Prostitution as a Social Problem Research Paper

Prostitution as a Social Problem - Research Paper Example This discussion stresses that  there are three classes of prostitutes.   Those who belong to the top layer are the discreet call-girls for the affluent.   Those in the middle class are the prostitutes who work in strip clubs and massage parlors and who offer backroom services.   Those in the lowest layer are the street walkers which include the harlots, hookers and nightwalkers.   The prostitutes in the lowest layer are the ones beset by most problems.   Because they are not under any supervision, they are prone to violence and at a high healthcare risk due to unsafe sexual contact with unscreened clients.   These are the prostitutes who are in need of much help.This paper discusses that prostitution involves a lot of personalities.   Foremost among the group are the prostitutes.   In the U.S., the average age of entry into prostitution is 14 . This group which takes on the roles of prostitutes includes children or teens, or adults who entered into systems of prosti tution as children or teens.   A vast majority also includes the Third World women and children.   They are the ones who are often targets of traffickers.   These women and children are enslaved and coerced and brought to western nations for use in brothels and massage parlors, or as mail order brides.   In some Third World countries, â€Å"sex tourism† is very rampant because it offers cheap prostitution. The second group involved in prostitution are the pimps.   About 80-90% of prostitution involves a pimp.... Foremost among the group are the prostitutes. In the U.S., the average age of entry into prostitution is 14 (SAGE, n.d.). This group which takes on the roles of prostitutes includes children or teens, or adults who entered into systems of prostitution as children or teens. A vast majority also includes the Third World women and children. They are the ones who are often targets of traffickers. These women and children are enslaved and coerced and brought to western nations for use in brothels and massage parlors, or as mail order brides. In some Third World countries, â€Å"sex tourism† is very rampant because it offers cheap prostitution. The second group involved in prostitution are the pimps. About 80-90% of prostitution involves a pimp. They are either male or female with different ethnic backgrounds and social status. Pimps â€Å"control the people in prostitution through coercion, force, drug addiction, or the exploitation of economic, physical or emotional vulnerability † (SAGE, n.d.). A major group that is involved in the system of prostitution is the â€Å"demand† side, meaning the â€Å"johns†, â€Å"tricks†, customers and child sexual abusers. These are the people who are into pornography and who go to strip clubs. The other groups who are victims of the system of prostitution are the transgender, lesbian, bisexual and gay youth. Because of the discrimination that they experience from their families and communities, they are often the targets of pimps. Since some societies still find this group unacceptable, prostitution becomes their option for economic survival. Law enforcement agencies and legislators have a role to play too in prostitution. They are the group who can control, eradicate or contribute to the problem of prostitution in the

The US Sugar Quotas Essay Example for Free

The US Sugar Quotas Essay In the bid to regulate the amount of sugar imported into the United States, the federal Government imposed a quota that gave limited exclusive rights of export to a few countries. These countries range from Brazil, Philippines, Peru and Colombia among others. The logic behind this move was to protect the United States infant sugar industry from the competition from foreign farmers that enjoy more conducive environment for surplus production. It was also in the bid to appease farmers from Louisiana territory. This was in spite of the fact that experts had warned that sugar growing in the United States would be impeded by the harsh environment. Others argued that the tariffs by the 1820s had to be maintained so as to maintain a high demand and the value of slaves. The imposition of sugar tariffs and quotas is supposed to help in subsidizing sugar growing. These sugar quotas continue to have negative impacts. It has to be understood that this is a costly system to the consumers and the taxpayers. The United States has maintained a very high price for its sugar, higher above the international price in sixth fold. James Bovard notes that â€Å"each 1-cent increase in the price of sugar adds between $ 250 and $ 300 million to consumers’ food bills.† He continues to note that a study conducted by one commerce department found out that â€Å"sugar program was costing American consumers more than $3 billion a year† (1998). The quota after its imposition single-handedly handed blows to other types of businesses. Brazil in a retaliatory stance reduced significantly its consumption of the American grain. Other countries that were relying on sugar exports to America resorted to wheat and corn, stiffening the competition that exists between the American and other countries. Candy producers have also been hit the worst. Initially, candy firms were circumventing the sugar quota by importing products high in sugar and then sifting the sugar, the federal government made a crackdown on this. Now, these firms are being forced to compete with their foreign counterparts who apparently have access to cheap sugar and hence cheap chocolate has increased, hurting the local industries. A number of people in the United States have lost jobs due to the sugar quotas. This number is higher than the number of farmers that the quota purports to protect. According to James Bovard, a commerce department had it that â€Å"the high price of sugar destroyed almost 9,000 US jobs in food manufacturing since 1981.† An example is given of one Branch Candy Company that relocated to Canada terminating over three thousand workers contracts. It remains the opinion of the majority that the sugar quota is not only hurting the multilateral tie that the United States has enjoys with the neighboring countries, it is also exploitative to the consumers. It is the high time that these quotas were abolished and the sugar plantations converted to other viable crops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The taking over the mantle of power in the house by the Republicans in the mid 1990s had given false signs that the sugar quota would finally cease to exist. A bill co-sponsored to end the program lost narrowly as the house voted to stay the sugar quota system. Immense lobbying took place in the house before the voting. This indicates how volatile the debate is and how it is influenced by politics and the fear of backlash from the sugar growing Districts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An analysis of the history and recent trends of the United States sugar quota reveals it has always been at the centre of American politics especially on its relations with the immediate neighbors such as Cuba and Mexico. The Clinton administration for example had to grapple with the sugar politics as the congress was being required to approve the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). One specific aim of NAFTA was to remove the quotas and the tariffs that existed between the United States and other countries such as Mexico and Canada.   The removal of the stringent controls with Mexico could have the net result of opening up the United States market to the unlimited imports of sugar thus threatening the high sugar prices existing (Roberts, P., 1999). Right from the early 1800, politics have dominated and completely dictated the implementation of the sugar quotas. Former congressmen have been enjoying lucrative contracts as lobbyists for the industry or for the foreign sugar producers wishing to be a part of the exclusive list. It is to be noted that the number of farmers set to profit in the United States sugar quotas fall way below fifty thousand, but due to the sensitivity of the matter and the amount of money involved, they have been able to influence the sugar importation policies in the excuse that it is in the bid to protect an infant industry. The sugar industry in the United States has become lucrative solely because of the subsidies it receives. The taxes imposed on sugar extend far beyond the price and its cost. The protectionist and the loan program on sugar mean that the farmers are in a win-win situation. They have enough funds to cater for cost of growing and producing and are slated to sell at a high price. All this is a done in the wake of sharp criticm that has reigned in sugar politics especially from the affected neighbors. In the bid to respond to the criticism on the infringement of the free market and enterprise spirit, the Reagan administration for example formed the foreign aimed Program aimed at providing the affected countries with food. The fears by the producers that imports will lead to reduced sugar prices and the loss of revenue and subsidies has led to the immense lobbying especially by the districts producing sugar, this has prompted favorable policies and bills in the congress. References Roberts, Paul. Nov. 1, 1999. The Sweet Hereafter: Our Craving for Sugar Starves the Everglades and Fattens the Politicians. Harpers. James Bovard, April 1998. The Great Sugar Shaft. The Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved on 12th may 2008 from http://www.fff.org/freedom/0498d.asp

An Overview of Reggae Music Essay -- Music

Reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. It is known for the heavy and strong emphasis on the bass within the background beat. Reggae was perceived as a kind of music used to express feelings about the social, political, and economic hardships in Jamaica during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was performed by musicians from black ghettos who used unhurried beats to make a style of music of their own. Reggae became an important part of the lifestyle of many Caribbean islanders; expressing a sense of pride of their Caribbean culture. Reggae was developed from ska and rocky steady. Ska consists of elements of Caribbean and mento, calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. Rocky steady uses musical elements such as jazz, R&B, African and Latin drumming and other genres. It is noticeable by the counted off beats with a slow tempo. A reggae beat is most distinguishable by having a slow tempo, bass beat within the background with an up-tempo beat over it. If you count 1 2 3 4 to the beats, the instrument’s accent is played on the off beats; giving it a relaxed sound. Reggae music consists of a relatively small variety of instruments because of its distinct sound. Bass drums, drum symbols, and guitars are the most common instruments used to play reggae songs. Bongos are used to play broken patterns with the usage of African style rhythms. An important factor to understanding Reggae music is having knowledge about the history of Jamaica. In 1962, Jamaica gained its independence from the British. Around that time, reggae music began to become prominent within the music industry. The most important form of reggae w... ...ic is an important aspect of the many cultures in and outside of the Caribbean. It instills different moods into people and comes in various styles. It has been used to express oppression and joy. No matter how people make or hear reggae music; it will be a distinct sound that lures one’s feelings towards the unique culture. Works Cited Bays, Barry, P. Renee Foster, and Stephen King. Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control. University Press of Mississippi. United States of America. 2002. Chang, Kevin O' Brian, and Wayne Chen. Reggae Routes. Temple University Press. Philadelphia.1998 Jahn, Brian and Tom Weber. Reggae Island. Da Capo Press, Inc. New York. 1998 Latin Pulse Music, Inc. n.p. 2006-2011. Web. 2 April 2012. Sarno, Alberto, Sarno, Marcello. Reggaeton in Cuba. 2007. Sprachcaffe Sprachreisen.Web. 10 March 2012.

