McDonalds Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

McDonalds - Case Study Example The changing patterns battling for a superior comprehension of one’s wellbeing is by a wide margin a key driver. Plainly McDonalds thought of a Balanced Active way of life that in itself urged and elevated answers for its clients to carry on with a long and sound life. In one example, the Corporate Executive Vice President Mary Dillon said that her organization thought about the wellbeing of its clients around the world. By this, it had created adjusted, dynamic ways of life that McDonalds would consolidate into its every day exercises to improve their wellbeing and ways of life (Barnes, 2007). The vast majority of the achievement that McDonald’s appreciates is profoundly established in their item improvement procedure. The perpetual advancement methodology conveyed by McDonalds is to include a variety of items on their lasting menus that don't experience any changes. A genuine case of this advancement technique is the place they incorporate the Quarter Pounder and the Big Mac, their cheeseburger, and their essential burger. Upon their first turn of events, the above things are left to remain on the menu for a broad period without the incorporation of any huge changes. The above advancement technique makes sure that the buyers don't miss on something that they are well acquainted with on the menu (Clark, 2015). The other development methodology conveyed by the significant natural way of life is a brief item procedure. This methodology involves the advancement of transitory items that are intended to enhance the lasting item contributions. A case of items that were defined for momentary reasons for existing are, for example, the Big Ocean burger. The significance of the transitory advancement methodology conveyed by McDonalds is that it gives clients another thing to appreciate whenever they visit the evolved way of life (Adams, 2007). The third advancement system that is applied by McDonalds is the nearby item improvement technique. With the proceeding with development of McDonalds all around the globe, the organization

The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Greek Dark Ages - Essay Example Society included gatherings of little settlements who made due on cultivating, which was viewed as a fundamental financial asset. This article will talk about crafted by three authors who examine the way of life and social orders of the Greek Dark Ages. Hooper said that the intruders that came into Greece entered the state in marvelous numbers. These individuals had a type of Greek drop since they could talk comparative lingos. Be that as it may, these trespassers were far less better than their Greek partners. Likewise, these trespassers utilized iron weapons rather than the bronze ones utilized by the Greek pilgrims: simply because iron was increasingly abundant in their areas (Desborough 1972). The Greek zones which had the most improvement started to show an adjustment in the nature of their work. Archeologists finding stoneware and different things from this age locate a gigantic decrease in the creation of these merchandise. Prior society appeared to be compelled to move in reverse as any advancement made in those times was evacuated. This was supplanted by an uneducated and confused gathering of individuals whose characteristics would keep on existing for quite a long time. This kept on deteriorating as society was not, at this point partitioned into explicit gatherings. It turned into an extraordinary wreckage of misshaped gatherings. Greeks before the Dark Ages were isolated into explicit classes: the rich lived in the royal residences having agreeable existences, they could do battle and would return back to their lavish lives and the poor would make merchandise and specialties that would serve and aid the lives of the excessive few. The royal residences, gems, ceramics and tombs were completely expelled and most were did not make anymore. All types of workmanship and earthenware were separated and their creation became non-existent in this New Greek period. At the point when the intrusions started, each individual from Greek society endured. Composing had vanished during the Greek Dark Ages (Andrews 1967). Archeologists feel that the best evidence of this messed up society was the absence of any sort of composing during this period. It was simply after the general public moved to the ninth century that a letters in order started to show up. This too had constrained use. Notwithstanding, the new material that was presently utilized in saving the types of works could store whole stories and accounts. The imperfection in this however was nobody was composing whatever would change the lives of the normal resident. There was an absence of work done about regular daily existences. Not many individuals talked about the manipulative forces of the rich and their endeavors to destroy the lives of the poor Greek resident. Hesoid, a rancher was among one of the not very many who decided to denounce the pitiless system. He is known to be probably the best observer to depict the ways of life of the last time of the Greek Dark Ages. Th e composing is of the standard human, not courageous warriors. In his work, Hesoid likewise discussed the notion that had been a fundamental piece of Greek life for quite a long time. Coins were an indispensable piece of Greek life (Hooper 1978). Individuals from the network understood the incredible estimation of coins: as a simple trade for merchandise. Education assumed no job in the utilization of these coins since it was a language that could be comprehended by anybody. This utilization of cash was seriously mishandled via landowners and the wealthy who might surrender it as advances and

Where Should I put my Quotation Marks Slate Magazine and the Rise of Logical Punctuation.

Where Should I put my Quotation Marks Slate Magazine and the Rise of Logical Punctuation. On May 12, 2011, not one, but TWO of my friends and colleagues pointed me toward an article in Slate Magazine entitled, “The Rise of Logical Punctuation”. In the article, author Ben Yagoda explores the nuances of where to place periods and commas within quotations (inside or outside the quotation marks?).   Not long ago, I wrote an article touching upon much the same topic:   The Quandary of Quotation Marks (“ “).   My conclusion was that the British are much more logical than we are in the U.S., following the rule that punctuation goes inside the quotation marks only when it is part of the quotation.   How simple is that?   And yet I continue to follow the U.S. protocol. Slate Magazine itself, as well as The New York Times and the Washington Post, follow AP guidelines and put periods and commas inside the quotation marks.   But Yagoda references a Twitter post by Conan O’Brien, a Wikipedia entry on Frank Sinatra, and the website Pitchfork, all of which follow the British way, with periods and commas lying outside the quotation marks.   He also relates that his students largely refuse to follow the traditional U.S. rules even when they know they will be penalized for doing so.   I highly recommend taking a look at his article for an interesting exploration of why we choose to punctuate the way we do. Last week my blog explored the distinction between grammar purists and progressives in Steven Sawyer’s guest article, Top 10 Obsolete Grammar Rules.   It looks like we can add number 11.   According to Yagoda, despite the Chicago Manual of Style’s adherence to the traditional style, we may be fast on our way to an obsolete punctuation rule â€" another feast for progressives.   As Yagoda claims, “A punctuation paradigm is shifting.”   Note:   even under the “new” rules, or the “new normal,” the period belongs inside those quotation marks because it was indeed part of the original sentence in Yagoda’s article.   Crystal clear, right? By the way, “new normal” was the phrase chosen as “Cliche of the Week” last week by Chris Pash in his blog. Do you choose to follow the progressive “new normal” when it comes to quotation marks?   Or will you remain a purist?   So far I’m sticking with the old fashioned way, but I feel a possible change erupting.

Technical Areas in Stem Cell Patenting and Ownership

Technical areas in Stem cell Patenting and ownership Stem cells in fast emerging scenario act as the best biotechnological application in both therapeutic and cellular therapeutics. With recent advancement in medical and genetic manipulations, its profound applicability in novel therapeutics have put a question its efficiency as a cell based product and of intellectual property rights and technology transfer. In recent times, academic Institutes and Corporations account to over 85% of both published patent applications and granted stem cell patents where corporation are in the priority list. (www.ipo.gov.uk/informatic-stemcells.pdf or report from UK IPO Patent Informatics Team, June 2012). Analysis of published patent applications suggest recent research to be mainly focused on mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells and artificially induced pluripotent cells where, ESCs, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and neural stem cells (NSCs) appear to be successfully used respectively in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological diseas e and tissue and organ stem cell therapy. Stem cell patenting activity is mainly concentrated in the United States (21%), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (PCT) (19%), EPO (14%), Australia (12%), Canada and Japan (7%), Germany (3%), and China and the United Kingdom (2%). In the year 2012, PCT, EPO and Republic Korea were the main countries with most IPC where Shin, Dong Wook had 7 patents on their name. In view of currentShow MoreRelatedCompetitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance65536 Words   |  263 PagesThe bigger question are: 1. Why do firms outperform one another? 2. What is the process is by which firms discover unique strategies, put them in place, and modify them when conditions change. The failure of many firms strategy stems from an inability to translate a broad competitive strategy in to the specific action steps required to gain competitive advantage. The objective of this book is to build a bridge between strategy formulation and implementation rather than treatingRead MoreGsk Annual Report 2010135604 Words   |  543 PagesGrowth of Horlicks in India in 2010. 10 10 new compounds and vaccines starting phase III clinical trials since the start of 2010. 14% We are committed to improving returns in RD, aiming to increase our estimated return on investment in this area to 14%. c.1bn Units of Lucozade, Ribena and Horlicks manufactured in the UK every year. 2 New Consumer Healthcare Research and Innovation centres opened in China and India. Vaccines Emerging markets 1.4bn Doses of our vaccines suppliedRead MoreGeneral Electric60506 Words   |  243 Pagesperformance cannot reach full potential unless each area of the organization does its part and contributes directly to the desired companywide outcomes and results. This means setting performance targets for each organization unit that support, rather than conflict with or negate, the achievement of companywide strategic and financial objectives. The ideal situation is a team effort in which each organizational unit strives to produce results in its area of responsibility that contributes to the achievementRead MoreDamodaran Book on Investment Valuation, 2nd Edition398423 Words   |  1594 Pageswhich implies that the price paid for any asset should reflect the cashflows that it is expected to generate. The models of valuation described in this book attempt to relate value to the level and expected growth in these cashflows. There are many areas in valuation where there is room for disagreement, inc luding how to estimate true value and how long it will take for prices to adjust to true value. But there is one point on which there can be no disagreement. Asset prices cannot be justified by

