Martin The Warrior Essays (639 words) - Martin The Warrior, Redwall

Martin The Warrior The novel, Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques, is a book about a young mouse warrior named Martin, son of Luke the Warrior, a mouse that fought sea rats, One day, after the murder of most of his tribe (including his wife), Luke set sail to have his revenge against Vilu Daskar, the stoat pirate responsible for the massacre. Before he left, he gave Martin his sword, which had been handed down through their family since Luke's own grandsire lived. This book is about how Martin travels through a land full of moles, squirrels, and other woodland creatures which talk and walk upright. Martin goes around meeting creatures from all different lands and asks them to join his army to fight a tyrant who is keeping slaves in his fort, Marshank. The plot of this book is how Martin and his friends fight the tyrant, Badrang, to free slaves. The main idea of the book is how and why Martin and his army fight the tyrant. When Martin was captured as a slave for Badrang the Tyrant, he was furious. Not only did the evil rat steal his father's sword, he beat and mistreated all of the slaves horribly! Devising a plan, Martin frees himself and two of his friends from the Marshank, the slave camp: Brome the mouse and Felldoh the squirrel. Brome's sister, Laterose (Rose for short) and her companion Grumm the mole all set out with Martin and his friends to go get help from their hometown of Noonvale. Unfortunately, due to the sea's conditions, Martin, Rose, and Grumm get separated from Brome and Felldoh. The two strings of the story carry on and tie together at the end: Martin's group eventually reaches Noonvale, where he returns to Badrang to get his revenge, and Brome and Felldoh join the Rambling Rosehip Players, a bunch of happy-go-lucky animals that made the hardships less hard, and also get to the slave camp. The ending is tragic, and whenever I read it I get depressed. Martin, in the end, retrieves his sword from Badrang, and succeeds in killing him, but Rose, who he has become very much attached to, tries to help Martin in killing Badrang, but only ends up getting killed by him herself. Also, Felldoh died toward the end-- he had fought Badrang one-on-one but the lousy cheater called his army to help him. Felldoh, being a great warrior, killed many of Badrang's men but did not kill Badrang himself. Brome still lived, but found he did not like war, so he became a healer. Some of the characters that Martin encountered along his travels changed from being his enemies to being his allies. The creatures changed when Martin was off to go fight the tyrant and when he and his friends asked them to which to join fight the tyrant so he could not capture any more creatures for his slaves and makes his horde any more powerful. Sometimes it did not seem believable because of how they turned from enemies to allies instantly and why they joined without even knowing who Badrang the tyrant was. I felt like I had a similar relationship when Martin was leading his army into battle. I have this feeling when I'm a captain of my basketball team and I have the partial responsibility of leading them to victory or defeat. I thought that the best scene in the book was when Martin's army attacked the tyrant's fort for the second time. It reminds me about whenever I lead or am a part of an activity of some sort, like basketball or tennis. I think that the title, Martin the Warrior, is fitting because it's simple and it tells what the book is about. I liked the author's style of telling what was going on in the book and how he described it. He made it feel like you were actually there. The story made me feel good in the end, when Martin's army defeated the tyrant. I liked this because I love the feeling of victory.

A cross cultural perspective of polygyny essays

A cross cultural perspective of polygyny essays A Cross Cultural Perspective of Polygyny As an institution, polygyny, the social arrangement that permits a man to have more than one wife at the same time, exists in all parts of the world. From our present knowledge, there are very few primitive tribes in which a man is not allowed to enter into more than one union. In fact, ethologists now believe that only one to two percent of all species may be monogamous (Tucker). None of the simian species are strictly monogamous; our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, practice a form of group marriage. Among the 849 human societies examined by the anthropologist Murdock (1957), 75% practiced polygyny. Many peoples have been said to be monogamous, but it is difficult to infer from the data at our disposal whether monogamy is the prevalent practice, the moral ideal, or an institution safeguarded by sanctions (Malinowski 1962). Historically, polygyny was a feature of the ancient Hebrews, the traditional Chinese, and the nineteenth-century Mormons in the United States, but the modern practice of polygyny is concentrated in Africa, the Middle East, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. The extent to which men are able to acquire multiple wives depends on many factors, including the economic prosperity of the mans family, the prevailing bride price, the differential availability of marriageable females, the need and desire for additional offspring, and the availability of productive roles for subsequent wives. Even in societies that permit polygyny, the conditions of life for the masses make monogamy the most common form of marriage. The two variations of polygyny are sororal (the cowives are sisters) and nonsororal (the cowives are not sisters). Some societies also observe the custom of levirate, making it compulsory for a man to marry his brothers widow. It must be remembered that any form of polygyny is never practiced throughout the entire community: there cannot exis...

