Evaluation Design of grant application assignment

Evaluation Design of grant application - Assignment Example It will be crucial for this evaluation to capture the resources available at the time of commencement. The evaluation will seek to capture the number of people who will have received the content of the awareness campaign and the media through which they received the information. It shall assess how much crime will have been prevented thus far compared with the rate of crime in Philadelphia before the implementation of the project (Bestsinger et. al., 2004). Additionally, the evaluation will measure the number of partnerships that the implementation will have garnered thus far. In regards to the performance objectives, the evaluation will seek to determine the number of Philadelphia community members who will be attending training. The number of training sessions and their frequency will be documented. The evaluation shall seek to document how the activities of the project are filed. Philadelphia community members shall be assessed for how much they will have learnt on the use and maintenance of surveillance cameras. Crime reports will be scrutinized in order to capture how much will have originated from the general population and not from investigations initiated by the Philadelphia Police Department (Bestsinger et. al., 2004). In terms of impact, data will be collected on both the unintended and intended outcomes of the Residential Surveillance Cameras Installation Project. The short-term, mid-term and long-term outcomes will be captured during evaluation. Specifically, Philadelphia residential premise owners will be assessed for change in attitudes and beliefs about crime and crime prevention (Bestsinger et. al., 2004). There will be an evaluation team that will be charged with the collection of crime facts and figures. The team will be composed of five members who will have thorough knowledge of the technical aspects of

Innovations In English Language Teaching Essay Example for Free

Innovations In English Language Teaching Essay Within the inter-related fields of linguistics, psychology and specifically language learning it has been recognized that language acquisition depends on several cognitive and environmental aspects. When giving instruction in a foreign language, it is also necessary to consider the language of origin already mastered by the learner, as well as the peculiarities of culture that may interfere with or otherwise have an impact on the manner in which a given language is learned (Collier, 1995). In Singapore, innovations in language learning based on these criteria have already been made, but implementation has posed a challenge (Tucker Corson, 1997). The true language expert has a deep understanding these barriers and must be prepared to come up with ideas that facilitate the change that drives the actual implementation of these innovative processes (Reza-Hernandez Clifford, 2003; Garcia, 1994). In Singapore, English has been acknowledged as the language of business and commerce, and therefore it has become crucial for greater strides to be made in passing on its knowledge to the citizens (Tucker Corson, 1997). Singapore’s national university has instituted such innovations as the creation of computerized databases that hold â€Å"profiles of Singapore-based English† as a method improving the research and development in the area of English language teaching in the country (1997, p. 227). This type of research appears to enable language instructors to understand the general areas of English that need more or better instruction. Other innovations directly affecting Singapore include the new dictionary of Southeast Asian English as well as numerous conferences that promote the improvement of the language. This research hopes to add further innovations, including in the area of technology, that would build on the projects already begun and further enhance the learning of the language in the country (Chapelle, 2003; Parker, 2007; Reza-Hernandez Clifford, 2003; Klein et al. 2006). Research Objectives The aim of this research is to find new approaches to teaching English that can be easily implemented in the Singaporean context. These will include new instructional methods, teaching aids, and the use of technologies as an integral aspect of imparting the language experience to those who learn. Research Question: How does collaborative learning, using the primary learners as mediators of the language, affect English language instruction in Singapore? Methods The major theme of the implementation strategies will be the establishment of a community of English language learners using a core group of English language institute students as mediators of the language. The use of technology will enhance the project but not be the main focus. In community building, emphasis will be placed on building bridges between and among students of language-learning institution and other schools or groups within the community (Hones, 2000; Parker, 2007; Klein, et al. , 2006). Technology will come into play as computers and the internet will provide the means of uniting persons separated by distance. It will also be used to engage the participation of native speakers of English from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and other English speaking countries of the world. Technology will also be used as a supplement to the activities performed in the language-learning setting (Kamhi-Stein, 2000). The study will therefore take the form of an action research in which the use of existing educational software, games, and activities in English are used within an integrative context. This integrative context will involve the exposure of the language-learning institute students to activities with native speakers, which they will in turn pass on to a group of Singaporeans within a given community—perhaps children or youth group. The types of activities used will include the following †¢ internet word-searches and studies †¢ webquests (Teclahaimanot Lamb, 2004) †¢ on- and offline word-game applications such as Scrabble †¢ watching and discussing movies in English †¢ reading and discussing books in English These will be done together with volunteers from English speaking countries who will be instructed to maintain constant dialogue with the institute student about the activities for the duration of the session. Group chats as well as one-on-one conversations will be used. Later the student will be expected to impart the knowledge gained from the session to members of the community. Activities will be monitored via reports and observation in order to provide the data for the research.

