Private Enforcement of Competition - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3553 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Level High school Topics: Competition Essay Economy Essay Did you like this example? COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT OF COMPETITION LAW INTRODUCTION One of the most important aspects of a robust competition regime is that the persons affected by violations of competition law are adequately and timely compensated.[1] Such actions not only deter anti-competitive behaviour, but also promote consumer welfare.[2] It is common knowledge that competition law directly affects public interest given its repercussions on the market and its participants.[3] However, generally speaking, competition laws do not focus on compensation mechanism for private parties, and focus is more on punishing the violators to curb future violations.[4] It is, therefore, important that adequate provisions are included in competition laws so as to safeguard the rights of private parties. This would help achieve healthy competition and deter unscrupulous business practices that are intended to cheat the consumers so as to control markets.[5] However, with th e rise in anti-competitive agreements and exclusive arrangements entered into between parties, the need to protect the rights of the affected persons assumes greater significance in the present times. This paper attempts to analyse the provisions pertaining to the right of private parties to seek compensation for losses suffered by them owing to anti-competitive behaviour. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Private Enforcement of Competition" essay for you Create order This paper has been divided into seven parts. Post this introduction, the paper analyses the private enforcement of competition law in the United States of America (US), the European Union (EU), Australia, Japan, China, and India. This is followed by conclusions. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The US is the only major economy in the world where private enforcement of competition law (i.e., filing of direct claims against competition law violators by parties that have incurred losses due to such violations) is more rampant than public enforcement (i.e., penal action taken against competition law violators by the public regulatory authorities).[6] The role played by private enforcement is, therefore, one of the most important features of the US competition law enforcement.[7] Treble Damage Provision In a majority of countries, public enforcement is the preferred way to enforce competition laws. However, in the US, private parties as well as authorities acting on behalf of such pr ivate parties are entitled to claim damages from the violators.[8] In terms of the Clayton Antirust Act of 1914 (Clayton Act), recovery of damages by any person injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws  is permitted.[9] This establishes both a private right of action and an award of treble damages (i.e., three times the actual damages).[10] In this regard, the following two key goals have been identified by the US Supreme Court with respect to awarding treble damages in a private action under the Clayton Act: (a) to punish past violations of the law; and (b) to deter future competition law violations.[11] The treble damages provision has become one of the most important tools in the enforcement of competition law in US, resulting in an important deterrent to potential violators.[12] Owing to the punitive nature of the treble damages provision, various US courts have held that this right cannot be waived off by the parties (whethe r contractually or otherwise).[13] Also, the trebling of damages awarded in a competition case takes place automatically, and the jury is not informed of such trebling upfront.[14] Joint and Several Liability Where more than one parties conspire to undertake anti-competitive practices, each one of them is liable for the damage resulting from its actions as well as the damage resulting from the actions of the other conspirators, thereby resulting in a joint and several liability.[15] This liability is akin to the liability of joint tortfeasors, and ensures that the affected party gets adequate compensation. Similar to the treble damage provision, joint and several liability of competition law violators is aimed at deterring anti-competitive behaviour.[16] Before-and-After and Yardstick Methods The objective of damages under US competition law is to ensure that parties affected by anti-competitive behaviour are put into the same position as they would have been had the ant i-competitive behaviour not taken place.[17] This would typically be measured based on the demonstration by the affected party as to how its profits declined in an environment marred by anti-competitive practices as compared to a free and competition friendly environment. Accordingly, the US courts have historically adopted the before-and-after method and the yardstick method for determining the extent of loss caused to the affected party as a result of anti-competitive practices.[18] Under the before-and-after method, the quantum of compensation is measured by analysing the performance of the affected party before and after the anti-competitive practice, and if possible, by analysing as to how the affected party would have performed had the anti-competitive practice not taken place.[19] The yardstick method, on the other hand, uses the performance of businesses that are significantly similar to that of the affected party as a yardstick to establish the extent to which the affected partys business would have performed had the anti-competitive practice not taken place.[20] EUROPEAN UNION Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Treaty) set out provisions prohibiting anti-competitive practices in the EU and also permit claims for damages arising out of such anti-competitive behaviour. This forms a key aspect of private enforcement of EU competition law. In terms of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty, persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour are entitled to claim damages for the loss incurred by them as a result of such anti-competitive practice. The damages can be sought for actual loss suffered (damnum emergens) as well as the gain which would have been made but for the anti-competitive practice (lucrum cessans) plus interest.[21] In terms of Regulation No 1/2003, the European Commission (EC) and the National Competition Authorities (NCA) are empowered to enforce Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty.[22] Furth er, the European Commission is empowered to impose fines on undertakings that have infringed these provisions.[23] The enforcement by the EC and NCAs constitutes the public enforcement of the EU competition law. Additionally, rights under Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty can also be enforced by the courts of the member states. Such enforcement constitutes private enforcement of the EU competition law. The EC and the NCAs are not empowered to award damages to persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour, and the same falls within the powers of national courts set up under applicable domestic laws. Accordingly, whilst the EC and the NCAs ensure public enforcement of the EU competition law, the private enforcement is administered by national courts.[24] Because of the division of powers between the EC and the NCAs on the one hand and the national courts on the other, private enforcement of competition law in the EU has not been as robust as in the US. Also, it has been emphasise d by the European Parliament over and again that public enforcement of competition law is paramount, and the EC must ensure that private enforcement of the EU competition law does not adversely impact the leniency programmes or settlement procedures.[25] Further, the Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions[26] adopted by the EC in 2014 (Directive) sets out provisions aimed at harmonising national rules within the EU so as to ease recovery of damages by persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour. The implementation of the Directive is expected to give a boost to private enforcement of competition law, as well as recovery of compensation. AUSTRALIA Until the enactment of the Trade Practices Act of 1974 (Trade Practices Act), there was no statutory recognition in Australia of private rights for breach of anti-competitive practices. However, under Part IV of the Trade Practices Act, private parties are allowed to initiate claims pertaining to anti-competitive practices befor e the Federal Court.[27] Parties initiating such litigations may raise a variety of claims, including damages, injunctions, divestiture orders, etc. Further, initiation of a representative or class action suit is also permitted.[28] Private actions are also encouraged by the Trade Practices Commission (the authority vested with powers to monitor and enforce the Trade Practices Act). Abuse of dominant position, anti-competitive agreements, exclusionary provisions, and exclusive dealing are the most commonly faced issues for the enforcement activity. Mergers, on the other hand, are seldom challenged by private parties. It is widely accepted that private enforcement has played a very crucial role in the enforcement of competition law in Australia, including promoting the Trade Practices Act and bolstering the overall compliance of competition law.[29] JAPAN Japanese Antimonopoly Act of 1947 (JAA) regulates anti-competitive behaviour in Japan. In terms of Article 25 of the JAA, persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour are entitled to seek compensation from the violator.[30] In addition, persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour are also entitled to seek compensation from the violator under the general tort provision, i.e., Article 709 of the Japanese Civil Code of 1896 (JCC).[31] It is also noteworthy that a claim under Article 25 of the JAA can be brought only once the competition law regulator in Japan, i.e., the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), passes its final and binding decision in a competition law matter. Whilst the aforesaid provisions allow private enforcement of competition law in Japan, competition law enforcement in Japan has historically been the main or exclusive preserve of public agencies, not private plaintiffs, unlike the US practice, where private enforcement exceeds public enforcement.[32] Accordingly, for decades, the aforesaid provisions of the JAA and the JCC have remained virtually unused, and there has been almos t no private enforcement of competition law in Japan.[33] In recent years, however, private enforcement of competition law in Japan has evolved to a position where around a dozen new cases are seen per year.[34] Through such private enforcement, substantial amount of compensation has been recovered by persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour, which at times, has equalled the total amount of penalties imposed by the JFTC. Despite the aforesaid progress, it can be safely said that private enforcement of competition law in Japan is still of limited significance in posing deterrence to violators and ensuring payment of damages to persons affected by anti-competitive behaviour. CHINA The Anti-Monopoly Law of 2007 (AML), which was enacted in 2008, together with ancillary regulations framed around it, regulates anti-competitive practices in China. The AML was enacted after years of legislative and drafting effort.[35] Whilst government bodies such as the National Developm ent and Reform Commission monitored some aspect of competition prior to 2008, the competition law itself (i.e., the AML) is fairly nascent.[36] Accordingly, it remains to be seen as to how the AML, and the institutions built under it, deliver in terms of enforcement of competition law. With respect to private enforcement of competition law, Article 50 of the AML read as under: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The business operators that implement the monopolistic conduct and cause damages to others shall bear the civil liability accordingly to law.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [37] Thus, the AML clearly recognises rights of persons affected by anti-competitive practices to seek damages from the violator. There have already been a few cases in China where companies have sued other companies for seeking damages arising out of anti-competitive practices.