Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Reasons to be a Nurse

I love the idea that I choose to pursue the dream of becoming a nurse. I love being around children and helping other that are hurt. My daughter and my sister have inspired me to become a better person. I have chosen that the best career for me would be a Pediatric Nurse. Being a Pediatric Nurse would benefit me. I would have a variety of job opportunities, flexible hours and last but not least you would get to make a great and rewarding salary. First, as a Pediatric Nurse I would have an excellent and flexible schedule to choose from.While having a child and being a single mom a flexible work schedule will be excellent for me and her. To me working whatever hours I like would really benefit me because I would be able to spend more quality time with my baby girl who means the world to me. My baby girl is the reason why I want to accomplish this goal. Secondly, there is a wide variety of job opportunities to choose from such as a hospital, clinic, school, nursing home, and travel nurs e.As a Pediatric Nurse I will have the opportunity to choose a position in the nursing field such as a staff nurse, floor charge nurse, floor unit manager, director of nursing and many more to choose from. When I become a Pediatric Nurse I would like to work in a hospital. I won’t to work with the babies. Being around children makes me feel on top of the world. Last, working as a Pediatric Nurse, I would make a great salary. I can make on an average of $40,000.For me making a nurses salary would truly benefit me. I would not have to live paycheck to paycheck. I would be able to support my family. I would not have to depend on anyone to support my family. All of these reasons have influenced my decision on becoming a Pediatric Nurse. The salary a nurse makes is awesome. I love having money in my pocket and a nurse would be an excellent career to pursue. But, the most important reason I am choosing to become a nurse is to support my family.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Food and Culture Essay

That is, both mother and child are being watched, judged, and constructed by society since making a good obento may please her child and also affirm that she is a good mother, and child consuming their entire meal in a appropriate manner is considered well-taught. This social phenomenon represents that culture is constructed with power which exerts a force which operates in ways that are subtle, disguised, and accepted as everyday social practice. Another essay Carole Counihan’s â€Å"Mexicanas’ Food Voice and Differential Consciousness in the San Luis Valley of Colorado† uses the case of Ryubal to suggest how women can display differential consciousness through their practices and beliefs surrounding food. In society where traditional division of labor in cooking is still prevalent, a Mexican women Helen Ryubal challenged the traditional views of women and cooking by rejecting cooking, making husbands respect women who cooked, and involving husband in cooking. Her strategy not only minimized the subordinating dimensions of reproductive labor but also valued and benefited from the help of her mother, sister, and husband. Her attempt has been based on her ideologies which was developed from differential consciousness which is â€Å"a key strategy used by dominated peoples to survive demeaning and disempowering structures and ideologies† (175). Both essays are focusing on the relationship between food and gender through each case. Allison considered obentos as a container of cultural meanings, and social expectations from women and their performance and effort in obentos. Counihan’s ethnographic research of Ryubal also provided evolved relationship between women and food which could be possible due to her differential consciousness. Two authors both used a certain level of methodology to associate with their claim such as Ideological State Apparatus and differential consciousness. This utilization strongly supports their claim and strengthens the relationship between gender and food in culture. Moreover, both authors imply the relationship food is not a mere subject but rather deeply involved with society and its ideology. As the readings focus on the relationship between gender and food, it is evident that this relationship is deeply rooted in cultural representation. To be more specific, culture constructs what is considered as normal, custom, reasonable, acceptable under ideology. The hegemonic view from this culture forms women’s custodial relationship with food. As an asian woman, I also have countless experience relating to food. Similar to most of asian culture, the society’s expectation from woman is still traditional- cooking is women’s role and they are suppose to serve their men and rest of the family. Like Ryubal’s challenge, the counter-hegemonic view toward woman’s relationship to food and reasonable, modern alternatives are necessary.

Around making life seem like a déjà vu Essay

It is quite remarkable how the sands of time revolve around making life seem like a deja vu. This makes it difficult to draw the line guessing if we are still dreaming or already awake. All eyes are once again drawn to an hour glass being flipped upside down over and over again. However, this time around, the consequences are devastating and the results, catastrophic. And as cliche as it may sound, we hear the question once more, did history repeat itself? Truth be told, we are constantly bombarded with all these alleged justifications for waging the ever controversial war in Iraq. As loquacious and persuasive as the maestros of the war in Iraq may sound, the melody of their symphony is found to be wanting. The sentiment that supports the war in Iraq is simply founded on alleged information that Iraq possesses and are developing weapons of mass destruction. In addition, U. S. officials have claimed that Saddam Hussein is supporting the al-Queda and other terrorist groups (Hayes, 1). With these primary reasons set forth, one reason after another started to pop out like unwanted mushrooms in a garden. The Americans then claimed of human rights abuses made by the Iraqi government. Moreover, the Americans have this illusion that they have the civic and moral duty to promote democracy to this part of the world. And lastly but certainly not the least, there is also the most profitable reason of all, the Iraqi oil reserves which according to the U. S. is being improperly handled by the Iraqi government by destabilising influence to the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East making this an unacceptable risk. With all these in mind, America then launched their so called pre-emptive strike seizing desperately for every opportunity and ally they could possibly get. From a certain point-of-view, it can be said that they became victorious. They are victorious for â€Å"waging† or â€Å"starting† a war but not victorious in the war itself. This because despite the vastness of the land they have conquered and despite the hundreds of thousands enemies they put down, at the end of the day, in war, nobody is a winner. There is only suffering, destruction and death. People call the invasion a â€Å"fatal mistake† (Gunaratna, 98). The most annoying and irritating truth the people of the world including the Americans realized is that there are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no proof that Saddam Hussein cooperated with the al-Queda or any terrorist groups and the fear of Saddam’s domination is merely speculation (Shuster, 1). There is no proof of the human rights abuses which the U. S. officials accused at the Iraqi government. And the illusion of promulgating democracy to Iraq is in fact still an illusion. Still, there is the issue on the oil reserves mismanagement. However, the truth is that the â€Å"mismanagement† that is alleged here only refers to the refusal to cooperate with U. S. with regard to the trade on the oil reserves. Therefore, this entire war does not seem to hinge upon deadly non-existent biological weapons, nor an issue the war on terrorism, nor that which concerns human rights or democracy. It all came down to a barrel of oil. But for those who find such a truth inconceivable or incomprehensible, just count the how many lives perished regardless of their nationality. How many children were orphaned, family members mourning and homes destroyed. Is a person’s life worth for fighting this meaningless war? Most people in the world know the pain of losing somebody. Well imagine the horrors of losing somebody you care about for something not even consequentially important in the history of humanity. It is hard to even contemplate that the billions and billions of dollars spent to kill countless lives in this war could have spent countless lives from hunger, diseases and poverty. Here once more is war like those before it. However, this time around, the consequences are devastating and the results, catastrophic. And as cliche as it may sound, we hear the question once more, did history repeat itself?Well, we realize that history does not repeat itself, but rather we repeat history. WORKS CITED Gunaratna, Rohan. â€Å"The Post-Madrid Face of Al Qaeda†, Washington Quarterly 27:3 (Summer 2004) p. 98. Hayes, Stephen F. and Joscelyn, Thomas The Mother of All Connections A special report on the new evidence of collaboration between Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and al Qaeda Volume 010, Issue 41 July 18, 2005 Shuster, D. â€Å"Road to war; How the Bush administration sold the Iraq War to American people†. MSNBC, Nov. 8, 2005 Retrieved on November 30, 2006 from, http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/9962149/

Monday, July 29, 2019

United States women's wages and the wage gap as compared to their male Essay

United States women's wages and the wage gap as compared to their male counterpart - Essay Example The term ‘equality’ seems to be deterring from women even in the 21st century. The period when women are taking giant strides towards successful career and achieving global heights, the demon of equal pay rights and equality at workplace still haunts.Federal government confirmed the earning gap persistent between men and women despite various laws and amendments made by the government (Longley, ‘Why Women Still Make Less than Men’). Despite some dramatic reductions in the male-female pay gap since the 1950’s gender differentials persist in all industrialized nations (Blau and Kahn, 533). Both gender specific factors like gender differences in qualifications and discrimination, and overall wage structure, the rewards for skills and employment in particular sectors, importantly influence the gender pay gap. The large gender pay gap in the United States compared to other advanced countries seems primarily attributable to the very high level of U.S. wage inequality (Blau and Kahn). According to Goldin, the ratio of female to male earnings among full time workers was roughly constant from the 1950s to the early 1980s and the segregation of occupation of sex is substantial and has declined only slightly across the last century (Burstein, 17). According to the American Women, a report prepared by Commission on the Status of Women; the role for women ‘most generally approved by counselors, parents and friends is the making of a home, the rearing of children and the transmission of them in their earliest years of the values of the American heritage. It should be noted that during that period only 10 percent of families were headed by unmarried women and most of the women’s job were in ‘low paid categories’ such as clerical work which is still existent even today as shown in Table 1. However the time is changing rapidly as Shiver reported that in 2009, half of the U.S. workers are female and mothers have become t he primary breadwinners in 4 out of 10 families (A Women’s Nation). However the fact remains that there is large gap in wages between men and women as the gap had widened during 2007 and 2008 as women’s weekly earning on an average was $657 as compared to $819 for men (It’s time for working women to earn equal pay’). Basing on the facts and figures mentioned above, this paper attempts to present analytical discussion on United States’ women wages and wage gap differences as compared to men at workplace. 2. U.S. Women Employment and Wages Figart, Mutari and Power (3) stated that women have been always working which was essential in providing food, clothing and shelter throughout history and across cultures. It took decades before the women first occupied place among the men. Today, women represent nearly half of the U.S. workforce wherein the United States total workforce consisted of 72% men and 58% women in 2010. The labor force participation for women increased from about 33 percent in 1950 to 61 percent in 1999 but has remained less active and spent fewer weeks in the labor force as compared to men (US Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, 28). According to report ‘Worlds Women 2010’, 90% of the women’s workforce was employed in service sector while only 9% in industry sector and 1% in agricultural sector. The data (Table 1) reveals that there is demand of women in service sector as only 68% men are employed within the sector. Table 1: Distribution of Employment in Developed Countries Source: World’s Women 2010, United Nations (COR) The domination of women in service sector was the result of increasing representation of women among the ranks of managers in organizations in the U.S. which was considered as a dramatic shift in the sex composition of an occupation since clerical work became a female dominated field in the late nineteenth century (Jacobs, 282). It is evident fro m the above data that women are equally contributing to nations GDP as