Nano-diamond Powder Layer Effect on Fast Neutrons Reflection

Nano-diamond Powder Layer Effect on Fast Neutrons Reflection A. Taghian, D. Rahi, H. Sadeghi Abstract: This paper has investigated the effect of nano-diamond powder on reflection of fast neutrons. It compares the effect of graphite and nano-dimond layers on reflection of fast neutrons. Nano-diamond as a new article that theres carbon in families of many of the behaviors and properties of carbon and other members of the family, the impact of the application of this article accepts it without knowing so, and understand it without understanding the carbon carbon and other members of the family is not possible. Nano-diamond in addition to diamonds, diamond properties such as hardness, resistance to different environments and The small size and a shell with active groups that it has different properties to conventional diamonds. On the one hand the diverse applications of properties and provide new and on the other hand, production and working with this article difficult. Of course, the proper use of diamond in different applications when possible, which is a non-diamond carbon and other impurities as possible are separated from it in addition any application requires special surface properties as well. The amount of impurities in synthetic diamond production depends on the extreme ways. We used 241Am-Be 100  µCi, BF3 and LiI detector in the present study. Two materials have been coated. The experimental and simulated results have good agreement with consideration of errors. The results show that fast neutrons reflection could be carried out by nano-diamond powder better than graphite. Keyword: 1-Nano-diamond powder 2-Graphite 3-Neutron 4-Neutron reflection 5- BF3 detector 6-LiI detector 1-Introduction Neutrons shielding is based on the fast neutrons reflection as prompt and delay gamma are produced by neutron capture [1]. The scattering cross section of hydrogen is high for neutrons. So, hydrogen containing material such as polyethylene and hydrocarbon are used for neutron shielding [1]. Diamond has cubic lattice structure [2]. In this structure, one carbon atom is surrounded by four atom of carbon with covalent bonds. Very strong covalent bond of a carbon adjacent atom is caused by increasing of elastic modulus and ultra-high temperature stability [2]. Therefore, they make the strongest natural material. The structure of bulk material is 3D. But, the structure of nanomaterial is 2D (thin film), 1D (nanorod and nanotube) and zero dimensions (nanoparticle and nanocrystal). In addition to change properties of material, this technology increases the surface to volume ratio. Therefore, the ratio of surface reaction increases on the material. By development of nuclear technology over the past 40 years, rules and standards of the IAEA have become more difficult and smaller for absorbed dose of personalities and environments in different conditions. There have been many limitations for neutron shield construction such as mass and volume of the shield [3]. 2-Investigatin of neutron reflector Reflectors are used in reactors to prevent neutrons escaping. The best reflector has small absorption cross section and large scattering cross section. Graphite and beryllium (according to solid phase) are usually used for reflection of neutrons. Actually, the size of structural units (a) must be comparable to the wavelength of neutrons (ÃŽ »). Coherent and efficient scattering of neutrons is proportional to the ratio of ÃŽ »/a. A neutron can be described by wavelength, ÃŽ » and wave vector . The neutron energy is equal to , and are mass, energy and Plank constant respectively [2]. The neutron beam intensity is decreased by transmission across material. The neutron beam intensity reduction is equal to , , and are thickness of material, number of atoms in unit volume and total cross section respectively [1,4]. 3-Experimental setup 3-1-BF3 detector BF3 detector is used for detection of thermal neutron. It works on proportional region. The isotope of 10B is used in the BF3 gas detector. The absorption cross section of 10B is large for absorbing of thermal neutrons. The BF3 counter detects the alpha and the lithium particles produced by the reaction [4,6,5]: The efficiency of BF3 detector is proportional to absorption cross section of 10B and it changes for neutrons with different energies. 3-2- LiI detector In addition of BF3 detector, LiI detector has been used for detection of neutron. 6LiI is an inorganic scintillator. Neutron detection by 6Li is based on the reaction The cross section for this reaction is of the l/v type up to 10 keV, with a value of 937 b at 0.025 eV [3, 6]. 3-3- The used material The neutron source was 241Am-Be 100  µCi. The BF3 and LiI detectors were used with 2 cm diameter and 20 and 14 cm height respectively. The BF3 and LiI detectors were located on polyethylene base. 3-3-1- The origin and fabrication method of the nano-diamond powders Diamond powder production properties depend on the method. Desired characteristics are obtained by purification and properties are determined. A manufacturing process for milling the nano-diamond to the appropriate size is explosive method. Diamond powder production common methods are carried out in dry (environmental gas synthesis) and wet (water base) mediums. The Nano-diamond powder production was carried out by blasting method which could lead to the Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, nitrogen monoxide and etc. creation. The tiny particles of diamond are formed along with some solid impurities mixed with gases in the blast chamber. Table 1 shows the chemical analysis of ash samples. The results recorded in the table indicate the chemical analysis of ash residue from the combustion of the samples by wet chemical methods which are XRD, ICP. Table 1: The chemical analysis of ash samples are presented In the nano-diamond powder manufacturing process through blasting, diamond particles are formed at pressures higher than 200 kilo bars. At temperatures above 1000  ° C, the low pressure converted particles into graphite. Methods of separation and purification of gas and liquid nano- diamonds are divided into two groups that raise the cost of investment. After all purification of the resulting material is carried out as the carbonic compound still has many types and amounts of impurities such as O, N, H, a small amount of metal and carbondioxide. Nano- diamond is then purified and turned ashen while the ash explosion leads to a large amount of black and dark -graphite production. Powder used in these experiments was purified by liquid method. In this method, different oxidizing agents such as acids, mixed acids, bases and salts are used. All these methods are only carried out in laboratory scale. Characteristics of nano-diamond powder used are shown in Table 2. Table 2: The properties of the used nano-diamond powder in experiments Figure 1 shows the measured spectrum of 100  µCi 241Am-Be neutron source supplied by I.R. Iran Atomic Energy Agency and figure 2 show absorption cross section of 10B and 11B. Figure 1: Neutron spectrum of 241Am-Be Figure 2: Variation of neutron cross section of 10B and 11B isotopes 3-4-Geometry The experimental setups have been sketched in figure 3 and 4 for investigation of graphite and nano-diamond layers effect on reflection of fast neutrons. Figure 3: The experimental setup for investigation of graphite and nano-diamond layers effect on reflection of fast neutrons Figure 4: The experimental setup for investigation of graphite and nano-diamond layers effect on shielding of fast neutrons In the present study of neutron reflection, the height and radial of the cylinder are 35 cm and 11 cm respectively with one side open and the other closed. The neutron source is in center of the cylinder and the detector is placed in front of the open side. The cylinder is made of polyethylene with 2 mm thickness. Graphite and nano-diamond are coated with polyethylene in cylinder. The distance of the detector lateral surface and the open side of the cylinder was 20 cm. The thicknesses of coated graphite and nano-diamond were 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm. The background neutrons are originated from walls, floor and other instrument in the around environment. A polyethylene cube with 10 cm thickness and a lead block with 2 cm thickness are located between source and detector for absorption of emitted gamma rays and neutrons from source. This geometry detects gamma rays background and neutrons. This work repeats for each measurement with and without absorbers. The first and second counts are foreground and background respectively. If background subtracts from foreground count, the result will be net count of reflected neutrons from cylinder to detector. To investigate the neutron shielding properties, neutron source has been located in center of graphite cubic with 2 mm thickness. Also, the LiI detector has been set in front of one side of the graphite cubic. Graphite and nano-diamond are coated on the same side of graphite cubic. The distance between the detector lateral surface and the open side of the cubic was 15 cm. The thicknesses of coated graphite and nano-diamond were 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm. 4-Results of measurements As mentioned above, the thicknesses of graphite and nano-diamond were 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm respectively. In each measurement, the same thicknesses were compared at a margin oferrorequal to  ±23 percent. The errors come from neutron source and count measurement as the error of neutron source was  ±15 percent and the count measurement (N) one was N1/2.The neutron counts in different thicknesses of graphite and nano-diamond are shown in figure 5 and 6. Figure 5: Neutron count diagram for graphite and nano-diamond layers with different thicknesses (Reflection) Figure 6: Neutron count diagram for graphite and nano-diamond layers with different thickness (Shielding) 5-Simulated results by Monte-Carlo method All the system parts have been simulated by Monte-Carlo method. We have used MCNPX2.6 to calculate the absorbed dose. MCNPX2.6 is a general purpose of Monte Carlo radiation transport code designed to track many particle types over broad ranges of energies. Form of molecule, bond and density are changed in a nano chemical composition. Coulomb force determines the form of molecules. The total charge of the neutron is zero. Therefore, there is no effect on neutron cross section with matter of nano scale. Also, the neutron reaction is nuclear and it is independent of charge or electron cloud so that it can be simulated by MCNP code. Therefore, it is not important to consider the nano-scale of the nano-diamond. However, nano-scale affects density and it must be noted in Monte-Carlo input. The neutron flux has been calculated in the sensitive volume of BF3 and LiI detectors with different thicknesses of graphite and nano-diamond. The results are shown in figure 7 and 8. Figure 7: Calculated neutron flux in sensitive volume of BF3 detector in different thickness of graphite and nano-diamond layers (Reflection) Figure 8: Calculated neutron flux in sensitive volume of LiI detector in different thickness of graphite and nano-diamond layers (Shielding) Because of hydrogen presence in the nano-diamond composition, it can reflect neutrons better than graphite. The neutrons counting is increased by graphite and nano-diamond thickness enhancement. However, determining thenumberofneutrons is faster for nano-diamond layer. Fig. 4 and fig. 6 show that the reflected neutrons are increased by thickness enhancement. The differences arise from the measurement method as the measurements are done by BF3 detector which measures thermal neutrons. The simulated results are considered the all of neutrons. Also, Fig. 7 and 8 show that nano-diamond has a more shielding effect in comparison with graphite because the net count rate becomes smaller by using nano-diamond shielding. The differences are because of the measurements done by BF3 detector and the simulation results are considered as the spectrum of neutrons. 6-Conclusion Two main factors effecting on neutron reflection are cross section and density. Nano-diamond (C10H16) contains hydrogen and it has larger cross section interaction in comparison with graphite. In addition, the density of nano-diamond and graphite are 3.5 and 1.8 g/cm3 respectively. According to the results, true count of nano-diamond reflector is 2 times of graphite reflector. The simulated and experimental results have good agreement by consideration of errors. Also, the number of low energy neutrons in nano-diamond reflector is larger than in graphite one. Therefore, conventional material can be put aside and nano-diamond is used for neutron shielding. References Glenn F. Knoll, â€Å"Radiation Detection and Measuremen†, Fourth Edition, 2010, , John Wiley Sons, Inc T. Taler, Characterization of Isolated Nnaodiamond Particle, Material Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, 6-18 (2004). Nicholas Tsoulfanidis; †Measurement and Detection of Radiation†; 2th edition, university of Missouri- Rollapress. 706 (1995). V. A. Artem’ev, †Atomic Energy†, Vol. 94, NO. 4, 282(2003). H.W. Schmitt, R.C. Block, R.L. Bailey, Total neutron cross section of 10B in the thermal neutron energy range, Volume17, June–July 1960, Pages 109–115. K. Kleinknecht, Dtectors for Particle Radiation, Cambridge University Press, London New York New Rochele, 120-125(1986). [1] Isfahan University, Faculty Of Advanced Science And Technologies, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Isfahan, Iran Ahmad Taghian; Email: [emailprotected]; Telephone: 00989128482357 Davood Rahi: Email: [emailprotected] [2] Malek Ashtar University Of Technology, Health Physics Department, Shahin shahr, Isfahan, Iran Hosein Sadeghi: Email: [emailprotected]

B. F. Skinner Essay -- Behaviorism Behavior Behaviorist

B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner, psychologist and behaviorist, was born in Susquhanna, Pennsylvania in 1904 to William Skinner and Grace Burrhus. His father was a lawywer and his mother was a naturally bright woman. Skinner had only one sibling; his brother died at the age of sixteen. Skinner lived most of his life in Susquhanna. He did not leave the house he was born in until he left to go to college. He was raised very close to his grandparents, who had a major impact on his early life. He was also close to his parents. He and his mother and father all graduated from the same high school. This was the same school that he had attended for all twelve years of his education. Skinner attended Hamilton College at the reccomadation of a family friend. He took many different types of courses before deciding to major in English and minor in Romance Languages. Skinner felt that he did not fit in at college. He disliked the fraterninty that he had joined and he did not understand why the college required the courses that it did. He felt that he was made to take too much physical education and not enough emphasis was place on actual academics. The summer before his senior year he attended the Middlebury School of English at Breadloaf, Vermont. During this summer he had lunch with Robert Frost. Frost asked to see his work and gave Skinner a lot of enfouragemant. This led him to the decision to become a writer. Skinner's father was not happy with this decision. He has hoped that his son would become a lawywer, like himself. His father eventually agreed to his decision, and Skinner moved back home to start his new career. He built himself an office in his parents' house where he could write. He was to try to be a writer ... ...ology of literature. She listened to him and gave him advice on his lectures. In the next ten years, he wrote three books all having to do with the psychology of literature. Yvonne and Skinner had two daughters, Julie and Deborah. It was the birth of their second child taht inspired one of Skinner's inventions. He invented the "baby box" to ease the burdens of chilcare for his wife. The box is still used today, but is not so widespread because changes in childacare are hard to make. Another of his most famous endeavors was "project pigion." This was an experiment designed to teach pigions to guide missles in the 1930's. B. F. Skinner died in 1990. He is stilled looked upon today as one of the most influential behaviorailists. His work is still studied and revered for it's genius. Skinner was an independent thinker who studied everyone, including himself. B. F. Skinner Essay -- Behaviorism Behavior Behaviorist B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner, psychologist and behaviorist, was born in Susquhanna, Pennsylvania in 1904 to William Skinner and Grace Burrhus. His father was a lawywer and his mother was a naturally bright woman. Skinner had only one sibling; his brother died at the age of sixteen. Skinner lived most of his life in Susquhanna. He did not leave the house he was born in until he left to go to college. He was raised very close to his grandparents, who had a major impact on his early life. He was also close to his parents. He and his mother and father all graduated from the same high school. This was the same school that he had attended for all twelve years of his education. Skinner attended Hamilton College at the reccomadation of a family friend. He took many different types of courses before deciding to major in English and minor in Romance Languages. Skinner felt that he did not fit in at college. He disliked the fraterninty that he had joined and he did not understand why the college required the courses that it did. He felt that he was made to take too much physical education and not enough emphasis was place on actual academics. The summer before his senior year he attended the Middlebury School of English at Breadloaf, Vermont. During this summer he had lunch with Robert Frost. Frost asked to see his work and gave Skinner a lot of enfouragemant. This led him to the decision to become a writer. Skinner's father was not happy with this decision. He has hoped that his son would become a lawywer, like himself. His father eventually agreed to his decision, and Skinner moved back home to start his new career. He built himself an office in his parents' house where he could write. He was to try to be a writer ... ...ology of literature. She listened to him and gave him advice on his lectures. In the next ten years, he wrote three books all having to do with the psychology of literature. Yvonne and Skinner had two daughters, Julie and Deborah. It was the birth of their second child taht inspired one of Skinner's inventions. He invented the "baby box" to ease the burdens of chilcare for his wife. The box is still used today, but is not so widespread because changes in childacare are hard to make. Another of his most famous endeavors was "project pigion." This was an experiment designed to teach pigions to guide missles in the 1930's. B. F. Skinner died in 1990. He is stilled looked upon today as one of the most influential behaviorailists. His work is still studied and revered for it's genius. Skinner was an independent thinker who studied everyone, including himself.

