Marketing Strategies Essay

Marketing strategies are not effective and they are just a fad for different organizations. Agree/Disagree Sultan Lashari In statement Marketing strategies are not effective and they are just a fad does not fit in the parameters of agreeable statement; it forces us to consider the health of the statement in terms of profit impact of marketing strategy. Marketing strategy many have its share of setbacks in the marketing moves if that is given the status â€Å"not being effective†. It does not mean holding back growth. Companies often desire a balanced product portfolio. [ (Kotler) ] To treat marketing strategy as just a fad is on the wrong basis, because the strategy changes in terms of several key strategic factors that can be explored to make changes of the situation. The term fad is a product life cycle type and a fad curve represents quick popularity and a sudden decline and extended fad except that residual sales at a fraction of earlier sales after the initial success . A sophisticated marketing planner must be able to ask the right questions and planning strategy must relate to the problem of building right kind of approach which is nothing but a path way to achieve the desired end in competitive market environment. [ (Forsyth) ] In order that marketing strategy is shaped to win-win situation that is to be termed effective, it must see that marketing strategy is devise around the stage, a particular product is in the product life cycle which has a typical pattern from traditional, boom or classic, fad, extended fad, seasonal or fashion, revival or nostalgia and bust. In fad time, sales look like: FAD Sales Time In devising marketing strategy, we must keep in mind that it can only be considered effective if we do not disregard the basic fact that product promotion has a direct bearing to the stage a product is at in the product life cycle. Formulating and implementing marketing strategy is a distinct decision-making focus. Planning and executing the marketing strategy involves many inter-related decisions such as: what to do, when to do it, and how it should be done. [ (Forsyth) ] This is got to be based on the nature of the organization and its product portfolio. The reason for calling marketing strategies ineffective or different organizations could be attributed to something for saying sake. As a matter of fact, marketing strategies involve various market situations and one need to make decisions intelligently. The process of formulating and implementing marketing strategies involves corporate objectives and strategy. [ (Forsyth) ] The marketing is the game of variable and by placing heavier accent on one or more of the marketing variables that is product, price, promotion and distribution, the winning platform can be labeled. The entire marketing concept leaves much to imagination in developing correct mix [ (Kotler) ]. In a nutshell, devising marketing strategies necessitates due diligence on the stage, the product is in the product life cycle because you have to understand market opportunities in or business level objective, for new market entries, for growth markets an or mature and declining markets. This enables the marketers for correct target marketing and product positioning. [ (Kotler) ] Works Cited Forsyth, P. Every thing you need to know. Kotler, P. Management skills in marketing.

Drugs and Society Essay

1b. List and describe briefly the major structures of the brain, as presented in your textbook, including the function of those elements that are most related to psychoactive drug reaction. The first layer of the brain is the cortex which covers the top and sides of the brain. This area controls reasoning and language, and this area will be less active when under sedative drugs. The basal ganglia are located underneath the cortex and it is made up of by the striatum. The striatum controls muscle tone and is part of the dopamine pathway which is a potential transport highway for psychoactive drugs. The hypothalamus is at the base of the brain and serves as liaison between the brain and pituitary gland. The pituitary hormonal output is involved in behaviors such as feeding and temperature regulation. The limbic system affects emotion, location memory, and physical activity. Along the brain stem are the medulla, midbrain, and pons from which contain the bulk of neurons that create dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. The lower brain stem controls vomiting and respiratory functions. If affected, the respiratory function can be suppressed by drugs. 1c. Describe the life cycle of a typical neurotransmitter. A cell membrane with the uptake of a particular precursor absorbs amino acids to create a neurotransmitter. The amino acids undergo synthesis with a reaction with enzymes to become a neurotransmitter. Once created, the neurotransmitters are stored in vesicles until they are released into the synapse. Once released, the neurotransmitters will attempt to attach to the membrane of neurons. If the neurotransmitter does not make it to the neuron, then it will either absorb in the originating cell or be metabolized within the synapse. 2b. Differentiate between drug disposition tolerance, behavioral tolerance, and pharmacodynamics tolerance, and provide reasons why these concepts should be taken into account when determining the effects of a drug. Drug disposition tolerance is defined as the increase of the drug’s rate of metabolism or removal. The user may increase the amount of a drug taken due to the drug being metabolized too quickly or being removed from the body. A person may compensate their behavior when exposed to a drug overtime such as learning to drive while intoxicated. The impairment is reduced and this is known as behavioral tolerance. Pharmacodynamics tolerance is the main contributor to the need to increase the dosage of a drug in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The user does not feel the same effects of a dosage so the dosage must be increased in order to get the same feeling. 2d. Provide several specific personal and societal steps you would recommend in an effort to reduce the likelihood of adverse reactions to drugs taken in combination. The largest deficit that can be produced to avoid adverse reactions to drug taken in combination is to avoid doing it all such as alcohol and other depressants. Individuals that need to take multiple medications such as person with diabetes and high blood pressure need to be carefully monitored and educated on the effects of the medications individually and the effects of the medications when combined. 3b. Explain the basic rationale and theoretical foundations for the extensive use of amphetamine in the treatment of ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). ADHD individuals have deficits involved with the functions of executive control within the brain. This control center affects concentration, hyperactivity, and learning. Amphetamines have been shown to produce a calming effect upon the individual from the amphetamines ability to increase brain catecholamine activity whereas ADHD individuals suffer from catecholamine deficits in the prefrontal cortex. 3c. Provide your personal viewpoint on major concerns about ADHD diagnoses and the efficacy of drug treatments that have led to recent controversy. The basis of diagnoses of ADHD has not been fully researched due to any widely accepted knowledge as to why stimulants are effective in treating hyperactivity. The causes of ADHD are still not thoroughly understood. There have also been non-stimulant drugs that have been shown to be just as effective as stimulants such as Strattera and Atomoxetine. I believe that ADHD itself is a complicated issue that requires multiple points of attack such as the use of stimulant and non-stimulant drugs. What may work on one individual may not work on another. 4a. Provide evidence of your understanding of the ways in which time course events of barbiturate and benzodiazepine actions contribute to the onset of psychological and/or physical dependence. Barbiturate are fast acting drugs that may work within fifteen minutes and stay in the system for up to three hours. Due to the rapid activity of the barbiturates, they serve as a strong reinforcement to users due to the drug produced a desired effect quickly and leaving the body just as quickly. Benzodiazepine takes longer to initialize, but also stay in the body for up to ten hours. Barbiturates are taken in higher doses more rapidly, while Benzodiazepine is taken at lower does. Withdrawal symptoms of barbiturates from chronic symptoms are severe due to the rapidness the drug leaves the user’s body without the user’s body being able to adapt to the drug adequately. 4b. Describe the key functions of GABA (g-aminobutryic acid) in producing the effects of various sedative-hypnotic agents, with specific reference to benzodiazepines. GABA is a neurotransmitter that is found in CNS areas and deals with inhibitory functions. Benzodiazepine molecules are strongly attracted to the GABA receptor sites and when bound to the GABA receptor, the Benzodiazepine molecules will increase the inhibitory effects of GABA on the receptors.

Marine Bio 4.03

r 1. Name two types of sickness you can get from phytoplankton in Florida, and describe how you can get them. What symptoms led to the diagnosis of our patients? Some of the major diseases are NSP, and PSP which typically come from Brevetoxins, Saxitoxins, Gonyautoxins, & many more. The typical symptoms includerespiratory distress, allergic reactions and skin conditions 2. Explain how an HAB outbreak can have a devastating economic impact.The impact can be devastating because there are assortments of the fish that are caught that may have been contaminated with toxic algae and many fish are killed as a result. 3. Why do you think it can be difficult to determine the causes of HAB related illnesses and events? Many of the symptoms are like every sickness which include sniffling, coughing, sneezing, running nose, itchy eyes and a sore throat. it may be confused as a common cold or fever. 4. Summarize how the conditions found in the Gulf of Mexico contribute to the overgrowth of phytopl ankton.The Gulf of Mexico is a highly polluted area, due to the run-off from the coasts. Run-off comes in the from fertilizers and pesticides from agriculture that often collect in rivers that most of the time flows right  into the Gulf. 5. Explain how a Harmful Algal Bloom can impact an ecosystem. Many of the harmful algal blooms release toxins as they grow larger. Algae blooms grow quickly. As they grow they starve the air of oxygen and  block sunlight which many aquatic plants and animals need to survive. 6.

