Violence in The Kite Runner Essay Example

Violence in The Kite Runner Paper In The Kite Runner, violence plays a large role to develop both the characters and the story. Scenes such as rape, murder and extremely violent corporal punishments are cheerfully depicted and you can clearly see how those scenes come to affect the character development. The novel describes the life of Amir and his involvement with the violent scenes in the book. The novel also describes how much significance a single event in somebody’s life can have on their future self, especially rape. The first time rape is portrayed in the book is the scene where Hassan, Amir’s childhood friend, are raped by a known bully known as Assef. Amir and Hassan had just participated in a kite fighting tournament and they luckily won. Hassan runs away to find the kite for Amir and finds him being held down by Assef and his friends. Here, Amir can either interfere in the rape, or run and hide, and he chooses the latter one. This choice will come to affect and shape the rest of his life. The memory of witnessing Hassan being raped, and him not helping his friend will build up guilt inside of him. The guilt will continue growing until he cannot handle it anymore and feels like he has to redeem himself. This particular rape is not the first instance where rape occurs, and Amir is later reminded of his choice whilst escaping to Palestine with his father Baba when a woman is nearly raped. His father prevents this and Amir is reminded about his foul decision and also about how different Amir is from his father. About the same time, Amir is told about the rape of Kamal, a boy Amir used to know. These two events enriches the guilt he already felt and it grows even more. Later in life, Amir will look back at the scenes of rape in his life and will compare it to a coin only showing the upside when thrown; â€Å"What was the old saying about the bad penny? My past was like that, always turning up† (Hosseini 2003, p.281). Later in the story, Amir and his father arr We will write a custom essay sample on Violence in The Kite Runner specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Violence in The Kite Runner specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Violence in The Kite Runner specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Cesar essays

Cesar essays One of five children, Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona (that his grandfather homesteaded during the 1880s), on March 31, 1927. His parents, Juana Estrada and Librado Chavez, were Mexican-American migrant workers. Cesar at the age of 10, in 1937, his parents lost their farm that had been in the family for three generations due to the Depression and broken land agreement by a dishonest Anglo. The next year, Chavezs family became migrant workers, packing their belongings and heading to California in search of work. Most of the time they lived in overcrowded quarters or farm labor camps without running water, bathrooms or electricity. At times when no shelter was available, they would live in their cars, pickup trucks, or sleep in the dirt. This difficult way of life provided Cesar with little formal education. Cesar did not like school as a child because he spoke only Spanish. Teachers were mostly Anglo, only spoke English, and doubted his intelligence because of his color of his skin. The schools permitted only English to be spoken, Spanish was forbidden. In the schools he had to listen to a lot of racist remarks. He attended at least 36 schools and was only able to complete the eighth grade before he had to quit school entirely and help support his family. Father had been in an auto accident and Cesar didnt want his mother to work in the fields, so he worked full time in the fields. Unfortunately his mother was unhappy with his decision, because she wanted her children to receive an education. But he did learn how to read and write from his uncles and grandparents. Learned from his mother that violence and selfishness were wrong. While his childhood school education was not the best, later in life, education was his passion. The walls of his office in La Paz (United Farm Worker Headquarters) are lined with hundreds of books from philosophy, economics, cooperati...

Narrative Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Narrative Structure - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  the City of God film was produced by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund in 2002. Its storyline was adopted from the 1997 novel City of God by Braulio Mantovani. The storyline is based in Rio de Janeiro’s Cidade de Deus suburb in which organized crime in the 1960’s is on the rise. The crimes involve drug dealing cartels and a small boy (Rocket) who dreams of being a photographer as he strives to keep the city’s rot away. Rocket narrates the unfolding events in Cidade de Deus from his point of view which is that of a poor black youth. He is seeking for means of surviving in the harsh and violent life of Cidade de Deus. Although rocket seeks to be on the right side if the law, he does not agree to live a low, sulky and insatiable life.As the study highlights the setting of Rio de Janeiro is typical of the settings applied in most crime films in which the atmosphere is usually dark, clustered, and shows signs of madness associated w ith crime. Gangs run the city at night while gun fights and murder are nothing new in the Brazilian city. The causes of crime are usually economic inability, and that too is shown in Cidade de Deus; the typical houses are set in an urban setting in long rows. The houses are poorly constructed and the streets are dotted with youth who look desperate and idle. Generally, the introduction of the film hints poverty and crime, and these two elements work perfectly in creating a setting for thriving crime and violence.

Launching New Ventures Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Launching New Ventures - Dissertation Example In order to identify and develop a business opportunity, it is necessary to follow certain processes. These processes are analytically described below. At a first level, it is necessary to choose the approach on which the processes will be based. The effectual approach of decision-making has been chosen under the terms that the future conditions of the market involved cannot be precisely defined in advance – taking into consideration the strong market turbulence because of the global recession. Each of the phases of the processes is justified using relevant literature; additional literature is analytically presented in a separate section. 2.1 Effectual approach The effectual approach of the decision-making process is based on the proposition that since certain elements of the future are known, there are measures that can be taken for controlling it, even if its precise characteristics are not known. In the terms of the business environment, the above approach means that the future performance of business plans can be guaranteed – at an important level - by taking measures which are appropriate in terms of the common market conditions. The above approach is not based on the perspective that the exact future conditions of the market can be known, a perspective accepted in the causal approach of decision making. For this reason, the effectual approach has been chosen as most appropriate for checking a business opportunity, since this approach has the following benefits: a) it does not require accurate decisions but just effective plans; emphasis is given on the construction of the business projects and not on the development of a series of decisions; this fact can help to save time in realizing the projects, b) it does not require precise goals or stable market environment; this fact is an advantage of the effectual approach taking into consideration the turbulence in the global market, c) it does not require extensive market research, a fact that could also save time/ resources in the completion of the business project involved(Doke et al. 2007).

The Metamorphosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Metamorphosis - Essay Example He is motivated by his need to fit into the role of being a family man. However, once Gregor is inexplicably transformed into an Ungeziefer— which is roughly equivalent to â€Å"vermin†Ã¢â‚¬â€ he is no longer capable of taking care of his family in a traditional capacity. Instead, he is relegated to being a blind, wilting creature. All of his energy goes towards looking out the window, even as his vision and perception deteriorate. He devolves from desiring to care for his family and retain his job to desiring nothing more than to delude himself into believing that his sister is playing the violin for him. He scurries out into their midst, no longer conscious as his familys need for him to remain hidden. He confronts his mother with his shriveled form and terrifies their lodgers with his uncleanliness. Ultimately, Gergors nature as a man is completely destroyed. As his family —however horrid they might be— points out, â€Å"If [this creature] were Gregor he would have seen long ago that its not possible for human beings to live with an animal like that and he would have gone of his own free will.† Gregor has lost his ability to place his family above himself, but he still retains his ability to feel affection as evidenced by the â€Å"emotion and love† he holds for his family. The obligation that he held as a traveling salesman, however, has long since faded away, taking with it the satisfactions and desires that mark him as

The Concept Of Ethical Consumption Marketing Essay

The Concept Of Ethical Consumption Marketing Essay To present the concept of Ethical Consumption it needs to be acknowledging what is ethics and consumption. Ethic is a set of norms, principles or values that guide peoples behaviour (Sherwin 1993), and what is ethical or unethical is based on individual perception of right and wrong in other side consumption can be define as the process of buying or using goods that materialises when the consumer processes the product or service information, as a logical thinker (Holbrook et al. 1982: 132). Ethical consumption takes place when individuals purchasing goods are considering values of caring for other people, concerns for fairness and/or for the environment. The phenomenon of Ethical Consumption started to rise in the last fifteen to twenty years. This concept is directly related to the conscious and deliberate choice to make certain consumption options due to personal and moral beliefs (Carrigan et al., 2004:401). The ethical consumer strives to enhance their wellbeing through purchasing behaviour that avoids harming or exploiting humans, animals and the environment (Harrison et al. 2005: 4), and these represents the positive choices; additionally in this ample concept it can be included actions as recycling behaviour and philanthropy  [1]  . Consumption can be perceived as an instrument to achieve satisfaction on the material level; this consumer pattern is also moulded by groups and societal values: consideration for others and also for our eco system, leading to the concept of Ethical consumption, that can be identify as a tool to social change. Citizens and consumers are social actors that are recognizing more sustainable forms of consumption by optimising environmental, social and economic consequences in order to reduce ecological damage and demand labour rights to be respected. All consumers are forced to consider the increasing consequences of their habits, and existence (Harrison et al., 2005:3). We are now living in the world of disposability, of instant convenience where everything is disposable, however society is waking up and starting to reject these ways. There is a reform to the basic, to old values (Arnold 2009:4). Ethical consumption can be seen as an integration process, between producers and consumers, ethically minded consumers feel accountable towards the environment and the society, and they strive to express their values through their shopping habits. Ethical branding strategies are designed to support ethical business and ethical claims, these strategies are accomplished through all phases of a brand products lifecycle  [2]  ; leading to consumers perceptions and attitudes towards ethical purchasing (Tustin et al., 2008:24). Brands that are perceived as good citizenship  [3]   hold a good reputation on the consumer eyes, accentuating the responsibility of companies and consumers, producing/ purchasing products and services that pursue to minimise the social and environmental damage. It is quite clear exactly what is feeding this concept to grow, and Rob Harrison (2005) proposed seven factors inciting the growth of ethical behaviour: the globalisation of markets leading to the debilitation of national governments; this action drives to a rise of transnational corporations and brands; the growth of campaigning pressure groups which occurs as a result of the previous processes; the social and environmental consequence of technology; a shift in market power towards consumers; the effectiveness of market campaigning and also the enlargement of corporate social responsibility  [4]  (Harrison et al., 2005:3). However the main sources of the rapid progress of ethical awareness in the consumer shopping behaviour are the communication channels driven by the easy access of information, from websites as Ethical consumer guide and Keep it ethical; increasingly ethical awareness of issues related to products and brands leaded by the most effective channel the internet. 1.2 Study focus Although Ethical consumption seems like an ideal conception of consuming habits, there are issues stopping this idea to fully succeed. One of the strongest issue is price sensitivity, consumers are willing to pay extra pennies for ethical products, not small fortunes; another point is personal experience considering that some consumers cannot identify ethical products from non-ethical; ethical obligations as another issue where people feel difficult to consume certain products only based on the ethical claims; one critical point is the lack of information, where consumers feel that they are not fully informed in order to make the right purchasing choices; quality perception as other concept, sometimes people perceived that ethical products do not hold quality or flavour for example, as mainstream  [5]  products; cynicism considering that a high number of companies exploit for example the concept of environmental friendly, without any care for the environment which is named as gre en wash, leading to the lack of confidence to ethical products and finally the sense of guilt to support these exploited groups (Bray et al., 2010:5). Although other authors like Show et al., (2004) and Carrigan et al. (2001) defend, that ethical consumers are confused by: the lack of information, or too much information, restrict product choices and their availability, they also add that the lack of commitment plays an important role, additionally these authors go further believing that ethical consumers trust that their purchase choice does not make a significant difference amongst the others. Different authors point different issues as critical for this concept to flourished has it should. However all authors agree that communication, consumers education and the lack of trust is a significant concept for the shortcoming of ethical consumption. 