Business Articles- Term Paper for Econ 500

PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS ECON 5031 – Jul/Aug 2007 Instructor: Dr. Hi? n Van Tr? n, Professor Requirement The paper must be between 3 to 5 pages long and double-spaced with the font size of 12 and 1-inch margin for all four sides. The focus of the paper is on a survey and analysis of macroeconomics and microeconomics-oriented business articles that have been published within the past two months in non-Vietnamese business magazines/journals/websites concerning a non-Vietnamese event. Each of the chosen articles must be 1000 words or more; and your paper should cover three articles of non-related events. For each article, your write-up must include the source (magazine/journal/website name, publication date, author, and page number), a brief summary of the article, the embedded macroeconomic concept(s), and your thoughts on why you chose this article. The goal of this essential course is to understand distinctly events happing all over the world with the term of microeconomics and macroeconomics. Based on this goal, during the course, the course’s knowledge helps me clarify the world’s economy, the way how firms and households interact together in the competitive market as well as the ways how the government adjusts a country’s economy through governmental policies. In the term paper’s content, I would like to choose three different articles which analyze three different events of microeconomics and macroeconomics to have a thorough grasp the economic foundation. Article 1 _ â€Å"Russia’s economy† Publication date: August, 24th, 2007. From the Economist Intelligence Unit Views Wire. Source: http://economist. com/daily/news/displaystory. cfm? story_id=9706752 Summary: To curb the fall in the rouble’s value against the dollar of around half of a percentage point, the Central Bank of Russia sold up to US$4bn on Aug, 21st. Due to the rouble’s dip, foreign investors have liquidated their rouble positions in the wake of turmoil in the US subprime mortgage market and potentially a change in sentiment towards risk on the part of investors. That the spread on the benchmark 2030 Eurobond had been rising since June made the biggest decrease of RTS Index, gold and currency reserves during that time. Regardless of the short term movements in currency and bond markets, the Russian government continued to run a healthy fiscal surplus, which has significant exposure to the US subprime mortgage market. In fact, Russia has to face the following difficulties. Firstly, although the authorities have tended to favor a competitive exchange-rate over the price stability in recent years, the importance accorded to a stronger rouble as a curb on inflation has increased this year. The reduction or elimination of upwards pressure on the rouble therefore it presents a problem for the authorities. Secondly, Russia’s corporations cannot be as sanguine as the government about the rise in spreads and the reduction in risk appetite on part of investors. Last but not least, that numerous issues were delayed, cancelled or scaled back makes Russian firms eager to generate finance for expansion and raise their profile abroad. If this is the worst of the subprime crisis for Russia, the country will have got off lightly. Embedded economic concepts: †¢ Central bank: A government monetary authority that issues currency and regulates the supply of credit and holds the reserves of other banks and sells new issues of securities for the government. Stock market: An exchange where security trading is conducted by professional stockbrokers. †¢ Financial market: financial institutions through which savers can directly provide funds to borrowers. †¢ Bond: a certificate of indebtedness. †¢ Stock: a claim to partial ownership in a firm. †¢ Exchange rate: The charge f or exchanging currency of one country for currency of another Why am I intrigued by this article? In the macroeconomics, the government policies play a very important role to curb the currency’s value and to dominate the inflation as well. In this article, the Russian government had an active policy to curb the fall in the rouble’s value against the US dollar. Yet the global market is usually changeable, Russia cannot be out of the market’s affects and has to face many difficulties as well. To solve the problem, the government must have flexible regulations, rules and laws in the proper time to control the currency’s value, inflation and the economy’s growth rate. In fact, the Russian government has to do more things to bypass the subprime crisis. Article 2 _ â€Å"Chinese seek to buy a U. S. maker of disk drives† Publication date: August 25th, 2007. By JOHN MARKOFF (New York Times) Source: http://www. nytimes. com/2007/08/25/business/worldbusiness/25drive. html? _r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=business&adxnnlx=1188035759-/R6wMhYdw1xWl4NHKbqKUA&oref=slogin Summary: A Chinese technology company has expressed interest in buying a maker of computer disk drives in the United States, raising concerns among American government officials about the risks to national security in transferring high technology to China. The transfer of advanced disk drive manufacturing technology would give the Chinese a major leg up in competing in information technologies. China, however, still lags in basic manufacturing skills like semiconductor design and manufacturing. In fact, the Chinese government faces a quandary: how to improve yields on its foreign exchange reserves as well as how to encourage companies and even individuals to invest more overseas, as a way to offset some foreign investment pouring into China. Yet the Chinese companies’ investment for an American high-tech company is blocked for political reasons. Basically, Washington so distrusts China, therefore they are trying to throw roadblocks in the path of its economic developments. Embedded economic concepts: †¢ Foreign exchange: the system by which one currency is exchanged for another; enables international transactions to take  place †¢ Import: goods produced abroad and sold domestically †¢ Export: goods produced domestically and sold abroad Trade surplus: A quantity that a country gains from trade. Why am I intrigued by this article? In chapter 17, we can see that technologies play an important role to improve a country’s productivity. If China wants to get the trust from Washington, in general, and American high-tech companies, in particular, the Chinese government must have good policies in the information technology anti-piracy and come to terms in a highly national security when receiving th e transferring high technology from the US. In addition, the policies which encourage Chinese companies to invest more oversea in order to balance between the inflow and the outflow investments in China is an excellent example of regulating a country’s macroeconomics. Article 3 _ â€Å"To Woo Europeans, McDonald’s Goes Upscale Publication date: August 25, 2007. By JULIA WERDIGIER (New York Times) Source: http://www. nytimes. com/2007/08/25/business/worldbusiness/25restaurant. html? _r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=worldbusiness&adxnnlx=1188088657-Xu2NFGoMNso7mpC3w6pNjA Summary: With the innovation aiming to create a more relaxed experience in a sophisticated atmosphere, McDonald’s plans to spend hundreds of millions dollars remodeling almost its restaurants and spreading its hegemony in Europe. The changes are paying off when the sales at Europe’s 6400 restaurants increase 15%, to $4. 1 billion, compared with 6% growth in the US, where McDonald’s has 13,800 restaurants and sales totaled $3. 9 billion. Moreover, that McDonald highly adapts its menu to local tastes gives incentives to customers and makes them more enjoyable with its restaurant chain throughout the Europe. It has a broad appropriate diversification in design and tastes, which are appealing and suitable for each locations and clientele. Remodeling is also catching on in the United States in the last two years, though less extensively than in Europe, but it seems to be less efficient in where customers prefer to eat in their cars or take their food home. Embedded economic concepts: †¢ Total revenue: the amount paid by buyers and received by sellers of a good, computed as the price of the good times the quantity sold. †¢ Profit: total revenue minus total cost. †¢ Incentive: something that induces a person to act. †¢ Competitive market: a market with many buyers and sellers trading identical products so that each buyer and seller is a price taker. Why am I intrigued by this article? Different from the two articles above, this article is about the microeconomics in term of interacting between a global firm and customers. In chapter 4, we study the factors that affect the demand curve, including the price, income, tastes, and expectations. In fact, the most interesting thing when I read this article is that McDonald’s has a perfect diversification strategy not only in design but also in tastes and expectations, which is suitable for each appropriate location throughout the Europe. It makes sense when giving incentives to customers to be more enjoyable in common fast food like hamburgers, French fries or caffe` lattes. As a result, it makes the increase in McDonald’s products demand all over the world. With this innovation, McDonald’s is doing a good job in term of luring more customers and raising its revenue in the global competitive market. [pic]

Neolithic Revolution Essay

The Neolithic Revolution was a great change from hunting and gathering to civilization because of discovery of agriculture. The Neolithic Revolution was an important turning point in history because it allowed people to create civilization. About 10,000 BCE, humans began to cultivate crops and domesticate certain animals; this was a change from the system of hunting and gathering. It brought changes to human society and culture. The people of this era were called nomads. The nomads would settle down in fertile areas and river valleys. Some of the first signs of technology began to appear around this time as well. During the Paleolithic Period, which lasts from the beginnings of human life until about 10,000 BCE, people were nomads. They lived in groups of 20 -30 and spent most of their time hunting and gathering. The nomads were people who were constantly moving. Nomads moved according to season and migrating animals. It`s true that in human societies the business of hunting and gath ering has involved specialization, with men doing the hunting and women much of the gathering. All humans, unlike most animals, carry the food home and share it, rather than consume it. Nomadic people didn’t have very many possessions for example; you could only bring what you could carry. It was a slow population growth in this time, since no one really settled down. Since people were constantly moving and struggling to survive, advancements in technology were extremely slow. The nomadic people really only had tools for digging, spears, knives, and clubs. When people switched from hunters and gathers to farming and agriculture it was a big turning point in history. Stone tools were a root to this vast change in lifestyle. Humans moved from bone and fur tools to stone tools. The first farmers relied on slash-and-burn agriculture, that involves the cutting and burning of plants in forest to create fields. Then after a while people started to use normal farming techniques. In order to use these techniques warm climate, water, and fertile soil was necessary. That was the reason people settled down by river valleys. The discovery of farming led a surplus of food this would be the first time ever seeing one. In a farming lifestyle, men spent most of their time outside the home in the fields or working with animals. The women worked in the home processing food, making clothes, and caring for children. Women’s status declined as men took the lead in in most areas of these early societies. The crops they raised depended on their location, and developed  agriculture independently at different times The technology and social organization of the Neolithic Revolution remained the basis of all civilization. The people’s tools and skills had advanced sufficiently for cultivating people to support towns with over one thousand people. Humans now had to stay in one place, aside from moving to more fertile land, to raise crops and domesticate animals. Small sedentary farming villages created the conditions necessary for development of c ities. Nomadic people settled down in villages and made families which eventually led to a market rise in population and town life. Scholars created a system of knowledge and writing, division of labor, trading economics and development of art started to occur. Farming now allowed members to abandon subsistence activities and become artisans, merchants and priests. Neolithic Revolution people could work in specialized trades such as metalworking or act as religious leaders. Cities arose with trade, markets, government, laws and armies. For the first time, people could spend their working lives focused on something other than survival. The Neolithic revolution was the most important development in human history. The way we live today, settled in homes, close to other people in towns and cities, protected by laws, eating food grown on farms, and with leisure time to learn, explore and invent is all a result of the Neolithic revolution, which occurred approximately 11,500-5,000 years ago.

