Marketing Report Essay

Marketing Report Essay Marketing Report Essay Contents Title Page Aims and objectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Primary research†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Secondary research†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Findings/further research†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Timescale†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Job description†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Attracting candidates†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Who makes the decision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Selecting techniques†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Making the decision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Reference and checking†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Induction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Legal aspects†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Analysis of strength and weakness†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 7 Recommendation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8 Aims and Objective This report sets out ‘Ministry of Justice’ (MOJ) recruitment and selection process. The reports main objective is to provide details of primary and secondary research on how job description should be set in order to attract right candidates through advertising. The report explains different ways in which the ministry may advertise its vacancies, which department is put into consideration first when vacancy arises and what are the stages once a candidate is selected. Further more, the report rectifies the strength and weaknesses of the Ministry’s recruitment and selection process and of sets out recommendations for improvement. Introduction Ministry of Justice are one of the largest government departments, employing around 76,000 people. Their work is to protect the public and reduce offending, and to provide a more effective, transport and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public. Ministry of Justice is responsible for courts, prisons, probation service and attendance centres justice system. They also work in partnership with the other government departments and agencies to reform the criminal justice system. The report will be covering the procedures of recruitment and selection of the best candidates suited for the post. The report will further more cover the facts, is the departments is following CIPD rules and regulations while recruiting. Methodology Primary research Primary research is based on an interview conducted with a member of the Ministry of Justice, who is also a HR Business Partner. The ministry’s first priority is to attract employee from within the department and selecting the candidates most suited to the post. Documentation has been produced internally by HR department in consultation with key stakeholders and customers Ministry of Justice (MOJ) works with across government department to ensure best practice in recruitment and selection. Part of best practice is centralised policy team which considers ACAS best practice and rolled out to all government department including MOJ. OJ Recruitment process guiding principles Merit- means the appointment of the best available person, no one should be appointed to a job unless candidates are competent to do it and the job must be offered to the person who would do it best. Fair- means there is no bias in the assessment of candidates. Selection processes must be objective, impartial and applied consistently. Open-means that job opportunities must be advertised publicly and potential candidates given reasonable access to information about the job and its requirements and about the selection process. Staff will receive appropriate guidance and training ones they are recruited. Secondary research The Ministry recruitment programme will be derived from human resource plan, which will specify the number of

Probabilities and Liars Dice

Probabilities and Liars Dice Many games of chance can be analyzed using the mathematics of probability. In this article, we will examine various aspects of the game called Liar’s Dice. After describing this game, we will calculate probabilities related to it. A Brief Description of Liar’s Dice The game of Liar’s Dice is actually a family of games involving bluffing and deception. There are a number of variants of this game, and it goes by several different names such as Pirate’s Dice, Deception, and Dudo. A version of this game was featured in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. In the version of the game that we will examine, each player has a cup and a set of the same number of dice. The dice are standard, six-sided dice that are numbered from one to six. Everyone rolls their dice, keeping them covered by the cup. At the appropriate time, a player looks at his set of dice, keeping them hidden from everyone else.   The game is designed so that each player has perfect knowledge of his own set of dice, but has no knowledge about the other dice that have been rolled. After everyone has had an opportunity to look at their dice that were rolled, bidding commences. On each turn a player has two choices: make a higher bid or call the previous bid a lie. Bids can be made higher by bidding a higher dice value from one to six, or by bidding a greater number of the same dice value. For example, a bid of â€Å"Three twos† could be increased by stating â€Å"Four twos.