The Blind Side( Michael Oher)

Michael Oher is an immense human being. At the age of sixteen, he had a 20-inch neck, 50-inch waist, and a 58-inch chest. Larger measurements, that is, than every single member of the Washington Redskins. This fact alone meant that his final years in high school, Oher was the focus of attention of college coaches across America – grown men taking detours of hundreds of miles to watch him practice, in the hope of persuading him to play for their team. Had these coaches the power to design a prototypical left tackle, Oher’s six-foot-five, 330-pound frame would have been pretty close to their model. And yet the fact that he was even still at high school was, in itself, nothing short of a miracle. The focal point of Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side is the story of Oher’s transition from a teenager so neglected by society that the Memphis school board can’t really account for his academic record to an eighteen-year-old college recruit with the potential for earning millions when he hits the NFL draft (which he will do this April). Though Oher is the main narrative thrust, the book is a wide-ranging examination of the culture of American football, its tactical development, and most importantly of all, its uneasy relationship with the US educational system. Oher is one of sixteen siblings born in the poorest (black) parts of Memphis. The determination of a friend’s father to get his own son into one of the elite (white) Christian schools quite literally changes the course of Michael’s life. Though he has no education to speak of, the Tuohy family take him under their wing, eventually adding him to their will. Oher does not excel at school; after sixteen years where formal education has made little impact on his life, this is scarcely surprising. Yet in some remarkably moving passages, Lewis shows the before, and transmits their joy when they realise that despite his taciturn nature, he has actually been absorbing the material he’s been taught in class. Success in the classroom is, ultimately, vital for Michael’s future. For although his millions will come through his physical strength, and his ability to protect the quarterback (American football’s most valuable position), the development of a professional sportsmen is inextricably intertwined with the education system. The condition of his being accepted by his high school was greater academic achievement; unless his grade point average reaches a certain level, he won’t be allowed to go to college – no matter how many coaches are desperate for him to play. The subject of the relationship between high school sports and educational achievement has been covered before. Buzz Bissinger’s ‘Friday Night Lights’, which has since been the inspiration for a movie and a TV series, followed a high school team in Texas for a season. Far from the saccharine, wholesome version of schooldays that we are accustomed to, Bissinger painted an unhappy and controversial portrait – of a white community interested in black children only so far as they could help compete for the state championship; a school with $5,000 for the English department but $70,000 for travel to away matches; allegations of pain-killers being used illegally to get injured teenagers playing as soon as possible. Such was the controversy the book caused that Bissinger, who had spent a year in the town, didn’t return until 20 years later. The Blind Side has a more uplifting tale at its heart. Yet this does not stop it from being an unsettling story. The Tuohys are accused of taking Michael into their lives solely to ensure that he can play for their alma mater by college football’s regulatory body. This body exists to try and ensure that (nominal) academic standards are upheld by college athletes, but Oher and the Tuohys are subject to an invasive investigation, despite the fact Oher would be nowhere near college were it not for the Tuohys. Oher’s coaches do not cover themselves in glory, either; the high school head coach is clearly angling for a job at the college level, and will try and pressure Michael into choosing the college most likely to further his own prospects. Most unsettling of all, though, is Lewis’s stark portrayal of the alternative life he might have led. Going into Hurt Village, Memphis, Lewis tells the story of a broken community ravaged by drug gangs and grinding poverty. He also retells the story of ‘Big Zach’, who in the 1990s had attracted the same interest from college scouts that Michael Oher was. Yet Big Zach didn’t have an adoptive family to push him to work hard at high school; he dropped out before he could make it to college, and now looks back on what might have been. It is in this wider picture that The Blind Side truly excels. Oher is the sort of kid who you can’t help but root for. It is a pleasure to read of his transformation in so many facets of his life, and you put the book down hoping that he is as successful in the NFL as his coaches hope for. But there are deeper questions at the heart of this book that are not so easily resolved. It is clear that Oher has a remarkable capacity for absorbing knowledge and copying it – that is the secret of his success academically and athletically. Were it not for a freakish set of circumstances, however, he would still be on the wrong side of the tracks in Memphis, let down by the indifference of the education system. Moreover, Oher has been redeemed because he is a remarkable physical specimen. How many children have the same capacity to learn but are lost forever because they lack the potential to be an NFL superstar is a sobering thought. When even high school football can be the path to riches for all kinds of coaches and scouts, one feels for the children who miss out as a result of these priorities – both the children who are prevented from being paid for their athletic skill, and those whose educational development is considered a lower priority than sporting silverware.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 39

