Engagement Strategies Are Desirable For Organizations And Employees Essay

Engagement Strategies Are Desirable For Organizations And Employees - Essay Example The engagement strategies imply the creation of opportunities for employees to have a connection with their colleagues, managers and the wider organization. It involves the creation of an environment where employees are motivated to want to connect with their work and really care about doing a good job (Macleod, 2009, p. 9). Macleod (2009, p. 9), continues to say that engagement is a concept that places flexibility, change and continuous improvement at the heart of what it means to be an employee and an employer, especially in a twenty-first-century workplace. According to Dulham, Knight & Locke (1997, p.210) and Bratton& Gold (2007), the process of engagement is an active one that involves active participation by both parties in a certain undertaking. It is a process where different parties feel compelled by their own motivation to either participate partially or fully towards the attainment of certain general objectives. Clarke (1996, p. 190) states that employee engagement describ es the actual involvement of people at all levels in positive two-way dialogue and action to deliver the highest quality services and create great places to work – where people find their work meaningful and are willing to work together for clients, their colleagues and the future success of their organization. A typical case study drawn from the MacLeod report (2003) shows that a company, Tower Perrins-ISR conducted a survey globally in 2006. Opinions of more than 664,000 employees in 50 companies were analyzed.... It involves the creation of an environment where employees are motivated to want to connect with their work and really care about doing a good job (Macleod, 2009, p. 9). Macleod (2009, p. 9), continues to say that engagement is a concept that places flexibility, change and continuous improvement at the heart of what it means to be an employee and an employer especially in a twenty-first century workplace. According to Dulham, Knight & Locke (1997, p.210) and Bratton& Gold (2007), the process of engagement is an active one that involves active participation by both parties in a certain undertaking. It is a process where different parties feel compelled by their own motivation to either participate partially or fully towards the attainment of certain general objectives. Clarke (1996, p. 190) states that employee engagement describes the actual involvement of people at all levels in positive two-way dialogue and action to deliver the highest quality services and create great places to w ork – where people find their work meaningful and are willing to work together for clients, their colleagues and the future success of their organization. According to CIPD, engagement occurs on two levels, that is the Emotional engagement which implies the emotional attachment that that the employees have to one or more aspects of their work a and transactional engagement which relates to happiness to exhibit the behaviour of engagement but void of commitment to the job or the organisation and willingness to leave if a better offer appears elsewhere (Torrington, et al 2011). A typical case study drawn from the MacLeod report (2003) shows that a company, Tower Perrins-ISR conducted a survey globally in 2006. Opinions of more than

Is most efficient at heating water Essay Example for Free

Is most efficient at heating water Essay

The Classroom: An Intellectual Community :: Education Teaching Essays

The Classroom: An Intellectual Community -Perhaps I should have become a professor of Literature rather than a teacher, but for me that would be taking the easy way out. Literature promotes the discussion of ideas, something which most other subjects to do not. So, I want to take those aspects of the college classroom which have most affected my learning process and apply them at a high school level. I believe that the healthiest classroom situation comes not from a philosophy of teaching, but a philosophy of learning. To apply a philosophy to the teaching to literature, then, will be a gradual process for me as I spend more and more time in the classroom. What I do know thus far is that engaging students is crucial—they must be actively listening as well as participating. There needs to be a balance between listening and discussing. Because literature can be so subjective, it is important that I create an environment in which the student feels comfortable with forming and expressing his or her own observations and conclusion, not merely saying what they think I want to hear. If I can accomplish making this type of an environment for learning, I believe that students will be able to learn about an array of ideas about ideas, other people, and themselves. Conflict is essential: both within the classroom and within the subject. Not only do I want to facilitate honest discussion of texts and ideas, but I want to be able to present those conflicts that we may find in the texts themselves. Through these discussions, I hope to encourage my literature and composition students to think of themselves as producers and transmitters of culture rather than as just consumers. They get to have and express their own ideas as well as have their own opinions about someone else’s. This is what reading and writing are about, and as a teacher I feel it is important to teach this by example. I will need to throw myself out there as well, even if that means addressing those subjects which I may feel uncomfortable with. In an attempt to keep students actively involved, I may turn to the internet as a source of learning. In my own experience here at college I had a professor who required us to keep up discussions via the internet. She had a discussion board where students could tell of their interpretations and findings within our readings.

Object-oriented Programming and Recommendation Summary

Clark College of Science and Technology SNS Bldg. , Aurea St. Samsonville Subd. , Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga A project study presented to the Faculty of the Computer Programming In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the title of Object Oriented Programming Language Tungol, Axel-Yor Gomez, Christallane Velarde, Patrick John Santos, Renato Astraquillo, Angelo Clark College of Science and Technology SNS Bldg. , Aurea St. Samsonville Subd. , Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga A project study presented to the Faculty of the Computer Programming In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the title ofObject Oriented Programming Language Tungol, Axel-Yor Gomez, Christallane Velarde, Patrick John Santos, Renato Carino, Joy Valerie Astraquillo, Angelo AKNOWLEDGEMENT DEDICATION TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: Project and Its Background Introduction Theoretical Framework Conceptual Framework Statement of the Problem Objectives of the Study Significance of the Study Scope and Delimitation CHAPTER I I: Review on Related Literature Review on Local Literature Review on Foreign Literature CHAPTER III: Research Design and Procedures Research Methodology Research Instrument Context Diagram Zero Diagram Data Flow Diagram System RequirementsCHAPTER IV: Photographic Documentation Screenshots Description and Codes Database Table Project Schedule CHAPTER V: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation Summary Conclusion Recommendation FIGURES Figure1Context Diagram Figure2Zero Diagram Figure3Data Flow Diagram Figure4Splash Form Figure5Log-In Forms Figure6Main Menu Figure7Farrowing Schedules Figure8Pay Roll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION PROBLEMS AND ITS BACKGROUND DCTHILLSFARM is a farm bought by Domie C. Tungol and Erlinda V. Tungol in year 1998, located in Sapang Bato, Angeles City. DCTHILLSFARM’s business just got approved and it needs a system for it to start.Surely because of the news that DCTHILLSFARM is going to start its business, many people will want to join, and it will need a system to keep track of the employees and their payroll. Because the business is just about to start, there’s yet is no system for the farm to use. Through studying the problem, the researchers came up with an idea to make a computerized payroll system with a special feature that helps the farm keep track of the farrowing schedules of the pigs. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Minimum Hardware Requirements: Processor: Pentium IV or Higher Hard Disk: 80 GB or HigherMemory: 512 MB or Higher Monitor: SVGA Monitor (800Ãâ€"600 and 32-bitcolor) Keyboard: Standard Keyboard Mouse: Optical Mouse Printer: Printing Device (Ink Jet / Dot Matrix) Software Specification Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP or Higher Application Software: CHAPTER V SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION SUMMARY CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATION THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Now a days, technology became very essential in all establishment. From the early days, people are capable of using pens and papers on their daily dealings. The transfo rmation of this setup improved because of the different technologies.Computerized Payroll system is an application that will help the DCTHILLSFARM’s to keep track of the payroll of its employees. The system can be useful in computing the payroll of the employees especially to the owner it minimize their works. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The researchers of the study are developing a kind of proposal, which is the Computerized Payroll that can easily compute the salary of the employees to make their works easier and more accurately. In order to solve the problem of the DCTHILL’SFARM’s, the people behind the study gathered information on how these things to be done.The system can be useful in computing the salary of the employee especially to the owner it minimize their works. STATEMENTS OF THE PROBLEM The study seeks to find solution and betterment with the manual payroll. Because of the said system, problems occur. GENERAL PROBLEM The manual payroll system of the DCTHI LLSFARM’s makes the owner more stressful, sometimes they created Human errors in computing the salary of their employee and the works of the owner are process in a slowly manner. SPECIFIC PROBLEM * Difficulty in Computing Because of the manual system the owner is having difficulty in computing the salary of the employees one by one. Time Consuming Through the manual system, the owner consumes time in computing all of the salary of the Employees OBJECTIVES OF THE PROBLEM GENERAL OBJECTIVES SPECIFIC PROBLEM * Rapidness in Process * Easy in Computing * Less Consume in Time SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY TO THE STUDENTS TO THE TEACHERS TO THE SCHOOL TO THE FUTURE RESEARCHERS SCOPE AND DELIMITATION SCOPE DELIMITATION CHAPTER II REVIEW ON LOCAL AND FOREIGN LITERATURE REVIEW ON LOCAL LITERATURE REVIEW ON FOREIGN LITERATURE CHAPTER III RESEARCH DESIGN AND PROCEDURES RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Short Answer Responses

