Solutions: Self-esteem and Professional Sports Events

Solutions The Mayor of a large city was given a free membership in an exclusive golf club by people who have received several city contracts. He also accepted gifts from organizations that have not done business with the City but might in the future. The gifts ranged from $200 tickets to professional sports events to designer watches and jewelry. The Mayor of the city actions are self-serving. , for he is receiving all the benefits.The greater good is not being served here because small businesses may not be able to pay the Mayor for city contracts. Because of this, outside organizations are benefiting with city jobs, causing small businesses in the city to go out of business. It may also cause taxes to increase and loss of city jobs. The Mayor is abusing his office by not putting his cititizens needs before his own. Locke would agree with me, he would say that the Mayor has a responsibility to his people.He would also say that the people have the right to choose a different Mayor wh o would put there need before his own. A college instructor is pursuing her doctorate in night school. To gain extra time for her own studies, she gives her students the same lectures, the same assignments, and the same examinations semester after semester without the slightest effort to improve them. The college instructor is just serving herself. She is not fillful her duties to her students, she finds it easier to keep repeat the same material semester after semester.She is not teaching her students with updated material, when they enter the work force they will be ill prepared to compete with others. Locke would agree that the students have the right to expect their instructor to take as much time and effort in their lessons as she does in her own work. Todd and Edna have been married for three years. They have had serious personal problems. Edna is a heavy drinker, and Todd cannot keep a job. Also, they have bickered and fought constantly since their marriage.Deciding that the way to overcome their problems is to have a child, they stop practicing birth control, and Edna becomes pregnant. To raise a child is difficult even when you are prepared. But to have a child to fix a marriage is wrong. You put a lot of pressure of the child, and when things go wrong, you will start to blame and resent the child. Which in turn will cause the child to have a low self –esteem and then the child will be taught how to make poor decisions. That s if Edna is lucky to have a healthy baby. Her heavy drinking could have negative ramification such as fetal syndrome and other birth defects. Babies are very expensive and Todd not be able to keep a job is just going to increase the bickering and arguing. So, there is no greater good in this scenario, It does no good for Edna and Todd to care for a child that may have defects because the Edna’s drinking. It does no good for the child to have to deal with two parents who make poor decisions.

