The World of Business

The world of business today requires that companies place their performance on an operation aspect so that all channels may perform to their best and lead to productive interdependence within the organization. The human resource management portfolio is of great importance to each firm because it guides its decisions and how it functions within them. When the firm employs good Human Resource Manager, there are high chances of performance in productivity, costs and quality of products and overall efficiency. Hence, a firm should adopt the quality HRM to enjoy its benefits as well as have an advantage in solving any risks that may have come up before. Its HRM pedagogies will eventually provide a platform, through which it attracts, retains and trains its existing assets with the highest value. On the other hand, without human contribution, there would be no appreciated management. In this precept, for good performance of any organization, it requires motivation, engagement, and satisfaction of the human aspect to operate efficiently and smoothly. Job satisfaction is consequently determined so that customer satisfaction may also be measured. This is because employee dissatisfaction in their job may lead to the provision of inadequate services, which may eventually lead to customer dissatisfaction as well. Hence, it is the responsibility of the human resource as a labor-intensive industry to sensitize on the delivery of excellent services to clients so that maximum customer satisfaction may be achieved as a result. When managing any project, a well stipulated project goals and objective must be outlined by the HRM. The manager should keenly look at how the objectives will be realized and outlining how the resources needed to achieve the goals. He plays a very important role is implementing good plans for the project alongside taking risks that ensures the project does well. A good manager identifies all the competing demands from various stakeholders and ensuring that a commonality of purpose is realized. He is an instrumental person in an organization because he schedules the entire plan, he encourages teamwork, maximizes available resources, manages change and good quality of output. He is also responsible for evaluating the progress and the performance of an organization. Therefore, the presence of human resource is very essential within any organization.A good manager brings high performance to an organization. Good performance is the ultimate measure of a well doing organization. The manager must be empowered to take appropriate decisions that contribute to the well being of the organization. He uses the authority and the power bestowed upon him to make decision on how to allocate available resources. He does the same on administration, communication, technological choices and any other matter that pertain the project that may need his attention. In so doing, there will be high performance in within the set up. High performance on the other hand makes the clients have the intrinsic drive to attain their services from the firm. Most of the client will bestow their trust on the services provided because of good leadership. It also makes the company have good relationship working relationship with other neighboring organizations and with the workers themselves. Because of the competition in today`s market, current organizations need good management without which they are subjected to failure. In this plinth, the purpose of this assignment is to securitize the appropriate pedagogical approaches that the resource manager can employ within the organization to improve on the organizational output. Good performance of the organization depend on various aspects like motivation, job security, compensation, good working environment, advancement in line of duties among many other factors.2.0 DiscussionDefinitions of Performance Management and High Performance Work According to Martha Lagace (2009), companies that record high performance are actually led by their original founder members or by their transformational. In this case, they are people who can be responsible of any crisis that occurs in the company and attend to it appropriately. They are able to achieve high standards of commitments from all the stakeholders within the organization. In so doing, the firms retains the clients for a very long period of time, the employees are care for well because they have good working environment, and investors are attracted to venture into the firm because of good production. This illustration is supported by Michael Beer, the Cahners-Rabb Professor in the School of Business Administration, Emertus by saying that such firms attain excellence for long period of time. Companies with good performance output have positive contribution to the customers the employees, investors and the community at large. They also grow by outlining their idiosyncratic capabilities in order to make them move into wider markets to attain products and services and geographical locations for their firms. According to Gong, Law, Chang and Xin (2009), high performance work system represents a detailed, incorporated and systematic approach where the human resource manager works tirelessly to ensure that all the set goals and objectives are met. He ensures that he utilizes the resources, manpower, and any other available material to meet the satisfaction of the firm. In this dictum, evaluation of high performance of work is extensively examined because it their outermost priority. According to the definition, the employees are very instrumental in realizing the set objective of the firm. They are treated with a lot of dignity and decorum because they solicit all ways possible to ensure that there is maximization of profit within the firm. Any institutional factor or environment as a context that may affect or influence high performance of the firm is looked into with a lot of keenness. The firms also provide good geographical location, which are at central places to be accessed by the clients most of the time. An example of a case study in Chinese gives empirical results that firm with HPWS connection is mediated by the adaptive aptitude. Also, the effect of high performance work system on firms with adaptive capability is more strong that the firms within an institutional sector. Therefore, the location of the firm matters a lot as far as high performance is concerned. A similar description is explained by The Management of Engineering and Technology (2002), a methodical approach used by organization to attain high production standards. Through the process, the company aims at achieving effective operational skills, innovation, and high quality results for their customers. They work tirelessly to ensure that the clients get the best goods and services and they are retrained most of the time. In this case, there are five organizational practices that are keenly looked into to ensure that the high performance is realized. The first one being good leadership, empowerment of the employees, pioneering in human resource management, good measuring of performance and ensuring employees have good knowledge in whatever thing they are doing. In this regard, the firm is assured of attaining high performance since the clients will be served with high quality of products and services all the time.3.0 Performance Management Conceptual FrameworkMost of the managers think that filling report is the most important aspect in attaining good performance. However much this might be necessary, attaining high performance entails a lot. All too often, performance management if not looked into, sometimes become the weakest link within the chain of management, therefore, the managers should put a lot of considerations into it. The figure below shows some of the important aspect that the managers of organizations should look into to ensure high performance is realized. From the framework, a lot of derivations can be madePerformance management system depend on the factors like evaluating performance standards, measuring performance of the employees, reporting the progress to the topmost leadership and improving the quality of the products.3.1 Goal Setting TheoryEdwin Locke defines goal setting theory of motivation as the goal set by the organization to be directly proportional to performance. When the goals set are directly adhered to under proper management, the performance has to be positive by a great margin. In simple words, goals set enable the employer to give the appropriate directions to the employees. Employees on the other hand, are enticed to work extra hard to achieve the goals laid. The readiness to work towards attaining the set goals is the driving force in motivation. Goals set act as motivational factors to the employees and the employer; hence, they work in tandem to achieve them. High goals set are more motivating than easy, all-purpose and hazy goals because they are easily attained. Edwin and Gary, 2015, gives clarity that the goals set must be SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and can be achieved within a given Time-bound. Specific goals give best results and it is easier to measure and appreciate because it inspires one in achieving the set objectives.Nevertheless, the goal setting theory has its pros and cons. Some of the pro`s is that it provides a constructive way of evaluating workers performance and commitment. It also gives appropriate feedback on the progress made by the organization. Another advantage is point a clear ladder of coordination between the workers and gives proper channel of communication. In addition, it defines structured goals that help in the managers in realizing the objective of the organization. On the same plinth, the theory has it weakness. The conflict between the organizational skills may lead to disagreement between the stakeholders if the matter is not solved with care. The theory may not work well in institutions with low goals, where the goals are not well defined because the managers do aim higher. On the same not, it may demoralize the performance of the employees because they are not motivate to work extra hard. When the goals are not well defined and challenging, the employees work reluctantly because there is nothing to challenge them. There is no convincing evidence that goal setting theory satisfies the members. When the members are not satisfied with the job they do, there is high likelihood that they can run away from the job. Also, when the employer is not satisfied, there will be managerial problems which may eventually lead to the decline of the organization. Another point worth noting is that the theory does improve or provide room for the additional skills like competency to the employee. Proficiency is very pivotal for quality production to the organization. In this dictum, if the theory cannot provide that to the workers, then the goal setting theory can easily fail hence undermining the progress of the organization as far as performance is concerned. From the analysis made, it is eminent does not suit an organization that aims at attaining high performance work system. The theory records a lot of limitations than advantages, hence making it unsuitable for such a setup. In case the leader is one who is focused and goal oriented or he is one who aims at providing greater leeway for the organization and is after mobilizing what is to be done, then the theory is not appropriate. Goal setting is one of the most cognitive needs of any organization. A leader may or may not seek to have organizational goals, but provide for his self satisfaction, such a leader can best apply goals setting theory. When setting up the theories to use within an organization, one should be very speculative to use the theories that makes the organization prosper. Goals setting as an example of motivation to the employees, only appeals to someone who is irrefutable oriented. Because of this, one may be evoked to compare personality when choosing the theories to use. A non-interventionist may be more obsessed with this type of theory and may not lay out the goals that transform the organization. All in all, such details might involve professional and administrative aspects like recordkeeping, job hierarchies, evaluation of reports which a leader who uses goal setting theory might not be ready for. 3.2 Process of Management In this case, a case study is done to evaluate the management of performance system in Malaysian government linked company. The purpose of the study was to examine the industrialization of the performance management system. It looked at some of the changes brought about by the government linked company program. The findings state that the activities of the company brought some changes in the way the business was operating. The finding states that the active became a routine appraising to the performance of the employees. In this case the employees became decoupled from all the activities taking place within the organization. In this precept, it did not change the ways in which members were carrying out their duties since no new ideas were brought in. this process is realized to be time consuming and costly in away and it is subject to confrontation. For any change to be effected in any government linked organization, a strong set up of management must be stipulated lest most of the things go a mess.3.3 Employees Skills and Training NeedsThe case study is carried out in from the Oil and Gas Industry in the UK. Fromm the study, workers need a lot for their satisfaction. Their skills need to be improved so that they give quality output. They also needs incentives whenever they do good, motivation makes them work aiming at achieving the set objectives. The company needs to organize for workshops and seminars to help improve in the skills of the employees since for them to produce quality products to merge the completive market. From the study, in as much as everyone in the industry may require training, it is realized that those having less experiences need to train more than any other worker. Training makes them work as opposed to before because there is acquisition of new skills. Also the management gets more clients since the level of production is increased and the quality of products also goes high. The specialists are involved in the training and by the end of the session; there is a lot of benefit inquired. An organization which aims at producing high performance work system must train her workers to and meet their needs. When the needs of the employees are met within appropriate time, they feel that they are catered for and respected. This makes them to work extra hard to achieve the set objectives. Training also increases the salary scale of the employees since additional experience is added to them.3.4 Crucial role of line Managers and HR in enabling and managing High Performance and ProductivityLine managers and Human Resource are very instrumental in ensuring that there is high performance in productivity. Partnership of lime managers and human resource is increasingly becoming common in most of the organization. HR department is entirely responsible for all human resource management activities, and a line manager shares the same responsibilities. Line manager have the power to influence the behavior of the employee to improve on the productivity. They play crucial role in coordinating the resources allocated in the organization for it to achieve the set goals and objective.A case study carried out in UK to show the relationship between the role of line managers and human resource point out that the line managers and human resource are interdependent. They both assist in sharing knowledge that improves the output of the organization. In this plinth, the lone manager is very premeditated in all the aspects of Human Resource manager. The ultimate goal of their interaction is towards bringing raising the performance of the company. The research shows that for an organization to be fit in the current future challenges that face them, the two has to partner. They ensure that poor and low performing employees are taken through training so that they merge the standards of the organization. They two in artnership, help in developing and reviewing policies that contribute to the positive growth of the organization. They foresee any problem that might affect the organization and prevent it in time without necessarily affecting the workers. They also plan for both long and short term goals and state how they should be achieved. In case a plan fails, they come together and find alternative means that can be substituted immediately so that the organization does not get into problems. They solve the problems that may arise among workers and ensures there is peaceful co existence among them. By doing so, they act as role models to the employees hence enabling them work in peace, love and unity. Therefore, the line managers and the human resource are very pivotal in ensuring that the organization achieves high performance work system.4.0 ConclusionsFrom the discussion, series of conclusions can be arrived at. First, in order to improve the performance of an organization, a lot should be put into considerations. There should be high performance from the employees. The human resource should ensure that appropriate approaches are put to meet the standards of the organization. Putting keen consideration on the welfare of the employees is very instrumental since it makes them work with motivation. From the discussion, the manager should apply appropriate theories that can bring good results to the development of the organization. Also, in order to attain good results, the employees who are undertrained should be taken through workshops and seminars to help in improving their experience. In so doing, the organization invests in them and quality of produce is realized. Lastly, line mangers and human resources managers are vey essential in the well being of an organization. Their presence makes the association firm because they help in laying out structures that improve the performance of the organization.