1.3 Dissertation structure What is proposed in this study is to analyse in depth one successful ethical corporation Unicorn Manchester Cooperative Groceries, to understand how they show, educate and encourage consumers to follow their brand message through their ethical products; additionally how Unicorn procedures leads customers to trust them, finally it will be investigated their internal communication strategy. At this investigation it will be analysed trust, brand loyalty, brand message and internal branding, furthermore it will be acknowledge what their customers feel about their communication strategies and if they fully understand the meaning behind their purchases, what the company stands for and if the strategies used, drive customers to trust and became loyal to this business . To access this knowledge and to understand the communication strategy it will be made an interview to one of the cooperative members, which is accountable for the marketing and communication, education and advertisement of th is business, with the purpose to gain an insight of strategies adopted by this company. As a following step is needed to be acknowledge if customers are actually receptive to all these techniques adopted by the company by doing a small survey that only mention the communication strategies placed on the shop floor; to hundred and thirty customers. 1.4 Aims and objectives The outcome of this case study is to acknowledge and understands the ethical communication strategies adopted by this specific company and understand their effectiveness. Understand the Ethical Communication strategies used by Unicorn Cooperative Appreciate the channels used in order to build trust guiding to brand loyalty Acknowledge if customers fully understand the meaning behind their purchases Recognize the importance of Internal branding in ethical businesses How is possible to transfer this knowledge to other cases, business, institutions and so on. Research question: How does Unicorn- Cooperative develop consumer trust into their ethical brand? Hypotheses: 1. Trust is a key concept for the development of Brand loyalty 2. When brand message is communicated effectively, consumer tend to develop trust 3. Internal Branding high levelled the trust Literature review 2. Literature Review 2.1 Ethical Consumption Nowadays consumption can be perceived as a way to achieve social equality and a better environment. Ethical Consumption can include the purchasing behaviour that respects workers treatment, fair trade food, non-genetically modified food, environmental concerns, human rights, racial or gender prejudice, (Szimigin et al. 2006: 608). An increasing number of consumers are conducting changes in social conditions and business practices and they are progressively committed on these changes, this factor is what distinguish political consumer from ordinary consumer (Sandicki et al. 2008: 3). People are encountering more sustainable forms of consumption, and acknowledging individual and collective level of benefits, in order to meet the needs of current and future generations (Lunchs et al. 2011:2), affecting business and retailers to respond to this growing demand. At the same time individuals acquire a relation with ethical consumption that tend to be driven by a larger context, enforcing some kind of reflection which can be influenced by social groups (Barr et al. 2011: 715). Ethical consumption embraces two major groups positive buying is what was mention previously and in the opposite spectrum is the negative buying which can include boycotts and avoidance of certain brands on a permanent basis, considering their association with some political issue that the consumer opposes (Sandicki et al. 2008: 2). Furthermore these movements in great majority accomplish their objective, by changing business conventions to a more eco and social friendly practices. Consumption as an increasingly important purpose in contemporary society, these movements materialise ideologies of consumption  [6]  (Kozinets et al. 2004:692). Consequently, businesses are trying to blend ethical consumerism into their practices, as a result of pressure from consumers, considering that their perception is also linked to their consumerism (Tustin et al. 2008:25). Characteristics that run through all these consumption manifestations: Organisation, consumers envisage to organise a coherent set of activities informed by the actions of different organisations, including consumer bodies A desire for change, consumption as a tool of its own transformation Rights, consumers have rights that have to be fought Collectively, by working in groups, individuals hold a strengthen power for change Values, consumption as an exchange of moral messages, consuming can be good or bad Implications, consuming has effects, on other people and society or on the environment. (Harrison et al., 2004:40) Thankfully to the growing number and easily accessible information enhanced by the media interest of political issues (Harrison et al. 2004:69), consumers are more aware of ways to minimise environmental damage and change social issues. Some authors defend that there are more hidden reasons to purchase ethically, other dimension that evocates the individuality of each of us, they see ethical consumption as a integrative process, where the consumer tries to achieve: distinction, by distinguishing themselves in a proactively way through their actions; hedonism action that produces pleasure, the consumer feel good about himself purchasing ethically; love which demonstrates compassion to others and personal values and aesthetic appreciation, considering that ethical products tend to be classified as premium  [7]  brands, meaning more expensive which some individuals identify with them for their classification (Szimigin et al. 2006:610), and these are some of the extra aspects that the marketer needs to acknowledge when suggesting these products. However the most persuasive reason for people to consume more ethically is the power of social change, by forcing brands and companies to adopt more ethical strategies for t heir business practices. This seems the ideal consumption concept, however as many concepts in business has their faults to fully succeed, as mention previously the: personal experience; ethical obligation; lack of information; quality perception, cynicism and sense of guilt. The deprivation of effective information is a major barrier for this concept to accomplish their objectives. If consumers are not informed or even educated of these practices and strategies in some respects ethical consumption is failing in delivering a proficient communication. There is a high number of literature and case studies where consumers for example are willing to purchase eco-friendly brands, however they witness a very difficult task to identify these products, proving that these consumers are not very aware of ethical communication strategies (Picket- Baker et al. 2008: 290). Adequate communication prevail a disregard link between some companies to the mass consumer. This matter deviates the idea of ethical consumption; sin ce all consumers are possible ethical consumers (Harrison et al. 2005: 69). 