Short-Answer Responses 1. Based on your readings from Ch. 3 of the textbook and your personal experience, would you say that pop culture affects individuality? If so, how? Pop culture absolutely affects individuality. It permeates our society to where it shapes the actions and behaviors of whole communities. We are products of our environment for pop culture subversively guides our decisions, our morals, and influences heavily what we like and dislike.In reading the steps to starting to realize individuality from the book, oftentimes people do not stop to discern what values pop culture instills in society to be of their own true beliefs, and they are just going with what is popularly accepted (Ruggiero, 2009). It is a sort of voluntary conformity because of the desire to fit in, and pop culture’s influences are so subtle that many believe they are being individualistic when in fact they are living their lives per the dictates of pop culture. 2. Think back to your childhood an d the environment in which you were raised.How did those early childhood experiences influence the level of curiosity you have today? Considering that curiosity is an important element of creativity, identify techniques that can help you improve or regain your curiosity. Being raised in a large family meant there was usually someone available to answer questions as a child. If the first person was unavailable, the next was more accommodating. This encouragement of curiosity and the realization that persistence would lead to an answer is helpful in later life as it becomes the norm to question everything rather than accept it at face value.Although curiosity tends to wane as children grow into adulthood, there are several ways that people can regain their curiosity. Ruggiero (2009) stated â€Å"There are six specific techniques: a. Be observant b. Look for the imperfections in things c. Note your own and others dissatisfactions d. Search for causes e. Be sensitive to implications f. Recognize the opportunity in controversy† (p. 116). In other words: being aware of your surroundings and taking note of them, looking for ways that things could be improved, and recognizing that other people’s dissatisfaction probably means that a problem exists that needs a solution.To do this, the cause of the problem needs to be discovered and once a solution has been presented, the possible impact of the solution on the people involved should be taken into account. 3. One of the key controversies in psychology is nature versus nurture. Is this a problem or an issue? Explain. In psychology, nature versus nurture tends to be an issue more than a problem. Ruggiero (2009) declares that â€Å"A problem is a situation that we regard as unacceptable; where an issue is a matter about which intelligent, informed people disagree to some extent. Many psychologists believe that people behave as they do because of hereditary or inborn factors. This is where the â€Å"natureâ €  theory of human behavior comes into play. Other psychologists will argue that people think and behave as they do because of environmental factors, or simply put, because they were taught to do so. Nature versus nurture is clearly an issue because it is a matter that informed people, in this case psychologists, disagree to some extent as to what causes human behavior. 4. Identify three sources of information you may use when investigating a problem or issue.Compare steps you would take to refine the solutions to a problem with steps to refine resolutions of an issue. Three sources of information you may use when investigating a problem or issue include expert opinion, observational study, and research review. Because an issue and a problem are two different things, so are the steps taken to refine them. According to Ruggiero (2009), steps to refine your solution to a problem include: a. Working out the details b. Finding imperfections and complication c. Making improvement Step s to refine resolutions of an issue are: a.Deciding what action should be taken b. Recognizing and overcoming difficulties In both of these methods step one is similar, but it seems like deciding what action should be taken is more aggressive than working out the details. With step two, recognizing and overcoming difficulties seems like it would be more proactive in finding a resolution quicker than with finding imperfections and complications. Another comparative I noticed is that it takes more steps to refine a solution to a problem. Finding a resolution to an issue seems like an easier task than finding a solution to a problem. 5.Sometimes your ego can make it hard for you to receive criticism of your own solutions. Do you think some personality types are naturally better at receiving criticism than are others? What strategies can you use to be more receptive of criticism of your own ideas and solutions? Ego often gets in the way and makes it hard to receive criticism. There are multiple reasons this occurs. Once we have settled on an idea, we tend to take ownership with interest in that idea. The thought of someone finding flaw with it is often hard to swallow. However, criticism is an important part of problem solving because no solution is perfect.Additional, your perspective may be different from that of another person based on personal experiences, your interpretation of something you saw, read, or heard etc. Criticism, regardless of your personality type, is not easy for anyone to receive. What makes the difference is how a person responds to criticism. Perhaps an individual that has a high self-esteem would be more open to other ideas and be able to see the need to step back and review the idea objectively. There are two strategies that can be applied to overcome the natural reaction to defend your idea against criticism vs. ctively looking at it with an open mind. First, remind yourself that the feelings you may have to defend your idea are normal b ut you must disregard the initial reaction and force yourself to examine the idea critically. Second, use your ego to your benefit. When you are ready to give up and stop examining an idea, think about how you would feel if a flaw were to be pointed out. Visualize the situation, would you feel embarrassed. This visualization should provide a sufficient amount of motivation to subdue the ego in the â€Å"ME MONSTER† and continue to accept criticism and continue evaluating your deas. 6. When oversimplifying, a person distorts and misrepresents complex matters. How can you find and overcome oversimplifications in your arguments? To find oversimplifications in an argument, consider what important parts of the issue have not been addressed. Is the argument only focused on one point? To correct an oversimplification, state the argument in a way that considers all aspects of the matter accurately without distorting the facts to reflect a single point of view (Ruggiero, 2009).

10 Facts on Real Estate Finance for a Research Project

10 Facts on Real Estate Finance for a Research Project Like with most industries were business operations are carried out solely for the reason of making a profit, the real estate industry relies heavily on finance to keep its wheels spinning. Therefore, it should come as no surprise if one is asked to conduct research projects consisting of financing in real estate. Finance in real estate affects both sides of the demand-supply chain as real estate owners require funding to build accommodating structures, while home owners or rent seekers require funds to buy or rent the homes they plan to reside in. Therefore, to simplify the task of understanding real estate and the role finance plays in it, this article will be providing some important facts covering today’s subject matter which will aid anyone looking for statistics to back up his or her research project. This article will be the first in a three-part series providing materials on creating a research report  and the follow-up articles will consist of topics which you can choose from as well as a sample essay on how to write extensively on real estate finance. So in that vein, here are the 10 facts promised at the beginning of the series: In the United States, the market crash which occurred in the 1980’s led to the consolidation of lending institutions and this weeded out unstable financial institutions. By 2009, the number of savings and loan banks in the US was reduced from 4,022 by 1990 to 1,158 in 2009 while commercial banks reduced from 15,000 to 6,379 in the same time period. A large number of these financial institutions were put under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank. Although savings and loan banks as well as commercial banks form the larger part of financial institutions that back the real estate sector, credit unions have also played a part in financing residential project in the real estate sector. Statistics show that the 7,244 credit unions in the US currently control $285billion as well as $121billion in loans to its members and the chunk of these loans goes into the real estate sector. The lucrative nature of the real estate sector has also attracted interest from other financing verticals such as the Life and Health Insurance niche. Statistics provided by The Insurance Information Institute show that companies in the life and health insurance niche invest approximately 9.85% to 10.87% of their total asset in residential loans. As of 2008, the amount put to this percentage was $327.4billion in real estate loans and this number spans across both residential and commercial properties in the US. In 2006, substantial losses in the loan and savings industry led to the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act which ensured that all financial institutions- loans, savings, and commercial banks- operated through a mutual Deposit Insurance Fund in other to sanitise the loan and insurance industry. This in turn led to the restructuring of the residential loan market for both mortgage lenders and borrowers. The Safe Mortgaging Licensing Act was created in 2008 to provide regulations for mortgage lending originators (MLO) before a company can function as a mortgage provider for families, households and individuals. To ensure that MLOs function between legal frameworks, they are required to register with the Department of Real Estate (DRE) before going into operation. A maximum penalty of $10,000 can be levied on MLOs that refuse filing with the DRE as required by the act. The real estate market is affected by fluctuations in the economy and appreciations and deflations occur when a boom or recession happens. Statistics show that commercial properties in the United States fell between 40 to 50% between 2006 and 2010 due to the recession that occurred between these periods. While for residential properties, their market value depreciated between 20 to 50% in the same timeframe. The real estate market experienced its largest peak period in the 90’s due to a strong economy and the availability of mortgage and loan rates/plans that were favourable to potential buyers. Statistics showed that the real estate industry experienced a 30-40% growth between the year1990 and 1998. This was due to 100% financing plans and the hunger to make quick profits by flipping real estate ownership. The 2007 economic recession led to the largest real estate meltdown recorded in US history. This led to the largest number of foreclosures in the United States within a one-year period. Statistics showed that in 2009, the situation had deteriorated to a level where there were more foreclosures than marriages recorded for the first time in the US history. The fall of the real estate sector was attributed to poor financial planning from the 90’s boom as well as the economic recession experienced in that timeframe. Statistics from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) showed the aftermath of the economic recession on loans and financial institutions in a public report at the end of 2010. The bleak numbers were that the number of non-performing commercial loans continued to increase for the next 16 consecutive quarters. Also, 775 banks which made up 10% of the total number of banks in the US were listed as problematic depository institutions due to loan defaults primarily from the commercial and residential real estate industry. The state of Utah records the lowest number of homeless people due to the policies set in place by its government. The policy includes affordable housing loans as well as the giving out of free homes to homeless residents since 2005. Statistics in 2014, show that Utah had reduced its homeless population by approximately 74% when compared to its 2005 numbers. Here, we come to the end of the 10 important facts on real estate and finance which you should consider as important facts and statistics which to use in buttressing the arguments or questions raised in your project. This is intended to simplify your research project and the preceding articles in the series will provide more information on how to go about writing a research project guaranteed to get you the top marks you deserve. So we endeavor you stay tuned to our next pieces 20 topics and 1 sample essay on real estate finance as well as the research project guide on the subject. References: Department of Real Estate (2013). Real Estate Finance. dre.ca.gov/files/pdf/refbook/ref12.pdf Babalola, O. (2002). An appraisal of the Impact of Primary Mortgage Institutions in Housing Procurement in Nigeria. Journal of the Nigeria Institution of Quantity Surveyors vol, 13-16. Federal Mortgage. (2003). Mortgage News: A Quarterly in-house Journal of the Federal Mortgage Finance Ltd; vol 1 no. 4. William, B. (2013). Real Estate Finance and Investments, Thirteenth Edition. gbv.de/dms/zbw/516413465.pdf Steve, B. (2008). The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties. http://cdn2.media.zp-cdn.com/21275/Steve_Berges_-_Complete_Guide_to_Real_Estate_Finance_for_Investment_Properties-52a7ef.pdf The EPA Journal. (2005). The Anatomy of a Real Estate Development. https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/refinancebasics_050906/prez/FinanceBasics050106bw.pdf Retipster.com. (2011). 35 Real Estate Facts. http://retipster.com/35-real-estate-facts/

