Identify how you would beta test a multimedia project for delivery Essay

Beta testing is a test for a computer product prior to commercial release may it be an application software, an operating system or a multimedia product. It is a stage where in the product is put into a larger community after a rigorous in house test. To some, it is also a way of knowing how well the community responds to the product. Beta testing is the last stage of testing, the last possibility to correct errors that would render a product priceless to customers. And because of this, beta testing of multimedia products is in essence a difficult task. PURPOSE The purpose of this document is to present a strategy to beta test a multimedia product. It presents possible alternatives that would yield the best result. BETA TESTING STRATEGY In the past, beta testing is used to be a secret. Beta testing is given to a group carefully selected by the company who owns the product to be tested. The fear that finding a considerable amount of bug might diminish customer interest was the old belief. Now, the perspective has changed. Beta testing is already considered an important marketing tool (Nelson & O’Connor, 2004). It increases the popularity of the multimedia product. The best strategy therefore is to make it available for free in the beta testing phase. The first step is to advertise the beta software and provide links to beta version download. Then provide a feedback center for them to comment on observable bugs. Providing the beta version free has many advantages. First, it is very cost effective because you do not have to spend money for hiring a group of people to beta test the software. You may have to spend a certain amount to accelerate interest by providing rewards to people with most important bugs found or by advertising the beta download locations, but these are small compared to hiring an entire group. Second, it is the best way to reach the most number of beta testers. The number of beta testers is directly proportional to how effective the beta testing would be. Third, providing it for free is a way of advertising the software to gain more users. The finding of bugs is just one part of beta testing, there should also be a way for users to provide suggestions. Suggestions are very important to make the multimedia product more acceptable to the market. The suggestions and reported bugs should be monitored on daily basis. Suggestions should be evaluated of whether there is a plan to include it or not. Reported bugs should also be evaluated of whether it is connected to some other bugs or it is really a bug. Then an update release should be available on a periodic basis, for example a monthly update until the reported bugs are already tolerable or it is already completely bug free. The end result of this methodology should produce a very robust multimedia product. If the multimedia product gains public acceptance, the number of users who will beta test this product would also be many. This will give the developer an early view of whether the multimedia product would become profitable. Although there are some possible drawbacks, the beta software should also be given some licensing limitations to prevent users from simply using the beta version instead of the final version. An example would be a pop-up of the reminder to purchase license when the beta period expires. CONCLUSION Multimedia products undergo beta testing to ensure good quality. The best approach in beta testing is to make it free and available for public download at the beta version stage. This would increase its popularity and the cost of beta testing would be minimal. References Nelson, T. and O’Connor, M. (2004). Beta Software: Get In the Development Process. Retrieved from the PC Today website: http://www. pctoday. com/Editorial/article. asp? article=articles/2004/t0205/20t05/20t05. asp&guid= , on January 24, 2007

Imf -Role for Developing Countries

Introduction: International Monetary Fund (IMF),is a specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1945. It was planned at the Bretton Woods Conference (1944), and its headquarters are in Washington, D. C. There is close collaboration between it and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Its primary mission is to ensure stability in the international monetary system. The IMF provides policy advice and financing to member countries with economic problems.The organization, using a fund subscribed by the member nations, purchases foreign currencies on application from its members so as to discharge international indebtedness and stabilize exchange rates. The IMF currency reserve units are called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs); from 1974 to 1980 the value of SDRs was based on the currencies of 16 leading trading nations. Since 1980 it has been reevaluated every five years and based on the relative international economic importance of the British pound sterli ng, the European Union euro (formerly the French franc and German mark), the Japanese yen, and the U.S. dollar. To facilitate international trade and reduce inequities in exchange, the fund has limited power to set the par value of currencies. Members are provided with technical assistance in making monetary transactions. In 1995 the fund moved to increase disclosure requirements of countries borrowing money and at the same time created an emergency bailout fund for countries in financial crisis. IMF was criticized in 1998 for exacerbating the Asian financial crisis, through the fund's decision to require Asian nations to raise their interest rates to record levels.During the international financial crisis of the early 21st century the IMF provided loans and access to credit of more than $100 billion to developing countries that were affected by falling demand for their exports and other financial problems. Instead of increasing government expenditure and boosting domestic demand, l ocal employment and economic activity to overcome the recession, the IMF is cutting spending and increasing tariffs and taxes in already contracting economies for the express purpose of maintaining low inflation and fiscal deficit rates, flexible exchange rates, and trade and financial liberalization.In this paper we try to analyze effect of reduced government expenditure for developing countries that sought aid on dealing with currency crisis. We also analyze the reasons behind strict monetary policy prescribed by IMF. Our analysis provides a framework that would help improve IMF’s approach in future. Reasons behind strict monetary policy: IMF claims upon maintaining transparency in setting up operation, but it is actually extremely secretive. In recent years, as criticism about this policy has grown, IMF has made certain parameters of structural adjustment of various developing countries public.Although IMF assumes a dominating role in structuring policies for affected nati ons, it imposes its policies on them rather than involving them in the decision making process. Key structural adjustment measures include: †¢ Privatizing government-owned enterprises and government-provided services, †¢ Slashing government spending, †¢ Orienting economies to promote exports, †¢ Trade and investment liberalization, †¢ Higher interest rates, eliminating subsidies on consumer items such as foods, fuel and medicines and tax increasesThe basic idea of these policies is to shrink the size and role of government, rely on market forces to distribute resources and services and integrate poor countries into the global economy. Also, despite pledges to address the crisis in flexible and innovative ways, the IMF's key objective in crisis loans remained ‘macroeconomic stability' through the ‘tightening of monetary and fiscal policies' with below objectives: †¢   Lowering fiscal deficits and inflation levels †¢   Buffering inter national reserves †¢ Reducing or restraining public spending   Increasing official interest rates or restraining the growth of the money supply †¢   Preventing currency depreciation Structural Adjustments in IMF policy: Structural adjustments have been successful at its intended efforts to diminish the scope of government and to integrate developing countries into the global economy. But they have failed by many other measures. By and large, countries undergoing structural adjustment have not experienced economic growth, even in the medium term. Main Reasons include: †¢ The IMF caters to wealthy countries and Wall Street:Dominating decision power and voting power has made US a largest shareholder of IMF of rich countries. Disproportional amount of power held by wealthy countries translates into decisions that benefit wealthy bankers, investors and corporations from industrialized countries at the expense of sustainable development. †¢ The IMF is imposing a fu ndamentally flawed development model IMF forces countries from the Global South to prioritize export production over the development of a diversified domestic economy. i. e. hift from food production for local consumption to the production of crops for export to the industrialized countries. Small businesses and farmers can't compete with large multinational corporations. Thus the cycle of poverty is perpetuated, not eliminated. †¢ IMF Policies hurt the environment The IMF does not consider environmental impacts of lending policies; and environmental ministries and groups are not included in policy making. The focus on export growth to earn hard currency to pay back loans means unsustainable liquidation of natural resources.This happened with the bailouts of Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia–countries that are renowned for their great biodiversity The IMF bails out rich bankers, creating a moral hazard and greater instability in the global economy The IMF pushes countries to dismantle trade and investment rules, as well as raise interest rates in order to lower inflation. The removal of regulations that might limit speculation has greatly increased capital investment in developing country financial markets. More than $1. 5 trillion crosses borders every day.This capital is short-term, unstable, and puts countries at the whim of financial speculators. The Mexican 1995 peso crisis was partly a result of these IMF policies. Impact of Structural reforms on developing countries and its evaluation: Those developing countries that have experienced the greatest economic successes in recent decades have violated many of the central precepts of structural adjustment. They have protected certain parts of their economy, and they have maintained an active governmental role in economic planning.A review of policies sponsored by the IMF illustrated the basic failure of structural adjustment. Countries undergoing such structural adjustment experienced stagnating growt h rates and saw their foreign debt nearly double-dramatic evidence of failure, since reducing foreign debt is one of ESAF's ostensible purposes. As per reports, the two regions with the most structural adjustment experience, per capital income has stagnated (Latin America) or collapsed (Africa, where per capita income dropped more than 20 percent between 1980 and 1997). The emphasis on exports tends to be socially disruptive, especially in rural areas.Poor subsistence farmers frequently find their economic activity described as nonproductive, and experience land pressures from expanding agribusinesses, timber companies and mines. Pushed off their land, they frequently join the ranks of the urban unemployed, or move onto previously unsettled, and frequently environmentally fragile, lands. Structural adjustment has generally contributed to rising income and wealth inequality in the developing countries, a fact tacitly acknowledged by both recently retired IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus and World Bank President James Wolfensohn.Consider the Asian meltdown caused in large part by South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, which was caused by heavy reliance on short-term foreign loans. When it became apparent that private enterprises in those nations would not be able to meet their payment obligations, international currency markets panicked. Currency traders sought to convert their Asian money into dollars, and the Asian currencies plummeted. That made it harder for the Asian countries to pay their loans, and it made imports suddenly very expensive.The IMF’s usual policy of countries not meeting their balance of payments due to increased value imports and reduced exports was reapplied here. Treating the Asian Financial crisis like other situations, IMF made arrangements for loans to enable these countries to payoff their debts. But IMF placed the condition that the countries would adopt the structural adjustment policies. But th ey failed to understand that the Asian crisis condition differed from this situation.Like, even though Asian countries did not run budget deficits, they were compelled to restrict government spending which further deepened their slowdown. The Fund failed to manage an orderly roll over of short-term loans to long-term loans, which was most needed; and it forced governments, including in South Korea and Indonesia to guarantee private debts owed to foreign creditors. In retrospect, even the IMF would admit that it made things worse in Asia. Malaysia stood out as a country that refused IMF assistance and advice.Instead of further opening its economy, Malaysia imposed capital controls, in an effort to eliminate speculative trading in its currency While the IMF mocked this approach when adopted, the Fund later admitted that it succeeded. Malaysia generally suffered less severe economic problems than the other countries embroiled in the Asian financial crisis. Considering example of Pakist an,   Pakistan is among the most frequent users of IMF loans, having borrowed IMF money 12 times since 1980.However, 10 of these programmes were abandoned midway due to Pakistan’s failure to fully adopt the IMF’s policy recommendations. Undue US interference, inadequate political analysis capacities within the IMF, inappropriate sequencing and over-ambitious agendas given the short loan durations were the main reasons . For example, Pakistan was advised to reduce import duties before it developed alternative taxation measures to cover the ensuing tax revenue shortfalls.This increased Pakistan’s public debt significantly as it had to borrow to cover the resulting fiscal deficits. However, Pakistan must partly share the blame since it accepted the loan conditions. Same happened with for some African countries, which lack both the technical capacities to analyse the IMF conditions and alternative financing options The IMF's structural adjustment prescriptions for countries suffering through the Asian financial crisis were roundly denounced, including by many conservative and mainstream economists and opinion makers.The widespread criticism of the Fund undermined its political credibility. The IMF response has been to make some minor concessions in making its documents more publicly available, limiting its demands that countries liberalize their capital markets (including by allowing unlimited trade in their currency, and permitting foreign investors to invest in domestic stocks and bonds without restriction), and increasing its rhetorical commitment to paying attention to poverty in its structural adjustment programs.But the financial crisis, aggravated due to IMF’sstructural policy, had alreadyled to massive human suffering. â€Å"IMF suicides† became common among workers who lost their jobs and dignity. In Indonesia, the worst hit country, poverty rates rose from an official level of 11 percent before the crisis to 40 to 60 percent in varying estimates. GDP declined by 15 percent m one year. IMF policies exacerbated the economic meltdown in countries hit by the Asian financial crisis.Mandated reductions in government spending worsened the Asian nation's recessions and depressions. And the forced elimination of price controls and subsidies for the poor imposed enormous costs of the lowest income strata’s. In Indonesia, food and gasoline prices rose 25 to 75 percent overnight or in the course of a few days. Although most developing countries are in need of fundamental reform along the general economic principles advocated by the IMF, the problem lies with the specifics of the IMF reform agenda.Thus as per the latest records, most successful East Asian countries have adopted IMF’s principles but have utilized very different specific tools which preserve long-term development, unlike IMF-recommended tools. Instead of widespread immediate privatization, China initially introduced managerial in centive systems in agriculture and industry. This boosted Chinese productivity without the massive economic ruin that the IMF-advised mass-scale privatization caused in Russia in the 1990s.In fact, no developing country sticking entirely to the IMF approaches has achieved the type of success achieved by East Asian countries. Towards growth- and development-oriented fiscal and monetary policies: A more development-oriented macroeconomic policy stance is necessary in order to generate the quantum leap in resources that LICs need to finance large-scale new investments in economic and social infrastructure, which includes the specific MDG (Millennium Development Goals) goals in the health and education sectors, and job creation.Progress on poverty reduction and basic human development has historically required, and continues to require, such a critical degree of spending and investment in the domestic economy. In order to support the achievement of the MDGs, IMF policies need to change: †¢ Support of active use of fiscal policy to for public investments and public spending to build essential economic and social infrastructures. Future revenues expected from the investment should pay off the debt that the government initially incurred. The IMF should encourage more expansionary monetary options that better enable domestic firms and consumers to access affordable credit for expanding production, employment, and increased contributions to the domestic tax base. Monetary policy should thus maintain low real interest rates, rather than ineffectively trying to keep inflation low with high interest rates which dampen aggregate demand and growth prospects. The IMF should permit the regulation of the capital account to confront the continuous inflow, as well as outflow, of private capital from national economies, i. e. ‘capital flight'. Now the question lies, whether the IMF is actually concerned about sustainable development? If yes, then the emphasis should no t be on IMF pushing the countries to adopt its structural policies in exchange of the debt funds. Instead, IMF's influence and power needs to be reduced so it has less say over developing country policies.