Facebook Essay

Facebook is a social network created in 2004 and has over 21 million registered members. It is the newer version of MySpace and has taken over cyberspace. Facebook allows you to stay connected with friends, classmates and old friends. It was originally created for college students, but people of all ages all over the world have now become part of the social network. There are many activities you can do when you join virtual groups based on common interests, see what classes they have in common, and learn each others’ hobbies, interests, musical tastes, and romantic relationship status through the profiles. If used properly there can be many advantages of Facebook in the life of a college student. Some colleges set up facebook groups for future classes of students to meet online. The University of Chicago had several groups of students getting ready to graduate high school already beginning online friendships with possible future classmates. They all talked about and shared their goals, what classes they planned to take and shared in the anticipation of receiving their acceptance letters. Students across the country are connecting with future classmates as well. Some students in New York arranged to meet there facebook group friends in person. These new facebook friends will probably rarely see each other on campus. These facebook forced friendships do not last for long, but it makes the students feel more comfortable about their first day of College. If you are a college student like me, chances are you probably have a Facebook. You probably log on more than once a day and you probably spend at least an hour on it per day. You sit down to write a paper or study for a test and somehow you end up on Facebook. Before you know it an hour has passed and you haven’t gotten anything done. This is the case for majority of college students. We do not know how to manage our time or priorities. It is easier and more entertaining to spend time on Facebook than to spend time studying. There is a quote that states â€Å"The reason why people fail is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment. † In this moment college students want to socialize and have fun, they put their future on the back burner because they cannot feel the effects of their underachievements. Facebook also has its advantages as well. For example many college students can use facebook market place to sell their cars, books, computers etc. With such a large number of people in this network it makes it easier to sell your items. â€Å"According to a 2008 Kaplan study, one in 10 college admissions officers routinely check out college applicants’ Facebook and MySpace pages. And some 38% of them found posts and pictures that reflected poorly on those prospective students. A study conducted at Ohio State University concluded that students who were Facebook user had a GPA 5-10 points lower than non Facebook users. Students who did not use Facebook dedicated more time to studying than users. It is important to keep everything on your facebook mutual. You do not want someone to be able to look at your profile picture and know everything about you. If you are a prospective college student, or a college student ready to find a good job, or apply for an internship it is import ant to sensor your profile. Your profile picture should be of you at a party with a drink or cigarette in your hand, kissing your significant other, or anything sexy or provocative. It should be a mutual picture of you in a nice setting. You should also be cautious of what you put in your profile description. The way you talk, and describe yourself shows a lot about your character. College students talk in slang amoung there friends, which is not a bad thing, but it should be limited to just that, amoung your friends. A young college graduate applied for an internship in a consulting company in Chicago, when the company looked up his facebook this is what they found in his profile description â€Å"†smokin’ blunts† (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex† Though this individual may have been joking or trying to be funny, it made him like he lacked good judgement and very unprofessional. They found things that went against the values of the company. These are not the kind of people companies are looking to hire. They are interested in responsible and modest people. Facebook and MySpace are only two years old but have attracted millions of avid young participants, who mingle online by sharing biographical and other information, often intended to show how funny, cool or outrageous they are. † For some Facebook is a new identity, you can be whoever you want because you are hiding in front of a computer screen. You can make you rself seem however you would like by just an update of a status. It can also hinder your social ability to communicate with people. A cell phone build one wall between two people, texting and social networking builds two. Many college students have â€Å"hooked up† with and gone on blind dates with complete stranger they have met over Facebook. Most facebook users including myself have accepted friend request by strangers. Maybe you accepted them because of your mutual friends, or maybe other reasons. Whatever the reason, someone who tries to hit on you, or ask you out on facebook can manipulate your profile. They know which friends your both have in common because of the â€Å"mutual friends list† they know what type of music you listen to, what your religious and political views are, even your favorite quotes. A friend of mine met an attractive guy over facebook. They started chatting a few times a week, and eventually set up a date. She said she had a good time, but that it was almost too perfect because they had so much in common. It was obvious that he had done his research, and did it well. He used her facebook information to get her to like him, he knew exactly the right things to talk about and say. For all she knew he could have been a crazy stalker with bad intentions. If you have just graduated and you are looking for a job, Facebook could either make or break your career. Most companies take the time and research potential employees. They would like to hire people with a clean record and reputation to represent their companies. Many have lost their jobs because of their Facebook profiles. Though you may try to keep your profile as clean as possible, the comments your friends leave you also count. You are who you hang out with and if your friends leave you inappropriate comments or tag you in an old party picture it could very well jeopardize and close doors for your future. According to Alex Patino, a Resident Assistant here at Kean University, the Office of Residence Life requires that you sign a contract disclaiming that no inappropriate pictures and/or comments are posted on your Facebook or any social networking site you belong to. Any Resident Assistant caught or reported to have any offensive material of his or her website can be put on probation, and if serious enough the student may be fired. I decided to conduct my own research to find out how many hours a day college students spend on facebook and how it affects their work and study habits. I made a multiple choice and one open ended question survey and sampled about 115 students from all different colleges. I posted my survey from survey monkey to my facebook status. From there I waited for students to respond. Out of the 115 students who participated in the survey, 46 % spent two to three hours on facebook per day. That is almost half of those who participated. 11 % spent two to three hours, and 8 % spent an unhealthy 5 hours or more on facebook, that is almost a whole day at work. 35 % of students said they spend an hour or less on facebook which is the amount of time we should be limiting ourselves to being online. When asked what activities they do online, most students said they spend most of their time on facebook checking for notifications, chatting, and said most of their time was spent browsing through user’s profiles and pictures. One student said: â€Å"I do not use facebook anymore. Have no use for it†¦ It is nothing but a ‘Hackers’ paradise. † The Face book dos and don’ts -Do not post to much personal information about yourself. Remember that your reputation is important and your information should be mutual Also remember strangers can view your profile. Ex: address cell phone number place of work) Your close friends already know that information you do not need to post it for everyone else to see – Be careful what pictures you upload of yourself. Many people do not personally know you, and can get the wrong idea of who you are by the way you present yourself in photos. Employers like to keep an eye on their employees, drunken pictures or provocative pictures can ruin your chances of landing a job -Do not ever post on your status where you will be, and who you will be with. There are such things as facebook stalkers and they might really show up – Do not believe everything you see online. More than 75% of students who participated in my survey said they spend most of their time looking at other user’s profiles. People can pretend to be who ever they’d like online â€Å"Everything you say can and will be used against you. † We all have heard that saying somewhere or another that is used in court or upon arrest. But did you ever think everything on your facebook could be used against you in some way? Well think again. According to one East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania professor, a joke she made about students on her facebook was not taken lightly. She posted comments joking about killing students. The comment stated â€Å"Had a good day today, did not want to kill even one student 🙂 Now Friday was a different story. † What she thought were playful joking comments led to her suspension at the University. Even upon her return students were very angry that she was allowed back into the classroom. The jokes were strictly meant for family and friends, but when posting something on a public website, others who may not know u as well may feel threatened and take â€Å"jokes† to be serious.

Canadian folksong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Canadian folksong - Essay Example devoted half his work to the post-World War I ear, a time of decisive change, which saw the slow vanishing of colonial reasoning in Canadian world, mainly music, as Canada achieved the status of a fully independent country. Fowke pulled together numerous threads in his action of transforming Canadian musical institutions, the effect of the growing recording and broadcasting industries, the association of instrumental ensembles, the early stages of state endorsement for the Anglo-Canadian folksong, as he surveys their accumulative implications on music publishing, music education, performance, instrument making, as well as composition. The article discusses every aspect of Anglo-Canadian folksongs; who were involved in its development, stages of its development and the contemporary scene of Anglo-Canadian folksongs. The first significant collector of Anglo-Canadian folksongs was W. Roy Mackenzie, according to Fowke (335), who started his collecting in his home, Nova Scotia, back in 1908. Even then, Mackenzie lamented the sad truth that the spoken propagation of ballads has in those days and generation roughly ceased. In the 60 odd years since, Mackenzie found out that the folksinger is a much tougher breed than anyone considered, and collecting has moved on apace. Another central aspect of the journal article is that it teaches folksingers the history of the songs the love to sing. As discussed by Fowke (345), all the musician-transcribers state the freestyle of the singing and the complexity of representing the tune in traditional musical notation. Since folksingers vary the tune from stanza to stanza, frequently changes the rhythm from phrase to phrase, and, at times, decorates the tune with countless grace notes, it is not possible to note the music with total accuracy. The most excellent way to study how the songs were, in fact, sung is to pay attention to recordings of customary singers. Fowke’s assessment of the sociological data is generally sound, in

