Analysis of “Al Gore on Climate Crisis and Global Power”

Former Vice President Al Gore was the featured â€Å"My Turn† opinion writer for the December 18, 2006 issue of Newsweek Magazine. This opinion article was a part of Gore’s environmental awareness campaign which began with the publication of his book An Inconvenient Truth.  Gore presents a very well written argument advocating the necessity for massive change in the use of energy. According to Gore, â€Å"we are now faced with an urgent crisis—a crisis that is altering the very nature of the earth’s climate.†Gore makes his compelling argument without preaching, scolding, or frightening. This is extremely rare, and valuable, given the highly volatile nature of any debate involving energy sources and environmental concern. The article is interesting for what is said as well as for what is omitted.The piece is devoid of the usual â€Å"doomsday† statistics and anecdotes projecting a critical problem without a solution. Instead, Gore portrays t he world at a crossroads, the beginning of â€Å"a new age† where â€Å"crisis† should be defined as the Chinese write it: â€Å"danger† and â€Å"opportunity†. He does not need to elaborate on the well-known and documented dangers facing the world regarding climate change. Instead, he illustrates several of the opportunities he visualizes in the future.His first example is the development of an â€Å"electranet† distribution network for electrical power. Instead of massive coal, oil, or nuclear fuel power plants, smaller suppliers, including wind and solar power generators, will be widespread.Additionally, anyone on the â€Å"electranet† who can generate electricity, from small home solar units to larger industrial generators, will be able to sell their surplus power to the grid. Other changes envisioned include â€Å"smart† buildings â€Å"constructed with breakthrough solar and nanotechnologies† and super-high mileage vehicl es.Gore is optimistic because â€Å"market forces that are now in motion— driven by visionaries at companies as diverse as Wal-Mart, British Petroleum and General Electric†   are having an effect. But, more must be done: governments must â€Å"exert real leadership† in agreement to the Kyoto treaty and then beyond in order to meet the crisis. With optimism Gore closes by stating it is â€Å"a rare opportunity for our generation to unite behind a historic mission.†I share Gore’s attitude and opinions regarding energy and the environment; however, I believe I am not alone in feeling very apprehensive. A day does not pass without more evidence documenting incredible damage and change in the global environment.It is easy to fear that the world of our children and grandchildren will be terribly damaged. It is difficult to focus on what one individual can do when there is a fear of it being â€Å"too little too late.† As Gore believes market for ces will cause the beneficial change, I believe we must examine how â€Å"we the people† can be a significant part of that force.To paraphrase Gore, the immediate future will be incredibly challenging. I believe he frames the issue perfectly as â€Å"a historic mission† in which we must all play a significant role. In unity there will be success; the environment does not have the luxury of time for divisiveness or finger-pointing.Although it is very likely we will be able to see the reward of collective action, if not, it is certain future generations will see the result of our action or inaction.

Gran Torino Film Review

Gran Torino Gran Torino is an American drama film, released in 2008 film directed and produced by and also starring Clint Eastwood. Set in Detroit, Michigan it was the first mainstream U. S. film to feature Hmong Americans. Gran Torino was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $270 million worldwide and is also said to be Clint Eastwood’s most successful film, but as like many films Gran Torino received both praise and criticism. Gran Torino† tells the story of Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a grizzled Korean War veteran whose wife recently passed away. Walt lives alone with his dog in a Detroit, the neighborhood he’s lived in for well over 30 years in no longer populated as he would say ‘lower middle class white folks’, but has turned into an Asian neighborhood. A Hmong family lives next door, a grandmother, single mother and her two teenagers Thao (Bee Vang) and Sue (Ahney Her).Thao is quiet and intelligent but very shy, where as Sue i s very outgoing and fearless. The local Asian gang led by Thao’s cousin tries to recruit Thao. Thao does not have a choice because you cannot say no to a gang, they talk him into trying to steal Walt’s 1972 Gran Torino, Walt Stops it from happening but Thao gets away unrecognized. Then Thao is forced by his sister and mother to work for Walt in an effort for the attempted to steal his car.The two become very close as Walt see’s the good and potential in Thao and teaches him how to be a man and steer clear of the gang. Walt vows to protect Thao, setting the stage for a showdown with the gang. Clint Eastwood is really great to watch in this movie, his acting throughout Gran Torino really convinces you that he is a retired old war veteran, who has seen it all and is afraid of nothing. The way he confronts trouble throughout the film is impressive especially in the one scene where he comes up against three men harassing Sue on her walk.From my point of view there ar e a few camera angles portrayed throughout the scenes of the film, but there is hardly and visual effects or anything else, I think what makes this movie a good hit is Clint Eastwood’s attitude showed in his acting and the rest of the actors as well, and yes of course during the film Walt is very racists and says lots of different ethnic comments but the point is, well the point that I noticed was that Walt starts to look past and see the people for who they really are not just look at their race or where they come from.This movie is perfect for Clint Eastwood fans or young adults and older, I wouldn’t really say it is for teenagers because they might not fully understand the film and just think that Walt is a grumpy old man who just gets fired up over nothing. I rate it a 4 out of 5.