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Recommendation report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Recommendation report - Case Study Example The questionnaire had a series of five questions on the facility and the proposed centre. A notice was then posted on the organization’s notice board to elaborate on the scope of the research. This was followed by a request for voluntary participation in the research through registration and collection of questionnaires from the human resource management’s office. Eighty-one out of the Ninety-one employees participated in the research. The first question that sought to know the possible rate of application of the centre identified the employees’ desire to use the centre often with high preference for a daily application and 2-3 days per week application. A significant number of employees would also never use the centre. There were also more females than males for every category of response. Response to time of application of the centre identified men’s preference to use the centre before work and during lunchtime at a frequency of 10 and 11 respectively. Women were however specific on the preference to use the centre during lunch hour at a response frequency of 24 followed by six preferences for after work. Men unanimously preferred that the centre open during weekends with 24 individuals supporting weekend sessions while one person opposed the sessions. 12 women supported the weekend sessions while 24 opposed it. The following table summarizes data over expected participation in different activities. A majority of male respondents, eight, would prefer to consult with medical staff semi annually while six would prefer an annual consultation. A majority of women, 24, also preferred a semiannual consultation with medical personnel. The survey identifies a potentially higher level of the facility’s application by females than by males as observed in responses to questions one, two, four, and five. While a majority of men is interested in weights, women are majorly interested in

Saturday, July 27, 2019

How Big Global Businesses Compare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Big Global Businesses Compare - Essay Example The other GM rival Ford Motor Company keeps up with the modern trends, deploying  iPhones  for corporate use to employees worldwide replacing BlackBerry  smart phones in order to attract more corporate customers(Ford to replace BlackBerrys with Apple iPhones, 2014). The other carmaker Toyota Motor Corporation reported about twenty- three percent up from the previous year, notwithstanding the fact that it is recovering from a series of troubles several years ago caused by the global financial crisis that led to company’s losing money for the first time since the 1950s. However, now it retained its lead over Volkswagen and General Motors top-selling automaker in the world in the first nine months of the year, according to reports (Soble, 2014). Organization culture refers to the certain values, beliefs, principles and ideologies as well as policies that certain organization follows. According to Edgar Schein, to adopt such cultural peculiarities, an organization should go through various changes, adapt to the external environment and learn how to solve problems, be able to adjust changes to the new culture and form the appropriated culture of the workplace. It is believed that there are three models of culture within organization: the artifacts, the values and assumed values. Thus, the  Toyota Production System is appreciated as well as its outstanding performance and a manufacturer. By introducing the scientific method at all levels of the manufacturing, Toyota provides people with the clear state of the expectations, when implements the changes (Spear & Bowen, 1999). The other model of culture within Toyota is in its values, which put customer on the first place, respect its employees, focuses on the international mark ets, thus satisfying more consumers by continuous improvements and innovations in the automobile industry (Our vision, n.d.). While there are three main economic systems,

Friday, July 26, 2019

World Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

World Religion - Essay Example For example, when reading the almanac page about Buddhism, we read that its sacred texts provide â€Å"rules of monastic life† and that it practices meditation (â€Å"Major Non-Christian World Religions†). Just by reading this, we will form our own ideas of what mediation and monasticism is from our limited knowledge and understanding of Buddhism. We have to read and learn about the history of Buddha, the meanings and context of his teachings and how they have been influenced through out its history. Also, just by reading a small paragraph that their belief consists of cycle of rebirth and death, we can’t grasp the full understanding of this belief and what it is trying to say (â€Å"Major Non-Christian World Religions†). With such basic and little knowledge we would be unable to even try to compare it to other religions. When we just read these simple summaries, it makes us believe that religions are boiled down to the few listed practices and beliefs. We make the wrong conclusions and tend to misunderstand the true meaning and their teachings. For example, when reading the summary on Islam, it seems like a list of rigid tasks of fasting, giving charity, and strict rules of conduct (â€Å"Major Non-Christian World Religions†). These few words fail to do justice to the vast and rich history of the religion, its founder, practices, and cultural context. We don’t get an idea of how and why it came to be, what influences it had on the people and how it changed and developed history. Also, when we read the basic concepts and practices of any religion we start making assumptions that its followers worldwide do these same few practices that we have read on a page. For example, when one reads that in Judaism, people observe certain dietary restrictions, celebrate specific holidays like Rosh Hashana and adhere to a â€Å"period of fasting and penitence†, we automatically assume that every single

Thursday, July 25, 2019

The personality of Adolf Hitler Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The personality of Adolf Hitler - Research Paper Example Adolf Hitler, one of the world’s most talented yet ferocious leaders was born in the town of Braunau-am-Inn in Austria on 20 April 1889. This town is located close to the border between Germany and Austria.Hitler’s father, Alois, used to check the goods crossing the border in the capacity of a customs officer. Ida and Gustav were two children born to Hitler’s mother, Klara and Alois before Hitler, but none of the two had managed to survive the infancy. Hitler was six years of age when he started to go to school. The family spent time in several villages in Linz towards the east of Braunau. Klara and Alois gave birth to Edmund. Edmund was Hitler’s younger brother who did not live after six years of age. Finally, Hitler’s younger sister Paula was born in 1896, who lived even longer than Hitler did. Adolf Hitler was very weak in studies. He had no interest whatsoever in studies and thus, maintained a very poor record in school. His tuition was not comp leted when he left the school to fulfill his desire of becoming an artist. When Hitler turned thirteen, Alois passed away. Klara was left with Hitler and Paula and had to take care of the two children on her own. As a teenager, Hitler neither studied nor worked. Instead, he cultivated interest in the fields of history and politics. Meanwhile, Hitler made an attempt to study in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and applied for it, but the application went atrophy. In 1908, Klara could not survive cancer and passed away. From the age of nineteen onwards, Hitler and Paula were left all alone. Although Hitler did have uncles and aunts from his mother’s and father’s families, yet they were not keen on supporting the children. Hitler resolved to travel to Vienna in 1909 with a view to earning money. For almost a year or perhaps more, Hitler had no food or shelter. He was homeless and had his meals in the charity soup-kitchens. He never continued a job for long. Instead, he wou ld do occasional menial jobs. He also persuaded people that would show the slightest interest in Hitler’s paintings into buying them. This was how Hitler spent his life from his mother’s death till 1913. The penniless vagabond, Adolf Hitler traveled to the southern part of Germany in 1913 and reached Munich. In 1914, when the World War I commenced, Hitler applied to join in the German Army. He was fortunate enough to be selected for the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. This was the turning point in the life of Adolf Hitler. He became a soldier from a penniless drifter. Hitler participated in the World War I from the side of Germany and fought very bravely. Owing to the display of immense courage and bravery in the war, Hitler was promoted to Corporal. He was also granted the awards of First Class and the Iron Cross Second Class. Hitler kept wearing the former throughout his life until the day of his death. An attack of British gas had blinded Hitler temporarily and he was hospitalized on the day, on which the armistice was announced in 1918. By the end of 1918, Hitler rejoined his regiment in Munich. In the four months from December 1918 till March of the following year, Hitler served in Traunstein at a camp of prisoner-of-war. After that, he moved back to Munich and saw that the local Communists had initiated a takeover bid. The Communists had snatched the authority before the army could expel them. Hitler was offered an opportunity to join a local army organization that aimed at convincing the returning soldiers to stay away from pacifism or communism. The training Hitler received in it and the duties that followed helped him improve his oratory skills. One of his duties was to spy on some political groups. At one gathering of the German Worker’s Party, Hitler became extremely angry to hear a speech and berated the speaker. Anion Drexler, who was that party’s founder was extremely overwhelmed with the overt expression of c ourage made by Hitler and thus, invited Hitler to

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Business environment and strategic management Essay

