exemplifications of global marketing. World’s non alcoholic industry is grappled with tough competition by the two large players Coca Cola and PepsiCo. Both the giants are expanding their value horizon across different countries. Though there are numerous companies engaged in providing global beverages, the two giants are at top with extensive portfolio of products tailor made for countries. Though both companies are equally successful, Coca Cola leads the global market, with PepsiCo being on its tail continuously (Cardello 2011). Provide a detailed assessment of the environmental issues affecting Coca Cola global business and marketing strategy. Given guidance in terms of opportunities or threats they may pose for the company in the future. Coca C ola Company is one of the leading companies in the world that is dealing in the manufacturing and distribution of non-carbonated beverages. The brand portfolio of the company entails more than 400 brands including beverages, juices, tea, sports and energy drinks, coffees etc. Strong brand name and brand portfolio has led the company ahead of its close competitors, Pepsi which has a brand value of $12,690 million as compared to $67000 million of Coca Cola (The Coca Cola Company 2011). Since its inception, it has continuously improved upon its marketing strategy that has facilitated the customer recall and recognition of brand overall the world making it easy for Coca Cola to explore new markets. The international marketing strategy of the company can also be quoted as the major reason behind its huge success. However, intense competition and threats are ever-present elements of the external environment that might have a large impact on the company’s profitability. SWOT ANALYSI S SWOT analysis can provide a snapshot of the current performance of the company and of the dark areas that are required to be eradicated so as to avail the new opportunities that can further enhance the company’s performance. SWOT analysis is the best way to study the impact of external environment on the organization’s marketing and global strategy (Mind Tools Ltd. 2011). STRENGTHS: Leading Brand: This is a recognizable fact that Coca Cola has a strong brand name and brand value that is incomparable. From the last few years, company has invested a lot on the promotions that has enhanced the brand’s customer recall and recognition as well. Large scale of operations: Coca Cola is known as the largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of non alcoholic beverages in the world having a large scale of operations. Currently, Coca Cola is successfully operating in more than 200 countries due to having a support of the strong infrastructure across the world. WEAKNE SSES Negative perception of coke: It is a known fact that a recognizable product â€Å"coke† can be harmful for a body. Therefore, this shift of trend towards weight reduction and health can adversely affect the company’s profitability in the future. Lack of popularity of many Coca Cola’s brands: Furthermore, many of Coca Cola’

Pre-sentence Investigations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pre-sentence Investigations - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that a pre-sentence investigation usually consists of three elements.   These elements, according to the article â€Å"Presentence Investigation†, include an interview with the defendant; a review of the defendant’s criminal record; and a review of the specific facts of the crime. The interview could be the most important element that would save one’s client from being needlessly harangued in the courts.   According to Auten, Hasbun, and Mebane, â€Å"Having a well-prepared client can have a substantial impact on the sentencing outcome†.   It is of elemental priority that one’s client is absolutely prepared for any kind of questions that could come to light in the presentencing interview.   One’s client should be regaled in an innocent light as possible, in order to ensure that the client gets the shortest sentence possible.   After all, now that the client has been convicted as having bee n guilty, the presentencing interview can go a long way in terms of deciding whether the client stays in jail for 2 months or 2 years.   Depending on the seriousness of the crime, whether it was a misdemeanor or a felony—and also upon federal and state sentencing guidelines—there are many variables which can affect the sentencing.   Therefore, the presentencing interview cannot be underestimated.   It is an integral part of representing one’s client and this opportunity should not be wasted.  Ã‚  

Deontological Vs Utilitarian Ethics Essay Example for Free

Deontological Vs Utilitarian Ethics Essay Kant believed that morality is dependent upon reason, that to act rationally was the same as acting morally. He placed a high value upon duty in determining the moral worth of an action. Kant’s deontological ethics is essentially an ethics of duty or obligation. As such, he claims that the moral worth of an action depends solely on whether or not it was done exclusively from a sense of duty. If an act is done simply because one is so inclined, the act has no moral value. This principle holds true even if inclination happens to be in agreement with duty. To illustrate this point, he uses the example of a truly beneficent person. He says that while kindness to all man is a duty, there are some who are naturally inclined to be kind. He asserts â€Å"But I maintain that in such a case an action of this kind, however proper, however amiable it may be, has nevertheless no true moral worth, but is on a level with other inclinations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gregory and Giancola, 82). When these spread kindness while motivated by their own inclination to be kind, their kind acts have no moral value, because in his view in order for an act to be moral, it must be done for the sake of duty alone. Essentially, deontological ethics says the less inclined one is to perform an act that duty calls one to, the more moral worth the act has. While deontological ethics is completely independent of inclination, utilitarian ethics is in many was based upon it. Utilitarianism is built on hedonism, which is the claim that pleasure is the supreme good for man. The main idea of utilitarianism is that man is naturally inclined to seek pleasure and avoid pain and this natural inclination is to be embraced as it will lead man to the supreme end, which is happiness. Utilitarian ethics says that moral acts are those that promote pleasure and avoid pain while immoral acts do the opposite. In is definition of utilitarianism, John Mills says that as far as possible, pleasure in its highest quantity and quality should be promoted and this for the greatest number of people possible. He says, â€Å"†¦that standard is not the agent’s own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness altogether†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gregory and Giancola, 92). In my view this means that according to utilitarian ethics, the moral act is the o ne that brings pleasure to the greatest amount of people.

