Luxury Brands in India Essay

A luxury brand is a brand for which most of products offered are luxury goods. Luxury goods in general refer to products or services which are not fundamental and can be described as affluence. The three words which compliment luxury brands are high price, high quality and prestige. These brands create and set the seasonal trends and are also capable to pulling all of their consumers with them wherever they go. India being the second-fastest growing economy is believed to be one of the most sought after market by the luxury brands. Designers around the world have been taking inspiration from India’s rich fashion history with bright Bollywood colours, exotic saris, elegant embroidery and stunning jewellery. The growing number of Indians in the billionaire’s club coupled with a evident rise of the urban elite class has seen many international luxury giants queue up to woo the Indian customer who has a peculiar culture of â€Å"status†. A big brand like Chanel launched its 2012 Paris-Bombay Collection. in December of 2011 and Hermes put out a limited-edition line of saris, which instantly drew the world’s attention to the glamour and glitz of India. Luxury brands have thoroughly considered the significance of understanding India’s spending power and rituals as there are definite times when luxury spending isn’t welcome, but other times like weddings and festivals which are prime times for offering high-end, luxury items. As per Millward Brown Optimor consulting company the top 10 luxury brands are: 1. Louis Vuitton- $25. 9 billion, 2. Hermes- $19. 1 billion 3. Rolex- $7. 2 billion 4. Chanel- $6. 7 billion 5. Gucci- $6. 4 billion 6. Prada- $5. 7 billion 7. Cartier- $4. 8 billion. 8. Hennessy- $4. 6 billion. 9. Moet & Chandon- $4. 2 billion. 10. Burberry- $4. 09 billion. Features of Luxury market in India: ? India is the second fastest growing region in Asia Pacific for Luxury Products. ? The Indian market is expected to grow at the rate 25% over next 5 years. ? At $4. 8 billion, the luxury retail market has place for everyone. ? Apparel, jewelry & personal care are the biggest sells in the luxury market. ? Indian Luxury Market is worth $4. 9 Billion, it forms only 2% of global share thus there is a huge scope for expansion. ? There are 103,000 millionaires in India, 16,000 are added each year. ? Luxury and prestige brands such as Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Cartier represent the highest form of craftsmanship and command a staunch consumer loyalty that is not affected by trends. Now that India has emerged as a hot market for Luxury Brands it is important for these brands to market themselves well to the Indian consumer. Most of the Luxury Brands attract a new consumer by indicating high brand worth. With introduction of several Luxury brands in India, Luxury Brand marketing has emerged as a significant ancillary service. Luxury marketing strategies are developed in a unique way which ensures success; some of the strategies are listed below: ? Brand needs to be â€Å"expansive†- it needs to be full of modernization opportunities for the marketer for satisfying the divergent needs of the luxury consumer ? Brand must always tell a majestic story heritage & performance or other aspects that goes on to build the aura of a brand over time. The story always accentuates the identity of the brand. ? Brand needs to be relevant to the needs of consumers-Depending upon the mindset of the luxury class, it is imperative for a brand to satisfy those needs, whether they be catering to recognition or functional use etc. ? Brand must always align itself with consumers’ values-A brand that does not concur with the basic values of a consumer’s society has a small chance of succeeding because luxury items are forms of expression or identification for a luxury consumer. ? Brand needs to perform-Irrespective of which category the brand belongs to, a performance assurance is a must. For all the above mentioned strategies to work there is a strong need for specialized marketing & PR function. These two services have become backbone of the Luxury Brands in India. Through my research I shall try to find out the role played by these agencies and also the activities under taken by various Luxury brands to establish themselves in India. A RESEARCH ON Fashion shows [pic] Assignment on research problem INTRODUCTION Research can be defined as a formalized curiosity. It is â€Å"The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc., in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions† Oxford English dictionary. In other words it can also be defined as â€Å"A process of finding out information and investigating the unknown to solve a problem† according to Maylor and Blackmon (2005). The topic of my research problem is FASHION SHOWS. My research shall revolve around answering questions like: 1. What brings about the success of these shows? 2. How it affects the fashion trends in a society? 3. How it affects the sales of a country? A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during a Fashion Week. Fashion shows are fun and creative way of highlighting some of the ethical issues surrounding the fashion industry. There is a lot to be considered so it is well worth planning ahead. This is where the latest fashion trends are introduced to the people at large. In a typical fashion show models walk down the ramp dressed in the clothing created by the designer. Fashions shows enjoy a good amount of media coverage which is essential for spreading trends across the globe. History In the 1800s â€Å"fashion parades† periodically took place in Paris couture salons. American retailers imported the concept of the fashion show in the early 1900s. The first American fashion show likely took place in 1903 in the New York City store Ehrlich Brothers. By 1910, large department stores such as Wanamaker’s in New York City and Philadelphia were also staging fashion shows. These events showed couture gowns from Paris or the store’s copies of them; they aimed to demonstrate the owners’ good taste and capture the attention of female shoppers. Magazines like Vogue and Harper’s bazaar, whose editors were obsessed with French fashion began to feature more work by American designers. American designs became the new modern trends and made their place in the industry. Many designers began to hold their own shows in private functions but some shows turned out to be mishaps. Some locations were hazardous like that of Michael Kors show where a part of the ceiling began falling on the models. Mishaps like these made the designers to send the collection to Bryant Park and Fashion Week as we know it today was born. Advantages:- †¢ Fashion shows gave many aspiring designers a platform to show their collection. †¢ It gave opportunity to see the best garments and meet the best international designers. †¢ It helps in introducing new trends and make people aware of them. †¢ It amalgamates different trends and presents an overview of seasonal trend. What brings out the success of these shows? †¢ Careful selection of the theme of fashion show. It should be in sync with the collection that the designer shows. Theme along with collection leaves an important impact on its audience. †¢ Venue that can accommodate many people and one which can efficiently handle a fashion show. It should have good lighting system, backstage area, adequate parking and also easy to find. †¢ Proper display of Collection. It should be appealing and attractive. †¢ Models that effectively and beautifully carry the designs. †¢ Proper advertisement by creating a media buzz. . World’s most talked about & influential Fashion Shows: †¢ Berlin Fashion Week – Berlin, Germany †¢ Haute Couture- Paris, France †¢ Sao Paulo Fashion Week- Sao Paulo, Brazil †¢ Copenhagen Fashion Week- Copenhagen, Denmark †¢ New York Fashion Week- New York, US †¢ London Fashion Week A/W- London, UK †¢ Tokyo Fashion Week A/W- Tokyo, Japan †¢ Milan Fashion Week S/S- Milan, Italy †¢ Paris Fashion Week S/S- Paris, France.

The Cultural Insights of Footbinding

The Chinese practiced foot binding for over a thousand years in the Song and T’ang dynasties. Some people found it very cruel, and then some found it fascinating. The ‘Golden Lotuses’ were the art and symbol for the wealth and beauty of ancient China. For any other culture, one would ask what foot binding is? Or, how did foot binding in Ancient China compare to John Fairbank’s text â€Å"Footbinding†? Also, how does the history of ancient China and Fairbank’s text differ and how are they similar? Then, how can foot binding be defended? In this paper, one will be able to understand the cultural significance of foot binding. Foot binding was a mother’s way to prepare her daughter for her future. The mother would start to bind the daughter’s feet between the ages of five and eight, when the feet and bones were still developing. At a young age the daughters were unaware of what their future held, and why their mother put them through so much pain. After the first two years the pain would lessen for the daughters. Constricting the feet to a three inch size was only the beginning of the daughter’s worries. The bound feet required daily care which included; feet being washed and manicured while staying bounded. The mother would be the one who ultimately took care of the daughter and grooming her feet. In Fairbank’s text it says â€Å"When I was seven [said one women to Ida Pruitt], my mother†¦ washed and placed alum on my feet and cut the toenails. She then bent my toes toward the plantar with a binding cloth ten inches wide, doing the right foot first then the left. She†¦ ordered me to walk but when I did the pain proved unbearable. The night †¦ my feet felt on fire and I couldn’t sleep; mother struck me for crying. On the following days, I tried to hide but was forced to walk on my feet †¦ after several months all toes but the big one was pressed against the inner surface†¦ mother would remove the binding and wipe the blood and pus which dripped from my feet. She told me that only the removal of the flesh could my feet become slender†¦. Every two weeks I changed to new shoes. Each new pair was one-two-tenths of an inch smaller than the previous one†¦ In summer my feet smelled offensively because of pus and blood; In winter my feet felt cold because of lack of circulation †¦ four of the toes were curled in like so many dead caterpillars†¦ it took two years it achieve the three inch model†¦ my shanks were thin, my feet became humped, ugly and odoriferous. † (405) Bounding the feet made the daughters less useful in family work, and the daughters would become very dependent on help from others. Once people in China became accustom to the practice of foot binding, the ‘Golden Lotuses’ became an essential part of being able to get a suitable husband. John Fairbank accounts in his text, â€Å"Footbinding† how women in ancient China were represented. Fairbank’s text was the study of ancient China, and the subjection of women during that time. In the text, Fairbank expressed how the women fit into social classes, and how they were not equal to males in the society. The feet being the first symbol of women, marriage followed second. The feet were a prestigious item to a female, and without the bound feet they would not be able to achieve a good marriage. Clearly stated in the following poem, â€Å"Lotus blossoms in shoes most tight, As if she could stand on autumnal waters! Her shoe tips do not peek beyond the skirt, Fearful lest the tiny embroideries be seen. †(404) it becomes clear that the binding of the feet was a sexual fetish for the Chinese man. The bound feet became a sort of chastity to the female, leaving them vulnerable and defenseless. Unlike the chastity belt, the lotus feet could not be unlocked. â€Å"In a society with a cult of female chastity, one primary purpose of foot binding was to limit mobility, radically modifying the means by which females were permitted to become a part of the world at large. Painfully and forcibly reducing a little girl's foot at the precise point in her life when she was expected to begin understanding the Confucian discipline of maintaining a â€Å"mindful body† reinforced her acceptance of the practice. A woman's dependency on her family was made utterly manifest in her disabled feet, and she was fully expected to acquire considerable control over her pain, reflecting the ideals of civility, a mindful body and concealment. One of the primary allures of foot binding lay in its concealment, and to be acceptable a pair of small feet had to be covered by binder, socks and shoes,† Females had to become dependent on her husband when she would move away from her family; thus leaving the male with complete domination in all aspects of the relationship. Throughout research it is apparent that the practice of foot binding was all relatively the same. In both Fairbank’s and in other readings on foot binding, mothers bound their daughter’s feet to prepare them for wealth and marriage. As incomprehensible as foot binding may seem it actually was a way for mothers and daughter to bond. The action of foot binding resulted in deforming their feet thus crippling them from preforming daily duties. It was found by researchers that foot binding could only be defended by people who understood their customs. What is important to a social group is not only survival, but the survival of patterns of behavior which are considered â€Å"right† within the context of the culture. That foot binding was legitimized by scholars and tied to the custom of the patriarchal Chinese family, perpetuating the kinship system, was no adequate stronghold against the forward momentum of history, education, labor opportunities, and capitalist indi vidualism. † One could disagree with the act of foot binding, unless a person dealt with foot binding first hand. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that the act of foot binding significantly declined. One can see foot binding had many similarities and very few differences between Fairbank’s text and other accounts of foot binding. It was a cultural act of royal and upper class mothers, to prepare their daughters for an arranged marriage. Today in China the last surviving practitioners are handicapped by old age and arthritis, and these living ‘Golden Lotuses’ are all that remains of a vanished phenomenon.