Business environment and strategic management - Essay Example The period between 1990 and 2008 saw a series of activities which were steeped in several factors which include amongst other things; strategic drift, failure to adapt to dominant changes in the external environment, excessive focus on profit maximisation and the desire to hold on to corporate traditions rather than innovate to meet the changes. This paper examines the case of Kodak in relation to strategic management, change management, innovation and strategic responsiveness. It will use six theories to examine the case of Kodak and how it led to the eventual downward spiral of the company. The paper will assess the shortfalls of Kodak in relation to Scenario Analysis, Cultural Web, Strategic Drift, Pascale's Excess Theory, Schumpeter's conception of Innovation and Marconi's model. Scenario Analysis â€Å"Scenario analysis involves a system of envisioning the movements in the markets by examining a series of possibilities in order to draw alternative plans to meet them.† (Mc Keown, 2006 p68). ... In hat case, another business in the industry that got the variables right in its planning is likely to succeed in the industry ahead of the industry that failed to draw several plans and alter its operations. Cooper cites the example of IBM (2005). In 1980, IBM was on top of the technology game. IBM was a leader in the manufacture and development of computer software and hardware. IBM envisioned in 1980 that by 1990, there would be a total of 275,000 computer users. And since IBM was the market leader, they believed that their estimation was absolute and precise. As such, the top level management which had a centralised system of management and control ensured that there were no deviations from the primary plan. As such, IBM outsourced significant components of the manufacture of personal computers to Intel and Microsoft. IBM did this on the basis that there would be only 275,000 computer users in the coming decade. Due to that, they focused on other ventures and other manufacturing contracts in the technological industry that they thought was going to be more profitable. However, the number of computer users increased exponentially. By 1990, there were as many as 60 million personal computer users around the world. This was enormously different from the figure they estimated in 1980. One may ask why IBM did not review their plans about the computer industry because the change was highly significant and if the management had their ears to the ground, they would have realized that things were changing and they would have made changes. Cooper identifies some key pointers that led to the downfall of IBM and they are all steeped in the failure to undertake

Operational Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operational Scenario - Essay Example In a focus on justice criterion, rules are imposed and enforced fairly and impartially so that there is equal distribution of costs and benefits among individuals, also protects the interests of the less powerful and underrepresented individuals (Livingstone 2009). Thus, the best ethical decision criteria that can be used in addressing the problems within the prison would be a focus on justice criterion. This is because using justice criterion protects the interests of the less powerful and the underrepresented individual. Justice criterion is best in protecting the inmates from the prison staff. The first group view shows that the prison staff uses punitive approach toward the inmate population. This shows that the inmates are been abused by the staff, which could be the reason why there has been a lot gang-related violence in the prisons. It is also clear that racial identity is the biggest problem among the prison staff. Hence, use of the focusing on justice criterion would ensure there is equal distribution of duties and responsibilities among the staff without regards to race. However, focusing on justice criterion can affect productivity and innovation because it encourages a sense of entitlement that reduces the ability of an individual to take risks. 2. Within a prison, performance and social arrangement norms are likely to be norms that reinforce consistency among staff. How is this likely to affect overall job satisfaction? What effect will it have on employees who are not conforming in personality? In every organization e.g. a prison, it is crucial to have group norms in order to ensure productivity and development of the organization. As stated by Chevalier (2007), norms are acceptable or unacceptable standards of behavior that are shared by all members in a group. They are mainly created in order to facilitate group survival, avoid embarrassing situations, make behavior of individuals more predictable, and to express the values of the group. The pe rformance norms determine how group members should be engaged in their work i.e. how quickly they should work and produce (Livingstone 2009). Their main purpose is to govern levels of individual effort. The social arrangement norms are created in order to influence the informal social interactions within a group such as meeting after work social groups or lunch social groups. Thus, these norms are likely to promote overall job satisfaction and productivity within a prison. According to Daft and Marcic (2008), performance norms promote cohesiveness which is essential for productivity of the group. The cohesiveness and productivity of a group depends on the performance norms. For instance, if the performance norms are high, a group will be more cohesive and productive, but if the performance norms are low, productivity will also be low. As stated by Robbins and Judge (2010), individuals who conform to group norms experience more positive emotions due to conformity; hence result to pos itive work attitude and job satisfaction. Moreover, the social arrangement norms enhance day to day interaction of the prison staff, the supervisors and the inmates; thus, promoting job satisfaction. What effect will it have on employees who are not conforming in personality? The personality of an employee determines how they behave, think and feel about their job satisfaction or jobs. The attitudes of

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

JBS Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

JBS Report - Assignment Example The changes are as shown in the income statement. When calculating the BEP for JBS, there is a challenge of classifying costs. It is very difficult to divide the costs categories as either a variable or a fixed cost. Consequently, the variable cost does not change proportionally to JBS revenue at each activity level. For instance, the revenues gotten from fee might change if the recruitment of students is changed. It is also difficult to categorize the faculty member as variable costs because there is high possibility of recruiting part-time staff. Consequently, there is a challenge attached to the time. Determining the time over which the variable and fixed cost relationship holds the status of the company is difficult to find out. Over a short time, the costs are viewed as fixed, but in the end, some of costs considered as fixed are now variable. To evaluate the progress of JBS towards its mission, will use performance indicators and measures. The company will use the balance sheet, income statement, profit and loss account, and cash inflows of the previous year’s result to measure its performance. The data will be extracted from the relevance sources and then converted to financial ratios. This analysis involves incorporating both the financial and non-financial information into the evaluation. Additionally, the evaluation will seek the help of scorecard and benchmarking indicators. In Benchmarking, the institution will incorporate the comparative data in measuring the performance. The method takes the internal form where comparisons are done between various units within the institution. The technique will also take the functional form, where comparisons are conducted with the trusted external practitioner despite the market. Additionally, the institution will take the competitive form where the comparisons are

Monday, July 22, 2019

Heterosexual Marriage Essay Example for Free

Heterosexual Marriage Essay In our time we can see different sex marriages: homosexual and heterosexual, but which one is better for us. None of us would be in the world if we didn’t have a mother and father. God created a man and a woman as the top of his creativity. As they say a woman completes a man and a man completes a woman. This is openness to a new life, which implies a necessity of heterosexual union. In my opinion, the word marriage should only apply to a union between a man and a woman because this marriage is legal everywhere, they have the human procreation, and better raise them children. First of all, I think that union between man and woman is legal everywhere because it is not just in the government law and in religion too. In the world this marriage is legal in all countries, and acceptable in all religious movements. The state recognizes this relationship as a public institution in its laws because the relationship makes a unique and essential contribution to the common good. In some countries they do not recognize gay-marriage, just the union between female and male. For example, in Bible God said:† It is not good for man to be alone†, a man leaving his parents and being jointed to his wife. The Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. The second thought is heterosexual marriage having the human procreation. The purpose of marriage is to procreation children, so same sex marriage comes down to the biology of the sex organs. For example, a man and woman can have a child, but a woman and a woman, or a man and a man cannot. Therefore, same-sex couples cannot procreate a new life; they cannot realize this basic function of marriage. The heterosexual have every opportunity to continue to race, and also a healthy way that is not bad for the child. The last important thought, that a union between a man and a woman can better raise a child. The marital union also, provides the best conditions for raising children: namely, the stable, loving relationship of a mother and a father present only in marriage. They will not confuse the child who he or she is. For example, father is always your child’s teacher; a mother also, gives more affection and love. If we combine these two thoughts together, the children will growth completely. So, I think that the kids need both parents: a father and a mother to grow in good family. I can say that the word marriage should only apply to a union between a man and a woman because this marriage is legal everywhere, they have the human procreation, and better raise them children. This marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of build a family and provide a stable environment for that family. This is assurances of the descendant’s family, duration of their family, and savings family’s tradition. This type of marriage suitable to the human more than any others, this gives more conditions continuation of human race, and can stay legal everywhere.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Strategies To Sell Seoul As A Leisure Destination Tourism Essay