Operation Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operation Management - Case Study Example This includes redefining the distribution channels, supply techniques and other related activities. The steel industry in Australia had its genesis in the 19th century when gold mining and processing was at its peak. Some people believe that the steel industry began with John Lysaght in England, while others believe that it began with Charles Rasp at Broken Hill. Others attribute the commencement of the industry to Hoskins family at Port Kemble or even Lithgow. All these founders, however, in one way or another depended on funds from gold and silver towards the foundation of the steel industry. One of the two main Steel Industry Producers in Australia is BlueScope steel industry. BlueScope industry is located in Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Australia is its central headquarters among others in Asia, North America, New Zealand and Pacific Islands. The company commenced in 2002 and was then called BHP steel. Later in 17th November, 2003, the company was renamed BlueScope limited. The company has employed over 16000 employees, who perform the different routine operation. Major products produced by the company include; automotive steel, cold roll milled products, corrugated galvanized iron, hot rolled coil, steel slab, and color bond. The primary processing facilities are located in New Zealand steel, Hasting Western Port, and Port Kemba in Illawarra. BlueScope is listed position 41 out of 2000 major industries in Australia. Its management team include; Mr. Paul O’Malley as the chief executive, Mr. Graham Kraehe as the chairman among others. The primary focus of this analysis, therefore, is to focus on Cold Rolled flat steel production and marketing in BlueScope Steel, Australia (Landes, 1969). The main purpose of Cold Roll milling is the reduction of the thickness of steel to the required specification of customers. Hot roll band passes to and fro between iron

Impending Extinction of Steelhead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Impending Extinction of Steelhead - Essay Example This is attributed to human activities. Along with the scientific developments came the human population explosion. Hundreds of habitats are being destroyed to serve as agricultural or residential lands. Excessive harvesting of animal meat has led to the decline of reproducing population. Irresponsible disposal of garbage and chemicals has further narrowed life opportunities for organisms. This paper will explore on the reasons for impending extinction of the steelhead. It will also look at the measures taken by concerned entities in preventing this from happening. Our focus would be in the steelhead habitat in the Washington State. This paper is aimed at providing the reader knowledge of what is currently being done today to address the environmental problem. Steelheads are characterized by a dark-olive color, shading to silvery-white on the underside with a heavily speckled body and a pink to red stripe running along their sides. They can reach up to 55 pounds (25 kg) in weight and 45 inches (120 cm) in length. An adult female steelhead will prepare a redd (or nest) in a stream area with suitable gravel type composition, water depth, and velocity. It then deposits 4 to 5 eggs in "nesting pockets" within a single redd. The eggs hatch within 3 to 4 weeks. The juvenile steelhead ... It then deposits 4 to 5 eggs in "nesting pockets" within a single redd. The eggs hatch within 3 to 4 weeks. The juvenile steelhead rears in the freshwater for 1 to 4 years before migrating individually to the open ocean. It stays in the marine environment for 1 to 5 years after which it returns to the freshwater streams and rivers of their birth in order to mate. This process is called anadromy. Unlike other Pacific salmonids, steelheads can spawn more than once and will but will again migrate through estuaries to the ocean. Migrations can reach hundreds of miles as evidenced by a fish tagged in the Sea of Japan and caught six months thereafter in the Skagit River of northern Washington. Some streams host two runs of steelhead, a summer run (returning in summer and early fall and spawning in early to mid-winter) and a winter run (returning in early winter to late spring and spawning within this time frame). FOOD Young steelheads feed primarily on zooplankton. Adults feed on aquatic and terrestrial insects, mollusks, crustaceans, fish eggs, minnows and even other small fishes including other trout. PREDATORS: Fish, mammals, and birds are the primary natural predators of steelhead. Fish predators include the northern pike minnow, walleyes, and smallmouth bass, channel catfish, sculpins, white sturgeon and even some adult salmonids like adult bull trout, rainbow/steelhead trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout, and brown trout. Fish-eating birds present in the Upper Columbia Basin include great blue herons, gulls, osprey, common mergansers, American dippers, cormorants, Caspian terns, belted kingfishers, common loons, western grebes, black-crowned night herons and bald eagles. Mammalian

Chinese judiciary independence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Chinese judiciary independence - Essay Example In a simpler way, making a complete and legitimate judgment has three procedures in China. Firstly, Public Security Organs apply the approval from Procuratorate to arrest suspects after they gather evidence. Second, Procuratorate would review the evidence. If they don’t think have enough evidence by the law to arrest criminal suspects, Procuratorate will disapprove the arrest. If they consider the evidence as enough, they will approve Public Security Organs to arrest the suspects. Then, Procuratorate transfers these cases to the court for prosecution. However, if Procuratorate consider that case should not prosecutable, then it drops the charges. Finally, the court makes a judicial decision and result after receiving cases from Procuratorate. Procuratorate can apply counter appeal if they don’t think the court’s judicial decision is fair and correct. The case then gets a retrial or transfer to the higher court to review. The Supreme Peoples Court is the highest j udicial organ. After it makes judicial decisions, people cannot apply counter appeal. Disapproval Arrest rate, Disapproval Prosecution Rate, and the quantity of Counter-appeal earlier mentioned as the three representative and important data at the beginning, are all respectively produced from the above three judgment procedures. If the value of the data is large, that means the level of judiciary independence is high. If they are small, that means the level of judiciary independence is low. I will compare the three data sets from different periods and areas to draw a conclusion on whether the Chinese judiciary has had any change and improvement in the past two decades. Disapproval Arrest Rate is only produced after the Public Security Organs apply the approval to arrest suspects, but the Procuratorate fails to approve it. It is the proportion of the disapproval arrest quantity divided by the whole quantity of the application to arrest. In terms of time, the average of

Marketing Managemnt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Managemnt - Assignment Example The focus in this paper is on marketing management that has gained increasing importance in recent years owing to the notion of globalization and internationalization which has given way to the boundary-less movement of goods and services. Marketing for products that are sold across various cultures, languages, tastes, demographics and external conditions is no longer a simplistic job- it requires adequate and periodic management so that the product achieves a strategic fit with the diverse external environment. No longer can marketers focus their efforts on just the four P’s (product, price, promotion, place)- they have come to realize the blooming significance of 4C’s; Consumer (as opposed to Product), Cost (as opposed to Price), Convenience ( as opposed to Place) and Communications ( as opposed to Promotion). Thus, the above indicates the growing importance of marketing management which enables managers and executives to deal with strategic marketing challenges that the organizations face every day. An important task for marketing managers is the creation of value for consumers. The challenge is thus, how to offer that value? The idea of customer relationship management (which is a part of marketing management) stems from the notion of value creation. At the heart of successful marketing efforts is the ability of the company to provide a product that satisfies the needs of customers. Towards this end it is important to define what a need is- a need is defined as a felt deprivation for something. So, for instance, to feel thirsty is a need that has to be satisfied. A want refers to the means by which that need is satisfied. Thus, how the thirst is quenched (through water, drink, and juice) would become a want. Marketers must target customer needs and satisfy wants. On the contrary, however, it is observed today that marketers are creating needs rather than satisfying them. To this end, the importance of product comes into play. The product is th e crux of marketing- Marketing is grounded in â€Å"consumers† and consumers demand products to satisfy their needs. The product is the starting point for most marketing efforts. It is interesting to note that a product consists of five layers although it may appear as a single, holistic object to us. The central part of the product is referred to as the â€Å"core†. It is this core that forms the basis for the other layers (including basic, expected, augmented and potential product). An example would be of a Nikon camera. Its core benefit would be to allow the user to take photographs and make videos with ease. The actual product will comprise of the brand name (Nikon), high resolution, carrying case etc. The augmented product would be warranty, demonstration and repair etc. Core benefits are often represented as order qualifiers or the bare minimum necessary for products to stay in the market (Homburg et al., 2005). This would simply mean the delivery for what is pro mised. A product or a brand is s promise, and when it is fulfilled in the quantity and quality desired by consumers the phenomenon is termed as core benefits or order qualifiers. For instance, the basic attribute of a bank is to offer accurate maintenance of consumer accounts. Bottled/mineral water provides consumer with a basic minimum level of ingredients or required calorie intake. Conceptual studies from research have revealed that core benefits are a subset of the larger group â€Å"customer benefits† which encompasses not only core benefits but also add-on benefits as discussed earlier. These customer benefits are viewed as the constructive values of customer relationship (Homburg et al., 2005). The core of a product is not tangible- it takes the form of a benefit or an advantage that a consumer may have from using it (Homburg et al., 2005). Thus, the core of a product is in abstract form and cannot be touched. Alternately, core defines the need that marketers