Promote young children physical activity and mivement skills Essay

1.1 Explain why physical activity is important to the short and long term health and well being of children. Physical activity is an integral part of health and well being in children.Our bodies also require physical activity in order to be healthy.Understanding and supporting physical activity, will help children have the right foundation for a healthy and happy life.Positive experiences with physical activity at a young age promotes the growth if strong bones and muscles, help to develop good posture and balance, obesity risk and chronic disease risk infection are reduced. A long-term health benefit will be that children will have a stronger immune system.Children are less likely to become overweight and will have better control of their body, children will achieve and maintain a healthy weight and they will establish healthy behaviour and increase their self-esteem and concentration. Physical inactivity is associated with health risks: weight gain, obesity, heart and bone disease, diabetes. Children who are physically active are more likely to show good social skills, they are confident and they achieve their full developmental potential. 1.2 Explain the development of movement skills in young children and how these skills affect other aspects of development. Physical activity helps children to develop and practise movements skills which includes: travel, balance and coordination and object control. Movement skills help children develop awareness of what their bodies can do, children learn how much space their body needs to take.When developing traveling skills, the child learns how to move the body from on location to another: hopping, skipping, sliding, walking. Hand-eye coordination and foot-eye coordination uses the eye to direct attention and hands and foot to execute a task so the brain sends out information to the muscles and helps to develop smooth and precise movements. Activities involving foot-eye coordination: kicking a ball; activities involving hand-eye coordination: throwing or catching a ball. Balance is also a very important skills and children learn to control their balance and to gain posture.Balancing activities involves the body, for example: walking on a beam will help children learn that putting one foot in front of the other help children maintain their balance; or balancing on one leg will help them to control their posture. Object control involves movements such as catching, throwing, kicking and children learn how to catch, throw and kick objects. Physical activity is linked with every other area of development. Emotional development Physical activity helps children to build up confidence and different activities such as colouring, painting, helps to express their feelings.Children feel confident, physically and emotionally when they use their body to communicate and solve problems. Social development Children who are physically active are more likely to show good social skills, empathy and self-esteem. Language development Children who are physically active develop good thinking and communication skills.Physical activity gives children the opportunity to talk about activities and develop vocabulary. Cognitive development Physical activity contributes to healthy brain development.Physical activity stimulates the connection between mind and body and is also essential for helping children to put their ideas into actions to accomplish a goal. 2.1 Prepare the environment and explain how it allows all children to develop, practise and extend their movement skills according to their age, needs and abilities. In my setting, we try to create areas of interest that encourages children to develop their movement skills.We also consider and offer children different types of activities.Environment is changed to meet the different needs of children’s ages and stages of development.The environment is organised so that it reflects children’s individual strengths, interests, abilities and needs. The environment should be rich, stimulating and challenging to give children the opportunity to explore, experiment and encourage the movement skills. It is important to make the best possible use of space and equipment so the children can enjoy the activities.All children will have equal opportunities to develop movement skills and the environment will be changed to help children practise the mivements skills.When planning physical activity we ensure that no child is excluded from play and activities are modified as necessary. 2.3 Explain the importance of natural outdoor environments for young children’s physical activity and movement skills. Natural outdoor environment has positive effects on children’s social development and motor skills development.Outdoor play is less structured so it gives children more opportunity to discover, learn about different textures, sounds and children also gain important physical skills.Children feel more free and they use their whole bodies to explore.Natural environments stimulate children’s imagination and engage their sense of curiosity. Children learn social skills by interacting with other children or even with natural materials found in the environment.Natural outdoor environment help children to question, to cooperate and solve problems. 3.1 Plan opportunities for physical activity for young children. An effective planning will help children to participate in a safe and supportive environment.To provide good opportunities for children it is important to maintain a balance between child-initiated and adult-led physical activities.Children should have opportunities to interesting resources to explore and use.Physical opportunities will be appropriate to the age, needs and stage development of children.Enough time will be allowed for children to take part in physical activities.Activities will be planned to meet the developmental needs of the children.Practitioners select age-appropriate activities and physical activities will be challenging giving the children the opportunity to explore and be physically active. 3.2 Explain how the plan: -meets the individual movement skills needs of children -includes activities that promote competence in movement skills -encourages physical play Good planning involves observing children’s strengths, interests and needs and developmental skills.Children will be given the opportunity to practice the skills, to modify, change or adding some equipment based on children’s interests and abilities. Planning is based on observations on each child’s interests and developmental progress.Children need opportunities to practise motor skills and to have interested adults to participate with them. It is also important to support children who are at different stages and provide emotional support , be flexible and provide opportunity for practise.As the child becomes more comfortable and competent with an activity, the expectations can be changed to allow for more challenges. 4.1 Explain the importance of building physical activity into everyday routines. In my setting we support children to become independent and develop movement skills by: -encourage to put on their coats -helping to do the tidying up -have children act out the words in books and songs -be an active role model by participating in physical activities -go on nature walk and learning about the environment -help practitioners during the snack time: giving them small tasks such as carry the cups or pouring their own drinks in the cups or wiping the tables.Children must be encouraged to be physically active. Active children are more likely to lead active healthy lifestyles as adults.Being physically active strengths muscles and bones and helps develop coordination and movement skills. 5.1 Assess effectiveness of planned provision in: -supporting physical activity -supporting confidence and progression in movement skills Physical activities are planned and organised every day in my setting.When children experience the joy of moving, they learn to value physical activity and are more likely to continue to be physically active when adults.It is important that practitioners show positive attitudes towards physical activity.Children also need to understand the benefits and necessity of physical activity.In my setting we discuss what happens to their bodies when they are physically active.Children are allowed to develop gross and fine motor skills in my setting.I evaluate my practice and gain feedback from my colleagues, parents and children.Communication and feedback from parents, colleagues and children is important in determining any adaptations to daily physical activity that may be necessary. 5.3 Reflect on own practice in supporting young children’s physical development and movement skills. It is important to reflect on own practice and to realise my strengths and weakness and also to take into consideration feedback from colleagues and manager. Are the resources used appropriate to interests and needs if children? Are there opportunities for children to be involved in planning and organising physical activities? How well children control their bodies? How can the spaces and resources be improved to allow children to play safely?

