Copyright Laws Should Be Abolished Essay - 1302 Words

Copyright laws are laws that restrict users of certain information, such as literature works and computer programs, from distributing that information. They are based on the belief that those who discover information should have some control over who can use that information. The control is mostly intended to allow the discoverers to make money through distributing the knowledge only to those who pay them. However, such control is inherently inefficient and infringes on the rights of the users to obtain the information they need. Copyright laws should be abolished because they are economically unsound. If a person obtains information, his or her decision-making capability is likely to improve, thus benefiting both the person and†¦show more content†¦The ideas may profoundly affect their lives. Moreover, art can bring happiness, and the government should strive to make the people happy. Therefore, all unnecessary laws that reduce access to art by preventing people from communicating art should be abolished. Copyright laws are ineffective since they are frequently violated. Worldwide, 40% of software is unauthorized (Business Software Alliance). File-sharing networks make copyright laws unenforceable; almost all popular songs can be obtained free of charge through these networks. The victory in courts against Napster file-sharing service is empty since in its place appeared file-sharing programs that do not require a centralized server and thus are almost impossible to stop. In September 2001, 1.51 billion of (primarily copyrighted) files were downloaded using distributed file-sharing networks. In October, that number rose to 1.81billion (Mariano). The violations show a failure of copyright laws and cause special problems. Because of copyright laws, money and resources are spent on obtaining unauthorized copies of information, on enforcing the laws, and on propaganda that using information to improve life without the permission of copyright holders is theft and piracy. By abolishing copyright laws, that money will be saved. Moreover, widespread violations of the laws cause disorder and promote the dangerous belief that violating laws is good. For example, the prohibition of alcohol in theShow MoreRelatedShould Copyright Law Be Changed?1949 Words   |  8 PagesShould Copyright Law Be Changed? We often experience the effects of copyright law on a day to day basis without even realizing it. Whether we are uploading a video to Youtube or just listening to our favorite songs over the internet, copyright law affects us. For example, nearly everyone who has spent time on Youtube has come across a video that has been taken down due to a copyright claim. Also, listening to Pandora radio for an extended period of time will leave users with a prompt to verifyRead MoreThe Law Of Copyright And Its Historical Development1294 Words   |  6 PagesThe Law of Copyright and its historical development - Tracing back the historical development of copyright protection of the authors work, the idea of copyright protection only began to emerge with the invention of printing, which made it possible for the literary works to be duplicated by mechanical processes. Prior to that, hand copying was the sole mean of reproduction. Following Gutenberg s invention of printing press in 1436 in Germany, the necessity of protecting printers and booksellers wasRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Be Abolished1691 Words   |  7 PagesHogan, William Mrs. Hooks DRE 097 5 March 2015 Outline Thesis: The death penalty has to be abolished if American society wishes to progress. I. Introduction The death penalty, or capital punishment, is an archaic and barbaric practice; a fallacy of the criminal justice system. II. In the history of death penalty tells the accounts of the dramatic change over four centuries III. Counter argument A. Justice is the leading argument of supporters of capital punishment B. SupportersRead MoreA Study on Investment Income1661 Words   |  7 Pagesfor the borrower is actively laboring or using the capital to increase returns and pay the interest. Interest is passive income, since it is money the lending nation receives with little or no effort. Interest income various across nations and their laws. Interest income in Japan is very generous as $56,000 per taxpayer is tax exempted. Interest income in the UK is incorporated into the total individual income and is part of the global income, but in Japan, it is treated as the nominal withheld taxesRead MoreEssay Issues on Patent and Copyright Laws In China2391 Words   |  10 PagesIssues on Patent and Copyright Laws In China This site contains information on Chinas patent and copyright law. It goes on to discuss some ethical issues about Chinas lack of law enforcement on intellectual property protection. History of Patent System China’s patent system can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty when China began signing international treaties. For example, on August 18, 1903, China and the United States agreed on a treaty on navigation and commerce. The treatyRead MoreFreedom Of Speech And Expression Essay974 Words   |  4 PagesAfter enactment of Constitution, many laws related to press were challenged before the court. In Srinivasa Bhat v. State of Madras, K. Madhava Menon v. State of Bombay, Avanti Press 1950, Amar Nath v. State of Punjab, Romesh Thapar v. Chief Secretary of Patna, Tara Singh v. the State of Punjab, Fram Nusserwanji v. State of Bombay, Chandardeo v. State of Bihar, Tozam-mal v. Government of Bengal, etc., the laws related to press ultra vires to the constitution were quashed. Article 19(1) (a), freedomRead MoreThe Piracy Of Music Piracy1507 Words   |  7 Pagespeer) website for file sharing, and shares files such as songs or software. This is considered theft due the fact that the files aren’t free, they have a price to them. Music Piracy is an abomination to artistry, and the creation of Art. It must be abolished. According to the Musicmetric Digital Music Index;in 2012, The United States came in the highest in the number of illegal downloads of music with about 96.7 million downloads in the first half of the year. This is a huge difference consideringRead MoreEssay on To Download Or Not To Download2446 Words   |  10 Pagessharing of music in MP3 format. A popular site to download â€Å"free† music is called Napster. This program allows people to share music files, discover new artists, and become part of the music community. Although Napster is controversial, the program should still remain accessible to Internet users and music lovers. Marc Geiger, a supporter of the program, states that â€Å"Napster is ‘totally community oriented,† (â€Å"Napster†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). It brings artists and fans together, and can allow struggling musicians a chanceRead MoreThe World Trade Organization Essay1171 Words   |  5 Pagesorganizations. In addition, the meetings are held in secret and requests for information about these meetings are denied. (globalexchange) The WTO is a stacked court. The organizations dispute panels, decide if domestic laws are barriers to trade and whether they should be abolished or not. 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Possible Solutions to Self-Harm Free Essays

[Enter title here] A large number of people in western society have found self-mutilation as a means to â€Å"escape† from the problem’s haunting their everyday life. The act of cutting oneself has been proven to release chemical compounds into the body to momentarily clear the mind of such problems. These compounds, known as endorphins, relieve the body of whatever tension and stress that is undergone in the individual’s life. We will write a custom essay sample on Possible Solutions to Self-Harm or any similar topic only for you Order Now Harming one’s self is a serious problem that must be assessed and treated in an appropriate manner that will not only stop the act within the individual but also remove the source of such trauma in their life. The cause of such actions has been known to come in from a large multitude of personal problems. Problems such as an unsuitable household, difficulties within a person’s social background, or even the image they see within themselves. Professor Keith Hawton oversaw a study taken over the amount of adolescents who admitted to inflicting harm upon themselves. His survey took place in forty-one schools involving 6,020 subjects aged fifteen to sixteen. The results were that â€Å"398 (6. 8%) participants reported an act of deliberate self harm in the past year† (Hawton 2002). According to the results, more females admitted to this act than males. Of those females who were accountable to deliberate self-harm, they confessed the causes being their â€Å"friends, self harm by family members, drug misuse, depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and low self esteem† (Hawton 2002). The factors found within the males were drug use, suicidal behavior found within their friends and family, and low self-esteem. Patricia and Peter Adler discuss the effects that undergone by the individual through the expectations of those around that person. In their writing, â€Å"The Glorified Self† the Adlers present how a society creates an image of those within it and the pressure placed upon those people create an inner conflict â€Å"between their desire for recognition, flattery, and importance and the inclination to keep feeding this self-affirming element† (Adler 195). As society continues to surround the individual, the pressure increases as the person begins to take on a role which they may not feel is best suited for them, yet must be upheld in order to feel better accepted within their society. Such expectations are found in those closest to that person: parents, siblings, friends or anyone who could affect that person’s life. These expectations can create a dilemma within the individual, whether they wish to be who they want or who they are required to be. Through the burden of deciding on they wish to become, the troubled person begins to turn away from the sources of their problems and look for a quick escape. That escape varies among the individual experiencing such complications in their life, anything from substance abuse to physically abusing their own body. The human body finds whatever means necessary in order to cope with the difficulties presented in their life. This coping mechanism is the brain’s way of releasing the stress that builds up over time from dealing with whatever obstacles that are laid out before the person. In order to stop such actions taking place, the source of the problem(s) must then be removed, or tuned down enough to no longer give the desire for the person to find a momentary escape. Removing all sources of responsibilities in a person’s life is nearly impossible. Instead of removing the source of the problem, a more possible solution is to show the people undergoing such problems that they aren’t alone in their responsibilities. Giving out a hand to those in need will show them that they don’t need to hold their problems to themselves. Encourage a troubled individual to express their fears, problems, and concerns in hopes that in doing so, that person may then be able to realize that as tough as things may be, they are never alone. Another way to relieve stress in a positive manner is meditation. True this seems like it won’t do much, but â€Å"that small amount of peace in your day can help you deal with or even release stress† (Alvarez 2012). There are countless ways to combat the problems in an individual’s life, remedies that expand anywhere from eating healthy to taking a few minutes in their day to meditate or exercise. Sources Cited Adler, Patricia A. , and Peter Adler. â€Å"The Glorified Self. †Ã‚  Social Theory. Ed. Roberta Garner. 2nd ed. [S. l. ]: Univ Of Toronto, 2009. 195-207. Print. Alvarez, Manny. â€Å"10 Ways to Relieve Stress Naturally. † Newsgroup. Fox News. Fox News, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Hawton, Keith. â€Å"Deliberate Self Harm in Adolescents: Self Report Survey in Schools in England. †Ã‚  Ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/. National Center for Biotechnology Information, 23 Nov. 2002. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. How to cite Possible Solutions to Self-Harm, Papers

Review of Macroeconomic Issues Housing Affordability