Design Communication Manual.WCLR Widget developers and networking LTD Essay

Design Communication Manual Introduction WCLR Widget developers and networking LTD Going it solo   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many organizations are set with different aims and objectives that are achieved through effective coordination of all departments. These achievements are obtained when the company identifies its main business which is primary, secondary or tertiary. The main primary business of WCLR limited is to come up with widget developers groups with support and networking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Communication refers to the process of transferring information in a given organization through the use of a medium (Lacar, 2011). This is very essential to a business organization if done efficiently and information understood by the receiver. A well planned overview of communication within an organizational department like HR is very important as it allows effective implementation of business responsibilities. This benefits the employees as they understand their responsibilities well through the communication department. Supervisors, managers and board of directors also benefits from such a plan as they also understand their roles and ensures effective running of the organization. Roles and responsibilities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In every organization, it is necessary for every stakeholder such as employees, supervisors and managers to understand their roles. This reduces confrontations as each team understands its responsibility. Employees are expected to play the following responsibilities:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technical expert: it is the role of employees to ensure that they perform properly in their work. This implies that they use competencies and skills and perform their work according to goals, mission, goals and organizational expectations. Team players   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They should work as a team. Their responsibility is to contribute to a successful team and fulfill their responsibility of attending meetings, participating in problem solving and decision making and organizational projects. Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They have a role of managing different business aspects through managing processes that are assigned to them by the business. Developers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They have a responsibility of ensuring that they contribute towards the organizational growth in terms of profits. Supervisors’ roles in a business   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Discipline: they are required to maintain a high level of discipline with the organizational staff. This prevents employees from engaging with prohibited activities and abides by the rules as outlined in the company handbook. Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Being the intermediary between the management department and employees, he has a role of developing skills of employees. A supervisor is also required to determine employees who can perform the work of supervising in future. Peace maker   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They have a responsibility of addressing conflicts and issues when they arise in the business. They are required to help the employees in conflict prevention from elevating them to executive or management level. Productivity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They have a responsibility of ensuring that there is maximum efficiency in the operations of the business. After being presented with the group production goals, they should determine better ways of achieving them. Day to day mission   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mission of a business which indicates the purpose, spells out organizational goals, guides in making decisions and providing a business path should be known to everybody. It should be clear and precise to ensure effective implementation. HR strategic planning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This refers to a process of establishing future and current HR needs that facilitates the business to achieve its objectives through organizing its resources. It links HRM to the overall organizational strategic plan. Process of strategic planning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is a process that comprises of seven steps that are interrelated such as business units’ strategic establishment, organizational mission definition, planning marketing objectives, developing strategies for marketing, doing situational analysis, monitoring results and implementing tactics. This plan comprises of five steps: Determining your initial point through conducting an internal and external audit;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This gives a clear understanding of the competitive environment, marketplace and organizational competencies within the business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identifying the important things in the business through focusing on the point that business to be in due time. It gives the business a direction which clearly defines its mission such as customers, markets and products and its vision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Define the set objectives that clearly show what business is expected to do to meet its priority issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Determine the person who is accountable to a given responsibility that will give the direction of the business. It strategizes on budgets and action plans for effective communication, human capital, time allocation and money for addressing priority issues and achieving the business objectives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Review: its calls for regular formal reviews and refining the necessary processes at least a quarter once. Such a process of strategic planning is very important as it contributes towards organizational growth at a very high rate. Performance management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It refers to a systematic process used by an organization to involve its members and individuals in a group, its employees, in order to improve business effectiveness in accomplishing its goals and missions. This type of management should be one through preparing meetings, conducting performance appraisal among other management strategies. Effective performance helps the managers in the following areas and makes their work easy.Alignment of objectives and goals within the organization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It involves focusing the set goals to the targeted market and reducing utilization of physical and human resources to improve operations of the business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guidance through the mission of the company to managers based on the program of their performance management concerning their responsibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Performance benchmark of individual work of the employees through evaluating their performance and the basis of any action and a decision made.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pinpointing problems of performance: specific metrics used in a program of performance management allows managers to break down the performance. It also enhances pinpointing of problems and proper actions taken to solve them before getting to major issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Providing focused feedback: allow managers to participate in decision making and giving feedback to employees concerning achievement of their set objectives.   Legal responsibilities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This refers to a state of exercising legal responsibilities with competence and reasonable care with a lot of professionalism. In an organization, all members involved should carry out their responsibilities with due care. This regards the communication is done through posters and notices. All posters appearing in the business should be legal and put within the authorized areas and by authorized people. Staffing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This refers to the area where individuals are selected and trained for a given job function and charged with their responsibilities. This should be done in the business in case a post is left vacant or there need to increase the number of employees. Clear communication should be done through identifying the job description, advertising the post using the agreed medium of communication, inviting for applications. After all applications are received, applicants are shortlisted and an effective interview conducted. Organizational training for excellence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Training is done to improve the performance of the business, staff morale and profits gained when workers become effective and productive in their work. This training is beneficial to the workers in the following ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They get new skills, improve their business contribution and build their self-esteem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Enhances their promotions within the business that improves their salaries. They acquire new skills to perform different and new tasks. They get a better view of the business as through training they see that business is valuing them through investing in their training. Training preparations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These preparations should be made earlier, and the information distributed in due time to avoid confusions. Through should be done through legal considerations, topics of training should be prepared in advance and the training resources distributed evenly.5 Appendix: model resources and documents   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is an area documents are required to be kept in an orderly and systematic manner. Business documents should be well recorded and kept minimizing wastage and loss of essential information. All heads of departments in the business should have a well kept table of documents which contains: business forms, checklists, policies and resources. This will lead to better management and effective utilization of resources.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusively, communication should be enhanced in all departments within an organization. A well planned business with effective systems of communication leads to productivity which in turn leads to organizational growth. Regular training should also be recommended to ensure upkeep of employees’ skills and well implementation of their responsibilities. Managers and supervisors should also have an overview of their roles to ensure that they set a good example to their subordinates. References Basarab, D. J. (2011). Predictive evaluation ensuring training delivers business and organizational results. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Buckley, R., & Caple, J. (2009). The theory & practice of training (6th ed.). London: Kogan Page. Jenkins, H., & Ford, S. (2013). Spreadable media creating value and meaning in a networked culture. New York: New York University Press. Jha, S. (2010). The project manager’s communication toolkit. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis. Paulet, E. (2009). Financial markets and the banking sector: roles and responsibilities in a global world. London: Pickering & Chatto. Thomas, J. (2013). A nurse’s survival guide to leadership and management on the ward (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. Turner, T. (2012). One team on all levels: stories from Toyota team members (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press. Source document