Literary Devices in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Essay

In Hell we imagine it to be torturous, horrid, and filled with pain and suffering. In the story, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, it thoroughly explains what Hell would be like. Literary devices are used to emphasize how horrific Hell would be for sinners, and it scares you into being a Christian. The first literary device used is personification. An example from the text of personification is, â€Å"Justice bends the arrow at your heart.† This is showing if you don’t worship God and constantly sin, God will send you to Hell where you belong. This scares me and should put fear into everybody who wants to go to Heaven. The next way the author uses literary devices in the story is imagery. An example of imagery is, â€Å"The devil is waiting for them, Hell is gasping for them, the flames gather and flash about them.† This example creates an image in my head of standing over Hell and looking down at the tortured, burning souls. It makes me want to be a better Christian and to convince others to be Christians too. The last way the author uses literary devices is by similes. â€Å"His wrath towards you burns like fire.† This makes me think about how angry God becomes whenever we sin. It drills into my mind about how badly His hatred and disappointment towards sin really are, and how He will punish you if you do not ask for forgiveness. As you can see, the author describes Hell as a very awful place and is not a place you want to find yourself. He used literary devices in the story to emphasize how horrific Hell would be for sinners through personification, imagery, and similes. This is a significant reminder to me of my faith and encourages me to tell others about Christianity.