Question: Describe about the Research paper on Australian macroeconomic issue? Answer: Introduction/Significance of the Problem Debates over the drivers and the trend of Australian housing affordability and various other advanced countries have stress over the effects of failure of market in particular markets like the private rental sector and the problems related to equity (Yates, Berry, Burke, Jacobs, Milligan and Randolph 2004). However, its also the case that certain factors that results through the enhanced housing stress effects over the broad economy by the interaction of the movements in the prices of housing and changes in the demand (Yates, Berry, Burke, Jacobs, Milligan and Randolph 2004). This report focuses over the main economic impact of the issues related to the housing affordability in Australia, which is also the major microeconomic issue. The main aim of this report is to offer the broad rationale and the basis on which policies could be developed and improved the outcome of housing affordability. In Australia housing affordability is referred in the operational relations of both the regio nal and the national economies and not just the question of social policy (Gabriel, Jacobs, Arthurson, Burke and Yates 2005). As per the traditional theory of public finance explores three branches related to economic involvement through the state which are: stabilization, allocation, and distribution (Milligan 2005). In the case of allocation, government might intervene towards offset or either right market failures or imperfections (Milligan 2005). In the second case of distribution, government tries to act in order to bring the changes in the distribution of both wealth and income as determined by the market (Yates and Gabriel 2006). Finally, in case of stabilization, main agencies like central banks and the government takes the responsibility of steering the entire economy in order to achieve the combination of stability of price, relevant aggregate employment, as well as external balance in economy (Yates and Gabriel 2006). Australia Housing affordability Index 1984-2006 (Source: Yates and Gabriel 2006) Significance of the issue The main significance of this report is to explore the main issues as well as view of the policy towards the role of housing affordability in having the Australian macroeconomic performance (Berry 2006). This report also holds importance in reviewing the evidences over the interactions among the housing investment, macroeconomic policy, household debt and the household consumption in Australia that stress over the role of housing affordability (Yates, Berry, Burke, Jacobs, Milligan and Randolph 2004). Analysis This research indicates the housing affordability as structural issue that could enhance the existing policies and actions taken by government. Measuring housing affordability Housing affordability is considered as the tenure-neutral term, which implies the relationship among the income of household and the expenditure of household over the cost of housing (Berry 2006). Its noted that the average amount spent over the cost of housing in every household in the regions of Australia has increased by 11% of the income of household in the mid of 1970 to more than 15% in the year 2003-2004 (Yates 2007). Present its noted that around 15% of the overall household has paid twice, that is 30% of the income is earned in meeting the cost of housing (Milligan, Phibbs, Gurran and Fagan 2007). In case of low income household is proportion is around 28% that is double of the average of Australian. Its noted that this proportion has increased by 24% in the past decade (Yates 2007). (Source: Yates 2007) Under the scenario that is consistent with the economic as well as geographical trends employed by the intergenerational report of Australian government, the low income household proportion with the housing cost ratio is more than the Australian wide average, and its expected that it might increase by 20% for the one who are between the age group 25-65 (Burke and Pinnegar 2007). Its noted that in the year 2002-03, the total low income households were 860000 in Australia that face the housing stress and faced the risk of housing affordability (Yates 2007). Issues of housing affordability Broad measures cant explain about the factors that could determine the expenditure level on the housing, and explain about the implications of facing the housing stress and it failed to capture the experiences related to issues of affordability (Yates, Kendig and Phillips 2007). The issues of housing affordability increase when the households actually force towards decisions, which impact them and they were not able to make up and had to face the housing stress (Ball and Wood 1999). There are various examples of it in form of deprivation like, going without having the meal, enforce the mobility of housing, and children didnt went to schools, that lead to increase in housing stress into the financial stress (Beddoes 2005). Exploring risk of households Issues related to housing stress and housing affordability is focused towards sub groups (Benjamin, Chinloy and Jud 2004). The low income group of households includes the single people, young people, purchasers, households with family, households living in metro cities, working people, and private renters (Benjamin, Chinloy and Jud 2004). From the one who are at risk, the renters from low income group faced intense and widespread issues in comparison to low income purchasers (Berry and Dalton 2004). There are many private rentals, which were not aspiring to have the ownership of home. From the group of low income group, faced the housing stress for long period instead of short period (Berry and Dalton 2004). The purchasers from low income group got vulnerable towards the risk that was related to the housing lack of security, which even manifested their ability to meet with the increase rate of interest (Bertaut 2002). (Source: Bertaut 2002) Why housing affordability was issue in Australia Not every risk relates with the housing affordability is borne through the individual households, but many risk were borne through the society (Black, Meza and Jeffreys 1996). There were many coping strategies that were employed contributed towards lack of cohesion from social aspect (Yates, Berry, Burke, Jacobs, Milligan and Randolph 2004). Equity of intergeneration was actually compromised through the rising disparity among the one who gain the access towards home ownership and the one who were not able to do so (Boone, Giorno and Richardson 1998). The issues of housing affordability holds the capacity to make it more challenging for the economy to manage, and in result of that sensitivity increased for the risk households towards changes in policy (Boreland, Gregory and Sheehan 2001). The Behavioral Life-cycle Theory The life cycle theory is cast in the standard utility for increasing tradition of economics of mainstream (Brady, Canner and Maki 2000). This theory includes that all households should organize their consumption by certain stages of life cycle for increasing lifetime utility (Brady, Canner and Maki 2000). This theory treats every income on equal basis, which means all income might impact the consumption and savings of household (Burbidge and Sheehan 2001). Its implies household might vary in receiving income as present income stream or either cash payment, which is a capital gain over previous wealth and as a particular income stream towards current value in which income is equal to the payment of cash (Camerer and Lowenstein 2003). Findings The findings of this research over the housing affordability in case of low income group in Australia tries to reinforce the previous studies conducted in Australia (Campbell and Cocco 2004). Overall, they offer strong support towards the case of setting up the national goal of policy for improving the housing affordability issues (Yates, Berry, Burke, Jacobs, Milligan and Randolph 2004). Under this goal, proper actions are taken by spheres of the government in 4 areas of strategy for tackling the drivers as well as results of the decline for long term in Australian issue of housing affordability (Campbell and Cocco 2004). The first set of the actions need to be directed towards the long term trends of increasing house as well as land cost through improving the housing market efficiency (Macfarlane 2005). Specific attention need to be placed for minimizing the impediments towards housing supply in the required regional as well as metropolitan locations in order to improve the residential development efficiency and for reforming the tax settings, which might affect over the houses prices in specific market, either through adding cost or either through stimulating demands (Case, Quigley and Shiller 2001). There exist the needs to offer the direct assistance of finance in order to help the renters in low income group or either buyers who are struggling for house (Case, Quigley and Shiller 2003). This financial assistance need to be designed in order to be responsive towards the variations in the individual household circumstances, which experience the issues of housing affordability (Case and Shiller 2004). Therefore, its important to carefully target the assistance in order to reduce the adverse impact of prices (Kahneman and Tversky 2000). A funding, national policy along with framework of delivery that holds the capability of securing the private investment in referred as additional supply of affordable rent housing and for sale is needed for the purpose of stimulating the provision at the affordable ends in the private market and for redressing the reduction in the provision of social housing (Dalton 1999). Its noted that changes in the system of social housing will be required in order to be secure about the viability of the lying source of los cost housing and then it should be integrated with the lying service providers and to offer asset in the expanded affordable housing sector (Dornbusch and Fischer 1987). Policyrecommendations In order to achieve the sustainable as well as effective improvements in the housing affordability for the Australian households for the coming generations, government of the country require to adapt towards the balance of policy set reforms under specific vision, framework or either purpose of its implementation (La Cava 2003). A coordinated response of the cross government applies to both the policy tools of housing and towards other policy levers in order to address the requirements of the individual households and for redressing the issues of systematic housing markets (Leung 2004). Particular tools of housing policy will be relevant towards alleviating the housing stress and for supporting for offsetting the patterns of the economic as well as social exclusion, which relates to the unaffordable housing situations (Glaeser and Sacerdote 2000). However, the research findings implies about the flexible housing policy that is required in past in order to respond towards the variation in experiences of housing affordability along with diversity of the impacts on the life of the people (Kelly 2001). Specifically, policies that create influence over the market performance of labor or on economic development, along with transport planning, monetary and fiscal policies, population policies, policies of income support, infrastructure policies, settlement planning, needs to enhance the regional as well as urban sustainability, and should also put more stress over addressing the housing affordability issues with the other goals (Dvornak and Kohler 2003). It is by the adjustments made in the main areas that the actions related to the alleviate housing stress for short time period would be buttress through the broad strategies, which could met out the causes as well as effects of deterioration of the housing affordability (Dvornak and Kohler 2003). Conclusion Through conducting the comparison from the last two years, its noted that housing markets have got eased and the equity markets is also trying to recover in Australia. Its also noted that consumption growth is slow along with economy. However, the outcome dont cut the arguments that are presented in the report, but the fact is opposite of the case. The growth of economy has reduced instead of getting sharpen due to the facts. Its noted that prices of housing have gone flatten due to the reduced modesty in most of the market, instead of getting crashed by around 20-30% as forecasted in certain quarters that also tries to reduce the negative effects over spending on wealth. Its true that Australia has always been lucky, and the risk nature is that, present soft landing provides no guarantee of the next time. References Ball, M. and Wood, A. 1999. 