Ted Turner Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ted Turner - Research Paper Example The research paper "Ted Turner" analyses the leadership qualities of Ted Turner, who is the owner of the Cable Network Channel, CNN. This includes exploring the ways in which he has established the vision in the organization and led people towards realizing that vision. The project explores the unique qualities and attributes of Turner as a leader. Particular reference is drawn in ways in which has realized an unconventional and innovative vision in the organization, his social and ethical concerns towards society, the type of structure and culture he established in the organization and his motivational techniques at the workplace. Ted Turner is a legendary example of an entrepreneurial visionary leader. This is demonstrated by the fact that he could assess and pick up a trend which people would want in the long run. This was the vision behind starting an all-news cable channel which could be accessed by people at any time of the day. CNN, besides being an immense commercial success is also a complete transformation and revolution in the way people avail news from across the globe. After the establishment of the vision, Ted worked towards implementing the vision with tenacity and will. The entrepreneurial visionary leadership of Turner gets reflected through his first purchase of channel 17, a television station in Atlanta which had a weak UHF signal. Industry experts had expected that the plan would fail even before it started. He has been particularly successful in implementing his vision in the organization and influencing his employees in believing. ... This was the vision behind starting an all news cable channel which could be accessed by people at any time of the day. CNN, besides being an immense commercial success is also a complete transformation and revolution in the way people avail news from across the globe. After establishment of the vision, Ted worked towards implementing the vision with tenacity and will. The entrepreneurial visionary leadership of Turner gets reflected through his first purchase of channel 17, a television station in Atlanta which had a weak UHF signal. Industry experts had expected that the plan would fail even before it started. However, the station emerged as a success on Turner’s application of a certain new technology which eventually revolutionised the television industry. Turner has been particularly successful in implementing his vision in the organization and influencing his employees in believing and realising that vision. Even while the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) was spreading a cross the country, cable programs were generally regarded as producing old and low rated shows and programs. The industry was expecting for quality content and demanded high from HBO and Turner Broadcasting System. For an individual who hardly watched television programs, Ted Turner had a passion for savvy programming in his television stations. This is partly because he could perceive that which others could not, i.e. the values which lay hidden the old and worn out television movies and shows. He influenced his men and followers to believe that instead of running the shows on rental basis, he should rather own them so that he could run them frequently and as often as he wished to. Establishing this vision in the organization

Mandatory Service Program Essay Example for Free

Mandatory Service Program Essay There are many debates concerning advantages and disadvantages of mandating community service, however, the practice of compelling adolescents to take part in community service is increasingly common. People seek to understand the relationships between mandatory community service and volunteering. A key distinction between mandated community service and volunteering is the freely-chosen nature of the latter activity compared to the compulsory nature of the former (Arai et al.). Even though college students may not comprehend the value of community service now, this is a great opportunity for them to achieve something in the future. What harm can several hours of service per week possibly do to youngsters? Instead of attending pubs, drinking alcohol and doing whatever they like to do, they will be busy with contributing to the society. The statistics shows that students who participated in community service while studying at college are more likely to find a good job because they have something to put in their resumes. Such people are welcome in every circle. Current statistics from the Department of Labor report that in the United States among the 26, 8% of the adult population who volunteer, college students are the majority of them (76, 3%). That shows that individuals with higher levels of educational attainment are more aware of the importance of contributing to the community, more aware of the impact the may have and the responsibility they carry as citizens to improve lives and solve problems. By implementing a mandatory service program for all college students, the number of active students should be increased, and that should be the start. The reason why that should be initiated at college is that college is where there already a wide culture of volunteering, where individuals are more responsive to the need of getting involved. College students carry fundamental information that should help in crafting solutions to existing social problems. At the beginning, the service will, of course, be mandatory, but later most of the students may like it, may like to pay tribute to their society and be responsible for something useful and good that they have done. The study of Ontario university students compared a cohort of students required to perform mandatory community service to a cohort that did not, in terms of their attitudes toward volunteering and civic engagement a few months after high school graduation (Henderson). Metz and Youniss note in particular the benefits of mandated community service for students who are less inclined to servedefined in this case as students who had no volunteer experience prior to beginning their mandated service, and who delayed beginning their service until their final year before graduation. In their study, these less-inclined students, once compelled to become involved in community service, experienced firsthand the benefits of doing so, and were likely to stay involved and report intentions to continue civic involvement into adulthood. While more-inclined adolescents similarly reported intentions to continue their involvement, they were likely to do so regardless of whether they had been required to perform community service (Arai et al.). Among the group less inclined to service, students required to perform mandatory service showed a greater likelihood of civic interest and understanding, future voting, and conventional civic involvement after their experience (Lerner, Zaff). Mandated community service experiences are not significantly different from those entered into willingly. Length and breadth of service is similar, and with the exception that high school students who were not mandated to perform community service tend to use their schools to identify volunteering opportunities, and as places to perform service, the two cohorts are indistinguishable (Brown et al.). Some may not agree that service should be made mandatory to all students at college because partner sites could lose with the program instead of benefiting. The argument is that sites will not have a long- term commitment from the students participating in the program and that might hurt their projects. However, the students might be so deeply involved with their projects that they may choose to carry on with their work and continue to help. Their enthusiasm may influence others in their lives, such as their family members, in such a way they become supports as well. Another strong argument against mandatory service program is that in 2002, Covitt found that girls had more positive attitudes about required service than boys, and that white students had more positive attitudes than black students (Lerner, Zaff). Of course, it is impossible for all nations and genders to have the same attitude and the same point of view. But that is the actual purpose of community service: to unite everyone for solving common social problems and achieving desired goals. Nowadays civic engagement is deteriorating, people become members of different associations less and less, they are not interested in social activities and do not care about obvious problems. They turn a blind eye on everything that is farther from their reach. There are three possible ways for mandated behavior programs to attain their goals: they compel, directly, the very behaviors that are seen to be essential; they create behavioral habits so that individuals might then begin to participate in other similar activities; and/or the act of participating instills in individuals the attitudes that then serve as motors for other behaviors deemed to be beneficial (Brown et al.). Among programs aimed at students, effects are clearest when service is regular and sustained, when there are broad opportunities for public action, or when the service provides students with an opportunity to experience power. Factors such as the amount of enjoyment, support, respect, and appreciation students encounter in their placements are very important in promoting a commitment to subsequent volunteering (Brown et al.). Mandatory community service is, of course, one example of mandated civic behavior deemed to benefit both individual participants and society as a whole. In order for college students not to be hostile towards the program, they need to get some benefits from participating. And this way they will not feel forced to do anything. Their contributions will become more voluntary and, therefore, they will become better people than they were before. In conclusion, it has to be said that the number of reasons pro establishing mandatory service program is overwhelming and fears about consequences are not reasonable enough to fight against it. Students will be busy with something useful for their lives and will not notice how they begin to enjoy it. Both, the young people and the society will benefit from it.