Managing Across Culture

{draw:rect} {draw:rect} 000579613; 000573398; 000573202; 000583118;000527971 {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Managing Across Cultures- Group Report on Case Study Analysis of Alcatel-Lucent BY TEAM: Meenak*shi Mukherjee* 000579613 Carlos Andres Serna 000583118 Quasirat Hasnat 000573202 Sangeet Premkumar 000573398 Imran Shahzad 000527971 Executive Summary This paper examines a case study sprouting mergers of two firms Alcatel and Lucent technologies. This paper provides an insight into the French and American cultures taking into consideration the parent company cultural imbroglio. Alcatel, an American company, was previously owned by the technological giant, the AT&T group. However in the year 1996, the company parted ways from the group of AT &T and merged with the French company, Alcatel. Alcatel, headquartered in France, provides hardware-software services to the telecommunications sector involving service providers and enterprises. On the 1st December, 2006, Alcatel- Lucent merged to explore greater productivity by utilizing jointly owned resources, products and services. Cross-cultural barriers hindered Alcatel-Lucent’s strategic advantageover its competitors. In this paper, the Alcatel- Lucent merger will be critically analysed with help reference frameworks and cultural tools such as Hofstede’s dimensions, Trompenaar’s theories on culture and related articles from newspapers. In the recent years, companies have been adopting the strategy to expand their markets globally with different strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, licensing etc. However, companies trying to achieve synergetic benefits often fail in their process of expansion due to the cultural problems revolving between the host and home countries. Introduction Alcatel-Lucent, headquartered in Paris, France, is the Telecom giant with over 77,000 employees in its payroll a with annual revenue generated as reported in the financial report standing at a staggering 16. 98 billion Euros. The merger of parent companies Alcatel and Lucent was anticipated to be the ‘shining star’ of mergers and was aptly phrased as a merger of equals (Sutherland, 2006). This paper discusses the importance of cultural differences and indicates the problems that can be create when different cultural interaction occurs between different strata’s of organizations. Short Brief about different cultures Culture can be considered to be a vast word having no unified idea that can summarize the true essence of it. Some scholars and researchers define Culture as a part of our environmental conditioning, usually distributed among members of similar nations, regions and areas (_Sorensen_, 1984). This case study is used to communicate the study of cross culture and its related problems. In regards to job environment, the French Culture believes in providing security for the members of the society. The Culture is competitive yet assertive but however is risk averse and consumes too much time to take decisions to deal with a situation. On the contrary, the American Culture is easy going and flexible. Americans believe in quick decision making with a â€Å"win-lose† approach and as a result accept uncertainties in a positive manner. In a recent article, Holstein (2007) stated, that the two parent companies addressed the issue of crisis taking measures differently. In times of crisis, the Americans believe in reducing costs through scaling down job opportunities whereas the French have a supportive approach towards their employees with the government acting as the back bone to resolve such issues making the process of decision slow but unaffected by the crisis piling on the company with additional operational costs. The inclination of the American Culture is towards achieving short term goals such as profit making, however, the French culture denotes a negative aspect of doing business with haste. The French decision making processes are long and tend to measure each step taking important aspects into consideration. Literature review The Dutch anthropologist, Trompenaars , conducted a research over 10 years and eventually publishing his work in 1994. Expatriates in an organisation can benefit from his dimensions by having knowledge on the managing tasks in different cultures (Trompeenars et. al. , 1997). Universalism Vs Particularism: According to Trompenaars , Universalism and Particularism are terms used to denote a culture which is governed by rules and relationships. In the words of French (2007), rules are flexible in particularistic societies and relationships are given more importance than rules. Trompenaar’s classifies of USA as aUniversalistic society bound by rules. Hence, Lucent as a company believes in developing rules, codes and standards that can be applicable to everyone in every situation without any modification. In USA, negotiation takes place in written agreements, shows that a formal procedure is to be followed to do business. However in a particularistic culture, the type of relationship determines the business. Whereas the French culture is average in Universalism indicating Alcatel, the French company is neither too particularistic nor too universalistic and rationally develop inter personal relationship and trust bearing in mind the expected standards (Gesteland, 2005). Affective/ Emotional Vs Neutral: Affective and Neutral are terms used to represent emotions with in a culture. In affective cultures individuals tend to show their emotions explicitly in public like the American culture. However Neutral cultures believe in implicit behaviour towards their emotions. According to French (2007), different cultures exhibit different behaviours when it comes to emotions. American people tend to deliver their disgust spot-on using verbal communication where as the French do so with sign language such as frowning and smirks. The US and French cultures are both alignedvery close to each other in terms of how emotional or neutral they are. Both of them are moderately average, which means people working in Lucent as well as Alcatel neither express their feelings too enthusiastically nor do they try to hide their feelings (Gesteland, 2005). Specificity Vs Diffuseness: According to Hampden (1998), Specificity is a term used to represent cultures where difference between work life and personalised life are applicable. In diffused cultures, the society is non- segregated as work and personalised life are closely interlinked. According to Guirdham (1999), the French are diffused in their cultural believes hence personal and professional life is considered to be a part of the culture whereas the Americans believe in keeping the two separate. Achievement Vs Ascription: Trompenaar describes cultures which believe in achieving status through performance with a generic belief that status can be gained and lost if performances are not measured accordingly. Ascribed status is where people believe that status is gained through inherent right and not according to what they perform in everyday life(French,2007). Achievement oriented societies formed by individuals who believe in achieving goals independently. For example the reigning President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama is an individual who became the president with his qualities and perseverance. In Ascribed societies, people believe in the status and the background of individuals. This juxtaposes the idea that in France one can participate in politics only if their family has been inclined politically in the past. The American culture is achievement oriented thus at Lucent, social status or position of an employee is derived from his/her achievements. The employees in Alcatel could grow only if their business links with the superiors are concrete (Guirdham, 1999). Sequential Time vs. Synchronisation: The word, sequence, is used to describe time where events follow one another whereas in synchronised time, events are arranged at a parallel basis. Multi-tasking is the main feature of synchronisation. Lucent being a North American company follows monochromic time that is tangible and divisible. They view time as a narrow spectrum of distinct, consecutive segments. Hence they perform only one activity at a time with greater focus, keeping a strict schedule of appointments and showing a strong resistance from deviating their plans (Gesteland, 2005). Whereas Alcatel being a Mediterranean country follows Polychromic time, for them time is indivisible and flexible. Time is viewed as a norm and people perform multiple activities simultaneously which makes them distracted very easily. For them appointments are approximate and can be changed at any point of time, schedules are not as important as relationships are. Future Vs Past Orientation: Lucent focuses more on the present and the immediate future than what has happened in the past. They concentrate on achieving result within a short span of time. In Alcatel, the present and future are valued by looking at events that occurred previously. Any given situation is compared to the previous happenings. Time orientation does matter a lot when companies operate in different cultures. It creates chaos specially in taking long term decisions. High Vs Low context cultures: Lucent (USA)- as a company possesses the attributes of a low context culture where it relies on information explicitly provided, detailed communication and even higher detailed instruction at workplace. However at Alcatel (France), employees practice moderate levels of cultural context interms of communication, information and even instruction at workplace. Alcatel being a French company practices very high power distance, which means a wide gap exists between leaders, subordinates and management decisions are made at the top level only without the consent of fellow employees. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Dutch Anthropologist, Geert Hofstede defines culture as â€Å"The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another† (Hofstede, 2001). Using his survey at the IBM involving employees from world over, he formulated the cultural dimensional framework. High Vs Low Power Distance: Power distance is related to a society which is divided into classes and ranks. In USA, ranks are least important to individuals as they believe in Equality. Organisational ranks often make employees feel uncomfortable and are not practiced widely. In France such distinction between classes and ranks are acceptable. Though high organisational ranked employees believe in respecting employees of lower ranks but make sure that the distinction is clear. In such countries it is wise for a subordinate to use terms such as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’. Whereas, at Lucent- a US based company, power distance is relatively low. The gap between superior and subordinate is minimal likewise salary and decisions are made consulting with everyone, though organizational hierarchy exists but for convenience. High Vs Low Uncertainty Avoidance: The term Uncertainty denotes societies that are risk averse and risk takers. In US, the culture believes in taking risks and with France, risk taking is not a wise decision and is often followed with monotonous long-term decision making. The French are known for high uncertainty avoidance. Hence at Alcatel people prefer not to take risks unnecessarily, they usually are loyal to their employers and have long work records. The organization is structured with explicit rules and regulations with the employee (French, 2007). Therefore, Lucent as an organization is not well structured and people are eager to take risk, thus being flexible that makes them not loyal enough and are clear indicators of short term employees. As France is extremely cautious about uncertainty decisions, thus employees at Alcatel are extremely concerned about job losses. In a recent article Sutherland (2006) stated that: â€Å"About 10 percent, or 8,800 employees, will be laid-off. Lucent could not answer which percentage of the job losses will be borne by the U. S. Company, but French laws tightly control when employers can fire workers† (Cited in, Sutherland, 2006). Individualism Vs Collectivism: In Individualistic societies, individuals tend to look after their family and themselves. Organisational goals are based on individualistic performance and not on the group effort. Team works are performed with individual rewarding system. Collectivist countries believe that the essence of good performance is based on team work. Individuals must sacrifice their personal interest for the benefit of the team. Rewards and bonuses are according to the team’s performance on activities. The French and American individualistic characteristics are common, causing a clash of cultures while working in conglomerate companies such as Alcatel-lucent. Individualism evolved when the two companies merged because the people started thinking of their own self interests instead of considering the company on the whole. This leads to chaotic asynchronous processes that are disruptive for productivity (French, 2007). Masculinity Vs Femininity: Masculinity and femininity are characterized by behaviours such as assertiveness, competitiveness, caring and loving. Masculinity is a composition of tough values whereas Femininity shows tender traits. Both the nations are masculine in nature but the roles of women in the two societies are very different. In USA, Women can reach the top layers of the organisation whereas in the France it is the other way round and men are given more precedence as the society male dominant. In an article Holstein (2007) stated that: â€Å"One is that there is confusion about who’s in charge. Russo became CEO of the combined entity and Tchuruk became chairman. In American cultural terms, that means Russo runs the company. After all, she’s the CEO. But in a European context, and particularly a French setting, the chairman is the boss. Confusion at the top is deadly† (Cited by, Holstein, 2007). Masculinity is relatively high in Alcatel compared to Lucent. At Alcatel, people believe in competition, performance and male dominance. Whereas at Lucent ,people seek equal opportunity, better quality of work, solidarity over other factors including competitive behaviour. Patricia Russo, a successful business entrepreneur from the USA is an example of a Masculine dominant society where women scale the height of opportunities. According to Verwaayen (2008), decisions making in Alcatel-Lucent remains a crucial factor as the two companies have different reporting standards. In Alcatel the Chairman is the head who takes the final decisions relating to a company and in Lucent the CEO is the person who delegates decisions. The two different distinct approaches have clearly confused the role of employees in both the companies. Verwaayen (2008) also stated that in mergers, long distances usually creates trauma as processes cannot be co-ordinated hence provides freehand edge to competitors. According Gubbins (2007), it is important for the government to have a top- bottom flat structured system so as to make the operations of the company smooth and efficient to survive the competitive environment. Cultural clashes were so evident that Patricia Russo, the chief executive decided to leave the company and stakeholders expected changes after his reign. This can be analysed from the newsfeed of Alcatel-Lucent (2009) stating that: â€Å"We hope that a new CEO will be able to bridge the cultural divide between the Americans and the French and get all sides pulling together† (Cited in, Windsor, 2008). Analysis of Opportunities, *Challenges,* Considerations Opportunities Alcatel-Lucent partners a project phrased as the â€Å"Cercle Passeport Telecoms†,in France, which is a business program for corporate mentoring of multicultural students from humble backgrounds in their pursuit for higher academic opportunities (Alcatel-Lucent,2008). As a part of the recruitment opportunities, Alcatel Lucent revamped its business training programs into sessions that integrated technical training with hands-on experience on security products and data transmission . Further emphasis on sales methodologies, reaching out to partners to engage with the end-users and to carve out solutions to address their needs. In order to convert innovative ideas into reality products or services, Alcatel-Lucent launched the Entrepreneurial Boot Camp housed in Belgium in the spring of 2006. Aimed at a constructive build of a global knowledge base where creativity blossoms, a business foundation like the Boot Camp is a grooming factory for all the budding business developers of the next generation. Alcatel-Lucent’s strategic security partnership with renowned financial sector reseller Abraxas Partners paves wave for new job opportunities showering prosperity in the near future (Alcatel-Lucent, 2008). Considerations The primary objective of a merger is the integration of skills, resources, and business networks and their harmonic implementation. Taking into account Cultural differences, mergers are drafted, and contingency plans are prepared in order to tackle such differences. When cultural differences arise at higher level of the organizational hierarchy, the execution of these pre planned contingencies become haphazard(Turner & Trompenaars, 2000). The analysis of this uber-merger case study has given us a clear insight in to the detrimental situations aroused by unsuccessful execution of mergers. The cultural differences seem irrelevant considering the fallacies involved with it are not redundant while assessing shifts in fiscal trends. The persistent pressure enforced a moral obligation, convincing the American chief executive, Patricia Russo and the French Chairman, Serge Tchuruk to step down. (Ruitenberg,2008). The ignorance of demographic and geographic interests might have had a negative impact on the merger. Previous acquisitions and mergers may have misunderstood the merger as a change in organizational goals. According to Jolly (2008) ,Alcatel-Lucent’s current vision can be quoted as â€Å"CSR is about being a value driven company, where values are not words on pieces of paper but things we do automatically . It’s about being a company that is inclusive and has respect for the individuals, respect for differences and respect for cultures â€Å". Challenges Mergers and Acquisitions have a tendency to confront various issues and involve constant reframing of policies. Differences can be resolved at the nascent stages of the Merger or Acquisition only. Alcatel-Lucent faces a challenge in restoring their longstanding relation with their previous collaborators like Bell Labs, Packet Engines and Xylan who might have experienced difficulties while the management underwent changes, so that they may continue providing and developing their services. They also face the challenge of retaining existing customers especially those who might have endured inept services while the organization resolved its differences. The merger of the parent companies has taken a toll of time and the company has experienced positive development in turnovers, cultural integration thus reoccupying the held market share and brand goodwill. Internal Organization Alcatel-Lucent’s design and consultancy service convolutes the vital processes necessary to ensure an integration of cost-effective, flexible network infrastructure. Business Consulting, Operations Consulting, Applications Consulting, Security Consulting, Network Consulting & Design, Network & Service Optimization are Business units and processes that constitute this esteemed organization (Alcatel-Lucent,2008). Conclusion and Recommendation Complications usually occur when two companies from two different countries merge to benefit synergetic effects. In terms of Alcatel- lucent, the two parent companies follow an individualistic approach which motivates employees to work towards individualistic goals and often the objective of the company is not taken into mere consideration. The essence of good successful business is to adopt a collectivistic approach giving the goal and the mission of the company at the top priority. Team work will motivate employees of Alcatel- Lucent to take decision jointly (Alcatel-Lucent, 2008). To bridge the gap between America and the France, it is important to reduce the distance by sending employees of each company onto expatriate missions. To understand a culture, it is important to stand in the threshold of the other. Managers in expatriate missions will gain better understanding of the French and the American cultures thus adjusting to the new inter-cross culture. Leadership should be vested in hands of one and not many, therefore confusion at the top should be avoided by integrating processes with clear objectives. Employees should be made to report to only one superior. It is important for the company, Alcatel- Lucent, to use new technologies such as video conferencing to reduce communication barriers between the employees of the two countries. In this time of financial crisis, it is important to cut costs to sustain in the global business market. Top heavy structures in the company with higher pay packs to the employees could create operational loss. In the reduction of financial position, the competitors would benefit by reaping advantage of the situation and overlapping it by way of acquisition. As the French are more protective about the job loss scenario, the company should take effective measures such as putting employee rolls stagnant thereby reducing its financial cost. References French, R. (2007),â€Å"Cross Cultural management in work organizations,† Kerry Press LTD, London. Hofstede, G (2001) â€Å"Cultures and organizations: software of mind† McGraw Hill, New York. Turner,C. H. & Trompenaars,F. 2000) â€Å"Building Cross cultural Competence,† John Wiley &Sons Inc, USA. Alcatel-Lucent, (2008) â€Å"Alcatel-Lucent launches new channel recruitment drive in UK and Ireland and announces security partnership with Abraxas† [Online] Available at: http://www. subtelforum. com/articles/? p=190 (Accessed on 2nd Dec. 2009). Alcatel-Lucent, (2009) â€Å"Alcatel-Lucent announces Chairman Serge Tchuruk a nd CEO Pat Russo to step down† [Online] Available at: http://www. alcatellucent. com/wps/portal/! ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLd4x3tXDUL8h2VAQAURh_Yw!!? LMSG_CABINET=Docs_and_Resource_Ctr&LMSG_CONTENT_FILE=News_Releases_2008/News_Article_001159. xml (Accessed on 2nd December 2009). Fons,T. , Turner,H. , Charles, (1997), â€Å" Riding the waves of culture†, Gardners [Online] Available at: http://www. businessmate. org/Article. php? ArtikelId=5 (Accessed on 10th Nov. 2009). Gubbins,E. (2007), â€Å" UBS: Alcatel faces mobility decline, culture clash† telephony online: Penton media online press [Online] Available at : http://telephonyonline. com/wireless/news/alcatel_mobility_revenue_121907/ (Accessed on :23rd Nov 2009). Hall,E. T. and Hall,M. T. (1990), â€Å"Understanding Cultural Differences, Germans French and Americans† , USA, pg 129;130. Holstein,W. J. (2007), â€Å"Lucent-Alcatel: Why Cross-Cultural Mergers Are So Tough†New York Times [Online] available at: http:// www. nytimes. com/2007/11/01/business/worldbusiness (Accessed on 10th nov. 2009). Jolly,D. (2008), â€Å"Culture clash hits home at Alcatel-Lucent† New York Times [Online] available at: http://www. nytimes. com/2008/07/29/business/worldbusiness/29iht-alcatel. 4. 14867263. html? pagewanted=1 ( Accessed on 1st December 2009). Ruitenberg,R. 2008),† Alcatel-Lucent's Russo, Tchuruk to Quit; Loss Widens† Bloomberg[Online] Available at: http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601085=a6fn02kzojwE=europe (Accessed on, 20th November 2009). Sorensen,G. (1984) â€Å"How much Poison is Another Man's Meat? † Notes on the Logic of World Systems Analysis, page 29. Sorensen,O. J. (1984) â€Å" Marketing Systems a nd Economic Development. An Institutional-Structural Approach† page 41. Sutherland,E. (2006), â€Å"Lucent Brushes Up on French With Alcatel Merger† Internetnews [Online] Available at: http://www. internetnews. com/bus-news/article. hp/3596246 (accessed on 23rd Nov 2009). Verwaayen ,B. (2008), â€Å"Alcatel-Lucent: New CEO, Same Three Problems† The Wall street journal. Windsor. R(2008), â€Å"Alcatel-Lucent confronts its cross-cultural challenges† BBC News[Online] available at: http://leaderswedeserve. wordpress. com/2008/07/31/alcatel-lucent-confronts-its -cross-cultural-challenges (Accessed on 5th Nov. 2009). Managing across Cultures, INDU 1033 – Team Reflection – Questions to guide the Team Presentation and Written Report Draw on your experiences: how would you qualify the teamwork in terms of {text:list-item} Keeping in mind the scarcity of information available in journals and online web content a strategic plan was devised to search online material using key trigger words that would facilitate in text referencing. The presentation time being short was a challenge for me in my role( Meenakshi Mukherjee) as group leader to define specific roles to my team mates to quantify the case study of Alcatel –Lucent keeping in mind the cultural heritage both companies’ native countries share. A well defined work with ample support from team members in way of skills and research makes me happy and feel good as a budding manager graduating from this esteemed university. {text:list-item} I would like to reflect on the fact that our team being truly multicultural, representing various nations of the world knit as family segregating this task into sections of expertise . Taking the reference frame work set forth by the respected lecturer and tutors, each subtopic in the case study was carefully classified and analysed. Disputes about the content were usually friendly group discussions in a professional manner. How much could difficulties be related to national variations in approaches to group work ? Multicultural teams like ours have different rational thinking capabilities . Innovative ideas streamlined. But the pipeline for these ideas was the standards we must set . Work can be left to interpretation. A consensus of the group eradicated doubt and hesitant notions. What elements of the process would you do differently next time. NB various approaches may exist among the different members of the team The data collection was done in large qualities from various limited resources. The case of Alcatel Lucent is primarily neglected in the business world. Careful selection of the company of reference could have been more articulate and the constrains of time and word limited was a real burden . Optimum utilization of resources can be improvide in future. The following members of the team declare to have fulfilled a