Understanding Genetically Modified Organisms - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3051 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/02/14 Category Health Essay Level High school Tags: GMO Essay Did you like this example? Genetically Modified Organisms. Just the name sounds like something out of a science fiction novel. There was a time when it was. Modified or altered DNA has always been a favorite subject in various novels, movies, and tv shows from the likes of Spiderman to the clone army of Star Wars. However thanks to modern technology, we have been able to copy and even edit the DNA of plants and animals. Possibly the most significant example of this is the Biotech industry; responsible for the creation of GMO crops. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Understanding Genetically Modified Organisms" essay for you Create order At first glance, it seems to be the ideal solution for many problems in agriculture. Corn is modified to be toxic to harmful insects that eat up the farmer’s hard worked fields, a potato can be made to be more resistant to bruising than its natural counterpart, and crops can be edited to be bigger and therefore more appealing to customers. It also has been a long-standing claim that GMOs could be the key in solving world hunger. It sounds enticing, reasonable, and in a word ideal. However, are we entirely certain about the safety of the food we eat? To this day the DNA remains to be a subject we have hardly scratched the surface on, and are we really fully aware of the possible consequences of altering the basic building blocks of life? It is the answers to these questions that will reveal that we should stop producing GMO crops in America since they are an endangerment to our health, and to farming communities at home and abroad. Thesis Thesis: We should stop producing GMO crops in America since they are an endangerment to our health, and to farming communities at home and abroad. History and Terms In the past, humans had a hand in controlling what desired traits should be passed on through â€Å"artificial selection.† These terms, coined by Charles Darwin, describe the process of choosing the organisms with the most desired traits and allowing them to reproduce with others with the same desired traits. This process would result in the production of offspring that have the desired traits. While artificial selection is not what we typically consider GMO technology as we know it today, it contributes to the inspiration of modern biotech in the agricultural industry and the earliest example of humans tampering with genetics. It is through this process that what we know as corn today exists as well as the multiple variations of apples. In 1973, Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen engineered the first successful genetically engineered organism. These two scientists developed a way to cut out a gene from one organism and insert it into another. A method that’s now used to create GMO crops. After this discovery, the question of whether or not genetic engineering should be made legal in America was heavily debated and discussed by scientists, government officials, and lawyers in the Asilomar Conference of 1975 for three days. It was concluded at the end of those three days that the GE projects should be allowed to continue with certain guidelines in place. Since 1975, genetic modification remained in the medical field for making medicines as well as experimentation only until 1987. In this year, Calgene’s Flavr Savr tomato became the first food crop to be approved for commercial production by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These modified tomatoes were inserted with a DNA sequence that inhibited production of a certain natural tomato protein that causes a tomato to go soft or show bruising, thus increasing its firmness and extending its shelf life in comparison to its natural counterpart. In 1995 the first pesticide-producing crop was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A year later, Bt corn was approved, and now the majority of corn in the U.S. has the Bt toxin gene which makes the corn secrete its own toxins and thus makes the corn poisonous to various insects. All of these products of genetic engineering were created using the same basic steps: identifying a trait of interest, isolating that genetic trait, inserting that trait into the genome of the desired organism, and then growing the engineered organism. However, there are also several different ways to change the DNA such as Protoplast Fusion; when two plant cells have their hard cell walls removed (Protoplasts) and a chemical called polyethylene is added which sticks the two cells together. Once stuck, chemicals are added to help the two cells combine and exchange genetic information to create a hybridized plant cell. Another is by Mutation Breeding which involves exposing plants or seeds to mutagenic agents, whether by ionization radiation or chemical components, to cause random changes in the DNA sequence. The most commonly used tactic is replacing or inserting genes within seed cells using â€Å"molecular scissors† called nucleases—enzymes which can to loosen, remove and add nucleotides. These nucleases are artificially engineered to insert desired genes into the genome of a crop. It is through this process that the Bt corn, which makes up the vast majority of America’s corn production, was created by slicing a gene from a bacteria that had the desired pesticide effect for insects and inserted into corn genes. Proof #1 GMO crops are a threat to our physiological health. Hippocrates states Each of the substances of a mans diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way and upon these changes his whole life depends. Whatever we eat, may it be ice cream from Marble Slab or French cuisine, affects the body whether good or bad. The immune and excretory system prevent and treat foreign toxins and bacteria that enter the human body. While the immune system neutralizes viruses and harmful bacteria, the excretory system sorts through the food we consume and removes the toxins or waste that enters the human system. The kidneys are a key organ in this system. They constantly filter and clean the bloodstream, thereby preventing waste build up or toxins from interfering with the natural functions of the body. But what happens if there are too many toxins for the kidneys to handle? Unfortunately, this can cause the kidneys to become overwhelmed to the point that they no longer function as they should. The Bt gene that is inserted into a crop such as corn may decrease the need for pesticides, however, the cost is the fact that now the genetically modified corn secretes its own toxins. It is these toxins that are harming primary organs like the kidney. According to an Austrian study, mice fed genetically modified corn had lower birth rates, fewer offspring that were also notably smaller, but most importantly was that it degraded how well their kidney and liver function and therefore make them more susceptible to disease. Even Monsanto, a biotech seed company, found that about 10% of rats fed their M0N89034 corn developed kidney damage and bladder stones, and one even died after two weeks. If these effects can be found in rats after only a few weeks of tests, it can be assumed that the same will happen in humans who consume a consistent diet of these GMO based foods. As more toxins are able to enter the bloodstream due to the kidney weakening, this will then harm the body’s immune system. This can cause allergic reactions as the body tries to rid the body of the alien toxin. In fact, it has been found that allergens have increased by more than 50% in the last 20 years: a statistic that follows the trend of the growing use of GMOs.This could be passed off as a coincidence, but the parallels are too significant to ignore. There are also other chemicals that cause adverse health effects such as Aperture, (a common artificial sweetener, that increases lipids in the bloodstream and decreases biomolecules needed for essential functions in the cells. In particular, this creates dysfunction in the endothelial cells, cells that make up the skin and important for various secretion glands in the body, and about 40% of Americans consume Aspartame on a daily basis. While the immune and excretory systems are designed to keep the body healthy, the constant consumption of these foreign toxins only weaken these key systems and makes the other vital organs more susceptible to being infected. In recent years, scientists have studied the organ, known as the Gut Microbiota, which plays such a significant role in the well being of our bodies that it has been dubbed the â€Å"2nd Brain† by various experts in microbiome research. Gut Microbiota is positive bacteria that thrive in the intestinal system and play a key part in the endocrine system at the molecular level. These bacteria control what hormones are created and secreted, which in turn impact changes and functions throughout the entire bodily system. If there are too few of these, the negative consequences of this can be extreme. Because the Gut Microbiota is in the intestines, this makes the microbiota exposed to toxins that enter the digestive system. Once enough Bt toxins have been run through the system, this can create a â€Å"leaky gut†. This is a condition ulcer from that act as â€Å"holes† in the intestines and allows waste and toxins into the bloodstream as well as kill off these vital m icrobiotas. If genetically engineered crops can wreak this much damage to the body, what could it be doing to our minds? Proof 2 Consuming GMO products negatively influences and degrades our mental health. You may have heard idioms such as â€Å"hating someone’s guts†, or perhaps having a â€Å"gut reaction†. Or maybe you recall moments where you have had â€Å"butterflies in your stomach†. These idioms derive from the old idea that the gut houses the intuition or the innermost being of a person. According to modern research, this is actually true. Not only does the gut microbiota create and regulate hormones within the body, but it also influences the body’s neurons, of which 90% of these said neurons are located within the gut. It is here that the microbes interact with the neurons to create neurotransmitters including serotonin, acetylcholine, and histamine. Serotonin helps regulate sleep, appetite, mediate moods, and inhibit pain while acetylcholine controls the actual neural functions of the brain and histamine affects metabolism as well as controlling the body’s sleep/wake cycle. In order for neurotransmitters such as these to be produced, the body requires microbiota as well as a sufficient amount of nutrients. Once created, about 90% of these neurotransmitters are housed in the gut while the rest is sent to the brain. On the flip side, the brain can send signals to the gut through the vagus nerve which connects the two organs together. That is why if one feels something like anxiety, the â€Å"butterflies in my stomach† sensation arise from the brain releasing these negative signals to the gut. The brain is an organ that hardly needs an introduction. It plays a vital role as the â€Å"control center† for the human body and is where we store our memories and knowledge we accumulate over the years. However, just like any other organ, the brain can get sick. According to the National Institute on Mental Health, about 44.7 million adults in America suffer some form of mental disease, while 10.4 million of the adults suffer a severe form of mental disorders. These statistics are significant when we consider the fact that we live in a country rich in medical research and facilities. A key factor that has played into this high number of mental disorders are GMOs. When the toxins from GMO foods like Bt kill off gut microbiota, this cuts off the brain’s key supplier of neurotransmitters and the decreased amount of neurotransmitters can disrupt or halt different brain functions. This can also kill off or make the neurotransmitters housed their ineffective once they are sent to the brain. Some of the immediate effects can be irregular sleep patterns, mood swings, and aggression. On the other hand, this can become severe enough to result in depression, anxiety disorders, and Parkinsons disease. Various GMO derived ingredients can also directly alter the already existing neurotransmitters, such as high fructose corn syrup which can disrupt the functions of the neurotransmitter dopamine: an essential neurotransmitter that controls movement as well as mood and the ability to learn. In the long term, disrupting dopamine can cause Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia. Of course, the brain has its own defenses against possible damage. One, for example, is the blood-brain barrier, which acts as a sort of gateway into the brain. It follows a strict system of ensuring which and what chemicals are allowed and blocked from entering the brain. However, a leaky gut causes antibodies to be released that attack the blood-brain barrier, thus allowing dangerous substances and chemicals to enter the brain. These chemicals also include the toxins from GMOs that can now directly harm and alter the brain. If GMOs were to be removed from the market, we could see a significant change in the number of people with mental disorders in America. Proof #3 Growing genetically modified crops in America endanger neighboring farms and small farming communities around the world. Modern technology enables us to not only create GMOs but also track the DNA. This ensures that the GMO seed created by a biotech industry such as Monsanto is not stolen and planted by another farm or company. If this were to happen, the company has the right to sue for copyright infringement. Unfortunately, this has created several problems for farms with no intention to steal seed property. In the present time at least, GMO seed is not sterile and can pollinate just like its natural counterpart once grown, whether through being carried by bees or by the wind. This is a problem for organic farmers or even other GMO farmers. If the pollen lands in their fields, they could grow the GMO seed illegally without realizing it. Once it discovered, they are susceptible to be sued or at the very least remove a large portion of their crop to rid the GMO in their field. This results in money and crop loss for the farmer for something that was not even their fault. Two solutions have been proposed for this problem. One suggestion is to increase the distance between farms to prevent cross-pollination. However, pollen has been found to be able to spread for miles and even in some cases about 2-3 thousand miles. This indicates that protecting farms from unintentional piracy would be near impossible since it can also be safely concluded that no farmers are too eager to start trying to move their farmland. It demands too much time and money that none of them can afford. The second idea is the possibility of the use of GURT (Genetic Use Restriction Technology), otherwise known as â€Å"Terminator† or â€Å"Suicide† seeds. First developed in the 1980s, these types of seeds are designed to turn off or on a certain trait within the DNA. This technology was later used by the USDA and a small seed company called Delta who had sought a â€Å"genetic switch† in order to protect copyright on GMO seeds. At first glance, it seemed to be th e ideal solution; The GMO crops would be edited using GURT to stop them from reproducing and thus allow farms to be able to coexist safely with a lesser likelihood of copyright issues. However, this had been counter argued with the fact that it would force farmers to get new seed every year as well and in turn make them heavily dependant on the seed corporations; something that can easily be taken advantage of as then the seed corporations could raise the seed price as much as they want to since the demand for seed would constantly be high. This reasoning banned the use of this technology in countries such as India and Monsanto pledged to not use terminator seeds in 1999. The legal implications of GMOs, as well as the regulation process, are also questionable. Just like their natural counterparts, GMO crops or derived food must be approved by the FDA before being legally allowed to be grown and sold in the food market. According to the FDA, the process follows through three main steps; first, the GMO plant developers introduce their product to the FDA and the FDA, in turn, provides feedback for kinds of data that should be considered for the safety assessment. Second, the developers independently complete the safety assessment and submit a summary to the FDA. Finally, the FDA evaluates the information and ask questions such as â€Å"Does food from the GE plant contain a new toxin or allergen?† or â€Å"Is food from the GE plant as nutritious as that from its traditionally bred counterpart?†. Once all of the data can â€Å"logically support the conclusion that food from the new plant variety will be as safe as food from conventionally br ed varieties† it is allowed by the FDA and dubbed as safe. However, there is a key flaw in this regulation system that’s too large to overlook. According to the regulation process, it’s the developer that assesses the safety of the product and the FDA merely evaluates the information given and decide based on it. Meaning, they would have to trust that the developers are telling the truth. Suppose the developers did happen to find a new toxin or allergen in their product but lied and told the FDA that their product was completely free of any new toxins or allergens? Because the FDA relies on their word, they could release this product and not know the actual data that the developers found that would have impacted the product being permitted. Counter-Arguments It has often been argued that the USDA and FDA along with multiple scientific studies have had and continue to assure that GMOs are safe. More often than not, the case has been made that GMOs could solve world hunger. That with the already existing impoverished areas in the world combined with the foreseen global population increase, GMOs provide a way to feed everyone. Sadly, however, this is a falsehood. First, it is crucial to understand that seed companies and industries are just that; companies and industries. Not charities. We also have to consider; Does the poor only deserve the cheapest quality of necessities?