Customer Behaviour Analysis in Sportswear Industry

Customer Behaviour Analysis in Sportswear Industry In the world we live today, businesses and top companies have to understand what their companies have to offer to their customer and they have to understand the needs of the consumers in their markets. Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations. The way customer buys their product and the ways they select their particular products in Singapore. (Customer behavior, 2010) Sportswear market is one of the leading markets in the world and the biggest players in the sports wear are Nike and Adidas these are the biggest market leaders in the world for the creativity and the sports equipments they have to offer to the people. Singapore is a very diverse country with different ethnic backgrounds from places live in Singapore as this is sports loving country as the Youth Olympics were held in Singapore in August 2010, as is the one of the biggest target market for the sports equipments as the people of Singapore are sports loving people. Singapore is one of the famous tourist destinations in the world famous for shopping, tourist destination, Santosa beach, and two newly opened Casinos The Customer behavior of visitors on sportswear in Singapore is mostly influenced by social, cultural, personal and Psychological factors. (Kotler, Armstrong, Yau Hon Ming, 2009) Consumer behavior is affected by many diverse factors for example, what influences you before you buy a product or service? Your friends, your raising, your culture, the media, a role model or influences from certain groups. (Learn Marketing, 2010) On a more personal level, I have always had a deep interest in trying to understand how other people think and what makes them behave in the way that they do. I feel that in doing this we come more rapidly to understand our own individual ways and patterns of thought and ways of behavior. Singapore market is growing rapidly as they have recovered from the economic crisis and the people of Singapore are purchasing the products as they are being influenced as their spending power is more than before as the economy of the country is recovered and Singapore is attracting lots of visitors to Singapore for shopping, Casinos, Travel and leisure. This gives the opportunity to the sports accessories companies a better target market to occupy and generate ways of attracting their target customer. 1.1 Objectives of the Research The main objectives of this research is to understand the factors that are affecting the customer behavior and the way they act while purchasing the product and these factors helps the sportswear companies to know and to understand and predict buying behavior of consumers in the market place and what are the trends, behavior of the customer and the way they buy products in the market, from a sporting wear like Manchester United Jersey to a Football shoes or jogging shoes, it is concerned not only with what consumers buy, but also with why they buy it, when and where and how they buy it. (Himansu. S. M, 2008) Sportswear market is growing in Singapore as the tourism industry is growing rapidly as it is attracting lots of visitors to Singapore. However, a sporting culture in Singapore and the passion for sports excellence and a vast business plan have the potential to produce results well beyond our dreams. The timing is excellent as it has never been before and for the customers and companies active in Singapores sports scene. (Kotler and keller, 2009). The sports market in Asia Pacific is booming. The total value of the market should reach $17 billion in 2009, according to a global study by an independent management consulting firm. (Sports Industry, 2009) The factors that influence the customer behavior are Role, Status and Age Lifestyle Personality and attitude We have to understand how these factors play an important role in influencing the customer buying behavior towards buying sports equipments in Singapore. There is big change in the number of visitors coming to Singapore from couple of years and the Singapore market is booming as the figures show there is vast change in the number of visitors coming to Singapore from the year 2007 to 2010. Figure 1,2,3 Visitor arrive in Singapore 2007 to 2010C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitordec 07,dec08.pngC:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitor10-23-2010 2-22-36 PM.png C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itjuly 2010 visitors.png Source: STB, 2010 Research focus The focus of this research is to understand how Role, Status, Age, Lifestyle and Personality and Attitude of an individual and how it plays an important role on buyer mood, conditions that affect the customer behavior when they are purchasing a sportswear product. The reason for coming out with a model is that this gives us an understanding how the visitors in Singapore behave when they are buying sportswear and this will help us to understand the customers better and how they react and what are the factors that influence the consumer behavior of visitors on sportswear in Singapore. According to the research we have derived on this that most of the visitors coming to Singapore are for shopping purpose and travelling purpose. As shown below for several years. Fig 4, (Major Expenditure Items for 2008) Fig 5 Major Expenditure Items for 2004-08) For the year 2008 Source: STB, 2010 Fig 1C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it2008expenses.png For the year 2004-08 Source: STB, 2010 Fig 2 C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it20082004.2008.png Fig: 6 Major Expenditure Items for 2007 Source: (STB, 2010) C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it2007 travelling ppl.png Figure 7 Shopping items purchased. Source: (STB 2010) C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it2006.2007 shopping lists.pngC:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itshopping.png Research questions In this report we have to invest the characteristics that affect the consumer behavior when they are buying a sports accessories product and how these characteristics play the important role in consumer behavior. How the role, status and age of an individual affect on consumer behavior. How does lifestyle of an individual affect on consumer behavior. How does personality and attitude of an individual affect on consumer behavior. Value of the research This research will give us the understanding how the consumer behave when they are buying a sportswear product and this will help the practitioner to understand how the consumer reacts and what are the factors that influences him to buy a product. The study of consumer behavior is the study where are going to learn how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources. Chapter 2 Literature review The purpose of literature review is to make sure that we analyze all the characteristics that play an important role in affecting the consumer behavior. The purpose of the literature review is to select promising measure, methods (Mamchak and Mamchak, 1994). Identify and highlight the important variables and document the significant results of earlier research that will serve as the basis on which the theoretical framework of the investigation can be built and the hypothesis developed (Sekaran, 2003). Based on the research objectives, the researcher will provide relevant concepts in the review of current literature in this chapter. Consumer behavior is the way a person reacts to purchase products and there are several factors that affect the consumer behavior they are 2.1 Role, status and age All of us hold positions within groups, organizations and institutions. Associated with each position there is an important role to play, there are set of activities a person in particular position is supposed to perform based on expectations of both individual and surrounding people, because a person can occupy different roles for example role of a son, husband, father, mother, church priest, employee, and student. There are multiple set of expectations which are placed on an individual person so this affects the consumer behavior. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007) An individual role influences the buying behavior, the demand of a persons many roles may be diverse and inconsistent. Considering the various types of sports accessories that may an individual buy and wear will be depending on whether you are sporting which type of sports or what type of sports accessories an individual may like, and others involved in these types of setting and environment has expectations what is acceptable accessories for the purpose. The expectations of those consumers may affect the purchase of those sports accessories and products. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007) Consumers usually choose sportswear products appropriate to their roles and status. Considering the various roles a working mother plays. In her company she plays an important role of a brand manager of Nike or Adidas she would be wearing mostly sportswear but on the other hand a working mother working in a bank she would be wearing uniform. So we have to understand the role and status of an individual and these factors play a vast role in consumer behavior. As she may be fan of a sporting event as she would be wearing her favorite sports accessories as she plays a role of avid fan. As a brand manager of Sports Company she will buy the kind of clothes that reflects her role and status in her company. People buy different goods and services over their lifetime. They wear different kinds of clothes and eat different food in the early years, most. Peoples taste in clothes is age related the youngster nowadays like to wear sportswear clothes as they prefer to have sporting looks. Age plays an important role on consumer behavior as consumer needs and wants change with age. Sportswear companies offer different types of clothes for all ages and they are also youth oriented. Such as Michael Jordan shoes and jersey will attract young kids in the market who would like to relate themselves as Michael Jordan fans. The taste for sportswear items is different between the youngsters and the mature people. Mature people tend to buy less sporty looking wear and more comfortable clothes. 2.2 Lifestyle Lifestyle is a popular concept for understanding consumer behavior because its more contemporary than personality and values and lifestyle is a persons pattern of living as expressed in her or his psychographics. It involves measuring consumers major activities which an individual do such as hobbies, sports, shopping, social events, interests, fashion, family and opinions about themselves. Lifestyle captures something more than a consumers social class or personality. It helps a persons whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world. (Kotler, Armstrong, Ang, Leong, Tan, 2009) Lifestyles have a strong impact on many aspects of consumer behavior process, from problem recognition to purchase stage. Lifestyle influences consumers product needs, brand preferences, type of media used and how, when and where they shop. Lifestyle of an individual person plays a vast role in consumer behavior. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007) As we have understand that lifestyle refers to the pattern of consumption reflecting to a person choice on how he or she will spend money, but in some cases it refers to the attitude and values attached to these pattern. Every consumer has a different lifestyle and they all behave according to their lifestyle and this affects on the consumer behavior. Ones choice on sporting accessories would identify a person lifestyle and what are his preferences and the sports accessories an individual wears makes a statement about who the one is and the type of people he wishes to be identified as and the other people who are keeping some distance. (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard Hogg, 2006) 2.3 Personality and Attitude Personality is a set of internal traits and different behavioral tendencies that result in consistent pattern of behavior in certain situations. An individual personality comes from hereditary characteristics and personal experience that makes a person unique. Personality is described to be having one or more characteristics such as ambition, authoritarianism, competitiveness and dogmatism. Personality of an individual person plays a major role in consumer behavior as he or she has its own ambition or characteristics. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007) Everyone is different just look at fingerprint, so every individual personality is different, personality has many meaning, according to consumer behavior it is defined as a rapid response to environmental stimuli, it is an individual unique psychological makeup, which consistently influences how a person responds to his environment. For example why do some people like to go movies and other people love buying sports accessories or attend sports event it all depends upon an individual personality. (Blackwell, Souza, Teghian, Miniard Engel, 2006) Every person has personality as every personality reflects individual differences, enduring and a personality can change. Under certain circumstances a personality changes such as childs birth, Nike withdraw the sponsorship that may change your personality to buy Adidas sports accessories, career promotion all such kind of things can change a human personality and this significantly affects the consumer behavior. (Schiffman, Lazarkamk, Hasan, 2007) Personality is considered the main force behind consumer decision making. Personality refers to a persons behavior or reply to recurring situations. Personality plays an important role when it comes to consumer behavior of any sorts, especially if it involves consumer buying process. An individuals personality has become very significant now days when it comes to making decisions while buying. It holds different meaning accordingly to the consumers tastes, preferences and personality. (Knight, 2009) An attitude is an individual enduring evaluation, feeling about and behavioral tendencies towards a product or idea. For example he have attitude for politics, music, sports and sports accessories we wear, football team we support. Although attitudes can change, they tend to remain stable and not vary from moment to moment. As attitudes put people into frame work of mind of liking or disliking things, as attitude is difficult to change. Person attitudes fit into the pattern and to change one attitude may require difficult adjustments in many others. However all of a persons attitudes do not have equal impact at one time, some are stronger than other and this plays an important when they are buying a sports accessories product. Individuals acquire attitudes through experience and interaction with other people. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007) Attitude of an individual people or group of people always affect the consumer behavior and for example one group of individual with same attitude are diehard fan of a football team and they are highly committed to their team and they have love for the game and if the sponsoring company are providing the sportswear of that team, the people with all the same attitude will buy the same product as the players are wearing. This will affect the consumer behavior and the sports companies should provide better sports accessories for the diehard fans as they all have the same attitude towards a same idea. (Solomon, Dann, Susan Bennett, 2009) So far the consumer attitude has big influence on consumer behavior such as whether you like a product or dislike a product such as do u like Coca Cola or not, do u like Nike and Adidas sports accessories or not. Theoretical framework Based on the theoretical framework the theoretical framework is there to test the validity of an existing theory. It is easier t understand the theoretical framework if it is viewed as the answers to the collected interrelated concepts. Role, Status Age Consumer Behavior Lifestyle Personality Attitude Independent Variable Dependent Variable Hypothesis Development Hypothesis development is necessary as it shows a relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. (Sekaran, 2003: pg 103). Based on the research topic the final indepdent variable and dependant variable are as follows. First Independent variable is Role, Status and Age which is IV1 Second Independent variable is Lifestyle which is IV2 Third Independent variable is Personality and Attitude which is IV3 Consumer Behavior is Dependent Variable which is addressed as DV Hypothesis development is there by confirming or rejecting hypothesis, it is expected that solutions can be found to correct the problem encountered. (Theoretical-Framework-and-Hypothesis-Development, 2010) Null Hypothesis Addressed by: = 0 Finding: There is no relationship between the IVs and DV The null hypotheses represent that the independent variable (IVs) and do not have any effect on the outcome of Dependent Variable DV. Table of Null Hypotheses H1 = Hypothesis 1. Role and Status H2 = Hypothesis 2. Lifestyle H3 = Hypothesis 3. Personality and Attitude = 0 => = Ho H1= Ho There is no significant effect of Role and Status on Consumer Behavior H2= Ho There is no significant effect of Lifestyle on Consumer Behavior H3= Ho There is no significant effect of Personality and Attitude on Consumer Behavior Alternative Hypothesis Addressed by: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 meaning that à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho In hypothesis testing, the null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis are put forward. If the data are sufficiently strong to reject the null hypothesis, then the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of an alternative hypothesis. Alternative hypothesis is a constructed hypothesis which the results are examined against the prediction of null hypothesis. In general the null statement is expressed as no relationship between two variables or no difference between two groups.  The alternate hypothesis  which is the opposite of the null is a statement expressing a relationship between two variables or indicating differences between groups. (Sekaran Bougie, 2003) Procedure: There is either negative or positive relationship between the IVs and DV. The alternative hypotheses represent that the outcomes are different from zero; in particular, it could be positive or negative. As a result, IVs positively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses greater than zero and negatively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses lesser than zero. To find out how significant IVs positively or negatively relate to DV, Alternative Hypotheses are measured. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 => à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho H1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Role and status on Consumer Behavior H2à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Lifestyle on Consumer Behavior H3à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   Ho There is either positive or negative effect of Personality and Attitude on Consumer Behavior Research Design The main aim of this research is to conduct a descriptive study and a correlation study. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe what exists with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The methods involved range from the survey which describes the status, the correlation study which investigates the relationship between variables, to developmental studies which seek to determine changes over time. (Key, 1997) In this research the researcher wants to relate the independent variables and the dependent variables. Descriptive study and a correlation study would help in identifying the information, design a procedure to gather the information and analyze the information with the help of the IVs and DV. 3.1 Research Methodologies In order to collect the data for my research it is necessary to get an understanding of the data collection methods. There are many research methods but according to the topic nature we are doing a qualitative study. Qualitative research is unstructured exploratory in nature based on small samples and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as group interviews, word association asking respondents to indicate their first responses to stimulus words and interviews (Malhotra, 2007) 3.2 Data Collection Methods According to the research design we are going to the following methods Secondary Data: Secondary data are the existing sources which were produced by earlier researchers for some specific purposes. According to the research topic we are using secondary data collections ways as it is from existing sources. (Blaxter et al, 2001) Primary Data: Primary data are original information collected by researchers to fulfill numerous purposes of research. The investigators could collect primary data by using various methods such as direct interviews, interviews through telephone, questionnaires, observations and others. (Macneill and Chapman, 2005) In this research, secondary data will be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, company manuals, and brochures. 3.3 Data Collection Methods In this research, the researcher uses a questionnaire to gather data due to questionnaire is an effective data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest (Sekaran, 2003). Data would be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, and brochures. To capture data, questionnaires are designed accordingly to specific information needed. In order to be precise, the question will be set as simple as possible. The number of question is small and the words are simplified. Before the questionnaire is practiced, they should be pre-tested to see how it works and improved if there is any mistake. 3.4 Data analysis The researcher needs an effective data analysis tool to examine the chosen hypothesis at the beginning step. SPSS which stands for Statistics Package of Social Science is considered the best method in statistical analysis. This software allows researchers to enhance their perception of the data and interpretation of the output. (Weinberg and Abramowitz, 2002) The main jobs of researcher are to decide the needed variables before entering the input to the software, to select correct statistical tests to analyze data and to interpret the final output results. (Bryman and Bell, 2007) 3.5 Pilot-Testing The purpose of doing pilot testing is to detect weaknesses in design and content in the instrument before it is reach final steps. (Fink, 2003), 12 peoples are required to be tested. The pilot tested should monitor the ease with which respondents complete the questionnaire, and also the ease with respondents to complete the questionnaire (Fink, 2003). 4 Ethical issues While conducting survey and interview for the research, the researcher should consider the code of ethical issue. The major responsibility of the researcher is to inform clearly and accurately the surveys purpose and content to respondents so that they can make decision whether they wish to participate. The researcher should also show the respect to the participants by keeping their answers confidential based on the guidelines of the university. Furthermore researcher need to guarantee the data must be used only for this particular report. Schedule No Content Month Oct Nov 2010 Dec Jan 2010 Feb Mar 2010 Week 1,2 3,4 1,2 1,2 1,2 3,4 1,2 3,4 1,2 3,4 1,2 1 Problem Identification 2 Literature Review 3 Research Design 4 Choice of Methodology 5 Data Sources 6 Data Collection 7 Data Analysis 8 Writing up Draft 9 Editing 10 Final Document 11 Binding of Document Table 1 below presents a detailed dissertation schedule to ensure that the research work