Proconsul Facts and Figures

Proconsul Facts and Figures Name: Proconsul (Greek for before Consul, a well-known circus ape); pronounced pro-CON-sul Habitat: Jungles of Africa Historical Epoch: Early Miocene (23-17 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 3-5 feet long and 25-100 pounds Diet: Omnivorous Distinguishing Characteristics: Monkey-like posture; flexible hands and feet; lack of tail About Proconsul As far as paleontologists can tell, Proconsul marks the time in primate evolution when the old world monkeys and apes diverged from a common ancestor - which means, in laymans terms, that Proconsul may (or may not) have been the first true ape. In fact, this ancient primate combined various characteristics of monkeys and apes; its hands and feet were more flexible than those of contemporary monkeys, but it still walked in a monkey-like way, on all fours and parallel to the ground. Perhaps most tellingly, the various species of Proconsul (which ranged from a smallish 30 pounds or so to a largish 100) lacked tails, a distinctly ape-like trait. If Proconsul was, in fact, an ape, that would make it distantly ancestral to humans, and perhaps even a true hominid, though its brain size indicates that it wasnt much smarter than the average monkey. However it winds up being classified, Proconsul holds a special place in hominid paleontology. When its remains were first discovered, back in 1909, Proconsul was not only the oldest ape yet identified, but the first prehistoric mammal ever to be unearthed in sub-Saharan Africa. The name Proconsul is a story in itself: this early Miocene primate wasnt named after the revered proconsuls (provincial governors) of ancient Rome, but after a pair of popular circus chimpanzees, both named Consul, one of which performed in England and the other in France. Before Consul, as the Greek name translates, may not seem very dignified for such a remote human ancestor, but thats the moniker that has stuck! Many people mistakenly believe that Proconsul was one of the immediate predecessors of Homo sapiens. In fact, though, this ancient primate lived during the Miocene epoch, from about 23 to 17 million years ago, at least 15 million years before the first recognizable human ancestors (like Australopithecus and Paranthropus) evolved in Africa. Its not even a sure thing that Proconsul spawned the line of hominids that led to modern humans; this primate may have belonged to a sister taxon, which would make it more of a great-great-great uncle a thousand times removed.