† It could also be increased by saying â€Å"Three threes.† In general, neither the number of dice nor the values of the dice can decrease. Since most of the dice are hidden from view, it is important to know how to calculate some probabilities. By knowing this is it easier to see what bids are likely to be true, and what ones are likely to be lies. Expected Value The first consideration is to ask, â€Å"How many dice of the same kind would we expect?† For example, if we roll five dice, how many of these would we expect to be a two? The answer to this question uses the idea of expected value. The expected value of a random variable is the probability of a particular value, multiplied by this value. The probability that the first die is a two is 1/6. Since the dice are independent of one another, the probability that any of them is a two is 1/6. This means that the expected number of twos rolled is 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 5/6. Of course, there is nothing special about the result of two. Neither is there anything special about the number of dice that we considered. If we rolled n dice, then the expected number of any of the six possible outcomes is n/6. This number is good to know because it gives us a baseline to use when questioning bids made by others. For example, if we are playing liars dice with six dice, the expected value of any of the values 1 through 6 is 6/6 1.   This means that we should be skeptical if someone bids more than one of any value.   In the long run, we would average one of each of the possible values. Example of Rolling Exactly Suppose that we roll five dice and we want to find the probability of rolling two threes. The probability that a die is a three is 1/6. The probability that a die is not three is 5/6. Rolls of these dice are independent events, and so we multiply the probabilities together using the multiplication rule. The probability that the first two dice are threes and the other dice are not threes is given by the following product: (1/6) x (1/6) x (5/6) x (5/6) x (5/6) The first two dice being threes is is just one possibility. The dice that are threes could be any two of the five dice that we roll. We denote a die that is not a three by a *. The following are possible ways to have two threes out of five rolls: 3, 3, * , * ,*3, * , 3, * ,*3, * , * ,3 ,*3, * , * , *, 3*, 3, 3, * , **, 3, *, 3, **, 3, * , *, 3*, *, 3, 3, **, *, 3, *, 3*, *, *, 3, 3 We see that there are ten ways to roll exactly two threes out of five dice. We now multiply our probability above by the 10 ways that we can have this configuration of dice. The result is 10 x(1/6) x (1/6) x (5/6) x (5/6) x (5/6) 1250/7776. This is approximately 16%. General Case We now generalize the above example. We consider the probability of rolling n dice and obtaining exactly k that are of a certain value. Just as before, the probability of rolling the number that we want is 1/6. The probability of not rolling this number is given by the complement rule as 5/6. We want k of our dice to be the selected number. This means that n - k are a number other than the one we want. The probability of the first k dice being a certain number with the other dice, not this number is: (1/6)k(5/6)n - k It would be tedious, not to mention time-consuming, to list all possible ways to roll a particular configuration of dice. That is why it is better to use our counting principles. Through these strategies, we see that we are counting combinations. There are C(n, k) ways to roll k of a certain kind of dice out of n dice. This number is given by the formula n!/(k!(n - k)!) Putting everything together, we see that when we roll n dice, the probability that exactly k of them are a particular number is given by the formula: [n!/(k!(n - k)!)] (1/6)k(5/6)n - k There is another way to consider this type of problem. This involves the binomial distribution with probability of success given by p 1/6. The formula for exactly k of these dice being a certain number is known as the probability mass function for the binomial distribution. Probability of at Least Another situation that we should consider is the probability of rolling at least a certain number of a particular value. For example, when we roll five dice what is the probability of rolling at least three ones? We could roll three ones, four ones or five ones. To determine the probability we want to find, we add together three probabilities. Table of Probabilities Below we have a table of probabilities for obtaining exactly k of a certain value when we roll five dice. Number of Dice k Probability of Rolling Exactly k Dice of a Particular Number 0 0.401877572 1 0.401877572 2 0.160751029 3 0.032150206 4 0.003215021 5 0.000128601 Next, we consider the following table. It gives the probability of rolling at least a certain number of a value when we roll a total of five dice. We see that although it is very likely to roll at least one 2, it is not as likely to roll at least four 2s.   Number of Dice k Probability of Rolling at Least k Dice of a Particular Number 0 1 1 0.598122428 2 0.196244856 3 0.035493827 4 0.00334362 5 0.000128601