Historical Development f Public Administration

Historical Development f Public Administration Since at least the 1970s, public administration has been characterized by an intellectual identity crisis, the various dimensions of which can be most compactly summarized as the legitimacy problem. Drawing from specific authors and schools of thought, outline the major dimensions of the legitimacy problem in public administration and describe the ways in which scholars and reformers have diagnosed and attempted to resolve this problem. Next, explain why the legitimacy problem matters. What is at stake? In considering this aspect of the question, you should think about how the issues presented via the legitimacy question affect the everyday practice of democratic government and the identity of public administration as a field of study. The debate over public administration identity and its legitimacy problem have been the focus for many years, and very likely to continue in foreseeable future. Previous scholars in public administration have examined this issue through a variety of approaches and perspectives. More specifically, the framing of the legitimacy issue and identity crisis in the discipline are all subjected to different scholars own focus and perception about the world. Perhaps the origin of the problem can be dated back to the establishment of US nation, when Founding Fathers drafted the constitution and design three branches of government with check and balance mechanism, they left out public administration, which others might considered that public administration is not a democratic production due to its hieratical structure, and therefore, does not have a legitimate place in government. In general, we can summarize these debates into following aspects: the accountability aspect, constitutional aspect , role of government aspect, and method of public administration employ to approach both academic study and practical matters. These issues affect how we conceptualize the practice of public administration as well as the conduct of research inquiry in the field. Historical development of public administration (accountability aspect) The earliest scholars who mention the identity of public administration are Wodrow Wilson and Goodnow, which also raise the issue of politic-administration dichotomy. During the early period of 20th century, the government system is considered to be corrupted with patronages. Therefore, Wilson argued that there should be a distinct separation between politics and administration, and Goodnow further conclude that politics is the representation of peoples will and administration is the execution of that will. They envision a bureaucratic system with hieratical structure and formal rules and regulations, and expert administrators will act faithfully according to the political system. This notion give rise to the debate between Friedrik and Finer, where on one hand, Finer believes in strict regulation that guard against administrators abuse the power and administrators should only focus on the technical issues, while Friedrik was arguing administrators are experts and should actively eng age in policymaking process. In addition, such dichotomy between politics and administration also revisited by scholars Dwight Waldo and Herbert Simon. Waldo in his Administrative State, points out that the dichotomy is between facts and values, which is impossible and should not be separate in government, since public administration deals with peoples perception toward the state, and the study as well as practice of it should be guided by different normative values. Simon on the other hand, in Administrative Behavior, arguing while there is close relation between politics and administration, the purpose of public administration should focus on the most efficient way to carry out those values. Empirical aspects of legitimacy problem (Role of the government aspect) There are multiple aspects revolving legitimacy problem, from empirical and practical aspect, Nye et al in their book government and its discontented perform empirical test and found that US public has low trust in government and perceive it as inefficient and ineffective which poses the legitimacy problem for the government. Such negative perception toward government, according to David Harvey is stem from neoliberalism, especially against Keynes approach to expend the government during Roosevelt administration. Essentially, the debate over the role of government, or the tension between neoliberalism and Keynes approach, is about the identity of public administration. In other words, neoliberalism considers administrators as hindrance while Keynes supporter see positive value in them. This also introduced the era of New Public Management (NPM) reform. According to scholars Lynn and Kettl, NPM advocates for emphasis on efficiency and accountability to customers, and the market approach which include privatization of services, contract out government service to private and non-profit sectors. However, recent scholars like Stivers, King et al, Denhardt, Fung, Nabatchi, and Lucio, they see weakness in empathizing rolling back or hollowing out the state, and highlight the importance of people trust and connection with others, which government should play active role. (Constitution aspect) Another point of attention in legitimacy problem resides in the constitution, or federalist and anti-federalist debate. Constitution did not directly mention the creation of an administrative system but focus on separation of power, which produced the ambiguities of whether public administration is legitimate or not. Scholar Spicer believe the reason is because constitution regards people as not always rational and must rely on formal rules and structure, and government establishes its legitimacy through a federalist view. However, other scholars have different perspectives than Spicers. For example, McSwite argues that the creation of constitution is a compromise act, a conflict between the social elites that want to ensure their interests and lower members of society, in which the elites successfully create a centralized government that serve the interest of few. Therefore, McSwite was champion a more direct form of democracy system that can alleviate the legi timacy problem. On the other hand, scholar Rohr disagree with McSwites position and believes that constitution was actually intended for public administration to exist because constitution limits the legislature branchs ability to fully represent peoples will. In other words, Rohr suggest that the legitimacy problem occurs due to different interpretation of constitution, and the solution to government legitimacy problem is public administration since administrators are closer to the people compare to congress. Major schools of thoughts and scholars (method aspect) It is not surprising that same constitution could have several different meaning for different scholar, which correspond to scholar David Farmers argument that social reality is different for different groups because each scholars understanding and approach the field is limited by their own experience and knowledge. Coming from a post-modernist perspective, Farmer suggests that the study of public administration should approach through examining the characteristics underlying in current society. In other words, Farmers solution to the public administration identity crisis is to examine the reality through different perspective, which allows for a better understanding of reality. In particular, he points out the limitation of contemporary methods in the practice of public administration which include emphasis on scientific reasoning in the discipline and market-ism in practice. On one hand, scientific reasoning overlooks values and ethic dimension. On the other, market approach practi ce contradicts with governments goal of improving public wellness. Fundamentally, post-modernist perspective caution that reasons and rationality might hinder our understanding of the reality. Similar to Farmers post-modernist perspective, Stivers approach this science and enterprise method in public administration through feminism perspective. Stivers points out that current foundation for public administration was established on gender differences, where masculine attributes like science and rationality overcome the common attributes like trust and caring which considered to be feminine. In addition, Stivers believes that the legitimacy crisis is rooted in the nature of public administration, in which she argues that it is essentially about public trust and connection with each other, the attributes considered to be feminine. Yet public administration legitimacy was established through masculinity, therefore, which caused the decrease of interest in social wellness and seeks effic iency of individual interest. According to Stivers, the end result of that conflict leads to the legitimacy problem, therefore, Stivers believe the solution to the problem is that administrators should focus on improving the relationship and connection between individual among society, and enhance peoples notion of the public. Similarly, Stiverss notion corresponds to Waldos previous suggestion. Waldo strongly disagree with public administration as a value-neutral discipline that apply scientific method to pursuit efficiency, he argues that efficiency is essentially a value also, and to emphasize on efficiency along will sacrifices other normative values. The famous example Waldo use is that Germanys approach during World War II of ethnic cleansing is extremely efficient. Recent scholars like Denhardts also argue another weakness in scientific inquiry into public administration study is the risk that disregard as irrational in peoples behaviors that are not driven by rationality or self-interest. To summarize the method aspect of legitimacy problem, for practitioners, the identity crisis resides in their perception toward different governance approaches: in traditional governance, the method is command and control; in market governance, the method is self-interest; and in collaboration governance, the method is trust and negotiation. How administrators identify which approach should take depend on their beliefs and perception. On the other hand, the methodological aspect of identity crisis in the academic study of public administration revolving around whether public administration is an art that surround with different values and perspectives; or a science that focus on analyzing facts. Scholar Raaschelders propose his solution to identity crisis by acknowledging there are advantages in each of inquiry methods, and the solution to this problem is to put this debate aside and move on. Why legitimacy problem important? Legitimacy issue is a critical challenge facing public administration for both government and academic discipline. Not surprisingly, scholars who participated in the debate over identity crisis all have their own argument why legitimacy issue is a serious problem. For example, scholar Rohr points out that if administration was seen as illegitimate to the people, this will lead to social unrest. Also, Ostrom, in the book intellectual crisis in public administration mentioned that the incidents like Watergate could be attributed to the crisis of legitimacy. Aside from previous scholars concerns, in my opinion, for academic scholars studying in the field of public administration, if we fail to reach consensus on what is public administration and what elements constitute a legitimate knowledge inquiry, then, public administration might be under the risk of being a subfield to another discipline, or even fractionized into several. In addition, the identity crisis of what is public adminis tration can also complicated the intellectual crisis of what the study of public administration should focus. The failure of defining core identity and drawing a clear boundary of inquiry might jeopardize future development of public administration study. While my concerns might not be the same as what scholars like Raaschelders and Denhardt have argued, Raaschelders suggests that current debate over identity of public administration on its methodological approaches is backward, and somewhat meaningless due to the complexity nature of government rendering the true understanding of reality impossible, therefore, future scholars should just move beyond this debate and consider public administration discipline as an interdisciplinary study like a harbor anchoring multi-face studies. Denhardt on the other hand, argues that current emphasis on scientific method might limit the room for other considerations. Therefore, the study of public administration should include other perspectives. These are valid arguments, however, I believe how scholars perceive their studies and how the field defines itself will significantly shape future study and the methods. Yet in the education of public administration, which deals with the training of future administrators, and the curriculum design is associated with what capacity scholars believe administrators should have. My argument for the importance of legitimacy problem is that while public administration discipline includes various schools of thought with their own advantages and weakness, if the academic field is so complex and scholars cannot draw a boundary to the knowledge, then the accumulation of knowledge created since the inception of public administration, combine with extreme diverse scholars perception and methodology, I fear that the wide range content cover in current education system might exceed students capacity to comprehend. In more simplistic terms, my argument is that there is no doubt that every schools o f thought is valuable and impossible to decide which one is outside the realm of public administration, however, the sheer amount of public administration knowledge still requires and challenges this discipline to triage its body of scholars work, so that the training and cultivation of future administrator is possible. Otherwise, over time, this problem of drawing definition might translates to future government administrators and the public struggling with the different experience and understanding; perceptions of governments role; and their approach to formulate and implement policy.