An Episode Seems Inevitable I rise before dawn on Christmas morning and begin my weight-lifting routine. I am nervous about being reunited with Nikki today, so I double-time my exercises in an effort to work off my anxiety. I realize the note Tiffany gave me last night suggests that Nikki might not be interested in meeting me at that special place once dusk rolls around, but I also know that in the movies, just when the main character is about to give up, something surprising happens, which leads to the happy ending. I'm pretty sure that this is the part of my movie when something surprising will happen, so I am trusting in God, who I know will not let me down. If I have faith, if I go to that special place, something beautiful will happen when the sun sets – I can feel it. When I hear Christmas music, I stop lifting and go upstairs. My mother is cooking eggs and bacon. Coffee is brewing. â€Å"Merry Christmas,† Mom says, and gives me a little kiss on the cheek. â€Å"Don't forget your pills.† I take the orange bottles from the cabinet and twist off the lids. As I swallow my last pill, my father comes into the kitchen and throws the newspaper's plastic cover into the waste bucket. When he turns and heads for the family room, my mother says, â€Å"Merry Christmas, Patrick.† â€Å"Merry Christmas,† Dad mumbles. We eat eggs and bacon and toast together as a family, but no one says much. In the living room we sit around the tree. Mom opens her present from Dad. It's a diamond necklace from some department store – tiny diamonds in the shape of a heart on a thin gold chain. I know for a fact that Mom has a similar necklace, because she wears it almost every day. My father probably gave her the same thing last year, but Mom acts really surprised and says, â€Å"Patrick, you shouldn't have,† before she kisses my father on the lips and then hugs him. Even though Dad doesn't hug Mom back, I can tell he is happy, because he sort of smirks. Next, we give Dad his present, which is from both Mom and me. He tears off the wrapping paper and holds up an authentic Eagles jersey, not one with iron-on decals. â€Å"Why doesn't it have any numbers or a name on it?† he asks. â€Å"Since McNabb went down, we thought you'd want to pick a new favorite player,† Mom says. â€Å"So when you do, we'll have the correct number and name sewn onto the jersey.† â€Å"Don't waste your money,† Dad says, putting the jersey back into the box. â€Å"They won't win today without McNabb. They're not going to make the play-offs. I'm done watching that lousy excuse for a football team.† Mom smiles at me because I told her that Dad would say as much, even though the Eagles have been playing pretty well. But Mom and I both know Dad will be watching the Eagles play the Cowboys later today and will pick a new favorite player late next summer – after watching one or two preseason games – at which time he will say something like, â€Å"Jeanie, where's my authentic Eagles jersey? I want to get those numbers sewn on before the season starts.† A few dozen presents are for me, all of which Mom bought and wrapped. I get a new Eagles sweatshirt, new running shoes, workout clothes, dress clothes, a few ties, a brand-new leather jacket, and a special running watch that will help me time my runs and will even calculate the calories I burn while running. And – â€Å"Jesus Christ, Jeanie. How many presents did you buy the kid?† Dad says, but in a way that lets us know he is not really all that mad. After we eat lunch, I shower and put on underarm deodorant, some of my father's cologne, and one of my new running outfits. â€Å"I'm going to try out my new watch,† I tell Mom. â€Å"Caitlin and your brother will be here in an hour,† Mom says. â€Å"So don't be too long.† â€Å"I won't,† I say just before I exit the house. In the garage, I change into the dress clothes I hid there earlier in the week – tweed pants, a black button-down shirt, leather loafers, and the expensive overcoat my father no longer wears. Next, I walk to the Collingswood PATCO stop and catch the 1:45 train to Philadelphia. It begins to rain lightly. I get off at Eighth and Market, walk through the drizzle to City Hall, and catch an Orange Line train headed north. Not many people are on the train, and underground it does not feel like Christmas at all. But the trash-smelling steam that wafts in at every stop when the doors open, the marker graffiti on the orange seat across from me, the half-eaten hamburger lying bunless in the aisle – none of it brings me down, because I am about to be reunited with Nikki. Apart time is finally about to end. I get off at Broad and Olney and climb the steps up into North Philly, where it is raining a little harder. Even though I remember being mugged twice near this subway stop when I was a college student, I do not worry, mostly because it's Christmas and I am a lot stronger than I used to be when I was an undergraduate. On Broad Street I see a few black people, which gets me thinking about Danny and how he always used to talk about going to live with his aunt in North Philly just as soon as he got out of the bad place – especially whenever I mentioned my graduating from La Salle University, which is apparently close to where Danny's aunt lives. I wonder if Danny ever made it out of the bad place, and the thought of him having Christmas in a mental institution makes me really sad because Danny was a good friend to me. I stick my hands into my dad's overcoat pockets as I walk down Olney. With the rain, it is sort of cold. Soon I am seeing the blue-and-yellow flags that line the campus streets, and it makes me feel happy and sad at the same time to be back at La Salle – almost like looking at old pictures of people who have either died or with whom you have lost contact. When I get to the library, I turn left and walk past the tennis courts, where I make a right and stroll past the security building. Beyond the tennis courts is a walled-in hill, with so many trees you'd never believe it was in North Philly if someone had led you here blindfolded and then removed the blindfold and asked, â€Å"Where do you think you are?† At the bottom of the hill is a Japanese teahouse, which is as picturesque as it is out of place in North Philly, although I have never been inside to have tea – because it is a private teahouse – so maybe the inside has a city feel to it; I don't know. Nikki and I used to meet on this hill, behind an old oak tree, and sit on the grass for hours. Surprisingly, not many students hung out in this spot. Maybe they did not know it was there. Maybe no one else thought it was a nice spot. But Nikki loved sitting on the grassy hill and looking down at the Japanese teahouse, feeling as though she were somewhere else in the world – somewhere other than North Philadelphia. And if it weren't for the occasional car horn or gunshot in the distance, I would have believed I was in Japan when I was sitting on that hill, even though I have never been to Japan and don't really know what being in that particular country is like. I sit down under a huge tree – on a dry spot of grass – and wait. Rain clouds swallowed the sun a long time ago, but when I look at my watch, the numbers officially make it dusk. My chest starts to feel tight; I notice that I am shaking and breathing heavily. I hold my hand out to see how bad the shakes are, and my hand is flapping like the wing of a bird, or maybe it is as if I am hot and trying to fan myself with my fingers. I try to make it stop, and when I can't, I shove both hands into my father's overcoat pockets, hoping Nikki will not notice my nervousness when she shows up. It grows darker, and then even darker. Finally, I close my eyes, and after a time, I begin to pray: Dear God: If I did something wrong, please let me know what it was so I can make amends. As I search my memory, I can't think of anything that would make You mad, except for my punching the Giants fan a few months ago, but I already asked for forgiveness regarding that slip, and I thought we had moved on. Please make Nikki show up. When I open my eyes, please let her be there. Maybe there was traffic, or she forgot how to get to La Salle? She always used to get lost in the city. I'm okay with her not showing up exactly at dusk, but please let her know that I am still here waiting and will wait all night if I have to. Please, God. I'll do anything. If You make her show up when I open – I smell a woman's perfume. I recognize the scent. I breathe in deeply to ready myself. I open my eyes. â€Å"I'm fucking sorry, okay?† she says, but it's not Nikki. â€Å"I never thought it would lead to this. So I'm just going to be honest now. My therapist thought you were stuck in a constant state of denial because you were never afforded closure, and I thought I might afford you closure by pretending to be Nikki. So I made up the whole liaison thing in an effort to provide you closure, hoping you would snap out of your funk and would be able to move on with your life once you understood that being reunited with your ex-wife was an impossibility. I wrote all the letters myself. Okay? I never even contacted Nikki. She doesn't even know you're sitting here. Maybe she doesn't even know you are out of the neural health facility. She's not coming, Pat. I'm sorry.† I'm staring up into Tiffany's soaking-wet face – wet hair, runny makeup – and I can hardly believe that it's not Nikki. Her words do not register at first, but when they do, I feel my chest heating up, and an episode seems inevitable. My eyes burn. My face flushes. Suddenly I realize that for the past two months I have been completely delusional, that Nikki is never coming back and apart time is going to last forever. Nikki. Is. Never. Coming. Back. Never. I want to hit Tiffany. I want to pound her face with my knuckles until the bones in my hands crumble and Tiffany is completely unrecognizable, until she no longer has a face from which she can spew lies. â€Å"But everything I said in the letters was true. Nikki did divorce you, and she is remarried, and she even took out a restraining order against you. I got all the information from – â€Å" â€Å"You liar!† I say, realizing that I am now crying again. â€Å"Ronnie told me that I shouldn't trust you. That you were nothing but a – â€Å" â€Å"Please, just listen to me. I know this is a shock. But you need to face reality, Pat. You've been lying to yourself for years! I needed to do something drastic to help you. But I never thought – â€Å" â€Å"Why?† I say, feeling as if I might vomit, feeling as though my hands might find Tiffany's throat at any moment. â€Å"Why did you do this to me?† Tiffany looks into my eyes for what seems like a long time, and then her voice sort of quivers like my mom's does when she is saying something she really truly means. Tiffany says, â€Å"Because, I'm in love with you.† And then I am up and running. At first Tiffany follows me, but – even though I am in my leather loafers and it is raining pretty steadily now – I am able to find the man speed she does not have, running faster than I ever have before, and after taking enough turns and weaving through enough traffic, I look back and Tiffany is gone, so I slow my running a bit and jog aimlessly for what seems like hours. I sweat through the rain, and my father's overcoat becomes very heavy. I can't even begin to think about what this all means. Betrayed by Tiffany. Betrayed by God. Betrayed by my own movie. I'm still crying. I'm still jogging. And then I'm praying again, but not in a nice way. God, I didn't ask for a million dollars. I didn't ask to be famous and powerful. I didn't even ask for Nikki to take me back. I only asked for a meeting. A single face-to-face conversation. All I've done since I left the bad place was try to improve myself – to become exactly what You tell everyone to be: a good person. And here I am running through North Philly on a rainy Christmas Day – all alone. Why did You give us so many stories about miracles? Why did You send Your Son down from heaven? Why did You give us movies if life doesn't ever end well? What kind of fucking God are You? Do You want me to be miserable for the rest of my life? Do You – Something hits my shin hard, and then my palms are sliding across the wet concrete. I feel kicks landing on my back, my legs, my arms. I curl up into a ball, trying to protect myself, but the kicking continues. When it feels as though my kidneys have exploded, I look up to see who is doing this to me, but I only see the bottom of a sneaker just before it strikes my face.

Free Will vs. Predestination Essay

Thesis: Although many people have debated about weather predestination or free will, I believe that it is a combination of both. Body Paragraph 1: opposing views CD: Loraine Boettner says that â€Å"there is no consistent middle ground between calvanism and atheism† CM: free will is considered atheistic while predestination is considered Calvinistic CD: â€Å"It’s one thing to have a loved one that rejects God because of his own choice, but it is another to believe that person never had a chance because God never permitted or allowed them a chance. † Body paragraph 2: Free will. CD: â€Å"those who espouse predestination claim that if we have the free will to accept God’s salvation then we have to earn our way into heaven. Therefore we’re not saved by grace but by our own merit—we caused our own salvation, not God† CD: â€Å"free will teaches that when presented with the facts of God’s plan for salvation that every individual person has a choice to make to either accept or reject God’s gift of salvation. † CD: Ignatius of Antioch said that â€Å"If anyone is truly religious he is a man of God; but if he is irreligious, he is a man of the devil, made such, not by nature, but by choice. † CD: â€Å"If God thinks that this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (48) CD: â€Å"Why did God make a creature of such rotten stuff that when it went wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (49) Body paragraph 3: predestination CD: â€Å"remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of faith†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (57) CD: â€Å"In the early church, predestination was interpreted as God’s foreknowledge of people’s good works† CD: â€Å"predestination is doctrine witch teaches that God predetermined who would go to heaven and who would spend eternity in hell† CD: â€Å"‘Single’ predestination applies that word only to God’s gracious choice of those who will be saved, attributing reprobation to causes in the damned themselves. ‘Double’ predestination refers to God’s free choice to save some and God’s free choice to damn others† CD: â€Å"each person has absolutely no choice in accepting or rejecting salvation through Christ. † CD: Charles H. Spurgeon said that â€Å"nothing happens from divine determination and decree† Final/ conclusion paragraph CD: â€Å"some people think that they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Gender identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gender identity - Essay Example These stereotype environmental effects also evolve with time as the trends in recent decades have seen changes in gender behaviors and roles. Today, there is an expectation that women will show a more feminist and assertive side, while can now show a more compassionate and softer feminine side (Blakemore et al 23). Rather than reinforcing the aspect of nurture, however, this shows that one should not try too hard to nurture a child to conform to the environment. Therefore, nature must be more important in gender identity development because the child is born with a pre-determined identity. Modern research and science have contended that gender identity is not a choice made consciously. Rather, it is a result of factors in one’s biological make up, such as the difference in size of specific brain areas, genetics, and hormone levels. There is evidence suggesting that genetics plays a critical role in sexual identity. Sexual identity is wired into infant’s brains as they d evelop because of these genetic factors. For example, there are various genes involved in brain development that are active during sexual organ development. Infants and young toddlers show typical differences in gender identity (Blakemore et al 24), which suggests that gender is the first and most important player in gender identity development. Youngsters will normally start identifying with their gender before they reach mid-childhood (Blakemore et al 32). Their awareness of being a girl or boy starts in the initial year of their life by the tenth month of their lives, especially as they become mildly aware of their genitals. By the time children are two years of age, they begin to realize the physical differences between girls and boys, while it is possible for them to call themselves a girl or boy by the time they are three, acquiring a better and stronger concept of the self-concept. The gender identity of the child is already established and stable by the time they are four ye ars of age (Blakemore et al 32). By this time, it is possible to say that they know that they will always be girls or boys. It is also possible for anyone to observe a behavior and classify it as being â€Å"girlish† or â€Å"boyish†. For example, without being nurtured, boys prefer playing with toy guns and truck-cars, prefer science and math, are more active physically and more aggressive, and possess better hand-eye coordination and spatial reasoning (Blakemore et al 33). Girls, on the other hand, prefer cooperative play and dolls, have better motor skills, learn to talk and read earlier, and possess more empathy and emotions. Most of these things are inborn and innate without any need to teach them. This shows that nature has an important role in shaping gender identity. Even when parents choose to treat their children in a gender-neutral manner, the results are always according to nature (Blakemore et al 33). For example, a parent who insists on her young girls pl aying with trucks will find that her daughters refer to the trucks as mommy trucks that are on the way to pick their children from baby-care. On the other hand, a boy given a truck will fill it action heroes, while racing it all over the playing area and making noises of squealing tires. This is most certainly due to nature, which pre-determines the gender identity