Consumer behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Consumer behavior - Assignment Example Thus a study and understanding of this topic can be realized to be of most value to the marketers who need to understand the behavior of the consumers in order to target their minds accordingly (Blythe, 2008, pp.3-8). The need for understanding the behavior of the consumers is mostly needed by marketers since it helps to identify the psychology of the consumers for particular products available in the market. Also the influence of the products and their brands on the consumers can be determined. This enables the marketers to identify and target their customers accordingly realizing their choices and preferences, their lifestyles, their income and ways of expenditure, and mentalities towards particular products or services (Role of Consumer Behaviour in Marketing, 2012). An important feature of marketing is the marketing mix that refers to the plans and ideas combined and represented by marketing representative intending to promote a specific product or a brand. The different elements of marketing mix include, in association with the product, the product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence (Marketing Mix- Meaning and Its Elements, 2012). The present study focuses on an understanding of the marketing stimuli that influences consumer behavior, the marketing mix stimuli that are formed in order to influence the behavior and responses of the consumers, their obvious behaviors, their emotions and feelings in association with products available in the markets. In other words, the cognitive response, affective response and behavioral responses of the consumers would be studies. Marketing Mix and Cognitive Response of Consumers: Cognitive response of a human being refers to the behavior that emerges from persuasive communication with another party (Cognitive Response Theory, 2000). Thus in regard to marketing and the use of marketing mix, the cognitive response of the consumer can b realized to be the one that is obtained as a result of the persuasion that the marketing mix is capable of presenting in front of the consumers. There are different theoretical approaches to understand the behavior of consumers. One of these is the cognitive approach. This approach attributes behavior or the action that may be observed to intrapersonal cognition. In this regard, an individual is considered as a processor of information. It is observed and discussed that the environment as well as the social knowledge that an individual experiences are influential on the behavior of the consumer. In other words, the environmental and social stimuli are received by the consumers as inputs for different products depending on which their purchasing decisions may vary (Bray, n.d., p.6). A response model may be illustrated as provided in the following figure: Figure 1: Stilumus-Organism- Response Model of Decision Making (Bray, n.d., p.7). According to the above figure, there lies a linear relationship between the stages of stimuli, organism and response where the external stimuli that act upon the individuals include the environment and society. Studies by modern theorists â€Å"acknowledge that information processing is conducted by an active organism whose past experience will influence not only the processing of such information but even what information is sought and received† (Bray, n.d., p.7).

Marketing strategy and KSFs of Apple Incorporation Dissertation

Marketing strategy and KSFs of Apple Incorporation - Dissertation Example Globalization has posed a major challenge to organizations to manage international business. Technological advancement has pervaded every field and marketing of high-technology products has become a specialized activity. The global economy is driven by technological innovation as the scope of high-technology applications is no longer limited to computers. The high-tech industries are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty as far as the markets, technology and competition which makes the traditional marketing tools unsuitable for these products. Apple Inc. features among the top 50 companies in Business Week in 2006. This is an Independent Research paper (IRP) with the objective of evaluating the marketing strategy and the key success factors (KSF) adopted by Apple Inc. when they were virtually on the verge of closure. Literature review of the existing marketing theories and principles was carried out and the framework for the IRP determined. This IRP is totally based on secondary data collected through academic journals and reputed websites through reputed search engines. The study concludes that the marketing strategy of Apple is based on several factors. They focus on continuous product enhancement and they anticipate and incorporate the customer needs of which even the customers may not be aware of. Over the years they have build a brand image and today they enjoy high brand equity on which they thrive. They have several channels to reach their products to their customers and have been able to build a community of Apple users. Long-range vision of the CEO contributes to its KSFs apart from the brand loyalty and the value they create for the customer. The key success factors of Apple include the long-range vision of the CEO, the brand loyalty, the value they create for the customer and the excel lent customer experience they provide at their stores. The study concludes with recommendations for further research. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Rationale for research 2 1.3 Organization of the study 3 2. Literature Review 5 2.1 Marketing strategy 2.1.1 Introduction 5 2.1.2 Product positioning/branding 6 2.1.3 Niche marketing 7 2.1.4 Customer engagement behavior 8 2.2 Theoretical perspectives 2.2.1 Competitive strategy 9 2.2.2 Key Success factors (KSF) 9 2.3 Overview of the computer industry 10 2.4 Overview of Apple Inc 10 3. Research Methodology 12 3.1 Purpose of the research and phenomenon 12 3.2 Research Philosophy 12 3.3 Research Strategy – justification for the chosen method 13 3.4 Data collection 14 3.5 Data Analysis 14 3.6 Limitations of the study 14 4. Findings 4.1 Introduction 16 4.2 Apple’s strategy 4.2.1 Product differentiation strategy 16 4.2.2 Advertising strategy 16 4.2.3 Brand Value 17 4.2.4 Distribution channels 20 4.3 Appleà ¢â‚¬â„¢s KSFs 4.3.1 Apple customer experience 22 4.3.2 Long-range vision 22 4.3.3 Creating value for the customers 22 4.3.4 Technological paradigm 23 4.4 Strategies of competitors 23 5. Discussion on findings 27 5. Conclusion and Recommendation 5.1 Conclusion 31 5.2 Learning outcome 32 5.3 Recommendations 32 References 33 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Globalization has posed a major challenge to organizations to manage international business. This requires organizations to have skills, efforts and resources in terms of manpower, financial resources and the capability to handle issues that may arise during the course of international operations. Globalization has led to unlimited competition across nations, cultures and organizations (Faria & Guedes, 2005). Technological advancement has pervaded every field and marketing of high-technology products has become a specialized activity. These require an effective marketing strategy, an understanding of international management of busine ss and knowledge of managing across different cultures. The global economy is driven by technological innovation as the scope of high-technology

Selections from the Christian Gospels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selections from the Christian Gospels - Essay Example Jesus Christ conveyed the opinion that in as much as most of our activities as Christians and believers are on earth, we should focus on the relationship between us and our Father in heaven, for that will ensure that most of our efforts are not taken for granted here on earth due to the continuous destructions. In the book of John: 8, Jesus Christ informed Christians and believers of the importance of living by his teachings. This is because he was the way of light and ignoring him would result in confusion and darkness. Jesus emphasized on the need to have respect for the word, which is referred to as logos in the beginning of the book of John. Jesus advised that the word should be respected, because it existed before, and comes directly from the heart of God. In assembling his disciples and sharing the last supper with them, Jesus Christ was demonstrating to them that they should be committed to one another, and to their course, as some of them may contemplate giving up in the cour se of the journey. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is highlighted in the Gospel books show that it is important for Christians to have strong faith in God, for he is the protector and does not let the suffering of his people be in vain. Faith is one of the most vital elements of Christianity. Faith is quite powerful for the reason that it brings Christians together and connects them with God. The faith Christians have in God is the only thing that holds them steady and keeps them safe from the storms of life.

'it's not enough to condemn crime, we need to understand its causes' Essay

'it's not enough to condemn crime, we need to understand its causes'. Critically analyse this statement from the perspective of right wing criminologists and on - Essay Example This has worked to turn the legal system quite mechanical and the concept of crime that is seen with fear and disdain and not a social disease that has to be attacked from the roots. This paper examines the view that criminology should adopt a studious stance on the fact that the events of crime should not be considered as those that need just a structured meting out of justice to the perpetrator but that each crime event should be proactively viewed as an event that is caused by underlying social forces and equations that have given rise to root factors for its perpetration. Only when such a view is taken will the present criminal justice system emerge towards effective elimination or reduction of the crime from our society. There has been tremendous interest of late into the political, social and commercial realities of the victims of crime. This is encompassed within a broad ranging view concerning the changing role of victims within the criminal justice process, their needs and rights, as well as victimological theories which help to explain and understand the process of victimization. In tandem to this there has been a parallel interest in the political, social and commercial realities of the perpetrators of the crime which lead to a set of factors that spurred the happening of the crime events. These augmenting factors if tackled and resolved effectively would help reduce crime. This, in fact is the preventive approach to crime. Different criminal justice systems the world over have different core orientations. For instance, the US criminal justice system views itself as following a â€Å"systems" approach to criminal justice, with improved coordination among law enforcement, courts, and correctio nal agencies.(Walker,1992) The 1967 Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice termed the criminal justice system as the means for society to "enforce