Audi Case Study

[pic] EVALUATE A COMPANY’S COMPETITIVE POSITION AND MARKET POTENTIAL IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY CASE STUDY: AUDI [pic] Team members: 1. NGUYEN Ngoc Khanh Chi 2. NGO Thi Nam Phuong 3. HUYNH Thi Bich Son 4. NGUYEN Truong Thinh 5. CHAU Ngoc Son Vu 6. DOGIELSKI David 7. NGUYEN Quoc Tuan TABLE OF CONTENT I/ FRAME WORK (Thinh)4 A. IDENTIFY THE STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNIT WITHIN AUDI AG4 B. SELECT SBU AND MARKET FOR THIS SBU4 C. SELECT PERIOD OF TIME FOR THIS SBU’S MARKET4 II/ ANALYSE COMPETITIVE POSITION AND MARKET POTENTIAL5 A. DEFINE THE COMPETITIVE SCOPE (Thinh)5 B. EVALUATE THE INTENSITY OF THE COMPETITION (VU)7 1.Determine the phase of the life cycle of the auto industry. 7 2. Competitive topology8 3. Entry barrier9 4. Evaluate competitive intensive10 C. EVALUATE THE COMPANY’S COMPETITIVE POSITION AND ITS MARKET POTENTIAL (PHUONG)10 1. Diagnose the company’s strengths and weaknesses using the value chain10 2. Benchmark the company performance by comparison with the industry leaders13 III/ MAKE RECOMMENDATION FOR COMPANY DEVELOPMENT14 A. PROPOSE A GENERIC STRATEGY (PORTER 1980) (DAVID)14 1. Diffentiation or Cost Leadership? 14 2. Industry wide or Particular Segment? 15 B. SELECT AN INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY (SON)15 . Select an internationalization strategy15 2. Audi 2010:16 3. Audi 2015: keeping and improving the same strategy16 C. STUDY THE RELEVANCE OF A COOPERATION STRATEGY (CHI)17 1. The current situation of Audi AG’s symbiotic marketing strategy:17 2. Recommendation for Audi AG’s symbiotic marketing development:17 D. PRESENT A MARKETING PROCESS (TUAN)20 1. Market segmentation:20 2. Target marketing strategy20 3. Position the company and/or product21 E. GIVEN MAIN ORIENTATION FOR THE MARKETING MIX (TUAN)21 I/ FRAME WORK (Thinh) A. IDENTIFY THE STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNIT WITHIN AUDI AG Potential SBU |Organization profile |Industry mode |Demand dimension |Supply dimension | |Compact car |special skill |Most of the parts bought through |city-dwellers |Specialized | |(A1, A2, A3) |decentralize |VW’s central purchasing unit |entry level |Direct competitor (Mini, DS3)| | | |(benefit from economy of scale) |single | | |Medium car |special skill |high quality part only |luxury consumer |Specialized | | |decentralize | |Direct competitor (BMW, | | | | | |Mercedes) | |Big car |special skill |high quality part only |luxury consumer |Specialized | | |decentralize | | |Direct competitor (BMW, | | | | | |Mercedes) | |Sport car |Special skill |High quality part only |Young, excited, sportive hobby|Differentiation focus | | |Centralize | |Very niche market |Direct competitor (BMW, | | | | | |Mercedes) | There is no different for medium-sized car and big-sized car SBU so Audi is segmented into three SBUs: i) SBU 1: premium compact car ii) SBU 2: premium car (medium- and big-sized cars) iii) SBU 3: Sport car B. SELECT SBU AND MARKET FOR THIS SBU ? SUB: SBU-2 premium car ? Market: China market C. SELECT PERIOD OF T IME FOR THIS SBU’S MARKET Product life cycle of a premium car is about 4 year and today is 2010 so we will study in the period of time: 2010 – 2015 II/ ANALYSE COMPETITIVE POSITION AND MARKET POTENTIAL ? The Macro Environment of Chinese automobile industry analysis: PESTEL framework |Opportunities |Threats | |Political |Political stability |Entry mode regulation: joint-venture with < 50% | | |WTO |shareholding for foreign partner | | |Policy to encourage the automobile industry |High import tariff to protect domestic industry | | |development | | |Economic |Economic booming, high GDP growth, rising disposable |Rising oil price | | |income ( car purchasing power increase |Economic downturn | |Social |Large population |Culture difference between Western and China | | |Chinese like to buy luxury product to show their | | | |success | | |Technological |Chinese puts high effort on research and development |   | |Environmental |Green car |   | | |Low fuel consumptio n | | |Legal |   |Law is not very clear | | | |Lack of transparency | | | |Intellect right is not respected highly in China | A. DEFINE THE COMPETITIVE SCOPE (Thinh) Way of gaining C. A |Many |Fragmented Industry |Specialized industry | | |Few |Dilemma industry |Volume industry | |   | |Small |Big | |   | |The size of C. A | The number of way for Audi to gain the competitive advantage is many through the complexity of the product. It also has great advantage in technology, innovation, high quality of service. So Audi selects the specialized industry. Key Success Factor | |2010 |2015 | |High technology & innovation |Stronger | |Top service |Stronger | |Adaptation |Stronger to meet local customer expected | |Brand equity |Stronger, do not enter price war | ? Industry analysis Poster’s Five Forces – China Market P5F |2010 |2015 | |Threat of Entry |High threats: |Weak threats: the same | | |High profit market attracts new firms |High threats: same 2010 plus: | | |China is in its developing phase of automobile |- Hyundai, Tata (acquired the Jaguar and Land | | |life-cycle |Rover brands), Geely (Chinese firm) (acquired | | |Attracting policy for FDI |Volvo) will move to this segment. | |Weak intellectual property laws |Sump up: high threat for new entrance | | |Weak threats: | | | |High investment for set up mass production | | | |facility | | | |Germany firm and Audi itself is very strong and | | | |reputation | | | |Regulation ambiguous | | | |Regulation about environment ==> increase R&D cost| | | |Sump up: moderate threat for new entrance | | |Threat of Substitutes |Used car: weak |Weak | | |Public transportation: weak | | | |Switching cost: high | | | |Sump up: Weak | | |Bargaining power of buyer |Backward integration: low |Bargaining power of buyer is moderate | | |Switching cost: low | | | |Buyer independence: moderate | | | |Buyer size: moderate | | | |Sump up: bargaining power of buyer is weak | |Bargaining power of supplier |Utili zing VW network (economy of scale): |Weak | | |bargaining power of supplier is weak | | |Market competitor |  Moderate |High | [pic] B. EVALUATE THE INTENSITY OF THE COMPETITION (VU) 1. Determine the phase of the life cycle of the auto industry. Most of the Western car market enters into saturation stage. In Europe and USA, specifically there is a high â€Å"motorization rate† (car per family and car per persons) and the demand is almost entirely constituted by replacement purchase. In reverse, China market just come to development stages with blooming in sale. In the year 2010, at the first time, China market reaches nearly the same ratio with Germany. [pic] Source: Audi (2010) Annual Report, p. 132 2. Competitive topologyIn order to build competitive topology, we choose 2 most KSF of Audi in Chinese market: Market penetrative level and Brand Equity. [pic] Volkswagen Group, the owner of Audi, is one of the earliest automobile manufacturers has production in China. In 1991 , FAW and the Volkswagen Group decided to set up a joint venture under the name ‘FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Company† to manufacture of the Audi 100 model. This early penetration in Chinese market help Audi get a big advantage of knowing exactly Chinese consumer, customize its designs to cater to Chinese tastes. The two main other competitors, BMW and Mercedes manufactured in China quite late (2004 and 2006) when Audi already had a strong position in China local market.According to researcher IHS Automotive, the market share of Audi by 2010 is 31% while Mercedes and BMW is only 21% and 21. 6%. [pic] Source: IHS Automotive China already generates the fattest profit margins for German luxury carmakers because customers in China typically purchase higher-end models than buyers in the U. S. or Europe do. Slowing economy and rising fuel prices have led to a glut of cars in Chinese showrooms this year, forcing dealers to cut prices. Among luxury brands, Audi still keep the high price and prevent to joint into price war while other especially, Mercedes has been offering the steepest discounts, according to car pricing website cheshi. com.With the high price level, Audi prove their strong position in China market which focuses on the level of product to show up their social position. 3. Entry barrier a. High technology, costly to R. While German automotive industry already built up a high standard quality, high technology feature, it take a lot of effort for rising up competitors from Korea as Hyundai to catch up the high-tech race and R need to be invested a huge money b. Strong brand recognition of German car â€Å"With anything in China, the first mover gets more,† Thomas Callarman, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai said that.This is true to automotive industry; people are just more familiar with Audi. It will take a lot of time for another competitors to build up the brand recognition to China market especially the one not come from Germany. That make Audi have a unique advantage that make any other competitors very difficult to follow, that is the time. It has a strong position brand name in China market in a very long time for premium car. c. Bottleneck in the production and distribution. By 2015, Mercedes plans to double its annual production capacity in the world’s biggest automobile market to 200,000 vehicles annually, though that won’t be enough to keep up with its rivals.BMW plans to quadruple potential output to 400,000 and Audi is seeking to more than triple capacity to 700,000 by the middle of the decade. This will make Audi keep the advantage in distribution car to customer in the shortest time if compare with other. 4. Evaluate competitive intensive As China market is booming, the distance between each strategy group is not so closed. The strategic freedom is medium; there is always chance for other to join into higher group. However, the entry barrier at this period 2010-2015 seem difficult for other groups to move to higher, we can conclude that the Competitive Intensive is medium mean each strategy group is chasing each other aggressively but the chance for all to get market share is the same in this blooming market. C.EVALUATE THE COMPANY’S COMPETITIVE POSITION AND ITS MARKET POTENTIAL (PHUONG) 1. Diagnose the company’s strengths and weaknesses using the value chain |VALUE CHAIN |STRENGTH |WEAKNESS | |Research and Development |No information | | |Design of Products, Services,|(++++) | | |or Processes |Audi has always introduced the newest technology to China with worldwide standard | | | |apply for Audi. | |Production |(+++) |(-) | | |Manufacturing of Audi in worldwide | | | |[pic] | | | |New assembly hall in China | | | |Together with the Chinese joint venture partner China FAW group corporation | | | |(Changchun, China), Audi AG opened a new assembly hall at the Chinese production | | | |plant in Changchun in fall 2009. The long-wheelbase version of Audi A4 & The Audi A5 | | | |are now built there to the same high standards that apply throughout the Audi | | | |production system worldwide.The addition of a new hall has boosted the location’s | | | |manufacturing output to 200,000 cars annually | | |Marketing & Sales |(+++) |(-) | | |In fiscal year 2009, the Audi brand delivered 950 thousand vehicles to customers | | | |worldwide, down 5. 4% on the previous year. In Western Europe, sales figures fell by | | | |11. 8%. The downturn on the US market was 5. 7%, which was less than the figure for the| | | |market as a whole. By contrast, the brand recorded a significant growth rate of 32. 9%| | | |on the Chinese passenger car market. | | |AUDI BRAND | | | |   | | | |   | | | |   | | | |   | | | |   | | | |   | | | | | | | |   | | | |   | | | |2009 | | | |   | | | |2008 | | | |   | | | |% | | | | | | | |Deliveries (thousand units) | | | |   | | | |950 | | | |   | | | |1,003 | | | |   | | | |–5. | | | | | | | |Vehicle sales | | | |   | | | |1,183 | | | |   | | | |1,275 | | | |   | | | |–7. | | | | | | | |Production | | | |   | | | |924 | | | |   | | | |1,022 | | | | | | | |–9. | | | | | | | |Sales revenue (â‚ ¬Ã‚  million) | | | |   | | | |29,840 | | | |   | | | |34,196 | | | |   | | | |–12. | | | | | | | |Operating profit | | | |   | | | |1,604 | | | |   | | | |2,772 | | | |   | | | |–42. | | | | | | | |as % of sales revenue | | | |   | | | |5. 4 | | | |   | | | |8. | | | |   | | | |   | | | | | | | |China is the largest foreign market of the company, there was an appreciable rise in | | | |the volume of deliveries of 32. 