2.2 Marketing Communications/ Communication Strategies Communication strategies is a core concept for this investigation, as it will be study the ethical communication strategies of one particular company and acknowledge how these support the business reaching trust amongst the customer. However to reach that picture it needs to comprehend in general the notion of marketing communication. All organisations to survive needs to exchange information to their stakeholders, Marketing Communications is the design, implementation and control to reach organisational objectives, through the consumer market point of view, marketing strategies is a method that will increase consumers positive thoughts and attitudes towards a brand or product, (Peter et al. 2010:25) basically is a management process through which an organisation engages with its various audience (Fill 2005:7), only strategically distributed can help organisations to lead a competitive position (Holm 2003: 23), by understanding the audiences, organisations explore actual messages that would be appropriate for their stakeholders. Following the previous sentence, marketing communication is a concept that bridges information between customers and potential customers to the business foundations, remind the stakeholders about the business essence, also reassure the distinctive aspects for other competitors additionally provide information about products and brands values, persuade the target audience to change attitude (Dahlen 2010:43). The Marketing Communication mix embraces every type of messages such in advertising, public relations, promotions and personal selling simultaneously direct response advertising, personal communication, public relations exhibitions and online exhibitions. All these different methods can work independently or ideally blended to accomplished communication goals. Promotional Objectives Target Audience Context Analyses Direct Marketing Sales Promotion Research and Evaluation Personal Selling Resources Positioning Public Relations Figure 1_ the system of Marketing Communications (Fill 2005:28) This concept promotes and maintain a dialogue with their audiences to create a Brand Equity, brand associations, brand dominance and brand prospects (Dahlen 2010:14), this it will influence conception of value in comparison with the benefits and costs, being the ideal situation to raise the benefits and decrease the costs (Holm 2006:23). Marketing communication can be perceived as: management and control of all communication strategies; also ensures brand personality, positioning and messages that should be distributed consistently throughout all components of communication and additional strategic analyses, implementation and control of the choices of marketing strategy (Smith et al. 1999:4). Communication is the act of sending a message to others in a way that these can interpret and decode the message, communications is essential to build trust on others(Anderson 2005: 169).Communication strategies can be defined as a constant pursuit to verbalize and decode the messages, in situation where these messages have not been decipher (Toronoe 1981: 287). A favourable communication is based around a committed, articulated brand idea as a foundation to sustain and build relations with customers (Dahlen 2010:2). The main target of Marketing Communication is to influence the judgment of value through communication, this process materialises when individuals share meaning, by developing a dialogue, where participants are capable to decipher the meaning of the messages and simultaneously being able to respond, and this exchange is possible through knowledge and understanding of the communication process. In overall process for organisations to be successful in their communications strategies, it is fundamental for them to understand their customers, the way they absorbs information, how they develop attitudes and how they react to marketing communications stimuli . However it necessary to identify, select and develop which communication tool it will be used to apply the most suitable brand communication to reach their target audience (Schultz et al. 1999: 309). The cognitive position perceives the consumer as the problem solver, using the various process to reasoning, forming ideas and gaining knowledge in their own individual way of decoding information (Fill 2005: 117). The previous judgment makes essential for organisations to build a strong Brand Narrative, based on a story that frames cultural codes, cultural expectations and stereotypes, essentially needs to create a story that reflects our times (Dahlen 2010: 13). The brand narrative is intrinsically consistent dialogue, which connects people, events and experiences which can lead to Brand Equity  [8]  . Brand attitude is an imperative characteristic of brand equity, which is intended to influence consumers to purchase the brand, through consumers attitude is possible to measure the brand success (Peter et al. 2010:232). Brand and customer equity Relationships Advocacy Advocacy Marketing communications Marketing communication mix Traditional and non-traditional media Channel partners Positioning Branding Image and Brand management Outcomes Marketing Communications Media Scape Narrative Brand Ongoing Figure 2_ Brand Narrative components (Dahlen 2010:6) Until certain extend brand equity, brand narrative develop a marketing stimuli directed to their target choice, guiding them in the way they behave, think and how they feel (Peter et al. 2010:25) and individuals express themselves, or aspire to be through brands, somehow consumers employ marketing communications to chase personal meaning through their consumption (Dahlen 2010:07). Meaning that by elaborating a brand narrative business is essential to have a deep knowledge about their target market. Customers are seem as problem solvers, through communication strategy perspective, their capability to message decode is affected by their level of elaboration and advertising is the conducive way of channel information to consumers, who then has the opportunity to appreciate the message according to their experiences (Fill 2005:197). 2.2.1Brand message- Communication Effectiveness Brand message is essential for this study, taking in consideration that it needs to be apprehended the communication effectiveness of Unicorn strategy, not measuring but understanding the effectiveness of their brand message, how this business is being so successful in communicating their values, when others in ethical trade are failing, essentially understand how Unicorn engage customers through their brand. Communication is an important means for organisations to reach their customers and potential customers (Bendixen 1993: 19), and this can be achieved through advertisement. Many advertisement models were tailored with foundation on Lavidge and Steiner hierarchy of effects model, this model defends that the customer purchasing process starts from awareness, to knowledge, then liking, moving to preference than conviction and finally purchase. The next model has foundation on Lavidge and Steiner effects structure, where Bendixen applied some changes: Forces of Communication Impact Specificness Credibility Relevance Conviction Comprehension Action Unawareness Awareness Forgetfulness Incompreheension Hotility Aphaty Barriers of Communication Figure 3 _ Brand loyalty the 5 stages of Communication (Bendixen 1993: 21) All components of the promotion mix hold diverse magnitudes to communicate. The effectiveness of each communication channel can be chased from the state of unawareness to all the other stages until purchase (Fill 2002: 18). 