Addiction in Adults and Its Effects on Their Children Essay Example for Free

Addiction in Adults and Its Effects on Their Children Essay When thinking about drug addiction in adults, one often thinks about and wonders how and when an adult starts or becomes addicted to drugs. Studies have shown that people who have become addicted to drugs from various causes of society. Daily stress of everyday life, some people are forced to start drugs in certain situations, the process and life of a person dealing with drug addiction during pregnancy, the use of drugs during pregnancy, and the effects of drug use during pregnancy; just to name a few. See more: Foot Binding In China essay According to Authors: Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M. A. , and Joanna Saisan, M. S. W. Last updated: January 2012, â€Å"Many first try drugs out of curiosity, to have a good time, because friends are doing it, or in an effort to improve athletic performance or ease another problem; such as stress, anxiety, or depression. Drug abuse and addiction is less about the amount of substance consumed or the frequency, and more to do with the consequences of drug use. No matter how often or how little you’re consuming, if your drug use is causing problems in your life—at work, school, home, or in your relationships—you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem. † Drug addiction leads adult down the road of consequences, which such consequences could lead to pregnancy and childbirth. Some addicts may try to clean up during pregnancy however; there are plenty of people addicted to drugs so bad that it consumes their mind. Society has to take in account that there have been studies done on the effects of a parent addicted to drugs raising children. One can find facts that have found that there are parents that are considered functioning drug addicts. Some drug addicted parents are not involved in their children’s life. Now this leads society to wonder about some of the effects that the child may experience. Some children may have serious or several health issues when they are born addicted to drugs. Experts have also shown that some children may not have a medical issue but may experience mental and emotional issues at the same time. According to Lisa Levin, student of psychology, the University of Umea, Sweden, under guidance by Gunborg Palme, certified psychologist, certified psychotherapist, teacher and tutor in psychotherapy, â€Å"The American psychologist Janet G. Woititz was one of the first who paid real attention to the situation for adult children of addicts, with her book Adult Children of Alcoholics. In this book, she elucidated various characteristics that she found in many of these adult children. † Drug ddiction in adults can lead to a world of destruction for both the parents and children. Children can be removed from the home and placed in foster care. Sometimes these children experience terrible situations such as molestation and abuse. However, in other circumstances where some drug addicted adults willing give their children up to family members to rise. At times some of these children can lead down the path of drugs as well. It is being proven that some kids born addicted to drugs have also done drugs as a teenager and adult. In cases children will even sell drugs, work in adult clubs and entertainment, participate in prostitution, and even have children at early ages. But still one can find some of these children also can have a successful story and go down a completely different path, such as success, college, financial stability, or even religious background. The individual is the one that makes the choice on what path they will take in life. Lisa Levin also stated, â€Å"Children of addicts are more likely to develop their own substance abuse and social behavior problems than other children. According to certain researchers, the risk is twice as high, while others estimate the risk to be 4-9 times higher. † Personal thoughts on drug addiction in adults and the effects it has on their children would have to be so many that run through my head. I believe that children have the chose to make two options in their lives. Since dealing with family members who were and are addicted to drugs and their children have graduate from college, work a good job which pays good money, are married and have a family. I have at the same token had cousins that have also been addicted to drugs, prostitution, selling drugs, end up in jail, and have even died following the wrong path in their life. We all have to be responsible for ourselves and live life accordingly. I don’t believe that all children have bad effects of drug addicted parents. I believe they can choose to live a better life and change their situation for the better. One must always find the confidence, drive, and determination to want to make their life what they desire. When being a witness to both sides of the fence, bias is up in the air for now.

The Data Center Energy Efficiency Information Technology Essay

The Data Center Energy Efficiency Information Technology Essay Research green computing and projects that have been done or are being done by large organizations such as IBM, Dell, HP, and Google. See www.greenercomputing.com and similar sites provided on the companion web site or that you find yourself. Include your definition of green computing to including all of the topics listed in the background scenario. Describe each of these areas of green computing, including a detailed example of how at least one organization has implemented each one, and investigate the return on investment. Summarize your results in a two- to three-page paper, citing at least three references. What companies are currently implementing projects that involve green computing? Find a few website and discuss what they are implementing and if they include: Green computing, also referred to as Green IT, is the scientific study of efficient and effective designing, manufacturing, using, disposing, and recycling of computers and computer related products like servers, network systems, communication systems, monitors, USBs, printers, etc. (Kocherps, 2010). http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-computing/articles/62742.aspx. Kocherps describes the four paths to green computing that would help preserve natural resources and reduce the impact on the environment: Reducing energy consumption of computers and other related products as well a using them in an efficient manner. Refurbishing and reusing old computers as well as properly disposing and recycling unwanted computers and other equipment. Designing energy efficient and environmentally sound computers and accessories. Manufacturing computers and components with minimal effect on the evnrionrment (2010). There are several applications of Green computing available, which are explained below: Data Center Energy Efficiency Data center and overall energy efficiency refers to the energy consumption. According to a survey conducted in 2009, 44% of survey respondents have seen an increase in their power bills for their data centers, which is up from 36% the previous year who did not pay much attention (Stansberry, 2009). Fontecchio (2010) wrote that the Federal Government and other major industry groups are on developing widely accepted stands for measuring a data centers energy efficiency. Fontecchio also mentions that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are working with six data center industry groups to standardize data center efficiency metrics (2010). Electronic Waste and Recycling The disposal of electronic waste and recycling refers to proper disposal of used computer equipment and other electronics devices. Many government sponsored programs and manufacturers have extensive online information that details how their recycling is handled (Holcombe, 2007). Hewlett- Packard (HP) is one of many companies that takes environmental issues seriously and provides solutions where businesses and consumers can donate, trade-in, recycle, or return for cash their used computer equipment (HP, 2010). Telecommuting Telecommuting is a popular benefit wherein employees perform work for a company but not physically be in the business