What Is Risk? (Report)

1Introduction 2What is risk? 2. 1Material world and risk 2. 2Case study 1: allotment 2. 3Case study 2: sun exposure 2. 4Risk society and Ulrich Beck (1992) 3Understanding and knowledge 3. 1Geoffrey Rose (1850) 3. 2Epidemiology 3. 3Uncle Norman and last person 5Conclusion 6References Title: Risk and understanding through expert knowledge and lay dispute Introduction This report will look at how modern society is a risk society, how expert knowledge is used to understand risk and how lay people respond. Case studies will be used to show how expert knowledge on understanding and managing risk is communicated.These will show how the lay person disputes risks and make decisions without following the expert knowledge. The work of sociologists of Geoffrey Rose (1850) and Charlie Davison and colleagues (1991) is used to show how the lay person disputes expert knowledge by using their own everyday knowledge and experience. What is risk? 2. 1 Material world and risk In modern society we live i n a material world that now provides us with material goods which previous societies didn’t have. However these new material goods can bring us benefits but also can bring us risks.Putting yourself, or something, at risk is putting yourself in a possible situation which would have a negative outcome. Thompson et al. did a study in 1989 on cyclists who wanted to try to manage the risk of a head injury by wearing a helmet while cycling. The results showed an 85% decrease in the risk of a head injury if a helmet was worn. However, research by Walker (2006) concluded that if a car was to overtake a cyclist wearing a helmet, they would drive closer. Using this expert knowledge some people may chose to not wear a helmet to keep divers at bay even though with a crash the risk of a head injury would be higher. . 2 Case study: allotment In 2003 Tim Jordan and his family had an allotment in Hackney in which they thought the soil was safe. Eighteen months after getting the allotment the ir local authority, sent them a letter telling them the soil was poisoned with arsenic and lead. The test used by the council measured the total amount of poison in the soil using soil plugs. These samples were sent to a laboratory where the level of poison was compared to ‘soil guidance values’ (Exploring Social Lives, 2009 p. 54). This was a well established tests scientists used to develop their expert knowledge about soil and poisons.The soil was then tested in a different way with a PBET (physiologically based extraction test). The basis of this test was to measure the level of poison in the soil that would enter the human body. The test tries to create a situation of the soil passing through the human digestive system of a two year old. This test showed that the level of poison in the soil was less then the earlier test. Both tests gave the public information about the level of poison and therefore the level of risk in gardening on that soil. But each test gave th e lay person different information making it difficult for them to be certain about the risk.This case study shows that expert knowledge if not always consistent. 2. 3 Case study 2: sun exposure The sun exposure case study concentrates on Glaswegians attitude towards sun exposure whilst knowing the risks. Simon Carter conducts research on the attitude towards sun exposure drawn from interviews and focus groups of tourists between ages 20 – 35 who regularly travel abroad. This research found that those involved were aware of health advice on how to protect themselves from the dangers of sun exposure and why. Glaswegians find going on holiday without a pre-holiday tan as embarrassing.The Glaswegian term ‘peely-wally’ is used to describe people who are pale ‘When you’re away and the sunglasses and white legs come out I’m ashamed to be Scottish †¦ it’s like if you see a group of peely-wally people then they are Scottish. ’ (Expl oring Social Lives, 2009 p. 75) Even though these people knew about the risks of sun exposure they decided not to follow the advise to decrease the risk of damaging themselves due to the idea of looking healthy with a tan. This is an example of expert knowledge being disputed by the lay public because getting brown and having a tan was more important than the risk of illness in the future. . 4 Risk Society and Ulrich Beck In 1986 reactor number four of the Chernobyl nuclear power complex exploded and released radiation causing 28 deaths and left 200 people sick with radiation (Spivak 1992). As radioactive material is invisible to the human eye, it was a challenge for humans to know exactly where had been affected. This meant the public who lived in the ‘fallout’ zone to the radiation became reliant on the expert knowledge of the risk they were faced, ‘open to a social process of definition’ (Beck, 1989, p. 88). Beck defined ‘risk society’ (Expl oring Social Lives, 2009, p. 0) to describe the social impact of risk and showed how the complex risks in society needed expert knowledge to explain them. Understanding and knowledge of risk 3. 1 Epidemiology Epidemiology is a way of understanding how illness and disease is transferred across populations by tracing how the infections move across countries. Epidemiology has also been used in understanding risk when experts have used data to work out the probability (chance) of a risk happening. Doll and Hill (1950) showed that a high percentage of people who smoked had lung cancer and so they argued that smoking was a risk.This expert knowledge is based on understanding a pattern rather than the cause of lung cancer. 3. 2 Geoffrey Rose (1850) Epidemiological research is always carried out on a whole group of people but when the risks are communicated they are aimed at the individual. Prevention paradox was defined by Geoffrey Rose (1850). It describes the situation where the solution to prevent a risk will offer the community benefit that may not apply to each individual. Rose describes it best by saying that the ‘measure that brings large benefits to the community offers little to each participating individual’ (Rose, 1891, p. 850). Rose uses vaccinations to describe prevention paradox. Not every child will suffer from the illnesses prevented by vaccinations however every child will have a vaccination in order to prevent the one child that would need it. ‘599 â€Å"wasted† immunisations for the one that was effective’ (Rose, 1981, p. 1850). 3. 3 Lay dispute of risk Davison et al. found that people in every day life talked about health and illness. They knew people who had followed all the health advice and still became sick and died and other people who had not followed any of the advice and had no negative effects.This results in a type of lay epidemiology through which people dispute the expert knowledge and reinforce the exp erience of individuals in their everyday life. 4. Conclusion As society has become more complex and the public have more choices of consumer goods and services that there are risk as well as benefits in these. Many of these risks are complicated to understand and so need experts to study and explain them. This has led to the risk society where expert knowledge is used to help the lay public understand the risks facing them everyday.There is evidence that the lay public disputes the expert knowledge and makes decisions not to follow advice, such as using sun protection. This is partly because expert knowledge can be contradictory with different studies showing different risks but also because the expert knowledge does not always match the individuals experience. 1295 Words Beck, U. (1989) ‘On the way to the industrial risk-society? Outline of an argument’, Thesis Eleven, vol. 23, pp. 86-103 Bromley, S. Clarke, J. Hinchliffe, S. Taylor, S (2009) ‘Exploring Social Li ves’ Carter, S. and Jordan, T. Chapter 2 Living with risk and risky living’, Open University, Milton Keynes. Carter, S. (1997) ‘Who wants to be a â€Å"peelie wally’’? Glaswegian tourists’ attitudes to sun tans and sun exposure’ in Clift, S. and Grabowski, P. (eds) Tourism and Health: Risks, Responses and Research, London, Pinter. Rose, G. (1981) ‘Strategy of prevention: lessons from cardiovascular disease’, British Medical Journal, vol. 282, pp. 1847-53 Walker, I. (2006) ‘Drivers overtaking bicyclists’ [online], http://drainwalker. com/overtaking/overtakingprobrief. pdf (Accessed 14 April 2009)

Disney vs. The Future of Men

Thesis: The constructs of masculinity found in most Disney movies create an environment of images that shape and define what young boys view as masculinity. By presenting sexist relationships, physical expectations, and violence and dominance to represent power, young boys are left feeling emotionally unattached and physically inadequate. How many Disney movies did you see as a child? How many of those movies did you watch over and over again? And how many of the songs you so lovingly watched over and over again can you still sing today?The Walt Disney Company has been a powerful force in creating childhood culture all around the world. Disney’s massive success is based on images of innocence, magic and fun. Its animated films in particular are praised as wholesome family entertainment. These movies are endorsed by teachers and parents, and are obviously immensely popular with children. The fun and innocence may have its value, but it is important to understand how these movie s are representing the moral characteristics that the children viewing them will eventually grow up to represent themselves.Most alarmingly is the representation of masculinity throughout many classic Disney movies such as Mulan, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. These movies are presenting masculine complexes to young boys all over the world, giving them distorted images of what it means to be a man, and also how to relate to women. What is most dangerous about the way Disney movies represent masculinity is that the process is not a quick one. The means in which the media influences the way we think is less immediate, and has a much less straight forward impact on the way we think.Disney movies in particular create a certain environment of images that we grow up with and eventually become used to. An example of such a group of images is the constant representation of the male body in Disney movies as buff, and chiseled. After a while these images begin to shape what young bo ys know and what they understand about the world around them. This is not an immediate effect, but instead a slow accumulative effect that is much more subtle than we are aware of.One of the biggest problems with this process is that the Disney conglomerate has spanned over nearly five generations, so no one thinks to challenge the idea that an animated Disney movie is a great way to entertain children while simultaneously sharing with them a piece of traditional culture. One of the most destructive ways in which classic animated Disney movies are providing young boys with false and distorted images of masculinity, are the ways in which men are shown in relationship to women. Most Disney movies revolve around a heterosexual relationship containing a hero and heroine.Feminists have studied what these characters tell girls about themselves, but it is just as important if not more important to understand what these movies are telling boys about how real men interact with and treat wome n. Often the message to boys both explicitly and implicitly is that men should view women as objects of pleasure or as servants to please them. A perfect example of this misrepresentation is in the movie Mulan. In Mulan, and entire song called â€Å"A Girl Worth Fighting For†, explains what a man is looking for in a woman.Some of these traits include cooking, cleaning, and looking beautiful for her husband. This quote from the song shows exactly what type of sexist characteristics are represented in Mulan. â€Å"I want her paler than the moon, with eyes that shine like stars, my girl will marvel at my strength, adore my battle scars. I could care less what she’ll wear or look like, it all depends on what she cooks like† Another highly destructive construct that Disney movies present to young boys is the representation of the male body.Disney movies glorify one particular body type above all others. Chiseled abs, a barrel chest and massive arms are typical of a m ale Disney character. Men with any other body type are generally viewed as outcasts, weak or subservient. One of the most extreme examples can be found in â€Å"Beauty and the Beast†, where the contrast between the powerful male heroine figure, Gaston and his sidekick, LeFou is undeniable. The song entitled simply, â€Å"Gaston† is entirely dedicated to glorifying Gaston’s manly physique and strength.In contrast to this, LeFou is shown as short, chubby, and bucktoothed. In â€Å"Mulan†, when Mulan attempts to join the Japanese army by passing as a man, she is taught very quickly that masculinity is defined by strength and physical ability alone. In the song, â€Å"I’ll Make a Man Out of You† Mulan is taught that in order to achieve true manhood she must overcome strictly physical obstacles and challenges as opposed to any emotional ones. Other movies such as â€Å"Hercules† and â€Å"Tarzan† depict their main characters as buff , muscular men, with almost super human strength and ability.While Tarzan surfs tree branches and swings from vine to vine with ease that can be compared to an Olympic gold medalist, Hercules lifts giant boulders, and sleighs a three-headed mythological beast. Though the aspect of fantasy plays a role in these movies, the take home message is that characters like Tarzan and Hercules are men to be admired, imitated and idealized. Not only do most Disney movies glorify their characters bodies but also the level of violence and dominance they exhibit. Masculinity in relation to violence and dominance is very clear in most Disney films.Not only is the victory of a battle glorified, the unwillingness of a character to fight is often shown as pitiful or weak. An example of such an instance is in the animated movie, Beauty and the Beast. In a scene where Gaston has beaten the beast to the ground he exclaims, â€Å"What’s the matter beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back? † This is prime example of how movies such as these are teaching boys that violence is the answer, and that any challenge to that idea is thought of as weak or emasculating. The climactic scene in most films is a battle between two men.A violent battle to win the love of a woman or maintain pride and status is the most important scene in establishing which of these characters is the â€Å"better† man. There are two major problems with this idea. First, that boys are being taught that dominance and violence is something to strive for and respect. Second, that these types of behaviors are necessary if not mandatory in gaining the acceptance and love of a woman. Never in a Disney animated movie will you see the losing character of a battle win the woman in the end.Because a lot of the most popular animated Disney movies were created in the mid to late 1900’s a lot of the themes shown in them are completely sexist and have no validity in current society. So basically, as lon g as parents continuing showing their sons Disney movies in which a character has to achieve some physical task instead of showing affection, or an emotional connection, men will continue to have no idea what women want. Because we as Americans feel such a deep, loving connection to theDisney movies we grew up with, it is only natural that we sit our children down in front of the television in an attempt to share with them a piece of our own childhoods. However as much as Disney has become embedded in our subconscious as wholesome and magical, today the world is a different place with different people and different ideas. The harmful effects of showing a child a Disney movie, especially a young boy can leave a dangerous mark. From body distortion, to dysfunctional relationship issues, the potential these movies have to alter a child future is certainly enough to switch off the Disney channel and turn on Lifetime.