The Extensive Use of Financial Ratios by Both Practitioners and Essay

The Extensive Use of Financial Ratios by Both Practitioners and Researchers - Essay Example One of the major reasons for using financial ratios is to compare different firms in the same industry regardless of the size of the organizations. For instance, Return on Equity (ROE) can be calculated by using two variables; profitability or income of the organization and its equity therefore even if the size of the firms differs a lot but still these two firms can be compared to each other (Gowthorpe, 2006). As a result, financial ratios are helpful in controlling different factors while comparing different companies operating in the industry and allowing researchers a platform to compare firms which might have not been possible without these ratios. Similarly, besides controlling the size of the organization, financial ratios control other factors like technology and assuming that these factors are uniform within the same industry. ... he firm is ignored, as investors investing in a riskier firm would like to demand higher return on investment therefore the firm should earn higher returns in order to attract investors Therefore all this considerations or limitations of financial ratios have raised concerns on important issues that are ignored by the financial ratios but despite of this fact, financial analysts, researchers and practitioners have been continuously using financial ratios. ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATION OF USING FINANCIAL RATIOS There are several advantages and applications of using financial ratios which are as follows: ENABLES COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT FIRMS Financial ratios are helpful in allowing comparison between different firms and their performance and therefore management of the firm is able to take decisions considering its competitors in the industry and overall averages in the industry (Bodie, Kane, & Marcus, 2004) BENCHMARKING TECHNIQUE Because of financial ratios, companies are able to se t their performance targets and measures against the leading firms in the industry and as they aim high, they are able to improve their overall performances (Heaton, 2002). FINANCIAL RATIOS ENABLE ORGANIZATIONS TO EVALUATE FROM THEIR PAST PERFORMANCES Financial ratios allow organizations to compare their past performances against their current performance and in this way they are able to identify whether they are going in the right direction or not (Correia, Flynn, Uliana, & Wormald, 2007). FINANCIAL RATIOS ARE HELPFUL IN IDENTIFY DIFFERENT COSTS AND EXPENSES THAT CAN BE REDUCED With the help of financial ratios, management is able to identify different costs and expenses of the company that have increased over the last few years or costs and expenses in comparison to their competitors and

Developing Competitive Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Developing Competitive Advantage - Essay Example In analyzing the information sharing, this paper will look at relevant examples so as to elaborate on the inherent need of information to both the customers and the firms. Discussion The supply chain becomes more efficient with the increased coordination of activities due to automation. Consequently, the need for inventories is reduced. Proctor and Gamble (P&G) is a company that has been operational in the world for a long time. The manufacturer has a relationship with the retailer Wal-Mart (Clark & Lee 2000, p. 126). The relationship between the two companies has to be analyzed from a transactional perspective as well as from an operational and strategic one. The two companies, apart from sharing information with each other have gone ahead to share the same information with their customers. This has stemmed from the need by the companies to involve their customers in the pricing of products as well as increasing the value of these products. The basis of the relationship between the companies and the customers is based on mutual trust. P&G and Wal-Mart are not only partners but also competitors. Therefore, the trend that they have set in the sharing of information can be analyzed from the benefits that the two derive from being in a relationship with each other as well as with their customers. The sharing of information has to be approached cautiously. Naturally, many companies are skeptical that the information that they share with the customers as well as competitors would be used in a negative manner which may hurt the company’s profitability. Doctors concede that the patient they treat today have a major difference from the patients that they treated in the years gone by. Once a patient seeks out a doctor, the patient is usually armed with information regarding the treatment procedures that are available for the conditions that they may have. The doctor will start by giving the patient the preliminary information regarding the condition from where th e patient will inquire more on the treatment procedure and the condition. The patients will want to know the different risk factors that are involved in treatment as well as the benefits that are to be gotten from the procedures. This sharing of information between doctors and