Into Oblivion(black man 1959) essays

Into Oblivion(black man 1959) essays For years John Howard Griffin had pondered the idea of what it would be like to live as black man in the Deep South in the late 1950s. Griffin was a specialist in race issues; he was very aware of the fact that a black man would never speak the truth about his situation to a white man. Griffin explained that the blacks of the South had learned not to speak of anything that the white man might find displeasing, doing so would most certainly be in vain. The white man would simply not listen, or make sure that the black mans life became one of misery. Griffin was not satisfied in hearing only the answers a black man would give to a white man. He felt that if he was ever going to intimately understand the life of a black man in the South of the late 1950s he must become a black man himself. Griffin was more than aware of the risks that doing something of this nature would bring to himself and to his family, but he did it all the same. Griffin must have been an incredibly compassionate ma n. Griffin would make his transformation to a black man through the use of medication and exposure to a sun lamp. He would leave behind his identity as a white man and his family for seven weeks. As Griffin left the office of the doctor who helped him with his transformation the doctor called out, "Now you go into oblivion (p. 14). The word oblivion is defined as the state of being utterly forgotten. Oblivion is a suiting word for the white view of the black man of the South in the late 1950s. From reading Griffins experiences as a black man is quite obvious that many Southern whites were oblivious to the fact that a darker shade of skin does not lessen a persons humanity in anyway. While he was living the life of a black man Griffin was made aware of many of the stereotypes that were applied to black men by whites. Blacks were believed to have lower moral values than whites. Many whites seemed to hold distorted vie...

How to Expand Your Organic Growth on Facebook and Twitter for Free

How to Expand Your Organic Growth on Facebook and Twitter for Free When it comes to social media, every brand wants in on the action. It’s no secret that social media marketing works only if a brand actually has fans or followers. Amassing a respectable audience on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ (is that still a thing?), Linkedin, Instagram or any of the other platform du jour  is tough. Many brands and small businesses want their social media presence to be organic, meaning no money invested. Having a good, or great, social media presence can help any   business grow like wildflowers. But, this will only happen after it develops a large following and then works consistently to engage, educate, and cultivate this audience. Brands want the growth and audience, but aren’t willing to pay for it. Seems like a catch 22. Can a brand simply grow their social audience organically?   Is that even possible in today’s pay-to-play landscape? Here are some metrics. Here’s a 10 step recipe for growing an organic audience on Facebook and TwitterHow to Get 129% Organic Growth on Twitter and 239% on Facebook With 100% Organic Tactics No, this isn’t a fairytale in the land of make believe that is social media. It’s actually the metrics after recently (within past two months) concluding a relationship with one of my first social media clients ever. The client, let’s call them DFX (name changed), works in the financial sector so the competition is high, with tight regulations in terms of release of specific information, and it just so happens to be that within this aspect of the industry, some brands are known for tactics that fall within the â€Å"grey area† of digital marketing. After closing up with the DFX, it’s pretty clear that brands can still boost their audience even without investing money. Will it take time and effort? Absolutely, but the euphoria of surviving numerous Facebook algorithms and outperforming your competition is worth it all. Trust me, I’ve been there. So, how did they succeed in growing organically?   Here’s a 10 step recipe for growing an organic audience on Facebook and Twitter (and it even worked a bit on Google Plus too). Here’s a 10 step recipe for growing an organic audience on Facebook and TwitterKnow the Fundamentals to Grow a Social Media Audience the Right Way Organic growth is based on three fundamentals: Consistency Knowledge Being real (authenticity) Brands must be consistent. If any brand attempts to implement any of these strategies for even a month and then gives up, I guarantee that they will fail. Social media is a long-term game. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Limited on time? No problem, just pick a few of the strategies and be relentless in executing them. Brands must know their audience (we all know what happens when we assume things about people)? Understand their patterns, their preferences, their input. Social media is always about being real. There’s no room for bots, auto responders, auto DM’s, and egg heads. It’s about conversation. Organic growth on social media is just as much about knowing, educating and maintaining current followers as it is about gaining new ones. Recommended Reading: The Six Types of Social Media Content That Will Give You the Greatest Value With that introduction, here’s how DFX grew their social media audience organically (all images and screenshots of content are used with permission). With this information in hand, any brand can launch an organic growth campaign. Recommended Reading: Facebook Marketing Strategy: Why You Need One (And How to Build It) 1. Perform a Social Media Audit After vowing to embrace the fundamentals, an important step in growth is to first assess what’s been done. Conduct a social media audit of your existing process, strategy, and flow. Calendar of content: Yes, this is number one on an audit. Without a content calendar that stresses consistency, valuable brand focused and industry relevant content the entire social media and digital effort will be sloppy. Audience mapping: Identify leaders, influencers, and key figures in the space. Content should be shaped and guided by the conversations of these industry figures. Focus the brands engagement efforts and optimize content to this audience. Additionally, the content style of others in your space should offer insight into what resonates with the readers. Timing: Content should be posted at optimal times based on the highest concentration of readers. The easiest method to start an audit about timing is to use Facebook Insights   which will highlight the trends. Frequency of content sharing and use of hashtags: Posting content at the right time is one aspect of timing. The frequency of sharing relevant content to these audiences is also important. It does take a bit of trial and error. Using hashtags can also boost reach of your content. How often is content posted? When are hashtags, if at all, used? How many hashtags? Image Quality: Unfortunately, this is a problem that many brands confront (more about this later). This should be as important as the rest of your content. Is the image shareable? Will it look right when shared across digital channels? Has it been tagged on the CMS backend? Word Choice: Brands often auto share their content without being mindful of what will actually engage their readers. Engagement vs Automation: Every brand schedules content. Automation helps, but it can’t replace human interaction and engagement. How often is content scheduled and pushed out and how often does the brand engage with its users, those who share its content? After conducting a detailed, unbiased, social audit it’s time to move on to the fun part: successful organic growth. Note: The above audit served as the ongoing reference point for the DFX social team to refine and revise its strategy. Any brand can use this audit style. 2. Build Out Your Content Calendar In order for a brand to truly grow its organic audience and, by default, its reach, it needs to be strategic about its posting of content. Creating a proper schedule that drills down to the topics, the word choice, timing, style on each social platform, what call-to-action (only one per post please), awareness of important calendar dates within the industry or relevant holidays, will focus all marketing and communication efforts. Synchronizing these efforts is the most important. Why? Knowing these critical pieces of information eases the entire flow of content to be a deliberate process. A complete content calendar spans over a few months and includes all of the postings and themes that will be focused on during this time frame. The calendar should be amenable to change, as trends shift and brands need to modify accordingly. A calendar should not only include campaign themes, but also any events, sponsorships or webinars. offers a very detailed content calendar  for free. A content calendar should not only include campaign themes, but also any events, sponsorships or...3. Try Reverse-Engineering Hashtags For several clients, I’ve found that the best way to identify which content should be posted on what days, was to reverse engineer the calendar based on hashtags. How can hashtags define an entire content calendar? Hashtags simply let a brand associate their content, tweets, or posts with a larger conversation on a global scale? Yes, global. So a brand can easily grow their page by using a hashtag? Yes!   It's like adding keywords to your message to make it globally searchable. Which hashtags are right for your brand? Use Hashtagify to identify the relevance of a specific hashtag and other relevant ones associated to the main one. Once identified, brands can then leverage this information for competitive research, content curation, and influencer mapping. Every industry has hashtags. Remember, they’re like keywords. Recommended Reading: How to Use Hashtags Effectively Without Being Annoying 4. Search For Relevant Twitter Chats Once a brand has mapped the right hashtags, go one step further by searching for relevant Twitter chats. These weekly or bi-weekly online conversations on Twitter are a secret way to grow an organic audience. Use the Twubs  to search the extensive calendar for relevant conversations: Access a global network of relevant people, engage in meaningful conversations within its industry, and identify active users all organically. For the sake of example, a company working in the travel industry. Every Tuesday, there is a conversation called #ttot, travel talk on Twitter. On this day, travel professionals from around the world engage in industry related conversations. Why not leverage this to grow your audience? Bam! Your brand has just created its content bible by reverse engineering a content schedule framed around relevant conversations, industry topics, and optimal engagement.Tuesdays are now set in terms of branded content. Continuing with the travel theme, any destination is rich with history. Why not use the popular #TBT (throw back Thursday) to highlight the changing landscape of a location over time?! With two days of content framed around hashtags, the rest of the week should be much easier to plug in. Recommended Reading: 30 Social Media Engagement Tactics That Will Boost Shares And Conversions 5. Know that Timing is Everything Once you know what to post, now it’s time to determine when to post it. Organic growth starts with knowing when your brand’s audience is online. Timing for each platform does vary. We even wrote a post the best times to post on each platform, which digs deep into the topic of timing content for optimal viewing. For a day-to-day analysis, conducted extensive research  on optimizing the timing of content for best engagement. For DFX, Sundays, an otherwise slow time in the trading/ financial sector, was a chance for the brand to offer valuable information that is relevant to the upcoming week. It was also a time to highlight some key figures and personalities in the industry. Get more social media engagement by offering valuable content during off-peak times.Why? By offering valuable content on a slow day, DFX positioned itself as an active participant in the online conversation. It also presented itself as community-minded brand since every week the content on Sundays was focused around other brands. The proactive content and engagement approach, during an otherwise quiet time in the industry, significantly grew the brand’s organic audience. 6. Get Your Frequency Dialed In Once your brand knows when to post the content for optimal viewing, now the question is how often should a brand post its content. Guy Kawasaki is famous for his unique social media content strategy, sharing the exact content four times a day, eight hours apart. Why? Simply stated, why get 600 views when you can get 2400 by sharing it multiple times? Besides, if your audience sees your content more than once then they’re probably sitting in front of their computer for way too long. Recommended Reading: How Often to Post on Social Media [Proven Research From 10 Studies] A twist on the Guy Kawasaki method, which has helped many clients, is to share the same piece of content on Twitter four to six times a day and on Facebook two to three times a day, but each time either the image or the content (not the link) varies. How does a brand repurpose its content for multiple sharing throughout the day? Think about each blog post as a newspaper article. Every article has multiple angles that may interest a reader. Why not offer them as ‘new’ content options? Here’s a sample of the same link being shared three times in one day. This link got over 120 views in one day. When it comes to social media success, timing is everything.7. Understand Audience Mapping Organic growth on social media can be as simple as mapping your target audiences. Start by telling BuzzSumo  the category of content that best suits your brand, BuzzSumo will produce a list of the most influential people in the space, it will also share a list of content pieces that have performed extremely well. This makes your job a whole lot easier. If you have a BuzzSumo subscription, start by logging in. Then, select Influencers: Next, enter a keyword related to your industry, and click Search: Now, start following these people: For DFX, we mapped over 3,000 influencers and brands that we’d like to work with and engage in meaningful conversations (more on that later). 3,000. It took a long time to map them but the ROI was impressive. Once a respectable list is generated, sort each member of the audience, especially competition, by their social following. Next, is to follow these brands on Twitter and Facebook who share content that resonates with your brand profile. What will most likely happen is that top ones will rise to the top. Use their metrics as a benchmark. At DFX, we followed them across social channels, like Facebook Pages to watch, signed up to their newsletters, and subscribed to their RSS feeds. Watch your competition's Facebook pages, get their newsletters, and subscribe to their RSS feeds.Use a service like Nuzzel to do scour the internet of your main audience and their best performing content. They will email the most-shared content from your audience. If the list of influencers is really good, then the results will be super relevant, making organic growth a cinch. Guess what? Your brand has just mapped the right people and now it also knows what content is doing well. Once you know what’s doing well and what others are writing about, wouldn’t it make sense to add some value to the conversation by writing a content piece about the topic and mention these people?! Of course it would! Then, post the content and tag these brands. Unique, valuable content, targeted to your audience, and garnered by the leaders of your space. Organic growth was never so easy. Want to take the audience mapping to the next level? Create an interview series with these influencers as the guest contributors offering their thoughts on the industry and their vision on certain topics. Influencer marketing does work (for proof, here’s how Huawei rocked  their influencer marketing efforts). Now it’s your turn to share it and engage these people. Recommended Reading: How to Find Your Target Audience to Create the Best Content That Connects 8. Automate Content Unless your brand is Superman, there’s never enough time in the day to post content around the clock. Automation helps with making social media growth more efficient and effective. It’s not intended to be the only form of social media. Automation is half of the solution. Care to guess the other? Yup, engagement. See number 6. Once a brand understands that automation and real conversations are both  important, that real organic growth can take place. Looking for automation tools? Here’s a list of 9 social media management tools  that cross all platforms. Recommended Reading: Best Time Scheduling is the Easy Way to Get More Engagement [New Feature] 9. Engage Your Audience Social media is a behavioral shift. It’s not a broadcast platform. Engaging an audience and a community is one of the toughest aspects of social media marketing. Finding the right balance between branded content and audience generated content is not easy. For every brand it will vary.   For some it can be funny pictures, memes, videos, gif’s, or a white paper. Once a brand does have a following it means engaging, supporting and sharing their content, responding to their comments, and helping them if necessary. Social media is a behavioral shift. It's not a broadcast platform.How do you get more people talking about and interacting with your brand on social media? Stop talking about your brand! Yup, that’s right. Avoid being overtly promotional. The more narrative based content or industry related content and interesting pieces of information that aren’t brand focused will show the community how real the brand is. It may sound counterintuitive but it works. Want to engage an audience? Find a conference. No brands don’t have to attend every industry conference. Why not use the conference specific hashtag (there’s that reverse engineering thing again) as a means to engage in conversations?! Here’s a targeted conversation with a global influencer from DFX before a conference: Look at that! The brand engaged in a meaningful way and landed a meeting (face-to face) and took the conversation offline. 10. Take it Offline That’s right, one of the best ways of growing an organic social audience is to find ways to take it offline. That could be a phone call, a webinar, a meeting at a conference (via the hashtag), or webinar.   Bridge the online offline gap and a put a face to the brand. Make it happen. Tweeting and posting can be done all day, but until a real connection is made, the deal won’t be sealed. one of the best ways of growing an organic social audience is to find ways to take it offline.11. Aesthetics is Everything Visuals can make the entire difference in organic growth. It can boost brand visibility while supporting all digital efforts.   With such a cluttered social space, high quality, attractive visuals make a brand memorable. Visual content is easier for humans to process and is an easy way to generate more views, click throughs and followers. Rather than just use the same text, or the default image that comes up when putting a link to Facebook or Google Plus, why not be creative? Recommended Reading: How to Design Blog Graphics With Free Tools Consistent style of content and embedding of images that are high quality and relevant can make all the difference in organic growth and brand awareness. Social media marketing is a marathon. It will take time. The best metric of success in social media is the quality (not quantity) of your networks. Any brand that approaches social media from an organic perspective, the quality of their community will be a natural progression of the effort put in.