Literature - I stand here ironing & Teenage Wasteland Essay

Literature - I stand here ironing & Teenage Wasteland - Essay Example The ultimate expression of those conflicting emotions are expressed in â€Å"Daddy† in an outburst of vitriol and pained condemnation of male abandonment. Although the poem seems most obvious on its literal level to be directed toward Plath’s own father, a close examination reveals that much of the venom is directed not toward her own daddy, but to the daddy of her children, her husband Ted Hughes, whom Plath confused as a reincarnated version of her father in vampire form. The Electra Complex is at the center of the poem as Plath works to intertwine the figures of her own father and her husband. The Electra Complex is a psychological term to describe what is most easily explained as the female equivalent of the Oedipus Complex in which a daughter comes to view her father as the first sexual attraction in her life and then proceeds to repress those feelings only to have them subconsciously bubble to the surface in the form of falling in love with a man who reminds her of her father. The poet herself stated that the poem is about a woman (presumably herself) who seems to have an Electra Complex regarding her father that she cannot entirely admit to. Further blurring the line between father and husband is that both men would abandon her; startlingly, Plath’s relationship with both men lasted almost the exact same length of time. Plath’s father died when she was just eight year old and her suicide came roughly the same amount of time after f irst meeting Hughes. The primary difference, of course, is that as an eight year old child, Sylvia barely had time to know and understand her father. For that reason, the real focus of the vehemence in the poem must certainly be her husband, who acts as a substitute for the father she never knew. The first half of the poem sets the stage for her look back toward a literal representation of her father that will shortly transform into the symbolic representation of Ted

The competitive advantage strategy for Diageo, Castel of brewery in Essay

The competitive advantage strategy for Diageo, Castel of brewery in Africa - Essay Example Africa is such an important region for Diageo due to the rich prospects that are found in Africa such as presence of mineral resources and its improvements in governance. Secondly, Africa provides diversity that matches Diageo’s needs. The global, financial, and economic situation, which has greatly affected Europe, has made the company to invest in the developing countries due to the increased prospects of driving growth. The company plans to invest in additional capacities to fuel growth in the continent such as adding more plants and equipments for brewing and differentiating their brands. Innovation is also considered by the company as a very good avenue for growth as well as having the right people who are motivated and interested in improving and fuelling growth in Diageo. Additionally, the company is committed to acquisitions and entrance into new markets as part of the strategies of facilitating its growth in the continent (Wehring 2012, np). The company enjoys a disti nct brand in its employment practices which promotes its ability to attract high caliber talents that are vital to its growth. The company further grows and develops talents as well as creating value chain in production and distribution process which highly contributes to their growth. Diageo are further involved in social economic development such as engaging in water projects and other agricultural projects which is integral in their business growth. Diageo has put unique strategy of growing the African talents in the continent to run its business by developing the current talents locally and bringing other Africans outside the continent. The company has embarked on a full year program to identify prospective African leaders who can take on senior positions in the company. The company is committed in its growth plan to develop a strategy that is capable of filling the gap between the talent required for growth and the current existing talents as well as attracting both the externa l talent and developing the internal talent. The company also ensures that they have dedicated talents that would add value to its operations as well as maintaining an effective and efficient operation (Wehring 2012, np). SWOT and PESTLE Analysis Diageo is the world leader in alcohol that comprises of beer, spirits and wine and enjoys a worldwide presence. The company, with its sound financial base, is capable of ruling the market by investing in R&D and acquiring other firms thus enjoying wider market share. The company usually manufactures the best brands and normally ensures best brands in its African market such as Scotch whisky. The company enjoys a wider market in Africa especially the rapid growth of 300m-consumers who due to the increase in the middle income earners in Africa. Diageo largely depend on the raw materials especially in Ethiopia and Kenya which is very vital for their growth in east Africa as well as wider market in that region of Africa. The company however, is faced with a number of challenges in some regions in Africa such as the unstable governments and lack of highly qualified expertise that they can depend on. There are also competitions from the local companies within the African region especially in Kenya and Tanzania that offer very low priced alcohol hence imposing a little threat to the

SOP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SOP - Essay Example I worked in the Jeddah office for a little over a year in the sales department. There, my core job was to help the customers get the best health insurance for them and their families. After my stint with the Insurance Company, I joined Samba Financial Group, where I worked in the customer service department for two years. This job required me to provide satisfactory explanation to many questions posed by customers about all the products and services we offer. The experience I gained by working for these organizations made me realize that I love helping people, and created a strong inclination in me towards finding self-fulfillment in helping others. All my life I have been encountering injustice in the treatment of people with disabilities in my country, that’s precisely why I want to work in the public sector and run programs to raise awareness for people with special needs in order for me to contribute to society. Society has given me so much and it is just about time for me to give something back to the society. After working those five years in different jobs I found myself developing and helping others gain the most value from the products and services I sold them, and I changed my mind about what had been built in it from the Saudi society that all women are not aim to work and give. In Saudi Arabia we have to wait for marriage and live under the wings of a man and cannot be independent, which made me careless when I was in college and didn’t care about my grades. In June 2010 I shifted my base to the United States and am presently pursuing proficient level English courses at EC Boston. Since the time I have come to the US I have noticed that people with disability are independent and living as there is nothing can stop them from enjoying their life and I find this amazing, I have learned a lot from such people. They are the epitome of courage and dedication, And that is totally different from how it is in Saudi Arabia, which

Respose to He-y, Come on Ou-t! by Shinichi Hoshi Essay Example for Free

Respose to He-y, Come on Ou-t! by Shinichi Hoshi Essay What would a life be without sunshine or moonlight, without the sound of the wind rushing through the trees, the smell of crisp autumn air, or without the feel of dewy grass brushing our feet? Our environment gives us a source of peace, happiness and relaxation. But what about a life filled with ringing cell phones, angry bosses, tight deadlines and traffic jams? Living with these aggravations causes us stress, anger and chaos, but what are the benefits? Oh, but of course! How could I forget about money! People will go to any lengths for prosperity, even as far as destroying our precious environment. Shinichi Hoshi demonstrates this mania in his short story He-y, Come on Ou-t!. Upon the discovery of the infinite hole, we are first introduced to mans willingness to sacrifice the Earths well-being. A concessionaire claims the hole with a profitable plot in mind and launches a vigorous campaign. Weve got a fabulously deep hole! Scientists say its at least five thousand meters deep! Perfect for the disposal of such things as waste from nuclear reactors! (154), he chanted. Since its not environmentally safe to dispose of nuclear waste above ground, it must be perfectly harmless to put it in ground, right? Id hoped that the villagers would object to this ridiculous arrangement, and they did. They balked at the idea until it was explained that there would be absolutely no above-ground contamination for several thousand years and that they would share in the profits. Into the bargain, a magnificent road was built from the city to the village (154). I am sadly disappointed in you, villagers. You are all in the mindset of Oh, it wont affect us for awhile, plus were getting money and a new road! What could be wrong with that? Has it not occurred to you that even though you are benefiting from this proposal, that it might be causing harm elsewhere, in serious areas such as the environment? Of course not! As human beings we dislike thinking about the eventual consequences (155) and are extremely ambitious, therefore being much too preoccupied with our thoughts of success and growth. Our society has become so preoccupied with visions of wealth and expansion that weve failed to notice the state of our weakening environment. We are concentrating solely on producing one thing after another (155), no matter  the price the Earth is forced to pay. I have a hard time to believe that such an intelligent species could be so horribly ignorant about such a matter. Although some are aware of the way we are wrecking havoc against our planet, so little being done to protect our earth. We all need to realize that all of our selfish and inconsiderate deeds that we are pressing upon our planet will be back to haunt us. We are sitting in the drivers seat, chattering away on our cell phones, too engrossed to spot the danger. In the blink of an eye we see the impending collision, but its too late. We are all so absorbed with dollar signs that we cant appreciate Mother Earths true value. The man, however, was gazing in idle reverie at the citys skyline growing ever more beautiful, and he failed to notice (155).

Types of teachers Essay Example for Free

Types of teachers Essay Teachers A teacher could simply be defined as one who teaches, or an individual who imparts information or skill to a person. Different types of teachers have different methods of passing on their knowledge. There are three types of teachers informative, nonchalant and friendly. There are specific teachers for each students and it is the students job to figure out which type of teacher is compatible with their way of learning. First, an informative teacher is the type of teacher that gives students the most information and can be more intuitive as far as teaching. These types of teachers are basically, for students who desire someone who is straight-forward and bestows facts as well as valuable details needed in order to pass the class. Even though this can be vigorous, the student will attain a greater amount of intellect. The downside to informative teachers is that they barely have time to develop a relationship with their students, being that they are spending most their time solely teaching. Second, nonchalant teachers are the types to have most students fall asleep in class. Known to be very mono-toned and apathetic, nonchalant teachers are extremely boring in many opinions. Nonchalant teachers are known to talk slowly, this can happen from a speech impediment, slow thought, or a variety of things. A teacher’s slow speech can be a drag, enough to make them unlikeable if they have no other redeeming qualities. Even though this kind of teacher may be unattractive to most people, students are more likely to learn accurately due to the teachers slow speech. If a student does not learn as quickly as others, it is ideal to have a teacher who speaks slowly to help the students brain process. Finally, a friendly teacher, as the very term suggests, acts like a friend for students. A teacher-friend, in fact, combines both the guidance of a teacher and the understanding of a friend. We all, at some point of time, aspire for an understanding teacher. Such a teacher acts like our friend, philosopher and guide, every teacher should have some friendly traits. Such a teacher is more close to the students and proves to be a better educator as well. Right from the time we embark on our education trip, we come across different types of teachers. Some teachers are friendly, some are nonchalant teachers and some are informative teachers and they have different methods of passing on their knowledge there is where students begin to like the teachers, according to their own individual preferences.