Budgeting and customer satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Budgeting and customer satisfaction - Essay Example There are some factors and approaches that Duma may need to focus on/adopt in order to maintain or even increase its market share in terms of attracting more customers. Discuss these factors and approaches and how they may be used by Duma corporation. In order for Duma to expand on its market, Duma Corporation has to adopt strategic management in its operations. With strategic management, the company has to start with setting a mission, vision, and corporate objectives, and then crafting a strategy in order for the company to thrive in its chosen industry. Strategic management entails application of strategic marketing, strategic finance, strategic human resource management and other functions of the company's operations. Strategic marketing will be the front-runner of the company's efforts in order to attract more customers, and increase its market share in the process. How does the company do this' It has to assess the current level of the demand in the market, as well as the supply. Given the gap in the market, it can set a certain level of market share which it aims to capture as its marketing objective. This target market share is transformed into sales objectives. After determining its marketing objectives, the ... This target market share is transformed into sales objectives. After determining its marketing objectives, the company can craft its marketing strategy. It must set criteria to segment the market, such as profitability as it cannot please all the customers (Duncan 2005). After knowing the segments and targeting a segment where it want to operate, the company must know what the attributes are customers give premium on when choosing specialist photocopiers. Armed with this knowledge, the company can position itself according to the preferences of consumers. This positioning, or what the company stands for as regards its offer should set a level of expectation for the market. Satisfaction of its current customers is key to retaining its market share; satisfaction occurs when the level of expectation of the customers is exceeded (Pickton & Broderick 2001). Thus, Duma corporation must exceed what customers expect of its product in order to satisfy them, make them loyal to the brand or product of the company, or in extreme cases, advocate the brand which can help the company acquire more customers in the process. It is very usual that positive word of mouth can accompany high levels of customer satisfaction (Duncan 2005), and this positive word of mouth is a very powerful marketing communications tool in order for Duma to reach and convert other customers to joining its customer base. Customer satisfaction by providing satisfactory product and services is key for Duma to maintain its market share. This customer-centric approach to marketing is can only be accomplished by investing in consumer research in order to probe for the preferences of the customers (Pickton & Broderick 2001). Without knowing what the customers

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 47

Case study - Essay Example There were many other stakeholders whose direct input and opinion could not be avoided since they all contributed to the success of the event (Senge, 19). For instance, the KSNN could not provide alternative traffic routes and a parking stadium away from the college. In brief, it was not possible for KSNN to independently sort out the accrued problems. KSNN received a publicity boost other than the financial benefits that came with it. Thus, many people got to know KSNN as a company due to the positives. The sponsors such as the corporate firms got the chance to advertise their wares and used the chance as a marketing tool and avenue. The college also got a temporary facelift when the show was being done therein. For instance, most of the people in the society got to learn about the college since the show was being held in their venue. Thus, the college and its reputation got to reach a wider pol of people in the

Intellectual property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Intellectual property - Essay Example ecognizes the intellectual property right and offer protection in order to nurture creativity by ensuring the owner is in full control of who uses that property and enables the owner to charge other users in order to raise income.2 In the case of Rihanna against Topshop, the plaintiff raised the issue of passing off since there was legal protection for the images. The study explores how justice Birss approached the case and what led him into a conclusion that the plaintiff had a legal claim against Topshop, and examine the appeal process as well as merits for the appeal. The defendant was given a chance to petition for an appeal either against the charges or against prohibition of sale of the merchandise. In Robyn Rihanna Fenty and others v Arcadia Group Brands Ltd (t/a Topshop) and another [2013] EWHC 2310 (Ch), the case was about Robyn Rihanna Fenty (â€Å"Rihanna†) and Arcardia Group Brands Ltd (â€Å"Topshop†) the world renown pop star and fashion dealer respectively. The defendant started producing and selling t–shirts with plaintiff’s image on it. The defendant had obtained permission to use the image on the t-shirts from an independent photographer, but they did not obtain permission from the plaintiff. The independent photographer had taken those photos with the permission of the plaintiff in one of the Plaintiff’s video shooting for single from her â€Å"Talk That Talk album.† Rihanna sued the Topshop against passing off for using her image to market their products without her permission. The claim in her legal suit against the defendant was that the conduct of the defendant was an infringement of plaintiff’s rights.3 In the p assing of judgement, the plaintiff had the onus to prove that she had public goodwill, the defendant’s conduct portrayed misrepresentation and that the plaintiff suffered some loss as a result of defendant’s conducts according to the ruling in the case Reckitt & Colman Ltd v Borden Inc [1990] 1 All E.R. 873. The laws

Is Nationalism a Rational Phenomenon Coursework

Is Nationalism a Rational Phenomenon - Coursework Example Nationalism turns out to be involuntary when a member of a country is born in a particular nation. It was not a choice to be born there so it becomes involuntary. People who permanently change their citizenship and get that of another country are voluntary, members of their country of choice. Thus, voluntary. The concept of nationalism is deeply intertwined with questions like; - What does a nation refer to and what is the meaning of national identity. - What does it mean to belong to a nation? - Is this nation membership non-voluntary or voluntary? - Is nationalism rational? - Is it appropriate to always care about one’s national identity? - How much should one care about nationalism? Nationalism is also viewed as a doctrine that believes that a nation which is at this point defined as a culture or ethnicity is entitled to be an autonomous or independent political community that has its basis on a common destiny or a shared history. Those who are very extreme about nationalism define it in terms of genetics or even race. Nationalism highly influences the history of the world. Over the past years, nationalism has been written off from philosophic debates. It has however surfaced in the philosophy arena especially as a result of the constant troublesome nationalists' clashes for instance in Yugoslavia. The rush of nationalism normally presents an ambivalent that is moral and creates a very interesting picture. The fight for political independence and national awakening is known to be cruel to humanity but at the same time heroic.It leads to the creation of a full and free state that passionately responds to deep sentiments. However, in the process of attaining this, inhuman and violently explosive mechanisms are used to clean the nation off of the non-nationals even to the tune of well organized and executed mass murder.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Essay

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - Essay Example At the same time, the novel depicts the contradictory state of Spain, which was at that time engulfed by the uneasiness of a period of change, and Cervantes correspondingly attempted in "Don Quixote" to ponder over issues of human nature and morality during this time (Cascardi, 2002, pp. 58-79). Even though a new European literature emerged after the Renaissance, romances about chivalry, with stories about the defense of the weak, romantic women, and, of course, brave errant knights and their good and fantastic deeds, were still much popular at the time of Cervantes, who opens his narration with the establishment of this fact: ". . . there lived . . . one of those gentlemen who keep a lance in the lance-rack, an ancient shield . . ." (Cervantes, 1999, p.13). In this regard, from one side "Don Quixote" contains a powerful parody of such romances, as Don Quixote seeks to establish ideals of chivalry. During his 'battles' for chivalric principles he mentions romantic ideals even in his most absurd undertakings. At the same time, the story of Don Quixote nevertheless offers a certain standard of honor which could be applicable for Spain that had to face wars and results of its own development. From this point of view, Cervantes offers these values to a society that had abandone d them. Thus, Cervantes not only correlates his work with a literary tradition of his time, but also employs numerous debates about literature, poetry, etc. contained in the novel as a means to uncover the shifts in the contemporary intellectual milieu. In general, "Don Quixote" undertakes an in-depth examination of the potential of literary narration. Indeed, the initial part of the book parodies the genre of romance, the second section of the First Part pretends to be a historic document, and the Second Part of the book is again different because it is composed as a traditional novel. Here Cervantes, along with a fictional historian Benengeli, is present in the novel as a character. This complex narrative composition tends to confuse readers who may find it difficult to differentiate between the plot itself and the alleged factual base. However, this approach of the author very well supports another important theme that permeates the book and concerns the problem of sanity, as it is perhaps impossible to fully understand the mixture of madness and sanity of Don Quixote who on one hand could impress us as a very intellectual man as ". . . he relished . . . complicated arguments . . . like: The ability to reason the un-reason which has afflicted my reason saps my ability to reason. . . " (Cervantes, 1999, p.13), and who on the other hand was demonstrating throughout the novel the inability to understand the simplest facts of life. In this regard, he stays mysterious throughout the story so that for readers it is hard to find a proper way to interpret Don Quixote as a character. Moreover, Cervantes at some points suggests that in fact Don Quixote is really aware of the real state of things around him, but he rather had chosen to neglect the world and to ignore possible results of his often pernicious deeds. When in the end Don Quixote unexpectedly claims to be sane, one may suspect that throughout the story he was at least to some degree only pretending to be insane. Alternatively, this controversy may serve as a precaution that even intelligent