IS PROPAGADA A TECHNIQUE OR A PHENOMENON Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IS PROPAGADA A TECHNIQUE OR A PHENOMENON - Essay Example on, the analysis will seek to determine whether or not the presence of propaganda throughout the modern world is merely something that exists naturally or whether or not it is an purposeful and authored process. Firstly, it should be understood that the nature and definition of propaganda itself lends the reader to assume that the process of information distribution and purposeful deception is not something that merely â€Å"happens†. 1 Of course there are many instances throughout the world in which incomplete information is transmitted to the media participant; however, these inadvertent instances do not accurately define the conventional definition of â€Å"propaganda†. Ultimately, the use of propaganda, by its very definition and nature, is to deceive or mislead the media participant to understand the world or a particular situation within a given construct or manner. As such, it is painfully obvious that the majority of propaganda that exists is most certainly a technique by which entities, individuals, or governments attempt sway the opinions of societal stakeholders. Therefore, the reader can adequately assume that the types of â€Å"propaganda† under discussion is more likely than not an authored process that is intended to be misleading, untrue, or inaccurate.2 As with a legal discussion of motive, the question that has thus far been represented ultimately reduces to the intention of the way the information is represented. In the event that a particular entity, government, or individual represents information in a willfully deceitful manner as a means of swaying individual opinions, then it is clear and apparent that the process is a technique which is engaged as a means of effecting a particular goal.3 Yet, in the event that incomplete, untrue, or inaccurate information is represented to a group or an audience with no intention to deceive or mislead, then it cannot be said that such a process is propaganda; rather, it is an inadvertent process that

Overcoming Barriers to Credit Availability for SMEs Dissertation

Overcoming Barriers to Credit Availability for SMEs - Dissertation Example Introduction and Relation to Previous Research Availability of finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been a topic of research among academicians since it impacts the economy of a nation (Beck and Demirguc-Kunt,2006; OECD,2004). One of the perennial problems faced by SMEs is the access to capital (Scholz,2007).There has been extensive research on why SMEs find it difficult to obtain funding, why transparent SMEs stand better chance of finance availability than opaque SMEs, how financing differs from traditional SMEs to innovative SMEs and what SMEs can do to improve their chances of obtaining finances, given that they function in a regulated environment. This topic is of interest since access to financing has been identified in many business surveys as one of the most significant obstacles to the survival and growth of SMEs (OECD,2004).It will be of value to understand what are the barriers that exist in financing of SMEs and what can be done both by financial Institutions and SMEs to overcome the same. Barriers to SME Financing According to OECD (2006) reasons identified for SMEs inability to procure finances especially in comparison with larger firms usually include: ï‚ § Incomplete range of financial products and services ï‚ § Regulatory rigidities or gaps in the legal framework ï‚ § Lack of information on both the bank’s and the SME’s side. Banks may avoid providing financing to certain types of SMEs, in particular, start ups and very young firms that typically lack sufficient collateral.