location. This is one way that businesses are becoming more greener and lowering their office space expense (Sanchez, 2008). Office space expense can include heating, air conditioning, electricity http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/06/26/ciscos-telecommuting-program-boosts-productivity-cuts-costs-and-emissions Virtual Server Resources Virtualization of server resources http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2008/07/08/virtualization-servers-new-green-platform-it Thin Client Solutions Thin client solutions http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/08/24/new-fujitsu-thin-client-uses-just-29-watts-full-utilization Open Source Software Use of opens source software, and http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2005/10/02/closing-knowledge-gap-open-source Software Development Development of new software to address green computing for internal use and potential sale to other organizations. http://www.dellenterprise.com/goto/client/business-pc-solutions.aspx?tab=lifecycleST=green%20computing%20phrasedgc=STcid=53849lid=1383155acd=78394,8,0,95093168,762624170,1271850709,,21878626,4381927447 Weighted Decision Matrix Prepare a weighted decision matrix using the template from the companion web site (wtd_decision_matrix.xls) for Ben to use to evaluate people applying to be the project manager for this important project. Develop at least five criteria, assign weights to each criterion, assign scores, and then calculate the weighted scores for four fictitious people. Print the spreadsheet and bar chart with the results. Write a one-page paper describing this weighted decision matrix and summarize the results. This Weighted Decision Matrix (Exhibit A) was designed to assist in selecting the appropriate candidate for the Project (or Project) Manager position. Different projects require different skills. As such, Ive created a matrix that lists seven of the most important skills required for successful completion of this project: Analytical Skills Microsoft Access Visual Basic Programming Written and Oral Communication Microsoft Office Excel Attendance Productivity Each criteria is given a weight percentage based on importance, the highest being 25% and the lowest being 10%. The combination of these weights equal 100%. After reviewing all of the resumes and past employee evaluations, the next four columns contained applicants best qualified for the Project Manager position. Ann and Danielle are existing employees within the company, and Stanley and Lisa are outside applicants applying for the position. On a scale from 1 to 100 (100 being the highest and best qualified), each application was given a rating based on their past or current experiences and skills. As you can see from the results, Ann is clearly the better of all candidates scoring 90 points in five of the 7 criteria, and 70 in the remaining two criteria, bring her average criteria score to 85. It is my recommendation that you consider Ann for the position of Project Manager. Business Case and Financial Prepare the financial section of a business case for the Green Computing Research Project. Assume this project will take six months to complete (done in Year 0) and cost $500,000, and costs to implement some of the technologies would be $2,000,000 for year one and $600,000 for years two and three. Estimated benefits are $500,000 the first year after implementing and $2.5 million the following two years. Use the business case spreadsheet template from the companion web site (business_case_financials.xls) to help calculate the NPV, ROI, and year in which payback occurs. Assume a 7 percent discount rate, but make sure it is an input that is easy to change. Project Charter Prepare a project charter for the Green Computing Research Project. Assume the project will take six months to complete and the budget is $500,000. Use the project charter template (charter.doc) and examples of project charters in Chapters 3 and 4 as guidelines. Assume that part of the approach is to select a project team as quickly as possible. Change Request Since people will request changes to the project, you want to make sure you have a good integrated change control process in place. You will also want to address change requests as quickly as possible. Review the template for a change request form provided on the companion Website (change_request.doc.) Write a two-page paper describing how you plan to manage changes on this project in a timely manner. Address who will be involved in making change control decisions, what paperwork or electronic systems will be used to collect and respond to changes, and other related issues. Appendix __ is an example of the Change Request Form which will be submitted by each individual associated with the project who wishes to make changes thereof. The process for submission, evaluating, and executing such request will be explained below. The Change Request (CR) form is a web form that needs to be submitted in order to make any change to the project that is not listed in the Project Charter, the Project Business Case, or the Work Breakdown Structure. The requestor must fill out section 1 in its entirety. Below is a description of the fields that must be completed: Requestor Name This field will be automatically filled in using the username of the individual logged into the Active Directory. Project Name and Number This field is required to identify the correct project and to electronically notify the correct Project Manager. Type of CR Indicate whether this change is an enhancement or defect. Brief Description of Change Briefly describe the nature of the change, such as the correct data is not being abstracted. Date Submitted date of submission. Date Required date that the change should be completed by. Priority Level -Select either Low, Medium, High, or Mandatory level. All request levels will be reviewed within 5 business days, however, all request marked Mandatory or high will be analyze before all others regardless of date of submission. Reason for Change: Attachments or References: Approval Signature and Date digital signature of the requestor will be captured with the current date. After all required sections are complete, a submit button will electronically be submitted to the program manager assigned to the project name and number entered on the form. An acknowledgement will be sent to the requestor when the form is submitted successfully. The Program Manager assigned to the project will be notified via email that a change request was submitted and will receive a link to the form. The Program Manager will then complete Section 2 Initial Analysis. The Project Manager will determine the impact of the change regarding hours, duration, schedule, and cost. The Project Managers recommendation will be entered and the request will be forwarded to the Change Control Board for their final decision. Electronic notification will be submitted to the Requestor indicating that the request has been submitted to the Board for final review. The Board will notify all parties regarding their final decision within 48 hours. The Boards final decision will now become a part of the projects history. 2. PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT Define Project Scope Management here. 2.1 Requirements Matrix Document requirements for your project so far, including a requirements traceability matrix. Use the template provided (reqs_matrix.xls). Also include a list of questions you would like to ask the sponsor about the scope. Develop a scope statement for the project using the templates provided (scope_statement.doc). Be a specific as possible in describing product characteristics and deliverables. Make assumptions as needed, assuming you got answers to the questions you had in Task 1. Develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. Break down the work to level 3 or level 4, as appropriate. Use the template on the companion Web site (wbs.doc) and sam0ples in the text as guides. Print the WBS in list form as a Word file. Be sure to base your WBS on the project scope statement, stake holder requirements, and other relevant information. Remember to include the work involved in selecting the rest of your project team and outside resources as well as coordinating with the Environmental Technologies Program. Use the project management process groups as level 2 WBS items or include project management as a level 2 WBS item to make sure you include work related to managing the project. Use the WBS you developed in Task 3 above to create a Gantt chart for the project in Microsoft Project 2007. Use the outline numbering feature to display the outline numbers (click Tools on the menu bar, click Options, and then click Show outline number). Do not enter any durations or dependencies. Print the resulting Gantt chart on one page, being sure to display the entire Task Name column. 3. PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT Define Project Time Management here. 3.1 Schedule Review the WBS and Gantt chart you created for Tasks 3 and 4 in Part 2. Propose three t five additional activities you think should be added to help you estimate resources and durations. Write a one-page paper describing these new activities. Identify at least four milestones for this project. Write a one-page paper describing each milestone using the SMART criteria. Using the Gantt chart created for Task 4 in Part 2, and the new activities and milestones you proposed in Tasks 1 and 2 above, estimate the task durations and enter dependencies as appropriate. Remember that your schedule goal for the project is six months. Print the Gantt chart and network diagram. Write a one-page paper summarizing how you would assign people to each activity. Include a table or matrix listing how many hours ea h person would work on each task. These resource assignments should make sense given the duration estimates made in Task 3 above. Assume that your project team starts falling behind schedule. In several cases, it is difficult to find detailed information on some of the green computing technologies, especially financial data. You know that it is important to meet or beat the six-month schedule goal, but quality is most important. Describe contingency strategies for making up lost time and avoiding schedule slips in the future. 4. PROJECT COST MANAGEMENT Define Project Cost Management here. . 5. PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT Define project Quality Management here.

International Marketing Environment

International Marketing Environment In this report we are primarily focusing on the issues of marketing a product or a service internationally. The rise of globalization has eased many of the issues that were a hindrance on international trade in the past but at the same time new laws and regulations have replaced the conventional method of doing international trade with more sophisticated but complicated systems as well. The following points have been covered in the report for the literature review of our research which focuses majorly on the global marketing environment and the impact of culture in the international marketing environment. International marketing overview Cross-cultural influence on international marketing strategies Marketing challenges in globalization Ethics in international marketing E-marketing a new paradigm in international marketing Role of branding in international marketing Export-import marketing Standardising global marketing strategy Globalization affecting the economies of different nations International Marketing Environment and Cultural Environment The world has become globalized and international marketing takes place all around us every day. It has a major effect on our lives and offers new opportunities and challenges. International marketing is a tool used to obtain advancement in ones present position and its transaction takes place across national borders highlights the difference between domestic and international marketing. The area of international marketing strategy refers to using a common product, price, distribution and promotion program on a worldwide basis. Setting up business in new market and positioning the product requires extensive knowledge of environment, as well as risk, threats and opportunities might present. It is very important for a business to understand effective marketing, as what may work for one company may not work for them. The company entering in to new market must access the potential of different countries and involves three levels of analysis: The macro-level analysis of the national envir onment; analysis of the consumer market in general; and micro-level analysis of factors affecting the specific product (Morrison, 2009). Assessment at the Macro-level looks at geographic features, economic indicators, demographic data, social and economic structure, and the political environment. The economic data includes the GDP growth rate of a country that how big the market is for trade. Demographic data shows the age distribution of the population as the worlds developed economies have large segment of young population. The social and economic factors indicate what types of employment are prevalent, what opportunity exists for social mobility and what role family networks plays in society. The political factor includes the level of political stability and legal protection afforded to property, including intellectual property. Cultural factor give a judgments the capacity and taste of the customer, for e.g. the countries based on Hinduism and Islamism religion face drop of the sale of meat products during holy festivals, where in U.S and other European countries during Christmas the sale of meat, wine and electro nics are at peak (Czinkota Ronkainen, 2007). Micro-level analysis includes the ease of entry and its costs, the extent of competitors present and the substitute and the upcoming new competitors, and the profit potential. Entering a new market through exporting is less costly than FDI. Retailers recognize a physical presence of the brand in the foreign market. This is less costly for a small business like boutique and fast-food outlet than a large concept of hypermarket. As the large retailing operation is a costly and complex investment. An analysis of competitors will show the degree of concentration and the extent to which foreign investors are active (Czinkota Ronkainen, 2007). Culture influences every part of the business, including the type of products, the way of people relate to each other in organization, staff communication and the values and the goals of the organization. Culture is an important component in the organizations relation that how it relates with other firm, their employees, customers and with an array of stakeholders group. International marketing is often not as simple as marketing your product to more than one nation. Companies have to consider language barriers, ideals, and customers in the market they approaching. It takes lot of planning and strategy to attract the specific group of people you are attempting to sell to be highly important and can serve the number one cause of failure or success (Boone, Kurtz, Mackenzie, Snow, 2007). An established, culture plays vital role in the field of international marketing. Of all the aspects language must be the main and biggest barriers a company has to face when it becomes global. A good communication must be set between the company, its customers, suppliers, employees, stakeholder and government of the foreign country where an organization is settling up its business. Language plays very significant role in culture as English is the globally accepted language but sometime can create misunderstandings. Even after knowing the language sometimes misunderstandings can happen like for e.g. in India, due to difference in pronunciation the sentence lack of rupees may sound laky of rupees. As the significance of language is ascertained, its impact on the elements of the international Marketing mix is indisputable. As the marketing mix should in itself be a product of understanding the consumer, keeping in mind that language is an integral part of that consumer, it follows that mastering the nuances of the new markets language helps the organization to target its marketing mix, namely product, price, distribution and communication, more closely on the potential consumer (Morrison, 2009). Modern organisations across the world are