Ratio Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ratio Analysis - Assignment Example Ideally it should be 2 i.e. the current assets of Tesco should be twice its current liabilities. As this ratio is less than 1 it signifies that the liquidity position of the company is not very strong (London Stock Exchange plc, â€Å"Fundamentals†, 2010). The Quick ratio of the company is 0.63. This measures the ability of the company to pay its short term obligations out of the liquid assets and hence it ignores inventory. As this ratio is less than one it signifies that the liquid assets of the company are not sufficient to meet its short term obligations. The Gross Profit margin of the company is 7.76%. The gross profit of the company is calculated as excess of Operating income over Operating costs. This can be interpreted as the company is earning an operating margin of 7.76% (Tesco PLC, â€Å"Group income statement†, 2009). The Net profit margin of the company is 3.98%. This can be interpreted as the net profit earned by the company is 3.98% of the sales. Here the net profit refers to the profit after tax i.e. after the adjustment of operating as well as administrative expenses. The ROE of the company is 16.67%. This means that the company is earning a profit margin of 16.67% on the total equity. This is fairly good and shows that the company has been successful in earning a positive return for its equity shareholders. The ROA earned by the company for the financial year ended February 2009 is 4.70%. This means that the company is earning a profit margin of 4.70% on the assets deployed in the business. It shows that the managers have been fairly efficient in using the assets. There is scope for further improvement in the utilization of the assets. The dividend pay-out ratio of the company is 0.43. This means that the company is declaring 43 percent of its earnings in the form of dividend. From this ratio it is clear that the company is declaring a substantial portion of its earnings in the form of dividend. The Price earning (P/E) ratio of

Culture of Cherokee American Indians Essay Example for Free

Culture of Cherokee American Indians Essay Scholars differ on where the Cherokee subculture came from and when they arrived on their traditional lands in the Southeast. The archaeological record of human occupancy of the Southeast goes back to at least 10,000 B. C. (Muller, 1978, p. 283; Canouts and Goodyear, 1985, p. 181), but this does not mean the Cherokees, or even their very distant ancestors, were there that early. Cherokees, as Cherokees, did not exist nearly so far back in time, nor did they necessarily emerge from the first or even from early occupants of the Southeast. The Cherokees as a more or less distinct American Indian people seem to be at the very most only one or two thousand years old. They may have developed from other American Indian peoples already in the Southeast, or they may have migrated there from another region. The Cherokees say they and other human beings were created after plants and animals were made. Plants and animals were told by the creatorthe Cherokees do not know who he or she wasto stay awake for seven nights and watch the world. Most could not do so. Of the plants, only the spruce, cedar, pine, holly, and laurel trees were able to watch so long: that is why they are now green all year. Of the animals, only the owl, the panther, and a few others were able to stay awake: that is why they see at night and prey on those who must sleep. Human beings were then created: At first there were only a brother and sister until he struck her with a fish and told her to multiply, and so it was. Seven days afterward the girl had a child; another came seven days later, then another, and so forth, and the human beings increased very fast until there was danger that the world could not keep them. Then it was made that a woman should have only one child in a year, and it has been so ever since (Mooney, 1982, p. 240). The Cherokees do not now know when or how some humans first became Cherokees. Almost certainly they had their origins in an ancient time, distinct from the present, when things were not as they are now. The Cherokees think they may even have emerged from the ground after other human beings were created, for it is said there is another world under the surface, identical except that the seasons are different. According to the Cherokees, The streams that come down from the mountains are the trails by which we reach this underworld, and the springs at the heads are the doorways by which we enter it, but to do this one must fast and go to water and have one of the underground people for a guide ( Mooney, 1982, p. 240). Some scholars have asserted that this is where the name Cherokee came fromgiven them by their neighbours. The scholars have argued that Cherokee means cave people, for the Cherokees are said to have come from under the ground (Reid, 1970, p. 3) and also lived in a mountainous land full of caves. The eighteenth-century trader James Adair asserted that the name came from the (apparently Cherokee) word chee-ra, meaning (sacred) fire, forming cheera-tahge, or men possessed of the divine fire (Adair, 1930, p. 237). Probably the name is from the Creek chilokee, people of a different speech, as John W. Swanton has stated; perhaps it is the name from which the form Chalaque was derived (Swanton, 1985, p. 49-50). The anthropologist John Witthoft supported this interpretation, based on his work with Eastern Cherokee informants: The name came from the Creek, Celokokalke, people of another language. He asserted, The Creek name by which the Cherokee were first known to Europeans became the general name for them in the Southeast, and was soon accepted even by the Cherokee themselves; names for other tribal groups have come into existence after a similar fashion (Witthoft, 1947, p. 305). The Cherokees commonly called themselves Tsalagi or, in the plural, Ani-Tsalagi, perhaps corrupted to form the name Cherokee or perhaps derived from the same word as Cherokee. According to James Mooney, their proper name for themselves was Yunwiya or, in the plural, Ani-Yunwiya. It means, more or less, the people, the real people, or the principal people (Mooney, 1982, p. 15). Tradition played an important role in Cherokee clans. It made sure certain elements of a culture from generation to generation were passed down. Such as, the traditional matrilineal Cherokee family structure, which means descent, is traced through the female line (Conley, 2002). The children belonged to the mother and her family clan. There was not any relatedness with the father and he’s family clan. This family structure provided a safe and secure environment for women and children. Also, it meant the man lived in the wife’s house, surrounded by her clan’s people, so he would not dare to abuse her unless he wanted a tribal beating. Women were largely incorporated into the tribes. Not only was she the head of her domain with mutually respected power and authority, she had equal say in the affairs of war and peace. She was also in charge of the household and nourishment of her family. The women were involved in many functions of daily life. It seems as if the women were the tribe, but not for long. Years after the first American contact, European traders living amongst would marry Cherokee women. European traders could not accept that fact of tracing descent through the female line, but slowly the clan system gave into the European style bilateral family, which traced descent through both male and female (Conley, 2002). The Cherokee were not too happy with this movement. It jeopardized the Cherokee’s clan traditional ways of a matrilineal family structure carried on for many centuries. Nevertheless, the Cherokees could do nothing about it. Before the first known contacts, life of the Cherokee nation had grown and thrived for many years in the south-eastern United States in the lower Appalachian Mountains in states such as: Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and parts of Kentucky and Alabama. However, in less than thirty years, after the first recorded contact with outsiders, in particular with Hernado De Soto in his expedition of 1540, the Cherokee Indians reformed their culture. Many adaptations took place which resembled similar American cultures. The Cherokee soon built schools and court systems. This infuriated Andrew Jackson, a supporter of the Indian removal policy. After awhile, George Gist, also known as Sequoyah, established a Cherokee written language, utilizing an ingenious alphabet of 86 characters in 1821 (Ehle, 1925). Soon, this was adopted into Cherokee culture and a newspaper was formed. Again, Andrew Jackson grew more furious. He wanted the Cherokees removed off their lands. In 1830, United States Congress passed an Indian Removal Act pushed by President Andrew Jackson following the recommendation of former President James Monroe in his final address to Congress in 1825 (King, 1979). This act enforced the previous Georgia Compact of 1802, since many were ignoring that removal act. But, many opposed this Indian Removal Act ratified by congress. After debates over this issue, the oppositionist won. However, Andrew Jackson was able to reinforce the act, due to the Treaty of New Echota on Dec. 29, 1875 (Conley, 2002). The signing of the Treaty of New Echota set the stage for the beginning of Cherokee extermination. The treaty signed away the entire remaining tribal territory east of the Mississippi in exchange for five million dollars and the right to occupy lands west of the Mississippi (King, 1979). Major Ridge, John Ridge, Elies Boudinot, and the rest of the Treaty Party doomed the whole Cherokee Nation when they agreed to sign a fraudulent treaty with the federal government, which did not represent the Cherokee Nation as a whole (Martin, 2001). The Ross Party, people who oppose the removal treaty, tried to resist, but nothing else could be done. This removal process started what was to be known as the â€Å"Trail of Tears† or â€Å"Trail where they cried. † This forced migration journey consisted of thirteen groups of consecutive waves led by Cherokee captions that lasted from August 28, 1838 to March 18, 1839 (Conley, 2002). Over the journey many Cherokees died, approximately, four thousand out of sixteen thousand, due to diseases, exposure, or fatigue (Martin, 2001). The history of the Cherokee people is one of defeat and despair. After the first encounters with Americans, the Cherokee Nation was deteriorating. For instance, Cherokee family structures were changing, vast amounts of lands were being ceded to Americans, and Cherokee Indians were forced from their lands. Overtime, this constant chipping away at the Cherokee Nation, lead to the final Indian removal from homelands and the demise of the Cherokee Nation in southeastern United States. References Adair, James. (1930). Adairs history of the American Indians. Johnson City, Tenn. : Watauga Press. Canouts, Veletta, and Goodyear, Albert C. (1985). Lithic scatters in the South Carolina Piedmont. In Structure and process in southeastern archaeology, ed. Roy S. Dickens Jr. , and H. Trawick Ward, (pp. 180-94). University: University of Alabama Press. Conley, Robert, J. (2002). Cherokee. Portland: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co. pp. 24-5, 44. Ehle, John. (1925). Trail of tears. New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. King, Duane, H. (1979). The Cherokee Indian Nation. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press. pp. 16, 129. Martin, Ken. (2001). History of the Cherokee. Retrieved February 13, 2006 from cherokeehistory. com Mooney James. (1982). Myths of the Cherokee and sacred formulas of the Cherokees. Nashville: Charles and Randy Elder. Muller Jon D. (1978). The Southeast. In Ancient Native Americans, ed. Jesse D. Jennings, (pp. 281-325). San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. Reid, John P. (1970). A law of blood: The primitive law of the Cherokee Nation. New York: New York University Press. Swanton, John R. (1985). Final report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission. Washington, D. C. : Smithsonian Institution Press. Witthoft, John. (1947). Notes on a Cherokee migration story. Communicated by W. N. Fenton. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 37, 304-5.