Strategy-driven management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategy-driven management - Essay Example As Chang and Platt have it: Management needs a new, more powerful means of responding to changes while learning to adapt in a very different business environment. Strategy-driven management is the answer. Strategy is defined as a disciplined way of thinking and managing. No organization can succeed long without having clearly defined purposes and objectives, the means to deploy its forces and resources, and the power to motivate its people to forge ahead. (Chang & Platt 1987, p. 52) Every aspect of the company's activity - from organizational structure and culture to its strategic goals - needs to be correlated all the time with the current situation on the market. Continuous change is an integral part of any organization's activity, and in order to remain competitive, managers should "learn to respond to a growing number of changes in how they structure companies, conduct business, implement technology, and relate to customers and employees". (Suresh, 2001, p. 3) Situation analysis helps to correlate the organization's resources with its opportuni

ACTIVITY 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ACTIVITY 5 - Essay Example By isolating possible areas of discussion, which would have to be researched, it became evident that a particular aspect of the general topic was most attractive to me: immigrant populations in new societies, and their potential to achieve. This will still have to be refined – a country of choice, and immigrant populations able to be defined in that country as well as the choice of the type of achievement to be studied – and hence this proposed topic: Influences on Academic Achievement/Non-achievement on Newly-arrived Immigrant Populations in the United States. And it is clear that some research will be necessary before a study can be started: are there clearly definable immigrant populations available; what would the time-frames have to be; would it be ethically correct to identify groups in society so overtly; which definitions of achievement would be used – the local or the â€Å"old country† definitions; what levels of academic achievement would form the focus of a study? In addition, research available on the hereditary factors that influence academic achievement would have to be considered, and their impact on this study gauged. Nonetheless, the topic, and consequent research could provide valuable insight into interventions that could be implemented if non-achievement is occurring, or factors that encourage achievement could be identified. In a working environment within psychology, mind-mapping could be a valuable process to define ideas: one may want to embark on some research, within a field of interest. The initial idea, such as mine was, may be within a personal and general area. By free-association of ideas, all one’s thoughts are made concrete in the initial stage of brainstorming. Then, it becomes clear that certain ideas logically fit together. Some are at this point able to be dismissed – others, it becomes clear, need to be developed. The action of mind-mapping helps

The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron Essay

The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron - Essay Example Thus, the author provides reliable information about the various aspects of the city and the descriptions are highly factual and realistic. There are important descriptions of many towns, castles, and villages and the readers are given factual descriptions about the people, the kings, and the currency in the city. â€Å"At the end of three days, you reach the noble and magnificent city of Quinsai, a name that signifies ‘the celestial city’, and which it merits from its pre eminence to all others in the world, in grandeur and beauty, as-well as from its abundant delights, which might lead inhabitants to imagine himself in paradise. In all seasons there is, in the markets, a great variety of herbs and fruits, especially pears of an extraordinary size†¦ Each of the 10 markets squares is surrounded by high dwelling houses, in the lower part which are shops, where every kind of manufacture is carried on, and ever pre-eminence trade is sold, such as spices drugs trinkets and pearls...† (Thubron, 209) Therefore, the book provides great details about the various aspects of the city and the readers are able to gather some essential factual data regarding the cities of ancient China. Two other articles which deal with the great cities of ancient China are â€Å"The Attractions of the Capital† and â€Å"Recollections of Northern Song Capital†. A reflective analysis of these resources in comparison to each other provides an enlightening understanding of the great cities of ancient China.  