going to great lengths to incorporate customer care as in the integral part of their organisational culture. Staying close to the customer is now considered to be an essential part of any organisations strategy towards ensuring greater sales for example, described the case where a workflow management system is used by an organisation to strengthen the organisational culture towards greater customer orientation, quality of services and performance. (K, Chakrabarty, Whitten, 2007). Values, belief and assumption are the most valuable facets any culture and connecting to the people by their belief is the key ingredient to connecting your idea to people. The culture has become more significant in outward expression in recent years, facilitated by the growth of global media. Outward expression of culture can be seen through television, art, music and buildings. In society, organisations logo, jingle, promotion adds and symbols identify the firm and project its image and value to the customer. Some countries have subcultures and more than one culture exist it gets very crucial for the organisation in term of marketing to send its message to everyone without hurting anyone cultural emotion and values. For e.g. the country like India have many cultures and have big population of major religion of the world i.e. Christian, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhism. So while promoting any product it is important to connect everyone without hurting anyone. Business need to review the important strategy of the four Ps, which are product, place, price and promotion. (Dominici, 2009). Cultural change also depends on economic development and varies from place to place as shifts from rural to urban environments. The economic condition of a consumer is better in urban area than rural and so on market also varies of this factor that where is the right location to be set for the brand. Moving away from rural area to city represents a radical shift in a way of life, not just economically, but also in terms of social and cultural implications. The people living in urban area lead much better life style than rural and so on the market for luxuries goods and products have space where as the rural population like to live on basic amenities and do not spent much on luxury. In developed world, over 80% of people now live in cities. Better education is very essential for any country growth. More the population will be educated; the infrastructure will grow more with new technology. As the educated generation have more adaptation ability to adapt new technology and can be compe titive in environment. Setting up business in any market look for the qualified staff, so the cultural environment matters that qualified staff availability is sufficient. As world is moving to new technology and everyone communicate through fast and shortest way from million miles away in e-marketing world. The Successful e-marketing strategies in international markets will depend on existing infrastructure and marketing institution. E-marketing reduces the manpower cost and reaches to customer quick and can have access anytime. The globe is becoming closer with contribution of new technologies and experiments (Sheth Sharma, 2005). Literature Review: In the following section of the report we have divided the subjects under different headings which give an overview of the factors which covers international marketing of products and services and the way globalization is making the whole world combined into a single trading platform. Following is the literature review of our research findings which is given in a sequential manner which relates to the international marketing environment and the effects of globalization. International marketing overview: (J4) identified two prospects of the international marketing area based on a review of several thousand journals; the dimensions identified are management or marketing and business environment. Given that these dimensions or the part of the similar areas help to differentiate between different types of research, it is clear that business environmental research is a very important area of study; more usually addressed by business and management rather than marketing journals. This shortfall in environmental research output lacks the relevance in the spectrum of research, obviously needed by those carrying out international marketing. Other issues or dimensions related to environmental analysis that is needed to be investigated further and beyond includes the impact of the changing environment on individual companies of different sizes and from different sectors. Market definition can be put in the activity of environmental scanning and it supports the belief or notion that historical analysis is important for the proper understanding of development, international relations with overseas countries and trade. (J19) Similarly an equally important area is the contemporary framework to understand and acquire the knowledge of how changes in the economic, political, social, technological, legal and environmental context of doing international marketing impacts on the results and success of a companys products or services if a sector wise International marketing is done for its products or services. For example, marketing to Iraq in the light of the recent war would most certainly be predicted to be that the proper contingency planning became paramount in marketing departments operating in this market. Forecasts become redundant, distribution channels may have been completely destroyed; networks might have been broken up and the market might have been seriously undermined. Some companies will have ceased operations altogether for the duration. In the above schematic diagram, it has been stated that for international marketing environment analysis, the main division has to be in the form of micro-analysis and macro-analysis, where micro-analysis relates to the regional market of the business and macro-analysis relates to the global trade. (J3) Cross-cultural influence on international marketing strategies: The international marketing scenario has to consider the impact of cultural influences on the business when the business enter in a new market that means a foreign land where there might be cultural differences from the home land. In an era of globalization and global business activity, understanding the cross-market applicability of the susceptibility of the adoption of new products becomes a matter of increased importance, as even companies and service sector firms highly successful in their domestic operations (e.g. launching products) often fall aback when they expand their operations internationally. For example, Kellogg entered into India in the late-1990s. Indian consumers did not pay much attention to breakfast cereals because most consumers either prepared breakfast from food related with starch, so every morning they grabbed some biscuits with tea. Thus, like many of its counterparts, Kelloggs expansion to India proved unsuccessful, and, after three years in the market, sales stood at $10 million (J18). It is well documented in many articles and books that culture of a particular land can have a strong influence on consumers thoughts and actions. Hence, culture can potentially have a significant influence on consumers, which also influences things like word-of-mouth and the behavior through its influence on individual values and group norms. (J7) Similarly, there is also an increased level of criticism where insistence on contrasting national cultures are compared in terms of relatively simple binaries such as differences in individualist versus collectivist culture. (J8) International Marketing Success Corruption Relationship Oriented Culture Cultural distance Physical distance Consumer Resources In the above diagram, it can be depicted that all international markets are not the same. There are some areas where international trade has corruption, nepotism, and favoritism inside them. Relationship oriented culture leads to corruption for example, if a person has contacts with the member of judicial system, then laws wont be as strict for him as it would be for others to setup a business or get any work done. Then again, relationship