Employee Relations Pair Report Free Essays

Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to examine the impact of employee relations in the workplace. An American furniture company – Furniture-Co is planning on opening six new stores across the South West of London, employing 800 people. In order to write this report for the Chief Executive it is necessary to investigate the employee relations system in Britain and to make recommendations about which system of employee voice should be used in the new stores. We will write a custom essay sample on Employee Relations Pair Report or any similar topic only for you Order Now As per the policy in their American stores, it will be necessary for Furniture-Co to set up an employee forum which each of the stores will send two employees to represent the store. Any issues of concern can be raised on a monthly basis. There will also be weekly team meetings in each of the stored to keep paths of communication open, so that employees can be kept up to date on business performance as well as allowing an open forum for views, questions and concerns. The main reason why the Chief Executive wishes this report to be carried out is to make recommendations as to an appropriate and effective system of employee voice to be implemented as this is key to employee relations within the UK. Introduction In order to complete this report it is necessary to investigate a number of factors and issues which will be raised in part one which will give an overview into the British employee relations system. This will include the historical role of the system and how trade unions have come to have such important in the employee relations system. It is important to the rest of the report that these issues be investigated and evaluated as this is the information which needs to be disseminated before the discussion can take place in part two. Part two of the report will take the form of a discussion and evaluation of any proposed arrangements would work. It will be here that recommendations for implementation will be made to the Chief Executive of Furniture-Co. There will be a discussion with regards to any proposed employment policies and how employee voice can be used to appropriately communicate any concerns, views and questions about the organisation and its strategy. It would also be necessary to evaluate how well trade unionisation would work in the new stores and to make recommendations according to these. Part one: Overview of the British employee relations system Part one of this report gives an overview of the British employee relations system and how it affects organisations through the trade unionisation of the employee. The main topic which will be discussed is employee voice and how this affects all of those involved in the employee relations process. However, before this can be discussed it is necessary to provide a background to the historical role of trade unions and how they manage the employee relations system. It is also vital to discuss the trends in union density and collective agreement as well as evaluating the key causes and influences which account for the trends in union density. Once this has been completed, it will be required to have a discussion of the evaluation and to make recommendations to how Furniture-Co can take this process forward. Historical role of trade unions in the management of employee relations Employee relations is a term which replaced the term industrial relations. It is the relationship between employers and employees and has become extremely important in the non-industrial employment relationships within the field of human resource management. Theory would dictate two distinct concepts – the definition of human resource management which includes employee relations and the concept that employee relations deals with non-unionised workers. Kaufman (2008) believes that many academics regard trade unionism as a core subject in the field of employee relations. The concept of employee relations as field of study began as being rooted in the industrial revolution thus the name – industrial relations. . It has created the modern day global employment relationship which has initiated the free labour market. Many labour problems arose at the period of time due to social and economic changes, long hours and low wages with dangerous working conditions led to high work er turnover, social instability and strikes. The study of industrial relations was born out of a problem solving generation which rejected the theories of the time. Kaufman (2008) believes that the field of employee relations is in decline and that there are numerous reasons for this decline. The most important reason can be seen as steady erosion in the union density of many countries. The study of employee relations is important to how trade union and labour relations are examined. Industrial relations in the 1960’s and 1970’s was notorious for disputes and walkouts, so much so that it was a problem which had been identified as weakening the UK’s economic power. The economic situation in the 1980’s and 1990’s changed the field of employee relations with recession, restrictive legislation and organisational restructuring. Trends in union density and collective agreement It is important to investigate the trends which have been prevalent in union density and collective agreement before a discussion can take place into Furniture-Co and the employee voice. It is important to investigate the long term trends in trade union membership. According to Brownlie (2011) in 2011 there were around 6.4 million employees who were members of trade unions in the UK. This figure was down by 143 thousand in 2010 and was the fourth annual consecutive fall. This has followed stability in trade union membership levels between the years of 1995 and 2007. The trade union density in the UK for employees had fallen in 2011 by 0.6 percentage to 26% in comparison to 2010. This meant that the total number of employees in the UK fell by a percentage of 0.3 down to 24.9 million. There had been a downward trend from the years 1995 to 2011, identifying a decline in 1995 from 32.4% to 29.8% in 2000 to 28.6% in 2005. In comparison to the long term trends it is necessary to identify trade union members in the public and private sectors. This membership showed a rise in 2011 by 450 thousand to 2.5 million. This figure had sharply fallen in the previous three years. Public sector memberships had fallen in 2011 by 186 thousand to 3.9 million. This figure had been stable over the previous six years. The membership density of the trade union rose in 2011 by 0.2% points to 56.5% but those non-members fell at a sharper rate than union members. It is also necessary to understand the personal characteristics of union density. It would seem, according to Brownlie (2011) that there is a higher density of female members for the tenth successive year. Most professional occupations are higher than those who come under the category of managers, directors and senior officials. In the UK those employees of UK nationality is higher than non-UK nationals. Evaluation of key cause or influence accounting for these trends Brownlie (2011) identifies that the membership of trade unions peaked in 1979 and declined quickly throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s. A stabilisation of the figure was identified in the mid 1990’s and this trend continued. There is evidence, according to Brownlie (2011), that there has been a decline in the last couple of years. The identification of falling trade union membership in the UK from 1989 to 2011, can account for these trends is the churn of the workforce as older employees retire and younger employees enter the workforce. This can be seen in the figures from the 1990’s to 2007 were particularly stable levels of trade union membership amongst the employees and those in employment. Another cause can be seen as the effects of recession on the membership of trade unions. The recession of 1989 – 1992 and the current recession shows that membership has fallen but figures fell significantly more in 1989 – 1992. Figures which have been identified by Brownlie (2011) show that the decline in membership between 1989 – 1992 was 1.7 million while the current recession (2008 – 2011) has shown a fall of 7% with 482 thousand. Current levels of union density in London It is important to discuss the current levels of union density in London. This is important to this report as Furniture-Co wish to expand their business in London by six retail units so there would be a need to cover this in the report to the Chief Executive. Region wise, London has one of the smallest density in the UK. London and the South West have the lowest density (London – 20.6%, South West, 20.7%). Within the UK membership levels have declined in England by 535 thousand, while Scotland (95 thousand), Northern Ireland (17 thousand) and Wales (8 thousand). London has density levels of under 25%. Overall trade union presence has fallen, with Wales having the largest percentage of employees with a trade union presence. London also had the smallest collective agreement coverage at 24.2%. Part two: Discussion and evaluation of how well the proposed arrangements would work This part of the report will look at the evidence which has been presented and to evaluate and discuss the proposed arrangements. Within this context it is necessary to understand the concept of employee voice and how this impacts on the performance of the organisation as a whole. There has been numerous studies undertaken on union and non-union voice, these can be seen in the academic work of Benson (2000), Dundon et al (2002), Gollan (2001), Lloyd (2001) and Pettinger (1999). The voice of the employee has been challenged through recognition and representation from the unions. There is a massive gap between the actual and desired level of employee representation and the gap has been narrowed due to the growth of non-union as well as the direct forms of employee representation. Freeman Medoff (1984) state that the union is a mechanism which is key to the improvement of performance of the employee, that it has the ability to stabilise the workforce and reduces inequality in the economy. However, through the focus of human resources management and its successful emergence has placed more emphasis on the sharing of information, employee participation and collective decision making, according to Benson (2000). In addition, Guest (1987) believes that the role of unions is unnecessary and ambiguous with the emergence of human resource management practices. In this context, Furniture-Co need to make recommendations through the use of employee voice but it is dependent on the representation which it wishes to use. The necessary identification of a union or non-unionised employee voice is applicable and should be further investigated. There would be benefits to both voices but these should be managed according to the business environment. Employee voice should be defined as the ability to express complaints/ grievances and the ability for the employee to participate in the organisational decision making process. The ability of the voice to take a joint role in consultation allows both the employer and employee to recognise the necessity of the performance of the employee. If Furniture-Co is to be successful it is implicit that the voice of the employee cannot and should not be ignored. Furniture-Co has already acknowledged the need for employee voice but it is how this voice will be best perceived within the organisation and how it can be taken forward. The recognition of the voice of the employee can affect the performance of the employee through their quality of production and it could also help counter problems which may arise. Dissatisfaction which can arise in the organisation could be directly resolved through employee voice. It has been established that dissatisfaction and employee turnover (Spencer, 1986) has been directly related to how the employee is empowered by their voice. If an employee can voice their opinion they are more likely to remain in their current position. Recommendations which can be made to the Chief Executive in relation to employee voice would be the suggestion that they attempt to keep it non-unionised. Once unions are involved there can be complex issues with HR policies and wages etc. Such issues which could be made are the pay rates, the pension scheme, hours of work, and training. However, with these issues there a generous package which includes a higher than average starting wage of ?8.50 an hour (?2 more than the average), all staff having access to the pension scheme, a standard 37.5 hours per week working hours and all staff will be provided with training at the start of their employee with further opportunities. As far as non-unionised employee voice can be identified, this seems to be the approach which would be favoured by the organisation as it is already set up in their American stores. Joint Consultative Committees are one form of this process which would be beneficial to the organisation due to the fact that the stores would send two representatives to the monthly meeting to air any grievances or successes which they have identified. This also allows for collective bargaining within the organisational context. Conclusion: It is important that any suggestion for employee voice can allow the employee to voice their opinion in a transparent environment. In order to use this effectively within Furniture-Co, it is necessary that trade unions are kept out of the organisational process. As this organisation is private sector, there is no obligation in the UK for the organisation or its employees to join a union. If the organisation adopts the policy of non-unionisation one major flaw may be that there is no outside authority to lend their advice to any internal disputes. These disputes may be handled appropriately within the organisation it may sometimes be better to have an outside body to help control any disputes which may break out. The Chief Executive has expressed that the model they wish to follow would send two employees from each store to a monthly meeting and this could be better operated through non-unionised employee voice. References Abbott, B., (2004) Worker Representation through the Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, in Healy, G., Heery, E., Taylor, P., Brown, W., (eds.) The Future of Worker Representation, Palgrave Benson, J., (2000) Employee Voice in Unions and Non-Union Australian Workplaces, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 453 – 459 Brownlie, N., (2011) Trade Union Membership, Available online http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/t/12-p77-trade-union-membership-2011.pdf, [Assessed on 4 December 2012] Daniels, K., (2006) Employee Relations in an Organisational Context, CIPD Diamond, W., Freeman, R., (2003) Young Workers and their Willingness to Join Trade Unions in Gospel, H., Wood, S., (eds.) Representing Workers: Trade Union Membership and Recognition in Britain, Routledge Dundon, T., Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M., Ackers, P., (2002) The Meaning and Purpose of Employee Voice, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 1149 – 1170 Freeman, R.B., Medoff, J.L., (1984) What Do Unions DoBasic Books Guest, D.E., (1987) Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 503 – 521 Kaufman, B.E., (2008) The Original Industrial Relations Paradigm: Foundation for Revitalising the Field, in Whalen, C.J., (ed.) New Directions in the Study of Work and Employment: Revitalising Industrial Relations as an Academic Enterprise, Edward Elgar Publishing Kersley, B., Alpin, C., Forth, J., Bryson, A., Bewley, H., Dix, G. Oxenbridge, S. (2006) Inside the Workplace: Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey, Routledge Lloyd, C., (2001) What do Employee Councils DoThe Impact of Non-Union Forms of Representation on Trade Union Organisation, Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 313 – 327 Noon, M., Blyton, P., (2007) The Realities of Work, Palgrave Pettinger, R., (1999) Effective Employee Relations: A Guide to Policy Practice in the Workplace, Kogan Page Spencer, D.G., (1986) Employee Voice and Employee Retention, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 488 – 502 Appendices Appendix One: Meeting Log Appendix One: Meeting Log Team NumberDate of Meeting (Monthly/ Day) Meeting LocationNo of Group Members All Members Must Sign off to Verify Attendance. Each Delegate Should Sign in the Boxes Below Month One/ Date Sign BelowMonth Two/ Date Sign Below Month Three/ Date Sign BelowMonth Four/ Date Sign Below Month Five/ Date Sign BelowMonth Six/ Date Sign Below How to cite Employee Relations Pair Report, Essay examples