9% to 158,941 Audi vehicle demand for the long | | | |wheelbase models developed specially for the Chinese market, the Audi A4 L, & A6 L, | | | |was particularly high in the year under review.The Audi bra nd consequently cemented | | | |its leading position in the Chinese premium segment last year | | |Distribution |(+++) |(-) | | |146 local franchisees by the end of August 2009 | | |Customer Service |(+++) |(-) | | |Audi CSI Ranking is 836 in comparison with middle point is 817 | | | |[pic] | | | |Source : J. D. Power Asia Pacific Reports 2009 | | 2. Benchmark the company performance by comparison with the industry leaders Thanks to its generic strategy, Audi is now the leader in delivering premium ars to customers in China market (source: â€Å"Audi in China† – Audi China President report, 2012) Audi image in China market [pic] III/ MAKE RECOMMENDATION FOR COMPANY DEVELOPMENT A. PROPOSE A GENERIC STRATEGY (PORTER 1980) (DAVID) 1. Diffentiation or Cost Leadership? As Audi has chosen â€Å"to target a clientele which can be characterized by its high incomeLevel†, the best strategy to adapt in the generic strategy is Differentiation Strategy: – â€Å"Aud i seeks to differentiate itself from its competitors through the technological superiority of the models it sells and by the quality of the service offered, which applies to all dealerships, everywhere in the world†. |Advantages |Disadvantages | |Cost Leadership |Mass production |Brand seen as cheap and low cost | | |Customer less requiring about quality | | |Differentiation |Good Image of the Brand |Expensive to produce | | |Customer less sensitive to price |Need to have always a good quality production| PRODUCT QUALITY : Audi wants to apply the same standards at the international level in order to build a uniform brand image and respond to the demand of a mobile clientele. 2. Industry wide or Particular Segment? The target customer segment is not really price-sensitive. In China, the purchasing power is low but a fragment of the population is able to buy an Audi Car. However, it is not a particular segment like Rolls Royce or Ferrari. Audi’s target is the rich Chines e class, and so we chose Industry wide. |Advantages |Disadvantages | |Industry wide |More potential customers |Brand not seen as the best existing | | |A large quantity produced, economy of scale | | |Particular Segment |Brand seen as very special |Not possible to make scale economy | | |Customer not sensitive to price |Few potential of customers | Audi was the first â€Å"premium segment† manufacturer to produce vehicles in China, in 1988. It gives an advantage on the Chinese Market, and a leadership position compared to its competitors. B. SELECT AN INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY (SON) 1. Select an internationalization strategy i) Evaluate the advantage and drawbacks of the adaptation policy and the standardization policy: | |Advantages |Drawdown | |Final Sale Made in Germany |Costly (Labor costs in Germany is very | | |Protect know how |high) | | |Quality control |Risky | |Foreign Direct Investment |Saving cost |No made in Germany | | | |No profit before long term | ii) Pr opose an internationalization strategy: transnational strategy |GLOBAL STRATEGY |TRANSNATIONAL STRATEGY | | |Audi 2010 and Audi 2015 | |INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY |MULTINATIONAL STRATEGY | 2. Audi 2010: TRANSNATIONAL STRATEGY AUDI â€Å"Premium† Brand (2010 and 2015)Principle Market: Germany, Europe (not including Germany), Emerging Markets (China, Russia), United States. Reference norm: Global Developmental logic: Standardization and Adaptation (Apply the same standards at the international level) Principal modes of internationalization: Exporting, International Joint ventures and Owned Subsidiaries. 3. Audi 2015: keeping and improving the same strategy With transnational strategy, it will help Audi create competences of global relevance, responsiveness to local condition and innovation and learning on an organization –wide scale. It responds specifically to the challenges of globalization and tends to have a high proportion of fixed responsibilities in the horizontal l ines of management.If it is to work, the transnational structure must have very clearly defined managerial roles, relationship and boundaries. That means, Audi should adopt the geocentric orientation. The employees are recruited from all over the world, so that the best people are recruited to solve global problems. Audi will have to try to develop both global differentiation and global integration between headquarter and foreign subsidiaries. The focus is therefore to gain the potential advantages of an integrated company, and to gain the advantages of differentiation in product offerings. The alignment between Transnational Strategy and Audi’ profile is below: |Concentrated decision making power |Dispersed decision making power | |High interdependence between | |Transnational Strategy | |activities | | | | | |Geocentric Orientation | |High interdependence between | | | |activities | | | C. STUDY THE RELEVANCE OF A COOPERATION STRATEGY (CHI) 1. The current situation of Audi AG’s symbiotic marketing strategy: |LATERAL COOPERATION |OUTSOURCING COOPERATION | |(Alliance) |(Sub-contracting) | |None. POLYTEC GROUP to manufacture some of Audi’s engine components for Audi | | |A4, A6, A8†¦ | |CORRELATION COOPERATION |ELECTRIC COOPERATION | |(Co-branding) |(Sponsoring/New products) | | | | |A â€Å"Bose HiFi Audi car†: customer can enjoy a high-quality sound |Movies sponsoring: | |system provided by BOSE in Audi cars. |Audi sponsored â€Å"Iron Man 2† and created the â€Å"Tony Stark Innovation | |Audi’s Google-enhanced navigation system (Google Map, Google |Challenge† contest. | |Street View, Google Navigation). |Audi sponsored â€Å"Knight and Day†:  Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz drove the | |Apple’s button on steering wheel or in the dashboard of Audi cars |S5 Cabriolet. | |for connecting to Apple’s Siri-based â€Å"Eyes Free† solution (coming |Sport sponsoring: | |in 2013. |A udi Cup 2011 with 04 famous soccer teams: Bayern Munich (GER), AC | |Audi – UNICEF joint programs in several activities: emergency |Milan (ITA), Barcelona (SPN) and SC International de Porto Alegre | |giving, fund-rising (esp. in China market) |(BRA), of which three first teams are members of Audi's international | | |soccer family. | | |Bayern Munich's basketball team joined the football players in flying | | |the flag for Audi brand. | |Charity donation: | | |Emergency giving: During China's 2008 Sichuan earthquake emergency, | | |Audi donated US$2,205,107 for UNICEF’s relief effort and long-term | | |recovery needs of children. | | |From 2005, Audi sponsored a fundraising project ‘Audi Driving Dreams’ | | |in China, to support UNICEF efforts to provide children with access to | | |sports, recreational activities and a variety of activity-based | | |lessons, through which they can realize their fullest potential within | | |society. | |Envir onmental activities sponsor: | | |AUDI AG provides backup for the â€Å"Oak Forest† research project with the | | |Bavarian State Forestry and the Chair of Forest Yield Science at the | | |Technical University of Munich | (Source: Audi annual report 2011, UNICEF website, Audi website, Polytech website) 2. Recommendation for Audi AG’s symbiotic marketing development: Alliance cooperation: Currently, Audi does not have any kind of alliance with other partner outside Germany (except for a joint venture FAW-Volkswagen Group set up in China).Audi AG is a strong and well recognized brand name for premium high-end car, so in this time it is important o maintain the high homogeneity of their standard and image by ‘standing alone’ and not with an alliance with other automobile makers. Outsourcing cooperation: Besides outsourcing engine parts and car interior parts, Audi should outsource their customer service to the local service providers. Outsoaring such serv ices such as customer care and/or car maintenance-repairing service is not only provide Audi owners the standardization quality of Audi services worldwide; but also provide the customized local values, especially in important foreign markets such as U. S, China, or Great Britain. Correlation cooperation:By co-branding with leading names in other industries, Audi will continue to confirm its premium quality of the automobiles, for example, high-quality sounding system from BOSE, or Audi’s Google-based map and navigation. This collaboration will provide a convenient and interesting driving experience to the Audi owners. [pic] An Audi-Bose sound system & speaker inside an Audi A4 (Source: internet) Electric cooperation: For Audi, electric cooperation such as sponsoring for social activities, especially in their important market such as China or U. S, is very important not only for marketing strategy but also for showing their commitments to the development of the society.Audi sh ould involve more in many kinds of social activities as recommended below: ? Blockbuster movies production (Hollywood movies) ? Sport games / sport tournaments (such as Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro Cup) ? Charity donation & fund raising event (such as UNICEF fund for children, or poverty relief funds) ? Music event (such as Beijing Music Festival, Audi Summer Concerts ) ? Environmental activities (such as forest research program) ? Safe driving campaign (together with the local government) Participating in such above activities will prove the commitment of Audi AG about corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards the society.Those activities would also bring back the good result to Audi: supporting to penetrate Audi image to the market, increase the goodwill of people towards the company, and bring them the potential customers in the future. D. PRESENT A MARKETING PROCESS (TUAN) 1. Market segmentation: | |China |Western Europe |NAFTA |JAPAN |Central eastern Europe | | | | | | |and South America | |Automotive industry |Growing |Maturity |Maturity |  Maturity |Growing | |trend, demand and |Stagnation |Stagnation |Stagnation | | |production | | | | | | |Competitors |New competitors coming |Traditional |Traditional |Traditional |Traditional competitors | | |due to emerging process |competitors |competitors |competitors | | 2. Target marketing strategy From the market segmentation and information, China is most attractive market (consist of 13. 5% of global market) in front of Central Eastern Europe (9. % of global market) and South America (7% of global market), Western Europe (market maturity, decreasing demand), NAFTA (market maturity, decreasing demand), Japan (market maturity, decreasing demand). Therefore, Audi should target to maximize their volume of products, new products and profit in China Market and Central Eastern Europe (including Hungary market) and South America. On the other hand, Audi should also maintain their position, products i n the other markets to control their traditional competitors. Audi should adopt the selective specification strategy while the several marketing mixes are implemented in different segments. The same product is marketed differently in different segments. 3. Position the company and/or product Perceptual (Positioning) map: [pic] E. GIVEN MAIN ORIENTATION FOR THE MARKETING MIX (TUAN) P(Product) |Create new models of car with innovative technology (brand new). | |P (Price) |Economies of scale and try to use maximum advantage of supporting from Volkswagen Group to have maximum | | |savings in production. | |P(Distribution) |Coverage maximum China market and central eastern Europe and south America and try to maintain market in | | |remaining areas. | | |Joint venture and/or 100% subsidiaries approach should be considered. | |P (Promotion) |Enhancement of personalized customer service. | |Attend every professional trade shown in every market area, especially in China and Central Eastern E urope;| | |South America. | ———————– Fit and Finish Serviceability Reliability Name [pic][? ][lmnorsvw†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬ ¡? e? O?  ©?  ©Ã¢â‚¬ [email  protected]$JIhJ5OJQJ^Jh$JIho5h$JIhJ55? OJQJh$JIhuF? 5? OJQJhuF? 5? OJQJhJ55? OJQJ(j{:h$JIhA OJQJU[pic]mHnHu[pic](h$JIh ±-N5? B* CJOJQJaJphâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬(h$JIhA 5? B* CJOJQJaJphâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬(h$JIhirM5? B* CJOJQJaJphâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬h$JIhAConformance to Specifications Durability Performance AUDI BRAND IN CHINA Features 31% Audi BMW 21. 6% Mercedes 21% 21% Other 2004 Brand Equity High High Low Market penetrate level