Intentionalist vs Functionalist | The Holocaust

Intentionalist vs Functionalist | The Holocaust History of the Holocaust The Functionalist vs. Intentionalist Debate Historians have been attempting to uncover the true reasons behind the Holocaust since the day it ended. Since the 1980s there has been a significant divide between two major groups of historians: those called the functionalists, and those called the intentionalists. The general term intentionalist is typically defined as a person who essentially constructs a case around the decisive impact of particular individuals or events (Claydon, John). A functionalist is one who reacts specifically against the intentionalist approach and builds up a picture of what happened through meticulous research†¦without any preconceived ideas (Claydon, John). Therefore when speaking of the Holocaust, intentionalist historians focus completely on Hitler. They believe that it was his idea (or intention) all along to preserve the Aryan race by exterminating Jews and other racial and ideological groups that the Germans saw as enemies. On the other hand, functionalist historians say that it was not Hitl ers master mining that caused the Holocaust and the Final Solution. They believe in a number of various reasons inside and outside of Germany such as too many failed attempts at emigration, middle ranking German officials putting the idea in Hitlers head, and bureaucratic or economic motives and wartime pressure. This debate was at its prime during the 1980s and early 1990s. Before that, the majority of people completely blamed Hitler, taking the intentionalists side almost without question. Today, more historians have taken a position in the middle, claiming that Hitler was at fault but that it was not necessarily his plan since the first day he came to power. I agree with middle, as I believe its nearly impossible to come to a conclusion on which party is more accurate. Some intentionalist historians include Lucy Dawidowicz, Andreas Hillgruber, and Gerald Fleming among others. They believe that Hitler had his plan from 1920 or earlier, and that was to exterminate the Jewish population. These beliefs come from a variety of different reasons. Some say his childhood corrupted him, causing him to create this blue-print like plan for a genocide (Julian, George). Others blame it on his central role and strong dictator skills, arguing that he controlled everyone underneath him and knew about everything that was happening amongst the Nazi Party, making it inevitable that his actions were to blame. Most intentionalists claim that his plan was written out in his autobiography, Mein Kampf or My Struggle, where he says a few lines which give away his plan, proving that his intentions stemmed long before he came to power, and that it was as if Hitler fantasized of murder. Some, such as Lucy Dawidowicz, say that Hitler saw World War II as the perfect opportunity to implement his plan, but that it had been on his mind for up to twenty years prior to when it actually happened. Andreas Hillgruber often refers to speeches from the Nuremburg Trials, where he quotes Hitler and claims that the genocide never would have happened if it werent for Hitler. One example is Hitler saying, The final goal, however, must steadfastly remain the removal of the Jews altogether (ADL, 2001). Another quote is him explaining, This struggle will not end with annihilation of Aryan mankind, but with the extermination of the Jewish people of Europe (ADL, 2001). The word extermination is key because it is proof that he intended on a genocide at some point. These quotes prove Hitlers evil personality and make it easy to point fingers, but is still possible for a functionalist to argue that in the first quote he used the term get rid of, which could mean deport, and in the second quote, it could have been from 1941 after the final solution was created. This again proves that both sides have strong points and it is nearly impossible to prove one completely accurate. Functionalist historians include Ian Kershaw, Christopher Browning, and Hans Mommsen. Unlike intentionalists who believe the Holocaust stemmed from Hitlers early ideas around 1920, these historians believe that the Holocaust did not actually start until around 1941. The reasons for this is the multiple failed attempts to deport the Jewish prisoners out of Germany, and also the military losses in Russia. Fuctionalists argue that other parties besides Hitler himself had strong anti-semitism views and acted on their own. Extreme functionalists even believe that Hitlers ideas came from middle ranking German officials in occupied Poland and spread to Hitler (Haberer). Aside from other people influencing Hitlers actions, it is also said that the certain circumstances influenced his actions. Proof often used by functionalists to defend Hitler is that he did start out with sterilization acts such as what he used on the disabled, to purify and prevent genetic deviants, but when that didnt wor k he was forced into the final solution. It has also been said that after failing to deport the Jews, the Nazi party was forced into the decision to have to kill them after forcing them into Ghettos and not knowing what to do with them. They say there was no place to put them, so they had no other option but to kill them. This relates to the idea of the Territorial solution that some functionalists believe in. Some say that what they really wanted was simply for the Jews to be in their own, far away land, expelled from Germany. At first, they planned to create a reservation near Poland, but it was vetoed by Hans Frank, the Governor-General of occupied Poland. In 1940 they came up with the Madagascar Plan; the idea to deport the entire Jewish Population to Madagascar. When that didnt work, functionalists argue that the territorial solution turned to the Jewish Question which eventually, in 1941, was forced to turn into the Final Solution. The final solution was the only term that act ually meant extermination. As I stated earlier, I find it nearly impossible to come to a conclusion. Many historians in the middle of the spectrum claim that both sides use the same evidence but just read into it differently. One example is a quote by Adolf Hitler, If at the beginning of the War and during the War, twelve or fifteen thousand of these Hebrew corrupters of the people had been held under the poison gas, as happened to hundreds of thousands of our very best German workers in the field, the sacrifice of millions would not have been in vain (Wasiak, Kjersti). An intentionalist would read this and say that this is proof that Hitler had a plan to kill out the entire Jewish population all along. A functionalist would read this and argue that this was only the solution after previous solutions had failed. Another example is the various quotes from Hitlers autobiography. Many times does he mention getting rid of the Jewish race. The only problem is that intentionalists automatically assume he means kill, whereas the functionalists think it could mean put in another country. I personally would side in the middle of the spectrum along side with historians such as Ian Kershaw and Yehuda Bauer. In their articles and books they seem to have the impression that Hitler was the driving force behind the Holocaust, but was not necessarily to blame. He did at one point want to exterminate the Jews, but it was not necessarily his plan all along from 1920, that some others could have influenced his actions and ideas. For years and years, historians have been struggling to find reasons for the Holocaust, reasons for Adolf Hitlers actions. Over time, two main parties have been created. The Intentionalists put complete blame on Hitler, saying that since 1920 it was his plan to create a genocide and kill off the entire Jewish race. The functionalists argue that many internal and external factors helped create the final solution, including other individuals and their views, countries impacts during the war, and failed attempts to do what the Nazi party originally wanted, leaving no other choice but murder. There are countless essays, books, and articles from both parties, all of which with valuable evidence. For me personally, I believe its difficult to completely side with one party. I believe that Hitler was the main force behind the Holocaust and the Final Solution. Whether or not his idea was implanted in his brain as a child, or the day he came to power, or even in1941 right before the Final Solu tion was made, is still not proven. The debate is ongoing and has evolved as the years have gone on. Immediately following the holocaust, it was automatically assumed by most that Hitler was completely to blame. As more evidence was uncovered, people began to question how one man could be so powerful and so evil, and the functionalist side began to grow. And finally today, although there still remains individuals on the far left and far right, it is common for historians to be in the middle, picking pieces from each side.

The Birth of Baseball :: essays research papers

The Birth of Baseball Baseball. The American Pastime. A true love of mine and of many Americans. The game's objective is to outscore your opponent by having more baserunners come across the final of four bases, called home plate. It's ironic in a way. The more these athletes "go home," the more successful they are. There is a reward in a "walk" and batters can be among the game's greats by failing seven out of 10 times. Although baseball is usually traced to the mid-19th century, games involving bats and balls started long before that. In fact, the first recorded "batting contests" began more than 5,000 years ago when Egyptian priests engaged in mock combat with bats. Balls which sometimes symbolized the sun and other deities, eventually found their way into the game. These games were gradually brought to Europe and eventually America. When these games reached England, they became classified as "stoolball." The "pitcher" attempted to hit an upturned stool with a ball before a "batter" could bat it away with a "stick." Legend has it that when this game moved out of the churchyard and into the countryside, more "stools" or "bases" were added. These bases had to be circled after the ball was struck. This led to the creation of English game "rounders," and a rule was added. A base runner could be put "out" by being struck with a thrown ball. Imagine that ruled had stayed. You'd have Roger Clemens firing fastballs at rookie infielders, who would run for their lives. Posts called "goals" or "bases" were driven into the ground.

Vietnam War :: essays research papers

Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a military struggle starting in 1959 and ending in 1975. It began as an attempt by the Vietcong (Communist Guerrillas) to overthrow the Southern Vietnam Government. This research paper will discuss the Vietnam War, US involvement in this war, and significant battles. Following the surrender of Japan to the Allies in August 1945, Vietminh guerrillas seized the capital city of Hanoi and forced the abdication of Emperor Bao Dai. On September 2 they declared Vietnam to be independent and announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, commonly called North Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh as president. France officially recognized the new state, but the subsequent inability of the Vietminh and France to reach satisfactory political and economic agreements led to armed conflict beginning in December 1946. "Northern Vietnam was determined to gain it's freedom" (Davis 12). With French backing Bao Dai set up the state of Vietnam, commonly called South Vie tnam, on July 1, 1949, and established a new capital at Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). "Where as the Southern Vietnam government seemed content to be a sort of a colony" (Davis 12). The following year, the U.S. officially recognized the Saigon government, and to assist it. President Harry S. Truman dispatched a military assistance advisory group to train South Vietnam in the use of U.S. weapons. In April 1961, a treaty of amity and economic relations was signed with South Vietnam, and in December, President John F. Kennedy pledged to help South Vietnam maintain its independence. Subsequently, U.S. economic and military assistance to the Diem government increased significantly. In December 1961, the first U.S. troops, consisting of 400 uniformed army personnel, arrived in Saigon in order to operate two helicopter companies; the U.S. proclaimed, however, that the troops were not combat units as such. A year later, U.S. military strength in Vietnam stood at 11,200. By the end of 1965 American combat strength was nearly 200,000. In February 1965, U.S. planes began regular bombing raids over North Vietnam. A halt was ordered in May in the hope of initiating peace talks, but when North Vietnam rejected all negotiations, the bombings were resumed. From February 1965 to the end of all-out U.S. involvement in 1973, South Vietnamese forces mainly fought against the Vietcong guerrillas. While U.S. and allied troops fought the North Vietnamese in a war of attrition marked by battles in such places as the Ia Dang Valley, Dak To, Loc Ninh, and Khe Sanh-all victories for the non-Communist forces.

Sexuality in John Donnes The Flea Essay -- essays research papers

A Reading of John Donne's 'The Flea' It is common to ascribe to Donne the status of archetypal logical poet- a man whose works are tightly crafted, confident, and certain in their application of metaphor and analogy. True enough, Donne’s poem seems to suggest a certain self-security: we see a tight, predictable rhyme scheme, and an ordered structure. There is also arguably a wealth of rhetorical resources - Donne does not shy away from using the lexis of the military (â€Å"triumph’st†), the medical (â€Å"two bloods†¦mingled†) or even the religious (â€Å"cloysterd†, â€Å"sacrilege†). Such a feature that might be read as hinting at Donne’s essential confidence in his ability to create a unified philosophy, to adapt a wide range of discourses, to demonstrate poetic craft. However, I want to suggest that the relations of power and position of sexuality in this small poem are a great deal less certain than such an interpretation might suggest. At the very least, Donne is not simply providing a stylised, easy conclusion but is engaging in a real rhetorical struggle. He chooses to employ exuberant, self-conscious metaphors that often contradict themselves. The conclusion of his poem, Just so much honor, when thou yeeld'st to mee, Will wast, as this flea's death tooke life from thee simultaneously insists on the identification of the flea with the sexual union (i.e. it may be compared to ‘yielding’) and on the impossibility of doing so (referring to the mistress’ counter-argument, where the flea’s death cannot be equated to the death of man and wife). That is, one might translate the meaning of the climax as: ‘this flea’s death did not kill you, and therefore the flea cannot be identified with us, yet this flea rep... ...e taken by â€Å"this flea’s death†. It is noticeable how this ‘triumph’ actually fits rather neatly into Donne’s rhyme, and more importantly how his choice of pronouns (â€Å"thou†¦thyself†¦mee†) alerts us to this line being Donne’s rendering of her speech- his pronouns reflect his own perspective. As indirect speech, the feminine voice is interpreted, defined and staged through the poet’s essentially masculine perspective. This male-ordained self-castration makes the supposedly easy task of assigning gender roles in The Flea a far more complex matter. Donne’s poem hints not at stable patriarchy, but an early modern society questioning and playing with concepts of gender and associated forms of power. There is a straddling of public and private spheres here, yet also a failure to achieve secure identity in either. The Flea points towards a symbolic order in a state of flux.

“Blackberries in June” by Ron Rash Essay

â€Å"Blackberries in June† by Ron Rash is a short story about a young couple that takes place in Seneca, South Carolina. Matt and Jamie are a couple who have been together since high school and they live in a house on the lake. Matt and Jamie’s lake house is something that they have worked hard for to get, and bought it all on their own. During the course of their teenage years, they had to make many sacrifices and hard decisions to get to the point they are now. Some issues have been occurring with their family life for the past few years and now more than ever, they have to decide whether to keep pursuing their dreams or help the family out. In the story there are several values brought up and each character presents a new topic. A value Linda thinks is important is not quite important to Matt. Each character thinks something different is of most importance in their lives. Matt and Jamie are the couple in the story who have worked hard to be successful. Their house on the lake was bought a few years ago while they were still young. This house however needed a lot of fixing up. These two characters value their house, money and most importantly each other. Matt and Jamie constantly are working on their lake house; some members of their family are not supportive but some others are. Matt and Jamie have been planning their life together as a couple ever since they were in high school and made goals for themselves to make their dreams happen. Matt reminds Jamie after bad visit to her grandmother’s house that this is what they have always dreamed of.