Strategies To Sell Seoul As A Leisure Destination Tourism Essay This diploma paper introduces Seoul, the growing market as a leisure destination. The purpose of this paper is to find and suggest ways for Seoul to become a popular leisure destination for Europeans. The paper starts with introduction to Seoul, analysis of tourists who visit Seoul. Furthermore, this paper provides three ways for Seoul to become a popular leisure destination for Europeans by clear three steps including increasing awareness, marketing which gives Europeans motivation and information, and an improvement on Seoul as a tourist city. Chapter one is an introduction to this paper, which gives a general thought about Seoul as a leisure destination. In chapter two, there will be a closer look at Seoul. Starting from general introduction to South Korea, this chapter shows tourism industry in South Korea and a few attractions in Seoul which are divided into both traditional and modern points. Chapter three deals specifically with statistics related to visitors of South Korea, concentrating on difference between Asian and European visitors. Then, it leads to stepping stone of ways for Seoul to become popular among European leisure-oriented travelers. Chapter four shows the importance of international events in terms of national image and tourism. To build awareness and images of South Korea is linked for Europeans to be motivated to think about visiting South Korea. This chapter will explain this and gives a case. In chapter five, Hong Kong which is the one of the most popular destination in Asia is analyzed to be compared to Seoul. By understanding and learning from the metropolis, Hong Kong, the milestone of next two chapters about marketing strategies and development of Seoul will be set up. Chapter six suggests marketing strategies to sell Seoul as a leisure destination for Europeans. As marketing strategies, the roles of government and media will be shown. Chapter seven is about how to improve Seoul as a leisure destination. Through SWOT analysis, a few points will be suggested to develop Seoul to attract Europeans. In chapter eight, the last chapter, there is a conclusion based on all the chapters of why this research is important and published. Introduction This diploma paper was created to find and suggest ways for Seoul to become a popular leisure destination for Europeans. The capital city of South Korea, Seoul, has many both traditional and modern attractions and great potentials to attract Europeans as a city tourism destination. However, it is not as much well-known as the fascinating cities in Asia such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Shanghai. For Europeans, Asia would seem to be somewhere new and adventurous. Since they do not know and are curious about the continent, their expectations of what they want to experience are somewhat oriental. However, some major cities like Tokyo are very westernized, modern but yet have their own uniqueness based on traditions and culture. Moreover, they would like to go to those places and see the real lives of the country. This is called City Tourism, which means that the city itself has lots of tourist attractions of accommodation, transportation, amusement facilities, culture, and food to make people from outside to be motivated to visit. Those both sides of attracts encourage Europeans to see oriental, traditional Asian parts and experience the real life of metropolis in Asia. In that respect, Seoul has true colors of South Koreas culture and tradition behind and yet as a metropolis of more than 10 millions of residents, tourists would be able to see and experience how Korean live. In other words, Seoul has the real charms of pull Europeans. Then, why Seoul is not yet the popular and concerned destination for Europeans to travel? This paper demonstrates the reasons and answers for the question. First reason is that South Korea is still not well-known, especially for European tourists, which leads to the fact that it is crucial to increase Europeans awareness of national images so that they would know and be motivated to visit South Korea. Also, there is lack of marketing strategies for Europeans to be encouraged to travel Seoul. Finally, Seoul should be improved more in terms of tourism industry, including cultural tourism, various activities and events for tourists, the needs of overcome language barriers, and so on. South Korea was not the destination for leisure purposes until late of 1980s. After holding successful Olympics in Seoul, the world had started looking at the country differently, while images of South Korea would have been poor and developing country after the Korea War. Furthermore, 2002 World Cup Korea Japan has definitely helped Korea to become a tourist destination that people talk about. Importance of international events, which will be acquainted later in chapter 5, is one of the major factors for a country to be well-known and improve tourism industry. 2. Seoul as a tourist destination Introduction to South Korea Geographically South Korea is located in East Asia, between China and Japan. The Korean peninsula is roughly 1,030 km long and 175 km wide at its narrowest point. The land area is 99,200 sq km, and it has a population of 48.6 million people. From Gojoseon which was the first form of country to after Japanese occupation, Korean War and division, Korea has more than 5,000 years of history. After Korean War and division from North Korea, the Republic of Korea had developed economy remarkably from 1960 to 1980s, which is called Miracle on the Han River. South Korea is a member of the OECD, and is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank and an advanced economy by the IMF and CIA. South Korea is now a member of G-20 and will hold the annual G-20 meeting in 2010. History of tourism industry in South Korea Along the development of economy, tourism industry also has been growing. This figure shows that the number of people visiting Korea from other countries rise remarkably from 11,109 in the year of 1961 to 6,155,047 in 2006. Especially, between 1980 and 1992, Asia-Pacific region moved from being a minor player in the international tourism scene to becoming the fastest-growing and most talked about region of the world. And one of the fastest-growing markets was South Korea according to WTO (World Tourism Organization). Figure 1. Visitor Arrivals in South Korea from 1961-2006 Introduction to Seoul Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the worlds largest cities. It is also the second largest metropolitan area. Seoul is located on the Han River in the center of the Korean Peninsula. Even though it may not be the center of South Korea geographically, Seoul is definitely the center of economy, politics, culture, and transport. Also, it is known as the hub of East Asia. Not surprisingly, this figure shows that among foreign visitors to South Korea, more than 70 percent of them visit Seoul. Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Visitors (%) 85.0 80.9 78.1 76.8 73.4 Figure 2. Percentage of foreign visitors to Seoul taken from total population of foreign visitors to Korea Seoul is a very attractive city which has both oriental and modern characteristics. Traditional places such as palaces, temples, and traditional house villages attract people from the West as oriental attractions which are unfamiliar and interesting. Also, Seoul as a modern metropolitan city which shows how westernized Seoul is. Seoul as an oriental destination in Asia Gyeongbokgung (Gyeongbok Palace) (Seoul has been a capital city for approximately 600 years. Therefore, there are a lot of palaces, especially the ancient royal palaces of the Joseon Dynasty: Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, and Changgyeonggung.) Gyeongbokgung is the first palace of the Joseon Dynasty which was built in 1395 and remained the core nucleus of autocratic rule through much of Joseon period. It was the palace where the head of state conducted important matters, received foreign envoys, and assembled his court in royal rituals. Enthronements also took place here. (It is 340,000 m2 (square meter).) Remarkably, the most representative edifices of the Joseon Dynasty, Gyeonghoe-ru Pavilion and Hyangwonjeong Pond are still relatively in tact. Woldae and the sculptures of Geunjeongjeon (The Royal Audience Chamber) represent the past sculpture art which was the trend back then. The National Palace Museum of Korea is located south of Heungnyemun Gate, and the National Folk Museum is located east within Hyangwonjeong. Bongeunsa (Bongeun Temple) One of the unique facts which attract people from Western countries is Korean Buddhism. Bongeunsa is one of only a few traditional Buddhist temples found in the city. Surprisingly, it is located in the busy, fast-paced part of the World Trade Center area. It is a pleasant place not only for Korean to visit but also for travelers to get to know Korean Buddhism culture. Temple Stay is what people can experience daily lives in a temple and learn Buddhism culture and spirits. In fact, lots of visitors stay there from few hours to 2 days to get to know Korean Buddhism, exotic culture. Bukchon Hanok Village There are traditional Korean houses remained in Bukhon Hanok Village. Most of houses are residences, but there are galleries, traditional workshops which sell fine jewelries, Korean restaurants, and minbak (Korean traditional Bed Breakfast). Insa-dong (Insa District) Insa-dong, located in the middle of the city, is an important place where old but precious and traditional goods are on display. Galleries, traditional restaurants, traditional teahouses, and cafes take place the whole area. The shops in Insa-dong are very popular among all age groups, because each one is unique. For young people especially, cheap but yet traditional and fine goods are sold in carts on the street. There are about 100 galleries in the area which travelers can see every example of traditional Korean fine art from paintings to sculptures. Seoul as a modern city N Seoul Tower N Seoul Tower is the landmark of Seoul. It is located on top of Namsan Mountain and is a place where you can get fine views of Seoul. Built in 1969, it was a satellite tower but opened to the public in 1980. Besides fine views, the tower has restaurants, cafes, and shops. Lighting show which takes place every night is also attractive for visitors. Myeong-dong (Myeong District) Myeong-dong is a massive shopping district where has all kinds of brand name shops and department stores are clustered along the streets and alleyways. Myeong-dong also has family restaurants, fast food, and Korean, Western and Japanese food. Hangang (Han River) and Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggye Stream) A place of relaxation and convenient waterway transportation, the Hangang River is the center of Seouls urban renewal. Visitors come to the banks of the Hangang for leisure and recreation, an urban respite from the hectic pace of everyday life. Cheonggye Stream had been the biggest wholesale market in Seoul for more than 40 years after the Korean War. However, after renovation construction in 2003, it is now a beautiful tourist attraction and a leisure place for Koreans. Beautiful 22 bridges are decorated with 9,000 lights and 1,500,000 plants. Its length is 5.84 kilometer and 12.04 kilometer of walking paths are available. Especially, during December, the light show installed in the Cheonggye square which is the end of the stream is stunning. COEX The COEX (Convention and Exhibition) building serves as the World Trade Center Seoul that includes a convention center, exhibition hall, and mall. It is a place for international conferences and cultural and arts events. It has successfully held the 3rd ASEM, the Noble Peace Prize, OECD international workshop, and many other international conferences. It has more than 200 exhibitions and over 2,000 international conferences and events annually. The COEX mall which is an underground shopping mall is the largest shopping center in Seoul. Also, it constitutes many other leisure places such as Aquarium, Megabox Movie Theater, Kimchi field museum, event court, and food court. Especially, Aquarium has more than 40,000 fish of 600 species and dozens of large sharks. Moreover, two chain hotels are connected to the place. Hongdae area Hongdae stands for Hongik University but also around the university, the area is for nightlife, various activities, and art performance. A lot of youngsters in Seoul spend their free time clubbing, shopping and enjoying gigs in this area. Especially, the last Friday of each month in Hongdae is Club Day, a wristband-powered event which allows entry to more than a dozen major clubs for the price of one. Itaewon Itaewon district is a place where various foreign cultures gather. Located between the southern slopes of Mountain Namsan and the Han River It started in the early 20th century, when it was a residential district for Japanese colonialists. Foreign communities form in the place, therefore many restaurants serving international dishes are found in this area including cuisine from India, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, and Mexico, foods that are not widely available in Korea. 