Dug Legalization in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Local ownership a dilemma in peace building Essay

Local ownership a dilemma in peace building - Essay Example Local ownership as far as the peace building is concerned refers to the degree of involvement of the domestic actors in formulation and implementation of a political process. In addition to local ownership issues, the Afghanistan state has remained crippled due to rampant corruption, emboldened insurgency and political disunity. The citizens have already grown tired of having international bodies present and demand the return of ownership of policies to their state. However, there is great tension that chaos might reemerge once the international communities hand over the local ownership to the Afghanistan citizens. The paper gives a analyses the dilemma that faces the local ownership especially in the Afghanistan state. The citizens of Afghanistan began opposing the idea of local ownership after making several findings about the local ownership process, according to the Afghanistan case study. The case study shows that local ownership process in Afghanistan is subject to both practical and structural problems. Practical problems identified by the case study include mutual mistrust, dependence on external forces and lack of capacity among others. Structural problems identified include moral superiority and problem of the independence in the state. Primarily, the findings show that the local ownership process in Afghanistan was not feasible because there was mutual mistrust and suspicions between the various actors involved in the peace-making process. This deepened the tension amongst the citizens. They no longer trusted each other and thus making it difficult to have a common political leadership that all the citizens and the actors, both local and international would agree to. Despite the local and international actors having a common goal of intervention, differences arose over what a sound end state capable of sustainable peace appears like and how to attain it. The various actors could not agree due to mistrust. Another factor that made the local

Mid Term Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mid Term - Essay Example ations and it is an accepted fact that most of the law enforcement agencies are reluctant in appointing African- American officers in their organizations because of their concern over such intergroup conflicts. Discipline is the main requirement, of a law enforcement organization and the introduction of more African-American into such organizations may result in conflicts between the African-Americans and the Americans which will damage the discipline in the organization. African-Americans have a strong belief that their community is discriminated in America because of the racial issues. An officer who experiences discrimination within his organization may behave rudely against the white community while enforcing the law and order. The feeling of isolation will force them keep an aggressive nature against the white people. Apart from English language, foreign language proficiency is a must for the employees of a law enforcement agency. Most of the African-American may not have good proficiency either in English or in any other foreign language which prevented the agencies from appointing more people from these communities into the organization. MS-13 gang (named after La Mara a street in El Salvador and 13 th street in Los Angeles) is one of the most dangerous and organized criminal groups in America. It is an international criminal group with roots in El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras like countries. This group originated in El Salvador in order to participate in their civil war and when the war approaches to an end they shifted operations to the nearest country, Honduras. Honduras government has adopted strict measures to control their activities which forced them to move to Mexico. â€Å"The Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) moved into the Los Angeles area in the late 1980s as immigrants from El Salvador began arriving in the city† (MS13 Gang), MS 13 gang members often put numerous tattoos on their body and also wear blue and white colour clothes (colours of El

Loyalty and its role in customer relationship management 02222 Essay

Loyalty and its role in customer relationship management 02222 - Essay Example This severely reduces the customer retention of the firm. Therefore maintaining the loyalty of the customers is imperative to organizational success. The companies are constantly seeking out for new ways to retain their existing customers. This paper is based on the study of customer relationship and how it is important in maintaining the customer loyalty. The consumer behaviour can be explained as the response that the consumers express under certain circumstances. These circumstances are often on the grounds of introduction of new products or services, post purchase behaviour and gradual change in the consumption patter of the society. These factors are always studies by the marketers so that they can provide the proper value addition for the consumers (Allentuck, 2007). The loyal of a customer towards a brand is mostly dependent on hid post purchase behaviour, which is turn is related to the buying process of the customer. The buying process of the customers can be divided into stages like need recognition, information search, evaluating alternatives, finalizing the purchase, post purchase behaviour. Among these four stages the post purchase behaviour determines whether or not the customer will remain loyal to the company. Customer loyalty can be described by the customer’s tendency to voluntarily make repeated purchase from one particular company. Anderson and Kerr (2008) stated that customer loyalty is proportional to their satisfaction level; more satisfied a customer is, the more likely he is to make a repeat purchase. The satisfaction of a customer can be assessed by the following five dimensions, which are cognitive, affective, conative, situational and social norms (Anderson and Kerr, 2009). The level of cognition suggests the level of relevancy between the customers’ needs or preferences and the offered products or services. The Affective dimension indicates how the customer

Describe the journey of a Red Blood Cell around the body Essay

Describe the journey of a Red Blood Cell around the body - Essay Example A spectrin network attached to the lipid bilayer contains several organic proteins, phospholipids, sphingolipids and cholesterol. This type of attachment increases the stiffness of the RBC. Moreover, this sort of spectrin protein allows the free diffusion of vital component from extracellular fluid to intracellular fluid. (Li & Lykotrafittis, 2012). The journey of red blood cells (erythrocytes) usually begins in the circulatory system. During their passage through the blood vessels the erythrocytes undergo several important changes in shape and structure particularly when needed to pass through the narrow passages in the circulatory system. An erythrocyte is a biconcave disc of a diameter ranging between 6-8 microns, with mean thickness of 2.5 micrometres at the periphery and approximately 1 micrometre towards the centre of the cell (Guyton & Hall, 2006). Transporting of oxygen from lung to various other organs is the function of the RBCs during their journey in the human circulatory system. Importantly, this oxygen available for the functioning of organs is stored into the haemoglobin of RBC and when it reaches its particular destination, oxygen is liberated from haemoglobin and it moves through the cellular passive diffusion. Furthermore, carbon dioxide (CO2) that is released after cellular activities is then again fused with haemoglobin of RBC. This deoxygenated blood due to presence of CO2 into the haemoglobin then enters into the heart, and is finally diffused to the lungs. It was reported that in some lower animals (some invertebrates), Hb is present as a free protein in plasma and it is not bound to the RBCs like in human beings. The total life span of each erythrocyte in the circulation is 120 days (Dean, 2005). But during this period if any of them gets damaged, then they could be eliminated from the circulatory system with the help of macrophages which is usually present in the bone marrow, spleen or in the liver (Premkumar, 2004). A normal man has an average of 5,200,000 red blood cells (RBC) per cubic millimetre and a normal woman has an average of 4,700,000 RBCs per cubic millimetre (Guyton & Hall, 2006). Around 3 million red blood cells (RBC) enter the circulation each second (Starr & McMillan, 2012). Haemoglobin is usually concentrated in the red blood cells (RBC); the metabolic limit of haemoglobin-forming mechanism of the body allows only a maximum concentration of 34grams of Haemoglobin in each 100 millilitres of cells (Guyton & Hall, 2006). In any normal and healthy individual, the haemoglobin (Hb) concentration remains at this maximum permitted level. 2. Bone marrow, Journey and Production of erythrocytes: Production of the erythrocytes from the bone marrow is called erythropoiesis (Schlossberg & Zuiderna, 1997). Apart from bone marrow, red blood cells are also produced by various other organs during the early development of human body. Yolk Sac is the primary site of the production of RBCs during the early embryonic p eriod (Guyton & Hall, 2006, p. 421). Liver serves as the main organ for RBC production during the middle trimester of gestation while lymph nodes and spleen also produce an amount of RBCs during this stage of development (Guyton & Hall, 2006, p. 421). Bone marrow is an important part of human body for the production of red blood cells (RBC) during the last month of gestation and soon after the birth (Guyton & Hall, 2