Strategic Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Term Paper Example A structured definition of the term is provided by Ansoff and McDonnell. According to them strategic management is referred to â€Å"a systematic approach for managing strategic change which consists of positioning of the firm through strategy and capability planning and real time strategic response through issue management† (Cole, 2003). Different strategic tools like PESTEL, SWOT and Ansoff Matrix are usually used by the experts while strategically managing the operations of an organization. These tools enable the organizations to analyze their micro as well as macro environment where they are operating. Findings of such analyses have been found to be extremely helpful for the management in its decision making process. This report is comprised of a well-structured strategic analysis of Unilever which is one of the largest consumer goods manufacturing companies in the world. All the three above mentioned strategic tools are used in this report for the purpose of analyzing the operational as well as industry environment of the company. In addition to that a value chain analysis in the context of Unilever is also performed and included in this report. Before analyzing an organization and its environment it is crucial to have enough knowledge about the organization first. Considering this aspect, this report includes a brief overview of the organization i.e. Unilever and this overview can be found in the next section which is followed by all the strategic analyses. Unilever, one of the oldest and largest consumer goods manufacturing companies, has its operation in all the major markets in the world. Since 1930 the company has been taking care of people’s needs and demands regarding better foods and personal care products. According to the company, today, â€Å"160 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product† (Unilever-a, n.d.). The company’s 400 brands have made it an important member of millions of families

Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research - Essay Example As Meyer (2003) describes it ‘realities exist in any given situation, that is, the researcher’s, those of the individuals being investigated, and the reader or audience interpreting the results; these multiple perspectives, or voices, of informants (i.e., subjects) are included in the study. The research puts in perspective these people who would greatly influence the kind of data to be collected and submitted (Monroe, 2004). In addition, reality is socially constructed with the data being gathered from a multitude of people, primacy of subject matter; the research is geared towards knowing what factors underlie in a certain context, variables are complex, interwoven, and difficult to measure (Given & Lisa, 2008). This brings in the presentation of data in words to explain the terms which cannot be exploited by statistical methods.  Further, it has been noted that the researcher interacts with those he studies and actively works to minimize the distance between the res earcher and those being researched (Miles & Huberman, 1994). As further stated by Lee (1998) cannot be exploited by statistical methods ‘researchers typically become members of a culture, group, or setting, and adopt roles to conform to that setting. In doing so, the aim is for the researcher to gain a closer insight into the culture's practices, motivations and emotions’. This enables the researcher to get the first hand information and in order to enable the researcher to gain and present the actual non distorted information.... Moreover, Edward & Richard (1979) explain further that, ‘qualitative research emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found. Interaction between variables is important’. This explains that qualitative research is based on words representing the data collected. As Meyer (2003) describes it ‘realities exist in any given situation, that is, the researcher’s, those of the individuals being investigated, and the reader or audience interpreting the results; these multiple perspectives, or voices, of informants (i.e., subjects) are included in the study. The research puts in perspective these people who would greatly influence the kind of data to be collected and submitted (Monroe, 2004). In addition, reality is socially constructed with the data being gathered from a multitude of people, primacy of subject matter; the research is geared towards knowing what factors underlie in a certain context, variables are comp lex, interwoven, and difficult to measure (Given & Lisa, 2008). This brings in the presentation of data in words to explain the terms which cannot be exploited by statistical methods. Further, it has been noted that the researcher interacts with those he studies and actively works to minimize the distance between the researcher and those being researched (Miles & Huberman, 1994). As further stated by Lee (1998) ‘researchers typically become members of a culture, group, or setting, and adopt roles to conform to that setting. In doing so, the aim is for the researcher to gain a closer insight into the culture's practices, motivations and emotions’. This enables the

Gender and Sexual Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender and Sexual Violence - Essay Example Stotzer (p. 172) discusses that according to surveys of transsexuals, there seems to a significant number of sexual assault incidents, including rape, especially for the younger transsexuals. The most common forms of violence against transsexuals include unwanted sexual activity with about 60% of these incidents being forced intercourse (Stotzer, p. 172). These transsexuals are often victims due to their perceived non-conformity to the standards of society. The motivation for these sexual assaults includes hatred and negative attitudes towards the transgenders (Stotzer, p. 172). Victims are quick to declare that they are often victims of sexual assault or rape and mostly due to homophobia and hate. They also feel that they are often victims of sexual assault because of their gender identity, their gender expression, and their transgender status (Stotzer, p. 172). Abuse is also often carried out by various people, mostly strangers. Police officers, parents, siblings, neighbors, friend s, and other relatives are also often the perpetrators of the abuse (Stotzer, p. 173). Most acts of violence include sexual assaults, harassment, and in some cases, muggings. Unfortunately, some are carried out by persons known to the victim (Stotzer, p. 174). Some of these offenders include fathers, stepfathers, mothers, stepmothers, current spouse/partners, brother, siblings, or a former spouse or partner (Stotzer, p. 174). Other perpetrators not closely known to victims include landlords, tenants, ‘pick-ups,’ security personnel, and in some cases, service providers. Murphy (p. 7) further discusses that violence against lesbians and gays are the most apparent dangers which these individuals face. However, they are also likely to face structural violence and episodic violence. Structural violence against gay men is often caused by heteroxism which basically embodies a system that degrades homosexuals for their behavior and their identity (Murphy, p. 7). Psychological h eteroxism is often linked with individuals’ attitudes and behaviors and cultural heteroxism often refers to their societal customs and institutions, including their religion and laws (Murphy, p. 7). The cultural heteroxism is the most common cause for violence as it can also lead to discrimination against these lesbians and gays in their housing and employment. Murphy (p. 7) cites the cases of Margarethe Cammemeyer, a military veteran who was dismissed from the army after years of exemplary service to her country; also the case of Sherry Barone who faced opposition from a cemetery who refused to include the epitaph ‘life partner’ on the headstone of her deceased partner (Murphy, p. 7). More indirect incidents of discrimination are perpetuated against gays and lesbians; and those who often decide to reveal their sexuality end up being dismissed, demoted from their work or driven out of their homes. The causes of gender violence seem to stem from preconceived notio ns and assumptions of gender. Specifically, these assumptions are based on the expectations for each gender which often refer to extremely different behavior, mostly referring to dominant males and subordinate females (Perry, p. 417). Violence is considered to be a way by which males can impose their authority and dominance over women; and it seems to be expected for men to enforce such violence in order to keep women in line (Perry, p. 417).

Business Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Intelligence - Essay Example The systems are diverse and highlight every perspective of the business such as the customer profiling and support, market segmentation and research and statistic evaluations among others. Several companies gather enormous quantities of information from their various business processes. The collection of data of such quantities enables the business to determine the problems facing the organizations in its desire to fulfill the needs of its customers and the understanding the quality of their services. The desires of providing best quality of products and provision of outstanding services to the customers might demand the use of many software programs especially in data mining and data entry. Here, there will be detailed analysis of the business intelligence with respect to human resource functions. Therefore, the piece would provide suitable solutions to problems such as employee absenteeism, delays to the customers and the associated complaints. Generally, there will be the analysis of the application of business intelligence to ensure ideal operations of a business organization. Nonetheless, it is essential to understand that business intelligence depends on data mining to a greater degree. ... Applications of Mashups Mashups are essential in every organization due to their relevance and capacity to execute desirable functions in an organization. There are server based and web based mashups grouped according to the source of data, analysis and reformatting of information. The functionality of the mashups are based on three main components – the presentation, web services and data. Mashups include the applications, which reuse and join information together with services that are present online and they are created in a sudden ad-hoc manners to facilitate automation of procedures together with remixing the data. Mashup creation promotes faster, easy and affordable program creation by reusing resources that have been developed already, evaluated, and catered for by the large quantity of raw material found on the Web. The Use of Mashups in Human Resource In human resource, staffing is the essential element that determines the performance in an organization. Mashups are c apable of upholding all the staffing features due to its ability to fit their functionalities. The components considered in the Mashups creation entail selection, human resource planning, job evaluation and recruitment. Mashups are useful in the evaluation of time and attendance of the employees. Mashups have automation feature that computerizes the activities of the managers. The Masups are capable of determining the time frame within which particular staff reported and or engaged in given activities. This system is capable of collecting information on ideal time and activities-related engagements. The system is also composed of a searching capability, which enables it to find the information of an employee in the profile category and opt for the allocation of work.

Human Resources Dilema Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Resources Dilema - Assignment Example Failure to comply with Steven’s plea might lead to poor service delivery by the employee. The company should assess the consequences of such an adjustment to ensure that all the parties meet their objectives. 3) Didi is compliant with the provisions of the FLSA since; veronica is entitled to keep all her tips. Furthermore, the tips of veronica exceed the minimum tip of 30$ per month required by the FLSA so that an employee can be given less than the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. FLSA is a federal statute act in the department of labor of the United States. The act introduced; a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, 44 hours 7 days work week, prohibited child employment, and guaranteed pay for overtime. In 2007, the act was amended to provide for a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. This minimum wage had exemptions to workers who are tipped, and allowed to keep all the tips. 4) The head teacher should not be worried since the school management is not violating any law set by OSHA. According to the provisions of the act, certain places of work are exempted from OSHA inspections because they lie outside the act. Most of these work places are regulated by the government. These include; mining workers, public sector, and some domestic workers or people whose work place is domestic. The school is regulated by the government department and hence it is exempt from inspections by OSHA

Pathophysiology Progressive Condition and End-of-Life Debate Research Paper

Pathophysiology Progressive Condition and End-of-Life Debate - Research Paper Example This essay first traces the breast cancer as one of the most common cancers causing almost 7% of all cancer deaths and 2% of all deaths in the United States. Many people believe breast cancer affects only the breast tissue until the unfortunate situation of metastasis. There are many cases in which breast cancer and metastasis can affect a number of other systems, including the brain, liver and bone tissues. One of the most common signs of breast cancer is a lump in the breast, although other changes in the breast tissue such as thickening, changes in colour and swelling are also reported. The breast can also show signs of pain, although breast pain is common in women and should not be confused with breast cancer. As the disease progresses and metastasizes, a number of other symptoms can be seen. For bone metastases, the patient can expect to feel bone pain. Other symptoms of bone metastases include breakages in the bone due to weakened bone tissue and hypercalcemia, which would be p icked up by routine examination. Breast carcinomas can also metastasize to the brain. The signs of a secondary brain tumour are numerous, and include consistent headache, changes in vision, seizures, stroke or brain haemorrhage, changes in mental status, difficulty with speech or other everyday actions, confusion, loss of control, uncontrolled bladder or bowel movements, back pain, more generalized pain, weakness, vomiting and nausea, double vision, slurred speech, and anxiety. (Gavrilovic & Posner, 2005). Finally, breast cancer can also metastasize to the liver. Signs that this has occurred include anorexia, confusion, fevers, nausea and weight loss (Yarbro, Wujcik & Gobel, 2011). Pathophysiological Causes of Breast Cancer All cancers have similar mechanisms in the way that they develop. All cancers are genetic in that a mutation or

