Monday, September 30, 2019

Pharmacia & Upjohn Essay

As Pharmacia & Upjohn ready their Rogaine product to be distributed over the counter the company faces many new challenges not previously considered. Pharmacia has estimated that once in the over the counter market Rogaine would reach $250 million in sales within their first year and $1 billion over a period of five years. The numbers mentioned above where forecasted under the assumption that the FDA would approve a request for three year marketing exclusivity, this request was however denied. Pharmacia & Upjohn must now consider the possibility of loosing 60% of their volume to competition. The brand will have to reevaluate their potential first year sales and decide how they will modify their marketing plan to differentiate Rogaine from comparable products. External Analysis Customer Analysis. Pharmacia & Upjohn target men and women between the ages of 25 to 49 for their Rogaine product. Since Rogaine’s introduction as a prescription drug the product has grossed over $700 million in sales. At the time of the case research estimated that there were about 20 million women and 40 million men in the United States with thinning hair or baldness. Out of this group 38. 6 percent of women say they would seek treatment for hair loss and 30. 4 percent of men say they would seek treatment. Combined men and women are estimated to spend an estimated $300 million a year on products for the treatment of balding. As of now Pharmacia & Upjohn estimate potential retail sales of $250 million a year. Management will now have to take into consideration that they could lose up to 60 percent of their sales after their patent expires. Growth Prospect. By 1995 cumulative sales for the brand had reached $700 million in the US and exceeded $1 billion worldwide. Sales from their first year offering nonprescription Rogaine were expected to yield $250 million in retail sales in year one and $1billion over a period of five years. The company obviously expects growth in this market. Based on current industry trends and indicators, the hair regrowth industry is currently in the growth stage. One major characteristic of the growth stage is increased competition. In the past Rogaine was the only product offered containing their patented formula, however, there is now the possibility of at least three other brands using similar formula’s coming to the market. True to products in the growth stage Rogaine will be making a few changes to their marketing mix. Pharmacia & Upjohn plan to increase the percentage of minoxidil from 2 to 5 percent, sell Rogaine at half the price of the prescription version, distribute to retail outlets and increase promotion efforts. Marketing Profitability. The possibility for intense competition is very high for Rogaine. This is due to Pharmacia & Upjohn’s patent expiring for Rogaine and the denial of their request for a three year period of marketing exclusivity. As a result Bausch & Lomb, Alpharma, and Lemmon Company have all considered the possibility of bringing hair regrowth products to the market. The threat of substitutes is also particularly high due to generic brands offering similar products coming to the market. Generic brands typically sell for 25 percent to 50 percent less than brand name products. As a result of a greater number of options customers will now have more bargaining power than in the past. Distribution Channels. As a prescription drug Rogaine’s strategy was to first educate members of their sales force who would then call on physicians, dermatologist, and other health care professionals. After this introduction Pharmacia & Upjohn began targeting consumers directly through television commercials, print ads and direct mailings. Their over the counter strategy will include creating a â€Å"hair regrowth category† and distributing products through pharmacy or hair care sections of food, drug, and mass merchandise retail outlets. The company also plans to send mailings to around 40,000 physicians, 20,000 pharmacists. Consumers will be targeted with mail in rebates, television commercials and by advertisements placed in periodicals. Overall 92 percent of the target will see Rogaine through television and 77 percent of customers would be reached through print advertisements. Marketing Trends. Two major trends that will affect the marketing mix for Rogaine is lower pricing and increased promotion. A single, twin and triple pack of Rogaine will now retail for $29. 0, $55. 00 and $75. 00 respectfully. Overall their products will be selling for half the price of the prescription version of the product. Increased competition will also be a new trend in the market. Competitors such as Bausch & Lomb, Alpharma, and Lemmon and Company will be entering the market selling similar products. Overall $75 million will initially be spent on advertising in the over the counter market. There are also plans to increase the amount of minoxidil from 2-percent to 5-percent in order to increase product effectiveness. In comparison as a prescription drug it was estimated that Rogaine spent between $40 million and $50 million on marketing annually up until 1991. In the past Rogaine was protected by a patent blocking competitors from using their formula. A key success factor for Rogaine in the over the counter market will be differentiation. Rogaine will have to differentiate itself from competition who may be offering lower priced products. Customer Analysis. As of now Rogaine has two defined segments. Men between the ages of 25 and 49 make up the largest customer segment for Rogaine. Research indicates that 9. 9 percent of men who experience hair loss actually seek treatment. At the time of the case it was estimated that there were around 40 million balding men in the US. This means around 3,960,000 men will actually seek treatment for hair loss. The second submarket for the hair product is women between the ages of 18 and 49. It is estimated that around 20 million women have thinning hair and an estimated 13. 3 percent will actually seek treatment for their hair loss. Customers who purchase Rogaine are motivated by cosmetic reasons. Although hair loss is most commonly caused by the medical condition alopecia, it is not something that requires one to seek treatment. Most insurance plans do not even cover doctor’s visits or prescriptions for hair loss products such as Rogaine. Unmet Need. Although Rogaine is considered a success there are many who have not benefited from the use of the product. Research indicates that only 26 percent of male users reported moderate to dense growth and 33 percent reported minimal growth while using Rogaine. Out of women within this same age range only 19 percent reported moderate hair growth and 40 percent reported minimal growth. This means that there is still a large majority of the market that needs a solution to their hair loss problems. Performance Analysis. With the denial of the request for three year marketing exclusivity, this has affected the way Rogaine will compete against other hair loss treatment companies. Rogaine has assured its client based that their product is the â€Å"the only product medically proven to regrow hair. † Rogaine has been able to dominate the market with sales over $600 million during the years of 1988-1995. Sales are projected over the course of the next five years to increase at an average rate of 20% each year, with a total of net profit before taxes of $759,438, 823 at the end of 2000. Determinants of Strategic Options. Rogaine has chosen to spend $75 million on a marketing program to create awareness and a trial of the product. The $75 million will be distributed between one 30-second commercial spot for both men and women, information and displays would be sent to an estimated 40,000 physicians, and 20,000 pharmacists would receive the Rogaine Pharmacy Kit. Rogaine was also offering consumers a way to join the direct marketing program by signing up or calling the toll free number to join. Rogaine is also partnering with Progaine, (a shampoo) by offering coupons for Progaine inserted inside the Rogaine packages. Rogaine is currently facing the implications of having the 3 year market exclusivity request denied. This denial is allowing Rogaine’s competitors the ability to flood the market with their brand of hair re-growth products. This flooding of the market will likely decrease the growth rate of 20% in sales.

Obsession with Celebrities

From Charlie Sheen to the Queen; we follow them, we love them. But has our obsession with celebrities gone too far? So ask yourself: why are we â€Å"infected† with this viral disease? Does celebrity worship syndrome affect us? What type of celebrity do we classify as a one we would follow? Why has the Twitter revolution changed our views of celebrities? And most importantly, who do we blame for our addictive behaviour? We must turn away from our celebrity driven life and be our own mind controllers. So why are we â€Å"infected† with this viral disease? Let us be honest with ourselves, we have all imagined what it would be like to be a celebrity; living someone else’s life. We were built and programmed to like what we think is â€Å"cool† or â€Å"attractive† which are also words we use to describe celebrities. We see them all the time in films, on television and in advertisements all around the world. We acknowledge them as if they were â€Å"perfect†. But this is not true, yes of course they look and act differently when they are in the public eye but they are not like that in private. We see this when the world’s best golfer; Tiger Woods cheats on his wife with 12 different women. This shows that they are not perfect as we imagined, but flawed like us. Celebrity worship syndrome or CWS is a scientifically proven obsessive-addictive disorder. It can affect anyone who is over-exposed to the media surrounding the lives of celebrities. Psychologists have indicated that there are three types of CWS. The first is â€Å"Entertainment-social†. This occurs when a group of people watch or speak about celebrities. The second CWS disorder is â€Å"Intense-personal†. This is shown when people share compulsive feelings about celebrities. The last CWS disorder is â€Å"Borderline-pathology†. How does all of this happen? It is more common for women to â€Å"copy† the image of celebrities. For example, regular women can see what the stars are wearing and often find tips on how to buy cheap knockoffs of their outfits. This concerns people who have little control of their behaviours and fantasies they have on the topic of celebrities. According to research conducted in the United Kingdom, there is a relation between celebrity worship syndrome and other mental disorder. This is a mildly-serious condition that can be reversed if professional help and advice is taken. Who do we find attractive and consider worth following? It's not surprising that gorgeous people wind up famous. What's less obvious is that famous people often wind up gorgeous: The more we see a certain face, the more our brain likes it, whether or not it's actually beautiful. Thanks to what is known as â€Å"the exposure effect,† says James Bailey, a psychologist at George Washington University, the pleasurable sensation that is set off when we see a certain celebrity â€Å"begins to create a neurochemical groove,† making her image easier for our brains to process. This begins to explain why Jennifer Aniston, not exactly a classic cover girl was again named one of People magazine's 50 â€Å"most beautiful† in the world this year. Twitter, a world wide phenomenon. But why and how has the revolution of Twitter changed our views of celebrities? Before Twitter existed, all we had to connect with celebrities were magazines and television. But now celebrities have found a new way to communicate with us. Through Twitter, they can tell us what it is that they are currently doing and share their personal thoughts on anything. For example, Justin Bieber tweeted ‘Come home to me is such a great song. I thought I would do a little something with it. ’ But there have been studies which suggest that celebrities who do not use Twitter have a higher chance of prolonging their careers. In my opinion, this would be a fair statement because celebrities who do not use Twitter will live a more private life under less stress and so find it easier to keep their career going for as long as possible. Celebrities like Katy Perry who does not use Twitter has more privacy and less stress unlike those who constantly use Twitter like Justin Bieber are likely to experience an invasion of privacy. If we all were asked: who do we blame for being so attached to celebrities? We would all blame the media for publicizing the lives of the famous. But what we are not realizing is that we only have ourselves to blame for this behaviour. We push the media for more information which we then indulge ourselves in. We see this all the time when people contact news agencies and press aggressively for as much information as they could possible get. It has also been suggested by many that celebrities that are getting rich and famous forfeit their right to privacy. This could potentially be a disastrous decision that the celebrities make as they most certainly will lose their privacy and spend the rest of their lives under constant pressure from the media and the general public. Can we change our lives and turn away from the distractions of celebrities? A short answer would be yes. It is definitely unnecessary to follow the lives of the rich and famous so closely. If we get too addicted to celebrities, we need to seek help and refrain from this. Celebrity worship syndrome is a serious mental condition that we can treat as long as we are ready to reduce the amount of information about the celebrities we get. What we do not realize is that there is no one else more attractive than us on the inside. We need to realize that using Twitter will only aggravate us to ask for more about celebrities. Most importantly, we must stop blaming the media and blame ourselves instead for our addiction to celebrities. We will find that living without the influence of celebrities hard at first whenever we choose to stop following them but the end result will be rewarding.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Role of Ethics and Compliance in Pepsi-Cola