Ergonomics Design of Hand-Held Power Tools free essay sample

This paper discusses the role ergonomics play in the design of hand-held power tools. This paper looks at the different factors that need to be addressed when designing hand-held power tools. The author argues that when ergonomic factors are Incorporated into their design, there are less instances of injury, less sick days, and production is increased as a result. From the paper: A well-designed tool can provide a number of important advantages that can be immediately noticeable. Ergonomically designed hand-tools contribute to the prevention of injuries which will then increase productivity on a continuous basis, improve the quality of the products produced, and reduce the absenteeism in a company for health related causes. Properly controlling the ergonomic factors such as the physical loads a person exerts (through the design of the handle and trigger), vibrations, and noise of the hand tool will decrease the chances of an injury occurring on the job. We will write a custom essay sample on Ergonomics: Design of Hand-Held Power Tools or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

The First Amendment Essays - Freedom Of Expression, Censorship

The First Amendment No other democratic society in the world permits personal freedoms to the degree of the United States of America. Within the last sixty years, American courts, especially the Supreme Court, have developed a set of legal doctrines that thoroughly protect all forms of the freedom of expression. When it comes to evaluating the degree to which we take advantage of the opportunity to express our opinions, some members of society may be guilty of violating the bounds of the First Amendment by publicly offending others through obscenity or racism. Americans have developed a distinct disposition toward the freedom of expression throughout history. The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect toward the freedom of religion. It also prevents the government from "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been of the utmost importance to Americans. In Langston Hughes' poem, "Freedom," he emphasizes the struggle to enjoy the freedoms that he knows are rightfully his. He reflects the American desire for freedom now when he says, "I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread." He recognizes the need for freedom in its entirety without compromise or fear. I think Langston Hughes captures the essence of the American immigrants' quest for freedom in his poem, "Freedom's Plow." He accurately describes American's as arriving with nothing but dreams and building America with the hopes of finding greater freedom or freedom for the first time. He depicts how people of all backgrounds worked together for one cause: freedom. I selected Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as a fictitious example of the evils of censorship in a world that is becoming illiterate. In this book, the government convinces the public that book reading is evil because it spreads harmful opinions and agitates people against the government. The vast majority of people accept this censorship of expression without question and are content to see and hear only the government's propaganda. I found this disturbing yet realistic. Bradbury's hidden opposition to this form of censorship was apparent throughout the book and finally prevailed in the end when his main character rebelled against the practice of burning books. Among the many forms of protests are pickets, strikes, public speeches and rallies. Recently in New Jersey, more than a thousand community activists rallied to draft a "human" budget that puts the needs of the poor and handicapped as a top priority. Rallies are an effective means for people to use their freedoms effectively to bring about change from the government. Freedom of speech is constantly being challenged as is evidenced in a recent court case where a Gloucester County school district censored reviews of two R-rated movies from a school newspaper. Superior Court Judge, Robert E. Francis ruled that the student's rights were violated under the state Constitution. I feel this is a major break through for students' rights because it limits editorial control of school newspapers by educators and allows students to print what they feel is important. A newly proposed bill (A-557) would prevent school officials from controlling the content of student publications. Critics of the bill feel that "student journalists may be too young to understand the responsibilities that come with free speech." This is a valid point; however, it would provide an excellent opportunity for them to learn about their First Amendment rights that guarantees free speech and freedom of the press. In his commencement address to Monmouth College graduates, Professor Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School defended the broad right to free speech. He stated, "My message to you graduates is to assert your rights, to use them responsibly and boldly, to oppose racism, to oppose sexism, to oppose homophobia and bigotry of all kinds and to do so within the spirit of the First Amendment, not by creating an exception to it." I agree that one should feel free to speak openly as long as it does not directly or indirectly lead to the harm of others. One of the more controversial issues was the recent 2 Live Crew incident involving obscenity in rap music. Their record, "As Nasty as They Wanna Be," was ruled obscene in federal court. They were acquitted of the charges and quickly became a free speech martyr. Although many stores pulled the album, over two million copies sold as a result of the incident. I feel

DECLARATION OF FITNESS TO SIT EXAMINATION Essays - Investment

DECLARATION OF FITNESS TO SIT EXAMINATION Essays - Investment PLEASE DETACH AND HAND IN THIS PAGE SEPARATELY DECLARATION OF FITNESS TO SIT EXAMINATION Students must complete the information below. Please refer to the front of your examination paper for further information. School (please tick one)Business SchoolLaw School ProgrammeBSc Business Management ExaminationPortfolio Management Date01/05/2015 NameQadeer Niazi I am not aware of any medical or other extenuating circumstances that would impair my performance in this examinationSignature Q.Niazi .. This sheet will be collected by an invigilator during the examination. Please do not leave your desk until it has been collected Table of Contents Q2.3 Q.34 3b. M&S October Long Call4 M&S October Long Put4 References5 THIS IS MONEY5 CRINAGE, S.5 FINANCIAL TIMES5 WEALTHADVISER.CO5 Q2. As the elections are getting close, in the preliminary voting period, it can be said that most of the ambiguity will cause an affect in the foreign exchange market and of course the Sterling, as the clock ticks the value is said to be the most subtle tool for quantifying investors sentiment. Speaking of the reactions of bond markets and equity, it could be said that its unresponsive. Guy Ellison, head of UK equity research at Investec Wealth & Investment, says: Clearly the outcome of the election is uncertain, and markets dont like uncertainty. The bond investors value certainty, but there are high chances for them being disappointed due to the results. There will be improbability about the configuration of the potential referendums and the government, which may tend to cause an increase in the term premium causing a result of rise in the gilt yields. The elections could also cause instability in the interest rates. If for instance the interest rate tends to rise, the prices of bond would subsequently fall causing a simultaneous effect on the GDP, which would lead to a fall in all equity prices. In addition to that, it is expected that there may be a result of fall in new investments due to the instability which could bring pauses in investment plans and cause companies to delay financial investment strategies. Investors will tend to pull back and show lack of interest causing and effect to the stock prices that simultaneously cause uncertainty in the stock market. The Equity market is determined on global developments similar to the bonds, exclusively as a few three quarter of the FTSE 1100 earnings and revenues are spawned from overseas In order to confront such scenarios or at least play safe, a few strategies need to be revised by the investment team/investment managers. The investment managers should broaden the investment in bond markets as is it can be considered as a good option, the managers are recommended to diversify the investment of customers as much as possible. The managers should invest in markets or sectors with a correlation between -1 up to about 0, which shall minimise the risk of making a loss. Q.3 Explain the difference to an investor between holding a long European Call and holding a short European Put position on a companys shares. In a long European call one get the options to purchase shares at the fixed strike on a certain date, however, in the short put option the investor is obliged to buy the share at the fixed rate in the future. The short put is relatively a better option as it gives a higher premium compared to the long call holding. 3b. M&S October Long Call Values Strike price 440equilibrium 430 share 10 If the investor buys M&S long call option, the likely chances of making a loss would be of 0.10 per share which is the premium free of purchasing the long call. M&S October Long Put Value 425.7 strike price Share 10 Equilibrium For the M&S long put share options the investor will be expecting the price of the underlying security will go considerably below the strike price before the expiry date. References THIS IS MONEY Should investors worry about the election outcome? In-text: (This is Money, 2015) Bibliography: This is Money, (2015). Should investors worry about the election outcome?. [online] Available at: thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-3057669/Should-investors-worry-election-outcome.html [Accessed 30 April 2015]. CRINAGE, S. Investment, uncertainty and the 2015 UK General Election [for use with your clients] In-text: (Crinage, 2015) Bibliography: Crinage, S. (2015). Investment, uncertainty and the 2015 UK General Election [for use with your clients]. [online] Commentary & analysis. Available at: http://insights.jpmorgan.co.uk/adviser/commentary-and-analysis/investment-uncertainty-and-the-2015-uk-general-election/ [Accessed 30 April 2015]. FINANCIAL TIMES UK election risk hovers on horizon for markets - FT.com In-text: (Financial Times, 2015) Bibliography: Financial Times, (2015).

