Business Regulation Government or Self

Business Regulation Government or Self Introduction The government and business participate in the process of executing their respective economic roles. The government plays the role of governing by controlling and directing people on how to carry out their economic activities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Business Regulation: Government or Self-regulation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The administration controls and guides various state parties or persons who have the power of developing the courses of action. Business entities constitute one of the parties within a state, which the government has a share in their operations. Business entities encompass all organizations that engage in the trading of goods and services. Governments and business entities demonstrate a mutual relationship. Businesses thrive in environments in which the government has established policies to guide their conducts through the enactment and development of authoritative r ules or a condition that customarily governs behavior while not curtailing businesses’ fundamental freedoms. For example, businesses must serve the interests of the communities. Thus, the government ensures equal public participation in business processes. Should the government engage in the regulation of all businesses, including their decision-making process and the setting of their policies? This paper addresses the role of government regulation on businesses. The goal is to determine whether businesses should operate as free entities by ensuring deregulation. The Role of the Government in Regulating Businesses The government plays a proactive role in ensuring a fair play of businesses in the process of executing their functions. In all markets, the government regulates the conduct of business players. Indeed, even in liberalized markets, businesses should be monitored to avoid unethical practices among the competing entities.Advertising Looking for essay on busine ss economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The government safeguards the environment, promotes fair labor practices, and/or guarantees healthier working conditions while at the same time setting the minimum wage for workers. Businesses also have a responsibility of developing their self-regulatory models. However, the government should play the ultimate role in ensuring that the set standards are met and that all stakeholders operate within the laid down regulations. Organizations are established to perform different functions depending on whether they are profit-making or non-profit-making entities. For profit-making organizations, their strategies are developed consistently with the profit maximization behavior in mind. Thus, business strategies are formulated in accordance with the need to enhance the performance of a firm in the short and long term. Rumelt, Schendel, and Teece (2009) provide evidence for this asserti on by claiming, â€Å"As never before, strategic management academics have adopted the language and logic of economics† (p. 5). The magnitude of profit is one of the most crucial parameters to measure business performance. In this context, neoclassical economics firms are characterized by profit maximization. Such firms make products through the deployment of cost-analysis formulas that ensure that marginal revenues are equal to marginal costs. While increasing profit levels, minimal costs should be less than marginal revenues. Without appropriate regulation, the profit maximization behavior may be explored as a business policy without paying ardent consideration to the negative consequences of their cost reduction strategies on stakeholders.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Business Regulation: Government or Self-regulation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, the government needs to engage in business regulations to protect the interest of various stakeholders who may be harmed by a business entity when it is permitted to make decisions without appropriate guidance. The government has interest in the regulation of businesses in the context of various issues such as health, safety standard in administrative centers, wages and salaries, advertising, imposition of taxes, and other items that relate to employee fundamental rights. Organizations increase their profits by pushing the maximum number of products to the market. This process involves promotion through advertising. Organizations can engage in unethical practices in advertising simply to make high sales if not controlled by the government. This claim means that through regulation, the government ensures that all marketing efforts guarantee that the target audience gains the highest good from the products. This role is well played out by the US government through its regulation of business entities. For example, FDA has diff erent regulations on the advertisement of pharmaceutical products. In case of advertisements of products with claims, an organization must make a fair balance in the advertisement through the inclusion of the likely risks in â€Å"major statement’ and ‘adequate provision’ for access to ‘brief summary’† (Ventola, 2011, p.682). This strategy helps to avoid the transfer of product risks to their intended consumers who are targeted by business entities’ advertising campaigns. In the US, state and federal laws protect individuals and organizations’ intellectual properties (IP). Thus, one of the issues that relate to IP entails theft or infringement of copyright. The IP bears national and international perspectives.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More National laws and regulations control and protect patents. International conventions guarantee that the licenses have specific rights while also ensuring that laws exist to enforce the rights in contractual relationships. Legal litigation involving IP resolves the question of whether the defendant has copied the claimed work or invention or whether the plaintiff owns the claimed work. Therefore, through regulation by means of legislation, the government ensures that the operations of a business entity do not lead to infringement of other state parties’ rights. These expositions reveal how the government plays the role of ensuring a fair play in business practices and relations through the development and implementation of regulations with which business entities must comply. The government plays an essential role in regulating businesses to ensure environmental sustainability. To this extent, companies are required by state organizations that are in charge of regulating busin ess conducts, especially if they interfere with the environment, to ensure that they produce and distribute green products. Indeed, ensuring sustainable modern supply chains is essential for businesses, especially following the heavy emphasis on producing and giving out green products in the effort to curb environmental degradation. Adopting green business strategies is not only a measure for ensuring sustainable long-term business operations but also a measure for ensuring that an organization behaves and acts in a socially responsible manner. This claim reveals how government regulation can help businesses to develop strategies for ensuring environmental cautiousness by setting acceptable standards in relation to waste generation and disposal. Although individual states have environmental regulations, government agencies and international treaties may also create