Role of Ethics and Compliance in Pepsi-Cola PepsiCo has a deep commitment to bring forth sustainability in growth by the empowering of its people (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). PepsiCo employees embrace a culture that promotes responsibility and provides the building blocks to trust (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). The company prides itself on being both environmentally responsible and socially conscious this pride is garnered by six guiding principles (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011).PepsiCo set forth principles that encompass total care of both consumers and customers, offering the highest quality products, conducting business truthfully, creating an equal balance of short-term and long-term goals, being victorious through inclusion and diversity, and being respectful of others and succeeding as a team (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). PepsiCo has in place a compliance committee that oversees the compliance program at PepsiCo (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011).The compliance committee makes recommendations that are uph eld by the utilization of issue resolution strategies (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). Four sub-committees make up the compliance committee, they are Anti-trust- whose emphasis is on sales; Safety and Environment- this committee gives oversight to fleets, plants, and the personnel that staffs them; Human Resources- they cover labor issues and employment; Finance- their umbrella covers all financial integrity, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the requirements that has been placed on the company. Ensuring Ethical BehaviorLaws and regulations are imposed by the various state, local, and federal governmental bodies within the United States and beyond its borders. As with any laws and regulations the way that they are interpreted are subject to dramatic change (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). Changes that are brought about are more often than not, political, economic, and social implications (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). The affect of food and drug laws; how the products are labeled; practices used in marketing and ad vertising; the importation and exportation of the various ingredients used to create the product (PepsiCo Inc.   2011).Many laws are geared toward the reduction of certain ingredients including but not limited to sugars, fats, and sodium (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). PepsiCo has many policies and procedures in line to ensure regulatory and legal compliance, however, suppliers or an occasional employee may commit serious violations that could institute enforcement of civil and criminal actions this could adversely affect business at PepsiCo (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). In terms of accounting, strict policies are in place and are necessary to gain a understanding of financial results (PepsiCo Inc.   2011). The policies at PepsiCo call for management to make sometimes difficult decisions in regards to uncertainties that may have an impact on the financial results of the company (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). PepsiCo does not involve themselves in any alternative accounting methods, other than in terms of pension plans (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). Estimation methods and critical accounting policies are applied on a consistent basis and are reviewed upon by the Audit Committee at PepsiCo (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011).Critical accounting policies are upheld in conjunction with pension and retiree medical plans, intangible assets including goodwill and other assets, accruals and income tax expense, and revenue recognition (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). SEC Compliance at PepsiCo Corporate accountability plays a big role at PepsiCo and all steps have been taken to promote that (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). PepsiCo uses a formal process for approval as outlined in the Political Contributions Policy (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). Contributions made by PepsiCo are a reflection of business and strategic interest at PepsiCo (PepsiCo Inc.   2011).Contributions are not made in the areas of the company’s individual officers or directors; There are no reimbursements to employees for contributions m ade on their own behalf; an official act with not promote anticipation or the recognition of a contribution; and there is full disclosure of all contributions on the corporate website (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). Periodic reviews of practices and policies dealing with expenditures and political contributions and are conducted by the Board of Directors at PepsiCo (PepsiCo Inc.   2011). Activities concerning lobbying can be found at http://disclosures. house. gov/ld/pdfform. aspx? id=300437081 (PepsiCo Inc. ,  2011). References PepsiCo Inc. (2010). PepsiCo. Retrieved from http://www. pepsico. com/Company/Corporate-Governance. html    PepsiCo Inc†¦ (2010). Pepsico. Retrieved from http://www. pepsico. com/Investors/SEC-Filings. html PepsiCo Inc. (2010). PepsiCo. Retrieved from http://www. pepsico. com/Company/PepsiCo-Values-and-Philosophy. aspx