Advanced Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advanced Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example In post industrialization environment many theorists attempted to define the human contribution in the production process, while some gave importance to maximizing production others were considered with production processes, undermining and ignoring the ability and emotions of workers all together. Fredrick Taylor introduced principles of scientific management, dividing labour to achieve more efficiencies and introducing rationalization and standardization. Humans were considered as just a means to an end and while high wages were given to employees with high productivity in factory environment, the understanding of reasons and relation of high productivity with human behaviour were never understood. According to the principles of scientific theory management had unchallenged powers for allocating tasks, employee relations were objective, treatment of workers was impersonal and collective with wage as a singular source of motivation. The result of this approach was exploited and estr anged workforce resulting in conflicts with management and later on labour right’s movements (Kanigel, 1997). A similar explanation was given by Karl Marx who focused on intensifying Labour relationship with industrial processes. With improvement suggested in technology, the techniques prophesized by Marx were based on de-skilling of workers, fragmentation of tasks, management was the sheer body of knowledge with emphasis given to speed and conduct exhibited by workers. (Braverman, 1998). Human Relations theories or Neo Human Relations theories presented by Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor and Fredrick Herzberg; they promoted a management approach that understood social and psychological needs of employees in the organization and that responding to them efficiently would keep workers motivated and enhance productivity and profitability. In this approach managers tend to identify and satisfy employee needs and they were allowed to work in teams with inclusion in de cision making process. The results acquired by adopting this approach were enhanced worker morale, motivated employees and more productivity; furthermore employees considered themselves as a part of the organization and individual satisfaction increased (Abbott, 2006, p. 192). With the evolution of human resources management as a field of study and emphasis shift to understanding of organizational behaviour, employees were no longer regarded as tools but they were considered as assets to the organization. An asset that can enhance the productivity of the organization to a great extent and better talent can provide a competitive edge in the market. With adopted learning and development practices and focus on human resource development activities it was realized that the skill possessed by this human capital can be incremented (Gennard & Judge, 2002). The major enforcer for giving importance to human emotions and understanding their needs was industrialization process, which gave birt h to complex jobs and structures; creativity in employees was cherished and management structures were enhanced with introduction of performance management techniques, reward and recognition practices along with talent management. Companies adopting this approach considered workplace relations as an important factor in success, collaboration in between teams along with management and employees became vital with a unique organizational culture with reliable and honest leadership possessing a realistic vision. The practice of unifying individual goals with organizational goals grew in importance and communication processes were opened up with an emphasis on collectivism, which means that collective interests are served better by working

Individual report on a given case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Individual report on a given case study - Essay Example Disneyland mainly targeted the children because it could help the company to increase the footfalls. Children are not allowed to go by themselves by their guardians hence, the company received more visitors and the business had a profound effect in the company’s profit. The primary objective of Disneyland Paris was to attract the citizens of Europe to the large amusement park without facing any political disturbances (McCrie, 2011, p.7). The Disneyland Paris incorporated some changes in their theme park in order to attract the local visitors. The theme park consisted of the American cartoon characters along with a flavour of the French culture. Restaurants and snack bars had seating arrangements because the French preferred to sit and relax while dining. The Disneyland Paris also aimed at reducing long queues by providing diversion for people; for example, additional studios and theatres near the rides. Since Disneyland concept in Europe was new and it was an American theme pa rk, the company decided to hire most of the French as staffs. The quality of service was improved on a high scale and the visitors were taken care by the staffs with high level of courtesy. The operations management of Disneyland played a crucial role for the benefit of the company. The management department enhanced the quality of service and the restaurants. The staffs were taught to be very polite to the visitors because it was the only key to attract more customers and increase the revenue of the company. Since Disneyland Paris was a mega project established in Europe, special approaches were required to be taken in order to develop a positive reputation in the market. The staffs and the management of Disneyland Paris were able to create a courtesies environment in the work culture. The rides and the characters of Disneyland also played important role to gain the attention of visitors (Murthy, 2009, p.92). Overall the standard operating procedure of Disneyland was based on