To What Extent Did D.C. Stephenson Affect the Fall of the Ku Klux Klan

A. Plan of Investigation The focus of this investigation was to understand and determine to what extent D.C. Stephenson affected the fall of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s. During the 1920s the Klan had an all time high of membership across the United States and was a large part of American society. The Klan was prevalent in everyday society and in politics, and was a positive presence for many Americans. However, the Klan was pushed into a negative light due to Stephenson kidnapping and raping Madge Oberholtzer. Membership in the Klan dropped shortly after, and many blame Stephenson. In order to decide whether or not Stephenson was responsible, the Klan was examined during Stephenson’s involvement, and the aftermath of his involvement. D.C. Stephenson was also examined to better understand how he could have changed the course of the KKK. Sources that discussed the Klan and Stephenson were looked at, like They Called Themselves the KKK, and. Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. Those sour ces, among others, helped give a better understanding of D.C. Stephenson and how he affected the KKK. B. Summary of Evidence The Ku Klux Klan began in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1865 (Martin). It started out as a group of men creating a social club, mainly for confederate soldiers who had fought in the war. Its name is derived from kuklos, meaning circle of friends (Martin). It was a secret society with rules and codes, and men were given special titles (Bartoletti,25). The nature of the Klan was not originally to be destructive, but as it began to grow and more white men and confederate soldiers joined, the purpose changed. Tension grew across the country as Reconstruction went under way and white southerners were unhappy. The Kl... ...." Dying Declaration of Madge Oberholtzer. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "Ku Klux Klan." Civil Rights in the United States. Ed. Waldo E. Martin, Jr. and Patricia Sullivan. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "Ku Klux Klan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Lutholtz, M. William. Grand Dragon: D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 1991. Print. MacLean, Nancy. Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Print. McDonnell, Janet, Ann Angel, and Carolyn Kott. Washburne. America in the 20th Century. North Bellmore, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 1995. Print. Moore, Leonard Joseph. Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, 1921-1928. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina, 1991. Print.