Marketing Assignment on Apple

Marketing Principles Task B 24 – 11 – 11 By Ayesh Goburdhun A. Define your product The product chosen for this assignment will be a laptop, the Macbook Pro by Apple. The product is a personal computer that can be used for communicating with people or whoever, working on different kinds of software, listening to music and mostly to go on the Internet with the rising of the social networking websites. Apple Computers Inc. s an American multinational corporation, who was established in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Steve Jobs, the Chairman and CEO of Apple is one of the world’s most successful businessmen today, his management style and his charisma brought the firm from a starting company to a global force to be reckoned with. Apple Computers Inc. designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.To describe further the product, we have to answer to the question: What is the consumer really buying  ? The Macbook pro is based on superior quality materials that will allow faster actions and will permit the entertainment of its users over time without being bored and can be classified as a premium category of products that are not easily affordable. The Macbook Pro is based on the newest technologies on the market; it offers the best design of any kind of computers or portable engine that are actually called â€Å"innovative† on the market.So, we can say that the Macbook Pro offers great satisfactions to its customers and further, it is composed of usefull softwares that are already integrated and very powerful. The Macintosh comes with the latest brand of Operating System that the company developped in the past decades to improve the pleasure of the users, so that they woudn’t be outdated. Moreover, the Laptop is compatible with all devices at home, based on a new technology called â€Å"plug n play†, no complicated installations are required and the system works with any kind of operating system already install, even competitors.When people think about Apple and Mac they automatically think and talk about a problem-solving product, indeed, the Laptop offers a level of security that haven’t been hacked yet whereas its major competitor: Windows, the first provider of personal computers on the market. It is, of course, implied that the Macbook is running on the tardiest best performing computers’ components. Because the company builds both the computer and the software that comes with it, reliability is the first purpose, this means that a Macbook rarely freezes or crashes.Occasionally an application might quit, but it won’t affect the rest of the system. And the operating system resists mostly to anything, so everyone can do anything without worrying about losing everything. Apple Computer Inc. distributing the product proposes a variety of sizes and styling; the Macintosh Laptop is totally customizable and is forming part of the high standing computers on the actual market. For example, ladies could easily tend to buy pink Macbooks contrary to gentlemen who will choose the white or gray one.In addition, when people decide to buy a laptop they are principally attracted to the brand name, in this case, Apple that represents a very fashionish and stylish brand with a various types of stunning adverts and commercials. The packaging of the Apple brand is also one of the best in the market; it represents clearly the brand and adds an extra â€Å"something† to ensure the pleasure and delightfullness of the buyers opening the product bought.It is considered that Apple’s after sales service is one of the best, worlwidely speaking, indeed, the warranty applicable for each Apple products can be extended as much as the consumer wants or needs to. Further, when an Apple product is b roken the after sales service comes and replaces or repairs the item immediately if it is available in the stock. This is the principal reason why Apple is so good in the after sales services contrary to other competitors in the same sector.To classify the laptop, we can say that it forms part of a durable and tangible product, it can be used over and over with a great warranty period, and marketers would classify the Macbook Pro as a consumer product used for personal consumption. B. Provide and critically analyze definitions and components of segmentation Market segmentation can be define as the segmentation of markets into homogenous groups of customers, each of them reacting differently to promotion, communication, pricing and other variables of the marketing mix.Market segments should be formed in that way that differences between buyers within each segment are as small as possible. Thus, every segment can be addressed with an individually targeted marketing mix. Market segment ation is also an adaptive strategy, it consists of the partition of the market with the purpose of selecting one or more market segments which the organization can target through the development of specific marketing mixes that adapt to particular market needs.According to Kotler, P (1999), market segmentation means â€Å"the act of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who might require separate products and/or marketing mixes. † According to William J. Stanton, ‘Market segmentation is the process of dividing the total heterogeneous market for a good or service into several segments. Each of which tends to be homogeneous in all significant aspects. ’ In brief, market segmentation is important not only for creating consumers but also for satisfying them.Market segmentation helps matching the market opportunities to the resources of the corporations and enables them to face market competition effectively. For example, for the personal computers market t here are two segments, desktop computers and laptops. As for the desktop ones, they are mostly used by bureaucratic administration because they are less expensive for the same characteristics. Moreover, gamers also use desktop computers due to their fully customizable and upgradable components, whereas the laptops, which are considered as more mobile and practical, used principally by businessmen and tudents. In the segmentation of laptop, they are multipurpose laptops, multimedia laptops and laptops based on performance. In general, multimedia laptops are used to satisfy lower demands of customers who do not want to invest a huge amount of money because the demand is just for multimedia using like listenning to music, organizing pictures and web surfing. The components of this kind of laptop will be creating directly by the enterprise without subcontracting.Furthermore, multipurpose laptops are viewed as the middle class computers; they are principally used with basic softwares, fo r web surfing and all the multimedia stuff. The companies who build multipurpose laptops, used by middle class peoples, tend to subcontract in order to offer better performances and quality. Finally, the premium laptops are answering the demand of engineers, designers and professional who are in the need of very powerful and qualified product either for their work or their personal use.The characteritics of those laptops are generally a mix of components of the best-specialized industries on the market; this is why such laptops are very expensive. Niche markets are also present on the marketplace, answers to very high specific demands and tries to differentiate the company with its competitors. These markets are very small but the profit is real. In Mauritius, personal coaches are an example of niche marketing, concerning laptops; the Alienware brand is a niche market specialized to satisfy â€Å"hardcore† gamers.Concerning the Apple brand, we can talk about a geographic segm entation. For the line of Macintosh products, it can be segmented into regions; the company will not try to sell expensive laptops in poor countries such as Somalia or Afghanistan where the demand of theses products is totally nil. They will focus on ways to sell the product in big capitals or cities like New York, Paris or London, where the demand is constantly growing up. Shops, called Apple Store or iShops, are going to represent Apple worldwidely and has to fit in big commercials centers, or big buildings with great standards.All of these shops need to have the same organization, layouts, services and of course, same products. The client needs the impressions that they are communicating directly with Apple and not with a subcontracting agent. For example in Mauritius, Apple is franchised by Leal communications and informatics and the logo of the brand is not present in the Apple store shop based in Mauritius. The buyer must communicate directly with Apple and not with Leal (exce pt for after sales issues).The demographic segmentation is very important for the company, indeed, it will depends a lot on the age, gender, sexual orientation, family etc†¦We can assume that, as we saw before, persons that have a more feminine personnalities tend to buy Macbooks with pink colours. In addition, the age is a major factor, where students and young persons are more attracted to laptop such as the Macbook, whereas the elderlies who would prefer buying more expensive desktop towers, for example the iMac. It is clearly segmented in the way that Apple will try to sell Laptops, mp3s to the 18-30 and Tvs, iMac to elders +35.The enterprise is also willing to target wealthy persons, undoubtedly the products provided by them are classified as quite expensive and premium due to its very powerful components and noble made materials. As we saw earlier, the Macbook Pro is categorized in a high-standard category so the income and the psychographic segmentations are also importa nt where persons with extroverted personalites, fashion addicts and wealthy persons are targeted. People looking for the Macbook are persons willing for an advantages of buying it.If the product does not propose any kinds of benefits comparing to its competitors it won’t convice these persons for buying the product. The laptop presents a load of benefits like fully customizable, virusless, plug n play system etc†¦ Marketers assume that some customers are completely loyal to the brand that they like, they buy one brand all the time. Apple is one of the best example for these kind of buyers, indeed, the Apple fans are regardless of the functions or capacity of any kind of the Apple line of product, they are totally in confidence and are not affraid to pay whatever the price could be.They are almost waiting weeks in front of an Apple Store in order to be the first one to obtain a new Apple made product. This loyality is very rare but can be understand by the fact that the c ompany is very successful. In the recent years, Apple’s product are being seen by peolple as a brand of wealthiness and reliability. However, the segmentation is principally based on the demand of the customers and we can assume that this demand will grow in the coming years but if it is not there won’t be any kind of segmentations. Some market segments can disappear due to the evolution of the demand.For example, in the mail delivery market, some segments like post letter delivery services are starting to disappear due to a very fast growth of electronical technologies such as mailing, chatting, messaging etc†¦ Further, segmentation is impossible when  : 1. The size of the market is too small. 2. A brand is a dominant brand in the market. 3. More number of people falls in the same category. 4. The advertisement of each kind of product is too expensive. 5. The informations accumulated are completely wrong. C. Provide definitions and state the importance of targe ting and apply the concept to your productKotler, P (1999), stated that ‘target markets are a set of buyers sharing common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve’. After a company has defined market segments, it can enter one or many segments of a given market. Kotler, P (1999), also says that ‘market targeting involves evaluating each market segment's attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter a company should target segments in which it has a differential advantage over its competitors; where it can generate the greatest customer value and sustain it over time. A company with limited resources might decide to serve only one or a few special segments; this strategy limits sales, but can be very profitable. Kotler, P (2002) stated that, to provide for a good market targeting, the firm has to evaluate the various segments and decide which ones to target. A principal concept in target marketing is that those who are targeted show a strong affinity or  brand loyalty  to that particular  brand. Target Marketing allows the marketer / sales team to customize their message to the targeted group of consumers in a more focused manner.In order to perform a good targeting, we have to answer to the questions: Who are our customers? Who will buy our product? And how segmentations will help us doing it ? To target the consumers we can say that Apple Computers Inc. is a company present on the national and the international scope, its target are all over the world. It is considered that the customers of the Apple products will look for these goods in new commercial centers and big buildings with great standards, in the nearest cities where they will find Apple Stores and iShops that are specialized boutiques.The target here will focus on persons living in cities and more urban regions where their concerns are more important. Apple is using a distribution channel based on self-providing, indeed, they do franchise the ir brand but, as we viewed earlier, they tend to limit the presence of the company that they are working with and so focus on themselves for easier targeting. For example: if companies are targeting young people, advertising should be done on specialized web sites or magazines for young people, The Times or The Independent aren’t good choices. Apple is marketing to people who have a few characteristics: Middle/Upper income persons that are willing to pay a bit more for a better user experience. Paying 1000 â‚ ¬ or more for a computer is not a huge deal if they have a decent income. * People who like to have fun with technology. No other platform offers as many entry-level tools. This includes people who like to shoot a lot of digital photos or video. It's the whole digital hub concept. People are starting to buy into it. * Music enthusiasts and fans aged from 12-35. * Professionals in media and design and engineers. Shops are going to represent Apple worldwidely it has to be in big ommercials centers with great standards of quality and hygiene. All the shops need to have the same organization, layouts, services and product. The client need the impressions that they are communicating directly with apple and not with a subcontracting agent. They are targeting people that can afford buying products in those premium places. Promotions are proposed nationally and internationnally with the  «Ã‚  apple standards  Ã‚ » by the representants. Billboards, flyers, e-mails and quite stunning adverts are ways to target families, students or professional photographs.However, there is a very controversial approach that could be discussed in the target market of the company chosen. Indeed, we can say that Apple do not target markets they target people. For example, Apple has never marketed Macs to enterprise customers, and only hired a very small sales crew to sell to such customers, but they have  been advertising the Macbook and its business-related applicati ons in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and other business-friendly publications. Apple does not seem to target markets in the way other companies do. It targets people.It focuses on users. And Apple lets them decide how and where they’ll use the products. This is how great companies are built: they focus on individuals and build exceptional products for them; they let these individuals determine how best is to make use of the new technology provided. D. Provide definitions and need for positionning and apply it to your product. After a company has decided which market segments to enter, they must decide what ‘position' they want to occupy in those segments. A product's position is the place where the product occupies the consumers' minds.If a product were perceived to be exactly like another product on the market, consumers would have no reason to buy it. Market positioning gives a product a clear, distinctive and desirable place in the minds of target consumers compared with competing products. Marketers plan positions that distinguish their products from competing brands and give them the greatest strategic advantage in their target markets. Market  positioning  is the manipulation of a brand or family of brands to create a positive perception in the eyes of the public.If a product is well positioned, it will have strong sales, and it may become the go-to brand for people who need that particular product. Positioning is no doubt the single most important aspect of marketing in the globally competitive market place. With capitalism gaining popularity in most countries of the world, competition has increased greatly. A company not only needs to fight rivals in the local market. It also has to equip itself to compete against the world’s best companies. Companies are improving their products and offering them at competitive prices.A good quality product is no longer a guarantee for success. Positioning has to be managed a t every point where the customer comes in contact with the company, from personal sales to online communication to telephonic interaction. This is the only effective way of avoiding any confusion about the product in the mind of the customer. So what has Apple done in recent history to the Macintosh product line to demonstrate this premium positioning? It is widely recognized that Apple is a premium brand that demands and earns a price premium.This price premium spans the entire Apple product lineup with the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, software, and accessories. Apple's positioning is aligned with targeting a less price sensitive customer. As a result, Apple's culture and internal activities are structured to meet the needs of these customers, strategists call this needs-based positioning. Apple has thus created a culture and a set of activities to differentiate themselves from rivals in order to meet the needs of their target customers.Apple has positioned itself to a certain type of customer, wealthy people, innovators, people with good jobs, good lifestyle, etc. If Apple targets the poor man type, the trendy guys will stop buying Apples, because everybody can and Apple is not the Porsche of the computers anymore, this would hurt more the brand than maybe the increasing sales because of lower prices, and in good times, where everybody has more money, Apple would have the problem that they cannot rise prices, because everybody expects a cheap Apple product.If Apple were to attempt to compete for all customer segments, it would have to lower product prices. The danger with such an approach is that it would not only undermine and erode the company's premium brand image but it would also undermine the company's culture and internal activities. Each new Mac revision has either maintained or been subjected to modest price increase while Apple has simultaneously improved product features. A few examples include the introduction of the unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro, larger displays on the iMac, and the replacement of the 599â‚ ¬ Mac mini with a higher priced (999â‚ ¬) model.Years| Sales in Million| |   | 2006| 5,200,000. 00| 2007| 6,905,000. 00| 2008| 9,550,000. 00| 2009| 10,350,000. 00| 2010| 13,425,000. 00| 2011| 7,770,000. 00| 1. From 2006 to 2007 the Macbook Pro is in development process. 2. From 2007 to 2008, Apple introduces the product. 3. From 2008 to 2009, it is the growth of the laptop. 4. From 2009 to 2010, the Macintosh observes its maturity period. 5. And finally, from 2010 to 2011 the curve is starting to decline.REFERENCING Kotler, P (et. Al. ), Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall Europe, 1999 Kotler, P (et. Al. ), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall Europe, 2002 William J. Stanton,  Fundamentals of marketing, New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1964 Apple website viewed on the 18th November, http://www. apple. com Apple website viewed on the 19th November, http://www. apple. com/why-mac/ Google website viewed on the 20, 21 and the 22nd of November, www. google. com Elmer-DeWitt P, April 9, 2011 11:56 AM, How many Macs did Apple sell last quarter, viewed on the 20th November, http://tech. fortune. cnn. com/2011/04/09/how-many-macs-did-apple-sell-last-quarter/

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Personal Responsibility for College Success Essay

I. To obtain college success through personal responsibility one must take ownership of their goals and ambitions. By prioritizing task such as managing time, setting realistic goals and keeping healthy, one can achieve personal career success. II. Body A. Definition of personal responsibility 1. Personal responsibility is when one solely takes responsibility over a something or someone or an action individually rather than in a collective group and makes sure that the task is accomplished. B. Relationship between personal responsibility and college success 1. One should recognize the importance of accepting personal responsibility for one’s learning, time management and goal setting. With that one should also recognize that direct relationship between their personal responsibilities and one’s college and lifelong success go hand in hand. C. Time Management skills 1. Monitor Time 2. Plan schedule D. Planning and Goal setting 1. Short Range Goals 2. Long Range Goals E. Health and Financial Planning 1. Exercise 2. Budget F. Action plan for implementing responsibility in your education 1. I will learn to manage my time by planning and setting appropriate goals and staying healthy and becoming financially stable. III. Conclusion: One should take personal responsibility for their own actions so they can lead themselves to a pathway of success, how one decides to manage their time between their personal responsibility and their college success is a major factor in achieving ones goals. One must learn to prioritize by any means, keeping healthy, managing ones emotions, keeping a sound mind, treating oneself with respect and knowing ones limits can help one achieve their goals.