Power Of Advergaming And Its Impacts On Consumers Marketing Essay

Power Of Advergaming And Its Impacts On Consumers Marketing Essay Within the concept of social media, the mass media marketing strategy is one of the crucial tools of product placement on the commercial persuasion and entertainment. Thesis: Assessment of advergaming with respect to its development process, impacts and usage; how usage of advergaming changes as product type differs and; what are the advantages/strengths and disadvantages/weaknesses of advergaming. INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERS 1. ADVERAGAMING AS MASS MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY 1.1. DEFINITION OF ADVERGAMING 1.2. DEVELOPING AN ADVERGAME /ADVERGAMING AS A FUTURE TOOL 2. USAGE OF ADVERGAMING BY BRANDS 2.1. THE INTERNET EFFECT 2.2. IN GAME ADVEISING VIRAL MARKETING 3. THE IMPACT OF ADVERGAMING 3.1. INFLUENCE ON PLAYER 3.2. RESEARCH ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR 4. DIFFERENCE THAN OTHER ADVERTISING TOOLS 4.1. ADVANTAGES/STRENGTHS 4.2. DISADVANTAGES/WEAKNESSES 5. USAGE OF ADVERGAMING IN TURKEY ***EXAMPLES 6. HOW USAGE OF ADVERGAMING CHANGES AS PRODUCT TYPE DIFFERS CONCLUSION REFERENCES ADVERAGAMING AS MASS MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY Definition of Advergaming The question of what advergaming is can be approximated in diffrent ways. In the manner of linguistic portmanteau it is of advertising and gaming. Techniquely, it is the practice of using video games to advertise a product, organization or viewpoint. [2] As a term, it was coined in January 2000 by Anthony Giallourakis. Later on it was mentioned by Wireds Jargon Watch column in 2001. [2] An advergame is an online video game that has brand related images and/or themes embedded within it. As marketers have begun to catch on to the idea, Websites containing advergames have been published by a diverse variety of corporations and non-profit organizations. [1] Besides the usages of product placement within a game, a more effective and innovative way of designing a game only for the purpose of advertising a brand or a product is recently being used by advertiser in order to reach to targets on an online platform. Advergames are such video games which are funded directly by an advertiser. Also, they usually are distributed free of charge to the consumers. The differences between the product placement and advergaming was clearly determined in the book Changing the Game, by David Edery and Ethan Mollic like highly integrated product placement, well-designed advergames have the power to entertain consumers in an engaging and informative way. On the other hand, unlike product placement advergames offer business more control over the context in which the brand is experienced by consumers and saves them the possible hassle of operating within the constraints imposed by game developers. [3] To sum up, advergaming is an interactive game-product created for being more well known by the customers and increasing brand equity. The core idea of advergame is receiving information while entertaining the game. The other facilities of advergames will be examined in the following sections. Developing an Advergame / Advergaming as a future tool Advergames are still a very new research area. With the usage of simulations, advergames aims to inform the customers about what they will experience after trying the product in real life. Advergames also have the ability to create curiosity in the minds of targets which would lead a high selling rate. One o the greatest example of advergaming is the Americans Army. [8] The actual aim behind developing such a game was first by tempting the gamers being a solider, increasing the army population. Today, the game has more than 100.000 gamers. Similarly, in order to take attention to the hunger and starvation problem in the world, United Nations also developed an advergame called Food Force. These two huge projects show us how much an advergame would be powerful and influential in the log run. The benefits of advergames such as; the brand image reinforcement, databases created from the advergame can be used for demographics research, targeted markets can be reached by your advertising (when the game link is emailed), visitors may spend more time on your site, increased traffic due to viral marketing. [5] USAGE OF ADVERGAMING While the usage of advergaming being explained, firstly the question of why advergames should be used has to be answered. Most of the advertisement forms cause the customers to loose their interest and patience. So therefore, advergames which has the benefits mentioned above are very welcomed as an innovative way of both advertising and advertainment. The reason is because; the high interaction attracts consumers to join the game. In the world of Advergame, the participation of game is the participation of advertisement. [9] Interactivity, uniqueness, viality, technology are the basic content for the question of how an advergame should be. [9] Secondly, the brands should care about the following points if they want to use advergames more effectively and create powerful advergames. The steps can be sorted as first, brand and target group positioning analysis (e-marketing strategy analysis) have to be done. Later, game planning and design (Market specific game planning and project plan) is needed to be completed. Third, creative design and programming (art design and art programming development) is also necessary for a strong advergame. Then, game promotion and publication (make the website promotion plan) and collection and analysis of statistics emerges. Lastly, online evaluation and suggestions are done for a complete advergame. [9] All in all, the usage of advergames has to be considered in two perspectives which are why a company should take advantage of advergames and how should it create a more powerful one in order to reach more customers and have more profit. In the following parts the internet effect in our lives will be considered to give a wider point of view that the advergames are the most influential and powerful tools of online advertising. Further, the in-game advergaming and viral marketing concepts which are the tools of advergaming process will briefly be explained. The Internet effect Since reaching the most number of customers is the main aim of brands to increase their profits, in order to be being known by a wider mass, they first have to conquer the areas used by these customers. Internet is one of these fields since it is being used by almost everyone nowadays. In his article The Ability of Branded Online Games to Build Brand Equity: An Exploratory Study, David Deal approaches the increasing usage of internet as a growing trend toward turning off the television and tuning in to the Internet is forcing many marketers to enter a relatively unexplored advertising arena where the best methods of reaching and influencing customers are as yet unknown.[1] In the article he also argues, the studies have found that many Internet users spend their online time by playing video games. This realization, with the help of the researches leads a new mass media marketing strategy that integrates games with advertisements which is advergaming: a hybrid form of branded entertai nment. [1] The growing use and acceptance of internet in our lives, forced the marketers to use new media rich forms of online entertainment ways where they are more interactive and incorporated than previous ones. This also results with spending less time with traditional media, especially television. The rest of the leisure time is being preferred to be spent on internet. [1] Therefore, one of the best ways to include a marketing message which is needed to be reallocated by the companies, become internet. Furthermore, a greater portion of the internet population is getting used to the new forms of entertainment, especially with the available video games. [1] That is actually where advergaming takes its power from. Within the last ten years, the aim of reaching these online consumers was very crucial for advertisers. In order to discover that how much an average individual looks at a Website page, there have been several studies done. The results show less than half of all banner ads to which people were exposed, are being perceived. [5, 9] As a result, advertisements that people purposely avoid viewing simply do not have an opportunity to make an impression. [1] Then the idea of forcing the consumers to look at these online ads became a new trend. The pop-ups, interstitials, and pop-unders which were very intrusive, were found to be even more disliked than banner ads. [1] One of the imported points of this type of advertising is the amount of time that the gamers spend not only by playing the game but also by interacting with an advergame and as a result being exposed to the marketing message. There are several factors determine the time interval such as age, gender, type of game, and involvem ent with brand or product. The duration can range from 5-7 minutes (for a typical scenario) to 35 minutes (such as for Coca-Colas Live the Madness game) or longer [13, 16]. [1] In game advertising Viral Marketing Advergaming can be achieved mainly by two different ways. First, the brands can prepare thir own games and present to the customers. Second, they can also place the ad in to the games that already exist and have many players. The Sims or Second Life would be given as examples. The second is also named as in-game advertising. Moreover, beyond in-game advertising, Internet also encourages the gamers (users) to invite their friends to participate the games which could favor promotion form mouth to mouth, or viral marketing [2] where it can be defined as a marketing technique whereby information about a companys goods or services is passed electronically from one Internet user to another. In game advertising is being used very commonly since it is easier and less costly for a company than building their own online game. Also, by placing their logos, brand images, or the products as a simulation into a game, which is widely being played all around the world, companies can increase the probability to reach more and more customers. It is a huge arena so that impacts will also be quite large. THE IMPACT OF ADVERGAMING Influence on children Nutritious vs. Obesity Advergames are one of the most used marketing strategies to attract children and teenagers, creating in them an emotional link with the brand. This strategy can modify attitudes, in many occasions without applying responsible consumption, because the processes by which children purchases decisions are made are not as structured as adult decisions. [7] Its Childs Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children [10] how advergames, which are online computer games developed to market a product, affect consumption of healthier and less healthy snacks by lowincome African American children.