The role of society in human life in the Confucian, and Taoist belief Term Paper

The role of society in human life in the Confucian, and Taoist belief systems - Term Paper Example Though quite alike, the differences in the role of society in Confucian versus Taoist beliefs are most strongly focused around how interpersonal relationships are cultivated, structured and developed. The basic notion of Confucianism is the achievement of jen, which is developing a sympathetic concern for other human beings in society. Loyal and moral relationships act as the foundation for quality socialization under this philosophy. The Confucian Golden Rule is to treat others as you yourself would be treated (Henslin, 547). These basic beliefs related to jen are noticeable in the professional and personal lifestyles of those who have molded their value systems around traditional Confucian beliefs. In the workplace, Confucian values drive progressive policies that gain commitment and support from lower-level employees through a transformational leadership design. For example, wise thought and action for leader roles includes corporate citizenship and philanthropy, democratization of the workplace through less control systems, and maintaining an ethical model of behavior (Hays, 78). In societies where business leaders maintain Confucianism as the heart of their lifestyle beliefs , decentralized decision-making hierarchies are present and employees are much more engaged in development programs, thereby being more committed to achieving business goals. At the interpersonal level, life in Confucian belief systems involves having a duty and responsibility for others. In particular, friendships and family are significantly important. In family and social relationships, tolerance, establishment of mutual dialogue, and new innovative thoughts in replacement of old methods are embraced (Zhang & Veenhoven, 428). To be actively involved in social relationships when carrying a Confucian value system means to reflect upon the self each day, searching for

Brand sense Essay Example for Free

Brand sense Essay In measuring the Brand Experience of the target segment, companies focus on the response and understanding of their customers and their reactions on the part of the particular five senses while handling the brand in question. Further, this array of experiences of the customer reveals the perception of the user extending the issue to question the self; about the identity or for using a certain brand, what image the customer gets about the self. Speaking strictly, who am I? This is a kind question that seeks the image or the perceived image of the person; thus, the personality. Relating the perceived image of the user and the brand in use; Brand Personality of the brand can be derived. In this entire process the essence of a brand can be identified by using different senses for different kinds of brand with need and experience of different customers, the employees involved with the brand and the particular target segments. To make a cross-section of this marketing idea; the unique presentation of the senses and the allied questions to the brand, can be observed in the brand sensory wheel that segregates the divisions of the total composition of the senses (Brand Sense, 2001). Source: Harvest Consulting Group LLC. The discovery of the sensory approach has enabled companies to unfold the essence of the current service and the possibilities of the future avenues. Author has logisised this that it will enrich the brand loyalty and makes the existing relationship deeper. Behind this happening, the five senses can play a crucial role. To know the fate of a brand conducting the sensory audit is a vital step to forecast the brand’s multiplication power on its sensory touch point. Ascertaining the brand’s stimuli, enhancement, and bonding capabilities, decides the execution of the above knowledge. The essence of this approach is the simple fundamental of including more senses to make the brand base stronger. We also follow this while evaluating the brand and its surroundings too. To explain, a visual encounter of Starbucks retail follows the suite bellow: Sight: Brand logo on building, cups, and bags Sight/Sound: Uniform and customer approach Sight/Sound/Touch: Interior aesthetics (sofa, colors, wall paper, music) Smell/Taste: Distinct aroma of freshly ground coffee This process also unveils the concept of smashability factor, which measures the strength of an individual sense for a brand and hoe much impact it can give. A real-time example of the application of the auditory sense reflects from the recent transformation of the Cadillac brand. For the hard penetration of the European and Japanese car makers into the American luxury car segment, Cadillac Source: brand papers. had to bear the burn of declining sales figure during late 80s and early 90s. To retrieve the brand from the grip of the downward graph, the same has been assessed, disassembled, reassembled, and re-positioned by late 90s. To do so, the brand invested in molecule analysis to create a new meaning to its design and market preference. This entire process has remodelled the brand from its â€Å"grandpa drove into a fast, sexy, and desirable product† concept to the recent Caddy commercial with Led Zeppelin playing â€Å"been a long time† that blaring out from the speaker (Brand papers, 2009). the innovation of the sensory branding has opened a plethora of concepts to associate the brand with the target group and it has no end to create feel factors. This is because, the central theme of this process is entirely depending on the nature, which again is the adobe of the man kind. Reference Brand Sense.(2001). Building Brands with Sensory Experiences. New York: Harvest Consulting Group LLC. Brand papers. (2009). Sensory Approach. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from http://images. google. com/imgres? imgurl=http://www. brandchannel. com/images/papers/272_gm_flagship_cl. gifimgrefurl=http://www. brandchannel. com/papers_review. asp%3Fsp_id%3D680usg=__eiohIvWqTVwC7vNmelzj2n_t4JQ=h=315w=400sz=52hl=enstart=14um=1tbnid=Ny3PU6pNRmcVVM:tbnh=98tbnw=124prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrand%2Bsense%252BMartin%2BLindstrom%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1 Lindstrom, M. (2005). Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound. New York: Simon Schuster Adult Publishing Group. Additional Reading Johnson, L. and Learned, A. (2004). Dont think pink: what really makes women buyand how to increase your share of this crucial market. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Ornbo, J. ; Sneppen, C. and Wurtz, P. F. (2008). Experience-Based Communication (illustrated). Springer.

Promote Communication in Health, Social Care Essay Example for Free

Promote Communication in Health, Social Care Essay 1, 1.1 People communicate for many different reasons. They can consist of portraying emotions, pain or opinions. Communication between colleagues is essential to the continuity of care for the service user, and the staffs are aware of the current needs of the service user. Communicating can resolve conflict, avoid cultural misunderstandings, solve problems develop good relations with others. 1, 1.2 Communication is a fundamental relationship-building skill in the workplace. If people dont communicate well they limit their ability to connect on any meaningful level and, at the extreme, can create conflict. Positive communication skills like listening, open-ended questions, calm tone of voice and I statements help bring people together because they are behaviours that lead to creating relationships. Workplace relationships also become a lot stronger when people can clearly and effectively communicate what they need and allow others to do the same. Read more:  Identify the different reasons people communicate  essay 2, 2.2 The factors of promoting effective communication can be verbal, non verbal the environment. The tone or pitch, language of your voice is a verbal factor. If you are talking to a child you may talk in simply terms, lower yourself to their level and speak slower to ensure good communications. Eye contact, facial hand gestures body language are all factors of non verbal communication. Facial and hand gestures, are subject to the situation. A smile and perhaps a hand on their shoulder is a polite friendly way to communicate to a child. Whereby frowning and waving your arms as if you’re annoyed would be detrimental to the Childs feelings. communication. If you were communicating with a child there was noise as this could distract them. 3, 3.1 Communication can be slightly different when using it with other people from different backgrounds. Communication can be interpreted in different ways by different people, this is because they may not speak English, if from a  different country, or they may not understand you. This is also a barrier to communication. . E.g. Italians are traditionally very verbal when they use speech they use their hands to gesture to make their points. Indian people are quiet and reverent they don’t use gestures like Italians 3, 3.2 Not making communication aids available or checking they are working, a noisy environment, not understanding or being aware of an individual’s needs, wishes, beliefs, values and culture, a lack of privacy, an uncomfortable environment e.g. lighting, temperature, different language, use of jargon. 3, 3.5 There are a number of services that can be accessed to support communication. These include: †¢ Interpreters †¢ Translators †¢ Signers †¢ Advocators There is also a range of specialist equipment. These include: †¢ Induction loops †¢ Braille embossers and printers †¢ Makaton Each local government body should provide Language Support Services, which will include British Sign Language interpreters, deaf blind interpreters, lip speakers/readers, and note takers. These services can be utilised by educational and health services through a booking system. Each local authority educational department also has access to a team of support specialists including speech and language therapists. Support can also be found on the internet through various specialist websites, including: †¢ The British Deaf Society †¢ The National Blind Children’s Society Support can also be found on the internet by use of a search engine. In my role i would access these service via our control room. Local health clinics and libraries will also provide information on how to access help and support. 4, 4.1 Confidentiality means not sharing information about people without their knowledge and agreement, and ensuring that written and electronic information cannot be accessed or read by people who have no reason to see it. 4, 4.3 The potential tension between maintaining a individuals confidentiality and disclosing concerns is that the individual may feel they can no longer trust the care worker, and cause the individual to withhold future concerns they may have. Another tension between the two is that if the care worker choose not to disclose the information that has been passed to them that might be putting the individual in danger, the care worker in no longer fur filling their duty of care to that individual and may result in future incidents that might of been avoided, the care worker may also have the stress of holding that concern and wondering whether or not to disclose it.