2.2.2 Brand message and trust The effect of the brand message also has an impact on trust and relationship commitment (Sharma 1999: 152), some studies suggest the critical role of effective communication plays an impact on the perceptions of quality, trust and relationship commitment, it involves the formal and informal channels between customers and the organisations, is meant to give real expectations and educate customers (Sharma 1999: 163). The effectiveness of cause related marketing may have an imperative influence in customer choice (Pracejus et al. 2004: 639). Communication effectiveness/ Brand message Functional quality Technical quality Trust Relationship commitment Figure 4_ Conceptual model of determinants of relationship commitment (Sharma 1999: 156) Effectiveness is an important derivative of communication strategy taking in consideration that for these to have a positive outcome into the target audience, it needs to achieve what was meant to achieve, the audience must decode in the way that the marketer thought that they would decode and if the audience can acknowledge the full meaning and understand the overall brand message, this process was successful, also has impact in which different communication channels to adopt and how it will affect particular consumer responses (Grace et al. 2005: 114), this might be through advertising or any other avenue. If customers acknowledge the brand message and this is something that they aspire or goes according to their values, consumer will tend develop trust with the brand through their messages. Consumer brand knowledge could relate all descriptive and evaluative brand information. In this spectrum, different levels of knowledge as attributes, benefits, thoughts, feelings, that are linked between them (Ghodeswar 2008: 4) would form a reaction to the brand message, and this reaction should be as expected by the brand in this way they accomplish their communication goals. Understanding brand message has an effect to future purchases, through brand relationship that also involve brand satisfaction, brand trust and brand attachment (Esch et al. 2006: 103), brand message need to be clear and adopt the most appropriate channels in order to achieve their target audience. By using their communication strategies effectively will lead to consumer relationship, trust that eventually will turn into brand loyalty. 2.3 Brand Trust Trust develops when one actor has positive assurance with a trading partner (Zboja 2006: 382), as a process that meets their customer expectations and probably overcome these ones. Brand trust is built over the acceptance that brand value can be design and improved in order to overcome consumer satisfaction concerning the product attributes. Brand qualities might also add value to an existing relationship between customers and brands, being trust one of the most critical elements of this relation. Trust is a feeling based on security and in this context trust has foundation in brand reliability and brand intentions; brand reliability is the capacity of brand to correspond to customers needs, in this dimension is necessary to accomplished what the customer is expecting from the brand; and brand intention has emotional roots, which accredits that customers are in an vulnerability situation when making purchasing decisions (Delgado- Ballester 2001: 1242). Consumer trust and satisfaction about a specific brand and the retailer will drive to repurchasing behaviour; trust is a significant element that bridges satisfaction, individual connection towards a brand as shown on figure five. Trust in the Brand Trust in the Retailer Reseller Repurchase Intentions Satisfaction with the Brand Satisfaction with the retailer Figure 5_ Conceptual model of the relationship between consumer perceptions of brands and retailers ( Zboja et al. 2006: 382) Relationship formation is balanced by customer, product and brand attitude. A brand with very distinctive attributes that adjust to customers values and behaviour tend to develop relationship based on the products categories (Hess et al. 2005:316). Trust is involved in brand credibility, and this creates brand loyalty as an element of brand equity and a key concept in customer relationship, and this might be the strongest connection in the marketing tools (Reast 2005:5). Credibility- based Credibility based trust correlates (Conative)Brand trust Performance- satisfaction based Trust Correlates (Cognitive) Truthful Fair minded Sincere Shows concern Similar values Gives confidence Competence Expert Status Reputation Personal Experience Usage History Fulfil expectations Quality consistency People experience Quality level Dependability Figure 6_ Two component model of brand trust correlates (Reast 2005: 5) The left column represents what a brand should provide and the right column is what customers will perceive if content. Credibility demonstrates the honesty and values of the brand where it can be delivered through advertising, packaging to personal interaction (Reast 2005: 9). Brand trust is establish through personal experience with the specific brand, consequently this experience it will guide consumers evaluation of any direct and indirect contact, being the consumption experience the most important as a foundation of trust. Brand trust offers some kind of security, considering that the brand will meet consumption expectations that will have an influence on commitment. (Delgado- Ballister 2001: 1254). Brand properties are vital to ultimate if customer decides to trust it or not. Consumers tend to judge a brand before forming a relationship with it, Lau believes that individuals develop brand trust according to reputation, predictability and proficiency (Lau et al 2009: 344);furthermore trust can be perceived as an ingredient that contrast relationships from transactions. Trust and satisfaction are crucial elements in building personal relationships that eventually will lead to brand loyalty; which has been conceptualised as a repetitive purchasing behaviour of a brand (Lau et al. 2001: 351). 2.3.1 Trust and Brand Loyalty Within the marketing discipline concepts as trust and brand loyalty are linked together, considering that is through trust that brands achieve loyalty from their customers. The consideration of trust in brand is supported by: the relationship between brand and consumer, that implies that the brand hold some characteristics that goes further than a simple product or service; in other spectrum brand trust is also associated to brand value, which is much more than consumer satisfaction, other characteristics can add value to the existing relationship between a brand and a consumer, being trust the most significant property of this relation. (Delgado- Ballester 2001: 1241). Trust in a brand is positively associated to brand loyalty which brings many benefits to the organisation. The brand properties are crucial to determine if the consumer will trust or not this business if the reaction is positive and the customers is repurchasing over again it will be achieved brand loyalty. Brand Predictability Additional Information Job Specifications are in Word format, to download a viewer for Windows click Here or for Mac users click Here all other documents are in PDF format you can get Acrobat Here Recruitment Policy: Click Here Candidate Guidelines: Click Here Job Share Scheme: Click Here About MMU: Click Here Disabled Candidate Support: Click Here Job Details   Job Reference: G2/2245 Job Title: Marketing Assistant Location: All Saints Closing Date: 16 October 2012 Salary Range:  £ 18340.00 to  £ 19972.00 Benefits Holiday Entitlement: 25 Pension:   Yes Job Details Division: Marketing, Communications Development Department: Marketing Communications Office Work Pattern: Temporary Application Form: Click here for Application Form Job Description: The University only accepts applications on a valid application form which can be downloaded by clicking here. You can then upload your completed application in the My Documents section once you have logged in. Please note that a curriculum vitae (CV) will not be accepted for this vacancy. Manchester Metropolitan University MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT MARKETING ASSISTANT (Full-time / Fixed 2 year contract/) Grade 4:  £18,340-  £19,972 per annum We are seeking a Marketing Assistant who is looking for an exciting, challenging role and has excellent marketing and administrative skills. This hands-on post will be part of a new marketing team in the Faculty of Business and Law. This new faculty brings together the Business School a