Nitrogen Dioxide Pollution in Lancaster Dissertation

Nitrogen Dioxide Pollution in Lancaster - Dissertation Example Natural sources comprise only about 1% of the total emissions. With the increase in global warming around the world, incentives were undertaken to first create awareness and then to counter the causes of global warming and ozone depletion. United Nations took upon itself to encourage the respective governments of firstly the developed nations and then the developing ones. Similarly, the EU started funding researches and experiments to monitor the main causes of global warming, which were greenhouse gases, of which primarily, were oxides of nitrogen. The alarming statistics on the increase in NO2 concentration in U.K raised more urgent questions to be pondered over. What were the consequences of such high concentrations? Does it pose any immediate threat to the ecosystem in general and environment in particular? Hence researches and experiments were performed to delve further into the effects of the increased emissions of NO2 and our increasing dependence on non- renewable sources as our sole driving energy. The harmful effects, other than global warming, proved more concerning to the masses. The main effect on any individual exposed to high concentrations of NO2 was an increase in respiratory problems especially childhood asthma (Koenig 2003, p. 173). Child Health Study performed a research amongst children from 10 Californian communities using multiple indicators of exposure to NO2. The main indicator they made use of was traffic pollution in especially urban areas. The results proved that there was a co relation between the extent of exposure to NO2 and the occurrence of asthma or to the least, weasing amongst children. Further research explained this consensus (Ritz 2009). Nitrogen dioxide causes an inflammation in the lining of the lungs and reduces immunity to lung infections. This is exactly why children and aged people in particular are at high risk from exposure (Anzenbacher & Zanger 2012 p. 656). Not only does it cause lung problems but also increases the intensity of the nature of the illness. Other than health problems nitrogen dioxide is in itself, a potent threat to the ecosystem as well. Oxides of nitrogen promote ozone formation. It is a major contributor of acid rain and photochemical smog, both being very serious environment issues. Another major harmful effect of oxides of nitrogen is not in its gaseous form but in its element form (Inglezakis & Poulopoulos 2006, p. 22). Owing to the increasing agricultural industry, the use of fertilizers is inevitable. These nitrogenous fertilizers seep into the soil, only to be swept away by rains or flash floods into the nearby river, where the nitrogen boasts the algae population, thereby reducing the oxygen concentration. As a result all other vegetation and species of fish are fatally affected. Nitrogen dioxide reacts in the presence of air and ultraviolet light to form two very harmful compounds, ozone and nitrogen oxide. The NO then reacts with free radicals in atmosphere to pro duce NO2 again. Thus each molecule of NO2 has the ability to produce ozone molecules a lot of times. Also one molecule of NO2 has a very long lifetime because of its inability to absorb light photons. Ozone is an invisible gas with levels highest when it is warm. It also affects the lungs. Studies in animals claim that ozone damages the cells of lining the passages of the lungs, causing

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies Essay - 9

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies - Essay Example The company under consideration is the Burger King. It also identifies a possible business level and corporate level strategies for the organization. The American Airline Group is a company that is publicly traded and has its headquarters in Texas. This company was formed on the 9th of December 2013, with a merger between the United States Airways Group, and the AMR Corporation. These two airline companies merged to form the largest airline company all over the world. The American Airline Group operates not less than 6,700 daily flights to different locations in the world. This covers about 56 countries, and more than 336 locations found in these 56 countries (Agyenim, 2014). The American airline group has operating revenue of about 40 billion American dollars, and boasts of a workforce of over 100,000 employees. The company plans to introduce an additional 607 aircrafts, and this includes 90 wide body airplanes, and 517 narrow body airplanes. The full merger of this company, resulting to the use of a single operating certificate is expected to be complete in the later periods of 2015 (Agyenim, 2014). The merger of the two airline companies was necessitated by the bankruptcy of AMR group. The strategy used in creating this merger is referred to as the stock-swap strategy/merger. Under this strategy, the shareholders of the US Airways received 28% of the shares of the new company. The creditors of AMR, and other equity holders were to receive the remaining 72% of the shares of the new company. This process was to take two years, upon which the company will pay the creditors of AMR their interests, and other stakeholders of the company a share of the company equity (Agyenim, 2014). This is a rare occurrence in bankruptcy cases where creditors usually receive cents, on a dollar they claim. On the other hand common stakeholders of the company are always wiped out, without receiving any benefits from the

Two legal codes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Two legal codes - Essay Example The law code which was improved to benefit the Roman subjects a few years later came to be known as the Lex Romana Burgundinum. This paper will analyze the two law codes and will focus on their similarities and differences. The Hammurabi law code was based on the presumption of innocence and gives both the accuser and the accused to provide evidence. This is evident in several parts of the code. For example, the third law states, â€Å"If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death† (fordham.edu par. 65). Another example of the code’s presumption of innocence is in the eleventh law that states, â€Å"If the owner do not bring witnesses to identify the lost article, he is an evil-doer, he has traduced, and shall be put to death† (fordham.edu par. 65). Apart from the presumption of innocence, the Hammurabi law code had strength in that it considered evidence an important part of judgment. This is evident in many of the laws one of which is the tenth law that states, If the purchaser does not bring the merchant and the witnesses before whom he bought the article, but its owner bring witnesses who identify it, then the buyer is the thief and shall be put to death, and the owner receives the lost article. (fordham.edu par. 65). The Hammurabi law code characteristically is associated with harsh punishments for those found at fault. In many cases, the death penalty is applied for crimes that would otherwise be punished through less punitive measures. For example, the 11th law dictates that failure to bring a witness when one is claiming for an article is punishable by death. To a great extent, the code was based on the notion of an eye for an eye. In several instants, the law demands payments or retribution in compensation for actions committed by a person against another. One example of this is the 200th law that states, â€Å"If a

Folk Songs Teaching Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Folk Songs Teaching Approaches - Essay Example This should not be the case as we have to preserve our culture and for this to be taken seriously, then, there has to be better approaches for teaching folk songs to students. There are a number of levels and methods for teaching folk songs whereby the method used coincide with the purpose of the students in learning the folk song or the purpose of the teacher in teaching the folk dance. The main aim of the teacher when it comes to teaching folk songs is to maintain quality with limited resources. Another component which is important in teaching folk songs is to understand folk song in the context; the creator of the song, which particular occasion is the song sang by the those who created it, the customs and traditions surrounding the occasion of the song, other elements of the culture that spawned it of which the song is but single element. The teacher teaches the steps, the style and the context of the folk song as he has mastered them. It is easier to teach the steps and it is difficult to teach the style while on the other hand the context has not been fully researched to be adequately learnt. However, it becomes difficult for even the best dancer to teach the styles of each different region. The teachers must admit to their students that it is difficult for one master styles of every folk songs they dance in order to encourage them.