'Housing investment: long run international trends and volatility'. Housing Studies, 14(2), pp. 185-209. Beddoes, Z. 2005. 'The great thrift shift'. The Economist, 9, pp. 3-24. Benjamin, J., Chinloy, P. and Jud, G. 2004. 'Real estate versus financial wealth in consumption'. Journal of Real Estate Economics and Finance, 29(3), pp. 341-354. Berry, M. 2006. Housing affordability and the economy: A review of macroeconomic impacts and policy issues. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Berry, M. 2006. Housing affordability and the economy: A review of the labour markets impacts and policy issues. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Berry, M. and Dalton, T. 2004. 'Housing prices and policy dilemmas: a peculiarly Australian problem?' Urban Policy and Research, 22(1), pp. 69-92. Bertaut, C. 2002. 'Equity prices, household wealth and consumption growth in foreign industrial countries: wealth effects in the 1990s'. New York: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System International Finance Discussion Paper. Black, J., Meza, D. and Jeffreys, D. 1996. 'House prices, the supply of collateral and the enterprise economy'. Economic Journal, 106, pp. 60-75. Boone, G., Giorno, C. and Richardson, P. 1998. 'Stock market fluctuations and consumption behaviour: some recent evidence'. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Boreland, J., Gregory, B. and Sheehan, P. 2001. 'Inequality and economic change'. Australia, Melbourne: Centre for Strategic Economic Studies. Brady, P., Canner, G. and Maki, D. 2000. 'The effects of recent mortgage refinancing'. Federal Reserve Bulletin. Burbidge, A. and Sheehan, P. 2001. 'The polarisation of families'. Australia, Melbourne: Centre for Strategic Economic Studies. Burke, T. and Pinnegar, S. 2007. Experiencing the housing affordability problem: blocked aspirations, trade-offs and financial hardships. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Camerer, C. and Lowenstein, G. 2003. 'Behavioural economics: past, present, future'. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Campbell, J. and Cocco, J. 2004. 'How do housing prices affect consumption? Evidence from micro data'. Harvard Institute of Economic Research. Case, K. and Shiller, R. 2004. 'Is There a Bubble in the Housing market?' The Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 3, 299-362. Case, K., Quigley, J. and Shiller, R. 2001. 'Comparing Wealth Effects: The Stock Market vs. the Housing Market.' National Bureau of Economic Research. Case, K., Quigley, J. and Shiller, R. 2003. 'Home-buyers, Housing and the Macroeconomy' Asset Prices and Monetary Policy Conference. Sydney: Reserve Bank of Australia. Dalton, T. 1999. 'Making Housing Policy in Australia: Home Ownership and the Disengagement of the State' Social Science and Planning. Melbourne: RMIT University. Dornbusch, R. and Fischer, S. 1987. Macroeconomics. New York: McGraw-Hill. Dvornak, N. and Kohler, M. 2003. 'Housing wealth, stock market wealth and consumption: a panel analysis for Australia'. Sydney: Economics Research Department, Reserve Bank of Australia. Gabriel, M., Jacobs, K., Arthurson, K., Burke, T. and Yates, J. 2005. Conceptualising and measuring the housing affordability problem. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Glaeser, E. and Sacerdote, B. 2000. 'The social consequences of housing'. Journal of Housing Economics, 9(1-2), pp. 1-23. Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. 2000. Choices, Values and Frames. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kelly, S. 2001. 'Trends in Australian wealth: new estimates for the 1990s' 30th Annual Conference of Economist. Perth: University of Western Australia. La Cava, G. and J., S. 2003. 'A Tale of Two Surveys: Household Debt and Financial Constraints in Australia, Research Discussion Paper 2003-08'. Sydney: Reserve Bank of Australia, Economics Research Group. Leung, C. 2004. 'Macroeconomics and housing: a review of the literature'. Journal of Housing Economics, 13, pp. 249-267. Macfarlane, I. 2005. 'Global influences on the Australian economy'. RBA Bulletin, 1, pp. 1-6 Milligan, V. 2005. Directions for affordable housing policy in Australia: Outcomes of a stakeholder forum. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Milligan, V., Phibbs, P., Gurran, N. and Fagan, K. 2007. Approaches to evaluation of affordable housing initiatives in Australia. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Yates, J. 2007. Access to home ownership: past and present. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Yates, J. 2007. Housing affordability and financial stress. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Yates, J. 2007. The polarisation of housing affordability. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Yates, J. and Gabriel, M. 2006. Housing affordability in Australia. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Yates, J., Berry, M., Burke, T., Jacobs, K., Milligan, V. and Randolph, B. 2004. Housing Affordability for Lower Income Australians. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Yates, J., Kendig, H. and Phillips, B. 2007. Sustaining fair shares: the Australian housing system and intergenerational sustainability. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Volkswagen Polo Product

Introduction The Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest car makers. Specifically, the group is ranked third in the entire world in the automotive industry.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Volkswagen Polo Product specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The group has several branches across the world and their marketing communication strategies in these regions are influenced by a unique consumer behaviour culture of each market region. Besides, the group has proactively rolled successful marketing strategies that classify the targeted market segments and creation of relevant advertisement messages that directly and positively improve their sales. Several marketing communication tools and different media have been employed by the group across its branches which operate independently of the mother company. The treatise will attempt to explicitly review different marketing communication policies that the Gro up has adopted in China and the United Kingdom branches through consumer behaviour and marketing communication theoretical perspectives for the Volkswagen Polo product. The paper concludes by offering recommendations to make the current marketing communication strategies for the Volkswagen Polo product more effective. International Marketing Strategies of Volkswagen Polo Product in China Volkswagen China Group Market Segmentation strategy In the product market, life style defines the activities clients are involved in, beliefs, opinion, health aspects, and interests. As defined in the ‘Activities, Interest, and Opinion marketing model’, life style directly dictates purchasing behaviour and preference (Anbu Mavuso 2012).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Chinese population consists of many middle income families who have continued to be more conscious of costs an d sustainability of automobiles they purchase (Fields 2010). Specifically, the cosmopolitan Shanghai city has a comfortable percentage of high market clients who have fully embraced Volkswagen Polo brand because of its affordability as compared to other automobile models. Besides, they tend to associate with sophistication and have money to spend. The middle and high social classes of clients are the key target this product. These groups are heavy spenders in automobile, especially those that promise unique aspects and have unique features such as those incorporated in the Chinese Volkswagen models (Ashtiani et al. 2011). As the issue of the need for safety and green living penetrate automobile industry, Chinese clients have increasingly grown shy from environmental unfriendly automobile to friendly automobiles that are efficient. The target group has a peculiar buying motive for the Volkswagen Polo product since the company incorporated the aspects of green living in this automobil e model that rhyme with the conservative culture of the Chinese (Fornell 2002). Besides, a good percentage of sales in China are generated by referrals from satisfied customers who acted as marketing agents for the company on the aspects of affordability, efficiency, and reliability of the Volkswagen models. The introduction of more efficient technologies has enabled construction of lighter, less expensive, and more powerful Volkswagen Polo brands such as the unique Golf brand for the Chinese market.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Volkswagen Polo Product specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, there has been a global rise in the hobby of driving the Gold model and the application of a model such as sport utility for the young consumers’ bracket (Farris, Neil, Pfeifer 2010). The target market for the new Golf brand in China is individual users, government agencies, and military units. However, it is worth noting that each of the target users mentioned is unique and has different marketing and pricing strategies that can be adjusted in accordance to prevailing market conditions in China. Selling the Volkswagen brands in China is no longer using the indirect method distribution channel; however, caution has been taken to ensure that middlemen are minimized. Minimizing the middlemen is essential in ensuring profit maximization and that consumers are not overcharged since every middleman charges an extra profit or commission for the goods they sell (Hardester 2010). Advertisement messages Advertisements are very manipulative and use tactics that directly and involuntarily appeal to the mind of the target person. Despite ignorance of the same and disbelief of their effects, advertisements remain complex and significant in the choice of products owned by an individual. Usually, advertisements appeal to memory or emotional response. As a result, it creates an intrinsic motivation r esponse that triggers the mind to activate affiliation, self-acceptance, and feign community feeling. In the end, advertisements succeed in appealing to emotions through capitalization on biases and prejudices of people (Freshwater, Sherwood, Drury 2006). Therefore, the response to an advertisement will emaciate from the bandwagon technique which heaps pressure on the mind to follow the perceive crowd.