Classroom Assessment Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Classroom Assessment - Research Paper Example There are five types of teacher made tests available, the first is the Multiple Choice Type. The test consists of items, which posses three or more plausible answer options available. This test is one of the best forms of testing. The test is objective and flexible a, therefore, preferred for that. â€Å"Multiple-choice items are the most popular, most flexible, and most widely used of the traditional items† (Catherine, 2005, p. 192). This test is applicable in the test of vocabulary, interpretation of graphs, relationship, formulas, and tables, reading comprehension and drawing inferences from a set of data. The second type is an analogy. It consists of items of a pair of terms, which relates to one another. The designation is to evaluate the ability of the children to match the pair in the relationship between the first groups to the second one. The relationship between the two groups may be according to cause and effect or purpose (John, 2005). The third type is the rearran gement type, which consists of multiple options and requires logical or chronological rank. The fifth type is the matching type, which has two columns in which correct observation of two related things. The task here is matching the first column with column two. It has two types that include the balanced and the unbalanced. The balanced type has an equal number on both sides while the latter consist of a large number of items on one side. â€Å"If students can figure out the answer to an item or question because of clues in the item or the test or because of problematic item formats, then you will not know what students truly understand† (Catherine, 2005, p. 191). Objectives and goals At the completion of the class, the child among other things should be able to describe the life cycle of animals, which is from birth all the way to death including reproduction. The child should also be in a position to compare life cycles of different animals. The child will also learn about the weather its changes and the effects on the environment and the tools used in the measurement of the weather. The next objective of the subject will be to enable the child to develop an understanding of the three states of matter and the changes in the states because of heating and cooling. The other goal of the lesson includes the concept of sound, its production transmission, and a change in frequency. In essence, the children should have acquired knowledge on the life cycles of animals, the animals’ habitats, and what they eat. The children should also be conversant with the basic elements of the environment, which include matter. Lesson plan Topic one: physical science Solid classification on terms of the materials used to make them, classification of liquids using their physical appearance and describing the observable properties of liquids. This also includes the identification of substances in solid mixtures, and ways of separating them. Show how moving objects exhi bit different types of motion. Predict effects of a magnet on other objects. Differentiate the various pitches of sound. Topic two: life science The children should learn the classification of plants according to their differences and similarities, to classify human beings and animals according to their differences and similarities. Description of the plant life cycles especially flowering plants. The children sho

Holocaust Deniers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Holocaust Deniers - Essay Example Deniers like to call themselves 'Revisionists,' an ambiguous term that needs to be substituted by Holocaust deniers, which more adequate[ly] reflects their ideology."2 Holocaust deniers usually make claims about actual facts that precipitated and included the happenings of events that took place in Nazi concentration camps from 1939-1945 during World War II in Hitler's Germany. Claims range from the fact that Hitler never ordered a plan for a "Final Solution" to the 'Jewish Problem,' to the idea that an order was never carried out for the Jews' methodical extermination. However, there are plenty of pieces of evidence which document the actual occurrence of the Holocaust and its atrocities. In fact, the Holocaust is one of the most widely- and well-documented massacres in history. "The father of Holocaust denial was Paul Rassinier (1906-1967), adeportee to the Dora concentration camp[who] returned from Dora with[a vision that]the victims of the war were the Germans; the ones to blame were the Jews who were responsible for the world conflict."3 This leads us to the question that naturally follows, which is, What is Holocaust denial and the arguments that it proposes Holocaust denial, by definition, is "a propaganda movement active in the United States, Canada and Western Europe which seeks to deny the reality of the Nazi regime's systematic mass murder of 6 million Jews in Europe during World War II."4 The Institute for Historical Review is the main organization which supports revisionism, which denies the Holocaust ever happened. The IHR, founded by William Carto, holds annual conferences which are forums for revisionist 'historians' to foment and spread their propaganda. These people are not historians at all. In fact, they usually seek to undermine legitimate historical research and writing through propagating their own writings. The IHR is "a pseudo-academic enterprise[for people with] no [history credentials, including Ph.D.'s]Revilo P. Oliver and Robert Faurisson[,] writersDavid Irvingand Bradley Smith, and career anti-SemitesMark Weber and Ernst Zndel-convene to develop new outlets for their anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and, for some, pro[-]Nazi beliefs."5 Most notably, recently, those who deny the Holocaust have decided to use empirical evidence in order to prove their point that the Holocaust could not have happened. The "Leuchter and Rudolf Reports purported to demonstrate that there was not enough cyanide residue in the Auschwitz gas chambers to be consistent with mass gassing. Friedrich Paul Berg, inThe Diesel Gas Chambers: Myth Within a Myth, claims to show that it would be improbableto use diesel engine exhaust to kill people"6 Each paper cites "experiments, laboratory analyses,

Ethics and social responsibility and its affect on organization Essay

Ethics and social responsibility and its affect on organization - Essay Example Ethics and social responsibility and its affect on organization A Business enterprise is portrayed as an entity doing business to make a profit and forms an integral part of the community, society and market. The social responsibilities of a business are to improve performance, make profits and fulfilling the expectation of its stakeholders. Responsible business addresses the issue on ethics and social responsibility which is faced almost every day in the economy. Programs on business ethics provides the business with management and leadership practices helps in complying with the rule and regulation, minimizing the risk and bring value to the stakeholders (ITA, n.d, p.31). Thus the purpose of the report is to state the benefits of adopting the ethical and social responsibility practices in businesses. The main idea behind the report is to analyze the claim that by practicing ethical and social responsibility in business leads to increase in efficiency in the work place. Practice of ethics leads to good reputation of the company and the effect that ethical and social responsibilities have on the relationship with employees, customers and investors. The scenario talks about being ethical in business and practicing the habit of social responsibilities. The audience constitute of the CEO of the company, the HR, marketing manager, operation manager and also the employees. This is because the field of business ethics has changed as firms had recognized the benefits of conducting ethical conduct. Ethics contributes to firm’s commitment towards its employee, customer’s satisfaction and also towards the investors. It is necessary to practice ethics as most of the organization today aims to create a core competency against its competitors by way of practicing ethics and social responsibility. Organization with unethical practices are usually not looked a strong business organization and investors and customers often hesitate to invest in such organizations. Therefore organization with ethical value often tends to stay ahead from the unethical firms. Even employees would deliver high performance when they work in a good cor porate culture which ultimately leads to the success of the firm. Body Present the Information gathered Ethics and social responsibilities help the organization to increase efficiency. Managers always try to make the best use of the resources in order to increase the level at which organization perform. Pressure to increase performance is often regarded as healthy as it allows managers to question the way organization works and thus bring changes by practicing social responsibilities and ethicality (Jones, 2009, p.39). Business ethics and social responsibility can affect the reputation of the company. Practice of ethics can help in building reputation among employee, the customers, stakeholders and the general public (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2008, p.25). Business ethics

Statistics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Statistics - Research Paper Example However, in 2008-2009 during the global economic contagion, the housing sector reported a significant decline in demand and sales, a crisis that was described by economic expert as â€Å"housing bubble† (Baker, 2007). The demand for housing and residential property significantly declined and this was followed a drastic fall in the real estate investments during the same period. After the global economic recovery in late 2009 and early 2010, housing sector posted a boost in returns. This raises the question on the effects of the GDP on the real estate investments and the sales of the houses in the United States. Although empirical studies early conducted by professional indicate that these two variables are related, such findings are insufficient in addressing the effects of predictable change in the GDP on sales and demand of house, particularly in the U.S. This research paper therefore aims at establishing the relationships between the changes in the GDP and house sales. In d etermining such relationships, this research paper will focus on literature material and the statistical inferences. The link between GDP and the change in the sales of the housing and real estate units is evidenced by the data on the performance if these two variable over time. The data from the department of labor and economics show that these two variables have a strong positive relationship. This is evidenced by the great global economic and financial crisis of 2009 that negatively affected the housing and real estate sector through the housing bubbles. These changes in the GDP and the general economic performance had an adverse effect on the volume of sales in the housing sector. A research study by Baker (2007) established that a predicted decline in GDP is reflected in the housing sector by a fall in the volume of house sales. This explained by the fact a fall the GDP is characterized a significant fall the marginal propensity to invests or save out of any

Assignment 1- Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assignment 1- Accounting - Essay Example In a balance sheet, the sum of all the liabilities and the equity of an organization should be equal to the assets; as all the assets would either be financed through taking up liabilities or providing equity to the stockholders. Therefore, Assets are the economic resources that are owned by an organization. They may be tangible in nature such as building, inventory, cash, accounts receivable etc., or intangible in nature such as good will. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of assets; Fixed and Current Assets. Currents assets are assets which can be easily converted into cash such as inventory and accounts receivable. Assets which cannot be easily converted into cash such as real estate, buildings are known as fixed assets. Liabilities are debt that is held by an organization. An organization may have taken up debt from its suppliers, or banks, or vendors and creditors. This section shows all the money that an organization has to pay off, in the short term or in the long terms. The third section, Equity, is another method of raising money, where shares are given to stockholders and money is taken from them for the purpose of the business. Shares help the stockholders become part owners of the organization. Balance sheet provides information regarding the trends that are present related to an organization regarding the elements of the balance sheet. A comparative analysis of balance sheet items such as accounts receivable, accounts payable would help identify trends over the years regarding these assets and liabilities. Or are the cash reserves declining over the years; the investors might then look deeply into the matter to see the reason behind it. In short, it provides the changing scenario of the organization over the years; in a profit and loss statement, the information is pertaining to that certain year only. Fixed Assets are a part of the Assets; they are those assets of the organization which cannot be easily converted into