Anorexia Nervosa: An issue of control Essay -- Eating Disorders Health

Anorexia Nervosa: An issue of control As medicine has progressed through the years, so have the avenues for diagnosing the various causes of many disorders. Recently there have been new discoveries about the disorder anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a life-threatening eating disorder defined by a refusal to maintain body weight within 15 percent of an individual's minimal normal weight. (2) Other essential features of this disorder include an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, and amenorrhea (absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles when otherwise expected to occur) in women. (1) Theories about the causes of anorexia nervosa include the psychological, biological, and environmental. This paper will discuss the question of the multiple origins of anorexia nervosa, and attempt to identify a common underlying cause. Conservative estimates suggest that one-half to one percent of females in the U.S. develop anorexia. Because more than 90 percent of all those who are affected are adolescent and young women, the disorder can be characterized primarily as a women's illness. It should be noted, however, that children as young as 7 have been diagnosed, and women 50, 60, 70, and even 80 fit the diagnosis. (5) Like all eating disorders, it tends to occur in pre or post puberty, but can develop at any life change. One reason younger women are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders is their tendency to go on strict diets to achieve an "ideal" figure. This obsessive dieting behavior reflects a great deal of today's societal pressure to be thin, which is seen in advertising and the media. Others especially at risk for eating disorders include athletes, actors, and models for whom thinne... ...he links between mental illness and depression. It addresses a very wide variety of issues. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/9/1663_51209.htm? 7)Genetics and Eating Disorders, this site looks at the link between genetics and eating disorders. It also looks at the different medical studies that have been conducted on the topic. http://my.webmd.com/webmd_today/home/404?ourl=404;http://my.webmd.com/content/article/2/3204_673.htm?&referer=http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web2/arutigliano.html 8)On the Teen Scene, this site looks at the effect of anorexia nervosa on teenagers. It looks at questions as to why it affect that one age group so hard, and its ramifications. http://my.webmd.com/webmd_today/home/404?ourl=404;http://my.webmd.com/content/article/5/1680_50412.htm?&referer=http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web2/arutigliano.html

Essay --

Growing up in an affluent New Jersey neighborhood, Peter Balakian’s house can tell us a lot about his up bringing. Tenafly, New Jersey seems to be a common topic in Balakian’s memoir ‘Black Dog of Fate.’ Not only must we study the house, but also the relationships that are formed within Balakian’s household. His extended family is made up of physicians, merchants, and well-known literary authors. Arguably the biggest presence in Peter’s life was his Grandmother, along with his Mother and Father. One of Peter’s most vivid memories is of his Grandmother. He starts off his memoir with a lengthy description of her and her apartment, as if she were still alive when he wrote it. He describes her apartment as â€Å"mysterious and exotic after the suburban houses of Teaneck† (6). He seems to view her apartment as old fashioned (â€Å"it was a 1940s kitchen with long white cabinets, a white enamel sink, red-speckled linoleum cracking at the seams, and a coiled buzzing fluorescent light on the ceiling† (7)) and different then the houses he is used to in suburbia. Her apartment seems to be laced with Armenian culture compared to his Americanized home back in Teaneck. A tradition or at least custom that seems important to Peter and his life at home is his love for and following of the Yankees. The Yankees were a type of family bonding for Peter, and he even followed them with his Grandmother. â€Å"My grandmother and I followed the Yankees together, and by the time I was ten it had become an ongoing conversation between us. Box scores, averages, pitching rotations, prenogis for the World Series – because there was almost never a series without the Yankees† (12). The Yankees were a symbol of American pride for Peter, â€Å"they were more than a team... ...e. †¦ On either side of our new development were grand nineteenth-century houses and manors set back behind high hedges. †¦ Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century stone Dutch houses still spotted the town and some quite fabulous nineteenth-century estates surrounded our new street† (50). This description of Balkians’s house, as he remembers it, might tell him that his family is becoming more accustomed to the American culture, yet still keeping with their Armenian roots. The move from Teaneck to Tenafly just shows that his family is living the American Dream by finding a city that fits them best and a house that is custom built to their liking. All of a sudden Peter is living in a community where families are larger and dinner is just a race to get done with. It seems as though the move to Tenafly is an immersion into the American lifestyle, even more than Teaneck.