The relation between IM, Information Security and HRM Essay

The relation between IM, Information Security and HRM - Essay Example Software assurance is another aspect of information security. Software vulnerabilities can jeopardize intellectual property, consumer trust, business operations and services, thus the use of any software by the organization has to be in conjunction with the information security department, and these among others are some of the key roles information security plays in the safeguard of information in the Human resource departments. The paper also emphasizes the involvement of the top management in making information security an important part of the organization culture, need to establish a clear and effective information security policy and guidelines for employees. The absence of information security measures not only lead to theft, but the organization could suffer damage with minimal legal redress against the individuals concerned. In the end the paper discusses the need for an accurate measurement system and a continuous improvement policy to ensure the organization is abreast wit h the dynamic nature of the issue and is prepared to meet newer security concerns. Introduction Information management is a very vast concept; it includes a cycle of processes that supports firm’s learning activity by identifying, organizing, storing, processing and acquiring information (Choo, 1995). Information is one the most fundamental resources of an organization, one that needs to be managed like any other resource, like plant, equipment or people. Â  Forward-looking companies consider information as a strategic asset that can be leveraged into a competitive advantage in the markets served by the company (Karim & Hussein, 2008). Information, being such an important resource in an organization,... The paper affirm that the value of a firm’s investment in information security can be measured by examining the stock market investor’s behaviours towards firms IT security investment announcements. In examining the current business environment and the risks associated with it, it is important to include the role of Internet. The internet is one of the most critical infrastructures of a modern business. Firms have to take into account the broader picture when it comes to information security. Management of information in an effective manner is the only way to secure information. Board involvement is an absolutely critical issue and the top management should always play an active role in the formulation of the information security policy. Most of the times, the board members are not up to speed with the technology systems being used in the organization and what kind of attacks the company is vulnerable to. The board needs to be updated on the information security systems at least on a quarterly basis so that adequate measures can be taken to upgrade the systems, with the fast changing technologies; it has become imperative to remain in constant touch with the risks that the changing technological environment possesses. Comprehensive information security policies are well written, responsibilities are assigned and roles well outlined. Human resource department is responsible for managing human capital of an organization.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Children with Tramatic Brain Injury Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Children with Tramatic Brain Injury - Term Paper Example These disabilities are manifested in an array of characteristics depending on the location and extent of brain injury. They may also be permanent or temporary in nature where they can either cause total or partial psychosocial adjustment or functional disabilities. For instance, students with cognitive impairments suffer from long or short-term memory deficits thus remembering things and facts become quite difficult. Such students also suffer from impaired concentration and limited attention span. Therefore, they cannot engage in any activity for a long period of time even concentrating in class becomes difficult. Moreover, these students suffer from impaired perception where sequencing, judgment and planning pose serious problem. In addition, such children gravely suffer from communication problems which inhibit both their writing and reading skills. This is as a result of damage that occurs on the frontal lobes of the brain (Aimaretti & Ghigo, 2007). TBI also manifests behavioral and emotional characteristics which include mood swings, lowered self-esteem, self-centeredness, fatigue, anxiety, depression, restlessness and nosedived motivation. They are also unable to control their emotions as at times they may excessively cry or laugh. As a result, they can neither self monitor nor relate well with others. This arises because of damage that occurs on the limbic system in the brain. ... Therefore, they cannot engage in any activity for a long period of time even concentrating in class becomes difficult. Moreover, these students suffer from impaired perception where sequencing, judgment and planning pose serious problem. In addition, such children gravely suffer from communication problems which inhibit both their writing and reading skills. This is as a result of damage that occurs on the frontal lobes of the brain (Aimaretti & Ghigo, 2007). TBI also manifests behavioral and emotional characteristics which include mood swings, lowered self-esteem, self-centeredness, fatigue, anxiety, depression, restlessness and nosedived motivation. They are also unable to control their emotions as at times they may excessively cry or laugh. As a result, they can neither self monitor nor relate well with others. This arises because of damage that occurs on the limbic system in the brain. On the other hand, the physical impairment characteristics include sensory impairments as well as vision, speech and hearing problems. Conversely, the students may suffer from constant headaches, paralysis or paresis of either or both sides, lack of proper balance, gait impairments, spasticity of muscles and seizure disorders. They also lack effective coordination especially the fine motor coordination. These physical characteristics arise due to imbalance that affects the brain equilibrium. This is because of the development of the midline shift syndrome which further affects the weight, posture and drift posture of patients with TBI. As a result, the patients do not see a straight horizon or wall they see them as tilted (Parikh, Koch & Narayan, 2007). 2 (a) Classroom Behavioral Management Strategies and Instructional Strategies However, in

Should Children with Special Needs be mainstreamed into Regular Essay

Should Children with Special Needs be mainstreamed into Regular Classrooms - Essay Example e similar to natural hyperactivity but in greater degrees, to the extent of creating a real handicap for children in performing their day-to-day activities .†( p-9).Because certain similarities in hyperactivity exist in a normal child and a child with ADHD some people hold the view that ADHD can be handled with behavior therapies and other psychological counseling. In SEN magazine, a magazine for special education needs, there is a question put up to Dr.Christine Merrell (a member of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence- NICE) whether she views ADHD as not a medical condition but children behaving badly. She clarifies that it is not caused by â€Å"bad parenting† as is considered in one of the many myths regarding ADHD but â€Å"ADHD is a real disorder with real consequences for the child affected and their family and not simply a case of bad behavior† and if ignored â€Å"can have serious implications for the child in later life.†(23 Aug 2009). Dr.Merrell suggests drug treatment for children with ADHD which should be a part of comprehensive treatment plan that includes psychological, behavioural and educational advice and interventions. In the book â€Å"Teaching Young Children with ADHD†, there is an explanation of the role of neurotransmitters – dopamine and norepinephrine – in ADHD and how the medicines for ADHD act on them. There is a quotation in this book from Garber, Garber, and Spizman’s â€Å"Beyond Ritalin (1996) –â€Å"Learning occurs after an electrical impulse produced by a stimulus is transmitted and moves across a neuron- synaptic course several times. If in ADHD these neural bridges are blocked or incomplete, whatever is being learned does not become automatic.† The medicines of ADHD regulate norepinephrine and dopamine levels thereby improving brain function and self-control which directly help in academics. In children with ADHD, there is a lack of math and reading ability and fine motor skills which prove to be

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Toyota Origins Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toyota Origins - Term Paper Example (Piotrowski & Guyette, 2010, p.89) It was Mr. Toyoda Sakichi, who provided the original impetus to the young company. This entrepreneur and inventor par excellence translated some of the creative ideas he employed in the textile industry to the fledgling automobile industry. Under the mentorship of Toyoda Sakichi, his son Toyoda Kiichiro applied the proven methods of efficiency from the textile looms to automobile manufacturing. In mid-twentieth century, Ford and General Motors had a significant market share of the Japanese car industry, and competing with them was near impossible. Yet, based on the visionary aspiration of the deceased Toyoda Sakichi, his son took upon the challenge of competing with the bigger firms. Apart from the founder’s vision, some practical necessities in the form of Japanese military missions also facilitated the growth of Toyota Motor Corporation in its early days. And then when the legendary Ohno Taiichi joined the company after the Second World War , his incisive engineering inputs helped transform the company into a reputable global player. (Price, 1997, p.14) In 2001, Toyota issued a document titled Toyota Way 2001, which highlights some of the core principles and values espoused by the management and the workforce. Some of these principles also serve as strategically important in distinguishing Toyota from other companies. For example, principles such as Respect for People, Continuous Improvement, etc are inculcated into the workforce right during times of prosperity and distress. The automotive market in the world is said to be highly competitive and volatile. Moreover, demand in this market is affected by a number of factors such as social, political and general economic conditions; launch of new vehicles and technologies; and expenses incurred by customers to buy and operate vehicles. These factors can make consumer demand to vary substantially from one year to another across market geographies and for different types of automobiles. Yet, in spite of such uncertainties and still competition, a recent annual report of Toyota shows â€Å"increasing unit sales from 2006 to 2008, based on the total unit sales of its products all over the world. But, based on the unit sales per geographic segment, there was a decline in the  Toyota unit sales in Japan, from 2,364,000 units in 2006 down to 2,188,000 units in 2008. Despite the decline in the unit sales of  Toyota’s products in Japan,  Toyota’s market share (including Daihatsu and Hino) including min-vehicles, and  Toyota and Lexus' market share excluding mini vehicles, remained at a high level close to prior fiscal year reflecting the sales efforts of domestic dealers (Cortez   & Penacerrada, 2010, p.113). One of the key driving forces behind the continued success of Toyota is its embrace of Lean Manufacturing and Just-In-Time Production techniques. Then there is the overarching set of philosophies and values brought under the ter m the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way can be further broken down into 4 components. First is a long-term approach to management decision making; second is a systematic approach to problem-solving; third is value addition to the company; and fourth is to focus on solving persistent problems facing the company. These principles and procedures add up to form the formidable

The Endocrine System of the Human Body. To include major organs, Essay

The Endocrine System of the Human Body. To include major organs, physiology and function. The effects of a homeostatic imbalanc - Essay Example The pituitary gland is referred to as the â€Å"master gland† because it highly influences other body organs, and is responsible for producing (1) prolactin in lactating women, (2) growth hormone, (3) adrenocorticotropin, (4) thyroid-stimulating hormone, (5) luteinizing hormone, (6) follicle-stimulating hormone, (7) oxytocin, and (8) antidiuretic hormone (â€Å"The Endocrine†). These hormones produced by the pituitary gland are in turn in-charge with many bodily functions. The hypothalamus acts to start and stop the production of pituitary hormones, according to the body’s need. The thymus is needed for normal immune functions; while the pineal gland is said to influence sleep patterns by producing melatonin. Both testes and ovaries are responsible for sexual traits of men and women, respectively, as the testes produce testosterone and ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone. The thyroid gland, important in metabolism, produces tri-iodothyronine (T3) and thyrox ine (T4). Adrenal glands are made up of the adrenal cortex and medulla, where the former produces hormones essential for life, like glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. The parathyroid glands, on the other hand, are tasked with calcium and phosphorus levels regulation; and the pancreas is vital for insulin and glucagon production to control serum glucose levels.

Emirates Airline Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emirates Airline - Research Paper Example However, no matter how strong an organization is, it must continually scan the external environment for various threats and opportunities that can highly affect the business for the coming years. In a SWOT analysis, opportunities are defined as external factors that can increase the profitability of a business. In the case of Emirates Air it can mean arrival of new technologies, unfulfilled customer need, loosening of regulations or socio-cultural change. One great opportunity for Emirates is to expand its services to regions such as other places in Africa. After expanding in Tanzania, it has captured the market because of its strength in customer service. This opens many opportunities to create more destinations in Africa. Another opportunity for Emirates Air is to strengthen its cargo services which can provide the company additional income. Since it was voted as â€Å"Best Air Cargo Carrier â€Å" at the 2010 IFW Awards, this presents an opportunity to create more business for the company to provide a total package for its clientele. Having a more efficient process could mean competitive pricing which is again one great opportunity for the carrier. Another great opportunity that Emirates Air is currently exploring is its active participation in the campaign for aviation liberalization. Liberalization of additional air traffic routes â€Å"could increase traffic by 63%. This could create 24.1 million additional jobs and generate an additional US$490 billion  Ã¢â‚¬Å"which is why Emirates Air is exploring this opportunity. Lastly, a very good opportunity that Emirates Air has started tapping is the use of green energy. Green energy has already slashed the cost of fuel prices and better green fuel alternatives coming up in the future would highly benefit this company since it had already constructed a carbon neutral warehouse (p.11, 2009-2010 Annual Report).In conclusion, there are many avenues of