Satisfying Customers Needs And Wants Marketing Essay

Satisfying Customers Needs And Wants Marketing Essay Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying customers needs and wants. Critics however maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before, According to these critics, marketers encourage consumers to spend more money than they should on goods and services they really do not need. Marketing process can be explained as creating value for customers and building customer relationship by doing this the organisation makes profit The various elements of marketing process can be classified as follow Fig 1 Understanding the market place and customers needs and wants is achieved through in-depth market research and thereby identifying a product gap or needs gap. This will involve trends , how to make things easier , comfortable, better and user friendly. In the early 80s there were few or no mobile phones. A thorough market research has created the need for mobile phones, then came the massive first generation mobile phones. This were later followed by smaller ones and these days we can see the smart phones with inbuilt cameras, time online movies and news ability to actual work from your mobile Samsung note to the new tablets. Every day specialist market research companies, innovators, technicians and scientist all work hand on hand to create a new niche market or brand that makes our lives much more comfortable. Even the pay as you go concept became apparent as people could not continue to pay the incredible high cost then been charged by manufacturers who were looking at ways to cover the cost of their research and development. So the critics may not be far from the truth but the ideal is marketers coming with ways and products that makes our lives easy. Design a customer driven marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is a long term means of achieving a corporate objective. If we take the example of the mobile phone industry where the likes of Samsung, IPhone, Nokia are in serious competition each as to design a marketing strategy to capture a share of the market. Like a military personnel will define the art of going to warfare. Marketing program that delivers superior value : This refers to the marketing mix that is the 4ps Usually referring to E. Jerome McCarthys  [1]  Ã‚  4 P classifications for developing an effective marketing strategy, which encompasses: product, price, placement (distribution) and promotion. When its a consumer-centric marketing mix, it  has been extended to include  three more Ps: people, process and physical evidence, and  three Cs: cost, consumer and competitor. Depending on the industry and the target of the marketing plan, marketing managers will take various approaches to each of the four Ps. The benefits and cost of marketing orientation Market orientation is the understanding of customers requirement and creation of marketing mix which will meet these needs. Market driven means the firms capability to understand, attract and keep valuable customers G. Armstrong and P. Kotler define marketing as social and managing process by which the individuals and groups procure what they need by creating and exchanging values with others.  [2]   A market-oriented company is in a position to achieve competitive advantage thanks to its unique innovative approach to customers. In addition to this, according to the opinion of P. R. Dickson, a competitive advantage should be understood in the sense of dynamics of competition. He expresses disagreement with the standpoint of neoclassic theory of market equilibrium and claims that the main characteristic of the market is its disequilibrium. He sees marketing as a science and skill of creating changes (disequilibrium) in the market in the manner that would provide for the changes that are beneficial for the company. Various responses of salespersons and customers to changes in supply and demand, thinks Dickson, create possibilities that could be used by the company that understands market. He underlines the importance of adjusting company to the market occurrences.  [3]   Benefits and cost of market orientation Figure 2: Customer relationship groups Source: G. Armstrong, P. Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction, 7. ed., Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005, p. 25. The above summaries the benefits and cost of market Orientation other advantages and disadvantages. Responding to Demand Building Customer Value Disadvantages Extensive and Expensive Research and Increased cost. Micro and Macro environmental factors that affect marketing Decision The micro environmental factors are factors that can be controlled by the organisation and relates directly with the business these are considered using the factors in fig 3 Micro Environmental factors Fig 3 Fig 4 shows how different public affects organisation. The public that affect the marketing decision of the yet they can be controlled and are regarded as micro are the relation with the following members of this public e.g Financial public this is based on say for example the organisations annual returns. Fig 4 Macro Environmental Factors The Target market for mobile phones companies and IT companies are more likely to be the high income earning spectrum of the society or the new graduates and the city bankers and young people in the top echelon of society who will be able to afford the integrated packages that are about to be launched into the market very soon The package will include home entertainment, office package, security package, phone and video calls and financial/banking package all launched as one integrated hand held device. Market segmentation, and Target is followed by positioning, this should be developed and implemented by creating an image for the product, profiling the target market, High Tech gadgets like this integrated hand held device will be bought based on the technical specification what comfort or ease of doing a task it provide. Buying Behaviourur is the way and act of people involved in buying and using products. To understand these we need to consider, why a buyer will make a purchase, what factors influence will influence a buyer to buy a certain product. Buying Behaviour refers to how people will behave when buying a certain product. A firm needs to consider and study buying behaviourur and peoples reactions to the organisation marketing strategy has this will have great impact on the firms success. The marketing concept show how a marketing mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, hence it important to understand the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Stages of the Consumer Buying Process There are Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Problem Recognition Information search The evoked set. Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase decision- Post Purchase decision Buying behaviour is often determined by the level of consumer involvement in the purchase decisions, the importance and level of interest the consumer decisions is determined by the motivation to seek information about the product or service. High involvement purchase such as buy a luxury car or other expensive items. Also the element of risk involved in the use of the product that is the social risk and the economic risk. The four type of consumer buying behaviour: Routine Response/Programmed Behaviourr, Limited Decision Making, Extensive Decision Making/Complex, impulse buying, Routine Response/Programmed behaviour this are low involvement very little or no decision effort is required E.g. A can drink . Limited Decision Making- This are product bought occasionally example are like clothing but not brands Extensive Decision Making/Complex: This involves unfamiliar, expensive and infrequently bought goods. It involves a high degree of economic performance, and psychological risk. e.g. cars, homes, computers, it also involves a lot of time seeking information and deciding. and consumers will go through all six stages of the buying process. Impulse buying, this are purchase which are unplanned it like buying chewing gum in the Conner shop without actually thinking about it. Also prices at time lead to impulse buying. They are usually low valued items. Ethan Lyon said The goal of market positioning is to find the ideal opportunity in the market based on customer needs, market forces and financial and strategic considerations. Once the market opportunity is identified then the organisation can further develop its product and elevate its brand to deliver outstanding value. To clarify the market position, the firm will need to find an overarching theme, then define the details. (sparxoo.com) Brand Idea-The idea is an aspirational concept it defines the idea of what the company. For example the Samsung note goes with the concept of designed for human Value Proposition- A customer or a consumer buyers the Samsung note they see high value and high quality Differentiating Attributes-Samsung has distinguished itself from Apple by targeting the main stream yet providing quality and comparable or better phones than those provided by Apple Word count1450

Terri Schiavo Should NOT Have Been Kept Alive Essay example -- Right t

Terri Schiavo Should NOT Have Been Kept Alive Does a written document such as a living will decide when someone should die or should the verbal wishes of the incapacitated person be followed if known? Such as the controversy over when life begins, we now face the ultimate question of when does life end. In 1990, Terri Schiavo, a young Florida woman suffered a heart attack caused by bulimia leaving her brain without oxygen for six minutes. According to medical opinions, she has limited involuntary physical movement. She has remained in a persistent vegetative state ever since. Terri did not have a living will or medical directive in place at the time of her heart attack. Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband, has repeatedly sought the courts intervention to allow his wife’s feeding tube to be removed and she be allowed to die. On more than one occasion Michael Schiavo testified before judges stating that his wife’s wishes were to never be â€Å"hooked up† to a machine to save her life. He insists that she expressed this to him and others on more than one occasion. He further declares that she would rather die than to live as she is forced to do now. Others have also testified that this statement is true. In 1993 a court awarded Terri $1 million dollars in a medical malpractice suit, and granted her husband authority over the money to use for her care (Goldenberg, 2003). When questioned regarding his motives for wanting Terri to die, he emphatically denies her death would bring him any type of reward or satisfaction (Smith, 2004). If Terri dies her husband inherits the funds remaining in the malpractice suit. At the time of this writing, Terri’s husband lives with another woman and two children he has fathered with her without bei... ...2004, n.d.). Information about advance directives. Retrieved October 29, 2004, from http://www.health-first.org/hospitals_services/advance_directives.cfm Hennesy, P. F. (2004, October 24). Varying degrees of disgust. The Sierra Times, , . Retrieved October 31, 2004, from http://www.sierratimes.com/04/10/25/panhennessy.htm Lama, D. (1973, n.d.). Dalai Lama's speech. Retrieved October 31, 2004, from http://www.purifymind.com/DalaiLama.html Martinez, M., & Kampert, P. (2003, October 23). State to probe family's claim of spousal abuse ; Agency to protect the disabled could have decisive role. Chicago Tribune, , 24. MedicineNet.Com (1996-2004, n.d.). Advance medical directives. Retrieved October 26, 2004, from http://www.medicinenet.com/advance_medical_directives/page2.htm Smith, W. J. (2004, January 19). Beyond Terri's law. The Weekly Standard, 9(18), 14.

How will an awareness of psychoanalytic theory impact on your work in a

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Psychoanalysis presumes that a good understanding of development requires analyzing the symbolic meanings of behavior and the deep inner workings of the mind. It places a huge emphasis on the unconscious and how the unconscious is the precursor to human development. The level of awareness that I possess of psychoanalytic theory would impact my performance in the classroom only if I act on my understanding in a proactive manner. I believe it was Socrates who said that a teacher is one who not only has an understanding of subject, but is one who has the ability to teach it. And an elementary school teacher has a special responsibility in not only the intellectual, but the social development of his student. Using psychoanalysis is beneficial in seeing symbolic... How will an awareness of psychoanalytic theory impact on your work in a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Psychoanalysis presumes that a good understanding of development requires analyzing the symbolic meanings of behavior and the deep inner workings of the mind. It places a huge emphasis on the unconscious and how the unconscious is the precursor to human development. The level of awareness that I possess of psychoanalytic theory would impact my performance in the classroom only if I act on my understanding in a proactive manner. I believe it was Socrates who said that a teacher is one who not only has an understanding of subject, but is one who has the ability to teach it. And an elementary school teacher has a special responsibility in not only the intellectual, but the social development of his student. Using psychoanalysis is beneficial in seeing symbolic...