additional directives. For example, in the US, the Environmental Protection Agency plays the role of enforcing various environmental laws that are enacted by the federal governments. It accomplished this mission through inspections, enhancing, and ensuring transparency and accountability in business operations to the environment. It also guarantees compliance with the established laws. Apart from the environment, the labor sector is another crucial area of government regulation. Businesses face the changing government regulations. In fact, employment and labor constitute one of the areas that the government has an interest in establishing rules in a bid to safeguard the interests and rights of workers. In the US, employment and labor laws relate to the regulation of minimum wages, compliance with health standards, safety in the work environments, equality in terms of accessing employment opportunities, and privacy regulations among other issues. One of the most important mechanisms for regulating employment and labor is ensuring employees’ freedom to choose to remain employed by a business es tablishment without any coercion. In the US, the government ensures that businesses respect this right through the employment-at-will doctrine. With an exception of Montana, in all regions in the US, employment contracts are guided by the employment-at-will doctrine. In other nations, employment dismissals are based on reasonable causes. States that retain the at-will-presumption assert that the law is essential in respecting contract freedoms and/or ensuring employer reverence. Instead of job security, most employers and employees prefer the presumption. The employment-at-will doctrine holds that employers have the right and freedom of terminating employee(s) at any particular time for whatever reason they deem necessary apart from an illegal purpose and/or when an organization does not incur any liability. The doctrine also allows employees to quit their jobs any time without giving any reason or having to issue a notification. Once they follow this path, they should not face any legal consequence. Government regulations of conducts of businesses through doctrines such as the employment-at-will attract criticisms to the extent that some companies may capitalize on the available loopholes to disadvantage some employees. For instance, the at-will presumption gives employers the freedom to alter employment terms without giving prior notice and/or without attracting any legal consequences. This observation means that employers can change wages and salaries and withdraw certain benefits without any legal liability. Therefore, in the absence of any modification, the laws open employees to the vulnerability of arbitrary dismissals or being called for work without following any schedule to meet the employers’ needs. In many states, including South Carolina, contractual terms modify the employment-at-will doctrine. For instance, employers and employees can enter into contracts with the provision for termination in an event of a cause. In South Carolina and oth er states, apart from Montana, negotiations for contractual employment terms are mainly done with top-ranking employees only. This situation leaves low-ranking employees with the collective bargaining as the only option for modification of the employment-at-will doctrine that is anchored in employment and labor laws. This case suggests that the adherence to proper principles of protection of employee rights also requires not only government regulations through laws, but also the willingness of businesses to participate with goodwill in the development of policies for protecting employee employment relations. Should the Government Intervene to Protect Culture, Enforce Minimum Wages, Safety Standards, and/or Prevent Unjust Discrimination? Profit-making businesses embrace bargaining economic models in realizing their objectives. The model â€Å"presumes that an organization is a cooperative, sometimes competitive, resource distributing system† (Barney 2007, p.68.). Competitivene ss in the allocation of resources is enhanced through strategies, for instance, cost reduction in relation to the anticipated returns on investments. In this context, Collins and Jerry (1996) reckon, â€Å"Decisions, problems, and goals are more useful when shared by a greater number of people with each decision-maker bargaining with other groups for scarce resources, which are vital in solving problems and meeting goals† (p.87). The proclaimed goals refer to the aims and objectives of an organization as stipulated in the businesses’ action plans and terms. Strategic plans establish action plans that are established in the implementation plan procedures (Barney 2007). The concept of cost reduction that is embraced in business strategic management approaches is analogous or even equal to the cost elements that are used in profit-maximization models. For maximum profits, costs must remain low. In some situations, this process may involve the cutting down of labor costs a nd/or reduction of benefits provided to employees. Therefore, the government needs to get involved to ensure that businesses provide wages and salaries that can enable employees to live a worthwhile life. Under the principles of corporate social responsibility, businesses have a responsibility to ensure that they do not just serve their interest while ignoring the benefit of other stakeholders. While this situation is expected to streamline business behaviors, checks are essential for businesses that fail to comply with corporate responsibility ethical requirements by exploring discriminatory policies, exploiting employees, and/or failing to ensure safety standards among other issues. Therefore, the government needs to intervene to regulate businesses to enforce minimum wages, safety standards, and/or prevent unjust discrimination. Indeed, safety comprises an essential factor that many governments control across the globe. Protection may apply to workplaces and in products and servi ces. The US government ensures ardent regulation of businesses with respect to product safety. Product safety involves proper product labeling and description of packaged contents. The ingredient that is described on the product label should not only match the contents, but also reveal the substances that are permitted by the Foods and Drug Regulation Administration (FDA) body. The FDA inspects mass-produced products to ensure that businesses meet this ethical requirement. This plan ensures that unethical businesses do not sell unsubstantiated products, which may cause damage to their consumers. The government has the responsibility of ensuring that businesses do not explore discriminatory policies while employing people or evaluating contracts bids. The 2009 data from the US Census Bureau depicted a close relationship between small business populations’ racial and gender characteristic. According to the data, women represented 28 percent of all active contractors. This figur e corresponded to 28 percent of their total share of the population of people who engage in small businesses that focus on contracting or subcontracting with federal governments. From the context of minority groups, data from the same organization showed that persons of color accounted for 24 percent of all active small business contractors against their population of 20 percent in the overall population of small businesses. This data indicates that small business owners have equal opportunities in winning a federal