patients explains why the business environment is changing. The consumers of certain products require that the producers share the information that they have on the products (Seidmann & Sundararajan 1998, p. 34). There are very many chat rooms on the internet that are aimed at sharing information on a hoard of topics. The members of these chat rooms will critique as well as praise some products. At the end of it all, the consumer is armed with the necessary information in order to make a certain purchase. When Michael Dell started IBM, the cost of a computer was $3,000. This suggested that the markup from selling the machines as well as the costs were too high. He saw it prudent to reduce the costs associated with the assembly of the machines so that they would retail at lesser prices. In attempting to do this, he had to use less expensive methods of sourcing for the raw materials as well as internal ways that would cost less. The box, speakers, memory, hard disks and drives were being

Poverty in the UK Essay Example for Free

Poverty in the UK Essay In 1886, Charles Booth investigated the extent of poverty in London. His was the first systematic sociological study of poverty in the UK. The results, presented in 1902-3, documented the living and working condition of the London poor. Adopting a relative approach to poverty — which was defined as the inability to meet the usual standard of life — Booth estimated that the level at which poverty set in for a family of two adults and three children was 21 shillings per week (? 1. 05 today). Booth estimated that 30. 7 per cent of Londons total population were in poverty. Around the same time, adopting an absolute perspective on poverty, Seebohm Rowntree investigated the state of the poor in the city of York in 1899. He highlighted the minimum standard of living which fulfilled peoples biological needs for food, water, clothing and shelter. This is also referred to as the subsistence level. Rowntree subsequently drew up a list of those minimum personal and household necessities required for survival and established two categories of poverty. Primary poverty is when the person is unable to acquire the minimum necessitates, secondary poverty is when a portion of the persons total earnings is absorbed by other useful or wasteful expenditure such that it is not possible to maintain the minimum standard. Poverty can be defined in several ways, Booth took a relative approach and Rowntree took an absolute approach. In the post-war era, there has been a more pronounced shift from viewing poverty as predominantly a monetary and economic phenomenon to regarding and acknowledging its more qualitative and subjective aspects. By the end of the 1950s, the period of rationing and shortages was over and, with almost full employment, the UK seemed ‘never to have had it so good’. Yet, by the 1960s, a number of social policy academics close to the Labour Party (such as Tawney and Townsend) raised the issue of the continuing existence of poverty in a period of greater prosperity. Townsend questioned absolute definitions of poverty (such as those of Rowntree) which were outdated and failed to take account of the problems some people had in fully participating in society. Townsends definitive work on poverty in the UK in 1979 (Townsend 1992) went beyond an absolute definition based on physical needs, to view poverty in relation to a generally accepted standard of living, in a specific society, at a particular time. Individuals can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies which they belong. (p. 31) Townsend suggested a definition that was closer in tune to the concept of citizenship — poverty constituted a lack of resources that would enable a person to able to participate in the normal expectations and customs of a society. This kind of definition also would imply that the indicators of poverty can change over time in order to embrace changes in society. In the 1960s, Townsend used the example of not being able to afford a proper Sunday lunch as an indicator of poverty. The idea of a Sunday roast meal might not be so relevant today because of changes in family life and the way people gather together, and therefore is not so much an integral aspect of what people can be expected to do normally. On the other hand, Townsends indicator of giving presents to near members of the family for birthdays or Christmas still holds. In his 1979 work, Townsend identified twelve items he believed were be relevant to the whole population, and gave each household surveyed a score on a deprivation index. The higher the score, the more deprived was the household. Townsend calculated that 22. 