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Labor relations-An Anti nepotism Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Labor relations-An Anti nepotism Policy - Essay Example Management is the most sensitive area in regard to nepotism. Budd (2010) argues that managers should strike a balance by not supervising their relatives, employing them in the same department or try to use their influence to employ them so as to have great output. Anti- nepotism policy favors unions in protecting their members. They ensure that all their members are given equal opportunity in job application. Finlay (2011) supports this part of the policy as a motivation tool. The policy also ensures fairness in work as it prohibits workers to be supervised by close relatives. Workers are also protected from loss of job if companies enforce anti- nepotism policies but were employed before they are implemented. Management is also favored by the anti- nepotism policies. The policy does not prohibit your relatives from working in the same company as long are not working in the same department and they were employed on merit. Managements are allowed to make independent policies as long as they are in good faith as argued by Rose (2008). Family businesses are exempted from these policies if members of the family volunteer services. Unions have a right to ask the adaptation of anti- nepotism policies by any organization their members are working. Lawrence (2005) argued, in order to reduce some of white collar crimes organization should not employ close relatives or supervise them. Managements are bound to follow anti- nepotism policies. They are obligated to create anti- nepotism rules that are favorable. In order to avoid conflict between unions and management, the management should include the union and legal experts when drafting their anti- nepotism policy. Budd (2004) proposed that the management should also clearly define the term relative in the policy to balance equality. Since anti- nepotism policies are different in each state, entrepreneurs should consider the implication of marriage as it is regarded as

Financial markets and institution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial markets and institution - Essay Example A good combination of a well-developed financial market and a diversified financial instrument and products sufficiently provides for the needs of lenders and borrowers, and hence improve the overall economy. For instant, financial institutions like banks have special roles to play for multiple companies that are in need of funds. Banks can contribute to prevent the effect of a sudden economic shock that might affect their customers. The banking industry always stands ready to provide their clients with financial aid even in difficult circumstances, like when the liquidity of financial market dries up. They are the financial intermediaries that add cost to the allocation of capital. In addition, some economic projects can be financed by financial institutions such as banks in cases where the market cannot finance such projects. Big financial markets which have lots of financial and trading activity ensure that more liquid funds are provided to the market participant than in smaller markets. Most assets of financial market are liquid which may sometimes have secondary market to ensure that the existing financial asset transfer occur at a very low cost (Willem, 2001). The effective flow of finance in a given market ensures that the market participants are able to provide their goods and services effectively and therefore ensures an improved economic growth of the given country. Commercial banks are the most diversified and largest financial intermediaries due to the enormous range of liabilities and assets that they hold. Most of their liabilities are always in the form of saving deposits, time deposit and various types of checks. The type of assets that commercial banks hold are the securities of the various denominations and forms, which include consumer loans, mortgage loans, loans that are given to the state and the local government. These banks are the most

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Legal Week 4 Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Legal Week 4 Discussion - Assignment Example Peer review can indeed be said to be an effective program within the health sector in achieving quality health care. This is because through peer review, there is a professional back up of the actual health care service that is delivered to service users (World Health Organization, 2011). This is to say that peer review makes it possible for there to be validity of professional medical outcomes, whereby the decisions and actions of medical staff members are subject to third party scrutiny to ensure that all forms of lapses are identified and corrected. In such a situation, the patient or service user becomes the eventual benefactor, getting an assurance that there is always a back up for guaranteed health care. Peer review can also be said to be very effective in promoting peer learning. What this means is that through various peer review methods, professional medical staff are able to learn from their colleagues and peers through the corrections and critique they pass on them. Meanwhile, within the professional medical practice, continuous learning has been noted to be an important process that ensures that service providers are always equipped with the latest service standards to use in rendering quality service (Bond and Bond, 2004). Meanwhile when the service provider is guaranteed to be of high quality, this can be translated into the quality of care (World Health Organization,

New media technology, the umbrella philosophy and relationship Essay

New media technology, the umbrella philosophy and relationship marketing - Essay Example Issues of customer relationship management, internal politics and customer-centric strategies will be identified. New media technology The most significant outcome of relationship marketing is the connection between marketer and the customer that is based on understanding the long-term motivations, desires and values of customers to provide them with a trusted and valuable proposition (Cameron, Miller & Frew, 2010). This requires segregating the tangible benefits of the product with the attitudes and behaviours of potential or loyal customers by providing extended non-product offerings that fit their psychological, sociological or cultural principles. For example, ISS Facility Services’ Healthcare, a cleaning organisation for medical environments, identifies the importance of giving employees an image that is not perceived subordinate by design. The company therefore only employs what are referred to as healthcare cleaning assistants when working with hospital staff in a critical role that involves complex cleaning dimensions (hefma.org.uk, 2010). If the employees are given a reputation as cleaning crew or ot her subordinate labels, the staff in the hospital will respond to employees under this perception and thus impact long-term relationship or cooperative strategies. Now that the elements of relationship marketing and understanding customer attitudes and perceptions have been identified, it is important to isolate the different new media technology tools that are utilised to improve sales revenues and meet with customer demands and lifestyle. British Airways and other large-scale airline companies utilise the Internet as a means of incentives marketing that assists in building more loyalty and brand preference as a long-term outcome. One current reward methodology that takes advantage of interactive self-service website provision is an airline reward strategy from British Airways where e-ticketing, priority check-in and transferrable points can be redeemed or structured online (Whyte, 2003). Some customer segments require a rapid transaction in order to be satisfied based on lifestyle or their personalized preferences regarding interaction with online or physical support tools. The Internet provides this quality interactive forum that maintains the ability to house significantly different, yet related services to meet multi-market demands. New media technology can include secondary links to benefits redemption sites hosted by the company in a forum with interactive videos such as YouTube. Any web-based media source or outlet that provides extended value, negating the costs associated with set-up and monitoring, give companies an opportunity to build more brand loyalty if they first understand what drives customers to choose one airline (or other industry brand) over another. As customer relationship management (CRM), tools to support this effort are necessary in order to efficiently sell and promote product. New media technologies to support electronic CRM are an inbound and outbound chat strategy that allows for personalized service. â€Å"With outbound chat, you can see that someone is trying to make contact and can send out a message before the customer even begins to draft a

Monday, September 23, 2019

World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

World War II - Essay Example Unlike the First World War, the Second World War had the issue of and ethnicity as a factor of conflict. This was very apparent in the way Germany and Japan waged their wars. The Germans killed many Jews and people of the Slavic race believing that they were the inferior people and believed they have no place in their realm. The Japanese believed that they were invincible and superior than any other people that they were harsh as conquerors in Asia, and very cruel to Western prisoners. Women played larger roles in society to support the war effort. Most women did tough jobs on factory production. Many women, especially in Russia, directly participated in combat operations as well alongside men. The Second World War ended with the defeat of the Axis powers against the Allied nations. Germany surrendered first when the Soviets took Berlin while Japan surrendered after its two cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the atomic bomb of the United States. The effects of the Second World War in European culture and society were a profound stigma against Nazism and Fascist political thinking. This stigma was particularly evident to the German people who have been given the impression as a people of genocidal

The Solution to the issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Solution to the issue - Research Paper Example The conclusion provides a brief recap of what the solution is and how it has been discussed throughout the paper. Is there a solution to crime? It is a question that can be asked by any concerned citizen. All over the country, people are faced with the likelihood of being the victims of a crime. It does not matter what type of crime, big or small in the judgment of any individual, a crime is a crime. Be it stealing by force from a person, property, killing, or even crimes that infringe on the human rights of any individual like rape. All these are crimes that represent a wide array of the types of crime that are in existence today. With the availability of technology, the current nature of crime has become sophisticated. In addition, the crime fighting agencies have also embraced technology and made the detection and fighting of crime sophisticated too. Hence, it is evident that a complex case scenario is in the offing. A case that brings about some form of intricacy into the whole issue surrounding crime. Nevertheless, correctional facilities offer a place where criminals can be rehabilitated. However, as described in the examination of the biggest issues facing American correctional system, gangs in the correctional facilities and the behavior of the convicted criminals making up these gangs is the greatest issue. Thus, there has to be a way to solve this issue to ensure that the American correctional system gets it right in the rehabilitation of the individuals it has been entrusted with. Persons who have been found dangerous and unfit to live and interact with the rest of the American civil population. What is the solution? The paper seeks to describe a solution to this issue. What makes this the biggest issue in the American correctional system? Research undertaken by Ruddell and Winterdyk (2010) that one the issue of gangs in

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Mao's propaganda with arts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mao's propaganda with arts - Essay Example Art propaganda was based on the cult of Mao and his unique vision of communist China. As a charismatic leader, he directed propaganda to mass publics and mass media amplified political and social messages. Mao's art propaganda was a product of the more egalitarian, participant forces that emerged in the communist China (Cheek 82). Unlike members of mass cultures, who were almost wholly dependent on their leaders for propaganda, members of the popular culture have gained the ability to initiate messages as well as respond to them. The aim of art propaganda was to remold the individual (Brady 98). Art propaganda was a part of new mass culture created by Mao. On the domestic front, the new government introduced a system of rationing cards to purchase food, clothing, and other scarce commodities essential for everyday living. Curbing and eliminating social ills also loomed large on the agenda, prompting government officials to crack down on black marketeering, religion, and the sale of opium (Cushing and Tompkins 43). In the case of opium, the government imposed stiff criminal penalties, including the execution of suppliers and dealers. By 1951 addiction to opium had fallen off sharply, enabling the government to focus more on the social consequences of drug abuse and on educational and rehabilitation programs for victims and users. The most extreme of this art propaganda was that which went under the name of the new republic and new social order established by Mao (Cushing and Tompkins 45). Art propaganda was one of the most effective and simple ways to influence Chinese society and form national ideals and values. The propaganda was grounded in the needs of totalitarian society to create and exploit mass cultures. Art propaganda flowed from the leader, Mao, to the led, from a few to many, not from many to a few (Cheek 81). Posters and wallpapers were used to educate the peasants in the political process by making them aware of their political power and encouraging them to seize the land and kill their landlords. Following Knight (2002): "He [Mao] recognized and admired the revolutionary potential of China's peasants that had resulted from centuries of feudal exploitation and oppression. He recognised, too, that conditions were deteriorating in the countryside due to the economic effects of imperialism and the political instability resulting from the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the division of China between hostile warlords" (29). In fact, estimates of the number of counterrevolutionaries executed during the early period of Mao's domestic revolution range between 1 and 3 million people, figures that raised the specter of a government-sanctioned reign of terror (Cheek 80). Emotional appeal was made in every major section of art propaganda, and even legal arguments were fundamentally based upon emotionalism. The effort was constantly made to arouse fear and hate of the capitalists, and pity, love, and admiration for the workers and communist regime. A most important phase of this technique was the practice of exploiting idealism. The Chinese