Psychological Changes in Adolescence

Psychological Changes in Adolescence Adolescence is a term usually used to describe transitional period or a passage from childhood to adulthood and in todays context seem to be distinguished by 2 distinct stages: the puberty and transition to adulthood. Todays adolescence seem to be particularly vulnerable because, in addition to physical and psychological changes that an individual goes through, young people are subjected to rapid changes in society and multicultural influences; not the least because of advancement in technology, demography and demands of both, the knowledge and achievement. This is particularly relevant to more advanced, western societies. An early thought in psychoanalysis led by Miller 1950 (cited in Briggs 2008) suggested that adolescence is the age between characterised by puberty (physical changes), mid adolescence (short period of opposition to authority) and late adolescence (leaving the school and becoming an adult). However, the changes occurred post that period exposed a gap in experiences, raising a need for further exploration. These influential changes are reflected in the finding that late adolescence and the transition to adulthood extended considerably in regards to previous assumptions (Briggs 2008). Todays view contradicts that of Miller and alike in understanding that adolescence stretches into mid to late twenties as opposed to teenage years. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that those who accomplish the transition early, at the end of teenage years, may be disadvantaged and at increased risk of social exclusion (Briggs 2008). On the other hand, the onset of puberty itself has changed little for the last fifty years. Contemporary understanding of adolescence also raises the issue of its complexity, sparking the wide debate on accurateness of its earlier description, deepened further by discussion whether there is a need for early intervention. This latter debate divided the community of professionals into two major groups: interventionists and non-interventionists. The interventionists argue that the adolescence is the time of great uncertainty and changes making this group particularly vulnerable; if left unattended, it could influence development itself, educational achievement and the difficulties could persist into the adulthood. The support for interventionists view comes from recent studies that show that most of disorders found in adults, begun in adolescence between the ages of 12 and 24, even though they may not be noticed until the adulthood (Briggs 2008). On the other side we have non-interventionists who believe that the time of stress and turmoil would pass with time and intervention is unnecessary (Briggs 2008). However, there seem to be general consensus within the psychoanalytic world that the adolescents are vulnerable and exposed to risks of anti-social behaviour, a high risk of offending, substance misuse, eating disorders, depression, suicide and inappropriate sexual behaviour. Although these risk factors are present even within the normal development in adolescence for the minority of adolescents, if untreated, it can persist into adulthood. In adolescence, the changes in physique are also accompanied by increased societal demands for conformity, change of school, increased academic demand and so on; therefore this is the period of uncertainty and anxiety. While the majority of adolescents navigate through these changes successfully, for significant minority this period is turbulent and stressful. Individual differences in terms of inner resources to deal with these transitional issues lie within the relationship with adults. These relationships are rooted in the early childhood and could act as determinants of successful or unsuccessful transition. From psychoanalytic point of view, adolescence is the time of powerful changes not only physically, but accompanied by surge of instincts and urges demanding powerful control. In order to examine these inner processes of change we will look into adolescence through two distinct phases: the puberty and the transition to adulthood. The puberty is characterised by changes in physical development and growth spurt. Growth spur describes faster growth rate in weight and height, where girls are noted to enter the growth spur around the age of 10, typically reaching its peak at the age of 12, and more steady growth rate at the age of 13. On the other hand, boys begin the growth spur at around the age of 13 and peak at the age of 14, achieving more stabilized growth rate at the age of 16. In addition to becoming taller and heavier, both sexes assume adult like appearance, with girls growing breasts, widening of hips and for boys broadening of shoulders. Facial features also change in such way that the forehead protrudes while the jaw and the nose become more prominent (Shaffer, Kipp 2006). The puberty is also characterised by sexual maturation, which is quite different in boys and girls. With girls, sexual maturation starts somewhat earlier (before the age of 10) with formation of breast buds, followed by the appearance of pubic hair. With entering the growth spur, the breasts grow faster and sexual organs (vagina and uterus) begin to mature taking adult like forms in its readiness for future motherhood. At around age 12 the girl enters menarche, the time of the first menstruation (Shaffer, Kipp 2006). For boys, sexual maturation starts later at around age of 11 with an enlargement of testes, followed by appearance of pubic hair and penis enlargement. At around age of 13 the production of spermatozoa occurs and ejaculation follows. By the age of 15 most boys would have achieved sexual maturity, rendering them capable of becoming fathers. Somewhat later, facial hair grows and voice changes (Shaffer 2006). It is important to mention that although literature describing puberty varies, in terms of onset, there seem to be general consensus that the earlier growth spur occurs the more dramatic changes become. This seems to be applicable to both sexes. Adolescent physical development is accompanied by many psychological changes. Some of the more obvious psychological changes in adolescence are reflected in growing concern for physical appearance. Girls in particular become more concern with looking pretty and how other people would respond to them, with a hope that they would be seen as attractive. Girls that develop at different pace to the perceived norm are prone to internalising a negative body image. Their reaction to menarche is mixed; they are often excited and confused, especially if they were not told what to expect. On the other hand boys are more likely to welcome body weight in hope that they would become tall, hairy and handsome. What they have in common is preoccupation with physical appearance and mixed feelings about sexual maturity ( Shaffer, Kipp 2006). The sexual maturation and adult like appearance are accompanied by eruption of infantile feelings and a crisis of separating from childhood ways of relating to parents (Blos 1967 cited in Briggs 2008). The prospect of possible parenthood causes identification with the same sex parent, the process called oedipal stage. Sexual urges and passions are revived and the desire for the affection of the opposite sex parent results in unconscious competition for that affection. These urges were present in infancy, however, now they are accompanied by the real possibility of achievement, thus becoming a conflict and destabilising (Briggs 2008). These re-emerging passions and urges demand reconsideration of the relationship with parents and a new dimension of these relationships. Psychoanalytic perspective explain these changes as both, liberating and frightening experience, opening doors to vulnerability and anxiety and developing sense of power. It is also, according to psychoanalytic view, accompanied by identification, separation and loss of childhood relationships (Briggs 2008). These new states of anxiety, vulnerability and power are significant in adolescent development and require particular attention. From the psychoanalytic perspective the adolescence is turbulent because of these new states, which greatly contradicts more common psychological and social perspective that emphasises smooth process of adolescence (Briggs 2008). It is suggested that these turbulent aspects are forgotten and disowned and then projected onto adolescents by adults who do not wish to remind selves on the turbulence once they encountered (Briggs 2008). It is also suggested that the period of adolescence is often idealised or alternatively projected as miserable. Jacobs (1990 cited in Briggs 2008) explains this split as two different stages of adolescence where early adolescence is characterised by misery and turbulence, while the late adolescence is marked by the sense of accomplishments and smooth transition. Briggs demonstrated this idea through the case of Maria, 21 year old self-referred patient. While Maria passed through the teenage years without much of a struggle and in concordance with her parents, at the age of 21, when she achieved financial independence and established professional life, Maria seemed uncertain of her identity, questioning her capacity to be independent in expressing her own opinion. In addition to these observations, it is important not to overlook other influences on the development of adolescence, such as changes that occur in the brain. The understanding of adolescent development has altered taking into consideration of deeper knowledge of neurological changes that take place during this time. According to neuroscience, some of the adolescent behaviour may have its roots in neurological causes. The findings suggest that cognitive abilities needed for mature behaviour are underdeveloped in adolescence. The changes that occur in the brain during the adolescence have effect on regulation, learning and memory. Stressful experiences may have adverse outcomes on brain development, increasing susceptibility to psychopathologies. Advocating enhancement of social and learning environment, the neuroscience suggests that the adverse outcomes could be significantly reduced, even reversed (Briggs 2008). In summary, the biological perspective deepens our understanding of adolescence in a way that indicates the greater need for an integrated approach linking internal, biological, psychological and environmental aspects of adolescent experience. (Briggs 2008). This is to say that the development of the brain increases ability to control behaviour but, the successful execution of that control needs to be facilitated by environmental factors such as stable and supportive relationship with parents. If the environment is filled with adversities, the stress of adolescence could become pathological and in need of an intervention. So far we have discussed biological perspective in conjunction with psychoanalytic view, however it was emphasised that social factors could benefit or damage the normal development of adolescence. This concept of influence of the social context on adolescence is called psychosocial perspective. Some societies mark adolescence with the rite of passage, in western societies this rite of passage does not seem to be either marked or acknowledged. Besides, with extended adolescence the psycho-social context becomes ever more complex. In todays society there is disparage between biological and psychological maturation and transition to adulthood. Patton and Viner ( 2007 cited in Briggs 2008) found this disparage particularly present in the developed world of western societies stating: the development of reproductive capacity and sexual activity precede role transition into parenthood and marriage by more than a decade (p11). This disparage is significant in the way that increases risk and vulnerability of adolescents. In helping a better understanding of this disparage, psychoanalysis relies on the theory of psychosocial development by Erikson. Erikson provided and extension to original model of 5 stages of development described by Freud in a way that accommodated this latency in adolescence by introducing a concept of psychosocial moratorium. The focal point for Erikson is adolescence and the creation of personal identity. The crisis arising during this phase is identity versus role confusion (Papalia and Wendoks-Okds, 1978; Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum 2004). He argued that adolescents are going through many physical, cognitive, and social changes, associated with puberty, and often become confused undermining their self- esteem .This in turn can lead to a psychosocial moratorium, a temporary suspension of activity. According to this theory, the most important task for adolescents involves achieving a conscious sense of individual uniqueness. This means to discover who am I?, and in doing so ado lescents must make some occupational choices or they will remain confused about the roles they should play as adults (Gross 2005; Papalia and Wendoks-Okds, 1978; Shaffer and Kipp 2006). Erikson goes one-step further to identify four kinds of behaviour linked to identity confusion: Negative Identity (which relates to criminal and anti social behaviour as a sense of control and independence from others); Intimacy (which refers to avoidance from fear of losing own fragile sense of identity, often resulting in isolation); The Perspective (which relates to avoidance of planning the future because, doing so means thinking about ramifications of adulthood and evoking anxiety) and Industry (which relates to difficulty in striking a balance, thus results in inability to concentrate) (Cardwell, Clark and Meldrum 2004). The premise for the reformatting was that adolescents identity creation involves crisis and commitment; Crisis occurs through having to re-evaluate previous choices and values, while commitment occurs when the individual takes on a set of roles and beliefs (Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum 2004) The moratorium could create additional tension and inner conflict which in turn are met by either by repression or foreclosure . Repression simply is the unwilling yet continued deferment that simply creates more anxiety. Anxiety can turn into development of antisocial behaviour, delinquency, inappropriate sexual behaviour or more severe self-destructive behaviour (e.g suicide, self-harm). Under such a challenge, the experience is one of a split of self images, a loss of center, and a dispersion (Erikson, 1968). These symptoms and the experience of the self as disrupted have been described as the dark and negative side of identity formation, and they are viewed as vital to the identity process (Erikson, 1975). Up until this fifth stage, development depends on what is done to a person.   At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does.   An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and fitting in, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong. Some attempt to delay entrance to adulthood and withdraw from responsibilities (moratorium).   Those unsuccessful with this stage tend to experience role confusion and upheaval.   