[38] Further, it a customary practice in China that the Supreme Court issues the relevant judicial explanation on the guidelines or implementation of spec ific laws. Accordingly, on 3 May 2012, Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Supreme Court issued the relevant rules with respect to private claims resulting from anti-competitive behaviour (Rules). The Rules have attempted to fill various gaps created by the AML in relation to private enforcement of competition law in China. For instance, the Rules attempt to clearly demarcate as to which party will discharge the burden of proof in certain specified situations, which was hitherto a big hindrance in private enforcement of competition law.[39] INDIA In India, the Competition Act, 2002 (the Act) regulates competition matters, and the market regulator is the Competition Commission of India (CCI), a body constituted under the Act. The Act empowers the CCI to investigate and penalize anti-competitive agreements, abuses of dominant position and combinations which have an appreciable adverse effect on competition. Any affected party may approach the CCI with a complaint pursuant to which the C CI makes inquiries, investigates the alleged anti-competitive behaviour and issues an order. The orders of the CCI are appealable before the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) established under the Act. The orders of the COMPAT can be appealed before the Supreme Court of India, whose decisions are final and binding. Whilst the above process outlines the public enforcement of competition law by the competition regulator in India, the Act does not provide for a parallel private enforcement of competition law. With respect to claiming compensation for anti-competitive behaviour, Section 53N(1) of the Act provides that any person may make an application to the COMPAT for award of compensation for any loss or damage shown to have been suffered and resulting from violation of the Act. However, such a claim for compensation must arise from: (a) any findings of the CCI or orders of the COMPAT; or (b) any contravention of the orders of the CCI or the COMPAT. Further, whilst it is not expressly stated in the Act, a constructive interpretation of Section 53N(1) would lead to the understanding that a claim can be made by the affected person only once the order of the CCI or the COMPAT, as the case may be, attains finality. In other words, if the order of the CCI or the COMPAT has been appealed against, a claim for compensation by the affected person based on such an order would not be tenable. Consequently, a person affected by anti-competitive behaviour would necessarily need to wait until the CCI, the COMPAT or the Supreme Court (hearing the appeal against the order of the COMPAT), as the case may be, passes a favourable order, and such order attains finality (whether by virtue of being a Supreme Court order, or due to expiry of the statutory limitation period for appeal). Only once such an order attains finality, can the affected party make a claim for compensation. This is similar to the Japanese approach as discussed above. Since the Act has been notifi ed fairly recently and the enforcement jurisprudence under the Act is still at a nascent stage, there have not been instances of affected parties claiming compensation for anti-competitive behaviour in terms of the limited framework available under the Act. However, the CCI has started penalizing large business entities for anti-competitive behaviour, and we may soon expect private parties to approach the COMPAT with claims for compensation. For example, the CCI had imposed a penalty of INR 6.3 billion on DLF Limited (one of the largest real estate companies in India) for abusing its dominant position in the market while providing services of developer/builder in high end residential projects in Gurgaon (which is part of the National Capital Region of India). Recently, the COMPAT upheld the CCIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision against DLF Limited, and the matter is presently sub-judice before the Supreme Court of India. There have been media reports indicating that if the Supreme Cour t also upholds the CCIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision, the allottees of the residential project plan to approach the COMPAT with compensation claims. Thus, this may well be the first case of private enforcement of competition law in India.[40] CONCLUSIONS There is little doubt that jurisprudence pertaining to private enforcement of competition law is insufficient in most jurisdictions. Public enforcement of competition law may not always be helpful, as it does not directly cater to the persons who are affected by anti-competitive practices. On the other hand, private enforcement in such scenarios provides direct and speedy compensation to the affected persons. Therefore, it is important for the regulators (across the world) to realise that absence of private enforcement (or a complicated private enforcement regime) would result in the affected persons being left either without a remedy or with inadequate compensation. This gains even more relevance when fines imposed by statut ory authorities are insufficient to cover the losses suffered by the affected parties. Accordingly, it is recommended that urgent and concrete steps be taken by the competition law regulators to ensure that an effective and efficient mechanism for private enforcement of competition law is implemented. 1 | 8 [1] AI Gavil, Federal Judicial Power and the Challenges of Multijurisdictional Direct and Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, (2000) 69 George Washington Law Review 860, cited in Firat Cengiz, Antitrust Damages Actions: Lessons From American Indirect Purchasersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Litigation, (2010) 59 ICLQ 39, available at: https://www.academia.edu/492202/ANTITRUST_DAMAGES_ACTIONS_LESSONS_FROM_AMERICAN_INDIRECT_PURCHASERSLITIGATION (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [2] Ibid. [3] Why competition matters, A Guide for Policy matters, Office of Fair Trading, available at: https://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/OFT1113.pdf (last accessed on 31 March 2015), cited in Payel Chatterjee and Simone Reis, Private Enforcement of Competition Law Issues Competition Commission of India vis-ÃÆ'  -vis Alternate Forums Is it actually an option?, available at: https://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research Articles/Private Enforcement of Com petition Law Issues.pdf (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [4] Francesca Richmond and Sarah West, Arbitrating Competition Law Disputes: A matter of Policy, Baker Mckenzie, cited in Payel Chatterjee and Simone Reis, Private Enforcement of Competition Law Issues Competition Commission of India vis-ÃÆ'  -vis Alternate Forums Is it actually an option?, available at: https://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research Articles/Private Enforcement of Competition Law Issues.pdf (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [5] Competition Law to relieve consumers of unhealthy business practice: Shafique, available at: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=135247date=2012-07-02 (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [6] Daniel A. Crane, Optimizing Private Antitrust Enforcement, (2010) University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository, available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1129context=articles (last accessed on 31 Marc h 2015). [7] Kenneth Ewing, Steptoe Johnson LLP, Private anti-trust remedies under US law, (2007) Competition 2006/07 Volume 1, available at: https://www.steptoe.com/assets/attachments/2804.pdf (last accessed on 1 April 2015). [8] Ibid. [9] Section 4, the Clayton Act. [10] Volvo Trucks N. Am., Inc. v. Reeder- Simco GMC, Inc., 546 U.S. 164, 176 (2006); Kristian v. Comcast Corp., 446 F.3d 25, 47 (1st Cir. 2006). [11] Albert A. Foer, Randy Stutz, Private Enforcement of Antitrust Law in the United States: A Handbook, (2012), Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, UK; also see, Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley- Duff Assocs., Inc., 483 U.S. 143, 151 (1987); Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., 473 U.S. 614, 635 (1985); Copperweld Corp. v. Independence Tube Corp., 467 U.S. 752 (1984). [12] Albert A. Foer, Randy Stutz, Private Enforcement of Antitrust Law in the United States: A Handbook, (2012) Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, UK. [13] Kristian v. Comcas t Corp., 466 F.3d 25, 47à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"48 (1st Cir. 2006), Gaines v. Carrollton Tobacco Bd. of Trade, Inc., 386 F.2d 757, 759 (6th Cir. 1967). [14] Pollock Riley, Inc. v. Pearl Brewing Co., 498 F.2d 1240, 1242 (5th Cir. 1974). [15] Supra at 12. Also, In re Cotton Yarn Antitrust Litig., 505 F.3d 274, 284 (4th Cir. 2007); Abraham Constr. Corp. v. Tex. Indus., Inc., 604 F.2d 897, 904 n.15 (5th Cir. 1979)); In re Uranium Antitrust Litig., 617 F.2d 1248, 1257 (7th Cir. 1980). [16] Supra at 12. [17] Claire M. Korenblit, Quantifying Antitrust Damagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ Convergence of Methods Recognized by U.S. Courts and the European Commission, (March 2012) 1 CPI Antitrust Chronicle, Sidley Austin LLP, available at: https://www.sidley.com/~/media/Files/Publications/2012/03/Quantifying Antitrust DamagesConvergence of Meth__/Files/View Article/FileAttachment/KorenblitMAR12(1) (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [18] Supra at 12. [19] Kevin Scott Marshall, The Economics of Antitrust Injury and Firm-specific Damages, (2008) Lawyers Judges Publishing Company, Inc., USA. [20] Ibid. [21] Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52013PC0404 (last accessed on 31 March 2015). Case C-453/99, Courage and Crehan, [2001] ECR I-6297; Case C-360/09, Pfleiderer AG v Bundeskartellamt, [2011] ECR I-5161; and Case C-199/11 European Community v. Otis NV and others, [2012] ECR I-0000. [22] Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation No 1/2003, respectively. [23] Article 23 of Regulation No 1/2003. [24] Id at 21. [25] Ibid. [26] This is the directive issued by the European Parliament with respect to compensation claims in relation to anti-competitive behavior under national laws of the EU m ember states. [27] Kent Roach and Michael J. Trebilcock, Private Enforcement of Competition Laws, (Fall 1996) Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Volume 34, Number 3, Article 2, available at https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1622context=ohlj (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [28] Ibid. [29] Ibid. [30] Simon Vande Walle, Private Enforcement of Antitrust Law in Japan: An Empirical Analysis, The Competition Law Review, (December 2011) Volume 8 Issue 1, 7. [31] Ibid. [32] Simon Vande Walle, Deterrence of Antitrust Violations: Do Actions for Damages Matter in Japan?, available at: https://www.sef.hku.hk/aslea2011/private/paper/19.%20Simon%20Vande%20Walle%20final%20full%20paper.pdf (last accessed on 31 March 2015). [33] Id at 30. [34] Id at 30. [35] Lessons from Four Years of Antitrust Enforcement in China, (September 2012) Jones Day, available at: https://m.jonesday.com/lessons_from_four_years/ (last accessed on 1 April 201). [36] Competition Policy and Enforcement in China, (September 2014), The US China Business Council, available at: https://www.uschina.org/sites/default/files/AML%202014%20Report%20FINAL_0.pdf (last accessed on 1 April 2015). [37] Zhan Hao, Chinese Anti-monopoly Private Litigation, China Law and Practice, available at: https://www.chinalawandpractice.com/Article/2029237/Channel/16143/Chinese-Anti-monopoly-Private-Litigation.html (last accessed on 1 April 2015). [38] Id at 36. [39] Susan Ning,Liu Jia and Hazel Yin, Supreme Court of China Issues Judicial Interpretation Governing Private Antitrust Litigations, (6 June 2012), King Wood Mallesons, Antitrust Competition, available at: https://www.chinalawinsight.com/2012/06/articles/corporate/antitrust-competition/supreme-court-of-china-issues-judicial-interpretation-governing-private-antitrust-litigations/ (last accessed on 1 April 2015). [40] Ravi Teja Sharma, DLF customers in three Gurgaon projects to seek comp ensation, Economic Times (23 May 2014), available at: https://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-05-23/news/50054941_1_competition-appellate-tribunal-belaire-owners-association-park-place-residents (last accessed on 1 April 2015).