Quality – Market Leader

UNIT 10 – QUALITY QUESTIONS 1. What does it mean by â€Å"Quality† and â€Å" Quality Control†? 2. What should companies do to maintain the quality of their products/services effectively? 3. What do you think about the quality of Vietnamese products? What should companies do to enhance their competitiveness in competition? ANSWERS 1. The definition of quality depends on the different circumstances and perceptions. The meaning of quality is also time-based or situational. a. The definition of quality in manufacturing organizations is often different from that of services. Quality de? itions in manufacturing usually focus on tangible product features. The most common quality de? nition in manufacturing is conformance, which is the degree to which a product characteristic meets preset standards. Other common de? nitions of quality in manufacturing include performance— such as acceleration of a vehicle; reliability— that the product will function as exp ected without failure; features— the extras that are included beyond the basic characteristics; durability—expected operational life of the product; and serviceability— how readily a product can be repaired.The relative importance of these de? nitions is based on the preferences of each individual customer. It is easy to see how different customers can have different de? nitions in mind when they speak of high product quality. b. In contrast to manufacturing, service organizations produce a product that is intangible. The intangible nature of the product makes de? ning quality dif? cult. Also, since a service is experienced, perceptions can be highly subjective. In addition to tangible factors, quality of services is often de? ned by perceptual factors.These include responsiveness to customer needs, courtesy and friendliness of staff, promptness in resolving complaints, and atmosphere. Other de? nitions of quality in services include time— the amount of t ime a customer has to wait for the service; and consistency— the degree to which the service is the same each time. Quality control Quality control is a process that is used to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service. It might include whatever actions a business deems necessary to provide for the control and verification of certain characteristics of a product or service.Most often, it involves thoroughly examining and testing the quality of products or the results of services. The basic goal of this process is to ensure that the products or services that are provided meet specific requirements and characteristics, such as being dependable, satisfactory, safe and fiscally sound. 2. What should companies do to maintain the quality of their products or services effectively? In order to maintain the quality of what we sell, we need to carry out wise quality control program as well as good customer services. 3. 1.Total Quality Control (TQC) program. 3. 2. 1. We have to focus on continuous improvement, tend to think of improvement in terms of plateaus that are to be achieved, such as passing a certification test or reducing the number of defects to a certain level. Because we can never achieve perfection, we must always evaluate our performance and take measures to improve it by using The Plan–Do–Study–Act Cycle. Another way companies implement continuous improvement is by studying business practices of companies considered â€Å"best in class. † This is called benchmarking. . 2. 2. We should also consider empowering all employees to seek out quality problems and correct them. The new concept of quality, TQC, provides incentives for employees to identify quality problems. Employees are rewarded for uncovering quality problems, not punished. In TQC, they are considered a vital element of the effort to achieve high quality. Their contributions are highly valued, and their suggestions are implemented. In order to pe rform this function, employees are given continual and extensive training in quality measurement tools. . 2. 3. Teamwork Approach TQC stresses that quality is an organizational effort. To facilitate the solving of quality problems, it places great emphasis on teamwork. The use of teams is based on the old adage that â€Å"two heads are better than one. † Using techniques such as brainstorming, discussion, and quality control tools, teams work regularly to correct problems. The contributions of teams are considered vital to the success of the company. For this reason, companies set aside time in the workday for team meetings. . 2. 4. Use of Quality Tools To control the quality of products or service, some company use quality tools. These are often called the seven tools of quality control and are shown in the picture. They are easy to understand, yet extremely useful in identifying and analyzing quality problems. Sometimes workers use only one tool at a time, but often a combi nation of tools is most helpful. Those tools include Cause-and-Effect Diagrams, Checklists, Flowcharts, Control Charts, and Scatter Diagrams. 3. 2. 5. Product DesignA critical aspect of building quality into a product is to ensure that the product design meets customer expectations. To produce a product that customers want, we need to translate customers’ everyday language into specific technical requirements. 3. 2. 6. Process Management A quality product comes from a quality process. This means that quality should be built into the process. Quality at the source is the belief that it is far better to uncover the source of quality problems and correct it than to discard defective items after production.If the source of the problem is not corrected, the problem will continue. TQC extends the concept of quality to a company’s suppliers and ensures that they engage in the same quality practices. If suppliers meet preset quality standards, materials do not have to be inspe cted upon arrival. Today, many companies have a representative residing at their supplier’s location, thereby involving the supplier in every stage from product design to ? nal production. 3. 2. Customer Services It is wrong to think that the sales process ends right after the moment our customers buy the products.We had better keep an excellent relationship with them by an annual customer satisfaction questionnaire towards our products/services, by offering the products they bought routine checks to ensure that they are well-maintained, by giving them warranty that lasts for an adequate time, or by guarantee our offering compensation if there is still a faulty products. 3. The quality of Vietnamese products Quality is an abstract definition which is usually judged by customers. The fact that a product is said to be of good or bad quality is all depend on each customers’ view.Generally speaking, Vietnamese products are quite good and their quality has been continuously enhancing. An evidence for this is that Vietnamese people have now increased using them, and the value of products exported to other countries also goes up. However, our products still have a lot of limitations. They are hard to compete with the products coming from other countries in both domestic market and global market. What the limitations are and also the reasons for them are mentioned below: * Low quality owing to technological level: Our country is still a developing country.Our corporates are limited about expenditures, capital, experience, and other elements. They cannot afford to buy the advanced machines. Besides, they do not have enough qualified experts to operate the modern new equipment. Made by old techniques and ineffective manufacturing process, our products are usually of lower quality and uncompetitive. Moreover, this has led to a consequence in the structure of Vietnam’s trade balance: exporting mainly agricultural products, crafts and other kinds of un processed goods but not high-technical or processed ones. Popularity of unsafe products and loss of customers’ trust: Some corporates still just focus on their profits but not their value propositions. They try to cut their costs without taking notice on improving product quality. Some small companies even conduct their manufacturing process inappropriately, using some poisons, preservatives improperly or releasing waste directly and polluting the environment. The products made by those companies are not only bad for customers’ health but also unfriendly to the environment. This has a serious bad impact on consumers’ belief on Vietnamese products. Product quality does not commensurate with their price. In the correlation between quality and price, Vietnamese products have to face a lot of pressure from those of other countries. Their tastes, durations and many other criteria of our products are still uncompetitive and unattractive to customers. * Prices and desi gns of products are hard to compare with those of foreign goods. For example, our products are competed by the imported ones coming from China, Thailand, India and many other countries. Especially, Chinese goods are really varied, diversified and at extremely low price.Besides that, the favorite of using foreign products of Vietnamese people also limit competitiveness of Vietnamese goods. * Low position in customers’ mind: The government has made a lot of regulations on products quality and also carried out many methods to test products’ safety. However, not much enhancement is made. Consumers still have to worry about cleanliness as well as safety of Vietnamese products. Moreover, the issue of counterfeiting goods is still serious and this contributes to lower our product position. * The difference in quality between domestic-use products and exporting products due to corporates’ behaviors.In reality, because of the difference in value, exporting products are u sually of higher quality than domestic-use ones. This discrimination has a negative effect on how consumers judge our products. * Infamous and low-trusted brands: Although we are a large exporter in some kinds of goods, our products are still not subject to any specific standards. Not having any national or international standards to ensure their quality, our products are not appreciated by customers. Their brands are also unpopular with them. In some cases, some brands have been certificated by Globalcap standards such as Nam Roi Grapefruit.However, they are now still threatened because our government does not have enough expenditure for recertification. In sum, Vietnamese products have a lot of limitations that need to be changed to raise their competitiveness. Enhance product’s competitiveness All we have to do is to fix the limitations as mentioned above. * Consumers only want to buy necessary goods of high quality. Hence, after investigating the demand of them towards ce rtain goods, we upgrade our production chain so that we can satisfy our customer totally. But how do we pgrade our production chain? A survey carried out in 2012 showed that among nearly 8000 enterprises in the field of manufacturing, 96 per cent claims the crux of the problem is that they cannot afford to invest in new technologies. Assistances from our state are not enough. Therefore, to do this really difficult thing, companies have to recruit qualified experts who can help them develop new ways, new methods of production. Once they have been successful, they are truly bailed out to provide customers with high quality items. * Create a unique image for our products.This is the only way to retain customers’ faith towards our products. They will know well where our products are and buy them, not faked ones. Also, using a signal or friendly slogan for products can help customers to remember us, typically. A practical action to solve this problem is to teach customers to reali ze us among the crowd. * Make our products value for money. Enterprise must be wise when performing price strategies so that customers gain the satisfaction when using our products, without whispered complaints on them being too expensive.High quality, but value for money. And, don’t try to lower the prices as what our rivals do, set the lowest level for our prices. This determines our true value. To some extent and in some segment, consumers they no longer pay the best attention in prices, but value – or quality. Keeping our prices at a reasonable level can create a good impression on our customers, that they are our life. * Gain the diversity when design our products. Imagine we have a large market for one kind of product. We make items the same as the others, and customers are fed of them.Especially girls, they don’t want others to â€Å"copy† their style. Thus, our product designers had better be innovative ones, or we have to hire more and more desig ners. * Once it is Vietnamese product, it must be as good as each other. The markets where we sell our products cannot decide the quality of them. This thinking will help our products to win the trust from our customers everywhere, for its being always of high quality. * We also need to change our mind of doing business. Vietnamese people tend to think they are never as good as foreigners.This one-track thinking indirectly do foreign business people a favor. We can do better than them if we can draw carefully a practical and effective plan. And the most important thing is that enterprises have to take actions to maintain the quality of the products for the forthcoming periods in which the state of the global as well as the local economy may come unexpected. Besides, we need to get help from other factors including productivity of motivated employees, wise and effective advertising campaigns or applying new methods in delivery.