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reflectively, the successes of Volkswagen promotion messages are deeply entrenched in the principle of keeping reliable and professional reputation in exchanging ideas and convincing customers. Therefore, through timely appeal to emotions and self-prejudice, the Volkswagen China Group has realized that the human mind is often skewed towards embracing the ‘perceived goodness’ and need to identify with ‘the ideal’ in the packaging of the Golf model as the third generation green automobile in their television advertisements (Hill Westbrook 2010). Interestingly, these aspects are clearly painted as perfect in the various advertisements about products and services through the use of bright and powerful communication themes such as the brands outshining a tiger in a real time race. These pop up memories will actively reminisce and provoke an involuntary response when noticed in an advertisement. For instance, the Volkswagen China has largely succeeded in impleme nting this aspect of ‘jumping the queue’ ahead of other competitors through visible and inducing signs all over the Chinese region. Upon noticing the signs, the mind will perceive them to belong to the Volkswagen Company, irrespective of the physical geography at the moment. These advertisements erected signs endeavours to cue the visual mental aspect of a person into a particular brand of the different brands of the automobile company (Hill Ettenson 2005). Interestingly, this strategy has proven relevant in the case of Volkswagen China Company, which has remained dominant due to perception people associate the advertisement signs with. Appropriateness of the advertisement messages in China The advertisement messages are very effective in terms of attention since they are decorated with simple to understand scenes besides the warm red colours common in the Chinese culture. The strategically placed background red colour in Volkswagen China advertisement messages is an e ye catcher associated with pomp, speed, and sophistication (Keller 1998). In addition, the targeted viewer would immediately develop curiosity to understand the symbolic importance of the Golf model outshining the powerful tiger in a real time race. As a result, it creates an intrinsic motivation response that triggers the mind to activate affiliation, self-acceptance, and feign community feeling towards the Volkswagen brands. In the end, these advertisements succeed in appealing to emotions through capitalization on biases and the middle and high income clients in China. The use of glittering generalities on a product or service aims at influencing the involuntary urge in the mind, to identify with attractiveness or glittery of the product as painted in colourful advertisement. Often, an average mind would easily be influenced by the brightness and attractive presentation. In the process of decoding this message, mind is actually tuned towards accepting the product as perfect and v ery attractive (Holt Quelch 2009). Coupled with proven performance, a customer would purchase such as product based on the influence of the glittery on the mind. Through the envisioning creation of simultaneous but independently functioning needs to identify with attractiveness, many Chinese customers have been swayed into buying the Volkswagen China’s appeal when purchasing automobiles. For instance, the Golf and Polo have created authoritative assertion that directly appeals to positive emotions among the target audience of the pitched idea (Bowden 2009). Reflectively, Volkswagen China Group has capitalized on endorsements through testimonials from outstanding figures to promote sales. Factually, in subtle difference makes image stereotyping a perfect situation in the minds of target persons. Therefore, when the image of the user as projected in such an advertisement resembles the perceived satisfaction of a customer, such a party would aspire to access the same benefits f rom use as indicated in the image shown. In the advertisement, the company has internalised the need for uniqueness in display, space and prominence to easily woe the mind into concentrating on the Volkswagen brands in China (Mangram 2012). Through advertisement, the Volkswagen China Group has ensured that its probability of salience is doubled, especially on automobile brands that are perceived as important in daily life, such as the Golf model renowned for its unique design, smaller size but very spacious and ideal for daily activities due to its navigational ease. Promotion has developed to become a significantly influential part of the marketing mix. This has played a significant role in defining the relationship that exists among organizations and their customers. Marketing communications are made up of the specific messages and the media used to communicate them. The increasing levels of competition among the increasing numbers of products in the markets have forced individual s and organizations to adopt strategies to make them more visible in the market through creating awareness. The type of media used has varying effects on the way the communication is perceived by the public. The efficacy of the type of media used depends on a variety of factors which should all be analysed in order to ensure that the most applicable choices are made (Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, Best 2010). The company has successfully used social media (television advertisement, online advertisement) and print media such as their monthly magazine and billboards on the various Volkswagen Polo brands. Marketing communication tools and media in Volkswagen China Group Media has emerged as an important tool for organizations and individuals due to its ability to bridge the gap between producers and consumers in the business metrics. This is especially true for the written media, which has widely been used by the Volkswagen China to draw attention of the consumer on new or already existing au tomobile brands that the Group offers in the complex trading arena. The effects of written media on marketing communication has led to suitability of marketing approaches at times, while at others, the approaches have been praised for their authoritativeness towards informing the public (Karamitsios 2013). For instance, the Volkswagen China Group’s quarterly magazine about its brands has remained a very effective tool for marketing communication on current modifications, developments and what is new about Volkswagen brands. Written in Chinese, the magazine has captured the imagination of the conservative Chinese consumers who have actually subscribed to receive every new copy. Besides, the television advertisements have been christened as the real pride of Chinese roads and have actually swayed thousands of customers to purchase the Volkswagen brands. For instance, in 2014, the group realized a sales margin of more than 2 million units following the successful re-branding of the promotional marketing of the brands in online media, television, written media, and social media. Significance of communication activities for the Polo product According to behavioural psychologists such as Kotler, Adam, Denise, and Armstrong (2009), behaviours and attitudes can be changed through conditioning. Repetition of an act, for instance, through constant advertisement leads to behavioural changes that may be beneficial or detrimental to a company (Kotler et al. 2009). This indicates how the media can, and has been used to reinforce consumer behaviours. Communication activities, therefore, are taken to represent the official position of the organization on a product or service by the consumers. Communicative activities in the two companies have led to doubled sales in the last decade since the products are branded and presented in persuasive ways that easily skew the minds of potential buyers (Menon 2006). Specifically, through communication strategies, Volkswagen China has expanded its market share and penetrated the competitive automobile industries in the region and beyond. The different contents of marketing communication, but dealing with similar issues, have an accumulated impact on the individual’s perception about a subject. This means that the more an issue is covered in terms of being published in a marketing medium, the more importance is allocated to the issue (Roth 2008). Since the public has no frame of reference to base and compare these communications with, the promotion message is taken at a face value. This means that the consumers base their opinions on the products on the messages from the producers. If an automotive company, for example, came up with a vehicle that did not use the conventional sources of energy, but drew energy from the atmosphere, the information the automotive company would use to advertise their product would be what would be considered as the guideline to form opinions on the new kind of automotive ( Motavalli 2013). The same aspect has promoted growth in the Volkswagen China for its Polo brand since its communication activities have led to the general acceptance of the model in the market. Challenges of practicing IMC Although marketing communications have been praised for their long life spans and their ability to be stored for future reference, their use can be detrimental to the organization. This is because of the fact that they can be constant reminders to the public of the failures of a company. If an organization uses print or social media to extensively promote a service or product, and that service or product turns out to be substandard or defective, the public would have some restraint in engaging in a business relationship with such a company (Jin, Suh, Donavan 2008). For instance, the recall of more than 6,000 Polo models within China in the year 2013 due to a defect in the accelerator has affected the credibility of the company. In fact, the company recorded a dro p of 13.5% in sales the year 2014 following this incident. With the evidence of the company’s failure lying around in the form of print or social media, consumers would take a long time in coming to trust such an organization again. This means that while written communication acts to add confidence to the buyers about a product or service at times, it can also lead to loss of public confidence with a company or product once inconsistencies are identified by the consumers, especially when the business lacks a well-built structure and policies as in the case of large corporations (Saxena 2012). Recommendations to overcome the IMC challenges Essentially, the success of a marketing plan depends on proper alignment of a functional team who is responsible for the creation of flexible but quantifiable measurement tracking tools for reviewing results periodically. Reflectively, this product team should have the essential knowledge in social media and tools used in marketing. Besides quality in service delivery and customer satisfaction depends on the support team. Therefore, customer retention is achievable through the creation of reliable, informed, and passionate support team. In addition, the plan should include a monitoring matrix that maps out potential competitors and identify online weaknesses and strength of the clients (Rust, Zeithaml, Lemon 2004). The Volkswagen China Group will eventually need to embrace more traditional media marketing in order to keep growing, especially when targeting clients for the Polo brand. In order to effectively reach such audience, the marketing communication plan will suggest the best advertisement strategies to cover its wide market area (Simon 2007). The company will definitely have to branch out beyond its target market due to the brand dynamics and the need to expand market base. The company will have to decentralize its marketing strategies to meet the specific demands or consumer behaviour if it decides to implemen t internalisation strategies that will be proposed (Bowden 2009). These aspects influence the need to carry out a comprehensive marketing communication plan the Volkswagen China Group for the Polo brand. There is need to design an appropriate communication plan consisting of a simple but well thought message and a complete channel. The communication channel is complete when the decoder and encoder can decipher the communication codes in the form of images and letters that appeal to the client. Any integrated marketing plan should have a functional model that will cue the mind of a customer towards a product or service. The functional model comprises of elements such as awareness, interest, desire, and action to ensure that the Polo model’s marketing strategies match the interests and desires of the target market within China. This is referred to as the AIDA Model (Yelkur 2011). The element of awareness is related to brand knowledge or visibility among other alternatives. The element of interest comes after awareness. Interest is developed out of a need for a product or service. This interest may activate the desire to purchase the product to meet the need because of preference. In the end, a customer may take the action of purchasing. Therefore, a stratified marketing communication plan should integrate the above elements to easily convince the customer to purchase the Volkswagen Polo product. This may be achieved through designing a relevant advertisement, critical public relations exercise, and continuous sales promotion. Besides, it is important to integrate personal selling through referrals and direct marketing, especially for the older customers who depend on product performance history in purchasing an automobile. Since the world has become a village, the marketing plan for the Volkswagen Polo may adopt an appropriate medium that appeals to the target audience. In the ideal, there should be a mixture of the traditional marketing channels and the modern marketing channels such as online marketing and social media. It is important to plan for the integrated marketing communication and create success measurement parameters. The parameter is meant to check goal achievement. In addition, the whole plan