Adolescents begin to develop a strong affiliation and devotion to ideals, causes, and friends. Description: At this stage, adolescents are in search of an identity that will lead themto adulthood. Adolescents make a strong effort to answer the question Whoam I? Erikson notes the healthy resolution of earlier conflicts can nowserve as a foundation for the search for an identity. If the child overcomesearlier conflicts they are prepared to search for identity. Did they develop thebasic sense of trust? Do they have a strong sense of industry to believe inthemselves? Elements for a positive outcome: The adolescent must make a conscious search for identity. This is built onthe outcome and resolution to conflict in earlier stages. Elements for a negative outcome: If the adolescent can not make deliberate decisions and choices, especiallyabout vocation, sexual orientation, and life in general, role confusion becomesa threat. Examples: Adolescents attempt to establish their own identities and see themselves asseparate from their parents. Age: Adolescence 12 to 18 years Conflict: Identity vs. Role Confusion Important Event: Peer relationships The most important question asked at this stage is who am I? The major event at this stage is peer relationships. This encompasses the middle school, high school, and even college years where one is trying to figure out where there niche is. What type of person are they? Even though their parents believe in abortionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦do they? What do they want as a career? Do they believe in Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦do they want to use that to attach labels to themselves as religious or atheist? Erik Erikson was one of these outcasts. He agreed with Freud that development proceeds through a series of critical stages. But he believed the stages were psychosocial, not psychosexual. Erikson also argued that lifes developmental stages encompass the whole life span According to Erikson, a crisis is equivalent to a turning point in life, where there is the opportunity to progress or regress. At these turning points, a person can either resolve conflicts or fail to adequately resolve the developmental task. Delving further into these differences, Erikson contended that each stage of life has its own psychosocial task. Young children wrestle with issues of trust, then autonomy, then initiative. School-age children develop competence, the sense that they are able and productive human beings. In adolescence, the task is to synthesize past, present, and future possibilities into a clearer sense of self. Adolescents wonder: Who am I as an individual? What do I want to do with my life? What values should I live by? What do I believe in? Erikson calls this quest to more deeply define a sense of self the adolescents search for identity. To refine their sense of identity, adolescents usually try out different selves in different situations perhaps acting out one self at home, another with friends and still another at school and work. If two of these situations overlap like when a teenager brings a friend home from school the discomfort can be considerable. The teen may ask, Which self is the real me? Which self should I be? Often, this role confusion gets resolved by the gradual reshaping of a self-definition that unifies the various selves into a consistent and comfortable sense of who one is an identity. But not always, Erikson believes that some adolescents forge their identity early, simply by taking on their parents values and expectations. Others may adopt a negative identity that defines itself in opposition to parents and society but in conformity with a particular peer group, complete perhaps with the shaved head or multi-colored coif. Still others never quite seem to find themselves or to develop strong commitments. For most, the struggle for identity continues past the teen years and reappears at turning points during adult life. During the first social stage, trust versus mistrust, an infants basic task is to develop a sense of trust in self, others, and the world. The infant needs to count on others and develop a sense of acceptance and security. This sense of trust is learned by being caressed and cared for. From Eriksons viewpoint, if the significant others in an infants life provide the necessary love, the infant develops a sense of trust. When love is absent, the result is a general sense of mistrust in others. Clearly, infants who feel accepted are in a more favorable position to successfully meet future developmental crises than are those who do not receive adequate nurturing. However, Erikson postulates that since development is a ongoing lifelong process, personality is not fixed at any given time. Events, circumstances, and social relationships are dynamic and changing. Thus, even a child who emerged from the first stage of life with a strong sense of trust may become mistrustful and cynical if bet rayed in later social relationships. Hence, personality is not viewed as fixed by the fifth year of life, as Freud believed, but remains fluid throughout the life span. Between the ages of one and three (Freuds anal stage), children are developing a growing sense of control over their lives. They can now walk, run, climb, and get into all sorts of mischief. A sense of autonomy develops as they learn new skills and achieve a feeling of control over their environment. Thus Eriksons titles this stage Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt. During this period, some parents, out of concern or impatience with their childrens progress may intervene and do things that the children should be doing by themselves. Other parents may demand a level of competence of which their children are not yet physically and/or emotionally capable. In either case, these children begin to doubt their own abilities and feel ashamed when they fail to live up to parental expectations. Children who fail to master the tasks of establishing some control over themselves and coping with the world around them develop a sense of shame and feelings of doubt about their capabilities During the next stage, Initiative versus Guilt, which takes place during the preschool years (ages 4 to 6 Freuds phallic stage), children seek to find out how much they can do. According to Erikson, the basic task of preschool years is to establish a sense of competence and initiative. Preschool children begin to initiate many of their own activities as they become physically and psychologically ready to engage in pursuits of their own choosing. If they are allowed realistic freedom to choose their own activities and make some of their own decisions, they tend to develop a positive orientation characterized by confidence to initiate actions and follow through on them. On the other hand, if they are unduly restricted, or if their choices are ridiculed, they tend to experience a sense of guilt and ultimately withdraw from taking an active and initiating stance. By the age of six, the child should enter elementary school. It is during this age that the stage of Industry versus Inferiority occurs. During the ensuing five years, the most important events in the childs life revolve around setting and accomplishing goals related to school situations. When children are successful in mastering the many behaviors expected of them during these years, they develop feelings of competency and a sense of industry. They may express such feelings as: I can do anything if I just work hard enough. Children who encounter failure during the early grades may experience severe handicaps later on. A child with learning problems may begin to feel like a worthless person. Such feelings may drastically affect his or her relationships with peers, which are also vital at this time. During the adolescent years, teens experience Identity versus Role Confusion. Typically, adolescents feel they are on center stage and everyone is looking at them. They are often highly critical of themselves and feel that others are equally critical. Their thoughts often turn inward. They look at themselves and question whether or not they measure up to their peers. They also begin thinking about lifelong goals and careers, wondering whether they will make it in the world of the adult. Their ruthless self-appraisal is often beneficial. It results in the development of values, social attitudes, and standards. This inward focus appears to be necessary for the development of a firm sense of self and of broader roles in the social order. During the stage of Intimacy versus Isolation, adolescence is now behind the individual and the early adult years loom ahead. Energies are focused on building careers, establishing lasting social ties, and achieving then maintaining intimate relationships. Marriage or cohabitation creates new demands on the individual sharing, compromising, and relinquishing social mobility to some degree. Also, many young adults begin having children and raising families. Those who were unsuccessful in resolving their identity crises may find themselves isolated from mainstream society and unable to maintain healthy intimate relationships. It basically identifies the developmental interaction between maturational advances and the social  expectations made upon the child Ego identity is never established as an achievement,' as something static or unchangeable, but is a forever to-be-revised sense of reality of the Self within social reality (Erikson, 1968: 24, 211). Although the identity crisis is most pronounced during adolescence and gives that age its stage name, identity issues remain a lifelong concern. A redefinition of ones ego-identity emerges quite commonly when major role changes occur, such as when college freshmen leave home and have to make their own decisions, often for the first time. Other issues that tend to renew identity concerns are: ones first job, marriage, parenthood,  the death of ones parents, divorce, unemployment, serious illness, widowhood, and retirement. The ability to cope with these later identity issues that result from major changes in ones role in life may well depend on the degree of success with which one bas mastered the adolescent identity crisis. Adolescence bas been characterized by Erikson (1950) as the period in the human life cycle during which the individual must establish a sense of personal identity and avoid the dangers of rote diffusion and identity confusion. Identity achievement t implies that the individual assesses strengths and weaknesses and determines how he or she wants to deal with them. The adolescent must find an answer to the identity questions: Where did 1 come from? Who am I? What do 1 want to become?Identity, or a sense of sameness and continuity, must be searched for. Identity is not readily given to the individual by society, nor does it appear as a maturational phenomenon when the time comes, as do secondary sex characteristics. Identity must be acquired through sustained individual effort. Unwillingness to work actively on ones identity formation carries with it the danger of role diffusion, which may result in alienation and a sense of isolation and confusion. The search for an identity involves the establishment of a meaningfu1 self-concept in which past, present, and future are brought together to form a unified whole. Consequently, the task is more difficult in a historical period in which the anchorage of family and community tradition bas been lost and the future is unpredictable. ln a period of rapid social change, the aIder generation is no longer able to provide adequate role models for the younger generation. Mead (1970) describes in detail the changing relationship of adolescents to parents as societies move from post- to co- and pre figurative cultures  (see Chapter 6). Keniston (1965) bas even suggested that in a rapidly changing society, the search for an identity is replacing the socialization process, since the latter implies that there actually exist stable, uniform, socially defined scales and values into which the adolescent can be guided. The aider generation no longer provides effective role models to the younger generation in the process of searching for a personal identity. If the elders do provide them, adolescents may either reject them as personally inappropriate, or follow them-in what will later be discussed as a foreclosed fashion-that is, seeking to fulfil their parents aspirations for them, without appreciating the search for an identity as a personal opportunity. Thus, the importance of the peer group in helping the individual to answer the identity question, Who am I? cannot be emphasized enough. The answer to this question depends  on social feedback from others who provide the adolescent with their perception and their evaluation of him or ber. Identity is based on psychosocial reciprocity. Therefore, adolescents are sometimes morbidly, often curiously, preoccupied with what they appear to be in the eyes of others as compared with what they feel they are and with the question of how to connect to earl ier cultivated cales and skills with the ideal prototype of the clay (Erikson, 1959: 89). Adolescents preoccupation with the thinking of others is the basis of Elkinds (1967) theory of egocentrism. Since an identity can be found only in interaction with significant others, a process Erikson refers to as psychosocial reciprocity, the adolescent often goes through a period of a great need for peer group recognition and almost compulsive peer group involvement. Conforming to the expectations of peers helps adolescents find out how certain cales fit them, but peer group conformity can also createa new kind of dependencys, o that the individual accepts the values of others tao easily without really addressing the identity issue ofhow weIl they do fit him or ber. The peer group, the clique, and the gang, even the lover, aid the individual in the search for a personal identity since they provide bath a cole model and very personal social feedback. The seemingly endless telephone conversations during adolescencea nd later, the bull sessioni n college, can serveg enuine psychological purposes by providing this kind of personal information. As long as the adolescent depends on role  models and feedback, the in-group feeling that the peer group provides will remain quite strong. AIso, behaviors of conformity to the expectations of the peer group reflect the learned skill of not making oneself an easy target of catty remarks or to avoid being mock ed out. The ensuing clannishnessa and intolerance of differences-including petty aspects of language, gesture, hair style, and dress-are explained by Erikson as the necessacy defenses against the dangers of self-diffusion that remain prevalent as long as the identity bas not yet been achieved. Particularly during the time when the body image changes so rapidly, when genital maturation stimulates sexualf antasiesa, nd when intimacy with the opposite sexa ppearsa s a possibility with simultaneouslyp ositive and negative valencest,h e adolescent relies on peers for advice, comfort, companionship, and uses peers as a personal sounding board. Eventually, adolescents must free themselves from this new dependency on peers-which bas just replaced their dependency on parents-in order to find themselves, that is, to attain a mature identity. Such an identity, once found, gives the young adult a sense of knowing where one is going and an inner assuredness anticipated recognition  from those who count (Erikson, 1959: 118). Pubescence, according to Erikson, is characterized by the rapidity of body growth, genital maturity, and sexual awareness. Because these changes are qualitatively quite different from those experienced during childhood, an element of discontinuity from previous  development may emerge during early adolescence. youth is not only confronted with an internal physiological revolution that interferes with the easy establishment of a new body image, but also confronted with a psychological crisis that revolves around issues of identity and self-definition. Erikson maintains today that the study of identity bas become more important than was the study of sexuality in Freuds rime. For the searching adolescent, identity-the establishment and reestablishment of sameness with previous experiences and a conscious attempt to make the future a part of ones personal life plan-seems  to be subordinated to sexuality. Adolescents must establish ego-identity and lea rn to accept body changes as well as new libidinal feelings. Identity exploration depends at least in part on these psycho physiological factors. I