Management Requirements for Different Types of Events

There are many different types of events for an event manager to organize! In this unit I will be talking about some of the most popular types of events Including a birthday party and an outdoor festival! I will explain the necessary processes, goods and services that might be required for the specific event. Birthday Party Planning As an event manager you could be asked to plan someone's 1st birthday to any range of adults birthday parties – all birthday parties can be very different due to the age, range, theme and style required by the client! Consultation ProcessJust like any event, start at the beginning with the consultation process of planning a birthday party with the client is crucial to ensure that they receive the event they expect. If the event manager Is planning a child's party consultation will usually be with the parent or guardian but the older the child gets the more likely they are to get involved in this process. If offering a birthday party event managemen t service, the event manager may want to consider applying for a DB'S formerly known as CRY (Criminal Records Bureaus) check, as it would serve as reassurance for the parents and also enhance the event managers status.It Is necessary that when consulting with birthday party clients It Is Important to determine the size of the party and the approximate age range of the guests. If the age range for a children's party were wide then it would affect what type of entertainment is needed and where it is to be held. The event manager will need to establish whether there are any special requirements for any of the guests attending during the consultation process as this could affect what kind of venues are suitable.Some listed buildings may offer a discount if they do not have disabled access but there are disabled guests. Venues Venues for birthday parties vary depending on the age of the guests and the number of guests! There is a wide range of party decorations available, obvious decorat ions include balloons, banners, flowers, etc. A cake is essential for a birthday party! The cake can be home-made by the client themselves if they wish to save money, bought from a supermarket or custom made if the client wants something more special.Organizing a Charity Event Contact the Charity The first part of planning a charity event is contacting the charity, you should get in touch with the charities fundraising team and notify them that you are planning an vent. Setting a Date The chosen date should be as far in advance as possible when organizing a charity event. If the client wishes to have any special guests at the event then it is important that they are contacted before the date is set in case they are not available.Budgeting and Funding Careful budgeting is very important, the event manager should find out as soon as possible what the budget for the event is and because it is a charity event he/she must be very careful an try to make as much money for that charity as p ossible by saving money in specific areas. Venue Once the date and funding has been arranged then a venue can be investigated! Because the event manger would be panning a charity event it may be possible to get the venue for less or even free! Venues have been known to offer the event free of charge if it is a charity one and they sometimes even donate to the cause.There can be a lot of publicity caused by charity events for the venue. Speakers The client may require specific speakers in order to raise the events profile; the event manger should research them and get in touch with speakers as soon as possible. Auctions are a very popular thing to do within a charity event. Auctions work well at all kinds of events and are a great way to raise some money for a charity! Promoting the Charity Event When I held a charity event I promoted it by putting flyers up around my college and using social networking.Planning a Black Tie Event Venue and Decorations Venue options are more limited f or a black tie event than a birthday party. Guests attending a black tie event have usually paid a high entrance fee and they'll expect a venue that matches that price! When I imagine a black tie event I think of glamour and elegance, venues suitable for a black tie event include a stately home, a hotel, museum, etc. Food and Catering With food and catering it is a good idea to use a previous supplier that did a good job.Photographer It is good to have a photographer at the event as it is a very good way of promoting the event manager, especially considering most of the photos will end up on Backbone (depending on the age range of the event) a lot of people will see what the event was like and may wish to go to the next one that event manager/client organizes. Goodie Bags I don't feel goodie bags are necessary for a black tie event; however I have seen some high profile events give out freebies especially if they are sponsored by a company mating to promote a product!Getting the eve nt sponsored would be a great way of saving money and the goodie bags are an exciting end to the night/event. Organizing Festivals/Outdoor Concerts Accessibility Adequate Sanitary Equipment Large-scale events (especially outdoor events) should have a good number of sanitary facilities, like a sink for guests to clean their teeth, a public shower or portals. Adverse Weather Conditions Weather is extremely UN-predictable in England so it is important to be prepared! I recommend carnival style marquees for a festival, I feel they look impressive inside ND out and suit a festival well.I have been to some outdoor concerts where it has rained but there was no cover, the problem with this is that people may wish to use umbrellas and they can obstruct the view of people behind! I'd recommend handing out or selling Macs if it rains or setting up a marquee/some kind of shelter before the event Just in case. Medical Assistance There must be medical assistance available at a festival/outdoor ev ent; this can be provided by volunteer services like SST Johns Ambulance and The Red Cross – They should be told about the event well in advance. Insurance

Interest Groups and Democracy Essay

There is no doubt that interest groups play an important role in a democratic society. However, while some are essential in enhancing democracy in the society, some undermine democracy. Democracy can be described as a form of political leadership in which all policies and decisions are arrived at based on the principle of majority rule. In a democratic country, the citizens elect their political representatives after a specified period of time. Democratic election of representatives is governed by the principles of fairness, political equality and freedom where all the individuals who are eligible voters exercise their rights to make a choice between political partners. Interests groups, otherwise known as pressure groups play an important role in the establishment of pluralism in a democratic society. There is no doubt that the political representative in any society does not provide sufficient representation of all the interests in the society. In any society, there are diverse opinions and interests that the modern democratic structures in the political parties cannot adequately deal with. This is because of the structures of political parties which aggregate the interests of the society to establish an entity that has the ability to govern the entire country. This makes them disabled to dealing with some basic democracy issues affecting some individuals in the country. The interest groups in such democratic societies enable such individuals’ interests and opinions to be heard and have an influence of the decision making process (Hrebenar, 1999). Proponents of pressure groups in a democratic society have argued that these groups triumph over the deficits that are inherent in any democracy. It is important to note that there are many factors in the political structures in the society that results into inadequacy in democratic processes and consequently the deficit. One of these factors is the infrequent in which the elections of political representatives are carried out. In many democracies around the world, election of representatives is carried out after five or so years. For this reason, the majority have an opportunity to participate in a democratic process and influence the decision making process once in a few years. Moreover, the minorities in the society may not be fairly represented in the political parties and therefore have no influence on the democratic processes. In such cases, interests groups play an important role in proving a solution to these inadequacies in the democratic process. Although there are other remedies to the deficits in a democracy, there is no doubt that interest groups enhance democracy (Golden, 1998). The most important facet of democracy is the participation of the masses in all democratic processes. Interest groups in a society play an important role in promoting political participation in the society. Although voting is the most basic process in a democratic society, it does not provide the people with the ability to influence the politics of the country. People may participate in the voting process but may not have the strength to express their views individually to their representatives. Moreover, the political parties may not have all the powers to influence the people to participate in essential political practices such as voting. By people coming together which are facilitated by interest groups, they can push forwards their ideas and feelings about a policy issue. Other than influencing each other in making the right decision in the voting process, individuals within an interest group have the ability to take collective actions which will have a greater influence in the decision making process (Jordan & Maloney, 2007). For example, interest groups who are opposed to gay marriages and abortion can campaign for representatives in the legislature who are pro-life. In so doing, they will be able to influence the outcome of the elections and consequently the decision made by the legislature. This may be the only way through which individuals opposed to such activities in the society can be heard in a democratic society. The same is true for individuals supporting gay marriages and legalization of abortion. Interest groups also mobilize individuals with certain opinions about governance and decisions made in a democratic country to protest against political decisions that they are not satisfied. Through these street protests, the masses are able to express their dissatisfaction thus enhancing democracy (Bosso, 2003). Interests groups play a complementary role of political parties. It is common for a large number of citizens to rally behind a particular political party but are not satisfied by the running of the party. The majority may be unhappy with the position held by their political party on key issues on governance and legislation. Through pressure groups within the political party, they can influence the position of the party on the issues which may not be possible if an individual member of the party seeks to influence the party’s position. For example, individuals within a party may use pressure groups to influence the party’s position and include environmental protection or health care as one of the party’s political agenda. These issues may not be part of the party manifesto but if it is in the best interest of the party and the general public, interest groups can be used to incorporate the issues into the political agenda (Chaskin, 2003). Proponents of interest groups on a democratic society argue that they disperse the powers of the government. Pressure groups in a country have diverse opinions on key issues affecting the society many of which conflict. Due to the presence of these divergent and conflicting pressures on the government, the authorities and policy makers are compelled to listen to the suggestion brought forward by the interest groups. This way, the government acts as a mediator between interest groups with conflicting issues. This introduces the aspect of bargaining and compromise which is important in any democracy. It has also been observed that in some democratic countries such as Britain, the people representatives, who are the members of parliament are impaired in their ability to scrutinize the activities of the central government. In such countries, the interest groups play a major role in enhancing democracy by ensuring that the people representatives are informed of public satisfaction with the government activities. The interest groups in this case act as informal researchers who give briefing to the people’s representatives. The existences of interest groups that promote the welfare of marginalized individuals promote democracy by combating the elite’s interests in the society and ensuring that the disadvantaged are heard. In other words, the interest groups empower the citizens to fight for their democratic rights (Greenwood, 2007). In a democratic society, the interest groups provide an important linkage between the people and the government. Due to this link, the government is more responsible and remains focused on the interests of the general public while promoting democratic citizenship. They provide a vital channel through which information flows from the public to the government and the reverse. They inform and advise the government as well as the public on appropriate actions to take concerning emerging issues in the society (Ehrman, 1972). Despite these important roles played by the interest groups in promoting democracy in the society, some people have argued that they undermine and distort democracy and political systems in a country. For example, the interest group may represent a minority group in the society but be powerful enough to influence the decision in the country. This undermines the basic principle of democracy, majority always rules. This happens when the minorities through the powerful interest groups are able to influence decisions and policies that are against the will of the majority. These undemocratic practices that are promoted by interest groups are very common in trade unions and pressure groups with commercial and business affiliations. In many cases, the level of influence by a certain interest group in the country is determined by the financial and economic position of the pressure group or its members. In many cases, the influence and the position of the general society are not comparable and may be out of proportion (Keohane at al, 2009). Some interest groups are either too powerful or may promote corruption in a country. This limits its ability to promote the democracy and the interests of the general public. For example, interest groups pushing for the interests of the manufactures may be too powerful to influence decisions that favor the manufacturers at the expense of the public. Moreover, such interest groups may finance political campaigns in anticipation that they will obtain favors in the long run. Secret financial affairs and corruption have also been cited to demonstrate how interest groups undermine democracy (Sudbery, 2003). Opponents of the participation of interest groups in democracy maintain that they promote the inequalities in the society because of the high likelihood of them being influenced by the socially and economically advantaged members of the society. Marxists argue that the principle role of interest groups in a democratic society is to maintain the status quo or make the social divide worse. They also argue that the view of the government as a mediator between the conflicting interests as a cover-up of the real nature of power. Interests groups can also cause stagnation of democratic evolution in a society where one interest group blocks introduction of new issues in the society. This may limit social and economic development in the society. It is also important to note that the interest groups are subject to individualistic interests. This is mainly because the election of officials and running the affairs of the group in not always done democratically. It makes no sense how interest groups promote democracy whereas their structures are not democratic (Jordan & Maloney, 2007). In conclusion, interest groups play a major role in promoting or undermining democracy in a country. They are therefore good and at the same time bad in any democratic society. However, the large number of interest groups around the world indicates that they are successful in their mandate. They enable the general members of the public to have an influence on the decision making processes thus enhancing democracy, but can have negative effects if not well regulated.