contract, irrespective of gender, or racial demographic characteristics. Apart from the federal governments, even in private business establishments, the government has a responsibility for ensuring equality and fair play among different business industry actors. It is essential for the government to ensure that organizations do not engage in practices that lead to the exploitation of employees in terms of salaries and wages by regulating minimum payments and/or denying benefits such as health insurance. It also needs to intervene to guarantee that unjust discrimination does not occur. However, it is essential to note that some otherwise considered discriminatory practices are beyond the government control. Female small industrialists encounter challenges that are articulated to business formation and equal engagement in government contracts. In the effort to ensure that the businesses overcome these challenges, the US government has created policies such as affirmative action to increase the number of minority-owned small business firms that can secure government contracts. For instance, it has established a policy that requires the reservation of 5% of all contracts that are awarded by federal governments to minority-owned small businesses (Trechiel Scott, 2006). Nevertheless, such policies do not necessarily translate into increasing the number of marginalized people-owned small businesses that engage in government contracting. Why does this si tuation occur? Inequalities exist between men-owned and women-owned small businesses. The organization reveals that women-owned business revenue accounted for only 9 percent of the entire US economy in comparison with the 36 percent contribution from the revenue that was generated by the men-owned small business enterprise in 2011. This observation suggests that in case women increase their revenue objectives to equalize with small businesses that are owned by men, they are likely to make a more significant economic impact. However, a scholarly question emerges on how this goal can be accomplished. Trechiel and Scott (2006) suggest that women small business owners lack adequate â€Å"negotiating, assertiveness, and decision-making skills† (p.52). Government regulations fail to resolve any inequality that arises from differences in expertise levels. Government regulation only provides legal processes that ensure that the best business owners in terms of skills and knowledge ba ses acquire contracts and opportunities to do business with it. In the process of protecting employee interests, the government needs to take part in the development of policies for regulating business conducts. The plans should address the freedom of unionization. Labor unions are essential in different nations. They ensure the protection of employee interests. They fight for better salaries and wages, reasonable working hours, and safe and conducive work environments for their members. Labor unions also fight for unsuitable forms of labor, such as child labor. They ensure that employees gain health benefits. They also support people who are injured in work environments to pursue their rights through the payment of damages. This claim suggests that the government needs to support the ordinary course that employees pursue through labor unions. Such a course reflects significant areas of concern to the government while developing employment and labor regulations. Businesses have diff erent cultures. As a way of making sure that all organizational stakeholders focus on common goals and objectives, it is essential for them to subscribe to a common form of thinking, interacting, and upholding values and norms. Organizational norms, standards, and ways of thinking define an organizational culture, which needs to be aligned with the operations of a business entity. Organizations’ cultural elements constitute some underlying assumptions that when adopted and observed by all stakeholders, especially the diverse workforce, can aid in enhancing the success of a business entity. This claim suggests that any government interference with a business entity’s traditions through cultural regulation influences the variation of norms and values that differentiate business entities. Thus, such regulations may create an inappropriate organizational cultural hegemony within a nation after considering that a culture is an essential aspect of business entities’ c ompetitive advantage. While it is crucial for governments to regulate some aspects of business, others such as culture are inappropriate. An alternative to government regulation of businesses entails allowing organizations to behave as good corporate citizens. They need to self-regulate themselves in matters of cultures, policies on minimum wages, safety standards, and/or protection of employees against unjust discrimination. An emerging question is whether organizations should protect culture, enforce minimum wages, safety standards, and/or prevent unjust discrimination through self-regulation. Self-regulation of Businesses Government regulations are important in ensuring that businesses balance the interests of different stakeholders rather than focusing on profit maximization behavior. However, in the absence of government regulation, business entities also need to develop their internal mechanisms for ensuring protection of their cultures. They need to shun from exploring polici es that encourage unjust practices such as discrimination or failing to provide safe and healthy working environments for their employees. A good functioning of an organization requires control and monitoring. One of the ways of ensuring self-regulation in business entails respecting the principle of corporate responsibility and corporate governance. Corporate governance comprises one of the ways of controlling and enhancing the monitoring of business operations. At its basic premise is the need to alleviate disagreements of interest among partners. This agenda is mostly accomplished through the enactment of various customs, laws, processes, policies and institutions, which have enormous repercussions in terms of affecting the manner in which businesses are controlled. Eliminating conflicts of interest between businesses and employees requires firms to develop and implement policies that guarantee fundamental freedoms of employees, including unionization. Corporate governance polici es and other control structures may help to regulate employee conducts and decisions by defining what is ethically permitted. However, organizational culture may act as important regulator of employee decision-making processes. Businesses owners need to effectively deploy strategic initiatives to instill an influential culture of loyalty, which helps to drive ethical decision-making processes among employees. Through utilitarianism as an appropriate ethical theory to influence business culture, self-regulating becomes possible. For example, as a self- regulation mechanism, businesses can deploy utilitarianism to regulate employee cultures so that without government regulation, different stakeholders can act in a manner that guarantees utmost good for all. In the formation of organizational cultures, governments’ influence is inappropriate after considering that regulations must apply harmoniously within different organizations. This situation creates a government-induced cult ural hegemony in various businesses. Thus, they lack the opportunity to differentiate themselves. Therefore, governments should not regulate organizational