Free Essays on Pearl Of The Scarlet Letter

Pearl, the living symbol of Hester’s sin of adultery is a very complex character. She is present in almost every scene with Hester, rarely by her side. However her character remains somewhat in the shadows at all times. She is difficult to understand, she is passionate and wild, and she does not obey any rules but those she wishes to. Her moods seem to change quickly, at times she seems as if she were put on earth to torment her mother for her acts of adultery. At other times she is sweet and loving of her mother. Pearl is said to â€Å"react according to her particular feeling of the moment† possibly paralleling the passion of her mother and Dimmesdale. Hester describes Pearl as a â€Å" face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice† I do not know if she sees Pearl as evil or possessed or rather just as wild and free. The people of the village sometimes refer to her in comparison to the devil, for she throws rocks at their children, says crazy things and had an awful temper. The townspeople also look down upon Pearl because she is a child of sin, the product of adultery and they outcast her as much as Hester. Although many people see an evil in Pearl God and nature seem to see something different. Pearl is described as beautiful and intelligent. She plays happily as most children do with much physical grace. She seems to fit perfectly in the forest where her wildness can run free; her nature is at one in the woods. As she runs, the light that her mother so desperately seeks follows her, shining upon her. The light may be a sign from God that the child is not tarnished for her mother’s sins, that she is good and pure although she may seem like a savage. Pearl becomes more human in the last chapters of the book. She has a yearning for Dimmesdale to acknowledge she and her mother in public, showing that she cares about him to some extent. This hypothesis is proven in the final chapter when she kisses Dimme... Free Essays on Pearl Of The Scarlet Letter Free Essays on Pearl Of The Scarlet Letter Pearl, the living symbol of Hester’s sin of adultery is a very complex character. She is present in almost every scene with Hester, rarely by her side. However her character remains somewhat in the shadows at all times. She is difficult to understand, she is passionate and wild, and she does not obey any rules but those she wishes to. Her moods seem to change quickly, at times she seems as if she were put on earth to torment her mother for her acts of adultery. At other times she is sweet and loving of her mother. Pearl is said to â€Å"react according to her particular feeling of the moment† possibly paralleling the passion of her mother and Dimmesdale. Hester describes Pearl as a â€Å" face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice† I do not know if she sees Pearl as evil or possessed or rather just as wild and free. The people of the village sometimes refer to her in comparison to the devil, for she throws rocks at their children, says crazy things and had an awful temper. The townspeople also look down upon Pearl because she is a child of sin, the product of adultery and they outcast her as much as Hester. Although many people see an evil in Pearl God and nature seem to see something different. Pearl is described as beautiful and intelligent. She plays happily as most children do with much physical grace. She seems to fit perfectly in the forest where her wildness can run free; her nature is at one in the woods. As she runs, the light that her mother so desperately seeks follows her, shining upon her. The light may be a sign from God that the child is not tarnished for her mother’s sins, that she is good and pure although she may seem like a savage. Pearl becomes more human in the last chapters of the book. She has a yearning for Dimmesdale to acknowledge she and her mother in public, showing that she cares about him to some extent. This hypothesis is proven in the final chapter when she kisses Dimme...

Driver charged with impaired in Skyway crash Essays - Alcohol Law

Driver charged with impaired in Skyway crash Essays - Alcohol Law Driver charged with impaired in Skyway crash Driver charged with impaired in Skyway crash Chch News July 31, 2014 chch.com/scaffolding-collapses-burlington-skyway/ , chch.com/truck-driver-faces-impaired-charges/ On July 31, 2014 a 34-year-old Sukhvinder Rai from Brampton is being charged with one count of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, and one count of having a blood alcohol level exceeding 80 milligrams while operating a motor vehicle. As a result of these charges, his licence has been suspended for 90 days. For the shutdown on one of the busiest highways in the province after a truck slammed into scaffolding at the top of the Skyway Bridge, stopping all traffic heading towards Toronto. OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt speaks out and says Impaired driving is one of the key priorities we have to keep our highways safe and one of the leading causes of injury and death. I choose this Topic story because, it is a major issue with teens around my age, and knowing that it cause a large amount of deaths every year. Touches my heart, it is not responsible and I believe this should not happen but it still does yet people know the dangers of it. Yet fortunately nobody was hurt in this accident I could have been worse on many terms. My special intentions go to all families who has lost someone to impaired driving, and all the ones who have been injured caused by impaired driving, also R.I.P to all the fallen ones. Somebody Should have Told Him 'I went to a party, Mom' I went to a party, and remembered what you said. You told me not to drink, Mom so I had a sprite instead. I felt proud of myself, the way you said I would, that I didn't drink and drive, though some friends said I should. I made a healthy choice, and your advice to me was right as the party finally ended, and the kids drove out of sight. I got into my car, sure to get home in one piece, I never knew what was coming, Mom something I expected least. Now I'm lying on the pavement, And I hear the policeman say, 'The kid that caused this wreck was drunk, ' Mom, His voice seems far away. My own blood's all around me, as I try hard not to cry. I can hear the paramedic say, 'This girl is going to die.' I'm sure the guy had no idea, while he was flying high, because he chose to drink and drive, now I would have to die. So why do people do it, Mom Knowing that it ruins lives? And now the pain is cutting me, like a hundred stabbing knives. Tell sister not to be afraid, Mom tell daddy to be brave, and when I go to heaven, put 'Daddy's Girl' on my grave. Someone should have taught him, that its wrong to drink and drive. Maybe if his parents had, I'd still be alive. My breath is getting shorter, Mom I'm getting really scared. These are my final moments, and I'm so unprepared. I wish that you could hold me Mom, as I lie here and die. I wish that I could say I love you, Mom So I love you and good-bye. By Mike Orman

Free Essays on History Of Christianity

Christianity is very practical. It is not a dead, dry, formal, human religion of rituals, outward form, and show, but a divine, living, vital, dynamic, liberating religion. The word Christian means, "Christ like", or "One follows Christ". Jesus Christ, who laid the foundation of Christian Church, was born in BC 4 in Judea. He is the foundation of the Church (1 Cori. 3:10,11). He started preaching about the Kingdom of God when he was thirty. His activities roused the opposition of the Jewish high priests who accused him of blasphemy. He was crucified under the orders of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. After three days, Christ was resurrected from the dead. With the Resurrection of Christ, his disciples took heart and went about preaching the Kingdom of God to all the people of the world. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire where it was made the state religion in the 4th century AD. Later, the Church split into two broad groups - the Western Church under the Pope in Rome and the Eastern Churches under the Patriarchies of Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople. Still later, further disruptions took place. The Roman Catholic Church was broken up by Protestantism, while in the Eastern Churches, many communities like the Armenians, Ethiopians, Russians and Italians set up their own Patriarchies. The New Testament of the Bible originally was written in Greek language. The English word Church is translated from the original Greek word 'EKKLESIA', which means 'CALLED OUT ONES' - from EK (out), and KLESIA (called). Churches referred to the household (or family) of God (Eph. 2:19-21), and spiritual building that grows into the holy temple, to which Church shall come at his return to this earth as King of kings, ruling all nations of the earth. The Church was founded, not as an institution of Authority to force the name and teaching of Christ upon the world, but only as a witness-bearing institution to Christ, to hold Him befor... Free Essays on History Of Christianity Free Essays on History Of Christianity Christianity is very practical. It is not a dead, dry, formal, human religion of rituals, outward form, and show, but a divine, living, vital, dynamic, liberating religion. The word Christian means, "Christ like", or "One follows Christ". Jesus Christ, who laid the foundation of Christian Church, was born in BC 4 in Judea. He is the foundation of the Church (1 Cori. 3:10,11). He started preaching about the Kingdom of God when he was thirty. His activities roused the opposition of the Jewish high priests who accused him of blasphemy. He was crucified under the orders of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. After three days, Christ was resurrected from the dead. With the Resurrection of Christ, his disciples took heart and went about preaching the Kingdom of God to all the people of the world. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire where it was made the state religion in the 4th century AD. Later, the Church split into two broad groups - the Western Church under the Pope in Rome and the Eastern Churches under the Patriarchies of Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople. Still later, further disruptions took place. The Roman Catholic Church was broken up by Protestantism, while in the Eastern Churches, many communities like the Armenians, Ethiopians, Russians and Italians set up their own Patriarchies. The New Testament of the Bible originally was written in Greek language. The English word Church is translated from the original Greek word 'EKKLESIA', which means 'CALLED OUT ONES' - from EK (out), and KLESIA (called). Churches referred to the household (or family) of God (Eph. 2:19-21), and spiritual building that grows into the holy temple, to which Church shall come at his return to this earth as King of kings, ruling all nations of the earth. The Church was founded, not as an institution of Authority to force the name and teaching of Christ upon the world, but only as a witness-bearing institution to Christ, to hold Him befor...