Measurement Scales Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Measurement Scales - Research Paper Example The scale is often employed in labelling variables that lack any quantitative value such as the human gender, which fundamentally presents itself in two forms that is the male and female (Kendall et al, 2012). Additionally, nominal scales are used while placing data into categories without adhering to any order or structure. Physical examples of a nominal scale are the terms used for colors, as the underlying spectrum normally appear ordered while the names are nominal. Nominal scales are suitable for use in questionnaires, as they enable the parties involved to classify all the variables into specific groupings. At the same time, nominal scales make it easier for the researchers to analyze the collected data given that the information can be totaled. The example below demonstrates how a nominal scale can be used in a questionnaire. An ordinal scale is a feature of measurement that is used to determine non-numeric conceptions such as contentment, delight and discomfort. Under ordinal scales, the order of the values in question are the most important, implying that less significance is accorded to the difference between the variables (Aaker, 2010). Researchers have overtime reaffirmed the fact that the variables within an ordinal scale are easy to comprehend notably because they adhere to the order in which they appear. In like manner, it is far-reaching to note that the ideal way to determine the central tendency of a set of ordinal data is by using both the mode and median values and not the mean. Ordinal scales are normally used when analyzing data derived from questionnaires majorly because they ease the process of classification. Similarly, ordinal scales imply rank ordering as validated in the portion below. The term interval refers to the difference between two values. Interval scales are hence defined as the numeric scales that indicate both the

Online Banking Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Online Banking - Research Proposal Example Several studies have been conducted to with an aim of showing trends in the adoption of internet banking among adults and different geographic areas. Online banking services and products include both wholesale and retail products. Wholesale products are generally meant for corporate customers while retail and fiduciary products are meant for consumers. Online banking has become a popular and safe way for individuals, institutions and organizations to stay connected with their bank accounts. Online banking is mostly preferred above over-the-counter-banking since it is cheap and it offers the flexibility that is desired by clients (Hossein, 2004). It however also remains a high-risk subject considering that frauds are more easily conducted online and over remote distances than when banking activities are conducted offline. While several studies have been conducted on online banking, there is a clear gap that needs to be filled; how do different gender relate to internet banking. This study is therefore aimed at finding how different sexes respond to online banking. Of great interest is the ratio of online banking users in terms of gender, the specific services that are preferred by each sex and for what reasons other services are not preferred. Today's internet banking has succeeded distance banking services that were conducted electronically during the early 80s. The term online banking was commonly adapted inn the late 1980s to refer to the use of keyboard, monitor and a terminal to access the electronic banking system using a phone line. It was in New York in 1981 that online banking services began. The city's major banks Chase Manhattan, Citibank, Manufacturers and Chemical offered home banking services by use of the videotext system. United Kingdom's first online banking service was established by NBS (Nottingham Building Society) in 1983. The online system was based on the Prestel system, a television set, a computer and a telephone system. The system allowed viewing of statements online, bill payments, and bank transfers (John, Levine & Carol, 2007). In order for bill payment and bank transfers to be effected, written instructions had to be first sent to the NBS who then updated the Homelink system of the intended transaction. Many banks today offer secure, fully functional internet banking for a small fee or sometimes even free of charge. As online banking

Treatments for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Research Paper - 1

Treatments for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus - Research Paper Example Diabetes is, at the moment, ranked as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States (Rubino et al 1). In many other states, it ranks far much higher due to their deprived status of dealing with the illness. The financial turmoil, in 2007 alone, went beyond US$ 174 billion. Oral hypoglycemic and diet modification have proven inadequate, while insulin therapy simply solves the matter temporarily. In the United States Prospective Diabetes Study, people with diabetes were treated with insulin, diet modification, sulfonylurea and metformin (Sloan 194). At one with the progressive trait of diabetes, monotherapy was deserted in 75 percent of the diabetic patients assessed in a follow-up of 10 years. Even with the new-fangled pharmaco-therapies, diabetic patients still develop micro- and macro-vascular effects. Diabetes is connected to increased stroke- and cardiac-related deaths, blindness and kidney failure, as well as 69% of the non-trauma lower-limb amputations (Sloan 194). In card iac surgery, the illness as a preoperative risk element confers much better morbidity than a previous myocardial infarction. Whereas this numbers indicate to us that this disease will be a global health concern of the next generation, its actual pathophysiology is yet to be defined. Alternative treatments targeting diverse models of this disease need vigilant and responsible assessment. A tremendous body of proof now showcases that surgery for type 1 diabetes can achieve complete illness remission, an objective almost unprecedented in recent diabetes care (Perry 22; Montenero 98; Fox 1550). Data gathered over many years of surgery showcases the success and durability of diabetes management gained after the surgery. Metabolic surgery is, at the moment, emerging as a field devoted to the development of surgical processes, particularly intended to treat diabetes. However, what about non-surgical treatment? Type 1 is treated non-surgically with insulin replacement – normally