Final Strategic Plan and Presentation

Final Strategic Plan and Presentation Peter Spaans in Holland started Spaans Cookie Co in 1896; later in 1912, he moved to USA and in 1922 opened a bakery selling donuts, potato chips, and pastries. The bakery was formed with the intention of providing the customers their preferences. The company has, in the time of operation, merged with other businesses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Final Strategic Plan and Presentation-Spaans Cookie Co specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It was designed to be a premium priced bakery, which targeted customers of a higher income level. The success of Spaans Cookie Co is not only in terms of having smooth operations throughout the company but also in the fact that in this industry, there is a very large margin for premium pricing if the company is able to develop a strong value with its customers. Creating such value is very difficult because they have to cater to the cultural needs of the area they are operating in so t hat the food provided to the customers is acceptable. Spaans Cookie Co caters on providing the experience to the consumers, and for that experience, we need the right people for the job. The company, just like any other business, has faced tests in its operations but has emerged stronger. This paper will explore the strategic plan to be implemented by the company to improve its services. Vision, mission, values Vision statement: the long-term plans of the company are to increase value in such a manner that they remain market leaders. Due to this reason, the mission statement is such that it allows them to progress globally without any problems. The vision statement guarantees success in the long run as it allows future progress in such a manner that it is acceptable to stakeholders. Unless such windows of opportunities are utilized, it would be very difficult for the company to be in the industry in the long- run. For Spaans Cookie Co, the customers are the most important aspect and providing a value for their money their primary objective. Mission statement- Spaans Cookie Co has a productivity mission statement that has been issued to all employees, the employees actively carry out the tasks in fulfillment of the goals in the mission statement, and the management gives high priority to the achievement of those goals.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The productivity norms are integrated with the organizations productivity plans because productivity improvement plan is most effective if it is integrated into the organizations strategy planning. The results of such plans are not evaluated the overall cost of production as far as Spaans Cookie Co is concerned. Value Facet Analysis There is a number of workers of different cultures working in Spaans Cookie Co and as such, cultural issues is a problem in Spaans Cookie Co. However, managers have b een trained to handle cross-cultural teams and to deal with cultural issues within their teams. The top recommendations given have a lot to do with the current organizational culture in Spaans Cookie Co, banking more on complacency, inefficiency, poor communication, less teamwork etc. This trend has to be halted and a new culture of efficiency, competence, effective communication, teamwork etc is brought in. The recommendations suggested would be able to bring in all these traits among the workers as well as in the management. Most of the employees of Spaans Cookie Co seem not to be interested in aligning their values with that of the organizations values. The recommendations suggested would align the values of the employees with that of the organizations values and if any employees values cannot be aligned with that of the organization, then he or she should be forced to leave the organization. There is a good understanding of supplier values in Spaans Cookie Co but the understandi ng can be hampered if supplies of materials are not made on time as agreed upon due to employee negligence and poor productivity at Spaans Cookie Co. There is need to have understanding of supplier values and provide more consideration to their values by Spaans Cookie Co. Any organization should have a better understanding of what the customer values. In the case of Spaans Cookie Co, the customer looks up to company to deliver taste cookies. This goes a long way in meeting those customer values. Spaans Cookie understands the values of third parties like labor unions, the government regulatory agencies etc. If regular employees were sacked for their inefficiency and poor productivity, the labor unions and regulatory agencies would react and from their reactions appropriate steps can be taken that would push Spaans Cookie Co to greater productivity levels and increase efficiency.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Final Strategic Plan and Presentation-Spaans Coo kie Co specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Spaans Cookie Co management is unyielding in front of the labor unions and the regulatory agencies in their determination to make it a productive and efficient organization. Currently the employees of Spaans Cookie Co who are shepherds of the owner’s assets do seem to be interested in increasing the value of their owners assets. However, some of them do work but their complacency hampers their productivity and therefore the increase in value for the owners assets is hampered. External and Internal Environmental SWOTT Analysis Table Factor Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat Trend External Legal Regulatory Highly trained employees understands how to comply laws of the county Possible errors by accounts Tax incentives High taxes The tax rates are changing time and again Economic Economies of scale High costs of production Increasing demand Inflation and increasing interest rat es Increasing costs Technological Invested in new technology and have improved efficiency Resistance from employees on new technology New technology for production Changes in technology making it irrelevant Changing now and then Environment Implemented corporate social responsibility High costs Take advantage of green revolution Changes of government policy on environment Cost of environment management increasing Internal forces Resources Efficiency of production Resources cannot match demand. Many financial institutions are able to offer credit facility. Misallocate resources Increasing Goals Big brands Increase profits Some are not measurable Some brand have increasing opportunities Increasing prices Improving goals Innovations Many flavors and changes of brand name Different customers have different tastes and preferences requiring many brands Increasing of market for cookies Competitors increasing innovation Constantly changing Business environment Spaans Coo kie Company has continued with growth in sales and remained profitable in the past five years. While it has gained market share in the last few years, some flavors have tended to struggle because of market depression. The whole industry has had to put up with, rising fuel costs and a dampened consumer demand. Spaans Cookie Company has however continued thriving, mainly due to its business model, which dwells on cost control and product quality. Competence in management has enhanced efficiency of operations in the company. In addition, the company has a good capital base that facilitates investments in new technologies to diversify the business activities. There are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities threats, and trends that have affected the company both internally and externally. This paper addresses comprehensive factors that affect operations including the Economic, Technological, Legal Regulatory, Social, Goals, Resource, and Innovation. External forces Economic- The Companyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s unique cookies are of many flavors. As a result, Spaans Cookie Company determines the volume of output and the prices at which the products are sold. This increases the market demand significantly and therefore products are sold at prices that maximize the profits of the organization and hence the welfare of shareholders. The economic power that the organization has enables it to control the marketing of its products and maintain a competitive advantage. Customers are usually willing to purchase highly priced products especially if the products are of high quality and if they are of unique types (Gitman and McDaniel, 2008). Spaans Cookie Company has adopted this strategy since it provides high quality products in the market to maintain its market power. This has facilitated the efforts of the company to meet the market demand and maximize the welfare of its stakeholders including the customers, the employees, and the shareholders. Spaans Cookie reduces inefficiency by produ cing the maximum units of products possible in a day.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technological- The Company has invested in innovation to facilitate adoption of the most sophisticated technology in production of different flavors that meets the needs of customer. This has led to production of high quality products that are highly demanded in the market. Technology enhances the efficiency of production, which further minimizes the costs of production under the concept of scale economies. Economies of scale refer to the benefits that accrue to a firm as it increases in size. The marginal costs of production keeps on decreasing as production continue ((Sadler and Craig, 2007). Creativity and innovation is paramount to realization of goals and objectives in an organization. The management of Spaans Cookie has recognized this element and therefore measures have been adopted to facilitate efficiency of operations in the organization. Technological advancements have enabled the company to expand its business through invention of new brands to diversify the portfolio of the organization. Legal Regulatory- The Company is also faced by certain legal threats that may hinder development and realization of the set goals and objectives. It is a requirement of the government of the United States for all companies to pay taxes proportionately to the amount of corporate income received. There are fines that are imposed when the company violates the payments of certain taxes. It is possible for errors to occur in the accounting department of the organization and therefore the taxes could be underestimated. Auditing by the government officers could implicate the organizations to tax omissions whose impacts can be to taint the name of the organization in the general society. Environment There are social threats that face the company, which can have negative implications in the future if they are not addressed. During production of cookies, there is emission gases that are said to harmful to environment and therefore they are likely to have negative implicati ons on people in the future. Internal forces Goals: Spaans Cookie is planning to boost its biggest brands in the United States by producing more advertisements and setting limitations for other new product development. With this initiative, the company is expecting an increase in their profit (Spaans Cookie, 2011). This year, the company is acknowledging its plan to give emphasis on cookies. For Spaans Cookie, their goals are aligned with their current strategies against the soaring price of energy and other ingredients. Along with this, the company aims to increase more its advertisements for the next two years looking forward that it will generate sales growth along with their expansion. In assessing the goals of Spaans Cookie, it shows that most of them are straightforward emphasizing what really they want to happen. The goal of Spaans Cookie is very clear, easy to understand, and measurable. Somehow, they are attainable in a sense that the company already identified certain prod ucts where they could have opportunities. Finally, their goal is realistic and with timetable, they mentioned realistic strategies on how to achieve their goals and set a period. Resource Efficiency of production is enhanced by the capability of an organization to allocate the resources efficiently. Resource allocation depends on the effectiveness of the company to mix the inputs of production to facilitate efficiency. The inputs include capital and labor in addition to entrepreneurship and land as factors of production. The company has not been able to meet the market demand due to the inefficiencies associated with resource allocation. The market demand is large to the extent that the resources available in the company cannot meet it. It is therefore important for the management of the organization to increase resource endowment to facilitate increased production in the organization. The inputs of production such as capital and labor should be increased and be combined in the bes t rations to facilitate efficiency of operations in the organization. Improved efficiency in resource allocation will increase the competitive advantage of the organization, which will lead to coverage of a wider market base (Pearce and Robinson, 2009). In addition, the organization will able to meet the needs of the customers by offering the required units of output to facilitate maximization of the welfare of the employees (Sadler and Craig, 2007). Resource allocation is conducted internally under the productions department and therefore when the organization cannot effectively meet the anticipated demand, then the problem becomes a weakness, which should be rectified to facilitate the smooth running of operations in the organization. It is important for the productions manager to seek the knowledge of economists on the best methods to facilitate resource allocation in the organization. Innovation: Venturing into new markets will require the company to develop new flavors since di fferent customers have different tastes and preferences. In addition, the customers could be willing to consume some products but they can be constrained by several factors for example income. Such constraints means that the customers will not be able to maximize their utilities subject to the incomes they have. It is therefore important for the organization to provide a variety of products some of which should be relatively cheap to enhance affordability of different customers. Implementation Stage- The Balanced Scorecard The strategy implementation stage is considered as the most critical stage in the strategic management process (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, 2009). The importance of this stage is because the companies face a number of challenges in making sure that the strategy is properly implemented, and unless these challenges are effectively managed, it will be very difficult for the companies to make sure that they are able to get the maximum results out of the strategic plan. In order to make sure that the strategies are rightly implemented, we would be using the balanced scorecard. The balanced score card works by allowing the company to divide its strategy into a number of concerned areas of operation and then set measurable targets, which have to be, achieved (David, 2008). These targets also define the roles required by the company in order to achieve them. The balanced scorecard is a strategy implementation tool, which works on the concept of developing objectives based on the company’s strategy in four areas: finance, customer, process, learning, and growth. The scorecard helps in defining the management what needs to be done in order to make sure that the strategy is able to turn tides for the company (Kaplan Norton, 1996). In the case of Spaans Cookie Company, they must realize it is highly essential to make sure that they are able to come up with the right strategy as well as the right implementation of the strategy so that the improve gro wth. The resources are highly limited and a failure in the implementation of the strategy would make it difficult for the company to grow (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). To make it easier to understand, each of the factors of the balanced scorecard is discussed separately. Financial Perspective: Finances of the company are very important as they help in creating the resources that would be required for the smooth operation of the company. The Company would find it difficult to continue growing if finances are not kept in check. The appropriate strategies to make sure that the company is financially stable are Increase in the market share of the company to an overall 20%. This would be done through increasing the market share of the company, which would help to attract more investors. Maintain a profit margin of 12.3% so that future investors are attracted. Cost saving is essential as well as a continuous check on the books of accounts while marketing would help in attracting more custome rs Customer Value Perspective: Customers are the most important asset for the company and therefore it is important to make sure that the customers are taken into consideration in all areas of operations. The customer perspective is therefore very important, as it would tell what to do in order to make sure that service is able to add value in the customer’s life. In this regard, the following strategies objectives are set: Maintain a customer turnover to an annual 4% of the overall market. Compensations to be given to customers with negative feedbacks in order to retain customers Achieve and maintain a 90% customer satisfaction in the business. Customer values to be created on what the company can deliver so that gap between customer expectations and the service are reduced. Increase customer value by increasing marketing to communicate the true value of the company. Further, to increase customer value to be done by making the service tangible. Process Perspective: The pr ocesses, which the company takes in delivering the right product to the customers, determine how the company is communicating value to the customers. Delivering the value to the customers depends upon the processes that are employed by the company. The following objectives therefore have to be achieved to make sure that the processes of the company are in line with the strategies: Application of efficient production methods for quality cookies, this would be done through the understanding of the ingredients that make good flavored cookies. Increasing production by 10% every year in order to match market demand, this would also good marketing. Expanding the market by 25% through market development into other surrounding countries and all US states would help to attract more customers. Learning and Growth Perspective: The employees especially the drivers are the only human aspect of the company, which the customers can actually see and interact. It is therefore very necessary to mak e sure that the employees have the right skills to perform their respective jobs. Employees are one of the main driving factors of the company and it is therefore necessary to make sure that the employees are involved in the strategic planning process. Maintain a 90% employee satisfaction rate at all times through the development of employee programs, which help, in developing employee skill as well as in understanding the needs of individual employees. Keep the employee turnover rate to at most 3% a year. Employee has to be interacted with at all times to make sure that the employee’s needs are being well understood. Increasing efficiency by 15% every year through the implementation of modern technology Understanding the Balanced Scorecard The balanced scorecard is a mere reflection of the company’s strategies which have been developed through the understanding of the company’s mission statement, vision statement, the external and the internal factors which w ould affect its operations as well as the SWOTT analysis that was conducted in setting up the business. Unless these parts of the strategic plan are not considered, it would be very difficult to make sure that right strategy is formulated. The vision statement determines where the company wants to be and the mission statement further helps in clarifying the methods that the company would be using in order to achieve its vision (David, 2008). However, while the mission statement tells what needs to be done in order to achieve this vision, it cannot tell how this vision can be achieved. The company therefore needs to develop a strategy, which will determine the right path to pursue the company’s vision. The strategies that have been formulated by Spaans Cookie Company are developed through the company’s vision. In fact, it included in the whole process, which starts with the evaluation of the external and internal factors and then led to the SWOTT analysis. In this way, the opportunities as well as the industry trends of the company are highlighted which identified what strategies should be made in order to grasp these opportunities. At times, it is also necessary for the company to make sure that it operates outside the industry trend creating a blue ocean for itself (Spaans Cookie, 2011). In the balance scorecard that has been developed above is the clear representation of the SWOTT analysis, which was conducted before. This includes areas of opportunity such modern technology and understanding the quality production methods to have been integrated into this scorecard. The measures that have been taken in each of these objectives are also created with the understanding of the capability of the company given its resources. The period that has been put in this balanced scorecard also helps to identify when do the objective needs to be achieved so that the company does not falls behind time. When the employees know about the objectives that are to b e achieved in a particular timeframe, they themselves start to make sure that they play their role in the achievement of these objectives (Hrebiniak, 2005). Thus, balanced scorecard is a useful tool for any company as it helps to determine the right approach to be used by the company. A strategy implementation tool, this scorecard helps in the development of the right set of objectives, which the company would pursue in order to make sure that the company’s vision is achieved. Strategic management is a very delicate process, and usually takes time from the development of the strategy to the implementation of it (Pearce and Robinson, 2009). Managers must make sure that while developing the objectives for the scorecard, they have a complete understanding of the company’s capabilities otherwise the objectives developed would be unreachable by the company. Communication plan The communications mix is comprised of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicit y or public relations. The company combines these four elements with different emphasis on each. More focus has been given on advertising and sales promotion, as they are the most suitable for an industry. Advertising and sales promotion Personal selling and public relations are important for creating brand equity. Each staff member has a sense of responsibility and capability while being attentive to the needs of the customers. Word of mouth is free but it means ensuring a good reputation. Managing Risks This business is prone to both internal and external risks. The management of these risks has been made possible by the company through preparation. One of the major risks that the company has faced is from the employees who are not be able to perform up to expectations. In order to cope up with this risk, motivational strategies have been used such that the employees are kept motivated at all time. The risk of a very strong competition is also very high simply due to the fact that a new competitor may come up in either one or all of the business locations which would negatively impact the revenues. In order to minimize such a risk, the company has come up with specific operational strategies and also resorted in high levels of marketing so that it is able to communicate brand values with the customers. While these risks are controllable, the company has kept in mind the probability of an uncontrolled risk which may have a very significant impact on the business. Similarly, the economic disasters such as inflation and other economic crisis will significantly impact the costs of operations as well as the overall purchasing power of the customers. Conclusion The successful operations of any business depend upon a number of reasons, each of which has to be understood carefully so that the right strategies can be developed. For existing companies like Spaans Cookie Company, it is very important to make sure that all the industrial factors are carefully analyzed a nd understood in so that the right operational strategies are developed. It must also be kept in mind that the success of the business is not only in the generation of the right strategies but also in the fact that the strategies should be applied in an effective manner. In this regard, the balanced scorecard will be used to make sure that the strategy is applied as it has been intended to be and generates the maximum result expected from it. References David, F. R. (2008). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New York: Prentice Hall. Dess, G., Lumpkin, G., Eisner, A. (2009). Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Gitman, L. J., McDaniel, C. (2008). The Future of Business: The Essentials. New York: Cengage Learning . Hrebiniak, L. G. (2005). Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change. New Delhi: Pearson Prentice Hall. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (1996). The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action. B oston: Harvard Business Press. Pearce, J. A. II, Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. New York: McGraw-Hill Sadler, P., and Craig, J. (2007). Strategic Management. London: Kogan Page Spaans Cookie, (2011). Spaans Cookies. Retrieved from http://spaanscookies.com/ Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, D. J. (2010). Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.