cultures, unless where such cultures pursue policies that are misaligned with the acceptable practices in corporate social responsibility and ethics such as failure to embrace organizational diversity, which may lead to discrimination of employees on racial, ethnic, and gender lines when remunerating them or giving various benefits. Although organizations should not be regulated by influencing or protecting cultures, regulation is essential on other matters such as enforcing minimum wages, safety standards and preventing unmerited favoritism. This position is held with reference to the various experiences in which businesses have pursued policies that disadvantage employees through their exploration, amid the existence of government regulations on these issues. For example, over the last decade, some major manufacturing organizat ions have encountered criticisms over exploration of policies that have led to the re-emergence of sweatshops accompanied by discrimination and the paying of low wages. Some business entities, especially in areas that are exempted from minimum wage laws and/or regions that are dominated by consistent denial of the freedom to unionize, employees are often subjected to poor working conditions and low pay. In such businesses, child labor is also high. The current US government labor laws prohibit businesses from employing minors. The government also places legal requirements that improve the rights of workers, such as setting minimum wage and the number of hours per work shift. This achievement has been realized through intensive struggles of labor movements against sweatshops that appeared during the industrial revolution. Such regulation ensures that organizations do not self-regulate themselves on matters that undermine the rights of the citizenry. This position is perhaps correct c onsidering that failure to comply with the established business conventions may not attract any legal liability. In this context, Powell (2012,) asserts, â€Å"trade unions, minimum wage laws, fire safety laws, and labor laws have made sweatshops rare in the developed world† (p.452). Nevertheless, such achievements have not eliminated sweatshops in the US, although the term is more related to manufacturing organizations in the developing nations. This claim suggests the necessity of government regulation for businesses to ensure that they continue respecting human rights in their policies rather than just focusing on increasing their profitability by overworking employees or paying them low wages and salaries. Businesses have the responsibility of motivating their employees, enhancing safe working environment, and/or guaranteeing job satisfaction. Therefore, government regulations on work environment standards also produce positive implications for businesses. Employees who a re treated poorly produce goods that fail to pass the quality test. Through government regulations, appropriate conditions are also created for businesses to benefit from employee commitment. Self-regulation in some businesses gives them the freedom to explore policies that are not in agreement with employee safety and health. For example, it is common in China and other developing nations to find garment factories in which workers execute their daily routines in an environment that has fiber-dust enriched air. Permitting businesses to pay their workers without following government-enacted regulations on minimum wages only creates the likelihood of companies to underpay them or keep on reviewing their salaries and wages upward and downward. Such a situation exposes employees to business operational environment dynamics to the extent that they cannot plan their lives well. This claim is perhaps well evidenced by the case of Honduran garment manufacturing factory. In 2003, employees a t the factory were paid only USD0.24 for every shirt and USD0.15 for a long-sleeved t-shirt. Shirts went for USD50 in the retail market. This finding suggests that even if a worker makes 100 shirts in a day, he or she will still not afford a single shirt that he or she makes, notwithstanding other daily needs. Therefore, the government needs to intervene to regulate Honduran garment in terms of imposing regulations on minimum wage and salaries. For several years, Nike has faced criticisms for employing children in its Cambodia-based plants. However, the company refuted the accusations claiming that it was possible for people in Cambodia to fake their age by corruptly obtaining false documents. The company uses a minimal portion of the cost of production of its pair of shoes (70 pounds) in the payment of labor. Whether this assertion is true or not, government regulation of minimum wages and salaries can help to eliminate such negative accusations, which may impair the success of a b usiness, especially where some nations prohibit the exportation or importation of products that are produced with child labor, discrimination, and/or in unsafe work environments. Apart from the criticism for the violation of labor laws that govern the operation of manufacturing businesses in the US, other objections have been raised in other factories such as Addidas. Among the major concerns in these businesses are low wages and poor conditions of working in Asian-based production plants. Bad working conditions pose a major threat to employee safety or occupational health. Therefore, the government needs to mediate to discourage self-regulation by putting in place regulations for enforcing minimum wages and safety standards while at the same time preventing unjust discrimination. Conclusion Businesses need to operate with policies that ensure that they defend the welfare of all their partners. Corporate governance and corporate responsibility may aid them to eliminate unjust discri mination, underpayment of employees, and the development of a business culture that undermines employee rights such as unionization. However, businesses that seek to operate as good corporate citizens develop and implement such principles. However, this move may not serve interest of all businesses. Therefore, by allowing the freedom of self-regulation on matters of minimum wages, safety standards, and preventing unjust discrimination, some businesses may exploit employees with the objective of making optimal profits. Consequently, government regulation is relevant on issues such as minimum wages, safety standards, and preventing unjust discrimination. However, it is essential to create a nationwide business cultural hegemony. Thus, self-regulation of businesses on matters of protection of culture is essential. Reference List Barney, J. (2007). Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage. New Jersey, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Collins, J., Jerry, I. (1996). Building Your Companys Vision. Harvard Business Review, 32(5), 65–90. Powell, B. (2012). The Ethics and Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(4), 449-472. Rumelt, P., Schendel, D., Teece, J. (2009). Strategic Management and Economics. Strategic Management Journal, 12(2), 5-29. Shih, H., Chiang, Y. (2005). Strategy alignment between HRM, KM, and corporate development. Information Journal of Manpower, 26(6), 582–603. Trechiel, M., Scott, J. (2006). Women-Owned Businesses and Access to Bank Credit: Evidence from Three Surveys since 1987. Venture Capital, 8(1), 51-67. Ventola, L. (2011). Direct-To-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising. Journal of Managed Care and Hospital Formulary Management, 36(10), 681–684.