A Characters Role Essay Example for Free

A Characters Role Essay In a world focused on elevators one wonders, what would it mean if one were to take the stairs? The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead, deals with the exploration of Lila Mae Watson, a black female intuitionist, who undergoes a quest to reveal what Intuitionism is all about. As a result of her quest, the connection between James Fulton, the creator of Intuitionism and Lila Mae Watsons role as character is revealed. Lila M. Watson, the protagonist of this novel, endures a number of experiences as the first black elevator intuitionist. An accident occurs with an elevator which she was in charge of. From then on the story introduces Lila Maes quest for answers. Lila Maes life goes into detail about how fragments of her life have been shattered with grief, and racism above all. During her exam about elevators in college, she was answering flawlessly with details and precisions at the professors questions. The last question had nothing to do with elevators, just a reckoning to her; so that she knows that there are only twelve colored inspectors and they most of them are not even working, by making her know that even though she answered swiftly she didnt know everything: So you dont know everything; that will be all Miss Watson. (p 53) Within the story she goes into a subtle exploration of her own identity, race, and duty as a person in her position. This leads into the elusive quest for the black box and ultimately Jamess Watsons Perfect elevator But this quest of hers intertwines with the experiences of James Fulton. This intricate character deals with the many hardships that Lila Mae dealt with during her youth, only with the slight fact that he dealt with these issues with his inner self. Fultons secretive and deceiving nature is the actual cause of all the events that take place. James is actually a black man with light skin, who does not feel comfortable letting the world know that he is black because of his status. Fultons hatred of himself and his lie of whiteness(p 239). Although hes not to blame because in the world they live in it is not as easy being a person of color. There was no hope for him as a colored man because the white world will not let a colored man rise. (p 240) For this very reason he decides to play the role of a white man. At early age he knew he would be confused for a white person, so he used this trait to achieve his greatness in life. Overtime Fulton became godly to people, because of his knowledge about elevators and what he had to write about them. Every Tuesday James Fulton. stood in the downstairs drawing room and lectured on the intricacies of his science (p 54). One does not realize that this intuitionism is created as a joke. A joke that is taken seriously and soon evolves into the world itself. Both Fulton and Watson are two figures who struggle for one cause only. To achieve their goal in life, for Watson it is to find and reveal the perfect elevator into the world, and for Fulton it is to create and implement this perfect elevator into the world. As two black figures in a white-ruled society it is their socialistic duty to fulfill their goals and be aware that this achievement is critical for their community. Lila M. Watson is forced to go on a journey that is composed of events that will prove her innocence about the incident, discover the perfect elevator, and like Fulton, take an important position in society. She sees herself as a person who has a duty to fill Fultons shoes. In the other hand Fultons lies and secrets are what form the entire story. After having developed intuitionism for that long, he realized he needs a successor, who will deal with society. But it is Intuitionism that must be kept important until the world is ready for the perfect elevator. Fulton does not publish his work for this very reason. Like Lila Maes duty of finding his perfect elevator, it is his to create it. But little do we know that this perfect elevator is nothing more then what he has created as a mockery of the world he lives in. It consist of a perfect world where there exists no racial constrains. Fulton is a man who creates a perfect society in his mind and puts it in paper, but never reveals it. Lila Mae discovers this but she knows that even though shes been living in a world of lies, it is her duty to preserve this knowledge until the world becomes a place like Fulton metaphorically described in his books. This the story that deals with ones accomplishment to fool the world and in the meantime while everyone is fascinated by his accomplishments and fake works, he devotes his life to creating a blueprint to a better world for existence.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Strategies for Building Effective Relationships Essay Example for Free

Strategies for Building Effective Relationships Essay Silburn Pitter This paper will look at the constructing of actual relationships with other manager and workers calls for more time and effort put into your work. The most operational relationships yield many different methods and are very successful, operational and substantial most of the time. This only happens when the people involved encourage a level of high trust in their dealings. This paper will discuss the simple skills that a leader must have in order to do well in having an operative rapport. It will also talk over some of the procedures used to shape actual relationships with bosses and their workers. Finally it will talk about the role a leader takes in different participating management approaches. Leader Skills Anyone coming up in management knows that in order for a leader to be effective they must have certain leadership skills. While not all leaders have these skills, we will show how a leader can become successful. These skills will include: Strategic Thinking, Collaboration, Emotional Intelligence, Critical Thinking, Communication, Motivation, Feedback, Tough Conversations, Coaching, and Making Values Visible and Viral. First we have Strategic Thinking, which means that you have to think big or outside the box. You have to step back and take a look at the big picture some times and just watch what is going on. Then you can see where the work is going good and where you need to work on a problem. Next we have Collaboration, which means you have to be a good role model to your peers and co-workers. You have to be a role model for in effective networking by presenting the value of bridging old limitations and breaking old habits. Next we have Emotional Intelligence, which means you have t o build your self-alertness, self-management, social alertness and correlation management. Emotional intelligence is critical. Know that as a leader, you are infectious. Being a source of energy, empathy and earned trust, showing hopefulness and level-headedness can co-exist. Understanding that elasticity is important to  leadership, especially in demanding times. Next we have Critical Thinking. Critical thinkers question orthodox knowledge. They are watchful about recognizing and challenging traditions that motivate actions or inaction. They are routinely cautious of sweeping statements, implications and unproven theories. Their favorite questions are: â€Å"How do we know that?† They make every effort to self-determining thinkers, careful to check how their own biases might shade their decisions. Next we have Communication, which is one of the easiest to understand. Bosses who don’t communicate successfully get in the way of their team’s success. You have to make it your goal to master every form of interpersonal communication and make it powerful: one-on-one, small group, full staff , email, social media, and of course, listening. It becomes a shortfall in establishments and its managers who point out the problem! Next we have Motivation, which means that you have to tell your people that they are doing a good job, give them a pat on the back, and sometimes giving them a bonus for their good work. You have to show your people that doing a good job is productive and sometime it can be fun. You can set up a program that when people come to work at the beginning of their shift, there is a dance that you do and sing a song that involves the job that they are doing. Next we have Feedback, which means that you are always on the lookout for opportunities to deliver specific, helpful information to people about their performance and their value to the business. Improvement of the quality of all of your communications by using them as chances for modified and operational feedback is good. Next we have Tough Conversations, which mean that you can’t avoid tough talks. Learn to do them skillfully, sidestepping the many drawbacks that they can present. Become an expert at addressing challenges and p roblems early and often. Don’t let problems stand for too long or bullies triumph. Build trust as a leader so people recognize your good intentions even in the midst or wake of stimulating talks. Next we have Coaching; this is totally unlike the skill of fixing. It helps people learn to progress their work and make decisions for themselves. Fixing is when you do the work for the people, but coaching is when you show them what they did wrong and you let them fix it. You can’t fix everyone, but you can coach all of your workers to be self-thinkers. And last we have Making Values Visible and Viral which means that you let people know what you stand for and you make discussions a part of your daily work.  Make it safe for your people to talk about values like integrity, diversity, community, and service. All we have to do is start those talks, and they always take off spontaneously. It should happen in the workplace, too. Each of these is a skill anyone can learn. And there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing professions progress as people grow from b eing all right managers to being great bosses who understand the key skills of leadership. If you don’t motivate, who will? No one that is who. Methods You will have to work with other leaders at your level to discover these openings. Generate strong associations with your peers and bosses. Generate strong associations with your peers and bosses. You will need to treat your peers and bosses with the same admiration and honesty as the other people in your team. Frequently this becomes a hard task because you are competing with them for serious assets. You will have to find new ways to help them in the ways they know. Imagine yourself walking around your office with a bunch of olive branches fastened to your back. Every day you go out and see how many olive branches you can give away to people that would quarrel with you. Whenever possible, be a verbal ally of their situations in gatherings. If you act like a supporter, it is harder for them to see you as an opponent. If you think of them as the opponent, they will give it back. You might have to go that extra mile to help them resolve their problems. Sometimes that means taking badly behaved people off their hands and let them make a fresh start in your business. It might mean that you have to loan them some of your equipment, or other possessions. Be generous with your support. You might have to Substitute excessive associations with the key reserves of your peers. They might have high impact and might be able to help your reason if they see you as a friend. You might have to Bond with your peers whenever possible in common surroundings. Get to know their families, their hobbies, their likes and dislikes, and their can dos and their can’t dos. The closer you are as friends, the more they will want to help you at work. You will have to discuss things often with your peers for means. Create a record of when you are being reasonable and looking for the win-win chances. Never try to win at another person’s expense. It will always come back to bite you on the butt and you will lose in the end. You will need to be noticeable with your allowances. Prove that you will always deal with  impartiality. Fight the offer to blow the whistle on a co-worker when they mess up. It might feel good at the time, but then you will have made a rival, and you never want to have a rival if it can be avoided and it almost always can be. Some people go about making rivals to please their self, their desire to just to have fun. They don’t last very long. If a peer makes a blunder, then this is a great chance to help them recover steadiness, kindness pays off.