[6] Playing With Food: Content Analysis of Food Advergames [11] iyi anlamda Games with an Agenda: Entertainment for Consciousness Building [12] Researchs on customer and advergame relation Since the advergaming concept is a new format of advertising, even though it appears as promising, there have been a very little number of researches on it that scientifically prove its effectiveness. Also the adoption of the customers all around the world has not been justified yet and still unknown. [1] However, its potential cannot be underestimated. Before considering some of the researches and their results, it is necessary to mention that, since the advergaming is an internet based online advertisement form and most of the user or gamer population is composed of children and teenagers, the advergames target these two groups at most. However, the recent researches demonstrate that not only kids and teens but also many other surfers play advergames. 59% of the boys ages 13 to 17, 62% of the men ages 18 to 24 who go online, the largest group of women game players is between the ages of 45 and 54. [5] So therefore, according to that statistics it can be claimed that the advergaming is not only for kids any more. Here are some of the research examples and it will be examined that how there researches resulted in the means of advergaming. These types of researches are trying to measure the effects of online advertising on customers, by comparing interactive and non-interactive ads in order to determine their relative efficiencies across brand equity. At the end, it is concluded that visually stimulating and interactive forms of advertising are more effective at brand building in the sense of components of brand equity (aided brand awareness, online ad awareness, message association, brand favorability, and purchase intent). Indeed, highly interactive and animated advertising format could be expected to have a greater impact on brand equity than a traditional banner advertisement.[1] Some other studies are trying to figure out the emotional attachment of users to the brand. They claim that this emotional arousal generated by a brand with an interactive format of advertising increases an individuals attitude toward the advertisement positively to which they are exposed. The results show that the greater degrees of interactivity with an advertisement produced the higher levels of appreciation for the ad itself and for the Website on which it was deployed. [1] To sum up, researches have found that the less time a person that enjoys an advertisement spends thinking about the actual marketing message itself, the more they will like the advertisement [18]. [1] These studies indicate that for the advertisement the advergames could be expected to have a high level of appreciation. DIFFERENCE THAN OTHER ADVERTISING TOOLS Advantages/strengths A 2002 study comparing different ad types [12] found that advertisements that involved animations and/or interactivity were twice as effective as ordinary banner ads at generating message association, a component of brand equity. Interactive ads were compared to non-interactive ads to determine their relative merits across five different components of brand equity (aided brand awareness, online ad awareness, message association, brand favorability, and purchase intent). Disadvantages/weaknesses USAGE OF ADVERGAMING IN TURKEY Examples Rabarba.com HOW USAGE OF ADVERGAMING CHANGES AS PRODUCT TYPE DIFFERS CONLUSION Traditional product placement has taken on new meaning and force.

The Social and Economic Benefits of an Immigration Reform

Race and Ethnicity in the United States Dr. Carl Paris John Jay College of Criminal Justice Immigration reform has been a cornerstone on the last three presidential campaigns, on Bush's second term and on both of Obama's. It has the power to turn around an election because it would automatically grant the Hispanic vote to the candidate that commits to the best plan.At this moment, an immigration reform would bring great improvement in the economic status of the United States bringing a bigger workforce nd an increase in population that would mean bigger revenue for the government. Along with the economical capacity that approving an immigration reform, it also brings a wave a culture that would enrich the basis of the foundation of the United States, diversity. An immigration reform can open the doors for many professionals that could refresh the ideas of the United States and provide with a different perspective of the solutions out there for the problem we face.An immigrant is defi ned as a person who leaves his home nation and goes to a foreign one, usually ermanently, in search for an improvement. There are a lot of push and pull factors that encourage someone to leave their homeland. Economic difficulties, religious or ethnic persecution and political unrest are some factors that push immigrants from their nations, for example, some immigrants from Syria can flee their country in fear of a civil war pushing them to another country.The perceptions of a better life ahead or a desire to Join their family abroad are factors that pull immigrants to other nations, for example, a Mexican immigrant that leaves her country to reunite with her usband in the united states now that he has established himself better . The economic status in the United States is a shaky one at this moment. The government has had to force itself into shutdowns because they cannot come to an agreement on how to invest tax money more efficiently.This in turn affects the vast population of t he country, which is composed of the middle and lower classes. Budget cuts have been made that affect public assistance programs, schools and national agencies and security. The unemployment rate continues to be above 7% without any signs of going below that and it ncreases to 1 % tor people between the ages ot 1 There are over 40 million immigrants according to the Census in 2010, plus an estimate of 12 million undocumented immigrants that reside in the United States without proper documents.Each fall down on one of these three categories: naturalized citizens, foreign-born people who went through a congress mandated process to become a citizen of the united states; travel/working visa holders, foreign- born who undergo a process predetermined by their nations to be able to travel outside of their country; an undocumented immigrant; people who gain access not hrough the proper measures of the law, like crossing the border without papers or overstaying their visas, and are, therefor e, breaking it. All of the people above have one goal in mind and is to provide a better life for themselves and the people they care about.This aspect of life, immigration, has been the cornerstone for many civilizations in the past and it still remains as such. Such a high rate of immigration has been due to the great chain immigration. The first people who immigrate pave the roads for those who follow, usually family members. They in turn tell the next group who come and so on. The current immigrant population is composed of Latinos from South America and the Caribbean and Asia along with traces of Europe and the Middle East. Illegal immigration poses a problem to United States and its people.Millions of illegal immigrants are â€Å"taking† the Jobs where an American could have thrived and are getting paid less for it and therefore are desirable to business owners. Also, being that these immigrants are undocumented they are evading tax collection, which hinders the country . Something must be done to prevent this. There is a list of measures being taken right now. Most are highly inefficient and costly; hey may even be on of the reason why our economy is dwindling. One of them is that federal officials trying to track the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants and the approximately 5 millions who overstayed their visas.This in turn is an impossible task with a highly expensive bill; expensive is not favored by the major public. The search and deportation could cost over a whopping $200 billion, not included the man power of law enforcement that would be used for such a task force diverting them from more important duties. A study by the Bipartisan Policy Center that an immigration reform could carry a 4. percent increase in the United States' economy and reduce the countrys deficit by $1. 2 trillion in a period of 20 years . Opening the doors for immigrants could help the United States attract individuals with proper skills.These incoming people, h ard-working as they are, would not be taking Jobs from the non-immigrant American as common speculation suggest. Instead, they would man the positions that no one else wants like cleaning toilets in a hotel or picking fruits in the agricultural field. Immigrants do not compete against the native-born American for Jobs instead they complement each other because mmigrants take the low-paying Jobs that American would reject or not apply to. An increase in population would mean a larger contribution to government revenue, which can be used to fund programs for better education and protect our nation more efficiently.An increase in government revenue can also alleviate the tax percentage that an individual pays back to the IRS. Immigrants that come from with enough resources can establish small businesses and create Jobs. By the increase of diversity, there will be an increase in consumer market. The bigger the population means the higher the demand. Higher demands mean higher production ot itterent goods and services allowing the way for businesses, big and small, to grow and thrive. Immigration is one of the aspects that have greatly shaped the United States for over 400 years.