Delta Airlines Essay

Delta Air Lines is one of the top five domestic airlines in the United States, and amongst the top 20 in the world today. The key to Delta being so successful today is their focus on human relations (Anthony, Kacmar, & Parrewà ©, 2010). An agricultural extension agent by the name of C.E. Woolman founded Delta. Mr. Woolman was not a financier, so Delta has not historically relied on financial strategies to create competitive advantage (Anthony, Kacmar, & Parrewà ©, 2010). Delta has had the fewest number of customer complaints of any major carrier for 20 years straight. This excellent customer service could be partial due to the fact that Delta was strongly committed to its employees. With loyal employees and excellent customer service Delta was able to be very competitive in the airline industry and still is today. One of Delta greatest challenge today is differentiating itself from its competitors while cutting cost, but through their continual strong focus on human relations and s uperior customer service Delta will continue to be amongst the top in the airline industry. External Environment General. Economic factors: Inflation has increased and the world economy has dealt  with financial issues. There is a lot of potential growth in the emerging economies. Airlines merging not only affect those involved in the merger, but also the other airlines that stand to lose market share. Socio-culture: Factor varies among societies. The airline industry serves all kinds of customers. There have been issues with obesity and airlines because of having to purchase an additional seat for being larger. Political-Regulatory factors: Airlines have to consider are security issues because of terrorist attacks and deregulation of airlines. Also, there are fuel regulations to consider (Anthony, Kacmar & Perrewe, 2010). Technological factors: Technology has changed the industry drastically. Travel agencies are completely obsolete because of websites like hotwire, Orbitz and Priceline. Airlines have mobile applications for phones and ipads that allow you to check-in and get flight updates. You do no t even need a paper-boarding pass; there are electronic boarding passes. Demographic factors: The airline industry serves customers all over the world. Typically serving adults, even though children fly. Shares of the market are customers traveling for business purposes. Industry Airline Industry. The airline industry is a major economic and social force. The impact air travel has had on related industries, manufacturing, and tourism is on a global scale. Few industries have created the amount of technological advancement or gained such attention from federal governments. The industry has high and low cycles largely dependent on time of year and socioeconomic factors. The industry is fairly concentrated with only a small handful of majors competitors in North America, but each competitor has attached themselves to joint ventures with numerous global corporations, such as Sky Team, which contains Delta Air Lines. Airlines compete on a global scale, offering flights from Washington D.C to South Africa to Tokyo, Japan. Companies that limit themselves to a certain region struggle maintain a large portion of the market share. The airline industry is somewhat difficult to break into due to a high learning curve and the number of major competitors already establishe d in the field. The industry is in a mature phase, which means it is a well-established commodity that has seen little growth into untapped markets. Technology is rapidly growing to make planes larger, more efficient, quieter, and easier to manage. Technology has  allowed air travel to become safer and more cost effective than driving. The use of the internet has enabled consumers to purchase seats easier than ever. The capital requirements of an airline are very large. Planes, hangars, hubs, and a massive support staff are always needed to maintain even a small operation of flights. The industry can be very profitable as long as competition is maintained and people have a need for more rapid transportation. 5 – Force Analysis New Entrants. The significant start-up costs and capital requirements make entering the airline industry difficult. Government regulations also make a new or unknown company struggle internationally, as many governments strictly control who has authority to land within the country. Foreign competitors are more of a threat than new competitors. Foreign competitors are always looking to increase their market share in the U.S. and North America. Suppliers. Suppliers have a large amount of power within the industry. Boeing and Airbus dominate the manufacturing industry related to the airlines, which limits competition and rivalry. There is a lack of intensity within the industry due to this lack of competition. The other high priced commodity for airlines is fuel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is very strong and can easily influence the price of fuel. These suppliers can demand the prices they want because the airline industry has limited options otherwise. Buyers. Buyers have relatively low bargaining power within the airline industry. This is in part due to the high costs of switching airlines and the fact that airlines have the ability to set their own prices without fear of taking losses. Buyer power has recently grown with the use of travel/booking websites such as Travelocity, Kayak, and Hotwire. These sites enable buyers to instantaneously peruse numerous airline ticketing costs. The consumer then has the option to select the airline with the lowest offered price. Delta has introduced a way to lower ticket costs and maintain a loyal customer base. They offer lowered prices to consumers who buy directly from the Delta website. Substitutes. The increased efficiency of other travel modes do offer some threats of substitutes and also forces the airline industry to remain vigilant about having constant technological upgrades of their own. The threats offered from other services, such as motor vehicle, train, and boat,  have been dec lining since the rise of air travel, but they remain as a constant within the tourism and travel industries. Increased costs of fuel/oil prices have decreased the number of consumers who travel for pleasure, which has increased the percentage of those who travel for business needs. Airlines remain the favorite for international or transoceanic traveling due to the speed of transportation. Existing Rivalry. Rivals have created increased intensity within the market and the need for joint ventures and new business contracts on a regular basis. The most profitable hubs are ones setup within major traffic cities with a high demand for air travel. This means that the major airlines have to compete with one another to seize the larger markets. The larger markets typically cost more to get into, but yield a higher return on investments, so it is beneficial to become involved. Companies need to offer more flights and more time flexibility through these larger markets to keep up with the demand of their rival companies. Fixed costs from suppliers, low differentiation of services, and price wars contribute to rivalry as well. Net profits are lower overall due to this competition, but it ensures that one company is unable to seize a monopoly of the market share. Offering â€Å"frequent flyer miles† is one way to differentiate from the competition and increase a loyal customer base.

The social responsibility of a business Essay

Nowadays, the idea of social responsibilities supposes that the corporation has not only economic and legal obligations, but also certain responsibilities to society which extend beyond these obligations. Moreover, social responsibility is the obligation of decision makers to take actions which protect and improve the welfare of society as a whole along with their own interests. In other words, virtually all definitions of CSR include the notion that corporations have obligations toward society beyond their economic obligations to shareholders. Yet many authors have argued and still some continue to argue that social responsibility should not cater to the society at large but only to the organisation’s own interests. For instance, some believe that business has only two responsibilities: to obey the elementary canons of everyday face-to-face civility (honesty, good faith and so on ) and to seek material gain. Therefore, the definitions of CSR appear to fall under two general school of thoughts and throughout this study, we made an attempt to demonstrate that CSR is not limited only to economic duty. Literature Review: The roots of CSR can be traced back to the medieval era. According to May et al. (2007), various questions regarding organizations’ impact on society have been present for centuries. In fact, the corporate form and modern labor union were derived from the early medieval guild (May et al., 2007). In the 1870s large corporations began to have a significant impact on different aspects of society, including the environment, employees, customers, and the public as a whole. Although there are many definitions of CSR available, we centre our attention on more recent concepts of CSR. According to Richardson, Welker and Hutchinson (1999), CSR behaviours can be defined as discretionary actions undertaken by companies that are intended to advance their social issues. Joyner, Payne & Raiborn (2002) noted that CSR are categories of economic, legal, ethical and discretionary activities of a business entity as adapted to the values and expectations from society. They also added that, CSR are the basic expectations of the company regarding initiatives that take the  form of protection to public health, public safety, and the environment. In this concept, they explained that values and ethics influence the extent of a corporation’s perceived social responsibility that is influenced by societal activities, norms or standard. In today’s world, CSR can be defined as regards to all aspects of business behaviour so that the impacts of these activities are incorporated in every corporate agenda (Orgrizek, 2001; Coldwell, 2001). So, with the literatures definition of CSR, it can be concluded that CSR is the continuing commitment taken by business organizations to strengthen their ethical concepts and social involvement in society, contribute to economic development, sponsor charitable programs, and improve the quality of the workforce and also the increment of services provided. However on the other hand, Freeman & Liedtka (1991) argue that CSR can promote incompetence by leading the managers to get themselves involved in areas beyond their expertise, that is, trying to repair society’s ill. To sum up, those CSR theories and approaches are focused on four main points: (1) Long term profit maximization, (2) Responsible use of power, (3) Social demand integration, and (4) Achieving a good society. The adoption of the approaches in CSR on some level reflects the motivations of a company behind its CSR implementation. Discussion & Findings: Is CSR limited to economic duty? The evolution of international markets, easy and inexpensive communication structures, increased consumer awareness, wider distribution of risk, environmental awareness, and concern for global equality have put more emphasis on the social responsibility of corporations. Many organisations have introduced new policy instruments to promote corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility. As mentioned above, there exists mainly two school of thoughts, some believe that social responsibility is limited  only to economic duty that is the welfare of an organisation’s stockholders while others believe that organizations should adopt a broader view of its responsibilities that includes not only stockholders, but many other constituencies as well, including employees, suppliers, customers, the local community, local, state, and federal governments, environmental groups, and other special interest groups. Firstly, the neoclassical paradigm of management explains ethics and corporate social responsibility as nothing but a new strategic instrument to ensure long-term shareholder value. As Milton Friedman wrote long ago â€Å"The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.† He argues that â€Å"there is one and only one social responsibility of a business- to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud†. Milton Friedman’s claim that the sole social responsibility of business is to increase its profits places businesses into an adversarial relation to society. That is, businesses become the enemies, the exploiters, of the society of which they are a part. His statement implies that a business is allowed to behave in a socially irresponsible, and even socially destructive, manner, if this increases its profit. There are ways of increasing a business’ profits which are damaging to the society of which it is a part. Indeed, it is a tendency of business to seek to externalize all costs. Thus, to pollute, to ignore worker safety regulations, to engage in misrepresentation if not fraud, etc. If the business is in competition, and these things are permitted, it must do them, since its competitors, similarly situated, will also do these things. Its competitors, if allowed to externalize costs by polluting, will do so, and so it must also. Its competitors, if allowed to externalize costs by skimping on worker safety, will do so, and so it must do so also. Equally, many authors like Porter and Jensen, agree to Milton Friedman statement and they also argue that social responsibility is only an economic duty. They articulate arguments to demonstrate the irreconcilability of economic aims with broader social concerns. Michael Porter argues that corporate philanthropy is only meaningful as a part of the economic strategy of a firm while Michael Jensen maintains that it is logically impossible for a company to serve more than one objective. Moreover, Drucker (1984) had the opinion  that: â€Å"business turns a social problem into economic opportunity and economic benefit, into productive capacity, human competence, into well paid jobs, and into wealth†. Therefore, Drucker also argued that social responsibility is limited to economic duty. Although these kinds of arguments can be defined in order to emphasize the economic advantages of corporate social responsibility and economic advantages of corporate social responsibility and the economic duties of corporations, they do not capture the broader role that corporate citizenship plays in society. The world is changing and nowadays cor porations are now held accountable not just by the government, but also by the public. Corporate responsibility must now take into account how dealings with customers, shareholders and employees are seen by the world. Large global corporations know that people are watching them and that any wrongdoing will not go unnoticed. Many companies have a social conscience, treat employees fairly and try to do the best for their shareholders while trying to be socially responsible. There are, however, many other corporations who see nothing wrong with employing third world country workers to make their products. It is only due to groups who monitor such activities that these issues become public. Many corporations have been forced into taking corporate responsibility at a broader level that is now businesses do not limit corporate responsibility only to economic duty. They know that it does not make good business sense to be seen as a company that is damaging the world that we live in. Huge penalties and fines also await corporations that break ethical and environmental laws. Corporate responsibility has a huge impact not only on the local community, but also on the world. Its affects are social, economic and environmental. Bad and good corporate responsibility has effects that reach from the worker in the third world country to the air that we breathe. Furthermore, a growing number of writers over the last quarter of a century have recognized that the activities of an organization impact upon the external environment and gave suggested that such an organization should therefore be accountable to a wider audience than simply its shareholders. In the 1970’s many writers evincing concern with the social performance of a business, as a member of society at large. This concern was stated by Aukerman (1975) who argued that big business was recognizing the need to adapt to a new social climate of community accountability, but that the orientation of business to financial  results was inhibiting social responsiveness. Similarly, Mc Donald and Puxty (1979) maintain that companies are no longer the instruments of shareholders alone but exist within society and so therefore have responsibilities to that society, and that there is therefore a shift towards the greater accountability of companies to all participants. Moreover, author like Carroll (1979; 2008, 500) stated that â€Å"The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that a society has of organizations at a given point in time†. Carroll’s definition is often pictured in the above CSR Pyramid, and is where many CSR practitioners and theoreticians start. As can be seen above, he argued that companies should have economic responsibilities. Obviously, without making a profit then a company will cease to exist and CSR dies. However, the key issue is that CSR is not anti-profits, simply is all about how profits are made! The economic responsibilities cited in the definition refer to society’s expectation that organizations will produce good and services that are needed and desired by customers and sell those goods and services at a reasonable price. Organizations are expected to be efficient, profitable, and to keep shareholder interests in mind. Carroll then goes on to mention legal responsibilities but doesn’t consider those countries where the law is ignored (corrupt Governments for instance). The legal responsibilities relate to the expectation that organizations will comply with the laws set down by society to govern competition in the marketplace. Organizations have thousands of legal responsibilities governing almost every aspect of their operations, including consumer and product laws, environmental laws, and employment laws. Ethical responsibilities come next, but it seems that ethical behavior is not so easy to define. It concerns societal expectations that go beyond the law, such as the expectation that organizations will conduct their affairs in a fair and just way. This means that organizations are expected to do more than just comply with the law, but also make proactive efforts to anticipate and meet the norms of society even if those norms are not formally enacted in law. At the top of the pyramid is ‘philanthropy’. This may involve such things as philanthropic support of programs benefiting a community or the nation. It may also involve donating employee expertise and time to worthy causes. But in most  cases, philanthropy is seen as a first step toward CSR and all the other levels are often ignored by most businesses. Therefore, Caroll argues that business ethics, values-driven management, and corporate social responsibility are standards of governance that make it possible conceive of the corporation as both an economic instrument and a good corporate citizen. Conclusion: The importance of serving the society where the companies are operating is a legal and moral responsibility for both the public and private companies. Big companies are always exploiting the resources of a place and they should compensate for that. Companies should understand that, it can stay in the market with the help of the customers and the society in which it operates alone. Neither financial abilities nor the smart governance or management will help the companies in achieving their long term goals. In order to achieve long term goals, the companies need to execute their social responsibilities in a fruitful manner. On a concluding note, corporate social responsibility is not helping the poor and needy people alone. The company should keep morality and ethics in all its operations in order to fully execute their social responsibilities. Companies should never try to exploit the natural resources injudiciously. Moreover they should never engage in activities which are harmful to the environment. In short, corporate social responsibility is a wide topic which includes a company’s commitment to the society, stakeholders and the environment in which it operates. REFERENCES: Archie B. Carroll, Ann K. Buchholtz Business & Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management David Crowther; Gà ¼ler Aras Corporate Social responsibility Davis Keith, L Blomstrom Robert, 2002 Business & Society: Environment & Responsibility† 3rd Edition MC Graw Hill International Edition. Mark S. Schwartz. Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach Porter M.E & Kramer M.2006 Strategy & Society, The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility, Harvard Business Review.