The Shopping Cart Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Shopping Cart Economics - Essay Example So, Goldman hired decoy shoppers of all ages and both sexes to push the thing around the store. That and an attractive store greeter did the trick, making him a multimillionaire and a legend. Market research showed that shoppers purchased more when the size of the cart is bigger. So as the stores grew, so did the cart and today’s average grocery cart is almost two times the capacity of the original. So, how can a shopping cart affect our economy? Goldman’s concept was simple: Make shopping easier for the customers and they will visit the store more frequently and buy more, generating Goldman more income. To make customers feel more comfortable while shopping, there are many additions made to a shopping cart like booster seats and seat belts for young children, miniature sized carts for children to shop alongside their parents, and shopping cart vehicles for the elderly and disabled. After all, a happy shopper makes a good income for the store. Since the customers are not bothered with weary arms carrying loads of grocery items, they have the extra time to check out other items, compare prices and contents. This has a subtle but big impact on the economy since this will foster a healthy competition among product manufacturers which will have two results: Whenever we see a shopping cart we just see it as a necessary object that makes shopping easy and convenient but the truth is companies are investing on these carts to give them more profit. This has been used for many years by companies to manipulate its customers to buy more and spend more time doing

New tourist market in Slovenia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

New tourist market in Slovenia - Research Paper Example Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa that generates revenue reaching up to 1% to 3% of the gross domestic product. Directly and indirectly, it constitutes 7% to the employment (South Africa’s tourism industry, 2008). South Africa holds special attraction for the tourists interested in sports. South Africa has successfully hosted international events like; 2101 FIFA World Cup,The Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup, A1 Grand Prix, Indian Premier League, World Cups of Golf, Athletics, Swimming etc. (Morgan, n.d). The country also offers people from overseas, some fantastic events like bungee jumping, hiking, fishing, yacht racing, rock climbing, scuba diving, paragliding and horse riding. Target Market: The growth in the popularity of sport-oriented leisure travel can be viewed daily. The highways are, more often than not, seen busy with cars laden with bicycles, skis, and canoes. The number of vacation destinations offering sporting facilities is also growing tremendously (Gibson, 1998). Sports tourism involves either viewing, or participating in the sporting events. It is the fastest growing segment in the global travel agency. This tourism can be divided into three types; Sports Event Tourism, Celebrity and Nostalgia Sport Tourism  and  Active Sport Tourism. ... South Africa has a great potential for this sector of tourism industry, as it caters to both the spectators and the players. Vision: South Africa is a beautiful and prosperous country. The aim is to; Promote sports event tourism and active sport tourism Attract international organisers and tourists and make them fall in love with the country. Encourage international organisers to host their future events on South African soil. Increase the employment rate. Concept: South Africa has fantastic rivers, breath-taking surroundings, sublime coastal scenery and consistent high-quality surf, horse riding trails as diverse as the terrain, a huge variety of superb scenic hiking trails and a climate made for the outdoors enthusiast. So, if a person is interested in canoeing, rafting, kayaking, hiking, horse riding, surf skiing, sailing, he/she is in for a treat. There is no better place for a person looking for an adventurous and fun filled vacation. And what more could a person ask for when ev erything he wants is present in one place. Just one vacation and he gets a lifetime experience. While some sport lovers come to explore their own talents, there are some diehard fans that come to watch world cups and tournaments held there. With the success of 2010 World Cup, the tourism players are now aiming at promoting the country as an outstanding host for future large scale international events. The 2010 World Cup has left an everlasting mark on the South African landscape. Tourism industry is not all about attracting foreigners; it holds some incentives for the locals as well. All kinds of sport attract fervent support, both at the event and at home. There are both social and economical advantages, on a national and regional level, that come from hosting sports events,

Aristotle's Ideas about Reality Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aristotle's Ideas about Reality - Article Example This fundamental difference between the thinking patterns of the two Greeks resulted in a dualistic approach to comprehend Reality, each with its own arguments and counter-arguments. Plato believed that the world is a timeless, ordered cosmos whose reality transcends the temporal and empirical manifestation of the concrete surroundings on Earth. He hypothesized the existence of Forms, or Ideas, which represent the true Reality of the universe, and which are found in the world which we perceive in a combination of various degrees at various instances. Each manifestation in the world has an Idea which transcends it. For example, a chair gets its property of being a chair through the transcendent Form of Chair, which represents the common quality among all chairs in the world. As we break the chair to make a stool, the degree of Chair in that element decreases, and the degree of Stool (the transcendent Idea of Stool) in the element increases, till a point, is reached when the ‘Sto ol’ property (rather, Stooges) of that element overcomes the ‘Chair’ property (or rather, Chairness). At this point, the element transforms from a chair into a stool, and this is all due to the ‘Ideas’ which manifest themselves in that element. In such a way, Plato perceived, there were ideas for everything evident in the world, which was the pure representation of that quality. The Form of Beauty was pure beauty which manifested itself in various elements on the Earth to a varying degree.