Attempt To Allocate Resources Effectively Economics Essay

Attempt To Allocate Resources Effectively Economics Essay The paper discusses different types of economic systems like socialism, state economy, and other economic systems, assesses how each economic system attempts to allocate resources effectively, explains the UK government policies (namely monetary, fiscal, social, and competitive policies) and assesses the impact of all the above-mentioned policies on a chosen UK based organization. The paper describes market structure types (namely, perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and other market structures. Finally, the paper explains the ways market structures define the output and pricing strategies of the companies P4: Explain how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively Throughout the history, the term capitalism has been closely associated with other related notions, including: market capitalism, laissez-faire (pure capitalism), economic liberalism, private enterprise etc (Kumar 1978). Capitalism transformed feudalism in the Western world, namely Britain, from where it had flourished throughout Europe predetermining economic, cultural and political developments of the then society. Later on, over the 19th and 20th centuries, capitalism formed the grounds of industrialization (Saunders 1995). Nevertheless, namely the eighteenth century became crucial in the foundation of capitalism concept after the first economic school was established in Britain. The school has produced much of the fundamental thought in the field of classical political economy supported by the invaluable contributions of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Jean-Baptiste Say, John Stuart Mill and others, who thoroughly researched various ways goods were produced, distributed and exchanged under market conditions. Namely, those classical thoughts have set the foundations of the contemporary perception of capitalism (Slideshare.net 2007). During 1930-s, John Maynard Keynes had a tremendous influence on the notion of capitalism and the role of monetary policy. The British economist emphasized on the important functions of monetary policy within economic policy. Keynes claimed that the economic mode particular to the capitalist society could sustain its indefinite equilibrium even in spite of high unemployment. At t hat, during the 1930s Keynesian approach to economics assumed that laissez-faire capitalist economics was self-sufficient and did not need any intervention from a state to cut down unemployment or boost aggregate demand. Furthermore, Keynes suggested pump-priming approach to save the economy from recession in the period of economic down-turn, which involved increase in government borrowing and spending as well as cutting-down taxes. In such a way, Keynes put forward his idea of cutting real wages through the system of their control from the state and deterring from holding money during inflation. This indicates that Keynes much favored state regulation as an effective tool to eliminate economic slowdown. Actually, Keynesian policies enabled the capitalism recovery afterwards the state of the Great Depression (Friedman 1970). The contemporary academic research on the concept of capitalism is largely grounded on neoclassical economics and the relevant approaches developed by the Chicago School. The modern perception of capitalism therefore favors neutral government regulation and coordination of markets with the focus being placed on property rights maintenance; deregulation of labor markets; promotion of corporate governance by private owners; development of transparent financial systems with capital market-based financing in their core. Milton Friedman, known as a dedicated follower of Adam Smiths thinking, claimed that within the framework of free competition, social responsibility becomes an integral part of business activity. Herewith, Friedman showed that self-interest is able to benefit the contemporary society (Friedman, 1970).The major distinctive features of capitalist society were pointed out throughout the 20th century while experts compared and contrasted due system with the centrally planned economic system. In due respect, capitalism has always enabled consumers with free choice, while producers were able to satisfy a consumer demand. By contrast, in the planned economies the production was entirely controlled and directed by a hierarchically-led state policy. Thus, capitalism alone has achieved sufficient delivery of goods and services through the privatization of previously state-owned means of production and infrastructural objects. In addition to this, the notion of capitalism is closely associated with the abolishment of subsidies and free trade wherein capitalist society is prone to perform both rational and irrational actions that are often unpredictable. Namely the last 25 years of the previous century showed the increasing trend towards overall mobilization of capital and human resources. Globalization alone has opened a new avenue for the development of both capitalist and non-capitalist models. Today, capitalism is regarded by many as world system featured by all the peculiarities of capitalist trade. Analysts state that such perception of capitalism dates back to the early 20th century imperialism. Following the same fashion, imperialistic policies emphasized on the promotion of capitalistic principles of free trade among countries. Taking the abovementioned features of the contemporary capitalism into account, it is noteworthy that along with many positive effects global capitalism has caused the state of global inequality in income rates, social security, access to strategic resources, and redistribution of world capital. In due respect, since the times of the Industrial Revolution there have been considerable changes boosted by economic growth in such areas as life expectancy, access to educational resources and information and communication technologies, literacy, infant mortality, child labor etc. By and large, global capitalist economy has been dramatically shifted by the invention and fast application of telecommunications within the last thirty years. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have enabled most of the business transactions in virtually any part of the globe (Evans 1997). Overall, capitalism promotes economic growth and social standard of living measured by GDP. According to Adam Sm ith, free market alone allocates necessary resources and controls production and price, which is particular to the contemporary world capitalist system. Furthermore, capitalist economy, if compared to conventional economic systems and feudal or socialist societies, provides vast opportunities to raise individual income while engaging in new professions or launching private business ventures, for example. As Milton Friedman puts it, competitive capitalism leads to economic freedom and subsequently to the political one where there is no place for the centralized control of economic activity or political repression from the state. Conversely, the variety of market economy transactions causes wide diversity of activities and/or their free choice. In accordance with John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek, capitalism is a reflection of economic freedom which is essential for social survival and development (Bellamy 2003). Thus, many capitalism supporters claim that namely the decentralized system of coordination is the most powerful feature of capitalism. Particularly, the decentralization of economic processes leads to free competition and optimal solutions to the arising challenges. Even the slightest control from then state, according to the Austrian School thinkers, can potentially cause serious inefficiencies since economy then becomes unpredictable in the long-term perspective. One of the major causes of the Great Depression, for instance, was the immense interventionist policy led by the