The Development and Achievements of the Virtualized Servers Research Paper

The Development and Achievements of the Virtualized Servers - Research Paper Example This paper examines the development of the virtualized technology and its benefits to the organizations. The establishment of the Virtualization Technology Virtualization was initially established in the early 1960s to partition huge mainframe into small manageable virtue machines. With such partitions, the mainframe was capable of multitasking. The first developmental phase emphasized data center management and green objectives. This mainly targeted reducing data center space and minimizing the energy consumed by the system. Additionally, manufactures accessed strategies that would promote operation efficiencies by curtailing the proliferation of servers and reducing the total IT operation cost (Buytaert, Rogier & Juan 51). The 2nd phase considered promoting management and consistency of desktop applications. Developments in this stage targeted establishing thin client model, a common management, provision layer and a steadfast application server based on a managed data center. Virt ualization technology was shunned in the period of 1980s to 1990s due to the effect of the client-server applications, the x86-servers and desktops which promoted distribution of computation. Importantly, the outspread utilization of the Windows and development of Linux OS in the 1990s built x86 servers as the standard products in the industry (Buytaert, Rogier & Juan 39). Future establishment of the x86-server and utilization of desktops new IT infrastructure and functional challenges. These challenges have countered development of the virtualization technology and minimized it adoption. Challenges that have checked establishment of the virtualization technology An apparent challenge that has undermined development and adoption of the technology is the deployment of low infrastructure. Most organizations use one application per server to reduce the vulnerability of their system to attacks arriving from other applications. Additionally, the technology faces a challenge of high physi cal infrastructure costs. Infrastructure maintenance cost remains high since computing systems must remain operational throughout and this leads to power consumption, and increased cooling costs (Buytaert, Rogier & Juan 23). Importantly, there is a challenge of increased IT maintenance, which emanates from the advancement of the computing environment. Management of advanced virtualization technology demands specialized and experienced personnel. This escalates the system management cost since acquiring and maintaining such a group is costly. Furthermore, managing enterprise desktops is challenging since the system requires numerous patches and frequent upgrades (Buytaert, Rogier & Juan 185). Lastly, the technology faces serious challenges of security and scalability. There are insufficient disaster protection systems hence firms are vulnerable to systems breakdown and server applications inaccessibility. Additionally, the risk of security attacks, health pandemics, natural disasters and terrorism continues to counteract the growth of the technology. Importantly, flexibilities in the industry have introduced the problem of scalability. The IT industry is highly flexible hence demands a flexible technology. Developing and restructuring the Virtual infrastructures to accommodate novel developments is

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Philosophy - 2 - Essay Example In the earlier days, when monarchy, autocracy and other form of government was the norm, people had to obey to all the laws of the land including unfair and draconian laws and any opposition will land them in trouble. Individuals tended to obey the laws even if it was unfair to them from the moral and personal point of view also. This what Socrates did, when he was unfairly accused of committing crimes against the State. Although, he valiantly fought against the charges throughout, in the end he accepted the State’s verdict and did not indulge in any ‘unlawful’ activities which would have given him personal freedom. So, this paper will analyze why Socrates was right to obey the orders of the state of Athens to take poison, by using Socrates’ arguments. The paper will then discuss how his decision would be supported by a Buddhist Socrates, one of the profound intellectuals the world has seen, was accused by three persons of committing civil crimes against the state, for which he was sentenced to death. Socrates was accused by Anytus, a poet, powerful politician Meletus and Lycon, a supposed orator. He was mainly indicted for being a ‘hyper curious’ person and for being an atheist, who is corrupting the youth. However, Socrates vouched and countered that he did not commit any mistakes against the state and cannot be considered as an enemy of the state. Socrates while refuting both the charges, firstly counters the charge of being a â€Å"hyper curious† person who is accused of spreading misinformation. That is, out of curiosity and not due to any ulterior motives, Socrates made inquiries about the origins and functioning of the earth and sky, which is quite contrary to the beliefs of the state or the kingdom. Socrates did not take the stance of an authority who knows and tells, but rather the stance of an inquirer who is curious and open to the ideas of others (Grube). The other charge

Effectiveness of Mentoring in Organizations Essay

Effectiveness of Mentoring in Organizations - Essay Example The performance of employees is dependent upon the degree of alignment achieved with the strategic business objectives which is measured effectively by innovative means in the modern organization. However, it is not easy for the younger talents to understand the detailed aspects of such alignments on their own whereas they bring to table some excellent competencies as an outcome of their respective educational backgrounds. Such talents require effective mentoring to help them align with the organizational goals such that they can gradually build a career in the system by effectively delivering results in line with the strategic objectives of the organization. The mentors need to be those senior experienced colleagues who have been star performers in the system by virtue of their recognized contribution to the goals of the organization. The mentor-protg relationships in organizations, however, are complex and require a lot of organizational focus (as a part of larger strategies) to en sure successful results in building talents for the future. There are numerous benefits to organizations that establish formal mentoring programs within the system and carefully managing the emotional dynamics between the mentors and the protgs by avoiding conflicts of interests. Some organizations practice such strategies for every level in the organization after recognising the need for such programs and clearly setting out their objectives. Such activities are normally carried out through Human Resources department having dedicated functional areas for training & development within the organization. Such a department possesses a senior management representative for effective communication to the top and also possesses their own quality goals in achieving people development in the system. The Human Resources function views the entire organization as a social system and tries to establish models of existing human dynamics prevailing within the organization. These dynamics are then mapped with the growth path that has been established within the organization as per the business requirements in order to build aspirations and healthy competition among people. The employees are then provided guidance and help through senior & experienced employees through well designed mentoring programmes such that every

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Strategic Human Resource Management Master - Assignment Example Stakeholders include employees, customers and the communities in which the organisation operates. Employees, customers and communities therefore have a significant impact on the success of the organisation and thus on the corporate strategy of the organisation. In formulating corporate strategy, organisations need to identify and priorities strategic issues, which involves scanning, selecting, interpreting and validating information. (Schneider, 1989) To properly formulate its corporate strategy, an organisation must assess its organisational strengths and weaknesses, as well as its environmental threats and opportunities, which will enable it choose among alternative courses of action. (Hofer and Schendel, 1984) cited in Schneider, (1998). This indicates that an organisation must perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis prior to formulating corporate strategy. ... A number of factors have been identified as having an effect on corporate strategy formulation: for example, Kets de Vries and Miller (1984) suggest that managerial personality and experience is an important determinant of the strategy formulation process; Janis (1972) considers group dynamics as an important factor affecting the formulation of corporate strategy while Frederickson (1984); Lyles and Mitroff (1985) suggest that organisational structure plays an important role in strategy formulation. Schneider (1998) citing Schein (1985) notes that National culture could play an important role in strategy formulation as it derives from assumptions regarding relationships with the environment as well as relationships among people. Schneider (1998) argues that these assumptions will influence how information is gathered and how that information is interpreted within the organization. The strategy formulation process can therefore not be considered 'culture-free' because information is embedded in social norms and acquires symbolic value as a function of a particular set of beliefs in a particular set of cultures. (Feldman and March, 1981). There are considerable differences in cultures across countries. Culture is defined as "a system of shared assumptions that has developed over time to solve problems of environmental adaptation and internal integration". (Schneider,, 1998: p. 152) citing Schein (1985); Van Maanen and Barley (1983). Culture is expected to affect the process by which the environment is known and responded to because it is thought to influence the way people perceive, think, feel and evaluate. (Schneider,, 1998). There are two sets of cultural assumptions that are thought to be specifically relevant to the

Small Firms in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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The skeletal system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The skeletal system - Essay Example The joints that connect a bone to another bone, a bone to a cartilage or a cartilage with another cartilage are important components of the skeletal system as they are responsible for the mobility of the human body (Skeletal system, n.d). A new born infant usually possess around 230 bones while a fully grown adult will approximately have about 206 bones. The human skeleton is divided into two major components namely the axial and appendicular skeleton. The axial portion comprises about 80 bones which include those in the skull, vertebral column and thoracic cage which comprise the axis of the body. The appendicular portion has about 126 bones, attached to the axial skeleton, which include the different appendages within the body and includes the shoulder girdle, skeletal portions of the upper and lower limb and the pelvic girdle (Skeletal system, n.d; Kulkarni, n.d; Anatomy of the bone, n.d). The human body consists of 5 types of bones which are classified based on their shape and function. These include the long bones whose length is greater than their width such as the limb bones, the short bones with approximately equal length and width include the carpals and tarsals, the flat bones which are attached to muscles s uch as the breast bone mainly protect body organs, the bones of the vertebral and mandibles are irregular in shape and the sesamoid bones which are small and present in the joints such as the knee cap provide protection to the tendons (Kulkarni, n.d; Types of bone, n.d; Anatomy of the bone, n.d).

Strategic Human Resource Management Master Assignment

Strategic Human Resource Management Master - Assignment Example Stakeholders include employees, customers and the communities in which the organisation operates. Employees, customers and communities therefore have a significant impact on the success of the organisation and thus on the corporate strategy of the organisation. In formulating corporate strategy, organisations need to identify and priorities strategic issues, which involves scanning, selecting, interpreting and validating information. (Schneider, 1989) To properly formulate its corporate strategy, an organisation must assess its organisational strengths and weaknesses, as well as its environmental threats and opportunities, which will enable it choose among alternative courses of action. (Hofer and Schendel, 1984) cited in Schneider, (1998). This indicates that an organisation must perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis prior to formulating corporate strategy. ... A number of factors have been identified as having an effect on corporate strategy formulation: for example, Kets de Vries and Miller (1984) suggest that managerial personality and experience is an important determinant of the strategy formulation process; Janis (1972) considers group dynamics as an important factor affecting the formulation of corporate strategy while Frederickson (1984); Lyles and Mitroff (1985) suggest that organisational structure plays an important role in strategy formulation. Schneider (1998) citing Schein (1985) notes that National culture could play an important role in strategy formulation as it derives from assumptions regarding relationships with the environment as well as relationships among people. Schneider (1998) argues that these assumptions will influence how information is gathered and how that information is interpreted within the organization. The strategy formulation process can therefore not be considered 'culture-free' because information is embedded in social norms and acquires symbolic value as a function of a particular set of beliefs in a particular set of cultures. (Feldman and March, 1981). There are considerable differences in cultures across countries. Culture is defined as "a system of shared assumptions that has developed over time to solve problems of environmental adaptation and internal integration". (Schneider,, 1998: p. 152) citing Schein (1985); Van Maanen and Barley (1983). Culture is expected to affect the process by which the environment is known and responded to because it is thought to influence the way people perceive, think, feel and evaluate. (Schneider,, 1998). There are two sets of cultural assumptions that are thought to be specifically relevant to the

The skeletal system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The skeletal system - Essay Example The joints that connect a bone to another bone, a bone to a cartilage or a cartilage with another cartilage are important components of the skeletal system as they are responsible for the mobility of the human body (Skeletal system, n.d). A new born infant usually possess around 230 bones while a fully grown adult will approximately have about 206 bones. The human skeleton is divided into two major components namely the axial and appendicular skeleton. The axial portion comprises about 80 bones which include those in the skull, vertebral column and thoracic cage which comprise the axis of the body. The appendicular portion has about 126 bones, attached to the axial skeleton, which include the different appendages within the body and includes the shoulder girdle, skeletal portions of the upper and lower limb and the pelvic girdle (Skeletal system, n.d; Kulkarni, n.d; Anatomy of the bone, n.d). The human body consists of 5 types of bones which are classified based on their shape and function. These include the long bones whose length is greater than their width such as the limb bones, the short bones with approximately equal length and width include the carpals and tarsals, the flat bones which are attached to muscles s uch as the breast bone mainly protect body organs, the bones of the vertebral and mandibles are irregular in shape and the sesamoid bones which are small and present in the joints such as the knee cap provide protection to the tendons (Kulkarni, n.d; Types of bone, n.d; Anatomy of the bone, n.d).