Employability in the Knowledge Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Employability in the Knowledge Economy - Essay Example Besides being pervasive, its central features of manipulation, storage, and transmission of large amounts of data at low cost, has made the IT revolution to influence every element of the economy as well as business chain. From its significant impact on both goods and services to R&D, production, marketing, distribution, and customer management, the overall knowledge application of knowledge to all facets of economy has been greatly simplified; and with this the knowledge intensity of economic activities has amplified. Besides this, globalization has increased with global competition, removal of trade barriers, FDIs, easy transfers of technology and capital, and network oriented economic activities. The concept of knowledge economy does not merely revolve high technology or generation of new knowledge, in fact it centers on the exploitation or effective use of all type of knowledge for the creation of wealth (Dahlman, n.d.). The nature of knowledge economy has been explained in terms of the significant role of knowledge as a factor of production and how it impacts on learning, skills, and innovation in the business organization. With the help of information and communication technologies, knowledge is increasingly becoming systemized which is leading toward information diffusion. This in turn is stressing for the possession of knowledge-based skills by human resource. Learning is in focus for both people and business organizations. (Houghton & Sheehan, 1999) For the purpose of employability, business leaders constantly advise people to acquire the skills, knowledge, and capabilities that are required by employers in the increasingly knowledge-driven economy (CBI, 2001). Drucker (1993) suggests that production is no longer driven by natural resources, capital, or labor, but ‘innovation and productivity’ – the major applications of knowledge. Since technological

Essay Example for Free

Essay For every course of action that one takes in life, there is a cost associated. This cost may be large or small but one can weigh this cost with the alternative before he or she makes any decision. In the essay, â€Å"The Price of Crossing Borders† written by Eduardo Porter, the concept of understanding that there is a price for everything is conveyed. There is no decision that is made or path that is taken that comes without some sort of cost to us personally. An alternate title of Porter’s article, â€Å"The Cost of The Decisions We Make†, responds to his views on this idea. He tries to persuade his audience that â€Å"by evaluating opportunity costs, we organize our lives† (p. 325). In the essay, Porter used an illegal immigrant from Stockton, California as an example to help understand opportunity costs. The immigrant must make a choice on how he is going to get his children across the Mexico border into the United States. Porter stated, â€Å"The conversation laid in stark relief the type of bare-knuckle cost-benefit analyses that steer people’s lives† (p. 326). By this statement, Porter referred to the decision of how the immigrant will transport his children and the costs that it will entail. While the more expensive choice is safer, saving the money will take some time. The cheaper alternative, however, puts his children in danger and the possible risk of not making it safe or alive to the United States. Porter said, â€Å"The cost of taking any action or embracing any path consists of the alternatives that were available to us at the time† (p. 325). The illegal immigrant must weigh his opportunity cost of each path before making the im portant decision regarding his children’s lives. The debate on illegal immigration in the United States is well known and people have very strong views on it. While one extreme thinks the borders should be closed off all together and all immigrants sent back to their country, the opposing view feels we were all immigrants at one time and everyone deserves a chance at starting a new life in this country. Porter alluded that most people’s arguments against illegal immigrants in this country are fairly weak. He disagreed with those that argue illegal immigrants pose a burden due to the services they consume such as health care, food stamps, or lower the working wages for American workers. He stated, â€Å"most immigrants work on the books using false ID’s, and have taxes withheld from their paycheck like any other worker. They can’t draw benefits from most government programs† (p. 327). Basically without the proper legal documentation, illegal immigra nts cannot collect welfare, food stamps, unemployment, etc. He also said, â€Å"there is scant evidence that immigrants lower the wages of American workers† (p. 327). Since most illegal immigrants work jobs that many Americans deem undesirable, they are really primarily competing against other poor illegal immigrants. If anything, illegal immigrants actually help many companies thrive or even exist. Without these immigrants, California’s agricultural industry would be nonexistent and many of the goods it produces would be imported. Everything affects prices in the United States. Porter claimed that illegal immigrants affect prices but not in a negative manner. With a higher number of immigrants, some jobs such as gardening and housekeeping have actually seen a decrease in the average price of services. Though many politicians claim to be reforming immigration laws, Porter stated little will be done soon. Illegal immigrants provide cheap labor to many of this country’s thriving businesses. While the United States will probably not make it any easier for illegal immigrants to enter the country, they will also not completely do away with them either due to the enormous cost. In the end, all illegal immigrants must weigh the cost of their decision to enter this country against the cost of staying in their own. Is the cost of risking their life and their families’ life worth the chance at a minimum wage job and the chance for prosperity in the United States? Porter felt that based on the historical tre nd, many immigrants will continue to choose the more dangerous path for a chance at the American dream.