Federal Reserve. Today we understand capitalism as an economic system that assumes private ownership and control of wealth and the means of its production. In due respect, state ownership bears limited relation to the essence of capitalism. Both private individuals (entrepreneurs) and companies (corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises) own, operate, and trade capital and labor, as well as other resources for the sake of profit-making. In the contemporary conditions, capitalism is an indispensable component of market economy which entirely excludes any government intervention in the transactions that involve investments, income, production, distribution, cost and delivery of goods and services etc. Furthermore, labor as such is a distinguishing feature that characterizes capitalism in the contemporary conditions of fierce competition. Based on appropriate knowledge and skills, human resources are viewed as the most valuable asset by the majority of employers. Herewith, market rules make up a regulatory framework that determines economic developments in the contemporary capitalist state. In most instances, the role of a state is limited to the provision of relevant infrastructure and public goods. This indicates that economic developments are predominantly grounded on the so-called laissez-faire principle envisaging a minimum state intervention into the economy. Consequently, the contemporary notion of capitalism highlights the ultimate importance of the control over the means of production by private owners wherein the state role is mainly limited to the protection of property rights. However, such conclusion would be correct only from the pure capitalism viewpoint. By and large, the well-developed contemporary economies present a mixture of public and private ownership and therefore are reasonably referred to as the capitalist mixed economies, where both private capital and state serve their particular roles. In its essence, classic political economy  has is closely interconnected with classic liberal doctrine  that reduces governments economic  intervention  to the minimum. At that, economic and social realms were clearly distinguished, wherein state could provide necessary public goods and services (Lane and Ersson 2002). The phenomenon of globalization is considerably changing national economies. In many countries the transitive process from monopolistic regulation to the market economy principles requires much time and effort. P5: Assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on business organizations and their activities   This section explains  the UK government policies (namely monetary, fiscal, social, and competitive policies) and assesses the impact of all the above-mentioned policies on a chosen UK based organization. Economic globalization from below is empirically implemented through transnational flows of investment and financial capital as well as transnational production and services networks. Overall, neo-liberal convergence assumes wide macroeconomic policies primarily focused on tight fiscal policies, monetary stability, trade liberalization, privatization, as well as liberalization of the domestic capital and financial system. The patterns of neo-liberal convergence grounded on Anglo-American capitalism assume sound interaction between government, banks and businesses, independence of central bank, equity financing of corporate sector, and strong positions of bond and stock markets. In accordance with the liberal globalization theory, the nation states are constraint from below as a result of transnational economic globalization. Trans-nationalization of production and services as well as the extended capital mobility intensify the market forces pressure on the national state policies and government authority regarding budget and account balance, as well as fiscal and financial policies, labor standards, investment regulations, and governance. Ohmae claims that the globalised world economy is featured by the increasing mobility in: (1) Investment flows through capital markets; (2) Industry developments through the operations of transnational corporations; (3) Information technology advances; and finally (4) Individual consumers (Ohmae 1995). In macroeconomic terms, the US recession in 2008 produced a modest aversive affect on UKs real GDP growth. Under the conditions of global economic growth slowdown, some countries (China, Australia and Sweden) have tightened their monetary/fiscal policies aiming to prevent inflation. Conversely, the United Kingdom has eased their monetary policies while reacting to the weakening economic growth. The domestic fiscal policies were aimed at the correlation of supply and demand, while the Government has managed relative inflation, interest rate differentials, moderate economic growth, deficits and debt as well as the countrys export competitiveness. The National Bank has managed to sustain a strong and highly-competitive exchange rate of the national currency compared to other major currencies. To attain this, the domestic fiscal policies were aimed at the correlation of supply and demand, while the Government has managed relative inflation, interest rate differentials, moderate economic growth, deficits and debt as well as the countrys export competitiveness. The government assigns various policies to achieve both internal and external balance goals. According to the Mundells framework of effective market classification, the authorities assign their policy instruments to obtain the greatest relative impact. Consequently, the net costs of the balance of payments will be eliminated. Simultaneously, fiscal and monetary policies are used to expand output. On the other hand, according to the Keynes assumptions claiming that fiscal policy is more direct and is featured by fewer time lags, fiscal policy has the greatest relative impact on the target and monetary policy and their effects on the balance of payments. Herewith, external balance is impacted by the increase in exports caused by non-domestic policies. In particular, faster growth overseas leads to the higher exports of the UK goods and services. Relative advancement in the UK competitiveness is due to the rise of relative foreign price as well as the appreciation in foreign exchange rates. The analysis of the relevance of Keynesian policy options to the todays UK economy suggests that the implementation of the Expenditure Changing Policy (ECP) is possible by means of re-inflation/deflation through fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies. Prior to such implementation, however, it is vital to critically assess internal economic position of the UK. Alternatively, the application of Expenditure Switching Policy (ESP) is possible through such policy means as devaluation or revaluation. The implementation of ESP is possible outside the fixed exchange rate system and therefore not within the European Monetary Union. Finally, the implementation of Direct Controls (DC) is possible through tariffs, non- tariff barriers, and exchange controls. However, direct controls are abandoned by the mainstream policymakers considering the WTO trends as well as the free trade orthodoxy (Krugman and Obstfeld 2009). A holistic view of economy should be developed to incorporate internal and external balance policies. Loan-financed domestic investment programs should be vastly applied as the means to raise the level of unemployment within the British economy. Pump-priming approach should be applied to safeguard the countrys economy from the recession. This involves cutting-down taxes and the increase in government borrowing and spending. Real wages should be cut through the state control and deterrent from holding money over the inflation. The economic stabilization should be achieved through the strong position on unemployment decrease, interest rates rise, and management of internal and external currency. State regulation is the most effective means to