Movie Version of Grapes Of Wrath - The People and the Depression :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Movie: The Grapes Of Wrath - The people and the Depression In the movie The grapes of Wrath, the Joads undergo the hit of the depression, they have to leave their farm. They go to California for jobs, but find there are few jobs, and it pays little, or at least less then what they were told. The government tried to start programs to house and employ people like the Joads. Since the people who already lived in the cities in which these developments were put didn't want them there anyway, they tried to start a riot and have the police Arrest them. Although in the movie the plan was foiled, it could have worked in many other places, or the towns folk could have just created a lynch mob, and eventually the people living in the development would leave. I believe that the economic situation of the country has a great effect on the fall, or succession of people like the Joads, but I don't believe government programs will effect them at all. For example, the great depression was a major economical event, and it greatly effected more then just people like the Joads, but programs like the public works administration which employed people for government construction projects. Another program, the Works Progress Administration, later called the Works Projects Administration was created to develop relief programs, and to keep a person's skills. From 1935- 1943, it employed 8 million people, and spent 11 billion dollars. But in 1939, there were still 9.5 million still unemployed. Another program was the Civilian Conservation Corps. Unemployed, unmarried young men were enlisted to work on conservation and resource-development projects such as soil conservation, flood control, and protection of forests and wildlife. These men were provided with food, lodging, and other necessities, and were given a small monthly salary. Another program was the CWA, the civil works administration. It employed more then 4 million workers to build and repair roads, and teach in schools, were just a couple of the jobs. Some of these programs would work temporarily, but eventually there would be no more work to do, or the government would run out of funds. All these programs were hated by some, and loved by others, and some just didn't care. The business men that were lucky enough not to lose everything, and the other employees working in the cities who still had jobs during the depression didn't like these new programs. In the movie, The Grapes Of Wrath, The towns people didn't like the government funded version of a "Hooverville".

Investment Management Training :: essays research papers

Is There a Return on the Investment of Management Training?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Customer satisfaction is no doubt dependent on a great number of variables. While it may be difficult to measure the actual benefits of training in terms of customer satisfaction, it appears essential to provide some type of training for employees to improve job performance. According to Smith (2001), staffs who have received formal training have been found to be up to 230 percent more productive than untrained colleagues working in the same role. Therefore, it becomes clear that the development of an organization’s human resources is a high priority for today’s business leaders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preparation of staff should be well-planned and supportive of the company’s goals. Successful companies build a consistent system with clear constraints, allowing employees some freedom accompanied with responsibility (Collins, 2001). Managers simply cannot rely on their employees coming in with all the necessary skills to be successful in their positions. Some may require more computer skills, while others need receptionist or time management skills. Individual needs should drive the training program and this is not always an easy task to accomplish. A one-size-fits-all approach to management training will most likely not be highly successful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Larry Seldon, a Columbia University professor, stresses that â€Å"different customers have different customs, different values, different psyches and different needs.† (CNNMONEY, 2004) Each employee’s needs may be as individual as their customers’ needs. When dealing with human emotions and performance, the results are not always predictable or certain. A recent University of Michigan study revealed that customer satisfaction has declined about three percent over the last five years (CNNMoney, 2004). Good managers recognize that customer service and satisfaction are key elements to be successful in the business world. Training is one of the primary ways to increase employee skills and productivity. Employees need to be well-trained in current job skills, and learn new skills on a continuing basis in order to remain competitive (Fernald & Solomon, 1998). Employers need to provide ample opportunities for employees to develop their abilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A new method of providing this training is through the use of the Internet. Rural communities with small businesses do not have the resources available to provide ongoing, systematic training programs for their employees. William Shuffstall, County senior extension agent, maintains that small businesses need to stay viable because their communities depend on them to keep the local economy alive (Burlingame, 2002). The effective use of technology can assist these small businesses with effective and current training strategies.

The Europeans Acceptance of Imperialism Essay -- Age of Imperialism

If we look at the world we live in today, we notice that it has changed dramatically over the years since the 1800’s. Many historical events from the past have changed the way we live today. It has turned our knowledge and our lifestyle into something so ordinary, that we are not even aware of it. For instance, our education system, since we were kids we were always taught to read the map a certain way so that when we grew up and started to draw and label the map of the world, we always put Europe in the center. Our teachings have taught us to view the world through such a Eurocentric perspective. Furthermore, it is important to understand that our ways of practicing various fundamentals of life regard the historical background we come from. In the past the European powers had an impact on majority of the world. These European powers adopted a policy of Imperialism. Imperialism is an act that takes place when one with greater dominance takes over another nation in order to co ntrol its economical, political cultural, industrial and social life. By adopting the policy of Imperialism, most of Europe held dominance over the majority of the world and for that reason the map is drawn that way, in order to show how superior Europe is than other nations, or so it is perceived to be. While talking about most of the European countries being the dominant nation, it is vital to understand that their superiority was achieved by their acceptance of the policy of Imperialism, and the factors that contributed in this were economic, political and religious causes. The European countries believed that by imperializing land it will give them more power and prestige than other countries. A belief that more nations they ruled over, the more powerf... ...2014. . "What are 5 main causes of imperialism?." - Yahoo Answers India. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. . "What is Imperialism." Party for Socialism and Liberation. Convio, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. . "Regents Prep Global History Imperialism: Introduction." [Regents Prep Global History] Imperialism: Introduction. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. . Books Cited Howarth, Tony, and Josh Brooman.Twentieth century history: the world since 1900. 2nd ed. London: Longman, 1987. Print. Lucas, Robert E.. Lectures on economic growth. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002. Print.