should be managed within a predetermined budget range, which is derived through the rule-of-thumb and objective-and-task (Bowden 2009). To increase credibility and maintain professionalism, the current bomb internet channels used by the Volkswagen China Group, for reaching the youthful consumers, should be tailored to encompass processes and features that flawlessly facilitate a healthy and a lifetime relationship between the airline and its clients. These will be achieved through the following ways; Website search engine optimisation (SEO) The Volkswagen China Group should optimise its search engine to improve on its online brand visibility among the youthful clients in China who are interested in the Polo brand. Search engine op timisation can be achieved through installing ‘plug-ins that possesses extra features such as page navigation and thumbnail within the company’s website. Specifically, this proposed system in Google will consist of a multi tab page that will serve different offers and specifications of different brands of the Polo model to online youthful customers. Thus, recruiting independent ‘bloggers’ to ‘blog’ about the Volkswagen China Group’s Polo brand will give the company a competitive advantage in marketing its products to youthful clients across China. This promotional strategy has been successfully applied by the Volkswagen UK Group, which has a strong global SEO for its Polo brands. Besides, optimising the link referral has the potential of making the company’s advertisement website to go viral among the youths within six months because the unique cookie will spread to the phones of primary and secondary users (Bowden 2009). The SEO may also be tailored to include a unique cookie which is transferable to the visitors of the Volkswagen China Group website. The unique cookie for the website will be transferred to all primary and secondary visitors to this site hence broadening the spread information on this website. Optimising the SEO has the potential of creating a long term loyalty among young clients. For instance, Volkswagen UK Group’s SEO strategy has successfully increased the percentage of young customers who buy the Polo model by 20% in the last three years. The potential of the referral link approach is that it will improve the visibility of the company’s products among the targeted clients. For instance, the Volkswagen China Group’s website should carry out a link reference promotion where the website visitor with the highest number of referral links is rewarded with a free Polo car (Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, Best 2010). Social media (Facebook and Twitter) Through timely appeal to emo tions and self-prejudice, a marketing manager is in a position to realize that the mind is often skewed towards embracing the ‘perceived goodness’ and need to identify with ‘the ideal’ in the packaging of a product or service. Social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, has gained popularity among the potential young customers of the Polo brand in China, who use these sites as interaction models to share flight culture and exchange ideas. The Tweeter and Facebook fan pages are ideal tools for branding and community following building for the Volkswagen Polo product, especially among the targeted clients. For instance, the Volkswagen UK Group has grown to its current position due to its successful fan page marketing. This will allow the clients to interact and let users to add content to align to different orientations of the company’s brand (Bowden 2009). It will help the company to reach the targeted young customers by skipping or bypassing the t raditional gatekeepers, such as written magazine publishers, and placing them online so that customers can get to know about the Volkswagen Polo brands directly. Properly modified fan pages will reassure the young customers of the aspects of affordability and quality of the Volkswagen Polo product within China. Through massive recruitment of young fans on the Twitter and Facebook pages, the Volkswagen China Group will not only benefit from an increased traffic of online compliments, but also record high rates of customer loyalty as most youthful customers are influenced by reactions from those they perceive as sharing the same youth culture. This strategy is meant to position the company as a market leader in terms of customer satisfaction tracking and response among the targeted clients for the Polo model (Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, Best 2010). Conclusion Marketing communication strategies are important in aligning a company towards the target market in order to achieve optimal sales. The main determinants of a successful marketing communication plan lie in the proper brand alignment and research on segmentation. Volkswagen Group in China has successful IMC since their strategies are skewed towards customer Centricity for the dynamic Volkswagen Polo product. Reference List Anbu, J, Mavuso, M 2012, ‘Old Wine in New Wine Skin: Marketing Library Services Through SMS-Based Alert Services’, Library Hi Tech, vol. 30 no. 2, pp. 310-320. Ashtiani, C, Cullen, G, Davis, P, Greenwald, J, Hardigan, P, Eladio, K, Zimmerman, D 2011, Plug in electric vehicles: A practical plan for progress, School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Indiana. Bowden, J 2009, ‘The Process of Customer Engagement: A Conceptual Framework,’ Journal of Marketing Theory Practice, vol. 17 no. 1, pp. 63-74. Farris, P, Neil, P, Pfeifer, D 2010, Marketing metrics: The definitive guide to measuring marketing performance, Pearson Education, Inc., New Jers ey, NJ. Fields, E 2010, ‘A Unique Twitter Use For Reference Services’, Library Hi Tech News, vol. 6 no. 7, pp. 14-15. Fornell, C 2002, ‘A National Customer Satisfaction Barometer: The Swedish Experience’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 5 no. 6, pp. 6-21. Freshwater, D, Sherwood, G, Drury, V 2006, ‘International research collaboration: Issues, benefits and challenges of the global network’, Journal of Research in marketing, vol. 11 no. 4, pp. 295-303. Hardester, E 2010, The profitability of the electric car (Thesis), Brigham Young University, Brigham. Hawkins, D, Mothersbaugh, D, Best, R. J 2010, Consumer behaviour: Building marketing strategy, McGraw-Hill/ Irwin, New York. Hill, S, Ettenson, T 2005, ‘Achieving the ideal brand portfolio’, Sloan Management Review, vol. 2 no.1, pp. 85-90. Hill, T, Westbrook, R 2007, ‘SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall’, Long Range Planning, vol. 30 no. 1, pp. 46–5 2. Holt, A, Quelch, T 2009, ‘How global brands compete’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 7 no. 3, pp. 68-75. Jin, H, Suh, J, Donavan, D 2008, ‘Salient Effects of Publicity in Advertised Brand Recall and Recognition: The List-Strength Paradigm,’ Journal of Advertising, vol. 37 no. 1, pp. 45-57. Karamitsios, A 2013, Open Innovation in EVs: A Case Study of Tesla Motors, Routledge, New York, NY. Keller, L1998, Strategy Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, NJ. Kotler, P, Adam, S, Denise, S, Armstrong 2009, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, Australia. Mangram, M 2012, ‘The globalisation of Tesla motors. a strategic marketing plan analysis’, Journal Of Communication Management, vol. 20 no. 4, pp. 289-312. Menon, A 2006, ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making,’ Journal of Marketing, vol. 63 no. 2, pp. 18–40. Motavalli, J 2013, ‘As it increases p roduction, Tesla worried about battery supply’, The New York Times, 13 June, pp. 19-20. Roth, H 2008, The challenge of the Global Brand: Handbook on Brand And Experience Management, Columbia Business School, Columbia. Rust, T, Zeithaml, A, Lemon, N 2004, ‘Customer centred brand management’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 82 no. 4, pp. 110-118. Saxena, S 2012, ‘Challenges and Strategies for Global Branding’, Journal of Business and Management, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 38-43. Simon, H 2007, ‘Rational decision making in business organisations’, American Economic Review, vol. 3 no. 4, pp. 123-129. Soh, W 2011, Volkswagen brand in China. Web. Yelkur, R 2011, ‘Customer satisfaction and service marketing mix’, Journal of professional services marketing, vol. 21 no.1, pp. 105-115. This report on Volkswagen Polo Product was written and submitted by user Christina Wagner to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Essay on Data Protection

Essay on Data Protection Essay on Data Protection COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE â€Å"Main issues concerning proper data protection and security† A paper by: Barbara Grabowska 15.06.2004 Introduction: Nowadays the right product or service is no longer the key to success, nor are the money, resources or skills. Nowadays the most precious asset in each business is INFORMATION. Information is generated from proper data, therefore the data security and protection is a crucial issue for all organizations - no matter whether talking in the business, politics, military context, no matter - macro on micro scale. A proper data protection is a very important but also very complex process. We may distinguish six basic issues that need to be considered when implementing a proper data security system. 1.Physical protection Rooms: Separated room with limited access and strengthened door (for instance with a tin ware). The entrance should be equipped with alarm system. The only people that have an access to the data should be: administrator, employees responsible for data processing and possibly people accompanied by the authorized people. All devices as well as informatic systems used for data processing, supplied with electric power, have to be secured from data loss caused by power damages or interruption. Data processing stations should be obligatory supported with uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Power and Charging Units should be equipped with supertension filter. Safes: Incombustible cabinets used for warehousing and storage of optical and magnetooptical carriers are integral part of each and every data protection system. This kind of cabinet is a physical protection of the carriers from water, gas and fire treatments as well as from unauthorized people. It also assures the proper humidity and temperature. Access keys: The point of process of authorization in most of the cases is possession of the proper identifier and the password, but there also exist systems based on hardware solutions. This kind of solutions are much safer method of authorization, because identifiers with passwords are usually not properly secured by the users. One of the main users’ "sins" is that they write down their passwords on the little post-it notes on the computer screen. Another common one is that the users commit creation of passwords from simple dates or words that are easy to associate with the user. Equipment solutions give much more possibilities of security form undesirable access. The solution that is used most often is special access key that is being connected to input/output interface in the computer. The application of authorization as a physical unique element increases substantially the safety of the whole system. It is crucial to remember that the loss of confidentiality of identificator and the password is the most often cause of somebody else braking into a computer system. 2.Archivization Methods and frequency of making emergency copies: Making emergency copies is a part of Security Administrator duties, and it should be performed in a strict accordance to set schedule. Special attention should be put to the marking of the carriers and its compatibility with the marking in the schedule. The process of making copies should be performed on a daily basis. The data on the carriers should not be overwritten more often than once in 14 days. Once a month one carrier with an emergency copy of backup level 0 should be stored in archives together with a proper note in Emergency Backup Journal (or other suitable protocol). Fields in the protocol that have to be filled obligatory are: date of realization, signature of the person controlling propriety of the process, unique carrier marking. Each time a carrier is gathered from the place of its storage as well as each remission of data must be noted in the protocol. The carriers stored in the archives can be remitted for normal use after one calendar year.