3. Analysis of tourists visiting Seoul This chapter acquaints with analysis of tourists visiting Seoul, South Korea. Based on the International Visitor Survey 2008 which was published by KTO (Korea Tourism Organization), this chapter will determine characteristics of visitors to South Korea, reasons why Asians travel South Korea more than Europeans do, which leads to differences between Eastern and Western tourists to South Korea. Also, this chapter includes key points which lead to answer the question; how Seoul can attract Europeans. It is important to mention that most of statistics and surveys used in this chapter are based on South Korea, not Seoul. However, since more than 70 percent of visitors to South Korea travel Seoul, those figures are clearly explained to figure out about Seoul. 3.1. Statistics of visitors to South Korea First of all, the figure is provided to show you percentage of visitors to South Korea in 2008. In 2008, the total number of visitors to South Korea was 6,890,841. 72.7 percent of visitors which means that 5,018,219Â  were from Asian countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and Thailand. The second largest proportion of the pie was people from Americas. The number of Europeans who visited South Korea in 2008 is 592,303, which is 8.6 percent. 1.9 percent of visitors were from Oceania and 1.1 percent of visitors to South Korea were from Middle East such as Turkey. The smallest percentage, 0.4 percent of visitors was Africans in 2008. Figure 3. Percentage of visitors to South Korea The pie shows that visitors are mainly from Asia. To indicate this fact more obviously, the chart below is provided to see from which countries are the most visitors to South Korea. Clearly, the massive numbers of visitors are from near countries to South Korea such as Japan and China while only Russia is included this chart. Top 10 countries travelling South Korea (2008) Rank Country 1 Japan 2 China 3 United States 4 Taiwan 5 Philippines 6 Thailand 7 Hong Kong 8 Russia (Federation) 9 Canada 10 Australia Figure 4. Top 10 countries travelling South Korea (2008) 3.2. Reasons why Asian travel South Korea more than Europeans Since more than 70 percent of travelers to South Korea are Asians, it is critical to find ways to attract Europeans by comparing with Asians, especially Japanese and Chinese who visit South Korea the most. Therefore, this sup-chapter will demonstrate reasons why Asian travel South Korea. There are several reasons why Asians travel South Korea more than Europeans such as geographical locations, more accessibility, Asians knowing South Korea and its culture well, and the Korean Wave. 3.2.1. Geographical reasons First of all, Asian countries especially Japan and China are nearer to South Korea than other countries so that it is easier and cheaper for people from those countries to visit South Korea. It takes an hour to visit Seoul from Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing by airplanes. For them, it might be even nearer to travel Seoul rather than other cities in their own countries and it is still other country which motivates them to travel for leisure purpose. Because of geographical factor, there is more accessibility for Japanese and Chinese to visit Seoul. While almost people from other countries visit South Korea by airplanes, some of Japanese and Chinese travel South Korea by ships. As an example of comparison, there are approximately 30 flights in one day from Seoul to Tokyo, 26 flights from Seoul to Beijing, while only 5 flights in one day from Seoul to Paris. 3.2.2. Cultural reasons Since China, Japan, and Korea are located all in Northeast Asia, they have some common and similar cultures behind them even though they all are individually unique. Therefore, tourists from China and Japan to South Korea feel more comfortable about travelling South Korea because they know the country. Moreover, they have more knowledge and experience about South Korea from education, media, and so on. 3.2.3. The Korean wave The Korean wave refers to the significantly increased popularity of South Korean culture around the world since the 21st century. The term was coined in China in mid-1999 by Beijing journalists surprised by the fast growing popularity of South Koreans and South Korean goods in China. Globalization has had an impact on pop culture to be opened to foreign countries for last decade. Especially, Korean TV dramas are really popular among Asian countries through the whole generations. As an example, Japan is the one of the countries influenced by Korean pop culture popularities, which leads to increase of Japanese travelers to South Korea. NHK, Japans public broadcaster introduced Winter Sonata as the first South Korean TV drama shown on its satellite channel in 2003. The TV drama created many syndromes about itself and because of its explosive popularity, Winter Sonata was aired twice in the same year and NHK published novels based on the screenplay and program guidebooks, as well as to produce DVDs, CDs and videos for both entertainment and for learning Korean. Meanwhile, travel agencies offer tour packages that highlight shooting locations of Winter Sonata and rare moments to meet the stars. The economic effects of Winter Sonata in South Korea have enormously benefited not only the entertainment but tourism industries, as well. As a result from Korean Wave, Japanese visitors accounted for 41.6% of 1.99 million visitors to South Korea in 2004. 3.3. Differences between Asian and European visitors There are mainly two obvious differences between Asian and European travelers; purposes of their visits and places that they visited. This subchapter will indicate the basis to determine ways to bring more Europeans to visit Seoul. 3.3.1. Purpose of visit Generally speaking, the percentages of business-oriented visitors and leisure-oriented travelers to South Korea are similar in 2008 according to the pie given below. Those two constitute more than 80 percent. However, people who visited for business/professional activities are slightly more than people who came to South Korea for leisure/entertainment/vacation reasons. Figure 5. Purpose of visit (2008) According to the chart below which shows the nationality and purpose of visit, there is a significant difference between Asian and European travelers. Asians, especially Japan and Taiwan, tend to visit South Korea with leisure purpose, while there are more Europeans who came for business or professional activities than those who came for leisure purpose. The difference between business and leisure purposes is more than six times among Europeans. The Number of Case Business/Professional activities (%) Leisure/Entertainment/Vacation (%) Friends/Family visit (%) Total 11,978 42.0 40.4 11.5 Japan 4,318 25.6 63.2 8.9 China 2,128 39.2 37.1 13.1 United States 1,108 57.3 12.2 23.9 Taiwan 587 29.3 62.9 4.5 Russia (Fed.) 249 68.5 10.6 10.8 Canada 190 50.8 15.8 28.5 Australia 175 50.6 25.0 11.9 Germany 165 76.9 8.7 9.8 England 159 76.0 8.3 10.9 Figure 6. Comparison of purpose of visit (2008) 3.3.2. Attractions in Seoul There are two statistics about popular attractions in Seoul given. According to the first chart, the most visited place with 52.8 percent is Myeong-dong where has various shopping places and restaurants. The second and third most visited attractions are both market but yet have different characteristics. Dongdaemun market is also famous place for shopping different items, mostly clothing. Travelers who visit Namdaemun market discover this place very interesting. Because everything from cheap electronic products to vegetables, live fishes supposed to be cut and sold right away shows the real looks of Koreans. Also, they could find some traditional goods in cheap prices. 43.7 percent of answers to the survey dedicates to ancient palaces. Other places from Insa-dong where keeps traditional looks on the whole district to N Seoul Tower, the landmark of Seoul and Lotte World, the largest amusement park are visited by international visitors. Figure 7. Places Visited in Seoul However, a clear difference of the most visited place between Asians and Europeans is determined. For Asians, the most visited places are Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun market, which shows that they liked to go shopping in Seoul. Meanwhile, ancient palaces attract Europeans including English, Germen, French, and Russians according to the survey. Country Japan China Taiwan England Germany France Russia The most visited place Myeong-dong Dongdaemun market Dongdaemun market Ancient palaces Ancient palaces Ancient palaces Ancient palaces Percent 74.9 % 63.9 % 82.5 % 49.2 % 56.8 % 63.6 % 52.9 % Figure 8. The most visited place 3.4. Conclusion Based on figures analyzed in this chapter, three main conclusions are determined in order to sell Seoul as a famous and popular destination for Europeans. First of all, Europeans awareness of Korea should be increased so that they are motivated to travel. Secondly, not only to increase Europeans awareness but also to promote tourism industry, the government should do more marketing and advertising through various and effective ways. At last but not least, Seoul itself should become a more attractive and comfortable tourist destination. And that needs several factors like preserving traditional attractions, solving language barriers. From next chapter, this paper will fully concentrate on those three points. 4. International events for national image and tourism This chapter focuses on national images and their impacts on tourism as the first step to bring more Europeans into visiting Seoul. The reason why this chapter is the first means is that raising their awareness is created by raising well-known, attractive and positive national images. At first, definition and importance of national images will be introduced, and then this chapter will deal with international events, which help effectively a venue to be known. To hold international events such as Olympic Games, Football World Cup, and exhibitions are crucial for a city or country to raise its images, which eventually make tourists motivated and attracted to visit before, during, and after the event. At the end of this chapter, there will be a case study about 2002 World Cup Korea Japan to demonstrate it. 4.1. National images Since the advance of globalisation, national image and reputation have become more critical assets in the modern world. In order to build national images, governments try to develop those under the name of national branding as a marketing technique. The reputations of countries are similar to the brand images of companies and products. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. The brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot. To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Likewise, a country needs to build its own images in order to understand and attract target audiences including foreign tourists. Every country has its own characteristics, also referred as brand images. As mentioned above, some national images built in target audiences cannot be influenced by the governments efforts. Because those images are formed by personal experience, the media, and so on. However, the government could improve and create positive and attractive national images to make potential tourists consider visiting the city or country by national branding. Images about tourism tend to last until the reality. Charming images promote collecting information and activity to try to visit the destination. Formed images become expectations about the destination. Expectations have impacts on evaluations. Influence on images depends on the degree of knowledge and experience of the destination. Figure 9. Seoho Uhm 1998, The study about measuring destination images The study of tourism The figure above was published by a Korean expert from the institute of tourism in University of Kyonggi. It shows that images of destination are built not only by actual attributes of the destination but by potential tourists and their desires of travel activities. 4.2. Impact of international events on tourism