Speech Presentation Essay Example for Free

Speech Presentation Essay Imagine your home wherein you are controlled by your own IPod. Imagine a classroom that you are controlled by your laptop computer. Imagine a canteen that you are controlled by the vending machine. Indeed, this is a scary vivid picture that we can paint in our mind when the topic of technology and its advancement is on the focus. The popularity of science fiction stories and movies had helped in the formation of irrational fears on the advancement of technology. Science fiction films such as the Matrix and the Terminator had convinced us that the technology that we created which is supposed to be our slave is the one who enslave us. In this presentation, I am going to try to erase these irrational fears in your heads by citing and analyzing real world facts, findings and researches on the topic of technology and its advancement. Primarily, it is important to define what technology is. Simply said, technology is any tool or method that is created by man to help and assist him in his everyday work to make his or her life easier. This kind of definition is so encompassing that it can manage to accommodate the early advancement of man including the discovery of fire up to our current advancements in space science and genetics. These advancements of technology with the incredibly fast phase that it has today are those that are feared by many that can enslave the humankind that created it. The question is simple? Is this fear rational or not? It is important to note that even its early days, the invention of technology itself was aimed to help humankind. I would argue that up to now, this is what is still happening. Technology even to its current status and prestige are still aimed to help and assist the humankind rather than dominate it. Take for example the field of robotics. Robots are aimed to perform tasks and works that are dangerous and hazardous in nature. This includes heavy construction works up to the defusing of bombs and charges which are definitely delicate and complicated. When these jobs are employed by human, a human life is at stake at every second he or she is exposed on the work. With the help of robotic technology, we can perform the same task with the same efficiency without putting the life of a human in danger. Thanks to technology. Genetic technologies and medical science also perform the same function. Advancement in genetic engineering and medical science had managed to provide its subjects an enhanced inner mechanism that can heal and resist diseases and abnormalities. Formally diseases and conditions that are beyond the control of humans are easily reached with the help of this technology. Again, thanks to technology. Advancement in artificial ‘procreation’ also assists humankind in a very great deal. Former couples that are biologically limited to bear child were given a chance to conceive an offspring. With the help of technologies developed today, a formerly dead genetic line can be resurrected to continue its existence on the world. Thanks to technology. When examined in a realist and factual perspective, technologies that we have today still coincides with its original goal that was conceived even in our primitive years and that is to help mankind. The fear in technology and its overtake of the dominion in earth was invented and exaggerated by some people that it managed to brought a great deal of inconsistencies and danger to our living. No one can deny the benefits of technology and to deny the use and development of technology will definitely deny the benefits of being human. From here, I am encouraging each one of my audience to be more vigilant in the ideas feed to us by the media especially on this topic. Let us examine each one of them in a framework that is unbiased and scientific for us to be able to make a right choice and decision. Thank you. With the rate that technology is constantly improving many questions the state of humans in the future when technology might possibly overtake human development. However, those who believe that the future is a place where humans will be enslaved by technology and man will no longer be enjoying the liberties now enjoyed might be in for a surprise because technology is currently designed to assist humans and improve the human quality of life. Humans and technology are set to become partners in the future because man created technology for his advancement and advantage, technology was designed to support human existence and technology was designed to improve life. The first programmable computer was invented in 1938 which was followed by the development of many other types of computers through the years. (ComputerHope) For many, this was the beginning of technology; but the fact remains that technology is the use of existing materials to improve or enhance the performance of a particular task. So based on this concept of technology, then such a concept existed as early as the time that man discovered the use of fire or when the Chinese first developed the wheel. Technology has been around for ages and for all of these instances its objective was to make the performance of a task easier. This means that the task performed is done by a human and the addition of technology simply makes the task performed by the said human much is easier to do. Technology was never intended to replace humans because it is there to exist side by side with its creator to assist in and to enhance the performance of a task. On this premise, it is easy to gather evidence that in fact, in the future, humans and technology are set to become partners to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of many things from services to products, and to the more mundane conveniences in life. One proof that humans and technology are most likely to become mutual partners in the future is the fact that technology is created for the advancement or advantage of man. Robotics is one of the aspects of technology that proves this particular point. There are suppositions that â€Å"the accelerating pace of technological change allows us to build machines like cyborgs (machine-enhanced humans like the Six Million Dollar Man), androids (human-robot hybrids like Data in Star Trek) and other combinations beyond what we can even imagine. (Carnett) These innovations in robotics are set to blur the distinction between man and machine, making man perform in ways that are beyond what one can conceive. With robotics man will be able to raise a two hundred pound weight as easily as a forklift. Mike Harden once commented that, â€Å"in robotics, I want to do it. It’s because Im a magically different person in robotics. † (2010) Such a comment simply shows how this kind of technology can improve even the way humans view themselves in the context of technology – that man is empowered by technology and technology exists merely as a means of improving what man is able to normally do. Robotics is the best evidence that technology simply exists to make tasks easier for humans. This fact is validated by current situations where â€Å"Robots already perform many [dangerous] functions, from making cars to defusing bombs or firing missiles. † (Singer and Sagan) These tasks can be lethal to humans and with the purpose of keeping humans away from risky situations, robots are utilized. Which brings the discussion to the second proof that in the future humans and technology are bound to become mutual partners – the technological purpose of human life support. Technology is designed to support human existence which is why it cannot be perceived as something that will ultimately destroy and/or cause the extinction of the human race. Medicine is the field of science where technology ultimately plays a role in supporting the existence of human life. For instance, â€Å"Dr. Howard W. Jones Jr. , the surgeon, along with his wife, Dr. Georgeanna Seegar Jones, helped to create the first test tube baby born in the United States† (Epstein) These scientists insist that human reproduction is not as efficient as it would first seem to be so technology needs to assist humans in the matter of procreation. (Epstein) This basically shows the purpose of such a controversial technological advancement as ‘in vitro fertilization’ is not to smite the laws of nature or to cause the extinction of the human race but on the contrary, to support such existence so that reproduction will be more efficient when compared to natural reproduction which can be affected by other, more risky influences and may result to abnormal conception or childbirth. Even scientists who are involved in such questionable technological advances like cloning accept and concede to the belief that even these kinds of scientific procedures are intended for the betterment of future generations, hence, Dr. Margaret McLean (2010) asserts that, â€Å"The question is not whether we ought to ban or applaud cloning but why would we choose to go forward and whether our choices bode well or ill for present and future children and our relationships with them. (Sterns) This basically shows how scientists themselves agree to the role of technology in terms of ensuring and supporting the existence of the human race. This particular belief is connected to how technology is able to improve and enhance the quality of life of human beings. From the ordinary toaster to the microwave oven to the more complex capabilities of the newest models of cellular phones intended for mobile communication, the future of technology is quite clear to be a future where humans will most likely live better lives because of how innovations can make life easier and more convenient. However, these are merely the superficial and tangible representations of such a future; other, more complex studies and more world-shattering innovations are on their way. One such innovation can be found in genetics. The most amazing developments in this field can be seen in the development of gene therapy and genetic engineering. â€Å"Gene therapy has very real potential for enhancing human health† (Adams) because it addresses the flaws in human genes and corrects these flaws thereby remedying whatever physical or physiological problems are caused by that particular damaged gene. Considering this capability of gene therapy, then it is not strange if one day a diabetic is able to eat as much sugar as he/she wants to or a hypertensive is able to smoke as much as he/she wants. These effects are the perceived effects of gene therapy where the gene that causes the illness or the ailment is corrected and reintroduced into the human body. Another implication of genetics is in agriculture where food can be genetically engineered resulting in bigger tomatoes, cholesterol-free swine, and eggs or nuts that do not have any allergens! Therefore, â€Å"Plant science and plant gene technology will be critical activities of the nation’s response to many challenges it faces in the coming decades† (AAS) These challenges include the resolution of hunger, the provision of healthier food alternatives, and the sustainability of food stores for all the people in the world. Obviously, as is illustrated in these examples, technology is set to make the lives of humans more convenient. The standard of living for humans will increase with technology taking headway into the future. This particular aspect of technology is hard evidence that in the future, technology will be a partner of human beings in making the world a better place to live in. The fallacy of machines dominating humans in the future and the development of super-intelligences that will overtake human intelligence is, at this point, science fiction, because as circumstances show, technology is doing nothing nowadays but assisting humans and making life easier. The image of humans being chained by robots and made to do their bidding or used as fodder for their cogs and screws is an image that will hopefully remain in literature as the future of technology is bright in the context of how it can assist humans and improve and enhance human life. Partnership means having mutual benefit not merely focusing on the benefits of one party and in the case of technology, the benefits are both ways. The future is when humans will get as much from technology as technology from humans because without humans, technology will remain static and will no longer move onward in development. Evidence shows that as technology moves further away from the discovery of fire and the modeling of the wheel humans are set to enjoy the future with technology as an indispensable partner. Recent advancements in various fields such as robotics, genetics, medicine, and other fields of science have showed that technology will most likely be a partner to humans in the future because technology serves to make human life more convenient, it exists to support human existence, and it is designed to improve the human quality of life. Technology, while seemingly threatening to some, is in fact moving toward a fruitful and productive partnership with the human race not far into the twentieth century.