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Research Proposal - Essay Example In the above context, the identification and the analysis of the requirements related with a new seizure clinic specifically involved in the treatment of epilepsy have been considered to be issues of significant advantage for patients around the world. The design and the development of such a clinic could help patients worldwide to improve their health on a daily basis by limiting the consequences and the symptoms of the disease. It should be noticed that the research on the particular issue (appearance and development of epilepsy) has been extensive and quite long. However, no particular improvement, on the health of patients suffering from the specific disease, has been noticed. It is perhaps the people involved do not comply with the rules set by the medical community or even they do not accept the significance of the disease for their health. In many cases, because of the usually short duration of the disease’s symptoms, persons suffered tend to deny their problem avoiding proceeding to the necessary treatment. Regarding this issue, the establishment of a new seizure clinic could lead to the increase of the volume and the quality of consultancy offered to patients but only in terms that the suggested measures are taken by patients and the proposed treatment is followed strictly. The ‘innovative characteristic’ of this clinic would be its target (limited to the treatment of the particular disease) and the quality of services provided to patients. Current study will be involved specifically with the establishment of a new seizure clinic for people suffering from epilepsy. For this reason, all issues related with this disease’s appearance and the development (both from medical and from sociological perspective) are going to be examined thoroughly. Any potential negative influence will be also highlighted in order to avoid the establishment of private

Motivation At Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Motivation At Work - Essay Example IKEA has somewhere around 12,000 products available on their website, which is very near to their products range. In 2005 a survey was conducted and it was reported by the company that they had over 275 million hits on their website. The motto of the company is that are trying to create a better life for many people through their products. Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in Almhult, Sweden by in 1943, when he was a17 years old boy. The work IKEA is the abbreviation of Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd. IKEA started out by selling all kinds of products like pens, runners, wallets, photo frames, watches, jewelry, furniture and stockings etc. anything that Kamprad thought that would sell at a reduced but reasonable price. It is the business idea of IKEA that they offer a wide range of home furnishing products at process which are affordable by many people. (IKEA) In 1948 IKEA introduces furniture in their range. The furniture was produced by the local manufactures in the forest closest to Ingvar Kamprad’s home. The response to the furniture was a positive one. Kamprad first started to sell the products out of his home and then he used mail order to deliver the products to his customer’s homes. In 1951 Kamprad saw an opportunity to sell his products through a catalog. The IKEA catalog which we know today was introduced to the world. 1n 1953 the first IKEA showroom was opened in Almhult, Sweden. In 1952 the concept of flat packing takes place and when one of the employees of the company took of a table’s leg so that it would not be damaged in the delivering process and it can also fit in the car. After discovering this, the flat packs and self assembly products were included in the IKEA’s range of products and they became an instant hit. In 1958 IKEA opens its first outlet in Almhult, Sweden. This outlet had 6700 sq meters of home furnishings displayed in that store and that was the largest

Challenges and opportunities that social media networks offer

Challenges and opportunities that social media networks offer The availability of digital media such as satellite and mobile phones, the digital television and most importantly the internet, as a means for communication makes Internet Marketing (IM) very different from the Conventional Marketing. McDonald and Wilson (1999) elaborately highlighted the key difference between traditional media and new media. With particular emphasises on IM the authors proposed what they call The 6 Is of e-marketing mix. The authors posit that the relevance of the 6 Is are twofold (i) they draw emphasis on the practical aspects of IM such as direct response and personalization and (ii) provide an understanding of strategic issues such as restructuring of the industry and the changes in the integrated channel communications. The 6 Is of e-marketing mix Interactivity In the case of traditional media the marketing message is predominately broadcasted from a company to its target audience, thereby implying the existence of a push factor. This process of communication provides little scope for interaction with the customers. However, on the Internet, contact is initiated by the customer who, in most cases, is seeking information, implying the existence of a pull factor (Deighton, 1996). Figure 1.13 pg28 Intelligence The internet renders itself as a cost effective means of conducting market research. The internet is an especially useful tool in gathering information about customer perceptions about the product/ service. Individualism (Fig 1.14) pg 30 As illustrated in the diagram above, new media forms allow marketing communications to be tailored to the individual that the message is meant for, unlike in the case of traditional media wherein communication is mass media and the same message is disseminated to its audiences. (Lasswell 1984, Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955) Further, the inherent feature of personalisation that new media forms offer to marketers is an important building block in managing relationships with customers. Integration (diagram: A New Marketing Paradigm for Electronic Commerce) The conventional marketing communication model witnesses a fundamental alteration in the presence of a hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environment (CME) like the internet (Hoffman and Novak 1996). The internet enables an increased scope for an integrated marketing communication. The CME communication model provides a platform for consumers to interact with each other, the medium and the company itself. The most drastic departure from the traditional media is the opportunity for the consumers to generate content onto the medium. Hence, in the CME model the primary relationship is with the receiver and the CME, and not between the sender and the receiver, which is the case in traditional media.