Collagen supplements Essay Example for Free

Collagen supplements Essay As a person’s age advances, the skin loses natural cells that promote elasticity and help maintain youthful look. Collagen, known to be a form of protein that holds and tightens the skin underneath, slowly decreases with age. Hence when you reach the age of forty, you notice that your skin starts to sag and form wrinkles. Even the hair and nails suffer from this gradual loss of collagen. The lips, most especially, also become less plump and the usual pout in most women is gone when they reach fifty. And yet there are many ways to compensate for the loss of youth. With the modern woman, the cost of looking young is no cause for concern for as long as the results are delivered. Taking collagen supplements for more youthful look has gained popularity among American women as well as with other women all over the world. To know how to choose a collagen supplement, read these tips. †¢ Know that collagen supplements come as oral medication and skin applications (cream, gel, moisturizers, injections, and etc.). Decide which of the two options you want to use. †¢ Consult your doctor before taking oral collagen supplements. As with taking any oral supplements, you need to ask the advice of your doctor to make sure the supplements do not cause adverse reactions with other medications you might be taking. With the skin applications and injections, make sure you have no allergies whatsoever that may result to unfavorable outcome. Ads by Google 10 yrs younger in 30 mins Immediate and long-lasting results From $450 Call us now at 63363128 stchapelleclinic.com Best shaving creams The secret to a smoother shave. Find out more at Gillette Facebook Facebook.com/GilletteSingapore eye ring fillers, look radiant n natural Dr Yang 9654 4831 or 9118 0142 yangaestheticcentre.com.sg †¢ Select a collagen product that has moisturizers and hydrating components. For topical applications, a collagen supplement must be able to replace the lost natural moisture of your skin. The reason why aging skin gets wrinkled is because the skin has become dry due to decrease of natural collagen supply. Collagen supplements in the form of external applications work best with women or even men who are in their 20s and 30s. At this stage, oral collagen supplements may not be necessary yet. †¢ Make sure to use collagen injections that come from natural sources. Some collagen substances recommended for injections are from fats of animals such as pigs. †¢ Pick an oral supplement that is fortified with multi vitamins particularly Vitamin C and E. Since you are taking the collagen supplements orally anyway – make it a point that they contain nutrients as well. Vitamin E is also considered a youth pill, hence aside from the benefits you get from the collagen itself, your youth is even enhanced with the Vitamin E component. †¢ Decide on a supplement that has other health benefits. Many collagen supplements have antioxidants such as grape seed oil which is a very potent substance in restoring lost mass of body tissues. †¢ Buy supplements that have levels of elastin and collagen, the amounts of which are appropriate to your age. The rule here is: the younger you are, the lower the level of collagen is required, and the older you get, the higher level is needed. †¢ Find out if the supplement has ingredients such as nano-Lipobelle H EQ10, Cynergy TK or COQ10 and multivitamins. †¢ Ask friends who have tried using collagen supplements about how effective these substances are. If you see any improvement on them, then you might as well try their product. Although collagen injections give instant results of a youthful look, they do not last long. Hence oral collagen supplements are still preferred because they get into the body system permanently, thus promoting better and more long lasting effect.