Jean-Paul Sartre and Our Responsibility for Teaching History :: Philosophy Education Research Papers

Jean-Paul Sartre and Our Responsibility for Teaching History ABSTRACT: Historical research was one of Jean-Paul Sartre's major concerns. Sartre's biographical studies and thought indicate that history is not only a field in which you gather facts, events, and processes, but it is a worthy challenge which includes a grave personal responsibility: my responsibility to the dead lives that preceded me. Sartre's writings suggest that accepting this responsibility can be a source of wisdom. Few historians, however, view history as transcending the orderly presenting and elucidating of facts, events, and processes. I contend that Sartre's writings suggest a personally enhancing commitment. A lucid and honest response to the challenges and demands of history and the dead lives that preceded my own existence is an engagement that requires courage, wisdom, and thought. The consequences of this commitment for teaching history is discussed. Historical research was one of Jean-Paul Sartre's major concerns. Roquentin, the central character of his first novel, Nausea, has chosen the "profession of historian." (1) He comes to Bouville in order to write a history of Monsieur de Rollebon, who was active at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. Important documents pertaining to Rollebon's life are in the Bouville library. As the novel develops Roquentin decides—for good reasons—to abandon his historical research, a decision to which we return. Unlike Roquentin, Sartre never abandoned the realm of historical research. Quite often he discussed history in his philosophical writings. His plays repeatedly deal with the need to relate authentically, truthfully to history. In addition, Sartre wrote three biographies—of Charles Baudelaire, Jean Genet, and The Family Idiot, a close to three thousand page study of the life of Gustave Flaubert—in which he suggested and presented an approach to studying the life of a specific person within his or her situation. Sartre also wrote abbreviated studies of contemporary history, such as his short book on Castro's Cuba. (2) Consequently, the corpus of Sartre's writings abounds with enlightening insights and ideas on how to study and write history. Very few, if any, of Sartre's insights have been transferred to the realm of historical scholarship or of teaching history. Our survey of relevant literature revealed virtually no attempts to learn from Sartre in these fields. Someone may argue that the compartmentalization of scholarship—whereby many, if not most, historians rarely read books by philosophers—may be an important reason for the ignoring of Sartre's insights in the fields of history and teaching history.

Tort Law: Stella Liebeck Report

Hot coffee spill worth cool award McDonald's may fork over $2. 9 million Denver Post Copyright 1994 Friday, August 19, 1994 The Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE – A woman, who was scalded when her McDonald's coffee spilled won a jury award of $2. 9 million – or about two days' coffee sales for the fast-food chain. Lawyers for Stella Liebeck, 81, who suffered thirddegree burns in the 1992 incident, contended that McDonald's coffee was too hot. A state district court jury imposed $2. 7 million in punitive damages and $160,000 in compensatory damages Wednesday.Ken Wagner, one of Liebeck's attorneys, said that he had asked the jury for punitive damages equal to two days' worth of McDonald's coffee sales, which he estimated at $1. 34 million a day. Testimony indicated McDonald's coffee is served at 180 to 190 degrees, based on advice from a coffee consultant who has said it tastes best that hot, Wagner said yesterday. The lawsuit contended Liebreck's coffee was 165 to 170 degree s when it spilled. In contrast, he said, coffee brewed at home is generally 135 to 140 degrees.Defense attorney Tracy McGee said the company will appeal. Juror Richard Anglada said the jury was trying to deliver a message to the industry. â€Å"The coffee's too hot out there. This happened to be McDonald's,† Anglada said Wednesday. Liebeck's lead counsel, Reed Morgan of Houston, said there have been several lawsuits nationally over the temperature of McDonald's coffee, but that he believes the Liebeck case was the first to reach the verdict stage. A California case was settled out of court for $235,000, he said. He said the woman's medical bills totaled nearly $10,000.According to testimony, Liebeck was a passenger in a car driven by her grandson outside a McDonald's in southeast Albuquerque when she was burned by a cup of coffee purchased at a drive-through window. The jury found, among other things, that the coffee was defective and that McDonald's engaged in conduct justif ying the punitive damages. Caption: PHOTO: Associated Press/Adolph Louis THE VICTIM: Stella Liebeck, who suffered third- degree burns when a cup of McDonald's coffee spilled on her, is shown with her dog at her residence in Albuquerque. Woman burned by coffee given $2. 9 million by jury Austin American-Statesman Copyright 1994 Friday, August 19, 1994 ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. – A jury awarded $2. 9 million in damages to a woman who suffered third-degree burns after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee. Stella Liebeck, 81, said in her lawsuit she was riding in a car in 1992 when she put a cup of the coffee between her legs while she removed the cap. The coffee spilled, scalding her. Testimony indicated McDonald's coffee is served at 180 to 190 degrees, based on a coffee consultant's advice that it tastes best that hot. In contrast, the lawsuit said, coffee brewed at home is generally 135 to 140 degrees.Juror Richard Anglada confirmed the jury was trying to deliver a message to the fas t-food industry with the large punitive damages. â€Å"The coffee's too hot out there,† Anglada said. Coffee burns result in $2. 9 million award from McDonald's †¢ The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Copyright 1994 Thursday, August 18, 1994 Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. – A jury awarded $2. 9 million in damages to a woman who suffered third-degree burns after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee. Stella Liebeck, 81, said in her lawsuit that McDonald's serves coffee that is too hot.Liebeck testified she was riding in a car in February 1992 when she put the cup of coffee between her legs while she removed the cap. The coffee spilled and she suffered severe burns on her legs, groin and buttocks. Reed Morgan, her attorney, said the woman's medical bills totaled close to $10,000. Juror Richard Anglada said the jury was trying to deliver a message to the fast-food industry. â€Å"The coffee's too hot out there,† she said. â€Å"This (just) happened to be McDonald' s. † Tracy McGee, McDonald's attorney, said the company would appeal. Coffee Spill Burns Woman; Jury Awards $2. Million †¢ The Wall Street Journal Copyright (c) 1994, Dow Jones & Co. , Inc. Friday, August 19, 1994 The Business of Law ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. (AP) — A woman who was scalded when her McDonald's Corp. coffee spilled was awarded almost $2. 9 million by a jury. Lawyers for Stella Liebeck, who incurred thirddegree burns in the1992 incident, contended that McDonald's coffee was too hot. On Wednesday, a state district court jury imposed $2. 7 million in punitive damages and $160,000 in compensatory damages. Defense attorney Tracy McGee has said the company will appeal.Ms. Liebeck's medical bills totaled almost $10,000, according to one of her attorneys. Testimony indicated that McDonald's coffee is served at between 180and 190 degrees, based on advice from a coffee consultant who has said the beverage tastes best at that temperature, Ken Wagner, one of Ms. Liebec k's attorneys, said yesterday. The lawsuit contended that Ms. Liebeck's coffee was between 165 and 170 degrees when it spilled. In contrast, the complaint said, coffee brewed at home is generally between 135 and 140 degrees. Woman spills coffee, sues, wins $2. 9 million The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Copyright 1994 Friday, August 19, 1994 Jennifer Packer Star-Telegram Writer A jury in Albuquerque, N. M. , awarded nearly $2. 9 million to an81-year-old woman who was burned by a cup of coffee that she spilled on herself while riding in a car. Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns on her buttocks, groin and legs after she removed the top from a cup of McDonald's coffee that she had placed between her legs while riding in a car being driven by her grandson, according to testimony. The incident occurred in 1992. The jury awarded $2. 7 million in punitive damages and $160,000 in compensatory damages Wednesday.Liebeck's medical bills totaled nearly $10,000, according to court documents. â€Å"She couldn't sit. Her butt was burned, her crotch was burned -if you could see the pictures . . . it was disgusting,† Tracey Salazar, an Albuquerque civil court clerk, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. â€Å"She did deserve something, but $2. 9 million dollars? That's how it works in society today,† Salazar said. Testimony at the trial indicated that McDonald's coffee is served at temperatures between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit under a corporate guideline based on advice from a coffee consultant.The woman's coffee was between 165 and 170 degrees when it was spilled, according to testimony. Liebeck's lawyer, Reed Morgan, told The Associated Press that Liebeck's isn't the first lawsuit filed over McDonald's coffee temperature. But it's likely the first one to reach a verdict, he said. McDonald's attorney Tracy McGee said the company will appeal the decision. â€Å"We will pursue all the appropriate remedies,† she said. Ray Waddell, a Texas Wesleyan Univ ersity law professor, said he believes that the heavy punitive damages were meant to serve as a lesson to McDonald's and other restaurants. It's their legal duty not to serve dangerously hot coffee,† Waddell said. â€Å"The $2. 7 million is to . . . get McDonald's attention so they won't make boiling hot coffee anymore. It's more than likely the jury just got mad at McDonald's and decided to punish them. † Waddell said the publicity surrounding the case could provoke copycat coffee-inspired lawsuits. â€Å"You can suppose that people all over the country will go around buying big cups of coffee and spilling it on themselves,† he said. Fort Worth Fire Department Lt. G. D. Wilder said any liquid hotter than 110 degrees can cause a burn.Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. â€Å"The hotter it is, the less time it takes to burn,† Wilder said. The depth of the burn, he said, depends on how long the skin has been exposed to the hot substance. A small, unscient ific survey yesterday by the StarTelegram showed that coffee temperatures at Tarrant County restaurants ranged from 155to 175 degrees. The hottest coffee, at 175 degrees, came from a Dunkin' Donuts store. A 7-Eleven store served it at 170 degrees. A Whataburger restaurant's coffee was 160 degrees, and a cup of Texaco coffee registered 155degrees.One McDonald's manager in Fort Worth, who would not give her name, said company policy mandates that coffee be prepared at a temperature of about 195 degrees. But another Fort Worth McDonald's manager, who also declined to give her name, gave the official temperature as 170 degrees and said she has never had any complaints. â€Å"It's not a problem,† she said. â€Å"They always come back for more. † A Fort Worth Jack in The Box manager said company policy dictates that coffee be made with water that's about 195 degrees. â€Å"It's supposed to come out at 191 or better.We just want to make sure there's a minimum temperature,â⠂¬  manager Bobby Woodard said, adding that the staff checks water temperature daily with digital thermometer. â€Å"I've never had anybody saying that it was too hot. † At Grady's American Grill, a nationwide franchise whose parent company owns Chili's and several other chain restaurants, the only coffee temperature policy is an informal one: â€Å"As long as it's steaming, it's hot enough to serve,† said David Lalas, general manager of the chain's Helen Street restaurant. But Lalas said that he thinks the McDonald's verdict will change that soon. I'm sure there'll be some kind of stipulation on how hot it's supposed to be and to calibrate it,† Lalas said. â€Å"For true coffee drinkers,† Lalas said, â€Å"it's never going to be too hot for them. † Law Professor Waddell said he wouldn't be surprised if the verdict against McDonald's opens the door to a new era of food servers who will poke their fingers into cups of coffee before offering them to customers- all in the name of protecting their restaurants against legal complaints. â€Å"It would cost them millions of dollars a day to check their coffee,† Waddell said. The cheapest way to test it is to stick a finger in it. † Staff writer Chris Vaughn contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press. LETTERS †¢ Austin American-Statesman Copyright 1994Friday, September 2, 1994 Take responsibility When are we going to make people responsible for their own actions? To blame McDonald's for serving hot coffee, let alone awarding $2. 9million for damages as reported Aug. 19, is ludicrous. It was Stella Liebeck who spilled the coffee, not McDonald's! McDonald's should not be held responsible for her bad judgment.I'm no fan of McDonald's but I am a senior citizen myself, and in good conscience I could not sue McDonald's for personal injury caused by mown carelessness. What's happened to our legal and jury systems? Is there no commonsense left in America? ROSE M. DONOVAN Austin, 78731-3918 Hot topic And lawyers wonder why so many view them as liars, cheats and corrupters of our legal system. Just look at the $2. 9 million given to an Albuquerque, N. M. , woman by a jury that was somehow convinced that McDonald's makes their coffee too hot!Stella Liebeck, 81, was riding in a car in 1992, and spilled coffee between her legs when she removed the cup's lid and burned herself. Testimony indicated that McDonald's serves coffee at between 180 and190 degrees Fahrenheit, while home brewed coffee is between 135 to 140 degrees. Just for fun, I checked the temperature of our two noncommercial coffee pots – a Freeware percolator and a Militia drip. The perc serves its brew at 190 and the drip at 185. I'll bet by the Laws of Chemistry that if I served boiled coffee it would be around 212, egg shells included.When Ford Motor Co. purposely chose to let people die in Pintos and face injury in models with a C-4 transmission ins tead of spending pennies on prevention, that was criminal. When McDonald's or any restaurant serves you hot coffee you should get exactly what you order -hot coffee. I guess I want to ask the lawyers and plaintiffs what's next -insulated cups, Tabasco, the famous cry in Mexican restaurants â€Å"Hot Plate,† melted cheese on pizza? Maybe that woman was too old to be served hot coffee and we should withhold dangerous food and beverages from anyone over 65.I'll be real disappointed the next time I order Hot and Sour soup and can only get Vichyssoise instead. ROBERT D. ATKINSON Austin, 78753 THE COFFEE'S HOT, STUPID! A proud nation of pioneers has become a land of whining plaintiffs †¢ Atlanta Journal Copyright 1994 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday, September 13, 1994EDITORIALDebra Saunders San Francisco – Is it the job of the courts to protect Americans from themselves? Recent court cases suggest that many plaintiffs and jurors believe so. Last month's jury a ward in Albuquerque of $2. million in punitive damages to a woman scalded by McDonald's coffee is the first case. Stella Liebeck, 79, was a passenger in a car driven by her grandson whence bought her megabucks cup of coffee at a McDonald's drive-through in1992. She spilled the coffee on her lap after she pried the lid from the cup, which she had placed between her legs. It shouldn't take an Einstein to figure out that you don't open a full cup of coffee anywhere near your legs – never mind between them in a moving car. But in America, we reward such thoughtlessness and punish entities that don't treat people like mindless boobs.Juror Richard Anglada explained that the jury wanted to send the restaurant industry a message: â€Å"The coffee's too hot out there. This happened to be McDonald's. † It's true, restaurant coffee tends to be served at temperatures hotter than java brewed at home. So make McDonald's pay for Liebeck's medical bills. But reward her with $2. 7 mill ion for being careless wither coffee? Now some restaurants are considering putting warning labels on their coffee. Let them read: â€Å"Hot! Stupid. † Because in this litigious age, it's not enough to be hot, and everybody knows it, you have to shout â€Å"hot! † so that no one forgets it.In Sacramento and San Luis Obispo counties, separate lawsuits have been filed against authors Laura Davis and Ellen Bass, whose book â€Å"The Courage to Heal,† has become a self-help bible for incest survivors. Or, perhaps I should say, people who believe they are incest survivors. The book encourages readers to explore for retrieved memories of incest thus: â€Å"Even if you are unable to remember any specific instances of childhood sexual abuse but you have a feeling that something happened in your childhood, it probably did. † No doubt the book has prompted some desperate people to conjure up false memories, with tragic consequences.Last week, a Sacramento Superior C ourt judge dismissed the suit against the authors but let stay Deborah David's suit against her therapists, minister and health-care provider. As Neil Shapiro, who represents authors Davis and Bass, told the San Francisco Chronicle: â€Å"These are ideas, and you can't have liability for ideas. † While the court ruled correctly, it is disturbing that David asked the courts to shield her from the power of an idea. Her therapists and the authors through their books â€Å"convinced† David, the$4million-plus complaint argued, that â€Å"she was abused as a child, and that she had multiple personalities. The suit complained that while the book promised healing, it â€Å"failed to heal† David. She â€Å"relied on such representations and, in reliance thereon, purchased the book and the workbook and read them as directed. † There is an irony in this suit: Two priestesses in the cult of victimology have faced two suits based on the assumption that the plaintiffs were helpless before their rhetoric. Victimology has gone full circle. America has devolved from a country of pioneers to a nation of plaintiffs.