Press Release Order Essay

The demand for International translation services has been constantly increasing for the past few years. Moreover, the growing number of Internet users every year has resulted into a similar and broader demand which is online translation. Basically, it is clear that these days, clients all over the world need quick and reliable technical translation services that they can easily access using the Internet. As a response to these demands, a leading translation company has recently expanded its business operation and has recruited professional translators who can fully meet the translation needs of clients from all around the globe. In a general meeting held last April 1st 2008, company Manager James Tate emphasized to the employees that the adequate staff replenishment in the company have made translation services more approachable. As Tate said in the meeting, â€Å"We are all human beings as well as our clients. Some of us question this fact because of enormous amount of orders, but it is unquestionable that our clients need permanent help and support, thus, we decide to help our support and translators’ teams in order to deliver effective services to our clients†. In the meeting, Tate further stated that the company’s current manpower that provides website translation service has constantly met the growing demands of clients in live support. According to Tate, the company is in the eventual expansive mode responding the world translation services, in which the company has grown and leading in both document translation service and foreign language translation. The manpower expansion of the company aims to deliver more professional translation services by adding twenty more high quality professional staff to double the translation capacities. Likewise, one of the important tasks in providing assistance to clients is the adequate maintenance of a live support. Tate believes that the live support is more significant in bringing about a personalized approach to clienteles and reaching out the services towards world translation. This kind of venture in international translation service has been a breakthrough of a reinvented industry using Internet technology. This venture operates like call center which is also a booming clientele-out-sourcing business. Likewise, the business in technical translation services is in the same league with other cyber technology innovations. In addition, some industrial technocrats perceive a looming demand in international translation services which may indicate vulnerability of competition, specifically by similar online business entities. One of the indications is the possible realignment of call centers into a one-stop-shop venture in business-process-outsourcing which may include technical translation services. This indication may not be a remote possibility reflective on the situation of the available technical manpower and academic professionals. Generally, the company’s online translation services would radiate a more definitive employment opportunity to absorb the people’s skills and potentials that are untapped by other industries and competing job markets. These skilled translators would then eventually become the cornerstone of a bigger and

The Decline of the West

These changes could happen from one day to another. How do you tell your family that their economic situation, all of a sudden, has changed because of your new status as unemployed? Especially when family the family is accustomed to the idea of living the sweet life. The Decline of the West† from 201 0 is about a man who experiences the difficult problems of the economic decline. In the short story â€Å"The Decline of the West†, the narrator Mike lives with his family in the outskirts of London. He just got fired and is now on his way home to pass the news of his recent dismissal.Mike used to work 12 hours a day, but despite the fact that Mike now is unemployed, he looks forward to spent time with his family. He has a rough time tying to tell the truth, and so he ends up arguing with his wife and sons instead. The main character of the short story is Mike. He is a 45-year;old man, father of two, and has until now been working in corporate finance. Mike is a hardworking man, who has provided his family with a lovely house in safe surroundings, plenty of material benefits, and an AU pair, who can take care of the house when he is not there.Mike barely sees his family, and admits lankly that the AU pair sees more to his family than he does himself. â€Å"The AU pair saw more of his house and family than he did -â€Å"1 . The sweet welcoming Mike imagined was far from reality. When Mike arrives home, his wife, Imagine, does not even take the time to say hallo to her husband, but simply just passes him by with a gin and tonic mentioning going up stairs to take a shower. â€Å"Imagine passed him in the hall carrying a gin and tonic, saying she was going upstairs to have a bath†2 This indicates that the marriage might not be as warm and loving as one may think.Mike's marriage does not seem to go well. Imagine is not acknowledging Mike, nor is she interested in him. â€Å"Is it attention you're after? † 3 Mike sees himself as a man that gi ves all he can ever Offer to his family, but they are never satisfied. â€Å"l paid for this with my time, intelligence, and the education the state provided me with†4. Mike's view on him self stands in sharp contrast to the adverse image we get of him from the dialogues. The contrast especially becomes clear in the argument between Mike and his older son, Tom. â€Å"Are you joking? You've done nothing for me† . As the argument is developing it proves out that the children, and the mother or that matter, is very unrealistic when it comes to economy and money. No matter how much they get, it is never enough. Mike has always given his children exactly what they wanted, despite the fact that their joy never lasted long. â€Å"The kids had stopped using it before he'd hardly begun paying for it†6. The narrator in the short story is a first person narrator with a limited point of view to the father. By this we get an insight in the fathers thoughts and speculations. He believed he was good at giving things up†7. We see everything from his point of view, so we have therefore have a colored view n the story. The story is written with the use of Pats. We, as a reader, feel sympathy for Mike. Imagine and the children seem greedy and ungrateful. They are products of the capitalistic consumer society. They are all against Mike and he himself takes position as the victim. He appears to be alone with the knowledge of his famish future situation; however, he does not have the courage to face the consequences.Instead he tries to avoid them. Mike does become wiser on his family unrealistic luxurious lifestyle throughout the story. That happens when he notices Queen Elizabeth Sis's crooked smile on a tote. â€Å"How had he never noticed what a sardonic little Mona Lisa smile the blinded-up monarch wore, mocking even, as if she pitied the vanity and greed the note inspired†8. In the world at large, money is what we worship. We are willingly sac rificing the bond with our family to pursue wealth. Mike has never needed anything in his life.As his father said â€Å"Mike you've been stalked by good fortune your whole life† 9. Now that he is unemployed, he suddenly seems to have lost control of his emotions and life. For a moment he even considers to leave this world and all the financial troubles behind. â€Å"How easy t was to fall, and how tempting it was -? suddenly would be best – to die! † 1 0 First of all â€Å"The Decline of the West' refers to the Collapse of Wall Street in 2008, which had a huge impact on the life of millions of people in the West.The western countries are currently in a critic financial situation. Our society, build upon capitalism and materialism demolished when the nation began to spend more than they could afford. This theme is evident throughout the story. Mike reflects on the lifestyle he, and many others had led in the past couple of years. He considers whether the financi al crisis is a penalty for this. [†¦ ]Nonetheless, like many people, Mike had also worried whether the present catastrophe was punishment for years of extravagance and self- indulgence;[†¦ â€Å"11 The title could also be interpreted as a reference to a moral decline of the modern family. The values of love, and closeness are being replaced by the desire to posses and own everything you could ever dream Of. The love for material has taken over the love for our fellow men. We forget about all that really matters and we are only focusing on buying the latest gadgets and promoting our economical status. The grotesque overcorrection and insatiable love for material goods might have caused severe damage to our traditional social values.Mike and his family is an example of this propensity, so the title might as well refer to the social regression in our culture. The financial crisis has resulted in lots of critical problems, but maybe a financial crisis was exactly what we need ed? This could be a break from our unrealistic expenditure. Money can buy you many things, but the happiness from it is limited. Money can buy you lots and lots of material goods, still eventually you will no longer feel the same excitement bout your purchase.Just like the kids in the short story, you will sooner or later cast-off your bought stuff and set your goals up for a new investment. Money can offer things to make people happy, but it does not mean that money can buy you true happiness. Poor people on the street huddling together to stay warm, that is care, which brings out true happiness. Their situation would improve with a little money, however, in the short story where a wealthy family that cannot live together, where is their happiness? Where is the love? Money cannot buy happiness, nor love.