prevent further economic slowdown for the UK economy. Ryanair is currently positioned as the Europes largest low fares airline. Ryanair is well-acknowledged brand wide and far as the worlds reputable and favoured airline which holds 37 bases and offers over 950 low-fare routes in 26 world countries. Strategically, the company connects some 150 destinations. The companys powerful fleet consists of 210 Boeing 737-800 aircrafts which number will increase in the foreseeable future (2-3 years) up to some 315 aircrafts (Ryanair 2012). All these and other staggering achievements and successes have become possible due to the effective marketing of services, as well as smart and loyal HR policies effectively applied by the corporate management which currently sustains and leads the impressive number of staff that exceeds 7,000 employees. Such internal competitive advantage enables the company to build up huge plans for the external operations. In 2012 fiscal year, the company intends to penetrate up to 66 m. passengers internationally. In 2011, Ryanairs showed 15% growth and reached 59m passengers. To sustain this positive tendency, the companys management has already arranged to deliver 18 new aircrafts and therefore increase its fleet capacity up to 181 Boeing 737-800 NG aircrafts. The company is due to open four new bases in Europe (including Bologna, Alghero, Edinburgh, and Cagliari), as well as to launch 223 new routes (Ryanair, 2012). P6: Evaluate the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of a selected organization Over  the years of successful operation, Ryanair has established a strong and recognizable brand that enabled it to win a reputation of the company that loyally provides the passengers with the lowest air traffic fares. Hence, in marketing terms, the company has placed its major strategic focus on offering unbeatable prices and punctuality (Ryan Passenger Service Charter 2009). The overall corporate commitment therefore is concentrated on responsive air services and incomparable pricing options. This has made the company the number one international provider of low-cost air services. The companys main product (air services) is successful among its target markets due to the reasonably charged price. However, another core factor is the promotion of the companys services on the international markets. Herewith, statistics on the Ryanairs successful operations and its successful performance over the last two decades indicate that the company has smartly and effectively applied marketing mix to synergize its product offerings and win target markets internationally. The corporate marketing strategy with the marketing mix in its core helps the company to identify and critically evaluate its business opportunities, better concentrate on the core target markets, implement market segmentation, and conduct relevant marketing research on each stage of its operation. Ryanair marketing department considers the air services it provides in terms of: seasonal demand; affordability; economics; and branding. The dynamic pricing for the offered air services is calculated with the consideration of such strategic issues as: (1) Cost plus value added cost which is comparatively lower than those of competitors; (2) Price fluctuations with regard to the current demand; as well as (3) Optional seasonal discounts. Finally, namely owing to the promotional campaigns, Ryanair raises customer awareness while conveying its target messages via various media channels. This approach enables the company to explicitly identify its target markets and subsequently win them over from the companys main rivals. Most importantly, effective promotional strategy enabled Ryanair to make the brand recognizable and wanted among target markets. Thus, one of the main external competitive advantages consists in establishing a positive public opinion on the companys product (Kotler and Keller, 2005). The companys marketing mix involves the following strategic components: (1) The lowest affordable prices to all the passengers within all the routes operated by the company regardless of the ongoing competition on such routes; (2) Ryanair applies the fare guarantee known as Double the Difference to ensure that in case a passenger finds a lower rate provided by any of the companys competitors, the company repays the passenger with a double fare difference between the differing ticket prices providing such a passenger agrees to books a travel with Ryanair. Hence, Ryanair ensures passenger convenience by claiming that its passengers are always provided with the lowest fares on available the market for their journeys providing they book Ryanair services via corporate webpage www.Ryanair.com. Furthermore, in terms of open and comprehensive customer-oriented communication, Ryanair always ensures its passengers are well-informed about the applied terms and conditions with regard to the individually chosen fares (including, applicable fees, charges and taxes). The company ensures that passengers are always saved from any price increase and fuel surcharges. Furthermore, all Ryanairs passengers are guaranteed with immediate notifications with regard to any possible force-majeure circumstances, including cancellations, postponements, delays, diversions etc (Ryanair 2010). While effectively marketing its services, Ryanair is fully aware of social corporate responsibility before its stakeholders, staff, customers and environment. As the Europes largest low fares airline, Ryanair has achieved a steady growth in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner. Over the last decade, the company has made an enormous investment in the cutting-edge engine and aircraft technologies to reduce its CO2 emissions almost by half as well as the burnt fuel. Over 1998-2008, the company applied eco-friendly policies based on smart and effective commercial and operational decision-making approaches to eliminate the environmental impacts. Hence, the company is also highly- reputable with regard to the environmental efficiency. In 1999, Ryanair invested à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬17bn to advance its fleet replacement and expansion programme. As a result, 11Boeing 737-200 aircraft was substituted by Boeing 737-800,  referred to as the next aircraft generation. Such strategic step enabled Ryanair to position itself as the European youngest and most fuel-efficient aircraft fleet. The competitive and comparable advantage is that the company operates the youngest, safest, and most environmentally sustainable aircraft fleet in Europe (Ryanair 2009). Owing to the strong competitive advantages and smart service marketing, Ryanair managed to overcome numerous challenges posed by the global economic crisis and adverse affects of recession. More than that, Ryanair managed to increase its market share over the recent period of economic meltdown and recession. P7: Explain how market structures determine the pricing and output decisions of businesses Competitive companies vastly apply marketing mix to combine product offerings to reach target markets. At that, product refers to physical products and services offered and provided on the marketplace. It is crucial to define right features of any product/service to make it successful, and therefore each component makes sense for the Banks sales success. As well as this, product/service means good quality and warranty, as well as a customers legal right to return it back to the selling organization in case of its incompliance to the initial customers requirements or/and expectations. Secondly, price is a sum of money (amount) paid for the product. Thirdly, place means the right location of a product, and that is why place also stands for distribution channel, including physical stores (supermarket) or/and Internet sites like e-Bay. Finally, promotion, as was already indicated, presents the most complicated and therefore important elements of marketing mix. This component is not