Impact of Pop Art and Design on British Culture of the 1960s

Impact of Pop Art and Design on British Culture of the 1960s Pop Art is a 20th century art movement and style that had its origins in England in the 1950s and spread across the globe (most notably the US) in the 60s. Pop artists often utilised the techniques and imagery of pop culture, incorporating everyday objects such as comic strips, billboards, supermarket products, pictures of celebrities and magazine advertisements into their work. The most well-known and influential artists were Richard Hamilton and David Hockney (British) and Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg (American). This paper will examine the impact of Pop Art on British culture of the 1960s, with a special emphasis on the movements leading figure, David Hockney. While Pop Art in its earliest incarnation in late 50s Britain had a nostalgic flavour, as it spread, it was consistently linked more to the wealth and prosperity of the post World War II era (Biddington, 2007). The term was first coined by the English critic Lawrence Alloway in a 1958 issue of Architectural Digest to describe the paintings that celebrated post-war consumerism, defied the attributes of Abstract Expressionism, and worshiped at the alter of materialism (Pioch, 2002). Practitioners of Pop Art replaced the epic with the everyday and the unique with the mass-produced, eroding the fixed divide between high and low art, good and bad taste and fine art and commercial art (ibid). Advertising and the media were some of Pop Arts favourite subjects, and the artists seemed to simultaneously celebrate and critique consumer society: Oftentimes the work itself suggested the depersonalized processes of mass production in areas of popular taste and kitsch previously considered outside the limits of fine art. It rejected the attributes associated with art as an expression of personality. Works were close enough to reality and at the same time it was clear that they were not ready-mades but artificial re-creations of real things (Damjanovic, 2006). Considered by many to be the first Pop Art piece is Richard Hamiltons Just What Is It that Makes Todays Home so Different, so Appealing?, which incorporated numerous references to popular culture and materialism (Biddington, 2007). Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg followed his lead and used popular imagery such as the American flag and beer cans in their paintings, collages and prints, while Andy Warhol favoured the use of famous people and everyday objects in his silkscreens (ibid). Alternatively, Roy Lichtenstein utilised a comic strip style in his paintings. However, perhaps the most important artist of them all (and certainly the most famous and highly publicised British artist of his generation) was David Hockney. By age eleven he had already decided that he wanted to be an artist, and years later he attended the royal College of Art in London, where, in his own words, he realised that there were two groups of students there: a traditional group, who carried on as they had done in art school, doing still life, life painting and figure compositions; and then what I thought of as the more adventurous, lively students, the brightest ones, who were involved in the art of their time. They were doing big Abstract Expressionist paintings on hardboard (Lucie-Smith, 1999). Hockney, in turn, tried his hand at abstraction, but found it too bleak. In search of his own style, he rejected figure-painting as anti-modern and experimented by including words in his paintings in order to humanise them; these, however, were soon joined by figures painted in a deliberately rough and rudimentary style which owed a great deal to Jean Dubuffet (ibid). After a prize-winning career at the Royal College of Art, Hockney achieved international success by the time he reached his mid-20s with a show at the Young Contemporaries Exhibition in January, 1961 (Pioch, 2002). This show marked the public emergence of Pop Art in the UK, with Hockney as one of the movements leaders. His paintings of this period were often playful and witty (very much in the vein of Pop Art), although he was also adept at more serious and traditionally representational portraiture, such as Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy (Tate, London, 1970) (ibid). Hockney was also a skilled draftsman and graphic artist, and his work in this field including etched illustrations to Cavafys Poems (1967) and Six Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1969). Hockneys success was so rapid that after leaving school he did not have to rely on teaching to make a living, like the majority of his contemporaries (Lucie-Smith, 1999). In the early sixties he travelled to Egypt, Italy, Germany and the United States. He fell in love with Los Angeles, where, in his own words: Within a week of arriving there in this strange big city, not knowing a soul, Id passed the driving test, bought a car, driven to Las Vegas and won some money, got myself a studio, started painting, all within a week. And I thought, its just how I imagined it would be (ibid). Upon his return to England he began to make a series of prints which were an updated version of Hogarths Rakes Progress, and which reflected his American experiences (Gurewitsch, 2006). He also began using acrylics rather than oil paint, which led to five one-man shows in 1966 throughout Europe, and later his first major retrospective exhibition, at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London (Lucie-Smith, 1999). By this time, Pop Art, with Hockney as its patron and star, was widely popular in Britain, and   coincided with the youth and pop music phenomenon of the 1950s and 60s, and became very much a part of the image of fashionable, swinging London. Peter Blake, for example, designed album covers for Elvis Presley and the Beatles and placed film stars such as Brigitte Bardot in his pictures in the same way that Warhol was immortalizing Marilyn Monroe in the USA (West, 1996). It could be argued that while Hockneys work was the impetus for the growing acceptance and influence of the movement, in many ways he himself was the reason for its success. For Hockney wasnt simply a talented artist; he was a personality. With his bleached hair, his outward homosexuality (the subtext of which was also found in his work), his vocal admiration of Whitman and Cavafy, his eccentricity and gregariousness made him instantly likeable (Lucie-Smith, 1999). There was an even a film about him, his life and his work (Jack Hazans A Bigger Splash) that was widely popular. People saw in Hockney the embodiment of the freedom and newness of the 60s, the tearing down and humanising of the sacred and the revered, along with a newfound openness to sexuality, and it is difficult to say where the work stopped and the person began; that is, was Pop Art the influencer, or was it Hockney himself? Were the widespread effects attributed to the movement (low art rising to the status of high and vice-versa; the pasts powerful icons suddenly relegated to mere products and everyday objects achieving the level of works of art; pop culture supplanting tired, traditional culture; the old art world establishment being turned on its head; etc.) because of his paintings or his personality? Furthermore, was Hockney himself the catalyst for this, or was he merely following the zeitgeist? While it is difficult to say, two things are certain: Hockney was an important figure during this time, and 60s Britain was forever changed. Hockney eventually turned away from Pop Art painting, and branched out into other forms, including photography, set design, costumes, lithographs and even work made using colour photocopiers. As for Pop Art, while it still survived in Britain, thanks to artists such as Hamilton, R.B. Kitaj, Allen Jones, Eduardo Paolozzi and Peter Blake, for the most part it became more associated with its American counterparts, ending up the territory of Warhol and the like. But the movements effects on the artwork and cultural climate lingered for a long time, virtually transforming television, advertising and packaging, not to mention photography (David Bailey, John Cowan, Robert Whitaker) and architecture (Cedric Price, Alison and Peter Smithson). Bibliography Biddington, J. Pop Art: What is it? Pedigree and Provenance, 2007. http://www.biddingtons.com/content/pedigreepop.html Damjanovic, Sasa. Pop Art. HuntFor.com, 2006. http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/popart.htm Dormer, Peter. Design Since 1945. London: Thames Hudson, 1984. Green, Jonathon. All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counterculture. London: Pimlico, 1999. Gurewitsch, Matthew. David Hockney and Friends. The Smithsonian, 2006. Lucie-Smith, E. Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists. London: Thames Hudson, 1999. Pioch, Nicolas. Pop Art. WebMuseum, Paris, 2002. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/tl/20th/pop-art.html West, Shearer (ed.). The Bulfinch Guide to Art History: A Comprehensive Survey and Dictionary of Western Art and Architecture. Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1996.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Richard Iii And His Bad Reputation English Literature Essay