MARKETTING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

MARKETTING - Essay Example Moreover, IKEA’s designs and variety were superb and the company always had the ability to adapt to the local environment (Gordon, 2004). 2. IKEA’s marketing strategy revolves around getting closer to the customers. IKEA often invites customers to its stores, makes them spend some time there in return of gifts and let them have a unique enjoyable experience instead of a shopping chore. When the story picks up in the press, it attracts more shoppers, more sales and more buzz. This cycle ensures the success of IKEA’s marketing strategy (Bloomberg, 2005). 3. IKEA’s target market segment in U.S. is the middle class people who aspire to be stylish and cool. IKEA’s products are not about tradition or conservatism. This cool quotient can be noticed in the design and layout of its products and stores (Bloomberg, 2005). 4. IKEA should position its stores in the United States as places for great shopping experience for middle classes and especially youngsters. Its aim should not be to overhaul current players in the furniture or other industries. IKEA should rather try and create a special space or niche for itself. 5. Till now IKEA has faced a few issues in expansion in the US market. This has primarily been because the US customers in general prefer ready to made products and can’t wait for a few days for them to be assembled. This is contradictory to IKEA’s core business philosophy and manufacturing strategy. IKEA has tackled this challenge by adapting a fifth of its product range according to US customers’ needs (Gordon,

Body defense mechanisms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body defense mechanisms - Essay Example Innate immune system does not have any specialized cells but uses other cells to identify threats like bacteria, react to infections, and provide means of clearing the infections from the body. The system however switches on other immune systems in an antigen presentation method. This function is carried out by special white blood cells. Innate body mechanism forms a physical and chemical barrier that protects the body (Janeway, Travers, Walport, & Shlomchik, 2001). In contrast, adaptive immune system is found in vertebrates only and comprises of highly specialized cells. Also known as the acquired immune system, the system prevents growth of pathogens through the use of systemic cells. Adaptive immune system acts as a memory system, reacting to a similar infection when incited. Adaptive system is acquired through various ways like immunization. As opposed to innate system whose reaction is in the germline, adaptive system is developed throughout life through reactions to specific infections that create pathogen-specific receptors. The system acquires it name; adaptive immune system, through its ability to enable the body to react to future similar infections. Adaptive immune system is enabled by genetic mutation which occurs in all cells of the body giving it more awareness and reactionary strength to fight infections (Janeway, Travers, Walport, & Shlomchik, 2001). Primary innate body defense mechanism include; inflammation, mucous clearance, physical and chemical barriers. Inflammation involves cutting blood supply to the infected area, walling off the pathogens, and forming fibrous tissue of the area among others. Mucous clearance provides coverage of the epithelial layer of the trachea. Physical barriers like the skins functions like barriers when they are not infected. When the skin is intact, it provides one of the best barriers to infections. Nose hairs filter out particles or any other substances that the body

The evolution of rape to sexual assault legislation and its impact on Essay

The evolution of rape to sexual assault legislation and its impact on sentencing - Essay Example This is because; married women were considered to be the property of their husbands and, therefore, forced coitus by one’s spouse was not considered a crime. In this instance, it was only considered a crime if the female was an unmarried virgin. Over time, these laws have evolved so as to ensure fairness in the way such cases are handled. However, there is still inconsistency among various states in regards to the laws that relate to sexual assault. Despite all these factors, what is evident is that presently, forced penetration of both genders is a serious offence under the law. There are still some grey areas in regards to the actual definition and understanding of terms such as consent and force. It has now been widely established that forced penetration of an individual is known as rape. Recently, the definition of rape has been enhanced to include penetration without force but also without consent. Rape is a sensitive matter and these varying opinions make it difficult for one to really know if they are indeed victims of such assaults (Caringella, 2009). This will also influence their decisions to seek legal redress and report the crime to the relevant authorities. Much of this change is due to feminist groups in the United States who struggled to ensure that the rights of women were protected in regards to rape. They have been at the front line in coming up with the correct definitions and the laws that are used to prosecute offenders. It is the same group which has been at the forefront in lobbying for laws that protect women from violence. They also pushed for the adoption of rape shield laws. These laws protect a victim of sexual assault such that in case of a trial, the victim’s sexual history will not be questioned. Such questions are used to intimidate victims and try to insinuate that they had somehow attracted the rapists. By adoption of the laws, it is now easier for rape victims to report such incidences due to the fact that their

Marketing story analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing story analysis - Essay Example The story under analysis is â€Å"When marketers capture the moment† by David Benady. It was posted in the Guardian on 13th November 203. This piece explains the impact of real time marketing. The author argues that consumers today are more demanding from advertisers. They require witty but relevant messages, which must be delivered in real time. Companies like BMW, biscuit maker, Oreo and Betfair have used this strategy to capture new markets. These businesses have revolutionised consumer reach through social media. Nonetheless, one must invest considerable resources to achieve any clout. Literature review Consumer behaviour The consumer decision model is quite useful in explaining consumer behaviour. Blackwell (2001) explains that consumers often engage in a seven-step decision process. First, they recognize their needs, search for information, evaluate alternatives, buy, reflect upon their purchase and divest. Sometimes stimuli could alter this process. The stimuli may be internal or external. International influences include the knowledge, resources, personality or attitudes of the buyer. External influences involve social class, family, culture or certain situations. In this regard, consumers are active thinkers and planners. Erasmus (2001) disagrees with the above writers by stating that consumer behaviour is not always rational. Sometimes individuals may behave in a non conscious manner. Consumer behaviour is sometimes opportunistic and even disorderly. Using rational approaches may discount the relevance of emotions and other dynamics. 7 Ps The 7Ps marketing mix is a conceptual framework in which key decision makers configure their offerings in order to mach customer needs (Andersson, 1992). Palmer (2004) explains that the tools are useful in short term tactics as well as long term strategies (Chaffey et. al., 2000). Moller (2006) likens the elements of the marketing mix to ingredients of a cake. Their proportions can be changed in order to prepare the perfect cake (Patterson and Ward, 2000). The marketing manager must attempt to trade off benefits of one concept with gains from the other (Peattie, 1997). A company’s marketing philosophy comes from its allocation of resources within the 7Ps (Egan, 2001). This approach separates marketing from the rest of the organisation and allows for delegation of marketing duties to specialities (Ingram et. al., 2007). Some authors disagree with the above sentiments by explaining that not all parts of the 7Ps need to be given equal attention; certain aspects are more cri tical than others (Stratten, 2010). Furthermore, most companies regard product as a distinct component (Jobber, 2010). However, some companies sell a series of products, each of which is connected to the other in the mind of the consumer (Pride and Ferrell, 2010). When implementing the marketing mix, one may consider marketing as culture, as a strategy, or as a tactic (Rafiq and Ahmed, 1995). Communications mix The 4Cs are a fundamental framework used to explain how companies select marketing communications. Scholars posit that this could be done on the basis of control, costs, credibility and communications (Gilliland and Johnston, 1997). If an organization feels that it needs to control message delivery, then it may opt for personal communication mixes (Balmer and Gray, 2003). The financial resources that a company has may affect its ability to exert leverage over the third party that is transmitting the message (Mohr and Nevin, 1990). Credibility in communications is often ascert ained through a third party that seems objective in order to distract consumers away from the actual intention of selling (Houston and Gassenheimer, 1987; Houston and Gassenheimer, 1987). Finally, the geographic dispersion of the target audience will determine how effectively the message reaches its audience (Stern and El-Ansary, 1995). Analysis In the case under analysis, the author feels that consumers in social media have raised their expectations concerning consumer brands

The evolution of rape to sexual assault legislation and its impact on Essay

The evolution of rape to sexual assault legislation and its impact on sentencing - Essay Example This is because; married women were considered to be the property of their husbands and, therefore, forced coitus by one’s spouse was not considered a crime. In this instance, it was only considered a crime if the female was an unmarried virgin. Over time, these laws have evolved so as to ensure fairness in the way such cases are handled. However, there is still inconsistency among various states in regards to the laws that relate to sexual assault. Despite all these factors, what is evident is that presently, forced penetration of both genders is a serious offence under the law. There are still some grey areas in regards to the actual definition and understanding of terms such as consent and force. It has now been widely established that forced penetration of an individual is known as rape. Recently, the definition of rape has been enhanced to include penetration without force but also without consent. Rape is a sensitive matter and these varying opinions make it difficult for one to really know if they are indeed victims of such assaults (Caringella, 2009). This will also influence their decisions to seek legal redress and report the crime to the relevant authorities. Much of this change is due to feminist groups in the United States who struggled to ensure that the rights of women were protected in regards to rape. They have been at the front line in coming up with the correct definitions and the laws that are used to prosecute offenders. It is the same group which has been at the forefront in lobbying for laws that protect women from violence. They also pushed for the adoption of rape shield laws. These laws protect a victim of sexual assault such that in case of a trial, the victim’s sexual history will not be questioned. Such questions are used to intimidate victims and try to insinuate that they had somehow attracted the rapists. By adoption of the laws, it is now easier for rape victims to report such incidences due to the fact that their