( Hoffman, 1996) The active role of the consumers makes it imperative for marketers to integrate their communication messages. Industry restructuring. Concepts such as disintermediation and reintermediation (Chaffey et al, 2003) are important considerations for companies that operate in a CME. Disintermediation refers to the process of eliminating conventional intermediaries such as agents and brokers, who previously linked the company to its customers. Reintermediation is the process of creating new age intermediaries between the company and its customer, given the presence of the internet. These new age intermediaries are often referred to as cybermediaries (Shankar et al, 1996) and include virtual communities like forums, fan clubs and user groups, search engines like Google and Bing , virtual resellers like Amazon and eBay. Independence of location The internet provides the possibility of an increased reach of a companys marketing communications to the global audience. This can often translate into reaching international markets and audiences. Social media networks: AN INTRODUCTION Social media networks, though a relatively new terrain for most companies and brand managers had its humble beginnings when Open Diary was founded in 1950s with the intent to create a community of diary writers. A few years later, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis introduced Usenet, letting its users post articles to its groups. (Kaplan et al, 2010). Dating sites that enabled its users to create profiles and even update pictures and online forums, which were the more user friendly and sophisticated versions of BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems), are all building blocks of the social media networks as we know it today. With the passage of time and the technological developments that . SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS: OPPOTUNTIES AND CHALLENGES Social networking sites: Social networking sites like face book, my space, twitter and orkut are platforms for Internet users to create individual profiles with personal information, make new friends and connect with old ones and even for business networking, in some cases. Users can use certain applications which help them connect to each other through instant messaging and sending emails between each other, creating personalised profiles for themselves which can be accessed by colleagues and friends etc. Such applications are known as Social networking sites. Personal profiles are highly specialised as they are suited to the users needs. He/she can upload audio files, videos, blogs as well photos into the profile which can be shared to other friends. Facebook is considered to be the largest social networking site and it is interesting to note that it was originally founded by US based Mark Zuckerberg who wanted to stay in touch with his friends in Harvard Unviersity. Myspace is also another example of a social networking site which has over 250 million users worldwide. SNS are being used for market research with regard to netnography as well as creating brand communities by different companies. SNS have also been used especially well for promoting movies for example when film makers create a fan page of their movie which allows user to access information such as trailers, photos and download games for free. Similarly companies sponsoring football clubs have used SNS such as Myspace to allow fans to feel closer to the teams they support. Apart from marketing their products through SNS other companies go to the extent of using SNS as a distribution channel for their products for example 1-800- flowers a US based florist has allowed facebook users to send virtual flowers to whomsoever they desire or send the real ones by directing users to their company website.

Comparing Symbols and Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown and The Lottery :: comparison compare contrast essays

Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown and The Lottery      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors, Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, both frequently use symbols within their stories "The Lottery" and "Young Goodman Brown."   Symbols are utilized as an enhancement tool to stress the theme of each story. Hawthorne uses names and objects to enhance the theme, and Jackson mainly utilizes names to stress the theme, although she does have one object as a symbol of great importance to the theme.   The stories both contain symbols describing evil. The majority of Hawthorne's symbols describe religion (both good and evil), but Jackson's symbols reflect the evil nature within society as a whole.   There exists symbolic acts in each story.   The short stories both share the use of symbols, but the symbols are   used to express different thoughts in ones mind while reading them.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The stories "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Lottery" both use names as symbols.   Hawthorne uses the names Young Goodman Brown and Faith to portray nice, descent people.   The name Faith alone implies a faithful and Christian individual as stated  Ã‚   "And Faith, as the wife was aptly named," (211).   Jackson uses the name Mr. Graves throughout her story, he is the coordinator of the lottery. She needs not give any explanation to the name, as it speaks for itself (a symbol of death).   Various other names are used as symbols within each story, however, these mentioned are the most significant names to the theme.   The stories each contain names, objects, and acts as important symbols.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hawthorne uses the names to stress good people, but relies heavily on objects to portray Satanism.   The object of obvious Satanism   is the staff (a cane) mentioned throughout the story.   It is clearly identified when the old traveler throws it down in the sentence "it assumed life, being one of the rods which its owner had formerly lent to the Egyptian Magi" (215).   According   to the Bible. sorcerers with magic powers change their rods into serpents.   Jackson uses the black box throughout her story as a symbol of   tradition not to be changed as stated "Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without