Problem in Diastereoselectivity

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to determine the stereochemical outcome of a reaction. A second chiral center is being formed in this experiment and two diastereomeric compounds are created. Table of Reagents: Safety Precautions or Hazards: †¢Do not place pipettes in paper trash. Must be thrown away in the broken glass container †¢Take caution when adding HCl. †¢CO2 evolution may be vigorous so be sure to vent funnel. †¢Never directly heat ethanol over hot plate, use water bath. †¢Conc. H2SO4 is highly corrosive Equations for all Reactions: Mechanism(s):Experimental Procedure: Part A: 1. Add a magnetic stir bar, 2g of benzoin, and 20 ml of absolute ethanol in a 125ml Erlenmeyer flask. 2. While stirring, (do not turn on the heater) carefully add 0. 4 g (10. 6 mmol) of sodium borohydride portion-wise to the mixture over 5 minutes. After the addition is complete, stir the mixture for another 15 minutes at room temperature. A white precipitate will for m. 3. Cool the flask in an ice-water bath and decompose the excess sodium borohydride by first adding 30 mL of water followed by the careful and dropwise addition of 2 mL of 3M HCl.The HCl addition should be done quite slowly, no more than about 3 drops per minute (maybe 10-15 minutes total time). The mixture may foam uncontrollably if the acid is added too quickly. If the foam reaches the 100 mL mark on the flask, stop adding HCl until the foaming subsides. 4. When the HCl addition is complete, add another 10 mL of water and stir the mixture for 15 minutes. 5. Collect the white precipitate by suction filtration. Wash the product diol with water on the suction funnel (about 150 mL) and allow the product to air dry on a filter paper. Safely store the product in your drawer until next week. . The filtrate should be placed in the aqueous acidic waste container. It contains water, B(OH)3, HCl, and ethanol. 7. Then, record the mp when the sample is completely dry (mp ~136-137 ? C). Disca rd filtrate in the organic waste container. 8. Record the IR spectrum and compare it to the spectrum of the starting benzoin, noting the absence of the carbonyl-stretching band. Your product should be completely dry before going on next week to the next reaction. Part B: 1. Dissolve 1 g (4. 67 mmol) of the diol in 15 mL of anhydrous reagent grade acetone in a 50 mL round bottomed flask fitted with a stir bar. . Add 2 mL of acetone dimethyl acetal (2,2-dimethoxypropane). Immediately stopper the flask and cool it in an ice bath. 3. Remove the stopper and add 12 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid. (Caution: conc. H2SO4 is highly corrosive). 4. Carefully replace the stopper and continue to stir the cooled flask for 20 minutes. 5. Then, transfer the cold reaction mixture to a separatory funnel. Rinse the reaction flask with two 25 mL portions of diethyl ether and add the rinses to the separatory funnel. Carefully add 30 mL of Na2CO3 solution to the separatory funnel.Swirl the funnel gen tly before inserting its stopper. (Caution: CO2 evolution may be vigorous. ) Insert the stopper and immediately invert the funnel and vent it by opening the stopcock. With the stopcock open, swirl the funnel again to complete the neutralization of the acid and evolution of CO2. Close the stopcock. Position the funnel upright and remove the stopper. 6. Drain off the lower aqueous layer and extract the remaining organic layer with two-30 mL portions of water and then one 30 mL portion of saturated sodium chloride solution. 7.Transfer the organic layer to an Erlenmeyer flask and dry the solution over Na2SO4. DECANT the dry solution into a round-bottomed flask and evaporate the solvent on a rotary evaporator (rotovap). Your TA will explain to you how the rotovap works. 8. The aqueous layer should be placed in the aqueous basic waste container. 9. Scrape your crystalline product out of the round-bottomed flask. Dry. If your crystals are sticky, your TA will assist you by washing with ice -cold pentane. Record the mp and IR of your product. Be sure to calculate a yield for steps 1 and 2 and an overall yield.Results and Observations: I noticed that it was very hard to get the solid substance out of the erlinmeyer flask without rinsing several times. I do not believe this gave me abnormal results or is a cause for skewed yield. In part A I got a melting point of 122*C and collected 1. 427g of product. In part B I got . 4857g of product. My melting point was 49*C and there was no IR taken because the machine was down. Product Data: The product in part A is officially called erythro-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediol. It has a melting point of ~136*C. It has the chemical formula of C14H14O2 and molecular mass of 214. 64 g/mol. The product in part be is officially called meso-2,2-dimethyl-4,5-diphenyl-1,3-dioxolane. The melting point for this is ~57*C and has a molecular weight of 254. 329 g/mol. Its chemical formula is C17H18O2 . Discussion of Results: My yield was decent but b ecause of the lower than normal melting points I’ve determined that my product is not as pure as I’d like it to be. Also, I am without an IR spectrum of my product in part B so I cannot analyze my own chemicals stereochemistry. Percent yield and mp: MP part A: 122*C MP part B: 49*C % yield A: % yield B: % yield Overall:

Precision Worldwide, Inc

Introduction When a competitor develops and introduces a superior product that is less costly to manufacture and even many times usable and durable, the key to people at Precision Worldwide must decide whether to match the competitor's product, when to do so, how to price or what sustainable competitive advantage it needs to adopt during the next strategic period, given that it holds a large inventory of its now inferior product. This issue concerns the steel and plastic rings which the company, Precision Worldwide, Inc. PWI) is opting to produce as a matter of competing intensively with a French company, Henri Poulenc, which was at the same time posing a big threat to the viability of the steel rings PWI is producing. . PWI is confronted not only with a substitute product which is both cheap and durable. Compared to PWI’s steel rings, the plastic rings being produced by Henri Poulenc is both cheaper and lasts longer. PWI is also facing the risk of earning the ire of its custo mers if it manufactures but selectively introduces the cheaper plastic rings in areas where it is faced with the ‘plastic’ competition. As a result, PWI is now confronted with a dilemma of differences in strategic measures to undertake given the differing opinions of its key people. Questions Posted for this Note: 1. You have to analyze the existing data, the conflicting views of the sales manager and the Development engineer. And make a decision as to whether PWI should begin the manufacture of a plastic ring. Answer: From the standpoint of the qualitative aspect of competition, PWI is encouraged to start manufacturing of the plastic ring if it is to avert a more serious consequence of being eased out of the market due to a cheaper, more durable plastic ring. Regardless of the fact that PWI still has an inventory of the special steel material and the completed steel rings, yet PWI should approach the problem with a resolve in terms of the qualitative factor of competition. The cost of the existing inventory will have to be matched with the opportunity cost of being eased out of the competition – that is, pitting the income from the substitute with the potential loss of the opportunity income due to a prompt entry into the plastics market. For PWI, the signs of change are showing: the presence of a cheaper and better substitute which should not be ignored totally. Hence, this needs to be seriously considered as a threat. The presence of alternatives as exemplified by Henri Poulenc should encourage PWI to explore this option. 2. In addition, a plan needs to be designed as to the pricing policy to follow for both the steel and the plastic rings. Answer: A plan for the pricing policy is similarly considered urgent to explore the opportunities of lower cost or such cost being at par with the competition, both for the steel and plastic rings. Any form of pricing policy will have to be dependent on the cost of production and operations of PWI. Opportunities for cost reductions through outsourcing, reengineering and redundancy layoffs should be seriously considered. Among the avenues that can be explored include outsourcing of the manufacturing of the steel and plastic rings, either with Henri Poulenc or with other equally cost-effective firms. A number of plastic or steel rings manufacturer may offer a cheaper cost structure for PWI. An additional strategy to a pricing policy for the steel and plastic ring is to reengineer the manufacturing operations for the rings to explore ways of reducing production cost to lower the selling price for the part. Part of this operations restructuring measure include: evaluation of the sources of raw materials as means of looking for cheaper suppliers. (Kaplan & Norton, 2004) Comparatively, indeed, the costs of raw materials for both plastic and steel rings are too big to be ignored. PWI has to take the initiative to explore the use of alternatives like plastic which has been found feasible by Henri Poulenc. On the other hand, the labor and overhead cost may be studied in detail to explore automated production to manage the cost-price relationship. Cost variance analysis is needed to determine areas for improvements and opportunities. Pricing policies will then come after target costing measures are explored. (Garrison & Noreen, 2003) 3. Finally, some considerations should be given to the effect of the decision upon the firm’s image in the marketplace. Answer: There are a number of considerations that may likely impact the image-building processes of PWI are to be seriously considered when making decisions. Thus the effect of decisions involving the following issues is considered: (1) the issues involving the cost structure which continue to hamper the pricing policies and market potentials of PWI’s products. It appears that PWI has not really looked into the possibility of actively pursuing efforts to compete in the market through cost-effective production processes, lower prices to recognize the availability of better-equality substitutes such as the plastic rings; (2) the possible discovery of distributing the planned cheaper plastic rings in areas where competition is tight. This issue might prove to be an indefensible issue if customers discover such unfair selective distribution scheme; (3) the disposal of the remaining inventory of special steel and the finished steel rings might not be acceptable to the market unless prices are made more attractive and useful to the buyer. However, disposal made at a cheaper price and the prompt introduction of the plastic rings at a competitive price might mitigate the possible losses of the steel materials and steel rings. This can bring a positive impact in favor of the PWI for its initiative at providing its customers with marked down prices of steel rings. And, (4) the production of plastic rings at a cheaper cost will enable the company to bring a message of dynamism to the market despite the prospect of competition. (Hill, 2008) 4. How long is it prudent to sell a short-lived highly profitable replacement part without jeopardizing the company’s image and market share? Answer: The introduction of the plastic rings into the market should be followed by a market survey to determine the acceptability of the market to the innovation. An analysis of the consumer behavior is important in planning the appropriate action to be taken on the period required to sell the plastic rings. The survey should be able to tell the effects of the innovation for PWI to assess how long the product can be introduced into the market without affecting the image and market share of the company. 5. What price relationship is likely to prevail between the steel rings and the plastic rings once the latter become widespread? Answer: The price relationship expected to prevail between the steel rings and the plastic rings might at a ratio of 5:1 which means that five plastic rings is equivalent to one steel ring. This relationship however, can significantly change as the cost structure is reevaluated and inputs analyzed to arrive at a more competitive cost structure enough to sustain the production of both the steel and the plastic rings. . How should the 15,100 finished steel rings that will still be on hand in September be treated for analytical purposes? Answer: The inventory of finished steel rings will be used up in due time by September based on estimates of periodic and regular consumption. The remaining inventory can be classified at scrap and marked down accordingly to encourage sales and turnover. 7. Will the price rings hold at $1,350 once plastic rings are introduced? Answer: The price will no longer hold at $1,350 for the steel rings. The price of the traditional steel rings will drop accordingly due to the presence of substitutes and the demand to become more competitive. 8. Will the price of steel rings fall to one-fourth of the plastic rings’ price? Answer: It is probable that the price of the steel rings will fall to one-fourth or even beyond as components of the cost become stable, but there are still variables to consider that may affect the pricing: that is, the issue of reengineering the production which may lead to lower costs. 9. What effects will the decision in respect to plastic rings and steel rings have on the sale of other PWI products?particularly of the industrial machines? Answer: Since the pricing policy of PWI will affect the options to be made by the company, the effect of decisions on the plastic and steel rings may rationalize the prices of the machines as the cost burden is shifted from the steel to the plastic area. (Garrison & Noreen 2003) 10. Can the plastic rings be sold in France without affecting PWI’s other markets? Answer: At the short run, there will be no effect. However, in the long run, when customers are able to gain access to the French market through the globalization phenomenon, customers will start to shift sourcing of rings from the traditional sources to France where are able to make good use of their financial resources. 11. What action should Hans Thorborg take? Why? Answer: Thorborg should explore existing and future capabilities to arrive at the various options. Here, the bottom line is the capability to produce the plastic rings at a competitive price while disposing the inventory of steel materials and the steel rings. Thorborg needs to start retooling the production lines for the plastic rings. The threat from Henri Poulenc is real and may soon take some market share from PWI. The cost structure is a very fluid support for decisions as these can significantly change with a decision to outsource, reengineer or rationalize the labor and overhead component. Whatever options Thorborg choose to act on, needs the support of his key people in the company especially Henk and Eisenbach. (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2003)