The contribution of OSH legislature and standards Essay - 5

The contribution of OSH legislature and standards - Essay Example In Britain, Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 covers all workers except the legislature, hence its weakness. Similarly, in the Canadian OSH legislation and standards also factors the wellbeing of employees and facilitates the benefits comparable to those entailed in Britain. Thus, there is a high correlation of the OSH Act as implemented in both countries. The management has the significant role to enforce and ensure safe and healthy working conditions for the employees. The supervising role ensures the safety and wellbeing of the workers by enforcing the stated rules such as dressing and use of protective gear at work among other responsibilities. Thus in conclusion the management entities have a core responsibility to commit and foster Occupational Safety and Health. The two systems, Britain and Canada are very efficient in facilitating occupational safety and healthy wellbeing of the workers. The working place dynamics are a core concern within the structures of employment an element that requires the employees to have the plan to address work-related safety issues. Consequently, due to the need to have a clearly outlined regulatory approach to the dynamics of the rights of workers within the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act is a core formulation established in the year 1970, to guarantee the course of promoting the security and human rights of the workers within the job (Alli& International Labour Office, 2008). The observed existence of many hazards that are harmful to the well-being of the people as they work mandated the institution of legislative approach and programs that guide the treatment of the employees as the engage in work. The OSH Act is a formulation of the European countries that realized the need to institute this fundamental body of regulations to ensure the well-being of the employees.

Cost Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cost Concepts - Essay Example One can illustrate this in the case of the University of Colorado Hospital, a large academic hospital recently recognized as the highest performing academic institution in terms of delivering quality health care in the United States for 2012. Using traditional cost systems, resource allocation distributed across overhead expenditures are done according to a measured amount or volume of individual services or products. For example, in terms of maternity care, the overhead cost could be spread across provider compensation, direct and indirect hospital costs, emergency room, transport, pediatric and a host of other product/service elements. Cost accounting in this setting is straightforward: the total cost is measured as opposed to the measurement of a specific unit of the maternity service. Here, the outcome is fundamentally based on the attempt to determine how many units or the product or services are consumed. Activity-based cost accounting is differentiated from this system because it is more detailed and comprehensive in the manner by which it calculates the cost. There are three steps by which it implements the system as opposed to the mere calculation of resources consumed: 1) defining the activities that support output; 2) defining links between activities and output; and, 3) developing the cost activities (p.5). In the case of the maternity service at the UCH, for instance, it will include nonfinancial variables along with financial variables as bases for allocating costs. In addition, it will also employ a bigger number of cost drivers. It is, hence, more accurate in determining cost than the traditional cost accounting method. The impact of cost accounting is important. Hospitals like UCH will predict the cost on the basis of expected visits in assessments like the profit analysis model. This is significant is especially on the face of the increasing frustrations of healthcare finance

Sustainability and the Balanced Scorecard Essay Example for Free

Sustainability and the Balanced Scorecard Essay Practices that are good for the environment and society may appear to have a negative impact on corporate profitability, but use of the balance scorecard can result in a clearer picture of the relationship among sustainable practices, corporate strategies, and profitability. This article explores three ways that sustainable practices can be incorporated into BSC and discusses issues that should be considered when selecting sustainability related measures, targets, and goals. It also examines ways to enhance both internal and external reporting of sustainability-related performance. Adopting green operating practices is certainly good for the environment, yet the implications of such practices for a business’s profitability may be viewed as both positive and negative. On one hand, by contributing to product differentiation in the market- place and enhancing organizational image to investors and customers (both current and potential), green practices may increase a company’s profitability. On the other hand, green practices may actually reduce profitability because of extra costs that result from implementation and continuation of sustainable practices. For example, installing solar panels on a building may lower monthly electricity bills, but, concomitantly, the reduced electricity bills may be more than offset by the high purchase and installation costs associated with the panels. The sustainability concept now runs rampant in business literature, but, unfortunately, there is no agreed- upon definition of sustainability or its underlying tenets. â€Å"Sustainable† or â€Å"green† practices will be found throughout the operations of a business. These practices can be included in the design features of an organization’s buildings, vendor  selection in the supply chain, production of goods and provision of services, and packaging features and distribution elements of those products and services, and the practices will be a significant consideration in a product’s ultimate disposal. The BSC typically reflect four interrelated perspectives of a company: financial, customer, international business prowess, and learning and growth. Each perspective has a series of performance measures, targets, and goals that reflect the firm’s long-term strategies. The financial perspective takes the viewpoint of the company shareholders and typically uses traditional financial measures such as operating cash flows, return on investment, and changes in operating income over time. The customer perspective addresses product and firm differentiation strategies as well as value creation from the viewpoint of the organizations client base. The international business processes perspective includes measures of the efficiency and the effectiveness of the firms operations. The learning and growth perspective focuses on the creation of organizational value through employees and innovative practices. The first method is to add a fifth perspective to the BSC. It may be the simplest approach for companies that want to emphasize sustainability as a key corporate value or a critical strategy. The sustainability perspective consists of social and environmental performance indicators that link with the other four BSC dimensions and highlights the importance of social, environmental, and economic responsibility as a corporate goal. This approach could allow management to establish less definitive measurements without compromising organizational aggregation. The second approach is sustainability-balanced scorecard (SBSC). A separate SBSC is an appropriate for many companies such as those existing BSC but want to measure or integrate sustainability without the disruption and cost of adopting a full-scale BSC. SBSC include the following four perspectives: sustainability, stakeholders, processes and learning. The sustainability perspective would emphasize the triple bottom line of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social justice. The stakeholder perspective would  incorporate measures of business ethics, labor practices, and impact on society. The processes perspective would focus on specific organizational external and internal processes products, tools, and systems. The learning perspective would stress organizational synergy, training, and research and development. A strength of the SBSC is that a well-defined corporate sustainability strategy is not essential to its development. The third is integrating sustainability measures throughout the four perspectives. Management has to both define the metrics that are important in measuring progress towards organizational sustainability objectives, and how sustainability (or lack thereof) will affect the future. Incorporating new measures are important the firms financial well being as customer satisfaction, manufacturing cycle efficiency, and patent-generating research and development. The integration method also works well for companies that have adopted a more all-encompassing definition of sustainable practices that includes environmental, health, and social aspects. This article relates to accounting class because of the topics covered such as sustainability, triple bottom reports, return on investment, and balanced scorecard. The article concludes with developing sustainability metrics. These provide tangible guidance to how the strategies implemented help create shareholder value. There are three ways that sustainable practices can be incorporated into the balanced scorecard: adding a fifth perspective to the BSC, a sustainability-balanced scorecard, and integrating sustainability measures throughout the four perspectives. My perspective is, I know how important it is to be not only more â€Å"green† today, but as cost effective as possible. The three methods don’t look too complicated to be implemented. The article states at the end that companies are being pressured by stakeholders to become more transparent, and such transparency is becoming the norm rather than the exception. The 2008 KPMG international survey of corporate responsibility reporting found that, in 2008, nearly 80% of the worlds largest 250 companies issued some type of responsibility report. These responsibility reports included governance, ethical, environmental and social issues. It is now more important than ever to go green.

English As A Second Language Program Essay Example for Free

English As A Second Language Program Essay An ESL or English as a second Language program, as the name suggests is for students or people in general who do not speak English as their first language and have an interest in learning this language for certain reasons which may range from applying to a college or university in United states or elsewhere or they would want to get accustomed to this language for the purpose of conducting business overseas, for communication with peers at work or it can be for the simple reason of communicating with people at different situations. In this article we are going to focus on ESL programs for students at a school district, comparing and contrasting on the ways they are executed and the ways they should be executed. English as a Second Language programs for students are offered to students by either scheduling classes in between their regular course classes or they can be undertaken as a separate programs by certain individuals who are accommodated in the vicinity of the university. Today, since the ratio of international students is increasing at an alarming rate in United States or Canada, offering an ESL program is more of a legal requirement for most districts so that all students are taken forward together at university or when they enroll into one in future. It is also due to this very fact that a lot of emphasis is given to ESL programs at elementary and middle school levels to prepare students to use English as a channel of communication in future. The execution and the effectiveness of these programs however, vary with different school districts depending upon trained teacher, the program and the dedication of the students themselves. The duration and intensity of an ESL program varies with the individual or university requirement and can be full time or part time, ranging from a couple of weeks to even a year. These details as mentioned do differ, so for example the ESL program offered at the Greenwich public school which aims at providing students academic and communication skills In order for them to succeed in U.S universities as effectively as possible. The elementary school offers this program for an average 2- 4 years with one to eight hours of instruction every week depending upon the grade and language individual needs of students. The school also focuses on very small groups and emphasizes individual attention to students to better understand their weaknesses and fill I the gaps. The Greenwich Public School district has been offering ESL programs for the past 28 years and has seen an influx in the number of ESL students over the years. In the year 2004-05 approximately 731 students enrolled in the program altogether from 54 countries. The elementary school curriculum includes a variety of materials according to student needs such as work books, songs, CD’s, learning of poems, class presentations etc. this program is more content based   and strong emphasis is give on the reading aspect in this program.   The program is organized around themes and aims at teaching critical thinking along with language skills to enable success in mainstream class rooms. In more specific terms this ESL program for elementary students includes Theme based English series which includes work books, posters etc. Group activities (theme based) which tend to explore literature along with songs, activities, TPR games etc. Miami Linguistics, which are designed for ESL beginners in a sequential reading manner. In Greenwich Public School, after completing the elementary school program after reaching grade 2 or grade 3, ESL students are expected to formulate questions, read outside of class, compare materials in a text and also contrast them. They are also able to express a story in their own words with proper understanding and expressions, write small paragraphs and initiate conversations. After completing the basic ESL program for elementary school, students can decide to move out of the program or advance to higher level middle school ESL program, which has its own curriculum and particular hours to be covered aimed at developing proficiency in English language. Placement in this program is based on entry tests and educational history. After looking at the details of different ESL programs offered by various institutes, if one actually compares them with reality, one can say that ESL programs put students under a lot of stress as they try to achive excellence in a second language, therefore recreational facilities should be made affordable, also the students should be encouraged to mingle with American students in order to culturally adjust with them   and pur into practice all the theories they have learnt in   class. Also one of the most important things which teachers for this program need to understand is that students enrolled in an ESL program come from very different backgrounds and cultures, therefore the same methodoligies cannot be applied across the board for teachin purposes. Students must be carefully monitered and encouraged to use their strengths to achive succcess in the course.   (Currie, 2003) If one compares the ESL program offered by greemwich Public School with other ESL programs offered, we can say that most ESL programs are similar in conducting theme based activities, which can be selected by asking students what they want to say, moulding the curiculum in children’s interest. Also at this stage most ESL programs are content based, songs are also one of the important keys to success in most ESL progrms. One of the methods which can contribute towards the improvement of an ESL program at Greenwich is that revision of matrial is very important before every new leson taught, this can be best achived with the help of songs before proceeding forward. Each lesson should be broken down into three to four parts, starting with warm up and revision of previous material, then teaching new lesson, for example new vocabulary words etc, the third part should incorporate games or activities t practice the new lesson and the ending of a esson sholud be on a happy thankful note, referably a song. This approach has been teted at ther ESL program and has proved to be very succesful. Different approaches to learning can be adressed thorough ESL games, making learning lessions fun and more effective. Depending on the students theses ESl games can vary from auditorylearnig style in which games involve more listening through peoms or repitation etc. Visual ESL styles ca be used for students who are more comfortable with videos of games involving flash cards etc and finally tactile learnig styles can be used in which â€Å"touch† are used.   (Vernon) In conclusion, if the current ESL program in a School district is evaluated in terms of the comparisons and details mentioned above,   I would say that diverse approach towards the students is missing and teachers are adopting   a homogenous method towards all students. In my opinion more effort needs to be diverted in this angle where different games and teaching styles are used after analysing the capabilities of students and more emphasis should be place on practical learning.