A Formal Analysis on Beethovens Piano Concerto No.3 in C...

A Formal Analysis on Beethovens Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor , Op. 37 a)The Beethoven Concertos and Op. 37s Placement in the Genre and as a continuation of Mozarts Style b)Reception of the concerto-specifics of the concerto in a broad view c)Formal and musical analysis with respect to the Concerto Form in the Classical Style (As a precursor of Romantic Age) d)Conclusions a)Beethoven Concertos According to commonly agreed placement of this concerto among others, the way that it still carries features of a classical concerto-but with a few innovations that look forward and that will be influential, this concerto is a middle period Beethoven work. This is also somehow supported by the fact that it lies in the middle of the†¦show more content†¦c) Formal Analysis First Movement Although a typical first movement form has features that are very close to a sonata form, the analysis shown in Appendix traces through the keys and theme areas with respect to the necessary T1, S1 etc terminology that invokes the 1st movement form which is an extended version of a da capo aria-or a rounded binary form. However, presented below, is a rough guideline for seeing which measures would correspond to a sonata form outline: T1-S1-T2: 1-111-227 Exposition S2: 249 Development (288-308 as re-transition) T3-S3-T4 (first section up to the cadence): 309-318-403 Recapitulation (Cadenza) T4: 417 Coda Theme-wise, the first movement is mostly bases itself on the opposition of two themes, one military in character (denoted hereafter by a and its variants a1, a2 a3 etc) and another lyrical theme, (denoted hereafter by b). It is clear when one looks at the outline of the themes with respect to their placement, theme a is transformed into 8 different versions throughout the compositions first movement, and an additional type, that we will call (a) which utilizes C-G-C-G-C timpani-like motive. This one, namely (a) and a derivative called a6 will play primary roles in identifying and linking structurally important keys and harmonic motions related to changes into different subsections (eg. Timpani theme appears from 288-295 into T3/S3 on minor v,

A Divorce Was Never So Good free essay sample

Sundays in Brazil are like holidays. Everything stops, families get together, wives cook a fresh batch of rice with potato salad, and husbands smell like charcoal from preparing the most delightful barbecues ever. Barefoot children imitate their favorite players on the dusty soccer fields. All that action would stop at noontime so everybody could kill their hunger with those irresistible dishes. Outwardly, my family was no different. My mom cooked, my dad drank his beer in the back of that pink colored building we lived while my best friends’ dads prepared our barbecue, and like many others, I was at the field dreaming of one day becoming one of the nation’s idols. Inwardly, however, my life always differed a little bit from my friends’ lives. Seeing my parents arguments every now and then would hurt me deep inside and make me wonder if all that craziness was necessary. As an only child, it was very difficult to see my mother in her bed drying tears at sunset, with that seven-news song in the back of my head. We will write a custom essay sample on A Divorce Was Never So Good or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At age nine, all I ever feared was about to become true. I have to admit I was not shocked when I received the news that my parents were getting divorced, but those Mizuno shorts and those Havaianas sandals dad was wearing on that chilly afternoon will be forever remembered. Our tears finally came down, and I could not recognize my father as he cried uncontrollably like I had never seen before. After that moment, I realized I had to get ready for a new beginning. After the divorce, my mother became more courageous and did things she had always dreamed of. She learned how to drive and went back to college to get her degree in Geography. Then in 2003, an opportunity for us to come to America surged. My mother decided to stay, but I went back with my grandmother. It was at this time that dad and I became extremely close; we weren’t just father and son, we were best friends, and, most importantly, we were family. Soccer games, beaches, and amusement parks were some of the things we did together during that time. Two years later I’d be coming to America for the second time. But now I wasn’t coming for vacation, I was here to take care of my future, my goals. Knowing that dad was married again, and there was another Silveira coming to life, I took the challenge and came. But these were not the main reasons why I left dad there. What really gave me a push to come to a country that I knew nothing besides what the movies showed was the relationship with dad that developed after the divorce. He had made me feel so comfortable about our situation that I knew he had my back. I knew I could count on him, and I could tell dad was feeling the same way. Presently, I am away from dad, family, and friends, working my way to the top, and trying to make my dreams come true. As controversial as it sounds, I thank that sorrowful event of my parents’ divorce for putting me in the situation that I am today. As I apply to your prestigious institution, I cannot help but think to myself that if it weren’t for my parents’ divorce, the chances I’d be graduating from Everett High School and pursuing a college career would be extremely remote. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I have to admit, a divorce was a blessing in disguise.

Is the Common Cold Curable free essay sample

A paper which introduces the common cold and discusses causes and possible cures. The paper shows that the common cold is the commonest cause of visits to physicians with sales of over-the-counter cough and cold medications totaling more than $3 billion annually. The paper discusses causes, symptoms and the search for a cure for the common cold with a focus on zinc as a possible cure. The zinc must be absorbed into oral tissues where it can then diffuse into nasal tissues. Since colds actually begin in the nose and not the mouth, it would seem that a zinc nasal spray might work even better. Researchers thought so too and tried it. Zinc nasal sprays had a mild, temporary decongestant effect, but did not shorten the duration of the cold. Since nasal mucus is constantly being excreted, zinc diffusion into infected tissues against the flow of mucus is difficult if not impossible. We will write a custom essay sample on Is the Common Cold Curable? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