Persuasive Writing on topic of Animal Rights Essay

Deceased: Monday, November 5th, 2001. Great Britain’s Prison Service has reported that animal rights terrorist Barry Horne, 49, died in a Worcester hospital on November 5 after a short-lived hunger strike. The official cause of death was liver failure. In 1997, Barry Horne was sentenced to 18 years in prison for carrying out vicious attacks and arson on legitimate facilities that he claimed promoted animal cruelty. His attacks put human beings in danger for animals, animals without sentience, the ability to realize that they are alive. Animals without the ability to distinguish thought. This essay will focus on animals we consume for our nutrition. Animals without the basic goal of human beings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The human race cannot give these rights to living organisms without the goal of the unalienable right and without the basic comprehension of consciousness. Animals are ignorant of the basic sentience and self-awareness, everything is an an imal and we are not exempt, and reasoning that we should solely eat plant proteins because we have the intelligence to, and the wolf doesn’t, so therefore we should make the wolf our equal is self-contradictory. The human race has come up with criteria for judging the sentience of a organism. There are five basic building block of society, which are the criteria for judging the sentience of an animal. The starting point for any species is if they were observed as producing or having produced technological artifacts unique to that species. Next, if they were observed as able to communicate from one generation to the next by a recorded language unique to that species, that is a significant leap. An important pair is being observed as basing action on abstract reasoning and being observed as engaging in inductive and deductive reasoning processes, and finally, observed as engaging in non-utilitarian artistic activity unique to that species. No other species besides man has five basic building blocks of society. Animals eat, eat, reproduce, and die. We, as human beings, are predators. We eat other animals. We need to eat. Zoomorphism only happens when we aren’t worried about eating. If we were not sentient we would still eat animals. By the â€Å"survival of the fittest,† which is the law of raw nature, no animal has rights; only the tools to survive as  best it can. The chicken has no right not to be eaten by the fox. The gazelle has no ethical recourse against the lion. If we are merely animals, no other animal has any ethical standing to complain against the human animal for eating them or wearing their skins. The basic rational or â€Å"credo† for animal rights consists of changing our diet to exclusively vegetable proteins, based on the notion that human beings have the intelligence to choose to eat soy beans in preference to cattle but wolves can’t — and this superior human reasoning ability is a reason to consider animals such as wolves as our equals. Look at the last sentence of the animal rights credo, â€Å"This superior human reasoning ability is a reason to consider animals such as wolves our equals,† and therefore realize that that argument admits we are superior, so we should be equal. This argument is similar with â€Å"2=0†. The rational itself is contradictory. Animal rights failed on three other arguments as well. First, human beings are the dominant species on this planet, making decisions regarding use of the land, the sea, the air, and the near space above the air. Man rules and animals have to take what we do with them and lump it. The penultimate argument is there are no animals petitioning mankind, their â€Å"oppressor,† for an elevated status or recognition of their rights. Third, there are no animals contesting their status as inferiors to mankind. Animals aren’t protesting for their rights, it is human beings. Animals are not asking for their rights. How do we know to give them rights? If they are sentient, how do we know that they want rights? It is human beings who are asking for rights for animals, but their rational is insufficient. So let’s be prepared for animal rights activists, because after the death of Barry Horne, there are some people who may regard him as a martyr. That includes people who may want to carry out actions against on legitimate scientist working with animals to promote human being’s needs. No animal rights activists are themselves animals. There is no organization called Porpoises for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is people who make those demands of other people. Essentially brainless work animals should not be considered on the same level as sentient human beings. Animal Rights is the philosophy of allowing non-human animals to have the most basic rights that  all sentient beings desire: the freedom to be exempt from this web of dog eat dog, the food chain, the survival of the fittest.

The Benefits of Paper Recycling

Paper recycling has been around for a long time. Actually, when you think about it, paper has been a recycled product from the very beginning. For the first 1,800 years or so that paper existed, it was always made from discarded materials. What Are the Most Significant Benefits of Paper Recycling? Recycling paper conserves natural resources, saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and keeps landfill space free for other types of trash that cant be recycled. Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,000 kilowatts of energy — enough to power the average U.S. home for six months — and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent (MTCE). Who Invented Paper? A Chinese official named Tsai Lun was the first person to make what we would consider paper. In 105 AD, at Lei-Yang, China, Tsai Lun stirred together a combination of rags, used fishing nets, hemp and grass to make the first real paper the world had ever seen. Before Tsai Lun invented paper, people wrote on papyrus, a natural reed used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans to create the paper-like material from which paper derives its name. Those first sheets of paper Tsai Lun made were pretty rough, but over the next few centuries, as papermaking spread throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the process improved and so did the quality of the paper produced. When Did Paper Recycling Begin? Papermaking and producing paper from recycled materials came to the United States simultaneously in 1690. William Rittenhouse learned to make paper in Germany and founded Americas first paper mill on Monoshone Creek near Germantown, which is now Philadelphia. Rittenhouse made his paper from discarded rags of cotton and linen. It wasnt until the 1800s that people in the United States started making paper from trees and wood fiber. On April 28, 1800, an English papermaker named Matthias Koops was granted the first patent for paper recycling — English patent no. 2392, titled Extracting Ink from Paper and Converting such Paper into Pulp. In his patent application, Koops described his process as, An invention made by me of extracting printing and writing ink from printed and written paper, and converting the paper from which the ink is extracted into pulp, and making thereof paper fit for writing, printing, and other purposes. In 1801, Koops opened a mill in England that was the first in the world to produce paper from material other than cotton and linen rags — specifically from recycled paper. Two years later, the Koops mill declared bankruptcy and closed, but Koops patented paper-recycling process was later used by paper mills all over the world. Municipal paper recycling started in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1874, as part of the nations first curbside recycling program. And in 1896, the first recycling center opened in New York City. From those early efforts, paper recycling has continued to grow until, today, more paper is recycled (if measured by weight) than all of the glass, plastic, and aluminum combined. How Much Paper Is Recycled Every Year? In 2014, 65.4 percent of the paper used in the United States was recovered for recycling, for a total of 51 million tons. Thats a 90 percent increase in the recovery rate since 1990, according to the American Forest Paper Association. Approximately 80 percent of U.S. paper mills use some recovered paper fiber to produce new paper and paperboard products. How Many Times Can the Same Paper Be Recycled? Paper recycling does have limits. Every time paper is recycled, the fiber becomes shorter, weaker and more brittle. In general, paper can be recycled up to seven times before it must be discarded. Edited by Frederic Beaudry