How to Use the French Expression Allons-y

How to Use the French Expression Allons-y The French phrase allons-y  (pronounced ah-lo(n)-zee) is one you may find yourself using if youre traveling with friends or about to begin something. Literally translated, it means Let us go there, but this idiomatic expression is usually understood to mean  Lets go. There are many variations of this common phrase, depending on the context, such as lets get going,  off we go, lets get started, here we go, and more. French speakers use it to  announce that its time to leave or to indicate the beginning of some activity.   Usage and Examples   The French expression  allons-y is essentially the first person plural (nous) form of the imperative of aller (to go), followed by the adverbial pronoun  y. Rough synonyms include  On y va!  (Lets go) and  Cest parti  (Here we go). An informal variation is Allons-y, Alonso.  The name Alonso doesnt refer to an actual person; its just tacked on for fun because its alliterative (the first two syllables are the same as those of  Allons-y). So its a bit like saying, Lets go, Daddy-o. If you were to put this in the third person  plural, youd get the similarly well-known French expression Allez-y! The idiomatic meaning of allez-y in colloquial French is something like Go on! or Off you go! Here are some other examples of how you might use this phrase in conversation: Il est tard, allons-y.   Its getting late;  lets go.Il y a un nouveau resto cà ´tà © du cinà ©ma, allons-y.   Theres a new restaurant next to the movie theater.  Lets go (eat there).Tu veux apprendre le japonais? Moi aussi, allons-y!   You want to learn Japanese? Me too. Lets go / Lets do it!Vous à ªtes prà ªts? Allons-y!   Are you ready? Lets go!Allons-y maintenant! Lets go now.OK, allons-y. Okay, lets go.Allons-y, ne nous gà ªnons pas!  (ironic usage)   Dont mind me !Allons bon, jai perdu ma clef maintenant!   Oh no, now Ive lost my key !Allons bon, voil quil recommence pleurer!   Here we go; hes crying again !Eh bien,  allons-y  et voyons sil disait la và ©rità ©.  Ã‚  Well,  lets go  and see if he was telling the truth.Alors,  allons-y. Oà ¹ mettez-vous les mains?  Ã‚  Go on then. Do you put your hands like this?Enfin, puisque vous insistez,  allons-y.   Oh, well, if you insist.  Come  on.Je suis partante,  allons-y, ici, t out de suite.  Ã‚  Im ready.  Lets do it. Right here, now.A quoi cela ressemblerait-il? Alors  allons-y.  Ã‚  What would it look like? Lets  begin. Sinon, remontons nos manches et  allons-y.  Ã‚  Otherwise, lets roll up our sleeves and  get on with it.