9 per cent of the population fell under the threshold of deprivation (Giddens 2006). When talking about poverty, researchers usually base their work on measures of deprivation rather than the identification of poverty by itself. The existence of deprivation is taken as a surrogate for the existence of poverty. People are said to be deprived materially and socially if they lack the material standards (diet, housing ad clothing) and the services and amenities (recreational, educational, environmental, social) which would allow them to participate in commonly accepted roles and relationship within society. The compass of poverty is complex, embracing the unemployed, those on low pay or in insecure work, the sick, the elderly, and the unskilled. Some minority ethnic groups also come into the picture, for example, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the UK have, in general, high rates of poverty compared to other groups (Giddens 2006). Absolute poverty assumes that it is possible to define a minimum standard of living based on a persons biological needs for food, water, clothing and shelter. The emphasis is on basic physical needs and not on broader social and cultural needs. Rowntrees studies of poverty in York in 1901, 1936, and 1951 used such an approach to poverty. But another way of viewing poverty is of relative poverty, which goes beyond biological needs, and is not simply about a lack of money but also about exclusion form the customs of society. Relative poverty is about social exclusion imposed by an inadequate income. Social exclusion is a broader concept than poverty encompassing not only low material means but the inability to participate effectively in economic, social, political and cultural life, implying alienation and distance from the mainstream society (Giddens 2006). Social exclusion may both be a precursor to poverty and an important consequence of it. In 1984, Mack and Lansley study established that the poverty threshold covered not only the basic essentials for survival (such as food and shelter) but also the ability to participate in society and play a social role: for the first time ever, a majority of people see the necessities of life in Britain in the 1980s as covering a wide range of goods and activities, and people judge a minimum standard of living on socially established criteria and not just the criteria of survival or subsistence. (Mack Lansley 1985 : 55) In the 1980s, the discussion of poverty turned increasingly to the notion of polarisation and to the shrinking portion of the UK cake held by the poorest. Poverty and wealth are not simply the bottom and top of the income distribution, they are polarised social conditions (Scott 1994). Income polarisation was also compounded by a number of policy measure introduced in the 1980s, such as a reduction in the level of income tax for high earners and increasing use of indirect taxes. Academics showed that polarisation and social disparities were growing between those who had benefited from the measures of the successive Thatcher administrations and those who had lost out, while the Thatcher government as the time tried to deny the excesses of Thatcherism. According to an analysis of the Child Poverty Action Group, in the regime of Margaret Thatcher, more than 63 billion has been transferred in subsidies from the poor to the rich (Oppenheim and Harker 1996) Research in the 1990s on the distribution of wealth and poverty in the UK has been produced under a Joseph Rowntree Foundation research initiative. This research highlighted that the number of people living in households with under half the national average income fell between the early 1960s and 1970s from five million to three million, but then rose to eleven million in 1991, to a point where one in five households were living on under half the national average income. The number of individuals under 60 living in households without paid work has more than doubled from 4.1. million, or 8 per cent, in 1979, to 9. 4 million, or 19 per cent by the mid 1990s. This has been accompanied by a widening gap in the incomes of households in paid work and those out of paid work. In 1997, 12 million people in the UK (almost 25% of the population) lived below the poverty line, defined as under half the average wage, and two out of five children were born poor. Today, according to OECD (Organisation for Economic cooperation and Development), Britain has one of the worst poverty records in the developed world (Giddens 2006). According to the latest available statistics, nearly 1 in 4 people in the UK – amounting to 13 million people – live in poverty. This includes nearly 4 million children – signifying a shocking 1 in 3 ratio (Oxfam GB 2003). The explanations that have been offered as causes of poverty fall under two categories, individualistic theories and structural theories. Here we will focus on the former. Individualistic theories identify the main causes of poverty within individuals themselves. Social and cultural factors are not entirely discounted, but more emphasis is place on inappropirated individual behaviours. There are three main types of individualistic theories. Orthodox economic theory: This theory proposes that poverty can be explained by the economic deficiency of the individual . Harold Lydall argues that the general abilities of men in the labour force determine the distribution of incomes. These abilities are assumed to be created by genetic, environmental and educational factors. To reduce poverty, policies need to target individuals own value systems, to develop their own personal qualities in a manner that makes them more capable and efficient. The individual is poor because he has not maximised his true potential in the labour market. Minority group theory: Minority group theory originate from the earliest studies of poverty based on the findings of Booth and Rowntree. These pioneering