What Is AP International Diploma Do You Need One

What Is AP International Diploma Do You Need One SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The College Board’s AP program is recognized by colleges around the world. In addition to taking individual AP classes, students who are interested in attending school in another country can potentially earn the AP International Diploma. In this article, I’ll tell you what the AP Diploma is, how you can get it, and whether it’s worthwhile for you! What Is an AP International Diploma? The AP International Diploma (APID) is an award for students who have taken AP Exams and classes in high school and are interested in attending college abroad.The College Board offers this award because it's a more succinct way for colleges outside of a student's home country to assess performance in the AP program overall.The APID indicates that a student has successfully completed a well-rounded AP curriculum.It's also a way for the College Board's AP program to compete more directly with the IB program. You might think about shooting for an APDiploma if you’re a student in the US planning to apply to universities in other countries or if you’re an international student planning to apply to universities in the US.The APID indicates that a student has demonstrated excellence across a variety of subject areas within the AP curriculum.You don’t need to apply for the APID; it’s automatically awarded if you meet the requirements, which I will go over in the next section. How Can You Earn an AP International Diploma? To fulfill the requirements for the APID, you will need to take at least five AP Exams and earn a score of 3 or higher on all of them.You’ll have to take some specific types of AP courses to meet the APID standards. The first requirement is either two AP Exams in world language and culture or two AP Exams with one world language and culture course and one English course.For example, you could take the Spanish Language and Culture course and the French Language and Culture course.If you’re not taking two languages, you could take the English Literature and Composition course as a substitute for one of the language courses.Keep in mind that you can’t meet this requirement with two world language and culture courses that focus on the same language.Taking Spanish Language and Culture and Spanish Literature and Culture wouldn’t fulfill the requirement. The second APID requirement is one AP Exam that (surprise, surprise) emphasizes an international perspective.Classes you can use to fulfill this requirement include: World History Human Geography Comparative Government and Politics Art History Environmental Science Macroeconomics The third requirement is an AP Exam in either the sciences or math and computer science.Classes you can use to fulfill this requirement include: Calculus AB Calculus BC Computer Science A Statistics Biology Chemistry Environmental Science Physics 1 Physics 2 Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Physics C: Mechanics The last requirement is one additional AP Exam in a class of your choice.The only stipulation is that it can’t be an English or world language course. AP Psychology, AP U.S. History, and AP Music Theory are all examples of classes you could use to fulfill this requirement.Your choices will partially depend on which classes you decide to take for the other requirements. Here's an example of a set of five classes that would fulfill the requirements for the APID: Spanish Language and Culture English Literature and Composition World History Biology Psychology One exam can’t fulfill two requirements even if it fits into multiple categories.Environmental Science would be an acceptable class for both the second and third requirements, but you wouldn’t be able to take it and say that you’ve completed both of them.You would need to choose another class from one of the two lists to meet the APID standards.If you end up retaking any of your AP tests because you didn’t score a 3 or higher the first time, your highest score will be counted towards the diploma. For the International Diploma, only your peak performance on each AP exam will count! Should You Get an AP International Diploma? First off, you should consider whether the college where you’re applying recognizes AP classes in the admission process.You can search universities all over the world on this page to see whether they will accept AP Exams and classes as markers of academic achievement.At German universities, for example, candidates who have earned AP Exam scores of 3 or higher on four or five tests are admitted, provided they meet the specific requirements for their area of study.If you’re an international student and are applying to college in the US, it’s almost certain that the schools you choose will recognize your achievements in the AP program. Even if the school you’re interested in recognizes APs, the AP International Diploma may not do a whole lot to improve your chances of acceptance on its own.Colleges care about how many AP classes students have taken, and the APID requirements are a good way to keep yourself on track with taking APs in a variety of different subject areas.However, a student who is particularly interested in the sciences might take 5 AP classes without earning the APID because they took two science classes instead of a science class and an international perspective class.That student won’t look much different in the eyes of colleges from another student who took the same number of APs but did manage to fulfill the requirements for the APID. For example, German universities have different sets of AP requirements that don’t align exactly with the APID requirements and will vary depending on your major. In this case, you would want to avoid just going for the APID and pay closer attention to the specific policies.The AP Diploma represents a well-balanced collection of AP classes and a high level of achievement, but it’s not going to make or break your application. If you take five or more AP classes and earn high scores on the exams, but you don’t fulfill the APID requirements, you won’t be any worse off than a student who does.But if you’ve only taken three or four AP classes and need one or two more to fulfill the requirements, you might consider going for the Diploma.Having a concrete goal will make it easier to stay motivated and choose a well-rounded course schedule. That being said, you might go to a high school where only three or four AP classes are offered, and that’s ok.Focus on earning high grades and challenging yourself as much as possible with difficult classes.A strong course record for an international student doesn’t necessarily have to include the APID, but it should include as many APs and other high-level classes as possible that are relevant to your areas of interest. One pencil for each AP class! (Just kidding, don't actually take 25 AP classes. Yes, I counted the pencils; please take your judgments elsewhere.) Conclusion The AP International Diploma is an award for students who plan on applying to colleges outside of their home country. To earn the APID, you must take five AP Exams in certain specified subject areas and earn scores of 3 or higher on all of them. The APID shows colleges that you’ve challenged yourself with difficult courses in high school, but the award itself probably won’t make a huge difference in your application.Taking five or more AP courses (if they’re available at your school) and scoring well on the exams is a great way to make a positive impression on colleges regardless of whether your schedule meets APID guidelines. What's Next? Curious about other international diploma programs? Learn more about the Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), created through Cambridge University in England. If you're working on planning your schedule,this guide will help you decidewhich AP classes to take. Read this article for more information about how difficult AP classes and exams will be for you. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. 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Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 147

Discussion - Essay Example As much as the Protagoras by Plato fails to identify specific benefits that come with staying within such a community, upholding moral requirements within a community would bring such benefits. The theory’s major argument is that when individuals engage in moral actions that are mutual, or reciprocated, then all of them are certain to benefit from such a relationship. It is important to note that as much as most communities reciprocate an individual’s moral actions, it is only in communities that are well-functioning and cooperative that such reciprocation is assured. Since communities involve individual efforts towards a single goal of development, this theory provides a perfect framework towards which all members of a community can benefit by each acting not in their own but in the interests of others. The society ought to establish collective rules that would govern the intentions of each independent individual towards the good of each of the members of the society. As such, through the Protagoras theory, justice is portrayed as indispensable and

Literary Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literary Theory - Essay Example To cater to a wider audience, Horace suggests including both these elements in a poem. Besides, the setting, time and location should have unity and coherence. Longinus feels that a prom should immediately elevate the reader to a sublime state as if he has experienced it himself, which element has not been taken into account by Horace. Horace merely suggests that poems should begin in the middle of a situation so that the reader immediately plunges into the poem. Longinus finds that conflicting feelings can be united while Horace feels decorum and coherent effect are essential for unity. Horace believes that learning can come only when there is in an innate quality to be a poet. Learning without innate talent would serve no purpose. Longinus on the other hand feels following too much of formal elements can create or ruin the poetic effect, which is the very purpose of creating poetry. Both agree that poets are innate and not made. As a critic or a writer, being able to express conflicting feelings would be more appealing. Most people do experience such conflicts in their life and it would be easy to transport people to such heights so as to merge the reader and the writer and the written passage or poem. Compare/contrast the rhetorical theories of Plato and Longinus. Try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in their discussions of how poetry affects its audiences. Do you think one theory is superior, or do they both have value for your work as a critic and writer? Which theory do you think is more helpful in understanding the effect of literary texts in the 20th century? Plato believes that poems do not reflect reality while Longinus contends that poets are innate and hence their creation has to be truth. Plato believes being a poet is a skill that can be created. Longinus asserts that a poem should elevate the reader to such a state that he feels he is the composer which is

British Airways Essay Example for Free