Rasing minimun wage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rasing minimun wage - Essay Example Whereas it is true that minimum wage workers are our Lady constrained with respect to the degree and extent to which they can afford consumer goods, raising the minimum wage and negatively impacting upon inflation is not solution towards maximizing the success of these individuals and improving the overall level of integration consumer markets (MEJEUR 15). Another issue that is oftentimes misunderstood with regard to raising the minimum wage has to do with the overall ability that employers will have to pay the higher wages. Whereas it is true that minimum wage increases lead to inflation, this inflation is not felt within the broader economy are certain periods (Willis and Linneker 182). Accordingly, employers face an extraordinarily difficult time meeting profitability goals, affording inputs, while at the same time paying their workers. As anyone with a certain level of business understanding can indicate, human resource expenses are invariably the highest expenses that a company responsible for either product or service representation is responsible. Because of this, increasing these costs to a measurable extent places unnecessary hardship on businesses that are already operating margins. This concern, perhaps more than any other is the single biggest reason for why increasing the minimum wage would be effectively harmful to the w ay in which businesses operate within the United States and seek to develop their own needs based upon the extant environment that exists around them. Furthermore, due to the fact that more and more companies are seeking to promote profitability and business success by hiring their minimum of employees, increasing the minimum wage is potentially something that could cause many of these â€Å"operation at the margin† companies to close another valid concern that is oftentimes not considered has to do with the fact that increasing the minimum wage would also encourage employers

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

Competition and markets - Essay Example Factors determining the elasticity of demand are market demand elasticity, the number of businesses in the market in addition, the firm’s interaction in the market. In monopolistic situation, the demand curve is always downward sloping and the industry demand curve is the firm’s demand curve. The marginal revenue of a monopolistic firm is always below its price and the marginal revenue usually changes with the changes in output but not equal to price. The marginal revenue decreases with increase in output since the monopolist can only sell more units by reducing prices. Average Revenue curve is the demand curve and the average revenue is similar to price, however, Marginal revenue must always be less than the Average Revenue even as output increases with fall in prices (Mankiw 2011). Firms in competitive markets sell absolutely similar or homogenous products and are referred to as price takers. Perfectly competitive market comprises of many suppliers who cannot single h andedly influence either the market price and the total market output hence each supplier can only control a small part of the total market demand. The suppliers output is greatly controlled by the market forces and the price in which the suppliers must sell their products is at prevailing equilibrium price such that any increase in prices may invite another supplier who may be willing and able to supply at the equilibrium price. The inability of producing more goods than the market demand and the incapability of raising prices results into a horizontal or perfectly elastic demand curve. As much as a supplier may be able to reduce product’s prices, it may result into a loss hence the need to embark on the market price (Mankiw 2011). 2. There are various characteristics associated with the perfectly competitive markets such as the large number of firms in the market, assumption of non-existence of externalities, minimal government regulation, homogeneity in the units of input, production of homogenous goods, non-existence of barriers to entry, and the availability of perfect knowledge. In perfect competition, different firms produce goods that are perfect substitute and whose prices cannot be easily changed by a single firm. Automobile may be produced under the market conditions similar to perfectly competitive market because of the fact that motor vehicles manufactured have very close substitutes. In addition, there is no barrier to entry and the suppliers cannot increase the vehicle prices abnormally. In case an automobile company reduces prices of its products, they may run at a loss. Moreover, the automobile firms can only manage and control a few customers in the larger market making it hard for them to determine the quantity of the automobiles to be manufactured and their prices (Mankiw 2011). Beer production also fits perfect competition conditions since beer product produced by one firm may as well be produced by another firm with may be very sli ght content changes. The fact that beer is manufactured by using almost similar product makes it challenging to differentiate the beer products. Furthermore, as a characteristic of perfect competition, there are many beer consumers as well as numerous beer manufactures. The beer consumers are always very loyal but highly sensitive to price changes thus any slight change in price upwards, may hinder the consumers from using one particular product. In

House Hold Chores Essay Example for Free

House Hold Chores Essay Children should not have to work or help with household tasks; their only responsibility should be to study Helping family with household tasks causes no harm to either adult members or children. On the other hand, housework enables children to learn a number of important life skills and to avoid social evils. After school time, children are able to assist their parents with simple household routines such as tidying their own rooms, cooking simple dishes amp;washing clothes. Such activities teach children essential knowledge and practical experience for their life. During a holiday cooking competition, the winners are the children who are used to doing household tasks in their families. Another example is involvement in daily chores providing children with numerous lessons learnt: time management, awareness of needs, limitations, responsibilities, encouragement them to recognize dos and don’ts. Requesting/ instructing a child to clean his or her dirty shoes after coming from school or to clear up the table after meal doesn’t mean demand him or her to do a hard business, but instead these need to be done. It is obvious that children attributed their knowledge and fundamental skills to housework aiding and implementing. Furthermore, social evils are completely avoidable by assigning housework to children in their free time. Idle children are an underlying cause of easily engaging in harmful activities such as: online games, violent games, fighting and even gambling without any consideration. In a family, simple responsibility allocations do not only maintain them occupied but also raise their consciousness. For instances, children spend most of their spare time taking care of flowers around their house leaving them no opportunities to involve in internet games instead educate them to appreciate and protect nature. The more homework assignments to children, the more knowledge they gain and the less social evils to be addressed. In conclusion, studying is necessary during childhood but participations in household tasks are not bad ideas. Parents give children household chore means giving them valuable chances to experience and protecting them from evils.