Service Quality RTE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Service Quality RTE - Essay Example The service marketing mix includes process, physical evidence, and people. When offering services instead of products, a company's reputation, the process of delivering the service and what is promised, value for the money, and follow up. Other differences include the improbability of services not being able to be returned and a company's service can be based on one particular sales representative. Council (2006) which states "The relationship between the audience and the broadcaster can be very uneven yet good communications between the two are vital for the ongoing development of a truly relevant service. RT is committed to being open to its audience, welcoming all contact, listening to all views, and responding promptly and appropriately. To facilitate communication and to enhance accountability" In order to provide quality services via services marketing, RTE must be aware of key macro economic environmental factors such as the climate in which the company conducts business. Regulations and policies set by the government. The economic environment includes the business cycle, rate of inflation, and interest rates. The changes in society's trends and markets and technological impact are also macro economic environmental factors. A Political, Economic, Socialcultural, and Technological Analysis (P.E.S.T. or PEST Analysis) is used to examine the macro (external) environment that companies must face and deal with when conducting business. External factors can be considered bad and yet a dynamic external environment creates opportunities as changes occur. Macro economic environmental factors are forces which affect companies dramatically if not controlled and addressed accordingly. The macro factors are dynamic and produce major changes and trends. Such factors include technology, politics, the status of the economy, and the Last Name 3 environment. As stated earlier, these factors (along with many other macro economic environmental factors) drive the changes that constantly occur. Demographics, or "The characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets", as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000) are highly determined. Unlike demographics, however, the macro environmental factor of public opinion is very uncertain. RTE should focus on the factors that are the most important and most uncertain. The company should focus on trends that are observable and measurable as these are good indicators of what changes should expect to happen and the directions in which these changes will take. RTE has an advantage in keeping abreast of the macro environmental factors as the media services (television, radio, business, news,

Lenin in accounting for Stalins defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Essay Example for Free

Lenin in accounting for Stalins defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Essay How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Stalin, throughout the fierce fight for power exploited his attributes to the best of his ability, however his tactics were not the only factor in his eventual success. Perhaps what’s more interesting is the systematic fails, one by one of all of his contenders – which was due to their individual personalities. Many argue this is the more significant reason for Stalin’s rise to power, and that if this had have been changed Stalin’s success would have been entirely different. Stalin’s opponents, understandably had very different personalities. However looking in hindsight none of them seem to create a difficult situation for Stalin. This could be due to Stalin’s natural ability to change and use his opponents strengths and weaknesses, or perhaps the general naivety of many in the politburo. One main example of this is Trotsky, and his rather egotistic and arrogant personality. This intern made people weary of his power, and made him completely oversee Stalin as a contender for power. Lenin in his testament says himself he is â€Å"not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution† and the politburo completely over saw this cautious remark for their own reputation. The evidence seems to suggest members of the Bolshevik party didn’t use their personality’s to the best if their potential. Furthermore Trotsky seemed very trivial about the whole situation. In 1924 he didn’t make Lenin’s funeral, eventually blaming that on Stalin. In the successive years after he didn’t make important politburo meetings and refused to make alliances. In 1926 he did eventually see light forming the ‘united opposition’ however by then it was too late and Stalin’s fan base was too large in the central commission. Another example of this is how Bukharin in 1925 decided to stay strictly to the Bolshevik rules. This perhaps shows how good a man he is, but not how good a politician he is. In that situation he has seen his fellow socialist members being taken over by Stalin, but does very little to stop this. Furthermore he says himself Stalin is â€Å"an unprincipled intriguer who subordinates everything for his appetite for power† The evidence here suggests he saw the dilemma, but does very little about it. In hindsight we now know he allowed Stalin to use his powerbase for his own political marketing. This shows the true naivety of Bukharin and how Stalin’s personality completely overshadowed anybody else’s in the politburo. Moreover this shows how truly significant the personalities of every one of Stalin’s contenders were, in allowing and creating a path for Stalin to walk to power. Perhaps if other people in the politburo were willing to play underhand tactics like Stalin, the end would have been different. In retrospect we can see personalities might not be a main factor – perhaps the individual ideologies played a larger role, but it’s the way people acted towards Stalin, completely overshadowing him that makes personalities so significant. Other peoples personalities did play a vital role, but now in stark contrast we begin looking at Stalin’s personality strengths, and how he uses them to the best of his ability. He, from the very beginning was a yes man following Lenin till the very end. However one major strength that Lenin foresaw was Stalin’s ability to challenge his thoughts and ideologies. Stalin from the very beginning has a very strong personality (Lenin) and this was used this in the July days (a troubled time for the Bolshevik party) when Lenin needed this unique quality from him. Arguably this is Stalin’s biggest asset. Furthermore Stalin’s ability to change tactics and ideologies, particularly in the later stage of the power struggle was, down to an incredibly versatile personality. Moreover his ability to look into the future and plan his actions to aid his accent was stunning, as if he planned every move meticulously and almost in hindsight. Looking at the evidence, Stalinâ₠¬â„¢s personality was vital in his accent, but perhaps if the others had been different the overall outcome would have drastically changed. Personalities were vital in the success and failures of the struggle, however Stalin’s under hand tactics played an equally important role. Before and during the 5 year struggle he implemented many tactics to undermine his opponents, and one by one remove them from the possibility of power. Lenin saw this in his final years, and discussed it in his testament, however Stalin persuaded Kamenev and Zinoviev to fight his side, and intern keep his job. Furthermore his ability to switch ideologies and allies is a testament to his versatile personality. An example of this is in the later stages of the struggle, when only him and Bukharin were left for the job. Stalin suddenly rejected NEP because it was failing and turned radically left. This sudden maneuver allowed left wing supporters and nationalist war communists to support him, as well as gaining the support of anti NEP politicians. In all this he managed to leave Bukharin to pick up the pieces of NEP. Furthermore Stalin re introduced grain requisitioning in early 1928 to make sure NEP was a complete fail. Its these quite brilliant tactics that formulate into a plan that make Stalin truly versatile and incredibly shrewd and devious. In everything Stalin did there always seemed to be a very formulated plan, and in this was surrounded by brilliant political tactics. However these tactics were merely ways of getting rid of political opponents, and due to personalities as whole, arguably tactics are not as important as other factors. Alternatively the power bases’ of other opponents could be as significant as personality in the war struggle for power, and the defeat of all his opponents. All Stalin’s opponents had important roles within the Bolshevik party, and in many ways – more significant roles than Stalin. One in particular is Trotsky. Head of the Red army, and an incredibly influential role within the Politburo. Lenin says himself â€Å"personally he is, to be sure, the most able man in the present Central Committee† His power base is remarkable, with huge amounts of Kudu’s within the Bolshevik party. However arguably as well as him being too â€Å"self-confident† Stalin used this wealth of power base to his advantage by forming the Triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev. When we turn to other members such as Bukharin, we see that generally their powerbases, although more significant for policy making were not as useful for gaining power as Stalin’s, and perh aps this was a significant reason for their in individual defeat. Stalin’s role within the party was General secretary and head of enrolment and promotions. This involved the inner workings of the Party. The evidence indicates that Stalin used his role, from 1922 to strengthen his fan base within the party and Central committee, which later in 1925/26 seemed to secure his position within the party, in 1923 it was up to 30%, and steadily rising. This seems to indicate his role and power base far out saw anyone else’s within the party, and that actually he was in the perfect position to take up power, even foreseeing this in 1924 – by controlling what Lenin saw from the politburo, and vice versa. Stalin took up a highly administrative role, and this worked in his advantage, however the evidence suggests that if other factors were stronger, such as opposition personalities that Stalin still wouldn’t have made it to power. Arguably in this light personalities seem more significant. Ideologies of the opposition and Stalin play of key significance in how arguments were won and lost. For example, Trotsky stayed far left with all his ideologies – perhaps in a more noble way than Stalin, and eventually he was engulfed by Stalin’s devious tactics. Another example would be Zinoviev and Kamenev, in the triumvirate staying right of the spectrum. However when they rejoin to form the left and united opposition – they lose huge respect for changing ideologies within the party. Interestingly this seems like an incredibly vital point – leading onto Stalin’s ideological viewpoints. Throughout the start of the political struggle, he sways right – but doesn’t involve himself in any main arguments about, for example rapid industrialisation. This tactic to stay the middle man has its disadvantages. For example he is described by members of the Bolshevik party as ‘a grey blur’. However it also has its advantages. Stalin was then able to sway from his very Right views within communism – to left views with not much notice – he was able to move ideologies to strengthen his fan base and his viewpoints. For example when the NEP failed – he removed himself from it, thus allowing Bukharin to take the blame – and him stay in the positive public spotlight. It’s this very middle ideological viewpoint that the evidence suggest allowed Stalin to change as he did, allowing him to use it to his great advantage. Despite this, other arguments perhaps suggest it is not the most significant factor in Stalin’s accent within the government, and that actually his deceitful, arrogant and shrewd personality was the true reason that allowed him to flourish the way he did. In conclusion, looking at all the evidence it is clear a combination of factors were involved in Stalin’s accent of power. On one hand it seems Stalin’s powerbase seems to be the primary factor, that despite anyone’s efforts his place within government allowed to build a vast fan base in such a short amount of time. Furthermore others power base didn’t seem to match the superiority of his, even though on the forefront they seem more important, Trotsky is a prime example of this. On the other hand his tactics seem the obvious significant factor – looking at how he manipulated allies and oppositions, such as Bukharin and Zinoviev. More over his ability to control the politburo with his allies over the testament suggests that this could have been a primary turning point for Stalin’s direction on how to achieve power. However diving into the muddle of linked causes, personalities seems to come out on top. The tactics and moral high ground was generally taken by his opposition, but it seems they didn’t play hard enough. They didn’t morally want to use underhand tactics and switch ideologies – because they believed in what they were fighting in. It’s this decorum that contributed more than anything else. Looking at the other side of the spectrum Stalin’s fierce personality, with no conscience seems to be the perfect mix to manipulate not only the communist party – but the general public as well. It is this sheer inhumane ability to be deceptive in this way that allows the evidence to suggest, on the top, personality is the most significant factor in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929.