The Effect of performance appraisal policies on the Level of the Thesis Proposal

The Effect of performance appraisal policies on the Level of the Employees Engagement in Hail University- Saudi Arabia (Women Branch) - Thesis Proposal Example independent variables in affecting mediating variables of peer pressure is investigated and this is then weighed against the outcome of dependent variables pertaining to employee engagement levels.After postulating the problem statement and indicating the purpose of the research, the research questions of the study are then posited. This is followed by the framework of the research and a discussion of the various variables. This is followed by a research methodology section which indicates how data is to be collected. This will be by conducting a qualitative and quantitative study of employee engagement levels in Hail University, Saudi Arabia women’s branch, by collecting and reviewing both primary and secondary sources of data. Employee engagement is affected by a number of factors. Bakker and Demerouti (2008) indicate a variety of factors such as job resources, the salience of such resources and personal resources as some of such factors that affect employee engagement. The importance of employee engagement is underscored by the associated benefits of this engagement. Such benefits include improved performance and a willingness on the part of the employee to go the extra mileBakker and Demerouti (2008). Other surveys have found such employee engagement to be positively related in-role performance. These are just some of the benefits that are expected when employees are engaged in their work. One of the many factors that can be expected to affect employee engagement levels is performance appraisal policies of an organization. This is because performance appraisal policies are policies, and like any other policy; they are bound to affect the relationship that exists between the employee and the organization. Performance appraisal is usually targeted at assessing employees’ productivity and determining whether they are working in accordance to the company’s goals and objectives. Moreover, such appraisal is then used to determine appropriate rewards and/or

Consumer Behaviour and the Role It Plays in Marketing Term Paper

Consumer Behaviour and the Role It Plays in Marketing - Term Paper Example Channel communications work in a two-way system wherein information transfers to the user and bounce all the way back to the producer (Goldberg and McCalley, 1992). In other words, marketing communications work like a feedback system, which allows company producers to relay information to the customers. In response to the provided information, consumers give certain reactions or behaviors. Marketing theorist, Theodore Levitt (1986) once said, "The purpose of business is to get and keep customers." Indeed, businesses spend a lot of time and money in evaluating customer preferences to be able to retain customer loyalty. For if patronage is granted, profit increase follows. Customer loyalty is about establishing and maintaining a relationship with your customers. (Chow & Holden, 1997) A key to this mutually beneficial relationship is the awareness of customer preference or the present and potential needs and wants of a customer about any aspect of the business, whether it is about products or services because of possible customer turnover which will lead to decreased profits. This is emphasized by Ric Ducques and Paul Gaske (1997) who expressed the need to focus on the reasons behind customers defection as on attracting a new customer. Loyal customers can be easier to convince to try new products or services, charge higher prices and use as a willing referral. According to Michael Lowenstein (1997), any business's most advantageous strategic purpose is to gain customer loyalty. It has a constructive effect on company culture, development, and bottom line. Customers will be able to see that the company is geared towards retaining customers through all business processes from management to staff. Â  

Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilisation Essay Example for Free

Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilisation Essay In this essay, we shall attempt to examine the earliest examples of human civilisation, using examples from early Mesopotamian civilisations up to c2600BC. The earliest examples of civilisation are generally acknowledged to be found in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, Chinas Yellow River valley, and quite separately Peru. While some cultural trade and exchange can be expected from the initial 4 candidates, the Peruvian example implies that civilisation can and will occur separately and without influence; not an export, but simply a natural development. All of the earliest civilisations share certain characteristics. Claude Kluckhohn defined civilisation as any societal group which shared 2 of the following 3 characteristics: towns of greater than 5,000 people, a written language, and monumental ceremonial structures. While this works well as a rule of thumb, it fails to address certain important points; namely, how an area can accommodate high population densities, how written language is able to develop, and why monumental structures were built at all. Firstly, we shall tackle population density. For an early civilisation to achieve a population density in excess of 5,000 people to a single city or town, the first problem it must deal with is the most basic: that of food. Hunter-gatherer societies obviously cannot support this level of habitation mankind must be regarded in this matter as a top predator, and typical predator-prey ratios would imply that a hunting group of humans in excess of 5000 people would need a territory of around 75,000 kmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. The only possible answer to the question of how to concentrate this many people into a grouping is through the use of agriculture, and the development of farming techniques which allow large quantities of food to be produced using a relatively small area of land. Through the manipulation of the local environment to create food as needed, early civilisation was able to lower its dependency on natural conditions and begin the slow march of progress. However, there are other factors which must also be observed in the concentration of so many people into such a small area. The maintenance of social order is, by its very nature, an exponential equation; for every new member added to the group, he must form a social relationship with every existing member. Hence, high levels of social hierarchy and stratification become necessary very quickly its much more difficult to run a grouping of 100 people than it is to run one of 50, unless you have the correct social tools available to maintain control. Thankfully, increasing agricultural production allows for specialisation or at very least, taxation, which by its nature is a facilitator for specialisation. The surplus food supply means that actor X no longer needs to farm for himself, allowing for him to become a soldier, a lawyer, a priest, or even a god-king. The emergence of social specialisation almost certainly precedes concepts of state and law Hammurabi, author of the Code of Laws, was not the first priest-king to rule in Mesopotamia. In early Egypt, at very least, lestate cest moi certainly applies; it is very likely so in the other cradles of civilisation, with justice being doled out by personal decision of the king or his adjutants, on a case-by-case basis. The Code of Laws of Hammurabi leads us neatly to another of the foundations of early civilisation, that of writing. Possibly developed as a simple form of keeping tax records in Sumer, writing grants the author an external record of thoughts, one that can be read across time. It separates the writer from the concerns of time his words are no longer merely a short-term monodimensional event, but can be held and transcribed indefinitely, and literacy allows for information to be distributed far more effectively. While no mans voice can reach 5.5 million people directly, the Daily Mail is read by that many people every day though it is beyond the scope of this essay as to whether that paper can be regarded as information. Perhaps the most important aspect of writing, however, is that it creates an external bank of knowledge; a repository which may be added to continuously and with much more longevity than the lifetime of a single man. Hence, the sum total of human knowledge can be expanded indefinitely, rather than relying on the frailties of human memory. The eventual result of these major innovations is the rise of the city. Cities are the very essence of civilisation; the engines of progress which drive the advancement of technology and philosophy. Fed by the agricultural surplus, controlled by the new governments, and protected by the newly specialised military elites, the city allowed people to learn new trades and develop new concepts. Pottery can emerge in newer, more impressive forms; masonry can be developed and refined, and ideas such as mathematics, geometry, natural philosophy and any other conceptual discipline can be followed. It is no surprise, then, given the primary importance of the food supply, that the first civilisations emerge without fail on flood plains. Until irrigation and other farming technology is developed, the dark alluvial soil of the Mesopotamian flood plains, or the Nile river valley, is the only medium which can be exploited for the kind of mass-production of food needed for human population to reach the critical mass required for civilisation. Water is, of course, one of the main requirements of life; it would appear that it is also the catalyst for civilisation, not merely in the direct provision of drinking water, but also in the action of laying down fresh soil each year. Mesopotamia is often regarded as the initial starting point of civilisation as a whole, considered to pre-date the other centres, with the early Ubaid period beginning in c6000BC. This was still pre-history, with writing not appearing for another 2500 years or so; however, excavations at Ubaid by C.L. Woolley in the 1920s uncovered evidence of irrigation channels, canal systems, and temples connected to the period, as well as clay and terracotta ware, and, importantly, stone tools. Stone is not native to Iraq, implying a trade network; its also worthy of note that the wheel is considered to have been invented by the people of Ubaid. The Ubaid civilisations northern sites suffered some form of catastrophe in the mid-4th century BC, at around the time of the rise of what is known as the Uruk period; whether this was an outside invasion replacing the people of Ubaid, or a natural progression of the society itself is open to debate. The Uruk period (c4000BC-c3100BC) is notable for the beginnings of monumental architecture the first proto-ziggurats as well as the rise of the first large-scale cities, reaching up to 50,000 inhabitants. It is also, contentiously, where writing first appears to develop, in around 3500BC; though the primitive pictographic tablets of the period are effectively just pictures and incapable of describing concepts beyond the purely visual. There is also a great deal of evidence to imply a definite government structure, and therefore also social stratification, and also mass-production of pottery. It is the period immediately following Uruk, known as Jemdet Nasr or the proto-literate period, where writing really begins to take hold, and that history can definitely be said to have begun. Cuneiform symbols developed, possibly for the purpose of tax records, and while some pictographic elements remained within the written language, their numbers began to drop significantly and their meanings move from strictly descriptive to multi-purpose. The development of the pictographs into cuneiforms may have been spurred by the adoption of the wedge-shaped cuneus as the standard writing implement, which made the pictograph itself more difficult to achieve; however, the concept of syllabic writing was still undeveloped, and given the Sumerian tendency to monosyllabic speech forms it would take a while to appear. Jemdet Nasr is also known as Uruk III, and it shares a majority of the typical cultural markers of the previous period, in more highly-developed forms. Most notable of the periods legacies is the sexagesimal number system, still used in time measurement today. Following the proto-literate phase, history can begin properly, and the Sumerian civilisation truly begins. However, the term civilisation implies a unity which was certainly not present in ancient Mesopotamia at the time; the Sumerians were divided amongst themselves into a series of small, competing city-states, in a manner akin to the classical Greeks. This competition took the form of both war and trade, with the area trading its substantial food surpluses for metals and wood from neighbouring areas. In each city, a Priest-King would rule in the name of the citys God, and each city had a different patron deity. Every so often, one city or another would gain primacy in the area, leading to its king claiming the title king of Kish, possibly due to Kish being the first such state to gain hegemony. The city states themselves became increasingly fortified, and warfare between the various kings became near-constant. In spite of the healthy food surpluses, and the vast storehouses kept for grain, farmland and water were a constant prize for these wars, possibly due to food being the primary trade good. While these wars were often violent and repetitive, the king of Kish would occasionally be brought in for arbitration between feuding states; this king could also seemingly try to call on the military aid of other kings should he need it, although not always successfully. This principal of first amongst equals appears to have been shaky at best, with the other states never far enough behind the leader to be safely considered vassals. In conclusion, the origin of civilisation is firmly connected to the supply of food. It is the surpluses which allow it to arise, it is the fertility of the flood plains which marks the site of early civilisation, and it is even the food wealth of Mesopotamia which created the technological hotbed of organised warfare. The intensive competition for limited agricultural land, with little other natural resources, naturally encouraged startling innovations, such as writing and the wheel, just as in Greece they led to the growth of philosophy and mathematics, and in Europe to the rise of the jet fighter and the ballistic missile.