oriented culture leads to consumer resources which in turn give success to international marketing strategies. The physical distance of the entrepreneur and the cultural distance doesnt matter in this case that much since nepotism is prevalent in a scenario where relationship oriented culture acts for international marketing success. (J9) Marketing challenges in globalization: One of the most important reasons to examine the attitude of firms to that of the marketing challenges of globalization is the diversity of firms size, industry environments and strategy. Since organizations and companies vary in terms of size, membership of the industry and the competitive strategy of that particular industry and their executives which vary in terms of their characteristic even different organizations may perceive and respond to the same marketing environmental patterns differently hence giving a hint of serious implications and challenges for organizational actions and performance. Furthermore, many existing literature supports the view that top managers need to deal with the impact of the industry environment and that of globalization in a judicial frame. (J10) Regardless where the firm belongs it will be on the path towards globalization, hence it must respond to the forces shaping the global environment and the marketing challenges they present. The nature of the marketing challenges is precise and it continues to change and the form they will take in the twenty-first century remains most uncertain. It is however clear that to be successful in the future as well in the present scenario the firm must be an even more astute marketer than in the past. An effective global strategy depicts the necessity to respond quickly and appropriately to opportunities and challenges locally and internationally. (J10) Ethics in international marketing: It is accepted that the wave of globalization is an unavoidable process and will progress forever. All business that firms desire to compete successfully in international environment has to obey to the legal and ethical rules and regulations. So to behave in an ethically and socially responsible manner there should be a hallmark of every marketer`s behaviour, domestically or internationally Hence it requires little thought for most of us to know the social responsibility and or ethically correct response to questions about breaking the law, destroying the environment, denying someones rights, taking unfair advantage, or behaving in a manner that would bring bodily harm or damage. The best guide to good international marketing ethics is: Do not direct intentional harm. Produce more good than harm for the host country. Respect the rights of employees and of all others affected by one`s actions or policies. To the extent consistent with ethical norms, respect the local culture and work with and not against it. Multinationals should pay their fair share of taxes and cooperate with the local governments in developing equitable laws and other background institutions E-marketing a new paradigm in international marketing: The introduction of e-marketing or e-business creates a fundamental shift in the behavior of consumers and the strategies of international marketing. It also adds to an increase level of complexity to the arena of international marketing. However, the specific infrastructure for e-marketing strategies of a country for its different stages suggests us for targeted strategic development of e-business implementation in different countries. (J22) E-marketing is different in terms from general marketing strategies. The market is open for all and uses a very wide platform i.e. the internet, so cultural differences; environmental factors are not taken into consideration often. The primary advantages of e-marketing which gives an edge over traditional formulas of marketing is reducing costs and enhancing reach. The cost of the platform for e-marketing is typically lower than the other marketing platforms such as face-to-face salespeople or middlemen/distributors. E-marketing platforms increase the boundaries for reach and reduce the costs by providing three areas of advantage for customers. First, the marketing firm can provide unlimited information to customers where there is no requirement of human capital. Second, the e-marketing firms can create customized information for individual customers that allow customers to choose and design products and services that meet their specific requirements. Finally, e-marketing platforms c an allow transactions between customers and firms which again typically do not require human capital; there are virtual modes of communication and payments. (J22) Role of branding in international marketing: Branding has tremendous potential for international marketing. However, this potential has not been fulfilled for a number of reasons. Much of the analysis and commentary are at normative level, which debates the relative merits of a global versus local approach to international branding. Additionally, the relatively few empirical studies states that global branding often take a narrow approach to branding, as narrow as just the brand name. These limitations presents the point of separation from the current study that takes a more comprehensive and strategic approach to the role of branding in the market that goes international. The pivotal role of international marketing strategy is acknowledged as a driving force in internationalisation. Using such a pivot, makes a reference to performance measure which is included in the recognition of the role of branding in assessing international performance. Further, a new approach is developing in terms of how branding contributes to more eff ective marketing strategy. Specifically, there are two mechanisms that are added beyond what the existing global branding literature has considered. Firstly, light is thrown on branding-related managerial cognition, which is termed as brand orientation. Secondly, international brand repositioning is also considered as a contributor to the performance.. (J24) Export Import marketing: International business which relates to trading of commodities from one country to the other is called export-import marketing. Export managers and researchers are mostly concerned with basic aspects of firm survival in the international business arena which relates to product quality while overlooking some important points like product innovation and relationship management. Firms that have established or have good relationship with their importers are more likely to realize the potential of their product and the market. Relationship capabilities enable firms to improve the product, come out with innovation hence enhancing the product quality which altogether turns into good export performance enhancement. (J12) EMO behavior Degree of internationalization Export performance Export market dynamism EMO behavior-squared The diagram above presents the conceptual model for the export market orientation (EMO) behaviour which relates to export success. The model proposes a positive linear relationship between EMO and export success. It also represents the hypothesis that EMO shares a non-linear relationship to export success (which is negative quadratic). So it is arguable that the relationship of EMO and export success whether it is linear or non-linear is dependent of market dynamism and the international strategy the firm pursues. (J13) In the world of big multinationals companies, it is a question of thought whether small and medium size enterprises can survive in the export-import arena. Small firms that tend to export larger output perform better. As a result, they accumulate knowledge and result in competitive advantage. But all small firms are not capable of doing large output because all the firms dont have equal level of efficiency in export import process. (J15) Standardizing global marketing strategy: As there have been differences in the thoughts and interpretations of what standardization is, there have also been differences among researchers on the advantages or disadvantages of standardization, and whether standardization is an appropriate strategy or not. The main argument is in favour of standardization