Properties and Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles

Properties and Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles AVINASH YALAMANCHILI   History One of the meaning of nanotechnology shows research and invention technology at the macromolecular levels with a length size of roughly 1-100 nm in any measurement. The creation and utilization of structures, gadgets, and frameworks which have hardcover properties because of their tiny size. The unexpected development of nanoparticles along these lines do not come under what we meant. It is assessed that today almost 320 tons per year of nano silver are delivered. Around 120 years back, in 18th century, M. C. Lea who   identified and explained the union of a citrate stabilized silver colloid and from this we come to know that the normal breadth for the particles are in the area around 7 and 9 nm and in addition to that   the adjustment of nano silver using proteins has been described from over 1902 and Other nano silver arrangements were additionally developed in the following years, for instance the gelatin settled silver nano particles were officially   licensed by the name M oudry in 1953.It is hard to note that the innovators who invented the nano silver definitions grasp decades back that the suitability of the innovation required nanoscale silver and to satisfy these rules the silver must be scattered in such a way that the particles of colloidal measure under less than 25 and right now there are numerous items which uses both the silver and silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles have been united into a range of cellulosic materials, for example, filter paper, cotton texture, and cellulose gels. Silver and some other metals have been utilized for some particular length of time to store consumable water, and the antibacterial properties of follow amounts of these metal are well-known. The surface zone of the most part is more famous than the bulk metal and is more bioactive when it is seen as a result. Silver nanoparticles have been utilized already in water filtration applications. Silver nanoparticles will be nanoparticles of silver of between 1 nm and 100 nm in size. Even though we call some as silver some are prepared out of a huge rate of silver oxide because of their vast proportion of surface-to-mass silver iotas. Various states of nanoparticles can be built relying upon the current application and the most commonly use are circular silver nanoparticles yet precious stone, octagonal and thin sheets are known to be popular. The prope rties of silver nanoparticles which are fit to human medicines are under scrutiny in research center and creature thinks about, evaluating potential, ability to work, harmfulness, and other expenses. structure and synthesis In physical procedures, metal nanoparticles are by and large blended by evaporation and condensation, which could be done utilizing a tube heater at climatic weight. The source material inside a watercraft focused at the heater is vaporized into a transporter gas. Nanoparticles of different materials, for example, Au, Pbs and fullerene, have beforehand been created utilizing the vanishing procedure There is developing enthusiasm for using the optical properties of silver nanoparticles as the utilitarian part in various items and sensors. Silver nanoparticles are known to be productive at discarding and scrambling light and, not at all like many colors and shades, have a shading that depend mostly   on the size and the state of the molecule and strong correspondence of the silver nanoparticles with light occurs in light of the way that the conduction electrons on the metal surface experience a total faltering when empowered by light at specific wavelengths Known as a surface plasm on reverberation, this wavering outcomes in unusual solid dispersed amount and control of some   properties. silver nanoparticles can have powerful control cross segments up to ten circumstances bigger than their physical cross area. The strong scattering cross region considers sub 100 nm nanoparticles to be satisfactory with a routine amplifying instrument and when 60 nm silver nanoparticles are l it up with white light they appear as unbelievable blue point source scatters under a diminish field amplifying instrument. The blue shading is relied upon to a SPR that is peaked at a 450nm wavelength. A property of roundabout silver nanoparticles is that this SPR best wavelength can be changed from 400 nm to 530 nm by changing the particle assess and the area refractive rundown near the atom surface. Substantially greater developments of the SPR peak wavelength out into the infrared area of the electromagnetic range can be expert by conveying silver nanoparticles with the plate shapes Characterization electron magnifying lens was mostly utilized to choose the size, shape and the dispersion of size   of the silver nanoparticles. Setting up of tests are done by setting a drop of working arrangement and that are over a carbon-covered standard copper framework working at 80 kV. FT-IR examinations were completed on a Bruker Equinox 55 Spectro photometer. Silver solution was inspected as In order to prepare the silver-nanoparticles ,the things which were used are known to be   AgNO3   arrangement and CTAB, separately, as a metal salt antecedent and a balancing out operator. Aniline arrangement was additionally utilized as a diminishing operator. The straightforward dull response blend containing AgNO3 + CTAB was changed over to the trademark light yellow shading after the expansion of a required arrangement of aniline. The presence of shading was clearly identified as the development of silver nanoparticles. Transmission regular by customary technique like under some specific circ umstances by using a thin kbr pellet. The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles are critical for their conduct, bio-dispersion, security, and adequacy. In this manner, portrayal of ag nanoparticles are essential so as to assess the useful parts of the integrated particles. Portrayal is performed utilizing an assortment of logical methods and in which includes UV-vis spectroscopy, X-beam diffractometry, Fourier change infrared spectroscopy, X-beam photoelectron spectroscope, dynamic light disseminating , checking electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy , and nuclear drive microscopy . A few eligible books and surveys have clearly exhibited the standards and using of different sorts of explanatory strategies for the portrayal of Ag nanoparticles; like in such a way as, the nuts and bolts  Ã‚   of the essential systems utilized for the portrayal of Ag nanoparticles are in a situation that they are   beneath for simplicity of of their capability. For instance, portrayal of Ag nanoparticles utilizing d ifferent systematic procedures arranged from culture crystallizing of Bacillus species and UV-Vis spectroscopy is the most critical method and the least complex approach to affirm the development of nanoparticles. This is how the silver nanomaterial characterization looks like from various techniques Mechanical properties: A standout amongst the most widely recognized systems of silver nanoparticles antibacterial movement mostly depends on their basic partiality for holding that is available in cysteine, which is called a building piece of the protein bacterial cell divider and so the enzymatic capacity of proteins are offensive and the chain of cell breath is interfered. In the meantime some different compounds and dehydrogenase are crushed. It has been assessed that silver nanoparticles are more powerful against Gram-negative microorganisms, which is identified with contrasts in the development of cell dividers of both gatherings of microscopic organisms. Advantages and disadvantages: These are used in conductive Coatings as Silver nanowires can be utilized to give conductive coatings to straightforward conduits and adaptable gadgets and also used as Plasmonic Antennas in such a way as Metallic nanoparticles connected to silver nanowires work as reception apparatuses improving plasmonic action for detecting and imaging applications   and coming to Sub-atomic Sensing, these are Single layers of silver nanowires have been utilized to build exhibits for particle particular detecting in conjunction with Raman Spectroscopy. Silver nanoparticles have been utilized broadly as hostile to bacterial specialists in the wellbeing business, nourishment stockpiling, also used in material coatings for different metals and various ecological applications. It is vital to note that notwithstanding of many years of utilization, the proof of presence of poisonous quality of silver is still uncertain. Items made with ag nano particles have been endorsed by a scope of authorize bodies. The danger of using nanoparticles of silver to people is for the most part low and in the most cases very low and also it can be seen if enough care is not taken. Skin contact with materials containing silver is one of the fundamental ways individuals are presented to silver nanoparticles . At the point when all is said in done, buyer things release simply little measures of silver, not realizing important prosperity impacts. Nano particles are known to be devoured by the skin. Broken skin, or skin with cuts and wounds, may offer climb to less complex and facilitate absorption of nanoparticles into the circulatory framework and translocation in the body Uses: Silver Nano particles have applications in finding out and treatment of cancer and are medication transporters which are very useful, which are utilized as a part of eye watch over which covers contact lenses. likewise, the utilization of silver nanomaterials in mix with vanadium oxide in battery cell segments is one case of cutting edge silver nanotechnology which also deals in battery execution in cutting edge dynamic implantable therapeutic gadgets. Silver nanoparticles also used in dental instruments and gauzes very much. Furthermore, joining nanoparticles in endodontic filling materials gave a fundamentally improved hostile to bactericidal and dental glues are likewise exceptionally powerful against streptococci without any influence on the glue mechanical properties, accordingly empowering their utilization in orthodontic medicines. Environmental effects: Silver nanomaterials, for instance, can disintegrate to shape silver particles in a particular arrangement and these are viewed and believed to be as nontoxic to people at sensible fixations however can influence the development of fish incipient organisms. The development of ionic silver is not just reliant or depend on the built properties of the nanomaterial but they are also even when it comes to size and shape and in addition to that subject to changes from ecological introduction. The utilization of antibacterial silver nanomaterials in items like toys or any types of materials   made people worried about that like as they may have some poisonous nature that may effect skin or like by smell. Especially materials like nanoparticles may look extreme dangerous and this is because of their nature. On the other side the techniques and the modifications done to them which affect their natural behavior but it also helps in holding their properties of antibacterial techniques. In water treatment plants these nano silver particles were found in sewage slime,and in which it shows that   these particles must enter the water framework. But in any of these cases anyway they are not clear. A number of particles may connect in the soil and they may dissolve in the soil and some may not and in some cases, these particles may have the chance to stay in surface water and after that they may consume by the living organisms or it may slowly dissolve in it. References: Li, W. R; Xie, X. B.; ..Shi, Q. S.;, Zeng.., H. Y.;, Ou-Yang, Y. S.; Chen, Y B. Appl Microbiol.. Biot.echnol. 2010, 85(4), 1115-22. Korbekandi H, Iravani S. Silver nanoparticles, the delivery of nanoparticles. In: Hashim Abbass A., editor, ISBN: 978-953-51-0615-9, InTech; 2012. C. Krish.naraj, E.G. Jaga.n, S. Rajase.kar Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Acalypha indica leaf extracts and its antibacterial activity against water borne pathogens M. Gondwal, G.J.N. Pant Biological evaluation and green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Calotropis procera Hussain SM, Hess KL, Gearhart JM, Geiss KT, Schlager JJ. In vitro toxicity of   the silver nano particles   in BRL 3A rat liver. cells. Toxicol In Vitro www.hindawi.com/journals/amse/2015/624394/ www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/antibacterials/nanosilver/environmental-effects