Mappes Theories of Sexual Morality

Mappes Theories of Sexual Morality Some feminists have been accused of providing a negative view of sex, suggesting that all sex is rape and that males are the negative gender. Yet, what Dworkin and MacKinnon were really talking about was that the difference been consensual sex and rape is one of degree and not of kind (Kinloch Grebowicz 2004). In other words, the same sex act occurs in rape or consensual relationships, and sometimes it is difficult to tell when a rape has occurred or the sex was desired. When examining sex, there are many points of view. Thomas A. Mappes writes about the idea of using another person for sexual gratification. Are people really being used? What is coercive and what is consensual? These questions loom when one examines the subject of sex. Mappes begins a piece entitled Sexual Morality and the Concept of Using Another Person with the notion that if in fact the nonmarital sex is not immoral, and that sex without love is not immoral either, then it stands to reason that there are no substantive moral restrictions on any acts of sex. This is a different concept to fathom. It would mean that an anything goes attitude would prevail and that orgies in the street would be permissible much like animals gather to mate. Yet, the reality is that human beings are modest. They hide their sex lives from their acquaintances. Some engage in relationships behind closed doors like Jesse James and Tiger Woods, but even when such clandestine affairs are out in the open, individuals explain it away as an addiction. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what sexual morality is. Mappes employs Kantian ethics to make his points, noting that it is wrong to use A to get to point B if in fact the only reason to use A is to get to that B position. In other words, a man may date a woman and have sexual intercourse with her and derive satisfaction. Yet, the sex act should take place in the context of love, for example, and not just to derive pleasure. If however the man uses the woman to get from point A to point B and for his own uses alone, then he is using her. He talks about voluntary informed consent however (Mappes). When Mappes talks about using another person, he does not imply that the use is immoral. It merely exists. When lying is involved, then the sexual act is deceptive (Mappes). Depending on the circumstances, holding back information may be considered a form of deception (Mappes). One can imagine that if a woman is dating a man and does not know that the man is married, then she is being duped. Consent is tricky however. Someone may be used by another but both individuals really know what is going on. The rape victim who is forced at knife point is obviously someone who is not consenting to sex (Mappes). That is coerced. However, someone who consents to sex under unusual circumstances, is not necessary being forced, even if there is some coercion or unsavory expectations in the mix. It seems as if coercion and deception are important elements when it comes to using another human being sexually (Mappes). The author concludes that using another person can only occur when someone either deceives, coerces, or takes advantage of someones desperate situation (Mappes). Many things enter the picture. Is there a threat involved, or an offer? In other words, is there coercion? An example is that in the film Indecent Proposal, a rich man offers a needy couple one million dollars for one night of sex. When they agree, their lives change. The wife does not realize how difficult living will be after essentially prostituting herself. There was no coercion. She was lured into it, but arguably she was used because a very rich man would take advantage of a poor couple. One can use the same logic to explain why women become prostitutes. Many say they are just paying the bills. Yet, one has to wonder if the situation is truly one where there is coercion or an exercise of free will. A similar storyline to Indecent Proposal comes from a recent episode of Gossip Girl where in an intricate plot; Blair is willing to sleep with her boyfriends cousin in order to win an empire back. She does it for the boyfriend, but in the end, it appears that she has not done the right thing. She was tricked into giving herself to someone she despises in order to change her circumstances. How does one know what an offer is really a threat? What question might be asked to determine whether a statement is an offer or a threat? One may ask what the outcome would be if one says yes or no. In the case of the film or television program mentioned, the outcome would result in a reduced amount of money and worldly goods. No harm would come to either woman or man. Yet, if the outcome would be loss of life or torture or something along those lines, then the offer would be construed as a threat. Coercion thus is not always equated with a threat. The author makes the point at the end that using another person occurs only when someone either deceives, coerces, or takes advantage of someones desperate situation (Mappes, 2007). This is true in that in all of these instances, one may use another sexually, but there are other situations where one may be used. For example, someone may enter into a relationship where a man is rather superficial. Perhaps he has narcissistic personality disorder and cannot love anyone in a deep sense. A woman enters a relationship with him and adores him. She does not realize he cannot love to the depths that she can. She falls in love with him but the problem is that he really cannot love her back. They have sex and she feels close to him, but he does not feel the same way even though he says I love you. He is not lying. For him, he loves her, but it is not in the same way she loves him. When he breaks up with her because he is bored of the relationship, and then starts a sexual relationship with a y ounger, more attractive woman, the woman who was dumped feels used. In respect to Mappes position, the author makes a good case, but there may be times when a coercive offer is part of the equation and there is an obvious use of another, or when there is no explicit sense of using another, someone will feel used. In the case of the narcissist, is the significant other really being used? Much depends on the mind of the reader. There is no coercive offer. If the woman feels used, that does not mean she was. There was no coercion or threat, so on some level, this case that appears to oppose the author really helps to support his point.

Television and Media Essay - Children and TV Violence :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Children and Television Violence      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The children of America spend their time on many different activities. One of the most time consuming activities is watching television.   Television plays a large role in the social and emotional development of children today. One good quality that television has is that it conveys information and happenings around the world that they may not otherwise know about, but some people have been questioning whether television does more harm than good.   Many have been analyzing what affect violence in adult shows as well as children's shows may have on children.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most parents allow their children to watch so called "kid's shows" without even thinking about what might be contained within them.   How many times has a certain hunter been seen hunting a certain "wascally wabbit"?   Most people would say "how can a cartoon about a man hunting affect a child?"   At first it may seem that it has no effect, but, looking closer, it is easy to see that Bugs Bunny has many human traits. Two of these traits are speaking English and walking upright.   Something else that adds to this is that sometimes children cannot make the distinction between fantasy and reality.   Quickly a cartoon about a man hunting a rabbit can turn into a story of murder.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another cartoon character that may harm children is Yosimite Sam.   When he becomes angry, he begins to fire his pair of guns into the air and at other characters.   This could cause children to act violently to appease their anger.   This includes hitting and throwing things.   This is an extreme view of the situation, but who is to say that at least part of it is not true?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children see violence everyday in their cartoons, but what about shows that they watch in which people star.   These shows will more than likely cause more violence than cartoons would.   While watching a show such as "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" a child sees almost 30 minutes of non-stop fighting.   The show also has a fantasy story that appeals to children.   After watching the show, a child may become bored because the reality of the television show is more interesting.   The child then imitates what was seen on television.   This is where the actual violence may begin.   Adult shows and movies that are seen by children could have even worse effects than children's shows.   In one documented case, a Californian boy that was seven years old watched a movie one night.   In the movie, a man put glass into soup that a colleague of his was to eat.

The Difference Between Men and Women Essay -- Gender Difference Human

The Difference Between Men and Women The fact that men and women are different is well known. Some of these differences are constant and some are not; some have changed in the past and some are about to change in the future. While some physical differences are obvious, some of them are controversial; in addition, psychological and cognitive differences are always divisive. Men are considered to be physically stronger than women. First, the physical duties of a household always seem to be a job for the man of the house. For example, in â€Å"Punch and Judy† by Dave Barry he mentions that â€Å"From the dawn of human civilization, the task of inflating the inflatable pool toy has always fallen to the male.† Second, for now, men are most of the army fighting force of any country. While in Israel everyone has to go to the army, only men have to fight; women are able to do so if they like to and found physically capable. Another example is a quote of Mary Armstrong, director of Women’s Studies at California Polytechnic from â€Å"The Draft: Debating War and Gender Equality† by Jana Larsen—â€Å"Currently, the (American) military assigns women a ‘limited’ or ‘adjusted’ role, that is, women in the military do not do all the same things as men in the military.† Third, occupations that require physical effort are occupied by men. For example, most of the construction and moving workers are men and there are only men in all of the sports team that participate in to face no public important world...

To Have Or Not To Have Caesarean Section Essay example -- essays paper

To Have Or Not To Have Caesarean Section Years ago caesarean section (c-section) was only done in cases of emergency such as when the mother’s life or the neonate’s life is in danger. However at the turn of the century, there seems to have a remarkable rise in c-section deliveries. It seems that women nowadays are willing to take the risk of surgery to avoid the stress and pain of labor rather than experience the normal trend of delivering a baby vaginally – the normal way. The majority of pregnant women believe that the best method of giving birth is the least painful but this is not necessarily the safest (Ghetti, Chan & Guise 2004). Amazingly some obstetricians have become advocates for this surgical procedure instead of advisors to what is really suitable for the individual. What it is that drives women to go for a mutilating procedure rather than a simple laceration of a normal birth? The answer is obvious. The modern women are scared of pain, of the long stretch of labor and the stress that comes along with it. But what the modern women should understand is that delivering babies by caesarean section is not the answer to a pain-free delivery (Smeltzer & Bare, 2002). Caesarean Section – Its Beginning Many people think that c-section is a modern method of delivering babies. The truth is, â€Å"†¦ caesarean section has been a part of human culture since the ancient times†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (The National Institute of Health Convention, 1998). In fact history tells about the birth of Julius Caesar by c-section, thus the term â€Å"caesarean† came into use. However, modern historians do not believe that Julius Caesar ‘s birth was by c-section since his mother had been mentioned in some part of history to be alive when Caesar was already a reigning ... ...Ghetti,C., Chan, BKS., & Guise, J. (2004). Physicians’ responses to patient requested-caesarean delivery. Retrieved March 2, 2005 form www.cinahl/chi-bin/refsvc Ignatavicious, D. & Workman, L. (2001). Medical-surgical nursing: Critical thinking collaborative care. (4thed.). Philadelphia, PA: Mosby, Inc. Lowdermilk, D. & Peryy, S. (2004). Maternity and women’s health care. (4th ed.). St. Louise, MO: Mosby, Inc. Porter, M. & Bhattachary, S. (2004). Preventing unnecessary caesarean section: Marginal benefit of a second opinion. The Lancet. 364, 1921. Rubin, R. (2004). Do you have a choice? USA Today, Sept.16, 2004, D-08. Smeltzer, S.C. & Bare, B. (2002). Medical-surgical nursing. (9thed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Stein, R. (2004). Findings on caesarean section rekindle debate. The Washington Post, Dec. 15, 2004, p. A-18.

Crime and Punishment Analysis Essay

Raskolnikov’s redemption is an essential element to the story. His interaction with Profiry is a catalyst for this change. Additionally, the psychological concepts and techniques used by the investigator are crucial aspects of the narrative. In fact, his entire investigation involves the use of psychology to lure out the murderer in what Raskolnikov refers to as a â€Å"cat and mouse game. † Though Raskolnikov considers hi an adversary, his admiration for Porfiry’s intelligence and the good use to which he puts it are critical in redeeming certain aspects of his character. Porfiry Petrovitch is an intelligent young man who works for the betterment of his country. He is greatly devoted to Russia and believes his nation has a bright future. He sees Raskolnikov as a bright young man who can contribute to Russia. Through the story Petrovitch comes to realize that Raskolnikov has fallen under the influence of radical new ideas. He is clearly not a common policeman; otherwise he would have arrested the young man much earlier in the novel. Indeed, Petrovitch’s advanced knowledge of psychological methods makes him come across as an open-minded intellectual. He reads the article Raskolnikov had written about crime. He brings this up in their first encounter and Raskolnikov provides details on his ubbermensch theory. Porfiry concludes that the young student must have included himself in the theory, as he was the one who spread the new idea. He also uses other tactics, such as asking whether Raskolnikov noticed two painters at Ivanova’s apartment. This is an attempt to trap Raskolnikov, who realizes it because there were no painters on site until the day of the murder. However these clever mind games and exchanges provide the novel with a rich, compelling interaction. Raskolnikov recognized Porify’s intelligence, and fears him as an antagonist. The investigator however looks at his suspect differently. Soon Petrovitch’s aim is to show Raskolnikov the error of his theory; that his ideas cannot serve humanity unless they are executed by humane people. Thus a person must employ both humanity and intellect simultaneously in order for their ideas to improve society. By discovering the inaccuracy of his theory, Raskolnikov can begin to accept blame and punishment for his actions. Through suffering for his actions, Raskolnikov can begin his ehabilitation and progress towards becoming the valued addition to society that Petrovitch thinks he can be. Petrovitch believes that he can rehabilitate Raskolnikov into someone who can serve Russia in a useful way. This is exemplified by the final interview, in which he gives Raskolnikov additional time to confess to the crime and thereby reduce his level of punishment. Throughout their exchanges, Petrovitch pushes the main character to do the right thing by appealing to his intellect. His influence on Raskolnikov helps the young man to accept responsibility for his actions and move towards rebuilding his life.