British Airways Marketing Mix

British Airways Marketing Mix British Airways plc (LSE: BAY) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. The headquater of Britsh Airways is situated in Waterside near by its core London Heathrow Airport and BA is the biggest air commuter carrier on the based of swift, and long distance flights. The second main airport after heathrow is Gatwick airport, from where British Airways offers short haul flights. The British Airways Group was bring into existance through Labour Government on 1st of September 1974 through. The existance of BA was due to the alliance of two biggest London-based air passenger carriers, BOAC and BEA, and with the two comparatively quite small local airlines, Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle upon Tyne. All of these four originally separate companies finally got dissolved on 31 March 1974 to form British Airways (BA) and then after thirteen years, in February 1987, the company got privatised. Later on British Airways got expanded by acquiring British Caledonian in 1988 and then Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air in 1992. British Airways is the major and biggest buyer of boeing aircrafts.and in November 1998 British Airways placed its first main order of 89 A320 crafts.and then the second largest order was placed In 2007 for starting their long distance flights. The centrepiece of the airlines the long-haul fleet being the Boeing 747-400; with 54 examples. Now British Airways is counted as the largest operator of the type in the world. Richard Bransons established Virgin Atlantic in 1984 and after that Virgin Atlantic begin a rigid and tense relationship with British Airways . In 1993 British Airways apologised Virgin Atlantic without urguing on compaign against Virgin Atlantic. This was the first time in airline industry that any airline was penalised for damaging the reputation of other airline and so Britsh Airways had paid damages to them. But British Airways still stayed as a biggest airline till 2008 on the base of large number of customers which was around 35.7 million passengers . But later on Easy Jet get the tittle of carrying maximum customer in the same year which was around 44.5 million. British Airways got listed on the London Stock Exchange 2001 with FTSE of 100 index. On 12 November 2009, British Airways announced its alliance with the largest spain based airline called Iberia Airlines. This newly combined airline will make BA worlds third-largest carrier (Delta Airlines at number one ranking and American Airlines standing on second number) in terms of annual revenue. Literature Review 2. Marketing:- The American Marketing Association defines marketing as the process of planning and executing conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. So it can be said that marketing is getting the right product to the right people at the right price at the right time. 2.1. Marketing concept:- Marketing concept means the ways an organization should adopt to maximise their profits by fulfilling the needs of their customer groups. This marketing concept is very straight forward and that is why it has a great deal of commonsense validity. The effective marketing starts right with the identification and appreciation of customers needs and expectations and then working backwards to develop such products and/or services to satisfy their customers needs and or demands. The basic task of the marketing function operating under the marketing concept is not to manipulate customers to do what suits the interests of the firm, but rather to find effective and efficient means of making the business do what suits the interests of its customers. It does not mean that all firms practice marketing in this ideal way. However efficient as well effective marketing as defined here requires that consumers needs should be kept first in organizational decision-making process. 2.2. Marketing Objectives Growth in market share Clearer product differentiation Long term brand value to customers Creating and launching new products / services Innovation 2.3. Marketing Strategies Marketing Strategies are the means by which marketing objectives can be achieved and generally can be remembered as 7Ps (also known as Marketing Mix) are as follows: Price Product Place Promotion Customer Satisfaction Processes Physical evidence People Marketing Strategies of British Airways get fit into the marketing mix as:- Product: On the basis of BA high class products (services they provide their customers) they are awarded with official 4 stars ranking. Price: As far as pricing strategy of BA is concerned Officials of British Airways strongly, categorically and confidently address their customers to book their tickets online with full confidence at BA.com and if they ever find lower rates than British airways (anywhere online) they commit to refund all the difference, even if they make the booking online. Promotion: British Airways is famous for introducing different kinds of vouchers and discounted coupons for their customers. They always seem offering discount voucher codes to their customers even if they are not the club members (but requires a simple registration only once with them). They also offer special rewards and benefits in terms of long/ short holiday packages not only for cheaper flights but for rented cars as well (in order to make their customers more happy and loyal towards their integrated services). The only thing customer is supposed to do is just collecting the BA miles points by flying with them or with any of the partner airlines and by staying in selected hotels and also by rented cars. All adding to customers points towards getting more and more points. Place: British Airways having a vast network of flights across the globe serves destinations across all the six major continents including almost 371 destinations. Though main hub of British Airways is at London Heathrow airport but British Airways also operates a majority of their flights at London Gatwick Airport. Previously British Airways used to have its main hub in Manchester Airport which later on moved to London Heathrow. 3. Environmental Analysis of British Airways 3.1. SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a measure to audit an organization and its environment (internal and/or external). It is assumed as the first stage of planning and ultimately helps marketers to specifiaclly focus on the key issues facing that organization. SWOT analysis is comprises of four different factors strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are basically meant to represent internal environment of an organization while on the other opportunities and threats are considered as external factors directly or indirectly influencing business of the organization. (S)trengths   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Strength of British Airways is its Brand and rated as a first new speedy airline,specially purchased to promise comfortable travelling of passengers. This strategy was introduced by keeping an eye on customer complaints. previously received by the fleet used by British Airways in the past. The magnitude of Airways operations allows them on pro over all of their competitors by giving high class services to a far more wider variety of customers.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Moreover, on the basis of knowledge and skills, BA operational research department claims that analytical skills performed by the members of the company and its employees are its strengths. Their strong customer focus further develops expertise in customer service areas in terms of purchasing high-end software for the air services and wide selection of it further enhance the organisation strength on compititors. (W)eaknesses   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Britsh Airway is always great criticised on their poor marketing strategies which is one of the worst weeknesses of the airline which have had a bad impact on customer satisfaction. Despite the great infrastructure owned by the company, BA still needs to introduce and carry out better market schemes in order to attract more customers. Hence, a separate competitive package for customer service must be introduced in order to make the current service somewhat more attractive towards its clients, further prompting an opportunity of earning larger amounts of revenues. Morever limited knowledge about simulation software and its development is also reflects airline weeknesses. (O)pportunities   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   The rapid changing in techonologies and innovation in product , would implemented on the right time could be a great opportunity. As it is rightly said that the global changes can be considered and utilised as an opportunity to work with, while ignoring certain opportunities can be considered a weakness. In BA, virtual reality and appreciation of these opportunities could definately provide new sources for simulation and/or obtaining network softwares and ultimtely sharing expertise by means of special interest/focused groups. So opportunities derived from such kind of common thinking can really be utilized to further strengthen the companys business.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Technological trends further opens doors for new opportunities in terms of various business domains, (however, if it is taken for granted), opportunities can either be a treated as a threat or as a weakness as well. In order to promote global trends would be a greater chance for the organisation. (T)hreats   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   It is not really important that threats would be external it can be external. Internal threats as seen in management are not only the centralized but a bureaucratic system and above all poor decision-making really adds fuel to fire. Moreover, the companys focus on national and local problems pose a threat since much more problems which company seems to neglect can be easliy appreciated in the global scheme. It neglects the global problems instead focusing deeply on the national and/or local levels. The global problems greatly offer tremendous threats if and when companies will ignore such. Moreover, globalization can be an opportunity and strength but at the same time can also be considered as a threat if not to be keen and vigilant of its tricks and treachery. Further, rapid changes on technology and customers behavior (in accordance to their demands) can also be a threat if interpret ed mistakenly. 3.2 PESTEL Analysis A PEST analysis is a business measurement tool, looking at factors external to the organization. PESTLE is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, factors. These factors are generally used to assess the market for any business or organizational unit. The PEST analysis points present as a framework for reviewing a situation, and can also be used to review organiztions current strategy or position, direction of a company, its marketing proposition and /or idea. There are many variants on this model including PESTLE analysis. (P)olitical and (L)egal Factors Political factor does effect any organisation in certain ways if the appropriate step will not taken to resolve . The incident of 7/11 left security threat for the airline industry as well ,due to this kind of activity will effect the government stability . If we talk about war in Iraq does prove that country is in crisis or instable.So due to these kind of accidents athourities has to imposed more strick strick legislation which evryone has to follow. Recently legislation athourites has placed amended important regulations in airline industry which create opportunities and increase the competition as well. The most important legal factor which effects British Airways were the strikes called by union leaders and recently they announced one more call of strike in coming summer, well BA always stayed in the news either the issues raised by union or it is plane crash but these events have bad impact on the potential customers. (E)conomic Factors Economical factors are very important while doing external analysis because if the price of fuel gone up does effect airline. According to recent survey the average spending on travel is dramatically goes down due to global crisis. Many of the organisation working on cost effective soltutions and try to use alternates instead of spending more.The demand for air travel is characterised by very high income elasticity. Usuall fuel prices goes parallel to the value of $ dollar and the exchange rate or lower value of sterling will also effect airline industry. Due to the political instability in Iraq has effect the fuel prices and these price get record higher which add  £100 million in BAs budget. (S)ocial Factors The effect of social factor on trading is different for different countries but still this factor is considerable in growth and development of airline.So BA need to trained their staff on demographic changes. Recently in channel 4 they mentioned that the average people over than 50s do frequent travells as compared to young generation so, British Airways need to make such tempting strategies which brings more customers of this age . (T)echnology BA does around 57000 surveys every month to get best knowledge what their customers want and expect from them. Almost third of airline booking are now made online that again signifies presence of high class technology. With almost half of all Europe from UK site. Travellers can have access to their bookings or any changes via their mobile phones even. They can check-in and also access real time arrival and departure information with online system. This system is definitely saving their time as well as money of travellers and company. (E)nvironmental In Enviornmental analysis British Airways is focusing on climate change because this issue keep more value rather then others and on other hand new legislation on enviornment does efffect the company growth . British Airways have introduced programme on change of climate which has four core areas. Green Scheme Carbon emission Fuel consumption Noise pollution In March 2009 company carbon offset scheme became first ever airline offset product to meet the requirements of the UK Governments Quality Assurance Scheme. Company targets to reduce company net CO2 emission by 50% far by 2050. Meeting this target will require intense investment in terms of newer technology, appropriate bio-jet fuels and in cost-effective emissions reductions in other sectors of the economy by the creation of new effective global carbon trading markets. Company continue to look for newer ways to improve fuel efficiency and most surprisingly over 600 projects have been assessed so far of these 55 have been implemented successfully. 4. Market Analysis OF British Airways:- The main focus of Brtish Airways is on transportation but they also providing freight forwarding and leisure to their customers. Market of Britsh Airways has increased to 5.7% in 2009 which allow them to reach  £9.2 billion. Airline is considered as a most comfort medium of transport. In 2009 the ration of short distance flights was very high which gain 72.9% of the market. Currently other airlines acquiring maximum share of the short distance flight market because of cost effective.But these airlines still have a threat from the fuel prices. 4.1. Competitor Analysis The competition in airline industry is getting boom now if we compared this market with the past market, because now customers has more choice in terms of luxury, cost effectiveand many others. British Airways has two different marketing competitiotrs one based on short distance or at national level where as the other competitors are for international flights operating world wide. According to these two markets British Airways has keeping two different standards like national level flights are cost effective and very economical where as for international flight BAs has entirely different enviornment on the base of luxury,price and other aspects.. Therefore, BA seem competing on a global, European, national as well as on regional scales. New planes, new routes, additional (frequent) flights and management changes are all factors that promise an improved business. Such changes made by competitors need constant monitoring in order for BA to examine its current position and to develop future strategies. 4.2. Customer Analysis Shaw (2004) addresses what he calls the most fundamental and commonest mistakes made in airline marketing failure to make a proper distinction between the Consumer and the Customer. Consumers are the people who actually travel and avail the service however it is important that BA consider customers, as they are the decision makers. This is important in both consumer markets as well as in industrial markets. BAs customers can be found differ enormously in terms of their buying behaviour. Not only they differ in terms of their age, income, educational levels and geographic location but more fundamentally in BAs case in terms of their lifestyles and expectations which are influenced by many factors. BA also operates in an industrial market which differs in buying behaviour that can further be exhibited by the formality of BAs purchasing policies, their delivery dates and their expected and actual performance. Over the last few years increasing complexity in customer needs has been appreciated, as the customers have become more educated and demanding due to this following changes have occurred. A shift in demographic to older passengers rather Increased global connectivity ultimately allowing the customers more frequent usage of internet and search mediums (in terms of comparison of services, prices and general layout. Well maintained up to date data on company websites further make decision easier for the customers). Increased requirement of convenience (new destination, quick check-in, in flight service/ entertainment etc). Price no doubts remains more of priority. All bits of major and minor egments have become more defined within their needs. Evidence that British Airways is failing to respond to the changing customer landscape includes: The amount of BA customers recommending their services reduced from 61% in 2006/7 to 59% in 2007/8 (British Airways 2008). BA have been criticised for innovation (Doganis,2006, Pg 165). Poor reliability and baggage handling (AQR) Failed attempts to target the price conscious consumer through low cost airline operation (Eirma,2008). 5. Branding A name, term, sign, symbol, memo, design or a combination of all intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and at the same time to differentiate them from those of competitors. 5.1. Scope of Branding Branding creates a mental structure which helps consumers to organise their knowledge about the product or the service in such a way that clarifies their decision more in order to make appropriate decision ultimately providing positive value to the firm. British Airways brand value stresses to ensure that all behaviours and communication should properly reflect the qualities of their brand. Any sponsorship  by them  must get fit in with these values. Brand values of British Airways are: Safe and secure Professional Warm Thoughtful Responsible British. As a global company they are interested in working with other companies with the purpose of reaching far international audiences. 5.2. Brand Crisis Analysis: Early investigation shows that the British Airways get more damaged due to disaster in terminal. A Disturbance in Public relation occured due to disorgansed management , lack of strategy in marketing, and the events of the past few days blighted BAs brand for years. The problems at T5 hit 100% of the brand, all over the world. Then there is the very specific damage done to BAs brand equity. At the heart of its positioning are reassurance and reliability, making it peculiarly vulnerable to a debacle like that of T5. In branding terms, there is a world of difference between inconsistency and contradiction. BA is found facing the mother of all contradictions, which was further exaggerated by the coverage of international media. But this was favourable for international passenger carrier to shatter the compaign based on Scheduled-BBH- created brand building. But the unfavourable covering left bad reputation of brand on customer expeirence, on the other hand this will lead to Britsh Airways This, however, leaves the brand facing a torrent of negative coverage and a black mark on pass engers experiences, without any possible injection of brand equity in the predictable future. BAs poor strategy of marketing really effected the Brand. Few days before British Airways adverise that the Terminal 5 would be the future of airline to just create attention of customers. The image of BA chief Willie Walsh, arms outstretched, gushing, I think its great and its going to get better. This is a hundred times better than anything else at Heathrow, has been etched in the annals of PR blunders. Aside from undermining Walsh and his tenure as chief executive, this has compounded a huge damage to the brand name of BA. Britsh Airwayss have contigency plan for the worst situation whereas skillful and Public relation staff is not possible to managed. British Airways is always staying in the news wheather it was plane aircrash or some thing different. Like few months before an air craft was crashed and this news stay on news channel for long four days. The dilemma of Britsh Airways is not finished yet like loss of 15,000 bags of customers still missing, 10% of scheduled flights were canceled and no positive assurance that these problems are ssorted . So,in the end there is no point to claimed that British Airways is out from the crisis. A last weeken aspect is the issue on British Airways staff. One day higher offical of terminal 5 Gareth KirkwoodUnlike T5 boss Gareth Kirkwood, who usually around with praetorian come forward recklessly infront of media reporters for announcement but later on he moved back to his office before answering to the questions asked by media. When senior supervisors or managers are not around they want staff to deal annoyed passengers, even one of the union leader issue a statement in which he requesting customers that do not use harsh words for British Airways employees. British Airways announced terminal 5 as an favorable circumstances for their employeed but on the other hand prospect in its employer br and strategy to manage staff is quite weaken. Morever the major weak point for British Airways is its unfortunately weak chief executive; the terminal which will stay open for ages is destroyed at initial stages. Furthermore the Brand name of leading airline getting damaged in front of interntaional customers. 6. Customer Relation Management CRM is the development and maintenance of mutually beneficial long-term relationships with strategically significant customers (Buttle, 2000). CRM is an IT enhanced value process, which identifies, develops, integrates and focuses the various competencies of the firm to the voice of the customer in order to deliver long-term superior customer value, at a profit to well identified existing and potential customers.(Plakoyiannaki and Tzokas, 2001). 6.1.Customer loyalty: The term customer loyalty is used to describe the behaviour of customers/their tendency to come to same service or product again. In terms of air travel industry companies offering good ratings, reviews, or testimonials definitely have a strong impact on customers choice. Customers referring others to the same service they get satisfied really add to marketing of the company with absolutely no cost. By praising a service or in other words offering favourable word of mouth publicity regarding a product, telling friends and family, adding them to the number of loyal customers ultimately adds to the profitability of the company. British Airways is to announce a shift in strategy by providing passengers not only cheap fares but also providing them the access to luxury airport lounges and other benefits through their new loyalty schemes. The British Airways Executive Club is not just another frequent flyer programme. It has been designed not only to recognise but also reward business travellers every time they fly. The airline is responding to the slump in business travel during the recession by offering frequent flyers the elite membership of its Executive Club even sometime in a year to those passengers as well, buying discounted economy tickets. Previously, only passengers on expensive fares could earn Tier Points needed for Gold or Silver membership which opens the doors to world-class facilities for them, including its  £60 million Galleries lounges at Heathrows Terminal 5 featuring champagne bars and free fine dining etc. But now company introduces certain packages for the less frequent or short flight passengers as well, though they can avail its benefits in certain times not in the whole year like frequent flyers. 7. E-Marketing E-marketing means using digital technologies (newer and improved) to help sell ones goods or services. These technologies are definitely a valuable complement to traditional marketing methods whatever the size of the company or business model actually has. 7.1. E-Marketing Strategies:- Electronic sources- Internet, mobile, itv Interactive media Personalized communication service Global reach Cost efficiency Easy access Targeting right audience Branding Measurability 7.2. E-Marketing Tools Websites- easy to use, content specific, simple design SMS/ texting through mobile Email strategy Sell the product Speak to customers Serve people Save time Sizzle and extend brand identity The use of e-marketing strategies allows organisations like BA to approach customers at their convenience and improved convenience and quality of their services adding to positive word of mouth, ultimately better profitability. British Airways has announced its newly friendly user website, and promote this website as a planning tool for their customers to maximise their online business nad made it tempted for the customers who preffer to do online bookings and travel planning . As a Brand online bookings and travell planning is a far easy way of communication for its customers. British Airways spend more than around $180 million in developing and maintaining the websites which reflects a straight and simple version in context of online operations so in result the largest airline received customer satisfaction. Britsh Airways has always been focusing customer for their creativity and improvement.Rob McDonald leading staff of Britsh Airways said in a statement That website is not only cost and time effective , the extensive operation on new websites also allow the customer to get more control regarding time management, money and deliver them best travel experience on board. In addition he said that we are trying to devlop more smart website so customer can easily grasp information regarding their proposed travels, furthermore he said that we know our customer needs and to fullfil them is our priority. Online booking system through British Airways website has increased massively from 2001, customer getting awareness day by day and they do prefer online bookings rather then pop in to travel agent. The ratio of online booking in 2001 is just 3% but now it increased to 20% which is comparatively 7 times higher then before. Similarly overall worldwide revenue is also increased which is twice from the last 2 years and on other hand revenue for Asia Pacific region is five time higher then before so these online transaction system increased the company revenue. As a leading brand in global international airline market, aircrafts of British Airways landed on the runways to almost more than 200 destinations almost all over the worldand from which half of the flights are the worlds largest international passenger airline, British Airways plcs planes touch down daily on runways almost everywhere from Tehran to Lagos to Bogota. About half of its flights are across an ocean and most of the flights fly to US. British Airways marketing department has launched various email marketing strategies especially for the loyal customers who travels on long haul flights and introduced a niche website to maximise their online trasactions. Conclusion: British Airways as a leading international airline has to work hard and need improvement on their marketing strategy. The poor marketing strategy have always bad impact on company growth. I have analysed that British Airways need to improve marketing strategy to gain maximum customer loyalty. Furthermore British Airways is really effected due to global financial crisis, so to handle this situation Britsh Airways need to develop such marketing stratagies to get competitive advantage. Morever the new legislations imposed by the athourities on enviornment, noise pollution have direct and indirect impact on the airline. Britsh Airways need to target older people over 50s because they often travel and planned journeys so they would be potential customer. Britsh Airways is planning to introduce more rewards for frequent travellers. In addition British Airways has a threat for their short haul flights from Easy Jet because Easy Jet is cost effective for short haul flights so britsh airways should develop competitive stratagy to sustain in airline industry.