which states that the forces of globalization driven by technology were homogenizing markets and that marketers needs to take advantage of this trend by following a standardized marketing strategy. Also primarily focussing on Triad market consisting of the USA, Japan, and Europe suggested that these markets are fairly homogeneous and since these markets were amongst the major markets in terms of share for the world economy that it was concluded that a strategy of standardization was the appropriate one to follow. (J26) The concept of strategic fit provides the theoretical foundation for the study of performance consequences of international marketing standardization. The strategic fit paradigm explains the necessity of maintaining a consistent link between the strategy of the firm and the context within which the strategy has been implemented. The bottom line of the core-proposition is matching the marketing strategy with the marketing environment leads to a superior performance. The concept of strategic fit has played a key role in development of strategic management and organization theory fields. (J25) Globalization affecting the economies of different nations: Firms that align the type of sourcing strategy with that of the knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) attribute should perform significantly better than those that do not achieve the requisite match, thus, managers of firms should realize that the key to superior performance is to have a strategic fit between sourcing the strategy and sourcing the attributes, and it is not to have particularly sourcing strategy or attributes alone in the place. (J14) Globalization has made cross-border business deals easier than ever. The world is getting smaller. Not in a geographical sense, but in a business sense. Starting businesses in foreign markets is increasingly popular these days. With the advent of e-mail, video teleconferencing, the Internet and e-commerce, businesses are no longer restricted to operations in a sole location. Improved trade, favorable tax rates, labor and centers of excellence have almost made it a necessity to have offices or strategic alliances in more than one country. The global economy is a world of new opportunities. Critique of the Literature Marketing and business environment are two particular dimensions which help to differentiate between different types of research, it is clear that business environmental research is a very important area of study; more usually addressed by business and management rather than marketing journals. (J4) Hence the author mainly focuses on the two paradigms in the wide world of international business which are thought to be the pivotal roles for successful and pivotal roles for international marketing roles. According to us marketing is an obvious and important part of International business and so is business environment, but what we feel is the political, economical and environmental aspects are also to be taken into consideration when a wide aspect like International business is taken into consideration, also it is will be ambiguous in our part if we do not interpret what consists under the business environment and whether it has all the required points like social, political, environme ntal etc. In the second aspect author is trying to state that the issues or dimensions related to environmental analysis which are needed to be investigated further and beyond includes the impact of the changing environment on individual companies of different sizes and from different sectors.(J19) And according to us it is an indispensable factor for any kind of business or sole entrepreneurs, that they have to accept change and specifically the environmental change which the businesses of all ranges and sizes goes through with the passage of time assuming that the environmental change also includes price range fluctuation of commodities and services , cultural change in the society and the change in governing policies. As discussed above the author (J3) states in this one that political, economical, societal, technological, legal and environmental changes has to be taken into account when a business is looking forward or searching for its target market in an overseas environment. In an era of globalization and global business activity, understanding the cross-market applicability of the susceptibility of the adoption of new products becomes a matter of increased importance. (J18) and of course it has to be effective and proper understanding is required because change is a constant factor in business environment and if a business cannot accept change then in the long run it might result in the dismal failure of its foundation. (J7) Individualist and collectivist thoughts have to an integral part of International business and are basically the two sides of the coin when taking into consideration the strategies for international business. (J8) As stated by the author that success in International Marketing leads to level increase in corruption and bribery is actually a true thought and is very much prevalent in many countries around the globe (J9) where business is acquired by peer pressure of the powerful and oppression techniques, in these cases product quality, diversity, individual rights are not at all taken into consideration and is actually termed as business malpractice. It usually becomes a success strategy mainly in those countries where corruption is predominantly popular. It might not be the same of advanced countries and might work the very opposite way. (j22) Diversity of the firm size has to be taken into consideration when globalization is put as a forward question for the firm. (J 10) And according to us more diverse the firms ability to accommodate itself in terms of size the greater the output for the business. E-marketing has a new way of marketing there product internationally (J22) and it is of course a new way for marketing of products and it creates a very big and broad platform for the people who wants to market the product in overseas land or internationally. And even the strategies should be different when e-marketing are taken into consideration. According to the author branding is an important part of International marketing strategies but it cannot be a success measure for the business or cannot be used for in success when a product is launched internationally. According to us the literature holds a bit of contradiction as branding may not always work but there are cases where the brand name of the product drives it success whether its in a local market or in overseas. (J24) Export market orientation (EMO) behaviour which relates to export success and it shares a positive linear equation between them. (J13). It actually holds a lot relevance and export market orientation can be equated to the basic foundation of the export business. Where they make analysis on the different markets, different customer trends , different product analysis. It gives and covers all the areas of Political, Environmental, Societal, Technological, Legal and Environmental scenarios and analysis for a successful export trade. The average of all the above factors gives the company or its product the degree of internationalization that it has got. Mainly focussing on Triad market consisting of the USA, Japan, and Europe suggested that these markets are fairly homogeneous and since these markets were amongst the major markets in terms of share for the world economy that it was concluded that a strategy of standardization was the appropriate one to follow. (J26). Standardizing global marketing strategies might not always work as each market is new, as the nation is new and hence a rule of thumb which works for the triad might not work with other markets. Although a standardized marketing approach can be obtained on generic products like wheat, flour or petroleum but commodities that holds a niche value might not respond to the theory of standardizing global markets. Globalisation has already changed many of the world economies and obviously there needs to have a strategic fit where businesses should be knowing the key to sourcing the strategy and sourcing the attributes and also finding out the superiority of each other.