only physical but predominantly psychological to impact customers decisions. Overall, promotion includes the whole variety of communications managed by a marketer may within the marketplace. Huge part of it belongs to media advertising and other means of mass influence (Lauterborn 1990). Herewith, along with identification of business opportunities, selection of target market, market segmentation, and market research marketing mix represents a part of a companys marketing strategy. At that, product component should consider: product life cycle, design (aesthetics), function, economics, environmental impact, packaging, branding. In turn, price is based on the one of the following pricing strategies: cost plus (addition of value added cost); price skimming (charging high initial price in order to recoup the development costs); premium pricing (the price is set out by the high-quality brand); dynamic pricing (constant change of prices depending on current demand); and discriminatory pricing (different prices (discounts) are charged to different customers for the same product). And finally promotion, which is generally aimed at raising customers awareness by conveying the message through media channels and identifying target market. At that, advertising methods may vary, including: sales promotion to support marketing process by applying free samples, competitions, gift coupons, trade promotions and other devices; and public relations, including establishing and maintaining sound public opinion regarding the product. Ryanair is a perspective player on the European air market that will further win new destinations and customers through the effective marketing and supplying customer-oriented services. Making up the marketing summary of Ryanair operation, most experts agree that the price has been always a decisive factor in customers choice among airlines. Ryanair managed to offer its passengers the lowest fare in Europe. Furthermore, this not solely lowest cost that attracts customers, but the whole range of convenient customer-oriented services that are rendered in effective, responsive and punctual manner. Next, compared to other European air carriers, the company gained a comparative advantage by having reduced oil cost. The companys aircraft capacity consisting of new generation Boeings as well as operation of new airports and bases enables to serve more than 100 million passengers a year. Continuous lead customer service in the industry combined with the falling oil charges and air fares altogether enabled Ryanair to prosper regardless of the global economic crisis and gain profits from its international operations. Therefore, there is all evidence to state that the company is sure to double its profits and traffic capacity by the end of 2012. Apparently, in the course of the next few years Ryanair will become the biggest and most demanded airline in Europe. In terms of service marketing, the company should further promote its well- established marketing mix concept. Furthermore, the companys leadership should add more technological options to make the customer services faster and more convenient. Such approach will help the company to penetrate new destinations and win larger market shares as well as target markets in the future. Ryanairs strategic positioning is designated by appropriate pricing techniques. Ryanairs strategic positioning is determined by the choice of appropriate pricing techniques. While emphasizing on high quality of its products, effective promotion and sound advertising, as well as value for money, the company applies competitive pricing strategy to ensure that the adjusted prices do not exceed those of the competitors (Kotler and Keller 2005). This strategic choice is reasonable and justified since regardless of individual taste preferences or any other essential factors, consumers regard product value as one of the most decisive factors while making their purchasing decisions. Therefore, Ryanair cannot apply skimming pricing technique in the course of designing and launching a new product. This technique can be applied under the conditions of inelastic demand (Boone and Kurtz 1992). In addition to the effectively applied competitive pricing strategy, Ryanair focuses on cost plus pricing which helps the company to maximize it profits. While accurately accounting all its costs, Ryanair reaches optimal supply and demand balance and well-balanced positioning on the market compared to its competitors. Alternatively, Ryanair applies positioning pricing to set up the prices with the consideration of demand-side concerns. Through polling and surveying its target markets, Ryanairs experts designate the optimal price range that would satisfy the majority of the consumers. This positioning technique is particularly applied to better sell Ryanairs services. Optimal trading also depends on the financial capacity of the demand-side. Therefore, Ryanair applies demand-based pricing to critically assess the purchasing power of the majority of its consumers. Only under such conditions the company is able to trade its services in accordance with the strategically planned volumes. Hence, selling at the customers price brings Ryanair profits, good reputation and positive feedback from the majority of its customers. Ryanair should develop new services and promote them domestically as well as internationally. Such service/market growth approach will ensure that the company has diversified range of products which are available and well-recognizable in many countries of the world (Ansoff 1965). Such strategic choice will provide the company with enormous comparative advantages over its competitors and will help it to better cope with the hurdles of the global economic crisis. However, considering the challenges of the global competitive markets, this strategy will not be suitable any longer. Hence Ryanair should transform it into more powerful and innovative global image. The variety of new high-quality and reasonably-priced services will add value to the business activity of Ryanair and will win new overseas markets for the company. This task would require the company to carefully design and develop innovative brands of its services which are not yet present on any of the foreign markets, and which will be potentially demanded by the consumers (Ansoff, 1957). While developing innovative products and penetrating overseas markets, Ryanair should initially consider the demand-side of its target markets. Among the most important criteria are the following: (1) Average income; (2) Average spending amount on one-time supermarket/store purchasing; (2) Average amount consumers are ready to spend on air services; (3) PESTLE analysis of the target market with the consideration of the adverse affects caused by the global economic meltdown; and (4) Porter analysis of the targeted market. Such wide coverage of strategic issues will win Ryanair competitive advantage and increase its share on the foreign markets. Ryanairs choice of the optimal marketing strategy should consider their chances of success in terms of market diversification. To reach optimal market diversification, the company should ensure that its new product adheres to the customers needs and preferences. Extensive market research will help Ryanair to explicitly identify its potential target markets for new services. Herewith, Ryanairs marketers should consider the following strategic factors: (1) Financial health of the targeted market; (2) Purchasing capacity of target market; (3) National and individual preferences of target market; (4) Previous experiences of target market in terms of purchasing the same services provided by competitor companies; (5) SWOT analysis in each individual case will ensure that Ryanair eliminates all the possible constraints to the minimum and transforms the threats into potential opportunities. Realistic and achievable strategic objectives should be set in accordance with the SMART approach whic