James Heavey Marketing Strategy Assignment 1 Essay Example

James Heavey Marketing Strategy Assignment 1Â   Essay As the market environment changes, managers have to adapt their strategies and organisation. Unless these changes are made, the business will no longer fit the needs of the moment it will be made obsolete by changes in customer wants, new technologies and new competitors that have adapted more effectively (Doyle, 2002, pp. 405-406) Introduction: The marketing environment is a complex constellation of demands and constraints that a firm faces as it attempts to compete and grow. These can be both external and internal. The firm has the power to directly affect some but, by no means, all of the areas in the environment. Those areas beyond the firms control are constantly changing in various ways, it is the responsibility of the firm to take notice of and bring on board any successful changes or advances made in the industry. In the same way they need to identify problems affecting the industry as a whole and react accordingly to minimise negative effect. We will write a custom essay sample on James Heavey Marketing Strategy Assignment 1Â   specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on James Heavey Marketing Strategy Assignment 1Â   specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on James Heavey Marketing Strategy Assignment 1Â   specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Consumer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of the marketing environment. Method: The marketing environment surrounds the consumer and the marketing mix. Consumers and businesses are affected by the forces of the marketing environment. Businesses must determine a marketing strategy, implemented through the aspects of the marketing mix, which aims to satisfy themselves and customers. According to Dibb, the marketing environment is the external forces that directly or indirectly influence an organisations acquisition of inputs and generation of outputs, comprising six categories of forces: Political/legal, Economic, Societal/green (environmental) and Technological. This is also known as the PEST Analysis. Inputs that are affected include personnel, financial resources, raw materials and information etc. The outputs identified by Dibb are information (e.g. advertisements), packages, goods, services and ideas. There are three key sections to the marketing environment, these are the micro environment, the macro environment and the internal environment. The micro marketing environment contains external forces that influence a firm directly. Micro forces include suppliers, competitors, marketing intermediaries, situation and company specific, buyers, the business internal environment and the companys publics. The main micro forces are: The business internal environment: The internal environment consists of top management, finance, research and development, purchasing, sales and marketing, manufacturing and logistics. All these departments must be taken into account when designing market strategies and marketing mix programmes. Marketers must be aware of organisational factors, monitor them and modify their actions accordingly to ensure internal commencement of their marketing ideas. Suppliers: Businesses should recognise the importance of suppliers as without them there would be no end product to sell to consumer. Marketers need to be aware of aspects of supply which might, directly or indirectly, affect the ability of the firm to deliver a quality product to the consumer. Aspects such as; supplier innovations, existing deals with competitors, supply shortages, delays, strikes, recruitment difficulties, legal actions, warranty disputes, supply costs and price trends, new entrants into supply chain, or any other aspect that may affect the natural transfer of goods from supplier to manufacturer. Marketing Intermediaries: These are made up of resellers retailers, wholesalers, agents, brokers dealers and physical distributors for logistical needs, providers of marketing services, and financial facilitators of credit lines and export guarantees. Without these intermediaries, a business is unlikely to be able to deliver its products as expected by consumers. Buyers: People tend to be more willing to buy when they have buying power. Buying power can be influenced by the products absolute price, its price relative to alternative products, brand image and quality, reliability. Other reasons why consumers willingness to spend may be affected are personal expectations about future employment, income levels, prices, family size and general economic conditions. If the responses to these factors are positive then buying will increase as people will obtain more disposable income. Alternatively, if the responses are negative then buying power will decrease. The macro environment consists of all the external factors that can influence a firm, but are beyond their direct control. The macro environment is the PEST analysis. Political/legal: Government policy can have a major impact on the operation of a business. For example, laws on competitive practices will influence the number of firms operating in an industry and therefore strength of the competition. Health and safety legislation will affect work practices and production costs. Marketing tactics will be limited by consumer legislation. The political environment is of particular relevance in countries where governments are unstable and therefore investment risks are high. Economic: Economic factors will influence the future potential profit of a business. The level of consumer demand is a key variable affecting the quantity of sales and the price at which output can be sold. Interest rates will determine the cost of finance to the company. Final profits will be taxed by the government. The economic cycle of recession and recovery is a big influence on the opportunities and threats to the firm. Societal/green: Consumers reflect changes in lifestyles over time. This means businesses must observe shifts in the characteristics and habits of the population. Especially where these influence segments of the existing market, e.g., as the UK population ages, new opportunities open up such as holidays aimed specifically at older people. Demographic variations may also represent a threat to companies, e.g., a fall in the birth rate would negatively affect the competitive position of Mothercare. Consumers and governments are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of business upon the environment. Organisations must now monitor their actions and consider their environmental implications. An issue of this kind can influence the corporate image of an organisation The resulting publicity can be devastating and could damage the effectiveness of the firms promotional activities. Technological: An external audit must monitor developments in technology. These can affect the production methods employed by the organisation, or the products/services offered for sale. A new manufacturing technique might make existing production too expensive for the business to remain profitable. A product may become obsolete because new technology has developed a more effective substitute. However, changes in technology also offer opportunities, such as the potential to break into new markets by producing a new, radically different, product offering. These factors are continuously changing so the firm must be sufficiently flexible to adapt to new conditions. The final environment is the internal environment. This is all the factors that are internal to the firm. The internal environment is of equal importance to the external when a firm is required to cope with change. The internal environment is also known as the marketing mix. The marketing mix is marketing tool. It is a checklist. The marketing mix focuses its attention on the various elements of marketing needed to carry out the marketing strategy and meet the needs of the customers. There are four parts to the marketing mix product, price, promotion and place. Product: Businesses must make sure their product is meeting the needs of their customers. This means paying close attention to a number of product features; how consumers will use the product, the appearance of the product, and financial factors (unless a product is deemed to be value for money it is unlikely to be purchased). Price: The pricing policy that a business chooses is often a reflection of the market at which it is aiming. Prices will not always be set at the level which will maximise sales or short run profits. There are three pricing strategies for the existing product, these are: Price leader the business will set the market price. Price taker the business will match the market price. Predator the business will undercut the market price. Promotion: There are a variety of promotional methods a firm can use including above the line promotions, such as TV advertising, and below the line promotions such as personal selling. A firm will choose a promotion method it feels is likely to be most effective in the market in which it operates. National television advertising will only be reserved for those products with a high sales turnover or wide appeal. Place: This refers to the means by which the product will be distributed to the consumer. The product must get to the right place at the right time. This means making decisions about the way in which the product will be physically distributed i.e., air, sea, rail or road. It also means taking into account how the product is sold. This could be by mail direct from the manufacturer or through retail outlets such as supermarkets. All these environmental factors in the marketing environment must be assessed and acted upon. Marketers can respond to environmental factors in two ways, either accept them as uncontrollable or confront and mould them as best they can to work with the product. If environmental forces are viewed as uncontrollable, the organisation remains passive and reactive towards the environment. The marketer will adjust marketing strategies to suit the environmental changes rather than vice versa. Alternatively, marketers who believe environmental forces can be shaped adopt a proactive approach. Once they identify what blocks a marketing opportunity, marketers can assess the power of the various parties involved and develop strategies to try to overcome these environmental forces. Results: The Marketing Environment Model: (from Marketing Concepts and Strategies Dibb, Simkin, Pride Ferrel, 2001) . In the Marketing Environment Model the nearer the environmental force is to the centre of the circle, the more directly it affects the consumer and their feelings towards the product British Airways and the Airline Industry: The airline industry has been rife with change ever since the New York terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. The whole marketing environment has been affected so it seems a suitable and effective choice. Although British Airways is not an American airline it has still been greatly affected. The vast reduction of people travelling trans-Atlantic has meant a huge drop in revenue and, in turn, profits. Along with this factor, British Airways (or BA) has suffered the same fate of all airlines as public confidence in the safety of planes has dwindled leaving almost empty planes and cancelled flights. BA first had to review safety policies before tackling any other problems and it was vital they stayed in touch with the advances of their competitors as any bad press in the wake of such a terrible disaster could last long in the memory of the public. PEST Analysis for British Airways: Political/legal: Since 9/11, as it has since become known, the government brought in stricter policies for security at airports and new requirements on board aircraft, e.g. inaccessible cockpits. The amount of security personnel has been increased and luggage is now inspected more frequently and effectively. Passengers are also now checked twice for any hidden items. The government also introduced a partnership with industry to help restore passenger confidence in flying. Economical: The Stock Market entered a recession on 9/11 and trading had to be suspended for fear of total collapse. While recent economic indicators give evidence that we are emerging from the recession, the stock market is still declining. Concerns over questionable corporate ethics and accounting scandals have handcuffed the market. While the productivity and consumption numbers continue to improve slowly, stock prices continue to drop. While investors continue to wait for the proverbial next shoe to drop on the stock market, the economy remains at a standstill. In the months ahead, many believe we will see a slow recovery. While recent GDP numbers were favourable, there is an expectation for slower growth going forward. However, 9/11 is not believed to be the primary cause of the more recent stock market decline. The primary drivers in the market today are accounting scandals, questions over corporate ethics, and the war on terrorism in both Afghanistan and possibly now Iraq. Weak unemployment numbers are also making investors apprehensive and to a certain extent, these nerves can be tied to 9/11. BA has shown a steady increase in turnover since 9/11 and there are no reasons to believe this upsurge will not continue. It is obviously affected by the economy though and a few years of growth would be greatly appreciated by all those in the airline industry. Societal/green: In terms of society BA needs top reflect changes in its consumer lifestyles. Current needs when it comes to flying are primarily centred around safety. To be competitive in the current climate BA need to not only spend billions on improving safety aspects and regulations, but also spend a fortune on advertising to let the public know what they are doing and that BA are among the market leaders when it comes to aircraft safety. Winning the publics confidence is probably more effective now in gaining customers than at any other time in history, so this area needs particular attention to detail. Environmental issues are still of great importance even in the present climate. Issues such as air pollution studies, fuel studies, health studies and noise pollution studies are all high on the agenda of competitors so it is vital BA are seen to be equally concerned about preserving the future of our planet. These issues can require a substantial budget, but money recouped through new consumers, and loyalty from existing consumers, should make the initial outlay soon look like a profitable investment. Technological: It is important for the image of a market leader such as BA to keep up to date with the latest technology. They are expected to have the fastest, most efficient, planes, the comfiest seats and the best service if they are to sustain their present market share and relatively expensive prices. The extra money made on the price is expected to go towards the extensive cost of maintaining such standards. However, in the wake of 9/11, extra emphasis has been placed on obtaining technology to improve passenger safety. Bigger budgets have been allocated to the safety aspect as airlines aim to restore passenger confidence in their airline since the New York terrorist attacks. Recovery in the Travel and Tourism Industry The behaviour of the TBR (Travel Business Roundtable) over the September period provides considerable insight into the sensitivity of the travel and tourism industry to external shocks. When thinking about the industrys recovery, it is also helpful to examine the past. Following the 1990-91 national recession, it took approximately one additional year for the travel and tourism industry to recover. This may be explained in part by the fact that the rebound in consumer confidence followed a most uneven pattern, involving sharp up-down swings lasting until the end of 1993. Similarly today, weak consumer confidence coupled with the uncertainty of safety as well as economic uncertainty, indicates that the recovery for the industry may take even longer than expected. To that end, TBR continues to support an economic stimulus package that addresses the needs of the travel and tourism industry and advocates action that will encourage people to travel now. Conclusion As things currently stand in the industry, no airline has taken a significant lead in attracting consumers back. This may be to do with the fact many are still sceptical about flying. Every airline must be at its most responsive to new ideas and improvements, at least until the industry as a whole has drifted out from underneath the giant public magnifying glass that has hovered for the last fourteen months. The market environment shows us what forces affect a business. It identifies these forces as either micro environment, macro environment ( both are external factors), or the internal environment (the marketing mix). It also illustrates which forces affect the consumer more directly than others. The market environment is always changing and it is vital any organisation is able to keep up with these changes. Marketers need to identify which environmental factors can be moulded to suit marketing strategies but also which strategies need to be altered to fit in with those factors that can not be. Failure to keep up with these changes and show unresponsive behaviour to the market can often lead to a drop in sales and loss of market share. In theory a responsive business is a successful business.