College Students Poor Food Choices Due to Stress Essay

Some examples of uncomfortable feelings might be anxiety, depression, feeling pressured, procrastination, troubled relationships with peers, not doing well in academics, or not being economically successful. Students that live in the dorms may choose fattening foods at the cafeteria or â€Å"treat† themselves to fast food because they are emotionally unstable. Most of these college students also do not think that their new habit is a negative one. The reason why college students eat fattening, high sugar foods could be because of a mental or a biological satisfaction. This research will give an explanation for why many medicate their emotional states with food. Food choices are often made based on one’s unhappiness, angst, or trauma. College students may feel as though pleasing their mouths will please their hearts and ease their state of stress. Many will endorse preferring the taste of highly salted, high sugar content foods, while others will state that this is the food they grew up eating, and some will say this is what is most affordable and accessible. Doing anything excessive because a stressor is acting upon you damages ones psyche; when one over eats and becomes obese, their sense of your self-image is altered negatively. The Cafe with buffets, fast food restaurants, and late night pizza deliveries are just a few of the enticements that college students are facing as they adjust to their new found independence and life on their own for the first time. My freshman roommate was from Sweden; when she came to America she was considered a normal weight. However, as she was experiencing the college and had a lot of American food available she chose fast food and unhealthy foods at the cafe at school to cope with being home sick, and being stressed out about school and soccer. However, she woke up one morning and realized that her belly was much bigger than when she first came to America. She waddled over to a mirror and grabbed her stomach and said, â€Å"how come you’re stomach is not this big? We almost do the same things. † I said, â€Å"I knew it was secretly a dream of yours to be ‘thick’ so the vitamins I gave you the other night were for you to get big overnight. This just relieved the tension and she had gotten her insecurity off of her chest. However, it did not solve her psychological crisis that had triggered negative feelings about her physical appearance. The main reason why she was over eating and eating unhealthy was because she was depressed and missed home – not because she was hungry. Many college students go through the same scenario that my roommate experienced. Some students feel as though abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake will comfort them physically and mentally. This research will be done on the college students who live in the dorms at Holy Names University. The units of analysis that will be observed are poor food choices and the factors of stress. Some major influences that that affect food choice are biological determinants, economic determinants, physical determinants, social determinants, and psychological determinants. A mode of operation that can be observed is the biological purpose that food serves; to put nutrients into our body. Humans need energy and nutrients in order to survive and will respond to the feelings of hunger or satisfaction of appetite. The central nervous system is involved in controlling the balance between hunger, appetite stimulation and food intake. Palatability is proportional to the pleasure someone experiences when eating a particular food. This aspect will most likely play a huge part in the decision making process for the food choices that college students make. Palatability is dependent on the sensory properties of the food such as taste, smell, texture and appearance. Sweet and high-fat foods have an undeniable sensory appeal. It is not surprising then that food is not solely regarded as a source of nourishment but is often consumed for the pleasure value it imparts. Another mode of operation that can be observed is the psychological factors that are in play during the decision making of making proper food choices. Stress and one’s mood can modify behaviors that affect health, such as physical activity, smoking or food choice. The influence of stress on food choice is complex not least because of the various types of stress one can experience. The effect of stress on food intake depends on the individual, the stressor and the circumstances. In general, some people eat more and some eat less than normal when experiencing stress. Studies also suggest that if work stress is prolonged or frequent, then adverse dietary changes could result, increasing the possibility of weight gain and consequently cardiovascular risk. Other than causing likely psychological insecurities, obesity can bring on a plethora of health conditions, including heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, knee and joint problems, various types of cancer and death. Bellise 2005) This study will be nomothetic; it will be describing the study of food choices and agents of stress within the cohorts of undergraduates that live in the dorms, particularly on the C-floor level of Durocher, on the Holy Names University campus. This research will be done by using deductive reasoning. Sometimes this is called the â€Å"top-down† approach because the researcher starts at the top with a very broad spectrum, which would narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that can be tested. Stress can cause bad eating habits like impulsive eating, overeating, binge eating, or compensatory behavior. The key variables and concepts involved in this study are stress and poor food choices. One should not use food to cope with stress and other negative emotions, because afterwards he or she will feel even worse. Becoming obese not only causes many physical disadvantages, but also can create psychological insecurities that must be dealt with. I will be using the Student Stress Survey (SSS) that measures the major sources of stress among college students. Also, I will be using a Eating Habit Questionnaire (EHQ) to measure how healthy one’s choices are when they make decisions about food. Some contributing indicators for stress are: anxiety disorders, weight problems, depression, premature aging, heart disease, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, memory loss/brain fog, migraines, PMS, sleep problems, seasonal affective disorders, joint disorders, and sexual dysfunction. The peculiar thing is, that the indicators for having malnutrition are similar. However, when dealing with bad eating habits, one who isn’t getting enough food or nutrition or one that doesn’t have enough food or nutrition, can also have more serious indicators like: cancer, diabetes mellitus, renal disease, advanced aging, hormonal imbalance, and a decrease of hepatic function. The level of measurement that will be utilized during this research is mainly ordinal. This research will focus on two dimensions, food choice and level of stress. This allows the research to demonstrate how stress affects ones all around health. During this research, there will be two different types of surveys that will be combined and put into one leading scale measurement. This research will ask HNU students, qualitative questions that are open-ended, sampling questions or scenarios that make individuals contemplate about their food decisions and how it can be used to medicate depression. This is a collective case study that introduces a typology that is useful when selecting participants in multiple-case studies. This typology centers on a parallel sampling design. A parallel sampling design represents a body of sampling strategies that facilitate credible comparisons of two cases. Unfortunately, there can be a few open ended scenarios where someone could have just been eating badly for that week or some food is more convenient during a time period than another. Another thing to take into account is that perhaps some deal with stress differently than others. Part II This research will take place through the Holy Names University dorm rooms and I will be going door to door, starting with the people that live on my floor, then to the people that live above and below me in Durocher. These students are all undergraduates that are not freshmen. I will be asking as many people as I can later that night because that is when most of my peers are available to sit down and take a survey. The reliability for this experiment should be accurate because this is a replicated study of a survey and a questionnaire that have already been tested and have ways of measuring how sever ones stress is and what food choices one makes. This study has the ability to perform the exact same way every time it is being tested and it will be interpreted under the same conditions. The validity that will be focused on during this experiment is concurrent validity which measures the test against a set benchmark; higher correlated indicators prove that my test has strong criterion validity. Therefore, those who rank higher in stress levels and also rank high in eating unhealthy prove my theory true. The Survey: EHQ: Instructions: * This is not a test. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. * Read or listen to each question carefully and think about it before you choose an answer. * To choose an answer, put an X next to your choice. Choose only one answer for each question unless you are asked to choose more than one. * If you want to change an answer, erase your old answer and mark your new choice. Be sure to erase completely. * Do not skip any questions. What Gender do you fall under? ___Male ___Female Check the food in each line that you think is better for your health. 1. ___cookies OR ___an apple 3. ___chocolate cake OR ___an orange 4. ___ice cream OR __ _fresh fruit cup 5. ___whole milk OR ___low-fat or skim milk 6. ___frozen yogurt OR ___ice cream 7. ___french toast OR ___whole wheat toast . ___grilled chicken sandwich OR ___hamburger 9. ___baked potato OR ___french fries 10. ___fruit juice OR ___soda 11. ___donut OR ___bread 12. ___cold or ready-to-eat cereal OR ___eggs and bacon 13. ___green salad OR ___popcorn 14. ___raisins OR ___candy bar 15. ___pasta OR ___pizza Check the box under YES or NO to answer the following questions if you have experienced this at Holy Names University based off of the availability to the Cafeteria and a grocery store near by: In the last 2 weeks, did you ever. . . | YES| NO| 16. Eaten fruits for bereakfast? | | | 17. SSS: To determine your stress score, add up the number of points corresponding to the events you have experienced in the past 12 months. 1. Death of a close family member (100 points) 2. Death of a close friend (73 points) 3. Divorce between parents (65 points) 4. Jail term (63 points) 5. Major personal injury or illness (63 points) 6. Marriage (58 points) 7. Firing from job (50 points) 8. Failing a class (47 points) 9. Change in health of a family member (45 points) 10. Pregnancy (45 points) 11. Sex problems (44 points) 12. Serious argument with close friend (40 points) 3. Change in financial status (39 points) 14. Change in scholastic major (39 points) 15. Trouble with parents (39 points) 16. New girl-or boyfriend (37 points) 17. Increase in workload at school (37 points) 18. Outstanding personal achievement (36 points) 19. First quarter/semester in college (36 points) 20. Change in living conditions (31 points) 21. Serious argument with an instructor (30 points) 22. Lower grades t han expected (29 points) 23. Change in sleeping habits (29 points) 24. Change in social activities (29 Points) 25. Change in eating habits (28 points) 26. Chronic car trouble (26 points) 27. Change in the, number of family get-togethers (26 points) 28. Too many missed classes (25 point) 29. Change of college (24 points) 30. Dropping of more than one class (23 points) 31. Minor traffic violations (20 points) 32. Roommate problems (15 points) _________Total Points Here’s how to interpret your score. If your score is 500-645, you are at high risk for developing bad eating habits because you are more stressed. If your score is 200-350, you have a 50-50 chance of experiencing a serious effect on your health based on your level of stress. If your score is below 150, you have a less serious chance of your stress level interfering with your food decision making. Bibliography Carol Olander. Eating habit questionnaire. 1999. 3/13/13 <http://www. nncc. org/evaluation/nutrition5. html>. Dr. France Bellisle. The Determinants of Food Choice . 08/03/2013. 3/09/12 <http://www. eufic. org/article/en/expid/review-food-choice/>. Grilo, C. M. , & White, M. A. (2011). A controlled evaluation of the distress criterion for binge eating disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(4), 509-514. doi: 10. 1037/a0024259 Grossbard, J. R. , Atkins, D. C. , Geisner, I. M. , & Larimer, M. E. (2012). Does depressed mood moderate the influence of drive for thinness and muscularity on eating disorder symptoms among college men? Psychology of Men & Mascularity, doi: 10. 1037/a0028913 Mackinnon, S. P. , Sherry, S. B. , Graham, A. R. , Stewart, S. H. , Sherry, D. L. , Allen, S. L. McGrath, D. S. (2011). Reformulating and undergraduate women: A short term, three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(4) , 630-646. doi: 10. 1037/a0025068 Morehead State University . Stress Survey. 2011. 3/12/13 <http://www2. oreheadstate. edu/leo/index. aspx? id=6299>. Stice, E. , Rohde, P. , Shaw, H. , & Marti, C. N. (2012). Efficacy trail of a selective precention program targeting both eating disorder symptoms and unhealthy weight gain among female college students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(1), 164-170. doi: 10. 1037/a0026484 Tylka, T. L. , & Kroon, V. D. (2013). The int uitive eating Scale-2: Item refinement and psychometric evaluation with college women and men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(1), 137-153. doi: 10. 1037/a0030893;10. 1037/a0030893. supp (Supplemental)