Internal and External Influences on LOreal

Internal and External Influences on LOreal Globalisation is the system of interaction among the countries in the world in order to develop the global economy, through integration of economics and societies all over the world by involving technological, economic, political, and cultural exchanges which made possible largely by advances in communication, transportation, and infrastructure, (source: http://hubpages.com). A business firm which want to or operates in global environment needs to be aware that there so many to face in that business environment (internal and external), because the firm will operates across more than one country and across different social and culture issues, political and legal systems, economic system and technology. Stakeholders interest like community, politicians, other competitors, suppliers, employees, shareholders, will be more demanding across wider global business enviroment where the global firm will get involve in the business, and this will be more challenging to the firm. The product which a business company will offer to the market needs to be global products that will achieve competence against other competitors who operates in global business too. Task one The Analysis of primary internal and external influences to LOreal. Globalisation. There several primary influences to company like Loreal to go global like as follows bellow. Goverment drivers, like favorable trade policies, compatible technical standards, and common marketing regulations. Competitive drivers, like high import of goods, interdependence of countries, competitors from different countries, and globalisation competitors. Market drivers, influences by having global channels, transferable marketing, common customer needs, and global customers. Cost drivers, like low transportation costs, global scale economies, need for technology, steep experience curve, difference in country costs and high product development costs. According to casestudy shows number of influences to LOreal as subjected. In internal influence were about to build the organisation structure which can be global administration and cope with the external global environment by stabilising their available resources so they can be competent to gain the capability to compete against other competitors globally. They been able to build up the organisation strengths through carefully plans strategy of acquring other cosmetics companies so they can spread up their wings in the international markets by using strong and potential brands in their new and existing global markets ,which some of the brands were Loreal origin brands like lancome and other adopted brands like Matrix, Maybelline, Kiehls, SoftSheen-carson, Shu Uemura, Redken. Also moving business strategy from domestic strategy to international strategy that will enable the company to compete in global environment, The marketing failure during 1953 after entering U.S market through t he company formed licensee Cosmair Inc. to distribute LOreal products(pg3 on the case study) this made the corporate management of LOreal to structure their corporate plans from failure to success, But management did able to consider company redisign to gain key success through designing good distribution channels, flaxible management development of internal structure and culture so they can cope with outside business environment to maintain stability, example LOreal managent under Dalle able to take the company to public(1963), sold off the companys soap unit and also did able to respond in political issues of state control of frances top companies(pg3 on case study). The current organisational structure were doing well in terms of achieving goals in case study it shows they had good reputation and market share in france and also in europe even though they were selling their products to customers in premium price. Organisation were recruiting skilled and talented staffs who can able to run up the company to successful point in future time without looking location of individual, example Lindsay Owen Jones who was CEO british born(case study pg 4). Good allocation of resources to invest in foreign markets enables LOreal to gain other oppotunities apart from U.S market. Example Loreal management after bought the brand of Helena Rubinstein was best opportunity to go extra miles to gain other markets which are outside of U.S like Europe,Japan and Asia and brand has very good market awereness to its customers. Through acquisation Loreal company were able to access available resources from other company like distribution channels, skilled staffs. Because of global marketing environment Lindsay Owen Jones the CEO of LOreal he started to redisgn the corporate strategy so the company can able to cope with the international geographical environment of where will operates, below here shows the Strategic Choices of company can use four basic strategies to enter and compete when decide to operate in international market like follows:- Pressure for Local GLOBAL STRATEGY TRANSNATIONAL STRATEGY INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY MULTI-DOMESTIC STRATEGY High Cost pressure Low Low Pressure for local High Transnational Strategy. This strategy firms must exploit experience curve cost economies and location economies, transfer distinctive competencies within the firm and pay attention for pressures for localisation. To do this their need to be flows of knowledge from the parent to subsidiaries, flow from foreign subsidiaries to the home country, and from foreign subsidiaries to foreign subsidiaries, a process that known as global learning. The approach of transnationals is not appropriate in all situations, nor is it without costs. Where demands for local responsiveness are low, a global strategy may still be the most appropriate . The coordination and management challenges of a transnational also create higher cost and benifits than with one of the more traditional strategies. A transinational strategy makes sense when a firm faces high pressure for cost reductions, high pressures for local responsiveness, and where there are significant opportunities for leveraging valuable skills within a multinationals glo bal network of operation. In some ways companys that pursue a transnational strategy are trying to simultaneously achieve cost and differentiation advantages. As attractive as this may sound, the strategy is not easy to pursue. Pressure for local responsiveness and cost reductions place conflicting demand on a firm, being locally responsive raises costs. Global Strategy. Firms that pursue a global strategy focus on increasing profitability by reaping the cost reductions that come from experience curves effects and location economies. That can be called a company pursuing low cost strategy. The production, marketing and research and development activities of firms pursuing a global strategy are concentrated in a few favorable locations. Global firms tend not to customise their product offering and marketing strategy to local conditions because customisation raises cost, it involves shorter production runs and the duplications of functions. Multidomestic Strategy Compay pursue this strategy orient themselves toward achieving maximum local responsiveness. The key distinguish feature of multidomestic firms is that they extensively customise both their product offering and their marketing strategy to match different national conditions. Consistent with this they also tend to establish a complete set of value creation activities. International Strategy In this strategy company try to create value by transferring valuable skills and products to foreign markets where indigenous competitors lack those skills and products. Most international firms have created value by transferring differentiated product offerings developed at home to new markets overseas. Analysis of how globalisation influences policies and decision making in LOreal. LOreal able to increase acquisation to maintain market share against other competitors so the company can stay into its business. Value creation were made into LOreal products by renovate those brands they were so strong in the market and had very good perception to its customers because if there is more value in the product that means there is value and trust between two parties, firm and customer. Because of globalisation LOreal did able to design the Organisation structure which will fit on the global environment the firm is facing. Barlett and Goshal outline a range of organisation structures developed by multinationals to meet these global challenges, Like as follows below. Global Co-ordination Low High International Divisions Global Products Companies International Subsidiaries Transinational Corporational Low Local Independence And Responsiveness High International Divisions The structure is appropriate where there is little requirement for global coordination and little need to tailor products to local requirements. Global Product Companies The need for greater global integration has seen many multinationals moving towards global product structures with product divisions integrating activities on a world wide basis from component supply, through manufacturing to research and development. This structure creates many opportunities to achieve cost efficiencies and transfer resources that are dependent upon sophisticated planning and control systems. However the pressures to respond to local needs seem to be increasing in many global markets. In case study page 10, CEO Owen Jones said that Loreal to be truly global company they need to promote around the world American brands because that was other great alternative in the beauty industry and also they didnt accept only local brands, by trying to put all LOreal brand everywhere by selling United states to Americans, Japanese, Chinese and Italian elegance to the Japanese, French beauty to Africans, and also Japanese chic to Brazillians. International Subsidiaries Many organisations are structured around international subsidiaries that respond more closely to the needs of the local market, often at the expense of control from the centre and a uniform organisational structure. However, whilst this structure has been appropriate in the past, as global competition becomes more intense, there may now be a need to look at greater global integration. Transnational Corporations The increasing pressures of global competition upon companies to both globally co-ordinate activities and respond to local needs has led to the emergence of the transnational organisation . The traditional multinational structures are seen to be converging upon a new organisational structure that depends upon an integrated network of interdependent resources. Also LOreal company according to case studies shows the numbers of responds to change the products offering to its customers through understanding their customers and the life styles they have. By using Ansoff four strategic options, he claimed that in marketing we can only ever be talking about products and markets, and that these can only be old, or existing, and new, or potential. Below is a figure shows Ansoff Matrix model in strategic choice. Products Present New Market Penetration LOW RISK Product Development MEDIUM RISK Market Development MEDIUM RISK Diversification HIGH RISK Exist Markets New source: abe manual Market penetration On this strategy present product and present market will be appropriate when a market is growing and not yet saturated, example Loreal company when was marketing in France market before decide to go abroad market. By attracting non users of the product, or purchasing rate of existing customers. The strategy can be implemented through increasing activity on one or more of the mix elements. Example aggressive promotion, pricing, using more intensive distribution. Product development. The strategy deals with New product at existing market, an organisation develops a new product to sell at its existing market. Sometimes can be simply the product refinement, could be change of taste or packaging. Product development is most prevalent when branding exists. Promotional aspects will be emphasise the added qualities of the new product and link it specifically to the security of and confidence in the brand. This strategy builds up customer loyalty and the benefits to be gained by purchase and other mix elements like distribution may remain unchanged. Market Development On this strategy is about the company sells the existing product at new market, is often found when a regional business wishes to expand or if new markets are emerging because of changes in consumer habits. It can also occur when a new use has been discovered for an existing product. Implentention of this strategy involves appealing to markets sectors not currently catered for and many mean a repositioning of products, new distribution methods or channels. Diversification This strategy is where new product will be sold in the new markets sometimes introduced so that the firm will not become too dependent on its existing strategic business units (SBUs), this is kind of insurance for future of the company incase of any disaster that would happen due to drastic environmental changes in future where the company is operating it business. This can be considered as means of growth and expansion of power to against competitors. The new product can me totally innovated which has never been seen in the marketplace, or the product is new to the firm but has already been the in the marketplace. Diversification can be Horizontal integration acquisation of another organisation which has a desired features, the firm that is acquired mighty use similar production methods, its distribution channels may highly effective and prove advantageous or has got great capacity. Or Vertical Integration where involves acquisition of some other enterprises in the chain of distribu tion between manufacturer and customer,can be forward towards customer or backwards towards the source of materials. Other diversification also can be Conglomeration where moves a company away from the its existing product market situation into an entirely new area in order to satisfy a primary objective. Critical evaluation of the effectiveness of LOreal response to globalisation. Due to global environment has its complexity and uncertainties, LOreal did able to respond through building organsation which will cope with changes in business environment by competing with other firms operating in the same beauty industry, LOreal was selling a products (e.g Lancome in cosmetics and LOreal professional in hair care) which targeting in high income customers by selling their products in high price, which limited the company to expand into international markets. Also their brands where only potential in Europe and not USA and the price strategy they were using were not accessible. This made LOreal management to review their marketing strategies into global level. LOreal had market entry strategy in USA market, first was licensee to cosmair to supply Loreal products after the strategy didnt perfom better, then Loreal management did apply another strategy which was acquisition strategy. There are different entry strategy to foreign markets a business company can use, ent ry strategy can be Turnkey project, Exporting, Franchising, Licensing or Joint ventures. Licensing agreement is at arrangement where by a licensor grants the rights intangible properry to another entity (the licensee) for a specified period, and in return the licensor receives a royalty fee from the licensee. Intangible property includes patents, inventions, formulas, Trademarks, processes and designs. Acquisation is about one firm buys another firm. Hamills model, Motives for acquisation are economic motives, strategic motives, finance motive and behavioral and managerial motive. Economic motives can be synergy in value chain,economies of scale, improved efficiency, purchase of managerial skills and unique resources. Strategic motives this can aslo be diversification,competitive by gaining market control or remove competitors or both, buy rather than build market share, or instant growth. Behavioral and managerial motives also this can be increasing management utility and sales growth, personal goals of senior managers, separation of ownership from control. Financial motives is about Financial engineering,Valuation gap theory and increasing shareholder value. In Addition of popular American brands such as Maybelline, Redken, Matrix, SoftSheen-Carson, and Ralph Lauren Fragrances to its portfolio of french brands, LOreal had created an international brand portfolio for consumers with a wide range of incomes and tastes in 140 countries. Because the market in France and part of Europe maybe were seems to be saturated, and LOreal perhaps was facing a bit competition from rival companies in france and other part of Europe made it to seek other new attractive market which was USA market to extend its market share and increase the revenue. By using Boston Consultancy Group Matrix(BCG) theory based on Market share and Market growth rate of the Small Business Units(SBUs). Boston Consultancy Group Matrix. STARS QUESTION MARKS CASH COWS DOGS High Market growth Low Relative Market Share Source: abe manual. Question Mark Are products which have low market share and are in high growth markets. The product has not yet reached a dominant position in the market. Although it may be generating funds, it still requires a lot of investment for development and the company must decide if they to keep investing. Star If Question marks succeed they become stars, leaders in high growth markets. Stars are the providers of tomorrow and the company with no stars should worry. On the figure above shows two star products, one which has the leading share in its market and one which has only slightly more share than its leading competitor. Efforts should be made to increase the share of the second product in order to secure its future profitability, particularly as the market has a very high growth rate this could be where future earnings lie. Also this stage may involve investment in promotion and distribution incase of competition, and Star can also produce revenue and use resources which may lead to break even. Cash Cow When market growth reaches a stable level, Stars become cash cows providing they hold a leading share of the market. If they lose any market share to the competition they will slip into either being a marginal Question Mark or at very worse,a Dog or sometimes if a firm continued to support other categories and neglegeted its cash cow then its could eventually become a dog. Cash Cows produce good revenue, do not require high investment and often mean the economies of scale can be gained. The money earned from cash cows should be used to invest into other products. Dog Dogs have a weak market share in low growth or stable markets. These products can often take up more time than they are worth. They usually produce low profits and very often incur losses. They will always consume cash, even if it is just in the time taken to manage them. Can be dropped by firm but is not wise to do immediately because they might still poduce profit and can also be used retention to customers. LOreal responded by creating competitive advantage against other competitors in beauty industry. Michael Porter Generic Strategy explained how the company can gain competitive advantage through differentiation, differentiation focus, cost leadership, and cost focus. LOreal management were able to differentiate their products through product divisions ( Consumer, Professional and Luxury products division). Also Loreal used cost leadership and cost focus, by created products range according to consumer classes, by selling them with different range of price, based on ethinic life styles from white to black people. Also Porter Value Chain Analysis can be useful here to determine the response of Loreal beauty company to globalisation, Primary activities. Inbound logistics, dealing with storing, receiving and distributing the inputs to the product or service. Material handling, controlling stock and transport. Operations, concern of transform different inputs into final products or service, assembly and testing. Research and development, concerning about gathering useful information from the market like competitors in that market,customers, developing new product or lowering the cost of production ( LOreal, Research and development activities allowed the firm to reduce production costs). In the case study (pg11), Its says LOreal had strong commitment to research and development that many insiders considered to be among the firms most distinctive values and a comparative advantage over competitors. Through research and development they did able to discover the new hair Fructis shampoo product made from fruit sugar called fructose. Production can be creation of goods or services, example Fructis shampoo. Out bound logistics through local distribution channels which the company had control with it, acquisation enabled LOreal management to gain competence in distributing products to consumers. The Marketing and sales provide the means whereby consumers/users are made aware of the product or service and are able to purchase, Loreal provided product mix, enough advertising to their customers so the can be aware of their products offering to the market. Service, service includes all those activities which enhance or maintain the value product or service, such as training, installation, repair and spares. Support Activities in the value chain give inputs that allow the primary activities to occur, can materials management, human resource management by dealing with recruiting, training, development and rewarding people within the organisation, example in the case study Loreal hire people early in their careers and educate them so that they can become the future leaders of the company (i.e LOreal CEO, Lindsay Owen Jones and Kiehls president, Philip Clough). Information systems, and company infrastructure this can be the structure of organisation, control stystems and culture of the firm. Demonstration of some areas for improvement in the response of LOreal. LOreal as beauty company needs some area for improvement like as follows; There is need for Loreal to creat another range of products which will be different from cosmetics products through diversification, example house hold products or clothing, so can able to maintain the strong position in the market and gain more revenue. Because the Loreal profit seems to be low compare to other competitors, even though is leading company there is slightly difference in revenue and even in market share too. The price of Loreal products seems to be a bit expensive to developing countries in Africa and Asia where majority people are in very low income which the cant afford to buy the Loreal products only medium and high income people can afford to but them, compare with other competitors like Procter and Gamble or Uniliver which their products in area like Asia and Africa are quite cheap most people can afford them. Example Loreal did sue Bellure company for selling smelled perfume like a luxury Loreal perfume (htt://www.newlawjournal.co.uk), this shows that the Loreal products are potential in market but are more expensive which other company getting advantage by coping the products and selling them in cheap price. There is needs of improvement also in distribution channels so can allow easy accessibility of products to their customers, example Kielhls products part like Africa there is no kiehls store, like Asia which there is good ermerging market opportunities there only very few stores. Social resposibility according to book of Corporate Communication by Cornelissen pointed as corporate social responsibility is about the recognition of the need for business to deliver the wider societal value beyond shareholder and market alone (pg44). Loreal management doesnot gives information in how they are connected to their suppliers who supply the materials for fructis shampoo which made from fruit juice, but how the fruits are growing and there is any environmental concern that the major question, because probably this could be another source of environmental degradation. According to The Telegraph article Jan 30, 2008, Loreal was sued for using Shark oil to make cosmetics which they did stop to use to make major products but still their using shark oil to make lipstic brand type called Shu Uemura, which actually for Loreal needs to use other source of raw material like vegetable oil than Shark oil which this destroys natural resources in the environment. Loreal also through advertisiment by using female models this can be misleading to women because most women will respond to advert that there is beautiful model on it by thinking that they will be the same as like the model on the advert, source (http//loreal.exteen.com), this should be improved by selling only cosmetics generally than selecting small number of beatiful model women who can attract majority women in the world to buy products.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Europe And The New World :: essays research papers fc