British Airways Essay I remember going to parties in the late 1970s, and, if you wanted to have a civilized conversation, you didnt actually say that you worked for British Airways, because it got you talking about peoples last travel experience, which was usually an unpleasant one. Its staggering how much the airlines image has changed since then, and, in comparison, how proud staff are of working for BA today. British Airways employee, Spring 1990 I recently flew business class on British Airways for the first time in about 10 years. What has happened over that time is amazing. I cant tell you how my memory of British Airways as a company and the experience I had 10 years ago contrasts with today. The improvement in service is truly remarkable. British Airways customer, Fall 1989 In June of 1990, British Airways reported its third consecutive year of record profits,  £345 million before taxes, firmly establishing the rejuvenated carrier as one of the worlds most profitable airlines. The impressive financial results were one indication that BA had convincingly shed its historic â€Å"bloody awful† image. In October of 1989, one respected American publication referred to them as â€Å"bloody awesome,† a description most would not have thought possible after pre-tax losses totalling more than  £240 million in the years 1981 and 1982. Productivity had risen more than 67 percent over the course of the 1980s. Passengers reacted highly favorably to the changes. After suffering through years of poor market perception during the 1970s and before, BA garnered four Airline of the Year awards during the 1980s, as voted by the readers of First Executive Travel. In 1990, the leading American aviation magazine, Air Transport World, selected BA as the winner of its Passenger Service award. In the span of a decade, British Airways had radically improved its financial strength, convinced its work force of the paramount importance of customer service, and dramatically improved its perception in the market. Culminating in the privatization of 1987, the carrier had undergone fundamental change through a series of important messages and events. With unprecedented success under its belt, management faced an increasingly perplexing problem: how to maintain momentum and recapture the focus that would allow them to meet new challenges. Crisis of 1981 Record profits must have seemed distant in 1981. On September 10 of that year, then chief executive Roy Watts issued a special bulletin to British Airways staff: British Airways is facing the worst crisis in its history . . . unless we take swift and remedial action we are heading for a loss of at least  £100 million in the present financial year. We face the prospect that by next April we shall have piled up losses of close to  £250 million in two years. Even as I write to you, our money is draining at the rate of nearly  £200 a minute. No business can survive losses on this scale. Unless we take decisive action now, there is a real possibility that British Airways will go out of business for lack of money. We have to cut our costs sharply, and we have to cut them fast. We have no more choice, and no more time . Just two years earlier, an optimistic British government had announced its plan to privatize British Airways through a sale of shares to the investing public. Although airline management recognized that the 58,000 staff was too large, they expected increased passenger volumes and improved staff productivity to help them avoid complicated and costly employee reductions. While the 1978-79 plan forecasted passenger traffic growth at 8 to 10 percent, an unexpected recession left BA struggling to survive on volumes, which, instead, decreased by more that 4 percent. A diverse and aging fleet, increased fuel costs, and the high staffing costs forced the government and BA to put privatization on hold indefinitely. With the airline technically bankrupt, BA management and the government would have to wait before the public would be ready to embrace the ailing airline. The BA Culture, 1960-1980 British Airways stumbled into its 1979 state of inefficiency in large part because of its history and culture. In August 1971, the Civil Aviation Act became law, setting the stage for the British Airways Board to assume control of two state-run airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), under the name British Airways. In theory, the board was to control policy over British Airways; but, in practice, BEA and BOAC remained autonomous, each with its own chairman, board, and chief executive. In 1974, BOAC and BEA finally issued one consolidated financial report. In 1976, Sir Frank (later Lord) McFadzean replaced the group division with a structure based on functional divisions to officially integrate the divisions into one airline. Still, a distinct split within British Airways persisted throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1980s. After the Second World War, BEA helped pioneer European civil aviation. As a pioneer, it concerned itself more with building an airline infrastructure than it did with profit. As a 20-year veteran and company director noted: â€Å"The BEA culture was very much driven by building something that did not exist. They had built that in 15 years, up until 1960. Almost single-handedly they opened up air transport in Europe after the war. That had been about getting the thing established. The marketplace was taking care of itself. They wanted to get the network to work, to get stations opened up.† BOAC had also done its share of pioneering, making history on May 2, 1952, by sending its first jet airliner on a trip from London to Johannesburg, officially initiating jet passenger service. Such innovation was not without cost, however, and BOAC found itself mired in financial woes throughout the two decades following the war. As chairman Sir Matthew Slattery explained in 1962: â€Å"The Corporation has had to pay a heavy price for pioneering advanced technologies.† Success to most involved with BEA and BOAC in the 1950s and 1960s had less to do with net income and more to do with â€Å"flying the British flag.† Having inherited numerous war veterans, both airlines had been injected with a military mentality. These values combined with the years BEA and BOAC existed as government agencies to shape the way British Airways would view profit through the 1970s. As former director of human resources Nick Georgiades said of the military and civil service history: â€Å"Put those two together and you had an organization that believed its job was simply to get an aircraft into the air on time and to get it down on time.† While government support reinforced the operational culture, a deceiving string of profitable years in the 1970s made it even easier for British Airways to neglect its increasing inefficiencies. Between 1972 and 1980, BA earned a profit before interest and tax in each year except for one. â€Å"This was significant, not least because as long as the airline was returning profits, it was not easy to persuade the workforce, or the management for that matter, the fundamental changes were vital. Minimizing cost to the state became the standard by which BA measured itself. As one senior manager noted: â€Å"Productivity was not an issue. People were operating effectively, not necessarily efficiently. There were a lot of people doing other peoples jobs, and there were a lot of people checking on people doing other peoples jobs† . . . As a civil service agency, the airline was allowed to become inefficient because the thinking in state-run operations was, â€Å"If youre providing se rvice at no cost to the taxpayer, then youre doing quite well.† A lack of economies of scale and strong residual loyalties upon the merger further complicated the historical disregard for efficiency by BEA and BOAC. Until Sir Frank McFadzeans reorganization in 1976, British Airways had labored under several separate organizations (BOAC; BEA European, Regional, Scottish, and Channel) so the desired benefits of consolidation had been squandered. Despite operating under the same banner, the organization consisted more or less of separate airlines carrying the associated costs of such a structure. Even after the reorganization, divisional loyalties prevented the carrier from attaining a common focus. â€Å"The 1974 amalgamation of BOAC with the domestic and European divisions of BEA had produced a hybrid racked with management demarcation squabbles. The competitive advantages sought through the merger had been hopelessly defeated by the lack of a unifying corporate culture.† A BA director summed up how distracting the merger proved: â€Å"There wasnt enough management time devoted to managing the changing environment because it was all focused inwardly on resolving industrial relations problems, on resolving organizational conflicts. How do you bring these very, very different cultures together?† Productivity at BA in the 1970s was strikingly bad, especially in contrast to other leading foreign airlines. BAs productivity for the three years ending March 31, 1974, 1975, and 1976 had never exceeded 59 percent of that of the average of the other eight foreign airline leaders. Service suffered as well. One human resources senior manager recalled the â€Å"awful† service during her early years in passenger services: â€Å"I remember 10 years ago standing at the gate handing out boxes of food to people as they got on the aircraft. Thats how we dealt with service.† With increasing competition and rising costs of labor in Britain in the late 1970s, the lack of productivity and poor service was becoming increasingly harmful. By the summer of 1979, the number of employees had climbed to a peak of 58,000. The problems became dangerous when Britains worst recession in 50 years reduced passenger numbers and raised fuel costs substantially. Lord King Takes the Reins Sir John (later Lord) King was appointed chairman in February of 1981, just a half-year before Roy Wattss unambiguously grim assessment of BAs financial state. King brought to British Airways a successful history of business ventures and strong ties to both the government and business communities. Despite having no formal engineering qualifications, King formed Ferrybridge Industries in 1945, a company which found an unexploited niche in the ball-bearing industry. Later renamed the Pollard Ball and Roller Bearing Company, Ltd., Kings company was highly successful until he sold it in 1969. In 1970, he joined Babcock International and as chairman led it through a successful restructuring during the 1970s. Kings connections were legendary. Hand-picked by Margaret Thatcher to run BA, Kings close friends included Lord Hanson of Hanson Trust and the Princess of Waless family. He also knew personally Presidents Reagan and Carter. Kings respect and connections proved helpful both in recruiti ng and in his dealings with the British government. One director spoke of the significance of Kings appointment: â€Å"British Airways needed a chairman who didnt need a job. We needed someone who could see that the only way to do this sort of thing was radically, and who would be aware enough of how you bring that about.† In his first annual report, King predicted hard times for the troubled carrier. â€Å"I would have been comforted by the thought that the worst was behind us. There is no certainty that this is so.† Upon Wattss announcement in September of 1981, he and King launched their Survival plan— â€Å"tough, unpalatable and immediate measures† to stem the spiraling losses and save the airline from bankruptcy. The radical steps included reducing staff numbers from 52,000 to 43,000, or 20 percent, in just nine months; freezing pay increases for a year; and closing 16 routes, eight on-line stations, and two engineering bases. It also dictated halting cargo-only services and selling the fleet, and inflicting massive cuts upon offices, administrative services, and staff clubs. In June of 1982, BA management appended the Survival plan to accommodate the reduction of another 7,000 staff, which would eventually bring the total employees down from about 42,000 to nearly 35,000. BA accomplished its reductions through voluntary measures, offering such generous severance that they ended up with more volunteers than necessary. In total, the airline dished out some  £150 million in severance pay. Between 1981 and 1983, BA reduced its staff by about a quarter. About the time of the Survival plan revision, King brought in Gordon Dunlop, a Scottish accountant described by one journalist as â€Å"imaginative, dynamic, and extremely hardworking,† euphemistically known on Fleet Street as â€Å"forceful,† and considered by King as simply â€Å"outstanding.