social scientists did not attempt to discover the causes of poverty, merely the characteristics of certain groups of poor people. Minority group theory has largely constructed its explanation for poverty through examining the characteristics of the poor for example, being old, being married with dependent children. Going beyond such demographic indicators, the theory implicates alleged faulty’ characteristics. The classification of ar-risk groups has prompted policy makers to implement a benefit system to ensure that the most basic of needs are met, without encouraging idleness or apathy. The poverty policies of successive governments have often informed by minority group theory. Subculture of poverty theory: Subculture of poverty theory is derived form a number of anthropological and sociological studies, particularly, the work of Oscar Lewis. It was Lewis who in 1959 introduced the term the culture of poverty in an effort to draw an analogy between the Mexican lower class families and those in other parts of the world. He attempted to explain the phenomenon of the persistence of poverty in different countries. The basic idea has its roots in the Chicago School of Sociology and the work of Robert E. Park. According to Park the patterns of the neighbourhood, and the slum in particular, once they come into being, take on a life of their own and are to a great extent self-generating and self-perpetuating. A sociological process known as labeling also underpins this phenomenon. Labelling somebody negatively may also lead to increased surveillance or segregation from the wider community which further increases (and even creates) the predicted behaviour (Fulcher and Scott 2001). These processes, whereby people tend to live up to the expectation of others are known to be self-fulfilling. Oscar Lewis implies a similar understanding in his formulation of the notion of the culture of poverty. Lewis claimed that poverty affected the very personality of slum dwellers. The poor tend to be at once apathetic yet alienated, happy-go-lucky yet miserable. Other negative characteristics that mark the psychological orientation of poor people include laziness, being unambitious, being disorganised, and fatalistic. To fight poverty at its roots, such psychological tendencies need to be gradually eroded, with more positive attitudes taking their place. Much work also needs to be done on making the destitute people more attractive to their potential employers, in terms of skills and educational qualifications. Substantial and sustained reductions in poverty depend on raising the level of qualifications among older teenagers and young adults in the bottom quarter of educational achievement. Lack of progress here is a major concern for longer term progress on reducing poverty. (Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2006) References: Giddens, A. (2006). Sociology. Cambridge : Polity Press Fulcher, J. Scott J. (2001). Sociology. Oxford : Oxford University Press Joseph Rowntree Foundation. (2006). Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in the UK 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2007 from http://www.poverty. org. uk/reports/mpse%202006%20findings. pdf Mack, J. Lansley, S. (1985). Poor Britain. London : Unwin Hyman Oppenheim,C. Harker, L. (1996). Poverty: the Facts, 3rd ed. London : Child Poverty Action Oxfam GB. (2003). The facts about poverty in the UK. Retrieved 20 March 2007 from http://www. oxfamgb. org/ukpp/poverty/thefacts. htm Scott, J. (1994). Poverty and Wealth: Citizenship, Deprivation and Privilege (Longman Sociology Series). London : Longman Group United Kingdom Townsend, P. (1992). Poverty in the UK. Berkeley : University of California Press

Enemy At The Gates Essay -- essays research papers

Enemy at the Gates, a film with intense violence and man’s inhumanity to man, tells the story of the triumph of love and friendship set amidst the brutality of World War II Stalingrad. It is the winter of 1942, and a desperate, poorly equipped and demoralized Russian army faces the possibility of crushing defeat by the might of the German blitzkrieg. A young naà ¯ve soldier from the Urals, Vassily Zaitsev, arrives in Stalingrad where he is thrust into battle amid the needless slaughter of his fellow soldiers be the Germans and his own troops. To his shock, he is not given a rifle to use during the attack. Instead, the men are paired together and one is given a rifle while the other is given extra ammunition. Vassily survives the first fierce assault and finds himself side-by-side with the political officer, Danilov. They are trapped among the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers behind the lines, and Vassily’s talent as a sniper, homed to perfection from a childhood spent hunting wolves with his grandfather, is realized by Danilov when Vassily calmly and methodically kills five German soldiers. Returning to the relative safety of Russian controlled sector in t he city, Danilov, a writer, glorifies Vassily’s exploits in a newspaper article. So begins the unlikely friendship between the highly educated political officer Danilov and the barely literate Private Vassily Zaitsev. Vassily is then elevated to the status of hero when Danilov suggests to an angry and demanding Nikita Krusc...