Europe and the ‘New World’ Tutorial Question: Why were the ‘westerners’ (Spanish, English, Portuguese’s, French etc) able to displace the native people’s of America with, seemingly, relative ease? Was this evidence of a superior ‘civilisation’? Many believe that there is a great difference between ‘westerners’ and the native people of the lands they conquered. The truth is, that there is not great distinction, except in the minds of white men. ‘Westerners’ such as the French, Spanish, English and Portuguese have always believed in their own superiority. This confidence gave them the strength to displace the natives and also the justification for doing so. The civilized world seemed to grow, and change with new directions being mastered all the time, the ‘non civilized’ world seemed to stand still in a era recognized by Europeans as unprogressive and primitive. The Europeans viewed the Native Americans with mixed opinion, in many ways they despised their ignorance, while at the same time being in awe of their innocence. Despite this, leading opinion was that the native people of the new world were inferior to the Europeans and would have to become domesticated if they were to survive in the ‘new world.’ However was this triumph over the inhabitants of the land evidence of a superior civilisation? How does one define ‘Civilisation’? For if we are to discuss what is a superior and an inferior race then understanding of the term ‘civilisation’ is critical. The term ‘civilisation’ is used everyday and is understood by everyone, yet a proper definition is more difficult to pin down. The oxford university dictionary defines civilisation as: ‘a developed or advanced sate of human society.’ This is helpful, yet the question of how developed or how advanced is still relevant. Others have said that a civilized society is different from an uncivilized society because of certain attributes such as writing, cities, building etc. But agreement is difficult, it is much more safer not to rely on a single definition, instead look at examples of what everyone has agreed to call civilisations such as Greek or Rome . However, the term ‘civilisation’ still seems to be from a western point of view, for natives are not seen as civiliz ed because they do not fit into any definition mentioned above. The Native Americans were not advanced, they did not have buildings or cities and their lifestyle and customs had hardly resembled that of Greece or Rome.