Richard Iii And His Bad Reputation English Literature Essay Richard III has the bad reputation of being a sinister hunchbacked villain, who was set out for his own gain, killing anybody who got in the way of his power driven craze. This is the main view of early Tudor propagandists and later by playwrights such as William Shakespeare. Although this view had been accepted for many years there has been much debate as to whether Richard deserves this evil reputation. The Richard III Society is dedicated to redeeming Richard III and is keen to point out his high reputation in the North of massive loyalty. The traditional view is that although Richard wasnt as malicious as Tudor propagandists tried to make out, he was most likely responsible for the removal of his two nephews from the royal line. The context in which surrounded Richard gives insight as to the reputation Richard deserves, by comparing his actions to previous successors. The power struggle between the Lancastrians and Yorks started in 1399 after Henry II was killed by Henry Bolingbroke  [1]  and left no heirs to the throne. Although Henry V was a capable king and was successful in holding most of France, it was when Henry VI became king when the problems between the families occurred. In 1453 Henry suffered from schizophrenia so Richard of York was declared Protector of the Realm, using his position to arrest Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset.  [2]  1455 saw the 1st Battle of Albans, arguably the start of the Wars of the Roses, leading Richard of York to assert his claims to the throne. The Duke and his eldest son Edmond were both killed leaving Edward, Yorks second eldest son, to secure a victory at Mortimers cross and assume the throne as Edward IV. Although at this time Richard wasnt old enough to ha ve a reputation of his own, this is a vital step in his life which determined his future actions. At the age of 9, after Edward became King of England, Richard was given the title Duke of Gloucester. Although this label didnt give any power to the adolescent Duke, it contributes to Richards reputation of being the loyal brother of the King. Evidence of this trustworthy status is that while growing up George, Duke of Clarence, became increasingly annoyed at Edward IV as the King gave the more powerful land to their youngest brother. Clarence demanded the most influential land to be taken away from Richard and to be given to him.  [3]  Clarences demanding behaviour, compared to that of Richards quiet acceptance of the Kings decisions, shows the beginnings of Richards growing allegiance towards his older brother. The land was juggled from being under his control to being given to those the King believed would be beneficial to have on side. As a result of his jealousy Clarence gained Richmond. Pembroke was put under the control of William, Lord Herbert, and by 1464 Richard had lo st all the De Vere estates after they had been restored to John, the 13th Earl of Oxford. Thus showing how Richard was to be seen as exceptionally loyal and trustworthy towards his brother, a complete contrast where Clarence was to prove scheming, ambitious and disloyal  [4]  . Edward IV was forced into exile in 1470 after he quarrelled with his principle supporter, Richard Neville the Earl of Warwick; also know as the powerful Kingmaker. One of the few faithful supporters who joined Edward was Richard. Clarence however joined forces with Warwick against his brothers, most likely wanting to become the King himself. After Warwick restored Henry VI to the throne Clarence rejoined his brothers, contrasting the two characteristics of Richard and Clarence, showing that at this time Richard did deserve his reputation of being a loyal brother. This is proved further as in both battles the teenage Richard of Gloucester commanded the vanguard and fought bravely. Edward rewarded Richards loyalty by making him effectively viceroy of the north.  [5]  Giving Richard the reputation of being a brave trustworthy warrior, who was willing to stand by his fellow brother and king. Richard was entrusted with right wing of the royal host at the Battle of Barnet, and within t hree weeks he again led the vanguard at the Battle of Tewkesbury. In both engagements, Richard acquitted himself well.  [6]  Showing Richard was a skilful warrior and that at this time Richard deserved the reputation of being a loyal trustworthy brother. There is much speculation over how Richard felt after Edward IV found out about the full extent of Clarences involvement in the 1470s rising. There is debate as to whether Richard felt his growing loyalty towards both his brothers and how he felt over Georges end. Mancini reports he was so overcome with grief that he could not hide it. Whereas More, while admitting that in public Richard opposed Clarences killing, is not so sure about the genuine emotion Richard experienced.  [7]  The traditional view of Clarences death is that he was executed by drowning in a barrel of malmsey; this could be true as it is first mentioned by Dominic Mancini in 1483.  [8]  After Richards death the Tudor propagandists used Clarences death as a method to gain support for Henry Tudor. None of the sources before More doubt that Edward IV was solely responsible for the death of Clarence, even if they were in some doubt as to why he was executed. More hints that Richard of Gloucester may have encour aged Edward to execute his brother, but [More] goes no further.  [9]  This helped to destroy Richards reputation of loyalty and turn it into one of an evil, spiteful king who opposed anyone who was in the way, including his own family. As More only hinted to the possible involvement Richard had in his brothers death and sources before this dont state any involvement, Richard doesnt deserve the reputation to the degree the Tudors gave him of being an evil tyrant. There is clear evidence that Richard III had not killed his brother personally, in fact it isnt possible to know if he agreed with the death sentence. Richard III was the only Northern king of medieval England; it was rare for the north to be on the same side as the crown. However, it is mainly due to the north that he had enough support to become king in the first place. Richard initialised a power-base that his northern retainers represented.  [10]  This reputation of being Lord of the North began when he came of age, the maturity where he was more useful to his elder brother, King Edward IV. To achieve this high reputation after coming back from exile in 1471, at aged 19, Richard filled the gap which had been created in the north due to Earl Warwicks defeat. Leaving Richard to be appointed his successor, thus giving Richard Duke of Gloucester the responsibility of the defence of Carlisle and the Cumbrian borders. In order to do this effectively the king also gave him the earls northern lands. Effectively starting Richards assent to having a powerful reputation in the north, the build-up of Richards command was rapid, he quic kly became keeper of the northern forests, chief steward of the duchy of Lancaster in northern England, constable of Bewcastle, justice of the peace in all northern counties, in 1482 lieutenant of the north and commander-in-chief against the Scots and in 1483 hereditary warden of the West March. Showing Richard was a capable leader and that he worked hard to gain the confidence of those around him. Enabling him to be entrusted with the power of the titles he acquired and the authority he was given. Its clear that at this time Richard deserved the reputation of a brave warrior, even his enemies had to agree that he was a skilful and courageous fighter. This is shown where More readily admits that Richard was brave and that he never lost a battle through lack of courage.  [11]   In 1472 Richard married Anne Neville. Again there was rivalry between Richard of Gloucester and George of Clarence, as they both aimed to gain land the two Neville wives were to inherit. The brothers fought, leading to Richard acquiring all Warwicks vast estates north of Trent. This is a contrast to Richards earlier loyalty towards Edward IV. During his time in the north and securing England from the threat of the Scottish in 1481-1483, Richard created around himself a closely knit devoted circle of northern knights and gentlemen, this was known as his Northern affinity. Dominic Mancini wrote in 1483: He kept himself within his own lands and set out to acquire the loyalty of his people through favours and justice. The good reputation of his private life and public activities powerfully attracted the esteem of strangers. Such was his renown in warfare that whenever a difficult and dangerous policy had to be undertaken, it would be entrusted to his discretion and his generalship.  [1 2]  Although this defends Richards general loyalty towards those surrounding him, Richard was willing to fight with his brother to achieve his goals, showing that Richard wasnt as loyal to his family members as he was to the king. Just before Edward IVs death in 1483, he named Richard of Gloucester Lord Protector and entrusted his sons, Edward and Richard, to his care. This shows that the King himself didnt believe Richard to be a real threat towards the young princes. However Richard was one of the most powerful men in England, with the king dead and the princes minors, this provided Richard with the opportunity to become king himself. The mystery of the princes in the tower is one of the main causes of debate over Richards real reputation. Richard of Gloucester and the Queen were openly hostile towards each other about the regency needed due to the young age of Edward V. On 29th April, Richard intercepted the royal party before they arrived at London, taking Edward and putting him under his own custody. Although this could have been seen as Richard III looking after his young nephew as his brother had asked, this was later used by Tudor propagandists to damage Richards reputation of being the loyal brother and uncle. He arrested the Lords Rivers and Grey, who were both later executed. Richard pressured the queen into letting the young Richard Duke of York visit and stay with his older brother before his crowning. They were both held in the tower of London, a protected place in royal hands, but which later acquired its deathly reputation. Within six weeks Richard had the princes declared illegitimate and had himself named king. Effectively Richard started the downfall of his reputation, after having a priest preach a se rmon at Pauls cross, claiming Edward IV had had an arranged marriage to another woman before marrying Elizabeth Woodville, making all their children illegitimate. Tales at the time had been circulated that Edwards father was an English archer named Blaybourne. Medieval historian professor Michael Jones has determined through court records that Edwards legal father, Richard, Duke of York, was over 100 miles away from his mother, Lady Cecily, at the time when Edward must have been conceived.  [13]  If this was in fact true then both Edward and his sons had no legal claim to the throne, this would then have passed to the next best suitor who at this time would have been Richard of Gloucester. After the two young princes disappeared, rumours began to circulate that they had both been murdered. Mores belief was that To assure his own security, Richard saw to it that the little princes in the Tower were smothered to death in their sleep  [14]  This is supported by Jeffrey Richards who states that although aware of growing rumours Richard III did nothing to dispel them. If the princes were alive Richard III could easily have showed everyone this by taking them out of the tower. As he did nothing to counteract these rumours this helped spread the reputation of Richard being the evil uncle. Another factor which adds to the growing speculation of Richards involvement in the princes disappearances is that other rumours which circulated, for example the death of his wife, Richard was quick to have them stopped, however as he didnt show any evidence of the young boys being alive this added to suspicion of Richards involvement. A set of bones were found at the Tower of London in 1674, they were buried in Westminster Abbey under orders of King Charles II. The tomb was opened in 1933 and an examination was conducted by Doctor Tanner and Professor Wright, finding they were likely to have been those of the two young boys.  [15]  This however doesnt tell us who killed the princes and the reasons behind their deaths. Richard III has long since been the main suspect for being the wicked uncle, however most of the reports which claim Richard to have been the culprit were Tudor writers, thus leading them to write the worst about Richard to promote Henry VII as being a more just and fair king. However Richard had much to lose by killing his nephews as it would turn the public against him for murdering innocent young children. It could be argued that it wasnt in Richards character to kill his own nephews as he had shown extreme family loyalty and was seen as an ideal knight. Others who might have killed the prince s included Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham,  [16]  who would have gained more power if his cousin, Henry Tudor was King. However in 1502 James Tyrell had been arrested for treason against Henry Tudor and whilst under torture he confessed to the murders of the young princes, although this isnt fact as he didnt speculate as to how or why he killed them, therefore it isnt reliable and cannot be taken as the truth. Richard most likely had a hand in the disappearances of the two princes; even if he didnt kill them personally he would have stood to gain a lot if the two boys were dead. Discontent of not knowing the princes fate sparked a rebellion, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, launched a revolt against the King. The commons grew angry as they believed Richard murdered the princes, however they were easily taken care of and the Duke was beheaded. He initially intended to be joined by Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond, however he had been exiled to France and wasnt able to join the rebellion. Henry Tudor was later joined by Elizabeth Woodville, although she never said that her two sons had been killed, her actions showed that she believed them to be dead, otherwise she wouldnt have joined a potential rival to the crown. Instead of this though the two houses were united through marriage and they started a propaganda campaign to destroy Richards reputation. In 1484 Richards own son, Edward, was confirmed the heir to the throne, however Edward died not long after. Anne Neville, Richards Queen, also died around this time, the Richard III foundation states Richard wept openly at her funeral and shut himself off for three days. portraying Richard as a more vulnerable character than the harsh, murderous villain of Shakespeares play. This only lowered his reputation further as Richard was accused of killing her himself so he could marry his own niece, Elizabeth. However we know this to be a lie as evidence suggests that Anne died of natural causes. By the 17th century hostility towards Richard had died down, mainly because the Tudors reign had finished and was replaced by the Stewarts, who didnt give the same interest of trying to portray Richard as an evil leader. William Cornwallis defended Richards reputation in 1617 in the Essayes of Certain Paradoxes by publishing an anonymous defence thought to have been written in the early sixteenth century as a response to Mores history.  [17]   Sir Thomas Mores picture of Richard was that he was a man little of stature, ill featured of limbs, crook backed, his left shoulder much higher than his right, hard favored of visage . . . he was malicious, wrathful, envious and, from before his birth, ever forward.  [18]  This shows how Richards reputation had been manipulated by the Tudors influential propaganda, helping Henry Tudor be more accepted as the king, appearing less tyrannical than Richard III. More had grown up as a sworn enemy of Richard III being 7 in 1485, his view of Richard are that which he had been taught. Even if Richard wasnt as villainous as he has been made out, he would always have been portrayed in the worst possible way. This had happened to many previous kings as it helped gain support for the new monarch, especially if they had fought their way onto the crown. Hall had also described Richard as small and little of stature, so was he of body greatly deformed, the one shoulder higher than the other, hi s face small, but his countenance was cruel, and such that a man at the first aspect would judge it to savour and smell of malice, fraud and deceit . . .  [19]  this again is just a repeat of Mores words. Shakespeare himself had given Richard III the character of being sick and twisted, giving him a more complex and manipulative personality who was able to feel some form of human remorse for the murders he had committed throughout the play. However the earlier portraits, such as that belonging to the Society of Antiquaries, which although not painted in his lifetime are based on originals that could have been done from life, show no sign of deformity  [20]  , showing more propaganda at the start of the Tudor reign to gain acceptance. Richard, while King, showed himself to be generous and loyal, helping set up a council in the north which stayed in place years still after his death until 1641. He ruled with detailed concern and efficiency.  [21]   Richard III doesnt deserve the reputation of being a tyrannous, power hungry man to the extent portrayed by Tudor writers. Up until 1583 Richard proved himself to be a loyal, trustworthy supporter of the king, as shown through his actions, defending the northern border and helping Edward IV reclaim the throne in 1571. However after the death of his brother, Richards reputation does deserve to be tarnished, just not to the extent of More and Halls views. Many of the murders Richard was accused of committing have evidence to prove he wasnt the cause, including the death of the Prince of Wales and the death of his wife. However after the death of Edward, Richard seized the opportunity to take power, spreading claims of Edwards illegitimacy and most likely responsible for the disappearance of the two princes. Source evaluation I started by reading Charles Rosss Richard III. Initially I believed this was a heavy book to read, with much content and so at first I found it extremely hard to pick out the relevant pieces of information. As I got further into the book, however, I found that I became more interested in Richard III and his actions. This is an important and fairly reliable source, it helped to distinguish much debate and shows how it has been exaggerated over the years. However at the end of this tome I found that Charles Ross had been too sympathetic towards Richards actions, defending his loyal reputation by using excuses of Richards past and horror filled childhood. I found the article The princes in the tower by David Ross to be an extremely valuable source when analysing the mystery created when the two young princes disappeared. It was straightforward and easy to understand. I found it useful when looking at who would have the motive to kill the adolescent boys, ranging from Richard III himself to his enemy Henry Tudor. It helped to analyse how the people felt about the sudden disappearances and how this led to the revolt against Richard. Along with the evidence from Charles Ross book this article gave evidence of bones which had been found in the tower which added to the mystery and to Richard IIIs reputation of being the evil uncle for his own gain. Another article which I found to be useful is Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the North by Michael Hicks. This was a valuable source as it is full of information as to how Richard of Gloucester managed to gain his reputation of being Lord in the North. It also effectively showed how Richards loyalty to his brother King Edward IV helped him to gain this reputation of being a brave warrior in the north who protected England from invasion from Scotland. This helped me to be able to compare Richards earlier reputation to that which he gained nearing the end of his life and after his death. This respectively leads to the article The Riddle of Richard III by Jeffery Richards. This article helped me to compare the reputations I had discovered Richard had gained throughout his lifetime. The article also gave viable source accounts by unrelated people, for example the Italian visitor Dominic Mancini. As he was only a visitor and wasnt on the side of Richard III or his enemy Henry Tudor. Mancinis writings are some of the most valuable to look at for the real reputation of Richard III, during the period of his rise to power. This article also tackles the one sided views of the Tudor writers who tried to denounce Richards reputation, in order to promote Henry Tudor. In the end, I have found that the views of the more recent historians are more accurate that those of earlier writers. As their views on Richard III are not affected by the period they living in, they are not trying to depose previous Kings like that of More and Hall.