Value Alignment

Starbuck's Value Alignment BUS 475 Starbuck's Value Alignment Aligning organizational values with the organization’s actual plans and actions provides a formula for success. Decisions made through the planning process are more effective if the values of the organization are a part of the process. The values of Starbucks are the core of daily operations of the organization. Oftentimes, organizational values are aligned with the personal values of the customers, defining the social responsibility of the organization.Team C analyzes personal and workplace values, explaining how these values correlate to the actions and behaviors of the Starbucks organization. Analyzed Origins and Evolution of Personal and Workplace Values A company’s core values are the foundation for success of their business. The business does require a good product, placement, people, and promotion, but at the heart of the company are the values and principles it believes in. Starbucks formulated its Mi ssion Statement and Guiding Principles in 1990 and are the roots of its culture and serve as the guide for its partners.At the core is the philosophy of being truly committed to holding each other accountable for their actions. This is supported by a communication system that is designed to give everyone a voice. This provides ownership at all levels and a responsibility for all employees to be a part of the success. The six Guiding Principles outline the values that Starbucks works toward achieving. First, provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. The second principle is to embrace diversity. Third, apply the highest standards in purchasing, roasting, and fresh delivery of coffee every day.The fourth principle is to develop enthusiastically satisfied customers. As a fifth principle, Starbucks contributes positively to the communities and the environment. Last, recognize that profitability is essential to success. These values are the governing elements of the workplace at Starbucks. Individual Values One’s individual values will have an influence on his or her actions and behaviors. Some values will determine why someone acts the way he or she does and how he or she would respond. For example, if a person is very determined, he or she may become a workaholic. If a person believes in integrity, he or she will probably be honest.A company tries to find individuals who share the same commonalities. Starbucks has an ethical standpoint of trying to please the customers by providing excellent products and service. Starbucks hires friendly and hardworking employees to represent the business. Values, Actions, and Behaviors Values, actions, and behaviors all have a shared alignment. The values are what drive employees to make sound decisions that will positively affect their actions and behaviors. If an employee did not share the same values, his or her actions and behaviors may represent how the company and employee share opposing values.For example, if an employee did not care about customer satisfaction, he or she would act irresponsible and aloof. This would make management unsatisfied because they do not share the same values. An employee who shared the same values would try to work hard and would treat customers nicely. An employee’s values can easily be interpreted by how he or she acts and responds to people. Stated Values versus Actual Actions Starbucks mission is â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time† (Starbucks, p1).With more than 17,900 stores and thousands of employees, not to mention a high customer loyalty and approval Starbucks is achieving just that every day. Not only is the quality of the product important but also the conditions in which the coffee is grown, it is needs to be environmentally sound as well as good working conditions for the laborers who grow it. In the years 2007 through 2010, they wer e recognized as one of the â€Å"World’s Most Ethical Companies,† in the years 2009-2010 they were named the â€Å"Most Ethical Company, European Coffee Industry,† and in 2010 one of the â€Å"Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World† (Starbucks).These awards prove that there is a direct alignment with their stated and actual values. What Starbucks values, and has been proven, is its commitment to the employees of which they call partners. By showing the commitment of a good work environment Starbucks is rewarded with a friendly and knowledgeable staff. All employees, both full and part-time alike can obtain health insurance, a benefit that is almost unheard of from a part-time standpoint.The following awards have be given to Starbucks proving the actions of their stated values, one of â€Å"The 100 Best Companies to Work For† FORTUNE – 1998–2000, 2002–2010, one of the â€Å"Most Admired Companies in America† FORTUNE – 2003–2010, One of the â€Å"Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality† The Human Rights Campaign – 2009-2010 (Starbucks). Our Values and Organization Values Starbuck’s Coffee Company admits, every once in a while, every organization makes a bad judgment. However, what separates Starbucks from other organizations is their value-driven willingness openly to evaluate their actions.For example: Starbuck’s President Orin Smith States, ‘The first hour after September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, a Starbuck’s employee in New York sold a bottle water to paramedic. Starbuck’s meant to donate the water the employees made a mistake. When Starbuck’s president learned of the error he immediately called the paramedic and the public relation team to issue a news release apologizing and reimbursing the paramedics. He ensured that Starbuck’s employees were donating water, coffee, and other pro ducts to rescue workers and to the injured. As Team C analyzes the degree of alignment between personal values and the organization values as reflected by the organization plan and actions, Starbuck’s values are parallel to personal