Emerging New Luxury Brands Marketing Essay

Emerging New Luxury Brands Marketing Essay Let us imagine that we have gone back a decade in time. There is a woman in some part of the world flipping through the pages of a high-fashion magazine. The minute she opens the magazine she is bombarded by images of luxury goods. Luxury brand names like Versace, Chanel, Gucci and Christian Louboutin shout out to her. All she desires is to own at least one piece from these luxury fashion goods. Unfortunately, the woman earns a middling income and can only dream about owning a Versace dress or a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. Luckily for her, in 2004 Hennes Mauritz (HM) came up with a brilliant collaboration which made all her dreams come true. For a long time access to luxury fashion goods had been limited to the elite classes. Since the 1990s there has been a boom in the luxury market because as times progressed traditional luxury brands such as Christian Dior started facing competition from emerging new luxury brands like Jimmy Choo. These new luxury brands brought in new branding and positioning strategies (Truong et al., 2009). The result of these strategies was the materialisation of masstige brands. Even though masstige brands are priced lower than super premium or traditional luxury brands, they still hold a place above conventional products and enjoy a high level of prestige (Silverstein et al, 2005). In order to tackle competition faced from these masstige brands, certain traditional luxury brands took an unconventional step. In June 2004 Hennes Mauritz (hereafter referred to as HM) announced that they would be releasing a limited edition collection designed by none other than Karl Lagerfeld, chief designer of Chanel (HM, 2004). With this step, HM began a fresh trend of co-branding in the fashion industry between high-street and luxury fashion brands. Since then HM have undergone an annual collaboration project with some of the biggest names of luxury fashion, the latest being French label, Maison Martin Margiela. With HM making continuous headlines in the fashion industry for its collaborations with luxury fashion brands, the need to study the science of co-branding, especially in fashion, is becoming vital. Thus, this dissertation aims at exploring and investigating the term co-branding and the role it plays between high-street fashion and luxury fashion brands. As HM are the contemporary of this trend in the fashion industry, the issues discussed in this dissertation will be mainly based on them. 1.1 Company Profile Company name H M Hennes and Mauritz AB Industry Retailing Sub Industry Fashion (clothing, accessories) Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden Employees 94,000 Key People Founder: Erling Persson Chairman: Stefan Persson CEO/Managing Director: Karl-Johan Perrson Table : Company Profile of Hennes Mauritz (HM, 2012a)H M Hennes and Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail company, functioning in the clothing industry. The company is known for designing fast fashion i.e. chic styles at cheap prices. The first store was opened in Sweden in 1947 under the name Hennes, selling only womens clothing. In 1968 the company bought Mauritz Widsforss, a hunting and fishing equipments store, changing the company name to Hennes Mauritz. This was also the year the company started selling mens and childrens clothing. Today, HM have branched out into five independent brands which are globally recognised HM, COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday. Besides clothing, today the company also offers footwear, accessories, cosmetics and furniture. As of 2012, the company operates around 2600 stores across 44 countries. HMs top two competitors are Spanish fashion group Inditex (who own Zara and Bershka) and American retail giant The Gap, Inc. From 2004 HM started collaborating with some of the biggest names in the luxury fashion industry, a tradition they have since followed every year. Besides HMs annual collaboration with some of the biggest luxury fashion houses, the company also has a long-standing tradition of getting together with super models and popular music artists to either design or be the faces of their seasonal collections and campaigns. 1.2 Problem Definition and Purpose Co-branding is a relatively new concept in the field of marketing. The concept has been in practice for only the past few decades and the collaborations have often yielded mixed results. Co-branding has taken place in all sectors and industries from tobacco to automobile to retail to film-making to consumer goods. Co-branding is a moderately new term in the business vocabulary which is used to describe integrated marketing activities involving two or more brands (Blackett, Boad, 1999). It is important to analyse and understand the practice of co-branding as it has been gaining recognition in the recent years and can have a considerable impact on the future of branding. More and more consumer product manufacturers are becoming interested in co-branding strategies as it is a means to gain more exposure in the marketplace, fight competition and threats innovatively and at the same time share expensive promotional costs with a partner (Spethmann, Benezra, 1994). Co-branding gives compani es a great opportunity to create something new, while sharing costs, and also provides them with an opportunity to present consumers with a market they may have not explored before. Besides undergoing classical brand extensions and other brand alliance strategies (like advertising alliances and dual branding), co-branding is a strategy which presents a brand an added method to differentiate themselves in a competitive environment (Helmig et al., 2008). While co-branding in other sectors has returned mediocre results, co-branding in fashion has generally been extremely well appreciated. American discount retailer, Target, has often collaborated with designers such as Jason Wu, Issac Mizrahi and Neiman Markus, offering their designs for a slightly higher price than Targets usual rate. These attempts have been very well received by the mass consumers. HM, especially, have a high success rate when it comes to this business practice. More than 1000 people entered New Yorks Fifth Avenue store in the first hour when Karl Lagerfeld, Chanels haute couture and ready-to-wear chief designer, created pieces for HM (de Chernatony et al., 2011). Another example would be the success of HM and American designer Stella McCartney coming together. Queues were reported outside several HM stores all across the world, forming from the night before the collection was launched (Okonkwo, 2007). However, as successful as HMs attempts at co-branding have been, this practice of luxury brands and high-street brands coming together has lead to a lot of debate and even criticism. According to the critiques, co-branding often hampers with the companys original brand equity and confuses the consumer. Although the names of the brands that come together are familiar to the consumer, the actual co-branded product is completely new. Thus, unable to make out what to think of the new product, the consumer makes a judgement based on the known brand names involved (Washburn et al., 2000). There have also been questions raised regarding the effect of co-branding on the image of one or both of the parent brands. Some critiques believe that co-branding hampers the reputation of highly ranked brands. There have been sufficient works as well as research conducted on co-branding which are available to us. Considerable research has been conducted on co-branding in the retail sector. However, there has not been much detailed research on co-branding specifically between high-street fashion brands and luxury fashion brands. There are questions still left unanswered in this particular area. Therefore, this dissertation aims to investigate and study the practice of co-branding in this particular field and hopes to give a better understanding of this phenomenon. 1.3 Research Objectives Taking into account the purpose of this dissertation, the main research objective that this study will try to answer is: Exploring and understanding co-branding between high-street and luxury fashion brands. In order to help present relevant answers for this dissertation, the main research objective can be further divided into the following sub-objectives: To understand why co-branding occurs between high-street fashion brands and luxury fashion brands To analyse the perception of consumers regarding co-branding in the fashion industry To analyse the effect of such a collaboration on the brand image and reputation of both parties involved To understand whether co-branding between a high-street and a luxury brand can yield successful results 1.4 Relevance of the Research The following section provides a justification about the relevancy of this study. Arguments for both, academic and practical, relevance are discussed. 1.4.1 Academic Relevance This dissertation surely has academic relevance in todays time. In order to study co-branding in the fashion industry, this study has merged various branches of marketing. Brand alliances, brand equity, brand leverage and consumer behaviour are combined and discussed together to help understand the phenomenon of co-branding. Although there is significant work already done on co-branding, only a few discuss the area in which co-branding has gained the most success fashion. Thus, this dissertation tries to give a clear and more detailed explanation of why and how co-branding in fashion occurs and the effects it has on the consumer. 1.4.2 Practical Relevance The practical relevance of this dissertation is also of significance. Co-branding is being frequently used as a strategy to stand out in a crowded market place (Dieleman, 2010). By understanding the science of co-branding, not just for general understanding, but especially for the fashion industry, more retail clothing brands can partake in it. By studying consumers perception towards the collaboration of high-street and luxury fashion brands, managers can decide on whether or not creating a co-branding strategy is the right approach for them. Managers can also have a better appreciation of the effects of co-branding on their brand equity and brand reputation. 1.5 Limitations As mentioned in the company profile, HM have also collaborated with popular music artists like Madonna and Kylie Minogue to conceptualise and be the faces of limited edition lines and collections. Also, the fast-fashion company has collaborated with Finnish textile company, Marimekko, in the past to use their fabric designs on their products (Wettergren, 2010). These celebrities and companies are also brands in their own; however, this dissertation will not be discussing them. Only HMs collaborations with luxury fashion brands will be taken into account. Thus, this dissertation only examines the relationship of a high-street and luxury brand, and not between other categories of brands. This dissertation does not discuss the process of co-branding between HM and the luxury brands, but the motive and effects of the collaborations. The questions this dissertation tries to answer are why co-branding occurs and what are the possible outcomes of it. How co-branding occurs is a question this study does not venture into. Also, this dissertation does not go too deeply into the marketing activities of the co-branded products and retail collections. Thus, answers to these questions will not be available in this study. 1.6 Structure The following section of this dissertation talks about existing concepts, theories and research conducted that led to the formation of this studys research question. The section is a review of existing literature as well as a presentation of the theoretical framework. Concepts such as brand management, co-branding, fashion marketing, co-branding strategies, fashion strategies and so on will be discussed. The third chapter talks about the methodology selected to conduct this research. The chapter talks about the justification of choosing the research method as well as the possible limitations of the same. Chapter four represents the findings of this research as well as gives a discussion for each of the findings. This chapter evaluates the relevant research findings for each of the research sub-objectives. The final chapter of this dissertation presents a general discussion of the entire study, highlighting the key areas and important research findings. At the end of the dissertation is a list of references; sources which helped with the research of this study as well as sources one can look into for the purpose of further reading. 2. Literature Review 2.1 The Concept of Branding Branding building is an important concept in the science of marketing and several definitions of this concept exist. The official definition of branding given to us by the American Marketing Association is that a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. This means that even though a product or service may satisfy the same need as another, a brand provides it with an element which differentiates it from other products or services of the same kind (Kotler, Keller, 2011). The process of brand building is imperative for almost all companies, products and services because building successful brands promises future income stream and profit. Brands help build consumer loyalty which means that consumers will keep coming back to buy the brands and will support them even during crisis situations (de Chernatony et al., 2011). However, the profile of the consumer is changing from what it used to be. The market place is getting more and more crowded with the constant addition of new products and services. Not only does this mean that there is a lot of fierce competition, but also todays consumer has a lot more choice than from a decade ago. Thus, it is extremely necessary to make ones brand stand out. This is where the concept of brand management comes in. Appropriate and effective practise of brand management can lend a hand in leveraging a brand, which leads to the making of a successful brand. The concept of brand management was created by Procter Gambles Neil McElroy (Harvard Business School, 2000). Effective brand management can lead to high brand equity. Brand equity is the additional value which products and services are seen to have, besides the functional value that they possess. This value is measured on the basis of what consumers feel and think about the brand as well as the market share and pr ofitability that the brand enjoys (Keller, 2008; Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Aaker, 1996; Aaker, 1991). Proper practice of brand management can also do wonders for the brand image. Brand image is impression of the brands personality (real or imaginary) that has been developed in the consumers mind (Business Dictionary). Various techniques can be applied under brand management in order to leverage a brand. One of these techniques is brand extension. Brand extension is a marketing strategy wherein a company uses a brand name which already exists in order to penetrate into a new, different product category than which it is established in (Swaminathan, 2003). A somewhat new development has been formed from brand extension in recent decades which is known as the process of co-branding. 