Mental health promotion workshop Literature review

Mental health promotion workshop - Literature review Example Aside from incorporating the concept of interpersonal variables, Health Promotion Model can be use to predict people’s behaviour concerning health promotion which increases the healthcare workers’ ability to deal with people with mental health problems (Allender, Rector and Warner, 2014, p. 370). Precede and Proceed Model makes it easier for healthcare workers to â€Å"plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of health promotion programmes (p. 370). Under the precede model include social issues, epidemiology of certain illness, education, policies, and implementation whereas the proceed model include process, impact, and outcome evaluation (Allender, Rector and Warner, 2014, p. 370). Completing the report on mental health promotion made me able to develop some strategies that are effective in treating patients with cognitive, behavioural and affective problems based on the SMART criteria. 1. By the end of July 2014, the administrator of a couple of nearby schools will be approached for permission to conduct mental health teachings to the students’ parents. After communicating with the school teachers, a schedule will be set whereby the students’ parents will be invited to attend child development programme within the school vicinity. 2. By end of September 2014, social networking site like Facebook will be used to communicate with parents who are interested in learning more about strategic ways on how to prevent the long-term consequences of childhood abuse and neglect. Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013, July). Long-term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. [Online] Available at: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.cfm [Accessed April 13, 2014]. Every Child Matters. (2010, September 6). Effective communication with children, young people and families.[Online] Available at:

PROFESSIONAL & ETHICAL ISSUES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS Assignment

PROFESSIONAL & ETHICAL ISSUES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS - Assignment Example By providing the ethical business practices, codes of conduct plays vital part for organisations by making them responsible toward clients, employees, government and other major stakeholders. Codes of conduct effectively describe the liabilities of management, comprising every level of employees about the method of dealing with information. In recent days, several corporate scandals have significantly impacted on the trust of people. Due to this reason, the codes of conducts have gained must importance for organization to maintain specially in the field of IS. Furthermore, limitations of national regulations to comply with the global standards have also generated the requirement of maintaining proper codes of conduct in the area of IS. In this way, codes of ethics in IS help the management of different organisations to become responsible towards major stakeholders. Nowadays, there has been a growing interest amid different organisations in order to adopt codes of conduct and practices within the area of Information System (IS). The existence of codes of conduct in an organisation is related with less perceived offences and misconducts in IS operations. Organisations which implement proper codes of conduct demonstrate strong value positioning that is beyond the value derived from financial performance. Codes of conduct provide certain responsibilities on behalf of organisations and employees in order to engage in ethical activities while using IS (Somers, 2001). Although codes of conduct has implemented worldwide, their role on IS have not been addressed appropriately. This research is based on assessing the practical role that played by codes of conduct and practices within IS of an organisation. The research will be undertaken by the execution of descriptive methods through analysing several secondary sources. In general, codes of conduct aim to describe ethics and principles that ought to direct the behaviour

Ethics in decision making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics in decision making - Assignment Example Moral development of the charactersAccording to moral standards, we can rate the characters from the highest to the lowest as follows: the second hermit, the boy, the first hermit, the girl and lastly the captain. The moral development of the girl is questionable but to some extent it depends on the advice she gets and the critical decisions she has to make, in this case, visit the boy for one more last time, before he goes on a long journey (Polillo, 2015). The girl does not quickly accept the offer the captain but after the advice of the first hermit especially on sacrifice, she decides to visit the boy at all cost even though this will affect her moral standing. The boy shows great moral development and his inquiries from the girl how she came through she had no money. The boy hears her answer, refuses to be associated with, and breaks their relationship. The boy exhibits moral uprightness in that he leaves the girl because she has lowered her morals in accepting the captainâ€⠄¢s offer. The second hermit is morally upright in that he helps the girls with no strings attached when compared to the captain. The captain has low morals in that he opts to spend the night with the girl in exchange for transportation to the boy's island. The shows courage and thus confident in that she goes against all odds to get to meet with the boy. She consults the first hermit than the second hermit and does not give up on her quest to meet the boy even when the captain wants her to compromise on her values.  

The Role of Managers in Motivating Employees Essay

The Role of Managers in Motivating Employees - Essay Example Reward schemes are recurring themes in research literature, with Milne (2007) identifying that reward and recognition programs impact motivation and performance positively. Rewards, however, do not necessarily have to come in the form of cash payouts. One organization, Snowfly, a consulting organization in Wyoming, has utilized company technologies to create a reward scheme set-up like a Las Vegas game in which employees, when they reach high performance targets, have opportunities to win small cash bonuses or other benefits such as time off from work (Stern, 2007). Setting up such a system would require manager intervention and persuasion, as part of negotiation tactics, as a further advocate for employee reward. Other companies, such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Portland, Oregon, believes that these reward structures have improved overall organizational performance and reduced turnover rates in the process (Stern). Â  Even though the administration of the reward schemes would be a responsibility of human resources or information technology, a modern manager recognizes different business models available for motivating employees and works to ensure that these systems are incorporated into the modern business environment. A middle manager would likely report to senior members of staff, therefore they have the ability to create organizational change by persuading senior managers, who might be concerned about costs associated with low performance, to implement a new motivational reward system. Suggestions for the Manager

People really need go to college to learn Research Paper

People really need go to college to learn - Research Paper Example her people should head towards colleges and campuses in order to seek knowledge or same can be done even if they say goodbye to the typically educational environment of a classroom involving a well learned scholar and students. It also explains on what grounds people should stay on the decision to continue going to a campus or college and not be thwarted by the opposite forces which could block the way to mutual learning. Though college education is seen as the key to a facilitated life, Murray argues about traditional way of learning saying that one’s individual intelligence should be seen as a potent indicator of success than college grades and though â€Å"young people need some training after high school, but pursuing a bachelors is a clumsy, ineffectual way to get the training they need† (Murray, cited in Marklein). Critics of going to school to learn suggest that though great educational accomplishments could be achieved with the help of fellow students’ and professors’ combined help and support, still learning should never be thought of as a process which could be limited to schools, colleges, or universities especially in the present times. Today there are so many live blogs, high profile lectures, and educational tips available on internet that any thing desired to be noticed is literally at finger tips of a student. One word is all that needs to be typed in the Google search bar and next second, thousands of links are readily available to be checked out so that latest realities concerning a subject could be unfolded by those links. All critics of traditional learning which involves getting education formally in a proper setup are actually against the traditional or conventional concept because it is a common practice among many parents and students to waste wads of cash after colleges’ or universities’ names and so they pay more attention to the college’s name than on a student’s individual personality. It is an undeniable reality that a

International Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Operations Management - Essay Example In the process different business strategies are also learnt and shared by the companies (Plenert, 2002, pp.35-38). The present study focuses on the international operations management and the related theories and considering the Unilever Company and studying the motivation, benefits, process and form of internationalization. Internationalization: Its Motivation, Benefit, Process and Form: The primary motive of a company trying to be global or become internationalized is to earn competitive advantage over other companies playing in the same industry but in other countries, with the help of the advancements in their knowledge and expertise. Motivations can be proactive or reactive that leads a company towards internationalization. Proactive motivations generally result from the company’s intentions to gain competitive advantage over others. A reactive motivation arises when a company plans to internationalize on requirement in a particular economic status of the country or the business. In many cases, expansion of a business to other countries proves to be beneficial in handling the pressures of competition from other companies. The several benefits that underlie the process of internationalization include the company’s being able to spread across the world thus reaching out to greater number of customer and shareholders. Moreover, the company gets to learn the new technologies and processes prevailing or used in the other countries and businesses (United Nations, 2009, p.9). Thus it can be understood that some companies follow the process for the enhanced results for their businesses, while others indulge in expansion as a result of the need for the company. Now in order to process the internationalization of a business, proper method needs to be followed such that the company does not experience a failure. This requires management committees to get involved and decide efficiently on the utilization of resources available to the company. The inves tment requiring finances is an essential factor that needs sufficient decision making. Also, since internationalization would involve expanding the businesses to other countries, several difficulties or problems might arise that the company should be able to encounter and handle effectively (United Nations, 2009, p.10). As far as the process and form of internationalization is concerned, the process would depend on the motivation of the company, its internal and external handling of operations, its similarity with the foreign market, the locations where the company already has its operations, as well as the mode that the company follows in performing its functions (United Nations, 2009, p.11). Considering these motivations, benefits, processes and forms of internationalization of a company can be understood. In the following section, the study would focus on the Unilever Company and its internationalization and try to associate the company’s state with the theories of interna tionalization. Unilever Company and its Internationalization: The Unilever Company is an extremely popular company and has its presence felt internationally. The company has always

People really need go to college to learn Research Paper

People really need go to college to learn - Research Paper Example her people should head towards colleges and campuses in order to seek knowledge or same can be done even if they say goodbye to the typically educational environment of a classroom involving a well learned scholar and students. It also explains on what grounds people should stay on the decision to continue going to a campus or college and not be thwarted by the opposite forces which could block the way to mutual learning. Though college education is seen as the key to a facilitated life, Murray argues about traditional way of learning saying that one’s individual intelligence should be seen as a potent indicator of success than college grades and though â€Å"young people need some training after high school, but pursuing a bachelors is a clumsy, ineffectual way to get the training they need† (Murray, cited in Marklein). Critics of going to school to learn suggest that though great educational accomplishments could be achieved with the help of fellow students’ and professors’ combined help and support, still learning should never be thought of as a process which could be limited to schools, colleges, or universities especially in the present times. Today there are so many live blogs, high profile lectures, and educational tips available on internet that any thing desired to be noticed is literally at finger tips of a student. One word is all that needs to be typed in the Google search bar and next second, thousands of links are readily available to be checked out so that latest realities concerning a subject could be unfolded by those links. All critics of traditional learning which involves getting education formally in a proper setup are actually against the traditional or conventional concept because it is a common practice among many parents and students to waste wads of cash after colleges’ or universities’ names and so they pay more attention to the college’s name than on a student’s individual personality. It is an undeniable reality that a