My Educational Philosophy :: Philosophy of Education Teaching

My Educational Philosophy Everyone has their own reasons for choosing a career. Some people make decisions based on the family business or income statistics. In my case, none of the before mentioned explanations apply. My decision making process began after tenth grade, which happened to be the beginning of my Four-H counseling career. At this particular 4-H camp, I was honored to hold the title ‘counselor‘. It is a position that holds power, influence, and respect. Throughout the week, I fulfilled my position by helping numerous children with an array of situations. The campers were taught new camp songs while also shown how to deal with troubling circumstances. The smiling faces at the end of the week proved that the entire staff had been successful. In that one week, I realized that I can make a difference. The feeling of triumph that I felt was incredible; that is the feeling that I want to experience more often. So, why do I want to be a teacher? For one, I have the desire to help others. I want to make students feel like they are someone. I hope to make every child know they can succeed in life. After explaining the cell division process, I am excited to see the look of accomplishment on a child’s face once they finally understand -- that is the feeling of success. As a teacher, I will be given many opportunities to lend that special helping hand. The subject that I have chosen to teach is one that I did not dominate throughout my high school career. That is why I chose the General Science degree. I can relate with the student that is too shy to raise their hand and ask a question. I know what it is like to work a little harder because something does not come naturally. And, most of all, I know how it feels to succeed. That is the feeling that I want everyone to experience. Corresponding with a science degree, I am also pursuing a mathematics degree. I believe that God gives everyone a gift of a natural talent -- this gift should be implemented in life.

Napoleon Betrayed the Revolution Essay -- Napoleon Bonaparte French Re

Napoleon Betrayed the Revolution In order to investigate the claim that ‘Napoleon betrayed the revolution’, it has to be determined what is the French revolution? And what are the revolutionary ideals that Napoleon allegedly betrayed? If Napoleon betrayed the Revolution then he betrayed the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. However if Napoleon did not betray the revolution, he consolidated the revolutionary ideals. The only way of determining whether Napoleon consolidated or betrayed the revolution is to explore his actions such as his military success, Dictatorship and social reforms. The difficulty of this analysis is that Napoleons motives for his actions determine whether he consolidated or betrayed the Revolution. If Napoleon betrayed the revolution, then he betrayed the ideals of Liberty, equality and fraternity. For it is ideals rather than realities that Napoleon allegedly betrayed. The reality of the French revolution is 8 periods of constant change and successions of policies and leaders, with each new leader and party bringing amendments to the revolution. Napoleon’s â€Å"coupd’e`tat of 18 brumaire was an insurance against both Jacobin revolution and Royalist restoration.† The French people expected Napoleon to bring back peace, order and to consolidate the political and social conquests of the Revolution. Napoleon considered these conquests to be â€Å"the sacred rights of property, equality and liberty.† If Napoleon gained power with the promise of upholding the principals of the French Revolution how did he betray the revolution? Many historians argue that Napoleon was an effective but ambitious leader. This ambition led to a dictatorship, which they consi der Napoleons ultimate betrayal. However other Historians such as Tombs and Furet see Napoleon’s regime as â€Å"the most convincing though temporary solution to the political and ideological problems bequeathed by the Revolution.† Napoleons dictatorship can also be considered a natural progression from the authoritarian nature of the French revolution. One idea is that is undebatable is - if Napoleon betrayed the French Revolution, this means that his actions, motives and policies were disloyal to the Revolutionary ideals of Liberty, equality and Fraternity. Napoleon was an outstanding military commander and enjoyed many successful campaigns. Napoleon maintained the Revolutionary syst... ...ad amassed. Bibliography Broers, Michael Europe Under Napoleon 1799-1815 Arnold, London, 1996 Ellis, Geoffrey Profiles in Power: Napoleon, Longman, New York, 1997 Encyclopaedia Britannica, CD Rom, Standard Edition, 1999 Furet, Francois ‘Napoleon Bonaparte’ in G, Kates(ed.) The French Revolution: Recent Debates and New Controversies Clarendon Press, Oxford (1997) Gildea, Robert Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800-1914, Oxford University Press, New York 2nd edn, 1996 Napoleon, Conversation, 1800 Herold, J.Christopher (ed.) The Mind of Napoleon (London,1955), item no.106 Holmberg, Tom The empire between dictatorship and monarchy http://www.iselinge.nl/napoleon/html/body_nap_and_revolution.html, 1998 Napoleon to the French Nation, 15 Dec 1799, Howard, John Letters and Documents of Napoleon (London, 1961) p.428. Lyons, Martyn Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution Macmillan, London, 1994 Schroeder, Paul The Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848 Clarendon Press, Oxford 1994 Tombs, Robert France 1814-1914, Longman, NewYork, 1996 War Times Journal Napoleonic Wars website http://www.wtj.com/portal/wars/modern/napoleonic/