Stryker Corporation Case Essays

Stryker Corporation Case Essays Stryker Corporation Case Paper Stryker Corporation Case Paper Stryker Corporation Deciding whether to keep outsourcing or in-source PCBs Stryker Corporation has 3 different options regarding the supply of needed PCBs. Option 1: contemplates the fact of keeping the same suppliers but with significant changes in order to assure continuous supply of PCBs and quality. No investment is needed. Option 2: establishing a partner with a single supplier. This way there would be a sole supplier for Stryker established in a new facility near them, this would give more certainty and control over continuous supply and quality standards. Again, no investment is needed. Option 3: in-source the PCB’s, there is a project for investing and owning a plant for producing their own PCB’s, this way they would assure a continuous supply and have 100% control over quality standards. In this case, there is a big amount of capital that should be invested, which is needed to be analyzed in order to see whether it is viable for the company or not. The case present several information regarding expected production costs for in-sourcing and expected purchases for outsourcing. Since there is no projected information of Income Statement, then the only cash flow analysis that can be made is by comparing the efficiency gained by in-sourcing the PCBS compared to the costs of keep buying the PCBs. The case contemplates the projected comparison from 2004 to 2009 of the costs of buying PCBs from an external supplier and the costs of making the PCBs. What we will analyze is the positive cash flow that is derived from the cost improvement of making the PCBs compared to outsourcing them. The sum of these annual savings should be a positive cash flow for the company via a cost reduction. In Exhibit 2, the case presents the comparison of the costs incurred between outsourcing and in-sourcing the PCBs. The in source cost of production contemplates Depreciation Expense as a part of Fixed Cost, what we will do is subtract out of the Fixed Cost all of the Depreciation Expenses because they are not actually part of the cash flow, Depreciation Expense is only an Expense that is recognized because of the lost of value of Assets as Equipment, but it actually doesn’t imply an outflow for the company. Another thing to consider is the re investment in Assets such as Furnishings and non-manufacturing equipment, and Communication Equipment and IT infrastructure, both are expected to fully depreciate in 3 years, so there has to be a re investment of both assets. We will calculate the NPV, IRR and Payback Period, but we need to see the cash flow, but first we show the depreciation calculus: Cash Flow The payback period is less than 5 years; we can see it in the next graph, where the line crosses the X axis in the point 4. 7, which is the calculated payback period. We can see that the NPV is kind of low, but having control of the supply chain in terms of timing for the materials and the finished goods is a plus, also the quality would be higher as new equipment is more reliable and precise adding the strict manufacturing methods of Stryker Corporation, would achieve these results. About the IRR we can say that it is high compared to the contemporaneous interest rate data for the year 20 03, where the highest interest rate is 6. 8 for Moody’s Baa Long-term investment. This is also a good point for the project. We can conclude that the project for in-sourcing it’s a good option to be implemented as the financial calculation has showed us, Stryker Corporation also has the means to do that investment as 6 million is low compared to the 329 million that the company had in 2002, to avoid sourcing and quality problems in-sourcing is the best option.