Admissions for dental hygine

One book that has greatly influenced my philosophy in life is the Autobiography of Malcolm X: As told to Alex Haley.   I feel that this book has changed my perspective on a lot of things in life, particularly on the value of education.   Malcolm X, while known as a great spokesperson and an influential historical figure, battled against all odds to become the great person that he is today.The sacrifices that he made in order to make the world a better place to live in are greatly appreciated by today’s society.   All of that, he accomplished because he was able to educate himself in his later years.I was at one of the lowest points of my life and everything seemed so bleak.   I had given up on a lot of things in my life and was about to give up my schooling and pursue an alternative career instead.   I realized that Malcolm X was right.There is so much more that one can learn in life and there is no limit to what one can be as long as one approaches things with an op en mind and an eager attitude.   It was this same thinking that led me to pursue my education and the same thinking that brought me to the challenges that I soon had to face.The pursuit of education has never been easy for me.   Having decided that I was going to pursue my education, I had to come to grips with reality and face the responsibilities and challenges of studying.   Places, histories and events were usually destinations for Malcolm X as he read almost every book that he could find.For him, his homemade education had changed his life and he was certain that it could change the lives of others as well.   â€Å"I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life.†Ã‚   This is what has inspired me in the pursuit of my career and my education.Having been working as a Dental Assistant for the past 4  ½ years, I have come to realize realize that as the world continues to change and the workplace becomes more and more challenging and competitive, it becomes imperative for anyone looking for a successful career to not only have the drive to succeed but also the training and expertise to do so.I am not saying that I do not have the training and expertise at the moment but I do believe that there is still room for more.   The rich and diverse academic community at (insert name of school) will definitely be the perfect place for me to learn and be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.That is why I believe that this course is a crucial step for me.   My success and my accomplishments here will herald the beginning of the fulfillment of my personal and professional goals.   It is said that the one thing that nobody can ever take away from you is your education and that is the one thing that I plan to not only gain for myself but for others as well.Perhaps, one of the most influential events in my life that have pointed me in the direction of Dentistry is my passion for Dental Hygiene.   As such, this has prompted me to continue my studies in this field and eventually enter professional school and pursue a career as a dentist.   I feel that my direction in this course also has to do with my character and my strengths.My most important character strength, in my opinion, is my ability to adapt, accept and learn.   My drive to succeed has been fueled by the experienced that I had early on in life.   Growing up without many benefits in life, I was inspired by the perseverance and dedication that my parents showed.   This provided me with a closer view of what I need to accomplish at an academic level before venturing into private practice of my own, particularly in this highly competitive field.Pursuing my career in Dental Hygiene is just the first step in my plan.  Ã‚   I would like to have the opportunity to take a bigger role in making the world a better place to live.   My main philosophy in life is to lead by setting an example. I cannot expect others to do what I m yself would be willing to do but that does not mean that I cannot hope that others will see the example that I have shown them.This philosophy is one of the many forces that drive me to pursue my dream of pursuing this career and of becoming so much more in life.   The chance to help those who are less fortunate in life, the chance to help people like myself, the opportunity to be of service to humanity; these are the reasons why I have selected this as the profession that I will pursue; for, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, â€Å"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Biography of Walt Whitman, American Poet

Walt Whitman  (May 31, 1819–March 26, 1892) is one of the most significant American writers of the 19th century, and many critics consider him the nations greatest poet. His book  Leaves of Grass, which he edited and expanded over the course of his life, is a masterpiece of American literature. In addition to writing poetry, Whitman worked as a journalist and volunteered in military hospitals. Fast Facts: Walt Whitman Known For: Whitman is one of the most famous American poets of the 19th century.Born: May 31, 1819 in West Hills, New YorkDied: March 26, 1892 in Camden, New JerseyPublished Works: Leaves of Grass, Drum-Taps, Democratic Vistas Early Life Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in the village of West Hills on Long Island, New York, approximately 50 miles east of New York City. He was the second of eight children. Whitman’s father was of English descent, and his mother was Dutch. In later life, he would refer to his ancestors as having been early settlers of Long Island. In 1822, when Walt was 2 years old, the Whitman family moved to Brooklyn, which was still a small town. Whitman would spend most of the next 40 years of his life in Brooklyn, which grew into a thriving city during that time. After finishing public school in Brooklyn, Whitman began working at the age of 11. He was an office boy for a law office before becoming an apprentice printer at a newspaper. In his late teens, Whitman worked for several years as a schoolteacher in rural Long Island. In 1838, he founded a weekly newspaper on Long Island. He reported and wrote stories, printed the paper, and even delivered it on horseback. By the early 1840s, he had broken into