Aluminium is the third most common element on Earth after oxygen and silicon

Aluminium is the third most common element on Earth after oxygen and silicon. The aluminium industry had a Gross Domestic Product of $3.1 billion in1997/98, ranking the aluminium industry amongst Australia's leading manufacturers and employs over 16000 people directly. The total value of export earnings was about $6.3 billion in 1998/99, second only to coal as an export industry for Australia. These facts underline the fact that the aluminium industry is a major asset to Australia and is world competitive. Aluminium is important to us currently and is used from everything from soft drink cans to car bodies to window frames. Aluminium is lightweight, strong, long-lasting, highly corrosion resistant as a protective oxide coating is naturally generated, is an excellent heat and electricity conductor, has good reflective properties, is very ductile, completely impermeable and odourless and totally recyclable. Despite this, less than 200 tonnes in 1885 were produced compared to approximately 22 million tonnes in 1998 – plus some 5 million tonnes of recycled Aluminium. This is because aluminium is so highly oxidized that it can be only refined using huge amounts of electricity and electricity did not become readily available until this century. Thus, it is known as the metal of the 20th century. There are three process involved in the manufacture of Aluminium: Bauxite mining, alumina refinery and aluminium smelting. Raw Materials – Cryolite (Na3AlF6). Sodium Aluminium Fluoride. This reduces the temperature needed to electrolyse the aluminium reducing the cost. It was originally obtained from mines in Greenland, but the supply has depleted and it is now produced synthetically. – Aluminium fluoride (AlF3), calcium fluoride (CaF2) and Lithium Fluoride (LiF) which play the part of reducing the melting point of the mixture. – Alumina (Al2O3). This is obtained from bauxite, a red rock-like material, which also contains a lot of unwanted substances. Bauxite is mined in Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory. Bauxite mining leaves a lot of barren areas which will be investigated later. Bauxite and alumina are stored in storage bunkers. To produce aluminium metal, bauxite has to be concentrated, thus removing most impurities. Bauxite is crushed and washed to remove some of the clay and sand then dried in kilns. This is because crushed bauxite is easier to transport. The ore is loaded onto trucks, railway cars, or conveyor belts and transported to ships or refinery. The concentration of bauxite into alumina is called the Bayer process as shown below. Note that the red mud from the refinery must be carefully disposed of and this will be explore in Environmental factors. The Chemical Process To refine aluminium from alumina which contains both aluminium and oxygen, electrolysis is used, in a process known as the Hall-Heroult process. Alumina has to be liquefied (it is mixed with cryolite to reduce melting temperatures) and each cell is supplied with four to six volts and 150,000 amps of electricity. The sequence of creation is: All pots are covered so that exhaust gases are drawn into a large fume duct (will be explored later). As this involves consumable anodes, the pots cannot be sealed and every time a pot is opened, a small quantity of volatile gases escapes. For the safety and comfort of workers, the potroom needs to be well ventilated and the workers need breathing protection equipment. So much electricity is needed in this process that many smelters are located near hydro-electric plants or have their own power stations such as Alcoa which mines brown coal to generate electricity that meets 50% of its energy requirements. Approximately 16 kWh of energy is needed to produce one kg of molten metal in the Hall-Heroult Process compared to a theoretical energy of 6.34 kWh per kg of molten metal. Two main causes of this are the reoxidation of aluminium metal by carbon dioxide and high temperature, as well as side reactions wasting energy. Computers are now being used to monitor each pot continuously and set a best voltage for any particular condition reducing energy consumption. Covering the top of the anodes with an insulator to prevent them burning off and improved quality of carbon anodes reduces energy loss. Australia's comparatively has a low consumption of power for each kilogram of aluminium produced. Research is currently being done to find an alternative extraction process and the two main ways are through carbon reduction and electrolysis of aluminium chloride. The Product Aluminium, Al a Group III element is the product that results. Its properties and uses were discussed above. Other than the pure substance, alloys are also made containing copper, magnesium, manganese, chromium, silicon, nickel, iron and zinc. Quality control issues include the issue that normal refining processes do not remove all the impurities from aluminium, so most commonly used industrial aluminium already has small amounts of impurities alloyed with it. Fortunately, this makes aluminium stronger but remains easy to bend. Some alloys are less suitable for extrusion than others, requiring higher pressures, allowing only low extrusion speeds and/or having less than acceptable surface finish and section complexity. Aluminium sheets which are rolled from ingots are not flat when produced from the rolling mills. To flatten it, they are stretched between heavy-duty hydraulically-operated grips. A Micro Alignment Telescope with sweep optical square is used to check the flatness within specified tolerance to ensure the quality. One random sample for each batch of the aluminium and its alloy ingots undergo an optical spectrometry analysis to ensure that the results lie within the limits determined by Australian specification. The by-products and waste products of this product are carbon dioxide and fluoride gases as well as sulphur and nitrogen oxides. Carbon dioxide gas is a greenhouse gas and large amounts of fluorides are toxic. Sulphur and nitrogen oxides are acid rain gases. Therefore these need to be controlled and this will be investigated below in Environmental Factors. The aluminium and its alloy ingots or its processed equivalents are packed and distributed through shipping. Approximately 78% of all aluminium produced in Victoria is exported. Location Australia has six aluminium smelters located in Tasmania (one), Victoria (two), New South Wales (two) and Queensland (one). However Bauxite mines are in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. This is because the energy costs are too high to set up a plant near the mines but in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales electricity is cheap. As lots of electricity is used in the electrolysis, it is cheaper to transport the bauxite to the smelters than to set up a smelter near the mines and pay higher costs for electricity. Other factors that are taken into account include the labour force available (generally higher near cities), transportation of the aluminium produced (so the smelter has to be near ports, railway stations or highways), geographic factors (smelters are built in residential areas where the land is cheap) and legal factors (whether the sounds and the activities such as the fumes released and the transportation of aluminium using trucks would affect nearby residential properties who could sue). Environmental By recycling aluminium, approximately 95% of the energy (approximately 2 billion kWh of electricity) otherwise required to produce the primary metal aluminium can be saved. This makes the aluminium cheaper to manufacture as well as reduce the rapid depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels to produce electricity. When land is mined for Bauxite, active reforestation must be carried out to ensure the stability of the environment as well as ensuring that the soil left over doesn't erode and cause mud slides. Extreme care must be taken with the handling and disposal of red mud from the refineries. This is usually pumped into dams which are sealed with impervious material to prevent pollution of surrounding countryside. The manufacture of aluminium produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, fluoride gas, a toxic gas and other exhaust gases (such as the sulphur and nitrate oxides) that can potentially be harmful. To combat their pollution, all pots are covered and the fumes are drawn into a fume duct where the gases pass through beds of alumina which adsorbs over 99%of the fluoride. All cryolite needs to be manufactured synthetically and suitable fluorides are expensive and so they need to be recovered. The gases then pass through dust filter bags and a dry scrubber and treatment facilities to remove the greenhouse and other gases and only clean air is released. Although manufacture of aluminium uses a lot of energy and other options to mine aluminium are being investigated (as shown above), the use of aluminium itself has saved a large amount of energy because they are strong and light. It is estimated that 1,230 litres of petrol was saved in cars that used 64 kg of aluminium instead of other metals and this saved more than five times the energy required to produce each kilogram of aluminium used in the car.

Convergence and Divergence of Communication

Nico Brown COJO 1030 October 25, 2012 Convergence and Divergence Essay Intentionally or intuitively, we constantly use convergence and divergence in our daily communication routine. While the process itself is automatic; the manner of not doing either does not exist, because one of the two is always being chosen. Convergence is the process of adapting ones speech style to match others they want to identify and divergence is the use of linguistic mannerisms that emphasizes a person’s differences from others.A person would be able to understand these two concepts through personal examples by comparing and contrasting the differences in each term, discussing what aspects of these communicative techniques were conscious and which were unconscious, and explaining the relational consequences. When thinking of the meaning of convergence, it takes me back to when I was in fourth grade. I had been going to this school for three years; I knew everyone and everyone knew me. All of my fri ends would come to my house after school and we would hangout until the sun went down. Everything we did, we did it together.Whether it was getting into trouble by stealing the neighbor’s cat or celebrating each other’s birthday; there wasn’t an hour when you could see us apart from each other. Then one day we moved out of the neighborhood, which also meant I moved schools, but worst of all, my friends. Being that it was the middle of the second semester, I didn’t automatically fit in with the kids at my new school. The fact that I was now three towns from where I grew up and what my former friends and I did for fun was now considered lame led me to have less chances of acquiring new friends.After a week or two of eating, playing and sitting alone I figured to give it a shot; that whatever they are doing, and even though it might be different than what I do, it may be fun. The next Monday during the morning recess I walked up to a group of kids and asked to play with them. A week later I had three new friends and with that I picked up a few new words. This is an example of convergence. The fact that I changed the way I did things while being accepted by others. An example of divergence would be the time I moved from the state of Kansas to the Lone Star State of Texas.Being in a new state was a lot different than being in a new town that is a few miles down the road. Every Texan I came in contact with would ask me the same questions and say all the same things. Have I ever been in a tornado, does it rain a lot in Kansas, does Kansas have a lot of tornadoes, I talk weird, I sound funny, I have an accent. Personally that was the first time someone told me I had an accent or talked funny, and I got them both in the same day. I remember when I asked a guy what his favorite pop was. He looked at me with a confused face and asked what it was. Example of illustrators, a Non-verbal behavior that accompanies and supports verbal message). When I told him some people call it soda he laughed at me and said he thought I was talking about champagne. When I joined the football team the coaches would tell me to do certain things and when I never did they would argue that I was doing everything wrong. Then when they saw me do something good, they asked where I learned it from and my answer was would always be Kansas. Everything I did I made sure that everyone knew that I was from Kansas.Whether it was the way I walked, the way I talked, the things I said, or the things I did. Thinking back, motivations I used when I was in the fourth grade would have come from all those days of sitting alone as well as eating alone. The thought of not being able to be around my old friends pushed me to get more friends. As to when I moved to Texas the reason I wanted to stand out from being the same as everyone else was because Kansas was all I knew. Everything I had ever known at that point I learned in Kansas and the sudden change just made m e want make a statement that I was not a Texas native.I would say that the wanting to standout from everyone in Texas was unconscious. The reason being because everyone did certain things that I would have never done if I were back home in Kansas and what I did they considered it to be â€Å"different† and something was wrong with it. But as much as they pointed out what I did differently I couldn’t help it because hose were things I was used to. It was more of a reflex because I was so used to doing and saying things in a certain way. Trying to change it would be conscious because I would focus more to what I was saying and how I would need to make it different.When I changed schools and finally decided to make new friends was conscious communication techniques. Because I had to think about it before it happened. I also changed the way I behaved and I would say things in different ways than how I would usually say them. Instead of all of this automatically happening I had to think about things that I said and remember what was what so I would be accepted within the group. These two innocent situations that I experienced had unaware consequences on the involved relationships. The first one being that I changed the way I did things and I got new friends.The second being I was able to be myself and I was considered different. And even though I was not the same as everyone else, I still managed to have friends that accepted me for who I was. Convergence and divergence both impacts and have an effect on our lives and the truth they always will. While we will use convergence to help us get closer to people and divergence to keep us distant from the ones we don’t want to be around. They two terms will continually be used throughout our lives determining the types of relationships we have. Whether it’s intentional or not, we will always use one concept or the other.