What Are Blogs? :: Definiton Internet Blogs Paperes

What Are Blogs? When I decided to write about blogs I thought I would use a traditional and simple method of arrangement: what is a blog, where did they come from, what are people doing with them as far as writing instruction goes and then say a bit about what I’ve done with them and why I think they are a promising form of writing pedagogy. But I quickly discovered that people have yet to fully agree on a single definition of a blog. I also discovered an intense amount of hype and gripe. There are those who think the blog will take over the world, and others who think that will be a bad thing. You’ve no doubt heard these arguments before regarding other online phenomenon—that because blogging requires no technical skill and is free, anyone can instantly publish anything and therefore either A) it will democratize information flow, liberate the repressed, illuminate the shady, discredit the liars, and save the world from SARS and terrorists or B) it will fill people’ s minds with the sort of un-edited, un-checked, un-educated crap that your average person thinks about stuff he doesn’t really understand going on in places he can’t locate on a map. Like you, I’m guessing, I want neither to leap on this bandwagon nor to snap at its wheels. I just want to figure out what a blog is and how I can use it to help my students learn more about writing. To that end I would like to share my current working definition of a blog, and talk a bit about what I’ve done with them so far and why I think blogging is a good way to teach and talk about writing. I’m actually more interested in hearing your take on blogs than I am in my own, so I won’t ramble on. For my purposes, a blog is a single authored, regularly updated, minimally edited, publicly viewable website consisting of links and commentary presented in reverse chronological order. Blogs function as content filters. Blogs also encourage and facilitate comments from readers and thus offer the opportunity for interactive communication. When defined in this way, blogs are different from similar forms of online writing. An online diary, for example, would have the same chronology and single author but would tend to focus on the life of the writer rather than on websites of interest to the author and her intended audience. What Are Blogs? :: Definiton Internet Blogs Paperes What Are Blogs? When I decided to write about blogs I thought I would use a traditional and simple method of arrangement: what is a blog, where did they come from, what are people doing with them as far as writing instruction goes and then say a bit about what I’ve done with them and why I think they are a promising form of writing pedagogy. But I quickly discovered that people have yet to fully agree on a single definition of a blog. I also discovered an intense amount of hype and gripe. There are those who think the blog will take over the world, and others who think that will be a bad thing. You’ve no doubt heard these arguments before regarding other online phenomenon—that because blogging requires no technical skill and is free, anyone can instantly publish anything and therefore either A) it will democratize information flow, liberate the repressed, illuminate the shady, discredit the liars, and save the world from SARS and terrorists or B) it will fill people’ s minds with the sort of un-edited, un-checked, un-educated crap that your average person thinks about stuff he doesn’t really understand going on in places he can’t locate on a map. Like you, I’m guessing, I want neither to leap on this bandwagon nor to snap at its wheels. I just want to figure out what a blog is and how I can use it to help my students learn more about writing. To that end I would like to share my current working definition of a blog, and talk a bit about what I’ve done with them so far and why I think blogging is a good way to teach and talk about writing. I’m actually more interested in hearing your take on blogs than I am in my own, so I won’t ramble on. For my purposes, a blog is a single authored, regularly updated, minimally edited, publicly viewable website consisting of links and commentary presented in reverse chronological order. Blogs function as content filters. Blogs also encourage and facilitate comments from readers and thus offer the opportunity for interactive communication. When defined in this way, blogs are different from similar forms of online writing. An online diary, for example, would have the same chronology and single author but would tend to focus on the life of the writer rather than on websites of interest to the author and her intended audience.

Financial Accounting Standards Board Essay

Runway Discount (Runway), a privately held online retailer, has implemented a new customer referral marketing campaign. The campaign involves incentivizing current customers to refer their friends to Runway’s website. When a current customer refers someone who makes a purchase on Runway’s website, the referring customer receives a $25 credit to be applied to a future purchase. Two important provisions should be highlighted regarding this â€Å"Refer-a-Friend† program: The $25 credit is contingent upon the existing customer’s referral actually making a purchase The $25 credit is applied to the referring customer’s future purchase at the time that the referred customer makes a purchase The business purpose of this Refer-a-Friend program is to increase sales and expand Runway’s customer base by providing incentives for current customers to refer their friends. The first accounting issue associated with Runway Discount’s Refer-a-Friend program is identifying how the $25 referral credit should be recorded in Runway’s income statement. Is this consideration an adjustment of the selling prices of the vendor’s products or services, and therefore characterized as a reduction of revenue, or is it a cost incurred by the vendor for assets and services received from the customer, and therefore characterized as a cost or expense? The next significant accounting issue is regarding when Runway should record the $25 referral credit as a liability: (a) at the time an existing customer receives the $25 referral credit, or (b) at the time the existing customer actually uses the $25 referral credit to make a purchase? In the following sections, we will discuss the possible accounting treatments under U.S GAAP and IFRS, which relate to these accounting issues facing Runway Discount. Relevant examples will be provided of businesses that offer similar referral incentive programs. We will conclude with our recommendation of how Runway Discount should account for the referral credits it issues relating to its Refer-a-Friend program. Applicable Authoritative Literature FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 605-50, Revenue Recognition IASC International Accounting Standards (IAS) 18, Revenue Recognition View as multi-pages

US Achievements In WW! essays

US Achievements In WW! essays President Woodrow Wilson announces his Declaration of War in April of 1917. The United States wanted nothing to do with this war, yet were somehow dragged in. It all started in March of 1917 when Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany decided that unrestricted submarine warfare was the only way to stop war goods from getting overseas. Then, the Zimmerman Telegram came into the picture. This telegram was sent to Mexico from Germany asking them to attack America. With this, Wilson decided that it was a good idea to enter World War I with his declaration of war in 1917. Without the arrival of the Americans, it is likely that the Germans would have won the war. After the war was won, however, Wilson made his 14 Points. These 14 Points focused on repairing the World and achieving American objectives. The Germans seriously underestimated the potential impact of American involvement. They engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare and killed innocent Americans. This happened because of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. This was a passenger ship moving between America and England, which had passengers from both countries. 128 Americans died on that ship, and Wilson thought that Germany should pay. After the Lusitania was sunk, America found out about the Zimmerman Telegram. In March of 1917, Germany sent Mexico a telegraph asking if they would attack America. President Wilson thought that something should be done since they were being dragged into war. This is when Wilson announces his declaration of war in April of 1917. Wilson asked congress to declare war on Germany, which was approved on April 6th. Wilson wanted to make the world safe for democracy. The Armistice began on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. 116,000 United States soldiers dead along with a total of 9.3 million killed in the war. Peace talks were made at the Versailles Conference and Wilson, on his way to Paris, ...