values. The team agrees with Starbuck’s eagerness to admit their mistake and captivating actions to correct them. This confirms that Starbucks is value-driven and stands behind their mission and values statement. Team C found no dissimilarity in personal values and Starbuck’s values because employees and customers agree with Starbuck’s providing a great work atmosphere and treating each other with dignity and respect. ConclusionThe guiding principles of Starbucks, as revealed above, outline the values of the organization. Aligning the personal values of potential employees with those of the organization, allows Starbucks to hire quality candidates that enhance the business. Starbucks calls these employees partners and continue s to grow as an organization receiving rewards as being one of the best companies to work for. References Starbucks Coffee Company, (2011). Assets. Retrieved from http://assets. starbucks. com/assets Starbucks Coffee Company, (2011). Company Information. Retrieved from http://www. starbucks. com/about-us/company-information Value Alignment Values are important to life. Every day the working class faces two sets of values. He or She has their individual values and the values of the organization he or she works for. This paper will analyze the origin and subsequent evolution of both workplace values and personal values. The paper will explain how individual values drive the actions and behaviors of people, and analyze the alignment between personal values and actions and behaviors. Then it will analyze how personal values align with those of another organization, and why it is important that personal and business values align.Origin and Subsequent Evolution of Values One’s values are personal beliefs that guide one’s behaviors and decisions. Values are held deep with one’s subconscious and are integrated into his or her everyday life. Every day people make decisions and these decisions even if they are choices are impacted by his or her own values. One gains his or her personal values based on his or her life experiences. Personal values began to develop during child hood and as one grow older and experiences life he or she may drop some of these values and add others (Lopper, 2007).Workplace values are much like personal values. As the business grows the companies values will change, and some will be dropped, and others will be picked up. In the beginning, depending on the size of the company the values of the company are based on the owner’s personal values. Workplace values set the guidelines for how the company is to make every day business decisions. Workplace values should promote extraordinary customer service by motivated, happy, and productive employees (Heathfield, 2011).My personal values are family, honesty, integrity, success, dedication, and treat others as you want to be treated. Many of these like treat others as you want to be treated are values that I learned as a child and others like family have become more defined as I go through life. My favorite pr evious employer Holland America Tours values are focus, service excellence, integrity, honesty, team, change, optimism, and perspective. Individual Values Drive Actions and Behaviors Two people can have the same set of values but take different actions and have different behaviors.This happens because of the way that the two people define the values that drive him or her. An example of this would be success. One person can define success as a roof over his or her head, and food on the table. Whereas, another person would define success as a bunch of money in the bank (Khoo, 2008). Reflecting on how I got to where I am today my values have not changed much; however my definition of my values has changed. I do believe that my actions and the decision I have made in life reflect my values.Holland Americas values have helped them in reaching their mission of excellence and through excellence they can create once in a lifetime experiences every time. Alignment between Organizational Valu es and Personal Values When starting or applying to work with a company it is important to do one’s research and find what the company’s values are and how well they align with his or her personal values. Working for a company that has totally different values than one’s own values can create an unpleasant work environment (Khoo, 2008).Holland America Tours values and my personal values is not a perfect match but yet it was one of my favorite places to work. This is because my personal values did align with the majority of Holland America Tours values. I did not always agree with the decision that the company made I did however follow those decisions in every possible ways. None of them went completely against my own personal values. Values wether they are personal or the workplace are important to everyone’s every day life.Our personal values we use to make daily decisions and our work values we use to make decisions at work. Both personal and workplace values are created in the early stages of life and then change as the person or as the company grows. Values are what drive our actions and our behaviors. They are the reason we act the way we do. Because values mean so much to us in our daily lives one has to find an employer that has values that align with his or her personal values. Doing so will allow one to make decisions at work easier and without feeling as if he or she is making the wrong decision.ReferencesHeathfield, S. M. (2011). How to Make Values Live in Your Organization. Retrieved from http://humanresources. about. com/od/orgdevelopment/a/valueslive. htm Khoo, A. (2008, June 5). How your Personal Values Drive Your Decisons In Life. Retrieved from http://www. articlesbase. com/self-improvement-articles/how-your-personal-values-drive-your-decisons-in-life-439134. html Lopper, J. (2007, October 23). Development of Personal Values. Retrieved from http://www. suite101. com/content/development-of-personal-values-a33585