Company Introduction, Market Segmentation, and Product Positioning Essay Example for Free

Company Introduction, Market Segmentation, and Product Positioning Essay The key to successful product implementation in today’s national enterprise system is the effective marketing of a new product with the company’s line of existing products. As stated by Lacobucci (2012), marketing is defined as an exchange between a company and its customers. The customer wants something from the company or firm and vice versa. In previous times, a company would manufacture a product they thought the customer would want or need. The customer purchased that product because of a pending need, which basically meant that marketing used to be product oriented. However, marketing today is more that an advertisement for goods and services in an attempt to attract new business. We live in a customer orientated and empowered marketing environment. We realize the importance and ramifications of having an exchange with our customers and developing a relationship with them. It is this exchange of information between our company and our existing as well as future customers that secures our position in our target market. Our company is a regional tool distributor located in the northeastern section of the United States. Our customer base consists of several major retailers, nationally known in the retail and wholesale tool industry. We used the brand label Blue Steel Tools for marketing and distribution of our products to discuss the implementation of an effective plan to market a new product line, the Illuminated Power Wrench. This paper will analyze market, identify our market segment for sales distribution and discuss the reasoning for the segment. Discussing the target market and why the targeted customers were specifically selected. We will do the SWOT analysis; describe the unique market position and the expected service provided in meeting the needs of the target audience. 1. Identify the marketing segment for the product and provide a rationale for this segment. The definition of a market segment as stated by Lacobucci (2012) is a group of customers that shares similar inclinations towards our brand. To define market segment further for our needs, it is an identifiable group of individuals, professionals or organizations that share one or more characteristics or needs in an otherwise homogenous market. In our case, our product will have a very wide market of consumers and small business owners and employees. Therefore we will need to reduce the market segments to larger chunks. Market segments generally respond in a predictable manner to a marketing or promotion offer. The market segment for the new product will vary widely due to the versatility of our product usage. Our main segment approach will focus on the wholesale distribution to retail repair supply stores who carry lines of tools for resale to the private and business consumer. These market segments will include businesses such as Lowes and Home Depot, retail tool distributors such as Harbor Freight Tools, automobile parts stores such as Advance Auto Parts and tool catalogue companies such as great Northern to name a few. As we analyze this segment we ask the question if this segment is viable and can we profit from using it. Other considerations are accessibility and measurability. This segment is small enough to manage our sales and distribution, but large enough to reach the ultimate user of our product. This market segment possesses the potential and versatility to sell and distribute our product to the target consumer market with a widely diversified audience in the retail industry. The bases for this segmentation include similar demographics, geographical locations, and psychological make-up of customers and behaviors of users/purchasers. In other words, the customer base for our segments meets the desired user of our end product. Anyone who builds or repairs something whether they are a novice or professional is a potential customer. Therefore, by using this method of market segmentation for product distribution, we will successfully sub-divide a large homogenous market into clear identifiable and manageable segments that have similar needs, wants or demand characteristics indicated by Lacobucci (2012). 2. Discuss the target market and provide rationale for this target market. The target market defined is the particular market segment at which a marketing campaign is focused. As stated earlier, this product has been designed for the retail tool industry. We have targeted segments in the industry that will be the most successful in reaching the consumer and generating a demand for our product through steady sales. Lacobucci stated the first perspective in assessing segments target is to have a view of the segments themselves and the primary concern is the segment be profitable. This in turn will become a profitability issue for our company as we continue to hold a place in the small tool market and generate profits with continued sales. The second perspective examined was if the market or segment fit with who we are. In this case the answer is yes. The ultimate target for this product is the consumer. The greater exposure we have, the higher propensity for sales growth. The illuminated ratchet screw driver is a quality tool for use by not only the novice home self repair person; it will also meet the needs of the professional repair person, no matter what the industry. The illumination system in the handle of the wrench will appeal to the vehicle mechanic working in the close quarters of an engine compartment, the electrician repairing the circuit breaker box, the computer repair technician working in between electronic circuitry as well as to the basic consumer performing handy maintenance projects. This tool will come with the standard wrench lugs and have availability to accessories such as wrench tips to enhance its versatility to meet the needs of a wider target audience. The wider target audience is customers of our targeted market segments. Therefore the target market is our pathway to the ultimate user of the product is consumer sales. The strategic sales objective of these retail establishments coincides with our strategic vision of reaching the ultimate user of our products, satisfying their needs and increasing the likelihood of additional product sales. 3. Perform a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and treats) for the company. As we move forward in the marketing of our product, we need to our own corporate strengths. Lacobucci (2012) suggests the use of a SWOT analysis in identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses characterize our company in relation to competitors where the opportunities and threats characterize the broader environment such as the tool industry, suppliers, the government and etc. Our strengths are in our track record in t he tool industry. We have provided quality products at competitive prices. Another perceived strength is in the management of our company. The senior management of Steel City Tools has provided a strategic vision with clearly defined attainable goals for market position and sales. However a perceived threat is in the foreign market. A number of tool company’s efforts have been over shadowed with a cheaper duplication of products from foreign markets. The US has been plagued with a reduction in the manufacturing industry due to globalized markets, elimination of trade barriers and outsourcing. The end result is our market segment (distributor) could purchase a similar product cheaper and increase their gross margin and not purchase our product for resale. Another threat we are not prepared to react to is loss of a major distributing customer. With more and more businesses merging, we could lose a distribution source with no warning. One of our weaknesses is we have focused on sales east of the Mississippi, thus limiting market expansion. However, this could be turned around as a future opportunity for market expansion. An easy way to expand our market is to establish a retail division and use infomercials through the cable television network to accept mail order/telephone order select product sales such as our new illuminated power wrench. However, a marketing effort of this nature would require careful consideration must be given to the geographical area so as not to alienate our primary segment customers. A move of this nature would require additional capital investment and careful analysis of this type of expansion would be necessary to minimize risk of project failure. The SWOT is useful in clarifying our marketing questions. The key is to address our shortcomings so as not to give the competition an upper hand and not raise concerns with our customers and capitalize on our strengths for continued success. 4. Create the market position for your product and service. Explain your rationale. Product positioning, according to the Encyclopedia of Business, involves the tailoring the entire marketing program to include product features, distribution, price, quality and service to meet the needs of the consumer within the specific market segment. In this manner, the product positioning is part of the overall market segmentation. Product position takes place in our distributors store, or target market segment and tells us how we can strive most effectively in that market segment against our competition which are also present on display. The key is to understand the consumer perceptions of the product and the marketing behind it. Quality, reliability, affordability, unique features, benefits to the customer is just a few attributes of product positioning. According to Lacobucci (2012) positioning is often about modifying the four P’s of marketing (position, price, place and promotion). In the case of our company, our reputation is a reflection of the position to provide a quality product at a competitive price while leading the market in innovation. Our company performance is attributed to the quality of our employment staff. Our employees are at the core to our success. We have established core values for our company’s work force by creating a positive work culture with recognition of the whole person concept. The strategic leadership from the top on down to the employee fosters productivity with reward and recognition to enhance their performance in support of the company operations to include our marketing efforts. Thus the positive and proactive personality of our company in meeting its marketing objectives is a direct reflection of the quality of every member of the Blue Steel Tool Team. As we continue to grow and develop products for sale, we position our products at a distribution sales point or market segment with the greatest customer exposure for maximum market penetration. We will service our product to the satisfaction and benefit of the customer so as not to jeopardize customer confidence as well as the business relationship with our market segment. The product we create and the service we provide are a direct reflection of not only our company, but that of our distributors. Our products are designed to meet the working needs of our professional as well as consumer clientele with a level of quality that meet or exceed expectations at the best value. References Lacobucci, D. (2012) Marketing Management: 2012 custom edition. Mason OH Market Segment Defined Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/market-segment. html Morley R. (2006), Trumpet Print Edition: The Death of American Manufacturing, February 2006 Retrieved from http://www. thetrumpet. com/index. php? page=articleid=1955 Reference for Business Product Positioning: Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Retrieved from http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/small/Op-Qu/Product-Positioning. html Target Market Defined retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/target-market. html