Cultural Analysis – Taiwan

Abstract This paper is an analysis of culture within Taiwan. It will focus on how different cultural elements and dimensions effect and influence business in Taiwan. This paper will also look into the implications for businesses from the United States seeking to conduct business within Taiwan. Taiwan has a unique blend of traditional Chinese cultural as well as modern Western influences. It is an open and welcoming culture and one that plays an important role in the East Asian economy. Global Business Cultural Analysis: Taiwan Introduction to Taiwan Taiwan is a small island country located off the east coast of China in Asia. Also known as the Republic of China (ROC), it is the place where the ROC settled after losing control of mainland China to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan’s population is made up of mostly Han Chinese with a few other Chinese ethnic groups and a smaller number of aboriginal tribes. The official language spoken in Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese; however, about 70% of people in Taiwan speak both Mandarin and a dialect known as Taiwanese. Another dialect call Hakka is spoken by about 15% of the population and the aboriginals have several other dialects as well (Deaton & Paxson, 2000). Taiwan has unique political status because of their strained relationship with China. At present, the PRC claims it has control over Taiwan and its territories, even though the PRC has never has exercised any governmental control over those regions. China has threatened to put political pressure on any country wanting to officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation, which has led many countries, including the United States, to only recognize Taiwan in an unofficial capacity. These countries, while still doing business with Taiwan, are forced to only officially recognize China, thereby reducing Taiwan’s global influence (Friedberg, 2005). On the economic front, Taiwan has done very well in the past few years, experiencing rapid economic growth. It is commonly referred to as one of the East Asian Tigers, a group which includes Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The countries in this group were relatively poor until around the 1960’s when they underwent educational reforms. These educational reforms, coupled with their cheap yet dynamic workforce helped industrialize their countries and spark rapid economic growth. â€Å"In the 21st century, all four regions have since graduated into advanced economies and high-income economies† (Vadra, 2010, p. 0). Although the economic growth rate in Taiwan has slowed recently, it remains at a relatively high, yet sustainable rate. What are the major elements and dimensions of culture in Taiwan? Taiwan, like almost every country, has many different elements and dimensions of culture woven together to form an intricate and unique society. These components of so ciety affect day to day life in both obvious and also unexpected ways. Taiwan has the same core grouping of cultural elements that one would think of affecting any country: communication, religion, ethics, moral values, social structure, and education. However, the main elements which control the actions of most individuals and society as a whole will differ from other countries. For Taiwan, education and religion along with social structure play the major roles in the shaping of Taiwanese culture. It will be found that the main, guiding cultural elements in Taiwan, such as their religions, the sources from which they get their values and attitudes, and also their feelings of responsibility, are especially different from the main cultural elements guiding most of the western world. 1. 2. Communication Communication plays a major role in any functioning society. The way people communication and interpret the communications of others can drastically shape the actions of a society. Communication within a culture can usually be defined as either low context or high context. In low context cultures, â€Å"cultural behavior and beliefs may need to be spelled out explicitly so that those coming into the cultural environment know how to behave† (Satterlee, 2009). On the other hand, in high context cultures, â€Å"as a result of years of interaction with each other, many aspects of cultural behavior are not made explicit, because most members know what to do and what to think† (Satterlee, 2009). Communication within Taiwan is high context, with more nonverbal forms of communication used than in low context countries, such as the United States or United Kingdom. Even the official spoken language of Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese, is a high context language (Hall, 2000). High context communication. High context communication implies that â€Å"there is less verbally detailed communication and less written/formal information. Instead, there is a more subliminal understanding of what is communicated† (Kuo-Ying & Majtaba, 2010). Duties and responsibilities are frequently assumed or subtly implied rather than directly assigned or commanded. Elements of communication in high context cultures such as Taiwan include indirect and embellished verbal messages, avoidance of directly challenging another person’s opinions, and situational changes. Also, an importance is placed on personal face-to-face interaction. Nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication plays a large role in the communication process in high context countries like Taiwan. Elements, such as facial expression, eye movement, the tone of voice, gestures, and body language are all important parts of communication within Taiwanese culture. Religious beliefs Taiwan has a large population of people practicing eastern religions such as Buddhism, Taoism and small bits of Confucianism, as well as a small but growing Christian and Catholic population (Chou, & Chen, 2005). It is also common for individuals to do some mixing of religions to accommodate their personal ideas or desires. Most religions in Taiwan incorporate ancestral worship, which is a large part of the religious practices in Taiwan. Ancestral worship even affects national holidays within Taiwan. Ancestral worship in Taiwan. Ancestral worship is a religious act born from the belief that an individual’s ancestors have a continued existence after death and that these spirits of deceased family members have the ability to influence things in the physical world. Ancestral worship is practiced by some out of respect and honor for their ancestral heritage. For others, however, it is practiced more out of fear of upsetting spirits that may possibly influence the individual’s fortune on earth. In Taiwan, several national holidays are focused around ancestral worship practices. Among these holidays is Tomb Sweeping Day, a holiday where families visit the graves of their ancestors to attend to their burial place as well as pay homage. Another holiday which sprang from the traditions of ancestor worship is Ghost Festival, which is a time where people place food outside their homes to feed wandering spirits. Chinese New Year also has its roots in the traditions of ancestor worship and is a time often used by families to pay their respects to their ancestors (Newell, 1976). The role of Buddhism in Taiwan. Buddhism and Taoism are the two foremost religions practiced in Taiwan. Combined, they are practiced by more than 75% of the religious population in Taiwan (USDS, 2008). Although Buddhism teaches the putting aside of earthly ties and possessions, including family, influences from both Taoism and Confucianism and integrated some forms of ancestral worship into practiced Buddhism within Taiwan. The role of Taoism in Taiwan. Taoism and Buddhism together are the two largest religions in Taiwan. The beginning of the Taoist religion came from the early Chinese nature worshipers. Taoist beliefs center on the idea that all things have a natural order and that through obtaining harmony with nature one can obtain eternal life. These beliefs add to the non-confrontational aspects of Taiwan’s high context culture. The role of Confucianism in Taiwan Confucianism, though practiced in Taiwan by lesser numbers than Taoism or Buddhism, is to many â€Å"an honored school of thought and ethical code† (USDS, 2008). Very similar to Taoism, Confucianism has more of a focus on performing well within society and also ritualistic ancestor worship. The Role of Christianity in Taiwan. Christian churches have been active in Taiwan for many years, and today, the population includes a small but significant percentage of Christians† (USDS, 2008). Both Catholic and Mormon churches are set up in Taiwan, but their numbers are much smaller. A majority of the aboriginal population in Taiwan are Christian. Ethical practices Ethical standards are often tied very closely to the culture in which they are practiced. According to Stedham, Yamanura, and Lai in an article examining Japanese and Taiwanese ethics: â€Å"ethics cannot be understood independent of the local cultural fabric† (2008). Taiwanese tend to be very utilitarian representing â€Å"a collectivist culture that tends to be more homogeneous and has a greater group orientation† (Muk, 2007). Therefore, ethical decisions made by Taiwanese people are likely to focus on the wellbeing of their social group. Values and attitudes â€Å"Values are invisible and a ‘core element of culture’. These invisible values become evident in behavior. Decision making and the resulting actions and behavior are manifestations of the predominant values in a culture† (Stedham et al. , 2008). In Taiwan, many of the values center around the individual’s social groups, most notably, the family. Saving face is another factor which often influences and motivates decision making within the Taiwanese culture. The concept of face is â€Å"related to the preference for harmony and avoidance of conflict. One aspect of face is concerned with a person’s moral character which can only be earned by fulfilling one’s obligation to others† (Stedham et al. , 2008). Face also includes â€Å"one’s reputation or prestige which can be earned through accomplishments or through bureaucratic or political power† (Stedham et al. 2008). Great lengths will be taken to avoid situations which might cause damage or embarrassment for one’s self or other resulting in a loss of face. Another factor affecting Taiwanese cultural attitudes is the concept of guanxi, which literally translated means relationship. Having a good reputation and relations on both a personal and professional level is very important to Taiwanese people. Attitudes toward gender within Taiwanese society. Gender, though in the process of equalizing, still plays an important role within Taiwanese society. Research indicates that women in Taiwan’s job market â€Å"suffer lower earnings than men as job opportunities are not made available to them due to the labor market discrimination, family responsibilities, or lack of job mobility† (Bishop, Gronder, Liu, & Chiou, 2007). However, due to the fact that Taiwan’s industry is constantly growing, with more jobs in the labor market being filled with female workers, discrimination against females in both hiring and compensation is effectively diminishing over time (Bishop et al. , 2007). Generational differences. Younger generations tend to follow the religious or ethical guidelines set by their predecessors more out of tradition than true belief. Therefore, there is some movement away from previously accepted religious thoughts and ideas within the younger generations in Taiwan. Recent research indicates that â€Å"young Chinese people seem not to identify themselves with traditional Chinese values and Confucian ethics. Maybe it is the result of conflict between Eastern and Western cultures. However, traditional thoughts still significantly influence most people in Chinese ocieties† (Lin & Ho, 2009). Social structures Social structures are very important in Taiwan because the culture is quite Unitarian in its design. One of the largest and most central social structures in Taiwan is family and filial piety. Religion, because of its widespread acceptance, is also a major social structure in Taiwan. Another important social structure is politics with many people in Taiwan voicing their opinions on political matters, especially those matters dealing with mainland China. Military service also has bearing within society, and is an inevitable part of young men’s lives in Taiwan due to the fact that military service is compulsory. The importance of filial piety. Especially popular in Confucian households, filial piety is, along with brotherly love, considered the ‘roots’ of humanity. It is believed that the way perfect virtue and human perfection will become evident as an individual shows care and respect for these ‘roots’ of humanity (Ruiping, 2006). This belief translates into strong familial ties within the Taiwanese culture, as well as deep feelings of responsibility to one’s family. The cultural effects of politics. A Datamonitor country profile of Taiwan stated: â€Å"the issue of reunification with mainland China continues to dominate domestic politics and international relations. With both the People’s Republic of China (the mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) claiming to be the legitimate authority over Taiwanese land, frequent tensions between the two are common† (2010). Within Taiwan, the debate over international policy with China is ongoing, with some in favor of increasing ties with the mainland and others advocating more independence for Taiwan. Another aspect of the strained relationship between Taiwan and China is the fact that China has greater influence in the global arena and has therefore been able to stop Taiwan’s efforts in seeking to gain global recognition as a sovereign national by the United Nations. China has also threatened severing diplomatic standings with any country to officially recognize Taiwan as its own nation. Therefore, many countries, including the United States maintain unofficial diplomatic ties with Taiwan, keeping their official diplomatic status with China intact. Mandatory military service. It is written into Taiwanese law that males between the ages of 18 and 22 are eligible for selective compulsory military service. Service duration is 12 months. Males students seeking higher education can obtain deferments, were they have several years to complete their education before serving their time in the military. Also, any citizen between the ages of 19 and 36 are considered eligible for drafting into the Taiwan military (USDS, 2008). Education Education is a very important part of Taiwanese society. Because of the high population density in Taiwan, there are high levels of competition for spots in top universities as well as positions in the job market. Academic excellence is so emphasized by parents that it often creates stress for students, who feel pressured to be the best. Emphases on education. Even though Taiwan’s laws mandate education through the ninth grade, approximately 95% of students go on to some form of higher education. Many parents see education as the best way to advance their children’s future. Taiwan also has a large number of cram schools for subjects ranging from math and English to sports. Students will often spend several hours after the normal school day or on weekends getting extra tutoring and study at cram schools. High stress levels in education faced by students. According to statistical analysis by Cheng Kai-Wen, some of the biggest contributors to stress for Taiwanese college students include fear of inferiority, excessively high expectations from parents, anxiety about the future, and lack of sleep (2009). Many parents believe that a better life can be achieved through academic excellence and therefore push their children to perform well in school. This mind set from parents can lead to children who feel guilt or shame when they are not performing up to expectations. Though Taiwan has not seen the high rates of student suicide that its Asian neighbor South Korea has experienced, it is not unheard of for students to take their own life after poor test performances. Higher education. Higher education is popular in Taiwan and, due to an increasing number of universities, greater numbers of students are able to attend under-graduate and graduate schools. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in Taiwan? Successful businesses will understand the culture they are operating within and seek to incorporate elements of that culture into their policies and practices in order to be more appealing to their target markets. Therefore, many elements of culture will automatically be integrated into locals’ businesses. In Taiwan, cultural elements such as religion, education, and attitudes are sown into the fabric of local businesses. This section will examine how elements such as religion, education, and ethics are taken from the surrounding culture and integrated into local businesses within Taiwan. 1. 2. 3. Religion in local business Research done on the affects of religion in business negotiation styles indicated that the principles of Buddhism as well as Confucianism can have an effect on the business making decision made by Taiwanese (Farazmand, Tu, & Daneefard, 2011). Business decision made will take into account the good of the group over the good of the individual. Also, because of the high religious population, there is a large market for items used in religious practices such as incense burners, paper money, good luck charms, prayer beads, and religious ornaments. Education and its effects on business With increasing levels of education in Taiwan has come increased competition for better and higher paying jobs. This increased competition has led to a rapid growth in the number of people obtaining higher education degrees, such as masters or doctorate degrees (Wang, 2003). Taiwan’s economy is very open to small business owners, which gives those with the education and desire to start their own business a welcoming and available environment. Business ethics and attitudes In Taiwan it is believed that â€Å"ethical standards and moral conduct must come from within business people† (Cavico, Majtaba,Venezia, & Venezia, (2011). Many ethical standards and cultural attitudes in Taiwan are rooted in their religious beliefs, especially the teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Taiwanese businesses incorporate these standards of hard work, and family responsibility. Often, the unwritten cultural norms are relied upon to govern the decisions of employees. Also, the concept of corporate social responsibility is gain more popularity in Taiwan, with more people calling for corporations to operate in a more honest and open manner (Ip, 2007). Generational differences. As the new generations shift away from the traditional religious practices and beliefs held by previous generations there is also a shift in moral and ethical standards. Thought possibly to be a result of the increasing embracement of Western culture, this shift in viewpoint within Taiwan could actually be beneficial for American businesses within Taiwan due to the fact that the younger generations are moving more towards Western values and ideas. After researching moral cognizance in both the United States and Taiwan, Cavico et al. ecommended a stronger push not only for business ethics education, but for the incorporation of teaching ethics into every aspect of education (2011). How do these factors compare with culture and business within the United States? The differences between high context and low context cultures include communication differences, relational differences, as well as religious and educational differences. Research has shown that there is a â€Å"significant di fference between Taiwan and America in individualism/collectivism attitude† (Jung-Tsung, 2010). Communicational differences Communication differences between the United States and Taiwan involve so much more than a simple difference of spoken languages. There is a completely different style of communicating with different backgrounds of understanding as well as different personal beliefs and goals. Businesses in the United States operate within a low context culture whereas businesses in Taiwan operate within a high context culture. To cross this barrier will require American businesses to have an understanding of high context communication and managers that are capable of working within a high context environment. Comparing high context and low context cultures. â€Å"High context communication tends to be more indirect, ambiguous, and understated than low context communication, which is direct and precise, and expresses feelings and intentions rather open† (Usunier, & Roulin, 2010). Therefore, business communication may contain more implied concepts in Taiwan than business communication in the United States. Religion in the workplace The United States approach to dealing with religion in the workplace has been one of suppressing outward signs and discussion of religion so as to avoid any potential conflict which may arise. Taiwan tends to be more accepting of displays of religion, probably due to their focus on group harmony. Many prominent businessmen in Taiwan are very open about their religious affiliations, making charitable donations in the name of their religion (Hoh, 2002). Religious discussion is allowed and sometime encouraged, but when issues become uncomfortable or divisive it is ignored or avoided. Education emphasis in the US compared to in Taiwan In Taiwan, there is an emphasis put on education by parents and also businesses looking to hire new employees. In fact, education is emphasized so heavily that â€Å"attendance at  cram  schools  is an experience that the majority of Taiwanese have while growing up† (Liu, 2012). This causes individuals to seek higher education such as graduate degrees or doctorates in order to obtain highly contended, higher level jobs. Social Structures One of the main differences between Taiwanese social structures and those in the United States is the strong family connection maintained by the Taiwanese people. While Americans still view family as an important group in society, the feelings of filial piety in the United States are not as deep and motivating as they are in Taiwan. Also, religion, while still a factor in American culture is not as prevalent to the culture as it is in Taiwan. What are the implications for US businesses that wish to conduct business in Taiwan? Businesses seeking to conduct business within Taiwan should have a clear and complete understanding of how business is done in Taiwan. Not only should they learn laws and regulations which will be relevant to their desired business, but they must also study the culture to understand the people and what motivates and inspires them. Businesses from the United States who are studying the culture of Taiwan will discover important differences between American and Taiwanese ways of doing business. They will then need to incorporate policy which will successfully blend the needs and goals of their business with the needs and goals of the Taiwanese culture. Possible miscommunication Whenever companies conduct business in a foreign country, language must be taken into account. The Taiwan’s national language is Mandarin Chinese, with some of the population speaking Hakka along with some aboriginal dialects. There has been a strong push recently to learn English in Taiwan, with English classes being mandatory in school and a large number of English cram schools open for further training. Even so, the English level may be quite low, so American businesses seeking business opportunities in Taiwan should have interpreters who have a complete knowledge of both languages. An understanding of the culture is also important when communicating and research on cultural do’s and don’ts should be conducted before initiating communication to avoid confusion and unintentional offense. For example, it is offensive in Taiwanese culture to give a clock or watch to someone as a gift because it symbolizes the termination of the relationship. A full understanding of the culture will help businesses from the United States in forming good relationships and create good guanxi for their company in Taiwan (Stedham et al. , 2008). Accommodating religious freedom It is important for American businesses to understand and facilitate the different religious practices in Taiwan. As simple as insuring employees have adequate time off for important religious holidays and not requiring them to break their religious convictions, such as vegetarianism, respecting and accommodating the religious beliefs of the Taiwanese will help to insure the success of a prospective business there. The cultural element of avoiding conflict will help to make sure no religious discrimination or fighting will take place so businesses need not worry about that aspect as much as they do in America. Ethical policies Businesses from the United States with operations in Taiwan should have ethics policies that are written with the Taiwanese culture in mind. They should remember that, often times, there is no need to spell everything out specifically. With the concept of corporate social responsibility become more prevalent in Taiwan, it will be important for American business to highlight appropriate social involvement (Ip, 2007). Understand employee’s family focus. One aspect that businesses can encourage their employees to focus on is family. This will demonstrate the company’s commitment to one of Taiwan’s most important social structures, the family. The encouragement and facilitation of strong family ties will go a long way to establish a favorable public image for foreign companies operating within Taiwan. Effects of current political environment Taiwan’s economy is currently independent of China; however, any foreign business in Taiwan would be wise to watch the political relationship between mainland China and Taiwan very closely. Taiwan has been slowly moving towards closer ties with China which would allow China to â€Å"assert increasing influence over Taiwan. As a consensus emerges in Taiwan on establishing closer relations with China, the thaw [of political tensions] is calling into question the United States' deeply ambiguous policy, which is supposed to serve both Taiwan's interests (by allowing it to retain its autonomy) and the United States' own (by guarding against an expansionist China)† (Gilley, 2010). Should China be allowed to exert control over Taiwan’s economy and political environment it could drastically change the way foreign businesses are allowed to operate in Taiwan. The effects of national healthcare on business. While healthcare is not a major cultural issue, it is useful to note that Taiwan currently has nationalized healthcare, offering inexpensive healthcare to all their citizens. While some in Taiwan oppose this system of healthcare because it can be easily abused, national healthcare would affect businesses by lowering their employee coverage costs. Conclusion With favorable ties to the United States and growing acceptance of the Western world, Taiwan is a promising opportunity for businesses from the United States. With careful research and consideration of the culture, Taiwan could be a very profitable venture. American companies in Taiwan should be careful not to ignore the strong cultural elements in Taiwan, such as religion, family, and communication differences. However, because of Taiwan’s willingness and eagerness to work with foreign business and to expand its global presence, it is very open to foreign commerce. Taiwan’s rapid growth and solid economy can be a very useful tool in the future as they seek to gain wider global acceptance. Taiwan’s favorable economic situation provides the ideal environment for businesses from the United States. American businesses can take advantage of the available workforce and welcoming culture found in Taiwan. Ultimately, Taiwan is a culture that is based in tradition, yet still open to new ideas and influences. The people are friendly and accepting of foreigners into their culture. They are eager to share their culture with others. On the business side of things, Taiwanese companies work together with many American corporations and the both the culture and regulations in Taiwan in favorable to incoming businesses. 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