The Hazards of Science essays

The Hazards of Science essays Have you ever heard of the term hubris? Hubris defines the actions people partake in that are reserved only for Gods. This means that at times people play the roles of Gods. Is this acceptable? It depends on the situation as to whether or not hubris is acceptable. There are distinct times when hubris is both allowable and unacceptable. When people make the comment, I am God, do they really mean it? Of course not. They are merely stating that they feel their status in life at that time is above those of their piers. It is a feeling of joy people get when they win a game or race. It is a truly safe feeling of hierarchy. This doesnt mean that God has been reincarnated as that person. This is a safe and often reassuring feeling. Another safe example of hubris is often shown in parenting. Parents often scold their children and sometimes reiterate that they are God. Again, this doesnt mean that God has been reincarnated as that person. It is merely a teaching method that establishes a chain of command. The parent is ensuring that the child knows who is in charge. This teaching method can be safe and affective if not blown out of proportion. An issue that many feel is skeptical is the United States role in World affairs. The United States often times looks as if it is guilty of hubris. The United States wants to know that it has some control and mediation of all the countries. In a way, this is unacceptable hubris. Countries have the right to govern themselves as they wish. They shouldnt be told what to do by an outside party. This affects the issue of their freedom. Just how much freedom do people really have when the United States plays God? Americans dont realize just how good they have it. There are no other countries that try to govern Americans and limit their freedom. The answer as to whether or not the United States takes part ...

NHS Health Provision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

NHS Health Provision - Essay Example The health service was an important aspect, so it had to exist, with reasons for its existence ranging from: Financial constrains for the hospitals which were volunteering; The 2nd world war which ensured an emergency medical service was ensured as part of the war effort; Emergence of the view that every human being had the right to health care, and it should not be something given to people charity thought they needed; The wide spread effect of war that saw it possible that the system was changed rather than modified; Mutual agreement that services that existed were in disarray, and something had to be done to sort it; and Young members who practiced medicine saw a better way of handling things hence its existence (NHS core principles, 2005). One of the major health care provisions in the national hospital service was the development of a network that would handle unplanned and emergency care services. This was an inter-organisation development criterion which was effective as a too l that would support the required changes in interrelated services. These were intensive care networks, emergency care networks and surgical service networks. The subtopic on emergency care networks is solely based on the fact that it is used by the public as a port of call which is safe for most, if not all of their problems. This is especially so if the other agencies are shut (Enthoven, 2000). Over the years as a result, services have been built in this department and also their knowledge in distinct areas such as minor injuries which accounts for 2/3 of the workload, trauma services which estimates to approximately 2% of the work in most of the departments and major injuries which accounts for work in balance. Such specialist services needed competent individuals around in a sort of shift patterns and a rota. Surgical services are becoming highly specialised, and some anaesthetists’ and surgeons’ ability to be flexible in that they can cross-over in general areas i s becoming a challenge. This in turn, creates pressure in mid-sized and smaller general district hospitals, in that their staff is small and cannot meet the new shifts and rota layered down by the existing rules. This pressure is due to concentration of staff members in areas of excellence such as cardiology, neurosurgery, cancer, urology, paediatrics and ophthalmology; increase in the percentage of daily case surgery which includes the transfer of some cases out of private sectors in east London (public policy reforms and the National Health Service strategic development agenda) (Oakley 2009, p. 13-15). The National Health Service was created out of thought that healthcare services to a person should be available regardless of wealth. This was based on these three core principles: It should not be based on a person’s ability to pay but on essential clinical needs, It should meet the needs of each and every one, At the point of delivery it should be free, The three principles have seen that the development of the national hospital service is guided for over sixty years and remaining at its pillar core. The department of health in March 2011 published the National Hospital Service. In its content were the guiding principle of the NHS and the publics’ right as an NHS patient. These rights did a wide coverage of the quality of care a NHS patient receives, an NHS patient right, confidentiality, programmes and treatments available to the patient and the patient’

NHS Computer Scheme Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

NHS Computer Scheme - Coursework Example The ?12 billion NHS computer scheme project was an initiative of the UK department of health that was aimed at achieving a single, centrally-mandated electronic care record for patients and to provide a connection of more than 30,000 general practitioners to over 300 hospitals (Deloitte, 2009). The system was also aimed at providing a secure platform where authorized health practitioners could access medical records in the process of providing care to patients. The project had other aims as well including the ability to provide a platform where any patient could be able to access their medical records online at any time with the appropriate authorization. If the project was to succeed patients would have been able to access their medical records online through a service dubbed Healthspace. The project was going to be a leap forward in the healthcare industry and was said to be a world’s first most comprehensive civil information technology program of the century (PAC, 2010). T he program began in October 2002 and since then its management has continued to spur debate and discussion among the public and other stakeholders as well. The first bone of contention is the cost of the program that was estimated to cost ?12 billion (Campbell, 2011). The second problem came up as a result of poor management and or the subsequent sacking of four of the proposed IT provides (PAC, 2010). Third, the public accounts committee on the other hand has continued to criticize the project terming it to have flaws from the point of initialization, budgeting, scope, planning and also noted that the project had little practical value to the patients if any in order to warrant implementation (PAC, 2010). A review by the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority (MPA) established a number... This paper is going to provide a critical analysis of an ambitious IT project began by the UK department of health dubbed NHS National Program for IT. The  £12 billion NHS computer scheme project was an initiative of the UK department of health that was aimed at achieving a single, centrally-mandated electronic care record for patients and to provide a connection of more than 30,000 general practitioners to over 300 hospitals. The system was also aimed at providing a secure platform where authorized health practitioners could access medical records in the process of providing care to patients. The project had other aims as well including the ability to provide a platform where any patient could be able to access their medical records online at any time with the appropriate authorization. If the project was to succeed patients would have been able to access their medical records online through a service dubbed Healthspace. The project was going to be a leap forward in the healthcare industry and was said to be a world’s first most comprehensive civil information technology program of the century This report makes a conclusion that through the events and the issues that marked UK’s first major IT project, there are a number of things that needed to be changed to boost the chances of the success of the project. It is recommended that first; NHS would have established a project board together with the project manager and the project team to ensure effective management of the project. This would have helped in establishing responsibilities and authority so that the project manager is under a larger authority which would have put pressure on him to enable the effective accomplishment of his duties.