Abacus, Amadeus And OPERA Reservation Systems

Abacus, Amadeus And OPERA Reservation Systems Abacus, Amadeus, and OPERA Reservation Systems (ORS) are the three IT systems that will be discuss in this report. Abacus is the Asia Pacifics largest Global Distribution System (GDS) and Computerized Reservations System (CRS) that provides airline reservations, pricing and ticketing, hotel and car bookings, travel insurance and other travel information. One of the travel agency which is using Abacus is Eurotours Travel Pte Ltd in Singapore. Amadeus is a Central Reservations System (CRS) which created by Air France, Iberia Airlines, Lufthansa, and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1987. AirAsia is one of the airline partner which is using Amadeus as their IT system. The OPERA Reservation System (ORS) is the industrys first truly integrated, single image enterprise inventory system. ORS is owned by MICROS Systems, Inc. Loews Hotels has chosen ORS to be their IT systems in all their hotels. These three different IT systems have its different advantages and disadvantages. Last but not least, IT systems are very important in tourism and hospitality industry. They play a lot of roles in industry in order to provide more convenience for the companies as well as the customers. 2. Introduction Information Technology (IT) systems play an important role in tourism and hospitality industry. There are many IT systems appear in the market now for hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and airlines. Some of the IT systems are Abacus, Amadeus, Gabriel, Fidelio, OPERA Reservation System, Sabre, Worldspan, and many others. These IT systems are created to make reservations, check seat availabilities, food and beverage transactions and controls in hotels, restaurants, airlines, as well as travel agencies around the world. Abacus, Amadeus, and OPERA Reservation Systems are the three IT systems that will be discuss in this report. Abacus is the Asia Pacifics largest Global Distribution System (GDS) used in travel agencies. Amadeus is a Central Reservations System (CRS) which majority used in airlines while the OPERA Reservation System used in most hotels in the world. This report is written and compound to evaluate and analyze how Abacus, Amadeus, and OPERA Reservation System are implemented in three different companies. 3. Abacus logo_Abacus-red_large.gif Abacus International is the Asia Pacifics largest Global Distribution System (GDS) and Computerized Reservations System (CRS) that provides airline reservations, pricing and ticketing, hotel and car bookings, travel insurance and other travel information since 1988. The headquarter of Abacus International is located in Singapore. Abacus International is 65 percent owned by Abacus International Holdings and 35 percent owned by U.S. Based GDS, Sabre Holdings. Sabre is the global leader in the electronic distribution of travel and travel related services. Abacus International Holdings is jointly owned by several Asias leading airlines including All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Garuda Indonesia, EVA Airways, China Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Philippine Airlines, SilkAir and Singapore Airlines. Abacus is typically used in travel agencies and one of the travel agency which uses Abacus as their reservation system is: Eurotours Travel Pte Ltd Eurotours Travel Pte Ltd was established by Ms. Hedy Mok in 1974. Eurotours Travel is located at 190 Clemenceau Avenue #05-4/7, Singapore Shopping Centre, Singapore 239924. Eurotours Travel provides inbound and outbound travel management services. Currently, Corporate Travel bookings comprise 80 percent of Eurotours business volume and the remaining 20 percent is from Leisure Travel services. Every system must have the strengths and the weaknesses in different area. The strengths of Abacus are Abacus has direct link for travel agencies who want to apply Australia visa for their customers. It is more convenience for the travel agencies who use Abacus so they do not to go to Australia embassy to queue for applying visa for their customers who wish to travel to Australia. Abacus also provides a lot of information about all requirements that travel agencies need to know for their customers who want to travel to certain country. Some weaknesses of Abacus are the operation of Abacus and the update information in Abacus. The operation of Abacus is not user friendly. For travel agencies who operate Abacus system, they need to give advance training to their employees because Abacus uses a lot of codes in their system. The employees need to learn and memorize hundreds of code in order to make a reservation or check the room availability in a hotel. Abacus also a bit slow in update their new data or information so travel agencies always need to check their new information. logo_Abacus-red_large.gif 4. Amadeus Your Technology Partner 1009amadeuslogo.jpg Amadeus is a Central Reservations System (CRS) which created by Air France, Iberia