Juvenile Death Penalty Essay -- capital punishment, death penalty

A 16 year old boy is at the peak of their adolescent life, learning and discovering about puberty, maturity, right and wrong and future life goals. On the other hand, a man of 25 has matured, lived long enough to have made both good and bad judgments and has already been in the process of achieving those life goals they once thought of as a teenager. In a given situation, is it ethical to hold these two age groups, with mentalities that are worlds apart, to the same standards and punishments in the justice system? Until Roper v. Simmons in 2005, the justice system did just that, treat the actions of 16 year old with the same consequences as if they had been committed by an adult. In Roper v. Simmons the United States Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile under the age of 18 to the death penalty. Before, Roper v. Simmons, in Thompson v. Oklahoma it had been decided that only those under the age of 16 could not be considered for the death penalty. Were these decisions correct? If an adolescent can commit such a heinous crime as homicide should they not also be able then to handle the consequences? The other side of the argument against the juvenile death penalty states that juveniles do not have the same reasoning skills as an adult and therefore cannot be held to same criminal blameworthiness. Facts will show that the United States Supreme Court was correct in their decision to ban the death penalty for all those under the age of eighteen. Recent brain imaging scans have shown that an adolescent’s brain is not fully developed until late in adolescence causing them to be immature, have diminished decision making capacity and underdeveloped reasoning and thinking skills (Aronson, 2007); qualities which ... ...onduct. (2011). Ethics and Judicial Conduct. Guide to Judiciary Policy, 1-19. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2010, August 18). Brain Basics: Know Your Brain. Retrieved July 2011, from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/know_your_brain.htm North, M. (2002). Greek Medicine: The Hippocratic Oath. Retrieved July 2011, from National Institute of Health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html Paus, T. (2005). Mapping Brain Maturation and Cognitive Development During Adolescence. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 60-68. Steinberg, L., & Scott, E. S. (2003). Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence. American Psychologist, 1009-1018. Strater, S. D. (1994-1995). The Juvenile Death Penalty: In the Best Interests of the Child? Layola University Chicago Law Journal, 147-182.