History of the Baking in the Philippines Essay

I got to admit, if given the chance to choose between rice, pasta or bread, I would definitely go for pasta any day. This is also the reason why I tend to be extra picky with the type of breads that I eat. I love freshly baked pan de sal paired with a spoonful of peanut butter and a cup of hot cocoa. Soft and fluffy ciabatta bread has been my favorite when I’m making myself a sandwich. As for the type of breads that I avoid, these are ones with raisins, dates or the fruity type. I really do not know why but I always end up plucking each tiny fruit out before biting into the bread. One day, I received a box of freshly baked goodies from Bread Story Philippines. It was after visiting their Facebook page that I found out that the brand actually originates fromMalaysia. We had some of their specialty breads for lunch. Among the four breads on the plate, I liked the Flossy Signature which had buttery pork floss on top. The Flossy Hottie, on the other hand, was topped with spicy chicken floss and was pretty good too. We also liked the pizza flavored bread called Hi Amigo (Php. 46) which tasted like a Hawaiian, our favorite pizza flavor. The fourth type of bread was the one that I least enjoyed as it had creamy custard inside and was a tad too sweet for me. Nonetheless, I liked that the breads were very soft making each bite such a delight. Papa also liked the Pandan bread and commented that it was very soft and fragrant. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try this anymore as my family happily consumed the entire half loaf for breakfast one day. Bread Story also has cakes available for all occasions. How I wish that Bread Story would soon open more branches nearer to home. For now, I have to travel all the way to the south to be able to try more of their bread offerings. Bread Story is located at the Basement Level of SM Southmall, Las Pinas City.

A critical reflection essay on Islam Essay

Islam being the fastest growing religion, has adhered a lot of positive as well as negative attention from the media. Due to this vast media influence stereotypes in Islam have increased from terrorism, Muslims have been discriminated merely due to the negative outlook that North America has portrayed upon them. The media tends to entwine the truth and to make Muslims seem perilous. Having that simple coherence of one another will be the start to making a difference. Islam is one of the most inspiring religions in the world. It is practiced in many countries, including Northern Africa, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Iraq. Due to it being such a large religion, us people of the west tend to have a little understanding and knowledge about the religion. The very bitter truth is that not many people outside the religion can fully grasp their principles. With so many stereotypes being constantly circulated, it is very hard to get an evident picture about Islam both as a religion and as way of living. The first stereotype has to do with the jihad. Jihad literally means â€Å"The struggle in the path of God†, or â€Å"holy war†. This term unfortunately has been totally misunderstood and made to make it appear as though the Muslim people fight their way through all their problems. Jihad could mean ones spiritual struggle against infidels and does not always refer to actual violence. This pillar of faith has been completely turned around in order to portray Islam in a negative manner, which is surly something that we’ve adapted to through the media. Another stereotype is that women in the Muslim society are not treated equally or with respect. People feel this way because the women often wear a hijab which consists of a veil covering the head. This is actually a personal choice of the women, not a requirement. It was said in the Qu’ran that women and men were to be treated equally. By judging people too quickly we tend to forget to look inside rather then to make assumptions due to an appearance. Stereotypes such as the ones mentioned are absolutely biased and extremely unfair to the Muslim people. Many times, the media does not catch the side of the story where real people are being affected and influenced by what the society thinks and says about them. We seem to act as though we are more superior and that we are perfect and do not make mistakes. Just because some  people from a certain religion make a poor choice does not mean that everyone else is that religion is bound to as well. It is the same with the Muslim people. Just because there are terrorists who hurt themselves and those around them for selfish reasons, does not mean that every other Muslim is just as destructive. I feel that people need to be more open minded and try to do research and become more educated before judging and discriminating. If for once all religions saw eye to eye and did not try to put one another down then we would live in a much peaceful world. By not becoming educated, we basically take someone else’s opinion, or the medias and make it our own without looking deeper into the situation. If we just stop being selfish for just a moment, perhaps we can start again and try to live in harmony with our fellow human beings. During the past two weeks I have learned a lot about Islam, although I did know the basis of the religion people my family practices it. Although some of the thinks that I thought I knew turned out to be totally false I always thought the women never played a role in society and that the Muslim people really did have extremist views. After taking a closer look, I came to realize that I was not even close. It was so interesting and almost relieving to come to that realization that these people are simply misunderstood and are the victims of brutal discriminatory attacks. The biggest thing I learned from all this was not to judge a book by its cover. We can’t really have an opinion or pass judgment on a situation that we know nothing of. I realized now that people twist things in order to get a good story but as soon as people are educated about these matters, the media can no longer fool us into believing it all. Acting upon new knowledge, and most importantly correct knowledge is the way to see through the discrimination and look deep inside. Misconceptions and stereotypes about Islam and the Muslim community have increases majorly in the past couple of years. People have become too quick to judge and believe everything that the media tells them. Through knowledge and coherence about Islam and the Muslim people we would come to understand that it is all a simple misunderstanding and that really the Muslims are victims in this manifesto. We should not let others form opinions in our  head and to stay ignorant to the reality of the world. By doing this we save ourselves from becoming something that is not really human, but more so a robot that’s being controlled by the media, if we just stop and think for ourselves, we could live in harmony, and achieve world peace, a feeling that’s everlasting.

A SWOT Analysis of Nike, Inc.

A SWOT Analysis of Nike, Inc. Internal: Strengths The first strength of Nike as a company is that is outsources all aspects of its production to overseas facilities. This is a strength as the company saves money on the labor costs and the helps the company focus on design and research with the additional capital they save. The next strength is that Nike is a globally recognized brand that has strong customer loyalty. Along with this, Nike has a reputation for quality and endurance which makes it the brand of choice for athletes and fitness fanatics. Another strength of Nike is that it is an extremely competitive company with a catchy slogan that summarizes the ideology of the company. â€Å"Just Do It† is globally known and contributes as to why Nike is one of the few dominating companies in the market. Weaknesses The first weakness of Nike as a company is it perceived by some people as too premium and expensive. This is a weakness as a lot of people are migrating to lower prices athletic wear which is primarily focused on quality. The next weakness is that Nike does its business through retailers who sell other competing brands. This kills the exclusivity of the brand as it is often competing against hundreds of other brands who beat Nike in some aspects including price or quality. As mentioned previously, Nike outsources all of its manufacturing to save money. A lot of companies who outsource overseas are faced with negative publicity due to the bad image of â€Å"Sweatshops†. This could turn people off shopping at Nike due to unfriendly conditions that are associated with sweatshops. Opportunities One of the biggest opportunities for Nike is the emerging markets in regards to athletes and sports teams. A lot of people purchase their favorite teams regardless of the brand. If Nike strategically gets access to the biggest sports teams their sale would increase. If Nike continues to diversify into new markets other than footwear they can begin to dominate different markets such as sporting accessories. Nike has the advantage of compromising price to attract new customers. They already have a loyal customer following so they already have large profit margins. If they take the chance of lowering prices they could increase revenue from new customers. Threats The main threat to Nike is competitors such as Adidas, Puma and Under-Armor. Companies in the same market as Nike are continuously growing, putting pressure on Nike as a company that needs to continue to grow. The price of competitors is a big threat to Nike. Consumers today are more price cautions and will often opt for the cheaper products. As Nike uses overseas outlets to manufacture there is a constant threat that they will be exposed for poor trade practices. If they are exposed it would damage the company’s image and consumers might want to purchase from other suppliers.  · Where do our internal strengths match with external opportunities? This represents the best fit between the companys resources and the options available in the external environment. Nike’s internal strengths matches their external opportunities in the sense that Nike is a globally recognized company that has strong customer loyalty. An external opportunity that Nike could take advantage is lowering their price to attract new customers. As of one Nike’s strengths is strong brand recognition, it makes Nike a desirable brand especially if the prices are lowered. There is a possibility that the increase of new customers could increase profit and get more life-long customers.  · Where do our internal weaknesses match up with external opportunities? What opportunities are we not able to capture? The first weakness of Nike that matches up with external opportunities is that Nike is viewed as a premium brand that is too expensive for some consumers to purchase. The opportunity that this matches up to is the chance Nike has to lower its prices and attract new customers. The reason as to why it is difficult for Nike to capture this opportunity is because Nike carries a certain prestige that they don’t want tainted with cheap prices of their merchandise. If everyone can afford to wear Nike the prestige element wouldn’t have as much of an effect and it could possibly lose customers.  · Where do our internal strengths match up with external threats? What resources do we have that might turn a threat into an opportunity? The internal strengths that match up with the external threats in Nike is the face that Nike outsources all of its production to overseas facilities to save money on the cost of production. The matches with the external threats as the conditions of these overseas facilities leave much to be desired. If a report of these conditions were to ever appear it could severely damage Nike’s reputation. The pressure of other companies such as Adidas and Puma could become an opportunity for Nike to continuously grow and slow down in a very competitive market.  · Where do our internal weaknesses match the external threats in the environment? These are the worst possible scenarios for an organization. The internal weaknesses that match the external threats is the fact that Nike do most of its business through retailers. This is a threat as many consumers can compare prices of Nike to other competitors in a retail store. This could introduce consumers to cheaper prices of rival brands.