Critical analysis of page 41-42 of the Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald describes the ‘music’ coming from Gatsby’s house which is effectively used to foreshadow the images of music in the party later in the passage. He also uses the term ‘summer nights’ which presents the reader with the impression of a continuous party and demonstrates more clearly the hedonistic world that the rich inhabited in 1920s America which is further confirmed when Fitzgerald refers to the ‘champagne’ in the next sentence suggesting this expensive delicacy was the normality at these lavish parties. The ‘blue gardens’ in the following sentence gives the reader a vivid picture of the evening light whilst also using the metaphor to evoke a feeling of beauty regarding Gatsby’s party within the readers mind. The image of the comings and goings being ‘like moths’ gives the idea of the fleetingness of the upper class guests that have no real purpose or aims but to drift at these parties. Fitzgerald uses the term ‘men and girls’ as opposed to referring to the ‘girls’ as women, perhaps suggesting at the immaturity of these women, so much so that they appeared to be like little girls. The use of the word ‘whisperings’ creates a sensual feeling in the reader as it appears romantic and furtive but also could refer to the gossiping ways of the wealthy party guests. The image of ‘the stars’ induces both a vision of peaceful night sky, which contrasts the lively atmosphere of the party and therefore highlighting this further to the reader, but also presents an image of the affluent party guests as stars, some in their own rights, and some whom only saw themselves this way. Fitzgerald describes ‘his [Gatsby’s] raft’, ‘his beach’ and ‘his two-motor boats’ in the following sentence to portray the sense of wealth and affluence of Gatsby and this detailed visual imagery enables the reader to relate with the narrator as they share in his feeling of awe at Gatsby’s affluence. The warm light imagery of the ‘sun on the hot sand’ adds to the ongoing sense of romance in the passage, which reflects the numerous romances and affairs within the book, primarily that of Gatsby and Daisy. Fitzgerald effectively uses a metaphor to describe the Rolls-Royce, a relatively small car, becoming an ‘omnibus’ to further emphasize to the reader the massiveness of these parties and the copious people that attended. The simile of the station wagon scampering ‘like a brisk yellow bug’ not only makes the inanimate object more realistic to the reader but reflects the urgency of the guests to attend these magnificent parties. The immensity of Gatsby’s parties is further shown through the statement that ‘eight servants, including an extra gardener’ had to work all of Monday to restore the mansion to its former grandeur and to get rid of the after effects of the party. The image of ‘several hundred feet of canvas’ being used just for Gatsby’s party once again indicates his enormous wealth and success and makes it more realistic to the reader by using measurements. Fitzgerald uses colour imagery to describe the party food such as ‘glistening hors-d’oeuvre’, ‘salads of harlequin designs’ and ‘turkeys bewitched to a dark gold’. This creates a more realistic and physical aspect to the food that makes it more vivid for the reader. The use of the ‘dark gold’ image also symbolises Gatsby’s wealth and the grandeur of the party. Fitzgerald combines the visual images of the ‘gin’, ‘liquors’ and other drinks with the sound imagery of the ‘oboes’, ‘trombones’ and other orchestra instruments in the following paragraph in order to appeal to more of the readers senses. By using sound imagery alongside visual imagery, the party appears more realistic to the reader and they instantly become more involved. The listed instruments depict to the reader the vastness of the orchestra, suggesting it was in competition with the ‘chatter’ and the vast amounts of party guests. During this paragraph, Nick also changes tense from past to present, as he describes that ‘the bar is in full swing’. This also makes the passage more realistic to the reader as it is more inclusive and engages the reader to feel like they are also attending this party. The use of the image of ‘Castile’ a wealthy Spanish town, indicates the affluence of the people at the party as their fashion was ‘beyond the dreams’ of even the most wealthy towns. Fitzgerald describes the cocktails as ‘floating rounds’ indicating how insignificant the party guests thought of the servants, so much so that they appeared to be invisible. This shows the shallow, snobbish nature of the wealthy Americans of the time. Personification is used effective to describe the air as ‘alive with chatter’ highlighting to the reader the enormity of the noise of the party that must have been audible for miles around. The idea of the ‘enthusiastic meetings’ of women who ‘never knew each other’s names’ compels the reader to consider how genuine this enthusiasm was in someone they did not know or whether it was fake interest from possibly fake and shallow women of the time. There is further light imagery as it grows ‘brighter’ mentions of the ‘sun’ which evoke images of wealth and beauty. Fitzgerald creates both visual and sound imagery when he describes the ‘yellow cocktail music’ in which the light imagery again indicated wealth to the reader and also creates a soft, sensual feel. The ‘opera of voices’ further highlights the noise of the party and connects both the orchestra noise and that of the guests conversations. The groups changing ‘swiftly’ gives the impression of elegance and restlessness, as people are reluctant to stay in the same place as groups ‘dissolve and form in the same breath’. Fitzgerald stresses the self obsessed, egotistical nature of the party guests when he reveals their aim; to become centre of attention which, when fulfilled, makes them ‘excited with triumph’. The passage comes to a close with the ever recurring light imagery of the ‘constantly changing light’ perhaps symbolising not only the beauty of the scene but also the fleetingness of the people that inhabit it.