Todd Gitlin Summary on Media

Todd Gitlin is a notable author born in New York City. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a PhD in sociology and was heavily involved in the Students for a Democratic Society group. Gitlin is now a professor at New York University where he teaches culture, journalism, and sociology. Gitlin’s selection, Supersaturation, or, The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling, comes from his book Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives (2001). In this selection, Gitlin describes how private lives and domestic spaces have evolved from the seventeenth-century until now. He feels as though our once private households are now dominated by other worldly things in the form of media. There are many ideas in Todd Gitlin’s writings that support his view of our media influenced world, two of which, are the ideas of â€Å"supersaturation† and â€Å"disposable feeling. † According to dictionary. com the definition of supersaturation is â€Å"to increase the concentration of (a solution) beyond saturation. Gitlin uses the word â€Å"supersaturation† to describe the way today’s world has completely absorbed the media and its relations. Society has become immersed in the gossip and images displayed by the media. The lines between living space and working space are no longer as distinct as they used to be. Gitlin states that, â€Å"the outside world has entered the home with vengeance – in the profusion of media† (Gitlin 558). Relating to this same concept, Gitlin uses the idea of â€Å"disposable feeling† to explain the way people of today are able to move from one worldly image to the next, one piece of gossip to another, with no concern. We are able to shrug them off and come back to them later if we choose to do so. In some of Gitlin’s research, he refers to the writings of analyst Raymond Williams who states, â€Å"What we have now is drama as habitual experience, more in a week, in many cases, than most human beings would previously have seen in a lifetime† (Gitlin 559). We have become immune to true feelings for individual images and stories, and thrive on the idea of the next gossip that will follow. In this selection of the book, Gitlin discusses a seventeenth-century Dutch painter by the name of Vermeer. Vermeer was known for being able to†fr[ee]ze instants, but instants that spoke of the relative constancy of the world in which his subjects lived† (Gitlin 558). People collected Vermeer’s paintings for display throughout their homes. Gitlin sees Vermeer as the seventeenth-century version of the media. In that time, the images painted were relative to the people’s era and private world. In today’s world Vermeer would be the equivalent to a celebrity photographer or movie director. If Vermeer, or any other artist of his time, were to see today’s households, they would find that the once private space inside the home is now much more dominated by images of the outside world than what would have been possible in the 1600’s. As mentioned in Gitlin’s research, statistics show that, â€Å" ‘watching TV is the dominant leisure activity of Americans, consuming 40 percent of the average person’s free time as a primary activity [when people give television there undivided attention]’ † (Gitlin 560). Even the wealthier parts of poor worlds have access to some sort of media. It would take someone from a third world country to be stunned by the fact that our lives are constantly portrayed through television, radio, internet and other forms of media. People of today come in contact with more â€Å"information† in a single day than any one person of Vermeer’s time could have ever imagined. The media surrounds our world in every aspect of society. Gitlin notes in his writings that the statistics referenced â€Å"don’t take into account the billboards, the TV’s at bars and on planes, the Muzak in restaurants and shops . . . nd logos whizzing by on the sides of buses and taxis, climbing the walls of buildings, making announcements from caps, bags, T-shirts, and sneakers† (Gitlin 563). Thanks to all of the latest technology and communication systems people are able to connect to the outside world whenever we like. In Gitlin’s conclusion he goes on to explain that our personal opinion is no longer important to the world. People of our time are followers rather than leaders, and are consistently being sucked in to how the media says we should live our lives. Gitlin feels that the way we live our lives, â€Å"or spend it,† (563) determines who we are. Our lives have become completely consumed with technology and the latest electronics. Gitlin argues that even in our most private times we cannot bring ourselves to stay clear of the media. â€Å"[Our] life experience has become an experience in the presence of media† (Gitlin 563). In seventeenth-century time this degree of media dependence would be unthinkable. Earls View In my reading of Todd Gitlin’s Supersaturation, or, the Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling, I have come to the conclusion that I agree with Gitlin on the matter of an overwhelming media presence in today’s world. The media has become such a large influence on everything on society. From TV, internet, and cell phones to billboards, magazines, and newspapers, it has become nearly impossible to be media free. Going along with Gitlin’s opinion on the subject, I agree that even in our seemingly private home lives, we continue to depend on media and other electronic entertainment. In this day and age people are constantly fixated with staying connected with the outside world through the media using smart phones, emails, news, social networks and sports. As technology continues to advance we become consumed with the idea of having the latest and the best gadgets to keep us linked to media at all times. These gadgets have become part of our daily routine to check on society. People feel lost when they can’t check there emails or their status on Facebook. Dinner in a home used to be eating at the dining room table and having conversations about your day but has now become sitting in the living room and watching TV. Even children have been affected by this media trend. They watch more TV than reading books. There are TV shows to help them learn rather than reading books for math, science and English. It is clear that the world is being dominated by media. The world has evolved in to a smart, fast pace place where we have to know everything that goes on, not just where we live and what’s going on in our lives but the entire world as well. We spend all our money on top of the line, expensive electronics to keep up to date with media and worldly news * Technology continues to advance (walkman mp3 players, tapes blue ray) * Constantly fixated on staying â€Å"connected† to the outside world (using smart phones to check email, news, sports) * Has become part of daily routine to check for updates in society * Even watch tv whil e eating family meals, tv’s in restaurants, portable computers, ect * Faster growing demand for careers in technology fields

Hello Walmart

Hello, Wal-Mart? Ashford University BUS644 Operation Management Dr. Ronald Beach November 26, 2011 Hello, Wal-Mart? It is very common for everyone that lives in a small town to get all their groceries at Wal-Mart. During the last 50 years of creation, from a small town on Arkansas, Wal-Mart became the biggest retail company of the world. At this time, this company is one of the major employers of the world and has more than 4,000 stores just in America. It is very difficult for a small business to compete with this company.Now before going forward, it is very important to understand how Wal-Mart operates. The main strategy of their operation is getting the cheaper supplies and sells their products a very low price to the customers. Another of their strategies is to centralize all kinds of products in one store. The key element for this business is to analyze the market considerations when they open a new location. There are tools to help companies to find out the best location. For e xample, according to Stevenson (2011, P. 48), â€Å"Geographic Information Systems is a computer based tool for collecting, storing, retrieving, and displaying demographic data on maps†. Now that we know this, let’s analyze the following disadvantages of opening a new Wal-Mart in a small town. Disadvantages for owners of small business located nearby are several. Let’s start by mentioning that small towns are surrounded by and full of small business that support the local economy and employ the local population.With the presence of Wal-Mart, small businesses that offer similar products will be obligated to reduce their price to the minimum in order to compete with the big retail company. According to Dartmouth College, in 2009, they conducted a study that indicates the â€Å"the impact a Wal-Mart store has on a local business is correlated to its distance from that store. The leader of that study admits that this factor is stronger in smaller towns†. Wal- Mart is using what people call predatory pricing. Wal-Mart buys products from cheaper suppliers; this issue hurts the local suppliers and local economy.Small businesses will be obligated to reduce their price to the minimum if they want to compete. All the money that small businesses will generate goes to local banks and stays in the community; in the case of Wal-Mart, this money goes to the main banks in other towns or cities, and the bottom line is this money does not stay in the area. According to the Institute of Local Self Reliance as Wal-Mart expanded small business retails dropped more than 39% and many small businesses are now closed.Let’s imagine this town a few years later with all these small business closed and for any reason Wal-Mart has to leave the town. The consequences will be catastrophic. Another point to take in consideration is the possibility that Wal-Mart is doing a monopoly of the sales in the small towns. With their aggressive campaign of reducing pri ces to the lowest minimum, and disappearing small businesses, they are obligating the consumers to only go to Wal-Mart for their needs. The disadvantages from the town residents and the residents of nearby towns are also several.Let’s start to mention the impact of a new Wal-Mart store in the life of these residents. Earlier it was mentioned how small business were, in many times, obligated to close. These issues have a direct impact in the life of the residents, since these small businesses contract local people. People are forced to, in many cases, to leave the town because they cannot afford the costs of living. Wal-Mart only can hire a smaller group of people than many small businesses together.After all, the only place to work will be at Wal-Mart and without a competitor they will mandate the wage pay and the benefits of their employees. When small businesses are closed they destroy the moral and the way of life of the community. When these businesses close, residents wi ll lose their livelihood. Many of these new Wal-Mart stores get the land at very cheap price; they bring with them traffic, delinquency, and a big reduction of price in the land of the residents surrounding these stores; all this translate as a big reduction of taxes that these small tows will receive.According to the Institute of Local Self Reliance â€Å"many studies have found that when locally owned business are displaced by Wal-Mart, the participation and voter turnout falls, the number of active nonprofit organizations drop and residents are less likely to know and interact with their neighbors†. Now after hearing all the arguments of these two groups, it is time for Wal-Mart representative to respond to all these allegations and propose some of the advantages to open a new store in a small town.The first thing to analyze is that where ever a Walmart is, residents of that town and nearby towns are finding a big reduction in the cost of their products. Another of the goo d things that Wal-Mart will bring to the town is a good market ideas and competition. Owners that bring good ideas can benefit of the presence of a big store like Wal-Mart. There is a main factor here, with an economy like the present, a store like Wal-Mart will bring to the town lower prices for the customers, a reduction of transportation, and an increase of jobs for the community.When we talk about transportation, it means to drive less to find all the products in the same place. When we talk about jobs, it means new jobs for the residents close to the store. One of the more important arguments to favor Wal-Mart is the support of the community through programs by their customers. References Stevenson, W. J. (2011). Operation management (11th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved from http://www. ilsr. org Retrieved from http://articles. chicagotribune. com/2010-07-04/business/ct-biz-0704-soda-wars-20100703_1_chicago-wal-mart-costco-and-wal-mart-pricing