2.2 Co-Branding Co-branding is a brand leveraging technique where two or more brands, each having significant recognition in the eyes of the consumer, co-operatively come together to create a single unique product while retaining the names of all the brands involved (Blackett and Russell, 1999; Leuthesser et al., 2003). This term is also referred to as brand alliance and composite branding. Co-branding provides marketers with the choice of opting for a short-term alliance, thus making it an attractive opportunity. It is not necessary for co-branding to be a long-term affair, as along other benefits, marketers are mainly looking for a quick sales boost (Spethmann and Benezra, 1994) As discussed by Nunes et al. (2003), co-branding can be divided into four different types. They are as following: Promotional/sponsorship co-branding Here a company co-brands by being a part of an events activities so as to link its image to that particular event in the mind of the consumer. Example: Conseco the official financial services provider of NASCAR Ingredient co-branding In this type there is a primary brand, which acts as an important component of the secondary brand. Example: Sony Vaio laptop with an Intel microprocessor Value chain co-branding Here two or more companies come together in order to create a brand new experience for the consumer to increase differentiation. It can be further divided into three types: Product-service co-branding Yahoo! and SBC Communications coming together to form SBC Global Networks Supplier retailer co-branding Architect Michael Grave creating a line of co-branded products specially for American retailer, Target Alliance co-branding Airline alliances such as Star Alliance and SkyTeam Innovation based co-branding In this type two or more companies come together in order to present a brand new product or offering, to increase customer value as well as corporate value. Example: Boating shoe manufacturer Sperry Top-Sider collaborating with New Balance to create an athletic boat shoe It is a known fact that brands play an important role in influencing culture in consumer societies. They not only satisfy ones utilitarian needs, but also serve some hedonic purpose. It is not in the power of the marketer to create the hedonic value that the brands hold. It is only the consumer who is in control of the feelings and meanings associated with a particular brand. Thus, it is safe to say that a part of the brands equity is in hands of the consumers. Thus, the reason marketers decide on a co-branding strategy is to not only access the utilitarian benefit which a certain brand offers, but also to generate the hedonic value which the association with that brand would bring. There is a transfer of status, imagery and reputation of one brand to the other. Co-branding also reduces costs, as the RD, production and marketing expenses get shared between the parent brands. Thus, co-branding is a quick way of improving all the aspects of marketing related issues (Askegaard and Bengt sson, 2005; Nunes et al., 2003). There are also risks and disadvantages to co-branding. There is the risk of dilution, where a brand loses meaning for a consumer because of the co-branded product. There is a chance of a co-branding strategy resulting in a potential competitor. This happened when IMB partnered with Microsoft to develop DOS. Microsoft then had very low brand equity, but today they are a giant in the computer world. There is also the risk of devaluation. When aligning with a low valued brand, a high value brand may lose its reputation in front of the consumers. Co-branding may also limit a brands market reach as they might be targeting the same consumer group with the new product as well (Nunes et al., 2003; Leuthesser et al., 2003). Many theories and research have been conducted on brand alliances and their possible spillover effects. One of the first ones was by Simonin and Ruth (1998). A study was conducted by them to evaluate the change in the attitude of consumers due to the spillover effects of co-branding. The results of that study have matched the results of many other newer studies conducted on brand alliances. Baumgarth (2004) created a brand alliance study, based on Simonin and Ruths study. The results of the study matched with the hypotheses presented by Simonin and Ruth. Baumgarths model added improvements by giving importance not only to the brand fit, but also to the prior attitudes consumers have towards the brands. In a study conducted by James et al. (2006), it was found that the personalities of the two brands involved have an impact on the perception of the consumers towards the co-branded product. Bouten et al. (2011) too conducted a study, basing it on the Simonin and Ruth paper. The result of their study was that a perfect fit of both, the brand image as well as the existing products of the parent brands is required for a successful brand alliance. As brand alliances started getting popular, researchers started concentrating on the term co-branding. Abratt and Motlana (2002) devised a five-step brand transition process for companies who wanted to undertake co-branding. The process stresses on the importance of understanding consumer perception as well as the fit of the brands involved. The same result was seen in the strategic framework for co-branding created by Leuthessar et al. (2003) which would help marketers assess co-branding opportunities in order to leverage their brands. On the basis of this framework, possible co-branding can be assessed by the nature of the parent brands as well as their target audiences. Co-branding was slowly starting to be seen as an important marketing strategy. As a result of this, an ontology based co-branding strategy system, called OnCob, was created by Chang (2008). This system helps marketers and brand managers research the co-branding phenomenon based on the concepts of aim, category and effect. Co-branding was further researched by Chang (2009) to present a roadmap and guide for companies wanting to co-brand. Different industries were discussed wherein some results were successful, while some were a complete failure. Also, a co-branding matrix was presented, which gives researchers a better understanding of this emerging science. The effects of co-branding on brand equity were studied by Washburn et al. (2000). The research results showed that co-branding is a win-win situation for both the brands involved, irrespective of their perceived brand value. When a high equity brand is paired with another high equity brand, the final co-branded product is perceived to have high value as well. Also, Washburn et al. found that in the case of a low equity-high equity brand pairing, it is the brand with a lower value that benefits the most from the co-branding, and although the positive effects might be less for the higher valued brand, co-branding does not have any negative effects on it. Motion et al. (2003) conducted a research on corporate co-branding and its effect on corporate brand equity. The research was conducted by studying the sponsorship of rugby team, All Blacks, by Adidas. The result of the study was that co-branding has a positive effect on the corporate brand equity, however as concluded by other studie s, it is important that the parent brands have a common vision and similar brand values. Besharat (2010) undertook a study combining the strategies of co-branding and brand extension. A comparison between co-branding and brand extensions with respect to brand equity was carried out. The final result of the study matched the results of many previous studies i.e. the success of a co-branding strategy depends on the existing brand value of the parent brands. However, there was no significant difference between consumer perception of co-branded products or brand extensions. As long as the consumers saw a fit between the new products and the brand, they accept the new product positively. A research was conducted by Thompson and Strutton (2012) to find out the effects of co-branding when one of the parent brand co-brands into a product category where it does not exist. However, the analysis showed that such an alliance is not likely to be successful. For a co-branding strategy to be successful, it is important for consumers to perceive a high level of fit between the brands involved. Another finding is that if a low value brand collaborates with a brand that is perceived highly in the eyes of the consumers, the co-branded product is likely to be viewed favourably. Thus, the brand fit plays an extremely important role in the success or failure of co-branding strategies. Erevelles et al. (2008) conducted a study on ingredient co-branding in the B2B sector, an area which does not have much research done. The finding of the research is that ingredient co-branding occurs in B2B sector usually when there is a threat of entry from a more fiscally rich competitor. Thus, brands get into an ingredient co-branding strategy to block out this competition. Besides this, the secondary brand also has monetary benefits as the ingredient supplier provides their component at a reduced cost. Askegaard and Bengtsson (2005) proposed the importance of cultural meaning in co-branding. Compared to the conventional approach to co-branding, their paper provides us with a new perspective. They suggested that each brand characterises certain symbolic and cultural meanings to the consumers, ones that may not be visible to us directly. The cultural meanings of the parent brands have a heavy influence on the meaning that the co-branded product represents. However, the interpretations provided by Askegaard and Bengtsson are far too imaginative and descriptive. No matter how creatively brand managers develop cultural meaning for a co-branded product, at the end it is only the consumer whose interpretation of brand image and meaning count. 2.3 Fashion 2.3.1 Luxury Fashion Luxury brands consist of those products and services which are generally associated with the affluent and the elite class. The luxury fashion industry is a global multi-billion dollar sector. Hundreds of brands are a part of this industry, some of them being Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada. Besides being valuable, luxury brands are some of the most influential in the world. For luxury goods, branding plays an extremely important role and is the core competence. This sector places high importance on branding and marketing strategy development by the use of human emotions and psychology (Okonkwo, 2007) Tynan et al. (2010) sought out to address the nature of the value of luxury brands and how value can be co-created. Instead of taking the more common managerial perspective, they took into account the perspective of the consumer. They developed a theoretical framework and researched case studies to find out what types of value consumers look for in luxury branded goods. The result was that although a utilitarian value was a must for all luxury goods, it was the hedonistic or symbolic value which acted as drivers for the purchase of a luxury good and was seen as the differentiating factor by the consumers. Reddy et al. (2009) studied the prospect of brand extensions for a luxury brand. In order to do so, they fashioned a Premium Adgency Grid, which measured the extent to which a particular brand extension matches up to the values embodied by the core brand. The luxury brands were divided into the four quadrants of the grid Star Brand, Aspiring Star Brand, Waning Star and Dying Star. With the help of this grid, marketers could measure their luxury brands brand adgency and then consider expansion opportunities and the possible risks. A framework was created by Moore and Fionda (2009) illustrating the various dimensions of the luxury brand to guide its marketing in the fashion sector. Their model identified nine key components which were deemed important for the creation of a luxury brand. Each of the nine components included sub-categories, which according to them, must be consistent for the successful creation of the brand. All of these components must be managed simultaneously for the creation and maintenance of a successful luxury fashion brand position. Thus, the Moore and Fionda model states that the management of a luxury brand should be consistent and coherent. However, the case companies in this research were all British and thus, the results are geographically and culturally narrow. A cross-cultural investigation would have provided a firmer insight in the marketing of luxury fashion brands. A five-factor model and brand luxury scale was designed by Vigneron and Johnson (2004) to provide luxury product marketers with an instrument to measure the amount of luxury a certain brand contains. According to Vigneron and Johnson, luxury is contained in brands in a matter of degree. Some brands have a very high level of luxury, while some very low. The brand-luxury scale helps measure the level on luxury in a given brand. The research found that luxury is a multidimensional factor and this can be proved by the five-factor model. These dimensions can be established and monitored by using the brand luxury scale in order to create a lasting luxury brand. However, Miller and Mills (2012) argue that more than anything else, it is the perception of brand leadership that counts. In order to attain clarity on the subject of luxury brand marketing, they developed a conceptual model the Brand Luxury Model (BML). This findings of this model state that trendy, up-to-date and visionary brand s and perceived to be more luxurious than brands that try to be unique, imaginative or original. The BML also showed that consumers perceive a match between themselves and the image of the luxury brand users with psychological or symbolic value. This finding is in sync with the research carried out by Liu et al. (2012) Liu et al. (2012) explored the effect that the various concepts of self-congruity theory have on the consumer. Self congruity theory was developed by Sirgy (1986), which refers to the likeliness of a potential consumer to psychologically compare themselves with other objects and stimuli (brands in this case). This theory has been widely used to understand brand purchase behaviour (Sirgy, 1986). The three concepts studied by Liu et al. are Brand Personality Congruity, Brand User Imagery Congruity and Brand Usage Imagery Congruity. The relationship of these three types of self-congruity to the customer attitude and loyalty toward a luxury brand are studied in this paper. The study focuses on two brands CK and Chanel to understand the effect of a potential consumers self congruity in the purchasing of luxury brands. The study found that Brand User Imagery Congruity and Brand Usage Imagery Congruity are much stronger predictors of attitude and loyalty than Brand Personality Congruity i n either of the brands. It was found that the consumers own self-image and perception of a typical users image as well as usage imagery play an important role in a consumers purchase intention and attitude towards a brand. The findings of this study were similar to the previous claims made by Sirgy et al. (1997), Liu et al. (2008) and Sotiropoulos (2003). 2.3.2 High-Street Fashion High-street fashion describes the clothing retailers who cater to the mass-market. These retailers design and sell clothes which are affordable and are used for mass-consumption. The brands either have independent stores, franchises or are a part of chain stores. As the high-street fashion market started getting crowded with the introduction of more and more brands, competition started running high. In order to combat this competition, many of the high-street brands started the concept of fast-fashion. These are brands like Zara, HM and Mango who create affordable, trendy and disposable items to cater to the consumers demands. Fast-fashion gives brands a competitive edge as they turn the latest runway designs to chic disposable clothes that the mass-market can afford (Tungate, 2008; Hines and Bruce; 2001). Following the success of fast fashion, Cachon and Swinney (2