GIS

GIS GIS in Fighting Wildfires Recently there has been an onslaught of wildfires throughout southern California, New Mexico and Florida. GIS and the USGS have come to the aid of firefighters fighting these wildfires. New digital maps that are the combination of aerial photographs and the geometric qualities of a map were used in the recent New Mexico wildfires. These maps DOQ's (Digital Orthophotoquads) which are aerial photographs are supplied by the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park California. DOQ images can also be found on the Microsoft TerraServer site at http://terraserver.microsoft.com/default.asp These maps allowed firefighters to have a more accurate picture of the terrain where a fire is burning and where it might spread. On DOQ's trees look like trees rather then a green shaded area on a topographic map. Buildings are more visible and there shape and possible use can possibly be determined. Because these maps were in high demand during the wildfire, these maps were delivered electronically, downloaded and printed by the recipient, thus speeding up the process of determining a way to get these fires out.Topographic map of the OxbowThis is in sharp contrast to a time when topographical maps had to be updated by hand scribers and printed on special presses.USGS began producing these maps in 1991. Images are derived from the archives of the National Aerial Photography Program (which is housed in Sioux Falls, S.D.). Today nearly 165,000 DOQ's available in the U.S. Because DOQ's can serve as a layer in a GIS system, they are especially useful for community and special event planners. Ex.. They were used in Atlanta for the 1998 summer Olympics and are being used to create maps for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics to layout event sites and plan transportation corridors.With USGS's DOQ's New Mexico was able to contain...

DD121 TMA03 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DD121 TMA03 - Essay Example But Darwin also stressed the role of interaction between individuals, and equally important is the effect of the dynamic interactive environment. â€Å"Our differences are also a product of our social relations, cultural processes, the kinds of environments we are born into, the environments we live in, our bodies and so on.† (Hinchcliffe, 2000) So, natural differences exist but complex and interactive processes play a very significant role. IQ tests are designed to measure intelligence and claim to be culture-free. The problem with these tests is that they are designed to â€Å"measure problem-solving skills in the abstract rather than in the world of social relations and experience† (Hinchcliffe, 2000) i.e. they do not measure social intelligence. Also, the skills required for being successful in IQ tests can be easily practiced but they are a result of education, which is a social experience. Moreover, they are not independent of culture. The criticisms apply specially to verbal tests because they are â€Å"totally dependent on Western knowledge which is only available in certain cultures.† (Hinchcliffe, 2000) This puts children who have not been exposed to the same environment at a distinct disadvantage. Studies on twins for example, who largely share their upbringing in the same socio-cultural environment show that they have similar IQ scores. Albeit a restrictive definition, a market is â€Å"a physical place where many buyers and sellers come together to trade goods and services, exchanging them usually for money.† (Hinchcliffe, 2000) But exchange can take place in many ways e.g. through a catalogue or over the Internet, and the goods exchanged are not necessarily tangible. Thus, there are two economic agents who interact in a social space; rules govern how they interact and â€Å"a sale results in the transfer of property rights† (Hinchcliffe, 2000), and markets neither

Recommendation memo for business trend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recommendation memo for business trend - Essay Example Starbucks' clients have less money in their pockets than they used to. They may have lost their jobs or cut back on consuming luxury coffee like Starbucks. Furthermore, as the housing bust has unwound, whole neighbourhoods have changed. They will want to reconsider the placement of cafes. These are just several of a number of recommendations included below to help Starbucks weather this storm and once again get back on top of the coffee world. Starbucks is a very strong brand with a loyal following. They are well positioned to storm back to the top of the charts. Over the years, Starbucks has proved itself to be a very successful company. It is has expanded substantially and is a recognized brand. But the financial crisis and economic downturn had a severe impact on its revenue (see figure 1, appendix). Now is the time to consider a number of steps which can help Starbucks restore itself to its former glory. It is not a matter of simply returning Starbucks to the position it held bef ore the crisis. Many things have changed in the marketplace since then. Success may well mean something different now. Starbucks must look around at a changing marketplace and seize new opportunities. In some cases it may have to shift its focus in order to maximize returns. What follows are five recommendations to ensure the Starbucks does not become a relic. The recommendations aim to help Starbucks focus on its customers and its future. Lower cost and rebrand The era of conspicuous consumption is over. The economic crisis made sure of that. It resulted in serious damage to national economies worldwide and the cuts that will have to result to bring down the deficit have not yet been made. Things are going to get worse before they get better. This is a problem because the price of Starbucks coffee is too high. Competition with MacDonalds may be negatively impacting Starbucks sales (Ordonez). The truth is that the climate has changed and cost is a big factor for many people these da ys. We need to see a small reduction in the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks. That alone will be worth media attention and will be a kind of signal to consumers that Starbucks takes this issue very seriously. A lot of the coffee is overpriced and this overpricing is not sustainable with new competition in the market. Reducing the price even ten or fifteen per cent will show consumers that Starbucks is willing to change and adapt to new economic realities. This can be part of a rebranding that will make Starbucks more appealing to a larger audience. The communications element of branding is key to attracting more customers (Capon, 296). Currently, Starbucks is seen as a hipster place where the elites go to sip an expensive latte. There is no reason to lose this cache, but it makes sense in this economic climate to try to create a larger tent in which many different types of people can come and enjoy themselves. Starbucks needs to think long and hard about who it wants to attract in 2012 and beyond. The larger the customer base the more stable the company. It is important to remember that rebranding can be a risky proposition (Muzellec, et al, 802). Approach it with caution. Expansion into new markets Starbucks is seen primarily as an American company, with most of its cafes in North America and Western Europe. These generate a lot of