Electronic Dance Music Essay

Electronic dance music (also known as EDM, dance music, club music, or simply dance) is a set of percussive electronic music genres produced primarily for dance-based entertainment environments, such as nightclubs. Dance music is generally produced for use by DJs and is most often presented in the context of a DJ mix.[1] So called â€Å"DJ producers† often perform live sets of their own dance music productions via a live PA.[2][3] In 2010, the acronym â€Å"EDM† was adopted by the American music industry and music press as a buzzword to describe the increasingly commercial US electronic dance music scene.[4][5] Other dance music communities have questioned the idea of EDM as blanket term for all electronic dance music and the term has instead been associated with specific dance sub-genres that became popular in the US, such as electro house and brostep.[6] A notable example of an early form of EDM is the 1977 collaboration between producer Giorgio Moroder and vocalist Donna Summer on the song â€Å"I Feel Love†, a groundbreaking dance/discothà ¨que hit with no traditional instruments.[7] The first era of electronic music comprises the instruments and music created prior to 1945.[8] The new field of information science inspired composers to explore the use of computers to compose and synthesize music, beginning in the 1950s.[9] The development of computer technology historically paralleled the development of the modern electronic music studio and synthesizer, leading to a cross-fertilization of the two fields that greatly benefited electronic music.[10] Birth of club music See also: Hi-NRG, Electronic body music, Euro disco, Synthpop, Italo disco, Electro (music), Garage music (North America), Post-disco and House music Hi-NRG (pronounced â€Å"high energy†)[11] is a style of uptempo disco or electronic dance music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom during the late 1970s. As a music genre, typified by a fast tempo (c. 140 bpm), staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-floor pattern), reverberated â€Å"intense† vocals, â€Å"pulsating† octave basslines, was particularly influential on the electronic dance music scene. Its earliest association was with Italo disco, which incorporated new American electronic sounds of post-disco and hi-NRG. Later, the genre became essential in the evolution of techno, and, to a lesser but important  degree, house music.[11] Artists like Daft Punk, Jus† ice or Calvin Harris represent only a small portion of those artists, coming mostly from a house music and electro-funk background, who gained a renewed interest in hi-NRG.[citation needed] Acid house and Rave See also: Acid house, Techno, Rave and Second Summer of Love Roland TB-303: The bass line synthesizer that was used prominently in acid house. Love Parade 1997 in Berlin. By 1988, house music had exploded in the UK and Germany with acid house becoming increasingly popular.[12] There was also a long-established warehouse party subculture based around the sound system scene. In 1988, the music played at warehouse parties was predominantly house. That same year, the Balearic party vibe associated with Ibiza based DJ Alfredo Fiorito was transported to London, whenDanny Rampling and Paul Oakenfold opened the clubs â€Å"Shoom† and â€Å"Spectrum,† respectively. Both night spots became synonymous with acid house, and it was during this period that the use of MDMA, as a party drug, started to gain prominence. Other important UK clubs at this time included â€Å"Back to Basics† in Leeds, Sheffield’s â€Å"Leadmill† and â€Å"Music Factory,† and in Manchester â€Å"The Haà §ienda,† where Mike Pickering and Graeme Park’s Friday night spot, â€Å"Nude,† was an important testing ground for American u nderground [13] dance music. Acid house party fever escalated in London and Manchester, and it quickly became a cultural phenomenon. MDMA-fueled club goers, faced with 2 A.M. closing hours, sought refuge in the warehouse party scene that ran all night. To escape the attention of the press and the authorities, this after-hours activity quickly went underground. Within a year, however, up to 10,000 people at a time were attending the first commercially organized mass parties, called raves, and a media storm ensued.[14] The success of house and acid house paved the way for Detroit Techno, a style that was initially supported by a handful of house music clubs in Chicago, New York, and Northern England, with Detroit clubs catching up later.[15] According to British DJ Mark Moore it was Derrick May’s†Strings of Life† that eased London  club-goers into acceptance of house, with Moore stating that: â€Å"I was on a mission because most people hated house music and it was all rare groove and hip hop†¦I’d play Strings of Life at the Mud Club and clear the floor. Three weeks later you could see pockets of people come onto the floor, dancing to it and going crazy – and this was without ecstasy.† [16][17] During the 1990s, events such as the Love Parade in Germany attracted large numbers of attendees, but this subsided after the start of the next millennium.[citation needed] One of the popular raves or EDM concert in the United States of America is Electric Daisy Carnival also known as EDC. EDC 2012 rave had over 85,000 people at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.[18] EDC at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has 6 stages for the DJ.[19] Not only there have 6 stages, they have amusement rides such as ferris wheel and numerous amounts of roller coasters.[20] Ever since EDC moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, they have been making more ticket sales.[21] EDC sold more than 230,000 tickets.[22] Also, another popular EDM concerts or raves in the United States of America is called Hard Summer.[23] Hard Summer is more an EDM concert that consist hip-hop, reggae, and rock that is infused with EDM style.[23] Los Angeles sold more than 40,000 tickets[23] North American commercialization of EDM Initially, electronic dance music achieved limited popular exposure in America when it was marketed as â€Å"electronica† during the mid to late 1990s.[24] At that time, a wave of electronic music bands from the UK, including The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and Underworld, had been prematurely associated with an â€Å"American electronica revolution.†[25][26] But, instead of EDM finding wider mainstream success, it was relegated to the margins of the industry.[25] Despite the domestic music media interest in â€Å"electronica† during the latter half of the 1990s, American house and techno producers continued to travel abroad to establish their careers as DJs and producers.[25] By the mid-2000s, a number of factors led to an increased prominence for dance acts in North America that was larger than previously observed. Daft Punk’s performance at the 2006 Coachella Festival—the first in the duo’s Alive 2006/2007 tour, which featured the introduction of a unique pyramid-shaped stage design and lighting rig, influenced what Spindescribed as an â€Å"arms race† for visual  effects in electronic music. Spin also considered the act to be a â€Å"tipping point† for EDM, as the appearance fueled nostalgia of the electronica era, and introduced the duo to a new generation of â€Å"rock kids†.[25] In 2009, French house musician David Guetta began to gain prominence in mainstream pop music after the 2009 release of â€Å"When Love Takes Over† (featuring the vocals of Kelly Rowland), which was internationally popular on both pop and dance music charts. The success of the song led to further collaborations with other pop and hip-hop acts, such asAkon (â€Å"Sexy Bitch†) and The Black Eyed Peas.[27] His collaboration with the latter, â€Å"I Gotta Feelin g†, was a major success for both The Black Eyed Peas and Guetta—in the U.S., the song achieved sales of 249,000 downloads and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number two, behind their previous single â€Å"Boom Boom Pow†.[28] The song eventually reached number 1 on July 30, 2009, and Billboard magazine reported that the song, along with â€Å"Boom Boom Pow,† helped the group maintain a 17-week run at the top of the Hot 100, the longest time period achieved by a single, duo or group.[29] The increased prominence of EDM was also fueled by concerts and festivals, such as Electric Daisy Carnival, that placed an increased emphasis on visual experiences (such as video and lighting effects), fashion (which The Guardian characterized as an evolution from the 1990s â€Å"kandi raver† into â€Å"[a] slick and sexified yet also kitschy-surreal image midway between Venice Beach and Cirque Du Soleil, Alice In Wonderland, Willy Wonka and a Gay Pride parade†), and the DJs themselves, who began to attain celebrity-like statuses. Websites such as YouTube and SoundCloud also helped fuel an increased interest in house and other types of electronic music, such as electro house and dubstep—both of which had also developed a hard rock-influenced sound popularized by producers such as Excision, Knife Party, Rusko and, most prominently, American producer Skrillex.[30][31] In 2011 Spin declared the start of a â€Å"new rave generation,† led by names such as Guetta, Canadian producer Deadmau5, and Skrillex, that was followed by a new wave of mainstream consumers.[25] Elements of EDM also began to emerge in songs by mainstream artists, as collaborations occurred with artists such as Afrojack and Calvin Harris.[25]EDM producers and DJs also began experiencing success playing club shows in U.S. cities such as Las Vegas; at the time, Diplo argued that promoters could generate higher profits from DJs  over other acts, stating that â€Å"a band plays, it’s 45 minutes; DJs can play for four hours. Rock bands—there’s a few headliner dudes that can play 3,000-4,000-capacity venues, but DJs play the same venues, they turn the crowd over two times, people buy drinks all night long at higher prices—it’s a win-win.†[25] Other major acts gaining prominence during this period, such as Avicii and Swedish House Mafia, elected to hold concert tours at major venues such as arenas alongside nightclub appearances; in December 2011, Swedish House Mafia became the first electronic music act to sell out New York City’s Madison Square Garden.[30] In November 2013, Music Trades magazine called EDM the fastest growing genre on the planet.[32] In addition to the growth of EDM through live events and the Internet, radio and television were also credited with helping to increase mainstream attention: analysts noted that sales of Calvin Harris’s â€Å"Feel So Close† and Swedish House Mafia’s â€Å"Don’t You Worry Child† dramatically increased after they began receiving contemporary hit radio airplay.