Airlines, Lufthansa, and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1987. Amadeus is owned by Amadeus IT Group. The central headquarters of Amadeus are located in Madrid, Spain for its corporate headquarters and marketing, Nice for the development and Erding for the operation. Amadeus is also a member of International Air Transport Association (IATA), OpenTravel Alliance (OTA), and SITA, and its IATA designator code is 1A. One of the airline which applies Amadeus as their IT system is: Air Asia According to Press Release from Amadeus North America, Inc. (2010) stated: Madrid, Spain, September 10, 2009: Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry today, announced that it hasformed a groundbreaking partnership with AirAsia, the Worlds Best Low Cost Airline, which for the first time will enable Amadeus-subscribing travel agencies worldwide to book AirAsia flights in the same way they would for a full-service carrier. AirAsia is a Malaysian low-cost airline. AirAsia was established in 1993 and commenced operations on 18 November 1996. AirAsia have five subsidiaries which are Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, VietJet AirAsia, AirAsia RedTix, and Khmer AirAsia (2012). AirAsia Group operates over 400 flights daily, both domestic and international routes, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, South Korea, Laos, Philippines, and United Kingdom. Currently, AirAsia has total 96 fleets including Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, and AirAsia X. Amadeus provides Customer Service Management (CMS) for airlines, sales, reservations, and e-ticketing systems, and corporate self-booking tools for major world leading airlines and travel suppliers. Amadeus also offers services for trains, cars, cruises, and hotel reservations. There are many benefits for the airlines which using Amadeus. The system of Amadeus is quite fast and efficient. Amadeus also allows the airlines to change their existing bookings or request new time limits. Lastly, Amadeus also will send automatic recognition or acknowledgement to their partner airlines once all the updates are finished. 1009amadeuslogo.jpg 5. OPERA Reservation System (ORS) opera.jpg The OPERA Reservation System (ORS) is the industrys first truly integrated, single image enterprise inventory system. OPERA Reservation System is owned by MICROS Systems, Inc. The headquarter of MICROS Systems, Inc. is located in Columbia, Maryland. The ORS hotel reservation system is designed with the entire OPERA product family: OPERA Customer Information System (OCIS), OPERA Property Management System, OPERA Sales and Catering, and OPERA Sales Force Automation. ORS can be configured to suit any size hotel or Central Reservation Office (CRO) environment. ORS handles all types of reservations started from individual, group and party, company, travel agent, multi-legged, multi-rate, as well as waitlisted. ORS is typically used in the hotels especially front office and one of the hotel which uses ORS as their IT system is: Loews Hotels Loews Hotels headquartered in New York City, offer a comfortable, vibrant, and unique local experience for their guests. Loews Hotels is a wholly owned by Loews Corporation. Loews Hotels operates 19 distinctive luxury hotels and resorts across US and Canada started from: Annapolis, Los Angeles, Lake Las Vegas, Montreal, Quebec City, Miami Beach, Nashville, New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Diego, Tucson, Washington DC, St. Pete Beach, Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel, and Royal Pacific Resort. The ORS availability display will help the front office officer to check the room rates, types of room, and packages that hotel offer to their guests. ORS also helps hotels to do the complex operations such as frequent flyer and loyalty program memberships, split charges, and rate discounts. ORS also handles group and block reservations in hotel easier than other systems, for example: room blocking, room sharing, rooming lists, tour series, and deposits. Last but not least, hotels and chains can also use the ORS to review their business volume and performance by either open or close channel. Open or close channel can be based on property rate or the room type. 6. Conclusion Nowadays, hotels, airlines, restaurants, and travel agencies use Information Technology (IT) systems in their companies to facilitate the companies as well as their customers in terms of making reservations, checking the seat availabilities, purchasing airline tickets, and many others. Abacus, Amadeus, and OPERA Reservation System (ORS) is the three IT systems which have discussed in this report. Abacus is the IT systems which used in majority travel agencies, while Amadeus and ORS used in majority airlines and hotels. These three different IT systems have its different advantages and disadvantages. Last but not least, IT systems are very important in tourism and hospitality industry. They play a lot of roles in industry in order to provide more convenience for the companies and their customers.