Culture and a Mans Dying Wish essays

Culture and a Man's Dying Wish essays A man dies. His community's culture deems that he be buried in holy ground lest the community suffer some catastrophe. He, having always been at odds with his community on this point, has left a provision in his will that he be cremated and his ashes scattered into the ocean. The body waits in the hospital while the community debates the issue. What is to be done? The elders have asked for a moral opinion. What is one to say? If the belief that the man must be buried is one deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of the community, then a decision to cremate him would cause an uproar. On the other hand, if there are some who sympathize with the man, either decision might cause a schism within the community. The ultimate action would have to depend on much more than the culture's belief about burial. It would have to take into account the culture's beliefs on individual rights, freedom of belief, and the validity of the man's will. It would also have to take into account the moral implications of carrying out a man's dying wish and the repercussions of violating a sacred social institution. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, but by stepping back and weighing the options carefully, one can come to a conclusion which would be the most moral given the situation. I say most moral because there really is no right choice here. Any ac! tion taken will most definitely be wrong to at least one group of people. Here no plea can be made to universal morality because neither belief in its specific sense appeals to any pure moral intuition. People on the other side of the world might have neither the belief that the man should be buried, nor the belief that his ashes should be spread. Each person's choice would be too influenced by his own cultural morality, and so nobody would really have a right to judge. Were I to be asked for an opinion on this matter, I feel I would have no authority in my response. It is really the community's...

Credit Rationing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Credit Rationing - Essay Example The extent of this level depends entirely on the perceived risks in the bank's lending or investment activities. This limitation sometimes leads to credit rationing, which is a situation where a bank refuses credit to a borrower at an interest rate set by the bank itself, because of unavailability of sufficient free capital. To understand the pressures on the capital free for lending available to the bank, we need to understand the limitations placed on it by the central bank in the particular country in order to control its activities. One of the limitations on the bank is the statutory requirement that it should submit a defined percentage of certain kinds of the deposits it receives, into the central bank as reserves at zero interest, in vault cash or deposits. These requirements represent a cost to the bank, as they earn no revenue,and are not in the bank's control.These reserves are used in the day-to-day implementation of monetary policy by the Central Bank. The percentage deduction from each deposit may go towards the maintenance of the entire banking system, but it reduces the amount of capital left to the bank for lending or investments. Another requirement is for the bank to maintain an amount of liquid assets for itself as reserve against specified deposit liabilities, for instance, to pay depositors in case they wish to make a withdrawal, or a certain amount that is due to them at the expiration of a designated saving activity. This further reduces the balance capital for investments, and these liquid assets languish in the bank without working to earn an interest. Higher the statutory reserve and liquid asset requirements, lower the amount of cash available to the bank to extend in terms of credit. In some countries, the statutory reserve ratio is high, resulting in less available amount of credit given out to the borrowers.Thus rationing the credit is the only option left to the bank, in order to maintain the capital adequacy requirements. In the periods where the demand for credit is high, because of a booming market or low interest rates, it may be suggested that the bank increase its interest rates, instead of rationing credits at previous rates. But this could result in bad credit, because the creditworthy individuals move off to cheaper options, following the conditions of adverse selection and the borrowers willing to pay the high rates are those who have very little to lose, or are willing to give up their collateral in exchange for the loan amount. In this case, the bank may be also stepping into a situation of moral hazard where the motives of these borrowers are suspect. To avoid these, banks try to give loans at affordable interests to those with a perceived low credit risk and ration it in the case of all others. But this does not always protect them from acquiring bad loans, or non-performing assets. An asset or loan becomes 'non-performing' or bad when it has not been serviced, or in other words, the interest and/or instalment of principal has remained 'past due' or unpaid for more than the stipulated period, 90

Newton's laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Newton's laws - Essay Example Newton's laws of motion (law of inertia, fundamental law of dynamics, law of reciprocal actions) were verified by experiment and observation for over 200 years, and they are excellent approximations at the scales and speeds of everyday life. At the atomic scale, they become a poorer approximation to quantum mechanics, and at speeds comparable to the speed of light, they become a poorer approximation to relativity. Just as they fail for material objects moving at speeds close to the speed of light, they fail for light itself. Newton's first law appeared to be in the past just a special case of the second law, and it was thought Newton stated the first law separately simply in order to throw down the gauntlet to the Aristotelians. However, modern physicists think that the First Law defines the reference frames in which the other two laws are valid. These reference frames are called inertial reference frames or Galilean reference frames, and are moving at constant velocity, that is to say, without acceleration. (Note that an object may have a constant speed through its motion path and yet have a non-zero acceleration, as in the case of uniform circular motion. This means that the surface of the Earth is not an inertial reference frame, since the Earth is rotating on its axis and orbits around the Sun. However, for many experiments, the Earth's surface can safely be assumed to be inertial. The law of gravity became Sir Isaac Newton's best-known discovery. Newton warned against using it to view the universe as a mere machine, like a great clock.