† As CFO, Dunlops contribution to the recovery years was significant. When the results for the year ending March 31, 1982, were announced in October, he and the board ensured 1982 would be a watershed year in BAs turnaround. Using creative financing, Dunlop wrote down  £100 million for redundancy costs,  £208 million for the value of the fleet (which would ease depreciation in future years), even an additional  £98 million for the 7,000 redundancies which had yet to be effected. For the year, the loss before taxes amounted to  £114 million. After taxes and extraordinary items, it totalled a staggering  £545 million. Even King might have admitted that the worst was behind them after such a report. The chairman immediately turned his attention to changing the airlines image and further building his turnaround team. On September 13, 1982, King relieved Foote, Cone Belding of its 36-year-old advertising account with BA, replacing it with Saatchi Saatchi. One of the biggest account changes in British history, it was Kings way of making a clear statement that the BA direction had changed. In April of 1983, British Airways launched its â€Å"Manhattan Landing† campaign. King and his staff sent BA management personal invitations to gather employees and tune in to the inaugural six-minute commercial. Overseas, each BA office was sent a copy of the commercial on videocassette, and many held cocktail parties to celebrate the new thrust. â€Å"Manhattan Landing† dramatically portrayed the whole island of Manhattan being lifted from North America and whirled over the Atlantic before awestruck witnesses in the U.K. After the initial airing, a massive campaign was run with a 90-second version of the commercial. The ad marked the beginning of a broader campaign, â€Å"The Worlds Favourite Airline,† reflective of BAs status as carrier of the most passengers internationally. With the financial picture finally brightening, BA raised its advertising budget for 1983-84 to  £31 million, compared with  £19 million the previous year, signalling a clear commitment to changing the corporate image. Colin Marshall Becomes Chief Executive In the midst of the Saatchi Saatchi launch, King recruited Mr. (later Sir) Colin Marshall, who proved to be perhaps the single most important person in the changes at British Airways. Appointed chief executive in February 1983, Marshall brought to he airline a unique resume. He began his career as a management trainee with Hertz in the United States. After working his way up the Hertz hierarchy in North America, Marshall accepted a job in 1964 to run rival Aviss operations in Europe. By 1976, the British-born businessman had risen to chief executive of Avis. In 1981, he returned to the U.K. as deputy chief and board member of Sears Holdings. Fulfilling one of his ultimate career ambitions, he took over as chief executive of British Airways in early 1983. Although having no direct experience in airline management, Marshall brought with him two tremendous advantages. First, he understood customer service, and second, he had worked with a set of c ustomers quite similar to the airline travel segment during his car rental days. Marshall made customer service a personal crusade from the day he entered BA. One executive reported: â€Å"It was really Marshall focusing on nothing else. The one thing that had overriding attention the first three years he was here was customer service, customer service, customer service—nothing else. That was the only thing he was interested in, and its not an exaggeration to say that was his exclusive focus.† Another senior manager added: â€Å"He has certainly put an enabling culture in place to allow customer service to come out, where, rather than people waiting to be told what to do to do things better, its an environment where people feel they can actually come out with ideas, that they will be listened to, and feel they are much more a part of the success of the company.† Not just a strong verbal communicator, Marshall became an active role model in the terminals, spending time with staff during morning and evenings. He combined these actions with a nu mber of important events to drive home the customer service message. Corporate Celebrations, 1983-1987 If Marshall was the most important player in emphasizing customer service, then the Putting People First (PPF) program was the most important event. BA introduced PPF to the front-line staff in December of 1983 and continued it through June of 1984. Run by the Danish firm Time Manager International, each program cycle lasted two days and included 150 participants. The program was so warmly received that the non-front-line employees eventually asked to be included, and a one-day â€Å"PPF II† program facilitated the participation of all BA employees through June 1985. Approximately 40,000 BA employees went through the PPF programs. The program urged participants to examine their interactions with other people, including family, friends, and, by association, customers. Its acceptance and impact was extraordinary, due primarily to the honesty of its message, the excellence of its delivery, and the strong support of management. Employees agreed almost unanimously that the programs message was sincere and free from manipulation, due in some measure to the fact that BA separated itself from the programs design. The program emphasized positive relations with people in general, focusing in large part on non-work-related relationships. Implied in the positive relationship message was an emphasis on customer service, but the program was careful to aim for the benefit of employees as individuals first. Employees expressed their pleasure on being treated with respect and relief that change was on the horizon. As one frontline ticket agent veteran said: â€Å"I found it fascinating, very, very enjoyable. I thought it was very good for British Airways. It made people aware. I dont think people give enough thought to peoples reaction to each other. . . . It was hardhitting. It was made something really special. When you were there, you were treated extremely well. You were treated as a VIP, and people really enjoyed that. It was reverse roles, really, to the job we do.† A senior manager spoke of the confidence it promoted in the changes: â€Å"It was quite a revelation, and I thought it was absolutely wonderful. I couldnt believe BA had finally woken and realized where its bread was buttered. There were a lot of cynics at the time, but for people like myself it was really great to suddenly realize you were working for an airline that had the guts to change, and that its probabl y somewhere where you want to stay.† Although occasionally an employee felt uncomfortable with the â€Å"rah-rah† nature of the program, feeling it perhaps â€Å"too American,† in general, PPF managed to eliminate cynicism. The excellence in presentation helped signify a sincerity to the message. One senior manager expressed the consistency. â€Å"There was a match between the message and the delivery. You cant get away with saying putting people first is important, if in the process of delivering that message you dont put people first.† Employees were sent personal invitations, thousands were flown in from around the world, and a strong effort was made to prepare tasteful meals and treat everyone with respect. Just as important, BA released every employee for the program, and expected everyone to attend. Grade differences became irrelevant during PPF, as managers and staff members were treated equally and interacted freely. Moreover, a senior director came to conclude every single PPF session with a question and answer session. Colin Marshall himself frequently attended these closing sessions, answering employee concerns in a manner most felt to be extraordinarily frank. The commitment shown by management helped BA avoid the fate suffered by British Rail in its subsequent attempt at a similar program. The British Railway program suffered a limited budget, a lack of commitment by management and interest by staff, and a high degree of cynicism. Reports surfaced that employees felt the program was a public relations exercise for the outside world, rather than a learning experience for staff. About the time PPF concluded, in 1985, BA launched a program for managers only called, appropriately, Managing People First (MPF). A five-day residential program for 25 managers at a time, MPF stressed the importance of, among other topics, trust, leadership, vision, and feedback. On a smaller scale, MPF stirred up issues long neglected at BA. One senior manager of engineering summarized his experience: â€Å"It was almost as if I were touched on the head. . . . I dont think I even considered culture before MPF. Afterwards I began to think about what makes people tick. Why do people do what they do? Why do people come to work? Why do people do things for some people that they wont do for others?† Some participants claimed the course led them to put more emphasis on feedback. One reported initiating regular meetings with staff every two weeks, in contrast to before the program when he met with staff members only as problems arose. As Marshall and his team challenged the way people thought at BA, they also encouraged changes in more visible ways. In December 1984, BA unveiled its new fleet livery at Heathrow airport. Preparations for the show were carefully planned and elaborate. The plane was delivered to the hangar-turned-theater under secrecy of night, after which hired audio and video technicians put together a dramatic presentation. On the first night of the show, a darkened coach brought guests from an off-site hotel to an undisclosed part of the city and through a tunnel. The guests, including dignitaries, high-ranking travel executives, and trade union representatives, were left uninformed of their whereabouts. To their surprise, as the show began an aircraft moved through the fog and laser lights decorating the stage and turned, revealing the new look of the British Airways fleet. A similar presentation continued four times a day for eight weeks for all staff to see. On its heels, in May of 1985, British Airways unveiled its new uniforms, designed by Roland Klein. With new leadership, strong communication from the top, increased acceptance by the public, and a new physical image, few on the BA staff could deny in 1985 that his or her working life had turned a new leaf from its condition in 1980. Management attempted to maintain the momentum of its successful programs. Following PPF and MPF, it put on a fairly successful corporatewide program in 1985 called â€Å"A Day in the Life† and another less significant program in 1987 called â€Å"To Be the Best.† Inevitably, interest diminished and cynicism grew with successive programs. BA also implemented an â€Å"Awards for Excellence† program to encourage employee input. Colin Marshall regularly communicated to staff through video. While the programs enjoyed some success, not many employees felt â€Å"touched on the head† by any successor program to PPF and MPF.