Software Piracy :: essays research papers fc

Software Piracy: A Worldwide Problem Software piracy is defined as the illegal copying of software for commercial or personal gain. Software companies have tried many methods to prevent piracy, with varying degrees of success. Several agencies like the Software Publishers Association and the Business Software Alliance have been formed to combat both worldwide and domestic piracy. Software piracy is an unresolved, worldwide problem, costing millions of dollars in lost revenue. Software companies have used many different copy protection schemes. The most annoying form of copy protection is the use of a key disk. This type of copy protection requires the user to insert the original disk every time the program is run. It can be quite difficult to keep up with disks that are years old. The most common technique of copy protection requires the user to look up a word or phrase in the program's manual. This method is less annoying than other forms of copy protection, but it can be a nuisance having to locate the manual every time. Software pirates usually have no trouble "cracking" the program, which permanently removes the copy protection. After the invention of CD-ROM, which until lately was uncopyable, most software companies stopped placing copy protection in their programs. Instead, the companies are trying new methods of disc impression. 3M recently developed a new technology of disc impression which allows companies to imprint an image on the read side of a CD-ROM. This technology would not prevent pirates from copying the CD, but it would make a "bootleg" copy differ from the original and make the copy traceable by law enforcement officials (Estes 89). Sometimes, when a person uses a pirated program, there is a "virus" attached to the program. Viruses are self-replicating programs that, when activated, can damage a computer. These viruses are most commonly found on pirated computer games, placed there by some malignant computer programmer. In his J anuary 1993 article, Chris O' Malley points out that if piracy was wiped out viruses would eventually disappear (O' Malley 60). There are ways that a thrifty consumer can save money on software without resorting to piracy. Computer companies often offer discounts on new software if a person has previously purchased an earlier version of the software. Competition between companies also drives prices low and keeps the number of pirated copies down (Morgan 45). People eventually tire or outgrow their software and decide to sell it.

Plath’s Daddy Essay: Clusters of Images -- Plath Daddy Essays

Clusters of Images in Daddy Imagery in literature provides the writer with an instrument for establishing a viewpoint or perspective. The author can use an unlimited amount of symbols, similes, and metaphors that produce an atmosphere for the reader to visualize the story effectively. In the poem "Daddy," written by Sylvia Plath, the author utilizes numerous clusters of images to represent the fury and wrath of a crazed woman haunted by her father's frightening and domineering disposition. Plath uses this imagery to depict the emotional chaos controlling fathers inflict on their offspring. One of the most prominent groups of images Plath uses to show the turmoil and fear the narrator feels for her father is comparing him with Nazi Germany, the devil's hoofs, and a vampire. Evil, mean-spirited images flourish within "Daddy." The speaker characterizes her father as a Nazi. Phrases like, "With your Luftwaffe" (l. 42), "your neat moustache and your Aryan eye" (l. 43), and "Panzer-man, panzer-man" (l. 45) fill the poem with images of Deuts...

Organizational Behavior and Design Essay

Leadership exists in both formal and informal fashion. Formal leadership is defined by Byrnes (2003, p. 160) as ‘leadership by a manager who has been granted the formal authority or right to command’. Formal authority in this sense means those elements that automatically come with leadership – perhaps a title, an office, a budget, the right to make decisions, a set of subordinates, a reporting relationship, and so on. Formal leaders are appointed or elected to lead the group by virtue of such characteristics as their position in the organization and their interest or expertise in relation to the group’s focus. A formal leader is one who possesses organizational authority to direct and control the activities of subordinates. The individual issues orders and instructions to his subordinates by virtue of his formal authority within the organization. The formal leader is responsible and accountable to those who have elected him in a formal way. At the managerial or executive level, this paper asserts that formal leadership is not always necessary; at least, the execution of formal authority by the leader must constantly depend on the situation. The main reason behind this assertion is that formal leadership strategies that carry out perceived improvements do not always generate a common vision among leadership groups. Nor does formal leadership always establish or follow guidelines for carrying out improvements. For instance, Durk Jager, former Procter & Gamble (P&G) CEO, has many traits of a good manager and may have managed P&G well during his time but he was not seen by those whom he managed as being the leader. This example just implies that formal authority is not the sole basis of leadership in part because leadership relationships are based on additional resources other than authority, like expertise and interpersonal skills. The formal leader cannot depend solely on the use of formal authority because subordinates seldom put maximum effort under the pressure of authority. Being a successful businessperson or manager does not make a person a good leader. Just because someone is assigned a formal leadership role does not guarantee that the person will be the only leader of the group, or will become effective in the said role, as evidenced in the aforementioned example. A top level manager like Jager that has considerable authority but lacked leadership qualities is likely to be less effective than a supervisor with little authority but a high degree of qualities. People in formal leadership positions may wield force or authority using only their position and the resources and power that come with it, but never get the cooperation that people who exercise both formal and informal leadership at the same time. Informal leadership can be valuable assets to an organization’s formal leadership, and they can use their influence to work with the goals of the organization. In this light, giving managers formal authority is less important than ensuring that their expertise, creativity, initiative and interpersonal skills infuse organizational improvement efforts. Further, while most open-minded formal leaders believe in their own importance, seeing themselves as central to the health of the organization, they do not always regard it as essential that they review