professional journalism, writing articles for magazines and newspapers in New York. Library of Congress Early Writings Early writing efforts by Whitman were fairly conventional. He wrote about popular trends and contributed sketches about city life. In 1842, he wrote the temperance novel  Franklin Evans, which depicted the horrors of alcoholism. In later life, Whitman would denounce the novel as â€Å"rot,† but at the time it was a commercial success. In the mid-1840s, Whitman became the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, but his political views, which were aligned with the upstart  Free Soil Party, eventually got him fired. He then took a job working at a newspaper in New Orleans. While he seemed to enjoy the exotic nature of the city, he was apparently homesick for Brooklyn. The job only lasted a few months. By the early  1850s  he was still writing for newspapers, but his focus had turned to poetry. He often jotted down notes for poems inspired by the busy city life around him. Leaves of Grass In 1855, Whitman published the first edition of  Leaves of Grass. The book was unusual, as the 12 poems it included were untitled and were set in type (partly by Whitman himself) that looked more like prose than poetry. Whitman had written a lengthy and remarkable preface, essentially introducing himself as an American bard. For the frontispiece, he selected an engraving of himself dressed as a common worker. The green covers of the book were embossed with the title â€Å"Leaves of Grass.† Curiously, the title page of the book, perhaps because of an oversight, did not contain the authors name. The poems in the original edition were inspired by the things Whitman found fascinating: the crowds of New York, the modern inventions the public marveled over, and the raucous politics of the 1850s. While Whitman apparently hoped to become the poet of the common man, his book went largely unnoticed. However,  Leaves of Grass  did attract one major fan. Whitman admired the writer and speaker Ralph Waldo Emerson and sent him a copy of his book. Emerson read it, was greatly impressed, and wrote a letter to Whitman: I greet you at the beginning of a great career. Whitman produced approximately 800 copies of the first edition of  Leaves of Grass, and the following year he published a second edition, which contained 20 additional poems. Evolution of Leaves of Grass Whitman saw  Leaves of Grass  as his life’s work. Rather than publishing new books of poems, he began a practice of revising the poems in the book and adding new ones in successive editions. The third edition of the book was issued by a Boston publishing house, Thayer and Eldridge. Whitman traveled to Boston to spend three months in 1860 preparing the book, which contained more than 400 pages of poetry. Some of the poems in the 1860 edition referred to homosexuality, and while the poems were not explicit, they were nonetheless controversial. Civil War Getty Images In 1861 during the beginning of the Civil War, Whitman’s brother George enlisted in a New York infantry regiment. In December 1862, Walt, believing his brother may have been wounded at the  Battle of Fredericksburg, traveled to the front in Virginia. The proximity to the war, to soldiers, and especially to the wounded had a profound effect on Whitman. He became deeply interested in helping the wounded and began volunteering in military hospitals in Washington. His visits with wounded soldiers would inspire a number of Civil War poems, which he would eventually collect in a book called  Drum-Taps. As he traveled around Washington, Whitman would often see Abraham Lincoln passing by in his carriage. He had a deep respect for Lincoln and attended the presidents second inauguration on March 4, 1865. Whitman wrote an essay about the inauguration, which was published in The New York Times on Sunday, March 12, 1865. In his dispatch, Whitman noted, as others had, that the day had been stormy up until noon, when Lincoln was scheduled to take the oath of office for the second time. But Whitman added a poetic touch, noting that a peculiar cloud had appeared over Lincoln that day: As the President came out on the Capitol portico, a curious little white cloud, the only one in that part of the sky, appeared like a hovering bird, right over him. Whitman saw significance in the odd weather and speculated that it was a profound omen of some sort. Within weeks, Lincoln would be dead, killed by an assassin (who also happened to be in the crowd at the second inauguration). Fame By the end of the Civil War, Whitman had found a comfortable job working as a clerk in a government office in Washington. That came to an end when the newly installed secretary of the interior, James Harlan, discovered that his office employed the author of  Leaves of Grass. With the intercession of friends, Whitman got another federal job, this time serving as a clerk in the Department of Justice. He remained in government work until 1874, when ill health led him to resign. Whitman’s problems with Harlan actually may have helped him in the long run, as some critics came to his defense. As later editions of  Leaves of Grass  appeared, Whitman became known as â€Å"America’s good gray poet.† Death Plagued by health problems, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, in the mid-1870s. When he died on March 26, 1892, the news of his death was widely reported. The San Francisco Call, in an obituary published on the front page of the March 27, 1892, paper, wrote: â€Å"Early in life he decided that his mission should be to preach the gospel of democracy and of the natural man, and he schooled himself for the work by passing all his available time among men and women and in the open air, absorbing into himself nature, character, art and indeed all that makes up the eternal universe.† Whitman was interred in a tomb of his own design in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. Legacy Whitman’s poetry was revolutionary, both in subject and style. Though considered eccentric and controversial, he eventually became known as â€Å"America’s good gray poet.† When he died in 1892 at the age of 72, his death was front-page news across America. Whitman is now celebrated as one of the countrys greatest poets, and selections from Leaves of Grass are widely taught in schools and universities. Sources Kaplan, Justin. Walt Whitman, a Life. Perennial Classics, 2003.Whitman, Walt. The Portable Walt Whitman. Edited by Michael Warner, Penguin, 2004.