How to Use the French Expression Tant Pis

How to Use the French Expression Tant Pis Tant pis  (pronounced ta(n) pee),  is an everyday French idiomatic expression that literally means so much worse. The phrase is often used as an exclamation that ranges from the mild oh well to the rude tough, depending on how you articulate it in conversation. Its a  useful phrase to know, but be sure youre comfortable using it in different circumstance or you could end up in an embarrassing situation. Expressions of Mood This expression, one of the most common in the French language, can be either fatalistic, expressing a disappointed resignation, or accusatory, indicating that whatever happened is ones own fault. In the most extreme cases, tant pis would be the equivalent of something along the lines of an angry too damn bad or tough. In most cases, though, its said with a lilt, a shrug, and even a smile suggesting oh well or never mind [its not a big deal]. A synonym in French could be Dommage,  Cest dommage,  or Quel dommage  (What a shame.). When something disappointing or sad has happened, a more likely synonym would be, Cest dur.  (Thats hard.) An appropriate  antonym of tant pis  would be good or all the better. Expressions and Usage Jai oublià © dapporter le cadeau, mais tant pis.   I forgot to bring the gift, but oh well / never mind. Cest tant pis pour lui.   Thats just too damn bad for him. Je dirais  tant pis, mais cest dommage. Id say too bad, but its just so sad. Il rà ©pond que cest  tant pis. He says thats  too bad. Si vous à ªtes jaloux,  tant pis. If you guys are jealous,  thats fine. Si tu veux pas comprendre,  tant pis. If you didnt understand it, too bad for you. Bon.  Tant pis, on y va.   All right,  so much for that. Were off. Le gouvernement veut contrà ´ler chaque sou,  tant pis  si les Canadiens souffrent. The government wants to control every penny;  never mind  if Canadians suffer as a result. Si cest impossible,  tant pis. If thats impossible, no worries [theres nothing we can do about it]. Je reste. Tant pis sil nest pas content.   Im staying.  Too bad if he doesnt like it. Tant pis pour lui. Too bad (for him). Additional Resources Tant versus  autantMost common French phrases

Essay on Gender Equality Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

On Gender Equality - Essay Example Not just the physical differences of these two, even at their physiological responses and to other fields. The society is just having misconception about the differences of the two sexes that is why conflicts arise. We can look closely to how we can link these two sexes. But to do that it is better if we recognize first what are their differences for us to be able to connect them and resolve the reasons why conflicts arise. In other words, let us look at the both sides on them and settle at the middle and understand their reactions or responses. When it comes to physical appearance men has more defined muscle structure than women. They are the one who are much capable of lifting heavy things as compared to women because their physical capacity is fit for such work. The brain structure of men is different from women. They have thinner corpus callosum. This is the one that connects the two halves of the brain. The left side of the brain is the one responsible for analytical thinking. And this is when the boys can level up to the scores of women because men are good with numbers (Turner, 1997). When it comes to sexual urges, men are more visual than women. Visual things can usually trigger their urges compared to women. When it comes to listening, men usually have different kind of behavior. In the research of Deborah Tannen (1990), she found out that men will usually eye on something else while listening to somebody. When you talk to them they don't look at you straight but will be eyeing other things in the surroundings. She also found at his research that even at the development of men will stand as the evidence of how different they are to women. They usually establish bonding with other boys with physical activities; they don't make talking as a medium for closeness to other boys. When it terms to command making, men are more direct to what they want and the orders that they give according to Theiderman. She even elaborated that even in asking question there is this line that separates men from women. Men are not into details and will ask fewer questions. Men ask questions because they want to know something. Their purpose of asking is plainly to gather information. Women Physically, women have less muscle definition. Instead they are built for the purpose of conception and therefore bear the gift of carrying their young. As to brain structure, women are have a thicker corpus collusom and are therefore capable of multi tasking as compared to men. In terms of sexual urges, women are more into touch than visuals. They are easily aroused when touched and not just by visuals. In terms of listening, women look at their partners when listening. They set their eyes to there friends when listening because it is their way of showing that their attention is set to conversation. As to making commands, women are softer in giving orders. They usually use tag lines and will usually use phrases that ask for confirmation but in away suggesting her own idea or asking for others to confirm with her, (Thiederman). Girls establish a different medium of bonding with other girls. They indulge their time to talking as establishing closer relationship with other girls, (Tannnen, 1990). Girls usually exchange secrets and talk about a constant topic as compared to boys. For them, if they spend time for talking with other girl

Sources of Middle East terrorism. How and why did Isis form Essay

Sources of Middle East terrorism. How and why did Isis form - Essay Example The power of ISIS has grown over the last three years, especially with the beginning of the Arab Spring, to such an extent that it has been able to directly challenge some governments within the Middle East and make significant territorial and strategic gains against them. These advancements have made it essential for studies to be conducted concerning this organization as well as its rise. ISIS came into existence because of diverse factors, which include political, economic and organizational factors that have turned it from a small jihadist force into a potential state. ISIS was formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq and it was formed after the American invasion of Iraq as a means of opening an al Qaeda front within this country. As an al Qaeda franchise, this organization took most of its direction from the leadership of the latter and it is through financial support from al Qaeda that it was able to gain a lot of strength within Iraq (Fishman 46). Its founder, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, swore allegiance to al Qaeda and it as under his leadership that this organization was able to build a powerful network within Iraq. However, the United States and its Sunni allies were able to destroy this organization’s influence in Iraq and kill al Zarqawi, essentially eliminating it as a serious threat (Phillips 64). However, the Arab Spring gave this organization a new lease of life as it joined other jihadist groups in Syria in the fight against the Assad government. The result was that it increasingly took on a more radical approach and it came to a point whe re it came into direct conflict with another al Qaeda affiliate, the al Nusra Front. The conflict between these two groups showed the emerging cracks between al Qaeda in Iraq and the leadership of the al Qaeda organization and this relationship was broken abruptly when the latter broke off all associations because of the extreme and brutal nature of the former. It

Gender and Sex Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Gender and Sex Worksheet Essay What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is your social configuration of male or female. In biological terms sex is your male or female parts and pyscial features. Sometimes gender and sex are not the same because there are so people that feel differently about who they are want to be so they have surgeries to change or alter their biological parts. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity because masculinity is the properties characteristic of the male sex, and feminity is the trait of behaving in ways considered typical for women. Typical meaning traditionally speaking. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? Yes, I think that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. Knowledge is power and I feel a lot of people for whatever reason whether because of ignorance or stereotyping etc†¦. People define the concepts of gender and sex inaccurately. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain. Yes, I feel that for the last couple years this has been first a very sensitive topic and then and new and confusing topic as well. The lines seem to be blurring when it comes to what people want sometimes and how they feel. It use to be just male and female but now the 2 concepts are crossing cause a lot of people confusion because what they are for example males feeling feminine or females feeling more masculine.