Minimum Wage - The Dubious Policy :: essays papers

Minimum Wage The Questionable Policy As early as 6.00 am in a dark and cold morning of Midwest winter, a few people walking on an icy sidewalk. Under chilling wind, those people walk to a large, old building. Inside the building, the people work for repetitive, backbreaking low waged jobs. In the same day, late at night, you can see similar scene: some people walking out of the building under heavy snowstorm. Being one of those people, I know the feeling of a minimum waged worker. Like all of those workers, I feel exhausted after finishing my job. Everyday, I wait with impatience to hear my supervisor say â€Å"That is it, turn off the belt.† After put off my safety gloves and sweep my sweat, I can only think to return to my room and sleep. I lost most of my time and energy just for a few dollars. There are a lot of people that work harder and earn less than me. The poor, especially less-skilled workers, has access only to â€Å"bad jobs at bad wages† (Blank 64). Those workers always face bad situation. They are poor. They are struggling to sustain the life of their families. On the contrary, the owners of the company where they work have a high standard of living. Bad wage is advantageous for the group of people known as traditional elites who own labor-intensive firms because it lowers production cost, thus increase the competitiveness of the product. For that reason, it is natural for the traditional elites to keep wage as low as possible. This action creates what Karl Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto as †naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation† (82). The minimum wage seems to be an appealing solution against these abusive exploitations. Applying a minimum wage law, government can force a wealth distribution among the owners and their lowest level workers. On Saturday, June 25, 1938, The U.S. Congress first instituted a minimum wage with the Fair Labor Standard Act. The minimum wage was set at 25 cents per working hour (US Department of Labor). The federal minimum wage is increase overtime, adjusted for higher living cost due to accumulated inflation. The minimum wage level is currently set at $5.15 per working hour (2001). An increase in minimum wage can help the poor by substantial amount. A 75-cent per hour increase in the minimum wage means an additional $1,500 for a minimum wage earner who works full-time, year round – â€Å"as much as the average family spends on groceries in 6 months† (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Christianity and Buddhism Differences Essay -- essays research papers

Task one: 1. CHRISTIANITY Main Rituals: The sacraments are the main rituals, the connections between the sacraments with Catholicism and Orthodox are, Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Matrimony, Holy orders, Extreme unction and Reconciliation. Many of the sacraments are ignored by the Anglican Church however, Baptism and the Holy Eucharist is widely encouraged. Sacred Texts: The Sacred text of Christianity is the HOLY BIBLE, and this comprises of the old testament, Jewish scriptures and the new testament from Jesus`s birth to his death which had his teachings and writings within it. The HOLY BIBLE has the original texts from over 1500 years, including that new writings have been discovered this century; we haven’t published those an example would be, The Dead Sea Scrolls. Sacred Time: Christmas being one of the most important times during the year, according to the Liturgical Calender the most important times for a Christian would be Christmas, Easter which occurs in the Easter time/Season, which is during March, April and May. This season starting with the First Sunday of Lent, which is carried out until the Pentecost, this time is to reflect on Jesus`s life and death, his resurrection and his rising into heaven. Sacred Space: Christians believe that a holy place would be their church. Her they go about the worship of God and Jesus, apart from churches services of worship can occur such as The Vatican (Catholicism). Ways of Holiness: The Types of paths followers of god may...

The World Wide Web or Internet

Commonly known as the Internet, the world†s largest network is used extensively throughout the world today. Since its creation in 1983, the Internet has continued to grow in popularity and use as a commercial and private communications medium. Millions of people throughout the world use the Internet in a variety of ways, ranging from personal conversations to on-line shopping. According to a survey compiled by Nua Ltd in 1999, the number of Internet users rose from 26 million in 1995 to 205 million in 1999, an increase of almost 700% (Nua Ltd)! With such an explosive increase, how then has he Internet affected us personally, and how has it affected the way we do business? The answers to these questions include changes in the way people obtain information, interact, work, learn and conduct business. Given the Internet†s original purpose is to share information, it is no wonder that the most important asset of the Internet is the wealth of information that can be found on the Internet (Maney 3). Information previously found only in libraries and encyclopedias is now available on the Internet; in addition, news, weather, and movie listings are also ade available on the Internet. Internet users constantly remain informed of the world around them by reading news from the New York Times, USA Today, San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times and many other newspapers found on-line. Even those like myself who are far away from home can keep in touch by reading local newspapers Along with the vast amount of information, the Internet also provides almost instant sharing and distribution of information. Through the use of electronic mail, people all over the world can â€Å"send information to far-away places cheaply, easily and in great olume – much more than any medium before it† (Maney 3). This form of communication known as email is the most widely used tool of the Internet today. Another invention of the Internet is the chat room. From within a chat room, people make friends with others throughout the world and share information with one another in real time. Because of email and chat capability, employees can work together without requiring that everyone work in the same place or even at the same time (Maney 4). On a more personal level, email and chat allow families and friends to stay in touch, keeping relationships intact. Being an international student myself, email and chat rooms have greatly benefited me as they enable me to constantly keep in touch with my family and friends in Singapore. The educational community has also taken advantage of the opportunities the Internet offers. Over the last few years, there has been a tremendous growth in both the number of distance education courses offered by colleges and universities, and in the enrollment in those classes. Internet based classes allow students to watch, listen, and exchange ideas with educators and other students who may be miles away. With n-line education, people learn independently and at their own pace. Such convenience allows learning to take place virtually anywhere and at any time. Busy working adults are now taking classes in the comfort of their home without having to attend regularly scheduled classes on a college campus. Online education also provides people from rural districts the opportunity to have an education without having to travel long distances. Besides supporting on-line education, the Internet has also made our lives immensely simple by allowing us to do countless tasks even in the middle of the night. Using the Internet, people find jobs, send electronic cards, shop, make airline and hotel reservations, execute stock trades, and even pay bills online! The Internet is thus a virtual market place where people can, at the click of a button, select products, place orders, and pay using a secure electronic transaction. All of this ability has made conducting personal business convenient and easy, and enables everyone to complete many tasks that previously would take weeks. With the increasing popularity of people shopping and purchasing goods online, the Internet has created â€Å"new ways of doing business† (Maney 4). Realizing the potential of the Internet, many companies have started to advertise their products and services on-line. By marketing their products and services on-line, companies are able to constantly update the site's product catalog and inform buyers of any changes. Companies, especially new ones, can now allow themselves to be made known to the consumers through advertising over the Internet. Furthermore, there is lesser overhead cost involved, as sales persons and order takers are no longer required. In addition, the Internet has also enabled low budget organizations to reach interested parties across the country or the world. All of these lower costs have resulted in lower costs for the consumer. Many on-line shoppers can find good deals and low prices for desired goods, leading to even more and more on-line business. However, these reduced costs and benefits for the consumer have had adverse effects on some businesses that have been around for many years. Those business which typically are service or data oriented have seen a sharp decline in sales. For example, ar dealerships compete with on-line business because some customers prefer finding a vehicle on-line instead of dealing with a nagging car salesman. Car dealerships are not the only ones threatened by the convenience of the Internet. Postal services and phone companies also face new competition from Internet applications such as email Although the Internet may have some great and significant impact on our lives and the way business is done, there are considerable consequences and drawbacks. Because of the Internet, a new social disorder has been created known as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). IAD occurs when a computer dominates rather than serves a person, and when people develop â€Å"unhealthy dependencies on the Internet use† (Gard 3). Psychologists have found that there has been a raise in the number of people who â€Å"find the virtual reality on computer screens more attractive than everyday reality† (Gard 3). These addicts perceive that surfing the web is more important than doing any other task. They cannot control the amount of time spent on the computer. For these addicts, the Internet serves as an outlet to escape from reality, relieving their feelings f distress (Gard 3). These addicts often feel anxious and uneasy when not on-line, and crave the Internet connection. As a result of such an addiction, Internet addicts tend to neglect their family, friends and work. Ironically, numerous on-line support groups have since been set up to offer advice to people with such a disorder. Apart from Internet addiction, personal privacy is jeopardized and â€Å"doesn†t exist on the Internet† (Gard 2). Being a web surfer myself, I have had to provide my name, email account, interests, and even telephone number during several occasions in order to ccess a particular web site. In doing this, unscrupulous Internet businesses steal or misuse personal information given to them to â€Å"personalize features on their sites to make them more appealing† (Gard 2). They also release information about their customers to their advertisers. These companies use this information to invade one†s personal time with phone calls and newsletters trying to offer their services. Furthermore, the Internet has made it easier than ever before for people to share and sell data, so that â€Å"anyone who†s willing to pay can get Social Security numbers and riving records† (Gard 2). Likewise, a person having your credit card number and its expiration date can now purchase goods online. From the above examples, it can be seen that there is little, if any, privacy left to be found when dealing with the Internet. The Internet has also given criminals a new media to exploit. While there are many types of Internet criminal activity, child pornography has quickly become a critical issue for the Internet. There has been a widespread increase in the distribution of illegal child pornography on the Internet; child pornographers misuse the Internet to exploit exually abused and molested children throughout the world. By means of the Internet, sexually explicit material of children has been illegally transmitted and sold. Despite these abhorrent activities, the Internet provides each of us with extraordinary With the number of people using the Internet growing exponentially, it is easy to see that the Internet has pervaded the life of everyone. Those that use the Internet on a daily basis, or even only a little, can feel the impact of the Internet around them. The ease with which they can communicate, learn, or accomplish simple tasks and chores akes life easier, and hopefully less stressful. Even those that don†t use the Internet can feel the impact it has on our society and businesses. Because many businesses today use the Internet to advertise products and to provide support, those not familiar with the Internet may find it difficult to get the information needed. People in this position may not like what is happening around them, but the effect on their lives is also felt. Whether the Internet†s effect on someone is good or bad, the fact remains that the Internet has an effect on us all.