[33] EDM songs and artists have been featured in television commercials and programs, while some artists have produced more pop-oriented songs to make their work more accessible to a mainstream audience.[34] In January 2013, Billboard introduced a new EDM-focused Dance/Electronic Songs chart, tracking the top 50 electronic songs based on sales, radio airplay, club play, and online streaming.[35] Corporate investment in EDM In accordance with the significant growth in mainstream popularity, EDM became increasingly attractive to outside investors, with some comparing it to the dot-com boom of the late-1990s. The beginning of corporate consolidation in the EDM industry began in 2012; especially in terms of live events. In June 2012, media executive Robert F. X. Sillerman (founder of what is now Live Nation) re-launched SFX Entertainment as an EDM-focused conglomerate, and announced his plan to invest US$1 billion for the acquisition of EDM-related properties. His purchases included a number of regional promoters and festivals (including ID&T, organizers of the annual Tomorrowland festival in Belgium), along with two nightclub operators in Miami, U.S., and Beatport, an EDM-oriented online music store.[36][37] The current Live Nation has also made investments into EDM, with its acquisition of Cream Holdings and Hard  Events, and announced a â€Å"creative partnership† with Insomniac Events in 2013;[38] CEO Michael Rapino believed that EDM was the new â€Å"rock ‘n’ roll† of the generation.[39][40][41] Advertisers have also increasingly associated themselves with the EDM industry; for example, alcoholic beverage companies such as Heineken and Anheuser-Busch have maintained marketing relationships with the Ultra Music Festival and SFX, respectively. Heineken also incorporated Dutch producers, such as Armin van Buuren and Tiesto, into their marketing campaigns. Avicii’s manager Ash Pournouri compared the increasingly commercial EDM industry to the transformation and commercialization of hip hop, which occurred in the early 2000s, arguing that the â€Å"corporate world† was beginning to â€Å"catch on† to EDM.[34] iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Cl ear Channel Communications), the largest commercial U.S. radio conglomerate, launched a dance radio format in Boston on December 20, 2012 under the brand Evolution 101.7. Marketed as the â€Å"first real EDM station† in the United States, the station, which changed its call letters to WEDX, was an extension of the Evolutioninternet radio channel on the company’s iHeartRadio service. The company also hired prominent British DJ and BBC Radio 1 personality Pete Tong to produce content for Evolution.[42] In June 2014, the dance/EDM format of WEDX was dropped in favor of country music; the format, however, was moved to the HD Radio subchannel of a sister station.[43][44][45] The 2014 business report by International Music Summit (IMS), estimates the EDM industry market worth $6.2 billion a year.[46] Criticism of commercial EDM Despite the growing mainstream acceptance of EDM, a number of producers and DJs, including Carl Cox, Steve Lawler, and Markus Schulz, have raised concerns that the perceived over-commercialization of dance music has impacted the â€Å"art† of DJing. Cox sees the â€Å"press-play† approach of a new generation of EDM DJs as not being representative of what he calls the â€Å"DJ ethos†.[30] Writing in Mixmag DJ Tim Sheridan questioned whether or not EDM was responsible for affecting the art of traditional DJing.[47] Sheridan contends that the emergence of â€Å"push-button DJs† who use auto-sync functions and pre-recorded sets featuring â€Å"obvious hits† rather than a diverse selection of music has led to a situation where â€Å"the spectacle, money and the showbiz [had] overtaken all—even notions of honesty.†[47] Some house  producers have openly admitted that â€Å"commercial† EDM required further differentiation and creativity. Avicii (whose 2013 album â€Å"True† featured songs incorporating elements of bluegrass music, such as its lead single â€Å"Wake Me Up†) stated that there was â€Å"no longevity† in the majority of EDM.[48] Deadmau5 has also criticized the homogenizationof EDM, stating that the music he hears â€Å"all sounds the same†Ã¢â‚¬â€he emphasized his diversification into other genres, such as techno and, in 2014, he released a techno song under the moniker â€Å"testpilot† for Richie Hawtin’s label, Plus 8. During the 2014 Ultra Music Festival, Deadmau5 made remarks attacking up and coming EDM artist Martin Garrix, and during his set later in the evening (where he filled in for Avicii, who was unable to attend due to medical issues), he played an edited version of Garrix’s song â€Å"Animals† remixed to the m elody of â€Å"Old McDonald Had a Farm†. Following the performance, Deadmau5 was also criticized on Twitter by fellow electronic musician Tià «sto for â€Å"sarcastically† mixing Avicii’s â€Å"Levels† with his own â€Å"Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff†, asking in response â€Å"How does one play a track sarcastically? â€Å"Am I supposed to sneer while hitting the sync button? Or is that ironic?†[49][50][51][52] In May 2014, the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live parodied the stereotypes of EDM culture and push-button DJs through a Digital Short entitled â€Å"When Will the Bass Drop?†. The short featured a DJ named Davvincii—who is seen performing a number of unrelated tasks—including playing a computer game, frying eggs, and collecting money rather than actually mixing, and pressing a giant â€Å"BASS† button to cause the heads of attendees to explode.[53][54][55] Terminology The term â€Å"electronic dance music† was used in America as early as 1985,[56] although the term â€Å"dance music† didn’t catch on as a blanket term for the genre(s) until the second half of the 1990s, when it was embraced by the American music industry with their â€Å"Dance† charts (which continue to this day), as well as the consistent use of the term â€Å"dance music† in reference to artists in reviews.[56] In July 1995 Nervous Records and Project X magazine held their first award ceremony titled â€Å"Electronic Dance Music Awards.† [57][58] Writing in The Guardian journalist Simon Reynolds noted that music industry adoption of the term EDM was part of a drive to re-brand â€Å"rave culture† in the USA; an attempt to â€Å"draw line  between today’s EDM and 90s rave†.[59] While â€Å"EDM† has become the common blanket term for dance music genres in the USA, in many parts of Europe and online, in the UK the usage of â€Å"dance music† or â€Å"dance† is more commonly used.[60] What is widely considered to be club music changes over time includes different genres depending on the region and who’s making the reference, and may not always encompass electronic dance music. Similarly, electronic dance music sometimes means different things to different people. Both terms vaguely encompass multiple genres, and sometimes are used as if they were genres themselves. The distinction is that club music is ultimately based on what’s popular, whereas electronic dance music is based on attributes of the music itself.[61] Genres Main article: List of electronic music genres Just as rock, jazz and other musical genres have their own set of sub-genres, so does electronic dance music. Continuing to evolve over the past 30 years dance music has splintered off into numerous sub-genres often defined by their varying tempo (BPM), rhythm, instrumentation used and time period.[62] The broadest categories include house,techno, trance, hardstyle, UK garage, drum & bass, dubstep, progressive, electro, trap and hardcore. Electronic body music (EBM) is a music genre that combines elements of post-industrial music, EDM and synthpunk.[63] It first came to prominence in Belgium and was considered a part of the European New Wave movement.[63] Pure electronic body music is referred to as â€Å"old-school EBM† and should not be confused with aggrotech, dark electro or industrial music.[64] Production Typical tools for EDM production: computer, MIDI keyboard and mixer/sound recorder. In an April 2014 interview with Tony Andrew, the owner and founder of the Funktion-One sound system—considered a foremost model of audio technology and installed in venues such as Berghain, Output and Trouw—Andrew explains the critical importance of bass to dance music: Dance music wouldn’t be so successful without bass. If you think about it, we’ve really only had amplified bass for around 50 years. Big bass is only a couple of generations old. Before the invention of speakers that could project true bass frequencies, humans really only came across bass in hazardous  situations—for example, when thunder struck, or an earthquake shook, or from explosions caused by dynamite or gunpowder. That is probably why it is by far the most adrenaline-inducing frequency that we have. Bass gets humans excited basically. Below 90 or 100 Hz, bass becomes more of a physical thing. It vibrates specific organs. It vibrates our bones. It causes minor molecular rearrangement, and that is what makes it so potent as a force in dance music. The molecular vibration caused by bass is what gives dance music its power. It is what makes dance music so pleasurable to hear through a proper sound system.[65] Andrew also warns that too much bass, as well as too much sound overall, can be harmful and a â€Å"good sound engineer will understand that there is a window between enough sound to give excitement and so much that it is damaging.†[65] Festival goers, celebrate at the AustralianFuture Music Festival (2013) Festivals Electric Zoo Festival 2011 at the Hilltop Arena See also: List of electronic music festivals and List of Electronic dance music festivals Other festivals, including Lollapalooza and Coachella have increased the number of EDM acts represented.[citation needed] Coachella in particular took an adventurous path giving electronic acts a high profile in a time when they were seldom booked alongside rock bands, in the United States at least. Rawley Bornstein, an MTV music and talent programmer, described EDM as â€Å"the new rock and roll,†[66] as has Lollapalooza organizer Perry Ferrell.[67] Ray Waddell, touring editor at Billboard magazine, noted that festival promoters have done an excellent job at branding.[66] Tomorrowland, a popular EDM music festival in Belgium has amassed millions of followers through YouTube and other social media. Tomorrowland broadcast the show live over YouTube and over 16.8 million viewers tuned in. The 20 minute recap video of Tomorrowland in 2012 amassed over 90 million views on YouTube, a testament to the growing popularity of electronic dance music.[68]