Motivation in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Motivation in the Workplace - Essay Example The university consists mainly of five faculties’ namely engineering, science, humanities, built environment and business school. Deans are at the centres of each of these faculties. The department focused in the case is the engineering department which is composed mainly of the faculties with prior experience in the academics career. Most of the faculties have been in the university for around eight years. Another notable peculiarity of the department is that all the lecturers are males. The department has made notable efforts in creating an industry collaboration and several technology developed by the university has been patented. The protagonist of the case is Anne Henderson who is a notable professional in her industry. Changes in motivational factors are explained with the help of the story of her industrial behaviour and the changes in her career interest. Expansion plans of the university have resulted in them advertising for the post of senior lecturer. The preferred candidate for the post is an expert in the field with good experience in research work, good business contacts and having a willingness to travel. The case ends by referring to the state of mind of Anne Henderson where she comes across the vacancy at Midshires University and makes a call to the university without even looking at the instructions. Anne’s Motivating Factors This case study can be explained in terms of the content and process theories of motivation. For the purpose of the case study, two content and process theories will be considered. â€Å"Content theories explain the specific factors that motivate people. They explain what drives human behavior.† (Ferguson, 2000) Content theories specifically deal with needs and goals of individuals. Therefore, it deals with those factors that motivate individuals. The popular content theories are McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, ERG Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and McClelland’s Th eory of Needs. From the content perspective, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and McClelland’s Need theory will be used to explain Anne’s motivating factors. â€Å"Process Theories deal with the â€Å"process† of motivation and is concerned with â€Å"how† motivation occurs.† (Ozgurzan, 2012) This is unlike the materialistic approach of content theory. Process theories state that any particular motivational behaviour of an individual is the result of an activity on the individual. Some of the popular process theories are Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, Goal Theory and Adam’s Equity Theory. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory and Adam’s Equity Theory will be used here to explain Anne’s motivational situation. Herzberg’s theory of motivation states that an individual’s motivation level is influenced mainly by Hygiene Factors and Motivator Factors. Hygiene factors are those factors that are necessary for having a stable motivational level. The absence of these factors can lead to dissatisfaction of employees. But on the contrary their presence is not a motivator for the employees. Some of the hygiene factors are company policy, wages, supervisory quality, working conditions, job security, etc. Now, Anne’s motivation level can be analysed based on this theory. From the case study it can be seen that Anne was provided with an array of hygiene factors by the company. ?80,000 of annual salary, chauffeur-driven car, flat, pension scheme, credit cards and first class air travels were

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management Paper Essay

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management Paper - Essay Example The doctrine stipulates that the manufacturers of drugs prescribed by doctors and other necessary medical devices will perform their duties of caring for their patients through the provision of warnings to the physicians charged with the duty of administering the drugs. The manufacturer is therefore responsible for issuing warnings to the physicians concerning the usage of their drugs by patients. This is mainly because the patients are not able to purchase the products directly from the manufacturers and must go through the physicians to obtain them (Strom, Kimmel & Hennessy, 2012). The majority of the people believe that the rule on learned intermediaries should not apply to adverts that make the patients to become more informed and healthier. They also perceive adverts that include brief summaries which stipulate the risks involved in consuming different types of drugs (Mullner, 2005). However, the inclusion of brief summaries on the risks involved in consuming the drugs has been difficult for the manufacturers since this action would require more time along with spaces in the media. The high costs of attaining the above two factors in the media has made it very expensive for them to comply with the stipulations laid out by the rule (Strom, Kimmel & Hennessy, 2012). For instance, in the case of Perez v. Wyeth Laboratories Inc., in New Jersey, the courts decided that the doctrine on the learned intermediaries since the Norplant implants in the case had been advertised directly to the women consumers instead of the doctors. Since the drugs had been directly mar keted to their customers, the defendants were absolved from any charges that had been brought against them (Mullner, 2005). The dissenters on the issue claim that physicians should convey the relevant information concerning the risks in the drugs to their consumers. They additionally state that physicians are normally at the best position