Marketing and market entry strategy in india

Marketing and market entry strategy in india A market entry strategy maps out how to sell, deliver and distribute HMs products in another country such as India. When products and services are exported to another country, the strategy will define ways of obtaining contracts and delivering them in that country. If HM has decided to conquer the international market in India, it is opened to many choices. These options may include the cost, risk and the degree of control that the company will encounter in the country. In entering an international business, it is important that the management of the HM should be able to choose marketing entry strategies and carefully choose the product that the company will market in India. Exporting, is the simplest form of marketing entry strategy which includes direct or indirect method such as using an agent, in the case of direct method and counter trade if the company opted to implement an indirect method. Due to technological advances, direct marketing is staging a comeback, leading to a relationship orientation. Moreover, since HM wants to be known globally, there are many other ways the company can choose from like joint venture or export processing zone. The management of HM may decide to choose the export strategy and include in their operation the specific channels to market their product. Relationship marketing has revolutionized the traditional marketing and has become the biggest paradigmatic shift in marketing practice in recent decades.It has not only changed customers to advocate by replacing customer satisfaction by customer delight but has also increased quality service offers that exceeds expectations. Similarly, it will open new horizons for HM. It will trigger the HM to introduce new products and services. According to Berry and Parasuraman (1991: 25) relationship marketing concerns attracting, developing and retaining customer relationships. Relationship marketing will provide HM with necessary selling approach to cope with various challenges, set by the modern market in India. Relationship marketing transforms single usage to multiple service usage and will strengthen HM by providing them the wherewithal with which they can carry out effective customer services in India. Nowadays, competition in fashion industry and demands of customers are increasing constantly. They demand for global fashion company like HM where there are provisions for an incentive to the customer. So, strong commitment to customer care, attraction and maintenance at all levels are the top priority of HM, while dealing with the customers. Relationship marketing will help HM to overcome these problems and make the sales procedures much simpler. Palmer (2001) enumerated the components of relationship marketing as being: a focus on customer loyalty and retention; long term orientation; tracing identifiable buyers; distinguishing different levels of relationship between the buyer and the seller; high levels of customer dedication; and service quality as being the responsibility of every employee. Relationship marketing will transform indifferent customers into loyal clientele and emphasizes on their retention. Customer retention is the means to delivering long-term profitability in H M. Customer relationships management focuses on customer retention, and customer retention is believed to be more profitable than customer acquisition. Dawkins and Reichheld (1990) found that higher retention rate leads to higher net present value of customers. The longer customers can be retained by HM, the more and more tangible benefits will accrue from a sustained income stream. The end goal of relationship marketing is profit for HM. Saren and Tzokas (2000) raised the usefulness of relationship marketing in creating unique, difficult to imitate knowledge through the processes of interaction and dialogue with the customer. Knowledge about customers can only be enhanced if HM is able to maintain lasting relationships with their customers. The determinants of store choice, customer loyalty, patronage behaviour, customer retention and relationship marketing have been widely studied around the globe. Therefore, a considerable volume of literature exists, especially regarding fashion industry. However, there is still considerable scope for research in this field as the environment of fashion industry is in a constant state of flux and the emergence of new store formats in India has led to dramatic changes in consumer behaviour. New and existing fashion industry tend to provide a completely new experience for their consumers by offering sophisticated customer service, a wide and assorted variety of goods, breakfast ambience, quality imported and branded products. Since, fashion has invading people style of living and HMs the product that has been chosen to go international market. Hence, this research will suggest a marketing entry strategy for HM using Porters Five Forces model (Porter, 1980) and SWOT analysis of other HM companies in other countries. The company is a new entrant to the Indian Market, thus, this paper will provide a marketing entry strategy analysis for the company as it invade the market in India. Competitors Analysis Competitors analysis is very important since HM is a new entrant within the market place. It is essential so that the HM will be able to know their competitors and the possible strategy that they may use to level up such competitors and know the needs of the target market. Thus, this means that HM will enter the India as a beginning industry considering many competitors within the market place. Marketing Entry Analysis Utilizing Marketing Mix Marketing is considered as one of the most important element underpinning successful business creation and because of its complex applications, marketing is defined in a variety of ways (Sheth, Gardner, and Garrett 1988). According to Elliot (1990), the marketing concept was first promulgated in the late 1950s. The importance of marketing concept incorporates oft-repeated elements such as: customer orientation; integrated marketing efforts; and resultant profitability (Elliot, 1990). The marketing mix principles can be adjusted on a frequent basis to meet the changing needs of the target market and other dynamics of marketing environment (McCarthy, 2004). In relation to marketing plan, marketing mix includes both short term and long term strategies makes for a more profitable marketing mix. Long term strategies build brand/company awareness and give sales revenue a permanent, gradual boost. Short term strategies create a temporary, immediate revenue boost by giving buyers an incentive to purchase. By implementing both long and short term strategies, you can attend to immediate sales goals while building your business reputation and goodwill (Kyle, 2004). 1.1. Product HM AB (originally known as Hennes Mauritz) is a Swedish clothing company, known for retail of low-cost designer clothings. It was established in Và ¤sterà ¥s in Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson, though at the time it only sold womens clothing and was called Hennes, which means hers in Swedish. Persson acquired the premises and inventory of a Stockholm hunting equipment store named Mauritz Widforss in 1968. Persson expanded into menswear and renamed the store to Hennes Mauritz, later abbreviated to HM (www.hm.com). H M is the worlds favourite and preferred designer of apparels and clothing for man and women. In addition, H M is also known not only for their fashion cosmetic but because of the quality of the clothes designed durability and the funkiness of its clothes. Through the online stores, HM provides the regional, continental and European Market an exclusive clothing designs. The main goal of HM is to provide innovative designs of apparels and clothes for different types of people in different countries all over the world. The company is known because of its strategy of providing clothing designs exclusively for each countrys preferences and needs. 1.2. Pricing H M is believed to have advantages when it comes to its pricing tactic. In order to be known into the market place and as a new entrant, the company will provide its target market with an affordable cost while providing them a high quality products and services. The company will be given the customer and client a price that is lesser than its competitors so that the consumer will be enhanced to buy and patronize the H M clothes and cosmetics. 1.3. Placement/Distribution The HMs products will be distributed directly to its clients and consumers in order to be known in the market place. HM products can utilize joint venture strategies with distinguished distributor of apparels, clothes and cosmetics, providing them with great offers, so as to market the product of the H M internationally. In 2003, HM announced its entry into the traditionally exclusive Milan fashion scene. It remains to be seen if HM and other low-end retailers will be able to find a market there. In February 2004, The Gap, another prominent international retailer, sold off all of its German outlets to its competitor, HM. HM launched its first American outlet on March 31, 2000 on New Yorks famous Fifth Avenue. Following the success its stores, additional outlets were opened in the SoHo, Gramercy, and Herald Square areas of Manhattan, followed by outlets in Upstate New York in Syracuse, Utica, and West Nyack. The brand then expanded to other regions of the country, including Chicago and its outlying suburbs. The first two HM stores to appear on the West Coast of the US opened in San Francisco, California on November 19th, 2005. HM opened its first Canadian store in Fairview Mall in Toronto and soon after, its store in Torontos Eaton Centre was opened in March 2004. Following great financial success, HM opened ten other stores within the Greater Toronto Area. Stores were also opened in Montreal in Spring 2006. HM continued its expansion in the Canadian market and doubled the number of stores in 2006. It planned new markets include Barrie, Hamilton, London, Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, St. Catharines and Windsor and Ontario market, Fairview (Pointe Claire) shopping centre, Rockland Centre, the Galeries dAnjou and the Carrefour Laval. (www.hm.com) 1.4. Promotion/Communication HM can use video advertisements, print advertisements and the concept of e-marketing to promote its products. These promotion and communication strategy will tend to meet the consumers form different places everywhere, especially those target markets or the consumers in the working place. Moreover, since the trend in the market place today is the usage of e-marketing, the company will provide a website that any client can access. The use of the Internet is changing technologically advanced marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It does not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services but it also become instrumental in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Donthu and Garcia, 1999). E-marketing is a powerful tool used that can be used by HM. E-marketing is defined as the process of achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications technology (ICT). Smith and Chaffey (2001) have provided a 5Ss learning devices on how the internet can be applied by all business firms for different e-marketing tactics. These 5Ss are useful for HM and are se lling, serve, speak, save and sizzle. E-marketing or online marketing strategy can be used by HM to market its products. Thus, the HM has created its own website (www.hm.com). HM will use the e-marketing strategy is to keep in touch to different internet users and to be able to attract more clients and consumers. HM will use e-marketing to accelerate its business portfolio whether the user of the website is a customer, employee, stockholders, vendors, retailers or end customers. 