Friday, July 19, 2019

The Book That Really Did Change My Life Essay -- How Education Has Chan

Periodically while surfing the internet I encounter a page entitled "Books That Changed My Life", with a list of books that purportedly changed the life of the author. I am always irritated by these pages, because I never see any evidence that the books had actually changed the life of the author. In fact, for most of these pages a more appropriate title would have been "Books that I really, really liked a lot." Occasionally, it might have been called "Books that influenced my thinking," but I'm reluctant to refer to that as having changed one's life. I suppose I am irritated because I have my own list of books, and each one of them had effected a concrete, specific change in my life. It's not very long--maybe three books--but even that fact is interesting, since it shows how difficult it is for a book to change a reader, and consequently when it happens it is something worth pondering. How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler and Charles ... ...you how valuable those sessions were to me. They gave me the opportunity to apply his techniques diligently, enough for them to become habits, and to writings that were good enough to stand up under that kind of scrutiny. Nowadays I don't always apply the techniques; most books simply aren't worth the effort. But when I stumble onto something worthwhile, a pencil will magically appear in my hand and I will begin analyzing it before I'm aware of what I'm doing.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Company Layoff

Historically, layoff is often associated with bad publications for companies performing it. Furthermore, there are various other negative effects that are associated with the application of layoffs. Sometimes, layoff is the only way that the company must perform, in the sense that managers of the company have no other solution to cope with problems of the company. Despite the comments of observers and researches revealing the bad effects of massive layoffs, company layoff still becomes a part of modern companies’ daily lives.Concerning the issue, this paper will review articles about layoff and several important factors. The review aims at creating a simple conclusion regarding the practice of layoffs and their tendencies. Afterwards, the paper will use one of the latest layoff policies to justify the conclusion and also to evaluate the layoff within a company. The focus of the paper is to describe the effects of company layoffs and present a practical example of the conclusio n.Company LayoffDefinitionBy definition, layoff refers to a termination of employment of an employee or group of employees due to unfavorable business situation. The term is common in the business environment and does not often generate uneasiness.However, mass layoffs often become the source of debacle and confrontation in the workplaces. Firing employees in individual manner does not generally raise too much problem because they generally contain justified reasons of why the employees’ employment must be terminated.In addition, mass layoffs often generate trouble due to the fact that mass layoffs are performed solely due to economic reasons. In other words, employees being laid off could have performed no mistake in hi/her job that deserves the termination of employment. Within this paper, the discussion is focused more on mass layoffs rather than individual layoffs (Layoffs, nd.).Why Layoff  Researchers identify two reasons concerning layoffs. The first category relates to the internal condition of the company in which layoffs are performed. Companies perform layoff because of profitability reasons. The goal of performing mass layoff is to reduce the labor cost of the company. This is true since in most manufacturing companies, labor costs become significant parts of the operational costs of the company. Therefore, reducing the labor cost without hurting revenues could mean enhanced profitability (Layoffs, nd.).However, some layoffs occur because management believes that revenues in future periods will go down. This could be the result of enhanced competition, problems with corporate supply chain, changes in managerial structure, etc. In order to maintain profit, management often decides to cut labor costs (Layoffs, nd.).Another reason of performing mass layoffs is external reasons. A downturn in macroeconomic conditions could result in financial problems for most companies. This macroeconomic downturn could have effects limited to certain industri es or could happen nationally. In order to cope with such problem, companies could decide to cut labor costs and saves some level of profitability. This type of mass layoffs generally costs less debacles because ’everyone is going through the same problem’ at the time. However, there are also records that macroeconomic downturn and mass layoffs in some countries result in widespread class actions and public protests.General Effects of Layoffs  Layoffs are often performed as the last solution. In other words, layoffs are seen as the last solution to save a company from a terrible fall. Nevertheless, the fact often denies that premise. Layoffs often decrease corporate value rather than enhance it. Researchers state that this is due to the poor tendency of managers and business owners to look only to the financial aspect of the layoffs. In other words, they often neglect the intrinsic effect of the layoffs. The financial aspects of layoffs are generally easy to calculat e, however, managers generally fail to assess the value generated by employees that must be laid-off. Thus, managers could well be loosing more value from the layoff compare to the financial savings they gain from the process (Hymowitz, 2007).Another bad effect of layoffs generally comes from the layoff that influence working environment. Layoffs often reduce employees’ motivation. Surviving employees generally becomes more wary and possess the feeling of unsafe which reduces the working performance of employees. Moreover, the feeling of unsafe could generate the decision to seek for new jobs rather than waiting with uncertainties (Hymowitz, 2007).How to Make the Best LayoffsLayoffs are generally correlated to bad business. The term generates negative atmosphere for most people in the working environment. Therefore, business owners and managers generally place layoff decisions as a last resort rather than a preferable alternative. Some alternatives to layoffs are: establishin g a hiring freeze, relocate employees to other sections or departments, cutting managerial and administrative salaries, shortening the work week, offering early retirements, etc. However, if layoffs are imminent, there are some activities that could reduce the negative effect of mass layoffs (Sullivan, 2001).The first step in making the best of corporate layoffs is planning the layoff strategy. This includes identification of common problems that could happen during layoffs. Managers of the company are suggested to perform researches and benchmarking to the best practice of company layoffs. Identification and evaluation of all alternatives to layoffs must be performed prior to deciding any layoff decisions. Planning the layoff strategy also involves preparing the budget for layoffs, notifying everyone involves and affected by the layoffs, etc.The second step of managing layoff is making sure that we involved all the people that should be involved in the layoff decision, like CFOâ₠¬â„¢s, HR officers, the corporate attorney, senior managers, etc. The company must them select a layoff expert, this person is responsible for the layoff process and to educate others on how to perform effective layoffs. In addition, the worker’s union must be involved within the process. Lack of educating the union leaders about the necessity of the layoffs could mean failure in performing effective and successful layoffs (Sullivan, 2001).The third step is managing the process carefully, this includes the preparation of a worst case scenario and socialization of involve people, setting the layoff criteria and maintain the credibility of the criteria during the process, identification of top performers, the people that the company cannot afford to loose and protecting them, etc (Sullivan, 2001).RadioShackRadioShack Corporation is a chain of electronic retail stores in the United States, Europe, Central America and South America. The company has 6,000 stores in USA and has rep orted sales of $ 4.6 billion in 2006. In August 10, 2006, the company announces the layoff of 400 to 450 employees at the company headquarters. Company officials assert this action is necessary to reduce company’s overhead expense and enhance competitive position in the marketplace in the long term. The action is also decided to support small number of stores having financial trouble. In the company headquarters, 1 out of 5 positions are eliminated which affected employees of all levels in RadioShack.The layoff decision by the company is widely understood by many observers; however, the layoff generates significant controversy because of the manner in which the layoffs are performed. The 400 employees are notified of the layoff 10 days in advance of the actual layoff. Email notification was delivered to employees who were terminated. In August 10, 2006, employees were sent the emails and they were given 30 minutes to pack up and say goodbye to co-workers and then meet their s enior supervisors. After the meeting, a larger meeting was held to deliver the employees with their benefit packages and ask their questions.This manner of layoffs generates a widespread public attention. Many state that they have never seen such amount of employees laid off by emails. According to the general practice of corporate conduct, this demonstrates the lack of sensitivity by corporate management. The company has performed various efforts to delete reportage of this incident. According to some observers, this is one of the worst practices of corporate layoff in the history of corporate social responsibility. There are many articles that respond with cynicism in reaction of the poor methods of firing people who have been contributing to the company’s success, some even for many years.I believe that the company will not obtain the value they aim for when they decided to perform this layoff decision. As discussed above, there should be various measures to face the negat ive effects of layoffs to employee morale. Insensitive behaviors like one performed by RadioShack will significantly hurt employee morale and their respect to the managers of the company. In result, working productivity could be seriously affected.BibliographyHymowitz. Carol. 2007. ‘Why Layoffs Could Cost More Than They’. CareerJournal. Retrieved March 24, 2007 from http://www.careerjournaleurope.com/columnists/inthelead/20010725-inthelead.html‘RadioShack lays off employees via e-mail’. 2006. USATODAY. Retrieved March 24, 2007 from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-08-30-radioshack-email-layoffs_x.htmSave‘Layoffs Common but Still a Company’s Last Resort’. N.d. Jobwerx. Retrieved March 24, 2007 from http://www.jobwerx.com/HR/layoffs_common.htmlSlaggle, Matt, 2006. ‘RadioShack to offer free online training’. USA TODAYRetrieved   March 24, 2007 frrom http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-18-radio-shack-classes_x.htmS ullivan, John. 2001. ‘Key Steps in Effective Layoffs’. ERE.net. Retrieved March 24, 2007 from http://www.ere.net/articles/default.asp?d=H&CID={B6BCB155-2D2F-4C2E-82EC-CB33C6D1E3F9}