Milkshake Factory Case Study

The story of George Stein exposes the dynamics that drive the night shift at Eastern Dairy’s milkshake factory. George was excited to join the dairy’s unionized workforce because its contributions-to-inducements balance was so favorable. As soon as he crossed the functional boundary into the organization, more specific features of George’s work group became apparent. First, there was no manager to speak of supervising the night shift. Second, horseplay was the workgroup norm, considered a natural and necessary complement to the hard work the team did every night.Although the management likely excused this as peripheral role behavior, it was relevant and desirable to the members of the night shift itself because it allowed them to cultivate camaraderie and maintain morale, giving them motivation to perform as well as participate. Management’s only expressed expectations were that the night shift complete the set of production orders they were given each nig ht and that the equipment was spotlessly clean by 7 a. m. As long as these tasks were accomplished, the night shift was left to self-regulate.The night shift constitutes its own subculture within Eastern Dairy, and the special conditions that govern that workgroup make it discernibly different from the mainstream organizational culture. The absence of a formal manager to indoctrinate employees into organizational values such as quality management has allowed a different set of values and basic assumptions to emerge among the members of the night shift than might be held by the organization as a whole. For example, they share an implicit assumption that, where there is a conflict between workers’ best interests and quality control, the workers should win out.From a differentiation perspective, we can predict that the night shift’s internal consensus on this point is likely to be at odds with that of the managerial subculture. [1] If the company has the goal of total qua lity control, it has not taken the steps necessary to spread that philosophy throughout its ranks. Rather than sharing management’s presumed focus on the customer, the night shift is focused on doing their job quickly enough to get out of work on time.Since they have not received explicit training or communication about quality control issues, it is reasonable that they retain the view that some level of defects in the manufacturing process is normal and acceptable. If we are willing to dismiss the quality control aspects of the production line blockage issue, there remains the ethical question of what is the right way to deal with the problem. If George removes the filters as instructed, the 500 gallons of milkshake destined for public consumption will be contaminated with maggots.If he doesn’t, attempting instead to clear the filters every time one clogs, the production run will take forever, meaning everyone will have to stay late, and the equipment will not be clea n in time for the start of the day shift. If the crew discards the entire contaminated batch and restarts the production run from scratch, clean-up will still be delayed to some extent, plus the company will have to waste 500 gallons of milkshake mix. The instructions management (to our knowledge) has provided to Paul indicate that it prioritizes timely completion of the production orders and subsequent clean-up over things like purity of the product.Additionally, Paul knows that, due to pasteurization, the milkshakes will not hurt anyone, and due to homogenization, the extraneous matter probably won’t even be noticed. After weighing all of these points, Paul decides to remove the filters in order to process the milkshake mix, maggots and all. Whether this is an ethical solution to the blockage depends on the system of ethics used to judge it. Paul appears to be following utilitarian ethics in his decision, by which milkshake contamination is an undesired but acceptable outco me of the action of greatest net benefit to all involved.He is not ignoring the effect of this action on the prospective drinkers of the milkshakes; he just feels that they are not affected adversely enough (due to homogenization and pasteurization) to change the assessment of greatest net benefit. According to act utilitarianism (and potentially rule utilitarianism, if the rule agrees), Paul’s decision is perfectly ethical. According to right-based ethics, however, he is acting unethically because allowing the contaminated milkshake to go to market interferes with the consumers’ rights to make an informed decision about the products they purchase.Finally,[2] an ethical egoist would be split on the issue: If George were a individual egoist, he would remove the filters without hesitation because doing so will make his life easier, but if he were a universal egoist, he would refrain from sending the contaminated batch to market because he wouldn’t like to be on th e receiving end of that action. [3] George’s focus on others is apparent from the guilt he feels about the children who could find themselves drinking maggot-filled milkshakes because of his actions. Paul’s order to emove the filters falls on the cusp of George’s zone of indifference, and he considers disobeying out of concern with the morality of the request. One reason for George’s ambiguity is that he lacks the leadership defined by Mary Parker Follett. Paul may be the workgroup’s informal leader, but he has no real authority over his colleagues. He may know the technical aspects of the job, but he does not see the â€Å"big picture,† which includes the trust relationship between the dairy and its customers. He does his best to solve problems, but he hasn’t been given the resources to head them off before they occur.The solution he chooses for the blockage problem does not display the forethought of the ideal leader because it leav es the team open to potential repercussions from management and/or the public if the contamination is discovered. Nonetheless, Paul is George’s most obvious role-sender because he has the most impact on George’s daily work experience. Under the circumstances, Parker-Follett would like to see George try to influence Paul by suggesting a content innovation that miraculously solves their problem in an unforeseen way.In the end, it is not George’s responsibility – or ultimately even Paul’s – to solve the dilemma that confronts them. The management has not provided the night shift enough guidance to establish unequivocally what the organization considers the right way to proceed. The uncertainty the employees face in this situation is a good argument for formalized codes of ethics and quality control training. In the meantime, ethical relativism will prevail on the night shift: they will have to decide what is â€Å"right† based on what is best for everyone present. ———————- [1] This assumes two things about the managerial subculture: a) it espouses a commitment to quality management, and b) its in-use values do not conflict with the espoused values. [2] Justice theories of ethics can be construed to agree with rights-based theory, but they deal to a greater degree with more over-arching questions of how society should be run. As such, justice ethics are the least applicable to this situation. [3] Of course, a person who sees the contamination as harmless could allow it to happen without violating the â€Å"golden rule. †

Questions: History and Political Science

According to Max Weber, the state is distinguished from all other organizations by its monopoly on the legitimate use of force. its use of bureaucratic procedures in making policy decisions. c. its ability to communicate political information via the media. d. its dependence on culture to define social life. its hierarchical chain of command. Which of the following is NOT among the eight essential functions that must be performed by every state, according to Gabriel Almond and his colleagues? Interest articulation Political socialization Political modernization Policy adjudication Policymaking 5. A group of components that exist in a characteristic relationship and interact on the basis of regular patterns constitutes a territory. nation. state. social contract. system. 6. Liberty, equality, freedom, and Justice are examples of inputs. requisite functions of the state. values. traditions. guaranteed rights. 7.When decisions are accepted as binding by the people affected, the decision s may be described as consensual. judicial. authoritative. rational. All of the above 8. Which of the following can be a source of legitimacy for the state? Law Tradition Contract Law and tradition but not contract Law, tradition and contract 9. Which of the following actions is a â€Å"support† input to a political system? Abstaining from a local election Obeying local traffic laws Signing a petition Requesting a government service None of the above 10. A main rationale for sovereignty, according to the Debate in 5, is that it is a core principle in national constitutions. is a central premise of international law. it is essential for the effective functioning of states. it is more important than humanitarian intervention. it prevents many wars. Res publica refers to a citizen's right to privacy. a citizen's responsibility to support the government. the appropriate domain of state activity. the right of the state to protect its territory. the demands and supports directed to the political system. 12. The most important security goal of a state is autonomy. influence. dominance. survival. economic growth. 13. Which of the following is NOT a major role of the legislature? Oversight of the executive branchInterpretation of laws Representation of citizens Enactment ot legislation All of the above are major roles. 14. Which of the following is an important area of legislative oversight? Approving major executive appointments Enacting regulatory legislation Committee hearings on legislation Control of the agenda by the legislative majority 15. A legislative ombudsman is an independent agency that assists in judicial review. legislative oversight of the administration. policy implementation. supervision of the military. analyzing legislation. 16. Which of the following is a potential drawback of a bicameral legislature?Proliteration ot elections Less effective representation Stalemates in policymaking Proliferation of political parties 17. Many observers clai m that during the twentieth century the power of legislatures increased steadily. declined significantly. remained the same. increased relative to the executive but declined relative to the Judiciary. e. declined in bicameral but not in unicameral legislatures. 18. In a political system with a fused executive, one actor carries out ceremonial aspects of the executive role while another carries out more political aspects. b. a small number of people exercise collective executive leadership. c. e ceremonial and political functions of the top executive both reside in the same actor. d. 19. which ot the tollowing is most responsi countries? The legislature The administration

Between Class Madness

This year I was really looking forward to a great time, but some of that happiness was gone within the first couple of days. Like all of the eighth graders, I have noticed that it is a lot harder to get to class on time, unlike last year when I could get to class and have a minute to talk before the bell rang. This year it’s a different story. The fact that no teacher gives us our homework until the bell rings is a big reason, because, they are so hung up in what they’re teaching that when the bell rings they say, â€Å"Oh ya, and for homework you have this worksheet.† So now the teacher has to hurriedly hand out the worksheet, and we have to write it down in our agendas. When that is done, we ask the teachers for a late pass, but most of the time they don’t give one to us. With that in mind, we scurry out into the hallway, knowing we will get a tardy unless we run. It is difficult to gather our books for the class, because, everyone in the class is busy on a worksheet or writing down vocabulary when the bell rings. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is. After the bell, we have three minutes to get to our next class, but about one half of that time is taken up by a couple things: putting the worksheet we are working on into our binder, putting our pencil in our pencil case, then getting our book which is under our desks. When we finish that and get out of the classroom, there are only about two minutes left. In those next two minutes there is another problem, which brings me to my third point. The biggest reason that I have trouble getting to class is that there is a colossal mob of people in the hallway by the eighth grade lockers. Some of them are students trying to hurry to their next class on time, and some are teachers coming out of the teachers’ lounge. There are only about seven feet across the hallway to fit in sixty students. If you are in this mob, you know that it is like being stuck in traffic: you don’t move! It takes at least a minute to just get out of the huge jam. After that horrendous event, you look at the clock and notice that you have only five seconds to get to class, so you start to sprint down the hallway. You’re three feet from the door when Ms. Miller comes by and gives you a detention for running in the halls. After all that, you are late to class and you have a detention. I hope I am not the only person in the eighth grade that has noticed this ever growing, and wants to fix it. So the next time you are late to class becaus e of hallway jams, you can join me, and many others that think the same thing

Mbuti Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mbuti Culture - Research Paper Example An average Mbuti adult is often four feet six inches tall. The word Pygmies is not preferred by the tribesman as it usually refers to people with a disability. They are known to be nomadic who move from one area to the other for benefits of hunting. The Mbuti people are also known as Bambuti as the word pygmy carries with it different meanings. Pygmies has generally been used in the medical terminology to refer to dwarves who are suffering from physiological problems. In comparison to pygmies these people are normal human beings who are eager to fight with people who insult them in anyway. If they find anyone denying their existence they consider it as an insult and fight for it. Thus it is better for non Mbuti people to claim that they have met with the person before. This essay would further revolve around the people who belong to Mbuti culture and would prove as to how their mode of subsistence is affecting different aspects of their culture (Adinoyi-Ojo 1996; Kent 1996). It is famous in Africa that the Ituri forest is owned by the Mbuti’s. The tribe is further divided into two classes on the basis of language. The true Mbuti are known to speak Bantu language whereas the Efe are known to speak Sudanese. Both of these subgroups are known to rely on hunting and gathering food in the forest. They gather food and then trade it in the city for commercial meat purposes. These people in return get farm produce which they use for their own purposes. Agricultural labor is also sought by these people as they mostly rely on agriculture as their source of food. The Mbuti exchange their gathering with the villagers for the things that they want. Thus it can be said that the Mbuti have developed an interdependent relationship with the villagers. The Efe similarly maintain the relationship with the villagers but it is not necessary that they use the means of hunting and gathering. Mbuti