either their role or organizational convictions. Furthermore, strictly formal organizations can seldom define all the possible variations of responsibility and personal interaction to be expected of all members in all situations. Nevertheless, organizations appear to be founded upon a basic system of stable expectations regarding differential responsibilities and relationships among the members. This is not a one-way process. That is, it is not the organization alone which sets up role expectations for its members. The members set up expectations for each other and for the organization as a whole. Moreover, while group members can agree upon which members hold the position of leader, the inconsistencies between such agreement and the attempts to evaluate leadership in terms of group productivity is evidently due to a low correlation between actually influential behavior and formal leadership status. In conclusion, it would be highly beneficial for an organization if members think of leadership as a behavior, not a formal role, as it will extend the capability for leadership behaviors to all organizational members and call for a change in how the organization approaches leadership development, which then should focus beyond managers or future managers to include all organizational members. Such a conception of leadership does not require that the functions of leadership be vested in one person. Any person who influences the group is playing a leader’s role and in this sense several individuals may be viewed as leaders at different times. In this paper, it is accepted that leadership may shift among group members depending upon the situations confronted by the group. Formal leaders, then, are office holders elected to play the most influential roles most of the time. The informal or effective leaders are the individuals who in fact do play the most influential roles most of the time. Those in formal leadership positions may have final authority, but others, within their own more constrained domains, will still need to draw on virtually the same set of leader attributes. These other’ leaders support the organizational leadership and extend the reach of those in formal leadership positions. Their leadership is manifest through their ability to work effectively with others, derive consensus, take initiative, question, and propose. These forms of participation in leadership are rarely considered as leadership per se, especially from traditional (i. . , narrow) perspectives. Rather than viewing leadership as the province of a few elites that have formal leadership role designations, an alternative perspective of this paper views leadership as an outcome of effective social structures and processes. It is the aggregate ability to create shared work that is meaningful to people and to add value to an organization. From this latter perspective, everyone can and should participate in both formal and informal leadership.

As completely as possible, sketch the supply chain for Zara from raw materials to consumer purchase Essay

Zara makes about 40% of their raw material (fabric). The remaining 60% is outsourced from within Spain, mostly from the La Curuna. Designing of clothes at Zara is done by creative teams of over 300 professionals at the headquarters in La Curuna, Spain. They act on the information fed to them from the stores managers. The first stage in Zara’s production system is cutting of fabric. The design is then sent for sewing by one of several hundred local cooperatives. After sewing, the clothes are returned to Zara’s facilities for ironing by an assembly line of workers. After this, the clothing items are wrapped in plastic and transported on conveyor belts to a group of giant warehouses. In the warehouse, the customised machines patterned after the equipment used by overnight parcel services, sorts, packs, labels, and allocates clothing items for shipment to Zara’s retail stores. For Zara’s retail stores within a 24-hour drive, goods are delivered by truck whereas goods meant for stores beyond 24-hour drive are delivered by cargo jets. Zara sells to customers at their own retail stores, each managed by a retail manager who gives feedback on fashion trends to the design team. 1. Discuss the concepts of horizontal and vertical conflict as they relate to Zara. Channel conflict is generated when one channel member’s action prevent the channel from achieving its goals. It can stem from difference between channel members goals and objectives, from disagreements over the domain of responsibility and from difference in perception of the market place. Channel conflict can be vertical or horizontal. Horizontal Conflict occurs among firms at the same level of the channel. Vertical Conflict, conflicts between different levels of the same channel, is even more common. 2. Which type of vertical marketing system does Zara employ? List all the benefits that Zra receives by having adopted this system. The type of vertical marketing system which Zara employ is the Corporate Vertical System which integrates successive stages of production and distribution under single ownership. Zara makes 40 percent of its own fabrics and produces more than half of its own clothes, rather than relying on a hodgepodge of slow-moving suppliers. New designs feed into Zara manufacturing centers, which ship finish products dirictly to 1,161 Zara stores in 68 countries, saving time, eliminating the need for warehouses, and keeping inventories low. Efective Vertical Integration makes Zara faster, more flexible, and more efficient than International competitors. 3. Does Zara experience disadvantages from its â€Å"fast-fashion† distribution system? Are these disadvantages offset by the advantages? 4. How does Zara add value for the customer through major logistic functions? Zara System One of the successful organizations that use the vertical marketing system (VMS) is Zara which have a distinctive feature of business model. With the aid of the vertical integration, the company is allowed to develop the strong merchandising strategy that continuously led the Zara to create the opportunities particularly in the fast-fashion system. Because of the lack of flexibility found in traditional retailing, the organization is obliged to produce the products in varieties, amount, and frequency of the new styles. This type of system begins in the corporate areas, wherein the leaders plan the changes that will create an impact in the organization. All the plans are administered to the stores that are mostly visited by the customers. In this way the regular customers will know that the new products are already available for merchandise (Craig, Jones, & Nieto, 2004). The quick response of Zara in the fast-fashion system places the emphasis on using the VMS to be very quick fashion follower than to achieve manufacturing efficiencies. The continuous product development in the retail environment enables the organization to facilitate the chain f competitive advantage.