Afirmative Action and Black America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Afirmative Action and Black America - Essay Example Abolition of slavery became the bone of contention between the North and South. This resulted in the Civil War between the northern states termed the 'Union' and the seceded southern states forming the 'Confederacy'. Ultimately the resistance was overcome by the Union and the era of Reconstruction started to put back the ravaged economy of the southern states. The rebelled 11 Confederate states had to be restored to their positions in the Union and provided with loyal governments. The role of the emancipated slaves in southern society had to be defined and settled. With the end of Civil War slavery assumed a new form, viz segregation 1. New Black Codes that restricted the rights of the newly freed slaves were enacted in the South. White dominance was methodically resurrected through secret terror organizations like "Ku Klux Klan". The southern whites found it very difficult to adopt a social order devoid of slavery. This led to what is popularly known as "Jim Crow Laws" in the U.S. history. Enacted in the beginning of 1880s these statutes legalized segregation of blacks. The name of the enactments leads one to assume that a person named 'Jim Crow' was the architect of these laws where as it stems from a popular minstrel song 'Jump Jim Crow', a dance performed with blackface by the white comedian Thomas Dartmouth. Black codes enacted during 1865-66 restricted the fundamental rights of African Americans. They were prevented from voting by ridiculous 'poll tax' and unfair 'literacy tests' and intimidation. Blacks were required to attend separate s chools and colleges, railway cars and buses had separate sections earmarked for them. They were not even allowed to sit with the whites for public amusements and entertainments thus denied participation in mainstream community life. Even places of employment were segregated. Protagonists of these savage laws got a shot in the arm when the U S Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the so-called separate but equal accommodation in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). During 1900 to 1920 segregation extended to hospitals, jails and even churches entrenching a full-fledged apartheid regime. The Civil Rights Act 1964 The crusader of civil rights movement in the U S Dr. Martin Luther King said "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". Before we delve into 1964 Civil Rights Act we must remember that it had a predecessor in "The Civil Rights Act of 1957", which was introduced during Eisenhower's presidency but never saw the light of the day. Eisenhower was not known for his support of the civil rights. He believed that one could not force people to change their beliefs; such changes had to come from the heart of the people involved and not as the result of legislation from Washington. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the brainchild of John F Kennedy who became President in 1960 (National, 1964) 2. He wanted to redress the discrimination that had persisted in spite of civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees. The new president was faced with some indisputable facts about the African Americans such as: 57 percent of African American housing settlements was categorized to be of unacceptable standard. Life expectancy of African American was 7 years less than that of whites. Their infant mortality was twice compared to that of whites. Blacks found it very difficult to get mortgages from mortgage lenders. Property values dropped

The Left Digit Effect in Pricing Strategy Essay Example for Free

The Left Digit Effect in Pricing Strategy Essay Have you ever come across price tags that have 9 endings? Have you ever bought those merchandise with 9 endings thinking that was the best deal and ended up with an enormous bill? Do you notice that the 9 endings are usually printed in a much smaller size than the digits on the left? This is a result of a psychological concept called â€Å"The Left Digit Effect† in which people tend to pay more attention to the left-most digits than the ones on the right. The idea has been widely used for decades for its great impact on consumers’ shopping behavior. Nine endings can easily be seen everywhere: stationeries of $1. 99, $4. 99 in bookstores, cars of $2,999, $5,999 in a dealership, real estates of $199,999, $299,999 on the market. It is interesting how such a small change can make a price tag seem significantly lower than another one of just one cent or one dollar higher, as well as greatly affect consumers’ decision. Even the smartest shoppers can fall for this little trick. For a lot of times I found myself wondering why I bought goods of the best prices but ended up with a large bill. Later I realized that I had fallen victim of the usage of the left digit effect in pricing strategy. However, it is fascinating to learn about how the application of such a simple effect turns out to have a great impact on people’s mind without their even being aware of it. The left digit effect can be simply defined as people’s paying disproportionate attention to the digits on the left compare to the ones on the right. This results from human’s instinct of reading from left to right. Another possible reason is that the encoding processes in human’s mind start before people even finish reading all of the digits. They tend to think fast in order to move on with other things, so they underestimate the importance of the right digits and make the digits on the left the magnitude. Taking advantage of that, companies and producers apply the effect in pricing strategy. That was the point when 9 endings were brought into the market. One reason to account for such a wonder that the 9 endings are doing to businesses is the difficulty of adding up odd numbers. People are more familiarized with the decimal number system which consists of 10 numbers. As a consequence, the appearance of 9 endings in prices is a great change in people’s ability to do the math. They make it much harder to control the total spending as people are used to dealing with round numbers. For example, it is obviously easier to add 300 and 200 than 299 and 199, as the first one is 500 and the second one is 498. When not being able to add up the prices, people are unaware of their total spending. Most of the times, consumers just ignore the 9 endings rather than do the proper rounding. Even though the cents are seen but they are partially ignored because the brain starts encoding information immediately after the left-most digits are read. A theory proposed by Keith Coulter – Associate Professor of Marketing at Graduate School of Management, Clark University – said that the effect can be enhanced provided the cents are printed in a smaller size than the dollar part, so the cents are more likely to be ignored or partially ignored by fast-thinking customers. A common viewpoint of the effect’s psychological impact is that the 9 endings lead consumers to believe that goods are marked at the lowest price possible and that it is the best deal out there. When they check out, that is when a concept called cognitive dissonance takes effect. In other words, when having to decide between two conflicting outcomes, people have a tendency to choose the one that makes them feel happier about their choice. Ending up with a huge bill, they often defend themselves that it’s worth the money and what they bought was a good bargain. Also, 9 endings play an important role when it comes to price bands. One cent or one dollar drop can make the price appear in the lower price bands and therefore be seen by more potential customers. For instance, an old car of $1,999 will still be placed in $1,000-$2,000 price band though it’s just a dollar to the next price band. As a result, it can be seen by customers who want cars in the $1,000-$2,000 range, besides the ones who want cars above $2,000. However, the left digit effect has been proved to only work if the left-most digit changes. In other words, consumers become more sensitive to price changes when the one cent drop results the left digit of the prices to change. To clarify the idea, in a small survey which I carried out in Southeast campus of Houston Community College with 21 students, when being asked to choose between two pens of $3 and $3. 99, the participants showed no clear preference over which one they like better. However, when the prices were changed to $4 and $3. 99, 17 out of 21 participants reported that they would choose the second pen because â€Å"it was cheaper†. Although there was a whole dollar difference compare to just one cent after the change in prices, the participants become more sensitive about how much money they spend when the left-most digit changes. When the brain quickly scans the prices, the same left digits will make one think that there is no significant difference between them although it was the right digits that determine the difference. However, if the left digits change, even though the right digits make them just one cent different, the brain automatically defines a big gap between the two prices and therefore lead people to choose the one whose left digit is lower. The research has provided me with an in-depth view of the psychological impact of the left digit effect in pricing strategy. Before conducting the project, all I thought of the 9 endings was that they would make prices seem lower and therefore more appealing to potential customers. However, after doing a deep research on the topic, I’ve learned a lot more than I thought I would. I’ve learned that the effect originates from human’s thought processes itself: the brain starts encoding the information immediately before we even finish reading all of the digits, and that the 9 endings don’t always work but need an important condition for them to take effect: the left digit changes as a result of the one cent or one dollar drop . It also amazed me how people’s decision and shopping behavior are influenced and determined by such a small effect without their being aware of it, and how the application of such a little thing can do wonder to businesses. The left digit effect itself is linked with other interesting psychological effects that trigger me to search for more knowledge. Rather than just a surface learning, I was able to go deep into the root of the issue and learn about its true nature. However, I think the most important thing that I was able to learn from doing this research is how to look at familiar things in a daily routine from a psychological viewpoint and analyze them through that viewpoint.

income :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the average American having a disposable income of $28,277, it is no wonder America has become the consumer nation that it is today (census.gov). In the past nine months American economy has shown an economic growth of 5.6%. Improvements in work industry are providing higher-paying, more permanent jobs than before, with less than 10% of new jobs created in 2005 being temporary (economist.com). With better employment opportunities and steady economic growth, America will become even more of a consumer culture than it is today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark Hertsgaard observes a more compassionate side of America when he describes consumer spending post 9/11. â€Å"But the attacks also engendered a new seriousness among the American people, a turning away from self-indulgence and material things in favor of spiritual values and services to others† (Hertsgaard 40). The 9/11 attacks left Americans with feelings of sympathy and remorse, as well as a feeling of unity that was shared throughout the country. Hertsgaard stated that after the attacks, the consequent drop in consumer spending turned the economy into an outright recession (Hertsgaard 40). While the economy itself unarguably suffered an obvious and drastic decline, Americans did not waste much time before they used the attacks on the World Trade Center as a means to make a profit. Millions of products advertised as 9/11 memorabilia were suddenly being sold everywhere. These items were announced as apparent ways for American’s to show their un ity and patriotism, as well as their loyalty and support for their country. Sweatshirts, posters, coffee mugs, and just about anything that could somehow display images or messages were applicable to be sold as keepsakes from the tragic event.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While a day as disastrous and devastating as 9/11 left most of America with feelings of grief, especially for those who had lost loved ones, the â€Å"American Dream† was far from being forgotten. The American Dream holds different meanings for different individuals, depending on their own opinions and perceptions. Despite the fact that this phrase holds not one particular meaning, and is a somewhat varied idea, it’s accepted interpretation includes achieving prosperity through hard work, courage and determination   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Naturally, American’s strive to be the best they can be, regardless of what it is they are doing. It is normal for a person in any profession to desire a promotion, which is a direct route to their actual goal: a higher salary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lee Price, of the Economic Policy Institute, holds an opinion which contrasts Hertsgaard’s idea that the 9/11 attacks were completely responsible for the economic decline.