Expansion strategy of Starbucks

Expansion strategy of Starbucks Introduction: Starbucks as a corporation started its business from the year 1971 in the city of Seattle in Washington. In its early stages Starbucks opened four stores in the city and the business was looking good. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). After some major changes and alterations the company opened about fifty outlets by 1989. The focus of the company was not only expanding the number of stores but also at the same time educate the consumers .(Starbucks Corporation, 1997). But at that situation the owners were reluctant of entering into the main industry. But in the year 1984, the company management acquired another coffee retailer called the Peets Coffee and Tea. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). Since then the company adapted many significant changes in order to establish its brand in the international market. Supply Chain and Expansion Strategy: With various competitors the industry is a monopolistic in nature. For that reason a strong player like Starbucks is has to depend on the product mix and strategic locations as the main differentiating factor in order to influence effective consumers demand for their products. For that reason the marketing strategy that Starbucks adapts targets only one particular segment of customers. This marketing strategy for years has yielded great results for the company. Starbucks can be considered as the market leader with over $1.3 billion in sales in the year 1998. Due to the complexity of the network it is important that the management locates the cost centers and allocates the resources accordingly. In order to evaluate the supply chain issues it is important to realize the expansion strategy of the firm. The expansion strategy adapted by the firm is mainly increasing the market share in the retail segment and for that reason t focused on increasing the number of stores.(Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). It is important to note that Starbucks followed a pattern of store opening strategy in order to form a network. The company adapted a hub and spoke model for its regional expansions. Starbucks at the initial stage selected a large city in the region which will serve the purpose of a hub; and tried to open as many as twenty or more stores in the hub city itself in the first two years. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). After opening the targeted stores in the hub city the other stores are also being opened in the surrounding areas which are considered as the spoke stores. In the year 1995 alone, new stores opened generated average revenue of US$700,000 in their first year, which is far more than the average revenue figure of US$427,000 in 1990. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The growth in the sales was mainly due to the growing brand image of the firm. With the increase in the number of stores the complexity of the supply chain increased and this lead to the various security issues for the firm. For that reason a security team is being introduced in the system which is called the Enterprise Security Platform and it keeps track of the critical facilities , operations at the retail outlets and the also monitors the activities in the international market. This centrally integrated supply chain model helps the company management to keep track of the proceedings and predict demand so that they can adjust their expansion strategy accordingly. Critical Issues and factors affecting import and export: The Company faced some obstacles in the last two years of operation. The global economic crisis has reduced the disposable income of the mass and for that reason the spending in the industry has reduced. (Starbucks Recent Same Store Sales; Implication for future growth, 2009). The store closing has its other implications. The negative sales figure actually got compounded each quarter and it is mainly contributed by the sudden decrease in demand and the increasing cost component as the company focused on sustaining the expansion strategy. (Starbucks Recent Same Store Sales; Implication for future growth, 2009). It has to be noted that about Eighty four percent of the revenue for the company was realized from the retail stores and thus the expansion strategy remained as the core business strategy of the firm. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). Before this drop of the net revenues the company was experiencing a steady increase of 27% per year. In the years 1998-1999 in North America, the company launched about two hundred and ninety three stores was opened and the retail sale immediately went up by twenty five percent. The other segment of business apart from the retail sales also flourished during that period. (Starbucks Company 10K, 1998). The major concern for Starbucks is their cost of sales. It has been noted that the cost of sales is as high as 78.8% of the sales revenues and the problem multiplied as the labor cost increased which increased the operating expense of the stores by 37.6%.(Starbucks Company 10K, 1998). In order to handle this situation Starbucks transited its grocery business to Kraft which automatically resulted in lower of the operating expenses and as a result there was a net increase in revenues in the specialty sales division by 20%. The main strength of the firm is in the specialty coffee market and for that reason it targets a particular segment of the population while at the same time maintaining its niche. The extensive opining of stores has led to market cannibalization in certain regions of the world. The employee training and development program have ensured quality service throughout the globe. There are industry level factors that drive the operations of the firm and there is a constant level of risk which affects the business operation of the company. The lack of ownership in the coffee supplier segment in Central and South America is a crucial factor which affects the import of the company. This makes the variable cost to go up and hampers the net profit. Over exporting and concentration of retail outlets at some regions hampers the sales per store figure of the company. The major exporting countries for Starbucks are Canada and countries in Europe, while the importing countries of the company are mainly countries of eastern Africa like Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. Qualitative Techniques: The qualitative studies for forecasting will use various sources of data and information in order to ascertain the current position the firm. The two qualitative method used in this study are secondary market research and the Delphi method. Market Research: Coffee as an industry has now great global level demand and all the coffee companies through out the globe provide employment to more than twenty million people. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009). It is being observed that coffee as a commodity alone occupies the second position to petroleum in terms of the dollars traded throughout the world. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009). A market research results found out that over four hundred billion cups of coffee is being consumed every year. In the country of Brazil itself over five million people are involved in the industry of cultivating coffee beans. The overall sales premium of specialty coffee in United States of America has now reached a multi-billion dollar level. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009).But Starbucks particularly does not operate in coffee industry alone but the industry can be identified as the Specialty Eatery Industry. This industry can be regarded as the part of food and beverage industry which occupies the largest segment of disposable income. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). This indicates a huge potential market to capture. The level of competition also increased due to the huge scope available after the year 1990. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). The year 1997 recorded an estimated eight thousand specialty coffee outlets in the United States. According to the industry analysts the beverage industry at that particular point had enough space for about two or three national players, maybe even more. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The closest competitor at that time for Starbucks was a Canadian franchisor with many stores in Canada but when compared the size it was less than one-third of the total size of Starbucks. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The other national level competitor was Gloria Jeans which was also a franchisor of specialty coffees, and its stores are located in most of the malls throughout the United States of America. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). T he other rivals did not have more that two hundred and fifty stores, but there were about twenty small local and regional coffee shop chains that aspired to grow into rivals of Starbucks, most notably New World Coffee, Coffee People, Coffee Station, Java Centrale, and Caribou Coffee. These coffee shops together captured a considerable portion of the market and made the competition tougher. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). The company (Starbucks) also faced huge competition from the nationwide coffee manufacturers like the Kraft General Foods, Procter Gamble and Nestlà ©, the company who were known for distributing the coffees mainly through supermarkets. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). For that reason the market structure thus can be considered to be a monopolistic one as there are several competitors present in the market who are at the same time offering almost similar kind of products and services. This reveals the competitive nature of the market both domestically and internationally. The competitors used certain parameters to gain the competitive advantages. These parameters are mainly strategic store locations, the product mix and most importantly the store atmosphere. The last parameter actually does influences to a great extent in building loyal customer base. Now there are certain other influences which affect the overall industry. Large coffee producers like Nestle and Kraft are constantly being pressed to introduce a voluntary levy on raw coffee beans which is considered as part of a greater move to promote sustainable development of coffee throughout the globe. The Worldwide Sustainable Coffee Fund headed by the members of the coffee industry has put forward a proposal to levy one dollar on every sixty kilograms bag of beans at an International Coffee Organization meeting held in London. (The Future of Coffee industry, 2009). This proposal got informal backing from the seventy per cent of coffee-producing countries all over the world. Delphi Method: A controlled group of executives were interviewed in order to understand the opinions for them regarding the future prospect of the firm. The questionnaire was designed in order to reflect on the opinions of the executives regarding the future and the strategies of the firm. A total of twenty five members were selected for this controlled session. The first statement of the questionnaire stated that the sales revenue of the company will certainly take a positive turn. About forty eight percent of the respondents agreed to the statement. The findings also reveal that there are forty four percent of the respondents who are unaware of the future so provided a neutral view. This may be due to the sudden dip in the sales revenue observed last year, the employees are now not certain of the dramatic comeback. Figure 2: Percentage feedback on question number 1 The statement asked about more of a strategic issue for the firm. The question asked whether the operating expenses of the firm are hindering the performance or in other words controlling the same would improve on the overall turnover. Figure 3: Percentage feedback on question number 2 The feedback suggests that the selected executives of the firm do not accept the fact that the operating cost is the main determining factor which is hindering the process of growth. They consider that due to the complexity of the business model of the company minor variations are observable in the period of economic downturn; otherwise the operating margin is quite satisfying for them. Figure 4: Percentage feedback on question number 3 The response to the third statement is a mixed one. The question was regarding the aggressive store expansion strategy adapted by the company. It is being observed that a major percentage of the employees under the control group are not in favor of the aggressive strategy adapted by the firm. Thus the overall qualitative forecasting using the Delphi method suggests that the closed group considers that the sales figure to go up but does not really support the aggressive expansion strategy adapted by the firm. Reasons for selecting the methods: The two qualitative methods used for the purpose of the study are secondary market research and the Delphi methods. The first one is useful for gathering information regarding the industry and the competitor analysis of the company which are essential parameters for determining the future or forecasting the sales. The second one is the Delphi method where the responses are summarized in order to understand the view of the employees regarding the future. The point of view of the employees is essential as they reflect on the actual picture of the firm. While the market research surveyed the external environment the Delphi analysis helped in realizing the internal point of view of the employees. Time Series Analysis: Apart from the qualitative methods of forecasting quantitative analysis are also required in to estimate and forecast the exact figure of sales that can be estimated. Two time series analysis methods are applied in this case in order to predict the sales figures and also the relationship among the various parameters. Moving Average Method: This method simply takes the average of the previous figures and forecast the next figures. Figure 5: Sales Forecast for the year 2010 and 2011 In this case a span of six years has been taken in order to forecast the sales figure. The forecasted figures for the year 2010 and 2011 come to be 8.2 billion and 8.7 billion dollar respectively. It should be noted that these figures is much less compared to the peak sales figure of 10.4 billion dollar that the company achieved in the year 2008. But due to the certain dip in the market conditions and United States economy the net revenue of the year 2009 also dropped. Due to the late drop in the sales figure the forecasted figures of the year 2010 and 2011 are low and it will take certain time for the firm to achieve the previous level. Though the last trend is increasing as the forecasted revenue for 2011 is higher that of 201 Linear Regression: This method of forecasting is used for determining the causal relationship between predicting parameters and the variable which is depending on the others. Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.9952172 R Square 0.9904572 Adjusted R Square 0.9840953 Standard Error 256.28309 Observations 6 ANOVA df SS MS F Significance F Regression 2 20451290 10225645 155.6865 0.000932 Residual 3 197043.1 65681.02 Total 5 20648333 Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept -58.491328 663.0271 -0.08822 0.935262 -2168.54 2051.557 -2168.54 2051.557 Operating Income 0.8536555 1.104188 0.773107 0.495786 -2.66036 4.367675 -2.66036 4.367675 No of Stores 0.5670203 0.048045 11.80197 0.001308 0.414121 0.71992 0.414121 0.71992Figure 6: Linear Regression analysis using figures from the year 2004 to 2009 In this particular case the sales revenue is the dependent variable, or the variable which will be forecasted, while the operating income and the number of stores are the predicting variables. The results show that the value of the adjusted R-square is 0.9840953 which means that 98% of the variation of these two parameters explains the variation in the sales revenue. This reflects on the high predictability rate of these two parameters. Now the forecasting equation that is being derived from this analysis is given by Y= -58.5+ 0.85 OI + 0.57 N Where Y is the sales revenue, OI is the operating income of the firm and N is the number of stores. This provides the model with which the future sales figures can be forecasted. This model provides the causal relationship among the parameters. Recommendation: According to the industry analysts Starbucks was a company which can replicate the giants like Nike or Coca-Cola in its own industry segment. In the period 1998 StarBucks was the only company with almost national market coverage in the United States of America. The immediate objective at that time for the firm was to have about two thousand stores in operation by the year 2000 and this target was fulfilled in time. The long term objective was to become the most recognized and respected brand in the world. This goes well with the actual value proposition of the company. The companys efforts to greatly increase its domain were stimulated by the joint ventures with Pepsi and Dreyers and its move to sell coffee in supermarkets. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The company was also thinking of a possibility of marketing fruit-juice drinks and candy under the Starbucks label. But prior to any expansion that the firm must adapt, it should consider two crucial aspects. Firstly the cost component being so high the company cannot afford radical product line of store expansion in the given situation. Secondly if the company tries to expand its target customer base, it may dilute it overall brand and the customers as well as the employees (who have been a major asset for the company) may see this as a shift from the overall value proposition of the firm. This is bound to affect in a negative way. For that reason whichever among the two possible options that the company chooses to increase its sales revenue, it must analyze the long term growth and prosperity of the company. Conclusion: The Company must continue on its expansion strategy as it is only way they can increase the sales revenue. Shifting the target base or shrinking the network will cause equal harm for their brand which will again hamper the future sales. Though the threat of competition is huge, still every time the company came out with successful marketing strategy to overcome the situation and it continues with its aim of continuous expansion plans. Quality product delivery along with increasing the network is what the company mainly works on, and for that reason it is expected the company will certainly overcome the current situation and its stock market figures will show positive trend again in the future.