1.5. Market Segmentation Marketing segmentation is defined as an aggregating process clustering people with similar needs into a market segment (Perreault McCarthy, 2002: 74). According to Ravesteyn (2005), customer segmentation is critical for an effective relationship marketing strategy. HM will provide its target consumers for its product by using market segmentation strategy. The segmentation of the market is a critical aspect of relationship marketing and the segmentation of business customers by HM must be in line with the different levels of relationship offered by the company. They need to make use of relationship marketing and management at segment or market level to identify the target market they intend pursuing (Stewart, 1995). Primarily, the context of the market segmentation for this company will be the Psychographics. Strydom, Cant Jooste (2000) identify the following four types of segmentation: demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation. Psychographics includes soc ial class, lifestyle, and personality variables (Chiagouris and Kahle, 2000). The end result of using these variables is a psychological profile of each market segment. Issues also examined the customers loyalties, habits and self-concept. Social class describes how individuals want their office automation will meet their comfort and satisfaction, what they consider important about their immediate surroundings, their opinions on various issues, and their interests. As lifestyle studies concentrates on what the consumer requires, using these study results as marketing strategies eventually became a marketing concept. The marketing concept is a basic philosophy that maintains that HM should endeavour to satisfy the needs and wants of customers through a coordinated set of activities that also allows the HM to achieve its goals at a profit. The HM must be able to consider its consumer, especially the demands of the consumer so as to let the business have an opportunity of having an expansion of its business portfolio as required by the consumers. The focus of this overview is on the behavioural segmentation process, which refers to the segmentation of buyers or customers into groups on the basis of their knowledge of, attitude towards, use of or response to a product or service of a HM. The behavioural variables identified by Kotler (2000) include: Occasions occasional buyers develop needs, purchase, or use products. Benefits refer to the benefits that buyers seek. User status includes potential users, regular users, non-users, first-time users or ex-users. Usage rate will include light, medium or heavy users. Loyalty status are classified as hard-core loyals, split loyals, shifting loyals and switchers. Buyers-readiness stages where the customers are either aware or unaware of the product or service, informed, interested, have a desire for the product or service and have intent to buy. Attitude enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative and hostile. Research Objectives: Relationship marketing will contribute significantly to the development of HM in India. Therefore, it becomes essential to study its applications in a fashion company in India. This study fulfils this need. The study addresses the different pros and cons of relationship marketing in a fashion company in India. Thus, the general purpose of this research investigation is to identify, describe and analyse factors that have an impact on relationship marketing, customer retention and customer acquisition in Indian fashion context. The main objectives of this study are given below, To identify, describe and analyse factors that will have an impact on relationship marketing, customer retention and customer acquisition in a fashion company and at HM in India. To appraise the views of customers of HM in India, how they feel about the companys relationship with them. To gain insight on how HM in India build customer relationship marketing tactics. To understand and determine the mediating role of customer behavior between relationship marketing and customer retention and acquisition. To indentify the market entry strategies for HM in India. Research Questions: What is the relationship marketing tactics practiced by the HM in India? What is the market entry strategy practiced by the HM in India? Deliverables: As it has been described in the objectives of the research project that the main purpose of this study is to examine the market entry strategies and relationship marketing by HM in India and customer relationships in Fashion Company and to find out how fashion company relationships with customers promotes its entry in India. The final product of this research project will be a report, containing the HMs relationship strategy and market entry strategy in India, what are their advantages and disadvantages. The report will contain the perceptions of employee and customers. Finally, the report will highlight some relationship marketing problems of HM and a fashion company and suggest some guidelines to remove these problems and improve its customers base in India. Research Methodology: Interested customer and would be customers of HM in India will be approached to collect the data. There are two kinds of data. Primary data Secondary data Primary data includes the information about relationship marketing and market entry strategy available from customers of HM in India. This also includes responses by the different employee of HM on the shop-floor. Secondary data will tell about the impact of relationship marketing in the retailers and the data has been available in their system. To collect the data, retailers employees, posted at different positions, will be contacted. Similarly, to assess the changes in retail services, caused by the relationship marketing, customers views will also be found out. The tools to collect this data will be the surveys. For this, employees and customers will be interviewed, where as to know the views of customers, different questionnaires will be prepared to ask them different questions. To analyze the collected data, different statistical techniques will be used. Qualitative research can be referred to as the opposite of quantitative research method. Any research method has its advantages and it disadvantages. Qualitative research is a study done that produces its results and findings that do not result from statistical means or other method of quantification. This method of inquiry requires a high level of intelligence and experience from the researcher to arrive at a more realistic and targeted data from the respondent. Quantitative research is referred to as a measurement of how people feel, think or act in a particular way and that this survey tend to include large samples from fifty to any number of interviews, structured questionnaires containing mostly closed questions that require questions along with set responds. This involves the clear statement of variables i.e. specifying the dependent and the independent variable. Resources: The most important thing to carry out any research project is to know the background, research objectives, and research methodology of the research project. For this literature is searched out. The University Library will be the primary source to review the literature. Books in hard and soft form will be obtained from the library. Similarly, different research journals and articles in the library will be valuable assets to prepare a comprehensive research report. To prepare the questionnaires, surveys done by Fashion Company to know the relationship marketing and market entry strategy will be used. Similarly new questionnaires, depending on the situation, will also be prepared. Project Plan: The project is divided into three stages. Literature review Interviews of employees of HM and their customers Report writing Literature Review: To carry out any research project, a research must be able to review the literature. This makes researcher aware of work, done by other people in the respective field. The main source of literature is the journals, in which different researchers publish their findings of problems. Interviews of retail employees and customers: In order to collect information on the impact of market entry strategy and know impact on relationship marketing in the Indian fashion company, the employees of HM will be interviewed. They will be asked about the positive and negative points of relationship marketing utilization in their stores. Similarly, customer views will be taken through the interviews. Considering all these views, suggestion to improve the customer services will be advised. Report writing: The final product of the research project will be a written report. The structure of my report will be divided in following categories, Introduction: In the introduction, the market entry strategy and history of relationship marketing use in fashion sector will be discussed and how different relationship marketing systems will be used to address the issues of HM, with the passage of time. Aims and objectives: In this part of report, purpose of the research project will be stated very clearly; what are the aims of the study and what are the problems, which will be discussed in the report. Research methodology: This is the core part of the report. After stating the problem, different research methodologies will be explained to gather the data. The primary source will be the interviews of the employees and customers. From these interviews, impact of relationship marketing and market entry strategy of HM will be assessed. The questions asked to employees and customers will be provided in the appendix of report. Conclusions: After describing the problems and research methods, suggestion will be advised to eliminate the highlighted problems. Risk: In order to carry out any research project, it is very important to study all the aspects of the project. One of the main aspects regarding any project is the risks involved. There are also some risks involved, regarding the research project under consideration. One risk can be privacy. HM employees can be duty-bound and show reluctance to give information about their working procedures and on relationship marketing operations, used in the fashion company. Impact and Beneficiaries of Research: The main objective of this research activity is to investigate the market entry strategies and relationship marketing by HM in India and customer relationships in Fashion Company and to find out how fashion company relationships with customers promotes its entry in India. This research can be very helpful for the fashion sector. For instance, it will analyze the effectiveness of relationship marketing and its market entry strategies in India. It will determine the views of HM employees about the introduction of relationship marketing in their working environment. From this, both positive and negative points about the role of relationship marketing in the fashion sector, put forward by the HM employees, can be known. Similarly, the customers views about the insertion of relationship marketing and the effect of HMs market entry strategy can be found out. Customers level of satisfaction about the HMs customer services can be assessed. This report will also show the comparison of differe nt strategies among different HMs companies worldwide and how they use relationship marketing to achieve the same target. By knowing the views of customers through this study, their difficulties while dealing with HM, can also be discovered. This report will also address these issues and suggest solutions to eradicate these problems. So, the major beneficiaries of this report are the management of HM and by considering the suggestions of the report, they can improve their market entry strategies, customer services and hence the customer relationship from HM will be invigorated.