Property investment decision making

Property investment decision making Introduction and background Within the process of property investment decision-making, increasing attention to the relationship between sustainability and business growth. The terms ‘sustainability refers to the relationship between environment protection and the economic development related with the industry society (Ratcliffe et al, 2009). As well as, property industry is considering of the business development with responsibility of social and environment. Furthermore, the increasing demands for property assts and investment opportunities that comply with the principle of sustainable development. This concept also discussed by McNamara (2005) the environmental friendly building will become more desirable property asset in future years even if it is not reflected in their current value. Therefore, sustainability development is taking in to account of the real estate company business context. Interestingly, Prudential Property Investment Manager Limited (PRUPIM) is the global real estate management company with over  £15billion of assets in more than 800 properties. In 2007, the company introduced ‘Sustainable Development: A Framework for Decision Making which targeted to minimise the business risk and maximise the market opportunities (Moore, 2007). Leads to the main proposal of the report as following; To analyse PRUIM Sustainability Development Framework in the UK real estate market focusing upon business park development. To critically review the Sustainability Development Framework in relation to the portfolio management of PRUPIM. To critically evaluate the Sustainability Development Framework in terms of, environmental scale of development and impact on the investment portfolio. To provide recommendations on improving PRUPIM portfolio in order to competitive advantage in UK real estate market. In particular, area of study in the business park portfolio at The Green Park in Reading and The Oxford Science Park in Oxford by using the interview with two (2) expertises in real estate investment and the academic published literatures. The chapter 1 of this report provides the published literatures review which concerned to sustainability development. The report focuses on the principle of triple bottom line to emphasise the correlation of economical, environmental and social within the sustainability development of real estate portfolio. Furthermore, the author adopted the sustainability development criteria (Sayce et al, 2004) to align the assessment of sustainable development framework of PRUPIM. Furthermore, the author provides business analysis of PRUPIM sustainability development framework by using PESTLE analysis. As well as, to identify the critical success factors of the sustainability framework by using Key Performance Index. In addition, the evaluation of PRUPIM sustainability framework in term of environmental, social and economic context this will be mention on Chapter 2. The chapter 3 of the report provides recommendation in order to short to intermediate term and long term to implementation the sustainability development framework for PRUPIM in further project investment. CHAPTER 1 Sustainability and Real Estate Portfolio Emerging of ‘Sustainability to ‘Sustainable Development Sustainability has become crucial environmental discussions. When an environmental issueis debated in the media, there is frequently a quotation from a scientist or an environmental activist saying that the trend in question is â€Å"unsustainable†. The idea of sustainability becomes crucial nowadays. Regarding to, it is much more powerful rhetorically than an idea like being â€Å"environmental friendly† (Dresner, 2002).Concept of sustainability was likely formed by the World Council of Churched in 1974 in the report of Ecumenical Study Conference on Science and Technology for Human Development (World Council of Churched, 1974). The environmentalist proposed for response to developing world objection to concerning to the environment when human being in many parts of the world suffers from lack of food and unemployment. Therefore, the concept of sustainable development was put forward by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1980 (I nternational of Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1980). Furthermore, sustainability issue within the real estate industry has been examined by a number of authors. Pivo and McNamara (2005) defined sustainability and the concept of responsibility property investment (RPI) as to maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative effects of property ownership, management and development on the social order and the natural environment in a way that is consistent with investor satisfactions and reliable responsibilities. Francesco and Levy (2008) also examined this definition within the others literature, the term â€Å"sustainability† might be viewed as providing a framework for adopting investment principle which provide correlation to the economic, social and the natural environments that effectively utilise resources for the current and future generations. As a consequence, sustainability considers the three main elements of economic accomplishment, social development and environmental friendly. With respect of, the social environment, the emphasis is on changing the behaviour of real estate market participants to become more aware of day-today sustainable living. As a result, sustainability is significantly important for over thirty years the concept has been developed by the scientists, the environmentalists and the social activists. At the initial stage of the discussion in sustainability concept was generated to the awareness of the quality of life for human being, which related to the social welfare and standardise of living of the future generation. Moreover, sustainability in real estate business has been developed under the circumstance of economic growth, environment protection and social wealth consideration to maximising benefits and minimising negative impact to the building owners, developers, and occupiers in term of society responsibility and environmental friendly. Moving forward to the term of ‘sustainability development according to, Dresner (2002), has been discussed sustainability and sustainable development finally came to prominences in 1987, when the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development published the Brundtland report which identified the way to square the circle of competing demands for environmental protection and economical development through out the new scheme of ‘sustainable development. The summary of the Brundtland report in 1987 has been defined sustainable development as ‘meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs needs (Dresner, 2002). Interestingly, Sayce et al., (2004) also have discussed the term of sustainable development became significantly important topic for many governments over the 20th century, following, the Rio de Janeiro declaration in 1992. In this summit, the represent of many countries across the world signed the agreement of principle of sustainable development and actions at international, national and local level. The global agenda is a set of eight main principles that governments should be certify; The fundamental of human rights to the environmental that is sufficient to people healthy and well-being; The preservation and proper use of the environment and built environment that profit to current and future generations; The encouragement of bio-diversity to ensure eco-system protection; The monitoring of environmental standards and publication of related information; The prior evaluation of environmental impacts from the development projects; The all individuals are informed of planned activities and given right to justice; The conservation is integrated to the planning and implementation of development activities; The co-ordination with other state towards mutual implementation. Additionally, Sayce et al., (2004) has been examined the eight principles of sustainable development in scale of the continental and country level as the European Union and the United Kingdom. According to, the Agenda 21 from the Rio 1992 summit. The plan for completing the sustainability development in business as the sets of great challenges for everyone and in this mean time, a combination of governmental legislation, political pressure and increased awareness on the part of the public, places the onus on all professional people to conduct their business in such a way that it does not conflict with the ambition of UK government to promote sustainable development. Sustainable development affects to all those concerned with the creation and maintenance of the built environment. The essence of sustainable development requires that in all development activity, due account is taken of both the short and long term of the activity for all those affected. The professionals in this field h ave a unique opportunity and obligation, whether they are developers, planning advisers, architects, contractors, building surveyors, property agents or investors. One of the key decisions for buildings that have implications for sustainable development is whether to demolish or retain an existing building. Economically, the decision may seem relatively simple but if the principle of sustainable development as to adopted, the implications become more complex the UK, Sustainable Development Strategy does not mean having less economic development: on the contrary, a healthy economy is better able to generate the resources to meet peoples needs and new investment and environmental improvement often go hand in hand†¦. What it requires is that decisions throughout society are taken with proper regard to their environmental impact. More recently, sustainability development relevance to social responsibility in real estate investment in term of, Social Responsibility Property Investment: SRPI. The property investors have become to be attentive of more ethical and environmental protection in the business development (Rapson et al., 2007). The fundamental of developing built environment to sustainable development required well-documented and becoming to increasingly well-recognised along the property community (Pivo and McNamara, 2005; WWF and Insight Investment, 2005; Morley Fund Management Ltd, 2005). Particularly, the commercial sustainability development implications the developers shall be determine the term of development location, the re-use of land, environmental reservation and â€Å"green buildings design† either to, the practices, method and materials employed (Keeping and Shiers, 2004) The progress forward to sustainability in real estate portfolio to date has mostly been downward to the work of architects and engineers on the development and construction part. On the other hand, there have BREEAM and the â€Å"Green Guide† series taken the responsibility to the production of new material of construction and the design as well as, the assessment criteria of sustainable development in property business (Rapson et al., 2007). According to McNamara (2005) cited in Rapson et al., (2007) has been discussed sustainability development have been developed from the circle of problem in the real estate and construction business between engineers or architect, developers, investors and occupiers. Sustainability development could be based on the development from technical knowledge, energy efficient factors and ethical in the business to the persuasion the developers and the investors to realize and interest in the business strategy. In summary, sustainability has been established over three decade from the group of people those concern to environmentally protection and well-being in the community. From the globalization agreement moved forward to continental scale and government policy of sustainable development. The term sustainability and sustainable development have been examined by a number of authors. In contract, Sustainable development has been developed from conflict in the cycle of real estate and construction. Next section will be explained why sustainability development is significantly important in the UK. Why sustainable development has taken placed in UK real estate and construction business? As Sayce et al., 2004 has been discussed the reason why sustainable development taking into account of real estate and construction. According to, the property and construction industry is significantly important to the UK economy and realisations the buildings have been relevance to all activities take place. People in the UK spent over half of their lives inside buildings. The good quality of work place should be affected the performance of the workers in theirs building and leads into the business growth as the result of sustainable development. Furthermore, construction industry is significantly important to indicate the wealth of the UKs annuals GDP. The report, ‘Construction in the UK economy: The Benefits of Investment (CBI, 2009) illustrated that sustainability development in construction and real estate industry is the best sector for stimulating employment. According to, every  £1 spent on construction business could be generated in the UK GDP growth to  £2.84, as the spending not only creates construction output worth  £1, but also stimulates growth elsewhere in the economy worth  £1.Consequently, the relationship between sustainable development in real estate and construction industry in the UK and the other parts of the economy, as well as, its crucial contribution to the numerous other social and economic contexts including the regional development and employment. The construction and real estate industry as a whole has to increase the attention into the broader environmental and social agenda. That this, presented by the concept of sustainable development regarding to the built environment affects to all human activities (Curwell and Cooper, 1998). Additionally, in 1999, the Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 1999, targets were agreed worldwide on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; the target for the European Union was to reduce emissions to 8 per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012 (DTI, 2004).The UK has set itself the goal of reducing the gas emissions by 8-12 per cent by 2010 with respect of the global agreements, sustainability has been highlight on the UK government policy. Later on the same year in 1999, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been published the strategy document ‘A better quality of life: Strategy for Sustainable De velopment for the United Kingdom (Tucker et al., 2009). The report is focused on social development in order to, recognize the needs of everyone, environmental protection, carefully use of natural resources and maintain the high level of economic growth and employment (DEFRA, 1999). The department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions: DETR (2000) also introduced the regulations to monitoring real estate and construction sectors to achieve of more sustainable development. The main proposes for more profitable and competitive, delivery customers satisfaction and value added by provide the sustainability building, with respect to create maximization of shareholder wealth. As well as, enhancing and protecting environmental and natural resources. And minimizing the impact of energy consumption particularly, carbon-based and natural resources. As a result, sustainable development has been contributed from three main contents in term of social, environmental and economic growth. The following section would be presented the significantly important of sustainability development in the equity of society, environment and economy principle. The triple bottom line principle (TBL) With the advent of sustainability development paradigm in real estate sector, corporations is become to move into economic conception of responsibility and influence the business strategy in response to environmental protection and changing society expectation (Robinson, 2000). Interestingly, Sayce et al., (2004, p.3) stated in building sustainability in balance of TBL principle as ‘The sustainable development context has three main aspects to be concern in term of Economic, Environmental and Social. The balance of these three elements is said to comply with the principle of the triple bottom line (TBL). Increasingly, corporate bodies are adopting TBL principle in developing their business activities. This is partly in response to legislative imperatives and partly due to an increasing realisation that compliance with and promotion of social and environmental well-being is good for business . In term of, economic factor refers to financial viability. These include issues of competitiveness advantage, employment, market development and long-term profitability. Economic sustainability is increasingly implicit of value added creation in broader rather than conventional financial accounting. Economical and financial aspects of sustainability development therefore, may be encompassing to decrease operations costs along the management system and emerging the new market through rigorous business integrity policies. As well as, increase productivity and high performance from a motivated workforce and workplace. And attract a new investor by offering opportunity in social responsible investment (ICC, 2002) As Jamali (2006) has been investigated environmental issues in sustainability development is focused on the impact from business activities to natural system, ecology system, and natural resources for instance, land, air and water. The responsible in environmental engage to comply with government regulations. In generally, the sustainable development in environmentally context also concerned to initiative of recycling and energy efficient. And it has been involved a comprehensive approach to a companys operations, products and that including the business product assessment, operations processes and services. Furthermore sustainability development in environmental point of view is focused on eliminating waste from the property during the under construction period until the project completion and hand-over to the customers; maximizing the efficiency and productivity of all assets and resources; and minimizing practice that might be negatively affect the natural resources for the future generations. The social element is become to corporate sustainability in term of centralize on the impact of the organization on the social activities. Particularly in the real estate sectors, social responsibility expectation of diverse groups either, internal and external stakeholders. As well as interest groups comprising civil society are actually considered and skillfully balanced. The social bottom line incorporated topics for instance, public health, society issues, public controversies, education and training, social justice, workplace safety, working environmental, human rights, equal opportunity and labour rights (Jamali, 2006). Therefore, sustainability is crucial in the property company business strategy to being balance between economic growth and the responsibility of environmental and social performance over the long term. Notwithstanding the compelling principle of TBL, the economic performance in the property company is controversial issues of its reliability and sustainability g rowth and thus as fundamentally element of the corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, to become social responsibility is increasingly understood to both involvement the environmental stewardship and concern to social activities (Windsor, 2001). Therefore, the challenge facing to the property company nowadays to becoming considered the principle of triple bottom line as a whole for generate and develop the business strategy in order to complying the sustainable development. Hence, the criteria assessment of sustainability development is essentially focus topics. The following section would be examined the sustainable development criteria from the published literature and leads to assessment the existing sustainable development framework of PRUPIM in chapter 2.