Adverse Situations and the Formation of Culture :: Cultural Identity Essays

An unspoken contempt of culture has grown throughout white America. What benefit could possibly come from silly rituals, special foods, colorful garments, jewelry and ceremonies? Even most of the relativists have forgotten the purpose of culture and blindly dispense hollow respect for it. Sociology and anthropology texts imply it's just arbitrary stuff people come up with for the hell of it when they live near one another. With such an implication, it certainly seems a little silly in today's world. Culture emerges in only one circumstance and serves only one purpose. When a group of people face the same adversity at the same time, they do better if they deal with it together. A people's collective solutions to adversity is their culture. If there's a limited supply of food, we'll get used to the same fruits and meats and use the same cooking techniques. If we live in the same climate and around the same building materials, we'll learn to build dwellings together. If we experience the same weather and live near cotton plants, we'll weave similar clothing. If we're confused by the same astronomical phenomenon or killed by the same unknown disease, we'll come up with myths together. Without unified adversity, problems are fleeting. If I face hunger one month, infant mortality the next, and predators the third, and you face these things in the opposite order, we build no culture together. We're not going to hunt together or create a common death ritual or learn to build secure dwellings together. This is the only reason culture is geographically localized. Now, many classes of people do not face any perceptible adversity that unification is a weapon against. A non-trivial percentage of the world who are of certain races, live in certain countries, and are born to affluent families no longer see problems in their lives that could be overcome if they just had the help of their fellow man. There is no hunger for them, no discrimination, no infant mortality, no predators, no droughts. As far as they know, their only enemy are the people around them competing for the same jobs, resources, and mates. Genuine culture cannot emerge in these situations. Instead, we end up with something that looks a lot like culture—a common language, beliefs, some customs, ways of greeting and acceptable conversation. However, for these people, this commonality does not serve the purpose of culture. Instead, it's used only to smoothly interact with those in proximity.

Archetypes In Waterworld :: Film, Movie

The 1995 hit film Waterworld is a prime example of archetypes appearing in modern motion pictures. The movie displays three main characteristics that give it archetypal meaning. The first of these is the classic hero archetype. Secondly, many archetypal elements of nature are displayed. Lastly, many other archetypes such as safety, extremes, and topography appear in the film.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Waterworld perfectly portrays the heroic archetype. Kevin Costner plays the role of the mariner whose quest is to get to dryland. Playing the evil side is Dennis Hopper who acts as the evil deacon whose mission is to stop the mariner and get to dryland first. The mariner is forced to leave his current lifestyle and is almost killed shortly afterwards. Along the way, he receives help from a wise old man, soul mate, and innocent youth. Costner defeats the deacon when the young girl, Enola, is captured. Soon after, they return to dryland where everything is peaceful and resources abound.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The various settings in Waterworld include many archetypes and add meaning to the story. For one, the deep, salty sea engulfs the whole world. Archetypally, this holds a demonic meaning, and in Waterworld the characters are constantly trying to overcome it. The sun also makes it very hot, giving the characters a thirst which cannot be quenched, as there is no water. Furthermore, any vegetation is extremely valuable because it gives the people vital nutrients, which they need to survive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many other archetypes also appear in the film. For example, the mariners ship is a place of safety for the mariner and his companions. Therefore it has a positive archetypal meaning and is important to the story. In addition, negative archetypes also emerge. Two of these are extreme heat and dessert like topography.