Preaching to Every Pew: Cross-Cultural Strategies Essay

Introduction                 Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Understanding the Bible is not that easy to do. Especially when dealing with cross cultural population such as the American society is today. Undeniably, the majority of the population of the American communities today comprises of the strong number of immigrants from all over the world? How are these people to be preached by religious leaders and missionaries? The book of Nieman points out four major elements of doing the preaching process. The said elements include ethnicity, class, displacement, and religious beliefs (Nieman, 2001, 14). Considering these elements would make studying the Bibl with a culturally diverse society an easier task to complete. What of dealing with the complexity of the Bible itself? The context of the entire book stresses a certain deepness that is not that easy to comprehend with. Certainly, the procedure in studying the Bible is then perceived to have more complicated vitalities. How then could an individual understand the Bible without actually going to theological institutions and getting a formal education? Are individual owners of the Bible given the privilege to understand the Bible? Certainly! The Bible is made available and understandable to anybody wanting to gain knowledge from it (Nieman, 2001, 19). The procedure to be taken is not based upon quite an arranged system that is followed in formal institutions of theology. Opposite from what people think, studying the Bible is quite easy. What’s not easy is the fact that there are required elements of being scripturally convinced of an individual before the success of the said study could be expected. There are at least six major elements of being scripturally convinced and at least 12 major procedures of studying the Bible (Nieman, 2001, 22). These elements and procedures would be the entire context of this paper’s discussion. Elements of Scriptural Convincing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before an individual even starts to study the Bible, he must be primarily convinced that he really believes the principles and the laws that are found in the Bible. How does one assure himself of this truth? The following elements shall help him have a clear understanding of this particular truth. Conviction of the truth that he needs to depend upon God’s laws   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A person’s conviction that he indeed needs the strength and the guidance of God to be able to live a fruitful life is the primary basis of his faith upon the guidance of God that is outlined in the Bible. Once he does realize this fact, he is then motivated to start his Bible study with a more certain optimism in is vision towards the result of the Bible education that he is about to get. (Nieman, 2001, 28)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"For this means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you and of the one whom you sent forth Jesus Christ† (John 17:3) Getting the accurate knowledge about the truth is a necessary element of conviction if a person is about to study the Scriptures. Willingness to Learn This motivation is strengthened still more by an accurate knowledge of God’s purposes. Such knowledge helps to change the very ‘force actuating our minds,’ the spirit that motivates our thoughts and actions. (Ephesians 4:23,  24). An individual’s willingness to learn the basic knowledge about life that the Bible offers certainly identifies the ability of the person to actually absorb the lessons that he would primarily grasp from the Bible. (Nieman, 2001, 28) Determination to change and apply the principles of God’s words   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   IN THE middle of the first century  C.E., the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christian congregation in Rome. In it he highlighted the requirement that true Christians had to make changes. He said: â€Å"Quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.† (Romans 12:2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once the lessons of the Bible have been introduced to an individual, it is necessary that the individual acts upon the needs of adjusting one’s personality in accord with the policies and principles of the Holy Scriptures. (Nieman, 2001, 32) Willingness to adjust one’s personality according to the ways of God â€Å"The word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and their marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.† (Hebrews 4:12) â€Å"Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to  the image of the One who created it.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Colossians 3:9,  10.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The verses of the scriptures cited above are indeed effective in applying the element of studying the Bible that pertains to personality change. The willingness and the motivation of the individual to change his paths in life certainly identifies his ability to change his personality in accordance with the Bible’s suggested path of understanding life and living with it. (Nieman, 2001, 36) Ability to communicate with God in fervent prayers â€Å"Persevere in prayer.† (Romans 12:12) By prayer we address Jehovah, praise him, thank him, and ask for his help. If we ask for help to overcome undesirable personality traits, such as a bad temper, stubbornness, impatience, or pride, God’s spirit will back up any efforts we make in harmony with that prayer.—John 14:13,  14; James 1:5; 1  John 5:14.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ability of people to understand the privilege that they have in terms of communicating with God through prayers help them gain more confidence and faith on whatever they are able to grasp from primarily studying the word of God. (Nieman, 2001, 41) Interest in learning not only the major parts of the Bible but the entire book as it is   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Bible contains 66 books in two sections, often called the Old Testament and the New Testament. Thirty-nine Bible books were written mainly in Hebrew and 27 in Greek. The Hebrew Scriptures, consisting of Genesis through Malachi, cover creation as well as the first 3,500 years of human history. Examining this part of the Bible, we learn about God’s dealings with the Israelites—from their birth as a nation in the 16th century  B.C.E. on into the 5th century  B.C.E. The Greek Scriptures, containing the books of Matthew through Revelation, focus on the teachings and activities of Jesus Christ and his disciples during the first century  C.E. (Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life, 16). Certainly, from this particular claim, the Bible could be viewed as a book with a singular theme that leads to one’s understanding of the necessity that an individual studying the Bible should study not only several portions of the Bible but the entire book as well. These elements are indeed to be preset within the mind of the individual who aims to study and apply the biblical principles that are embedded within the context of the entire Biblical theme. To understand the effects of the said elements on individual Bible students, the following diagram shall be presented: Diagram 1: The impact of the elements of conviction upon a Bible student Diagram Explanation:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The diagram above shows how many the circles containing the elements of conviction affects the learning motivation of the students. As a result, the become more convinced to continue progressing in their study and thus progress as well in their application of the major lessons that they learn from the Bible. True, the application of the elements of conviction before actually studying the bible helps an individual collectively arrange the procedures of learning as to how they fit their needs. The following paragraphs shall discuss on the twelve major methods of studying the Bible: 1 – Method One – The Devotional Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Method one is a method that pertains more on the divine conviction of the student in learning the Bible. The desire of the student based upon his desire in becoming a person who follows the principles of the Bible conscientiously is the primary reason for him to continue learning the basic principles of the Bible. 2 – Method Two – The Chapter Summary Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every chapter in the Bible is of high importance in connection with the main theme that the Bible intends to portray for its readers. The summarizing procedure that a student does to be able to come up with a single conclusion of what has been read every time the Bible study ends, helps the   students recognize the importance of each chapter within their lives. 3 – Method Three – The Character Quality Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The early Christians of the 1st century have left a pattern for the present Christian to follow. Their capability of dealing with the challenges that they had to face way back them and the characteristics and the consequences of their decision certainly have an impact on how the Christians at present act towards the different issues in the society as well as with their personal lives. 4 – Method Four – The Thematic Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thematic method is based upon the evaluation of the student of the sub-themes of the bible that primarily pertains to the entire theme of the Scriptures which is pointed to the purpose of God for the lives of humans on earth. This method helps the student understand the different idealisms presented in the Bibles and thus get the entire thought of actually applying them within the social and personal activities of the individual himself. 5 – Method Five – The Biographical Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The lives of the people within the historical accounts of the Bible leave a strong impact upon the personality of the people today. Studying their biographical backgrounds would not only increase the knowledge of a student about biblical characters, it would also increase the possibility of the individual’s familiarity with what the said characters did and how they fared so far with the decisions that they made. Hence, by this, the student is equipped with the wisdom that he needs to face and decide for his life. 6 – Method Six – The Topical Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Topical method encourages the student to focus on certain topics that primarily interest him. Since the topics interest him, it is not impossible that it would be easier fro him to grasp the lesson’s importance. 7 – Method Seven – The Word Study Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is more of enriching ones knowledge based upon the different vocabularies that are found in the Bible. The vocabulary-based meaning of the context would certainly help the student locate the connection of each Bible book with reach other through the thematic approach of the presentation of the vocabularies of the entire context of the Bible. 8 – Method Eight – The Book Background Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowing the Bible’s history and how it has been passed on from generations to generation and how it has been preserved amidst all the Christian persecution during the early Years of Christianity helps the students understand how important the Bible really is. 9 – Method Nine – The Book Survey Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Book survey involves the evaluation of the Biblical theme based form book to book. Once students glance on the book and immediately recognize the ideas presented in theta particular book, then the said method has been utilized effectively by the student. 10 – Method Ten – The Chapter Analysis Method of Bible Study Chapter analysis helps the students get the gist of every chapter and thus be bale to explain the said ideas to others when the chapters are being discussed. 11 – Method Eleven – The Book Synthesis Method of Bible Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The condensing of the lessons that were previously studied and carrying them into becoming a single conclusion, it could be noted that the theme of the Bible is certain and thus through this method, the proof of such claim could be well established. 12 – Method Twelve – The Verse by Verse Method of Bible Study Each verse is important in creating the main theme of the bible. Studying each verse and understanding how they are able to affect the lives of the students both personally and socially determines the success of the application of this particular method. Conclusion IT IS only reasonable that our loving Creator would provide a book of instruction and guidance for mankind. More than 2,500 years ago, a prophet and historian wrote: â€Å"It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.† (Jeremiah 10:23) Today, the truthfulness of that statement is more evident than ever. Thus, historian William H.  McNeill notes: â€Å"The human adventure on the face of this planet has been an almost uninterrupted series of crises and disruptions of society’s established order.† True, with the certain methods and elements of studying the Bible presented herein, it could be observed that being able to understand the Bible clearly indeed provides the best benefits that one could ever get form informal yet highly-established procedure of studying.    References: New American Standard Bible. Foundation Publications; updated edition (August 2005). Nelson Bibles. (1999). The NKJV Slim line Bible. Thomas Nelson; New Ed edition. James R. Nieman and Thomas G. Rogers. (2001). Preaching to Every Pew: Cross-Cultural Strategies. Augsburg Fortress Publishers.

Probation: Crime and California College Attended

John Augustus is credited with being the father of probation. A Boston shoemaker, Augustus spent his spare time observing what took place in the courts. Disturbed that minor offenders and common drunks were often forced to remain in jail because they had no money to pay off their fines, he convinced authorities to let him pay their fines and offered them friendly supervision. When the defendants later came into court for sentencing, Augustus would report on his progress toward reformation. Augustus efforts encouraged his home state of Massachusetts to pass the first probation statue in 1878. Four more states had followed suit by 1900. Probation was thus established as a legitimate alternative to incarceration. The first juvenile court was in Cook County, Illinois in 1899. The enabling legislation eventually passed at state and federal levels not only enacted statutes that permitted probation, but eventually defined specific categories of offenses for which probation could not be granted. It is clear that the legislators enacting probation statues intended juvenile offenders and misdemeanants to be its beneficiaries, not hard core criminal offenders. Probation is a sentence serves while under supervision in the community. Its goal is to retain some control over criminal offenders while using community programs to help rehabilitate them. Today, probation is the most common form of criminal sentencing in the United States. Those sentenced to probation must agree to abide by court mandated conditions of probation, with a violation of conditions possibly leading to probation revocation. Two types of conditions are general and specific. General conditions apply to all probationers in a given jurisdiction and usually require that the probationer obey all laws, maintain employment, remain within the jurisdiction of the court and possess no firearms. Specific conditions may be mandated by a judge who feels that the probationer is need of particular guidance or control. Depending on the nature of the offense, a judge may require that the offender surrender his or her driver’s license; supply breath, urine, or blood samples as needed for drug or alcohol testing. The judge may also dictate special conditions tailored to the probationer’s situation. The rapid growth of serious and violent crime in America during the 2980’s contributed to prison overcrowding and spurred a movement toward the increase in the use of felony probation. Prison overcrowding and bulging jails forced the correctional administrators to take a close look at some other categories of felons for relief of an over taxed system. Front end solutions are alternatives sentences such as probation and intermediate punishments that include house arrest, deferred prosecution, electronic monitoring. Back end solutions refer to ways used to reduce prison populations, after the offender arrives in prison. Often viewed as â€Å"early out† or â€Å"extended limits† options: parole, shock parole, expanded good time credits to count against minimum sentence, work and educational furlough, prerelease to halfway houses. Name: Essie Stevens Position: Probation Officer, San Bernardino, California College Attended: Howard University (BS, Criminal Justice) What criminal justice related jobs have you held? Straight out of high school, I took a job as a security guard at the local mall. I had no experience but they took a chance with me. I learned a lot from working there. After about 9 months, I left for college. After college, I pretty much had it in my mind I wanted to be a probation officer. I read on the internet that a small California town needed members of their team. I scheduled a meeting and I’ve been here ever since. How would you describe the interview process? It actually was pretty easy. I stood before three members of the Department of Corrections. I was asked a few questions. I was hired on spot. To this day, I still do not know if it was because my resume was excellent or if it was because they were in desperate need of staff. Please describe your job I am a probation officer for about 115 men, women, and juveniles. My role is to keep tabs on their progress, make sure they are heading down the right paths. I attend court with most of them every 3 weeks to inform the judge of their progress. I also see each of them at least once a week in order to ensure they are complying with all conditions of the program. What is the typical starting salary for this position? $17. 35 per hour What qualities or characteristics are most helpful for this job? You have to be strong and you must have a backbone. I’m not saying you have to be tough all the time but you need to let the offender know you may be nice but you’re about business. You have to be firm in making decisions. Do not let the offender walk all over you. It’s okay to have friendly conversations but always keep it professional. Get to know the offender. I have found that it’s easier for the offender to open up to you when you show interest in their lives. What is a typical day like for you? From the time I come into work (9am) to the time I leave (10pm), I am either meeting with my new juvenile offenders or checking up on the older ones. I usually break for half an hour to review paperwork. What career advice would you give someone in college beginning studies? Pay attention. Trust me; you’re learning some real important material. Apply for internships; they will help in the long run. Network! Now is the time to get in good with as many professionals as possible.