Heart Of Darkness :: essays research papers fc

The Horror Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novel where the main character Marlow is telling a story of a trip to the Congo. This novel is said to possibly be an autobiography of Conrad’s life at sea. This is said because Conrad was a seaman for a many years and went into Africa many times. The story is so powerful that even after 100 years, we still struggle with its meaning. This story has been retold by Francis Ford Coppola in the film Apocalypse Now. Chinua Achebe has recently explored Conrad’s ideas on imperialism. Achebe believed Conrad’s book presented a racist view of the people of Africa and Achebe in his own book, Things Fall Apart, presented imperialism through the eyes of the Africans. The story of Heart of Darkness is being told to four men on the deck of the Nellie. The story being told is about one of Marlow’s expeditions to the Congo in search of an Ivory hunter named Kurtz. When Marlow found Kurtz in the Congo, Kurtz had "gone native" Marlow found, "a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole," outside of Kurtz’s house and Kurtz had been hunting with tribes in the area (Conrad, 73). When Marlow arrived Kurtz, was ill and dying. Kurtz cried out the words "The horror! The horror!" right before he died (Conrad, 85). These words cried out by Kurtz as he died created the most important passages in Heart of Darkness. The way this one passage is interpreted determines how the book is interpreted. One interpretation is that the "horror" is death and Kurtz is realizing he is dying. Kurtz is horrified at the thought of dying and is crying out in pain of the realization. Kurtz may be afraid to die in the heart of darkness. Kurtz may be afraid to die knowing that he will never see his intended again and he may feel guilty for leaving his intended for his savage life. This interpretation shows a book about lost love and guilt for finding a new life. This interpretation is one of the less complex and uninteresting interpretations. Now here is a more interesting and complex interpretation. Some view Heart of Darkness as a racist book. This interpretation comes from the view that the "horror" Kurtz is identifying is his being brought "down" to the African ways. This interpretation sees the African ways as uncivilized and horrid to Kurtz when he realizes he was at their level.

Why We Use Stereotypes

Why stereotypes? Why can’t we just be judged by our own individuality and not based on someone else’s? Stereotypes basically give people untrue â€Å"facts† about different ethnic groups and their certain characteristics and behaviors. So in this essay I’m going to have to set things straight. I’ll define what stereotypes are, why do people use stereotypes and who/how does it usually affect people. Stereotypes are exaggerated or distorted beliefs or images about a person or group of people. They assume that everyone in the group have the same characteristics leading them to believe that they are all alike.No one is born believing in stereotypes, they are usually learned from the media (TV, radio, etc), parents, peers, and etc. Even when a stereotype is positive it affects the mind so much that there is no room for a person to show their individuality or how different they can be. Many people use stereotypes because it’s hard for them to take in all this complicated information about other people in the world. People find it difficult to spend the necessary amount of time learning to understand why or what different ways people behave.So then due to that we start accepting stereotypes because their easier for us to understand. Stereotypes affect people all over the world. There isn’t one group of people that isn’t affected by stereotypes (due to the fact that everyone is basically different from us). The effect that stereotypes take is that it eliminates the challenges of us getting to know and understand people who are different from us. They don’t allow people to be considered different. They give us a general overview of whole groups of people so we know what to expect and how to act when they’re seen.Also when we have problems with someone of a different group, we usually identify the problem as it having to be associated the group rather than the specific person. So the do impact us on ho w we think, and feel. Stereotypes also make us very judgmental about others and unfortunately they frequently do. Stereotypes make us believe that someone (or that group of people) did something to us, rather than the problem, fear, or rigidity/closed thinking we have within ourselves. Stereotypes have left a big effect on us. We can’t be seen as different with them around so we must try to eliminate them.We need to actually take the time to get to know people instead of accepting stereotypes just because their easier. Everyone is different, so you can’t just look at someone and think this is how they act based on what’s said about the group in general. Get to understand people based on their individuality not what you hear. Though no one is born believe in stereotypes they are usually learned from the media (which usually impacts us anyways). So in conclusion stereotypes are not what’s best to be used and are basically false.