The health effects of cannabis marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The health effects of cannabis marijuana - Essay Example This damage is similar in severity to the damage of those who suffer from lung cancer (Zimmer & Morgan, 2007, p. 20). The mildest respiratory effects of the consumption of marijuana include bronchitis, exacerbated phlegm production as well as emphysema. A study revealed that 36% of patients admitted to the hospital in the United States with flue-like symptoms were suffering from the side effects of consuming marijuana (Tashkin et al., 2004, p. 2). Moreover, in severe cases, heavy marijuana users may develop lethal complications. Hence, a massive Swedish study in 2013 has identified that 40 years of marijuana consumption double the risk of having lung cancer (Callaghan et al., 2013, pp. 1811-1820). Moreover, has a disastrous effect on cardiovascular system. Therefore, marijuana accelerates heartbeat and may provoke inflammatory processes in blood vessels. Moreover, a group of researchers from Birmingham, UK, has concluded that marijuana is likely to increase the risk of arrhythmias as well as causes dizziness and provokes falls (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2009, pp. 851-856). Furthermore, due to ethical concerns, the studies aimed to investigate the relationship between the consumption of marijuana and reproduction. The studies conducted on primates revealed that with the chronic consumption of marijuana sperm count decreased by a margin of 61% in males. Fertility in females decreased by up to 53%. Moreover, even with the surviving sperm cells their motility and ability to fertilize egg cells was significantly degraded (Zimmerman & Raj, 2007, p. 10). Krishnamoorthy, S., Lip, G., & Lane, D. (2009). Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use as Precipitants of Atrial Fibrillation in Young Adults: A Case Series and Literature Review.  The American Journal of Medicine,  122(9), 851-856. Zimmerman, S. & Raj, A. Y. (2007). Effects of cannabinoids on spremtogenesis in mice. In G. G. Nahas and W. D. M. Paton

Psychoanalysis and Family Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Psychoanalysis and Family Therapy - Essay Example While psychology may be one of the oldest learned sciences, it remains still one that is shrouded in darkness and mystery. In the past, psychiatry was chiefly being carried out with the help of theories, ideologies and concepts with no idea about their true depth. The evolution of this field led to a world of revolutions and proposals. Some claimed that there is the role of biological factors while others blamed on the environmental factors etc. The complications in the treatment of various mental disorders are still lagging behind due to many reasons. There is still much to be learned about the efficacy of various treatment strategies that have been introduced in the field of psychology. More structured information needs to be made in order to achieve better results (Fonagy, 2004, p. 357). Psychoanalysis has been identified as one of the most efficient method of assessing various personality types and disorders. An invention of Freud, this methodology has been able to provide an alternative to hypnosis, a once very popular method of psyche assessment. Through in depth assessment of the person through verbal and symbolic communications, the psychiatrist is able to identify issues that are affecting the person (Fonagy, 2004, p. 357). â€Å"the deficiencies in our description would probably vanish if we were already in a position to replace the psychological terms with physiological or chemical ones†¦..we may expect [physiology and chemistry] to give the most surprising information and we cannot guess what answers it will return in a few dozen years of questions we have put to it. They may be of a kind that will blow away the whole of our artificial structure of hypothesis.† (Freud, 1920, pp 60). Psychoanalysis has been identified as one of the most effective methods in psychiatric treatments, and has been widely accepted in many health care systems of the world (Hau and Leuzinger- Bohleber, nd, pp 4). Many names have been given to this

Knowledge Economy in The UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Knowledge Economy in The UK - Essay Example Knowledge as a 'product' has acquired many management executives to research it in a broad spectrum where its governance has become a major concern in building international strategy, innovation and performance. Knowledge as a 'tool' examines the outcomes of knowledge processes, and what we mean by knowledge economy is to make the best out of this 'tool'. Knowledge economy is a product of strategical organisational fields that possess the capability to fulfill human capital inputs by increasing number of technologies (Brusoni et al, 2001). At an institutional level knowledge economy defines various levels to which regional or organisational policies are shaped in context with economic regimes. With knowledge comes innovation and a knowledge-enabled organisational environment adopts and implements knowledge strategies and develops knowledge culture in order to sustain competitiveness in the long term. However, the extent to which a knowledge economy is possible depends upon the organisation's primary levels of knowledge and innovation it can sustain (Hyde & Mitchell, 2000). Under the heading of knowledge economy lies increasing competitive pressures which are the outcomes of deregulation and internalisation. Governing knowledge under strategic management has bee... of knowledge not limited in a specific cultural context, but entails cross-cultural origins where integrating effects within and between organisations are managed. Gratton et al (1999) suggests that various research measures on a knowledge economy are dependent upon the influences that are acquired through appropriate use of knowledge with expertise that brings credibility to the HR department (Gratton et al, 1999: 13). Strategic HRM Perspective of the Organisation The SHRM focuses on four main perspectives that question existence of the organisation for resource allocation, in-house limitations governed through market relations, internal organisation and labor markets and competitive advantage (Foss, 2005: 24-25). Though performance management (PM) initiates knowledge management (KM) by controlling and aligning the most competent individuals to deploy other workforce in the interests of organisations, but it follows some views to regulate performance. Firstly, it closely monitors employee performance and competencies to specify behaviors, skills and knowledge for employees. Then there are monitoring outputs that allows employers to decentralise control and finally there are high-velocity environments to assess employees contribution in various components of the PM system like goal setting, evaluation, training and development etc (Gratton et al, 1999: 61). The resource based perspective of SHRM is to visualise the capabilities of organisation in the light of a bundle of tangible and intangible resources required to sustain in the market competition. It is the management that analyses the accumulated stock of knowledge, skills and abilities that the organisation possess in terms of human resource (Mabey et al, 1998: 76). Since KM varies according to spatial

What is the hejab Why has it become so popular in recent decades, Essay

What is the hejab Why has it become so popular in recent decades, France banned hijab in 2004 - Essay Example It is important to consider all these aspects because the hijab has grown to be a weighty and contested symbol that needs thoughtful decoding. Owing to its connections with various political as well as cultural representations in different circumstances, any analysis of the function of the hijab also has to take into account political as well as social elements that modern Muslim communities are faced with on a daily basis. Islam supports the notion that devout men as well as women ought to wear extremely conservative clothing in order to be able to focus on the aspect of daily communication with and worship of ‘Allah’. For women, this translates to wearing an outer garment that completely obscures the female form. This garment, the ‘Abaya’, is then rounded off by the ‘Hijab’, which is a veil that covers the neck and forehead (Bowen, 2010). This garment is primarily worn by women when they are in public places. However, there are even women who wear them in their homes. The more devout female devotees even add an additional net-like cloth, known as the ‘niqab’, over the eyes in order to completely cover all surfaces of the body. Such severity of dress is more common in nations with fundamentalist governments such as Saudi Arabia. However, in Western nations, women are more likely to don the simple veil, the ‘hijab’, to cover their hair an d neck area. According to Freedman (2004) in Muslim societies, it is considered that any girl born into the world experiences two births. The first takes place when the girl is physically bornand the second takes place upon reaching the age of puberty, upon which she is encouraged to adopt the hijab. The wearing of the Hijab is believed by many Muslims to have religious origins. According to Bowen (2010) the hijab was actually a gift from Allah to women. In a verse in the Holy Quran, Allah stated, ‘O Prophet! Inform your spouses

Discuss local, state, federal taxation of a good Essay

Discuss local, state, federal taxation of a good - Essay Example This has produced a corresponding decline in the effectiveness of the tax as a revenue raiser, because the demand for goods has declined. Demand for services has risen, but services have been excluded from the base of taxable items, hence it does not contribute to state revenue. The shift in consumer demand from goods to services may be due to the taxation of goods as opposed to non taxation of services. But Tannenwald (2002) notes that cyclical influences can also shape demand, which may lead to an increase in State revenues. The explanation offered for this phenomenon is that tax consumption is more pro-cyclical than tax preferred consumption. When interest rates are low and the stock market is strong, consumers tend to spend freely on taxed items, which results in a boost to the economy and contributes a greater share of funds to State revenues. But as consumers continue to spend more on taxed goods, the level of savings also goes down because consumer debt keeps increasing. As consumer debt rises to a high level, there is a shift in consumer demand from taxed goods to untaxed services, which results in a contraction of the economy and a decline in the revenues earned by the State.(Tannenwald, 2002). With an increase in outsourcing and the production of goods at cheaper locations, consumers may still prefer to spend on taxed items because the goods overall have become cheaper, so that despite the tax the goods may still be priced at competitive rates (Tannenwald, 2002). Taxes play an important role in the final price of the product, since a higher tax on a particular good will make it less attractive for consumers to purchase, since the price of the good in the marketplace will be higher. In such a case, when the economy is strong, there may be adequate sales of taxed goods but when consumer debt rises and the tax remains high, the shift in consumer demand to services will result in a fall in